Chapter 1155: I Like You

"Senior Sun Qiang, we have fully memorized the techniques!"

After about half an hour, Elder Xu You cupped his fists.

"Destroy them!" Zhang Xuan waved his hand.

Elder Xu and the others nodded. With a grasp of their palms in the air, the few secret manuals before them turned to ash and vanished completely, as if they had never existed.

"Senior, after we go out, how should we find you?"

Knowing that this 'Ancestral Master's Envoy' would leave sooner or later, Elder Xu You couldn't help asking.

This man had given them a second life, and no amount of gratitude could ever be enough.

"Find me?" Zhang Xuan shook his head. "You don't need to find me, nor should you. If something comes up, I'll find you!"

"This..." Elder Xu You paused. "Then... are we worthy of knowing Senior Sun's true identity? If you have any orders in the future, even if you can't come in person, just send a message, and we'll go through fire and water without hesitation."

"This..." Hearing their request and seeing their expectant eyes, Zhang Xuan paused and said, "Very well. Actually, my identity is the steward of Zhang Xuan, the dean of the Master Teacher Academy of Hongyuan Empire! But I'm a low-key person, so I hope you can keep it secret and not speak of it."

"Steward of Dean Zhang?"

"I've heard of this Dean Zhang. He's a super genius unseen in a millennium, becoming dean of the Master Teacher Academy at such a young age!"

"So he's his steward. Got it!"

"Senior, rest assured, we definitely won't tell..."

...

Knowing Zhang Xuan's 'true' identity, everyone nodded excitedly.

"Alright, let's go out!"

He waved his hand.

Elder Xu and the others filed out.

Seeing them all gone, Zhang Xuan finally breathed a sigh of relief, restored his original appearance, and slowly walked out.

When he emerged from the dungeon, the Poison Hall members had already been taken away by the War Master Hall, leaving only Hall Master Xing, Master Wu, Luo Qiqi, and others.

"Master Zhang..."

Seeing he was unharmed, everyone sighed in relief and came forward.

Zhang Xuan nodded. "I've already persuaded these poison masters. They'll follow orders from now on."

"Mm! Thank you for your noble righteousness, Master Zhang..." Hall Master Xing cupped his fists.

"Noble righteousness?" Seeing the other's excitement and gratitude, Zhang Xuan was baffled.

Actually, he had been worried they might be unwilling. How did a trip to the dungeon change their attitude like this?

Wasn't this change a bit too fast?

"You're too kind. As a master teacher, this is what I should do..." Though he didn't understand why their attitude had changed, humility was always his nature, so Zhang Xuan quickly nodded.

Seeing his attitude, Hall Master Xing admired him even more.

Thinking so much for their War Master Hall without taking credit... this was truly the demeanor of a great master.

"Master Zhang, do you have any plans for later?"

Master Wu looked over.

"I plan to visit the Calligrapher Guild or the Appraiser Guild to take the Seven-star supplementary profession exam, so I can advance to Seven-star master teacher!" With nothing to hide, Zhang Xuan said directly.

He had originally planned to go to the Appraiser Guild, but was called here, fought a big battle, put on a show... thinking about it, it felt like a lot of time wasted.

"What? Does Master Wu have something?"

After explaining, Zhang Xuan looked over.

"It's like this. I was thinking, if Master Zhang is free, you could come with me to the Master Teacher Hall to see the results of my investigation these past few days..." Master Wu said.

"Results of the investigation?"

"Mm!" Master Wu nodded. "According to Zhang Yinqiu, his information was taken away by a master teacher named Chen Zhe. And this Chen Zhe is the personal student of Vice Hall Master Tian Qing, very close to him! I've already detained this man, and he's now at the Master Teacher Hall. If Master Zhang has time, we can go see together..."

"This..." Zhang Xuan frowned.

Actually, he wasn't very interested in this.

After all, not only the other's student but also the Vice Hall Master himself was imprisoned. The Master Teacher Hall could interrogate them slowly; whether he participated or not didn't matter.

Just as he was about to refuse, Master Wu smiled. "Actually, Master Zhang doesn't need to rush the Calligrapher and Appraiser exams. I'm attending an appraisal gathering tonight. If you're free, I can take you along. The presidents of the Calligrapher Guild and Appraiser Guild will both be there. I'll introduce you, and it will make the exams much easier."

"What appraisal gathering?" Zhang Xuan looked over.

"It's for a few treasures unearthed from a certain place. All the influential figures in Qingyuan City will attend to appraise the treasures' grades and possibly repair them."

Master Wu nodded.

"Alright then!" After a pause, Zhang Xuan nodded.

He had left home in the morning, gone to the Jinghong Master Teacher Guild, and then spent an hour or two at this Loyal Prince Manor. It was now afternoon, and there wasn't much time until evening. Rather than going to the exams blind, it was better to meet the two guild presidents first and ask in advance, so he'd have more backing.

"Then I'll wait for you at the Master Teacher Hall!"

Hearing his agreement, Master Wu smiled broadly, turned, and left first.

