Chapter 967: Teacher Zhang's Students (Part 2)

"Hmph!"

Seeing the attacks surrounding him, Zheng Yang was not flustered. Instead, he smiled lightly, his eyes brightening.

"Perfect timing!"

With a low shout, he ignored all the attacks and leaped straight into the air.

"What is he doing? In the air, his vulnerabilities are greater; he'll only lose faster!"

"Facing attacks, with nowhere to dodge, he'll only fall into a more passive position. Is he giving up early?"

"Although this temporarily evades the assault, it puts him in a new crisis—it's the worst possible move..."

...

The audience erupted in uproar.

This Zheng Yang had been impressive in both technique and combat awareness; how could he make such a huge mistake at the most critical moment?

The Silkworm Seal realm cannot fly. Staying on the ground, there was still a chance to fight; leaping into the air made him a target. Once attacks came in succession, there would be no time to dodge.

Amid the crowd's shock, Zheng Yang, already in the air, shifted horizontally a few meters, instantly dodging all the attacks from below. The next moment, his feet trod on empty air, hovering upside down, his spear thrusting downward.

"Is he flying?"

"How can a Silkworm Seal realm fly?"

Everyone was stunned.

Only when one's cultivation breaks through to Half-Saint and opens the Sky-Stepping Acupoint can one fly into the sky and soar among the clouds.

This young man before them was only at the ninth level of Mortal Transformation, the Silkworm Seal realm. How could he soar freely in the air without falling?

"It seems the teacher also taught him the Red Dust Heaven-Stepping Steps..." Wang Ying smiled.

The teacher, having just entered Mortal Transformation, could fly in the air by practicing this technique. Now Zheng Yang was also flying, clearly having received the true transmission.

"Zheng Yang is very clever. Under normal circumstances, he couldn't defeat the three of them when they used their ultimate moves. He deliberately showed a flaw, drawing all their attacks together, and then, exploiting their habitual thinking that no one can fly in the Silkworm Seal realm, he leaped into the air. Not only did he resolve the crisis, but he also turned passivity into initiative. Now those three are finished..."

Liu Yang said.

Normal people assume that Silkworm Seal realm cultivators cannot fly, so they never defend against aerial attacks. This left a great opportunity for Zheng Yang.

Before his words faded, the spear in the air transformed into ten thousand points of light, raining down, enveloping all three attacking war masters on the platform.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Power shot out in all directions. The three war masters' faces turned pale as they flew backward simultaneously, and two of them even fell directly off the arena.

"Sorry, I won..."

Gripping his spear, standing on the platform, Zheng Yang glanced around calmly, a sense of pride welling up within him.

Even the Dragon Back assessment, which had seemed utterly hopeless, was passed smoothly.

Having cleared this stage, Zheng Yang did not rush forward. Instead, he sat cross-legged on the ground, took out a pill to restore his stamina, and replenished the true qi he had expended.

Seeing his actions, everyone around lowered their voices, afraid to disturb his cultivation.

Liao Song below the stage clenched his fists, his face flushed with excitement.

Passing the Dragon Tail and Dragon Back had already demonstrated his strength. Entering the War Master Hall and training well, once his power reached the required level, he would be at least a commander. Discovering such a strongman had undeniable benefits.

It could be said that even if he didn't pass the subsequent Dragon Head, it would still be a huge gain.

After resting for nearly half an hour, Zheng Yang finally stood up. At this moment, the power within him surged like a storm, emitting a dull thunderous sound.

With each step forward, his aura grew stronger. By the eighth step, a sudden roar sounded, and his cultivation at the early stage of the Silkworm Seal Realm broke through, reaching the middle stage!

"Is this a breakthrough in the midst of battle?"

Wu Tianqiong was stunned and couldn't help but look at Liao Song not far away: "Will the person guarding the third stage also increase their strength accordingly?"

The Dragon Tail, Dragon Back, and Dragon Head of the Dragon Gate Formation were arranged according to the challenger's cultivation level. Now that he had broken through, would the subsequent stages also adjust the difficulty based on the actual situation?

"No. The assessment lasts only one hour. A breakthrough during battle is considered an adaptation, and the subsequent stages will not be changed."

Liao Song said.

The assessment of war candidates is fair and just. Being able to break through during battle is your own skill. Even if the gap behind narrows, it cannot be changed on the spot.

After all, a breakthrough in the heat of battle—a small level is one thing, harmless, but it can't be that one directly breaks through a major level!

As the two spoke, Zheng Yang on the platform continued forward. After three steps, his cultivation, which had just advanced to the middle stage of the Silkworm Seal Realm, was already fully consolidated.

He continued forward, his internal true qi boiling like thunder, and his aura continued to rise, just as before.

Rumble!

After the eighth step, it seemed he had broken through another shackle, reaching the late stage of the Silkworm Seal Realm.

"This..."

Everyone below the stage raised their eyebrows. They had seen fast breakthroughs, but never one this fast.

After taking just a dozen steps, his cultivation broke through two levels—it was simply inconceivable.

But Zheng Yang didn't seem to stop there; he continued forward, and the pure power still churned endlessly.

By the time he reached the dragon's head position, he had already reached the peak of the Silkworm Seal realm!

