“Oh? Why is that so?” Zhang Xuan asked with a smile, unfazed by the other party’s threat.
“There is a limit to the cultivation resources, training fields, and opportunities that the academy can offer to the students each year. Even slots for working as the receptionists or attendants of the various schools don’t come easily! If you offend our Ashen Moon Faction, I can guarantee you that we possess more than sufficient power to ensure that you won’t be able to land yourself any missions or tasks year after year, making it impossible for you to earn even a single Academic Credit!” the young man said.
As a powerful student faction in the academy, it wasn’t too difficult for them to make the life of a freshman a living hell.
“Unless…”
The young man paused. “Unless you join our Ashen Moon Faction! Only if you join us will we extend our umbrella of protection to you. No other faction will dare to seek trouble with you, and there are also many faction-based missions and tasks that you will be able to participate in to earn Academic Credits. More importantly… if you join now, we can give you a copy of our Teacher Information Documentation for free, sparing you from the additional expense!”
“There are so many benefits from joining the Ashen Moon Faction? But there is no such thing as a free lunch in the world… What will we have to give in return?” Ruohuan gongzi asked.
Since the faction was willing to offer its members so many benefits, surely it had to receive something in return. Otherwise, who would be so kind-hearted as to open a charity in the competitive academy?
“Simple. Once you become a member, you must obey the leadership of the Ashen Moon Sect. On top of that, you must pay an Academic Credit to the faction each year and help manage the businesses of the faction,” the young man replied.
“Pay an Academic Credit to the faction? Help manage the businesses of the faction?” Everyone fell into deep thought.
As they had expected, such a sweet deal couldn’t possibly be without its shortcomings.
Putting aside how they didn’t have a single Academic Credit with them at the moment, even if they did, there was no Academic Credit that came easily. One Academic Credit each year was definitely a huge sum for them as Grade-1 students.
At the same time, they couldn’t help but be shocked by how lucrative factions were. If the faction were to have a hundred men, wouldn’t that mean that they would receive a hundred Academic Credits annually?
It was no wonder the Grade-5 seniors would devote their time to establishing student factions and offering pointers to the members of their factions! With such benefits, they would do it if they were in the other party’s position as well!
As for the businesses, their primary function was probably to finance the expenses of the faction. After all, be it to build connections, conduct activities, or to reward the contributions of its members, they would surely need a source of income for its operations.
As master teachers, the students all had supporting occupations, so they could contribute to the finances of the faction through offering pills they had forged or weapons they had smithed.
For one, the young man before them who was marketing the Teacher Information Documentation to them would probably have to hand the profits earned over to the faction eventually.
The young man harrumphed.
“That’s right. You only have two options now. You can either buy the document or join our faction, or else you can look forward to endless trouble in the academy!”
“Zhang shi…” Ruohuan gongzi, Song Chao, and the others quickly turned their sights over to Zhang Xuan.
The latter had already become their pillar of support, so in times of difficulty, they couldn’t help but subconsciously look toward him for help.
“My apologies, but we will be taking neither of the options!” Zhang Xuan shook his head.
He wasn’t interested in the book nor the benefits the faction had to offer.
No matter how powerful the student factions were, could they be any greater than becoming the junior of one of the Ten Great Master Teachers? Since he’d already turned down the latter, how could he possibly be, in the least, interested in the former?
“You have guts! You’d better pray that you manage to find a strong backer in this event, or else be prepared to be put through living hell in the academy!” Seeing that the group before him rejecting his offer, the young man glared at them ferociously before flinging his sleeves and leaving.
“Zhang shi, what should we do if they really come knocking on our doors?” Song Chao and the others asked worriedly.
They didn’t have Zhang Xuan’s capability or backing, so unlike him, they couldn’t afford to offend a powerful organization in the academy.
Zhang Xuan waved his hands. “We are in the Master Teacher Academy, so they dare not go too far. If they really try to pull something, I will look for School Head Mo and School Head Zhao to intervene in the matter, so you don’t have to worry. For the time being, let us focus on finding a teacher for you first.”
