Chapter 1351: Self-Introduction

"The mountain gate collapsed?" Zhang Xuan was stunned, frozen in place.

It was perfectly fine yesterday when he went through it. Tens of thousands of students entered, showcasing their talents to determine the top five hundred... How could it have suddenly collapsed?

"Teacher Fei just said so!" Chen Leyao whispered, her eyes also full of disbelief.

Clearly, this news was extremely shocking to her, otherwise, she wouldn't have blurted it out the moment she saw Zhang Xuan.

"Teacher Fei?"

"The one up front. He's the head teacher of the elite class. You can go to him if you have any issues or questions later!" Chen Leyao pointed forward.

Zhang Xuan looked over. A middle-aged man was standing directly in front, surrounded by several students who seemed to be asking him something.

"Did they say why?" The system of challenging the mountain gate had stood firm for tens of thousands of years. How could such a drastic change suddenly occur?

"It seems they said the statue of the Esteemed Sage that suppressed the mountain gate shattered!" After thinking for a moment, Zhang Xuan's face was filled with confusion.

What connection did the collapse of the mountain gate have with the shattering of the statue?

"The system of challenging the mountain gate was established by the Esteemed Sage. It's a folded space he created, and many of the assessment tasks are controlled by his will. The shattering of the statue means the will he left behind has dissipated. Without that support, the space naturally collapsed..."

"This..." Zhang Xuan frowned.

He had spent three days with the Esteemed Sage and was very grateful to the first Hall Master of the Saint Son Hall. He had originally thought he would seek out the Sage again to thank him in person after gaining the power to activate the Sect Master's Command Token, but he didn't expect the Sage's will to dissipate so quickly.

"Existing for tens of thousands of years, even if sleeping for most of that time, his life has still reached its end..."

He sighed with emotion.

Everyone is limited by lifespan; even Master Kong couldn't escape the river of time and transcend earthly concerns.

Though extremely powerful during his lifetime, the Esteemed Sage's will had a limited duration after his death. If he had remained dormant, it might have lasted longer, but waking up for every assessment meant that, over time, dissipation was only a matter of time.

"Indeed!" Chen Leyao nodded, unable to help but sigh with emotion: "With the Esteemed Sage's will gone, the position of Hall Master will be even harder to establish in the future..."

"Hall Master?"

"You don't know yet, do you? It's said that the Esteemed Sage's will wasn't just for selecting students, but most importantly, for selecting the new Hall Master. Every previous Hall Master of the Saint Son Hall was personally chosen by him... Now that his will has dissipated and a new Hall Master hasn't been established, anyone who takes the position will lack proper legitimacy..."

As a genius from a powerful faction, she had her own channels for information. Although these matters were confidential, they weren't too difficult for her to inquire about.

"This..." Zhang Xuan blinked, about to speak, when a loud voice rang out from the center of the room.

He turned his head to see it was Teacher Fei, who had just been speaking with some students.

"It looks like everyone in our elite class has arrived. First, I welcome you all as students of the Saint Son Hall. I will be with you for a while. Now, please introduce yourselves, try to help everyone get to know and become familiar with you quickly, as you will be spending quite a long time with your classmates from now on. All right, first up, Feng Ziyi..."

Zhang Xuan looked on.

This Feng Ziyi, who managed to surpass even members of the Zhang Clan and become first in the assessment, clearly demonstrated his ability. Zhang Xuan was eager to see who exactly this remarkable individual was.

A young man stepped forward. He appeared to be around twenty-four or twenty-five, with a very ordinary appearance. He had no extraordinary aura nor striking looks; if one didn't observe carefully, they might not even notice him in a crowd.

However, under the illumination of the Eye of Insight, it was clear that a surging aura within him, like a boiling river, would undoubtedly erupt with astonishing power if ignited.

"Late-stage Domain Realm... truly powerful!"

His expression was serious.

For him to possess such strength at only twenty-four or twenty-five, his talent could be described as terrifyingly powerful.

"My name is Feng Ziyi!"

Stepping out from the crowd, the young man said little, merely stating his name before falling silent.

However, this only made him seem more unfathomable.

"Next up, Zhang Xu!"

Teacher Fei said.

Although he had detailed information on every student, if a student chose not to elaborate, he couldn't press them too much.

As he spoke, another young man stepped forward.

This one appeared even younger than Feng Ziyi, similar in age to Zhang Xuan, only about twenty years old. Yet, his strength was no weaker than the former's, giving off an imposing aura as if he could conjure clouds and rain with a flip of his hand.

"I am Zhang Xu, from the Saintly Zhang Clan. I hope to become friends with all of you and progress together!"

Unlike Feng Ziyi, he wasn't aloof. He smiled as he spoke.

Under the Eye of Insight, Zhang Xu showed no obvious flaws in his physique, true qi, or soul; he was incredibly powerful.

Zhang Jiuxiao, Zhang Qian, and even Zhang Yunfeng were nothing to speak of in his presence, utterly insignificant.

Although he was only at the late-stage Domain Realm, if it came to a real fight, Zhang Xuan wasn't sure he could win even with all his strength.

