This was truly fearsome. The cultivation technique that Zhang Xuan cultivated was the strongest Heaven's Path Divine Art, and he had cultivated his physical body and soul as well. For Mo Liuzhen to possess strength equaling him, could it be that his soul and physical body were equally strong as well?
I truly mustn't underestimate other cultivators! Zhang Xuan thought in alarm.
In his journey from Tianxuan Kingdom, he had encountered many experts of his age, and he had always been able to overcome them easily. As time went by, a feeling of superiority had unwittingly arisen within him. However, it seemed like it was time to quell such a notion in his mind. There had always been powerful geniuses on par or even superior to him on the Master Teacher Continent, it was just that he had never met them before!
"Does Principal Zhang intend to challenge the record?" School Head Mo asked.
Honestly speaking, he was indeed rather curious to see the clash between the new principal and Principal Mo Liuzhen back then. With the same cultivation, which of them would possess superior fighting prowess?
"Un." Zhang Xuan nodded, confirming School Head Mo's guess.
His strength was at 65,000,000 ding, which placed him on par with only a Nascent Saint intermediate stage cultivator, making it doubtful whether he could clear the seventh level or not. Nevertheless, this was a good opportunity to see how he stood against the top geniuses of the Master Teacher Continent, as well as to see what his limit was.
Besides, this was a necessary trial he would have to undertake if he wanted to clear the 6-star master teacher examination as soon as possible.
"Allow me to take you there!" School Head Mo's eyes lit up in excitement as he offered to lead the way to the Mountain of Records.
The Mountain of Records was in close proximity to the Elder Hall, and its structure was reminiscent of a towering mountain.
As the duo arrived at the Mountain of Records, School Head Mo began explaining more about the Mountain of Records. "Our Master Teacher Academy's Mountain of Records was built by Principal Mu Kai back then based on the Combat Master Tower in the Combat Master Hall. Every single level is guarded by a puppet that represents the pinnacle fighting prowess of a cultivator of that certain cultivation realm. It won't be easy to scale the Mountain of Records.
"This trial is extremely demanding on one's fighting prowess and battle sense. Furthermore, unlike most tests in the Master Teacher Academy, this trial is highly dangerous. Principal Zhang, you must proceed carefully inside!"
"Dangerous?"
"That's right. As the ones guarding the levels are puppets, they might be unable to control their strength as precisely as human cultivators. The slightest carelessness might easily place one in a lethal position, and each year, there are quite a number of master teachers who are severely injured or die in the trial!" School Head Mo said grimly.
The Mountain of Records wasn't an easy trial to challenge. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for it to have remained unchallenged despite it being more than a month since the start of the new semester.
"Principal Zhang, if you faces any danger in any level, please don't hesitate to admit defeat. Once you do so, the puppets will immediately stop their offense and back down," School Head Mo advised.
He had deep trust in Zhang Xuan's capability, but in the end, the latter's cultivation was still too low. There would definitely be levels where the latter would face grave danger, so it was important to explain the rules to him thoroughly in advance.
"Noted!" Zhang Xuan nodded before bidding School Head Mo farewell.
Without any hesitation, he began making his way into the Mountain of Records.
Before long, he arrived in a room roughly a few hundred square meters large. Within the room was a puppet that possessed the cultivation of Chrysalis realm advanced stage, granting its fists an incredible might exceeding 30,000,000 ding.
"Finally, a new challenger! Hehehe!"
With a soft chuckle, the puppet's joints cracked resoundingly before pushing its massive feet against the ground and charging right toward Zhang Xuan.
An artifact by the Celestial Designer Hall? Even though it hasn't reached Saint-tier, it still possesses spirit. Not bad!
Knowing that the other party's strength was beneath his, Zhang Xuan wasn't nervous in the slightest. Standing before the rampaging might of the puppet's fist, he chuckled softly.
He had also encountered similar puppets in his 2-star master teacher examination back in Tianwu Kingdom, but it was obvious that the one before him was far more technologically advanced. Even though it was still a way off from becoming a Saint-tier artifact, it already possessed spirit and even sentience.
If one could forge many of such puppets, one would be able to build an extremely powerful army that felt no fear nor pain. However, considering the expensive materials and advanced skill required to build each one, that would probably be difficult to achieve.
