Chapter 904: From Today Onward, I Am the Princ.i.p.al!
Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97
Hong long!
Shortly after saying those words, the brilliant light at the center of the Nine Revolution Heaven Net finally started to dim, and a s.h.i.+ning diamond-like Princ.i.p.al"s Seal emerged before everyone"s eyes.
This Princ.i.p.al"s Seal had a translucent appearance reminiscent of a beautiful diamond, and its appearance left everyone"s hearts jolting in astonishment.
School Head Mo and School Head Jiang"s bodies trembled once more, and with a hoa.r.s.e voice tinged with the disbelief over what they were seeing, they muttered, "No… That isn"t the Supreme Princ.i.p.al"s Seal, but the… Impeccable Princ.i.p.al"s Seal!"
"Isn"t the Impeccable Princ.i.p.al"s Seal a thing of legends? How could it possibly appear here?"
The Princ.i.p.al"s Seal that had formed before their eyes wasn"t the Supreme Princ.i.p.al"s Seal, which required at least the earnest recognition from 80% of the academy populace, but the even higher tier Impeccable Princ.i.p.al"s Seal!
In order to achieve this tier, one had to obtain the respect and admiration of every single student and teacher in the Master Teacher Academy!
Such a tier only existed in theory because it was deemed to be impossible to achieve. Even Founder Mu Kai himself had failed to form such a Princ.i.p.al"s Seal!
Each person had their own beliefs and ideals, and the more people there were, the more difficult it would be to win all of their favor simultaneously. Unless one was a spirit stone, it would be impossible to win the favor of over a hundred thousand master teachers simultaneously.
After all, not even the great Kong s.h.i.+ was able to make everyone submit to him.
Yet, someone had actually achieved this seemingly impossible task, and right before their eyes at that!
Just how did this happen?
It had only been slightly more than a month since the other party enrolled in to the Master Teacher Academy, and on top of that, he had spent half of his time beyond the walls of the academy… This was truly inconceivable!
Hu!
Before everyone"s shocked gazes, the Impeccable Princ.i.p.al"s Seal fell toward Zhang Xuan and landed on his palm.
Taking hold of it, Zhang Xuan frowned in astonishment.
The Impeccable Princ.i.p.al"s Seal was only around the size of one"s palm, but in the moment that he caught the falling seal, he nearly fell off the stage from the sheer weight of the seal.
Taking his zhenqi, physical body, and soul cultivation into account, Zhang Xuan possessed a total might of 65,000,000 ding at the moment. With such strength, he could even easily lift a mountain!
As such, it was truly bewildering how the small Impeccable Princ.i.p.al"s Seal would be so heavy that he would nearly fail to catch it.
Lowering his head to examine it closely, the seal in his hand had a translucency reminiscent of a diamond, emanating an extremely brilliant and beautiful glow.
Its appearance showed no signs of such heaviness, and on the contrary, it even gave the impression that it would be light and fleeting.
Curious, he immersed his consciousness into the Impeccable Princ.i.p.al"s Seal, and what he saw left his eyes narrowing uncontrollably.
This is… the weight of responsibility! Zhang Xuan exclaimed internally before sighing deeply.
As an artifact forged out of wills, it should have been nearly weightless, to the point that any child could carry it easily. However, it bore the trust and faith of more than a hundred thousand students and teachers of the Master Teacher Academy, and that wasn"t a weight that anyone could bear easily.
It wasn"t the Impeccable Princ.i.p.al"s Seal that was heavy, but the responsibility that came along with it!
Zhang Xuan had only chosen to become the princ.i.p.al so that he could conveniently access all of the books within the Master Teacher Academy, but feeling the weight in his hands, he suddenly felt that he could not proceed on with such an att.i.tude in mind.
Since he had decided to take on this responsibility, he would have to shoulder everyone"s hopes and dreams and bring them to greater heights.
Otherwise, how could he face those who had placed their trust and faith into him?
Taking a deep breath, Zhang Xuan made a solemn vow under his breath. "Rest a.s.sured. As long as the Princ.i.p.al"s Seal remains in my hands, I will definitely not let any of you down…"
This Princ.i.p.al"s Seal was neither an honor nor a tool to elevate his standing; it represented the heavy responsibility on his shoulders!
The greater authority one wielded, the more responsibility one had to bear.
At this moment, Zhang Xuan could finally understand why the old princ.i.p.al insisted on heading to the ancient domain despite knowing the dangers behind it. Most likely, there must have been something extremely important within it that left him with no choice but to do so.
