“That’s great!” Hearing that there was no problem with it, Zheng Yang heaved a sigh of relief. He hurriedly turned to the entrance excitedly and said, “Come in!”
“Yes!”
Hearing those words, a young man wielding a spear walked into the residence. His aura felt condensed and sharp, reminiscent of a blade piercing into the heavens.
In his early thirties, the young man had sharp facial features, which gave him a masculine appearance.
“Uncle Qiang, Wang Ying, and Liu Yang, this is the student I have accepted!” Zheng Yang introduced.
“Student Xue Zhenyang pays respect to seniors!” the young man greeted with a clasped fist.
“Xue Zhenyang? Your cultivation… seems to be considerably higher than Zhenyang, isn’t it? Why did you choose to acknowledge him as your teacher?” Sun Qiang frowned.
While he wasn’t able to gauge the exact level of the other party’s cultivation, he could tell that it was definitely far above Zheng Yang’s.
Why would an expert of his strength acknowledge a young child as his teacher?
“Even though my cultivation is higher than Zheng laoshi, my comprehension of spearmanship is far beneath him. It is my honor to be able to learn from someone as capable as him!” Xue Zhenyang said respectfully.
Naturally, this was the same Xue Zhenyang from the Master Teacher Academy, the leader of the True Helios Faction, as well as the fellow who was determined to challenge Zhang Xuan.
Having decided to devote his heart to master the 10-dan of the Fallen Leaf Spear, he left the Master Teacher Academy to embark on a training expedition, and in the midst of doing so, he unintentionally caught sight of Zheng Yang’s spearmanship.
While the latter’s cultivation was far beneath his, his understanding of spearmanship had already achieved the level of Spear-Man Union, harnessing immense might.
In a brief conversation with the other party, he realized that the latter’s comprehension of spearmanship had already achieved the level of Distillation of the Profound, a direct interpretation of the peak of spear art. As a result, he couldn’t help but want to learn from him.
He could see that if he were to learn diligently under the other party’s tutelage, he would be able to grasp the 10-dan of the Fallen Leaf Spear perfectly very soon. By then, he would be able to destroy Zhang Xuan and restore the honor of the True Helios Faction!
It was never a humiliation for a master teacher to learn from someone weaker or younger. On the contrary, there had been many such cases in history.
In the philosophy of master teachers, students are not necessarily inferior to their teacher, and teachers are not necessarily greater than their students. Each and every person has their own strengths, and it is the one proficient in the field that becomes the teacher.
Even Kong shi had studied under those weaker than him, needless to say, other master teachers.
“I see!” Sun Qiang nodded.
As the butler of the old master and the young master, he had a rough understanding of the various doctrines of the master teachers too.
Considering that Zheng Yang was a direct disciple of the young master, it shouldn’t be too difficult for him to teach a nobody.
“For the time being, you don’t have to look for a new residence anymore, so just focus your efforts on your cultivation. Zheng Yang, it’s fine if you want to impart your spearmanship to him. I’ll report this matter to the young master for you!” Seeing that the other fellow was sincere in wanting to acknowledge Zheng Yang as his teacher, Sun Qiang decided to let them be.
“Un!” Zheng Yang nodded before turning to Xue Zhenyang, “Study diligently for the next few days. Once you reach a satisfactory level, I will bring you to meet my teacher. His comprehension of spearmanship is at least ten times more formidable than me, so don’t you embarrass me!”
As he spoke those words, admiration gleamed in his eyes.
“Teacher, rest assured! I will study diligently so as to not disappoint grandteacher!” Xue Zhenyang nodded his head in agitation.
It was no wonder why people said that the true experts live in the streets. Just a random person he met in the streets already possessed such formidable spearmanship, and he even had a teacher who was ten times more formidable than him…
As long as he pursued this teacher of his, he had no doubt that he would be able to achieve the 10-dan of Fallen Spear Art soon, and perhaps… he might even find himself reaching a level he had never thought to be possible!
“Un. I will be sparring with your Senior Aunt Wang Ying now, so do watch closely to see how I utilize my spear in the battle!” Zheng Yang said as he drew his spear.
