Chapter 155: Five-Star Incident

The Chen residence, thanks to having a formal alchemist in residence, was quite famous in the Tianxuan Kingdom and could be considered a prominent family.

Such a family, lacking no elixirs, should have been full of pride and talent, but now it was shrouded in gloom, the entire mansion immersed in a stifling atmosphere.

"Alright, carry out these regulations. No one may object; otherwise, they will be directly expelled from the family!"

In the main hall, Alchemist Chen Xiao glanced around, his expression desolate.

Invited to debate alchemy with a fellow named Zhang Xuan, the latter had bluntly told him he didn't have long to live. Sensing the decline of his own life force, he felt deeply失落 and began arranging his affairs upon returning home.

He was an alchemist; while he lived, the entire Chen family could thrive. Once he died, forces coveting his wealth would surely mobilize all means, and the family's decline was only a matter of time.

Thus, to prevent this, he set down family rules, ordering his kin to sell off all assets immediately, vanish without a trace, leave the royal city, and never return.

"Patriarch..."

At these words, sobs broke out everywhere.

Having enjoyed a life of luxury, many found it hard to accept suddenly leaving their home and this place.

"Enough, such crying is unseemly. Chen Cong, go and carry it out!" Alchemist Chen Xiao waved his hand after speaking.

Chen Cong was his son. Knowing his time was short, he had already appointed him as the new patriarch.

"Yes!" Chen Cong nodded and was about to leave when a young man came up and whispered something in his ear. After hearing it, his eyes lit up, and he quickly looked up: "Father..."

"What is it?" Alchemist Chen Xiao picked up his teacup, frowned, and felt a surge of anger.

He had always thought his son understood priorities; why was he being so disobedient now?

Did he not know that the Chen family's prosperity was solely due to his being a formal alchemist? Without his deterrence, how could they alone protect the wealth accumulated from alchemy over the years?

"Father, a master teacher has arrived in the royal city. Perhaps... he can solve your problem..." Seeing his father's displeasure, Chen Cong dared not hesitate and spoke directly.

"A master teacher? Isn't that false news?" Alchemist Chen Xiao shook his head.

If it were a real master teacher, how could he, a one-star alchemist, have no news at all?

"I don't know if it's true or false. Yesterday, upon hearing the news, I sent Chen Tao over. This master teacher named Yang Xuan not only cured Ling Tianyu's wife's illness but also made Du Miaoxuan of the Du family kneel at his door, and..."

"And what?"

"And Du Miaoxuan, after being inside for less than ten minutes, went from the peak of the Strength Stage to the Profound Passage Stage," Chen Cong hurriedly said. "Most importantly... Luo Chong, the president of the Artifact Refiner Guild, also paid a special visit. When he came out, he was full of praise, calling him a true master teacher..."

Before he could finish, he heard a "clang" as his father's teacup fell to the floor. Then his father's lifeless eyes turned bloodshot, as if flames were burning: "Where is this master teacher? Take me to see him quickly..."

"Go now? I still have to sell off the family assets..."

Chen Cong muttered, but before he could react, he saw his father, who had seemed on the verge of death, already at the door, waving and shouting: "Sell off nothing, hurry up..."

"..." Chen Cong.

"..." The Chen family members.

The sobs in the room instantly died down. Everyone's mouth hung open as if stuffed with an egg, speechless, staring dumbfounded at the patriarch who had suddenly changed his attitude.

...

Elder Qian held no real power in the Tianxuan Kingdom, but his position was extremely important. Every half month, he was summoned to the palace by King Shen Zhui for a personal inquiry.

He was the king's eyes, responsible for collecting and organizing all news from within and outside the kingdom, compiling it into records for reference.

With this information, King Shen Zhui could make wise decisions, allowing the kingdom to thrive despite being surrounded by powerful enemies.

Thus, even the truly powerful figures in the kingdom dared not offend him, fearing he might pass on false information and incur the king's suspicion.

Today was another day for compiling and summarizing news. He had come to his dedicated office early in the morning.

At this moment, the room was already full of people, all talking animatedly.

"What is this noise and commotion?"

Seeing his subordinates arguing loudly instead of working, Elder Qian's face darkened.

"Yes, sir!" The crowd's faces changed, and they quickly returned to their seats.

"Elder Qian..."

A middle-aged man approached.

"Mm, have there been any important events in the past few days?" Elder Qian sat down and raised his eyelids.

His job was like this: to inquire about the importance of various events, compile them, and then decide whether to report them to the king.

"In the past ten days, there were seventeen one-star events, twelve two-star events, and three three-star events..." The middle-aged man hesitated and handed over a form.

The many reported events were classified by priority. For ease of reading and statistics, they were usually rated by star level according to importance.

One star was the lowest, not very important. The higher the star rating, the greater the importance. Five stars was the highest, equivalent to foreign invasion or imminent overthrow of the kingdom.