Two breaths later, the puppet was already lying on the floor.
Zhang Xuan walked past it and headed to the second level without any hesitation.
The puppet on the second level possessed a cultivation of Chrysalis realm pinnacle. Naturally, it wasn't a match for him either, and he was able to defeat the other party easily.
Advancing ahead, just as School Head Mo had said, Zhang Xuan faced a Half-Saint primary stage puppet in the third level. However, considering how Zhang Xuan was able to defeat even a Half-Saint realm combat master like Lu Cheng shortly after achieving a breakthrough, there was no way his journey could be impeded by that Half-Saint primary stage puppet.
Heading up the levels, Zhang Xuan hardly faced any impediment at all.
…
At the bottom of the Mountain of Records, Zhao Bingxu, Wei Ranxue, and the others had also gathered in the area after hearing that Principal Zhang was going to challenge the trial.
They hadn't really witnessed Principal Zhang's battle prowess for themselves, but they knew that it was likely extraordinary, given the abilities of his direct disciples, Wang Ying, Zheng Yang, and Liu Yang.
How could a teacher who had the capability to groom such powerful students possibly be weak himself?
Wei Ranxue couldn't help but ask her fellow peers, "How far do you think that Principal Zhang will be able to reach?"
"I harbor little doubt regarding Principal Zhang's fighting prowess. Just by his comprehension of battle techniques, as well as his grasp of spearmanship, fist arts, and leg arts, he should be able to display a fighting prowess far beyond that of his cultivation realm. Back then, Principal Mo Liuzhen had reached the seventh level. I believe that, at the very least, Principal Zhang should be able to beat his record and reach the eighth!" the head of the Martial Arts School, Xu Changqing, said as he stroked his beard.
As a martial arts fanatic, he had taken some time to study Zheng Yang's spearmanship, Wang Ying's leg art, and Liu Yang's fist art, and the conclusion he had reached after a long examination was that… it would easily make them invincible among those of the same cultivation! There were no battle techniques that he could think of that could possibly rival theirs!
How could a master teacher who was able to impart such powerful battle techniques possibly be weak himself?
As talented as Principal Mo Liuzhen was, he also didn't manage to receive the recognition of all of the preceding principals and form the Impeccable Principal's Seal… For Principal Zhang to achieve this unprecedented feat, there was no way his accomplishment in the Mountain of Records would be beneath that of Principal Mo Liuzhen.
"Un. Just like you all, I also think that principal Zhang should be able to clear the eighth level!" Zhao Bingxu said with a smile.
They had harbored doubts regarding Principal Zhang's capabilities in the past, and in the end, they had suffered severe face slaps due to their underestimation of the latter.
When they heard that the latter was going to challenge the Mountain of Records, they had rushed over excitedly, hoping to witness how the latter would break the record and leave behind a legend.
"I also think so…" School Head Jiang nodded in agreement. "I think it's just a question of how long it will take Teacher to reach the ninth level now…"
Others might be unaware of Principal Zhang's strength, but he had a clear view of it. Just in terms of comprehension of demonic tunes, the other party had already reached the level of a 7-star demonic tunist, just like him. With such prowess, the other party could easily destroy opponents of far higher cultivation realms than him.
Moreover, this was unlikely to be all of his means. If he were to utilize all of them, clearing the levels would definitely be just a walk in the park.
"Back then, Principal Mo Liuzhen took two hours in order to reach the seventh level. I think that our principal should be able to clear it within an hour!"
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"An hour… I think that's still underestimating our principal. Considering his previous records, he should be able to clear the eighth within ten minutes and perhaps even destroy the entire Mountain of Records while he is in the midst of doing so…" the head of the Physician School, Zhong Dingchun, said with a bitter smile.
"That… Now that you mention it, that does seem to be possible!"
Hearing those words, everyone abruptly fell silent. They suddenly felt that it was a huge mistake for them to have allowed the other party to challenge the Mountain of Records.
Despite the short duration that Principal Zhang had been in the Master Teacher Academy, he had challenged quite a few of trials, and wherever he had passed through, there was not a single one that had been left intact. Devastating would be an apt term to describe it, and even they couldn't help but shudder when they imagine it.
