Library of Heaven's Path
Chapter 716-724

Chapter 716: Rip Him a New One

But this was to be expected!

Perhaps a Half-Saint or Nascent Saint might replace it difficult to notice him when his aura was completely concealed, but the same tricks would not work on a Saint.

Upon reaching Sainthood, one’s entirety would become completely aligned with nature. The authority of nature would be imbued into every single gesture and movement of one. Even if Zhang Xuan had been buried deep inside the snow, it was likely that the Byzantium Helios Beast would still have been able to notice him.

Just like how Transcendent Mortals were higher existences to Fighters, Saints were superior existences to Transcendent Mortals.

‘I was still noticed in the end.’

Knowing that there was little point to continue hiding, Zhang Xuan took in a deep breath before standing up.

It should have been that slight spiritual energy disturbance which he’d caused by a slight mistake earlier that had betrayed his presence. Most likely, the only reason the Byzantium Helios Beast allowed Zhang Xuan to continue listening to their conversation was because it was certain that he was unable to comprehend the Ancient Beast Language. Thus, there was no worry about information leaking out.

As such, it decided to first finish the discussion with the aerial spirit beast before dragging Zhang Xuan out from his hiding place.

The Byzantium Helios Beast assessed Zhang Xuan and asked, “You are a new student in the Master Teacher Academy?”

Upon reaching Sainthood, spirit beasts would undergo an evolution which allowed them to speak human speech.

“Yes!” Knowing that it was impossible for him to play any tricks before the other party, Zhang Xuan nodded obediently.

“To be able to reach Cosmos Bridge realm pinnacle and replace this location despite having yet to officially enroll at the academy, you are truly not bad at all. Even if you aren’t the top of this batch, you won’t be too far from that.”

After taking a look at Zhang Xuan’s cultivation, the Byzantium Helios Beast nodded in agreement.

“It’s nothing much!”

Zhang Xuan chuckled lightly in response. At the same time, his hands were fiddling behind his back, seemingly trying to do something.

“Don’t try those little tricks with me… I can’t guarantee you that I’ll be able to control my temper!”

Noticing the little actions Zhang Xuan was up to, the Byzantium Helios Beast harrumphed.

“Temper?”

Zhang Xuan shook his head as he assessed the Byzantium Helios Beast impassively. “Those are my words. I’m afraid that I might just lose control myself and accidentally pummel you to death!”

“What did you say?” The Byzantium Helios Beast was visibly stunned by the arrogant words spouted by the young man before it. As the shock gradually retreated, fury swiftly took its place.

It was a saint beast whereas the other party was nothing more than a Cosmos Bridge realm cultivator. Even without moving a single inch, it could kill that young man with just its soul itself. Yet, the other party still dared to threaten it, saying that he couldn’t control his temper and might pummel it to death?

‘Do you know what kind of existence you are speaking to?

‘Conceited fool!’

“You seem to be very confident in yourself.” With a livid face, the Byzantium Helios Beast harrumphed coldly. A blazing fury ignited in its eyes, threatening to burn down everything in sight.

“This is not confidence; I am merely stating a fact. Alright, I’ll give you a chance. As long as you acknowledge me as your master, I can spare you from death,” Zhang Xuan said casually with his hands behind his back, seemingly thinking nothing of the situation before him at all.

“It is always the ignorant who are fearless, it seems you have no idea who you are speaking to. Since that’s the case, allow me to hammer humility into your bones!”

Not expecting that an existence which was little more than an ant to it would arrogantly command it to acknowledge him as its master, even boasting to kill it should it refuse the offer, the face of the Byzantium Helios Beast turned livid. The fur across its entire body suddenly rose in fury, and with a wrathful roar, it abruptly raised its palm.

Huala!

A dense congregation of spiritual energy gathered instantaneously to form a massive palm that seemed to cover the entire sky. It felt as if the entire mountain could be flattened should the Byzantium Helios Beast will for it to happen.

Saint beasts might still be unable to cultivate zhenqi, but in exchange, they possessed earth-shattering physical might that could move mountains and split oceans. Putting aside a mere mountain, even wiping away an entire nation such as Tianxuan Kingdom was as easy as breathing to it.

Before the palm could even land, the immense pressure from the palm had already melted the thick layer of snow in the area. It felt as if a comet was hurtling toward this area.

“Hammer humility into my bones? I wonder who the one being arrogant here is…”

Zhang Xuan stood composed even before the devastating might of the palm. Instead, he chuckled lightly and clapped. “Vicious, rip him a new one!”

Even against a Saint, Zhang Xuan had his own trump cards as well.

The twenty or so puppets he had obtained from the underground chamber all possessed the might of a Saint. Beating a Saint 1-dan saint beast should be no trouble at all!

After all, the supreme existence which had boasted to rival Kong shi in a fight in the past was lying right in his hands… Vicious!

This fellow might be trapped in the Book of Heaven’s Path at the moment, leaving him immobilized and vulnerable, but his strength was still no joke. Even if ten Byzantium Helios Beasts were to turn up, it would be far from sufficient to slaughter him!

Boom!

As Zhang Xuan raised his hand, an opened book suddenly appeared above his palm. A beating heart could be seen on a page in the book.

“Break!” commanded an authoritative voice.

Huala!

It was as if the word carried some mystical might. The palm which the Byzantium Helios Beast struck out suddenly shattered like glass, turning into spiritual energy that dissipated swiftly into the surroundings.

“What…”

Seeing how the young man’s artifact overcame his attack just by uttering a single word, the eyes of the Byzantium Helios Beast narrowed in astonishment.

With a cultivation realm of Saint 1-dan pinnacle, its true strength ranked among the top experts of Hongyuan Empire!

It thought that dealing with a Cosmos Bridge realm brat would be a walk in the park, but who knew that the other party would possess an artifact which could overcome its attack with just a single word?

‘Run!’

An ominous foreboding gripped the Byzantium Helios Beast. True to its instincts, it leaped into the sky without any hesitation.

Even though it didn’t possess wings, as a saint beast, it was still capable of flight.

It didn’t fear the young man; what it feared was the enigmatic artifact the other party wielded. Unsure of the capabilities of the artifact, the Byzantium Helios Beast chose to run away and rally additional help to deal with the young man instead of taking the risk.

“You wish to escape before my presence? Dream on!”

Barely after flying to a height of several dozen meters, a frigid voice suddenly sounded below. Following which, an overwhelming killing intent suddenly assaulted the Byzantium Helios Beast’s mind, leaving its consciousness blank.

‘Otherworldly Demonic Tribe…’

That momentary lapse in its consciousness dispelled the force which was levitating the Byzantium Helios Beast, resulting in its plummet from the sky. Putong! It fell head first into the snow.

“Little Vicious, not bad at all. It seems you aren’t all talk!”

Not expecting Vicious to be so formidable, crushing the Byzantium Helios Beast’s attack with a single utterance and felling it with a single thought, Zhang Xuan stroked the heart in the book in commendation.

“…” Vicious twitched violently in response to the praise, unable to utter a single word in response.

The Byzantium Helios Beast also happened to see this sight just as it raised its head off the surface of the ground, and it nearly spurted blood.

Even though it had no idea what was sealed in the book, there was no doubt that the being inside was an existence that used to stand at the very top of this continent. The Byzantium Helios Beast had suspected that it might be the young man’s teacher or guardian, but who could have thought…

The young man would actually stroke the supreme expert as if he were a pug!

Wasn’t there something very wrong with this picture here!

Who in the world was the young man?

‘That killing intent… That heart is most probably an expert of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe. As such, could this young man be an Otherworldly Demon who is hoping to infiltrate the Master Teacher Academy?’

Upon realizing this possibility, the Byzantium Helios Beast suddenly felt its blood turn cold.

Legend has it that the royal family of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe possessed the ability to disguise themselves as humans and even master teachers, and no one would be able to tell the difference.

Back then, there was one such Otherworldly Demon that had successfully infiltrated the core group of the master teachers. With the secrets it had obtained, the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe had nearly crushed the Master Teacher Pavilion.

If not for Kong shi’s astuteness which led him to notice that something was amiss, the ones who would be ruling the Master Teacher Continent now would be the Otherworldly Demons and not the human race!

No matter how it looked at the young man, he was no different from an ordinary human. Could he really be Otherworldly Demon royalty? Otherwise, how could he possibly get off unscathed after treating such a powerful expert of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe like a dog?

“I will kill you…”

Realizing the potential threat that the young man posed to the Master Teacher Pavilion, the eyes of the Byzantium Helios Beast immediately turned crimson in rage.

If its conjecture was right, it would have to stop this young man from getting into the Master Teacher Academy at all costs. Otherwise, who knew what kind of danger he would bring upon the academy or even the entire human race in the future?

Hu!

Pushing against the ground, the Byzantium Helios Beast suddenly lunged toward Zhang Xuan like a bolt of lightning. With the astounding might it possessed in its body and the frightening speed it was moving at, there was little doubt that Zhang Xuan would be reduced to dust if its body were to crash into him.

Vicious was still contemplating how he should negotiate with Zhang Xuan regarding his release considering the merits he had just achieved when he noticed the Byzantium Helios Beast charging over once more. Angry that the other party was getting in his way, it bellowed furiously, “Kneel down!”

‘Just because I am sealed in a book now doesn’t mean that you can climb over my head!

‘To dare to kill a Celestial Master Teacher recognized by the heavens itself, as well as the man who governs my fate, how brazen you are!’

Boom!

With his bellow, the unique killing intent which Otherworldly Demons possessed assaulted the Byzantium Helios Beast’s mind once more. As if a fly swatted down, the latter immediately crashed into the ground and slid uncontrollably.

While Vicious’ strength was severely impaired at the moment, dealing with a mere Saint 1-dan beast was not much different from smacking a mosquito.

Suppressed on the ground by an incredible force, the Byzantium Helios Beast glared at Zhang Xuan with crimson eyes. It bellowed frenziedly in indignation, “Damn you, I will rip you into pieces…”

“You are so eager to kill me?”

Seeing the other party’s attitude, Zhang Xuan was rendered speechless.

This lapdog of the Otherworldly Demons sure was arrogant!

It must have realized the threat he posed to the Otherworldly Demons due to his superior talent, so it had decided to end him while his abilities hadn’t matured yet.

“That’s right! Even if it costs my life, I’ll drag you down to hell with me!” the Byzantium Helios Beast roared.

“I see…”

Those words had helped Zhang Xuan make up his mind. Snapping his finger, he pointed to the Byzantium Helios Beast and ordered, “Put your feet in that beast!”

Huala!

All of a sudden, twenty puppets suddenly materialized amidst the white snow.

Since that fellow was bent on killing him, there was no need to stand on ceremony with it.

Roar!

The puppets roared simultaneously as they stormed forward furiously.

Hu!

The first puppet to arrive planted its feet right into the Byzantium Helios Beast’s face, sending it flying into the air. Before the latter could even respond, another puppet that had been lying in wait behind shot a fist onto its back, pushing it back to the ground.

Peng peng peng peng!

The Byzantium Helios Beast was thrown around the place, and bright, red swellings swiftly emerged all over its body. Large mouthfuls of blood spilled from its mouth.

‘Otherworldly Demon puppets? As expected, he is a member of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe’s royal family… Damn it, damn it!’

The appearance of so many Otherworldly Demon puppets at once only served to reinforce the Byzantium Helios Beast’s conjecture. After all, other than the royal family of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe, who else could command such a powerful expert and so many Otherworldly Demon puppets?

Rage and indignation permeated its soul. If only it had noticed earlier and killed the young man swiftly, he could have avoided a calamity. But alas, it was too late now…

Under the assault of twenty Saint 1-dan puppets, it was completely helpless!

Not to mention, it was currently immobilized by the killing intent from the heart!

After countless fists and kicks had landed on its body, the Byzantium Helios Beast found its sight slowly darkening, and its consciousness was slowly drifting away.

Just as the Byzantium Helios Beast thought that it would be killed, the impassive voice of the young man suddenly sounded once more.

