Chapter 1205: Seven Star Masters

Seeing his expression, Hall Master Gou coughed up blood again, nearly driven mad with frustration.

There's certainly no way he could retire peacefully this time... With so many ancestral spirits eliminated, he was truly the first Hall Master in history to reach such a state!

“Teacher Zhang has successfully challenged the Hall and may make any request. As long as it does not go against the principles of the Master Teacher, our Qingyuan Empire Master Teacher Hall is willing to follow your lead and obey your command!”

After suppressing his frustration for an unknown period, Hall Master Gou finally managed to control his chest's agitation. He cupped his fists and bowed deeply, his earlier arrogance completely gone.

Only three people in history had ever successfully challenged the Hall, and he never expected to encounter one.

“Vice Hall Master Tian Qing colluded with King Zhongqing to frame a Master Teacher! Furthermore, he deliberately leaked Master Teacher secrets, leading to an invasion by the Otherworldly Demons and the deaths of countless Master Teachers... His crimes are heinous and unforgivable. I hope the Qingyuan Empire Master Teacher Hall can immediately conduct a thorough investigation!”

Zhang Xuan said.

“Yes...”

Hall Master Gou nodded, about to speak, when he suddenly frowned: “Where is Vice Hall Master Tian Qing?”

Just now, Vice Hall Master Tian had been inseparable from him, but in the blink of an eye, he was gone?

“Reporting, Hall Master, the Vice Hall Master just left for something important...”

A Master Teacher quickly stepped forward.

“This is bad!”

Hall Master Gou's pupils contracted. He urgently commanded, “Find him immediately...”

Whoosh!

Numerous Master Teachers immediately rushed out. Not long after, they all flew back, their faces grim: “Hall Master... Master Tian has already left the Imperial City, and we don't know where he went...”

Hall Master Gou's body trembled, and his face turned ashen.

Earlier, when Teacher Zhang challenged the Master Teacher Tower, Hall Master Gou had been too shocked to pay attention to that fellow. He never dreamed that Tian Qing would seize the opportunity to escape!

It seemed he had realized that Teacher Zhang's challenge would succeed and that he would be apprehended at any moment, so he dared not linger.

“The purpose of my challenge was precisely because I was framed by him. You knew perfectly well that once I succeeded, he would surely flee, yet you made no preparations... What good is a Hall Master like you?”

Zhang Xuan's expression was grim.

The conflict between him and the Master Teacher Hall stemmed from Tian Qing. Regardless of whether the challenge succeeded, Tian Qing was undeniably responsible. In such a situation, not assigning someone to guard him strictly and allowing him to come and go freely, how could he not escape?

If a peak seven-star Master Teacher truly wished to hide, unless one used the Eye of Discernment to search meticulously, it would be impossible to find them.

“I...”

Hall Master Gou's face flushed red.

He truly hadn't expected this person to successfully challenge the Hall, and so quickly... naturally, he hadn't reacted in time.

“Issue a Master Teacher arrest warrant for the Qingyuan Empire Master Teacher Hall! Apprehend Tian Qing. If he resists arrest, he may be killed on sight!”

Clenching his fists, Hall Master Gou turned and commanded.

“Yes, sir!”

A Master Teacher turned and left.

The Master Teacher arrest warrant was the highest-level arrest order on the entire continent. Once issued, all Master Teacher Halls across empires and kingdoms within the Qingyuan Empire would receive the message. Any cultivator in the area who discovered Tian Qing and reported him would be rewarded.

It could be said that under this warrant, unless he constantly changed his identity and concealed his strength, he would inevitably find it difficult to escape.

“I, Gou Tianze, have handled matters unjustly and betrayed the trust of the Master Teacher Hall. From today onwards, I resign from my position as Hall Master of the Master Teacher Hall, awaiting headquarters to send someone to handle the matter. As for the position of Hall Master, it will temporarily be filled by Teacher Wu!”

After giving his instructions, Hall Master Gou took out the token symbolizing his status and handed it over.

In an instant, he looked as if he had aged several hundred years, completely drained of energy.

He had served as Hall Master for a full five hundred years, diligently dedicating himself, and never in his wildest dreams imagined it would end this way.

Knowing that since the other party had escaped, it wouldn't be easy to capture him, Zhang Xuan shook his head, no longer dwelling on it, and looked up at Teacher Wu.

“Teacher Wu, these are my auxiliary occupations. They are sufficient. I wish to apply for the rank of a Seven-star Master Teacher!”

Having said that, he handed over the seven-star auxiliary occupation emblems he had obtained.

Teacher Wu glanced at them and nodded: “Teacher Zhang, please wait a moment. I will report your situation to headquarters. It might take some time!”

“No rush. I happen to have nothing to do, so I’ll go to the Library Pavilion to have a look!”

Zhang Xuan replied.

Although he had experience with advancing empires, applying for a seven-star emblem would still require a process. With Teacher Wu overseeing it, there shouldn't be much of a problem, and there was no need to worry. Instead of bothering to wait, he might as well take the opportunity to read some books.

Although he already possessed the qualifications of a seven-star Master Teacher, he had never read any books specifically about seven-star Master Teachers.

“This is my identity token. With this in your hand, Teacher Zhang, you can freely browse the Library Pavilion...”

Teacher Wu said.

With his successful challenge, no Master Teacher in the entire Hall was his match. Obtaining the emblem was a foregone conclusion, beyond doubt. Therefore, giving him the token in advance to let him read books was not a violation.

“Alright!”

Taking the token, Zhang Xuan said no more and, led by a Master Teacher, walked towards the Library Pavilion.

The Library Pavilion of the Qingyuan Empire Master Teacher Hall contained not only all books related to Master Teachers but also many auxiliary occupations, including the Calligrapher-Painter and Appraiser books he had read before, which were prominently listed.

