Chapter 971: Dealing with You Xu
Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97
"Princ.i.p.al Zhang!"
As soon as Zhang Xuan arrived at the training grounds, School Head Mo and the others immediately walked up to him.
Responding with a nod, Zhang Xuan turned his gaze to the stage and saw Mu s.h.i.+ and an elder standing on top.
The elder beside Mu s.h.i.+ seemed to be in his fifties, and he possessed a powerful cultivation that felt as vast as the ocean, similar to the sensation he had felt from the Goldenleaf King and Greenleaf King back in the Subterranean Gallery—Saint 4-dan.
Saint 3-dan Embryonic Soul realm was also known as the Origin Soul realm. At this point, one"s Origin Core would metamorphose from a core into the form of an infant. Upon reaching this realm, one"s comprehension of the world would deepen, and with each breath, one could take in the energy contained in the world and wield it for one"s use.
In Saint 4-dan Primordial Spirit realm, a cultivator"s Origin Soul would evolve into a Primordial Spirit 1 .
Any cultivator that had reached the Primordial Spirit realm was extremely difficult to kill due to the unique nature of their existence. This was also the reason Zhang Xuan had chosen to turn the two Kings against one another, inciting them to kill one another. Otherwise, it would have been difficult for him to eliminate all of the Otherworldly Demons in the Subterranean Gallery so easily.
Surprisingly, the master teacher beside Mu s.h.i.+ had also reached such a level. Even in view of the entire Qingyuan Conferred Empire, he could be considered one of the strongest experts. Why would a person as powerful as him come down to Hongyuan Empire?
Zhang Xuan sent a telepathic message to School Head Mo. "This must be the person you told me about earlier, 7-star high-tier Master Teacher Wu Rufeng."
"Yes." School Head Mo nodded. "He is the vice head of the Qingyuan Conferred Empire Master Teacher Pavilion. He is an austere person who abhors all evil…"
While School Head Mo was in the midst of introducing the man on the stage to Zhang Xuan, the person in question glanced coldly downward with his hands behind his back. "School Head Mo, is your princ.i.p.al here yet? To keep all of us waiting like this, he sure knows how to put on airs!"
Seeing that Wu s.h.i.+ already had a bad impression of him, a bitter smile crept on Zhang Xuan"s lips. Stepping forward, he bowed politely and said, "I believe… I am the princ.i.p.al who knows how to put on airs that you are speaking of."
After receiving the news, he had needed to spend some time feeding Wei Ruyan some pills to stabilize her condition, so he had ended up arriving late. Judging from the state of those in the area, it seemed like they had already been here for some time.
"You are the princ.i.p.al here?" Wu s.h.i.+ took a glance at Zhang Xuan, and his eyebrows shot up. "Nascent Saint pinnacle? It seems like the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy has truly fallen!"
Coming from the headquarters, he had heard that the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy had eventually inaugurated a twenty-year-old young man to serve as their princ.i.p.al, so he was curious to see who the other party was. But he hadn"t expected that after arriving in the academy for some time, the other party would still be nowhere in sight.
Even after ringing the a.s.sembly Bell, the other party had only arrived around thirty minutes later… More importantly, his clothes were still completely cloaked with dust…
This was blatant disrespect toward him!
On top of that, the other party was only at Nascent Saint realm pinnacle, not even reaching Saint realm yet. A person with such weak cultivation had actually been inaugurated as the princ.i.p.al of a Master Teacher Academy?
Wasn"t this taking this matter way too lightly?
Mu s.h.i.+ had left prior to the inauguration ceremony, so he was unaware that Zhang Xuan had tamed the spirit beasts and saint beasts of the Cloudmist Ridge. Furthermore, with other more important matters to attend to, Mu s.h.i.+ had neglected to inform Wu s.h.i.+ about the various outstanding accomplishments that Zhang Xuan had accomplished, which could easily dim the radiance of the preceding princ.i.p.als.
"Wu s.h.i.+…" Upon hearing those words, Mu s.h.i.+ quickly whispered to Wu s.h.i.+ in a hushed voice, "Zhang s.h.i.+ is a very talented individual, and he has the guidance of a very powerful teacher…"
"Humph!"
But before Mu s.h.i.+ could finish his words, Wu s.h.i.+ had already interrupted him with a darkened face. "Regardless of how powerful his teacher may be, he must be strong himself as well!
"Enough, let"s not waste our time on this matter any further. Princ.i.p.al Zhang, you are to write a reflective letter regarding your lack of respect and your mistakes, or else I will have you punished for your breach of responsibility."