Since they were master teachers, even if they wished to provoke another student, they would have to play within the rules… And in a game of rules, Zhang Xuan was confident that he could leave them on the verge of a breakdown.
Putting aside a mere student faction, even all of the Ten Great Master Teachers might not be a match for him in that regard!
Hearing Zhang Xuan’s promise, the others felt a little reassured.
“Alright, we will be depending on you then…”
As the group made their way to the passageway, they encountered a few other factions such as the Descending Lunar Faction and Demon Assembly Faction. They attempted to persuade them to either join their faction or purchase their intelligence as well.
Zhang Xuan casually took hold of their documents, and after noting that they were all around the same as the one offered by the Ashen Moon Faction, he turned them down politely.
Seeing the freshmen refusing all of their offers and rushing straight to the public lecture, the seniors in charge of selling the documents and promoting their factions shot them looks of sympathy.
If one wanted to soar in the academy, there were two conventions they would have to go through. One, they had to find themselves a suitable teacher. Two, they had to join a faction. Otherwise, if they were to go independent, they would be vulnerable to any trouble, and every single step they took would be fraught with difficulties. Academic Credits would fall beyond their reach, causing their progress to stagnate.
Not bothered by those arrogant seniors, Zhang Xuan led the group straight toward the passageway.
A long queue had formed at the entrance of the passageway.
On the very first stage, a forty-year-old teacher was currently in the midst of his lecture. Despite the loud bustle in the surroundings, the crowd beneath could still hear his voice resounding by their ears clearly, as if he was speaking to them personally.
“The core of cultivation lies in the heart. In the Consonant Spirit realm, one seeks to achieve a harmony between the body and soul, and in order to temper one’s soul, one has to temper one’s heart first…”
According to a plaque hanging on the stage, he was a 6-star high-tier master teacher from the Apothecary School named Li Yuan, and the content of his lecture was regarding cultivation in the Consonant Spirit realm.
After listening to it for a short moment, Zhang Xuan nodded.
Even though the middle-aged teacher’s lecture was still miles away from matching up to him and there were several mistakes in his understanding, Zhang Xuan still had to admit that the content he delivered was novel. If it was anyone else who was listening to this lecture, he might just receive a stroke of inspiration and advance even further in the Consonant Spirit realm.
However, it was useless to Zhang Xuan.
“This Li shi from the Apothecary School is very detailed in his explanations, and he is very generous as well. If you were to become his student, you should be able to get a huge discount off his pills, sparing you a lot of money…” With a hushed voice, Zhang Xuan swiftly introduced the profile of the middle-aged teacher on the stage.
They had participated in the Master Teacher Tournament alongside Zhang Xuan, and they knew that he possessed the ability to view the content of a book without even flipping its pages. Thus, they weren’t too surprised by his revelation, and they took a mental note of his words.
Students were given three days to select their teacher after this event, so there was no hurry. Most students would use this time to sort out their choices before making their decision.
“Let’s continue on!” After gaining a clear assessment of the unique traits and capability of the middle-aged teacher, Zhang Xuan gestured for the group to proceed on.
The next teacher in the line was from the Physician School. His lecture was regarding the fusion of the Way of Medicine into cultivation, allowing one to remain resilient in the face of severe illnesses.
“If you were to learn from this teacher, you might not improve as fast as you would under the teacher from the Apothecary School, but he will help you build a strong foundation which will beneficial to you in the future!” Zhang Xuan introduced.
In the Master Teacher Academy, students could choose to join one of the ten schools, and once they did so, they would have to put the corresponding supporting occupation as their second priority after master teacher.
Naturally, joining a school would grant the students certain privileges as well. For example, if one were to join the Apothecary School, they would be able to purchase pills at a discounted price.
If one were to join the Physician School, they would gain access to documents regarding the study of the human body, allowing them to build up a strong foundation in their cultivation.
The Blacksmith School had valuable physical body cultivation technique manuals; the Beast Tamer School had private mountains filled with rare beasts; the Painter School had high-tier paintings that allowed one to calm their mind, enhancing their rate of cultivation…
All in all, each school had their own strengths. Most students would usually choose based on their interest and proficiency in the occupation.
