Seeing these words, many students present were startled, thinking that Bai Zhenzhen had succeeded.
However, Li Xuelian sighed and looked at Bai Zhenzhen, saying, "To be able to learn the moves of these nine martial arts in such a short time with your own strength, your talent and aptitude are truly one in ten thousand."
"It is just a pity that you are still a bit short of my father's requirements."
Hearing this, some of the students present breathed a sigh of relief, while others were secretly shocked.
Zhao Tianxing thought to himself, "That didn't meet the requirements? Just how powerful of a disciple does this True Person Xinghuo want?"
On the other side, Bai Zhenzhen breathed a secret sigh of relief.
She hadn't expected to trigger a change in the Martial Arts Illustration with a single attempt just now. She had thought it was a success and, in a moment of panic, had almost opened her mouth to refuse True Person Xinghuo’s apprenticeship.
Bai Zhenzhen thought to herself, "Good thing I didn't say it, or I would have been incredibly embarrassed. I did say it felt like something was still missing."
After Bai Zhenzhen's performance, others stepped forward to try and practice the nine sets of martial arts, but none could trigger any further changes in the Heavenly Human Martial Arts Illustration.
On the contrary, Lian Tianji, who had been full of confidence, hesitated to try again. He seemed to be pondering the reason for Bai Zhenzhen's failure and what exactly they were still missing.
For a time, the entire scene fell silent, and before anyone knew it, no one else stepped forward to try.
Just as Li Xuelian was about to call it a day, she saw Zhang Yu walk up, holding his phone.
"Hmm?" Li Xuelian became interested, thinking, "After seeing so many people fail, he still has the confidence to go up. It seems he has some certainty."
But the next moment, she couldn't help but frown.
Because Zhang Yu actually started playing a video on his phone, practicing the martial arts by following Bai Zhenzhen's movements in the video.
Clearly, he had recorded Bai Zhenzhen’s performance earlier.
Seeing Zhang Yu following the video, performing move after move, Li Xuelian’s frown deepened.
It was obvious that apart from the fist technique he had comprehended himself, Zhang Yu was quite unfamiliar with the other eight sets of martial arts. Although he was mimicking Bai Zhenzhen's movements from the video, it only highlighted the gap in their respective understandings of these eight sets of moves.
In the distance, Zhao Tianxing watched Zhang Yu, dressed in a security guard uniform, imitating Bai Zhenzhen's movements like a clumsy student under the gaze of everyone. He felt his scalp tingle, and his toes curled so hard he felt like he could dig a hole through the floor.
Just watching this, he felt that the gazes directed at Zhang Yu were filled with contempt and mockery. He couldn't imagine how the person actually standing there doing it must feel.
"Stop it, Zhang Yu!" Zhao Tianxing couldn't bear to watch anymore and shouted in his heart, "It's too embarrassing! You've already been treated like a clown!"
Zhang Yu naturally couldn't hear Zhao Tianxing's thoughts, nor did he care how the people at the exhibition were looking at him.
He simply practiced the nine martial arts one by one, move by move, following Bai Zhenzhen's actions in the video with complete seriousness.
As he finished the final move, countless experiences and sensations suddenly flooded into his mind, giving Zhang Yu an instant, different understanding of the Heavenly Human Martial Arts Illustration, as if he had practiced it tens of thousands of times.
At this moment, the moves of the nine martial arts gradually faded from his mind, replaced by nine different intentions that flickered in and out of his consciousness.
In this instant, Zhang Yu suddenly understood: the nine martial arts on the Heavenly Human Martial Arts Illustration focused on intention, not moves.
What a practitioner must do is to contemplate the artistic conception within each move while practicing the martial arts.
The killing intent to crush an army, the fighting spirit that knows no regret even in death, the indomitable spirit... the nine martial arts were meant to cultivate martial intent, thereby strengthening one's Dao heart.
"This isn't a martial art for combat or physical tempering, but a martial art that uses martial intent to temper the Dao heart."
This was a martial arts mental cultivation method used to raise the level of one's Dao heart!
"Martial intent" was the collective term used by the ten great sects to describe sword intent, fist intent, blade intent, and so on.
The most basic function of martial intent was to strengthen the spirit and solidify one's will, thereby raising the practitioner's Dao heart level.
And a Golden Core True Person like True Person Xinghuo could even leave his martial intent within a painting, influencing the mental consciousness of others.
At the same time, Zhang Yu's temperament underwent a drastic change.
Killing intent, fighting spirit, courage, valor... waves of incredibly powerful auras emerged from his body, seemingly on the verge of condensing into his martial intent in that very moment.
Meanwhile, the man in the Heavenly Human Martial Arts Illustration became clearer and clearer, even gradually taking on vivid colors, as if he had become a real person, staring intently at the changes in Zhang Yu.
The people present who noticed this were also shocked; this was definitely the greatest reaction the Heavenly Human Martial Arts Illustration had shown all day.
Lian Tianji, Qian Shen, Bai Zhenzhen... they all stared fixedly at Zhang Yu. They all felt the changes in him, and the same incredible thought rose in their minds.
"Is he really going to succeed?"
But the very next moment, the changes in Zhang Yu were abruptly interrupted, and the martial intent that seemed about to condense dissipated into nothingness.
"A pity, a pity," a line of text appeared on the painting: "Heaven-sent talent, but one move short."
Zhang Yu's face, however, showed no surprise.
