Chapter 1243: The Great Master Zhang!

Both were seven-star masters, yet how could the difference be so vast?

His brush, guided by the Heavenly Sound, lay limp like a dead cat, barely moving; the other's, swift as a hunting leopard, wrote with increasing joy, unable to stop...

Could this truly be the state of 'every word a pearl' achievable only by nine-star masters?

Legend has it... that for a nine-star master, every sentence, even every word, holds profound meaning, as precious as pearls. Not to mention attending a lecture, even hearing a few words would bring immense benefit.

The one before him, though not lacking in talent, was merely a seven-star master. How could he possibly reach such a realm?

Most crucially... after lecturing for a while... the Heavenly Sound Brush had actually broken through!

"Let's see what exactly he lectured..."

Incredulous, unable to hold back any longer, he hurriedly looked toward the characters in the air.

The moment he looked, he trembled uncontrollably.

Though his spiritual sense did not sweep over them, preventing him from grasping the deepest mysteries, as a quasi-eight-star master, he could still discern the meaning these characters represented.

They pointed directly to the essence of cultivation, drawing one in involuntarily upon seeing them, impossible to extricate oneself.

"I must not look... otherwise, I'll become his student..."

Biting his tongue, he quickly shut his eyes.

Once he followed the other's cultivation method, it would be equivalent to accepting his favor, establishing a half-teacher bond...

He had come to challenge... not to become a disciple!

"But... this technique is too profound. If I could study it carefully, it might allow me to break through directly to the Domain Realm..."

Clenching his teeth, two little figures fought within his heart.

He knew that if he looked, his identity as a student would be unavoidable, yet not looking filled him with reluctance.

The technique was too excellent, its allure too great for him, just like the brush earlier—he simply couldn't hold himself back.

"This is probably... one thousand, two thousand, three thousand... forget it, anyway it should be more than nine characters, no need to keep writing!"

In truth, not only the crowd was astonished; Zhang Xuan himself stood dumbfounded, only reacting after a long while. He counted, felt he should be able to win, then looked at Yao Mantian: "Master Yao, I should... be considered the victor, right?"

Yao Mantian's eyebrows twitched.

Song Xuan had vomited blood and fainted, barely managing nine characters; you, in the blink of an eye, had written over three thousand... oh, another two thousand, that's over five thousand characters...

If this wasn't victory, what was?

"Of course you win..."

She quickly nodded.

"Hmm."

Relieved, Zhang Xuan looked up and saw the brush still writing, already over eight thousand characters.

"Didn't I say enough? Didn't you hear?"

Frowning, he was displeased.

What nonsense!

I told you to stop, just obediently stop, but you keep writing and writing, showing off your skill?

"Master Zhang... the Heavenly Sound Brush, under the control of 'every word a pearl,' will write exactly as many characters as you say. It cannot control itself and cannot stop..."

Seeing his anger, Yao Mantian explained with a wry smile.

It wasn't that the thing in the air didn't want to stop, but... it couldn't!

'Every word a pearl' was too formidable; even among nine-star masters, not everyone could achieve it.

"Is that so... fine!"

Scratching his head, Zhang Xuan waited a while longer. Seeing the brush in the sky finally stop, like a tired-out pug, its tip splayed, utterly devoid of life.

"You've finally stopped..."

He shook his head.

But no sooner had he spoken than the brush struggled to fly up again, writing a passage—exactly the words he had just said.

"You... are you going to keep this up?"

Zhang Xuan's face darkened.

The brush continued: Are you going to keep this up...

"..."

Zhang Xuan was exasperated: "Master Yao... look!"

The brush: Master Yao, look.

"This... perhaps because Master Zhang spoke too much just now, even though he's no longer using 'Heavenly Bestowed Teaching,' it has formed an inertia, automatically recording..."

Her mouth twitching, Yao Mantian said.

This was her first time seeing such a situation; she could only speculate, not be certain.

"Then you'd better take back the Heavenly Sound Brush... otherwise, I'm afraid it will fill the entire Qingyuan City with writing..."

Looking at the countless characters in the sky, exceeding ten thousand, Zhang Xuan said.

Now it had covered about half the square; if it continued, he feared the entire sky over Qingyuan City would be blocked by characters.

"Alright!"

Seeing that the words Master Zhang had just spoken were being written out again, Yao Mantian was helpless. Just as she was about to put it into her storage ring, the Heavenly Sound Brush before her suddenly trembled, convulsed, fell from the air, and lay flat on the ground.

"This is..."

Hurrying over to look, Yao Mantian's face darkened: "It... it has fainted from exhaustion!"

Although the Heavenly Sound Brush was not a holy artifact or a spirit artifact, its ability to recognize 'Heavenly Bestowed Teaching' indicated it possessed some intelligence. Having suddenly written so many characters, it had exhausted all its power and could no longer bear it.

"Fainted from exhaustion?"

"That's a thing?"

Hearing her words, the audience below erupted in uproar; all the masters looked as if they had seen a ghost.

Others, using 'Heavenly Sound Writing,' could barely write a few characters before fainting from the strain... This Master Zhang, however, had caused the Heavenly Sound Brush to faint from exhaustion...

While he himself was perfectly fine...

Could the difference be any greater?

"Pfft!"