Hu!
Shortly after such thoughts emerged in his mind, the incredible weight that had threatened to break his already bent wrist abruptly disappeared, and the Impeccable Princ.i.p.al"s Seal became as light as a feather.
Holding onto the Princ.i.p.al"s Seal, Zhang Xuan turned his sight to the crowd beneath the stage once more.
The face of every single teacher and student appeared clearly before his eyes. There was a warmth in their eyes that was reminiscent of one when meeting old acquaintances.
After a seemingly long period of silence, Zhang Xuan"s voice abruptly boomed across the training grounds.
"From today onward, I am the princ.i.p.al of the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy!"
"Princ.i.p.al!"
"Princ.i.p.al!"
"Princ.i.p.al…"
Loud chanting exploded from the agitated crowd, and the voices continued for a very long time…
A position that had been empty for more than two years had finally found a new owner, and it was with the recognition and admiration of every single teacher and student in the academy at that!
"That is our princ.i.p.al…" School Head Mo and the others couldn"t help but feel warm tears streaming down their cheeks.
Ever since the disappearance of the old princ.i.p.al, it had been necessary for the Ten Great Master Teachers to step up to handle his responsibilities among the skepticism and doubts of others, thus putting them under a lot of pressure.
However, with such an outstanding princ.i.p.al to lead them now, they would surely be able to raise the Master Teacher Academy to even greater heights than before.
…
At the same moment, on the Recording Platform of the Qingyuan Conferred Empire Master Teacher Pavilion, a single line of words appeared…
The 18,827th Year of the Qingyuan Calendar, Master Teacher Zhang Xuan takes over the position as the princ.i.p.al of the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy.
These words weren"t particularly striking, and it didn"t take long before it was drowned among the other incoming information of the Recording Platform.
Only in the very distant future did the later generations realize the true significance behind those words, and the legend that would rise along with it…
…
With the inauguration ceremony finally coming to an end, Zhang Xuan stepped off to the stage and headed to the Princ.i.p.al"s Residence prepared for him. However, before he could reach his destination, School Head Mo suddenly walked toward him and handed him a storage ring.
"Princ.i.p.al Zhang, these are the congratulatory gifts sent in by the nearby empires, powers, and Master Teacher Pavilions…"
The Master Teacher Pavilion was the central organization responsible for ensuring the peace and stability of the nearby dozen Tier-1 Empires and countless sects. Even if the leaders of most powers were unable to make it to the ceremony personally, the least they could do was deliver a proper congratulatory gift.
Grabbing the storage ring, Zhang Xuan immersed his consciousness into it to take a look, and his eyelids abruptly twitched in astonishment.
There were simply too many things inside, and each of them was of exceptional value!
Just in terms of the high-tier spirit stones, there were already several thousand of them. Other than that, there were also all kinds of valuable pills and precious artifacts.
"Place them into the treasury of the Master Teacher Pavilion. These items belong to the academy, not me…" Shaking his head, Zhang Xuan held back the urge to stuff the ring into his pocket and pa.s.sed it back to School Head Mo.
He wanted to claim the storage ring for himself, but he knew that these congratulatory gifts weren"t meant for him but his ident.i.ty as the princ.i.p.al of the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy!
In other words, even if it was another person who had been inaugurated as the princ.i.p.al, they would also have received these gifts as well.
Thus, these gifts could be said to belong to the Master Teacher Academy and not to him.
Besides, after accepting the gifts from the Cloudmist Ridge, these items no longer held much value to him.
"Yes!" School Head Mo nodded and took the storage ring back as the admiration in his gaze toward the young man before him deepened. Following which, he whipped out yet another storage ring and pa.s.sed it over. "This is a personal gift from Emperor Yu Shenqing to you."
"To me?" Taken aback, Zhang Xuan took a look inside and blinked in surprise.
The items in the storage ring were significantly less valuable than the ones in the other, but it was still a significant sum. Yu Shenqing must have emptied out at least half of them national treasury in order to fork out this sum!
"Emperor Yu Shenqing has said this is his token of appreciation to you for saving the Bodhi Saint Tree and imparting the set of profound soul cultivation techniques to them, and he hopes that you won"t turn down this gift of his!" School Head Mo said.
"This…" Zhang Xuan was a little hesitant.
The reason he saved the Bodhi Saint Tree was for Wei Ruyan"s sake, and the impartation of the set of cultivation technique was his compensation for secretly learning the other party"s secret arts… As such, how could he accept so many valuable items from the other party?
