Chapter 1242: Why Are You Playing Dead?
Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97
“Zhang s.h.i.+ has never tried the Heavenly Impartation of Mentor’s Calligraphy before, so it’s inevitable that he’s unfamiliar with the nature of the Brush of Heavenly Impartation. No matter how high his Soul Depth is, it’ll still be hard to bridge this disparity in experience between them.”
“It’s precisely in view of this that Song s.h.i.+ intentionally challenged Zhang s.h.i.+ to this duel. It seems like Zhang s.h.i.+’s undefeated record is about to come to an end!”
“Indeed, there are no ordinary quasi 8-star master teachers out there. He must have seen through Zhang s.h.i.+’s flaws, so he intentionally proposed such rules to the duel.”
…
After waiting a while longer, the brush remained completely motionless. The crowd beneath the stage was already beginning to feel a little unnerved.
Even though Heavenly Impartation of Mentor Calligraphy was considered another offshoot of Impartation of Heaven’s Will, its difficulty was far greater than the latter. There were many talented master teachers who possessed high Soul Depth and exceptional insight in cultivation but failed to cause the Brush of Heavenly Impartation to move on their first attempt as well, and this could have been the situation that Zhang Xuan was facing.
“Benefactor, Zhang s.h.i.+…” Elder Xu looked at Sun Qiang worriedly.
It was to save them that the Young Master of their benefactor ended up being challenged by Song s.h.i.+. If the young man came to any harm as a result of this matter, they would never be able to rest in peace.
“Don’t worry, our Young Master has never lost in this kind of challenge before!” Sun Qiang waved his hand nonchalantly.
It had been nearly a year since he had met the Young Master, and they had seen innumerable conflicts and battles within this period of time. In comparison, this matter could not have seemed any more trivial, so how could the Young Master possibly lose?
In this moment, the confident Sun Qiang suddenly saw the Young Master on the execution platform stretching his back lazily, seemingly a little exhausted, before taking a few steps back.
“Alright, I’m done.”
After which, Zhang Xuan stopped speaking and stood patiently by the side.
Upon seeing this sight, the flabs on Sun Qiang’s cheeks began to twitch wildly.
The brush had not even moved, and yet, the Young Master actually said that he was done. Wasn’t the Young Master supposed be invincible?
Could it be that he was unable to push on anymore, so he intended to admit defeat?
Upon seeing Zhang Xuan’s actions, Yao s.h.i.+’s face also warped in astonishment. “Zhang s.h.i.+, there’s no time limit to the Heavenly Impartation of Mentor’s Calligraphy. The victor is determined by the number of characters written.”
“I know.” Zhang Xuan waved his hand. “Given how much I have said, it should suffice for me to win.”
“Win?” That word made Yao s.h.i.+’s eyes roll up, and she nearly choked on her own saliva.
From the moment you started speaking, the Brush of Heavenly Impartation has not even moved a single inch, as if it was sleeping its way through your lecture. Did you really think that you could win with this?
Song s.h.i.+ was also stunned for a moment before sneering coldly. “You want to defeat me without having a single character written?”
Given how the young man could get all of the higher ranking master teachers in the Qingyuan Empire Master Teacher Pavilion to acknowledge him as their teacher, as well as his feat of successfully cras.h.i.+ng the Master Teacher Pavilion, there was little doubt that the other party’s Soul Depth was at least on par with his. As such, he had been worrying that the young man might just make a miracle here and break his current record. However, from the looks of it now… it seemed like he had been worrying in vain!
If only he had known how weak his opponent was, he would not have forced himself to write the ninth character!
What a waste!
Song s.h.i.+ stepped forward and clasped his fist. “Yao s.h.i.+, the results should be clear at this point. You were the one who brought the Brush of Heavenly Impartation here, so there’s no way I could have cheated in the duel. I beseech you to declare the victor of the duel.”
“This…” Yao s.h.i.+ hesitated.
The Master Teacher Confrontation was only conducted when there was a conflict between two master teachers. The victorious individual would be able to do anything to the losing party without incurring any punishment, and this included murder!
However, Zhang Xuan had just killed the Qingtian Emperor and saved the countless civilians from Qingyuan City. The contribution he had made to mankind was truly great, so if Song s.h.i.+ dealt with him too harshly, it would be hard for her to explain this to the headquarters.
“May I know what kind of punishment Song s.h.i.+ intends to issue Zhang s.h.i.+ upon your victory? Putting aside the fact that he’s a genius who has succeeded in pavilion cras.h.i.+ng, more importantly, he also just made a huge contribution to mankind.” Instead of announcing the results, Yao s.h.i.+ hesitated for a moment before turning to Song s.h.i.+ to remind him of who his opponent was.