“How about now? Have you changed your mind yet? If you acknowledge me as your master, I can spare you from death!”

Chapter 717: The Miserable Byzantium Helios Beast

At the foot of Leiyuan Peak, with the swift flash of a shadow, a human and a saint beast landed on the ground.

“Elder Mo!”

The human stepped forward and clasped his fist with a smile.

“Pavilion Master Mo!” Elder Mo hurriedly returned the greetings.

The person who had just arrived was none other than the pavilion master of the Hongyuan Empire Master Teacher Pavilion, Mo Gaoyuan!

Even though he wasn’t a member of the Ten Great Master Teachers, his standing and capability was on par with them.

“Langya Saint Beast!” Elder Mo turned to the saint beast by the side and clasped his fist in greeting as well.

Mo Gaoyuan’s tamed beast, Saint 1-dan primary stage Langya Saint Beast!

As fellow Saints, there was a need to maintain basic ceremonial respect.

“Greetings to Elder Mo!” The Langya Saint Beast replied in human tongue.

After the formalities, Elder Mo turned to Mo Gaoyuan and asked doubtfully, “May I know the reason behind Pavilion Master Mo and Langya Saint Beast’s arrival?”

The Master Teacher Pavilion and Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy could be considered as equal existences under the direct command of the same Conferred Empire headquarter. As such, the Master Teacher Pavilion had no authority to interfere with the recruitment of the Master Teacher Academy.

“I heard that there are many talented students in this batch, so I dropped by to take a look…” Mo Gaoyuan chuckled.

Since this was the entrance examination, Zhang shi had to be there as well. Mo Gaoyuan was intending to improve his relationship with him, as well as to make use of this opportunity to ask about Yang shi.

Hearing that the other party was only here to spectate, Elder Mo secretly heaved a sigh of relief and replied while stroking his beard, “There are indeed quite a few talented students this year, but it’s hard to tell whether they will be able to pass the examination or not!”

“Oh? Is there something deeper to the examination?” Mo Gaoyuan asked in bewilderment.

The purpose of the examination should be to sieve out the talented students from the mediocre ones. Otherwise, what would be the point of conducting an entrance examination?

“Isn’t the test this year regarding hunting Transcendent Mortal 4-dan pinnacle spirit beasts? To those talented students, it shouldn’t be hard to clear this mission!”

The entrance examination of the Master Teacher Academy was a huge affair in Hongyuan Empire. As the head of the regional Master Teacher Pavilion, how could he remain unaware of the matter?

While it might be difficult for a 4-star master teacher to defeat a Transcendent Mortal 4-dan pinnacle spirit beast in a straightforward battle, it shouldn’t be too difficult for them to clear the mission if they were to prepare themselves beforehand.

“The admission criteria of the Master Teacher Academy isn’t based on whose fist is the strongest. If it were just mere hunting, don’t you think this entrance examination would be a little too easy for them?” Elder Mo chuckled. “Thus, I prepared a little surprise for them!”

“Oh?” Elder Mo was taken aback. He traded astonished glances with Langya Saint Beast.

When the both of them had heard the rules of the entrance examination earlier, they also found certain aspects of it slightly unusual. After listening to Elder Mo’s words, they realized that there might be another side to the examination.

“On the surface, the examination is a hunting contest where the one who gathers the most inner cores wins. However, I have designed it in a manner such that it will test the examinees’ adaptability and reactions in times of danger!” Elder Mo said with a smile. There was no need for him to hide this matter from Mo Gaoyuan. “In truth, the spirit beasts on the mountain have been organized to coordinate with one another to deal with the examinees. They have prepared bait and traps to lure the examinees into their encirclement!”

“Encirclement?” Mo Gaoyuan’s eyebrows shot up anxiously. “But those examinees are the Master Teacher Pavilion’s future…”

“Don’t worry, the spirit beasts have been strictly warned against claiming their lives!” Knowing what Mo Gaoyuan was thinking, Elder Mo hurriedly reassured him.

Those were the fresh blood of the Master Teacher Pavilion, the pillars who would prop up the organization as well as humanity in the future. Even as one of the Ten Great Master Teachers, he dared not put them in such grave danger at his own whim.

Thus, he had made precautions to ensure that the spirit beasts would only trap and wound the examinees.

Otherwise, how could Ding shi and the others hold on for so long until Zhang Xuan’s intervention came without suffering even a single casualty? One must know that they were encircled by several hundred spirit beasts, and a significant proportion of them was even at the Cosmos Bridge realm!

However, due to the tense situation then, no one noticed this oddity. Even Zhang Xuan had overlooked this fact.

“I see!”

Mo Gaoyuan heaved a sigh of relief. With the safety of the students off his mind, he began thinking about the examination, and his eyes slowly gleamed in excitement. “So, this is actually an emulation of a war between the spirit beasts and the master teachers. Regardless of whether the examinees are able to see through the crux of this test or not, this will be a good learning experience for them. This will teach them not to underestimate their opponents and keep their guards up at all times, as well as to cultivate their teamwork and make them realize that the strength of an individual is insignificant in the face of a horde… As expected of Elder Mo, this is an incredible work!”

After their failure, the examinees would understand that master teachers weren’t almighty. They might be a member of the most prestigious occupation in the world, but they would be sorely mistaken if they thought that none could threaten them. In a sense, this examination served to correct their attitudes before their enrollment.

Elder Mo received the compliment graciously with a nod.

“The idea is good, but restraining so many spirit beasts at once is no easy feat. I guess only a 6-star pinnacle beast tamer like Elder Mo is capable of doing this on such a scale!” Mo Gaoyuan commented in awe.

Since there were thirty thousand examinees on the mountain, the number of spirit beasts on the mountain couldn’t be any lower than twenty thousand. To force so many haughty beasts to obey commands and hold themselves back after cornering their preys, how capable must one be to achieve this feat?

Elder Mo shook his head with a bitter smile.

“Me? How could I possibly have the capability to do so? I have merely borrowed the strength of a saint beast!”

He might be a 6-star pinnacle beast tamer, but taming over twenty thousand spirit beasts and forcing them to obey his commands was still beyond him.

“Saint beast? Your Inferno Dragon Saint Beast?” Mo Gaoyuan asked.

Everyone knew that Elder Mo had a Saint 1-dan intermediate stage tamed beast, Inferno Dragon Saint Beast. It was a powerful saint beast capable of breathing flames.

“Inferno Dragon? That fellow is violent and impatient; I already thank the heavens if it manages to stay out of trouble, so how could I possibly delegate such an important matter to it? The one which I invited over to help me with this examination is the Byzantium Helios Beast!” Elder Mo replied.

“Byzantium Helios? You mean the old principal’s tamed beast?” Mo Gaoyuan realized.

Elder Mo nodded.

“I see, there’s indeed nothing to worry about if Byzantium Helios is on the job. Given its capability, no spirit beast will dare to disobey its commands.”

Mo Gaoyuan nodded as well.

“On top of that, Byzantium Helios Saint Beast is well-versed in the Ancient Beast Language, so it is unlikely that anything will go wrong in this examination,” Elder Mo replied.

As the tamed beast of the old principal, the Byzantium Helios Saint Beast shared equal standing with him, and no one dared to defy it. Even though the academy was currently headed by the Ten Great Elders, it still retained its esteemed standing.

But ever since the disappearance of the old principal in the midst of a mission, the Byzantium Helios Saint Beast had spent its days in desolation, never interfering in the matters of the academy anymore. Elder Mo had to pay a hefty price to convince it to help him with this matter. Even now, he could still feel his heart aching whenever he thought about it.

Nevertheless, it was well worth the price.

With the assistance from the Byzantium Helios Saint Beast who was well-versed in the Ancient Beast Language, there would be no need for Elder Mo to worry about any trouble cropping up in this examination.

Logically speaking, since most saint beasts were well-versed in the Ancient Beast Language and the human tongue, they could impart the knowledge to the beast tamers and fill in the missing gap in the heritage… However, there was a vast difference in the vocal organs of a saint beast and those of a human, thus resulting in a significant difference in the way each syllable could be voiced.

The Ancient Beast Language was the speech natural to the constitution of most beasts. On the other hand, the human body was incompatible with the Ancient Beast Language. Thus, a unique zhenqi circulation method was required for humans to emulate the various sounds in the Ancient Beast Language.

Thus, it was nigh impossible for humans to learn how to speak the Ancient Beast Language from saint beasts.

Besides, given that saint beasts were capable of speaking the human language, the language barrier that had impeded beast tamers from communicating with beasts had already collapsed. This removed the fundamental need for beast tamers of 6-star and above to learn the Ancient Beast Language. Even if, under some circumstances, they really had to communicate with a savage beast or spirit beast, they could always get their saint beast to translate for them.

“With the Byzantium Helios Saint Beast overlooking the examination, there is no need to worry about the examinees’ safety. I only fear that it might be too harsh on the examinees. It would be a calamity if none of the examinees were to pass the examination,” Mo Gaoyuan said.

Perhaps due to the influence of the old principal, the Byzantium Helios Beast also had an austere personality. If it were to heighten the difficulty of the examination by too much, it might come to the point where not even a single examinee could pass the examination.

“Don’t worry, I have already talked to the Byzantium Helios Beast regarding this matter. The examinees will only be trapped for a period of time. They will be released a few hours before the end of the examination…” Elder Mo replied. At which, he suddenly pointed to the mountain before of him and smiled. “Look, there are already a few examinees who have cleared the examination!”

Turning to the direction in which Elder Mo was pointing, Mo Gaoyuan saw a group of people climbing down the mountain, walking toward where they were standing.

It was noon at the moment. Considering how there was still some time before the reporting time in the evening, they must have cleared the examination in advance and were returning to report.

“T-that… what is happening?”

Upon seeing those figures, Elder Mo was just about to walk over to them to check their points when his eyes suddenly widened.

Trailing behind that group of people were a few hundred spirit beasts. Their heads were hung low, reminiscent of defeated roosters.

“It looks like… someone has tamed them?”

Swallowing a mouthful of saliva, Mo Gaoyuan’s lower jaw nearly hit the ground.

Beast taming was one of his supporting occupations, so he could instantly tell that those spirit beasts had been tamed by someone. Otherwise, the heads of those haughty spirit beasts wouldn’t have been lowered subserviently.

A group of two hundred examinees had actually tamed around five hundred spirit beasts?

Didn’t the Byzantium Helios Beast organize the spirit beasts to have them encircle the students and teach them a lesson?

Then…. what was going on here?

…

On the other hand, at the top of Leiyuan Peak, the Byzantium Helios Beast clenched its jaws and roared furiously, “You want me to acknowledge you as my master? Dream on…”

As the tamed beast of the old principal of Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy, how could it possibly submit to an Otherworldly Demon?

Even beasts had their own sense of morality!

While it was likely that the old principal was already dead, it couldn’t simply overlook the kindness that the old principal had shown it and submit to the enemy just to live on!

“Dream on?”

Not expecting the saint beast which had submitted to the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe to have such backbone, Zhang Xuan shook his head. “Continue pummeling it! Beat it until it submits!”

Upon those commands, the puppets began another round of brutal beating.

Five minutes later…

The most powerful spirit beast of the academy which possessed equivalent standing to the principal saw its life flashing before its eyes, and it could nearly see a ray of light in the distance beckoning it.

“Forget it, it’s fine if you are unwilling to submit. I’ll ask you some questions now, and if you don’t answer them honestly, I’ll extract your soul after your death and bring eternal anguish upon you!”

Seeing how the Byzantium Helios Beast was still hanging on obstinately despite being on the verge of death, Zhang Xuan shook his head. “Did you come here to harm the freshmen of the Master Teacher Academy under the orders of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe? As long as you spill out the location of those Otherworldly Demons, I can reward you with a painless death!”

“Under the orders… of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe?”

Gazing at Zhang Xuan with eyes so swollen that they could barely open, the Byzantium Helios Beast nearly fainted on the spot.

‘Orders your head!

‘I only came here under Elder Mo’s relentless persuasion and generous promises. The reason I am here is to temper more powerful master teachers to bring humanity to greater heights…

‘What the heck does this have to do with the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe?

