Chapter 413: Ancestor Approval

"That's Master Kong!"

He was the founder of the Master Teacher Pavilion, a supremely powerful figure who established the Master Teacher ranks. Becoming his disciple would not only reveal the solution to congenital fetal poison but, more importantly, provide an immensely powerful backer.

For such a formidable person to take a student, surely there should be a welcoming gift of ten or eight thousand spirit stones, right? Otherwise, it wouldn't be befitting his status as the Master of the World. If only he had known it was Master Kong earlier, why would he have pretended? He would have immediately agreed without a word.

Zhang Xuan felt his intestines twist with regret. Master Kong accepting a disciple, and he actually refused—is there anyone dumber than him in the world? If he had known about such an opportunity in advance, he should have at least checked a book for his portrait to know who this old man was, so he wouldn't have made such a foolish decision.

"Master Zhang, Master Kong passed away countless years ago. This is merely his statue; it has no consciousness..."

Seeing the fellow acting like a madman, Master Su hurried forward. Master Kong had vanished from the continent ages ago. What remained on the statue were only fragments of his will. Don't even talk about crying and wailing here; it would be useless even if you smashed the statue! "And accept you? Accept what? Do you think it's that easy to enter Master Kong's lineage?"

"Could it not be him?" Unlike Master Su's thoughts, Hall Master Jiang, Elder Zhu, and others exchanged glances, full of doubt. In the morning, the recognition of a Master Teacher by Heaven, and Master Kong accepting a disciple—they had all witnessed it with their own eyes. As a result, this disciple refused on the spot. They had previously wondered if it was Master Zhang Xuan, but now it didn't seem so! Look at his expression, full of desire and anticipation; how could he possibly refuse such a good opportunity?

Of course, if Zhang Xuan knew what they were thinking, tears would surely stream down his face: "Do you think I wanted to? I didn't even recognize the guy, alright..."

"No consciousness? Alright then!" Looking up at the statue before him, it was indeed motionless, with no trace of the previous spiritual fluctuations. Zhang Xuan could only shake his head helplessly. He secretly extended a finger. A book appeared in his mind: "Statue produced in Luo Hai City, crafted by the Nine-Stroke Artisans. Made from deep-sea clay fired for forty-nine days, indestructible for a thousand years; Disadvantage:..." His body swayed. No need to think further; it was indeed a sculpture. What a pity, there was clearly an opportunity to join Master Kong's lineage... and he wasted it just like that!

"Let's begin!" Seeing that this genius, Master Zhang, had finally returned to normal, Master Su waved his hand.

"Mm!" Hall Master Jiang stepped forward: "Although you have passed the assessment and been granted Master Teacher emblems, to gain recognition from other Master Teachers, you must also receive acknowledgment from the Conferred Master Hall!"

"Once successful, you will receive a special aura as a reward. Even without your emblem, releasing this aura will allow outsiders to recognize your identity." Master Su and Master Ling had not taken out their emblems earlier, simply stating their names, and Hall Master Jiang had believed them implicitly. This was precisely because they possessed this special aura within them, allowing other Master Teachers to instantly recognize them.

"Successful? Do some people fail to gain recognition?" Zhang Xuan looked over.

"Of course!" Hall Master Jiang pointed forward with a smile: "So-called recognition refers to acknowledgment from the ancestors. Here, there are countless ancestral tablets, each containing a trace of will left by them. Although these wills cannot form a body or possess self-awareness, they can discern whether one truly has the qualifications to become a Master Teacher! You only need to kneel here. If someone acknowledges you, a tablet will fall, signifying one recognition and granting one stream of aura. The more recognitions you receive, the more aura you gain, indicating a boundless future and the potential to reach higher realms."

"So that's how it works!" Zhang Xuan understood. He had directly assessed for a 2-star Master Teacher, so he had never been here and was largely unaware of these matters. Mo Hongyi, on the other hand, knew a lot and wasn't very surprised.

"What about those who aren't recognized? Will their Master Teacher qualifications be revoked?" If some are recognized, then some must not be. What happens to those who aren't? Surely, they wouldn't cancel someone's qualifications just because a few tablets don't acknowledge them after they've painstakingly passed the assessment, right?

"No!" Hall Master Jiang shook his head: "Actually, it's quite normal not to receive recognition. The owners of these tablets were all great figures in their lifetime, and they only acknowledge those who truly impress them. Typically, a 1-star Master Teacher has no more than a one percent chance of success. For 2-star Master Teachers, it's only ten percent!"

"Ten percent?" Everyone gasped. To be honest, this probability was truly too low.

"For 3-star Master Teachers, it's twenty percent; 4-star, forty percent; 5-star, seventy percent. Only 6-star Master Teachers have a one hundred percent chance of recognition, though the number of tablets that fall is not guaranteed." Hall Master Jiang nodded. Although their guild didn't have Master Teachers above 2-star, these were all basic facts. As a Hall Master, he knew them very well and could state them without needing to consult anyone.

"This..." Zhang Xuan finally understood the difficulty. A 6-star Master Teacher was undoubtedly a super-expert anywhere, famous throughout a region. Such a person could cause the collapse of the Myriad Kingdoms Alliance with a mere stomp of their foot. Only a super-figure of such a level could guarantee one hundred percent recognition, which highlighted the difficulty.

