Chapter 654: Wu Yangzi

"Can't go?" Luo Qiqi frowned, looking at her friend. "Why?"

The trial would certainly involve various dangers. With the teacher being so wise and powerful, his presence would surely ensure everyone's safety. Why wouldn't he agree?

"He... he... would act like a pervert!"

Yu Fei'er gritted her teeth.

"A pervert? You're overthinking it. He wouldn't fancy you..."

Thinking it was some trivial reason, Luo Qiqi shook her head.

She had great faith in her teacher's character.

Not to mention anything else, her own looks were truly one in ten thousand, no less than Princess Yu Fei'er's. With such beauty and admiration for him, he didn't even glance at her.

Someone as willful as you... even less likely!

"..." Darkness flashed before Yu Fei'er's eyes; she swayed.

What did that mean? What did she mean he wouldn't fancy me?

I'm not bad either, am I?

As a proper princess, I haven't even said I don't fancy him, yet she says he wouldn't fancy me...

"Qiqi is right. This Teacher Zhang has extremely high standards. I've seen his student named Wang Ying; she's much prettier than you, and he remained indifferent. He probably wouldn't fancy you..." Xing Yuan nodded.

He liked Yu Fei'er. Seeing Zhang Xuan so outstanding and having so much interaction with her, he couldn't help but inquire about him.

This Teacher Zhang not only had a student more beautiful than Fei'er but also had many princess-level women pursuing him, yet he remained unmoved.

Fei'er was indeed very beautiful, but her temper was too bad. Only he could accept her; anyone else... would definitely not even consider it.

"What did you say?"

Her teeth grinding audibly, Yu Fei'er's eyes widened as she stared at him with undisguised murderous intent. "Xing Yuan, dare you say that again..."

"I..."

Xing Yuan trembled.

Seeing him so frightened, Wu Zhen beside him smirked. But before his smile could fully bloom, Yu Fei'er glared coldly at him. "What are you laughing at? Believe me, I'll beat you up again..."

"..." Wu Zhen shuddered.

You two quarrel all you want; I was just watching the fun. What does it have to do with me...

"Alright, stop arguing. I'll go invite the teacher. Fei'er, you'd better not speak. If you anger the teacher, I'm afraid he'll make you pay again, or have you pour wine and massage his legs."

Seeing that they were already quarreling before even finding the entrance to the underground palace, Luo Qiqi shook her head.

"..."

Hearing about paying money and recalling her maid status, Princess Fei'er clenched her teeth but couldn't say anything more.

The noise ceased, and they looked ahead. By now, Zhang Xuan's battle with the spirit beasts was almost over.

Over thirty spirit beasts lay on the ground, groaning incessantly, utterly miserable.

This time, the hunters hadn't followed; otherwise, they would probably be lying there too.

"Teacher!"

After knocking down all these big fellows, Zhang Xuan clapped his hands and was about to leave when he heard a voice. Luo Qiqi approached.

"Xiao Qi!" He smiled slightly.

He had noticed this group when they arrived.

Since he had come to save them anyway, it didn't matter whether he saw them or not.

"Teacher, I have an impertinent request."

Coming before him, Luo Qiqi bowed.

"Hmm?"

"We would like to invite you to join the academy's trial..." Luo Qiqi explained her idea.

"Trial?" Zhang Xuan waved his hand. "Forget it. I still need to return and meet up with Teacher Hong and the others to go to Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy..."

"Teacher Hong? They've already left!"

Startled, Luo Qiqi said.

"Left?" Zhang Xuan frowned.

He, the top scorer, was still here, so how could they have left?

"Yes, to avoid delaying the start of the semester, they used the Phantom Feather Royal Family's flying ship to take everyone away. Teacher Hong, seeing that you hadn't returned, specifically consulted Hall Master Mo and only left after receiving confirmation..."

Seeming to know this matter well, Luo Qiqi replied.

"Flying ship?"

Zhang Xuan was puzzled.

"Yes, it's a means of transportation unique to the empire, usually used in various wars. It's pulled by dozens of spirit beasts and can carry hundreds or even thousands of people!"

Seeing that her alchemy teacher had never even heard of such a thing, Luo Qiqi looked at him with slight curiosity.

A flying ship—every master teacher in the empire knew about it. With his vast knowledge and such a powerful teacher, how could he not have heard of it?

Zhang Xuan nodded.

He had wondered before: with an empire so vast, if war broke out, they couldn't possibly have soldiers march for years to reinforce!

So such a thing existed!

Pulled by dozens of spirit beasts, capable of carrying a thousand people at once... only an imperial family would have such audacity.

"By the way, your students were also taken away by Teacher Hong and the others. They said you were with Teacher Yang, so your safety was assured, and they would wait for you at Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy..."

Luo Qiqi continued.

Zhang Xuan smiled bitterly.

He hadn't expected that after being unconscious for three days, so much had happened.

