Chapter 929 Compensation

"Ahem, so this is Dean Zhang. I've long heard of your reputation, and indeed you are young and talented!"

After a long while, Wu Tianqiong and Shen Pingchao flew over from the ruins, their faces full of embarrassment, and landed before him.

If they had known it would be so humiliating, they would have just disembarked directly.

Now, they had fallen so hard, and the image of a lofty expert they had painstakingly built up was completely wiped out, their lifelong reputation ruined in an instant.

"This junior pays respects to Dean Wu and Dean Shen!"

Zhang Xuan bowed.

He was only a six-star master teacher now, while the other was a seven-star, so in terms of etiquette, he couldn't give them any reason to find fault.

"As fellow deans, we are of the same generation; there's no need for such formalities. Dean Zhang, it was improper of us to fly the airship directly into the academy, but... shouldn't you return these sacred beasts to us?"

Waving his hand, Wu Tianqiong said with a grim face.

The Cloud Cliff Airship was a treasure; though it had suffered some damage from the crash, it was minor and acceptable. But so many sacred beasts—even if the Cloud Void Academy had deep pockets, they couldn't afford to lose them!

Moreover, if they were really taken away, how would so many students and teachers return after the War Teacher selection?

If they had to walk, they would probably have white hair before they even got home!

The Qingyuan Enfeoffed Empire covered an unknown vast area, and the four academies were scattered far apart. The Cloud Cliff Airship had flown for a full month; if they had to walk, unless they reached the Saint realm, they would basically die of old age before getting out.

"It's not that I can't return them, but..."

After a moment of thought, Zhang Xuan showed a troubled expression.

"But what?" Wu Tianqiong looked at him.

Shaking his head, Zhang Xuan said, "To be honest with you, to welcome this War Teacher selection, our Hongyuan Academy specially invited a landscape master to design many beautiful scenes and arranged countless precious treasures. We're still deeply in debt... And now, your airship crashed and destroyed everything. The Cloud Void Academy is wealthy, so... could you first compensate our losses before we talk about the sacred beasts?"

The Cloud Cliff Airship had fallen from the sky, creating a huge crater in the ground, and many academy buildings had been reduced to ruins, a scene of chaos.

"Landscape master? Beautiful scenes? Treasures?"

Wu Tianqiong's mouth twitched.

He had seen the situation below from the airship; it was just ordinary buildings, where were the beautiful scenes and treasures? Besides, when the airship landed, he had seen that most of the area was squares and streets; the compensation shouldn't be much!

Thinking this, but with the sacred beasts in the other's hands, he had no choice but to clasp his fists: "May I ask how much is needed?"

"I'm not sure of the exact amount either. As you know, I've only recently become dean and am not clear on these matters... Let me ask for you!"

Waving his hand, Zhang Xuan called out, "Elder Mi, please calculate how much it would cost to fully restore the buildings and treasures damaged by Dean Wu's airship impact."

"Yes!"

Hearing the inquiry, Elder Mi nodded, flew into the air, took a look, returned, and transmitted his voice: "Reporting to the dean, the airship destroyed eight buildings and three ponds. To fully repair them would require... two high-grade spirit stones."

In the eyes of the wealthy, high-grade spirit stones were nothing, but their actual purchasing power was still strong.

The area hit by the airship was not important; ordinary craftsmen could complete the repairs, and two high-grade spirit stones would be more than enough.

"What did you say?" Zhang Xuan seemed not to hear clearly, his voice rising, his brow furrowed: "Twenty thousand high-grade spirit stones? Are you sure that many high-grade spirit stones can fix it?"

"Twenty thousand..." Elder Mi was stunned.

When did I say twenty thousand? I said two...

"These magnificent buildings are not only the work of masters but also the painstaking efforts of our predecessors, with immeasurable value. Calculate again carefully how much is needed. Rest assured, the Cloud Void Academy, as the foremost of the four academies, is wealthy and will certainly not renege on its debts!"

Zhang Xuan continued.

"Uh..." Elder Mi's lips twitched, and he said tentatively, "Then... twenty-five thousand, or thirty thousand..."

"Is thirty thousand enough?" Zhang Xuan asked.

"Thirty thousand... is it enough or not... How about fifty thousand..." Elder Mi's eyelids twitched wildly, unsure how to answer.

"Fifty thousand? It needs that much? Indeed, the property left by our ancestors has been destroyed in my hands, and it cannot be measured by money!"

Sighing, Zhang Xuan turned and looked apologetically at the other: "Dean Wu, you heard it. The damage to the academy is truly severe. It will probably cost fifty thousand high-grade spirit stones to fully restore..."

Dean Wu's eyelids fluttered wildly.

Can you act any more fake?

For this shabby place, even five high-grade spirit stones would be too much... and you're asking for fifty thousand?

Do you take me for a fool?

However, he knew the other was deliberately inflating the price to give him a lesson, since they had been disrespectful first.

