Chapter 581: A Contest of Reading?

"Suicide?"

"Teacher Zhang actually said... this alien clan member committed suicide?"

...

The audience below was dead silent.

The alien clan, the nemesis of master teachers, was terrifying to the extreme!

The one before them was even a Harmonization Realm expert, and aside from Teacher Hong, almost no one present could match him. Yet... after a few words from Zhang, he struck his own forehead and died by suicide...

Could this be any more surreal?

It couldn't be real, could it?

"It's... Teacher's Word, Heaven's Gift!"

"Isn't that an ability only used in teaching?"

"As long as what is said is correct and aligns with the state of mind, it can bewitch people, making their bodies act under the influence of his words, doing things even they cannot control! It seems that what Teacher Zhang said just now was all correct, and this alien clan member, in a fit of agitation, killed himself!"

"Can Teacher's Word, Heaven's Gift make someone commit suicide? Then... as long as the correct event is found, can a master teacher kill anyone at will?"

"It's not that easy. Not only must the words be correct, but they must also match the listener's inner thoughts to take effect; otherwise, it's useless! For example, if you are eager to cultivate, Teacher's Word, Heaven's Gift can trigger your inner energy to circulate automatically, and your subconscious won't resist! This alien clan member, though brutal by nature, was raised by humans and understands human etiquette. After his bloodline frenzy caused him to kill so many, his heart was full of remorse. That's why Teacher Zhang could use words to make him commit suicide!"

"I see..."

"But to bewitch a Harmonization Realm alien clan member, even a peak four-star state of mind couldn't do that! So... what level has Teacher Zhang's state of mind reached? 15.0? 16.0?"

...

After a moment, the crowd below understood and erupted in uproar.

This alien clan member willingly committed suicide before everyone, clearly a victim of Teacher's Word, Heaven's Gift.

But the limit of a four-star master teacher could at most bewitch a Mortal Transformation fourth layer expert; the fifth layer was almost impossible.

This alien clan member had a naturally strong soul, yet he was still bewitched. So... what level had this Teacher Zhang's state of mind reached?

Wasn't that too terrifying!

"He literally talked him... to death?"

Seeing this, Hall Master Kang and the others were in tears.

They had thought Zhang Xuan was just standing there in a daze, causing trouble and stirring up chaos, but now it seemed they were too naive!

Pass two rounds, destroy two rounds, leaving others with no way forward...

That was his goal, that was causing trouble...

...

The audience below was shocked, and on the stage, Ruohuan Gongzi, Luo Xuan, and the others were speechless.

They had witnessed firsthand how terrifying this big fellow was. Faced with such murderous aura, they couldn't even resist, yet this guy not only was unharmed but also talked him to death...

Are you sure this guy is really ten years younger than us and on the same level?

Not a six-star or seven-star master teacher pretending to be one?

Liao Wuzhi, who had previously looked down on this Zhang Xuan, was now trembling with fear, not daring to utter a single word.

...

Ignoring everyone's thoughts, Zhang Xuan looked at the huge corpse on the ground and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The reason he had seemed to 'space out' earlier was that these evil deeds were too shocking. He was furious, and when this guy showed no remorse and came to insult humans, he couldn't hold back and used Teacher's Word, Heaven's Gift to kill him!

His current state of mind had reached 16.1, stronger than some five-star master teachers. Yet even so, bewitching an alien clan member and making him commit suicide consumed a great deal of energy. If not for his strong will, he might not have been able to hold on.

(He himself had only 0.1 state of mind, used the golden book twice to add 10.0, once the Teacher's Word Heart Refinement to add 1.0, twice the Heaven-Approved Master Teacher to add 3.0, and once a state of mind epiphany to add 2.0, totaling exactly 16.1.)

But fortunately, it succeeded.

Taking a few deep breaths to adjust, he turned to look at Teacher Hong, and saw that this most eminent master teacher among the crowd had a twitching mouth and looked like he was about to cry.

Teacher Hong's heart was indeed in collapse.

The Ghost Domain Illusion City earlier had been his entire fortune, and it was destroyed, but that was fine... He had thought that as long as he brought this alien clan member back to headquarters, the generous rewards would surely compensate him. But then...

In the blink of an eye, it was talked to death!

Big brother, can you let people live?

Are you here for the master teacher competition or to cause trouble?

Besides... this courage test was only half done, and now it's cut short. How can we proceed?

If it were just the first round, the remaining three rounds might still be manageable, but the second round too... Are you trying to make this master teacher competition completely impossible?

"Teacher Hong, what should we do with this corpse?"

Just as he was feeling frustrated, wondering whether to kick this guy out and not let him compete, he heard Zhang Xuan's question.

"The alien clan is vicious and brutal, devoid of humanity. Killing it is a great merit. Dead is dead, nothing to be done!"

