Chapter 379: Most powerful
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
Learning had to start from a tender age.
Fang Zhengzhi had memories from his previous world. However, when he was born, he was born into a baby"s body. This was why he managed to memorize the Law of Dao so easily.
A mature individual would not be able to memorize the entire page after reading it a couple of times, but a baby could.
Fang Zhengzhi did not know why the candidates were so stunned. Similarly, he did not understand Nangong Hao"s expression.
"120 is still too little?!" Nangong Hao was rarely this shaken, but never in his wildest dreams would he expect that Fang Zhengzhi had grasped over 120 Daos!
Nangong Hao was a genius.
He had always looked down on those around him. It was just like how a rank 2 official would not bother with the rank seven officials.
Even so, Nangong Hao had specially put aside an entire week to read up on Fang Zhengzhi in an attempt to understand him better.
The information packet included things that were public knowledge, as well as information that few knew.
For example...
The Nangong Family had sent someone to a.s.similate into the Northern and Southern Mountain villages to gather information about Fang Zhengzhi.
Nangong Hao"s preparation for this battle was complete and intensive.
He would be able to predict Fang Zhengzhi"s moves after reading up on his experiences. Furthermore, Nangong Hao had the cultivation state advantage.
His victory was virtually guaranteed.
In fact, everything was within Nangong Hao"s control. Even Fang Zhengzhi"s queer disappearance at the Intellectual Hall and his subsequent appearance in the Southern Mountain Range.
Nangong Hao had prepared for everything.
Four years of confinement...
Nangong Hao"s appearance drew much attention. Furthermore, he managed to make use of the Nangong Family"s intelligence network to hand in a script from the leader of the demons.
Then, he managed to tie for first position during the theory examination.
Everything was going according to plan. However, no one had ever mentioned the fact that Fang Zhengzhi had grasped more than 100 Daos.
"Could it be that this has been a secret all his time?" Nangong Hao felt that this was the only explanation.
However, this seemed a little far fetched.
After all...
Fang Zhengzhi was not one to fly under the radar.
He was so shameless and loved the spotlight. It would be impossible that a secret like that had stayed a secret for this length of time.
Nangong Hao simply could not figure out what was going on.
Of course, Nangong Hao never expected that Fang Zhengzhi, who tied with him for first, would be "ignorant" enough to not know what the implications meant.
Fang Zhengzhi truly did not know the implications. During his time with Chi Guyan, he had mentioned the fact that he had nearly 300 Daos in his pocket dimension.
However, other than pointing out his problem, Chi Guyan had not said that this was an extraordinary feat. She even made the "slave" deal with Fang Zhengzhi.
He looked at Nangong Hao who was visibly stumped.
Fang Zhengzhi was growing impatient. He had mentioned the fact that he had more than 100 Daos in his pocket dimension to rebuke Nangong Hao. At the same time, he would regain the upper hand.
However, he never expected to play this guessing game with Nangong Hao.
Seeing that Nangong Hao was not speaking, Fang Zhengzhi raised three fingers and waved them in front of Nangong Hao.
"130?!" Nangong Hao"s expression changed when he saw the three fingers. His calm eyes began to s.h.i.+mmer.
When Fang Zhengzhi proposed a fair fight, Nangong Hao felt for the first time that Fang Zhengzhi deserved his respect. But now...
This was the first time he took Fang Zhengzhi seriously.
"He grasped 130 Daos?!"
All of the surrounding candidates were floored by this realization. This was a number that no one would have predicted.
However, even before the candidates could express their awe, a furious voice reverberated through the air.
"Nangong Hao, are you really that much of an imbecile? Three fingers is 130?! 300, do you know what is 300?!"
Fang Zhengzhi rarely questioned the intelligence of his opponents. But now, he was questioning the intelligence of one of the most talented individuals in the empire.
That being said, he could not hold it in any longer.
Was his hint not obvious enough?
He already said that 100 was too little?
Then Nangong Hao said 120.
Fine, no problem. Since he wasn"t getting anywhere near the number, Fang Zhengzhi decided to tell him. Surely he would understand three fingers?
But yet...
Nangong Hao guessed 130?!
How could he take such humiliation?
Fang Zhengzhi did not care if others judged him as being short tempered. Even if he was going to scold the number one talent in the empire, he had to vent his anger.
Fang Zhengzhi"s voice cut through the air like a knife.
All of the candidates heard his words loud and clear.
However, they could not react in time.
There were two reasons for this. One, Fang Zhengzhi had just insulted Nangong Hao. That was obvious.
Yet, he had not even bothered trying to soften the blow.
This was almost as if an unknown carpenter ran up to a word renowned one and asked if he knew how to wield an axe?
Or if an unknown soldier waved his sword in front of the top general of their generation claiming that he can be the general"s tutor!
Who in their right mind would question Nangong Hao"s intelligence?!
Even the Emperor himself would not dare say something like that. In fact, there was no one else on the planet who would think that way.
As for the second point...
Fang Zhengzhi had said 300!
300?
What did he mean?
Was he talking about silvers? Or gold? He can"t possibly be talking about Dao?! 300?! What kind of joke was this?
The most in recorded history was 183. Furthermore, it took the person more than 90 years! How old was Fang Zhengzhi? 15? 16?
Who would believe it?
The candidates refused to.
