Chapter 309: A Hundred Bells Ring in Unison

"How could it be so fast?"

"It hasn't even been half an incense stick's time, has it? He's already started lecturing, and... finished?"

"What exactly did he say?"

Hearing the bell, the crowd outside all trembled.

After the Technique Sea gave out the secret manual, there would be an incense stick's time to read it, then the lecture would begin.

Now, they had only been inside for about half an incense stick, and the Sage's Bell had already rung. Could it be... he was given a new manual and started lecturing without even looking at it?

And... how long had it been, and he was already done?

Because only after finishing the lecture could one gain the sages' approval and hear the bell ring.

Even if others gained the sages' approval, it took at least three or four incense sticks' time, and the longest lecture lasted half a day.

Starting to ring after half an incense stick...

Not only had they never seen it, they had never even heard of it.

"Too fast a lecture means the content is definitely not rich. I'm afraid one bell ring is the limit!" The old man behind Ling Xiaoxiao couldn't help shaking his head, a look of regret on his face.

Haste makes waste; it's the same with everything.

Even if one had skill and understood techniques quickly... to start lecturing after just glancing at the book was too rushed. There were bound to be omissions, because no matter how simple a technique, it embodied the wisdom of predecessors. A slight carelessness could lead one astray into irredeemable disaster.

Among the world's cultivators, many had gone berserk precisely because they misunderstood the techniques and deviated in their practice.

Of course, even if they didn't understand, it was one thing; but the lecture time was also short, so the lesson was not rich, and it was easy to miss key points.

Many who took the master teacher exam, like answering exam papers, would say everything they knew, hoping to hit the mark and gain greater recognition.

Ending so quickly meant he said little. Even if he made the Sage's Bell ring, the number of rings probably wouldn't be many.

"Yes, he's still young, too impatient..." Master Hongyun also nodded.

Having received a favor from him, he naturally hoped that this Teacher Zhang Xuan could go further. He didn't expect him to be so hasty; his results were probably about to stop here.

"A fall into a pit, a gain in your wit. When he takes the two-star master teacher exam, he won't be so reckless..." The old man nodded. Just as he was sighing, the ground shook again, and a huge sound rang out once more.

Dang! Dang! Dang!

Three consecutive roars shook the ground, causing it to tremble.

"Four rings? Excellent? Already comparable to Master Mo Hongyi's achievement?"

The old man and Master Hongyun exchanged glances, nearly spitting blood.

They had just said he was too reckless and his results wouldn't be good, and then four rings sounded... They felt their faces burning with pain.

"Four rings... that should be the limit, right?"

After the four rings ended, there was a moment of silence. The old man finally breathed a sigh of relief. Looking ahead, he was about to say something more when another shock hit his ears.

Dang!

The sound rang out again.

"Five rings, complete understanding... a new record... is born!"

Everyone's faces turned pale, stunned.

In the thousands of years since the kingdom's Master Teacher Hall was established, the best result was Mo Hongyi's four rings. Others, no matter how strong, could at most tie... This Zhang Xuan, using only half an incense stick, had rung five rings, breaking the record and becoming the first.

"A genius is a genius. Picking up the manual, he understood it, and his lecture rang five rings, complete understanding... Admirable, admira—"

Before the old man could finish his sigh, the ground shook again.

Another roar rang out.

"..."

Damn it!

Is there no end?

The old man was about to cry.

Just when he thought the limit was reached, another ring sounded; just when he thought it couldn't go further, another ring... Was he doing it on purpose?

For others, after the lecture, the rings came one after another with little time in between. But for him, a sudden ring, then another sudden ring—was he trying to scare people to death?

"Five rings, perfect..."

While he was depressed, others turned pale, all petrified.

...

"Vice Hall Master Guan, where is the Hall Master? Send someone to fetch him quickly!"

In a room deep within the Master Teacher Hall, an old man strode in.

"The Hall Master returned last night and went into seclusion, telling us not to disturb him unless it's a major matter."

Vice Hall Master Guan Zequan looked over with confusion: "Elder Zhu, what happened that makes you so flustered? Come, tell me. If it's really a big deal, I'll go find the Hall Master and have him come over!"

"Seclusion?"

Elder Zhu frowned, hesitated for a moment, but still explained: "It's about someone taking the one-star master teacher exam."

"Taking the one-star master teacher exam?"

Vice Hall Master Guan chuckled and couldn't help shaking his head: "Isn't Wu Quan there? Let him preside. Is such a trivial matter worth troubling the Hall Master? Don't you know the Hall Master has internal injuries and needs rest?"

"I know that a one-star master teacher exam isn't worth disturbing the Hall Master. But... if you knew what a stir the examinee caused and what results he achieved, you wouldn't say that!" Elder Zhu shook his head.

"Oh? What kind of stir could he cause? Could it be that a genius like Mo Hongyi has appeared?"

Vice Hall Master Guan was startled.

"Mo Hongyi?" Elder Zhu shook his head: "I only went to watch after hearing the Sage's Bell ring, so I didn't see the first three rounds and can't comment on the specific results. I only know that the Sage's Bell kept ringing..."

