Chapter 1885: Want to Become a Master of Heaven and Earth

A large, rough hand emerged from the book, causing the entire underground palace to shake constantly, as if in an earthquake. The thick fingers slammed onto the barrier.

Waves of air surged forward, causing Zhang Xuan and the others to instinctively retreat a few steps. When they looked again, the barrier remained completely intact, without any damage, while blood burst from all five of the ruthless man's fingers.

"Master, I'll try again..." the ruthless man said, feeling a bit awkward after failing to break the barrier with his first strike.

"There's no need. If you strike again, I estimate the underground palace will collapse!" Zhang Xuan said, shaking his head.

The underground palace was already on the verge of collapsing. If they continued, it would surely give way. Although their own strength would not be harmed in the slightest, the common people in the Tianxuan Kingdom above would inevitably suffer. The power of an Ancient Sage was immense. Moreover, when shattering the void, even a slight loss of control – even a tiny bit – would be enough to turn an area tens of thousands of miles wide into a living hell.

"So what do we do now...?"

"We can't attack it head-on; there must be another way," Zhang Xuan said with a smile. "This barrier, which even someone at the Shattering Void realm like you cannot break, could only have been set up by Master Kong throughout history. Knowing this, the rest becomes easy!"

Allowing the ruthless man to strike was merely a test to determine how much power the barrier could withstand. After the test, it became clear that it was related to Master Kong.

He took a step forward, took a deep breath, and channeled the power of the Heaven's Acknowledged Master from within him into the barrier. As fellow Heaven's Acknowledged Masters, perhaps he could unlock the current restriction.

As the power poured in, the barrier suddenly trembled. Countless pieces of knowledge and insights into education flooded his mind, instantly granting him a deeper understanding of the Master Teacher profession and making him even more engrossed in the identity of a teacher. It was as if, in an instant, Master Kong's educational philosophy regarding students was transmitted directly into his mind.

"Take Heaven and Earth as your teacher, to rectify the heart, regulate nature, and uphold all creation..."

The voice entered his mind, like a thought, yet also like his own realization.

A Heaven's Acknowledged Master is one recognized by Heaven and Earth, learning from them and taking the Heavenly Dao as their teacher. While the beginning is simple, the difficulty of surpassing this status is unimaginable. Just like Liu Yang, Zheng Yang, and others, it would be almost impossible for them to surpass him in this lifetime. It wasn't that they were weak, but rather that the cultivation techniques they practiced were all taught by him, forming a fixed pattern within their bodies. To surpass him would be to overturn all their previous cultivation achievements. Master Kong had disciples throughout the world, including three thousand renowned ones, yet none surpassed him, nor did any achieve the same level of accomplishment. This alone illustrated the immense difficulty.

"I understand," Zhang Xuan thought. "I am a Heaven's Acknowledged Master, which means I take Heaven and Earth as my teacher. Therefore... it's almost impossible to comprehend laws that transcend the Heavenly Dao! If that's the case... why should I acknowledge Heaven and Earth as my teachers?"

His heart trembled as Zhang Xuan had a sudden realization, feeling a profound enlightenment. "If acknowledging you as my teacher prevents me from breaking through, then I will become... the teacher of Heaven and Earth!"

Breaking through to Ancient Sage could be achieved using the True Understanding of Spear Arts, True Understanding of Saber Arts, or even True Understanding of Fist Arts. However, once completed, his power would become fixed, making it almost impossible to find his own unique path through other aspects. For this very reason, Zhang Xuan had been searching for something unique to himself, continuously suppressing his cultivation and not attempting a breakthrough for over two months. And now, with this profound realization in his heart, he finally had a clear direction.

His identity as a Heaven's Acknowledged Master, recognized by Heaven and Earth... this also indicated that Heaven and Earth possessed spirits! If that was the case, why should he seek its recognition, instead of making it his disciple? Taking Heaven and Earth as a teacher would ultimately lead to being confined beneath them, forever unable to surpass them. However, to be the teacher of Heaven and Earth meant standing at the pinnacle from the very beginning, allowing the Ancient Sage realm to be easily attained.

