Chapter 942: All Passed

After who knows how long, Zhang Qingshan finally returned, disheveled and battered, his face bruised and his arms swollen, nowhere near the high-spirited top student he had been before!

He had seen Chu Jian's strength yesterday; his combat skills were not weak, but his true qi power and physical body were far behind. Under normal circumstances, even using only half his strength in a fistfight, he could easily crush him.

But the result... he had used all his strength and still been sent flying with a single punch... and the key was that the other side hadn't even used his full strength...

The more he thought about it, the more disheartened he became. Then he looked up at the young Dean Zhang, not far away, and a deep admiration welled up in him.

Such a transformation must be related to last night's lecture; one night was like becoming a different person... How powerful must that course be?

He wasn't the only one thinking this; the others realized it too, and they looked at the students of Hongyuan Academy with envy.

Previously, they prided themselves on entering the three great academies—Yunxu, Luoqing, and Qingzhu—thinking they were far superior to Hongyuan Academy. But now... they all felt that the students of the latter were the luckiest.

With such a formidable dean and the chance to hear him lecture in person, their future achievements would surely be limitless.

"Fortunately, the three academies are extremely far apart... otherwise, I'm afraid it wouldn't be long before all the students flocked to his school..."

Seeing the expressions on everyone's faces, Wu Tianqiong smiled bitterly.

"Indeed, I used to think that the rise and fall of an academy depended not on one person, but on the overall strength of the students and the tireless efforts of many teachers... After seeing him, I realize that the efforts of many teachers amount to nothing; he alone is enough..."

Shen Pingchao also looked helpless.

"Back then, humanity was ruled by the Heterogeneous Spirit race, living a life worse than death. Master Kong, with one man and one book, established the current human order... We thought that strength in numbers and more teachers meant better teaching... But he alone accomplished what needed to be done. This must be the difference between genius and mediocrity!"

Wu Ran nodded as well.

Regardless of whether his lectures were terrifyingly effective in rapidly improving strength, the fact remained that Chu Jian and the other students had undergone a transformation after attending his class. Countless people had witnessed it, and they all admired Dean Zhang immensely.

The result was that if he gave the order, the students of their own academies would likely drop out en masse and enroll in his school...

The three great academies, once so full of superiority, had come to this—just thinking about it was disheartening.

"The people from the War Master Hall are here..."

Just as the three deans were lamenting, they heard a hushed voice from the crowd. Turning to look, they saw Zhuo Qingfeng and the others approaching.

After a night of rest and treatment, though the injuries from Zheng Yang's beating had healed completely, the war masters' demeanor was entirely different from when they had first arrived yesterday.

Yesterday, they had arrived with heads held high, eyes straight ahead, exuding arrogance, feeling that no hero in the world could match them.

Today, they all hung their heads, looking ashamed and unwilling to face anyone.

No wonder. The War Master Hall was reputed to be the strongest combat force on the continent, and those who entered were almost all geniuses among geniuses, the strongest among masters...

They had thought coming here would be just a formality, a chance to show off their combat prowess, intimidate the students, and attract the admiration of the younger female students...

But instead of intimidating anyone, they had been repeatedly trounced, each vomiting several pounds of blood, enough to circle the academy...

Previously, when the War Master Hall sent people to academies, they were always in show-off mode, but they had come straight into beat-down mode, and without any ability to resist... Just thinking about it was disheartening.

Sometimes they wondered if they had come to the wrong place—they were from the Master Academy, while the other side were the real war masters...

"Don't be discouraged. True combat strength comes from years of training and accumulation! Although the students of Hongyuan Academy are strong in combat techniques, they cannot defeat a truly powerful expert! One force breaks ten thousand techniques; as long as your strength is sufficient, all techniques are in vain."

Taking his seat, seeing the low spirits, Zhuo Qingfeng comforted them: "If you can't defeat them, it only means you haven't trained hard enough, and your strength is insufficient. You need to train even harder when you return!"

"Yes!"

Hearing his comfort, they finally snapped out of it and recovered from their inner gloom.

Indeed, one force breaks ten thousand techniques; as long as your strength is sufficient, any technique is useless!

After comforting them for a while and seeing their mood improve, Zhuo Qingfeng breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Zhang Xuan not far away: "Dean Zhang, let's start the assessment now!"

With that, he took out the True Breath Stone and placed it on the platform.

"Alright!" Zhang Xuan nodded and asked again: "You said yesterday that as long as my students achieve a 'two,' they pass... is that correct?"

"Yes!" Zhuo Qingfeng nodded.