‘On the other hand, you are the suspicious one!

‘To deal with me using the heart of an Otherworldly Demon expert before pummeling me with those Otherworldly Demon puppets…

‘And yet…

‘You still asked me if I am under the orders of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe? Can you get even more shameless than that?’

Chapter 718: Storing in the Storage Ring

“Why? You are still refusing to admit it?”

Seeing the other party’s twitching lips—a sign of obstinacy—Zhang Xuan’s eyebrows shot up.

If this fellow continued like that, he wouldn’t mind resorting to even more extreme methods—Soul Torment!

Soul Torment was a soul oracle technique where an extracted soul would be put through unimaginable anguish so as to force it to speak. It was usually used for interrogation purposes, and rarely had it ever failed.

However, this would cause the soul of the interrogated to be wiped cleanly off the face of this world, never to be reincarnated again. Due to the callousness of this technique, Zhang Xuan had always been unwilling to utilize it. Who could have known that this fellow would be such a tough nut to crack!

He had heard the conversation between the Byzantium Helios Beast and the aerial spirit beast clearly.

‘You arranged for the aerial spirit beast to encircle the master teachers, and you still dare to deny the matter before me. Do you really take me for a fool?

‘Do you think that I dare not kill you?’

“Kill me then! Do I look like the type to fear death? I would rather die than to betray my master!” the Byzantium Helios Beast spat through clenched jaws.

The other party was clearly trying to sully its reputation. If it were to give in, the honor it had built using the entirety of its life would collapse in an instant. It would rather die than to live dishonorably!

The old principal had dedicated his life to protecting humanity. As his tamed beast, how could it ever face its master if it were to submit to the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe?

“Continue beating him up!”

Not expecting this fellow to be so loyal to its Otherworldly Demon master, to the extent that it would rather die than to betray the latter, Zhang Xuan frowned in displeasure.

“Cough cough…”

Just as the puppets were about to launch another wave of punches and kicks on the Byzantium Helios Beast, Vicious suddenly spoke up. “Master, I fear that it might really die here if we continue beating it.”

Hearing those words, Zhang Xuan suddenly realized that that the Byzantium Helios Beast was already teetering on the edge of life and death. If it were pummeled any further, it might just die on the spot.

“What should I do?”

Zhang Xuan rubbed his glabella in frustration.

It was so much easier to deal with other spirit beasts—with a stick and a carrot, they would submit readily. Yet, this fellow just refused to budge!

Even though Zhang Xuan had put the words harshly, he had no intentions of killing the Byzantium Helios Beast at all.

Soul Torment was not entirely reliable, especially against particularly stubborn individuals. If the Byzantium Helios Beast were to die and the Soul Torment were to fail, the only lead would be lost. As long as the Otherworldly Demons behind this incident remained scot free, the Master Teacher Academy would remain in danger!

Such incidents could easily happen again and again.

Furthermore, if Zhang Xuan were to be enrolled in the Master Teacher Academy, his safety would be affected as well. He didn’t want to be schemed against once more.

“I see… I’ll treat it first before you continue pummeling it. I don’t believe that it can keep up its obstinacy for long!”

After a moment of contemplation, an idea suddenly came into mind. Zhang Xuan took out a wine gourd and infused his zhenqi into it.

After that previous incident, Zhang Xuan realized that it was exceptionally convenient to conceal the Heaven’s Path zhenqi through the overpowering scent of wine. Thus, he decisively bought several gourds of wine and kept them in his storage ring.

He poured the gourd’s wine on the Byzantium Helios Beast’s injuries, but it took two hours for the latter to heal from its external wounds.

Pondering over the matter for a moment, Zhang Xuan realized that this could be due to the disparity in their cultivation realms. With his current cultivation of Cosmos Bridge realm, it would only take a few moments for his zhenqi to heal those of equivalent cultivation. However, against the significantly stronger body of a Saint, his zhenqi was clearly still far too weak.

After healing the latter’s external wounds, Zhang Xuan had four puppets to hold the Byzantium Helios Beast while another two pried open its mouth. Just like that, he forced the wine into its mouth.

After using up four to five gourds and an entire hour, the Byzantium Helios Beast finally recovered from its internal injury as well.

“Alright… Continue pummeling it!”

After seeing that the other party had recovered from its injuries, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief.

As long as the Byzantium Helios Beast didn’t die, he had all the time in the world.

‘Death? With my Heaven’s Path zhenqi, let’s see how you can die! With an unending session of pummeling, there will surely come a day when you give in!’

Roar!

After hearing the instruction, the puppets immediately charged forward excitedly and began another round of pummeling.

Soon, hideous crimson swellings returned onto the body of the Byzantium Helios Beast, and its breathing grew ragged.

After treating it with the Heaven’s Path zhenqi again, yet another pummeling session rained down on the Byzantium Helios Beast.

After three consecutive cycles, light had vanished from the Byzantium Helios Beast’s eyes, and it seemed to be nearing the limits of its tolerance.

But even so, it still refused to spout the slightest word regarding the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe. In a sense, Zhang Xuan was also impressed by the other party’s loyalty to its master.

“Let’s stop here for today…”

Looking above him, Zhang Xuan realized that the sun was gradually descending in the west. If he didn’t hurry back, he just might fail the examination. Thus, he could only halt the pummeling session for now.

It was frustrating how he had spent half a day of effort but still couldn’t make a saint beast submit to him.

The Byzantium Helios Beast’s loyalty toward its master was simply so strong that the usual tricks Zhang Xuan used were rendered completely ineffective.

Zhang Xuan knew that the only way was to slowly wear the Byzantium Helios Beast down mentally.

In any case, time was on his side.

“But this fellow is so big, am I to lug him around?”

To continue the questioning, Zhang Xuan would have to take the fellow away with him. However, considering the size of the Byzantium Helios Beast… how was he supposed to take it with him?

Of course, it was possible for Zhang Xuan to carry it around, but… No matter what, the Byzantium Helios Beast was a true saint beast. If others were to learn that he had managed to reduce it to such a pitiful state, their first doubt would be how he had managed to do so. The subsequent investigation might lead to the revelation of the existence of Vicious and the Otherworldly Demon puppets.

Since this concerned the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe, it was best to proceed cautiously.

Besides, he had only arrived at the Master Teacher Academy recently, so he thought that it would be best for him to lie low. There was no need for him cause such a huge storm and have everyone know that even saint beasts were nothing before him.

“The Myriad Anthive Nest might be small, but it might still work if I were to force this fellow in…”

Zhang Xuan analyzed as he stroked his lower jaw.

The physique of the Byzantium Helios Beast bore some resemblance to an ape. If its head were to be planted into its pants before rolling its body together and fastening it with some rope, it might just be possible to stuff it into the small Anthive Nest.

In his previous life, there were some yoga experts whose bodies were so flexible that they could even fit into a tiny fish tank.

“I should give it a try!”

With this idea in mind, Zhang Xuan immediately dived into action. He took out strip of skin from a spirit beast he had hunted earlier and sliced it into a long rope using the Glacier Rain Sword before passing it to the puppets.

The puppets first pummeled the Byzantium Helios Beast into a state of near death before rolling it up and binding it with the rope. After which, they sent another few more kicks and punches at its body to further compress it.

In any case, the other party was a saint beast with incredible vitality, and it was being nourished by Zhang Xuan’s zhenqi as well. It would be extremely difficult for it to die.

After some arduous effort, the Byzantium Helios Beast was finally compressed to a size that could be fitted into the Anthive Nest. Thus, Zhang Xuan flicked his hand and took out the nest. With another wave of his hand, he stored the Byzantium Helios Beast in the hive.

Peng!

In the hive, the Myriad Anthive Queen suddenly found itself being forcefully pushed to the sides of the hive. Its face was pressed tightly against the ceiling, and its body had distorted into a giant “大” word. It seemed as though its body would burst at any moment now.

The hive of two meters radius should have been a comfortable fit for it, but with the entry of the Byzantium Helios Beast, free space became something that was direly lacking in there. The Anthive Queen found itself on the verge of being suffocated to death.

It was fortunate that its physical constitution was still relatively strong. Otherwise, it might really burst from the immense pressure pushing against it.

Knowing that it was a squeeze inside, Zhang Xuan sheepishly instructed the Myriad Anthive Queen, “Just tolerate it for now. I’ll free you after I replace a suitable location!”

Both the Byzantium Helios Beast and the Myriad Anthive Queen were secrets that Zhang Xuan was unwilling to reveal. Thus, the only solution was to keep them hidden inside the hive for the time being until he returned to his own dwelling.

After returning the Anthive Nest into the storage ring, Zhang Xuan scanned the surroundings one last time, and he suddenly spotted two storage rings on the ground.

They were the storage rings the aerial spirit beast had stolen from Brother Yu and Senior Feng.

The storage rings seemed to have fallen from the Byzantium Helios Beast during the vicious beating by the Otherworldly Demon puppets. Zhang Xuan picked the rings up and fused a droplet of his blood into each of the rings.

The Soul Imprint on the rings had already been wiped away by the Byzantium Helios Beast’s forceful entry earlier, allowing Zhang Xuan to claim ownership of the rings directly.

“There are so many inner cores inside… This should be enough for me to clear the examination and win the bet. Looks like I need not hunt any further!”

Scanning through the content of the storage ring, Zhang Xuan found plenty of spirit beast inner cores inside.

Through the Beastscale Incense and Seeking Mouse, Brother Yu and Senior Feng had managed to track down and kill many spirit beasts.

While there shouldn’t be a problem for Brother Yu and Senior Feng to clear the examination, it would be difficult for them to hunt down this many inner cores with the time that was left. Thus, it could be said that they had already lost the bet.

Aside from that, there were also several thousand middle-tier spirit stones along with all kinds of artifacts and formations inside the two storage rings.

“Those two fellows sure are wealthy. But this works fine as well, I happen to be lacking resources at the moment.”

It just so happened that Zhang Xuan was a little poor at the moment, so the acquiring of these two storage rings could spare him quite a lot of trouble.

As for returning the storage rings…

That was a good joke!

It wasn’t like he was the one who stole these storage rings. He had spent so much effort to defeat the Byzantium Helios Beast, and these two storage rings were his spoils of war!

Hu!

Just as Zhang Xuan was about to put those two storage rings in his pocket, he suddenly thought of something, and he immersed his consciousness back into the storage rings. A moment later, a jade token appeared in his palm.

A beautiful light flowed within the transparent jade token. This was the Aerial Strike Amulet which Brother Yu had staked on the bet!

He had checked this object with the Library of Heaven’s Path earlier, and it was indeed a valuable artifact.

To think that he would end up obtaining it in such a manner.

‘With this item in hand, I will be able to survive an attack from a Saint 1-dan!’ Zhang Xuan thought as he placed the amulet into his bosom.

The Dragon Scale Protective Amulet he had acquired previously had saved him on multiple occasions, and this item was even more valuable than that.

With this, even if a Saint 1-dan were to creep up on him and launch a fatal blow, he would be able to get away unscathed.

As long as he overcame the initial assault, he would be able to release Vicious and his Otherworldly Demon puppets and reverse the situation.

‘It is a pity that the Seeking Mouse isn’t here…’

After putting away the storage rings, Zhang Xuan suddenly recalled the Seeking Mouse, and he shook his head in disappointment.

Considering the Seeking Mouse’s ability to hunt down spirit beasts, it was indeed a valuable asset.

That aerial spirit beast had only been interested in uncovering the whereabouts of the Myriad Anthive Queen then, so it had probably only grabbed whatever possible clues there may be.

Once the Seeking Mouse had escaped, given its sharp nose, it would be hard to capture it once more.

“Let’s return!”

After scanning through the straw cottage and replaceing no treasure at all, Zhang Xuan finally left the top of Leiyuan Peak in disappointment.

Right after pummeling the Byzantium Helios Beast, Zhang Xuan had the Anthive Myriad Queen instruct the aerial spirit beast to release all of the master teachers from the encirclement.

