Chapter 926: The Battle Master Selection Begins Early

After becoming the dean, although the academy had assigned him a separate courtyard with a good location and abundant spiritual energy, Zhang Xuan still spent most of his time living outside.

It was not far from the academy, so nothing would be delayed if something came up. Moreover, it was much quieter than the academy, and he had more time to instruct his students.

"Young master, you're back!"

As soon as he landed in the courtyard, Sun Qiang came over, filled with excitement.

In the two months they hadn't seen each other, this fellow seemed even rounder, with oil at the corners of his mouth. His strength had improved, but not by much.

This fellow was always lazy; it seemed that during this time, he had eaten a lot of good things but hadn't put much effort into cultivation.

Knowing this fellow's character, Zhang Xuan criticized him a couple of times and then instructed, "Call Wang Ying and the others over!"

"Yes!" Sun Qiang walked out.

Before long, Wang Ying and the others entered.

In the two months they hadn't seen each other, these direct disciples had made obvious progress. Staying by his side, there wasn't much of a gap.

Wang Ying had already broken through to the early stage of the Silkworm Seal realm, while Zheng Yang and Liu Yang had both reached the peak of the Void Step realm, seemingly on the verge of breaking through at any moment.

It wasn't that their talent was exceptionally high, but before leaving, Zhang Xuan had taught them the simplified version of the Heaven's Path Divine Art, coupled with the numerous resources sent from Cloud Mist Ridge and countless pills to enhance strength...

If they still progressed slowly under these circumstances, they would truly be letting down his cultivation.

All three had made significant progress, but Wei Ruyan, the last one he accepted, had not improved much in cultivation, remaining at the peak of the Silkworm Seal realm, just like two months ago.

However, this was also within expectations.

Wei Ruyan had been supplemented too heavily before. Although she possessed the strength of the ninth level of Mortal Transformation, it was like a castle in the air. If she cultivated rashly, it would only collapse, ultimately making progress difficult.

Therefore, before leaving, Zhang Xuan had set her goal to start cultivation anew from the first level of a martial artist, carefully polishing each realm one by one.

In over two months, she had returned to the peak of the Silkworm Seal realm. Although the level was the same, both her foundation and combat power had undergone a qualitative difference compared to when she first woke up, no longer comparable.

In other words, after two months of polishing, her current strength truly matched the Silkworm Seal realm, not like before when it was merely piled up with medicine and pitifully weak.

"Not bad!"

Zhang Xuan nodded with satisfaction.

It seemed these students were still reliable; they cultivated much harder than Sun Qiang and didn't let down his efforts.

"Now, some of you have reached the Silkworm Seal realm, and even those who haven't are not far off. I have two paths for you to choose from!"

Activating the formation to shield the surroundings, Zhang Xuan looked solemnly at the few before him.

"I have two sets of techniques here. The first allows for rapid increase in cultivation, quickly reaching the Saint domain."

"The second will be much slower to progress and complicated to cultivate, but if successful, your combat power will double, with astonishing might!"

Whether to learn the Saint Ascension Decree or the ordinary Heaven's Path Divine Art, he did not force his students; he let them choose for themselves.

The Saint Ascension Decree had great power but also great difficulty. Without a firm resolve, it was impossible to see it through to the end.

This needed to be stated in advance.

"Teacher, I choose the second!"

After a pause, Wang Ying spoke first.

"We also choose the second!"

The others did not hesitate either.

Having come this far, encountering a technique that doubled combat power, no one wanted to miss it.

"Choosing the second means enduring more hardship, putting in more effort, and there's even no guarantee of success... You must think it through!"

Zhang Xuan said.

"We've thought it through!"

"Hardship is nothing; as long as our strength is strong, we're not afraid!"

The several quickly replied.

"That's good!" Seeing that they chose the second without hesitation, Zhang Xuan nodded in satisfaction.

Cultivation was inherently a struggle against heaven and fate. If they didn't even have this courage, even if he personally taught them, they wouldn't achieve much in the future.

He took out the simplified version of the Saint Ascension Decree, handed it to them, and after letting them memorize the content, Zhang Xuan explained it in detail.

The Saint Ascension Decree was extremely complex; even he found it somewhat difficult to understand. If he didn't explain it clearly, once they misunderstood, cultivation could easily go wrong.

Two hours later, seeing that everyone had fully understood, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Letting them go cultivate, Zhang Xuan turned his gaze back to Sun Qiang.

"You must be well aware of my teacher's strength!"

"Yes!"

Sun Qiang quickly nodded.

Although he didn't know the exact level of the old master's strength, it definitely surpassed eight stars, making him one of the most pinnacle figures on the continent.

"Since you know, as long as he is willing, he can find many seven-star or even eight-star master teachers as butlers! If you remain at this level and are unwilling to cultivate, I can consider informing my teacher to have you replaced!"

Zhang Xuan said indifferently.

Dealing with this fellow required harsh measures; otherwise, mere urging would be completely useless.

"Yes!"

Cold sweat trickled down Sun Qiang's face.

