This was Kong shi!
The incredible figure who founded the Master Teacher Pavilion!
If Zhang Xuan was accepted as his student, not only could he learn the solution to solving the Innate Fetal Poison, he would even gain a huge backer.
If he were to become the student of such a formidable figure, he would probably get at least a few thousand spirit stones as an acceptance gift, otherwise, it would be unbefitting of his title as the world’s teacher!
If only I knew that you are Kong shi, I wouldn’t have rejected you go haughtily. I would have surely agreed to it immediately…
Zhang Xuan felt so regretful that his intestines were turning green.
To reject even Kong shi’s admittance, was there a person who was more foolish than him in this world?
If he knew that such a matter would occur, he would have at least flipped through some books to take a look at Kong shi’s appearance. If he knew who this old geezer was, he wouldn’t have made such a foolish decision…
“Zhang shi, Kong shi has already been dead for many years. This is only his statue, and it doesn’t possess consciousness…”
Seeing the fellow before him going into a frenzy, Su shi hurriedly stepped forward to persuade him.
Kong shi had departed from the world many years ago, and what was left in his statue was just his lingering will.
Putting aside your crying, it will be useless even if you were to smash this statue!
Take you in?
Do you think that it’s that easy to become Kong shi’s student?
“Could it be that it isn’t him?”
Different from Su shi’s reaction, Pavilion Master Jiang, Elder Zhu, and the others glanced at one another doubtfully.
This morning, they had witnessed the bestowment of the title of Celestial Master Teacher and the act of Kong shi accepting a disciple for themselves.
And they remembered clearly how that person rejected him on the spot…
All along, they had been thinking that it was Zhang shi, but from the looks of it, that didn’t seem to be the case.
After all, just by looking at the desire and anticipation on his face, how could he have possibly given up such a good opportunity?
But of course, if Zhang Xuan were to know their thoughts, he would probably burst into tears.
Do you think that I wanted that to happen? It’s because I didn’t recognize him!
“Doesn’t possess consciousness? I see…”
Lifting his head to take another look at the statue, he confirmed that there wasn’t any spirit within it, unlike the situation before. Thus, Zhang Xuan could only shake his head helplessly.
Even so, he secretly sneaked his hand over and touched the statue.
Hu!
A book appeared in the Library of Heaven’s Path: “A statue produced in Luohai City from a 9-mo craftsman. It was created by roasting deep ocean soil for forty-nine days, giving it a durability that could even last past a millennium. Flaws: …”
Pu!
Zhang Xuan’s body swayed.
There was no doubt about it. What was before him was just a simple statue.
To think that he passed up the opportunity to become Kong shi’s disciple…
Such a huge waste!
“Let’s begin!”
Seeing that the genius Zhang shi had finally reverted back to his normal state, Su shi gestured.
“Un!”
Pavilion Master Jiang stepped forward and said, “You two have passed the examination and obtained your master teacher emblems, but to be acknowledged by the other master teachers, you all must gain the acknowledgement of the ancestors first!”
“If you succeed, the ancestors will bestow you a unique aura. Even without your emblem, through exuding this aura, other master teachers will still be able to recognize you.”
Even though Su shi and Ling shi didn’t take out their emblems just now, and all they had said was their names, Pavilion Master Jiang didn’t doubt their words at all. This was because of a unique aura that they exuded which confirmed their identities.
“Succeed? Does that mean that there are people who aren’t acknowledged?” Zhang Xuan asked doubtfully.
“Of course! The acknowledgement depends on the will of the ancestors. Every single tablet possesses a lingering spirit. Even though they don’t possess consciousness, they are capable of determining whether a person is truly qualified to become a master teacher or not!”
Smiling, Pavilion Master Jiang pointed to the front, “You both only need to kneel here. When an ancestor acknowledges you, his tablet will fall. With every acknowledgement, you will earn a surge of aura. The more ancestors who acknowledge you, the greater the surge of aura will be. This is also an indication of their approval of your talent, and their belief in your capability to reach greater heights.”
“I see!”
Zhang Xuan came to an understanding.
