Chapter 814: So He Was the One Who Bought the Manor!
Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97
Xue Zhenyang fell into a daze. The excited gleam in his eyes slowly transformed into a look of horror. Pointing a finger at Zhang Xuan, his gaze alternated between Zhang Xuan and Zheng Yang, and despair gradually painted his face dark. Unwilling to believe what was happening, he asked doubtfully, "G-g-grandteacher?"
When he"d departed from the True Helios Faction, Zheng Yang and the others hadn"t gotten on the stage yet. As such, he was still unaware of the background of his spearmans.h.i.+p teacher.
However, at this instant, hearing from his teacher"s own mouth that his grandteacher was Zhang Xuan, he suffered a blow so heavy that it threatened to snap his sanity.
When the subordinate he"d sent ended up being taken in by Zhang Xuan instead, the True Helios Faction suffered a heavy blow to its reputation.
In order to exact vengeance, he"d left the academy with a spear in his hands, intending to tour the lands so that he could comprehend the tenth dan of the Fallen Spear Art.
Through surpa.s.sing Zhang Xuan in spearmans.h.i.+p, he would bring glory back to the True Helios Faction, sending out the message that he, Xue Zhenyang, was still an irreplaceable genius of the Master Teacher Academy…
After all the effort he had put into it, when his diligence had finally paid off and he had achieved a breakthrough, reality suddenly struck him… Unknowingly, he had become the grandstudent of his nemesis!
The h.e.l.l!
I don"t want to be that fellow"s grandstudent! I want to surpa.s.s him and cleanse the shame I have suffered due to him! I want to remain the revered genius of the Master Teacher Academy…
Xue Zhenyang howled furiously on the inside. However, before he could sort out his thoughts, excruciating pain a.s.saulted the back of his head once more. His teacher had struck him again.
"Who do you think you are pointing your finger at? Where are your manners? This is the person I have been telling you about, my teacher. What are you waiting for? Hurry up and get on your knees!" Zheng Yang urged with a displeased frown.
He had been wanting to introduce his talented student to his teacher for a while now, but now that the chance finally came, the latter was acting completely disrespectful to his teacher. This was truly… If he had known earlier, he should have taught Xue Zhenyang some etiquette beforehand!
Get on my knees? On the other hand, Xue Zhenyang felt as if someone had just torn his world apart.
All along, due to Zheng Yang and the others" age and astounding capability, he had thought that his grandteacher would be a formidable figure and thus imaged him as an old man in his seventies or eighties…
Yet, it turned out to be the nemesis he had set out to defeat in the first place!
Why did fate had to pull such a prank on him?
Before his departure, he had declared proudly that he would defeat Zhang Xuan upon his return… But how could he do so, given his current ident.i.ty?!
While Xue Zhenyang was suffering a tragic mental breakdown, Long Cangyue and the others, who were watching the commotion, felt their bodies swaying weakly.
Of their four student factions, two had challenged Zhang Xuan, but one became his apprentice and the other his grandstudent… Their standing was gradually becoming one lower than the other.
"Say, if we challenge him as well… will we end up becoming his grand-grandstudents?" Long Cangyue gulped.
"You must be joking! Grand-grandstudent, that means that his standing is three generations higher than us! But we are the direct disciples of the old princ.i.p.al. If he"s three generations higher than us, wouldn"t that make even the old princ.i.p.al his grandstudent?"
Dong Xin harrumphed coldly. "Don"t put yourself down and inflate his ego!"
"But… there is just something uncanny about that fellow," Long Cangyue said.
"There"s indeed something weird about him, but… don"t you think that"s what makes this a challenge?" Unlike Long Cangyue"s nervousness, Dong Xin"s eyes were glowing in excitement.
As a genius, she had never submitted to anyone before. Formidable as Zhang Xuan might seem, his capability had only served to further stimulate her fighting will.
"A challenge? Forget it. I fear that my Ashen Moon Faction will disappear after the challenge… If you wish to do so, do it yourself!" Long Cangyue hurriedly shook his head.
You must be joking! Which of the four student factions are weak?
Two had already had their turn, and they ended up in such a miserable state. Even a vice school head was utterly crushed by the other party… He had no desire whatsoever to get himself involved in this matter.
"Forget it! If you are really that scared, I"ll do it alone then! Don"t worry, I"ll surely be able to find his weakness and defeat him!" Dong Xin chuckled as her eyes twinkled in confidence.