Song s.h.i.+ harrumphed coldly. “Yao s.h.i.+, rest a.s.sured. I won’t kill him. However, he has undermined my dignity and sullied my reputation, and for that, I cannot let him off easily! Firstly, I shall cripple him and make him just like me. After that, I will crush the spirit of the cauldron that injured me. Last but not least, I want him to publicly apologize to me!”
“You want to make him like you?” Yao s.h.i.+’s lips began twitching uncontrollably.
While she did not witness the sight with her own eyes, she could still tell the current state Song s.h.i.+ was in. By saying that he wanted to make Zhang Xuan like him, wasn’t the other party effectively saying that he wanted to castrate Zhang Xuan?
But…
Even though Song s.h.i.+’s intention to castrate Zhang Xuan was a little gruesome, it was still possible for Zhang Xuan to fully recover through the Grand Intermittence Pill. The process would be humiliating and excruciating, but at the very least, it would not cause any physical impairment to the young man.
As for destroying the spirit of the cauldron and making a public apology, those were at least acceptable conditions.
“Very well!” After a moment of thought, Yao s.h.i.+ turned to Zhang Xuan and said, “Zhang s.h.i.+, there is no one in the world who can avoid loss their entire life, so you don’t have to take this matter to heart. As long as you live to see another day, there will still be a chance for you to turn the tables…”
After saying those words, Yao s.h.i.+ sighed deeply before turning to the crowd. With a resounding voice, she declared, “Alright, I’m going to announce the results of the duel…”
But before Yao s.h.i.+ could finish her words, Zhang Xuan suddenly raised his hand and said, “Yao s.h.i.+, the duel is still ongoing. Why are you announcing the results now?”
“The duel is still ongoing? The Brush of Heavenly Impartation has not written out a single character under your Impartation of Heaven’s Will, so I believe the results should already be clear for everyone to see! Stop stalling for time!” Song s.h.i.+ sneered coldly.
With so many people present to testify for him, not to mention the fact that Yao s.h.i.+ was presiding over the duel herself, it was impossible Zhang Xuan to refute the results.
Zhang Xuan shook his head. “Isn’t there no time limit to the Heavenly Impartation of Mentor’s Calligraphy? The Brush of Heavenly Impartation might not be moving at the moment, but that doesn’t mean that it won’t move later on.”
“Later on? Are you joking with me? You should know very well that if the Brush of Heavenly Impartation did not move during your lecture, there’s no way that it will move after it. Despite being a 7-star master teacher, are you so gutless as to be unwilling to acknowledge your own defeat?” Song s.h.i.+ mocked.
Seeing that Song s.h.i.+ was unwilling to believe his words, Zhang Xuan shook his head in disappointment. Just as he was about to explain himself, Yao s.h.i.+ suddenly sighed and interjected, “Zhang s.h.i.+, the fact that the Brush of Heavenly Impartation hasn’t moved yet is enough to show that you have already lost.”
“Lost?” Hearing those words from Yao s.h.i.+, the look of disappointment in Zhang Xuan’s eyes deepened. “Yao s.h.i.+, you are unable to discern it as well?”
“Discern what?” Yao s.h.i.+ frowned.
“Since none of you can tell, I guess I have no choice…” With a look of helplessness, Zhang Xuan turned to the unmoving brush in the air and bellowed, “Why are you still playing dead over there? Hurry up and write!”
I have already given you sufficient time to ponder over the lecture; it’s about time you stop playing dead and get to work!
Not expecting Zhang Xuan to roar at the Brush of Heavenly Impartation like that, everyone was stunned. Yao s.h.i.+ even nearly collapsed to the ground from shock.
“The Brush of Heavenly Impartation has been nourished by the wills of countless master teachers, so it carries the authority of the Way of Teacher. Bellowing at it like that will only make it even more reluctant to write…”
The Brush of Heavenly Impartation was an extremely proud artifact, such that not even Pavilion Master He of their Empire Alliance Master Teacher Pavilion would dare use such a harsh tone toward it. Yet, this fellow actually insulted it straight to its face.
That was as good as completely offending the brus.h.!.+ Putting aside having it write anything for him, it would already be a blessing if it did not scribble on his face as vengeance!
Grabbing her forehead out of frustration from the foolish action from the young man, Yao s.h.i.+ suddenly heard a commotion beneath the execution platform. Countless piercing screams echoed in the air, as if something inconceivable had just happened.
“What’s wrong?” Frowning, Yao s.h.i.+ raised her head to look at the Brush of Heavenly Impartation once more, and what she saw left her frozen on the spot.
The unmoving Brush of Heavenly Impartation suddenly began shaking intensely as its golden exterior faded into paleness, and a warm glow emanated from within.