"Reflective letter?" Zhang Xuan was dumbfounded.
Those two words felt so far away… To think that a day would come when a princ.i.p.al would have to write a reflective letter!
But this fellow… To be going after him when he had barely arrived in the area, it was obvious that the other party was trying to establish his authority through him.
It was one thing if Zhang Xuan had offended the other party in the past, but he hadn"t even met the other party before! Why was the other party trying to pick faults with him?
Zhang Xuan scratched his head and sighed deeply. If the other party was truly determined to find faults with him, perhaps he really should consider bringing out his puppets to teach the other party some respect first.
"Wu s.h.i.+…" While Zhang Xuan was still contemplating the issue, Mu s.h.i.+ hurriedly said, "Princ.i.p.al Zhang was only inaugurated three months ago, and more importantly, he is the one who captured…"
Interrupting Mu s.h.i.+"s explanation, Wu s.h.i.+ waved his hands impatiently. "Enough! For a traitor to emerge from the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy, he, as the princ.i.p.al, has a huge responsibility to bear. Hurry up and make the announcement, we still have more important matters to attend to afterwards!"
"… Yes!" Mu s.h.i.+ could only nod in response to that. Sighing deeply, he surveyed the crowd for a moment before speaking. "Everyone, the reason we have gathered you here is to make an important announcement."
"An important announcement?"
The master teachers beneath the stage glanced at one another in bewilderment.
For two 7-star master teachers to specially make the trip down to Hongyuan Empire and a.s.semble them all, the announcement that they had to make was bound to be significant.
"Eliminating the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe has always been one of the core responsibilities of our Master Teacher Pavilion, and most master teachers view it as their mission as well. However, just as there are those who embrace this mission, there are also those who attempt to undermine it for the sake of their own petty gains!" At this point, Mu s.h.i.+"s face turned grim and austere.
"If it was an ordinary cultivator who had betrayed mankind, as well as their kin and friends, in face of possible death, it would be abhorrent but understandable. After all, the fear of death is not something that just anyone can overcome. However, as master teachers respected by countless others, if we can"t even hold onto our faith in dire situations, that is unforgivable!
"To put it lightly, that is equivalent to losing our pride and dignity. To put it harshly, that is the betrayal of humanity!" Mu s.h.i.+"s voice echoed resoundingly across the training grounds.
"Betrayal of humanity?"
"That"s indeed true. The respect that we, master teachers, are accorded comes with a responsibility. We bear the mission of leading mankind through crises and toward prosperity. If we can"t persist in our faith in times of trouble, who else will?"
The many master teachers beneath the stage nodded in agreement.
While enjoying the elevated standing and privileges that mankind had bestowed upon them, master teachers had to shoulder a responsibility equivalent to that.
Mankind had to pay a heavy price to groom every single high-ranked master teacher. As such, the betrayal of a master teacher in times of crises was intolerable.
"Silence! Today, I am going to talk about a certain master teacher who has betrayed mankind."
Seeing that he had managed to draw everyone"s mood along with him, Mu s.h.i.+ waved his hands grandly and continued. "For his own safety, this man has disregarded the values that we, master teachers, embrace and plunged more than twenty 6-star pinnacle master teachers into a dangerous position. To date, we don"t even know whether they are still alive or not! These twenty 6-star master teachers were his comrades and friends, but he abandoned them without the slightest bit of remorse. After the incident, he even dared to shamelessly return to the Master Teacher Academy and preach values to others, enjoying the resources and respect of others… How do you think we should deal with such a person?"
"There is such a person among us? Kill him!"
"His betrayal is an intolerable crime. There are no grounds for negotiation at all!"
"To plunge more than twenty 6-star master teachers into a dangerous position, his crime is so great that even killing him several times over won"t cleanse him of his sins!"
"Mu s.h.i.+, who is the person you are speaking of? Is he a teacher of our Master Teacher Academy?"
…
Upon hearing the question, a huge uproar broke out beneath the stage.
For the two 7-star master teachers to talk about betrayal and preaching morals, it was clear that the person whom they were going to judge was related to the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy.
Instead of answering the crowd"s question, Mu s.h.i.+ flung his sleeves and said with his head held high, "Bring him in!"
Shortly after those words were uttered, the cry of a saint beast sounded from the sky, and a Saint realm Tigereagle Beast swooped down. With a shake of its body, a human fell heavily onto the ground.
"That is… Vice School Head You Xu?"
