Chapter 871: All Break Through

"If I'm not mistaken, these two should be the so-called War Masters, right?"

Letting out a breath and relaxing, Zhang Xuan finally felt exhausted all over.

The battle against the opponent seemed easy to win, but in reality, his concentration was extremely high; not a single mistake was allowed. After only a few minutes of fighting, he felt as if his entire being had been hollowed out.

"So young yet possessing such combat power, and their Master Teacher attire is different from ours... they should be..."

Dong Xin nodded.

She had read many books and knew the terror of the War Master profession. She hadn't thought much about it before, but now with Zhang Xuan's reminder, she suddenly understood.

These two might indeed be!

Otherwise, in a Master Teacher duel, there are many supplementary skills; rarely do they directly compete in cultivation.

"War Master?"

The remaining few exchanged glances and nodded simultaneously.

That's right; only this legendary type of Master Teacher with the strongest combat power could have such strength!

At the same level, fighting one against four still left them in a sorry state.

"Since Teacher Zhang can defeat even a War Master so easily, doesn't that mean he has also reached the standard of a War Master?" Hu Yaoyao looked over, recalling something.

"Easily?" Zhang Xuan shook his head with a bitter smile. "He held back; otherwise... whether I could win is still unknown!"

To outsiders, he seemed to win easily, but in reality, it wasn't so!

"Held back?" The crowd was puzzled.

You used a straw, while the opponent used a top-grade spiritual artifact longsword. After so many exchanges, he didn't even land a single counterattack—how could that be holding back?

"If I had used a top-grade spiritual artifact this time, the outcome would still be undecided! Using a weed, this man, proud and aloof, would certainly not take advantage in weapons, which limited his sword technique's execution. Additionally, by deliberately cutting the log, I gave him the impression of sharp true qi... This forced him to keep retreating; otherwise, winning would have been difficult!"

Zhang Xuan shook his head.

This duel seemed to be merely a contest of techniques, but in reality, a psychological battle had begun before it even started.

"So that's how it is..."

The crowd finally understood.

They hadn't thought much of the weed either, but when Teacher Zhang raised the weed and it fell, instantly severing a log as thick as a bowl, that move had made them feel a chill in their hearts.

Presumably, that Lu Cheng felt the same, which was why he dared not let the weed touch him, causing him to lose the initiative from the first move, impossible to recover.

"Enough, let's not think too much. This is the Red Firefly Fruit. Adjust your state and take it as soon as possible, striving to break through the bottleneck before we go back!"

After regulating his breathing for a while and feeling his body recover, Zhang Xuan flipped his wrist and took out the Red Firefly Fruit.

"Teacher Zhang... you actually got it?"

"How did it end up in your hands?"

Everyone blinked, full of disbelief.

They had been guarding outside the cave, watching Lu Cheng and Wu Xu rush in and then return disappointed, never seeing Teacher Zhang enter... How did the Red Firefly Fruit really fall into his hands?

"I found another entrance from behind the valley and sneaked in ahead of time!"

Zhang Xuan said casually.

He couldn't mention the matter of the Wu Soul, so he had to use another excuse. As for whether the cave had another entrance, now that the item was in hand, presumably no one would bother to verify.

"Impressive..."

Everyone was full of admiration and praise.

To encounter such good luck—inviting him over was truly the right decision.

"This is Vein Spirit Liquid. One gourd each. Restore your strength and then begin to assault the Half-Saint realm!" Flipping his wrist, he took out four gourds of Vein Spirit Liquid and handed them over.

These four gourds were clearly much smaller than the one he had sold to Wu Xu, but if filled with liquid, their value would still be considerable, definitely exceeding the previous One-Yuan Heavy Water.

"This..."

"Thank you, Teacher Zhang!"

The one before them had just sold a gourd, and they knew the price. This many gourds would definitely exceed fifty high-grade spirit stones, yet he was giving them away...

This kindness was almost impossible to repay!

Their eyes reddened, knowing that only by successfully breaking through would they not disappoint his hopes. The four of them immediately became full of fighting spirit.

Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle, gurgle!

With the Purple Sun Beast and Gold Origin Cauldron guarding the surroundings, there was no need to worry about anyone coming to cause trouble. The four sat cross-legged on the ground and began to cultivate.

Three hours later, they had all adjusted their states to the peak and began to take the Red Firefly Fruit.

Truly worthy of being a sacred medicine that increases the chance of breaking through to Half-Saint. After swallowing it, their spirits immediately became stronger, and their souls clearer. Hu Yaoyao, who had received special guidance from Zhang Xuan, broke through the fastest, succeeding first.

Then came Dong Xin.

This girl, having experienced the affairs of the Elder Court, had become more resolute than before. She followed closely and broke through, becoming a Half-Saint expert.

Next was Xue Zhenyang. He had listened to the basic knowledge explained by Wang Ying and others, making his cultivation more solid. Although he ranked third among the group, it came naturally, and his cultivation was more stable.

The three all succeeded smoothly, but Long Cangyue was not so lucky; he failed repeatedly.

After charging four times in a row, feeling exhausted and weak, he knew that if he continued to charge, he might end up with a deviation. He had to stop, looking dejected.

