Chapter 1304: 成绩不算

“Acknowledging a master?”

Not only were the others perplexed, but Zhang Xuan was also stunned. It took him a moment to understand what had happened.

The pervasive sword qi had been released by the Spirit Void Sword. The other longswords, having benefited from it, were already obeying its command. Now that the Spirit Void Sword had successfully acknowledged him as its master, and he himself had comprehended the true meaning of swordsmanship, many weapons recognized him and successfully acknowledged him as their master.

“Including Ji Lingfeng’s Whispering Sword, there are exactly one hundred and eight swords... This meets the requirements for a sword formation. No wonder the Spirit Void Sword agreed to Ji Lingzhen’s request to attack me...” Zhang Xuan mused silently.

The surrounding mid-grade Saint Artifact longswords, totaling one hundred and seven, combined with the Spirit Void Sword, could perfectly form a sword formation and unleash immense power.

“After the Sword Elder created this sword art, could it be that... he never managed to gather all the swords for the formation? Is that why he was killed?” A thought popped into his mind. The three Spirit Void Swords require many weapons to cooperate. Could it be that the Sword Elder never assembled them all, even to his death, leading to his being besieged and falling? Otherwise, with his strength, killing him wouldn't have been so easy.

Realizing that speculating further was pointless, Zhang Xuan stopped pondering. With a sweep of his hand, he collected all the longswords filling the air into his storage ring. No sooner had he finished than he heard a sharp crane cry from above, and a giant crane flew over.

Zhao Xingmo and Hall Master Yue stood on the crane's back, looking at the many examinees lying on the ground, their faces ashen with grief. Zhang Xuan had used the Mother of A Thousand Ants to control the Thousand Ants Bees, preventing the others from knowing what was happening. However, after some time, they sensed something amiss. On their way here, they felt all the jade tokens shatter, nearly causing them to fall off the crane's back.

They had set three days for the results, yet in less than half a day, everyone was eliminated... Was it really necessary to be this exaggerated?

The crane landed, and they quickly understood what had happened. Looking at Zhang Xuan, Zhao Xingmo's eyes turned green, and he was on the verge of tears. He knew this guy liked to cause trouble, but not like this! One person eliminated all the examinees. How would this retest be handled? They couldn't have worked so hard, searching everywhere for candidates, only for him to be the sole one to pass, could they? If that were the case, regardless of whether the Saint Son Hall agreed, the Eight Conferred Empires and the many Sage Clans would go insane.

“Teacher Zhao, the law doesn't punish the masses. So many people failing doesn't seem to follow the rules. This retest has a flaw. How about... we re-establish the rules and have another competition! That would also demonstrate fairness.” Hall Master Yue glanced at Zhang Xuan, his eyebrow twitching, and quickly cupped his fist.

“That's right, I also think we need to retest...”

“I agree...” Sun Qian and the others' eyes lit up, and they quickly spoke. If they didn't retest, they would all be eliminated, and naturally, they wouldn't agree.

“This...” Zhao Xingmo hesitated. Taking back only one person to report back was certainly not acceptable. However, changing established rules now would also be a significant challenge to their credibility. If they retested this time, and someone failed again next time, they would still be unwilling and demand another retest. What then? They couldn't just keep doing this indefinitely!

“I need to report this matter to the Saint Son Hall and have the elders make a decision!” After pondering for a moment, Zhao Xingmo said. This situation was beyond his capabilities; it was better to report the news.

“Yes!” Seeing him say this, the others stopped speaking.

“Teacher Zhang, since you obtained the treasures from the Sword Pond, we hope you can return them to our Qianchong Empire. On behalf of the Qianchong Master Teacher Pavilion and numerous master teachers, I would be most grateful...” Hall Master Yue turned to look at Zhang Xuan, who was not far away. He had just explained why everyone was eliminated and detailed the appearance of the treasures.

“Return them?” Zhang Xuan looked at him as if he were an idiot. “The Sword Pond has stood in the Qianchong Empire for ten thousand years, and no one has ever obtained anything from it. This indicates that this item isn't meant for all of you. Since I had the good fortune to acquire it, why should I just hand it over?”

“That's not right. The Sword Pond is a relic of our Qianchong Empire, inspiring countless master teachers to strive forward. It's a spiritual pillar and totem for the entire empire. You are not from the Qianchong Empire, so if you obtained the inheritance, you should naturally return it. You can't just take it and leave, destroying an empire's faith and causing chaos, can you?” Hall Master Yue chuckled. His tone was light, and he was smiling, yet his words carried an overwhelming power that compelled submission.

The meaning was clear: the inheritance within the Sword Pond belonged to their Qianchong Empire. He was not from the empire, so he shouldn't dream of taking it. If he really didn't return it and chaos erupted in the empire, it would be his fault... Presumably, the headquarters wouldn't want to see that. His words were gentle but carried a strong underlying threat.

Zhang Xuan was incredibly clever and immediately grasped the implication of his words. He chuckled softly, “Since it's a spiritual pillar and totem... it has existed in the Qianchong Empire for ten thousand years, so why has no one obtained it? If you have a treasure but don't use it to benefit future generations and help people improve their strength, then your Master Teacher Pavilion is quite useless, isn't it?”

“Uh...” The corner of his mouth twitched, and Hall Master Yue's face flushed red.

“You were incapable of obtaining the inheritance yourselves, yet you want to extort it from me. Is this a rule of the Qianchong Master Teacher Pavilion? It seems I should report this to the headquarters and have them investigate thoroughly!” Zhang Xuan continued.

