As the end of the dimension rift was the spatial seal of the Subterranean Gallery. The group stepped across the seal, returning to the Master Teacher Continent. At this point, Zhang Xuan took out the Dragonbone Divine Spear once more to open another dimension rift.
Roughly ten minutes later, they were already in the sky above the Tianxuan Kingdom.
The capital of the Tianxuan Kingdom felt exceptionally serene. The crowds walking through the streets would never have been able to imagine that the strongest lifeforms in this world were floating right above them.
Descending from the sky, Zhang Xuan and the others walked into Tianxuan Royal City before entering Hongtian Academy. It had been little more than a year since their departure, but the entire place seemed to have expanded quite a bit. In the past, it could only house 40,000 students at most, but with its current scale, even housing 400,000 students would not pose too much of a problem!
“Hurry up! Lu Xun laoshi is conducting a lecture today. At this rate, we won’t be able to make it in time!”
“I thought that he has just achieved a breakthrough to 2-star master teacher and still needs to reinforce his cultivation?”
“No matter what he’s thinking, it’s a rare opportunity for us to listen in on the class of a 2-star master teacher. There’s no doubt that his lecture will be extremely beneficial to our cultivation! Back in the day, I listened in on Zhang shi’s class, and even though it was only a short half an hour, it left a lasting effect on me!”
“Wait a moment, you’ve attended one of Zhang shi’s classes before?”
“Of course! Little Li, you have only joined the academy this year, so you might not have heard of him before. Zhang shi was the most popular teacher in our Hongtian Academy a year back, and his reputation exceeded even Lu Xun laoshi’s back then!”
…
While Zhang Xuan, Zhao Ya, and the others were walking around the compounds of the academy, a group of students suddenly rushed past them.
They had disguised themselves a little prior to entering the city, so it was no wonder that no one was able to recognize them. Plus, they had left Hongtian Academy a year ago, so no one would be expecting them to be there.
Hearing a familiar name, Zhang Xuan remarked with a smile, “Oh? Lu Xun is already a 2-star master teacher? That’s quite fast…”
Lu Xun had been the most respected teacher in Hongtian Academy back when he first transcended over to this world. Even Wang Ying and Zhao Ya had wanted to join his classes, just that they had ended up being intercepted by him.
That being said, Lu Xun had only been an ordinary star teacher back then, a huge distance away from becoming a 1-star master teacher. Yet, in the blink of an eye, he was already a 2-star master teacher!
Sometimes, it was truly surprising how quickly things changed.
“Teacher, shall we head over to take a look?” Zhao Ya asked with a smile.
Zhang Xuan nodded in response.
Given that this was the first familiar name that they had heard since returning, it went without saying that they should pay him a visit.
While the two of them had been in conflict back then, that had been resolved in the end. To the current him, those were just interesting memories that he would look back upon from time to time.
Following the flow of crowd, it did not take long before Zhang Xuan and the others arrived in an auditorium. In there, they saw a young man standing on top of a tall stage with a dignified disposition.
He was none other than Lu Xun.
Over the past year, he had cultivated an aura unique to him. He was dressed in a master teacher robe with two shining stars pinned on his chest, indicating that he was a 2-star master teacher.
Had it been in the past, there was no way that one would have been able to find a 2-star master teacher in the Tianxuan Kingdom.
“You lot…”
Just as they were intending to go a bit closer to the stage, a young lady suddenly appeared before them, blocking their way.
With an appearance that hinted that she was in her early teens, this young lady was dressed in a greenish robe. There was a hint of valiance between her eyebrows, bearing some resemblance to the past Zhao Ya.
Perplexed by the appearance of the young lady, the group of them glanced at one another before Wang Ying stepped forward to speak with a smile.
“We heard that Lu Xun laoshi is holding a lecture, so we came over to take a look…”
“If you wish to listen to Lu laoshi’s class, you’ll have to either flash your Student Token or pay two gold coins. This isn’t an entrance fee but a rightful compensation that a master teacher deserves for his service!” the young lady said as she stretched out her hand to demand payment.
“Gold coins?” Zhang Xuan and the others were stunned.
As noble as master teachers were, they needed a means for survival as well. As such, it was customary for them to demand payment for their lectures.
