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"Nothing much?"

"There are at least thirty thousand other members who possess fighting prowess on par with you?"

The combat masters stared at one another, and they could each see the mental breakdown the others were suffering through their eyes.

They had arrived proudly as invigilators, thinking that they were the pinnacle of fighting prowess in their respective cultivation realms. Yet, before they could even meet the talent they were supposed to assess, they were defeated by just a few students playing by the roadside!

Must reality come crushing down on them so heavily like a sledgehammer?

More importantly, it was one thing if there were only one or two of such experts throughout the entire academy. However, according to the other party, this Xuanxuan Faction or something had thirty thousand people possessing such strength.

In that moment, Liao Song could only feel his entire mind blanking out, unable to comprehend the meaning of those words.

Despite being a Thousand Men Commander of the Combat Master Hall, he felt like Granny Liu paying a visit to the Grand View Gardens 1 . He couldn’t help but doubt everything that he thought he knew, and even life itself!

"What, you don’t believe me?" Seeing the shocked expression on everyone’s faces, Ruohuan suddenly chuckled softly, and he gestured behind him. "It happens that the members of our Xuanxuan Faction have gathered over there. Why don’t I take you over to have a look?"

"Gathered?"

"Un. Follow me!" Nodding, Ruohuan gongzi beckoned the group to follow him.

Liao Song and the others exchanged glances with one another before hurriedly following behind him.

Not too long later, they saw a huge group of people gathered in a massive square in front of them. They were gathered in groups, seemingly discussing something. From time to time, a couple of people would spar with one another.

"Is that the fundamental fist art, Flood of the Grand River? Isn’t it an extremely weak battle technique severely lacking in strength? How did they manage to draw so much power from it?"

"That is the Fallen Gale Sword Art, a Spirit intermediate-tier battle technique! I once attempted to cultivate that technique, but due to the excessive complexity of the move and the limited prowess one can exert through it, I eventually gave up on it. Why does it seem to possess prowess comparable to a Spirit high-tier battle technique in his hands?"

"That fist art and movement art over there might be simple, but they are aligned with the very essence of combat itself, making it extremely hard to guard against it. Even I would find it hard to withstand it if an opponent were to use such a powerful move against me in a battle!"

"What is that move? Wait, aren’t those just a few basic maneuvers being chained together? Is it really possible to draw strength comparable to a Spirit high-tier battle technique just like that?"

...

Upon seeing the offense and defense of the various sparring students, the cheeks of the combat masters began twitching uncontrollably.

They hadn’t fought any of the students here yet, but through their eyes of discernment, they could tell that they would wield fighting prowess on par with that Ruohuan person in a real battle.

In other words, if their group were to be thrown amid the thirty thousand students gathered here, not only would they not stand out, they would even be among the very bottom of the group!

Just what in the world was going on?

They were combat masters, top-notch combat experts sieved out from countless other master teachers and cultivators!

Unable to hold himself back anymore, Liao Song turned to Ruohuan gongzi and asked, "How did you gain such incredible fighting prowess?"

"At the start, we were also just ordinary students. It was only after going through an entire afternoon of lectures from Principal Zhang that we gained such strength!" Upon speaking of Principal Zhang, Ruohuan gongzi’s eyes began gleaming with excitement and respect.

He could still remember the exhilaration he had felt when he listened to Principal Zhang’s teachings. During those lectures, he knew that if he could internalize everything that Principal Zhang was imparting to them, his fighting prowess would advance by leaps and bounds.

It was as if the cultivators in the world could be divided into two categories—those who had listened to Principal Zhang’s lecture and those who hadn’t—and a huge, unbreachable rift stood between the two groups.

This was precisely the reason countless students had knocked on the doors of the Xuanxuan Faction over the past few days, hoping to join the faction. However, so as to not undermine the academy through the faction, the faction had chosen to limit its numbers, and that had left countless extremely regretful that they hadn’t joined back when they had been given the chance to do so.

"An entire afternoon of lectures?" Liao Song was stunned.

A mere afternoon of lectures was sufficient to make your fighting prowess rise to such an unbelievable extent? Are you joking with me?

If one’s fighting prowess could be raised so easily, doesn’t that mean that the unimaginable suffering that we, combat masters, have been put through day after day has been in vain?

