Chapter 1241: Heavenly Sound of the Teacher's Script

"Indeed!" Song Xuan's eyes turned cold as he clenched his teeth.

"Heavenly Sound of the Teacher's Script?" Zhang Xuan paused, then nodded.

Having read all the books in the Qingyuan Empire's Master Teacher Academy, he was already well acquainted with this type of competition.

The normal method of Teacher's Word Heavenly Grant involved finding a certain number of cultivators, giving them lectures within a limited time, and assessing affinity—the higher the affinity, the better the result.

The Heavenly Sound of the Teacher's Script operated on a similar principle, but it utilized a tool called the Heavenly Sound Brush!

The Heavenly Sound Brush was neither a sacred artifact nor a spiritual artifact, but a special treasure infused with the will of a master teacher. It could recognize the language of a master teacher, and once it aligned with the profound principles of the Dao and introduced new ideas, it would automatically record all the mysteries being expounded.

Other cultivators could observe the words it recorded and achieve the same effect as personally listening to the Teacher's Word Heavenly Grant, thereby accelerating their cultivation.

Of course, after one viewing, the words would completely disappear.

There were two reasons why this was the most difficult competition within the Teacher's Word Heavenly Grant.

First, the Heavenly Sound Brush was infused with the will of a master teacher, making it accustomed to ordinary Teacher's Word Heavenly Grants. To make it move, the knowledge imparted had to be original and distinctive.

Second, it consumed a tremendous amount of mental state, far more than lecturing to master teachers. Under normal circumstances, having it write a single character could deplete one mental state scale of a master teacher.

Thus, these two points alone had stumped countless master teachers. Many peak七星 master teachers could not even make the brush move after a lecture, and even quasi-八星 master teachers found ten characters to be their limit. Almost no one could break through.

"The Heavenly Sound of the Teacher's Script causes significant damage to the mental state each time it is performed. Are you sure you want to compete in this?"

Hearing that the competition was this, Yao Mantian's expression turned unpleasant. Having the Heavenly Sound Brush write automatically consumed a great deal of mental state. If one was not careful, it could cause the mental state to collapse, destroying years of cultivation. Therefore, this competition was not only difficult but also dangerous.

"Yes!" Song Xuan's gaze was resolute.

"This..." Yao Mantian paused and looked at Zhang Xuan. "Master Zhang, what is your opinion? If you find it too difficult, you can refuse!"

After speaking, he secretly transmitted a message.

"Song Xuan has specifically studied the Heavenly Sound of the Teacher's Script and once achieved a good result of 'eight characters.' You have never used the Heavenly Sound Brush before. If it's too much, just refuse and choose another method of competition!"

Making the Heavenly Sound Brush move without prior experience or knowledge of the rules was almost impossible for anyone to succeed.

Song Xuan dared to challenge because the Qianchong Empire had a Heavenly Sound Brush, and he had achieved a good result of 'eight characters.'

Ten characters was the limit for a quasi-八星 master teacher. Achieving eight characters was already top-notch even in the Qianchong Empire.

In other words, this challenge was highly favorable to him, but extremely difficult for Master Zhang.

"No need, let's go with this!"

Knowing the other's goodwill, Zhang Xuan nodded in thanks and smiled slightly.

The Heavenly Sound of the Teacher's Script—though he had never encountered it before, it shouldn't be too difficult.

"Very well!"

Seeing him agree with a nonchalant expression, Yao Mantian shook his head. With a flick of his wrist, a golden brush appeared before everyone, hovering quietly in the air.

The brush was over a foot long, with no ink on its surface. When swept with divine sense, it exuded a unique aura of a master teacher, creating a faint sense of pressure.

"This is the Heavenly Sound Brush. Who will go first?"

With a point of his finger, the brush hovered quietly between the two, motionless.

"Since the competition was proposed by Master Song, let him begin!"

Zhang Xuan said with a gesture of humility.

He had read about the method of the Heavenly Sound of the Teacher's Script competition but had never tried it himself. He was not entirely clear on the specific rules. Letting the other go first would allow him to observe and make a preliminary judgment.

"Alright!"

Without refusing, Song Xuan stepped forward, raised his eyebrows, and began to move his lips.

No sound came out; instead, he used true qi to transmit his voice.

"Using voice transmission in Teacher's Word Heavenly Grant allows for greater focus, avoids waste, and makes it easier to move the Heavenly Sound Brush..."

Afraid Zhang Xuan wouldn't understand, Yao Mantian secretly transmitted a message.

Zhang Xuan nodded.

Lecturing to one person and lecturing to a group were two different concepts.

Like tutoring, one-on-one instruction yields better results, while one-to-many cannot cater to everyone, resulting in poorer outcomes.

Voice transmission is targeted, avoiding dispersion of power and increasing effectiveness.

With his lips moving, Song Xuan kept speaking, and soon sweat appeared on his forehead.

However, the brush before him remained motionless, as if nailed in the air.

Zhang Xuan extended his divine sense and felt that as Master Song lectured, his mental state scale was dropping rapidly.

Whoosh!

