Chapter 534: Elder Wu's Complete Collapse (Part 1)

This is impossible!

The selection has five levels, each crucial to obtaining a spot. Even if Young Master Ruohuan knew he could pass, he wouldn't just give up!

After all, his goal is the championship, not just passing the selection.

Full of doubt, they saw Young Master Luohua smiling as he approached Zhang Xuan and glanced over lightly: "Your turn..."

Only then did everyone realize it was finally this Teacher Zhang's turn.

"Recommended by Teacher Su and Teacher Ling, he must have some skill!"

"So young, what ability could he have? I'm worried he can't even last through one song!"

"If he can't hold on, it'll be truly embarrassing!"

"Indeed!"

...

Seeing this belated Teacher Zhang about to take the stage, everyone temporarily set aside their doubts about Young Master Luohua and looked over again.

Everyone was full of curiosity about him.

To be late for something as important as the Master Teacher Hall selection—one wonders if he's carefree or confident.

Ignoring Young Master Luohua, who wanted to see a joke, Zhang Xuan stepped forward and picked up a formation plate.

Although he was a quasi-four-star formation master, the only blank formation plate he had ever touched was a fifth-grade item carved into a spirit gathering formation. Such a low-grade one was his first encounter.

Holding it, he immediately felt the material was much softer than the fifth-grade, and the quality was clearly inferior.

Not at all the same concept.

Turning to where the others sat, he looked around, calculated for a moment, then scratched his head: "Excuse me, can I fix this formation plate in place?"

"Fix it?"

Elder Wu was taken aback: "As long as it's convenient for you to carve, go ahead!"

The Mad Demon Song attacks the soul, testing one's state of mind. The formation plate is just a standard to gauge clarity—whether fixed or held in the palm makes no difference.

"Thank you!"

Having obtained permission, he smiled lightly, took a deep breath, and flicked his wrist.

Boom!

The blank formation plate was immediately embedded into the wall not far away.

"I'm ready. Begin!" Zhang Xuan clapped his hands.

"What is he doing?"

"I don't know. Isn't the formation plate supposed to be held in hand to carve with force? Why is he embedding it in the wall?"

"I can't figure it out either..."

Hearing he wanted to fix it, everyone thought it was some special method of carving, but instead, he just threw the thing onto the wall...

They had seen formation plate carving, but never like this!

Besides, the distance to the wall was at least three or four meters—could the carving knife even reach?

Everyone looked at each other, utterly bewildered.

"What is this guy thinking?"

Young Master Ruohuan and Fu Xiaochen exchanged glances, equally dumbfounded.

Holding the formation plate in hand allows force to be applied, making carving easier and finer. Smashing it into the wall... could it be that he thinks he can't compete and is giving up?

"Ready?" Elder Wu's mouth twitched: "You should know, for fairness, you can only stand in this spot and cannot approach the wall!"

The previous five all sat on floor mats for the test. If he approached the wall, it would mean a different distance from the others, raising suspicion of cheating and unfairness.

"I know!" Zhang Xuan nodded with a smile.

"Then... if the carving knife can't reach, how will you carve?" Elder Wu couldn't help asking.

Others shared the same doubt.

Standing still, nearly four meters from the wall... the carving knife is less than half a foot long. Even with the longest arm, he couldn't reach!

If the knife can't touch the plate, how can he carve?

Hall Master Kang, Elder Su, and Elder Ling also exchanged glances, all full of confusion.

All three knew this Teacher Zhang was a man of great ability and wouldn't act recklessly, but... this scene still left them baffled, unable to understand what was going on.

"Oh, I'm not using a carving knife. I'm using this!"

With a flick of his wrist, a long spear appeared in his palm.

A fifth-grade formation plate requires a spirit-grade intermediate weapon to carve lines, but this third-grade plate doesn't.

A ghost-grade perfect weapon can leave marks, and this long spear is exactly at that level.

The spear is about three meters long; with his arm, four meters is nothing.

"He says... he's going to carve with a spear?"

"Am I seeing things?"

"Damn, is this guy out of his mind? Even a carving knife is too slow, and he uses a long spear... Can that really carve anything?"

"I don't know either..."

...

Seeing the young man's chosen carving tool was a long spear, everyone nearly spat blood on the spot.

Carving a formation plate with a spear? What is this?

They had seen absurd things, but never this absurd!

Young Master Ruohuan, Fu Xiaochen, and the others also twitched, their eyes nearly popping out.

Teacher Su and Teacher Ling trembled, their vision darkening.

They knew this guy didn't play by the rules, but... this was too damn unconventional!

Carving with a spear?

Could he be any more extreme?

"Begin!"

Holding the long spear, heroic and spirited, Zhang Xuan stood like an invincible war god. Ignoring everyone's doubts, he looked up at Elder Wu: "Alright, begin!"