"Indeed." Ruohuan gongzi sighed in lamentation. "However, it is a pity that Principal Zhang is an extremely busy man. Otherwise, if he were to just hold a few more lectures, our fighting prowess would surely be much stronger than it is now."

"Much stronger?" Liao Song’s mouth began twitching once more.

This group of students was already so powerful that even they, combat masters, were no match for them. If they were to get even stronger... that would be unthinkable!

If so, wouldn’t the existence of combat masters become redundant?

While Liao Song was still feeling incredibly stifled within, Ruohuan gongzi suddenly asked, "Right, who are you? Why did you come to the academy?"

"We... we are... We came to find Combat Master Zhuo!"

Liao Song had intended to say that they were combat masters, but in the end, he swallowed those words.

"So, you are Combat Master Zhuo’s friends! Give me a moment, I will have someone show you to him." Coming to a realization, Ruohuan gongzi beckoned for a faction member over and instructed him to lead Liao Song and the others to Zhuo Qingfeng’s accommodation.

"Thank you!" Liao Song said before hurriedly leaving with his group, fearing that the morale would take another fatal blow if they were to remain there for a moment longer.

Shortly after Liao Song and the others left, a student walked up and asked doubtfully, "Ruohuan, who are these people?"

"I am not too sure either. I thought that they were combat masters initially, but after fighting with them, I am certain that isn’t the case. After all, how could combat masters, who devote their time and effort to furthering their combat ability, be so lacking in terms of combat sense? Forget it! As long as they aren’t combat masters, we can try to recruit them into the Xuanxuan Faction. I can tell that they are rather talented. If we train them for a few days, they could very well become a powerful addition to our group!" Ruohuan gongzi replied.

"Our Xuanxuan Faction is currently only taking in talents. If they wish to join, we should put them through the examination first before deciding whether to accept them or not. If they can’t even clear the examination, they are clearly unqualified to become esteemed members of our faction," the other student sneered.

"That goes without saying. Our Xuanxuan Faction chooses its members very carefully. Their fighting prowess is still decent, but they seem to be a little lacking to clear our examination," Ruohuan gongzi said proudly.

...

As the group of combat masters followed behind the member of the Xuanxuan Faction, one of the combat masters couldn’t help but turn to Liao Song and ask, "Liao shi, how are those fellows so powerful?"

"I have no idea," Liao Song replied with a deep frown.

All along, he had thought that combat masters were the representation of the strongest fighting force in their respective cultivation realms. But after meeting the members of the Xuanxuan Faction, this long-established belief that he had held onto for many years had suddenly come crashing down!

After a moment’s silence, Liao Song remarked deeply, "It is no wonder Zhuo Qingfeng had us come here. There is truly something peculiar about this Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy."

Even a few passers-by they had met on the street was capable of utterly overpowering them, leaving them incapable of retaliating at all. It was fortunate that they weren’t enemies, or else they might just have met their end there.

"Combat Master Liao, you’re here."

Before entering the residence, Zhuo Qingfeng, who had heard of the news beforehand, had already come out to welcome the group. Upon seeing Liao Song, a look of agitation immediately appeared on his face. However, a moment later, he realized that something was amiss with the group.

Combat masters tended to carry a proud and might aura before others, but the group before him looked listless, as if eggplants battered by the cold 2 .

"What happened to you all?" Zhuo Qingfeng couldn’t hide his curiosity.

"Tell me the situation with the new principal of the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy." Liao Song didn’t respond to Zhuo Qingfeng’s question.

He couldn’t help but remember the young man from before saying that the origin of their strength had come from an afternoon of lecture from their principal, so he requested more information from Zhuo Qingfeng upon seeing the latter.

"You mean Principal Zhang? Alright..." Zhuo Qingfeng pondered for a moment before telling everything that he knew about Principal Zhang to Liao Song.

"Just an hour-long lecture from that Principal Zhang, and our combat masters were no match for Hongyuan’s candidates at all? A night of supplementary lesson, and Hongyuan’s candidates achieved zhenqi purity and physical strength far beyond our combat masters?"

Liao Song and the combat masters behind him felt as if they were listening to a ghost story. Their goosebumps rose up as horror surfaced on their faces.

"Indeed!" Zhuo Qingfeng nodded with a bitter smile. "Oh right, Principal Zhang’s four direct disciples have been waiting for you in the residence for some time now. I will be depending on you to assess them later on!"

"Principal Zhang’s four direct disciples? How strong are they?" Liao Song immediately asked.