Given that Zhang Xuan and the others had already left Hongtian Academy, there was no way that they would still have their Student Tokens with them. It was not that they were unwilling to pay the fee, but it was just a little difficult for them to do so.
Even the least valuable item in Zhang Xuan’s storage ring was a pinnacle spirit stone. Anything beneath that was not even worthy of his notice, let alone the gold coins used in Unranked Kingdoms.
“We don’t have any Student Tokens nor gold coins with us… However, I do have a pill here. Will you be able to make an exception for us with this?”
After searching his storage ring for a very long time, he finally took out the lowest grade pill in his storage ring and handed it over.
“A pill?” The young lady widened her eyes in astonishment.
Even the resources that her teacher would usually bestow upon her were simple medicinal balls. Pills were considered a top-notch cultivation resource. They had their unique names, and each of them was incredibly valuable. The group before her were unable to take out any gold coins, but they had pills in their possession?
The young lady took the pill from Zhang Xuan’s hand and examined it closely. Slowly, a frown formed on her forehead.
To her eyes, the pill looked perfectly plain and ordinary. It formed a stark contrast to the pills harnessing billowing energy that she usually saw around. It seemed to her that the pill in her hands was just a handful of medicinal herbs clumped together.
“Who do you think you’re fooling? Can this be considered a pill? Do you take me for some countryside bumpkin?” The young lady harrumphed wrathfully.
She might have been young, but she had seen pills before! A while back, an apothecary had specially delivered a pill in order to get on her teacher’s good side. She had happened to be around when the apothecary presented his pill. As soon as the lid to the jade container was opened, a surge of spiritual energy had immediately rushed out, leaving one feeling incredibly revitalized.
On the other hand, the pill before her was not properly kept in a jade container. Not only so, there was not the slightest spiritual energy that could be felt from it.
Are you honestly calling this a pill? You must be joking!
If you think that you can use this poor imitation of a pill to cheat me of fourteen gold coins, you are sorely mistaken!
Seeing the furious look on the young lady’s face, Wang Ying realized that the young lady was unable to discern the true value of the pill, so she quickly explained, “This really is a pill. Furthermore, it’s one that can aid your cultivation, so its value definitely far surpasses gold coins…”
“I only want gold coins. I don’t need this pill!” The young lady harrumphed indignantly as she tossed the pill back to Zhang Xuan.
“This…” Zhang Xuan had no idea whether he should laugh or cry at this situation.
With his current fortune, even a pill that he randomly picked out of his storage ring could be sold for an astronomical price in the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters. He was offering it to a young lady instead of the fourteen gold coin entrance fee, but the other party actually thought that he was a swindler.
Hearing that her teacher was being called a swindler, Wang Ying took out another medicinal herb and passed it over. “Since you don’t want the pill, what about this herb? It’s also quite valuable, so I believe it should suffice to compensate the fee.”
It was a 500-year-old Coldstar Grass!
Of course, as the head of the Spirit Awakener Guild, there was no way that she would have gold coins on her.
“You want to pay for the entrance fee with this weed? Don’t think that I’m a naive little girl just because I’m young! I’ll have you know that my teacher is 2-star Master Teacher Lu Xun! No matter what you say or bring out today, unless you can fork out the fourteen gold coins entrance fee, I’ll have to ask you to leave!”
It was one thing for the other party to try to fool her with fake pills, but to think that the other party would try to fool her with some wild grass that she could not recognize too! Feeling insulted, the young lady’s face turned livid.
“I…” Wang Ying was rendered speechless.
She had no idea how she could deal with this situation.
With her current identity, everything that could be found in her storage ring was an extraordinary and exclusive item. For her to take out something that was worth fourteen gold coins and recognizable to this young lady… this was really a bit difficult.
“You aren’t going to pay the fee? From the looks of it, it seems like you are really here just to cause trouble!” Seeing the conflicted looks on the faces of the group, the young lady was convinced that they were all scammers.
Unable to hold back her rage anymore, she turned around and exclaimed, “Senior, these people here are refusing to pay for Lu laoshi’s lesson. Please send them out for me!”
Huala!
The next moment, a young man wielding a spear walked out from a nearby room.
Upon seeing the young man’s silhouette, Zheng Yang’s body stiffened as his eyes reddened a little. “Mo Xiao, is that you?”
One more chapter to commemorate the start of a new arc~