Chapter 704: The Entrance Examination Begins

The content of the book was a mess, incoherent and disjointed. Not to mention the substance, it was impossible even to read, like a celestial script that made one dizzy at a glance.

"It seems... I was overthinking it..."

After flipping through the book, Zhang Xuan shook his head helplessly and tossed it to the ground.

These two books were the most correct techniques screened by the library, and no further filtering was possible. Thus, their contents were completely intermingled, but like oil and water, they remained distinct and chaotic, making it impossible even to cultivate!

It was like abalone, durian, loquat, watermelon, milk, black-boned chicken... each of these is delicious on its own, but when mixed together, you'd want to throw away the pot.

"It seems the library can only extract individual techniques, not merge them..."

Shaking his head, he couldn't help feeling disappointed. After a moment, a resolute gleam appeared in his eyes: "Since the library can't merge them, can I try... to fuse these two movement techniques into one?"

The Library of Heaven's Path could gather the correct content of similar techniques and merge them, like kneading flour particles into dough, but if the essences were different, it couldn't succeed.

The Heaven's Path Movement Art and the Mortal World Soaring Step—one for flying, the other for ground movement—had different essences, so the library couldn't integrate them.

But... just because it couldn't, didn't mean he couldn't!

Both were movement techniques, one in the air, the other on the ground. If handled properly, perhaps they could truly be fused, greatly increasing flight speed.

Thinking of this, Zhang Xuan's eyes grew brighter.

"Try running the Heaven's Path Movement Art in midair..."

Burning with excitement, Zhang Xuan didn't hesitate. Taking a deep breath, he divided his mind in midair and activated the Heaven's Path Movement Art.

Thud!

Before he could complete the activation, the Mortal World Soaring Step that kept him aloft involuntarily stopped. His entire body went rigid, and with a muffled sound, he plunged headfirst into the ground, smashing a hole in it.

"Not right..."

Covered in dust, Zhang Xuan's face darkened.

He thought it would be simple, but it turned out not to be the case at all.

With his current soul strength, dividing his mind was easy, but the true qi of the two techniques passed through the same meridians. The true qi collided, the forces clashed... and then he fell!

It seemed... merging techniques was not as easy as imagined.

Indeed, if it were easy, such techniques would be everywhere, and there wouldn't be so many detailed classifications.

"Try running the Mortal World Soaring Step while using the Heaven's Path Movement Art..."

One failure didn't discourage Zhang Xuan. His gaze sharpened as he changed his approach.

Earlier, he had activated the Heaven's Path Movement Art while using the Mortal World Soaring Step. Now he tried the reverse... perhaps it would succeed.

While he was fusing martial techniques, outside the room, Sun Qiang approached, looking at Zheng Yang who was practicing with his spear, and asked, "Where's the young master?"

"Teacher is in seclusion and cannot be disturbed!" Zheng Yang put away his spear and exhaled a breath that stretched like a white ribbon into the distance.

During this time, not only had he been cultivating techniques, but he hadn't neglected martial skills either. Under Teacher Zhang's constant guidance, his understanding of the spear had deepened, and his spear techniques grew stronger.

In terms of cultivation level, he was far inferior to Wang Ying, but in combat strength, perhaps the gap wasn't too large.

"In seclusion?"

Sun Qiang scratched his head: "Alright, if the young master comes out, tell him I've found a place to stay, and we can move in!"

"Found one?" Zheng Yang put away his long spear, his eyes lighting up.

This place was full of master teachers. Although Master Hong and the others hadn't said anything, they weren't comfortable living here and had long wanted to move out.

"Don't get too excited. It's not easy to find a place near the Master Teacher Academy. I only found a temporary spot—a small courtyard with a few rooms. A mansion... probably impossible to find, and even if there were, it would be astronomically expensive," Sun Qiang said.

The Master Teacher Academy gathered countless young elites from many empires, many of whom came from wealthy families. If Zhang Xuan could bring his students to find a place to live, so could they.

In fact, almost all the rooms nearby had been bought up. Even with money, it was hard to buy, and even if you could... the prices were sky-high, beyond their means.

After all... they were still very poor.

"Let's just settle for a place to live first..."

Zheng Yang nodded.

"Yes, but this isn't a long-term solution. It's fine for us, but if the old master comes, how can a dignified master teacher above eight stars live in such a small courtyard?"

Sun Qiang shook his head: "I still need to discuss with the young master what to do next..."

As he sighed and was about to continue, a crashing sound came from the room ahead, as if someone had fallen.

"Didn't you say the young master was in seclusion? What's that noise?"

Sun Qiang was startled. Just as he was about to push the door to see what happened, another muffled sound came, followed by a shake of the wall, and a head emerged from it, hanging there.

"Teacher!"

"Young master..."

Recognizing the head, the two were stunned. Before they could finish their call, the figure "whooshed" away, and their respected young master and teacher flew out again, crashing into the opposite wall and smashing a hole.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Zhang Xuan was like a ball being swatted, bouncing back and forth against the walls. The originally sturdy room, after a few hits, collapsed with a "boom."