After being released from the encirclement, the master teachers would have to depend on their own capabilities to pass the examination.

After all, Zhang Xuan was no saint. All of the examinees should have come with the realization that they would be put in danger. If they were to be killed by the spirit beasts, they only had their own shortcomings to blame.

Executing the Red Dust Heaven Ascending Steps, Zhang Xuan swiftly bypassed several valleys. He noticed several battles here and there, and it seemed like there were casualties on both sides as well. However, it was still within an acceptable range.

On the way down the mountain, there were also several spirit beasts who attempted to provoke him, but they ended up being crushed with a single fist. Naturally, Zhang Xuan didn’t forget to take their inner cores.

By the time he was approaching the foot of the mountain, there was already a huge crowd in the area. He looked around for a remote area to land before quietly following behind the crowd.

Chapter 719: Brother Yu’s Harvest

Several long queues of master teachers extending all the way to the horizon could be seen on the plain at the foot of the mountain.

At the forefront of every single queue were upper-grade students from the academy. They were in charge of checking the quantity and grade of the inner cores procured by the examinees and tabulating the scores. From time to time, there were those who tried their chances by bringing out inner cores procured before the examination, but how could the eyes of a master teacher be fooled that easily?

Zhang Xuan had joined one of those queues. He curiously glanced at the spectacle ahead of him.

There seemed to be a couple of examinees who passed the examination, but those who failed seemed to be in the majority.

“The examination this year is too hard! From the looks of it, out of the thirty thousand examinees, perhaps only ten thousand will pass!”

“This is way too difficult! We have allied ourselves with the master teachers from two other empires, and we thought that we could clear the examination easily. Who could have known that we would end up falling for the spirit beasts’ encirclement and suffer heavy losses?”

“We also fell into their trap as well! Our group of three hundred ended up being scattered by their onslaught, and eventually, fifty of us were grievously wounded in the encounter. After two hours of battle, right after noon, the spirit beasts suddenly retreated. Only then did we manage to hunt down a few spirit beasts, but it was still insufficient for most of us to clear the examination!”

“The spirit beasts who encircled us also retreated after noon. However, we weren’t as lucky. There were simply too many casualties among us, so we could only rest on the spot. In the end, we only managed to gather a handful of inner cores.”

…

Proceeding forward, Zhang Xuan heard some discussions among the examinees.

‘It is fortunate that we managed to avoid the worst situation…’

Hearing the discussions, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief instead.

It was fortunate that he had noticed and intervened in the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe’s scheme early on. Otherwise, it would be hard to tell how many of the thirty thousand master teachers would still be breathing now.

Such loss would be severe even for the Master Teacher Pavilion!

‘This credit… I guess I shan’t claim it from the Master Teacher Pavilion!’

After a moment of hesitation, Zhang Xuan chose to hide this matter.

Unravelling the sinister ploy of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe and saving several ten thousand master teachers was a huge achievement. If reported, Zhang Xuan would be handsomely rewarded. At the very least, it shouldn’t be difficult for him to obtain dozens of high-tier spirit stones from this.

But if so, it would be hard for him to explain about Vicious and the Otherworldly Demon puppets. These two were currently his most valuable asset, his life preservation means. They were more valuable than any spirit stones.

Thus, there was no choice but to forgo this credit.

‘Such a pity…’

Having this opportunity slip right by his fingers, Zhang Xuan felt his heart ache.

If he could obtain several dozen high-tier spirit stones, that would be sufficient for him to cultivate up to Saint realm!

If there was any consolation, at least he managed to obtain the valuable Aerial Strike Amulet, and more importantly, the Myriad Anthive Nest and the Byzantium Helios Beast.

‘If it comes down to it, I can always kill the Byzantium Helios Beast. Its meat can be broiled as soup, its bones and claws can be forged as weapons, its fur can be weaved as clothes, and its inner core is a valuable cultivation resource… Considering that these are parts of a saint beast, they should fetch quite a number of spirit stones!’ Zhang Xuan thought as he stroked chin.

While it was a pity that he couldn’t receive the rewards from the Master Teacher Pavilion, he should still be able to earn some wealth from dissecting the Byzantium Helios Beast and selling its parts.

‘Yes. I should look into this matter after the examination. If that fellow still remains as obstinate as before…’

Thinking that it was a feasible solution, Zhang Xuan nodded in satisfaction. ‘But when I sell it, I should make sure to do it discreetly so as to not reveal my identity. Otherwise, it may become hard to explain where the saint beast came from and how it was killed!’

The Byzantium Helios Beast was a Saint 1-dan pinnacle expert. In Hongyuan Empire, it could be considered as one of the strongest existence already.

If it became known that a freshman of the Master Teacher Academy had managed to hunt such a beast and dissected it to sell, it would surely cause a huge stir.

If the Ten Great Master Teachers were to come begging to take him in as their disciple, he would be put in a spot.

Just the thought of it left him with a splitting headache.

Why was remaining humble such a difficult task?

He had already made up his mind to study silently in the Master Teacher Academy and leave right after his strength had become satisfactorily… He didn’t want to cause a huge stir as he did in the other empires and kingdoms.

To be seen as the God of Destruction despite being a master teacher was truly shameful.

Just as Zhang Xuan was in the midst of contemplation, he suddenly heard an interesting piece of news.

“You know, I heard that a batch of people returned at noon. Despite returning early, not only did they clear the examination, they even received a frightening number of points!” A master teacher who had managed to lay his hands on some intelligence revealed that in a hushed voice.

“Returned at noon? Frightening number of points? Who?” the second master teacher asked skeptically.

“I am not too sure. I only heard of the matter from the seniors in front. It seems like the current first place for the examination has a massive lead over the others!”

“Massive lead over the others? Do you mean that the person surpasses even Senior Hu from Wanyu Empire? I saw Senior Hu taking out 27 inner cores personally, and a couple of them were from Cosmos Bridge realm spirit beasts. All in all, he was awarded more than 700 points! Yet, someone actually achieved a score higher than him? Are you for real?”

The second master teacher widened his eyes in shock.

Most of those in their group didn’t even manage to acquire a single point, but Senior Hu from Wanyu Empire actually managed to take out 27 inner cores. As such, this matter caused a huge stir amongst the examinees. Yet, there was actually someone who arrived at noon who did better than Senior Hu?

“I am unaware of the details as well. I only heard bits and pieces of the seniors’ conversation…”

“Higher than 700 points? That man who returned at noon sure is incredible! It seems like there are indeed quite a few geniuses amongst the freshmen!”

Hearing the content of the conversation, Zhang Xuan nodded in commendation.

Considering how the inner core of a Cosmos Bridge realm primary stage spirit beast was worth 100 points, it would mean that one would have to slay at least six to seven of them to achieve a score of 700 points!

Most of the examinees were still at Transcendent Mortal 4-dan pinnacle. One could already be considered to be the elite of the group if one’s cultivation was at Consonant Spirit realm. So far, the only Cosmos Bridge realm cultivator Zhang Xuan had seen was Brother Yu.

But even with Brother Yu’s capability, slaying a Cosmos Bridge realm primary stage spirit beast was still an extremely difficult task.

Yet, a formidable genius had actually returned at noon and achieved a score far higher than 700 points. That person’s capability was indeed frightening!

Based on Zhang Xuan’s estimations, that person might even be on par with him.

‘I really should replace a chance to meet that incredible person. I wonder what kind of formidable figure could nurture such a talented genius!’

The more Zhang Xuan thought about it, the more impressed he felt.

“Massive lead over the others? Did he score a thousand points? But so what if he scored a thousand points, that is nothing at all!”

At that moment, a cold harrumph suddenly sounded.

Hearing such arrogant words, the conversing master teachers frowned and turned around. However, upon seeing the person who spoke those words, they subconsciously took a step back.

What appeared before their eyes were two young men dressed in beastskin. Despite their shabby appearance, the powerful aura they exuded revealed their incredible prowess.

One of them was at the Half-Cosmos Bridge realm whereas the other was a true Cosmos Bridge realm expert!

It was no wonder they were so confident. With their combined strength, even a Cosmos Bridge realm primary stage spirit beast wouldn’t post a threat to them!

Just that…

Why were they both dressed in beastskin, as if they were from some kind of tribal village?

More importantly, the beastskin they wore was extremely crude. There was probably no adjective in the world that could describe how ugly it looked.

The weaker of the duo was even carrying a bag created out of beastskin…

To think that a half 5-star master teacher would actually be carrying a bag… Were they so poor that they couldn’t even afford a storage ring?

While master teachers prided themselves on their humility, weren’t the two of them being a little too humble?

Zhang Xuan also glanced over, and he realized that the both of them were familiar faces.

They were the duo who had made the bet with him… Brother Yu and Senior Feng!

Shouldn’t the both of them be elegant and dashing gentlemen? This newfound style of theirs…

They seem to be challenging their fashion sense a little too far…

“Zhang shi, it’s good that you have returned. Do you dare to verify your score together with me?” Ignoring the astonished crowd, Brother Yu’s lips crept up as he glanced at Zhang Xuan.

Even though his possessions had been stripped clean by a ferocious spirit beast earlier at noon, it was fortunate that he still had his Beastscale Incense. Through it, not only had he managed to hunt a fair number of spirit beasts, he had obtained even more inner cores than before!

With this, he was confident that he would be able to triumph over Zhang shi!

Perhaps, he might even overtake the current first place and make a name for himself in the Master Teacher Academy!

“Sure.”

Zhang Xuan nodded.

While he had spent most of his time on the mountain questioning the Byzantium Helios Beast, he still managed to obtain a fair number of inner cores.

It shouldn’t be too difficult for him to win against these two.

Sensing the strong rivalry between the beastskin master teachers and Zhang shi, the crowd hurriedly opened up a path for them to pass through.

In just a short moment, the trio arrived at the forefront of the queue.

“I have a bet with this Zhang shi, I hope you can tabulate our points for us!”

Looking at the few invigilating seniors ahead of them, Brother Yu bowed politely.

“Bet?”

The invigilating seniors frowned upon hearing those words.

“Indeed! Zhang shi and I have bet a high-tier spirit stone on who would obtain a higher score in this examination. I fear that he will renege on his promise, so I hope that you can help us judge this matter!” Brother Yu said.

“A high-tier spirit stone?”

“The stakes sure are high…”

Hearing the content of the bet, the examinees in the surroundings gasped in shock.

Even the seniors were taken aback as well.

They were Grade 2 students of the Master Teacher Academy, but they didn’t dare to make such a huge bet either.

“To stake a high-tier spirit stone on a bet… The freshmen sure are getting gutsier with each passing year! Fine, I’ll judge your bet!”

The senior remarked before nodding in agreement. “Pass your inner cores over.”

“Alright!”

Brother Yu beckoned to Senior Feng, and the latter immediately took off his bag and opened it.

Huala!

A bunch of inner cores rolled onto the table.

“So many inner cores…”

“Consonant Spirit and Cosmos Bridge realm spirit beast inner cores… What is that?”

“Crimson in color, t-that is… a Perfect Harmonization realm primary stage spirit beast inner core! How is that possible?”

“The sharp aura reminiscent of a blade and the searing sensation when gazing upon it, there is no doubt that this is the inner core of a Perfect Harmonization realm spirit beast!”

“To actually hunt and procure the inner core of a Perfect Harmonization realm spirit beast… It looks like the champion seat is going to change hands!”

“Indeed…”

…

Looking at the inner cores on the table, the crowd was stunned for an instant before a huge uproar broke out.

Putting aside the other inner cores, just the Perfect Harmonization realm primary stage spirit beast inner core was already worth a hulking 1000 points!

Even the genius who arrived at noon whom the seniors were speaking about was unlikely to compare to this!

It was no wonder the two of them were so arrogant. They had something to back up their words!

Chapter 720: Zhang Xuan’s Loss?

“He was able to kill even a Perfect Harmonization realm spirit beast?”

Zhang Xuan was startled for an instant before it suddenly hit him.

He didn’t recall seeing any Beastscale Incense in the duo’s storage ring when searching through them, and this meant that there was a high chance that the artifact was still on them.