Battle techniques weren’t just about comprehending their form and intent. More importantly, one must learn how to incorporate them into battle as well.
As such, sparring was the best way to deepen one’s understanding of battle techniques.
“Roger!” Xue Zhenyang nodded excitedly.
“Wang Ying, I’ll be troubling you…”
With a swift movement, Zheng Yang’s spear suddenly pierced right for Wang Ying with a sharp whiz.
As fellow students, they often sparred with one another, and they were extremely familiar with each other’s strength and battle techniques. Upon seeing the pierce, Wang Ying smiled lightly, and with a swift step, her figure vanished like an apparition, dodging the spear.
Hu!
Following which, as swift as lightning, Wang Ying sent a kick right for Zheng Yang’s spear. Even though she was executing a battle technique, her movements carried a peculiar elegance to them, reminiscent of a butterfly threading amongst flowers.
“What a formidable movement art and leg art…” Xue Zhenyang widened his eyes in astonishment.
His Senior Aunt Wang Ying’s cultivation might be far beneath him, but her mastery of leg arts and movement arts were far above those teachers of the Martial Arts School.
In fact… he even doubted whether his teacher, the head of the Martial Arts School, School Head Xu Changqing, would be able to execute such a move as well. Her movements were simple, but every single aspect of it, be it the timing, trajectory, or force, was flawless. He had never seen anything like this before!
Hu hu hu hu!
The duo soon completed their sparring. In the process, Xue Zhenyang stared at every single action they made carefully, not daring to even blink for fear of missing the slightest detail.
In this battle, both sides were incredible. The spearmanship, movement art, and leg art utilized in the battle had left his heart thumping with excitement and awe, as if a new world had opened before him.
“Zheng Yang, why don’t we give it a go too?” Liu Yang stepped in and asked with a smile.
This was the first time any of them had accepted a student, and for someone as young as they were, it was inevitable that they would be tempted to show off before the other party’s student.
“Sure!” Zheng Yang agreed to it heartily. Raising his spear once more, he charged at Liu Yang.
Xue Zhenyang hurriedly turned his attention to the duel, curious to see what his Senior Uncle Liu Yang was capable of.
Unlike Senior Aunt Wang Ying, Senior Uncle Liu Yang couldn’t move at unbelievable speed, and he didn’t seem to specialize in leg art either. However, what was incredible about him was the sheer might of his fist. Before the attack of Zheng Yang laoshi could strike him, he had already sent out a powerful punch aimed precisely to jolt away Zheng Yang’s spear.
Zhenqi burst from his acupoints, and his fist hurtled forward with the roar of a tiger.
“What a formidable fist art… Given the same cultivation realm, even Yuan Gang, who specializes in fist arts, wouldn’t survive a single strike from him…” Xue Zhenyang was overwhelmed by agitation.
He thought that it would take him some time before he could gain a greater insight into spearmanship and comprehend higher tier battle techniques. Who could have thought that in the very first day of his journey, he would have already met so many formidable people.
Even though the teacher, Senior Uncle, and Senior Aunt whom he had just acknowledged weren’t as strong as him, their understanding of battle techniques had far surpassed that of most master teachers in the academy.
Perhaps, even surpassing some of the elders as well!
Unbelievable!
Soon, after his teacher and Senior Uncle Liu Yang were done sparring, the duo smiled at one another before turning to Xue Zhenyang, “How is it?”
“Teacher, Senior Uncle, and Senior Aunt, if it isn’t too much, I… have a request to ask of you.” Taking a deep breath, Xue Zhenyang suppressed his agitation and bowed with a clasped fist.
“Oh?” Seeing Xue Zhenyang’s grim expression, everyone immediately pricked up their ears in curiosity.
“It’s like this… I have established a faction, and most of my followers are interested in battle techniques, spending most of their life devoted to the study of martial arts. If it isn’t too much to ask, may I invite teacher, Senior Aunt, and Senior Uncle to conduct a few lectures for them to impart to them the essence of battle techniques?” Xue Zhenyang asked nervously.
“Lecture?” Wang Ying, Zheng Yang, and Liu Yang glanced at one another with a distressed look on their faces. “We are not master teachers, how can we lecture?”
