Chapter 740: The Meritorious Official

Hearing Vice Dean Yuan suddenly say this, Luo Qiqi hesitated for a moment, then nodded: "The teacher is indeed only in his twenties, and he looks somewhat fair-skinned..."

Zhang Shi cultivated the Five-Shining Golden Body, his skin as flawless as a baby's, so to outsiders he indeed appeared somewhat fair-skinned.

"Just arrived at the academy, named Zhang Xuan, in his twenties..." Yuan Hong was frantic.

It seemed that the fellow he had sent people to watch over, intending to compensate generously, was also called by this name, and everything matched...

"Vice Dean Yuan, what's wrong?"

Seeing his deputy dean so distracted after asking a question, Zhao Bingxu couldn't help but look over, slightly puzzled: "Could it be that you know this Zhang Xuan, Master Zhang?"

"I..." Yuan Hong didn't know how to answer. He looked at Luo Qiqi again and asked in disbelief: "I heard that this Zhang Xuan, Master Zhang, has a teacher—a master teacher who surpasses six stars!"

"Oh, Grandmaster Yang Xuan. I don't know his exact level, but it should be above six stars," Luo Qiqi nodded.

"Yang Xuan..."

Yuan Hong swayed.

Now there was no need to ask further; he could confirm it.

That guy had introduced himself as a student of Yang Xuan, sharing the same name, similar age, and both being new students... If I still couldn't confirm it, I might as well not live.

What kind of nonsense is this!

As soon as that guy arrived at the academy, he wrecked the geothermal passage, then broke the record passage, leaving the entire prestigious teacher academy branch in a miserable, unsightly state!

I thought he was deliberately sent by another academy to cause trouble; I never dreamed he had such a background!

Risking his life to save others, standing alone against the alien clan, willingly offering the inheritance of Wu Yangzi... Each of these acts is immeasurably meritorious and admirable.

A clueless, overconfident king of destruction, and a selfless prestigious teacher who dares to risk life and death for humanity...

How could they be the same person!

This... his personality is too split!

"What exactly is going on?" Seeing Yuan Hong not answering him but instead looking like he was about to cry, Zhao Bingxu couldn't help asking further.

No matter what, he was a six-star prestigious teacher, capable of hiding his emotions, so why was he making such a face, as if mourning the dead?

"It's like this... Didn't I just say I had something to report to you?"

Hearing the dean's words, Yuan Hong finally snapped out of it and quickly cupped his fists.

"Mm!" Zhao Bingxu nodded. "What is it?"

Just as Vice Dean Xiong was about to speak, he had indeed mentioned that there was something to report.

"Yes... the record channel collapsed, and half of the branch hall also caved in..." Yuan Hong's face flushed.

As the vice dean of the Artifact Refining Academy in charge of the branch hall, having his own lair half-destroyed by someone—if word got out, he would probably be laughed to death by the other vice deans.

"The record channel and the branch hall both collapsed? Did the alien spirit clan attack?"

Zhao Bingxu raised an eyebrow.

They had been discussing matters here just now, cut off from outside communication, so they were unaware of this incident.

However, these channels were extremely sturdy, standing firm for a thousand years. For them to suddenly collapse, unless the alien spirit clan invaded—how else could it happen?

"No... it's not the alien spirit clan!"

Unexpectedly, the dean had thought of that. Yuan Hong, full of embarrassment, quickly waved his hand: "It was someone who came to challenge the Earthfire Channel..."

With that, he recounted the previous events in detail.

"You say... someone stayed in the Earthfire Channel for over an hour? When he came out, the channel collapsed, and the Earth Core Lava was completely absorbed, becoming waste?"

"He also used the Earth Core Fire to form a new channel, but as soon as you entered... it exploded?"

...

After hearing his account, the other vice deans also looked at him as if they had seen a ghost.

Staying in the Earthfire Channel for over an hour, and even using the Earth Core Fire to create a new channel... was that real?

Was this something a four-star master teacher could do?

Even they couldn't do it, for heaven's sake!

"Yes..." Yuan Hong nodded. "The one who caused such a commotion is also called... Zhang Xuan, a new student who just passed the assessment!"

"Also called Zhang Xuan? Could it be the same person?"

"To rescue someone from the alien spirit clan's puppet and wreck the underground palace in the process—great wisdom and courage. Perhaps only this legendary figure has such skill!"

...

The other vice deans were all stunned and couldn't help but speak.

If someone had told them earlier that a person stayed in the Earthfire Channel for an hour and caused such chaos in the entire Artificer Guild Master Teacher Academy branch, they would have absolutely refused to believe it.

But now, having heard of this Master Zhang's legendary experiences, these matters were no longer shocking; they could only be considered minor disturbances.

"The Earthfire Channel tests the strength of the physical body. The stronger it is, the longer one can stay. If this Master Zhang is indeed the one they speak of, having inherited the legacy of Senior Wu Yangzi and cultivated the Five Radiance Golden Body, being able to persist for an hour is indeed not difficult!"

Zhao Bingxu nodded.

Upon hearing that he had lasted an hour, he couldn't believe it either. However, recalling that he had inherited Wu Yangzi's legacy and cultivated the Five Radiance Golden Body, he couldn't help but nod.