"Recognition from the Conferred Master Hall is merely an honor. The more people who recognize you, the greater your future achievements and the higher your talent. The most famous genius in the Myriad Kingdoms Alliance, Jiang Zijie, successfully passed the 4-star Master Teacher assessment before the age of thirty, becoming a legend of his generation. When he was a 2-star Master Teacher, he managed to gain recognition from seven tablets!" Master Su looked over and smiled. Mo Hongyi was the supreme genius of Tianwu Kingdom, while Jiang Zijie was the foremost genius of the Myriad Kingdoms Alliance.

"Passed 4-star Master Teacher assessment before thirty?" Zhang Xuan gasped in astonishment. The Master Teachers he knew were mostly in their seventies and eighties, quite old. To pass 4-star before thirty, his talent was indeed terrifying. The so-called genius Mo Hongyi paled in comparison. One must know that the higher the Master Teacher rank, the harder the assessment becomes, and the greater the requirements for one's State of Mind Scale. Many seemingly talented experts find 3-star to be a major hurdle, one they can never overcome in their lifetime. According to the guild headquarters' major tier division, 1 to 3 stars are Junior Master Teachers; 4 to 6 stars are Intermediate Master Teachers; 7 to 9 stars are Senior Master Teachers. There is a significant gap between 3-star and 4-star, like the difference between a Tongxuan realm expert and a Zongshi realm expert. It is not something an ordinary person can achieve.

"You all shouldn't feel any psychological burden. It's best if you gain recognition, but it's not crucial if you don't. No one in our Master Teacher Pavilion has succeeded for three hundred years. I merely hope that, during my time as Hall Master, one example might appear! Then, when I go to other halls later, I'll have something to boast about!" Hall Master Jiang smiled wryly.

"Mm!" Zhang Xuan nodded. He had thought it was mandatory to get recognition, but now it seemed it wasn't crucial. That's right, Master Teachers have different preferences. Sometimes you might like someone, but they might not. Besides, the owners of these tablets passed away long ago, leaving only a trace of will. Not gaining their acknowledgment isn't a big deal.

"Master Mo, you go first!" After explaining, Hall Master Jiang gestured.

"Alright!" Mo Hongyi nodded, his expression solemn. When he was a 1-star Master Teacher, he hadn't received recognition. Now that he had successfully assessed for 2-star, he wanted to see if there was a chance. If he succeeded, his name would instantly shine throughout the world and be passed down through eternity. At the very least, he wouldn't be overshadowed and dulled by Zhang Xuan's presence. Taking a deep breath, he stepped forward to the central prayer mat, his knees softening as he knelt.

"This junior, Mo Hongyi, greets the esteemed ancestors and humbly requests your acknowledgment!" His voice was clear and resonant. After speaking, he pressed his body close to the ground.

"How is it?" Zhang Xuan quickly looked, and other Master Teachers, even Master Su and Master Ling, couldn't help but look over. Mo Hongyi, the most famous genius in Tianwu Kingdom in a thousand years, had successfully assessed for 2-star at a young age. If one didn't count the anomaly that was Zhang Xuan, he was renowned even in Xuanyuan Kingdom. If such a person couldn't gain acknowledgment, then recognition from the Conferred Master Hall was indeed too difficult. No one dared to speak; the entire room was so quiet that a pin drop could be heard.

*Click!* After an unknown period, just as everyone thought there might be no hope, a tablet swayed and then fell.

*Boom!* Immediately, a faint, greenish aura flew straight out from within the hall and enveloped Mo Hongyi.

"This is... that special aura from the Heaven-Acknowledged Master Teacher?" Seeing this aura, Zhang Xuan was startled. When he was acknowledged by Heaven as a Master Teacher, he had been enveloped by a special aura, which caused his State of Mind Scale to rapidly increase. He hadn't expected that recognition from the Conferred Master Hall would have the same effect. No wonder it was said that after being acknowledged by Heaven as a Master Teacher, other Master Teachers would recognize you even without an emblem. So, the so-called recognition aura was this!

"So faint..." Realizing something, Zhang Xuan couldn't help but shake his head. When he was acknowledged by Heaven as a Master Teacher, the aura was like wolf smoke, thick and substantial. But the other party's was just a single thread, as thin as a finger, pitifully faint. A mighty river and a small stream cannot be compared in the same breath.

After a few breaths, the aura was fully absorbed. Mo Hongyi's face lit up with joy, and he couldn't help but stand up. He could barely suppress his inner excitement. Although only one tablet had fallen, it meant he had gained the recognition of an ancestor, breaking Tianwu Kingdom's record of no one succeeding for several centuries!

"Amazing!" "Truly worthy of being our kingdom's former top genius!" "The first to gain recognition in over three hundred years! Good, good. Old Zhao Xiao won't be able to boast anymore..." Seeing this scene, Hall Master Jiang, Elder Zhu, and others couldn't help but exclaim excitedly. Many Master Teachers had been assessed in the kingdom, but this was the first time they had witnessed someone succeed with their own eyes. Their excitement was understandable.

"Excellent. To receive ancestral recognition as a 2-star Master Teacher means boundless talent. Even I only gained acknowledgment as a 3-star Master Teacher!" Master Su also nodded in satisfaction.

"Indeed, it's quite good that you got recognized as a 3-star Master Teacher. I only had a tablet fall when I became a 4-star Master Teacher... It seems Master Mo's talent is truly extraordinary!" Master Ling also smiled. Master Su and Master Ling hadn't received recognition when they were 2-star Master Teachers, which fully demonstrated the difficulty.

"Alright, Master Mo has received recognition. Master Zhang, it's your turn!" After the shock subsided, Hall Master Jiang spoke. Everyone's gazes converged on him.