In the Master Teacher Continent, ‘lecture’ was a word that was usually associated with only master teachers. They might possess a deep understanding of battle techniques, but to lecture others despite not being a master teacher… Wouldn’t they be overstepping their boundaries if so?
“Even though you aren’t master teachers, you have reached a level of mastery in your field of battle techniques which most master teachers would never achieve in their lifetime. Even though it might not be much, I’ll have my followers pay a school fee for the lecture as a token of our sincerity…” After a moment of hesitation, Xue Zhenyang said.
If he could invite the three of them to his faction to lecture his followers, the fighting prowess of his followers would surely soar. If so, it would only be a matter of time before the True Helios Faction became the number one faction in the academy!
With that, he would be able to cleanse the humiliation he had suffered from Zhang Xuan.
“School fee? How much?”
Before Wang Ying and the others could respond, Sun Qiang, who had been listening to the conversation by the side, asked with an excited gleam in his eyes.
As the butler of the group, he was in charge of the finances and logistics of the group. Naturally, he understood the importance of money as well.
Currently, the spirit stones earned by the young master weren’t even enough to sustain his cultivation. It was about time for them to step up and provide for themselves.
If Wang Ying and the others could make use of this opportunity to earn a bit of money, they would be able to overcome the current financial crisis they were suffering from. The young master would surely be more than delighted to see this.
“This… I will have each of them pay a hundred middle-tier spirit stones to you. I have a total of 500 followers, so it should add up to fifty thousand middle-tier spirit stones…” Xue Zhenyang said.
The True Helios Faction was a famous faction in the academy, with over two thousand members under their command. However, the only ones whose field of specialty intersected with these three probably only numbered five hundred.
“Five hundred? A hundred from each person?” Sun Qiang’s eyes lit up.
Through a single event, they could earn more than fifty thousand middle-tier spirit stones!
“I see… Why don’t we set the price at two hundred, and not only will they impart the essence of battle techniques, they will also decipher the foundation of cultivation. Don’t worry, I can guarantee that this is a deal you won’t regret it!” After a moment of contemplation, Sun Qiang said.
“Foundation of cultivation?” Xue Zhenyang was taken aback.
“That’s right. Wang Ying, tell him a bit about the cultivation method of the Prolonged Longevity realm!” Sun Qiang nodded.
“Yes!” Wang Ying nodded, and after organizing her thoughts for a moment, she began to speak.
The Prolonged Longevity realm was the first dan of Transcendent Mortal, and it laid the foundation for all of the realms to come. If cultivated improperly, not only would one’s further progress slow, it might even create an invisible cap on the person’s eventual accomplishments!
Wang Ying hadn’t read many books on the topic before, but as a cultivator of a simplified version of the Heaven’s Path Divine Art and having learned directly from Zhang Xuan, her understanding of the subject had reached an astonishing level.
With just a few words from her, Xue Zhenyang’s body was already convulsing with excitement.
The proposed cultivation method allowed the cultivator to first built a strong foundation before delving deeper into the cultivation realm, creating an extremely stable base… Not even the greatest teacher in the academy could come up with something as ingenious as that!
It could be said that this cultivation method was close to perfection. Just by hearing a small portion of it, Xue Zhenyang had already benefitted greatly from the impartation.
“This is wonderful! If my followers can listen to this as well, they would be able to reinforce their foundation and cultivate even faster!”
The more Xue Zhenyang thought about it, the more agitated he became. He immediately turned to look at Wang Ying and the others in agitation, as if he was looking at a mountain of gold.
Even though he had no idea what master teacher could groom such talented students, there was one thing he did know… The rise of the True Helios Faction was on the horizon!
If his followers could listen to their lecture as well, not only would the members of the True Helios Faction enjoy tremendous progress in their cultivation and understanding of battle techniques, the True Helios Faction would also be able to attract a steady stream of students applying for it!
With this, he would be able to rise over the others and reach the top!
Hahaha, Zhang Xuan! Let’s see how you can compete with this!
Xue Zhenyang’s eyes lit up with excitement, and for a brief moment, he could almost see the radiant future of the True Helios Faction before him.