"Tell His Majesty that I appreciate his goodwill, but I am undeserving of his gift!" Zhang Xuan said with a wave of his hands.
The items were indeed good, but these were items that shouldn"t belong to him in the first place.
If he were to accept them, he would be striking up a karmic debt with Yu Shenqing, and this was a burden he wasn"t willing to bear.
"Alright then." School Head Mo nodded in response.
After dealing with a few other miscellaneous matters, Zhang Xuan said, "Now that"s all settled, take me to the Mountain of Records. I wish to take the 6-star master teacher examination!"
Since he had already become the princ.i.p.al of the Master Teacher Academy, it was about time for him to take the 6-star master teacher examination.
"Alright!" School Head Mo nodded before giving a rough introduction to the place. "The Mountain of Records is a ground used by the Master Teacher Academy to a.s.sess one"s strength. Any master teacher of cultivation beneath Half-Saint is qualified to challenge it, and there are nine levels in total!"
"Nine levels?"
"Un. The difficulty of the test heightens significantly with each level. On the third floor, the challenger will have to face an enemy comparable to a Half-Saint cultivator; on the sixth floor, an enemy comparable to a Nascent Saint cultivator; and on the ninth floor… an enemy comparable to a Saint 1-dan cultivator!"
School Head Mo said, "This trial serves not only as a test but also as a standard for selecting combat masters. If any cultivator beneath the cultivation of Half-Saint clears the sixth level, they will gain the right to take the Combat Master Selection Test. If the cultivator successfully clears the ninth level, they will be able to join the Combat Master Hall immediately!"
"To reach the sixth level with a cultivation beneath Half-Saint… In other words, one has to defeat a Nascent Saint with the cultivation of Chrysalis realm pinnacle?" Zhang Xuan asked.
"Indeed. With the superior eye of discernment that master teachers possess, they wield power that can challenge cultivators with higher cultivation than them. Nevertheless, to defeat a Nascent Saint with the cultivation of Chrysalis realm pinnacle still requires an exceptional cultivation foundation and superior fighting prowess!" School Head Mo nodded grimly.
"Un." Zhang Xuan agreed.
The two master teachers that he had met back in the valley after procuring the Scarlet Firefly Fruits, Wu Xu and Lu Cheng, were very likely to be combat masters. Otherwise, the former wouldn"t have been able to challenge the four strongest geniuses of the Master Teacher Academy simultaneously and still overwhelm them.
Zhang Xuan couldn"t help but ask, "Throughout all these years, how many people have reached the sixth level with a cultivation beneath Half-Saint?"
School Head Mo pondered for a brief moment before replying, "In the ten thousand years since the establishment of the academy, a total of 327 people have successfully become a combat master. However, those who have done so through clearing the sixth level of the Mountain of Records are below a hundred!"
Those who were qualified to become combat masters were the master teachers who possessed fighting prowess unmatched by their peers. But even so, only a small proportion of them were able to rival a Nascent Saint with a cultivation beneath Half-Saint!
A huge rift existed between Sainthood and Transcendent Mortals. Before Saints, all beings were mere ants. Overcoming this gap was nigh impossible, even for geniuses.
"I see…" Zhang Xuan nodded as he continued asking, "What is the Master Teacher Academy"s highest accomplishment in the Mountain of Records?"
Since there were challengers, there should be an existing record as well. Zhang Xuan was curious to learn the strength of the greatest genius of the Master Teacher Academy.
"The highest accomplishment was left behind by Princ.i.p.al Mo Liuzhen!" School Head Mo chuckled. "Princ.i.p.al Mo is known as the most capable genius of the Master Teacher Academy in the past ten millenniums, and naturally, he still holds records to back this t.i.tle as well. Back then, right after he achieved a breakthrough to Chrysalis realm, he headed to the Mountain of Records to challenge it, and in a single breath, he reached all the way up to the seventh level, leaving everyone else gasping in amazement!"
"Princ.i.p.al Mo managed to reach the seventh level right after reaching Chrysalis realm?" Zhang Xuan widened his eyes in shock.
His cultivation was currently at Chrysalis realm primary stage as well, the same cultivation realm that Mo Liuzhen was at when he challenged the Mountain of Records back then.
Considering the enemy at the ninth level was a Saint realm 1-dan primary stage cultivator, the enemy one would face on the seventh level would have to at least be a Nascent Saint intermediate stage or advanced stage cultivator.
In other words, given they were in the same cultivation realm, Princ.i.p.al Mo Liuzhen possessed fighting prowess comparable to or perhaps even beyond him!