Chapter 303: Assessment for Master Teacher, Begin!

Student Mo Yu?

Greetings, Teacher Zhang?

The surroundings fell silent; everyone's eyes widened.

What is going on?

Princess Mo Yu, the second genius of the kingdom, became a one-star master teacher at a young age... Someone like her shows such respect, calling him Teacher Zhang...

Where did this guy come from?

What qualifies him for the princess to do this?

Thud!

Captain Yao felt his knees go weak, nearly collapsing on the spot.

Oh my god!

He thought there was some ambiguity with the princess, maybe a rumored boyfriend, but never dreamed the princess would regard herself as a student...

Isn't this too much?

Fortunately, he hadn't recklessly caused trouble yesterday; otherwise, even if killed on the spot, no one would dare speak for him.

Ling Xiaoxiao on the side was also bewildered.

She thought her idol had come to talk to her, but never expected him to pay respects to this clueless guy?

Bro, didn't you not even know where the Master Teacher Hall was, or how to take the master teacher exam?

Didn't you not even know Mo Hongyi?

A clueless little apprentice, yet the kingdom's second genius, Princess Mo Yu, who just became a master teacher, bows and calls him teacher...

Isn't this too thrilling?

Even the strong man beside her widened his eyes, nearly falling over.

Earlier, he was dissatisfied with the young lady wasting words on this guy, but now he realized this unremarkable-looking fellow was actually a hidden big shot!

The princess calling him teacher... that alone rivals some prominent families in the royal city.

Not only them, but Zhao Ya and the others were also confused.

The arrogant Physician Bai Chan was beaten senseless and dared not retort; the genius princess bowed in respect, calling him teacher...

Didn't Teacher Zhang say... he just arrived at Tianwu Royal City yesterday afternoon?

Having just arrived, he causes such a commotion—some in awe, some respectful, some fearful...

If he stays a while, will even the Master Teacher Hall master come to pay respects?

"Mm."

Ignoring the crowd's shock, Zhang Xuan nodded lightly.

He indeed deserved her bow.

Without the guidance and teaching from Red Lotus City, it would have been impossible to successfully pass the two-star alchemist exam.

"Teacher Zhang..."

Hesitating, Princess Mo Yu wanted to ask about the Poison Hall, but with so many people, she ultimately didn't dare speak.

When she left Red Lotus City, Zhang Xuan and the Great Medicine King had already set off.

Impersonating an envoy to the Poison Hall was fraught with danger; she had been worried, thinking that even if he came out safe, it would be hard to meet again. She never dreamed that just a few days later, she would run into him here.

That's why she had been distracted earlier and taken an extra look.

After the Q&A session ended, she couldn't hold back and came over to pay her respects.

She had been somewhat proud of being the kingdom's second genius, but after spending time with him, she realized that her laughable talent was nothing compared to this young man.

"Mo Yu, won't you introduce me?"

Just as he was about to continue speaking, a voice rang out, and a tall young man walked over.

Around thirty years old, dressed in a long robe, also a one-star master teacher, with surging aura and rolling power, his strength was not weak—he was actually a Zongshi realm expert!

A thirty-year-old Zongshi and one-star master teacher, though not as talented as Mo Hongyi or Mo Yu, was not far behind.

Seeing this person, Mo Yu's eyes showed slight displeasure, but she still nodded: "I was able to refine a second-grade pill and pass the two-star alchemist exam before reaching Zongshi thanks to Teacher Zhang's guidance. He is like a half-teacher to me!"

Alchemist is the foremost profession among the upper nine classes. Normally, to take the second-grade exam, one's cultivation must at least reach the Zongshi realm.

Only by reaching this realm can one better control the furnace's heat, the medicinal properties, and the conflicts of various forces, thereby successfully refining second-grade medicines.

Mo Yu had already been able to refine second-grade pills after receiving guidance in the Beast Hall.

In Red Lotus City, she studied hard for several more days, becoming even more skilled.

After returning to the royal city, with strong support from the royal family, her cultivation made great breakthroughs. Although still some distance from Zongshi, she had become a peak Tongxuan realm expert.

With such strength, she normally wouldn't even have the chance to take the exam, but because she could successfully refine second-grade pills, she received permission and became a two-star alchemist, which became a celebrated story.

"Half-teacher?"

"For Mo Shi to pass the two-star alchemist exam at such a young age, how strong must his alchemy be?"

The crowd buzzed, looking at Zhang Xuan with amazement, and now understood why this youth was so respected.

Princess Mo Yu passed the two-star alchemist exam thanks to his guidance... Doesn't that mean he is even more skilled in alchemy?

Above two-star? Could it be three-star?

A three-star alchemist under twenty?

Everyone gasped.

"Teaching you alchemy?"

