Chapter 1122: Suspense Will Recruit Us

"Short-staffed?" Everyone looked confused by his question."Yes!" Xiao Qin gritted his teeth. "I want to join your Xuanxuan Guild too!"

"This..." Everyone's eyes lit up, and Young Master Ruohuan burst out laughing. "Great! Our dean will definitely be thrilled if he knows such a talented young expert wants to join!"

"You... you agree?" Xiao Qin asked, a little nervous. If there were only one or two exceptionally strong individuals, it could be attributed to natural talent. But with thousands of people so powerful, it could only mean they had an excellent teacher. The primary goal of a Combat Master is to become stronger. Only with greater strength can they preserve their power and protect humanity in battles against the Spirit Race. The Xuanxuan Guild, as he saw it, practiced education without discrimination; anyone could quickly improve their strength by learning. Given this, why not join?

"Why wouldn't we agree? Our Xuanxuan Guild welcomes all kinds of geniuses!" With a laugh, Young Master Ruohuan flipped his palm and produced a book. "This is our summary of the dean's lectures. It's not exhaustive, but it covers most of his insights and understanding of combat. You can take a look; it might significantly help improve your strength!"

"This..." Xiao Qin took the book casually and glanced at it, his heart jolting. Even though he had only seen the first page, with his discerning eye and knowledge of martial arts, he could tell that the summarized content in the book was an ultimate treasure trove of combat wisdom. Studying it diligently would undoubtedly elevate his strength to a new level.

"They..." Along with his shock, he felt deeply moved. He had just expressed his desire to join, and without even completing any formalities, they had presented him with such a precious item, without any suspicion or hesitation. This level of trust and generosity alone was admirable.

"Our Xuanxuan Guild has only one purpose: to obey Dean Zhang Xuan's words and serve him wholeheartedly! As for everything else, it's mostly about mutual communication and sharing, with no privacy or hidden agendas," Young Master Ruohuan explained, having discerned Xiao Qin's thoughts. The Xuanxuan Guild was a student organization, not a special institution, and its management was inherently flexible. Zhang Xuan's initial goal in forming it was to unite all new students, protect them from oppression by older students, and enable self-preservation. Although he had become the dean, this original purpose no longer existed. However, all forms of communication and exchange within the guild were essentially without reservation and selfless. Those who learned well explained to those who struggled, and members of similar strength practiced together, progressing collectively. It was precisely because of this that so many ordinary members of the Xuanxuan Guild could experience such a rapid surge in strength within just a few months, leaving even the Combat Master Hall's Centurions far behind. Seeing that the guild's principles perfectly aligned with the true meaning of the "teacher's way"—genuine education without discrimination and mutual growth through teaching—Xiao Qin was thoroughly impressed.

"My name is Xiao Qin, a Centurion from the Combat Master Hall," Xiao Qin stated. "I came here intending to cause trouble and see if you were worthy of engaging with us. But having seen it with my own eyes, I can attest that the Xuanxuan Guild lives up to its reputation, and Dean Zhang Xuan is incredibly broad-minded... truly a model for all master teachers!"

He paused, his eyes gleaming. "To be honest, we have hundreds more Combat Masters outside waiting for my report. I'll call them in now, and you can share the Xuanxuan Guild's principles with them. Let them join too, for mutual exchange and collective improvement!" He was familiar with the group that had accompanied him; each of them yearned for improvement in strength. If they knew about such an excellent platform as the Xuanxuan Guild, they would undoubtedly join without hesitation.

"Hundreds of Combat Masters, all joining?" Everyone was stunned.

"Does the Combat Master Hall permit you to join other organizations?" Young Master Ruohuan couldn't help but ask. No matter what, the Combat Master Hall was a special group independent of the Master Teacher Hall. How could its members be allowed to casually join other organizations?

"The Combat Master Hall doesn't have too many rules, and besides, we're all part of the Master Teacher lineage, so joining a master teacher organization is no big deal!" Xiao Qin chuckled. Although the Combat Master Hall had strict management, it primarily focused on preventing betrayal of humanity. There were no rigid requirements or regulations concerning whether its members could join other organizations. Moreover, the Xuanxuan Guild was a loose exchange organization, not a special profession. Even if the Hall Master found out, he likely wouldn't say much.

"In that case, please invite your friends over... Let's all exchange and progress together!" Young Master Ruohuan nodded, hearing that it wasn't an issue.

"Alright!" Xiao Qin stepped out and soon returned with over two hundred people. As expected, upon meeting, the two groups engaged in several more combat demonstrations. Since Xiao Qin himself couldn't win, the others naturally stood no chance. In less than an hour, the more than two hundred Combat Masters were utterly awestruck by the members of the Xuanxuan Guild, scrambling to join and engage in deeper discussions. The more they interacted, the more they realized Dean Zhang's terrifying understanding of combat, and their admiration grew immensely. What kind of person was this Master Zhang, who could so generously impart such profound techniques, sharing them openly without any reservation or holding back? All the newly joined Combat Masters of the Xuanxuan Guild were filled with curiosity about him.

