Most important of all…
According to what he heard from the other master teachers, in order to save them, Zhang shi had utilized a secret art to forcefully raise his cultivation from Cosmos Bridge realm primary stage to Cosmos Bridge realm pinnacle!
If it had been anyone else in his place, that person would have surely gone around showing off his prowess. On the other hand, Zhang shi had chosen to remain humble about the matter…
If not for Yu Cheng exposing his name, no one would have recognized him!
It was truly a pity that most master teachers get too caught up with cultivating their strength that they neglected to cultivate their spirituality.
Look at yourself… Are you certain that you are qualified to compete with him?
What do you have that can possibly compete with him?
Your boastful mouth?
With such a thought in mind, the seniors glanced at Yu Cheng derisively.
If it had been in the past, they would surely have been awed by Yu Cheng’s astounding result of two thousand points. But when put against Zhang shi, the disparity was simply too big that it was almost disappointing.
And this wasn’t just an issue concerning strength, but moral values as well.
Zhang shi was willing to sacrifice himself for the other master teachers while expecting nothing in return, what about you?
In fear of loss, you intentionally chased away the spirit beast that the other party’s tamed beast had captured over. After such a shameless act, you even dared to show off your points and force the other party to fulfill the end of the bet…
The both of you are geniuses, but why is there simply such a huge gap between you two?
“…”
Under the derisive gazes of the seniors, Yu Cheng felt his legs losing his strength. He quickly turned around to look at the others, only to find countless more derisive gazes before him.
Unable to take the blow, Yu Cheng’s vision darkened, and a spurt of fresh blood gushed from his mouth.
The heck… Isn’t this just a bet?
In this examination, I was stripped bare by a spirit beast and lost all of my artifacts. Despite my hard work and outstanding performance, I still ended up being the object of mockery of everyone else… What the hell is this!
Brother Yu and Senior Feng glanced at one another, and they burst into tears.
…
“That… Bai shi, may I know the reason why Elder Mo is looking for me?”
Until this point, Zhang shi was still stunned by the sudden twist of events before him. He simply couldn’t figure out what was going on.
He had been too caught up with pursuing the Myriad Anthive Queen that he neglected the spirit beasts that he had tamed. As such, he was also unaware that the master teachers he had saved had put the points obtained from those spirit beasts under his name.
As a result, he still thought that his score was lower than Yu Cheng’s.
“You don’t know?”
Hearing Zhang Xuan’s question, Bai shi was taken aback. He turned around to look at Zhang Xuan, and upon seeing the earnest confusion in the other party’s face, his respect for the other party deepened further.
Did you see that?
This is the magnanimity of a true master!
Under normal circumstances, it would be a blessing if one didn’t solicit for a reward after doing a kind deed. On the other hand, Zhang shi threw it completely to the back of his mind, treating it as if it was the natural thing to do. Such nobility was truly worthy of respect!
Of everyone that he had seen, the only one who could possibly compare with the other party was the old principal.
“Am I supposed to know?”
Zhang Xuan asked in bewilderment.
He had only met Elder Mo once, and that was during the briefing of the examination. On top of that, he also didn’t think that he had done anything worthy of the other party’s attention. So what could the other party be seeking him for?
“Don’t worry, you aren’t in any trouble. You will know once we get there!”
With a slight smile, Bai shi replied.
After walking for some distance, a straw hut came into sight.
While it was termed as a straw hut, it actually resembled more of a gazebo. It seemed to be freshly built, and beneath its roof sat two elders.
“Pavilion Master Mo?”
With a glance, Zhang Xuan swiftly recognized the two men in the gazebo. One of them was Elder Mo while the other party was Pavilion Master Mo, the person who left a high-tier spirit stone as a reward for the Master Teacher Tournament, Mo Gaoyuan.
“Teacher, Zhang shi is here!”
Unaware of the doubts flying through Zhang Xuan’s mind, Bai shi stepped forward and reported.
“Oh? You are Zhang Xuan?”
Elder Mo stood up and assessed Zhang Xuan from head to toe. He slowly nodded, seemingly satisfied with what he was seeing.
A composed young man with no signs of anxiety or arrogance. It was clear that he was a highly cultured man.
“Zhang Xuan pays respect to Elder Mo and Pavilion Master Mo!” Zhang Xuan clasped his fist.
“Oh? Zhang shi, this seems to be the first time we are meeting.” Mo Gaoyuan gazed at Zhang Xuan doubtfully.
“Ah… Indeed!”
Only then did Zhang Xuan suddenly recall that he had only met Pavilion Master Mo in his identity as ‘Yang shi’. In strict terms, this should be the first time ‘Zhang shi’ was meeting with him.
