Chapter 1124: Too Long

At the entrance of the library, a crowd of battle masters had gathered, including Shi Hao and Xiao Bo from earlier.

"What are you doing?"

Seeing these people surround him, their eyes reddened, whether from excitement or anger, Wei Dianzhu frowned slightly, somewhat displeased: "Master Sun is not a member of the Battle Master Hall, so he doesn't have to follow the rule that only those who pass the assessment can enter the library."

"Hall Master, it's not about that!"

Seeing his misunderstanding, Shi Hao quickly spoke: "There's something we hope you can go see for yourself..."

What happened in the passage was too astonishing; if he said it, the other probably wouldn't believe him, so it was better to let him see it with his own eyes to understand.

"What happened?"

Seeing his grave expression, Wei Dianzhu asked.

"Hall Master, this way please. You'll know when you see it!" Xiao Bo stepped forward and said.

"Hmm!" Knowing that the other was unwilling to speak, perhaps involving secrets of the Inner Breath Hall, Wei Dianzhu hesitated for a moment, then turned to Zhang Xuan: "Master Sun, please wait for me here."

"Alright!" Zhang Xuan nodded.

It was clear the other had matters to attend to; following along wouldn't be appropriate, so it was better to stay here.

Wei Dianzhu looked apologetic, then followed Xiao Bo forward.

Seeing him leave, Zhang Xuan shook his head and was about to rest and review the many books he had just collected, when Shi Hao, who had spoken earlier, stepped forward to him.

"I am Shi Hao. I would like to spar with Master Sun, if I may?"

The other had shattered the inner breath channel with a single palm strike, his true qi density far surpassing his own. Such a genius, he wanted to test.

At the same time, he wanted to see if the other truly relied on his own strength to achieve such a high score.

"Spar?"

"Yes!"

Shi Hao clasped his fists: "I hope Master Sun will grant this."

"Alright!" Seeing the other's earnest attitude, truly wanting to compete, Zhang Xuan nodded.

Since coming here, aside from Feng Xun, he hadn't fought any battle masters, so this was a good chance to see their strength.

"Forgive my impertinence!"

Taking a deep breath, Shi Hao's chest immediately puffed up, his entire aura soaring upward like an unsheathed dagger, emitting a startling cold light.

Whoosh!

His body leaped, striding straight forward. His steps were heavy and powerful, giving a sense of an unstoppable wave charging before he even arrived.

Overwhelming force overcomes a hundred techniques.

His inner breath was dense, his true qi abundant; in battle, he never used skill, always straightforward crushing.

This time was no different. He directly mobilized his full strength, his true qi surging like the sea. An ordinary cultivator would immediately feel trapped in a quagmire, unable to escape no matter what.

Qinghai Art: Draining the Seas, unavoidable, unflashable!

"Not bad!"

Feeling the other's power, Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up.

If he hadn't cultivated the Fengsheng Jie, his true qi density might only be on par with the other, or at best slightly stronger.

With an ordinary technique, he could match the true qi quantity of a Heaven's Path technique. This person was indeed formidable, no wonder he broke the record and was called number one.

"Make your move!"

As he was marveling, he heard Shi Hao shout, his five fingers spread, and he struck fiercely.

It wasn't a highly advanced martial skill, just the simplest Great Hand Seal.

Though the technique was simple, combined with his dense true qi, its power was different, as if about to shatter the entire space. The air, under the impact of the狂暴 force, emitted thunderous roars as it charged.

In an instant, the mighty true qi formed a huge wave, seeming to tear apart everything in its path.

Zhang Xuan didn't dodge. He smiled lightly and pointed a finger.

Whoosh!

The ferocious wave stopped at his fingertip, unable to advance half a step, like a giant snake caught by its seven inches, struggling in vain.

"Get out of the way..."

Seeing the other block his strongest attack with a single finger, Shi Hao's face flushed red. He roared, channeling his full power to the limit, his meridians tearing with pain.

Seeing the veins bulging on his head, Zhang Xuan shook his head, bent his finger, and flicked lightly.

Bang!

The wave dissipated, the狂暴 true qi scattered in all directions. Staggering back, Shi Hao retreated seven or eight steps, his face flushed.

"Thank you, Master Sun, for going easy on me..."