Master Teachers emphasized extensive knowledge. The sheer number of books was unknown; he spent a full day reading them all before they were completely absorbed into his mind.

After finishing the Master Teacher section, he moved to the auxiliary occupation library. It contained various professional books, including those on Spirit Awakener, Demonic Tuner, Alchemist, Physician, Calligrapher-Painter, Beast Tamer, Jinghong Master, Formation Master, Appraiser, and Heavenly Craftsman. He absorbed all of these into his mind as well.

Learning all these professional books and the seven-star Heavenly Dao cultivation techniques was already three days after leaving the Combat Master Hall.

“Teacher Zhang, here is your rank emblem...”

Just as he walked out of the Library Pavilion, Teacher Wu came to greet him.

Zhang Xuan glanced at it and breathed a sigh of relief.

From now on, he was finally a seven-star Master Teacher.

A year ago, he hadn't even heard of the Master Teacher profession; he was just a teacher in Tianxuan Kingdom on the verge of being fired. Now, he had already reached seven stars, becoming one of the peak figures on the continent. It was truly astonishing to reflect upon.

“Teacher Zhang, Tian Qing is still nowhere to be found, but rest assured, I have reported this matter in detail to headquarters. Headquarters has also dispatched people, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, they should arrive within half a month!”

Teacher Wu continued.

“Mm!” Zhang Xuan nodded.

Tian Qing, seeing that he had successfully challenged the Hall, must have already fled. Unless someone from the Master Teacher Headquarters arrived with special artifacts, finding him would be almost impossible.

“What about King Zhongqing? Has he been apprehended?”

“He is being held inside the Master Teacher Hall, but he hasn't said anything,” Teacher Wu replied.

“Keep him detained for now. Earlier, I asked you to commend Chen Zhe. How is that progressing?”

After Chen Zhe's death, Zhang Xuan had asked Teacher Wu to commend him instead of criticizing him. Before that could even begin, Zhang Xuan started his challenge. Now that Teacher Wu was back in charge, it should have been completed, right?

“As you instructed, the commendation ceremony was just held this morning, stating that he made great contributions to humanity and provided very detailed information...” Teacher Wu quickly nodded.

“That's good. Now, gather a few strong Master Teachers and come with me. We can go directly to apprehend Vice Hall Master Tian Qing!”

Hearing that everything was arranged, Zhang Xuan smiled.

“Go directly to apprehend him? Where to?”

Teacher Wu was stunned.

“It's simple. We'll set up an ambush at Chen Zhe's home. Barring any surprises, someone will definitely pay a visit tonight!” Zhang Xuan nodded.

“Visit tonight? Teacher Zhang, do you mean Chen Zhe held some secret of Tian Qing’s?” Frowning, Teacher Wu quickly understood.

Chen Zhe was Tian Qing's student. He died in prison for no apparent reason during the investigation, and now Tian Qing had escaped... Teacher Wu wouldn't believe there was no connection between the two.

“I don't know either. It's just that while reading these past two days, a theory suddenly came to me. If Chen Zhe hadn't held a secret, he wouldn't have been silenced! Now that you've publicly commended him, even though the other party will be suspicious, he... he wouldn't dare to gamble!”

Zhang Xuan chuckled.

“I know he might have held some secret, but... Tian Qing is now like a rat crossing the street; once caught, he'll at least be stripped of his Master Teacher status. Since things are already this bad, there's no need to risk anything further for some so-called secrets, is there?”

Teacher Wu was puzzled.

Tian Qing was now like a criminal who had committed a capital offense. Since he already faced the severest punishment, he surely wouldn't mind a few more charges... If that's the case, even if Chen Zhe held some secrets, it wouldn't be enough to make Tian Qing risk being caught by quietly coming over, would it?

“That depends on how many secrets Chen Zhe truly held!”

Zhang Xuan said: “Chen Zhe was exposed because he went to Zhang Yinqiu to retrieve information. The Master Teacher Hall didn't know, but the Otherworldly Demons did... What if the information he knew concerned the Otherworldly Demons themselves, or a special secret passage?”

“This...”

Teacher Wu's body stiffened, filled with disbelief: “Teacher Zhang, have you discovered something?”

“It's just a guess for now; it's hard to be certain!”

Zhang Xuan shook his head.

These past two days, besides reading and studying, he also meticulously re-examined his experiences in Qingyuan City over the last six or seven days.

After several deductions, he indeed found something amiss.

The Otherworldly Demons learned information from Chen Zhe. To say that Tian Qing didn't know about it would be absolutely impossible.

As Vice Hall Master of the Master Teacher Hall, information was leaked to the Otherworldly Demons... yet it wasn't investigated. That in itself was very strange.

“Alright, I'll go gather them now...”

Knowing that Teacher Zhang spoke this way implied he must have discovered something, Teacher Wu left in a hurry. Not long after, he returned with five Master Teachers.

Four of them were elders of the Master Teacher Hall, and the other was an old acquaintance, Zhang Jiuxiao!

Although Zhang Jiuxiao was no match for Zhang Xuan, being beaten so thoroughly that he couldn't tell north from south, his true strength was still not to be underestimated. Furthermore, with the numerous magical artifacts and weapons he possessed, if rules weren't a concern, even Teacher Wu might not be his opponent.

“Don't rush yet. We'll set off when it gets dark!”

Zhang Xuan smiled.

“Okay!”

Everyone nodded simultaneously.

After the challenge, everyone was utterly awestruck by this person before them. Now, Zhang Xuan's prestige within the Qingyuan Empire Master Teacher Hall surpassed even that of Teacher Wu.