In the spacious Elder's Council Hall of the Combat Master Hall.

"I've thoroughly reviewed the reports submitted by Zhuo Qingfeng and Feng Xun," an old man stroking his beard from the main seat in the hall said. "Dean Zhang Xuan indeed has extraordinary abilities if he can enable ordinary master teachers to possess the strength of Combat Masters in such a short time. This exchange is a good opportunity to observe. If we find suitable talents, we should try to recruit them to strengthen our Qingyuan branch!" This was Xing Zhuoyuan, the Hall Master of the Qingyuan Empire's Combat Master Hall, a Half-Leaving Aperture realm expert. Although this exchange sounded unconventional, given that their own Centurion had personally verified and highly recommended it, he wanted to see for himself whether a small Master Teacher Academy was truly as powerful as rumored. If it was, they could indeed recruit more geniuses to bolster their branch.

"Hall Master is far-sighted; it was our thinking that was narrow!""Hall Master's vision is outstanding; our Qingyuan branch will surely flourish even more!" Hearing his explanation, the various hall masters and elders below simultaneously expressed admiration. Earlier, when they heard the Hall Master agree to the exchange, each of them found it unbelievable. The Combat Master Hall had always been the benchmark for powerful combat abilities among master teachers, an insurmountable goal. The Hongyuan Academy was merely an institution under the Qingyuan Empire for training master teachers, and a so-called "equal-level exchange" would simply lower their standards! It was only now that they understood the Hall Master's painstaking efforts. If master teachers were considered geniuses among ordinary people, Combat Masters were geniuses among geniuses, with perhaps only one selected out of tens of thousands of master teachers. Due to this, the number of Combat Masters was extremely limited. If the Hongyuan Academy was indeed as Zhuo Qingfeng and others claimed, with everyone possessing the strength to fight above their rank, then integrating them into the Hall would certainly be a viable consideration.

"Oh, by the way, Hall Master," an elder recalled something and spoke, "although we've scheduled the exchange for three days from now, quite a few Combat Masters, feeling unconvinced, have already secretly gone to the Hongyuan Academy's residence, intending to test them out..." This was Hall Master Zhen Ying of the Martial Arts Hall!

The Combat Master Hall, much like departments in an academy, was not a single unified entity but was divided into numerous halls, ten in total: the Weapon Hall, Fist Arts Hall, Palm Arts Hall, Movement Arts Hall, Martial Arts Hall, Internal Breath Hall, Defense Hall, Soul Power Hall, Leg Arts Hall, and the most mysterious, the Heart Hall! Each hall possessed the most complete lineage for mastering a specific aspect of power to its extreme. For instance, the Weapon Hall focused on various weapons like sabers, swords, and spears, and those who entered generally mastered the true essence of weapon combat, possessing formidable strength. Combat Masters in the Palm Arts Hall primarily cultivated palm strength, exhibiting exquisite palm techniques and profound power; those in the Movement Arts Hall excelled in movement techniques, achieving extreme speed. As for the Soul Power Hall, it wasn't about shamanic souls but about cultivating one's own soul and learning martial arts capable of soul attacks. A person's energy is limited, making it impossible to excel in everything. By dividing and cultivating various abilities, the Combat Master Hall enabled its Combat Masters to improve their combat effectiveness more quickly and unleash greater power during battles with the Spirit Race.

"Oh, I've heard about this too," Hall Master Xing chuckled. "Let them mess around; it's a good chance to see if the Hongyuan Academy's Xuanxuan Guild is truly as capable of fighting above their rank as Zhuo Qingfeng and the others claim!" Although Xiao Qin and the others had left discreetly, believing they had evaded everyone's notice, the news still reached the Hall. So many students suddenly running off and hiding outside the Hongyuan Academy's residential estate inevitably drew attention. Most of the hall masters and elders present were aware of it; they simply hadn't intervened.

"That's what I thought too, which is why I didn't stop them," Hall Master Zhen Ying nodded. "I've already sent someone to inquire covertly. We should know the exact news shortly!"

"We've also sent people to gather information," another Hall Master added, nodding. "We should be able to tell if this Hongyuan Academy has genuine substance... Ah, the message is here!" As he spoke, he flipped his wrist, and a communication jade token appeared in his palm. He lowered his head with a smile to read it, but after a single glance, his pupils contracted.

"What's wrong? Did our Combat Masters win or lose against them?" Hall Master Xing, seated in the center, was startled by his expression and asked.

"My message has also arrived; let me see..." Hall Master Zhen Ying also sensed something. Another jade token appeared in his palm. He swept his gaze over its content and, just like the previous Hall Master, stood rooted to the spot, unable to utter a word.

"What in the world happened? You two, tell us!" Seeing the expressions on both Hall Masters' faces, an elder could no longer hold back. He stepped forward, took the jade token, and upon reading it, also froze on the spot, like a fossil.

After a long silence, Hall Master Zhen Ying cried out, his voice on the verge of tears: "Hall Master... we didn't recruit them. Instead... the Xuanxuan Guild recruited all of our Combat Masters who went to challenge them..."