As a core disciple of the Zhang Clan, his bloodline power was undoubtedly stronger than Zhang Qian's. Combined with various refined martial arts and techniques, he could probably fight across several minor ranks, just like Zhang Xuan himself.

After Zhang Xu finished his introduction, Yuan Haiqing, Bai Qingxuan, and others followed...

Zhang Xuan was secretly astonished by each introduction he heard.

No wonder the major aristocratic clans and factions could maintain their peak power; their methods for cultivating younger generations were indeed unique.

Out of the top 50 in the elite class, over 40 of them were from these powerful backgrounds. When he tallied it up, he was the only one truly from a small place.

"It seems the Master Teacher Continent is the same: due to differing cultivation conditions and unequal access to resources, the excellent become even more excellent, and the weak become weaker, with the gap steadily widening..."

He sighed inwardly.

Powerful factions and families possessed higher-ranked master teachers and resources, ensuring their descendants received the best cultivation from birth. Indeed, ordinary families simply couldn't compare.

For someone like him, to have come step by step from a small place like Tianxuan Kingdom, was already a miracle among miracles.

No wonder others didn't believe him and constantly assumed he was a junior from the Zhang Clan.

Before long, the introductions of the fifty individuals were drawing to a close.

"The last person in our class, Zhang Xuan!"

As he finished speaking, everyone's eyes simultaneously turned to look.

This Zhang Xuan, despite not being from the Zhang Clan, had thoroughly beaten Zhang Qian and Zhang Yunfeng—a scene witnessed firsthand by everyone present, leaving a deep impression.

"My name is Zhang Xuan, and I'm from Qingyuan Empire!"

With nothing to boast about, Zhang Xuan simply smiled and introduced himself.

"He really is from Qingyuan Empire!"

"Coming from such a small place and daring to lay hands on people from the Zhang Clan—this guy has some serious guts!"

"Isn't it strange that he defeated Zhang Yunfeng with a 50th-place ranking?"

"That's true. He's probably a junior secretly cultivated by some Nine-star Master Teacher from the Master Teacher Pavilion..."

Upon hearing his introduction, everyone lowered their voices.

To achieve such strength as a rogue cultivator and show no fear towards threats from the Zhang Clan, everyone believed his background was far from as simple as he had stated.

"All right, now that the introductions are done, I'll explain some of the Saint Son Hall's rules and key points for choosing a teacher."

Teacher Fei smiled and said, "You can look up the various rules of the Saint Son Hall using your identity tokens, so I won't go into excessive detail. What I need to discuss now is the most important point, and one that you should all pay the most attention to!"

"That is... while you are all students of the Saint Son Hall and can compete and spar with each other, you must not kill one another! If there is truly an irreconcilable conflict that requires a life-or-death resolution, you may apply in advance for a death match. As long as three elders agree and the so-called 'Life-and-Death Accord' is obtained, the match can proceed!"

"With this document, if someone is killed in a fair duel, their backing faction cannot seek revenge!"

Zhang Xuan nodded.

It was actually somewhat similar to the rules of Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy.

Whether it was master teachers or other professions, where there were people, there were conflicts; where there were conflicts, there was a martial world. Even the most powerful individuals, with the highest states of mind, were no exception.

In the past, even Master Kong had become angry and wept aloud, let alone others.

Conflicts must be addressed; they cannot be allowed to fester, or they will only grow in impact.

For this reason, neither the Master Teacher Academy nor the Saint Son Hall suppressed human nature. Instead, they allowed it to express itself freely. If an irreconcilable conflict truly arose, it was to be resolved directly, rather than accumulating due to rules and eventually leading to greater disaster.

"As for choosing a teacher... my advice is simple: choose what you are best at!"

Teacher Fei continued, "All of you have passed the assessment and been selected from tens of thousands of people, so you undoubtedly possess an outstanding talent in one area. Therefore, I hope you will continue to develop this talent and surpass others..."

Next, Teacher Fei elaborated on some of the formidable master teachers, as well as individuals with special talents and various professions within the Saint Son Hall.

Listening to these introductions, Zhang Xuan shook his head, completely uninterested.

As long as he had enough books, he learned better than from anyone else; there was no need for him to care whose abilities were strong.

"Fairy Leyao, I wonder if you still have any of the Frigid Spiritual Liquid you gave me last time? Could I possibly buy some?"

Finding things like supreme-grade spirit stones was quite troublesome, but this person in front of him had ready-made Frigid Spiritual Liquid. He had used it before, and its effects were excellent for quickly boosting cultivation.

"Well... I do have some, but I need to save it for breaking through to the Domain Realm..."

She hesitated for a moment.

He was the Young Palace Master's teacher, and also her benefactor in a semi-mentorship role. Under normal circumstances, she shouldn't refuse his request, but... she needed to save it to break through to the Domain Realm, so it was truly inconvenient to give it away.

"Breaking through to the Domain Realm?"

Frowning, Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up as he looked at her: "If I can help you break through to the Domain Realm without using Frigid Spiritual Liquid, would you be willing to sell it to me?"

"If I can break through, forget selling it, I'd give it to you for free!"

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