After taking leave of Hall Master Xing and the others, Zhang Xuan looked at Sun Qiang and the rest.

"You all go back first."

"Yes!" Sun Qiang, knowing he had caused a big mess, didn't dare say more and nodded in agreement.

"Teacher, I have something to ask you... Do you have a moment?" Biting her lip, Luo Qiqi hesitated and looked over.

"Of course!" Zhang Xuan smiled.

Seeing she had something to ask, Sun Qiang and Yu Fei'er didn't stay and left first.

Seeing no one else around, Luo Qiqi set up a soundproofing formation and looked over. "Teacher, I actually have some doubts I'd like you to help resolve. I saw everything today... Vice Hall Master Tian and Prince Zhongqing wanted to frame you, so using some means is understandable... But if the other party had done nothing wrong, would doing so be too much and go against the principles of a master teacher?"

She had known Master Zhang since the Huanyu Empire, and along the way, this teacher had always appeared before her as a noble figure who sacrificed himself for others.

From rescuing her in the underground palace, to saving Yu Fei'er, and later taking the risk to subdue all the sacred beasts in Cloud Mist Ridge...

She had witnessed one thing after another, all showing Master Zhang's nobility and greatness.

Because of this, from their time together until now, she had grown more and more admiring, even feeling that this man, like Master Kong back then, was a true master teacher... Though he used some small tricks, they didn't harm his integrity.

But what she saw today somewhat overturned her previous thinking.

After all, Vice Hall Master Tian was a Seven-star pinnacle master teacher and vice hall master of the Master Teacher Hall. To confront someone of such status directly... had already violated etiquette and touched on what master teachers should most uphold.

Because of this, her faith was somewhat shaken.

"What is a master teacher?"

Seeing her doubt, Zhang Xuan didn't answer directly but asked instead.

"A master teacher... is a teacher, setting an example for others, imparting knowledge and resolving doubts, making humanity stronger, with sincerity as virtue, trust as foundation, cultivating oneself before teaching others..." Luo Qiqi paused and said.

"Wrong, all wrong!" Zhang Xuan shook his head.

"Wrong? That's the rule recited when becoming a master teacher. Every master teacher knows it..." Luo Qiqi was puzzled.

What she had just said was exactly the master teacher code, which every master teacher could recite.

"A master teacher is indeed a teacher, but also a human!" Zhang Xuan said.

"Human?"

"Yes, as a human, one has emotions of joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness; one has thoughts; one has love and hate!" Zhang Xuan looked over. "This is... human nature! Master Kong back then did not demand the preservation of heavenly principles and the elimination of human desires. So, master teachers must also have their own thoughts, their own joys and sorrows. They don't need to follow etiquette in everything. When encountering something truly against their conscience, they can also resist. A master teacher is a teacher, but not an ostrich that submits to adversity. Instead, they must have their own thoughts to better use knowledge and go further!"

"This..."

Luo Qiqi fell into thought.

"I once met a cultivator whose father was a master teacher. He had obeyed his father since childhood, cultivating diligently, believing everything his father said was correct... Unfortunately, his father died without breaking through. This left a shadow in his heart: if his father couldn't break through, he certainly couldn't either... Under this shadow, he could never break out, and even though his true energy and power were sufficient, he still couldn't succeed!"

Zhang Xuan said. "This is fixed thinking. We are master teachers, but also students. As students, we need divergent thinking, not just listen to the teacher without daring to refute. If that were the case... like today when I faced Vice Hall Master Tian Qing, knowing he was wrong, why wouldn't I dare to speak out?"

"He was stronger than me, and I couldn't resist, so naturally I had to use some means. This is to protect myself and to make better progress!"

"But... what if a very powerful master teacher uses rules and righteousness to label me and demands I accept?" Luo Qiqi looked over.

"Follow your heart!" Zhang Xuan smiled. "No matter how powerful a master teacher is, can they be more powerful than Master Kong? If Master Kong told me to kill, would I kill? Follow your heart... If you're unwilling, you can completely refuse! If someone doesn't respect your heart but demands you follow rules and righteousness... that person has already violated the principles of a master teacher. Since they have violated them, what's wrong with using some schemes and means?"

"This..." Luo Qiqi's eyes grew brighter, as if she understood.

"Alright, means and such are auxiliary, methods to ensure you don't get hurt. They don't conflict with master teacher theory. Don't worry unnecessarily and think too much..."

Zhang Xuan shook his head.

She had clearly fallen into a dead end.

Reading isn't about reading dead books or being a bookworm. A master teacher isn't a fool who only knows to follow rules. When necessary, one must adapt.

This Luo Qiqi, no matter her talent or anything, was good, but she wasn't as adaptable as Hu Yaoyao.

"I understand!"

After hearing the explanation, Luo Qiqi's eyes sparkled with excitement. She looked over again. "Since Teacher is so adaptable and not bound by etiquette, I'll speak frankly. Teacher..."

"I like you!"

"..." Zhang Xuan.