Chapter 332: The Real Test of the Trust House

“Enroll new students?”

“Teach for ten days and get their trust level to forty?” Mo Hongyi furrowed his brow.

A trust level of forty sounded simpler than the one-star assessment, but in reality, the difficulty had more than doubled. Previously, a trust level of fifty was often achieved by teachers who had instructed their students for at least three years, guiding them from a young age, which allowed trust to be established more easily. To take on new students and achieve a trust level of forty within just ten days, from initial acquaintance to the assessment, was an unimaginable challenge.

“The Trust Hall assessment can be done last. You can now proceed with the remaining four rounds!” After explaining the rules, Elder Zhu looked at Zhang Xuan and Mo Hongyi.

“Okay!” Zhang Xuan nodded and was about to step inside when Elder Zhu called out to him after only two steps.

“Teacher Zhang, please wait…” Zhang Xuan looked at him quizzically.

“Uh… it’s like this. Could you please take your test after Teacher Mo? I’m afraid… if you go first, something might happen to the puppets, and then… Teacher Mo wouldn’t be able to take his assessment!” Elder Zhu looked a bit embarrassed. In the first round of the Master Teacher Pavilion, after this guy’s assessment, all the puppet-based trials were damaged. It was uncertain how long it would be before they could be used again. Elder Zhu was already apprehensive, fearing that the second round would also be left in ruins. If that happened, Mo Hongyi wouldn’t be able to take the test at all.

“Uh… alright!” Zhang Xuan felt rather awkward. He hadn’t expected that just one assessment would leave such a bad impression. Of course, if he knew that in everyone’s eyes, his master teacher assessments were akin to wrecking the place or challenging a dojo, he would have been even more speechless.

Mo Hongyi, truly a super genius of Tianwu Kingdom, completed his consecutive assessments and emerged an hour later, having passed all four rounds. Although his results weren’t as phenomenal as Zhang Xuan’s, he still broke many previous records.

Next, Zhang Xuan began his assessment. After another chaotic scene, with most of the trials nearly crippled, he finally emerged.

Seeing the completely incapacitated Master Teacher Pavilion, Hall Master Jiang, Elder Zhu, Teacher Wu, and others were on the verge of tears. Although the Master Teacher Pavilion could self-repair, it required significant investment in funds and materials. The one-star and two-star puppets had sustained damage, and it was unknown how much it would cost to restore them to their original condition.

“Having passed these four rounds, there’s one final assessment: the Trust Hall. You have ten days to recruit one or more students, and their trust level simply needs to exceed forty!” With both of them having passed, Elder Zhu announced the final requirement.

“Just one student is enough?” Zhang Xuan looked at him.

“That’s right!” Elder Zhu stroked his beard.

“Ten days…” Zhang Xuan pondered for a moment. “Can I recruit one right now… would that work?” Ten days for the two-star master teacher assessment felt too slow. If not, he thought he could recruit one on the spot; getting their trust level to over forty shouldn’t be difficult.

“Don’t be too hasty, there are still requirements for recruiting students!” Elder Zhu shook his head, then looked around. “For the two-star master teacher assessment, Teacher Zhang and Teacher Mo also have a mission that requires them to leave Tianwu Royal City and won’t be able to return for a short period. Please, everyone, return home. Rest assured, this mission involves no danger and is completely safe; it’s just that you won’t be able to contact them for a while!”

“There’s a mission?”

“They have to leave the Royal City? Why haven’t we heard about this before?”

“As long as it’s not dangerous!” The onlookers were all stunned, not expecting the two-star master teacher assessment to be so complex, even involving a mission outside the Royal City. They wanted to inquire further, but seeing that Elder Zhu was unwilling to elaborate and had already dismissed them, they could only shake their heads and exit.

Zhao Ya and the others also glanced at Zhang Xuan as they left the hall. Soon, only Zhang Xuan, Mo Hongyi, and the three two-star master teachers, including Hall Master Jiang, remained in the room.

“Alright, Elder Zhu, stop keeping us in suspense and just tell us!” Hall Master Jiang waved his hand.

“Understood!” Elder Zhu nodded and looked at Zhang Xuan and Mo Hongyi. “What I told everyone just now about your mission outside the city was false. Its purpose is to facilitate your completion of the Trust Hall assessment and prevent unnecessary trouble!”

Exchanging glances, both Zhang Xuan and Mo Hongyi were a bit confused.

“The Trust Hall assessment, as I said, requires you to get new students to a trust level of forty within ten days. However, you cannot recruit disciples using your current identities. Otherwise, many people would undoubtedly be eager to apprentice under you, and the trust level would be too easy to achieve!” Elder Zhu explained.

“This…” Both nodded. Although they didn’t want to admit it, it was undeniably true. Having passed all four rounds, they had essentially secured their positions as two-star master teachers. If they were to recruit students now, countless people would surely flock to them, and getting one or two people to a trust level of forty would be far too simple.

“Not with our current identities, then…” Mo Hongyi seemed unclear about the rules for the two-star master teacher assessment and looked over, puzzled.

