Chapter 1757: The Main Hall Appears

"It's not that he fell short at the last step. Haven't you noticed? Yuan Tao deliberately suppressed his cultivation and temporarily refrained from breaking through?"

Looking up at the youth suspended in the air, Luo Ruoxi said.

"Temporarily refraining from breaking through?"

Zhang Xuan was slightly puzzled.

"Exactly!" Luo Ruoxi nodded. "For an Ancient Sage, if the first attempt to break through fails, the second attempt will be twice as difficult. That's why many people choose to succeed in one go... but succeeding this way often results in the weakest breakthrough!"

"Breaking through to Ancient Sage is essentially resisting the Heavenly Dao, seeking to transcend beyond it. Succeeding in one attempt can achieve this, but the time spent resisting the Heavenly Dao is too short, and you cannot properly grasp your power, making it less harmonious and less natural. If you fail the first time, accumulate for a while, and then attempt again, the difficulty of the heavenly tribulation doubles, but your control over power also increases significantly. If you can then break through... it will greatly benefit your future cultivation."

Luo Ruoxi said.

"This... is it similar to the methods used by the Heavenly Human Sage and Master Kong when they broke through to Great Sage? A kind of tempering?"

Zhang Xuan couldn't help asking.

Breaking through to the Saint Domain involves the Saint Seal and Heaven-acknowledged Saint; breaking through to Great Sage involves the superior method, accumulating more solidly and gaining stronger power. Could it be that this so-called breakthrough to Ancient Sage has something similar?

"You could say that. Breaking through to Ancient Sage is like sifting sand in a great wave. The more times you sift, the finer and denser your true qi becomes. In his time, Master Kong attempted to break through to Ancient Sage three times in a row without succeeding. On the fourth attempt, he succeeded in one fell swoop and became unmatched in the world. That's how he became the teacher of all ages, with achievements overshadowing the world!"

With his hands behind his back, Luo Ruoxi's gaze was profound. "Just now, although Yuan Tao didn't succeed in breaking through, his body actually absorbed the blood of an Ancient Sage, reaching the level of an Ancient Sage's body. That is to say, he now possesses an Ancient Sage's physique! Although he is not yet an Ancient Sage, an ordinary newly broken-through Ancient Sage is no longer his match!"

"This..."

Zhang Xuan was startled.

Yuan Tao's Ancient Sage physique was already astonishing enough, but Master Kong had attempted to break through three times without succeeding...

Cultivators all want to step into this realm, change their life level, and roam the world, but he could resist such temptation... The tempering of his mind alone was extraordinary.

No wonder he could lead humanity to where it is today. This ability truly made Zhang Xuan feel inferior.

"Wait, these secrets shouldn't be known to many. How did Yuan Tao... know to do this?"

After sighing in admiration, he suddenly paused.

This method of breaking through to Ancient Sage was not even known to Master Yang, Sword Saint Xing, and others. It was understandable that Luo Ruoxi knew it due to her special background, but Yuan Tao, who came with him from Tianxuan Kingdom, how could he understand this and resist temptation to hold back?

"He devoured Master Kong's imprint, so his understanding of cultivation even surpasses that of the Seventy-Two Sages. It's normal for him to know this!" Luo Ruoxi explained, then added, "Unfortunately, after refining this imprint, it's easy to be influenced by Master Kong, which is detrimental to your growth. Otherwise, I would definitely let you devour it!"

"Detrimental to growth?"

Zhang Xuan smiled bitterly.

If he could still break through and become so powerful, why care about growth or not?

"You are a Heaven-acknowledged Master Teacher, so you must take a different path from Master Kong. Following someone else's path will at most make you the next Seventy-Two Sage, but you will never surpass him!" Seeing his expression, Luo Ruoxi said.

"Hmm!" Zhang Xuan nodded.

To surpass one's predecessors, one must first deny them.

Blindly following will only make one stagnate.

For example, the Seventy-Two Sages were all exceptionally talented and had unlimited potential, but because they perfectly inherited Master Kong's teachings, they never surpassed him.

But... if they hadn't inherited his teachings, they might not have even reached the Ancient Sage realm and could have lived mediocre lives.

How to choose is but a single thought.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

As he was lost in thought, he suddenly saw the Apricot Altar before him shoot out a beam of light, heading straight into the sky.

Then, five more beams shot upward. The six beams converged, and the deep blue sky seemed unable to bear the power, as a dark crack slowly appeared.

Behind the crack, an even larger hall slowly emerged.

"It's the main hall of the Confucian Temple! The main hall has appeared..."

Ren Qingyuan shouted, his voice full of excitement.

So far, only six branch halls of the Confucian Temple had appeared; the main hall had never shown itself. Now, all six were activated, and the converging power broke the final seal, revealing the main hall...

The Spring and Autumn Ceremony, which legend said could influence the continent's格局, was here!

"Let's go!"

Glancing at the main hall in the sky, then at Yuan Tao and Zhang Xuan not far away, Yan Xue, though full of reluctance, knew there was no way to change things. He called out and shot straight toward the spatial crack.

The many alien clansmen followed closely behind.

"You go ahead first!"

Knowing that the main hall had only appeared and not yet opened, Zhang Xuan was not anxious. Seeing Master Ren and the others eager to move, he smiled, gave instructions, and continued to look at Yuan Tao nearby.

At this moment, his student had fully consolidated his power, and the heavenly tribulation was beginning to recede.

"Teacher!"

Opening his eyes, feeling the power within him, Yuan Tao was filled with excitement. He stepped forward and knelt directly before Zhang Xuan.

His sealed six senses had been broken when the imprint entered his body, and he knew that his current power was entirely due to his teacher's help.

"Hmm!" Zhang Xuan nodded with satisfaction.

It must be said that this opportunity was truly immense. By devouring the imprint left by Master Kong, his cultivation had made a breakthrough. Now, he had not only surpassed Zhao Ya and Wei Ruyan but even Zhang Xuan himself could not catch up for the time being.

"Although you now have an Ancient Sage's body, your breakthrough was too fast, and your mind is somewhat unstable. I will now teach you a technique to strengthen your mind... Combined with this Bodhi Fruit, it will have an unexpected effect!"

With a flick of his wrist, Zhang Xuan produced a Bodhi Fruit and handed it over.

Although he had merged with Master Kong's teaching imprint, his mind still needed to be improved step by step.

"Yes!"

Taking the fruit, Yuan Tao swallowed it, and indeed felt his mind rapidly strengthen.

If it were Zhao Ya and the others, swallowing a Bodhi Fruit might require preparation and state adjustment, but now that he had an Ancient Sage's body, such things were unnecessary.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

After instructing Yuan Tao, Zhang Xuan flicked his wrist again, and Zhao Ya, Wei Ruyan, Luo Qiqi, and the others appeared before him.

"The main hall is opening. Are you willing to come with me to seek opportunities, or continue cultivating?"

The main hall of the Confucian Temple only opens once every tens of thousands of years. It holds great opportunities for anyone, and one must not miss it due to cultivation.

"We want to go and see!"

Zhao Ya nodded.

"Me too!"

The other two also responded, looking at the palace in the sky with fiery eyes.

Seeing that Zhang Xuan had released Luo Qiqi from the folded space, Luo Ruoxi glanced at them but said nothing.