There was no such thing as a flawless cultivator in the world. So what if Zhang Xuan was formidable?
She didn"t believe that he could be perfect!
As long as she paid careful attention, she would surely be able to find something to exploit against him.
By then, her Dong Xin Faction would become the academy"s largest faction, unmatched by any other!
And finally, after so many years of competing with Hu Yaoyao, she would emerge at the top!
…
"You accepted Xue Zhenyang as your disciple?"
On the other hand, Zhang Xuan was gazing at the kneeling Xue Zhenyang before him in a daze.
When did Zheng Yang take this fellow as his disciple? Not to mention, what was with the matter of being the guest elder?
Fearing that Zhang Xuan would get furious, Sun Qiang hurried forward and interjected.
"Young Master, I was the one who convinced Young Master Zheng Yang to do so. I saw that this fellow was sincere and determined in acknowledging Young Master Zheng Yang as his teacher, and he also paid the school fee as well, so I took pity on him…"
Discreetly, he pa.s.sed a storage ring over and sent a telepathic message. "Here are the spirit stones that Zheng Yang and the others have earned through their lectures!"
"Lecture?" The more Zhang Xuan listened, the more bewildered he became. He immersed his consciousness into his storage ring, and what he saw made him have the shock of his life.
Middle-tier spirit stones stacked as if a mountain! Judging from the size of the pile, there were at least several ten thousand of them in there. Even if he were to exchange them for high-tier spirit stones, he would at least be able to get a hundred of them.
Are you sure you earned this sum by conducting a lecture, not by robbery?
"Indeed. It"s actually like this…" Sun Qiang swiftly explained the matter of how Zheng Yang and the others became guest elders of the Martial Arts School to Zhang Xuan.
"To think that such a thing could happen!" Zhang Xuan was astonished by what had happened while he was at the Cloudmist Ridge.
Even though what he had imparted to Zheng Yang and the others were just simplified versions of the Heaven"s Path Divine Art and Heaven"s Path battle techniques, those were already the most profound secret manuals in this world, far surpa.s.sing any of their kind.
As master teachers, it was natural that Xue Zhenyang and Xu Changqing would realize how profound they were.
With that, it didn"t come as much of a surprise that they would invite Zheng Yang and the others to become guest elders of the academy.
Sun Qiang couldn"t help but feel a little unnerved by Zhang Xuan"s silence. "Young Master, I"m the one who convinced Zheng Yang and the others into it. If you wish to punish them, please punish me instead…"
He felt that the young master would be moved by the spirit stones, but nevertheless, there was no way he could be certain that he had made the right call.
"Punish? Why would I punish you for this matter? Accepting disciples and imparting knowledge to them, this is a way for them to reinforce their understanding as well!" Zhang Xuan waved his hands casually.
Often, just by listening to a lecture, one"s understanding of a subject wouldn"t be complete. However, if one were to attempt to teach it to another, one would be forced to organize their thoughts and sort out the logic regarding it, and this would reinforce one"s understanding of the subject.
As such, it was crucial for students to exchange their knowledge with one another or even serve as the other"s teacher. This was not only beneficial to the other party but oneself as well.
Through the lecture, Zheng Yang and the others should have been able to gain deeper insight into cultivation and battle techniques themselves, and that was surely a good thing!
Besides, it wasn"t like he had made a loss because of this matter. With the spirit stones earned, he would have nothing to worry about for the time being!
He was still thinking about selling a portion of the Earth Vein Spirit Essence to tide them over for the time being, but it seemed like there was no need for it anymore.
These students of his had truly done something good for him this time around.
Nevertheless, there was still one thing he had to warn them about.
"I don"t oppose to you becoming the teachers of others. On the contrary, I think it"s good for you to impart knowledge to others. However… I will still have to ask you to do it in moderation. Our heritage is grand and profound, so it might bring us trouble instead if you impart too much to others. Living in this world, it"s always best to keep a low profile whenever possible. This is a trait that you should learn from me!" Zhang Xuan warned grimly.
The Heaven"s Path Divine Art and Heaven"s Path battle techniques, even if just the simplified versions, were too powerful; it would definitely cause a huge uproar if their existence were to be made known to others. Perhaps, it might even end up drawing in enemies far too powerful for them to deal with.
Thus… it would still be best for them to keep a low profile.
"Teacher, rest a.s.sured. We only lectured them on the bare basics. Regarding those crucial aspects of our heritage, we made sure to left them out… We have tried our best to keep a low profile as well!" Zheng Yang and the others replied.