Although a normal war master assessment required reaching 'four' to have a chance, the students of Hongyuan Academy had such a strong understanding of combat that even with a 'two,' they could display formidable combat strength, meeting the criteria for exceptional admission.

"Then go ahead, all of you!"

Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief and waved his hand at the crowd.

The students nodded, formed a long line, and walked toward the True Breath Stone not far away.

The first in line was Chu Jian. He had tried it yesterday, and today he was at the front again, wanting to see if there was any change.

Approaching the True Breath Stone, he gently placed his palm on it, and his true qi and physical strength surged out.

Whoosh!

A line of text slowly appeared on it—6.5!

"This... how is this possible?"

"Wasn't it only 2.1 yesterday?"

"After one night of supplementary lessons, his true qi and physical strength have more than tripled... This isn't supplementary lessons; it's like ascending to heaven!"

Seeing this number, everyone below was stunned.

Yesterday, Chu Jian's score was only 2.1, and this morning it had reached 6.5... They wondered if their eyes were playing tricks on them.

The war masters nearly staggered and almost cried, all looking at Zhuo Qingfeng in unison.

Didn't you say one force breaks ten thousand techniques?

Didn't you say training requires years of accumulation?

In half an hour, their understanding of martial arts and combat surpassed what they had immersed themselves in for years; in one night, their true qi and physical strength surpassed what they had trained hard for every day...

Insufficient effort... In front of Dean Zhang, what is effort?

It's not even worth half a class...

"It must be just an isolated case. I don't believe everyone can become so powerful..."

Seeing everyone's expressions, feeling depressed, he comforted himself and looked up to continue watching.

After Chu Jian finished testing, another student stepped forward, placed his palm on the stone, and a number appeared.

6.1!

The next one continued.

6.3!

7.2!

5.9!

6.7...

...

Soon, everyone was shocked into numbness, unable to understand.

They had thought Chu Jian was an exception, but now they realized... this group from the Master Academy had all improved as a whole.

Previously, just in terms of combat techniques and martial arts understanding, the war masters were no match for them. Now, with their physical strength and true qi surpassing theirs, if they fought again... they would definitely be beaten.

The war masters' newly regained confidence was shattered again.

"When you're around our dean, you have to accept being crushed. Get used to it, get used to it..." Elder Mi couldn't help but comfort.

"Yes, once you get used to it, you'll find that anything the dean does is only natural." Zhao Bingxu also nodded.

"..." Zhuo Qingfeng.

"..." The war masters.

"..." The three deans.

Get used to it...

What kind of psychological pressure had the elders and teachers of the Master Academy endured, and what kind of life were they living!

...

After an unknown amount of time adjusting, Zhuo Qingfeng finally exhaled his depression, looked around, and announced loudly: "After the assessment, all one hundred candidates from Hongyuan Academy have passed and officially become members of the War Master Hall!"

"Great!"

"We all passed!"

"Passing one hundred at once is definitely a historic first..."

Hearing that all had passed, the crowd erupted in excitement, and the students of Hongyuan Academy were flushed with emotion.

Their academy had always been at the bottom in war master selections. In nearly ten thousand years of history, only 327 had successfully passed, which was embarrassing to mention. But now, in one assessment, they had a hundred—more than three times the other three academies combined. It was something they wouldn't have dared to imagine before!

"Dean, we also want to become war masters. Could you give us special training?"

"Yes, the top twenty had this opportunity. We also want to learn, to become stronger, and maybe take the war master exam for fun!"

"Please give us a lecture, Dean..."

"Isn't it just becoming a war master? If the dean gives us a lecture, I think everyone in our academy could pass..."

...

Before Zhuo Qingfeng could say more after his announcement, a roar rose from the audience, and countless students looked at Zhang Xuan with excitement.

They knew the strength of their top twenty classmates well. Under normal circumstances, it was impossible for them to pass the war master assessment and become war masters. But after two lectures from the dean, they all succeeded...

If the top twenty got such treatment, if they also attended the lectures, wouldn't they have a chance to succeed too?

One voice rose, and the students could no longer contain themselves.

Although being a war master was just a classification of masters, having strong combat strength was something countless cultivators yearned for.

Even if they didn't join the War Master Hall, as a tool for killing, improving combat strength and gaining an extra profession was something no one could refuse.

"This..."

Unexpectedly, everyone would think this way, Zhang Xuan was taken aback, then shook his head with a wry smile.

"My lectures can indeed improve your combat strength, but not everyone will make such great progress... If you really want to listen, there's no harm in having a class! But... whether you can pass the war master assessment and become one depends on War Master Zhuo. If he doesn't agree, no matter how strong you are, it's useless!"