"Kept ringing? Could it be... more than four rings?" Vice Hall Master Guan raised his eyebrows.

"Far more..." Elder Zhu smiled bitterly.

"Four rings is excellent. More than four rings means... it reached five rings? That's complete understanding, without any errors..."

Vice Hall Master Guan no longer had his previous nonchalance. He stood up, his expression grave: "The knowledge contained in the Sage's Bell was left by four-star master teachers. Reaching five rings means the lecture's knowledge gained their complete approval... Are you sure this is the one-star master teacher exam?"

"It is the one-star master teacher exam!" Elder Zhu nodded: "And... it rang more than five times."

It wasn't that Elder Zhu didn't want to say it outright or deliberately kept suspense; even he couldn't believe it.

"Not five times..."

Vice Hall Master Guan could no longer contain himself, his lips trembling: "Could it be... six rings? Five rings is complete understanding, six rings is perfect, meaning his understanding of the technique is exactly the same as a four-star master teacher's..."

Before he could finish, Elder Zhu said in a voice that made him want to tear his hair out: "It's seven rings!"

Thump!

Vice Hall Master Guan's knees went weak, and he sat back down in his seat, his face pale: "Seven bell rings, approval of all sages? This... how is it possible?"

Everyone knew that six rings meant perfection, but they didn't know there was a seventh ring.

Reaching this state meant gaining the approval of the Sage's Bell.

In other words, he had gained the approval of four-star master teachers and could discuss techniques with them as an equal.

A guy taking the one-star master teacher exam had gained the recognition of the will left by four-star master teachers, treating him as an equal?

Guan Zequan felt his face turn pale, his mind filled with madness.

As Vice Hall Master of the Master Teacher Hall for so many years, he had seen many geniuses.

But one this freakish—not only had he never seen it, he had never even heard of it!

"Seven bell rings... Can we invite the Hall Master now?"

Seeing him trembling, Elder Zhu knew that anyone hearing this news would probably react the same way. He looked over again.

"This... of course we can. But let me go take a look first and confirm..."

Suppressing the shock in his heart, Vice Hall Master Guan exhaled and waved his sleeve.

"Alright, let's go!"

Elder Zhu nodded, and the two walked out. Just as they stepped out of the room,

Dang!

A huge roar resounded throughout the entire Master Teacher Hall.

The previous sounds had only circulated within the exam hall, but this sound seemed to shake the entire Tianwu Royal City.

The violent tremor seemed to tear through the constraints of the Master Teacher Hall, ripping open a rift in heaven and earth.

Under the immense shock, Vice Hall Master Guan and Elder Zhu both fell to the ground, their faces pale, and a voice of disbelief slowly sounded...

"It's... a hundred bells ringing in unison... all sages submitting?"

"This... what happened?"

...

"All sages submitting? What does that mean? I've never heard of it?"

Hearing all the bells ring at once, the sound seeming to tear through the air, Ling Xiaoxiao couldn't help but look at the old man behind her.

She had heard of one ring, two rings, three rings... up to six rings, but she had never heard of seven rings!

Now a hundred bells ringing in unison... made her even more dizzy, unable to understand what was happening.

"The meaning of 'a hundred bells ring in unison, all sages submit' is... even if a four-star master teacher were here, he would listen attentively and dare not refute... That is to say, this Zhang Xuan's explanation of the technique has surpassed the four-star level, reaching five-star master teacher or even higher..."

The old man trembled.

"What? Surpassing four-star?"

Ling Xiaoxiao's face turned pale.

That guy who didn't know anything—his understanding of techniques and martial skills surpassed four-star...

How is that possible?

She felt her body tremble; she was going crazy.

"Yes, but..."

The old man stopped there, his terrified eyes still carrying confusion.

"But what?" This time, not only Ling Xiaoxiao, but also Master Hongyun looked over.

"But... under normal circumstances, when a hundred bells ring in unison and all sages approve, the bells should ring continuously for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea as a celebration. Why did it stop after just one ring?"

"The time to drink a cup of tea?"

"Yes!" The old man shook his head: "It seems we'll have to wait for the master teachers to come out to know the answer!"

...

Inside the Technique Sea room.

All the one-star master teachers in charge of the exam were listening with rapt attention.

The young man before them explained the Multi-Wave Water Palm so thoroughly that if one cultivated according to his method, everyone could learn it in no time.

Truly achieving 'everyone a dragon'.

Dang, dang, dang, dang!

Like the listeners' intoxication, the surrounding bells, having heard such profound theories, also became excited and rang simultaneously, their sounds soaring into the clouds.

"Shut up! Is there no end to this? One ring, two rings, three rings—I let them go without complaint. But now you all ring together? I haven't finished my lecture yet. What the hell are you clamoring about!"

Frowning, Zhang Xuan shouted.

Woo!

The ringing bells immediately fell silent.

Master Wu, Mo Hongyi, Mo Yu, Jiang Chen, and the others opened their mouths wide, their faces full of exasperation.