After taking a couple of breaths and feeling no injury on his body, Shi Hao's face reddened as he stepped forward and quickly clasped his fists.

His attack just now was so powerful that anyone else would have been unable to withstand it. The other not only blocked it with one finger but also minimized the backlash, leaving him unharmed. The density of his power and the precision of his control were terrifying.

"Your strength is not bad." Zhang Xuan nodded.

The other was indeed good. In terms of true qi density alone, though not as good as Zheng Yang and the others, the gap wasn't too large.

If someone like Xuanxuan Hui were to exchange blows with him, the latter would certainly lose.

It seemed that when he returned, he would have to instruct them not to compete in true qi quantity, or they would surely lose.

"Yes!" Shi Hao smiled bitterly.

He was known as the number one in true qi at the Saint Realm First Layer in the Battle Master Hall, yet in the other's mouth, it was just... not bad!

Still, the other indeed had the right to say that.

"Now, I finally believe that Master Sun passed the assessment by strength... But, there's one more thing I'm unclear about, and I'd like to ask." Hesitating, Shi Hao said.

"Please speak."

"Shattering ten stone tablets with one palm... I want to know, how much of your true qi did you consume?" Shi Hao couldn't help asking.

He had consumed all his true qi to shatter less than four tablets. The other had split all ten with one palm, clearly not using full strength. But he wanted to know exactly how much of his total power was consumed, to make a judgment and better cultivate to catch up.

The surrounding battle masters also looked over.

To be honest, they were also curious.

When Shi Hao passed the assessment, his face was pale, and he looked like he might collapse at any moment. He had to swallow several pills and rest for a long time before he could use his ultimate move...

This person, coming out of the passage with a ruddy complexion, looked like he had enjoyed a fine meal rather than taken an assessment. Then he nonchalantly read books... If, as they had guessed earlier, he hadn't passed, that would be one thing. But he passed with a perfect score... and in this state, just how dense was his true qi?

"How much true qi did I consume?"

Not expecting the question, Zhang Xuan was taken aback. He scratched his head and thought carefully, then said: "I didn't really notice, but it's no big deal. I've fully recovered while reading just now, so don't worry."

"Recovered? Don't worry?"

Shi Hao choked on his saliva and nearly fainted.

Who's worried about you... I meant to know your exact strength... Recovered while reading...

Could it be that the true qi consumed passing the inner breath channel was trivial and insignificant to you?

His face pale, Shi Hao felt a sharp pain in his heart.

Twenty years without breaking through, just to set a record that no one could break in three hundred years... The record was made, but in less than two minutes, it was overturned...

And most importantly, the other didn't even think much of it...

Earlier, he thought he could work hard for another twenty years to surpass the other. Now it seemed, not even two hundred years would be enough!

They weren't even on the same level.

In an instant, Shi Hao was crushed, feeling deflated.

For twenty years, to break the record, he had endured untold hardships, suffered countless torments, and suppressed the urge to break through many times... And the record he created was trivial in the other's eyes...

The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to vomit blood.

"Then... may I ask, Master Sun, how long have you been at the peak of the Saint Realm First Layer to accumulate such density?"

Gritting his teeth, he asked again.

Though the other looked about twenty, some families had special secrets to make one appear younger. For instance, he himself was over two hundred years old, but looked about thirty.

If the other had stayed at the peak of the Saint Realm First Layer for over twenty years, then he himself wasn't too weak, and could at least regain some confidence.

"I have indeed been at this realm for quite a long time."

Hearing the question, Zhang Xuan sighed emotionally.

He had reached the peak of the Saint Realm First Layer but hadn't found a Heaven's Path technique for the Second Layer. He had been stuck for quite a while, which he found somewhat shameful and hard to mention.

"Long?"

Shi Hao finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Staying long, cultivating for a long time, that's why he had such strength. It seemed his talent wasn't that much greater...

"Yes, I haven't found a suitable technique. I went to the library earlier to see if I could gain some insights to break through my current bottleneck."

Zhang Xuan sighed, full of embarrassment: "After all, I've been stuck at this realm for over a month now. If I don't break through soon, I'll be worse than my students..."

"..." Shi Hao clutched his chest.

"..." The many battle masters.

It seems not too far from the top 15. If I break into the top 15, I'll add an extra chapter tomorrow.