His heart bled, but he forced an awkward smile.

There was no other choice. The thing was already dead; what use was it to pursue the matter? It might even make the many master teachers think he was shielding the alien clan.

"Alright, with this alien clan member dead, the courage test cannot continue. Apart from the three who fled under pressure earlier, there are 53 master teachers left on stage. These people will proceed with the next test!"

Knowing it was useless to dwell on it, Teacher Hong forced a smile and continued the competition.

"Yes!"

Hearing this, the master teachers who had been lying on the ground or prostrate in embarrassment all stood up, secretly relieved, and looked at the nearby Teacher Zhang with gratitude.

If not for this Teacher Zhang, at least a dozen of them would have failed.

Now, with the alien clan member dead, the danger had disappeared.

"The third round of selection tests your wisdom!"

Ignoring everyone's thoughts, Teacher Hong spoke.

"Wisdom is the capital for cultivators to learn new knowledge. The higher the wisdom, the stronger the learning ability, and for master teachers, the greater the potential! Rest assured, this test is not as dangerous as the previous ones. It's just... reading!"

"Reading?"

Everyone was stunned.

"Yes, there are 56 bookshelves here, each with five thousand books. They are rare editions from my private collection, all with identical content, and I guarantee none of you have seen them before. They cover cultivation techniques, martial skills, beast taming, and my understanding of cultivation. You have one hour to browse, memorize, and comprehend!"

With a wave of his hand, the mist in the center of the round platform dissipated, revealing rows of bookshelves.

The shelves were filled with books, each with five thousand volumes.

"The test is simple: freely read these books. After an hour, I will test you in a special way. The more you remember and understand, the higher your wisdom!"

Teacher Hong said.

"Testing this?"

Understanding the rules, Zhang Xuan scratched his head, feeling a bit embarrassed.

If it were anything else, he wouldn't be confident, but reading... he could leave everyone present in the dust, even if a real eight-star master teacher came, they would still lose!

Testing this... wouldn't it be too unfair?

"Forget it, when it's time to answer... I'll deliberately get a few questions wrong. My goal is just to pass. This time... I can't break anything again!"

Zhang Xuan made up his mind.

Having messed up the last two rounds so that the tests couldn't continue, he was also helpless.

In the first round, the Ghost Domain Illusion City, he only wanted to stop the formation, but who knew that idiot clone would use too much force? He really didn't mean to.

As for the second round, seeing the alien clan commit so many evil deeds, anyone would have been unable to hold back. Just talking him to death was lenient. If not for the master teacher competition, he would have wanted to take action himself...

Of course, if he had taken action, he might not have been a match and would have been thoroughly beaten.

These two rounds had created an awkward situation. In the third round, he had to be careful. At worst, he would read fewer books, or deliberately answer a few questions wrong, just enough to pass.

Low-key!

The goal was still to stay low-key, not to be too flashy!

If others knew what he was thinking, they would surely cry to death.

This is called low-key?

Look at Teacher Hong, he's almost driven crazy. If this is low-key, then the high-key ones wouldn't even need to live.

"Alright, each choose a bookshelf. Time... begins!"

With a wave of his hand, Teacher Hong shouted loudly.

"Quick!"

"Memorize five thousand books? One hour? How is that possible!"

"You fool, you don't need to finish them all. Just remember as many as you can. No one said you have to memorize everything."

"True, although as four-star master teachers we have photographic memories, in one hour, remembering a few hundred is already good. Five thousand books, even a six-star master teacher couldn't do it!"

...

Hearing the competition begin, everyone ignored everything else and rushed straight to the bookshelves.

Zhang Xuan also casually found one and approached it.

The books on the shelves were all new, apparently recently copied. The titles were strange and varied, and indeed he had never seen any of them before.

He had collected many libraries, and his knowledge base, if not surpassing everyone present, was at least comparable!

With such a vast knowledge reserve, he hadn't seen a single one of these books. It seemed that for this competition, Teacher Hong had put in a lot of effort and thought.

His fingers lightly brushed over the books, absorbing them all into his mind, and then he observed their contents.

"Hmm? There are so many Mortal Transformation fourth layer techniques?"

Earlier, he had been absorbing books unconsciously. Now, observing carefully, his eyes lit up.

Among the books on the shelves, there were actually hundreds of Mortal Transformation fourth layer techniques!

He hadn't yet collected a complete set of Heavenly Dao techniques for this realm. With so many books, he might be able to form a complete Turbid Purity Realm Heavenly Dao technique, greatly increasing his strength and making another big leap.

"Merge!"

Casually picking up a book and pretending to flip through it, he focused his mind and gave a low shout.

The library shook, and the previously collected Mortal Transformation fourth layer techniques, along with the newly absorbed ones, began to change.

A brand new book appeared before his eyes.