Everyone thought Teacher Yang was powerful and that being with him meant safety, but they could never dream that this extremely formidable Teacher Yang was fictitious and didn't exist at all!

"Forget it." He shook his head.

He had been worried that with Teacher Hong and the others gone, Sun Qiang and the others might face some trouble without anyone to look after them.

Now that they had gone to the master teacher academy, he could just go directly there when the time came.

No more worries.

"What kind of trial is this?"

Since returning to Phantom Feather Empire was pointless, Zhang Xuan stopped dwelling on it and looked over.

"It's..." Luo Qiqi hesitated, then switched to telepathy: "It's the underground palace of the six-star artifact refiner, Wu Yangzi."

"Six-star artifact refiner?" Zhang Xuan raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, this Wu Yangzi was a highly renowned grandmaster artifact refiner from three thousand years ago, unmatched in artifact refining ability. He was hailed as the number one artifact refiner in the Hongyuan Empire in the past ten thousand years. The current empire's national seal was forged by him."

Luo Qiqi said.

"Since he was an artifact refining grandmaster of the Hongyuan Empire... why is his underground palace here?" Zhang Xuan was puzzled.

The Hongyuan Empire was at least a million kilometers away. How could an artifact refining master end up here?

"Well..."

Luo Qiqi scratched her head, somewhat embarrassed. "He... was kidnapped!"

"Kidnapped?"

A six-star grandmaster artifact refiner, whose strength must have reached the saint level, was kidnapped... was that true?

Moreover, artifact refiners had the backing of the Artificer Guild, one of the top professional alliances on the continent. Who would dare to lay a hand on their people?

"Yes, his artifact refining ability was formidable... He was coveted, probably captured specifically to forge weapons. Because of this, the Master Teacher Hall and the Artificer Guild sent many experts, even scouring the entire Hongyuan Empire, but found nothing..."

Luo Qiqi said. "It was only in recent months, after consulting many ancient texts, that I found some clues."

"You?"

Zhang Xuan was surprised.

Countless experts had failed to find him, yet she, a five-star initial-stage master teacher and a second-year student at the master teacher academy, had managed it? And after thousands of years?

"Actually... it's just a speculation. I'm not only skilled in alchemy but also very fond of artifact refining... I deeply admire this Wu Yangzi and have specifically studied his [Zither-playing Artifact Refining Method]... However, the tradition was broken, so I didn't learn it completely."

Luo Qiqi explained. "Later, I discovered that weapons forged using this method were circulating within the Phantom Feather Empire. I traced them, and by chance, found the map of the underground palace. Then I applied to the academy for this trial opportunity. Of course, whether this is truly Grandmaster Wu Yangzi's underground palace remains unknown."

Zhang Xuan nodded.

To find clues from artifact refining techniques—this Luo Qiqi was truly persistent.

Indeed, without such persistence, a top student of the second year at the master teacher academy and a genius at the peak of the sixth level of Mortal Transformation wouldn't have directly become his disciple without hesitation!

"Teacher, although you haven't reported to the academy yet, you are already part of it and fully qualified to participate... Moreover, this trial is just to explore whether the underground palace exists and whether it's related to Wu Yangzi... The danger is minimal. If successful, you can earn two credits. That way, even before entering the academy, you'll have some backing!"

Luo Qiqi smiled.

"Credits?" Zhang Xuan was puzzled.

As a former librarian at a university, he had heard of this term in his previous life. Did the master teacher academy have such a thing too?

"Oh, credits are unique to the master teacher academy, said to have been established by the Sage Confucius himself. There are specific evaluation standards. Students can use them to purchase better cultivation resources, more advanced courses... and even trade them. Without credits, you'll find it difficult to get by in the academy. In fact, at the master teacher academy, spirit stones and course jade slips are not precious; credits are the most important!"

Luo Qiqi explained.

At the master teacher academy, everyone was a master teacher. Course jade slips and spirit stones were not lacking; having more of them was meaningless.

"If you don't have enough credits... can you graduate?"

Zhang Xuan looked at her with a strange expression.

"Of course not! Credits are just assets for student exchange, not a requirement for graduation... How could you not graduate because of insufficient credits!" Luo Qiqi said.

Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief.

He had thought it was like in his previous life's universities, something necessary for graduation. It seemed... only the name was similar; it wasn't the same thing.

"Teacher... would you like to join? If this is indeed the underground palace where Grandmaster Wu Yangzi was once imprisoned, it's very likely that his legacy remains!"

Luo Qiqi continued.

"Legacy?" Startled, Zhang Xuan suddenly thought of something, his eyes lighting up. "I've heard that artifact refiners are skilled in body training. If his legacy is there, would there be any body training techniques?"

Although his spirit and flesh had perfectly merged, his physical strength was still somewhat weak. Once his soul broke through the ten-meter limit, disharmony would likely occur again. It would be best if he could collect some body training techniques.

Artifact refiners, dealing with furnaces, ores, and steel all day, must have extremely strong bodies. They usually have unique body training methods.