Chapter 154: I'm Here to Prove You Wrong

As a teacher and a formidable expert at the fourth level of martial arts (Pigu Realm), Zhou Tian could discern the depth of this move even without prior training in spear techniques. The spear gleam whistled with immense power, compressing the air like a raging storm. Not to mention suppressing his cultivation, he realized it would be difficult to resist even with all his strength.

"How could a mere Juxi Realm kid suddenly unleash such formidable power?" He felt like he was losing his mind. "Zhang Xuan, you bastard, you tricked me!"

At this point, even an idiot would know he had fallen into a trap. No wonder Zhang Xuan was so confident. "When did this Zheng Yang become so strong?"

Without time to ponder, he dared not suppress his power any longer. Two streams of true qi surged from his palms, attempting to block the spear gleam. However, this Heavenly Dao Spear Art was so potent that even Wang Chong, a spear master at the seventh level of martial arts (Tongxuan Realm), couldn't withstand it, let alone Zhou Tian. The spear shaft struck his chest forcefully. Zhou Tian's mouth filled with a sweet taste as a mouthful of blood sprayed out. He was immediately sent flying backward, tumbling from the Teacher's Battle Stage onto the ground, looking utterly disheveled.

Silence. Not a sound was heard. "What?" "Teacher Zhou Tian defeated with one spear strike?" "What in the world is going on?" After a moment of stunned silence, a commotion erupted.

They had expected Teacher Zhou to effortlessly crush a student who seemed on the verge of collapsing at any moment, perhaps even with a single finger. But what was this bizarre sight before them? With one spear strike from the student, Teacher Zhou had not only illegally unleashed his full power but was still knocked flying. "We must be mistaken, right?" "Can anyone tell me what the hell just happened?"

Zhao Ya, Liu Yang, Yuan Tao, and the others also stared wide-eyed at Zheng Yang in disbelief. They spent every day with him and knew his strength best. How could he suddenly become so powerful? Moreover, when others became strong, they usually improved only slightly. This seemed like an excessive leap in power!

A martial artist at the fourth level of the Pigu Realm, knocked flying by a single spear strike... "Are we dreaming?"

"No, it's not a dream; it's that spear technique!" The few of them simultaneously turned their heads to look at Zhang Xuan. They, too, realized that Zheng Yang's display of immense power must have come from a spear technique taught by Teacher Zhang. But how could this spear technique, which seemed incapable of even killing a chicken, be so incredibly powerful?

Zhou Tian's students, who had raised their arms to applaud their teacher and celebrate his might, never dreamed such a result would occur before they could even shout. Each of them stood dumbfounded, unsure how to react.

"Teacher!" Coming to their senses, they all rushed forward to help Zhou Tian up.

"You—" Zhou Tian stood up and took a few deep breaths, feeling much better. He glared coldly at Zhang Xuan, about to speak, when he saw Zheng Yang approach, long spear in hand. Zheng Yang cupped his fist and said, "Teacher Zhou, you were too kind!"

"Pfft!" Hearing this, Zhou Tian's face flushed crimson, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. "Too kind, my foot!" he thought. "I wanted to beat you to death on the spot, but who knew you'd pull out such a bizarre spear technique?" A dignified teacher defeated by a mere student... He felt his face burning, as if he had been slapped hard.

"Teacher Zhou, you said earlier that if I won, you'd give me ten Spirit-Gathering Pellets. Please hand them over!" Zheng Yang excitedly took a step forward. Despite his fury, Zhou Tian knew that he had been utterly humiliated. If he reneged on the promise after losing on the Teacher's Battle Stage, he would lose all credibility.

Gritting his teeth, he took out a jade bottle from his pocket and handed it over. Zheng Yang quickly took it and pulled out the stopper. Inside, a row of Spirit-Gathering Pellets was indeed arranged, exuding a powerful, invigorating spiritual aura.

"Teacher!" Zheng Yang excitedly brought the Spirit-Gathering Pellets to Zhang Xuan. He had spent the entire morning arguing loudly at the student affairs office, all to secure these resources for Teacher Zhang. Though it was arduous, he had ultimately succeeded.

"Damn it!" Seeing his expression, Zhou Tian's heart bled. A teacher could only obtain one such pellet per month. Ten Spirit-Gathering Pellets were a significant fortune to him.

Of course, he wouldn't let Zhang Xuan feel comfortable. "Hmph, Zhang Xuan, what if I give them to you? These Spirit-Gathering Pellets were won by your student for you. You don't deserve to have them in the first place. I don't believe you'll dare to use them!" "So what if you have these pills?" he thought. "Your student worked so hard to get them for you; do you have the nerve to use them? As long as you don't use them, it's as good as not having them at all!"

"Use them?" Zhang Xuan took the jade bottle and shook his head. "Who would use such trash?" With that, he flicked his wrist. *Splash!* The jade bottle was tossed into a nearby pond. "Huh?" "This... this..." Seeing this scene, everyone was startled, and Zhou Tian froze in place. "What's going on?" "Those were ten Spirit-Gathering Pellets, worth several thousand gold coins, and he just threw them away?"

Even Zheng Yang, Zhao Ya, and the others were stunned. "Don't be surprised," Zhang Xuan said, sensing their confusion. "While Spirit-Gathering Pellets can help cultivators gather spiritual energy quickly, taking too many can lead to dependency and hinder future cultivation." He flipped his wrist, took out another jade bottle, and tossed it to them. "These are what I prepared for you. When you run out, I'll get more!"