The young man's eyes flickered, then he smiled and looked at Zhang Xuan: "So you are an alchemy grandmaster. My apologies. I am Jiang Chen. Thank you for guiding Princess Mo Yu!"

Princess Mo Yu showed no courtesy, frowning: "I don't need your thanks!"

"Heh."

Jiang Chen gave a dry laugh, unperturbed, and with a flick of his sleeve, looked down at Zhang Xuan with an air of superiority: "Alchemist Hong from the Alchemist Guild is a friend of mine. He just passed the three-star alchemist exam a few days ago. Since Teacher Zhang is an alchemy expert, you must be familiar with each other. But I've never heard him mention such a genius in the guild. Moreover, it seems I know almost all alchemists above two-star in the guild. May I ask... what star is Teacher Zhang?"

Hearing this, the others also looked over, full of curiosity.

"Just a one-star alchemist," Zhang Xuan said.

He had only taken the one-star alchemist exam, was no so-called genius, and had never been to the royal city's Alchemist Guild, so naturally he didn't know any Alchemist Hong and had no reputation.

"One-star?"

"A one-star guiding Princess Mo Yu to refine a second-grade pill? Are you joking?"

"Special professions have clear hierarchies; how can a one-star guide a two-star..."

...

The crowd was dumbfounded again.

Just now, Princess Mo Yu showed such respect, almost kneeling in admiration, they thought he was a highly skilled alchemist, but it turned out he was only one-star... Is this for real?

"One-star?"

Jiang Chen was also taken aback, then revealed a hint of disdain, though he hid it well: "Brother Zhang reaching one-star at such a young age is quite talented. With hard work, you'll surely achieve better ranks in time!"

Earlier he called him Teacher Zhang, now he changed to "Brother Zhang," skipping the formalities.

With that, he stopped paying attention and turned to Princess Mo Yu: "Mo Yu, I've prepared a celebration banquet for you to mark your success in becoming a master teacher. Let's go!"

"I'm not going!"

Princess Mo Yu waved her jade hand.

"How can the celebration banquet be complete without you, the guest of honor..." Rejected in front of so many people, Jiang Chen was a bit embarrassed.

"I still have matters to discuss with Teacher Zhang. You go to the celebration banquet yourself!" Mo Yu said.

It seemed she also disliked him.

"How about this, Brother Zhang comes along too, as a way to repay your half-teacher kindness."

Saying this, Jiang Chen looked over: "What do you think, Brother Zhang? I see you've just arrived in the royal city. The banquet will gather many famous people, and Alchemist Hong happens to be there, so I can introduce you. As a one-star alchemist, more contact with high-level alchemists will surely bring you benefits."

"No time," Zhang Xuan shook his head.

If the other had sincerely invited him, perhaps after the master teacher exam, he might have gone to take a look. But with such a condescending attitude, he wouldn't bother even if it were the king's birthday banquet.

"No time?"

Jiang Chen could tolerate Mo Yu's refusal, but a one-star alchemist daring to say that made his face darken, his brows rising, releasing his Zongshi realm aura: "Alchemists are impressive, but they can't compare to master teachers. You should consider your decision carefully. Don't let a small matter or a wrong judgment land you in trouble... Hey, I'm talking to you, stop right there!"

Having laid out the stakes, he expected the other to be wary and obedient, but before he finished, the man had already disappeared, nearly infuriating Jiang Chen.

A dignified one-star master teacher and Zongshi realm expert—when had anyone been so disrespectful?

Shaking his head, ignoring this self-important fellow, Zhang Xuan approached Mo Yu: "Take me there."

"Yes!"

In Red Lotus City, he had told her he wanted to take the master teacher exam. Mo Yu understood, and the two walked past Jiang Chen.

"This guy..."

Seeing him ignore the man and walk away, Ling Xiaoxiao's mouth twitched.

Do you know who that is? And you ignore him?

Even the king would treat him as an honored guest, and you ignore him...

Just as she was about to go and dissuade him, she saw Princess Mo Yu stop in front of an old man: "Master Wu, Teacher Zhang wishes to take the master teacher exam. Please make preparations."

"Take the master teacher exam?"

Ling Xiaoxiao stumbled, nearly falling to the ground.

You don't know anything about how the master teacher exam works, what's tested, and you come to take it... Bro, are you kidding?

They had talked before, and just now they chatted again. This Zhang Xuan knew nothing about master teachers; she even suspected his apprentice badge was bought...

And with that, he says he wants to take the master teacher exam...

Do you know what being a master teacher means?

She thought he was crazy.

Jiang Chen, who had been about to rush over and teach him a lesson, also stopped, squinting, lost in thought.

"Master teacher exam? Alright, but first I need to check if you meet the qualifications!"

Master Wu nodded.

He was in charge of the apprentice-to-master teacher exam at the guild and knew the process well.

Before the exam, one must meet sufficient external and internal conditions.