Nangong Hao did not want to believe it either. However, Fang Zhengzhi had said it so clearly it was impossible not to understand.
"You"ve grasped... 300 Daos?!" Nangong Hao kept repeating this in his mind. His heart and mind were famed for their calmness.
However, at this moment, he felt that calm being hit by a powerful charge.
This was a virtually unstoppable hit!
Other than Nangong Hao, Wu Feng, Chen Feiyu, and even Xing Qingsui were all equally floored by this revelation.
Even Yan Xiu, who had known all along that Fang Zhengzhi had grasped many Daos, could not believe his ears.
He had heard Fang Zhengzhi mention this in pa.s.sing before.
However, he did not think too much about it. After all, there were many people in this world who grasped about 50 different Daos.
Of course, when Fang Zhengzhi said that he had grasped over 100 Daos, Yan Xiu was slightly taken aback, but only slightly.
He had always thought of Fang Zhengzhi as a genius.
As such...
He was not surprised that Fang Zhengzhi could achieve more than most.
However, when his feats were extraordinary even when compared to the best in history, even Yan Xiu could not react.
Nangong Hao was silent.
The other candidates were silent.
Yan Xiu, Wu Feng, Chen Feiyu, and Xing Qingsui were all silent.
After Fang Zhengzhi finished berating Nangong Hao, he took a deep breath. Then, he realized that he had humiliated his opponent.
After all, Nangong Hao had not scolded him.
Fang Zhengzhi had never been very well mannered. He had always spoke his mind. If he wanted to scold somebody, he wouldn"t think twice.
However, it was not very nice to scold someone when others didn"t even raise their voice.
As such, when he saw Nangong Hao remain silent, he decided to try and lighten the atmosphere and relieve some of the embarra.s.sment.
Apologize?
That would be too polite and unnecessary.
Fang Zhengzhi chose his own unique way of lightening the atmosphere. He decided to tell Nangong Hao the whole truth in a show of sincerity.
"Okay, to be honest, 300 is an estimate. If you want the exact number, I have 388 Daos in my pocket dimension!" Fang Zhengzhi revealed the exact number of Daos he had grasped. In that moment, he felt relieved.
Honesty.
This was complete honesty!
After all, cultivation was like one"s technique. Everyone guarded it closely, who would reveal something like this to the opponent?
Very few people would do such a thing.
But yet, Fang Zhengzhi had done it. He had told Nangong Hao the exact number of Daos he had in his pocket dimension. This was equivalent to telling Nangong Hao how many techniques he knew.
Of course...
Fang Zhengzhi offered up the information so readily because he felt that Nangong Hao would not benefit much from knowing that information.
After all, it was almost impossible to calculate the number of ways he could string together his techniques.
Fang Zhengzhi was confident of that.
However, when Fang Zhengzhi revealed this truth, the result was one that shocked and confused him.
"What"s wrong with Nangong Hao?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Nangong Hao, unable to understand what was happening. Nangong Hao stood in front of him like a wooden dummy.
Oh?
The top talent is stumped?
Or is he just too touched by Fang Zhengzhi"s honesty?
Fang Zhengzhi could not figure it out. He turned around and realized that the reactions of those behind him were even more exaggerated than Nangong Hao"s.
"Cling clang cling clang." Metallic noises rang out.
That was the sound of weapons falling to the ground. Fang Zhengzhi also saw all the candidates with their mouth agape, their eyes popping out of their sockets.
Fang Zhengzhi had no words to describe what he saw.
If he really had to describe it, all he could say was that they all looked dumbfounded!
"388?!"
"He said that he had 388..."
All of the candidates could not believe their ears.
In actual fact, they were already stunned when Fang Zhengzhi berated Nangong Hao. However, after they heard what Fang Zhengzhi said, they were completely floored.
388 Daos?
This was oppression!
This was never before seen, and would probably never be seen again in the future.
There was one person in history who managed to grasp 183 Daos in his life. He managed to breakthrough to the Rebirth State, becoming the most powerful person in that state.
Even though he did not manage to breakthrough to sage, his position as the most powerful person in that state made others revere him.
People once wondered how powerful this person would be if he attained sage.
That was a terrifying thought.
No one dared to imagine it, but the thought still existed. How powerful would a sage who managed to grasp more than 100 Daos be?
But...
300!
388 at that!
What kind of "potential" does this person have?
Top Heavenly Reflection State cultivator!
In that moment, all of the candidates recovered from the shock. They remembered Fang Zhengzhi"s exploits in the imperial examination. At that time, Fang Zhengzhi had just broken through a month ago.
At that time, everyone had thought that Fang Zhengzhi was only in the nascent Heavenly Reflection State. They never thought of him as being in the same league as Su Donglin, Xing Qingsui and Nangong Mu.
But the truth was?
Fang Zhengzhi showed in the first round that he had the power to go up against Su Donglin. Then, he defeated Nangong Mu, who was proficient in the Green and Blue Secret Art, in the finals. Then, he managed to take down Yan Xiu who had a good grasp of the Dao of Asura.
This was something that had stumped all of the candidates.
They could not understand why someone as shameless as him who had just broken through would have such luck and abilities. After all, he did not learn any special techniques.
But now, they understood.
Fang Zhengzhi had more than 388 Daos in his pocket dimension. In other words, Fang Zhengzhi was the most powerful Heavenly Reflection State cultivator!