Helpless, he shook his head: "Ahem, Dean Zhang, it was my fault for flying the airship straight in. Here, I apologize to Hongyuan Academy! How about this: the Cloud Void Academy will rebuild the damaged areas completely, ensuring they are exactly as before. What do you think?"

"Help with repairs? That works! Actually, our academy is still missing a seventh-level spirit-gathering formation. If Dean Wu could help us set that up, we can handle the yard repairs ourselves!"

Seeing the other being sensible, Zhang Xuan smiled.

Trying to show off to me, arriving with a big airship, all aggressive—to be honest, I just don't want to show off... otherwise, I'd show you up!

"A seventh-level spirit-gathering formation?"

Wu Tianqiong's face twitched.

Setting up a seventh-level formation required not only inviting a seven-star formation master but also the seventh-level formation flags, each of which was extremely valuable. A formation that covered an entire academy and could sustain operation for years would cost an absolutely terrifying amount!

But judging by the other's demeanor, this was the minimum requirement; if he didn't agree, the sacred beasts might not be returned.

Sixteen sacred beasts were a huge asset for their academy. Moreover, if word got out that they had flown in and lost the sacred beasts before the selection even began, it would damage their reputation—they couldn't afford that shame!

After a moment's hesitation, he gritted his teeth: "Fine, I agree!"

"Dean Wu is truly magnanimous. I admire that..."

Zhang Xuan clasped his fists, then turned to the sacred beasts behind him, flicking his fingers repeatedly to dissolve the master-servant contracts: "Alright, you're free now. Return to Cloud Void Academy!"

Roar, roar, roar!

Hearing his words, the sacred beasts looked aggrieved, their large eyes filled with reluctance.

Possessing dragon bloodline, they knew what the Dragon's Eight Sounds meant. The person before them was likely a true dragon in human form... They had just been proud to have him as master, and now the contract was dissolved—they were all unwilling.

"When you return to Cloud Void Academy, your offerings will be doubled..."

Seeing the expressions of these creatures, Dean Wu's face twitched wildly, and he gritted his teeth.

"Roar!"

Hearing his promise, the sixteen sacred beasts reluctantly returned to the Cloud Cliff Airship, looking unwilling.

Seeing these creatures' expressions, Dean Wu clutched his chest, feeling breathless.

To be honest, he had heard before that this Dean Zhang was tricky, but seeing him in person, he realized it was even worse than the rumors.

He was simply a swindler who killed without compensation.

Just as he managed to suppress his frustration and was about to speak, he heard the young man not far away sigh, and a faint voice came over.

"If you really want to follow me, after you send them back to the academy, you can sneak back!"

Roar, roar, roar!

The sixteen sacred beasts rejoiced simultaneously, roaring wildly again.

"..." His body swaying, Dean Wu felt his chest ache even more, and he could barely breathe...

What kind of nonsense is this? That's not fair...

Otherwise, I'm afraid I won't last until the War Teacher selection ends; I'll be angered to death...

When he first arrived, he was full of confidence, thinking that Cloud Void Academy, with its many experts, would surely achieve new heights this time... Who knew that before the selection even started, this new dean of Hongyuan had already deflated all his pride!

Just thinking about it was depressing.

"Alright, since the matter is resolved, let's discuss the War Teacher selection!"

Forcibly circulating his true qi to suppress the pain in his chest, Wu Tianqiong spoke.

"Indeed, this time the four academies gather for the centennial War Teacher selection!"

Shen Pingchao said, "The War Teacher, the strongest combat force of the Master Teacher Pavilion, the best weapon against the Otherworldly Demons, concerns the safety of humanity. We must treat it seriously and not be careless!"

"Of course!" Zhang Xuan responded.

What had just happened was merely a minor punishment for their disrespect to Hongyuan Academy. When it came to the War Teacher selection, they still needed to cooperate and not hold each other back.

"This year's War Teacher selection has doubled the quota compared to last time. Previously, the four academies together, across five grades, only recruited fifty. This time, they want a hundred!"

Speaking of the selection, Wu Tianqiong set aside the earlier unpleasantness and said solemnly.

"Recruit a hundred?"

Hearing the recruitment quota of the War Teacher Hall for the first time, Zhang Xuan couldn't help but be astonished.

Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy, with five grades, had a full hundred thousand students. The other three academies, though their exact numbers were unknown, held higher status than Hongyuan, so their student numbers were likely no less.

In other words, by the most conservative estimate, the four academies had at least four hundred thousand students, yet they were only recruiting a hundred!

The ratio was a staggering 1 in 4000!

If it had been the previous fifty, the ratio would have been even higher, at 1 in 8000. No wonder the selection was so fearsome—it was truly one in ten thousand.

After all, just getting into a master teacher academy was already a highly selective process.

"Though the number is larger this time, the selection is stricter... I've heard it even involves life-and-death battles!"

Shen Pingchao said.

"Life-and-death battles?" Zhang Xuan frowned.

"Yes, War Teachers are different from ordinary master teachers. Their main purpose is to fight against the Otherworldly Demons. Without experiencing life and death, how can they unleash combat power beyond the ordinary?"

Wu Ran spoke.