Unable to suppress his injuries any longer, Song Xuan spat out a mouthful of blood, his face a picture of utter despair.

After vomiting blood and sacrificing his mental state, he had finally achieved his personal best record, only for the other to casually speak... and surpass him by over a thousand times!

More importantly... he had made the Heavenly Sound Brush faint from exhaustion!

Was he even human?

Even a nine-star master wouldn't be this exaggerated.

"Master Zhang, what should we do with these characters?"

Putting the fainted brush into her storage ring, Yao Mantian looked at him.

The entire sky was filled with characters; how to handle them was up to him.

"This..." Looking up, Zhang Xuan also found it a headache.

So many characters, blocking out the sunlight—if left there, they would indeed be an eyesore.

"Being able to produce 'Heavenly Sound Smoke' and write without stopping... this technique must conform to the Dao, astounding the world. I am willing to pay with two mid-grade holy artifacts to purchase it. What does Master Zhang think?"

Seeing his distress, Yao Mantian stepped forward and cupped her hands.

Others might not understand the preciousness of these characters in the sky, but she knew very well—they were absolutely priceless, worth a fortune.

"Purchase?" Zhang Xuan was startled.

This thing could be sold?

"Yes!"

Yao Mantian nodded: "As long as these characters are collected into a book using a special method, they can be used for study."

These appeared to be characters, but they were actually 'Heavenly Bestowed Teaching.' Whoever obtained them and studied them with their spiritual sense would benefit greatly.

Even she, as an eight-star master, would gain much from studying them.

Thus, not to mention two mid-grade holy artifacts, even more would not be too much.

"Two mid-grade holy artifacts to buy these?"

"This is truly 'each word worth a thousand gold,' isn't it?"

Overhearing their conversation, all the masters below were dumbfounded.

Mid-grade holy artifacts were extremely precious; in the entire Qingyuan Empire, they could be counted on one hand, with very few in existence.

Converted to high-grade spirit stones, they were worth tens of thousands!

So precious, yet Master Yao casually took them out to exchange for these characters... such a bold move was hard to believe.

"Two mid-grade holy artifacts?"

Hesitating for a moment, Zhang Xuan shook his head.

In battle, he always relied on his strength and wisdom; he didn't have much need for weapons. Besides, with the Gold Origin Cauldron, any more mid-grade holy artifacts would be a waste.

"Master Zhang, if you think the price isn't good enough, we can negotiate!" Seeing him shake his head, Yao Mantian continued: "Three... we can also discuss!"

"It's not about the mid-grade holy artifacts!"

Waving his hand, Zhang Xuan looked around and spoke in a clear voice: "Chu Tianxing's crimes were heinous, deserving of death, but the ordinary people of Qingyuan City are innocent; they nearly suffered undeserved disaster! The Master Teacher Hall guards this region, yet allowed the Heterodox tribesmen to infiltrate quietly. In the end, this is the fault of us masters. Therefore, as compensation, I have decided to donate this 'Heavenly Sound Writing' for free. Let everyone know that our Master Teacher Hall will correct any mistakes and punish any faults!"

"This..."

"Giving such precious characters to us?"

"Something worth three mid-grade holy artifacts, given away just like that?"

Hearing his decision, all the citizens of Qingyuan City clenched their fists, their eyes reddening.

Treating money like dirt, dismissing mid-grade holy artifacts, giving them away freely... this was a true master!

"Masters guard the region. After the incidents with Vice Hall Master Tian and Chu Tianxing, I had begun to doubt the capabilities of the Master Teacher Hall. But now it seems the Master Teacher Hall is still the Master Teacher Hall, and masters are still masters!"

"Indeed, without them, we wouldn't have the stable life we have now..."

...

Previously, the people of Qingyuan City, knowing that the Vice Hall Master and the emperor of a nation had betrayed humanity, though they said nothing, harbored some resentment in their hearts.

After all, with such a major problem going unnoticed by the Master Teacher Hall, its credibility had plummeted to freezing point.

But now, Zhang Xuan's righteousness restored their confidence.

"Master Zhang is noble-minded; I was too narrow-minded..."

Hearing this, seeing the crowd's excitement and their discussions, Yao Mantian cupped her hands and looked at him again, full of admiration.

She had been thinking about how to eliminate the hidden dangers and influence caused by this incident, how to re-establish the authority of the Master Teacher Hall... Now it seemed she didn't need to do anything; as long as Master Zhang was here, no one in Qingyuan City would be shaken by Chu Tianxing's affair.

This Master Zhang, in just one short hour, had established supreme authority.

Resolving a disaster effortlessly, turning it into nothing... Truly a peerless genius who had successfully challenged the hall; even she, compared to him, fell far short.

"Alright, I now announce the result. In the master challenge, using 'Heavenly Sound Writing,' Master Zhang wins."

Shaking her head, putting aside these thoughts, Yao Mantian's voice rang out, spreading across the entire imperial capital.

"Great!"

"Great!"

"Master Zhang's victory is wonderful!"

Everyone cheered.

"You..."

Not expecting that in such a short time, this Zhang Xuan had gained such popularity and adoration, Song Xuan's face turned pale.

"Master Zhang, since you have won... how should we deal with Song Xuan?"

After announcing the result, Yao Mantian looked at him again.