Chapter 737: Find the Dean

Crash!

Dust rose, smoke drifted, and the famous teachers who had been watching were sent tumbling backward like overturned gourds.

Thump, thump, thump, thump!

A series of crashing sounds followed as dozens of famous teachers slammed heavily into the wall, covered in disarray.

Hurriedly steadying themselves and looking forward, Zhang Xuan couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.

Not only had the record channel completely collapsed, but half of the Alchemist Division's main hall had also caved in, smoke curling upward, a scene of ruin as if struck by a bomb.

If before, collapsing the geothermal channel had driven people mad, this would absolutely drive them ten times madder!

The channel, countless mechanisms, formations, and half the hall were all completely wrecked. Even if they could be repaired, the Alchemist Academy would become the laughingstock of the entire Master Teacher Academy.

To challenge a record and end up turning the entire division into this—probably no one else had ever done that!

Although the many famous teachers were not weak and had true energy to protect them, suffering little injury, a single geothermal channel was worth twenty high-grade spirit stones. How great would the loss before them be?

His mouth twitching, Zhang Xuan felt dizzy and on the verge of tears.

His substitution of geothermal fire for earth-core lava, with the formations stabilized and balanced, was inherently flawless.

Logically, it should have been no different from before. The situation occurred not because of an error, but because... although Yueqing Stone and Luyang Crystal were precious, they could not withstand high temperatures.

Normal earth-core lava temperatures could be endured, but once a Saint Domain expert entered, the formations accelerated, raising the temperature further, causing them to naturally melt.

It was like overloading a car in his previous life.

Operating at normal capacity, even if it eventually broke down, its lifespan would be extended. But overloading required more power than the system could handle, leading to easy damage.

If the array plate that extracted the geothermal fire had been made of better materials, even high temperatures would have been fine. But now, once it began to melt, the hard-won balance was lost again. Such violent geothermal fire, combined with energy amplification, led to the scene before them—instant collapse!

In other words...

If Yuan Hong hadn't rushed in, and it had been him or Luo Yan instead, this situation would never have occurred!

In other words, this guy was too strong, and the array plate he used to extract geothermal fire was too weak... leading to the accident.

This was something he had never anticipated!

Not just him; even the predecessor who created this method probably never imagined that such a complex chain of formations would be made of such inferior materials.

It really isn't my fault...

Tears streaming, Zhang Xuan's mouth twitched uncontrollably.

But others didn't think that way. Luo Yan and the others, having regained their footing, looked at the ruins and then at him, their eyes filled with murderous intent, as if they wanted to devour him.

This was the very foundation of their Alchemist Academy. Reduced to this, how could they continue alchemy? How could they hold their heads up before other academies?

What exactly did you do...

Gritting his teeth, Luo Yan wished he could strike this guy dead on the spot, but he held back and turned to give orders: "You two, watch him and don't let him escape. The rest of you, follow me to rescue the teacher..."

Now was not the time to deal with this guy; the teacher was most important.

"Yes!"

At his command, two famous teachers came forward, blocking Zhang Xuan from left and right, afraid he might flee.

Then the others hurried toward the ruins.

This explosion had destroyed the entire record channel and collapsed the guild hall. Vice Dean Yuan, trapped at the center, bore the brunt and must have suffered even more than them.

But before they could reach him, they heard a "crash!" and a figure emerged from the dust—it was Yuan Hong.

At this moment, Vice Dean Yuan's hair was singed in a large patch, his face was ashen like the bottom of a pot, and his eyes blazed with fury, as if he were about to go mad.

"Cough, cough!"

Just as he stepped out of the dust, he couldn't help coughing, spitting out a mouthful of blood. His body swayed involuntarily, as if he could barely stand.

"Teacher..."

"Vice Dean Yuan..."

The crowd gathered around, all filled with worry.

This man was a six-star upper-class master teacher, a true Saint Domain expert. How severe must his injuries be to leave him in such a state?

"I'm fine!"

Waving his hand, Yuan Hong glared fiercely: "Where is that guy?"

If he hadn't used all his strength to suppress the situation in desperation, not just half the guild hall but most of the Alchemist Academy would have been reduced to rubble!

Didn't you solemnly guarantee nothing would go wrong?

Weren't you full of confidence?

What is this?

How could I be so stupid as to listen to you...

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. Yuan Hong's fury blazed, and he wished he could crush that guy to death.

"Over there..."

Luo Yan pointed, and turning his head, he saw the young man approaching under the "escort" of the two famous teachers.

"Who exactly are you? What are you here for?"

Yuan Hong couldn't help roaring.

He now suspected that this guy might be from another academy, sent specifically to cause trouble.

Otherwise, how could a simple challenge create such a huge commotion and cause such a mess?

