"Why isn't it moving at all? Could it be that... he failed the test?"
"It can't be... That would truly be disastrous..."
"But given how formidable Zhang shi is, how could he possibly be unable to memorize 800 books?"
After waiting a moment longer, seeing the Book of Emptied River remaining motionless, everyone was taken aback.
There was no reaction on the part of the Book of Emptied River, it could only mean that the number of books Zhang Xuan read was less than 800!
And if he didn't meet this mark, it means that he would be... eliminated!
No matter how astounding his results were for the previous rounds, he would be disqualified from this tournament.
How could this be?
"This is such a huge pity! I thought that given how formidable Zhang shi is, he would surely be able to get into the top ten. To think that... he would fall here!"
"It's indeed surprising how he failed to memorize 800 books!"
"He should have known he would have ended up like that when he went into a daze..."
A commotion broke out amidst the crowd. There were some who expressed their pity while there were some who gloated over the matter as well.
The outstanding performance of this Zhang shi in the previous two rounds had convinced others of his capability, and many saw him as the dark horse of the tournament. Never in their dreams did they expect him to be eliminated in such a manner.
"This..." Pavilion Master Kang, Su shi, and the others felt as though their heads were bursting apart. They were on the verge of tears at this point.
They were still worried that Zhang shi would cause some kind of trouble, but in the end, it turned out that... he didn't pass the test at all!
This meant that all of the hopes they had pinned on him had been crushed!
Pavilion Master Kang had an awful expression on his face for a long moment before he managed to recover. Sighing, he shook his head and said, "In the end, it seems like Zhang shi is still... much too young!"
Even though he was talented and had a formidable teacher, he was still unable to stand his ground on such formal occasions!
Sighing, a dejected look surfaced on Pavilion Master Kang's face. He seemed as though he had aged by a decade in an instant.
He had devoted significant effort into this tournament, and he thought that with Zhang Xuan's appearance, the long trend behind Myriad Kingdom Alliance's poor performance in the Master Teacher Tournament could be broken... but in the end, his hopes had fallen empty, just like many times before!
On the other hand, Hong shi trembled, and a frenzied look appeared on his face.
Who was the young man before him?
Yang shi's student!
Even though the latter had put him in a very awkward position in the previous two rounds, he still thought that this was to be expected.
After all, how could a direct disciple of an 8-star master teacher be someone ordinary?
And yet, the other party ended up being eliminated...
The main goal of Pavilion Master Mo in leaving behind a high-tier spirit stone was to motivate Zhang shi as well as to win a favor from him...
And yet, the latter actually failed in the preliminary selection. How was he going to survive as a master teacher now that he had gotten on the bad side of the pavilion master of the headquarters?
Not to mention, there was an 8-star master teacher standing behind Zhang shi...
He could feel tears welling up in his eyes, threatening to spill at any moment.
Zhang shi passing the test was awful enough, but him not passing the test was even worse!
He must be the first host of the Master Teacher Tournament to land in such a state.
But even so, since the result was out, he couldn't change his words. Otherwise, the preliminary selection would lose its meaning, and his integrity as the host would be questioned. Thus, he could only muster his courage and announce, "Since the Book of Emptied River didn't glow, it means that Zhang shi didn't pass the test. Alright, let's move on to the last test..."
Halfway through his announcement, he suddenly noticed the shocked widened eyes of the crowd below, as if they had seen a ghost.
"What's wrong?"
Perplexed, Hong shi turned around and looked, and in an instant, he was dumbfounded as well.
Unknowingly, the Book of Emptied River was already floating in the air, and its entire body was glowing a bright shade of red.
Just when Hong shi was contemplating the reason behind the difference in the shade of red, the color of the glow changed-orange. And after which, orange, green, blue, indigo, and violet...
In an instant, it was as if someone had opened up a rainbow kaleidoscope, or the most brilliant and beautiful firework had exploded. Bright colors filled the entire surroundings.
"Seven... colors?"
Hong shi was stunned.
He had seen before someone inducing a red glow, an orange glow, a yellow glow, a green glow, but... seven interchanging colors, what the heck?
Could it be that the Book of Emptied River had suddenly got high on something, so it decided to show a few colors to celebrate?
Or did it suffer a stroke and malfunction?
But... such a matter had never happened before!
Suddenly, someone amidst the crowd exclaimed, "Could it be that the Book of Emptied River had just finished analyzing Zhang shi's knowledge... and it's reflecting his results now?"
"To take so long to analyze? Is that even possible?"
"For it to take so long, how many books must he have read?"
Hearing those words, a huge commotion broke out.
If this matter had happened to someone else, they would have surely just attributed it to the book malfunctioning. But since the person in question was Zhang shi... they couldn't exclude any possibility.
Given how this fellow was able to tear down the Ghost Domain Illusory City and convince an Otherworldly Demon to commit suicide, it wouldn't be unimaginable for him to turn the Book of Emptied River into a firework simulator...
Kacha!
While the crowd was in the midst of their discussion, a crisp sound suddenly echoed. The Book of Emptied River, after flickering for innumerable times, suddenly swayed. A crack slowly crept across it, and it fell from the sky, torn into two halves.
"Ah..."
Seeing the precious Book of Emptied River being torn apart, everyone was shocked for a moment before realization struck them.
"There's no doubt about it now, it is true!"
"Yes, Zhang shi must be the culprit behind it. Otherwise, how could it possibly have broken all of the sudden?"
