Chapter 931: The War Master Hall Has Arrived!

Chu Jian was a first-year selected student, sent here two years ago by the Hongchi Empire for study.

After more than two years of熏陶 and training, he had reached the peak of the Harmonious Spirit Realm, only one step away from the Bridge Heaven Realm.

Under normal circumstances, he would have had a chance to break through three months ago, but to prepare for this War Master selection, he had been suppressing his cultivation, honing his Harmonious Spirit Realm power to perfection, nearly reaching the pinnacle of this realm.

Because of this, he was able to stand out in the academy's selection and achieve a good result of fifth place.

He was merely an unpopular prince of the empire; becoming a War Master would allow him to shine, and even if he couldn't inherit the throne, he would surely make a mark.

Originally, he thought that with fifth place in the academy, he would have a chance to succeed in the selection if he worked hard.

But when he saw the demonstrations from the other three academies, his heart sank. In the same year, his strength was not on the same level as theirs.

Although there was no fight, judging by the power they emitted, he could clearly tell that once in battle, his strength might not even rank in the top forty.

Only the top twenty from each year are selected; forty... there was no hope at all.

Although the dean was going to give them a lecture on combat techniques, he didn't think that in less than an hour, his strength could change.

Cultivation is a process of accumulation, especially combat power, which cannot be rapidly improved through short-term training.

Even if the dean's lecture was profound and could improve him somewhat, facing the experts from the three academies, he would still be utterly defeated.

Seeing the strength of the others, his confidence had been completely shattered.

He sighed and looked forward.

He saw the dean looking over kindly, his warm voice like celestial music ringing in his ears, explaining some combat techniques and martial skill applications. Just a few sentences made his true qi involuntarily pulse, wanting to follow and learn.

After listening for a while, Chu Jian was filled with admiration.

He had to admit that the dean's understanding of martial skills and combat had reached a miraculous level, surpassing all the famous teachers he had ever heard!

But unfortunately... the time was too short; a single hour couldn't change much.

"If only the dean had come back half a month earlier, there might have been hope of winning..."

He sighed.

Half a month earlier, gathering them together to explain combat techniques, combined with cultivation methods and actual combat, might have allowed them to undergo a complete transformation in a short time and greatly increase their cultivation.

Now the selection was about to start; what use was there in talking?

Shaking his head, he was thinking about whether to listen when he saw a junior student not far away, as if understanding something, eyes shining. He pointed a finger forward, and a sword light immediately formed at his fingertip, falling straight to the ground, piercing a hole.

"This... is the unity of man and sword?"

His pupils contracted.

He had sparred with this junior before; the junior had some talent in swordsmanship, but compared to him, he was far behind. How... had he not yet achieved unity of man and sword, while the other had already reached it?

Unity of man and sword is an extremely important realm in swordsmanship. Once achieved, one's strength would immediately skyrocket. This guy was only ranked tenth originally; having comprehended this realm, it could be predicted that in a rematch, he would be at least in the top three of the first year!

Terrifying!

Creak! Creak!

While still shocked and before he could fully digest this, he heard not far away a sound of bones and muscles twisting, like muffled thunder, shaking the ground slightly.

"This is... the sound of the Tiger Roar Vajra Fist reaching great mastery! When I sparred with him yesterday, wasn't he... only at the beginner level?"

His mouth twitched, and Chu Jian's eyes blurred.

He was also familiar with the guy making the sound from his body. In the first-year competition, he ranked seventeenth. Yesterday, he had sparred with him; his martial skill, the Tiger Roar Vajra Fist, was only at the beginner level, still far from proficiency.

The understanding of martial skills can be divided into: beginner, proficient, minor mastery, great mastery, and perfection.

How... in the blink of an eye, had he broken through three major levels to reach great mastery?

This was too exaggerated!

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

The shock still hadn't ended. Not far away, a young man's true qi surged from his temples, forming a substantial strange bird above his head, ready to fly out at any moment.

With just one look, he understood that this was also a sign of a martial skill reaching great mastery.

Bang bang bang! Slap slap slap!

All around, a series of noises erupted. Within the barrier, countless true qi flew wildly. It seemed that all the students, after listening to the dean's lecture, had gained insights and were breaking through one after another.

"Is the dean's lecture... this powerful?"

Only then did Chu Jian realize the problem. He could no longer hold back and quickly suppressed his shock and confusion, listening carefully.

He had to admit that the dean's explanation was very thorough, starting from the basics and delving into the depths, revealing martial skills and combat techniques like peeling a cocoon before everyone's eyes.

After listening to his explanation, things that had seemed mysterious became very simple and easy to understand.

After just a short while, he was entranced, unable to extricate himself.

Only then did he realize how superficial his years of cultivation and understanding of martial skills had been. Compared to the dean's explanation, they were laughably insignificant.