"Good!" Zhang Xuan nodded in satisfaction.
The few of them didn"t speak too loudly, so not many had heard their words. However, Xue Zhenyang, who was just kneeling before them, heard them loud and clear. His body shook frenziedly, and tears threatened to spill from his eyes.
The heck, can we still hold a proper conversation over here?
A twenty-year-old freshman creating a huge storm as soon as he entered the academy, sending all of the seniors into a frenzy…
Three youngsters, only fifteen or sixteen, becoming the guest elders of the Martial Arts School…
How the freaking h.e.l.l can you call this low profile?
If this is called low profile, what can be considered high profile?
"Alright. Since you have accepted him as your disciple, teach him well. Also, try to conduct a few more lectures in the academy to earn more spirit stones. As you know, we cultivators require a lot of spirit stones to cultivate, so it will be best for us to get as many of those as we can," Zhang Xuan instructed.
Sun Qiang nodded. "Don"t worry, Young Master. I will make arrangements!"
As he had expected! As long as it came to money, the young master would have no qualms with it.
"Un. For the time being, we should head over to You Xu"s residence to get the Ten-leafed Flower!" Zhang Xuan said.
For the moment, the urgent matter at hand was for him to take the Ten-leafed Flower and save Wei Ruyan.
Other matters could wait, but hers couldn"t. If he didn"t hurry, the latter might just end up succ.u.mbing to her illness.
Given that You Xu"s life was in Zhang Xuan"s hands and he had lost in the Life-and-Death Physician Duel as well, he had no choice but to obey Zhang Xuan"s orders. Thus, it didn"t take long for the Ten-leafed Flower to appear in Zhang Xuan"s hands.
After obtaining the medicinal herb, Zhang Xuan headed to his residence in the Elite Sector.
His residence outside was currently too small, so it was extremely inconvenient there. On top of that, the treatment to save Wei Ruyan also required an area with a high concentration of spiritual energy, and his residence outside clearly couldn"t compare to this.
However, when they arrived at Zhang Xuan"s residence in the Elite Sector, he saw someone guarding the entrance. It was Huang Xing, Zhou Tong, and the others, the seniors who had allocated the residence to him back then. Stacked beside them were his personal belongings which he had stored inside the residence.
"What is going on?" Zhang Xuan frowned.
"Zhang s.h.i.+, School Head Lu just pa.s.sed an order saying that you are prohibited from staying here because you aren"t a student of the academy. His authority is higher than that of School Head Mo, so there"s nothing we can about it either… I beg your pardon, Zhang s.h.i.+," Huang Xing said with a reddened face.
He had also heard of the matter in the Physician School, and honestly speaking, he was filled with respect and admiration for Zhang Xuan"s actions as well. However, the person standing on the opposing side was the head of the Apothecary School, the stand-in princ.i.p.al of the Master Teacher Academy. No matter how gutsy he was, he dared not disobey School Head Lu"s orders.
Thus, he could only move Zhang Xuan"s possessions out of his residence.
Hearing those words, Zhang Xuan"s face turned livid.
He hadn"t thought that Lu Feng would act so swiftly!
This residence was built upon a Spirit Gathering Formation, thus resulting in a dense concentration of spiritual energy around it. Such conditions were ideal for the Ten-leafed Flower to nourish Wei Ruyan"s soul.
The treatment wouldn"t be as effective if he were to conduct it in his residence outside!
However, it was indeed true that he had declared that he wasn"t a student of the academy, so he had no right to live there.
What should I do? Zhang Xuan rubbed his glabella, troubled.
Resigned, he placed his possessions in his storage ring and prepared to head back to his residence outside. However, at that moment, a middle-aged man, under the lead of a senior, suddenly walked up to him.
"Zhang s.h.i.+, this man is looking for you!" the senior reported before retreating to the side.
The middle-aged man clasped his fist and asked, "May I confirm that you are Zhang s.h.i.+?"
Zhang Xuan frowned. "You are…"
"I am the butler of King Huai Manor, Yu Qing. Our master has bought an accommodation for Zhang s.h.i.+, and it is located just a short distance away from the academy. He tasked me to deliver the deed to you, and I will be grateful if you accept it!" As he spoke, Yu Qing took out a jade box, and opening it, a housing deed and land deed came into sight.
Taking a look at the land deed, Zhang Xuan saw the location written on it and he froze.
"Accommodation… That manor was bought by your master?"