Since he took the 2-star master teacher straight away, he had never been here, so he wasn’t too sure of the proceedings. On the other hand, Mo Hongyi, already being experienced in this matter, wasn’t too surprised by the process.
“If one fails to earn the acknowledgement of any ancestor, will one lose their master teacher qualification?”
Since there were those who weren’t acknowledged by any as well, what would happen to them?
They couldn’t possibly strip a person of his license after all the hard work he put in into passing the examination just because some tablets refused to acknowledge them.
“Of course not!” Pavilion Master Jiang shook his head. “Actually, it’s common for one not to be recognized. The owners of these tablets were all powerful figures in their lifetime, and they only acknowledged those who manage to catch their eye. Under normal circumstances, the chances of a 1-star master teacher being recognized are less than one percent. Even for 2-star master teacher, the chances are only at ten percent!”
“Ten percent?” The crowd was dumbstruck.
This percentage was really way too low.
“At 3-star, the possibility will be raised to twenty percent. At 4-star, forty percent, and at 5-star, seventy percent. Only 6-star master teachers have a hundred percent possibility of being acknowledged. However, the number of tablets that fall for them would be a completely different matter.”
Pavilion Master Jiang nodded.
Even though they didn’t have any master teachers beyond 2-star in their guild, this was all basic knowledge. As the pavilion master, he was well-aware of such details.
“This…” Zhang Xuan finally understood the difficulty of the matter.
A 6-star master teacher was a powerful expert whose stomp could cause an entire region to tremble regardless of where he went. Even the entire Myriad Kingdom Alliance could be easily destroyed before the might of such a figure.
Yet, one had to reach such a level before there was a hundred percent chance they could be acknowledged. From this, the difficulty of the matter was clear to see.
“Receiving the acknowledgement from the ancestors is an honor. Those who’ve received the acknowledgement of more ancestors tended to be more talented, and most of them went on to achieve great things in the future. The most famous genius in the Myriad Kingdom Alliance, Jun Ruohuan, managed to pass the 4-star master teacher examination before reaching his thirties, and his feat became a legend among the master teachers in the Myriad Kingdom Alliance. Back then, when he passed his 2-star master teacher examination, he earned the acknowledgement from seven of the tablets!”
Su shi turned to look at Zhang Xuan and smiled.
If the greatest genius in Tianwu Kingdom was Zhang Xuan, then Jun Ruohuan was, indubitably, the number one genius of the Myriad Kingdom Alliance.
“Becoming a 4-star master teacher under thirty?” Zhang Xuan was astounded.
All of the master teachers he knew were mostly in their seventies and eighties. Under such a trend, to be able to pass the 4-star master teacher examination below thirty was indeed a formidable feat, and it bore testimony to the other party’s talents.
In comparison to him, even the number one genius of Tianwu Kingdom Mo Hongyi lost his radiance.
The further one progressed as a master teacher, the more difficult the examinations became, the greater the demand on one’s Soul Depth. Many talented experts ended up being stuck at 3-star for their entire life, unable to take the final leap to become a 4-star master teacher.
Based on the classification of the guild headquarters, one was considered a primary master teacher from 1-star to 3-star, an intermediate master teacher from 4-star to 6-star, and an advanced master teacher from 7-star to 9-star.
There was a huge gap in standing between 3-star to 4-star. It was as though the distance between Tongxuan realm and Zongshi realm, and ordinary people couldn’t hope to make the leap.
“There’s no need for you two to feel pressured about this. It’s best to be acknowledged, but if not, there is no need for you two to worry. For the past three hundred years, there hasn’t been a person who succeeded before. All I hope is for a single exception to happen while I am still the pavilion master so that I can brag about it when I visit the other pavilions!”
Pavilion Master Jiang smiled bitterly.
“Un!” Zhang Xuan nodded.
He was initially a little tense over the matter, but after learning that it wasn’t necessary, he heaved a sigh of relief.
But that was to be expected. Different master teachers had different expectations. It was possible for a talented master teacher to not meet the eyes of any of the ancestors. Besides, the owners of those tablet had already turned into dust, and all that was left of them was just a lingering will. It shouldn’t be a big deal even if one failed to win their acknowledgement.
“Mo shi, you should go first!”