“This... Teacher Zhang, if you don't want to return the inheritance, then so be it. I was merely concerned that doing so might affect your reputation, and had no other intentions...” Knowing he was in the wrong, Hall Master Yue fell silent.

“Affect my reputation? Not at all. As it happens, I have something I want to report to the headquarters and ask the alliance to intervene on my behalf!” Zhang Xuan said.

“What matter?” Hall Master Yue's eyelid twitched.

“Entering the Sword Pond for the retest was a rule set by Teacher Zhao, and many of us examinees were unaware. However... I was ambushed and attacked here. I suspect someone knew the information in advance and leaked it, intending to harm me. Therefore, I hope the alliance investigates thoroughly!” Zhang Xuan waved his hand.

Ji Lingfeng and the others ambushed him here, clearly knowing he would come here for the retest. He absolutely wouldn't believe that no one had leaked the information. He had just severely beaten Hall Master Yue yesterday, and Hall Master Yue had the best opportunity to know the news in advance... He really couldn't think of anyone else who would do this besides him.

“This, this... Not only was Teacher Zhang unharmed, but he also gained an inheritance, which can be considered a blessing in disguise. I think it would be better if we... just let it go. Local matters, if brought to the alliance, would also have a negative impact...” Hall Master Yue said, his face pale.

“I will report the Sword Elder's inheritance to the headquarters, and then provide a detailed report of what happened here these past two days. How they choose to investigate and how the alliance branch decides to punish will not be up to me...” Zhang Xuan interrupted him. If he hadn't been strong, he would have been killed by Ji Lingfeng by now. As a Master Teacher Pavilion Hall Master, not protecting a master teacher but colluding with outsiders to ambush an alliance elder — this single charge alone would mean Hall Master Yue would be practically ruined, even if he didn't die. Of course, he couldn't be bothered with the specifics of the verdict.

“I...” His face deathly pale, Hall Master Yue swayed and collapsed to the ground. It was indeed he who leaked the news about Teacher Zhang's examination here. If it wasn't investigated, it would be nothing... But once thoroughly investigated, he would definitely not escape. This was already considered an attempt to harm a master teacher.

“Teacher Zhang, what happened?” Zhao Xingmo noticed something amiss in their conversation and couldn't help but look over.

“This is the full story of what happened after I entered the Sword Pond. Teacher Zhao, you can take a look...” With a flick of his wrist, Zhang Xuan handed over a jade token.

Zhao Xingmo glanced down and his face turned ashen. The retest in the Sword Pond was his decision, and the news was supposed to be highly confidential, yet Teacher Zhang was ambushed... If he didn't get to the bottom of this, he wouldn't escape responsibility. How could he not be angry?

“Yue Yiquan, you're truly something. I will report this matter to the headquarters in the name of the Saint Son Hall, and you must provide an explanation!” Zhao Xingmo flicked his sleeve and let out a cold snort.

“Teacher Zhao...” Yue Yiquan's face turned ashen. The Saint Son Hall was the largest training ground for master teachers below the Master Teacher Pavilion, holding a higher status than even the Alliance's Master Teacher Pavilion. If a report was made by a master teacher of the Saint Son Hall, the headquarters would undoubtedly intervene and conduct a thorough investigation. It could be said... he definitely couldn't escape.

He had originally just wanted to teach this young fellow from Qingyuan Empire a lesson on behalf of his wife's younger brother, to let him know that a quasi 8-star master teacher should not be easily insulted... He never dreamed that the other party would be completely fine, while he himself would be in huge trouble. His future, status, and reputation... would likely be wiped out, transforming him from a Hall Master of a Conferred Empire's Master Teacher Pavilion into a prisoner. If only he had known, he wouldn't have gone against him... Yue Yiquan was filled with regret.

“Let's go!” Too lazy to bother with the regretful Hall Master, Zhang Xuan followed closely behind Zhao Xingmo and the others, flying away.

They returned to the Master Teacher Pavilion.

“Teacher Zhang, it's my incompetence. I failed to live up to your expectations...” Seeing him arrive, Zhang Jiuxiao came forward, his face filled with dejection. Teacher Zhang had put a lot of effort into helping him enter the Saint Son Hall, yet he ended up being the first one eliminated, which was deeply embarrassing.

“What did you encounter? How did you... get eliminated so quickly after arriving?” Zhang Xuan asked, puzzled.

“I...” Zhang Jiuxiao's face flushed. “I was ambushed by a sword...”

Just as he had guessed, shortly after Zhang Jiuxiao arrived, he encountered a peak-level mid-grade Saint Artifact. The sword's strength far surpassed his, easily eliminating him.

“It must have been Ji Lingfeng's Whispering Sword...” After confirming the sword's appearance, Zhang Xuan shook his head. Since the other party came to ambush him, they must have already investigated thoroughly. Fearing Zhang Jiuxiao would help, they eliminated him beforehand.

“I have let down Teacher Zhang's kindness...” Unaware of the true reason, Zhang Jiuxiao was dejected and pondering how to repay the kindness of the person before him when he heard Zhao Xingmo's voice from not far away.

“There's been an unforeseen change in this retest. The results won't count. Everyone will return with me to the Saint Son Hall for the final selection!”

“The results don't count?” Startled, Zhang Jiuxiao finally reacted. “Teacher Zhang, what exactly happened? And weren't we supposed to be there for three days? How did you all return so quickly?” After he was eliminated, he left immediately and was completely unaware of what happened afterward.

“They attacked me, and I accidentally... eliminated everyone.” Zhang Xuan said.

“Eliminated everyone?” Zhang Jiuxiao stood rooted to the spot.