After walking around for a while longer, Zhang Xuan slowly lost interest. Thus, he eventually searched for a less crowded area to stop at and took out an empty book. Taking out a brush and an ink slab, he swiftly copied down the accurate details which he had gathered from the documents compiled by the various factions, as well as what he had observed through the public lectures.
“I have written down the details regarding the teachers in this book, feel free to browse through it. It should be enough for you to find a suitable teacher!”
This book, which had been verified using the Library of Heaven’s Path, had no errors whatsoever. With it, Ruohuan gongzi and the others should have no trouble finding a suitable teacher for themselves.
“Un!” Ruohuan gongzi and the others nodded.
By corroborating the content of the book Zhang Xuan compiled with the public lectures they had just listened to, they would have more than enough information to make a judgement themselves. There was no need for them to bother Zhang shi over the issue anymore.
“While you all are looking at the book, I will go take a walk around.” Passing the book to them, Zhang Xuan stretched his back lazily. Just as he was contemplating whether he should make his way to the Terpsichore School or Demonic Tunist School, he suddenly caught sight of a silhouette which sent a jolt through his body.
Is that… her?
It was an elegant white-robed figure walking amidst the bustling crowd. Despite the clamor around her, her presence seemed to bring about a soothing aura to the surroundings, as if a calm painting.
This was the exact same sensation that he had felt from the white-robed lady whom he had met at the Verdant Mountain back in Huanyu Empire.
The world was big, so Zhang Xuan had thought that he would never see the other party ever again after their abrupt parting. But that familiar disposition and silhouette… Could it be her?
Fearing that it was just an illusion and he might lose sight of her the next moment, he dared not turn his eyes away from her.
Despite the congestion ahead, the crowd seemed to open up before the white-robed figure through some mysterious force, creating ample space for her to walk through. Yet, despite this bizarre phenomenon, there didn’t seem to be a single person amidst the crowd who had realized it yet, as if it was a perfectly ordinary occurrence.
What an incredible ability! Zhang Xuan narrowed his eyes.
This phenomenon could only be produced by the comprehension of spatial laws.
Those students had clearly moved from their original positions, but it seemed to them as if they were still standing on the same spot.
Even Zhang Xuan didn’t possess the means to do the same.
“Is it really her?” Zhang Xuan muttered in a daze.
Back when he’d first met the white-robed lady in the Verdant Mountain, he had sensed that the other party’s cultivation wasn’t too high. That was why he’d rushed forward to save her upon seeing that she had been encircled. Yet, when he was suffering a backlash due to the incompatibility between his soul and body, she was the one who’d intervened and facilitated an impeccable fusion between his soul and body.
Such an ability was far beyond Zhang Xuan’s current means.
From this, it could be seen that she had concealed her true strength. Even at this time, he was still unable to gain a clear grasp of her strength.
“Flaws!” Zhang Xuan muttered, but the next moment, he froze.
She isn’t using a battle technique?
He’d thought that such manipulation of space could be considered as the usage of a battle technique, so he’d tried to check it through the Library of Heaven’s Path. However, the Library of Heaven’s Path remained completely silent.
In other words, the young lady before him wasn’t using a battle technique.
Otherwise, the Library of Heaven’s Path would surely have been able to compile a book on her!
So far, he had yet to encounter anything which the Library of Heaven’s Path was unable to discern.
Hu!
Bewildered, Zhang Xuan was just about to walk forward to take a closer look when the white-robed figure, as if sensing his gaze, stopped and turned around.
A beautiful face came into sight.
It was indeed the white-robed lady he had met back then!
Even though there were certain differences to her facial features due to some kind of disguise she was donning, those were incapable of fooling his Eye of Insight. With just a glance, he could tell that it was the young lady whom he had met back in the mountains.
Unable to suppress his agitation, he rushed up to her and said nervously, “Y-you are here as well?”
The young lady was scanning her surroundings, as if trying to determine the source of the gaze when she suddenly caught sight of him. Her eyes lit up, and a light smile surfaced on her lips. For an instant, it was as if a hundred flowers had bloomed.
First chapter of Sunday