"I only wanted to take the five-star alchemist exam..."

Zhang Xuan lowered his head.

His thoughts were really simple—he came to take the exam for a five-star artificer, but who knew he couldn't take it without credits? Helpless, he had to earn some credits... He thought it would be easy, but who could have imagined that not only would he fail to earn credits, but he'd end up like this?

“Take the exam for a five-star artificer? You call this an exam? You're here to deliberately demolish our academy!”

Yuan Hong ground his teeth, making a “clenching” sound.

Others come for exams, we earn credits and money, but you come... to take my life, damn it!

If not for my higher cultivation and faster reaction speed, I'd probably be dead inside by now!

Have you ever seen anyone turn the guild into this during an exam?

“I... I really didn't mean it. How about this: I'm willing to compensate...” Zhang Xuan's face flushed.

Though it wasn't his intention to cause this, he bore great responsibility. For now, he could only helplessly offer compensation.

“Compensate? With what? Can you afford it?”

Yuan Hong laughed in fury.

The recording channels and grand buildings gathered the efforts of countless predecessors. You think a word of compensation settles it... With your wealth of not even ten high-grade spirit stones, can you afford it?

Even selling you wouldn't be enough!

“Just tell me... how many spirit stones need to be compensated. I'll work hard to earn money and find a way to pay you back...” Zhang Xuan gritted his teeth.

Even if he had to work more jobs later or have Master Yang come out to treat people and give guidance, he couldn't be in debt.

Even though this wasn't entirely his fault, he had a big part in the current situation, so he had to grit his teeth and endure.

“Earn money?”

Yuan Hong sneered.

You sure are optimistic!

With you being just a four-star master teacher, can you earn enough in a lifetime to afford this?

“Do you know how much loss this has caused?”

His eyes like lightning, Yuan Hong stared aggressively: “The channel has thirty-seven records and thirty-seven mechanisms. Each one holds the efforts of countless predecessors and countless rare treasures and ores—things money can't buy! Plus half the guild branch, all together, three thousand high-grade spirit stones wouldn't be enough, and you dare talk about compensation? I ask you: how will you earn money, how will you pay?”

An artificer is a profession built on countless treasures. Every part here consumed countless rare items.

Now it's like this, and you want to pay it off by earning money... Not even a seven-star lower master teacher could do that!

“Over three thousand high-grade spirit stones?”

Zhang Xuan's body swayed.

He had only one high-grade spirit stone, and his total wealth wouldn't exceed ten. Three thousand... he couldn't possibly come up with that!

Even if he pretended to be Master Yang and went out to earn money, he couldn't make that much in a short time!

“What mechanisms are here? How about... I help you repair them one by one?” Zhang Xuan said with a grim face, unable to help himself.

He definitely couldn't afford to pay. If he could repair it and restore it to its original state, that would be best.

“You...”

Hearing this, Yuan Hong was nearly infuriated.

This guy had just sworn he could repair it, and what was the result?

From a collapsed earth-fire channel to half the branch collapsing!

Because of your repairs, the loss went from ten high-grade spirit stones to three thousand—a three-hundred-fold increase. I thought you'd understand the situation, but you're still talking nonsense!

Repair? Repair your sister!

If I let you repair again, I'm afraid not just this branch, but the entire artificer academy, or even the master teacher academy, will be ruined by you! You'll play us to death!

Besides, these channels can't be completed by an artificer alone; they require the cooperation of countless celestial artisans. Even if you're skilled in artificery, what use is it?

Without celestial artisan skills, it's useless!

“If celestial artisan skills are needed, I can go take the exam for a celestial artisan first...” Seeming to read his thoughts, Zhang Xuan quickly said.

“...” Yuan Hong swayed again.

The more you talk, the more you brag, don't you?

Take the exam for a celestial artisan first? Do you think that profession is like cabbage, something you can just take an exam for?

“Keep an eye on this kid...”

His face red with anger, Yuan Hong felt that continuing to talk to him would drive him to death. He waved his hand to give orders.

“Yes!”

Luo Yan and the others quickly nodded and watched him closely.

“I'm going to find the dean now to see how he handles this. During this time, don't let him escape...”

Yuan Hong said.

The current situation was beyond his ability to handle; he had to report it up.

Then, whether this guy gets killed, cut up, or whatever, let the dean worry about it!

“Yes!”

Everyone responded.

“Vice Dean Yuan, the dean sent me to find you and ask you to go to his office immediately.”

Just as he finished giving orders and was about to go find the dean, a master teacher hurried over.

“Go to his office? Why is he looking for me now?”

Yuan Hong was startled: “Could it be... he already knows about what happened here?”

Although the commotion here was big, the artificer academy was vast, and the dean's office was far away. He shouldn't have gotten the news yet. Why would he come looking for him in advance?