Heavenly Martial Heart-Refining Art Level 0 (1/1, 8.3/8 Mana, 0.85/0.8 Physical Strength, 1/3 Dao Heart)
On the Feather Book, a martial art called the "Heavenly Martial Heart-Refining Art" had appeared.
This was the martial art that finally emerged on the Feather Book after Zhang Yu repeatedly contemplated the Heavenly Human Martial Arts Illustration, carefully observed the students' performances, and recorded and studied Bai Zhenzhen's video.
Unlike the martial arts Zhang Yu had learned before, this Heavenly Martial Heart-Refining Art had requirements for mana, physical strength, and Dao heart.
"Besides having to practice all these fist, palm, and leg techniques, it also requires 8 mana, 0.8 physical strength, and a level 3 Dao heart."
"I've met all the other requirements, except for this level 3 Dao heart..."
Zhang Yu's own Dao heart was only level 1.
Trying it out like this, he was indeed stuck at the final step.
"This Heavenly Martial Heart-Refining Art, as it appears now, is a martial art used to condense martial intent after reaching level 3 Dao heart, using that intent to solidify the will and temper the Dao heart."
Zhang Yu thought to himself, "A requirement as high as level 3 Dao heart—this isn't something a first-year high school student who has only been in school for three months could reach, right?"
Li Xuelian looked at the failed Zhang Yu, her eyes sparkling with brilliance.
Her original plan flashed through her mind; she hadn't expected any of these first-year students to succeed anyway.
"According to the information sent by the security company, this person is Zhang Yu, a first-year student at Songyang High School."
"For him to reach this point, he truly deserves to be called a heaven-sent talent."
Recalling Zhang Yu's performance just now, she sighed in her heart: "Amazing, I almost misjudged him."
"He looked stiff in his moves, every punch and kick was crooked, yet he was able to comprehend the intent contained within."
"This shows that he values intent over moves and saw through the mysteries of the Heavenly Martial Heart-Refining Art early on."
"Good, good, good. My father can add another excellent disciple to his school."
In fact, as soon as Li Xuelian checked the information on the participants, she felt that no one would likely succeed in this test.
After all, students who could master the martial arts in the illustration on the spot were either from prominent families or were already in their second or third year of high school, having long since signed contracts and unlikely to come to apprentice under True Person Xinghuo.
The possibility of finding a genius who could master the Heavenly Martial Heart-Refining Art on the spot was extremely slim.
But that didn't mean no one could apprentice under her father.
If any first-year student present could withstand the impact of the martial intent, learn all the moves on the spot, and comprehend the mysteries of the martial intent, then even if they couldn't master it in the end, they were definitely a genius with extraordinary talent.
If such a person came a year later, they would certainly be able to master the Heavenly Martial Heart-Refining Art, which would also meet her father's requirements. Finding them now was equivalent to finding them a year early, before they had grown up and signed other contracts.
She believed her father would be willing to accept such an excellent disciple.
In that case, the fact that this first-year student couldn't master the Heavenly Martial Heart-Refining Art wouldn't be a drawback; instead, it would be more advantageous for Li Xuelian to slightly lower the price when signing the contract later.
Thinking of this, she smiled at Zhang Yu.
"This student, although you didn't truly master the Heavenly Martial Heart-Refining Art, you have already grasped its mysteries. Given time, mastering this martial art will only be a matter of time."
"I will ask my father in a moment to see if he is willing to take you as a disciple."
Hearing this, everyone present was shocked once again.
Lian Tianji looked in Zhang Yu's direction, opened his phone, and secretly took a photo of him. He wanted to ask around and find out where this security guard had suddenly appeared from.
Qian Shen looked at Zhang Yu in disbelief, screaming in his heart: "Impossible! How could someone with a score of 550 be accepted as a disciple by a Golden Core True Person? I must be dreaming! Is the Heavenly Human Martial Arts Illustration still testing me?"
Bai Zhenzhen: "Is Yuzi... cheating?"
Discovering that his good brother, who was inferior to him in every way and was in debt just like him, had suddenly soared to the sky, Bai Zhenzhen felt very uncomfortable.
Yuzi, it's not that I don't wish you well. If you ranked in the top ten or top five of the grade, higher than before but lower than me, I would definitely bless you.
But you had to go and suppress everyone, even surpassing me.
However, watching the people around him stepping forward to befriend Zhang Yu, Bai Zhenzhen thought to herself, "Once Zhang Yu signs under a Golden Core True Person, he'll definitely be able to attract a lot of investment. When that time comes, I must fleece him hard and borrow money from him."
But the next moment, she changed her mind, her brow furrowing: "But this Golden Core cultivation has already been halved, and it's been optimized by the big sects. No resources, no background. If Zhang Yu really apprentices under him, he'll truly be a beast of burden for the rest of his life."
"Forget it, forget it. We're brothers; I should warn him not to be dazzled by the words 'Golden Core' and make sure he rejects them."
On the other side, Zhao Tianxing's eyes widened, his mind blank. But he soon remembered how he had tried to persuade Zhang Yu earlier, and felt a wave of embarrassment: "Too embarrassing."
"He's a true genius. When I said those things in front of him, he must have thought I was a clown."
Just as Bai Zhenzhen walked toward Zhang Yu, many students surrounded him.
Some wanted to add Zhang Yu's contact information, some wanted to ask him about the mysteries of the Heavenly Human Martial Arts Illustration, and others wanted to take photos with him.
Meanwhile, Li Xuelian had walked to the side and called her father.
"Dad, I've found a good seedling here in Songyang City..."