This body-tempering technique, though he had never practiced it nor seen it before, was undoubtedly one of the most supreme body-tempering methods within the entire Hongyuan Empire.

Otherwise, it couldn't have enabled Wu Yangzi to reach such heights.

"I... didn't know. I thought he was deliberately... making me compensate..."

Yuan Hong's face flushed red.

If he had known earlier that he had truly persisted this long without cheating, he wouldn't have demanded compensation!

Since it was called a challenge, there were bound to be various losses. The challenger had persevered, but the passage hadn't—that was a quality issue... In such a situation, seeking compensation from the challenger would be too embarrassing if word got out!

Without compensation, the subsequent events naturally wouldn't have occurred, and there wouldn't be this awkward stalemate.

"This situation can't be blamed on him. It only shows that this Earthfire Passage still has major flaws. When faced with a true expert, it fails..."

Zhao Bingxu nodded.

"Indeed!" Yuan Hong nodded. "But... now it's not just the Earthfire Passage problem. The entire Record Passage and half the branch's losses—what do we do?"

If only the Earthfire Passage had collapsed from the strain, that would be one thing, but now the entire Record Passage was ruined.

"Losses... let's drop the matter!" Zhao Bingxu paused, then waved his hand.

"Drop it? How can we..."

Yuan Hong was startled and couldn't help looking over.

If they really dropped it, it would mean the entire Alchemist Academy had lost several thousand high-grade spirit stones in vain. Even if they were wealthy, that would be hard to bear!

"Losses? The contribution of handing over the Zither Forging Method to the academy already far exceeds several thousand high-grade spirit stones!" Zhao Bingxu shook his head.

Wu Yangzi's legacy could greatly enhance countless alchemists' understanding of forging, and its contribution to the Alchemy Academy was continuous, far beyond what several thousand high-grade spirit stones could match.

In fact, not just several thousand spirit stones—even tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands, couldn't compare.

The Zither Forging Method, forging weapons as if plucking zither strings, not only gave a sense of beauty but also turned forging into an art, causing more people to immerse themselves in it and unconsciously elevate their understanding of forging!

It was foreseeable that with this secret manual, the Alchemy Academy would surpass the Alchemy Academy within ten years and become the true number one academy!

Such a contribution, even he as the dean couldn't achieve, so how could it be comparable to a few thousand high-grade spirit stones?

They weren't even on the same level.

Having made such a tremendous contribution to the academy, and still thinking of asking him for trivial compensation—wouldn't that chill the hearts of true geniuses?

"Right, not only should we not demand compensation, but we should also reward him!"

"Indeed, such a genius must be well rewarded and kept in the Alchemy Academy!"

The other vice deans couldn't help nodding.

Master teachers all had multiple auxiliary professions. Such a genius must be kept in the Alchemy Academy, making forging his primary auxiliary skill. Once he became famous worldwide, the academy would share in the glory!

Yuan Hong's mouth twitched.

That guy had nearly wrecked the entire branch, and instead of compensating, he was to be rewarded... Would anyone still listen to him, the vice dean, after this?

However, he also knew that the dean was telling the truth.

The contribution of submitting the Zither Forging Method was simply too great. Even if it were just an alchemist guild master teacher academy branch, even if the entire Alchemy Academy were turned upside down, as long as no students were harmed, it wouldn't matter.

The most important things in a master teacher academy were the people—the many master teachers. As for buildings and treasures, even if destroyed, they could be rebuilt; it was nothing remarkable.

Not to mention the academy, even the Master Teacher Halls of higher kingdoms had suffered countless sneak attacks from the Spirit Race, with various buildings and ancient texts destroyed countless times. Yet the master teacher legacy continued, and they remained thriving holy lands that countless people yearned for.

"Alright, it's settled. By the way, didn't you say he plans to take the Five-Star Alchemist exam? Let him take it. If he passes, say I'm willing to accept him as my student..."

Zhao Bingxu smiled.

Taking such a genius as a student would surely be a great story.

"Yes!"

Yuan Hong nodded.

"As for you all, you've also made great contributions. I'll go to the Alchemy Academy to get you some pills and personally perform marrow cleansing for you!"

After arranging matters with Vice Dean Yuan, Zhao Bingxu smiled and looked at Luo Qiqi and the others.

"Marrow cleansing? Thank you, Dean Zhao!"

Hearing this, Luo Qiqi, Xing Yuan, and the others all flushed with excitement.

Zhao Bingxu, one of the Ten Elders, personally performing marrow cleansing meant that once successful, from now until the Half-Saint level, their path would be smooth and worry-free!

Marrow cleansing consumed immense energy; even Saint realm experts rarely did it lightly. For them to receive this was definitely the greatest reward!

Far better than academic credits!

"Alright, Yuan Hong, go conduct Zhang Shi's exam. And be sure to have a good attitude. Don't let him think our Alchemy Academy is ungrateful to those who have rendered meritorious service!"

Zhao Bingxu instructed solemnly.

"Yes!" Bowing as he withdrew, Yuan Hong left the dean's office, unable to suppress a bitter smile.

When he first arrived, he wished he could feed that kid to the dogs, and he had confidently said he would report to the dean for proper handling... and now this reversal!

What a mess!

Just thinking about it was deeply frustrating.