...

Outside the barrier, unable to see inside or hear the sounds, they didn't know that many people had already made breakthroughs in their understanding of martial skills.

Seeing the dean at this moment gathering the students to teach them, Elder Mi was completely bewildered.

"Isn't it a bit too late for the dean to start explaining now?"

According to the information he had, the people from the War Master Hall could arrive at any moment. Teaching now... even cramming was too late!

"It is late..." Zhao Bingxu shook his head.

"A cultivator's strength is accumulated through countless battles. Relying solely on classroom learning cannot improve much. The dean doing this is probably grasping at straws."

Xu Changqing also nodded.

It wasn't that they didn't believe in the dean, but students' comprehension was limited. In an hour, even if the teacher talked until the cows came home, if the students couldn't understand, it was useless!

And even if they understood, if they couldn't apply it in actual combat, it was still in vain.

It seemed the dean was still too young and too naive.

"Yes! There's nothing we can do; we can only wait for the results..."

Zhao Bingxu shook his head and said no more, but the worry in his eyes was evident and impossible to hide.

...

Not only the ten elders had no confidence in the dean.

Wu Tianqiong, Shen Pingchao, and Wu Ran also couldn't help shaking their heads.

Teaching students to improve their understanding of combat was a good thing, but the effects were not so easy to see.

It involved the students' talent, attitude, and many other issues. If a few lectures could greatly increase combat power, wouldn't everyone become a master of the War Master Hall?

Then War Masters wouldn't be so powerful, and countless famous teachers wouldn't strive for it!

"Maybe it's because he... doesn't want to admit defeat."

Thinking of Zhang Xuan's identity, Wu Ran sighed.

This was a super genius who could even point out errors in Master Teacher Kong!

One could imagine the pride in his heart. Seeing his students so far behind the others, he must be unable to bear it. Doing this... was understandable.

But the result was destined to be failure!

...

Ignoring everyone's thoughts, Zhang Xuan explained the Heavenly Dao martial skills and combat experience he understood in the most concise way, without any reservation or concealment.

It was no different from his explanations to Wang Ying and the others, truly selfless.

"Combat is not about who strikes faster to gain an advantage; the most important thing is to understand the purpose and intention behind the move. Understanding these, and being prepared for the moves, allows you to predict and respond in advance..."

Zhang Xuan's voice was calm, carrying a special rhythm.

With a teacher's heart combined with a seven-star master teacher's state of mind, the knowledge he explained was understood by the students as soon as they heard it, and once understood, they became proficient.

"No good, the spiritual energy is insufficient..."

Looking at the many students before him, many of whom had already understood the key points of his explanation, their true qi boiling, and their understanding of martial skills rising steadily, Zhang Xuan frowned instead of being happy.

For a martial artist to master a martial skill, understanding was one aspect, but smooth true qi flow was another.

For example, many martial skill ultimate moves have their own unique true qi circulation routes. If true qi has never circulated through them, blockages can easily occur.

This is also why many martial skills are not learned immediately. After all, not everyone has Heavenly Dao true qi that can flow unimpeded through any meridian.

Since cultivating martial skills and circulating true qi consumes spiritual energy, his lecture causing so many students to break through simultaneously had drained the spiritual energy within the barrier, making it insufficient.

If they continued without replenishing spiritual energy, it would be easy to interrupt their comprehension of martial skills.

Once interrupted, it would be difficult to find that state again.

It was like an epiphany; it couldn't be disturbed.

Squinting his eyes, without any hesitation, he grabbed with his hand, and earthly vein spiritual liquid spurted from his fingertips, falling like raindrops onto the acupoints of the many students.

Although the earthly vein spiritual liquid was being used up more and more, he couldn't care less at this moment. Although the spiritual energy of high-grade spirit stones was purer, it wasn't as easy to absorb, and the effect was far inferior.

Sizzle!

As the spiritual liquid scattered, the students immersed in their epiphanies were greatly invigorated, their understanding of martial skills deepening, and their blocked meridians instantly opened.

The spiritual liquid not only contained abundant spiritual energy but also a small amount of Heavenly Dao true qi, which, entering the body with the liquid, automatically broke through the previous blockages.

"Hmm?"

Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief and was about to continue his lecture when he suddenly frowned and couldn't help looking ahead.

Under the azure sky, a huge flying sacred beast cut through the air, arriving above the academy.

"It's the War Master Hall people, only half an hour..."

He had thought he could lecture for an hour, but they had arrived in just half an hour.

"Alright, today's lesson ends here!"

Stopping the lecture, seeing everyone come out of their cultivation state, Zhang Xuan reached out and removed the barrier.

The War Master Hall people had arrived, so the lecture naturally couldn't continue.

The War Master selection... had officially begun!