"It is indeed Vice School Head You Xu! Could he be the traitor of humanity?"
"Wasn"t he taken away by Princ.i.p.al Zhang after losing to the latter in a Life-and-Death Physician Duel? Why is he here?"
"In the past two years, he has remained cooped up within the Master Teacher Academy, devoting his time to nurturing medicinal herbs in his residence. How could he possibly have the opportunity to collude with the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe?"
"I have even attended his lessons before. Back then, when Princ.i.p.al Zhang challenged him to a Life-and-Death Physician Duel, I even felt great animosity toward Princ.i.p.al Zhang for a period of time."
Upon getting a clear glimpse of the person who had appeared on the stage, a huge uproar broke out amid the crowd. Everyone widened their eyes in disbelief.
Three months ago, when Princ.i.p.al Zhang challenged You Xu, there had been quite a few who were sympathetic to You Xu"s plight, thinking that it was disrespectful for Princ.i.p.al Zhang to have challenged an esteemed elder regardless of how capable he was. Who could have thought that he would actually be a traitor of humanity?
For the Qingyuan Conferred Empire Master Teacher Pavilion to dispatch two 7-star master teachers over to announce this before them, they had to have concrete evidence on hand. There was no doubt about it anymore.
"I believe all of you should know this man very well even if I don"t say much about it!" Mu s.h.i.+ glanced at the feeble You Xu collapsed on the ground and harrumphed coldly. "Do you want to explain it to them yourself, or shall I have the Teacher Guild"s "Guild Letter" do the job?"
The Master Teacher Pavilion could be considered a subsidiary of the Teacher Guild. A Guild Letter from it was comparable to the imperial edict of an emperor. Any declaration made through the Guild Letter would be automatically recorded into the records of the Teacher Guild and Master Teacher Pavilion, allowing all branches to browse through the information.
To put it simply, if his crimes were to be indicted through the Guild Letter, it would be as good as being judged guilty before the world. There would be no possible redemption for him.
"I…" You Xu"s lips quivered.
If he were to admit it himself, only those who were present in the area would learn of the matter. But if a Guild Letter were to be issued, his misdeeds would be recorded in all of the Teacher Guild and Master Teacher Pavilion branches over the Master Teacher Continent, and his name would be spat at for countless years to come.
Without hesitating for too long, You Xu nodded. "I will explain it to them."
Since he had already long admitted to his crimes, there was nothing for him to hide anymore.
"Alright then, go on!" Mu s.h.i.+ waved his hand disdainfully.
"Yes." Gritting his teeth, You Xu began his explanation. "It is my fault. I was the one who placed our old princ.i.p.al into a dangerous position…"
Soon, he swiftly repeated everything that he had confessed to Zhang Xuan back then.
This time, his account was even more detailed. By the time he finished his story, the master teachers a.s.sembled in the area already had their fists clenched tightly together, and veins popped from their temples.
"Kill him!"
"I truly didn"t expect You Xu to be such a person. He is truly a black sheep of the master teachers!"
"It is laughable that I attended his lecture and thought of him as a respectable elder. This is going to become the greatest stain on my life!"
"Princ.i.p.al Zhang must have noticed that there was something wrong with You Xu, that was why he challenged the latter to a Life-and-Death Physician Duel so as to investigate his case and hand him over to Mu s.h.i.+!"
"Now that you speak of it, that does seem to be very possible. If not for Princ.i.p.al Zhang, we might still have been kept in the dark by that scoundrel!"
…
All of the master teachers beneath the stage were enraged, and they roared furiously.
Betraying mankind for the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe, obeying their orders to harm his own comrades, causing the old princ.i.p.al to go missing and the entire Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy to descend into chaos…
Just as Mu s.h.i.+ had said, this was an unforgivable crime!
"Since you have already admitted to your crime, I won"t say anything else about it. Now, I shall announce the verdict made by the Qingyuan Empire Master Teacher Pavilion."
Facing the enraged crowd, Mu s.h.i.+ took out a scroll and gently rolled it open.
Huala!
A brilliant flash of light burst in the air, and an emotionless voice reverberated in the air.
"You Xu, for betraying mankind and harming his fellow master teachers, has infringed on the rules of the Master Teacher Pavilion and transgressed the bottom line of a master teacher. For his crimes, he shall be stripped of his ident.i.ty as a master teacher and beheaded to serve as a warning to others!"
"Beheaded?"
Upon hearing the verdict, You Xu"s face paled as he collapsed weakly to the ground. As if having lost his soul, the light in his eyes vanished.