External conditions: recommendation from a master teacher, status as an apprentice teaching assistant, and at least one auxiliary profession!

Internal conditions: reaching the Mingli realm's state of心如止水 (calm as still water), and Tongxuan realm cultivation!

These conditions had been mentioned by Liu Ling in Tianxuan Royal City, so Zhang Xuan was familiar. He flipped his wrist, took out his apprentice badge and one-star alchemist badge, handed them over, and revealed his half-step Zongshi cultivation.

These things couldn't be faked. Master Wu glanced at them and confirmed, then took out a texture stone and handed it over.

"Test your mental state scale!"

Zhang Xuan nodded, gripped the texture stone, and activated his mental state.

...

"Master Liu, don't be angry. He's just some ignorant guy from who knows where. Even if he takes the exam, he might not pass!"

An apprentice youth, seeing Jiang Chen's grim expression, approached obsequiously: "Besides, even if he meets the criteria and can take the exam, he can't compare to you, young master! You are a super genius with a natural mental state scale of 4.0!"

To take the master teacher exam, one needs a mental state scale of 3.0.

Most master teacher apprentices, upon first reaching心如止水, have at most around 1.5, and need years of cultivation to reach this level.

But this Jiang Chen, upon reaching心如止水, had a scale of 4.0.

Famous for a time.

Though slightly inferior to Mo Hongyi's 6.0 and Mo Yu's 5.0, he was definitely a genius among geniuses.

"Compare with me? What is he?"

Hearing this, Jiang Chen's expression softened.

Apart from those two freaks, he feared no one in terms of mental state scale.

Just some kid from nowhere; he might be good at alchemy, but mental state scale—the foundation of a master teacher, like a martial artist's true qi—even if he reached 3.0, compared to someone naturally at 4.0 like him, it's still a huge gap.

Three and four, though seemingly close, require decades of hard cultivation to bridge.

Ling Xiaoxiao also looked over.

For this clueless guy, she didn't think his mental state scale would pass.

Who comes to take the master teacher exam without even knowing what's tested?

Others prepare for years, studying hard without slack, but this guy comes in knowing nothing and wants to take the exam? What a joke!

If he can pass, then someone like me, who knows everything, could easily become a two-star!

Lost in thought, she was wondering what to say if his mental state scale was不合格, when she heard a soft chime.

The texture stone nearby glowed, and a line of text slowly appeared.

Master Wu took it casually, looked down, and his previously indifferent expression changed; his lips trembled involuntarily: "This... this..."

"Quick, see how much!"

Seeing the usually composed master teacher like this, everyone was stunned and curious, unable to help looking at the texture stone.

One look, and they too were shaken.

"Go see!" Jiang Chen, restrained by pride, did not step forward.

The youth nodded, walked over, and came back with a look as if he'd seen a ghost.

"What? Can it match me? Also reached 4.0?"

Jiang Chen raised an eyebrow: "I come from a master teacher family, exposed to master teacher courses since childhood, so I achieved such a high scale upon reaching心如止水. How can a wild kid compare? What is it?"

The youth's face reddened: "He... 5.1!"

Thud!

Jiang Chen staggered, utterly disheartened: "5.1?"

Damn, he had just said the guy couldn't compare, and then he comes out with 5.1... That's a higher mental state scale than Princess Mo Yu!

Feeling like a mouthful of blood was in his throat, Jiang Chen was so frustrated he could spit it out.

"5.1? This..."

Ling Xiaoxiao's eyes also widened. Bro, your mental state scale is 5.1, yet you don't know anything about the master teacher exam? Where did you crawl out from?

5.1 is already considered a top genius; with a little cultivation, you can reach 6.0 and qualify for the two-star master teacher exam!

In all these years, Tianwu Kingdom has produced only a few such talents...

She thought he was a clueless country bumpkin, but he suddenly transformed into a peerless genius. Ling Xiaoxiao's pretty face flushed, unsure what to say.

...

"Mental state scale 5.1, definitely a genius among geniuses. Go to the venue; we'll conduct the exam now!"

Master Wu, full of excitement, strode out.

Zhang Xuan and the others followed.

Before long, they arrived at a spacious hall.

At the front of the hall were five tightly closed doors.

"The master teacher exam is divided into five steps: Trust Room, Auxiliary Hall, Puppet Hall, Technique Sea, and Errorless Hall. Do you have students? If so, have them enter this first room. As long as your trust level with them reaches 50, you pass!"

Pointing to the first door, Master Wu said.

"Mm."

Having heard the rules from Ling Xiaoxiao, Zhang Xuan nodded and waved, and Zhao Ya and the others came over: "These are my students."

"They..."

Looking at them, Master Wu glanced at Zhang Xuan with some doubt.

Usually, there is a significant age gap between teacher and student, as it helps gain trust.