"Since you insist... very well!"

Bewildered, wiping sweat from his forehead, Elder Wu nodded in agreement.

Since the other insisted, he had no choice.

Ding-dong!

His fingers lightly plucked the guqin, and the Mad Demon Song sounded again.

Standing before the mat, Zhang Xuan immediately felt a violent aura surging straight at him, assaulting his soul as if trying to tear his mind apart.

"Indeed different from what I heard elsewhere!"

Feeling this strange force constantly stimulating his spirit, causing dizziness, completely different from what he heard outside, Zhang Xuan couldn't help shaking his head.

Outside, he only heard the music without any violent aura. But here, it was like a small boat caught in the center of a storm, struggling against the risk of sinking at any moment.

No wonder Young Master Ruohuan, Feng Mosheng, and others found it so difficult. Being a special profession is indeed extraordinary!

"Insight into worldly affairs is knowledge; understanding human feelings is literature."

Knowing that enduring it head-on might drive him mad, he shifted his mental state, reaching a state of mind scale of 14.1, and immediately activated it.

Hum!

Eliminating the false and retaining the true, the mind becomes clear!

At this level, he could find the essence amidst chaos, his mind more penetrating, making analysis much simpler.

As his state of mind activated, the violent aura assaulting his soul immediately weakened, becoming almost imperceptible.

"This Elder Wu's state of mind scale is similar to mine. Although the Mad Demon Song is powerful, it can't affect me much."

Looking around, seeing that the other's music hadn't stopped, Zhang Xuan knew it wasn't that Elder Wu held back, but that his methods were no longer effective against him.

His state of mind scale was comparable to a four-star peak master teacher, not much weaker than Hall Master Kang. Even if Elder Wu was formidable, they were about equal. Moreover, as a soul teacher with a strong soul, it was impossible for a single Mad Demon Song to make him faint.

"Let's begin!"

Knowing it had no effect on him, he flicked his wrist, and the long spear shot out a dazzling white light, flying straight toward the blank formation plate on the wall.

Ding!

The spear tip struck the formation plate, producing a crisp sound. Though not loud, it resonated like a bell, penetrating the heart.

Affected by this sound, Elder Wu's qin music involuntarily paused for a moment, then resumed flowing smoothly.

Ding!

Just as the music was flowing smoothly, the sharp clash sounded again, perfectly timed at a point in the Mad Demon Song where the melody was neither high nor low. This sound disrupted the flowing tune once more.

"Hmm?"

His expression darkening, Elder Wu raised his brows.

The first time might be coincidence, but the second time was impossible to be so coincidental.

Both clashes of the spear tip against the formation plate occurred precisely when the Mad Demon Song's new note had yet to begin and the old note had ended. Not only did it disrupt the normal melody, but it also caused his true energy to become somewhat chaotic under the interference.

A sound master converts true energy into tones to attack cultivators. Interfering with his sound is equivalent to interrupting the flow of true energy. If this continued, not only would he fail to complete the piece, but he might also suffer severe internal injuries from chaotic true energy.

Whoosh!

His face solemn, he stood up, both hands pressing the qin strings. True energy surged violently, and the qin music swelled.

Seeming to feel the pressure, the speed of the spear tip striking the formation plate suddenly increased.

Ding-ding-ding-ding!

It too formed a kind of melody, sounding like noise, yet each strike still hit the most awkward points of the Mad Demon Song.

"Not good!"

Even with his full strength, the other's strikes still accurately hit his most awkward spots every time. This clearly showed that the other was not striking randomly but deliberately opposing him!

"Hmph! I don't believe I can't handle a mere Mortal Transformation First Layer peak!"

His chest feeling tight from being repeatedly disrupted, Elder Wu snorted. True energy surged within him, steam seeming to rise from his head, his aura reaching its peak in an instant.

Boom!

Under the impact of the狂暴 force, the table beneath the qin could no longer bear it and exploded.

As if expecting this, Elder Wu hooked his foot, sending the qin flying up. He cradled it with his left arm and plucked the strings with his right, the music continuing without pause.

Ding-ding-ding-ding!

On his side, the music continued; on the other side, the clashes of spear tip and formation plate did not stop either, growing even louder, like a surging river, imposing immense pressure.

If before, his qin music was like waves that left no room to dodge, now the other's sound was like a hurricane. No matter how big the waves, once they encountered it, they had to yield and retreat!

"Damn it!"

His face pale, Elder Wu's brows were like swords. He held the qin, his right hand stroking the strings like lightning to keep the Mad Demon Song going. His true energy circulated so rapidly it sounded like thunder.

Meanwhile, he stepped in a special footwork pattern, moving around constantly.

The Yaoqin Bagua Step!

A special formation that, combined with the qin music, doubled the attack power of the Mad Demon Song in an instant.