The four academy heads had originally been on par, but now the other three had successfully broken through while he could not. The落差 in his heart was imaginable.

"The other three are either Teacher Zhang's direct disciples, grand-disciples, or great-grand-disciples, and have received his guidance. As for me... because I thought too much and was too proud, I didn't get close..."

He shook his head with a bitter smile.

Hu Yaoyao and the others, more or less, had connections with this Teacher Zhang and had received his guidance or favors. As for him, because he worried too much and didn't have much interaction with him, he ended up unable to break through the bottleneck!

If he had known this earlier, he would have sought a relationship, even if it meant becoming a grand-disciple or great-grand-disciple.

"What you lack is not strength, but confidence! Your personality is somewhat passive, not as vigorous as Xue Zhenyang's. You tend to hesitate and overthink, which makes assaulting Half-Saint more difficult for you than for the others!"

Seeming to read his thoughts, Zhang Xuan shook his head.

As for whether he had influenced their breakthroughs, indeed he had.

The cultivation techniques he explained and the problems he addressed were incisive, pointing directly to the great path. Cultivating according to his methods indeed made breakthroughs easier.

But assaulting Half-Saint is not just about cultivation; more importantly, it involves spirit and temperament.

Hu Yaoyao is decisive and bold in everything she does. Dong Xin, after the Elder Court incident, has become tougher. As for Xue Zhenyang, he has always been brave. But this Long Cangyue is indecisive, tends to hesitate, and thinks too much, which makes success difficult.

"Teacher Zhang's instruction is correct!"

His eyes lighting up, Long Cangyue felt as if he had been enlightened. He sat cross-legged again, his brows raised.

Success or death!

Rumble!

The true qi within his body was mobilized, and a狂暴 aura rushed straight into his sea of consciousness.

After an unknown time, the bottleneck pressing above him indeed began to loosen, and finally collapsed with a roar.

Half-Saint, achieved!

"Impressive!"

The Purple Sun Beast and Gold Origin Cauldron stood to the side, watching their master guide Long Cangyue, both secretly admiring.

Their master, though young, had reached an unfathomable level of understanding of cultivation and human nature, hitting the nail on the head and pointing directly to the crux.

More importantly... when guiding others, he never held back, even if they were opponents or enemies, always magnanimous. This breadth of mind was enough to make countless Master Teachers sincerely admire him.

"Thank you, Teacher Zhang!"

Having broken through to Half-Saint, Long Cangyue no longer had his former pride. He bowed before Zhang Xuan, sincere and earnest.

"Let's go back!"

The purpose of coming here had been achieved; everyone had broken through to Half-Saint, so there was no need to stay any longer. The group stepped onto the back of the Purple Sun Beast again and flew straight toward Hongyuan City.

...

Lu Cheng and Wu Xu left the valley and stopped.

"Brother Lu, did you not use your full strength just now..."

During the battle, Wu Xu was still shocked, but on the way, he pondered carefully and felt something was off.

He knew very well what strength his Brother Lu possessed. Many powerful techniques were not used, and he still lost... Clearly, he had held back in the fight!

"Not use full strength?"

Shaking his head, Lu Cheng could no longer hold back. His body swayed, and he spat out a mouthful of blood!

"Brother Lu..."

Not expecting his injuries to be so severe, Wu Xu quickly helped him find a place to sit down and fed him another pill, then breathed a sigh of relief: "Brother Lu, you..."

"I did not use many of my ultimate techniques, not because I didn't want to, but because... I couldn't!"

After recovering a bit, Brother Lu shook his head.

"Couldn't use them?" Wu Xu was puzzled.

"Yes. He used a straw, which seemed to belittle me, making it inconvenient for me to clash head-on. But in reality, his sword strikes precisely hit my weaknesses every time! They prevented my true qi from flowing smoothly... I simply couldn't execute powerful techniques!"

Brother Lu said with a bitter smile. Although the duel was long over, thinking of the opponent's insight and strength still made his pupils contract involuntarily.

It wasn't that he didn't want to use powerful techniques, but that his true qi was cut off by the opponent, preventing him from accumulating any ultimate moves.

It was like a river being dammed in sections; unable to flow smoothly, how could it form a flood?

"True qi couldn't flow?" Wu Xu was stunned.

"Yes. This Teacher Zhang is formidable not only in his ability to challenge higher levels but also in his terrifying insight. It seemed he understood all my techniques completely, could see the flaws at a glance, and then intercept them... In fact, I knew I had lost from the first move. The remaining hundred-plus moves were just the opponent deliberately yielding!"

Brother Lu shook his head.

"Deliberately yielding? How is that possible?"

Wu Xu couldn't believe it.

He knew his friend's strength very well. Losing in one move... How had he not sensed that the opponent was yielding?

"You don't believe me? Then let me tell you! I was severely injured by the Purple Sun Beast and that cauldron earlier. Although I recovered for an hour, I wasn't fully healed... You should know this, right!"

Brother Lu said.

"Yes!" Wu Xu nodded.

He was right there when the beating happened; how could he not know?

"I used a secret technique to suppress the injury. We share the same lineage; you must know this secret technique as well!"

Brother Lu continued.

"It's... the Hu Bo Healing Method left by Senior Hu Bo!" Wu Xu responded.