During this time, the Hongyuan Empire's royal family had been currying favor, and the Shen and Liu families had been sending various profits, causing him to lose his way somewhat.

Hearing the young master's words, he realized that to continue following them, strength was the most important thing.

Without strength, neither the young master nor the old master would give him a second glance.

And without these two, he was just an ordinary fat man, amounting to nothing.

"Alright, in the two months I've been away, has there been any news?"

After the reprimand, knowing that the other party had realized the problem, Zhang Xuan said no more and asked.

"Well, the head of the Shen family visited some time ago, saying that it's best not to sell all the Cloud Mist Flowers at once, but to hoard them as rare goods and sell them slowly for greater profit... So, I discussed with them and decided to release only ten jin per month per empire..."

After thinking for a moment, Sun Qiang quickly recounted the recent business matters.

"Handle this with them; I won't bother with it!"

Zhang Xuan waved his hand.

When it came to business, he was certainly no match for Sun Qiang, let alone the Shen family. It was better to delegate authority to them to avoid trouble.

"Yes... This is the first batch of revenue from the Cloud Mist Flowers!"

Seeing that the young master didn't want to be bothered, Sun Qiang said no more and handed over a storage ring.

Taking it casually, Zhang Xuan glanced inside, and his eyes suddenly widened. He was startled: "So much?"

Inside the ring was a large pile of high-grade spirit stones, shining brightly, with dense spiritual energy that made one's breath catch. There were thousands of them, densely packed.

"The first batch of revenue totals three thousand three hundred and twenty-seven high-grade spirit stones. The second batch can probably be settled next month..."

Sun Qiang smiled.

"Over three thousand..." Zhang Xuan's mouth twitched.

He had expended so much effort, from coaxing to taming beasts, and had only earned a few hundred high-grade spirit stones. Just selling Cloud Mist Flowers yielded such revenue... It was practically robbery!

But for him, spirit stones were always welcome, the more the better.

Over three thousand high-grade spirit stones seemed like a huge fortune, but in reality, it might not even be enough for him to cultivate to the early stage of Saint domain first level.

Moreover, his several students were now also cultivating the Saint Ascension Decree, consuming enormous resources, along with the advancement of the Purple Yang Beast and the nine kings... spending money all the time.

Not to mention just a few thousand high-grade spirit stones; even tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands were insignificant to him, a big spender.

In fact, although Cloud Mist Flowers were precious, it was very difficult to sell them for so much money. Otherwise, the saint beasts would have been doing business long before he came along.

But now, with the earthly vein spiritual liquid drained, the mountain mist receding, and the flower tea unable to be produced, what was consumed disappeared forever, making them unique and extinct.

Coupled with the fact that the ones sold were of very high age, rarity increased value, and with the Shen family's promotion... the price naturally skyrocketed.

"Also, Elder Mi came yesterday, saying that someone came to the academy looking for you!"

Sun Qiang thought for a moment and said.

"Looking for me? Who?"

"The deans of the other three academies... They've already arrived in Hongyuan City! They want to discuss the Battle Master selection with you!"

Sun Qiang said.

"Already here?" Zhang Xuan was startled, then remembered that the centennial Battle Master selection was about to begin.

"I'll go back to the academy now!"

Zhang Xuan nodded.

The Battle Master selection was a grand event for the four academies once every hundred years, involving the academy's reputation. As the dean, he had no reason to decline or refuse.

Leaving the residence and returning to the Elder Hall, he saw Zhao Bingxu approaching with an anxious expression.

"Dean, you're finally back. Great..."

"What happened?" Seeing his expression was off, Zhang Xuan asked.

"Reporting to the Dean... Dean Wu Tianqiong of Yunxu Academy, Dean Shen Pingchao of Luoqing Academy, and Dean Wu Ran of Qingzhu Academy have arrived at the academy. The Battle Master Hall is said to be arriving soon. Elder Mi and the others are already waiting there. I came specifically to find you after hearing you were back..."

Zhao Bingxu said hurriedly.

"Isn't it not time yet?" Zhang Xuan was puzzled.

When he returned from the Saint Seal Platform, Jin Yuan Ding had said there were still three months until the selection. By calculation, there should still be a few days... Why had they all come suddenly?

"The Battle Master Hall sent word that they received orders from the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters, requiring the four academies to complete the selection within three days!" Zhao Bingxu explained.

"So urgent?"

He had originally planned to find the academy's participants for the competition after returning, give them lessons in advance, and help them improve their strength. But now, just as he arrived, the competition was about to begin... It was too fast!

"The specific reason wasn't given. Now they could arrive at any time... and the selection could start at any moment. Please, Dean, go and oversee the situation!"

Zhao Bingxu said.

Originally, since the dean hadn't returned, they, the elders, could only act on his behalf. Now that the dean was back, naturally, he should go and see for himself.

Although they had selected many young talents from the academy over the past two months, seeing the students from the other three academies, they still had no confidence.

The gap between the two was still obvious. If nothing unexpected happened, as previously predicted, only a few would pass.

"Let's go take a look!"

Nodding, Zhang Xuan and Zhao Bingxu quickly walked toward the training ground.