If that was the case, they would indeed stand a good chance at slaying a Perfect Harmonization realm spirit beast.

Despite the rarity, there were still a couple of Perfect Harmonization realm spirit beast roaming the mountain. If one were to comb the area thoroughly, one would surely be able to replace a handful.

After Zhang Xuan took down the Byzantium Helios Beast, the spirit beasts lost their commander, and their coordination immediately broke down. Without anyone to rally and organize them, they ended scattering around the area individually. Under such circumstances, if one had an artifact like the Beastscale Incense in hand, one would surely be able to hunt down plenty of spirit beasts.

Just that, there was still one more matter that baffled Zhang Xuan… why were the two of them dressed in beastskin?

Did the aerial spirit beast strip them of their clothes as well?

Could it be that it had such inclinations?

Zhang Xuan shuddered at that thought.

Considering how the duo had their storage rings and weapons taken from them, it would be difficult for them to craft proper clothes. Most probably, they had barely put together their current wear by tearing the hide of the spirit beasts they had hunted.

‘How pitiful!’

Upon this thought, Zhang Xuan couldn’t help but sympathize with the duo.

To think that two talented master teachers would end up getting stripped clean by a spirit beast and tossed into a mountain valley! Just the thought of it would leave anyone feeling sorry for them.

While Zhang Xuan was staring at the duo in sympathy, Brother Yu was currently enjoying the loud cheers from the crowd. Placing his hands behind his back, he turned to Zhang Xuan and gazed down on him with a look of superiority. “Zhang shi, I have already taken out my inner cores. Where are yours?”

“Mine?”

Knowing what was at stake, Zhang Xuan chuckled lightly and flicked his wrist. Another pile of inner cores immediately appeared on the table.

The inner cores which he had obtained from the duo and the inner cores he had procured from slaying the spirit beasts on the way back down added up to a substantial sum. It was quite an astonishing sight to see them appear all in one place.

However, there weren’t any Perfect Harmonization realm inner cores within the pile.

“Luoyang Beast, Viridsmoke Beast, Seven Feeler Beast… Why do those inner cores look so familiar?”

Upon seeing the inner cores that Zhang Xuan had taken out, Brother Yu and Senior Feng glanced at one another in astonishment.

Somehow, the inner cores that Zhang shi took out seemed extremely similar to those they had procured in the morning.

“Perhaps there might be many of the same spirit beasts on the mountain!”

Eventually, they convinced themselves as such.

After all, their storage rings were stolen by an aerial spirit beast, so how could they possibly fall into Zhang shi’s hands? The only plausible reason was that they had simply managed to kill the same spirit beasts. Considering that they were hunting spirit beasts on the same mountain, as slim as the chances may seem to be, there was indeed such a possibility.

“Even though that fellow has quite a few inner cores, he seems to be a little lacking compared to us. That fellow… is bound to lose!”

After the initial shock, Brother Yu’s eyes lit up in agitation.

Honestly speaking, after knowing that the other party had defeated Senior Feng with a single finger and seeing how he had dared to put a high-tier spirit stone on the stake, doubts had begun sprouting in his mind, leaving him uneasy. However, upon seeing the quantity and quality of inner cores that the other party had taken out, Brother Yu immediately heaved a sigh of relief.

Chuckling confidently, Brother Yu turned to the invigilators and clasped his fist. “I hope that you can judge our scores!”

“Alright.”

Seeing how the both parties of the bet had managed to procure so many inner cores, the seniors before the table were astonished. They hurriedly lowered their heads to tabulate the score of each pile.

A few moments later, a senior stood up, and gesturing to Brother Yu, he said, “This junior over here has a Perfect Harmonization realm inner core, 3 Cosmos Bridge realm inner cores, 26 Consonant Spirit realm inner cores, and 18 Clarifying Turbidity realm pinnacle inner cores. All in all, he has received a score of… 2658 points!”

“2658 points?”

“Th-this is too amazing!”

“I thought that it was already impressive that Senior Hu from Wanyu Empire achieved a score of 700 points, but to think that this fellow would be even more formidable! With 2000 points, he has probably already broken the record! It is no wonder he is so arrogant. With such strength and capability, it would be difficult for one not to be so!”

“I wonder how many points that master teacher who arrived at noon earned. Nevertheless, against a score of 2658, I doubt that he will be able to retain his throne…”

…

A commotion broke out in the surroundings.

There was quite a handful that wasn’t able to obtain even a single point, and yet this fellow actually received a hulking score of 2658. Just the thought of it was inconceivable in itself!

“What score do you think Zhang shi will get?”

After the wave of shock calmed down, the curious eyes of the crowd instinctively gathered on Zhang Xuan.

Considering how the master teachers dressed in beastskin were able to obtain such a high score, the person whom they were going against should be a formidable figure as well!

Another senior who had been tabulating Zhang Xuan’s score spoke up.

“Zhang shi has obtained 5 Cosmos Bridge realm pinnacle inner cores, 3 Cosmos Bridge realm primary stage inner cores, 13 Consonant Bridge realm… All in all, he has received a score of 2580!”

“2580? To lose by only 70 points, that is truly a pity!”

Upon hearing the score, a moment of silence drifted in the surroundings before a huge commotion exploded.

It was one thing for the gap between both parties to be huge, but given that they were both in the two thousand range, and the gap between them was less than a hundred, it was indeed a huge pity for the losing party.

“I lost?”

Zhang Xuan was taken aback.

He’d thought that it would be difficult for the duo to win against him after the aerial spirit beast had stolen the storage rings from them, but who could have known that in just a few hours they were actually able to make a comeback?

Incredible!

As expected of the top geniuses of a region, they were truly not to be underestimated!

‘But do I really have to hand over a high-tier spirit stone to them…’

Due to his complacency, Zhang Xuan had never thought that he would actually lose. He was fine with losing to the other party, but giving a high-tier spirit stone away? His heart might just bleed dry!

‘Should I… take out the Myriad Anthive Queen?’

The troubled Zhang Xuan contemplated for a moment before shaking his head.

As the personnel in charge of intelligence in the operation against the master teachers on Leiyuan Peak, the Myriad Anthive Queen played a pivotal role in the operation, working as a direct assistant to the Byzantium Helios Beast. If he were to bring it out, he might risk alarming the Otherworldly Demons, which might trigger them to conduct even more extreme actions once they realized that their identity might have already been exposed.

If so, he would risk putting many in danger, especially since he couldn’t warn the Master Teacher Pavilion of the matter due to his personal reasons.

But if not, was he really to hand over the high-tier spirit stone to the other party?

“Alright, the results are clear. Zhang shi, what else do you have to say?”

Upon achieving victory, Brother Yu clenched his fists tightly, and his eyes gleamed in excitement.

“What else do I have to say?”

Zhang Xuan shook his head. “This is your combined score; it doesn’t necessarily mean that you have won the bet against me.”

“Indeed! How come their score is tabulated together as one?”

“Considering how the both of them hunted together, if the points were to be divided equally among them, Zhang shi would still be the winner…”

Upon realizing this fact, the crowd nodded in agreement.

The both of them had hunted together whereas Zhang shi had moved as an individual, but both sides still ended up achieving similar scores. No matter how one looked at it, it was clear that the latter was the winner!

As if expecting Zhang Xuan to speak those words, Senior Feng replied with a smile, “Elder Mo stated clearly in the rules that the allocation of points is up to the individual. Since that’s the case, I’ll just take 77 points and leave the rest to Brother Yu!”

“Shameless!”

“If that fellow only takes 77 points, that Yu fellow will have a total score of 2581 points, thus winning against Zhang shi by a margin of one point!”

“He is definitely doing it on purpose!”

“But this is indeed the rule Elder Mo has set. In that respect, there’s nothing wrong with what he is doing…”

…

Hearing Senior Feng’s words, everyone fell speechless.

Elder Mo did say that examinees were allowed to freely allocate the points obtained from a hunt. If that fellow really took only 77 points from the hunt, Brother Yu would be left with 2581 points, thus putting him a single point higher than Zhang shi… What a shameless action this was!

Ignoring the furious criticism from the crowd, Senior Feng clasped his fist politely and asked, “Seniors, may I know if this is allowed?”

“This…”

After a moment of hesitation, one of the seniors nodded. “Yes, this is permitted.”

Since this was a rule set by Elder Mo, there was no way they could go against it.

“Thank you… Zhang shi, what else do you have to say now? Even after taking away 77 points, Brother Yu is still one point above you. In the end, you still lost!”

The edges of Senior Feng’s lips crept up.

After the numerous traumas he had suffered from this fellow, he finally managed to return the favor. Exhilaration surged in his heart with every thump, and he felt as if he could float into the skies in euphoria.

On the other hand, Zhang Xuan kneaded his glabella in frustration.

The other party was right. Under the current state of affairs, he would still lose to Brother Yu.

Shaking his head, he turned to the seniors before him and asked, “Seniors, may I ask if the examination is over yet?”

“The examination?”

Hearing the question, the seniors turned their heads and glanced backward. Not too far away, an incense was placed on top of a stone pedestal. Beneath the coiling smoke trails, one could see that the incense was nearing its end.

The duration of the trial was a day. While most examinees used the movement of the sun to gauge the timing, an incense was still prepared to keep track of time precisely. At this moment, the sun had already set in the west, indicating the end of the day. But as long as the incense hadn’t burned out yet, the examination couldn’t be said to have ended.

The senior did a rough estimation and replied, “There are roughly ten minutes left…”

“Ten minutes?”

“That’s right.”

The senior nodded.

“Why? Are you still intending to dive back into the forest to hunt? Do you think that you can make it back within ten minutes?”

Realizing what Zhang Xuan was up to, Brother Yu burst into laughter.

The spirit beasts nearing the reporting venue had already been cleanly cleared away by the examinees descending from the mountains. It would be difficult to travel to the depths of the mountain in just ten minutes, but to replace a spirit beast and return in that time period as well… How naive could one get?

His eyes were open, but he was clearly dreaming!

“There is indeed not much time left…”

Gazing at the incense above the stone pedestal, the other master teachers also nodded in agreement.

To replace and hunt down a spirit beast from the mountain within ten minutes…

Unless one could fly, that would be impossible.

“Just admit defeat. Even if there are ten minutes left, you know that it’s impossible for you to succeed. Besides, even though I chose to take 77 points, I can always give more points to Brother Yu if required. In other words, the only way for you to win against us is to kill one Cosmos Bridge realm or two Consonant Spirit realm pinnacle spirit beasts. Do you think that you can do it within ten minutes?” Senior Feng sneered coldly.

There was a disparity of 78 points between the both parties at the moment. If Senior Feng were to claim only a single point, Zhang Xuan would require 78 points to defeat Brother Yu.

The inner core of a Consonant Spirit realm pinnacle spirit beast was worth 40 points, so Zhang Xuan would have to kill two of them. Alternatively, he could also choose to hunt down a Cosmos Bridge realm spirit beast.

However, despite roaming the forest for an entire day, they’d barely found a handful of Cosmos Bridge realm spirit beasts. To replace and hunt one down and bring back its inner core within ten minutes, the other party was clearly deluding himself.

“You’re right… If it were just me, it would be difficult.”

Ignoring the doubts from the crowd and Senior Feng’s sneer, Zhang Xuan pinched his glabella and said, “But I don’t want to lose, so I can only give it a try.”

With those words, he raised his head and whistled sharply.

Wuuuuuu!

The next moment, a massive Great Violetwing Beast suddenly swooped across the air, swiftly disappearing into the depths of the mountains.

“That is… your half 9-dan tamed beast? But it can only be used once throughout the examination… You haven’t used it yet?”

Senior Feng and Brother Yu’s faces suddenly turned ghastly pale.

Chapter 721: You Are Zhang shi?

“I haven’t!” Zhang Xuan replied.

With his current strength, he didn’t need to use the Great Violetwing Beast to deal with mere Cosmos Bridge realm and Perfect Harmonization realm spirit beasts.