“I have heard of Pavilion Master Mo’s valiance from Hong shi.”
Zhang Xuan replied calmly without the slightest hint of panic.
“Not bad. To be able to recognize me from just descriptions, as expected of a genius!” Mo Gaoyuan nodded.
He did possess a fair share of fame as the pavilion master of the Hongyuan Master Teacher Pavilion, so it wasn’t too surprising for Zhang Xuan to recognize him.
“Oh? What does this mean? Pavilion Master Mo, you are acquainted with him?” Hearing the conversation between the two, Elder Mo asked doubtfully.
Wasn’t Zhang shi a freshman who had just enrolled this year?
Why did it seem as if he had some ties with Pavilion Master Mo?
“We aren’t acquaintances, but I have heard of Zhang shi’s name. As you can see, this is the first time we are meeting.” Mo Gaoyuan replied.
Without the other party’s permission, he didn’t dare to speak of Yang shi’s name in public. Thus, he chose to speak of the matter vaguely.
“You heard of Zhang shi’s name?” Elder Mo’s bewilderment further deepened.
Who was the man before him? A 6-star pinnacle master teacher, a person who ruled over the Master Teacher Pavilion of a Tier 1 Empire, one of the most influential men in Hongyuan Empire. On the other hand, no matter how talented Zhang shi was, he was still nothing more than a humble figure from Huanyu Empire. How could there be ties between two people from vastly different worlds, not to mention, Pavilion Master Mo had actually heard of Zhang shi?
“Pavilion Master Mo has probably heard of me due to his ties with my teacher.” Seeing that Pavilion Master Mo was put at a spot, Zhang Xuan stood forward to explain.
“Ties with your teacher?” Elder Mo was taken aback. “May I know whom your esteemed teacher is? Perhaps I might be acquainted with him.”
In truth, Zhang Xuan’s feat of taming more than four hundred spirit beasts in just two hours had stoked his desire to take him in as his direct disciple.
In his view, since Zhang Xuan had originated from the humble Huanyu Empire, his teacher was unlikely to be an incredible figure. As such, it shouldn’t be a problem for him to take the other party in as his direct disciple. However, when he heard that Mo Gaoyuan knew of the other party’s teacher, and there seemed to be some deep relationship between them at that, he began to feel a little uneasy.
If Zhang Xuan’s teacher was a 6-star master teacher as well, it would be inappropriate for him to take the other party’s student. While it was typically considered as an honor for one’s student to catch the eye of a higher ranked master teacher, the same didn’t apply for peers.
This was especially so if Zhang Xuan was a direct disciple. This would then become an extremely sensitive matter that concerned one’s heritage and reputation. Taking how Cao Xiong had tried to take Wang Ying away from Zhang Xuan back then as an example, such incidents could be viewed as an attempt to humiliate the teacher as the teacher’s professionalism would be questioned, thus potentially resulting in an irreconcilable animosity between both parties.
“My teacher is Yang Xuan!” Zhang Xuan replied.
“Yang Xuan?”
Elder Mo frowned. After a moment of contemplation, he realized that he had never heard of this name so he turned to Mo Gaoyuan and asked, “May I know if Yang shi is…”
“This…”
Having promised to keep Yang shi’s identity a secret, Mo Gaoyuan was put at a spot.
“My teacher enjoys spending his time roaming the lands, so he doesn’t have much of a fame. It is normal for Elder Mo to have not heard of him.” Zhang Xuan hurriedly replied.
“Doesn’t have much of a fame?” Elder Mo was perplexed.
As the head of the Master Teacher Pavilion, Mo Gaoyuan possessed exceptional standing. If Zhang Xuan’s teacher was just an ordinary master teacher, why would he hesitate to talk about him?
“I’ll just tell you the truth then. I am indebted to Yang shi for his impartation…” Judging from Elder Mo’s expression that he was unlikely to give up, Mo Gaoyuan was fearful that his old friend might accidentally say something inappropriate before Yang shi’s student, so he hurriedly said.
“Impartation? Could it be…”
Upon realizing the meaning behind Mo Gaoyuan’s words, Elder Mo hurriedly turned his gaze to the young man before him.
Among master teachers of equal rank, one would usually use terms like trading insights and interacting. Only toward higher ranked master teachers would the term impartation be used.
For Mo Gaoyuan to act so cautiously and use such a respectful term, could it be that… Zhang Xuan’s teacher was a master teacher of higher rank than him?