Hearing the report, Elder Qian casually took the form and looked down.

"Prince Bai Xun of the Northern Garrison challenged the son of Chancellor Liu Cheng and injured him, causing a dispute between the two families... Rating: One Star!"

"Minister of Personnel Lu Zhong took a concubine the day before yesterday, a person from the Tianyu Kingdom, specific identity unknown... Rating: One Star!"

"Seventeen members of the Tianxuan Merchant Group were attacked by bandits at Meixue Ridge, all killed. The bandits are likely the fugitives who escaped months ago... Rating: One Star!"

...

One-star events, though the least important, were still significant. Take the first incident: Bai Xun challenging the chancellor's son. If not handled properly, it could easily escalate conflict, causing a rift between two major figures in the court and leading to political instability.

However, these people were clearly accustomed to handling such matters and showed no major emotional fluctuation.

"Mm, the ratings are reasonable!" After reading the seventeen one-star events, Elder Qian nodded and looked at the second page, which recorded two-star events.

"A disaster in the Southwest Bailing Mountains left thousands homeless. They have now been settled... Rating: Two Stars!"

"Tianxuan Bank issued new banknotes, with the largest denomination being one million... Rating: Two Stars!"

"Marquis Huainan broke through to the late Profound Passage Stage, becoming one of the top ten experts in the kingdom... Rating: Two Stars!"

...

These events were mostly related to state affairs and the kingdom's situation, clearly more important than one-star events.

After reading the twelve two-star events, Elder Qian nodded again. These ratings were still reasonable and orderly.

He turned to the third page and looked at the highest, three-star events.

"The Teacher Guild dismissed Elder Shang Chen, the dean of Hongtian Academy's teaching office, and deemed Teacher Zhang Xuan's previous semester's teacher assessment incorrect... Rating: Three Stars!"

"Teacher Zhang Xuan and Teacher Lu Xun will undergo a teacher evaluation in twelve days... Rating: Three Stars!"

...

"Matters concerning the Teacher Guild and the academy automatically increase by one star. Teacher Lu Xun, being the most likely candidate to become a master teacher in the entire Tianxuan Kingdom, also adds a star. These two events rated three stars, not bad!"

After reading these, Elder Qian nodded again.

"These are fine... but..."

The middle-aged man's face showed hesitation.

"What is it?" Elder Qian raised an eyebrow.

"An event occurred in the past two days that we couldn't rate. That's what we were discussing just now," the middle-aged man said.

"Oh? Tell me about it!" Elder Qian looked over.

"Three days ago, a man named Yang Xuan arrived in the royal city, claiming to be a master teacher. He cured Ling Tianyu's wife's illness..." the middle-aged man said.

"Oh, I heard about that. I even went to the Teacher Guild to check. There is no record of this person in the kingdom. It's probably a stunt by Ling Tianyu. Don't worry about it. Let's classify it as a one-star event!" Elder Qian said.

Master teachers were like stars, the focus of everyone's attention. If the kingdom had a master teacher, its overall strength would greatly increase. If he were a real master teacher, how could he have arrived in the royal city without anyone knowing?

"A one-star event?" The middle-aged man smiled bitterly. "It's probably not that simple. If he only cured Ling Tianyu's wife, a one-star rating would suffice. But... yesterday, Elder Du Miaoxuan of the four great families knelt at his door for a day. After entering for about ten minutes, he came out having broken through from the peak of the fifth martial stage, the Strength Stage, to the Profound Passage Stage!"

"What? A major increase in strength?"

Elder Qian was startled, his expression turning serious. "If so, it could be classified as two stars..."

"Yesterday afternoon, President Luo Chong of the Artifact Refiner Guild entered the residence. When he left, he was beaming with praise, calling him a true master teacher..."

Ignoring his rating, the middle-aged man continued.

"Luo Chong..."

Elder Qian suddenly stood up, his eyes wide.

Who was Luo Chong?

The president of the Artifact Refiner Guild, one of the true pinnacle figures of the Tianxuan Kingdom.

If even he thought so, could it be that this Yang Xuan was a real master teacher?

"Then... then... this event can be classified as three stars..."

Elder Qian couldn't help but say.

Before he finished, the middle-aged man's voice sounded again.

"This morning, President Ouyang Cheng of the Alchemist Guild and Alchemist Chen Xiao also went to that residence, but they were all turned away by the steward and not allowed in. Not only did they not leave, but they also showed no resentment..."

"This, this..." Elder Qian's face alternated between red and white, and his body swayed twice. "This is... four stars, no, a five-star event. Write this down quickly. I must report it to the king with the utmost speed!"

"Five stars?"

"No need to confirm further?"

A five-star event... the entire Tianxuan Kingdom had not seen one in decades.

The crowd, who had been debating the classification just moments ago, all stiffened at Elder Qian's words, then burst into an uproar.