As for an opponent of the Byzantium Helios Beast’s level, it would be futile even if he were to send the Great Violetwing Beast at it. As such, throughout the examination, Zhang Xuan hadn’t tapped into the strength of the Great Violetwing Beast yet.

“He actually hasn’t used it yet…”

Brother Yu and Senior Feng’s lips twitched, and they nearly burst into tears.

They had specially asked Elder Mo regarding the issue of high-tier spirit beasts before the examination, and the response they had received was that they could only be used once.

They’d thought that given how Zhang Xuan had managed to procure so many inner cores, he must have used the ability of his tamed beast. Who could have possibly known that his tamed beast would prove to be the decisive factor in their bet…

It might be difficult for them to hunt down a spirit beast within ten minutes, but for the half 9-dan Great Violetwing Beast, it was no issue at all.

Could they really fail due to this?

If that were to really happen, they might just cry their eyes out.

“Nevertheless, there’s a chance that the Great Violetwing Beast might be unable to replace a spirit beast, or that it won’t be able to accomplish the feat within ten minutes. We still have hope!”

At this point, Brother Yu could only hold on dearly to this slither of hope.

So what if the other party used his Great Violetwing Beast? They hadn’t lost yet!

Perhaps Lady Luck might just favor them!

‘I can only hope for the best now…’

Ignoring the others, Zhang Xuan gazed into the sky.

When he was descending from the mountain, he noticed some trails which indicated the rough directions where spirit beasts might be hiding. In his whistle, he’d informed the Great Violetwing Beast of those locations, so capturing one shouldn’t be a problem. The issue was with the tier of the spirit beast.

He could only win against Brother Yu if the spirit beast was at Cosmos Bridge realm.

Just as he was deep in thought, a huge gust of wind suddenly blew from the sky. The Great Violetwing Beast had finally returned, and gripped in its large claws was an aerial spirit beast.

‘Not bad, you returned quite fast. But why does this spirit beast… look so familiar?’

Seeing how the other party had returned within two minutes, Zhang Xuan nodded in approval. However, upon catching sight of the spirit beast it had captured, he couldn’t help but freeze for an instant.

Why did this fellow look so familiar?

It was then when it suddenly struck him. Wasn’t this the fellow he had seen reporting to the Byzantium Helios Beast, as well as the one who had stolen Brother Yu and Senior Feng’s storage rings?

It seemed like that fellow was in the midst of his flight when he bumped into the Great Violetwing Beast, so the latter chose to capture it.

‘But this fellow…’

Zhang Xuan’s lips twitched upon the realization. He hurriedly turned his sights to Brother Yu and Senior Feng, and as expected, the eyes of the duo had reddened in fury. If looks could kill, that aerial spirit beast would have withered there and then.

“It is that fellow! Karma always strikes at the most unexpected situations…”

“This is great…”

Incapable of flight, it was nigh impossible for them to capture the aerial spirit beast and get even with it.

Nevertheless, they had already solemnly sworn to themselves to comb through the entire Leiyuan Peak to hunt that fellow down no matter how long it took. But by some stroke of luck, Zhang shi’s tamed beast had actually managed to capture that darned fellow!

‘The heavens are impartial!’

With this, not only would they be able to get their vengeance, they would also be able to retrieve their storage rings and boost their score further!

“Zhang shi, have your tamed beast throw that fellow down. I have some personal grudges to clear with it…” Brother Yu roared furiously in anger.

“Throw it down?”

Seeing that fellow’s attitude, Zhang Xuan shook his head before gesturing to the Great Violetwing Beast.

Receiving the instructions, the Great Violetwing Beast hesitated for a moment before releasing its claws, leaving the aerial spirit beast to plummet to the ground.

Hu!

The Transcendent Mortal 7-dan spirit beast whizzed through the sky.

“Wait till I lay my hands on you…”

Recalling the humiliation of being stripped clean, Brother Yu pushed against the ground and leaped into the sky.

Gathering his might, he wrapped his zhenqi around his fist as if blazing flames.

“What is that fellow up to?”

“That spirit beast was captured by Zhang shi’s tamed beast, why is he trying to kill it?”

The master teachers in the surroundings glanced at one another in confusion as they watched Brother Yu rushing frenziedly toward the spirit beast Zhang shi had captured.

Boom!

But at that moment, the Transcendent Mortal 7-dan aerial spirit beast suddenly opened its eyes, and with a forceful flap of its wings, it stabilized its posture before retaliating with its claws.

While it only managed to recover at that very instant, with its superior cultivation and positional advantage, it still managed to gain the upper hand.

Peng!

As the fist and the claw collided, Brother Yu felt as if a huge mountain had crushed down on him. An incomparably dense might struck him squarely, leaving his apertures bleeding from the impact.

Sou!

Under the immense force, the rising Brother Yu was suddenly smacked back down like a cannonball, leaving behind a huge depression in the ground.

Pu!

Fresh blood spurted from his mouth. The clash had left him severely wounded.

As talented as he was, he was only a Transcendent Mortal 6-dan Cosmos Bridge realm primary stage cultivator at the moment. Against a 7-dan Perfect Harmonization spirit beast, he was still far too lacking.

“Brother Yu…”

Not expecting such an outcome, Senior Feng hurriedly rushed forward to help his companion up. By the time he turned his sight back to the 7-dan aerial spirit beast, the latter was already heading off into the distance.

Panicked, Senior Feng exclaimed, “Zhang shi, that fellow is escaping…”

If that fellow were to get away, how were they supposed to get their storage rings back and exact vengeance?

“You’re right,” Zhang Xuan remarked nonchalantly, as if he was uninvolved in this matter.

Stunned by Zhang Xuan’s nonchalance, Senior Feng’s rage flurried. “Then what are you waiting for? Capture it!”

“Capture it? I would love to do so, but I am only allowed to use my tamed beast once. I have already used up my chance when my tamed beast brought it over here. If I were to use it once more, won’t I be reported for flouting the rules?” Zhang Xuan said with a troubled expression on his face.

Of course he couldn’t capture that fellow back! Otherwise, if the existence of the Byzantium Helios Beast were to be made known somehow, he could potentially land himself in trouble!

It was still better to keep out of trouble’s way than to risk it.

Pu…

Hearing those words, Brother Yu, who had barely just recovered slightly from his injuries, couldn’t help but spew another mouthful of blood out of frustration.

He was certain that the Great Violetwing Beast had sealed the aerial spirit beast’s meridians beforehand, thus binding the latter’s movement. How did the latter recover from that so quickly?

Furthermore, even if the aerial spirit beast did recover, the force of its attack was a little too strong… It was as if the Great Violetwing Beast had sided with the aerial spirit beast against him!

“This…”

While he was busy spurting blood, Senior Feng’s body was trembling in frustration.

Why did he have to be so nosey and raise the concern regarding Zhang shi’s tamed beast? He’d thought that this rule would help him to subdue that fellow, but who knew that he would be the one suffering from it in the end!

Spewing yet a mouthful of fresh blood, Brother Yu howled furiously, “As long as you capture the aerial spirit beast back, I’m willing to admit defeat…”

As long as he could retrieve his storage rings, what did losing an Aerial Strike Amulet count as?

“You will admit defeat? Then… where is the Aerial Strike Amulet you promised me?” Zhang Xuan stretched out his hand, demanding for his possession.

“This…” Brother Yu’s body stiffened.

‘It has been stolen by that aerial spirit beast. Only after capturing it can I hand it over to you…’

“Don’t worry. As long as you capture that fellow, I’ll hand it over to you…” Brother Yu replied, gritting his teeth.

“That won’t do. You will have to hand the Aerial Strike Amulet over first before I will instruct my spirit beast to capture that fellow. I am taking a huge risk here by doing this; you know that my actions might be taken as flouting the rules, thus putting me at risk of disqualification, right? The least you can do is to show your sincerity,” Zhang Xuan replied.

“You…”

Brother Yu was on the verge of exploding from frustration. “Don’t worry! I, Yu Cheng, vow that even if I don’t have the Aerial Strike Amulet, I will compensate you with a high-tier spirit stone. You need not worry about me reneging on my promise!”

Unable to produce the item, Brother Yu could only offer a promise.

“In other words… the Aerial Strike Amulet isn’t in your possession?” Yet, instead of focusing on the promise, Zhang Xuan chose to bite firmly at the underlying meaning behind Brother Yu’s statement.

“…” This time, Brother Yu really burst into tears.

‘Can you stop mentioning the Aerial Strike Amulet?

‘All I need you to do is to capture that fellow, I’ll give you whatever you want afterward as long as you do it, so can you just stop talking about the Aerial Strike Amulet…’

“Brother Yu… That fellow is already gone…”

Just as Brother Yu was about to continue arguing, he suddenly heard Senior Feng’s despairing words. Hurriedly lifting his gaze, he realized that the Transcendent Mortal 7-dan spirit beast had already vanished in the dark sky.

If not for this incident, they might still have been able to replace that aerial spirit beast in Leiyuan Peak. However, after this matter, why would that aerial spirit beast dare to remain here knowing that someone was after its life? It would definitely fly as far as it could!

“Damn it…”

The more he thought about it, the more furious he felt. Brother Yu struggled to his feet and glared at Zhang Xuan in animosity.

At that moment, one of the seniors suddenly exclaimed, “Alright, time’s up!”

Everyone subconsciously glanced at the incense on the stone pedestal, only to see the final whiff of smoke dissipating from the incense. Ten minutes had passed.

Brother Yu clenched his jaws and said, “Seniors, he’s failed to capture a spirit beast, so his score is still lower than mine. This should mean that he has lost the bet…”

‘Since you’re going to be difficult, don’t blame me for returning the favor!’

“Lost?”

Zhang Xuan shook his head. “My tamed beast captured a Perfect Harmonization realm spirit beast and brought it here, and if not for this fellow’s intervention, I would have surely procured its inner core and earned another thousand points. It is clear that he intentionally let my spirit beast loose, even trying to convince me to flout the rules so as to have me disqualified from the examination! Most important of all, he made a bet with me despite not possessing the required capital. All of this suggests that he is trying to scam me of my high-tier spirit stone…”

Zhang Xuan stepped forward, and with an indignant expression, he said, “I beseech the seniors to redress my grievances!”

“This…”

Hearing the both sides of the story, the seniors gazed at one another and fell into a dilemma.

It was true that Zhang shi would have surely won if Yu Cheng hadn’t interfered. In this respect, Zhang shi had the moral high ground.

However… whatever the cause was, it was a fact that Zhang shi’s score was lower than the other party. If they were to just look at the outcome, without a doubt, Zhang shi had lost the bet.

A moment later, one of the seniors spoke up.

“Both of you are talented students of our Master Teacher Academy, there is no need to for the two of you to become enemies over such a minor matter. Why don’t we just call the bet off…”

Yu Cheng harrumphed.

“No way! Since he dared to accept the challenge, he should have been prepared to face the consequences. It is clear that he has lost the bet, so he should pay me a high-tier spirit stone!”

Since he was unable to exact vengeance on the aerial spirit beast, he would just have to vent his frustrations on Zhang Xuan.

Otherwise, the matter that had happened would just turn him into a laughingstock, creating a dark stain in his history.

“This…”

Hearing those words from Brother Yu, the seniors contemplated for a moment longer before one eventually stood out and said, “Alright. Since that’s the case, why don’t we leave this matter to Elder Mo to resolve…”

Considering the astounding strength the both of them had displayed even before their enrollment, they would surely become new stars of the academy. Even as their seniors, they dared not offend them.

“Alright!” Yu Cheng replied smugly.

It was a fact that his score was higher than Zhang Xuan’s, not even Elder Mo could twist this fact.

“Tell me your names, and I’ll record your results first,” the senior said.

“I am Yu Cheng, and he is Zhang Xuan…” Yu Cheng said. However, before he could finish his words, the seniors who were still calm a moment ago suddenly widened their eyes in shock. Staring at the young man before them, their lips quivered in agitation, as if excited to see their favorite idol.

“Zhang Xuan? You are… Zhang shi from Huanyu Empire?”

Chapter 722: Forty Thousand Points?