"These past few days, Zheng Yang has been accumulating power, suppressing his cultivation to avoid breaking through, and finally achieved a thick accumulation and thin release..."

Wang Ying smiled.

After hearing the news about the battle master assessment, this junior apprentice of hers had been diligently cultivating while suppressing his cultivation, not breaking through, all for this moment—to surge to a higher realm in one go and catch the opponent off guard.

Of course, being able to do this was also due to the miraculous nature of the technique taught by their teacher; for anyone else, being able to advance one small level would already be impressive, but leaping three levels in one breath was simply inconceivable and shocking.

"His move is not bad. Before, the gap with the dragon's head was quite large, but now it's narrowing. If I were to challenge it, I could use it too..."

Liu Yang smiled.

As the two conversed, Zheng Yang on the stage did not rush to attack; instead, he flipped his wrist and placed a crimson fruit into his mouth.

"This is... the Red Firefly Fruit?"

Wu Xu and Lu Cheng below the stage recognized it and couldn't help but twitch their mouths simultaneously.

Back then, they went to that valley to find this very thing, but returned empty-handed, always suspecting that Zhang Xuan had taken the fruit. Now it seemed indeed so.

This item was a sharp tool for breaking through to Half-Saint. Could it be that this guy on stage, after continuously advancing three small levels, also wanted to directly charge into Half-Saint?

Half-Saint and the Silkworm Seal realm were vastly different. Once successful, his strength would inevitably undergo a qualitative leap, and then crossing the dragon's head would be as easy as turning his hand.

"Crossing the river before reaching the shore, strike at the midstream..." Not only did he see this problem, but Liao Song also saw it and couldn't help but shout.

Rumble!

The three battle masters at the dragon's head position, upon hearing the shout, all raised their eyebrows, lifted their weapons, and attacked in unison.

After all, the opponent had already entered the combat range, so doing this was not a violation.

"Heh, just in time, I can't digest this power, so I'll use you to practice my spear!"

Raising his brows, Zheng Yang met them with his long spear.

The Red Firefly Fruit was a treasure for breaking through to Half-Saint. If refined alone, it would take at least one or two hours, but under the pressure of the opponent's attacks, the speed would be much faster.

Back in the Ten Thousand Kingdoms Alliance, Zhang Xuan had used this method to rapidly improve his strength from the fourth level of Mortal Transformation, the Turbid Clarity realm.

At this moment, it was almost impossible to defeat the dragon's head normally, but with the aid of the Red Firefly Fruit, the possibility would definitely increase several times!

Sure enough, as Zheng Yang fought with them longer, the power within him grew stronger and more surging, as if he were a tireless perpetual motion machine.

Not only that, but this power was also continuously transforming toward Half-Saint. After fighting for over a hundred moves, a violent roar sounded inside him, and his overall strength underwent a qualitative leap, like a carp leaping over the dragon gate.

Half-Saint, achieved!

With his cultivation reaching Half-Saint, his combat power more than doubled. Before, the three at the dragon's head were already hard to defeat; now, how could they withstand it? After ten moves, the three were swept off the platform by the long spear.

Dragon Gate Formation, passed!

"This... really succeeded?" Liao Song clenched his fists excitedly, but even seeing it with his own eyes, he still found it hard to believe.

Countless geniuses in the Battle Master Hall couldn't accomplish this, yet a sixteen- or seventeen-year-old youth who wasn't even a master teacher did it with ease... it was simply inconceivable.

"Pass!"

The will of the headquarters supervising in the sky left two words and slowly withdrew, meaning that this assessment had been recognized by the Battle Master Hall headquarters.

From now on, when Zheng Yang went to the headquarters, he only needed to test for the dragon pearl position; the previous three levels no longer required repeated testing!

Although this was not the complete Dragon Gate Formation, in the past 300 years, fewer than ten people had passed it... To put it plainly, Zheng Yang had now become one of the candidates for War Son.

"I succeeded..."

Zheng Yang clenched his fists, tears streaming from his eyes.

He was just a youth who loved spear techniques, with some talent. If he hadn't met his teacher, he might have at most become a spear coach in the Tianxuan Kingdom, with cultivation no higher than Tongxuan, a lifespan of no more than a hundred years, living an ordinary and mediocre life, turning to dust after a hundred years, leaving no trace.

It was his teacher who changed his fate and gave him a second life.

It was his teacher who brought him to where he was today, breaking through realms he had never dared to dream of before.

It was his teacher who gave him confidence, gave him a goal in life, and made him know what he was fighting for.

"Teacher, rest assured, I will go further and further, make a name for myself in the Battle Master Hall, and will not disappoint your expectations!"

Clenching his fists, Zheng Yang silently made a vow in his heart.

"Alright, Zheng Yang, assessment passed... Do you still want to continue the test?"

Zheng Yang stepped down from the platform, and Liao Song turned to look at Wang Ying and the others.

"Of course!" Wang Ying smiled.

Even if not to become a battle master, they had to prove their strength and bring glory to their teacher!

"Senior Sister, Senior Brother, let me try first. I joined the latest. If I can pass, you definitely can too!"

Just as Wang Ying was about to jump onto the high platform, a slightly soft voice sounded.

Turning to look, she saw Wei Ruyan, her beautiful eyes shining with a blazing light.