“The Master Teacher Pavilion will provide you with two new identities and help you change your appearance. You’ll be sent to Tianwu Academy to serve as ordinary teachers. Within ten days, using your new identities, you must recruit students and get their trust level to forty to pass. During this period, you cannot reveal your true identities or contact anyone, otherwise… the assessment will be a failure!” Elder Zhu’s expression was serious.

“Conceal our identities and become ordinary teachers?”

“Cannot reveal our identities or contact anyone?” Zhang Xuan and Mo Hongyi were both taken aback. Clearly, neither had expected this part of the two-star master teacher assessment to be so peculiar. However, after thinking about it carefully, they understood. Possessing the identity of a master teacher inherently increases people’s trust. If they were to recruit students in their true forms, it probably wouldn’t take long for students to become completely devoted. Especially Mo Hongyi, as the kingdom’s top genius, surely had numerous followers. Finding a few people whose trust reached forty would be effortless. But if they didn’t use their identities and instead became different people, it would be a different story. Starting everything anew, if they could still get students to a trust level of forty in a short time, it would truly demonstrate their teaching ability and prove them worthy of the two-star master teacher title.

“Earlier, I deliberately told everyone you were going on an outdoor mission so that even if the academy gained two new teachers, no one would suspect anything!” Elder Zhu explained with a smile. The two understood. With his groundwork laid, it wouldn’t be long before everyone in the Royal City knew they were leaving for a mission. This way, even if they blended into Tianwu Academy, it wouldn’t cause a stir. With no one suspecting them, their previous identities would naturally become useless. Everything would start anew.

“Alright, the Master Teacher Pavilion has already prepared your new identities, which can withstand any scrutiny. Tomorrow morning, due to several teachers leaving, Tianwu Academy happens to be publicly recruiting teachers to infuse new blood. You will go and apply… A word of warning: the academy’s teachers, including the dean, will also be unaware of your true identities. Everything will depend on yourselves. In ten days, bring your newly recruited students back here. As long as their trust level passes, your assessment will be considered successful, and you can directly be awarded the two-star master teacher emblem without even needing to undergo the Q&A session!” As Elder Zhu spoke, he handed them two books.

Taking one of the books, Zhang Xuan opened it and began to read.

“Liu Cheng, an ordinary teacher who successfully passed the assessment of the Teachers’ Guild in Quanhai City, Tianwu Kingdom, twenty-four years old, cultivation at the early stage of Tongxuan realm, once taught as a substitute teacher for a year at Quanhai Academy…” The book detailed the life of the person he was to impersonate, covering almost everything from birth to the present. This person was neither a genius nor too weak, barely qualified as a teacher, and had no remarkable achievements or obvious flaws.

He quickly finished reading the book, fully grasping this new identity. It had to be said that the Master Teacher Pavilion’s preparations were quite thorough. This “Teacher Liu Cheng” was a real person, and even a detailed investigation would confirm his existence. However, no one knew where the real Teacher Liu had gone. He was likely in hiding as part of an agreement with the Teachers’ Guild, specifically to facilitate this assessment.

Turning to look at Mo Hongyi, Zhang Xuan saw that he had just finished reading his book as well, presumably containing his own assigned identity and life story.

“Alright, these are the Master Teacher Pavilion’s human skin masks. Put them on, and you’ll transform into the person you’re meant to impersonate. The assessment timer starts tomorrow. You must bring your students for testing within ten days, otherwise, it will be considered a failure!” Elder Zhu then handed over two human skin masks.

Zhang Xuan took one, placed it on his face, and immediately felt a refreshing sensation. The mask instantly merged with his skin, becoming imperceptible to touch or sight. He couldn’t see his own current appearance, but looking at Mo Hongyi, he immediately noticed that the latter looked completely different from before, as if he had transformed into another person; even his previous aura was undetectable. Truly worthy of the Master Teacher Pavilion’s artifacts; they were indeed impressive!

“You have one more night to prepare today. If there’s anything you need to arrange, do so beforehand. However, you cannot tell anyone where you’re going or who you’re impersonating!” After saying everything, Elder Zhu concluded.

Both nodded. Since this was a two-star master teacher assessment round, they naturally didn’t want to be disqualified for any other reason. Zhang Xuan wasn’t opposed to this kind of assessment; in fact, he was eager to try it. He had just been wanting to recruit some students at Tianwu Academy to gain their gratitude and generate golden pages, so this assessment could be seen as fulfilling his desire.

“Elder Zhu, I’d like to read some books about master teachers. Could you tell me where they are, and can I go now?” Before going to Tianwu Academy, he wanted to visit the Master Teacher Pavilion’s library to find information about Confucius, the Celestial, and also cultivation techniques for the eighth realm of martial arts, the Grandmaster realm. In Honglian City, he had already collected many Grandmaster realm techniques, and now that he had broken through to this realm, he only needed a few hundred more to form a complete Heaven’s Path cultivation art and practice smoothly. Since he had ten days, if he could find enough techniques beforehand, he could use this time to break through to the Grandmaster pinnacle.

“Want to read books? The library is over there. However, you are currently only a one-star master teacher, so you can only access the one-star section. You don’t yet have the qualifications to enter the two-star library!” Elder Zhu pointed casually.

“Okay!” Zhang Xuan replied, lifting his foot and walking towards the Master Teacher Pavilion’s one-star library.