“Indeed, I am Zhang Xuan!”

Zhang Xuan scratched his head bewilderedly, uncomprehending of the reactions of the seniors.

‘I am already being very low profile, choosing not to take out the Byzantium Helios Beast. Why are you all still acting like that?

‘Besides, my points are lower than Yu Cheng’s as well. Surely your agitation should be directed toward him instead of me?’

Not only was Zhang Xuan stunned, the other master teachers in the area were also surprised to see such reactions from the composed seniors. Did all of them suffer a stroke simultaneously?

Suddenly, one of the older seniors exclaimed, “Everyone, he is Zhang shi!”, catching the attention of all of the other seniors.

“What? He is Zhang shi?”

“So it’s you, you are as dashing as I thought…”

“Zhang shi, I am Liu Chuang from Grade 2, pleased to meet you. If you replace yourself facing any trouble in the academy, feel free to look for me…”

“I am Zhi Zhijun from Grade 2, a member of the Enforcement Squad in the academy. Are you free tonight? Our team would like to host a welcome party to celebrate your enrollment…”

“Hah, is a welcome party all you can offer? Zhang shi, I know that you are a beast tamer, so I have prepared 2000 Beast Crystals for you. You need not feel any pressure accepting these, just regard it as a gift from a brother…”

“Beast Crystals? What a shabby gift to offer to another. Zhang shi, I have prepared a Beast Blood Pill for you…”

…

Hearing the exclamation, the invigilating seniors immediately tossed aside their jobs and rushed up to Zhang Xuan. They gazed at Zhang Xuan intimately as if he were their kin, and their eyes were shining so brightly in excitement that they could nearly light up the night.

“This…”

Not expecting the other seniors to treat him in such an amiable fashion right after hearing his name, Zhang Xuan rubbed his nose awkwardly. He couldn’t comprehend the sight before him… Could it be that the news of him beating up the Byzantium Helios Beast had become known?

But that shouldn’t be!

He had instructed Vicious to ensure that no one was around when he pummeled the Byzantium Helios Beast, so it should be impossible for anyone to have noticed that matter.

Not even Elder Mo would be able to get past Vicious’ radar!

But if the news hadn’t been leaked, what kind of insanity were these people up to?

Zhang Xuan hadn’t killed a single high-tier spirit beast or displayed outstanding prowess throughout the examination… Could he be so brilliant that not even his humble performance could conceal his radiance any longer?

Upon thinking of this, Zhang Xuan subconsciously glanced down at his appearance—a normal master teacher robe… Un, it didn’t seem that there was anything unique about him. His aura… had also been suppressed to Consonant Spirit realm pinnacle. As for his Heaven’s Path zhenqi, they shouldn’t be able to sense it either…

While Zhang Xuan was baffled by the situation before him, Yu Cheng was on the verge of going insane.

‘I am clearly the winner, alright?

‘I won the bet, accumulating a score of more than two thousand points, displaying an extraordinary performance in contrast to my peers… Yet, instead of speaking to me, you actually chose to show care and concern to a loser instead, inviting him to a meal and even gifting him valuable items…

‘Do you need to be so obvious that you are fawning on someone?

‘Where is your pride as seniors!’

Yu Cheng’s lips twitched violently, and his eyes reddened in frenzy… ‘The heck! I am the freaking winner here, I really am! It isn’t this Zhang shi over here!’

On the other hand, Senior Feng also swallowed his saliva upon seeing the situation before him. The insanity that was unfolding before him had left him on the verge of madness.

He thought that he would be able to wash away his previous humiliations with this triumph, but who knew that the other party would still up him one in the end!

In the end, it seemed like nothing had changed at all.

“What is going on? What are you doing gathering here instead of invigilating the test properly?”

Just as everyone was feeling faint from the madness before them, a sharp bellow suddenly echoed in the air. Following which, a stern-looking middle-aged man walked over.

“It is Bai shi from the academy’s Enforcement Hall! He is known throughout the academy to be an austere person…”

“I heard that Bai shi is Elder Mo’s direct disciple. Even though he is a 6-star low-tier master teacher, he possesses a great deal of influence in the academy!”

“Direct disciple? You must be mistaken. Up until now, Elder Mo has been known to have never accepted a single direct disciple. Bai shi is simply an ordinary student under him…”

“Regardless of whether he is a direct disciple or not, he is still a figure that we can only look up to….”

…

Such soft whispers could be heard amidst the crowd.

Bai shi’s cultivation and master teacher rank couldn’t be considered to be exceptional, but he was extremely famous in the academy. As he had always followed behind Elder Mo, most had thought of him to be the latter’s direct disciple.

“Bai shi!”

As expected, as soon as the seniors noticed Bai shi’s arrival, they immediately dashed back to their positions at the speed of light.

“The reason teacher has made you the invigilators of this examination is due to his high opinion of your diligence and honesty. Who allowed you to approach the examinees on your own whim to strike up private connections with them here?” Bai shi glared at the seniors coldly.

The powerful aura of a Transcendent Mortal 9-dan weighed down heavily on them.

5-star master teacher corresponded to cultivation realms of Transcendent Mortal 6-dan, 7-dan, and 8-dan. To become a 6-star master teacher, one had to at least possess the cultivation of a 9-dan!

As a 6-star low-tier master teacher, Bai shi was a Transcendent Mortal 9-dan pinnacle expert. There were none that stood here who could match him.

“Yes…”

Those words left the faces of the seniors turning red in embarrassment.

“What are you waiting for? Hurry up and continue with the invigilation!”

Bai shi waved his hand majestically.

The frightened seniors hurriedly turned their attention back to tabulating the scores of the examinees.

“Humph!”

Bai shi harrumphed coldly. After ensuring that everything was back in order, he turned to Zhang Xuan. Unlike the previous austerity he had shown to the seniors, he had a slight smile on his face at the moment. Clasping his fist, he bowed. “Senior Zhang, teacher has invited you to meet him!”

“Senior?”

“Bai shi has addressed Zhang shi as… senior? Could it be that Elder Mo intends to take Zhang shi in as his direct disciple?”

“That would explain why all of the seniors are eager to fawn over him. After all, Elder Mo is one of the Ten Great Elders of the academy! The standing of his students is above that of most teachers. Just look at Bai shi, there is barely anyone who would dare stand in his way!”

“Indeed. To be accepted as the direct disciple despite having yet to officially enroll in the academy… How enviable!”

…

Seeing the politeness Bai shi was showing to Zhang shi, everyone suddenly froze.

For one to be addressed in such a manner by a 6-star master teacher, there was only one possibility—Elder Mo was intending to take in Zhang Xuan as his direct disciple!

But… hadn’t Zhang shi just arrived at the academy, just like them?

All they had done to date was take the entrance examination. What in the world did the other party do to actually catch the eye of Elder Mo, who had never accepted a single direct disciple before?

Wasn’t he way too lucky!

“Elder Mo? Alright.”

Noticing all of the gazes on him, Zhang Xuan realized that his plan to maintain a low profile had fallen through. With a deep sigh, he nodded and followed Bai shi down the mountain.

A moment later, they disappeared from the crowd’s sight.

“Why?! I am obviously the victor! I am the one who won! But why…”

Seeing Zhang Xuan leave under the escort of Bai shi, Yu Cheng’s eyes reddened in frenzy.

The reason he intentionally challenged Zhang Xuan was so as to force himself to perform spectacularly.

Even with his inner cores stolen, he still managed to obtain an amazing score exceeding two thousand points.

Given his outstanding result, why did Elder Mo choose to take in a person who had lost to him instead?

Seeing how Yu shi was raging over the matter, a senior finally couldn’t stand watching the situation any longer. With a look of pity, the senior asked, “You won? Yu shi, do you know what Zhang shi’s score is?”

Stunned by the abrupt question, Yu Cheng replied, “His score? Wasn’t it tabulated at 2580 just now?”

It was just a moment ago that the score had been revealed, and the other party had lost to him and Senior Feng by 78 points. Did the senior forget about it?

“2580?” The senior burst into laughter. Shaking his head, he said, “Do you think that it is possible to catch Elder Mo’s eye with such a score?”

“This…” Yu Cheng blinked in shock.

Zhang Xuan had come together with him to have their scores checked. Could there be some mistake with his score? But how could that be possible?

“Let me tell you honestly, his total score adds up to… 43724 points!” The senior spoke affirmatively, but a hint of astonishment still flashed across his eyes while reciting the figure.

“43000 points? B-but how is this possible?”

The astonished Yu Cheng nearly fainted on the spot. His lips twitched intensely in disbelief. “Didn’t he only obtain the inner cores from Luoyang Beast, Viridsmoke Beast, Seven Feeler Beast… How did he obtain such a high score?”

Yu Cheng wasn’t the only one astounded by this revelation. The master teachers in the surroundings also turned their doubtful gazes over.

They had all witnessed the sight of Zhang shi handing over his inner cores, as well as the tabulation of the results. How in the world did two thousand points turn into forty thousand points?

Wasn’t this gap a little too big?

Forty thousand points… Given the score of a hundred points for each Cosmos Bridge realm primary stage spirit beast, one would have to hunt at least 400 of them to achieve that score!

But with the time limit of a single day, was that even possible?

“How is that possible? Zhang shi singlehandedly saved more than two hundred trapped master teachers at Heaven’s Thread. In the midst of doing so, he tamed more than four hundred Consonant Spirit realm and Cosmos Bridge realm spirit beasts. How is that not worth forty thousand points?”

Seeing Yu Cheng’s disbelief, the senior flung his sleeves and said, “Furthermore, you should also be aware that taming a spirit beast is far more difficult than killing one!”

“He tamed… four hundred spirit beasts?”

Hearing those words, someone suddenly put two and two together and exclaimed, “This… Could it be that Zhang shi is the unparalleled genius that returned at noon whom the seniors were talking about?”

They had previous heard from the seniors that a top scorer had already emerged at noon. Initially, most thought that it would only be two to three thousand points at the maximum, but who could have imagined that it would actually be forty thousand points!

Furthermore, it came actually from this humble-looking Zhang shi!

“Indeed, that person is Zhang shi… After learning of his incredible performance, even Elder Mo and Pavilion Master Mo Gaoyuan are eager to meet him. Do you really think that you have won against him with those measly two thousand points of yours?” the senior said.

How conceited!

Initially, even though Brother Yu and Senior Feng had addressed Zhang Xuan as Zhang shi, they still weren’t able to put the two together. After all, there were at least hundreds of master teachers amongst the examinees that went by the surname of Zhang as well.

But for a person to be known as Zhang Xuan and to have come from Huanyu Empire at that, there seemed to only be a single person who fit this description!

The incredible genius whom even Elder Mo was full of praise for!

Honestly speaking, he still found it hard to believe the incident that had happened at noon to be true.

If Zhang shi was only strong and formidable in beast taming, they wouldn’t have been so impressed.

More importantly, he was humble and nonchalant to fame and wealth. That was what had truly left them awed.

Most likely, it was this charisma of his that won him the respect of all of the examinees who returned at noon.

Two hundred master teachers bringing more than four hundred spirit beasts back, but every single one of them only asked for a single point. They insisted on transferring the remaining to Zhang shi to thank him for saving their lives. Just by recalling the sight of it now, he would still shake in agitation at the grandness of the sight.

After which, when he heard of the entire story from the master teachers, his respect for Zhang Xuan only further deepened.

Despite taming so many spirit beasts and saving everyone, he didn’t boast and demand compensation and credit for his efforts.

After the deed was done, he simply flung his sleeves and left nonchalantly, not even bothering to leave his name behind. Such was his nobility! Simply too few master teachers had managed to achieve such a transcendental attitude in their lifetimes.

Chapter 723: Elder Mo Accepting a Disciple

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 replace 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 replace 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 replace 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.

Chapter 724: The Selfless Zhang Xuan

The typical practice was to have at least twenty thousand of the thirty thousand students to pass the examination. Yet, only six thousand or so people had passed the examination. Did this mean that they were going to eliminate a total of twenty-four thousand freshmen?