But both Mo Gaoyuan and he were already 6-star pinnacle master teachers… If Zhang Xuan’s teacher was beyond Mo Gaoyuan, didn’t that mean that he was a 7-star master teacher or beyond?
“That’s right!” Knowing what Elder Mo was thinking, Mo Gaoyuan hurriedly nodded.
“This…” Elder Mo’s face paled in shock.
He was only a 6-star pinnacle master teacher, how could he possibly dare to take in the student of a 7-star master teacher? That would be getting ahead of himself!
“May I know if Zhang shi’s beast taming skill was imparted by Yang shi?”
But nevertheless, Elder Mo still felt a little reluctant to give up on such a good bud.
After all, a student could have multiple teachers for differing fields. There could be a teacher to guide him on his cultivation, another on beast taming, painting, Way of Medicine… If Zhang Xuan’s beast taming skills didn’t come from Yang shi, it wouldn’t be considered a breach of etiquette for Elder Mo to take him as his beast taming student.
In a sense, this was similar to how Zhang Xuan took Luo Qiqi in as his apothecary student.
As the saying goes, “learn from the skilled, not the aged”. Even if Yang Xuan was a 7-star master teacher, as long as he didn’t teach Zhang Xuan beast taming, there would be no clash of interest.
“My beast taming skill was indeed learned from my teacher.”
Zhang Xuan could also tell Elder Mo’s intention, so he quickly admitted to it.
Elder Mo would be a strong backing for him in the Master Teacher Academy, especially considering the fact that he was one of the Ten Great Elders, but Zhang Xuan was still reluctant to acknowledge the other party as his teacher.
First, it would be difficult for him to explain the matter of ‘Yang shi’.
All along, Yang shi had put on too invincible of a front before others. It might bring some doubt to the credibility of Yang shi’s identity if he were to acknowledge Elder Mo as his teacher, regardless of whether there was a clash of conflict or not.
Second, he didn’t even accept Kong shi’s offer to become his student. If he were to become Elder Mo’s student now, wouldn’t Kong shi explode from rage?
Even though it was known throughout the continent that Kong shi had already passed away, Zhang Xuan couldn’t help but think that there was something deeper to the matter after the ‘disciple accepting incident’ back then.
Besides, he was a Celestial Master Teacher, a being recognized by even the heavens itself. Even if he wanted to acknowledge the other party as his teacher, would the other party be able to bear such the heavy burden of being the teacher of a Celestial Master Teacher on his shoulder?
“Then… what about smithing? I am skilled at smithing too!” Elder Mo was still reluctant to give up. After all, it wasn’t every day that one would see such a talented student.
Everyone knew of Elder Mo’s astounding beast taming capability, but little knew that he was also a top-notch blacksmith as well.
“My smithing art is also imparted by my teacher.” Zhang Xuan replied.
“T-then… what about Way of Medicine?” Elder Mo pushed on obstinately
“Cough cough, alright, that’s enough. Yang shi is a great man, his capability isn’t one that we can fathom…”
Seeing how his old friend was still trying his luck, pushing from beast taming to smithing and finally to Way of Medicine, Mo Gaoyuan couldn’t help but interject.
“Sigh, you also know that the reason why I am still without a direct disciple isn’t because I am unwilling to accept one but that I am simply unable to find a suitable candidate…”
Knowing that Pavilion Master Mo was stopping him out of goodwill, Elder Mo shook his head with a bitter smile.
In truth, he had seen many geniuses in his years, but none of them had reached his expectations.
His prerequisite in accepting a disciple wasn’t the talent of the other party’s talent but his personality. He deeply believed that a master teacher had to be willing to bear the weight of the entire world on his shoulders.
Given that Zhang Xuan was willing to sacrifice himself to trigger a secret art to forcefully raise his cultivation to save others and yet not solicit any compensation, his personality definitely reached Elder Mo’s expectations.
The reason why he spent such a heavy price on recruiting the services of the Byzantium Helios Beast to invigilate the examination was just so that he could find a suitable student to inherit his heritage. With a perfect jade right before him, how could he be willing to let go?
“I understand your intentions, but…”
At this point, Mo Gaoyuan hesitated for a moment before continuing, “Yang shi’s prowess…”
Just as he was conflicted as to whether he should reveal the true strength of Yang shi to make his good buddy give up on the impossible idea, one of the invigilating seniors suddenly rushed to the gazebo from the distance.
“Reporting to Elder Mo, we have finished tabulating the score of the examinees!”
“Good!”
Elder Mo’s eyes lit up. “How many people have passed the examination?”
“Reporting to Elder Mo, a total of 6487!”
“O-only six thousand?” Elder Mo was startled.