The Mountain of Records was one of the more important heritages of the Master Teacher Academy. If Principal Zhang were to collapse it as well… how could they possibly face their predecessors?
After a long moment of silence, the head of the Painter School, Song Danqing, said, "When he caused all that ruckus back then, he was only a student. Since he has become the principal… I guess he should know to hold back a little, right?"
"Let's hope that's the case…"
The others stared at the Mountain of Records with deep frowns on their faces, seemingly doubtful that Zhang Xuan would know to hold himself back.
The levels of the Mountain of Records were hidden amid the mountain, making it impossible to tell the results from the outside. Only through entering the trial personally or waiting for the challenger to exit would one know the results.
As the school heads thought that the new principal wouldn't take too long to clear the trial, they chose to wait patiently outside. However, the wait went on for far longer than they had thought.
An hour!
Two hours!
Four hours!
A day…
But there still wasn't any movement outside, and no one had left the Mountain of Records either.
Reaching the limits of her patience, Wei Ranxue asked with a deep frown, "School Head Mo, are you certain that our principal has entered?"
"There is no doubt about that!" School Head Mo replied affirmatively with a nod.
He was the one who had escorted Principal Zhang there personally, and he had seen the latter enter the trial with his own eyes. There couldn't be any mistake about it.
"Then, why isn't he out yet?"
"Given Principal Zhang's strength, it shouldn't be possible for him to have been trapped for one whole day!"
"Indeed! Could it be that some kind of accident has happened?"
Considering the outstanding talent that Zhang Xuan had displayed in the various supporting occupations, challenging a mere Mountain of Records should be like an easy and relaxing walk for him. How could he possibly still be inside even after the passing of an entire day?
"I'm afraid that something might have really happened…" Zhao Bingxu's face darkened.
It shouldn't take a day for any challenger to clear or fail the Mountain of Records. Be it pass or fail, the challenger should have been out long before then.
Even Hu Yaoyao and the others didn't spend such a long time in there back then.
Something was amiss.
Hearing School Head Zhao's words, Wei Ranxue asked in a panic, "What should we do then?"
It hadn't been long since Zhang Xuan's inauguration, and there was even a huge commotion due to it. If something were to happen to him due to challenging the Mountain of Records… just the thought of the resulting after-effects was more than enough to leave them in a frenzy.
"What else can we do? Let's enter to take a look! If something has really happened to Principal Zhang, we will have to act immediately to save him. In any case, we also need to get to the bottom of what is going on!" School Head Mo said.
"I concur!"
"I concur as well!"
The school heads hurriedly nodded in agreement.
Even ordinary students would only take six hours at most in the Mountain of Records. For someone as talented as their principal to take up more than an hour in the Mountain of Records, it would be a blatant lie if they said that they didn't harbor some doubts regarding the matter.
It was simply too inconceivable.
They could believe it if the other party had rushed to the eighth or ninth level within an hour. In fact, even if the Mountain of Records had collapsed into pile of rubble within ten minutes, it still wouldn't have been beyond their imagination… But for the other party to have remained inside for a whole day, that was unbelievable to them.
"Alright, let's enter then!" Having made a decision, the school heads quickly pushed open the entrance of the Mountain of Records and entered with their Elder Tokens in hand.
Soon, they arrived at the first room.
As soon as they stepped in, they saw the puppet that had charged at Zhang Xuan earlier lying on the floor with its eyes widened in disbelief, as if a day wasn't sufficient to convince it that what had happened to it was real.
Seeing its state, Zhao Bingxu couldn't help but ask, "What happened?"
"I lost," the puppet muttered with its spiritless eyes. It seemed that it had suffered too huge a blow and its spirit could dissipate at any moment.
"Where there is competition, there will be victory and loss. You are the guardian of the first floor, so it's perfectly normal for you to lose to the challenger!"
Seeing its state, the crowd glanced at one another for a moment before shaking their heads.
Given that you are just the guardian of the first level, the least that anyone challenging the trial should do is defeat you. Surely you don't have to be so disappointed over a loss?
After consoling the puppet, School Head Mo suddenly noticed something that left a deep frown on his face. Perplexed, he asked, "It doesn't seem like there is any external injury on you. How were you defeated?"
Hearing those words, a look of indignation immediately surfaced on the puppet's face as it cried tearfully, "He looked at me…"