For example, if you're twenty and teach seven- or eight-year-old children, they will trust you. But teaching sixteen- or seventeen-year-olds, whether they trust you or not, they might even be unwilling to acknowledge you as teacher.

Why should they?

This was the case here. This Teacher Zhang looked under twenty, his students sixteen or seventeen, with little age difference. Are you sure that with such students, the trust level can reach fifty?

"Um... how long have you been teaching these students?"

After a pause, Master Wu asked.

Though the small age gap was problematic, if he had taught them for a long time, they might admire him, and the trust level would naturally be higher.

"About half a month..."

Zhang Xuan thought for a moment, a bit embarrassed: "And during that half month, I was often away. To be precise, it's about five or six days."

"Five or six days..."

Master Wu staggered, nearly fainting, looking at the guy like he was a monster.

For the master teacher exam, others bring students they've taught for years to ensure high trust and a better chance of passing. But you... bring students you've taught for five or six days...

Are you sure the trust level is over fifty?

"What's wrong?" Zhang Xuan didn't know there were so many nuances to bringing students, looking puzzled.

"Well... nothing. I just wanted to ask if you have any other students, perhaps ones you've taught longer, or younger ones..."

Afraid he wouldn't understand, Teacher Wu said patiently.

"No, they are the ones I've taught the longest and are the youngest!" Zhang Xuan nodded.

Teacher Wu rolled his eyes.

Damn it, taught for five or six days, about the same age as you, and this counts as the longest teaching time and the youngest students?

Are you messing with me?

Just as he was feeling frustrated, not knowing how to explain to this guy, he heard the young man in front of him look over with a puzzled expression: "If they're not good enough, I've also taught Princess Mo Yu for a few days; let her try too!"

Try?

Try your sister!

Do you think assessing a master teacher is a game?

He had thought that with a mental state of 5.1, he was an absolute genius and would surely pass the assessment, but unexpectedly... he couldn't even communicate properly.

"If you only have these students, let them go in. I'll tell you in advance: their trust in you must reach at least 50 to pass. If not... you'll have to come back for another assessment!"

Suppressing his frustration, Teacher Wu couldn't be bothered to explain further and said.

"Okay, got it!"

Zhang Xuan waved his hand and looked at Zhao Ya and the others: "Go on in!"

"Yes!" Zhao Ya and the others nodded, pushed open the door, and walked into the room.

"Drop a drop of your blood here. Like the trust crystal, various illusions will appear in the room, displaying the students' trust in you on the wall."

Seeing that this guy directly sent the students in without giving any instructions, Teacher Wu was even more speechless and had no confidence in him.

Other teachers, when sending students in, would give prior instructions on how to handle illusions and use verbal hints to increase trust scores...

But he, on the contrary, said nothing, like herding ducks. He really didn't know how such a person became a teacher.

Zhang Xuan knew nothing about the rules of the master teacher assessment, but for him, there was no need to understand. He went up and dropped a drop of blood.

Hum!

With a soft sound, the trust room immediately began to operate, shining with light.

Seeing the first stage of the master teacher assessment begin, the crowd that had followed focused their gazes, slightly tense.

"Bringing a group of students about the same age as himself, taught for only five or six days... It would be good if the trust score exceeds twenty!" Jiang Chen sneered.

Although the master teacher exam was difficult, there were patterns to follow.

As a one-star master teacher from a master teacher family, he knew the ins and outs of this assessment well.

Parents' trust score is sixty; passing at fifty indicates that this trust is already comparable to that between siblings.

How could students taught for only a few days have such high trust?

Not to mention a star teacher, even a one-star master teacher couldn't make students of similar age have such high trust in such a short time.

"These students... have they really only been taught for five or six days?"

Not just him, even Princess Mo Yu couldn't help but walk over.

"Actually... not even five or six days; the total time is about seven or eight hours."

Zhang Xuan thought for a moment.

When teaching Zhao Ya and the others, he had things to do every day, basically only guiding them in the morning and absent in the afternoon. The actual teaching time might be only seven or eight hours, not exceeding ten.

"Seven or eight... hours?"

Princess Mo Yu's vision went dark.

In such a short time, what trust could there be?

She had thought this guy must have prepared properly before coming, but unexpectedly he was so unreliable...

"Look, the trust score is coming out!"

Just as she was thinking how to tell this guy to prepare again, she heard someone in the crowd shout.

Mo Yu quickly looked over.

Hum!

She saw the first door shake, and a line of text slowly appeared on it.

"What? How is this possible?"

Mo Yu, Jiang Chen, and others exclaimed.

"Trust of life-and-death dependence? That's something only a five-star master teacher can achieve..."

Teacher Wu's body trembled like a sieve.

The other master teachers in the room fell into dead silence, as if stunned by the number before them.

On the door wall, two large characters shone brilliantly, making it hard to believe they were real...

85.