"I would say that they are invincible in their respective cultivation realms. At the very least, I am no match for them at all!" Zhuo Qingfeng replied.

"Even you are no match for them?" Liao Song was astounded. After a moment of hesitation, he said, "If they are that strong, I think... we should assess them through the Dragon Gate Formation!"

"Dragon Gate Formation? Isn’t that our Combat Master Hall’s trial for the ’Progeny of Combat’? Liao shi intends to... assess if they are qualified to become the ’Progeny of Combat’?" Zhuo Qingfeng was astonished.

"Indeed. Considering how Principal Zhang is able to raise the fighting prowess of the students of the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy to such a tremendous extent with just a few hours of lecturing, his direct disciples... might just be able to clear the Dragon Gate Formation. If they succeed, we, as the ones who have found the Progeny of Combat, will gain significant authority and power within the Combat Master Hall!" Liao Song said.

"This..." Zhuo Qingfeng fell silent.

Indeed, if one were to view the Combat Master Hall as a clan, the position of Progeny of Combat would be equivalent to the successor of the clan!

In other words, as long as the Progeny of Combat matured, he would become the new head of the Combat Master Hall!

Countless combat masters drove themselves to the limits, hoping to become the Progeny of Combat, but it was a pity that it was simply too difficult.

For three hundred years, the Combat Master Hall had gone without a Progeny of Combat or a hall master... Would Principal Zhang’s direct disciples really be able to clear the trial?

Even Combat Master Zhuo, who had tested Zheng Yang’s strength personally, had no confidence whatsoever.

The Dragon Gate Formation was difficult to the point that most would think it impossible to beat!

If Principal Zhang’s direct disciples were really able to clear the trial and become the Progeny of Combat, they, as the ones who had discovered the next Progeny of Combat, would have made a great contribution to the Combat Master Hall for finding its next leader. Naturally, their standing would rise, and they would gain access to better resources as well.

"We are unable to set up the complete Dragon Gate Formation, but we can emulate a simplified version. As long as they succeed in clearing this trial, we will be able to bring them back to the headquarters to apply for the real trial... Regardless of whether they succeed or not, this will be something good for us!" Liao Song said.

It would be best if Principal Zhang’s direct disciples could become the Progeny of Combat, but even if they were to fail, their great talent ensured that they would rise to a position far higher than them if they entered the Combat Master Hall.

Naturally, it would be wonderful if they could gain such powerful backing.

Without hesitating for long, Zhuo Qingfeng replied, "Alright then. Let’s have them challenge the simplified Dragon Gate Formation."

"Un." Liao Song nodded.

Having decided on this matter, the combat masters began making their way into the residence.

Shortly after entering the residence, School Head Mo, School Head Zhao, and a few others stepped forward to welcome them, followed by Wo Tianqiong, Wu Ran, and the others.

So as to spectate the assessment, the other three academies had decided to extend their stay in Hongyuan.

Zheng Yang, Wang Ying, Liu Yang, and Wei Ruyan were also in the residence, and they stood by the corner with an upright posture reminiscent of a sharp spear.

"Allow me to make the introductions, this is the Thousand Men Commander of the Combat Master Hall, as well as my senior, Liao Song! He will be in charge of Zheng Yang and the others’ assessment," Zhuo Qingfeng said.

"Paying respects to Combat Master Liao!"

The crowd clasped their fists and greeted him.

"Un, there is no need to stand on ceremony. If I am not mistaken, these four should be Principal Zhang’s direct disciples who are participating in the assessment, right?" Liao Song shot an acknowledging nod to the crowd before turning to Zheng Yang and the others.

"That’s right; we are students of Zhang Xuan!" Zheng Yang and the others nodded.

"Indeed, impressive young talents," Combat Master Liao said with a smile. "I have already heard about your affairs from Combat Master Zhuo earlier, and I intend to have you challenge the Dragon Gate Formation trial!"

"Dragon Gate Formation?" Zheng Yang and the others asked with a look of confusion.

Wo Tianqiong and the others also didn’t seem to have heard of the term before.

"The name of the Dragon Gate Formation originates from the story about the carps leaping beyond the Dragon Gate 3 . As long as you can clear this trial, you will immediately rise to a position far beyond others and become one of the few powerhouses of the Master Teacher Pavilion or even the entire Master Teacher Continent!" Liao Song said.