If they were still hesitant as to the reason why the Book of Emptied River was going bonkers all of the sudden, upon seeing it torn into two, they were confident that it was Zhang shi's doing!
Given the many precedents that fellow had set, who else could it be?
Hong shi sure was pitiful... Breaking an object borrowed from the headquarters, he would surely be punished severely.
Thinking so, everyone turned to look at the elder on the stage with a sympathetic look.
They were just about to utter words of consolation when what they saw made their eyes widen further.
Upon seeing the torn Book of Emptied River, not only did Hong shi seem in the least panicked or sorrowful, excitement was even gleaming in his eyes. His face flushed a deep shade of red out of excitement, and if not for the etiquette he had cultivated over the years, he might have leaped up in exhilaration.
What was going on?
Didn't you borrow this artifact from the headquarters? Since it has been destroyed, shouldn't you be distressed? Then why are you trembling uncontrollably in agitation as though you have eaten an aphrodisiac?
"... What happened to Hong shi? In the previous two stages, when Zhang shi destroyed his possessions, he had a clear look of displeasure on his face. Why would he look so excited this time round?" Zhao Feiwu was perplexed.
"Most probably..." Pavilion Master Kang contemplated for a long period of time before continuing, "... he has just gotten used to it!"
"Gotten used to it?"
The excited Hong shi staggered upon hearing those words.
How open of a heart must he have to get used to having his prized possessions being shattered?
Naturally, the reason why he was happy wasn't because he had gotten used to having his items being destroyed but that... Zhang shi wasn't eliminated!
The Book of Emptied River might be precious, but compared to getting on the bad side of Pavilion Master Mo and Yang shi, it was nothing at all.
It was clear which was the lesser of the two evils. Given that Zhang shi had passed the test, naturally, this was something for him to celebrate.
But still... He was probably the only host in the history of Master Teacher Tournaments to be delighted over having his own possession destroyed.
"Red light means one has memorized 800 books, orange light means on has memorized 1600 books, so on and so forth... Given that all of the lights have flickered continuously... Zhang shi, exactly how many books have you memorized in the past two hours?"
Recovering from his negative emotions, Hong shi turned to look at the youngster with doubt in his eyes.
Given that memorizing 5600 books would induce a violet light, and that fellow had induced the violet light to appear as though a firework, even causing the inferior-tier Book of Emptied River to break into two from being overloaded...
How many books must he have read for such a situation to occur?
Thinking of the same thing, curious, the others also turned their gazes to him.
"How many books?"
Zhang Xuan rubbed his glabella.
The matter which he had been troubled over really came to be.
He had been worried about this matter for the entire period of time, but what had to happen would eventually still have to happen.
If he were to tell the truth and say that he had memorized more than two hundred thousand books while the others were struggling to memorize a thousand... would Hong shi die of fright on the spot?
"Cough cough, I wasn't counting. I think it should be around ten to twenty thousand books..." Awkward, Zhang Xuan decided to divide the figure by ten.
"Ten to twenty thousand books?"
But still, the astonishing amount was still sufficient to shock everyone present here.
While others were still reading seven to eight hundred books, you had read more than ten times of what they did. Are you sure you are still a human?
A master teacher among the crowd exclaimed, "That can't be. There is only a total of five thousand books on the shelves, and I've been looking at you throughout the examination. You have been dazing off, and you didn't flip through those books either. How could you have memorized the contents of so many books?"
This fellow had been dazing off like a fool right from the start. He had been holding the same book from the start to the end, so how could he possibly memorize the contents of all of the books on the shelf?
Not to mention, there was only a total of five thousand books up there. How in the world did you read ten to twenty thousand books?
"This..."
Scratching his head, Zhang Xuan was at a loss. But still, this was not the first time he had stumbled by such a situation, so he was able to recover quickly. Coughing lightly, he explained, "This concerns a unique book reading technique that my teacher imparted me... Even without flipping through the books, I can still read through them! As for the additional books... After I was done with the books on the shelf, I realized that I still had some additional time, so I went on to read the books I keep in my storage ring as well..."
Knowing that it was impossible for him to explain this matter, he decided to push this matter to the 'mysterious teacher' of his. In any case, given that he had such a 'huge backing', there was no need for him to worry at all.
"To read through books without flipping through it?"
Everyone was confused.
The words were contained within the book, how could one read a book without flipping through it? Does he have the ability to peer through material objects?
Does such a technique really exist in the world?
But why haven't I heard of it then?
While everyone was skeptical of Zhang Xuan's words, Hong shi's body suddenly trembled, his face paled, and he muttered with a slightly hoarse voice, "Could... Could it be... But how is that possible?
"Hong shi, could it be that you've heard of such a technique before?"
A master teacher couldn't help but ask upon seeing the other party's reaction.
Everyone also turned their gazes over.
As a 5-star master teacher and a Transcendent Mortal 6-dan expert, Hong shi was indubitably the most knowledgeable of them here, be it cultivation or worldly experience.
"Indeed, I happen to have heard of such a matter before..."
Hearing the question, Hong shi recovered from his shock. He glanced at Zhang Xuan and thought of a certain person, and a look of respect gradually surfaced.
"I had the privilege of listening to Hongyuan Empire's Pavilion Master Mo's lesson once, and he mentioned such a matter before. If my conjecture is right, it should be…
"A technique that only a Saint 2-dan expert is capable of… Spiritual Perception Book Reading Technique!"