"However," he mused, "becoming the teacher of Heaven and Earth is not so simple. One needs to understand Heaven and Earth, comprehend them, and know their strengths and weaknesses. Only then can the teaching be completed... Of course, even more important is to abandon the identity of a Heaven's Acknowledged Master!"

His mind raced, and he quickly determined his direction. His eyebrows rose as the Heaven's Acknowledged Master power within him immediately surged forth. To gain something, one must first lose something. If you want to fill your bag with gold, you must first empty it of silver. The Heaven's Acknowledged Master identity was something others envied immensely, but for him, abandoning it was nothing significant! He relied on his hard work, struggle, excellent character, and an unyielding heart. Heaven's Acknowledged Master... hah, just fleeting clouds!

With a calm mind, the power absorbed from his five Heaven's Acknowledged Master acknowledgments instantly radiated outwards. A formidable aura shot forth, surging upwards along the ground, straight towards the heavens. In the blink of an eye, it exploded in the air, transforming into billions of currents that dispersed in all directions.

As a Heaven's Acknowledged Master, recognized by Heaven and Earth, Zhang Xuan, with the dissipation of his power, became like an embodiment of Heaven and Earth. His consciousness hovered in the sky, enduring the compression and tearing of the Heavenly Dao, as if he would shatter at any moment.

***

The Master Teacher Pavilion of the Baijiang Empire.

"The Way of the Teacher," an elder said, addressing a new batch of Master Teachers in front of the Hall of Honored Masters, "is said to involve teaching through one's actions and heart. Master Kong was able to impart knowledge across the world because of his virtue of teaching without discrimination and his broad mind that saw Heaven and Earth as impartial. As Master Teachers, you too should engrave the responsibility of imparting knowledge and cultivation into your very being, ensuring the strength of humanity is passed down, never to perish through eternity..."

"Yes!" the many Master Teachers nodded simultaneously. The moment they became Master Teachers, they understood their responsibility and that there was no turning back. For tens of thousands of years, the Master Teacher Pavilion has been both revered and reviled, yet it has managed to endure for so long and stand at the pinnacle of the continent. This resilience is due to countless successors who have upheld their unwavering conviction.

"Very good, now begin paying respects to the ancestors..."

Nodding with satisfaction, the elder was about to step aside to let the new Master Teachers pay respects to the spirit tablets in the Hall of Honored Masters, when he felt the ground shaking constantly. One by one, the spirit tablets, which had stood for countless years, began to sway.

Crash! They all fell down simultaneously, facing one direction.

"What's going on?"

The elder's pupils constricted. He quickly looked in the direction the tablets had bowed and saw a figure formed by clouds and rainbows, dressed in a long robe. It stood in an unknown, distant place, reaching from heaven to earth, seemingly without end. The figure did not turn its face, yet it exuded an aura that made one afraid to look directly at it, compelling one to bow at any moment.

"It's... a Heaven's Acknowledged Master!"

His heart trembled, and the elder's body stiffened. Throughout all ages, the only Heaven's Acknowledged Master had been Master Kong! After him, countless Master Teachers, no matter how hard they tried, had failed to achieve it. He had thought that no one else could accomplish it, yet unexpectedly, at this very moment, someone had.

Thump! Unable to resist any longer, he knelt to the ground.

"A Heaven's Acknowledged Master has appeared; the human race will greatly prosper! Hurry and bow down!"

He looked at the many new Master Teachers who were still in a daze and let out a reprimand.

"Yes!" Only then did the crowd react, bowing down simultaneously.

The Heaven's Acknowledged Master status was previously known only to a very few within the Master Teacher Pavilion, yet at this moment, it was being witnessed by billions of people simultaneously.

The distant figure's head was shrouded in clouds, propping up the heavens, while its feet stood firmly on the earth. Heaven and Earth seemed to draw close to him, yet he pushed them away with a look of disdain.

He was actually disdaining... Heaven itself!