Chapter 896: Battle Between Students

"Save me?"

This new dean, using the Heavenly Mandate of a Teacher, had made him a public spectacle, yet instead of raging, he thanked him for saving his life...

Witnessing this with their own eyes, everyone was baffled.

The turn of events was too bewildering.

"I was too eager for quick success and fell into a misunderstanding during cultivation, causing my internal energy to flow poorly, my Tiger Acupoint to ache faintly, and my kidney power to decline. I thought it was nothing serious and could be resolved with a bit of caution later!"

Seeing the confusion, Liao Cong, the hall master, shook his head and stepped forward: "Thanks to Teacher Zhang's guidance, I realized this had already damaged the root of my body. Slapping myself twice opened the Dragon Creek and Red Sun acupoints in my neck! With the acupoints open, the previous obstructions cleared immediately. Then, by doing a handstand, I allowed my internal energy to flow smoothly... and thus resolved the hidden danger!"

"I questioned Dean Zhang and challenged him, but he didn't hold it against me and instead healed my injuries... This is the true breadth of mind of a master teacher! From today on, I, the Master Teacher Hall of the Yuanjiang Empire, will support him as dean, until death!"

Raising his hand, Hall Master Liao Cong declared.

"It can be like this?"

"Two slaps and a handstand resolved the hidden danger..."

A commotion arose below; everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. If they hadn't witnessed the earlier provocation, they would have suspected that Hall Master Liao was colluding with him.

"This Dean Zhang..."

Among the imperial seats, Chu Yi swallowed: "It seems he does have some real skill!"

Earlier, like the other hall masters, he had been full of doubt, thinking that this young man becoming dean must have been for some other reason. But seeing him swiftly and neatly resolve the challenges of two hall masters, with the demeanor of a master, his mind began to change.

"Let's keep watching. I still think he's too young..."

Another emperor shook his head.

Although age is not a decisive factor for a master teacher, it still has a significant impact. Without the sedimentation of years, one's temperament and character can easily be frivolous, making it hard to earn trust.

"Teacher Zhang's mental state calibration surpasses even Hall Master Liao's. I admire that."

As he spoke, another old man stood up: "However, to become dean, one must also have the ability to teach and educate. I have modestly instructed a few students, and they are all here today. I wonder where Teacher Zhang's students are? Could we have them spar with each other to demonstrate the quality of teaching?"

"Student sparring?"

"This proposal is ruthless!"

...

Hearing this, the surroundings erupted in uproar.

A teacher's duty is to instruct.

The most direct way to judge quality is through the students they teach; the stronger the students, the more capable the teacher.

As the dean of a prestigious master teacher academy, if he lacks the ability to teach students, no matter how well he speaks, it's all in vain.

It could be said that this old man was even more ruthless than the previous two!

If Wu Weitian and Liao Cong only sought to slap his face, this man was essentially forcing him into a dead end.

This Teacher Zhang was a genius with strong personal ability, but... he was only twenty years old and at the Silkworm Seal realm. How powerful could his students be?

Swish!

As soon as the old man finished speaking, a middle-aged man stood up, and with a shake of his arms, a thick aura shot into the sky.

He was actually a late-stage Saint Domain First Layer powerhouse!

Such strength would be at the level of an elder even in the Master Teacher Academy.

"Dean... that just now was Xue Cangyun, hall master of the White Tuo Empire Master Teacher Hall! This man, if I'm not mistaken, should be his personal disciple, Hong Lin... He has studied under him for over a hundred years and reached Saint Domain First Layer thirty-five years ago..."

Zhao Bingxu quickly transmitted.

"Taught for over a hundred years?" Zhang Xuan was speechless.

That was ruthless indeed. A late-stage Saint Domain First Layer who had studied under a hall master for over a century would undoubtedly have extremely high strength and insight; he could be said to be invincible at the same level.

If it were any other request, he might be able to evade, but this kind of student competition touched on the dignity of the teacher and the basic ability of the instructor; there was no way to refuse.

In other words, when challenged, as a master teacher and academy dean, he had to accept it whether he wanted to or not; he could not retreat or back down.

As expected of the strongest figures from various master teacher halls—none of them were easy to deal with.

Just as he was sighing inwardly, the middle-aged man named Hong Lin looked over and clasped his hands: "I wish to spar with the dean's students. Where are they?"

"We're here!" As soon as he finished, several crisp voices rang out.

Everyone looked over and saw Wang Ying, Zheng Yang, and others standing up.

They were guest elders of the academy and naturally could not be absent from the new dean's inauguration ceremony.

Wang Ying had now broken through the Spirit Fusion realm and reached the Bridge Heaven realm.

A sixteen or seventeen-year-old at the Bridge Heaven realm would be considered an absolute genius anywhere, but compared to Hong Lin, she was still far behind.

"There's no hope of winning..."

Xu Changqing, dean of the Martial Arts Academy, shook his head.

He had invited Wang Ying and the others to be guest elders and knew their strength well.

Their foundations were solid, and they were top-notch at the same level, but Hong Lin, a Saint Domain powerhouse, was too strong. Even if he suppressed his cultivation, his experience and insight would allow him to crush them easily!