Following that, the spiritual energy in an area of two hundred li swiftly converged toward the brush, sapping the entire area dry within just a few moments.
Geji! Geji!
Under the nourishment of the spiritual energy, the Brush of Heavenly Impartation seemed to be undergoing an evolution, and a crisp sound reminiscent of a being breaking out of its coc.o.o.n echoed in the air.
“T-this is…” Clenching her fists in agitation, a hint of disbelief surfaced on Yao s.h.i.+’s elegant face. “The Brush of Heavenly Impartation… is making a breakthrough?”
While the Brush of Heavenly Impartation was not a Saint-tier artifact, there were still differing grades to it. This was similar to how brushes could be of different qualities.
Without a doubt, a Brush of Heavenly Impartation nourished by a 9-star master teacher would be vastly different to one nourished by an 8-star master teacher.
The Brush of Heavenly Impartation that Yao s.h.i.+ owned could be said to be average. It would not have much trouble penning down the quintessence of the teachings of an 8-star low-tier master teacher, but anything more profound than that would prove to be a challenge for it.
Typically speaking, for a Brush of Heavenly Impartation to make a breakthrough, it had to be nourished by the aura of a higher ranked master teacher, so… why would it suddenly achieve a breakthrough after listening to a single lecture from Zhang Xuan?
Not to mention, the huge commotion that was happening at the moment was abnormal as well. Without a doubt, this was no ordinary breakthrough.
Kacha! Kacha!
While everyone was still in a state of shock, the motionless brush finally began to move.
An entire line of words appeared before the crowd in the blink of an eye.
“One, two, three… eighty-seven… It’s moving too fast for me to count properly!” shouted someone amid the crowd.
“Look! It’s writing so fast that smoke is rising from its brush tip,” another person shouted.
“Smoke?” With a look of horror, Song s.h.i.+ quickly turned his gaze to the sky and saw that due to the astounding speed that the Brush of Heavenly Impartation was writing at, a long stream of smoke was rising behind it.
Back when he was conducting the Heavenly Impartation of Mentor’s Calligraphy, the Brush of Heavenly Impartation wrote every single stroke slowly, as if there was something restraining it. Yet, when it came to Zhang s.h.i.+, characters seemed to flow out like a flood.
Did there really have to be such a huge disparity between the two of them?
Unlike the flabbergasted crowd, Yao s.h.i.+ gulped as she uttered with a quivering voice, “This is… the Beacon of Heavenly Impartation!”
“Beacon of Heavenly Impartation?” Song s.h.i.+ frowned.
Despite being a quasi 8-star master teacher, he had never heard such a term before.
Yao s.h.i.+ clenched her fists tighty in agitation as she explained, “The Brush of Heavenly Impartation takes every word that it pens down solemnly, rarely making a move unless it hears something that inspires it. However, if it encounters a particularly profound Impartation of Heaven’s Will, it will rush to pen whatever it heard down, leaving behind a trail of smoke in its wake. We named this phenomenon ‘Beacon of Heavenly Impartation’. When in this state, the Brush of Heavenly Impartation will jot down the profoundness of the lecture down word for word.”
“Word for word? This… How can that be possible?” Song s.h.i.+ could hardly believe what he was hearing. “No matter how concise a lecture is, there’s bound to be conjunctions and connectors, and even though those words improve the flow of the lecture, they don’t add value to the content, so the Brush of Heavenly Impartation never jots them down.”
Even the most formidable of teachers could not possibly conduct a lecture where every single word was significant. It was inevitable that some unmeaningful words would be mixed into the lecture.
This was also why the Brush of Heavenly Impartation would only selectively pick out the crux of the Impartation of Heaven’s Will to record.
“It’s indeed true that there are bound to be many meaningless words in an ordinary lecture, but… have you forgotten about that?” Yao s.h.i.+ replied in a shaky tone.
“That?” Song s.h.i.+ was stunned for a moment when a thought streaked across his mind. His body immediately stiffened as if a wooden stick as he asked weakly, “Is Yao s.h.i.+ referring to the ability that only 9-star master teachers possess… Words of Wisdom?”
“Indeed. Only Words of Wisdom can induce the Beacon of Heavenly Impartation,” Yao s.h.i.+ replied.
Unable to believe what he was hearing, Song s.h.i.+ exclaimed, “B-but… he’s only a 7-star master teacher!”
He turned his gaze back to the brush in the air and saw the latter writing faster and faster. At this rate, it was already moving so swiftly that afterimages could be seen in its wake. At the same time, the lines of words ferociously swallowed the gathered spiritual energy, seemingly ready to break into the world themselves.
“This is too exaggerated! It can’t stop at all!”
Feeling as if he had just received ten thousand points of damage, Song s.h.i.+ nearly burst into tears.