After an unknown amount of time, the brush, which had been steady and unmoving, suddenly trembled. With a gentle turn, a large character appeared in the air.

Writing in the Void!

It was neither a familiar script nor that of the alien or beast tribes, but a never-before-seen font. Although unrecognizable, a single glance seemed to convey its meaning, causing the true qi within one's body to pulse and cultivate according to the method.

"Sweeping it with divine sense allows learning, but once scanned, the characters disappear..."

Yao Mantian transmitted again.

The Heavenly Sound of the Teacher's Script is a form of Teacher's Word Heavenly Grant that allows one to automatically circulate true qi. As long as divine sense contacts it, one can uncontrollably cultivate. However, it is single-use—no matter how miraculous the technique, it can only be viewed once by one person.

In essence, this thing is a stored Teacher's Word Heavenly Grant, portable and even giftable.

Because of this, it is extremely precious, essentially priceless and unavailable for purchase.

After the first character appeared, Song Xuan's cold sweat increased, followed by the second, third, fourth...

As the number of characters grew, his face grew paler, as if his mental state was being overdrawn.

A quasi-八星 master teacher's mental state is above 23. Such a scale cannot be depleted all at once; doing so would cause mental collapse, spawning countless inner demons that are hard to control.

Under normal circumstances, dropping below 15 becomes dangerous.

Activating his Eye of Insight, Zhang Xuan observed closely. As the characters increased, Song Xuan's body shook more violently, and even his primordial spirit seemed on the verge of collapse.

Fortunately, he had passed the fourth lightning tribulation and had a strong soul; otherwise, he would have long been unable to hold on.

"Six, seven, eight... eight characters already, matching his previous record..."

After ten minutes, eight characters hung in the air, shimmering with a special radiance.

"Eight characters" was Song Xuan's best result. Reaching this point was his limit; his whole body swayed, on the verge of falling, and his face was as pale as paper, devoid of any color.

"If he continues, it might... cause great harm to his body."

Seeing that he still showed no sign of stopping and continued transmitting to the brush, Zhang Xuan frowned.

Whether in Teacher's Word Heavenly Grant or cultivation, one must act within one's limits. Exceeding the body's limits causes irreversible damage.

As a peak七星 physician, he knew the body well. Persisting like this might allow him to surpass his limits and achieve what he couldn't before.

But the damage to his body would be permanent, especially to his mental state, potentially preventing any further progress.

For a master teacher, stagnation in mental state means being forever stuck at the quasi-八star level, unable to reach higher realms.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Despite his worsening complexion, Song Xuan still did not stop. Suddenly, he spat out a mouthful of blood, and his whole person seemed to age a bit.

Clatter!

The brush shook in the air and wrote the final character.

Bang!

After doing this, Song Xuan seemed to have exhausted all his strength. He fell straight to the ground, his vision going dark as he fainted.

"Ah, why go through all this?"

Seeing the other overdraw all his power just to win, unable to bear the mental strain and falling into a coma, Zhang Xuan shook his head with a bitter smile.

Paying such a heavy price just for a grudge... this guy was really persistent.

Stepping forward, he pinched a couple of acupoints on the other's body and quietly sent a stream of true qi. Song Xuan slowly opened his eyes.

"You..."

Clenching his teeth, Song Xuan struggled to stand up, his face ashen. "Don't pretend to be kind; I won't be grateful..."

"I don't need your gratitude!"

Zhang Xuan shook his head.

Saving him was merely the duty of a master teacher's moral code. Whether he acknowledged it or not meant nothing to him.

After regaining consciousness, Song Xuan took a pill, his complexion recovering slightly. He then looked at Yao Mantian nearby. "Master Yao, I have completed the Heavenly Sound of the Teacher's Script. I ask you to witness!"

"You have written nine characters in total. Although you haven't broken the quasi-八star master teacher's record of ten, it is still rare in a century!"

Yao Mantian nodded.

The achievement of nine characters was not significant among 八star master teachers, but among quasi-八star master teachers, it was absolutely top-notch. Even the hall master of the Qianchong Empire might not match it.

"Thank you, Master Yao, for witnessing!"

Seeing his achievement acknowledged, Song Xuan narrowed his eyes and looked at Zhang Xuan. "Please begin, Master Zhang!"

"Alright!"

Zhang Xuan nodded.

Having observed the other's performance of the Heavenly Sound of the Teacher's Script, he had grasped the assessment method of this Teacher's Word Heavenly Grant.

Soon, he approached the hovering Heavenly Sound Brush, hands behind his back. He also transmitted his voice, his lips moving, but no one knew what he was saying.

The brush, which had been swaying in the air, stiffened in place as his transmission began, as if nailed there.

"It's been nearly half an hour, and there's still no movement?"

"Yes, could it be that none of Master Zhang's words have been recognized?"

"If so, that would be terrible..."

After waiting for nearly half an hour, the brush in the air showed no sign of movement. Everyone looked at each other in confusion.

By this time, Master Song had already written seven or eight characters.

Why was there no movement from Master Zhang?

Could it be... he had failed?