Seeing this, Sun Qiang and Zheng Yang exchanged glances, their mouths twitching.

Wasn't he cultivating?

What kind of ghost move was this, crashing into walls repeatedly?

What ultimate technique required constant wall-banging? Look, his head was all swollen...

Whoosh!

Just as they were wondering, Zhang Xuan crashed through the collapsed room and slammed into a tree in the courtyard, his head stuck inside, leaving only his legs twitching.

"Teacher..."

Zheng Yang snapped out of it and rushed over, pulling Zhang Xuan out of the tree. His face was dark with frustration: "Teacher... are you alright?"

"Young master, it's just a money problem, don't take it so hard..."

Sun Qiang also hurried over, trying to console him.

"Ahem!"

Hearing the comforting words, Zhang Xuan was exasperated. He waved his hand: "I'm going out for a bit! Sun Qiang, find Master Hong and compensate him for the things broken here..."

Ignoring their bewildered faces, Zhang Xuan leaped into the air. The Tianxiong Beast, hearing his call, flew over, and the two sped straight out of the city under the cover of night.

Living in such a small place, if he continued, he'd demolish everything without fusing anything. It was better to find a spacious spot outside.

Before long, he arrived at a hillside outside Hongyuan City.

A gentle night breeze blew, the bright moon hung high, and insects and birds chirped around, creating a serene and tranquil atmosphere.

"Right here."

Sitting cross-legged on the ground, he first used spirit stones to recover the true qi he had consumed, then continued his fusion.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Soon, the forest echoed with the sounds of a head hitting trees and stones, accompanied by pained cries, rising and falling without end...

Like a werewolf appearing on a moonlit night, leaving behind a terrifying legend.

...

The next day.

"Has Teacher Zhang returned?"

Master Hong paced anxiously.

Last night, hearing the house collapse, he rushed over only to see Teacher Zhang flying away. He thought he had gone out to cultivate and would return soon, but after a whole night, there was no sign of him.

Today was the Master Teacher Academy's examination day. If he missed it, entering would be impossible!

"The young master left last night and hasn't come back..." Sun Qiang shook his head, equally puzzled.

His young master had always been normal; why did he suddenly act like he was possessed yesterday, banging his head against the wall?

Not only that, but he stayed out all night... Could he really be thinking of doing something drastic?

He couldn't help looking at Zheng Yang and the others nearby: "Did any of you... provoke the young master yesterday?"

"No..."

Zheng Yang and the others were also baffled: "Teacher said he was going into seclusion. We really don't know anything else!"

Yesterday, Teacher said he was going into seclusion, and then... started banging into walls and trees. As for why, they really had no idea!

"Then what happened..."

Hearing that no one had provoked him and that the young master had acted so drastically, Sun Qiang's mouth twitched. Just as he was about to go look for him, the worrisome young master appeared, covered in dust and looking haggard.

He looked like he hadn't been cultivating but had rolled on the ground all night, more ragged than a beggar.

"Young master, you..."

Sun Qiang hurried over, full of concern.

"I'm fine!" Zhang Xuan shook his head and looked at the old man: "Master Hong, let's go..."

"You... can really take the exam looking like that?"

Seeing his state, Master Hong's mouth twitched too.

Others, for the entrance exam, bathe and change into clean clothes to make a good impression on the examiners. But you... look as if you've been begging all night, with bloodshot eyes and clearly haven't slept... Can you really take the exam?

"It's fine!" Zhang Xuan waved his hand.

He had experimented all night, exhausting his true qi five times and nearly getting himself killed from the collisions, yet he still hadn't succeeded.

Merging martial techniques involved too many factors. Even for him, success wouldn't come overnight.

However, although he hadn't succeeded, his control over the Mortal World Soaring Step had become much finer, his speed faster. Moreover, his understanding of martial techniques had reached another level, increasing his combat strength.

Unfortunately, having spent the whole night studying technique fusion, he hadn't had time to cultivate the Qiaotian realm technique, so his strength remained at the peak of the Heling realm.

"Alright then, let's go..."

Seeing that he said he was fine and that the exam couldn't be delayed, Master Hong said no more. The two boarded the academy's special flying spirit beast and quickly flew toward Leiyuan Peak in the Hongyuan Mountain Range.

Leiyuan Peak was only about two hundred kilometers from the Scholar Sea. In less than a quarter of an hour, they slowly descended.

Almost all the new students taking the exam had arrived. Looking into the distance, the crowd surged, countless in number.

"There are more new students this year than before, a full thirty thousand. I heard the academy only admits twenty thousand, meaning... this exam will eliminate a full ten thousand!"

Master Hong lowered his voice.

"Thirty thousand new students? Eliminate ten thousand?"

Zhang Xuan's mouth twitched, and his eyes widened. Truly worthy of a first-class empire's Master Teacher Academy—how terrifying!