Puzzled, Zhao Ya and the others took the jade bottle. When they opened it, they were all astonished. "Spirit-Gathering Pills?" Inside the bottle were round, gleaming pills, emitting an aroma that penetrated to the very bone marrow. They were Spirit-Gathering Pills! These were genuine medicinal pills, incredibly potent for martial artist cultivation. Compared to them, Spirit-Gathering Pellets were like mud next to jewels – simply incomparable.

"Are these Spirit-Gathering Pills, which cost tens of thousands of gold coins each outside? He just pulled out two bottles, dozens of them?" "So many official medicinal pills given to students to consume?" Everyone's bodies swayed, feeling like they were going crazy. So many Spirit-Gathering Pills, worth at least hundreds of thousands of gold coins, just tossed to students to take freely... "My god, how extravagant can one be?" It was no wonder Zhang Xuan looked down on Spirit-Gathering Pellets. It was a joke; who would bother with those if they had so many Spirit-Gathering Pills?

"Pfft!" Zhou Tian's body swayed, and he nearly fainted on the spot. He felt his cheeks burning red, as if he had been utterly defeated. Zhang Xuan casually taught his student a "trash" move that turned him into a beaten dog, while the Spirit-Gathering Pellets Zhou Tian treasured were discarded like garbage. "Brother, aren't you supposed to be the lowest-paid teacher in the academy? When did you become so amazing?"

"Teacher, are all these for us?" Not only the onlookers were astonished, but Zhao Ya and the others also found it hard to believe. "Of course they're for you," Zhang Xuan said, shaking his head with a disappointed but encouraging expression. "As my students, why would you even bother fighting for such meager resources from the academy?" He then flipped his wrist, and a gourd appeared in his palm. "Wang Ying, your leg is injured and your meridians are damaged. This is Body Nourishing Fluid I specifically found for you. Mix it with water and soak your leg for three consecutive days, and all potential issues should be eliminated!" "Liu Yang, you've practiced a martial skill incorrectly. This Meridian-Warming Pill was something I acquired from the Alchemist Guild. Take it and cultivate diligently; your previous injuries and ailments should be resolved in a short time!"

"Yes!" Wang Ying and Liu Yang stepped forward and took the two items.

"Body Nourishing Fluid? Could it be the Body Nourishing Fluid from the Alchemist Guild?" "You've heard of it?" "Of course! I heard that it can rapidly heal damaged meridians, so I had someone inquire about it. A single gourd like that is said to cost 300,000 gold coins!" "300,000? Is that real?" "The Meridian-Warming Pill is a genuine medicinal pill, even more valuable than Spirit-Gathering Pills. One pill alone is said to cost 200,000 gold coins. Alchemists or alchemy apprentices might get a slight discount, but not much." "200,000? So, he just spent 500,000 in one go?" "And so many Spirit-Gathering Pills? That adds up to over a million? Just giving them away to students casually?" "Does Teacher Zhang still accept students? I want to join his tutelage!"

Among the crowd, there were many knowledgeable individuals. Meridian-Warming Pills and Body Nourishing Fluid were not closely guarded secrets; many had heard of them. Upon hearing their value, everyone went crazy again. A junior teacher at the academy earned only three to four hundred gold coins a month, and even a senior teacher earned less than a thousand. Yet, Zhang Xuan casually gave away over a million gold coins worth of items for his students' cultivation. Forget about other teachers; just look at Zhou Tian, who only offered a mere Spirit-Gathering Powder as a reward for winning. Meanwhile, Zhang Xuan casually handed out official medicinal pills and top-grade elixirs! "Damn it, how can the difference between teachers be so vast?"

In an instant, all eyes filled with envy were on Zhao Ya and the others, while all gazes of disdain were fixed on Zhou Tian. Seeing this, Zhou Tian almost spat out another mouthful of blood. "Zhang Xuan, you son of a gun!" he thought. "You definitely did that on purpose. You deliberately pulled out all those items in front of me just to humiliate me! I, a dignified teacher in charge of distributing the academy's resources, holding the most lucrative position, am now looked down upon as utterly worthless!" "Let's go!"

After distributing the items, Zhang Xuan waved his hand and led the way out, unburdened and nonchalant, as if leaving no trace behind. "Of course it was on purpose, is that even a question?" he thought. "You wanted to slap my face? Well, I'll beat you until you're half-dead with rage. To tell the truth, I came here specifically to slap faces!"

"Yes!" Seeing their teacher depart, Zheng Yang and the others finally snapped out of their shock, following him like dazed fools, their faces flushed with embarrassment. They had originally intended to secure resources for their teacher and bring him honor, only to realize in the end that Teacher Zhang didn't care about such resources at all. It made sense; with someone who could casually produce so many pills and medicinal ingredients, why would he ever value mere Spirit-Gathering Powder or Spirit-Gathering Pellets?

"Teacher, these pills are far too valuable..." Back in the classroom, Zhao Ya approached. She had already accepted a Han Yang Mother Grass last time, and taking these pills now felt truly uncomfortable.

"Just cultivate well and win the Teacher Qualification Exam for me!" Zhang Xuan waved his hand.

Hearing this, Zhao Ya and the others nodded simultaneously. Their teacher had already given them so much; if they still lost, they felt they wouldn't have the face to show themselves.

"Good!" Seeing their determined expressions, Zhang Xuan nodded with satisfaction. He then turned and looked. "Zheng Yang, come with me!" After speaking, he walked into a small room. Zheng Yang knew this must be about the spear technique he learned today, and as he was full of questions, he didn't hesitate, quickly following him.