With the examination ending up like this, how was he to account for this matter to the academy?

“That’s right.” The senior nodded, affirming Elder Mo’s doubts.

Elder Mo’s complexion turned incredibly awful.

Didn’t the Byzantium Helios Beast promise him to ensure that at least twenty thousand freshmen would clear the examination? Why did the standards suddenly turned out so strict that only six thousand passed the examination?

That fellow had always been a dependable and reliable person. What in the world happened this time around?

Hearing the figures, Zhang Xuan was also taken aback. He thought that the pass ratio would at least still be fifty percent, but from the looks of it now, he was being too optimistic.

“That darned Byzantium Helios Beast is to blame for this. I shall teach him a severe lesson when I return!”

A glint flashed across Zhang Xuan’s eyes.

If not for that spy of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe interfering with the examination, how could the pass ratio be so low?

The Master Teacher Academy might not mean anything much to him, but to the other master teachers, it spelled their future. As long as they could get in and persevere on, they would be destined for greatness. However, after the mess that the Byzantium Helios Beast had cooked up, they could only end up departing in disappointment.

Just as Zhang Xuan was contemplating how he should deal with that darned saint beast, Elder Mo anxiously clasped his fist and said, “I need to deal with some matters now, I’ll be right back!”

Leaving behind those words, he turned around and soared into the air, headed in the direction of the pinnacle of Leiyuan Peak.

No matter what, he had to ask what the Byzantium Helios Beast was up to, failing so many examinees.

Pushing his Saint 1-dan pinnacle cultivation to the limits, he swiftly reached the top of the peak.

“Senior Byzantium Helios…”

Elder Mo shouted as he approached the gigantic straw cottage in the distance.

The Byzantium Helios Beast was the tamed beast of the old principal, thus making its standing higher than even the Ten Great Master Teachers. As such, he had to respectfully address the other party as ‘senior’.

Hearing that there was no response, Elder Mo flew closer to the straw cottage, and just as he was about to call for the other party again, his eyes suddenly narrowed.

He suddenly noticed multiple depressions on the originally flat snow land. Furthermore, the spiritual energy in the surroundings seemed to be a little chaotic, as if a battle had just occurred here.

“This level of disturbance in the spiritual energy can only be caused by a Saint realm expert!”

As a 6-star master teacher, Elder Mo possessed an incredible eye of discernment. He could tell in a single look that the mess before him was a result of a battle between Saint realm experts.

“Could it be that…”

Elder Mo’s eyes narrowed, and clencing his fists, he rushed into the straw cottage.

The Byzantium Helios Beast had always been lazy, and under normal circumstances, it would be resting inside the cottage. Yet, all that appeared before Elder Mo was emptiness. Could this mean that the Byzantium Helios Beast… was in danger?

“How in the world could it be? Who would dare to attack Senior Byzantium Helios of the Master Teacher Academy?”

A hint of killing intent boiled in Elder Mo’s eyes.

The Byzantium Helios Beast was the old principal’s tamed beast, and he represented the dignity and reputation of the Master Teacher Academy. To dare to lay one’s hands on it was no different from openly provoking the entire Master Teacher Academy, taunting the entire Master Teacher Pavilion!

Elder Mo swiftly headed out to study the marks left outside the cottage.

“Judging from the size and outline of these depressions, it should be left by Senior Byzantium Helios. As for these footsteps, they seem to be slightly larger than an ordinary human…”

Elder Mo swiftly walked up to one of the footprints and pinched the snow in the region. All of the sudden, his eyes narrowed.

“Killing intent? This… Otherworldly Demons!”

As a 6-star pinnacle master teacher, he possessed an in-depth knowledge of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe. From the footprints before him, he could sense a slight killing intent which was distinctive of an Otherworldly Demonic Tribe expert!

“One, two, three…” More than twenty Saint realm Otherworldly Demons actually coordinated with one another to deal with Senior Byzantium Helios?”

After counting the footprints in the area and making a rough estimation, Elder Mo’s eyes widened in shock.

It was no wonder why the Byzantium Helios Beast was missing! To think that twenty Saint realm Otherworldly Demons would actually appear here!

This was a land belonging to the Master Teacher Academy! How did the Otherworldly Demons sneak into here and capture the Byzantium Helios Beast away without their notice?

“This is truly a disaster. I must quickly report this to the academy and the Master Teacher Pavilion!”

The appearance of twenty Saint realm Otherworldly Demons was no joke. This concerned the stability of the entire Hongyuan Empire! They must investigate and deal with this matter swiftly, or else catastrophe could befall the Hongyuan City!

With this thought in mind, Elder Mo swiftly rushed down the mountain, and a short moment later, he returned back to the gazebo.

“What’s wrong?”

Seeing his old buddy rushing back anxiously with an awful look on his face, Mo Gaoyuan asked worriedly.

“This…”

Glancing at Zhang Xuan, Elder Mo hesitated.

The emergence of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe was a huge affair. If news were to leak out, it would cause a huge panic. Even though Elder Mo was one of the Ten Great Master Teachers, he didn’t dare to take such a risk.

“Since the both of you have important matters to attend to, I won’t impose myself then…”

Noticing the other party’s hesitance, Zhang Xuan knew that his presence was unwanted, so he stood up and clasped his fist.

“Actually… it’s fine!” Hearing that Zhang Xuan was going to leave, Elder Mo felt a little embarrassed instead.

It was just a moment ago which he was trying to persuade the other party to be his disciple, to regard him as an outsider and leave him out of important issues now would be truly inappropriate.

“This matter is of grave importance, but I have trust in Zhang shi’s credibility, so it’s fine for you to listen as well.” After a moment of hesitation, Elder Mo spoke up, “I noticed the traces of Otherworldly Demons on Leiyuan Peak!”

“What? How strong are they?” Mo Gaoyuan widened his eyes in shock.

“Even at the very least, they are stronger than me. Furthermore, it seems like there are quite a few of them!”

Elder Mo revealed his analysis on the matter.

Even under the encirclement of more than twenty Saint realm experts, given Senior Byzantium Helios’s prowess, he should at least be able to send a message to them. But when Elder Mo arrived earlier, he combed through the entire area but found nothing of that sort. This hinted at the presence of an expert exceeding Saint 1-dan among the enemy.

“Stronger than you?”

Mo Gaoyuan’s complexion darkened.

At the same time, Zhang Xuan also narrowed his eyes.

All along, he had been suspecting that the Byzantium Helios Beast was a spy of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe, and those words from Elder Mo only confirmed his doubts.

That fellow must be the tamed beast of a powerful Otherworldly Demon!

Otherwise, why would it obstinately refuse to reveal whom its master was?

“Indeed, I have saved a lot of master teachers!”

Having confirmed this matter, Zhang Xuan nodded in satisfaction.

Had the scheme of the Byzantium Helios Beast and Otherworldly Demonic Tribe succeeded, this wouldn’t be a matter of how many people failed the examination but how many people died in the examination.

This would be a huge blow to the Master Teacher Academy!

As a master teacher, Zhang Xuan carried the responsibility and mission belonging to one. If he were to encounter the scheme of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe, he mustn’t back down!

“I hope that the two of you won’t spread this matter around. I’ll assemble the Ten Great Elders and conduct a meeting to deal with this matter.”

Elder Mo said.

Pavilion Master Mo and Zhang Xuan nodded in response.

Any matter involving the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe had to be kept in secrecy or else it could cause a pandemonium among the populace.

“Un, we will keep the matter to ourselves. Right, what about the matter regarding the intake this year?” Pavilion Master Mo asked.

“This…” Elder Mo rubbed his glabella in distress.

This matter was truly a tricky issue.

He thought that with the Byzantium Helios Beast overlooking the examination, there shouldn’t be any problem in this matter. Who would have thought that the other party would end up being attacked by the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe and go missing altogether, resulting in such a huge problem in the examination?

The internally agreed intake number was twenty thousand, but now only six thousand had managed to pass the examination. How was he to explain this matter to the Master Teacher Academy?

If he were to simply bring the other students in or conduct any examination, that would undermine the authority of the entrance examination, and this entire matter would become nothing more than a farce.

But accepting only six thousand out of thirty thousand geniuses was a huge loss to the Master Teacher Academy!

“Elder Mo, I have an idea in mind!” Zhang Xuan contemplated for a moment before speaking up.

“Feel free to speak.” Elder Mo and Pavilion Master Mo turned their sights to Zhang Xuan, curious to see what he had to say.

“Didn’t you say that it is possible to share the points one obtained?”

At which, Zhang Xuan smiled and proposed, “Since I have forty thousand points, there is more than enough to go around even if I were to give one to everyone. This way, everyone would be able to clear the examination!”

“This…”

Elder Mo was stunned, “But these are the points you obtained with great difficulty, how can I take them from you and allocate it to the other examinees…”

“It’s nothing much. With the threat of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe is looming above us, we master teachers should buff up our forces as far as we could. By giving those geniuses from the various regions a chance, we are giving a hope to humanity as well.”

Zhang Xuan waved his hands nonchalantly.

The points he had accumulated were useless to him anyway. Since that was the case, he might as well give them out to win the favor of others and build his reputation. This would be helpful for his advancement as a master teacher as well.

Even though most tended to overlook it, reputation was also a factor that master teachers required. Without a strong reputation, how could master teachers rally the forces of humanity and lead the fight against the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe? As such, it was also taken into account when determining the Master Teacher Pavilion determined the qualification of a master teacher in advancing to the higher rank.

“This… Alright. Since you have made up your mind, I will thank you on behalf of the Master Teacher Academy. I’ll inform all of the examinees of this matter now!”

Hearing Zhang Xuan’s words, Elder Mo clasped his fist with a grave expression.

While others were still thinking about their own individual interest, the other party was already contemplating over the future of humanity and the Master Teacher Pavilion!

“If all master teachers could be as selfless as Zhang shi, what would there to fear of the Otherworldly Demons…”

Elder Mo thought, impressed with the young man before him.

If he had only regarded Zhang Xuan as a junior before, he was viewing the other party as a fellow peer at this instant.

How big-hearted must one be to willingly forgo his achievements for others!

As expected of Yang shi’s direct disciple, his capability and mindset were vastly different from the others!

“I’ll be troubling Elder Mo then.”

Zhang Xuan clasped his fist.

“No, it’s no trouble at all. If anything, I am the one troubling you. If not for your generosity, I would have no idea how I could resolve this matter… I owe you one!”

Elder Mo replied.

Should this examination only have an intake of six thousand, he would become a huge joke of the Master Teacher Academy.

His prestige and dignity as one of the Ten Great Elders would also be shattered.

While the other party had offered a ray of hope to salvage the future of the other twenty-four thousand master teachers outside, the other party had also salvaged his reputation.

“This…”

Zhang Xuan scratched his head awkwardly.

Actually… Rather than having you owe me a favor, I would very much rather receive a few high-tier spirit stones from you…

“You need not feel troubled over this, you have indeed helped Elder Mo a lot this time. Besides, Elder Mo’s favor doesn’t come easily. Even I haven’t received it from him in the past two hundred years of our relationship!”

Seeing the reluctance on Zhang Xuan’s face, Mo Gaoyuan urged him to accept it.

As one of the Ten Great Elders, Elder Mo was an upright and austere man. He had high expectations of himself and others, which resulted in him being the only elder without a direct disciple to date.

It wasn’t easy to receive a favor from a man like that.

“Thank you, Elder Mo!” After such words from Pavilion Master Mo, Zhang Xuan could only nod in agreement.

If others were to learn that he wasn’t interested in accepting Elder Mo’s favor, preferring high-tier spirit stones over that, they would definitely send him flying to the stars with a kick.

Which of the Ten Great Elders wasn’t an influential figure in Hongyuan Empire?

The favor of a person as powerful as them was worth much more than gold.

If one could trade this favor with the Hongyuan Empire’s royal family for high-tier spirit stones, one would receive at least several dozens of them!

This was how great the value of a favor from one of the Ten Great Elders was worth!

Such a valuable thing, and yet you are still reluctant to accept it… Why don’t you just kick the bucket!