A gap of six major realms could not be bridged by solid foundations or deep understanding of weapon intent.

"You are the dean's students? Haha, I can suppress my cultivation to your level and fight you!"

Seeing Wang Ying and the others step forward, the strongest being only at the Bridge Heaven realm, Hong Lin couldn't help but laugh loudly.

With such strength, he could blow several of them away with a single breath. Without a doubt, he would win this match!

"Then come!" Wang Ying let out a long cry and leaped onto the platform first. Hong Lin chuckled and followed.

Seeing the two on the verge of battle, Zhang Xuan was about to say a few words when a faint voice rang out.

"Senior Sister Wang Ying, as the teacher's personal disciple, it would be beneath your dignity to fight personally. Let me, a taught student, take your place!"

Whoosh!

As the voice ended, an elderly figure landed on the stage, bowed deeply to Zhang Xuan, and clasped his hands: "Student pays respects to the teacher!"

"Hmm!" Seeing the person, Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up, and he gave a wry smile. How could he have forgotten him?

It was none other than Jiang Qingqin, the dean of the Demon Sound Academy.

He had formally taken him as a student; he was a true taught student and could fully replace Wang Ying in battle.

"Isn't that Dean Jiang?"

"Dean Jiang, one of the Ten Great Elders, is Teacher Zhang's student?"

"Are you joking? How is that possible?"

"No, master teachers value the teacher-student lineage the most. Dean Jiang is a peak Six-Star master teacher; how could he casually claim someone as his teacher? Since he said it, it's no joke!"

"Even though I know it's true, it's hard to believe!"

"Indeed. Teacher Zhang tamed the old dean's beast pet... and now Dean Jiang is his student. It feels like a dream!"

...

Zhang Xuan taking Jiang Qingqin as his student had never been made public; besides the Ten Great Elders, no one knew. The many teachers and students below, hearing this news for the first time, all stared wide-eyed.

A Four-Star master teacher taking a peak Six-Star master teacher as a student—even seeing it with their own eyes, they felt it was child's play.

"Dean Jiang..."

Xue Cangyun, the hall master below, swayed and nearly fainted.

He had thought that with the dean's low strength, having a Bridge Heaven realm student would be impressive enough. But now a Ten Great Elder, even stronger than him, had appeared. How could they fight?

Just as he was feeling frustrated, he heard Jiang Qingqin on the stage laugh softly, his voice carrying through the air.

"You are Hall Master Xue Cangyun's student? Haha, I can suppress my cultivation to your level and fight you!"

Hearing this, Hong Lin's eyelid twitched.

This was exactly what he had said to Teacher Zhang's students earlier, returned to him word for word.

"You..."

Knowing he couldn't avoid it, Hong Lin gritted his teeth and shouted: "Then come!"

As he spoke, a long sword appeared in his palm.

Zzzt!

He traced a sword light and thrust straight forward.

It had to be said that his understanding of swordsmanship was extremely high, having reached the realm of unity of man and sword. Even if he couldn't compare to Zhang Xuan, he was no weaker than Wang Ying and the others.

In other words, if Wang Ying and the others had gone up to fight, winning would have been nearly impossible.

Not to mention insight and experience, just his centuries of combat experience were something these students who had never been through life-and-death battles could match.

However, this level of ability was nothing to Dean Jiang. With a soft laugh, a zither appeared in his palm. He placed his fingers on it and gently plucked, and a resounding note rang out.

Ding-dong!

Like a silver bottle breaking, a bronze bell tolling.

Before Hong Lin could react, the sword light in front of him shattered inch by inch. Then, like a swatted cockroach, he was sent flying off the platform with a "whoosh," disappearing into the distance like a streak of light.

Even if he wasn't dead, he would likely be bedridden for many days.

"A Seven-Star Demon Sound Master?"

Xue Cangyun shot to his feet.

Under normal circumstances, even if Dean Jiang and Hong Lin had a gap in strength, it would be very difficult for him to defeat him easily at the same level, unless his understanding of zither sound had reached the seventh realm!

At that level of Demon Sound Master, even he would have to flee as far as possible and never dare to face him head-on.

The former Dean Jiang, among the Ten Great Elders, had kept a low profile. Taking Zhang Xuan as his teacher was one thing, but with this kind of strength, why would he do so?

What madness was this?

Just as he was puzzled and unable to understand, he heard the voice of Wei Ranxue, another of the Ten Great Elders, not far away, complaining in frustration.

"Damn it, that guy stole the spotlight! Teacher Zhang has a half-teacher bond with me; I'm also a half-disciple... To deal with this kind of opponent, even a taught student is overkill. Someone like me with a half-teacher bond would have been enough..."

"Dean Wei is also his student?" Hall Master Xue's vision went dark.

"..."

The many teachers and students of the academy also swayed, looking at Zhang Xuan on the stage again, their mouths twitching wildly.

Brother... we tolerated that the academy's guardian sacred beast is your pet; we tolerated that you established the Xuanxuan Society, making over half the academy's students members; we tolerated that your lecture on alchemy gave tens of thousands of alchemy students a half-teacher bond...

But at least two of the Ten Great Elders are your students... this absolutely cannot be tolerated!

Is the Master Teacher Academy your family's property?