After explaining the entire matter, Pavilion Master Jiang beckoned Mo Hongyi forward.
“Yes!”
Mo Hongyi nodded. There was a grim look on his face.
Back then, when he was still a 1-star master teacher, he failed to earn the acknowledgement of any of the ancestors. As the number one genius of Tianwu Kingdom, especially after hearing the deeds of Jun Ruohuan, his motivation suddenly surged.
If he were to succeed, he would leave a mark in history.
At the very least, he wouldn’t pale too much in comparison to Zhang Xuan.
Taking a deep breath, he stepped forward and kneeled onto the prayer mat at the very center of the room.
“Descendant Mo Hongyi pays respect to the ancestors, and I earnestly plead for your acknowledgement!”
His voice was crisp. After finishing his words, his entire body bent forward, nearly touching the floor.
“How is it?”
Zhang Xuan hurriedly turned his attention to the tablets. The other master teachers, including Su shi and Ling shi, also looked over in interest as well.
Mo Hongyi was the most talented genius in Tianwu Kingdom for the past millennium. Despite his young age, he had already passed the 2-star master teacher examination.
Putting aside the monster, Zhang Xuan, he was famous even in Xuanyuan Kingdom. If such a person couldn’t earn the acknowledgement of the ancestors, then the test of the Teacher Acknowledgement Hall was indeed too difficult.
No one dared to speak, and the entire room fell so silent that even a pin drop could be heard.
Kacha!
After a long period of time, just as everyone thought that there was no hope, a tablet fell over.
Boom!
Then, a surge of green aura flew from the depths of the hall and shrouded Mo Hongyi.
“This is… the same unique aura from the bestowment of Celestial Master Teacher?”
Upon seeing the aura, Zhang Xuan was taken aback.
Back when Zhang Xuan was bestowed the title of Celestial Master Teacher, he had been shrouded by a unique aura which swiftly increased his Soul Depth.
To think that the acknowledgement from the ancestral tablets in the Teacher Acknowledgement Hall would have the same effects.
It was no wonder why a Celestial Master Teacher would be acknowledged by other master teachers even without an emblem. So, the aura that the others were talking about referred to this!
“How sparse…”
After confirming the identity of the green aura, Zhang Xuan couldn’t help but shake his head.
When he became a Celestial Master Teacher, the green aura was as thick as billowing smoke, but the surge shrouding Mo Hongyi was only around the thickness of a finger.
This was just like the difference between a raging river and a small stream.
Hu!
In a few breaths, Mo Hongyi managed to absorb it cleanly. Delight showed clearly on Mo Hongyi’s face as he stood up.
He couldn’t suppress the exhilaration in his heart.
Even though only one ancestral tablet had fallen for him, he had at least won the acknowledgement of a single ancestor. With this, he had broken the record of the Tianwu Kingdom Master Teacher Pavilion for the past few centuries!
“Incredible!”
“As expected of the ex-number one genius of our kingdom!”
“Finally, one of our master teachers is acknowledged. Good! That old fellow Zhao Xue won’t be able to brag about this matter before me anymore…”
Upon seeing this sight, Pavilion Master Jiang, Elder Zhu, and the others couldn’t help but exclaim excitedly.
None of the master teachers in Tianwu Kingdom had ever earned the acknowledgement of the ancestors before. Seeing this sight before them, they couldn’t hold back their agitation anymore.
“Not bad! To earn the acknowledgement of an ancestor as a 2-star master teacher, you have a bright future in front of you! Even I only managed to earn their acknowledgement upon reaching 3-star!” Su shi nodded in approval.
“Being approved at 3-star is already an incredible feat. I only managed to have a single tablet fall for me after becoming a 4-star master teacher… Seems like the talent of Mo shi is indeed incredible!” Ling shi chuckled.
Even Su shi and Ling shi failed to be recognized when they were still 2-star master teachers. From this, the difficulty of this trial was clear to see.
“Alright, now that Mo shi has obtained the approval of an ancestor, Zhang shi, it’s your turn!”
Recovering from his shock, Pavilion Master Jiang turned to Zhang Xuan.
The crowd immediately turned their attention to Zhang Xuan as well.
