Chapter 64: Trust Level Detailed Explanation

Being expelled from the academy would still leave him as a teacher. Even if not at Hongtian Academy, he could teach at other schools.

But having his teaching qualifications revoked is different. It means losing his professional identity, becoming a disgrace wherever he goes, and facing ridicule.

This was precisely why Elder Shang Chen had summoned Elder Mo from the Teachers' Guild. After all, even as Hongtian Academy's Director of Instruction, he lacked the authority to revoke teaching qualifications. To his surprise, before he could even speak, the young man brought it up himself!

What's more, he wanted to add a hundred strikes with the God-Slaying Club...

The God-Slaying Club was a special weapon forged specifically by the Tianxuan Kingdom. While it inflicted extreme pain and tore flesh, it didn't cause permanent damage. However, a hundred strikes with it would leave even the strongest expert half-dead...

Do you think this isn't harsh enough, or do you just want to die faster?

Everyone stared at the young man as if he were an idiot.

"Teacher Zhang Xuan, you..."

Teacher Shen Biru, standing behind him, nearly fainted.

Brother, can't you see this is a trap specifically set by Shang Bin and Cao Xiong? Their goal is to make you fall into it. Being expelled from the academy is already a severe punishment, yet you're not only not refusing, but you're also raising the stakes. Are you insane or what...?

"He's digging his own grave; he has no one to blame but himself!" Cao Xiong scoffed coldly, then turned to Elder Shang Chen in the center, "Elder Shang, I believe Teacher Zhang's proposal is excellent. I hope the academy will grant his wish!"

Seeing Cao Xiong agree so quickly, Liu Yang, standing to the side, slapped his forehead and looked over with a sympathetic expression.

Teacher Zhang is truly devious!

He first pretended to be unsure, boosting the opponent's confidence, and then seized the opportunity to raise the stakes. Teacher Cao Xiong will probably be thoroughly defeated without even knowing what happened!

"Luckily, I became his student; otherwise, my life would have been ruined..."

Recalling that he almost became Teacher Cao's student, Liu Yang involuntarily shivered and shrank his neck.

"Alright, very good. Since both parties have agreed on the stakes, let's begin!" Elder Shang Chen nodded. Two crystal orbs, the size of watermelons, were pushed forward. They were transparent and rested on stone pillars, emitting a warm glow.

"These are crystal orbs made from the Heart-Seeking Stone. Zhang Xuan, Cao Xiong, each of you will take one and drip blood onto it. When Liu Yang touches them, the crystal orbs will accurately reflect his inner thoughts in the form of a 'Trust Level.' Whoever has the higher Trust Level wins! The rules are very simple. Do you have any questions?" Elder Shang Chen explained.

"None!"

Zhang Xuan and Cao Xiong nodded simultaneously.

The Heart-Seeking Inquiry is actually quite straightforward. It uses the special ability of the Heart-Seeking Stone to probe a student's inner thoughts. The teacher with whom the student has a higher Trust Level naturally wins.

While the rules are simple, the Heart-Seeking Stone is incredibly valuable and rare. It's a single-use consumable; once used, it's rendered useless. Therefore, even the academy is reluctant to use this method unless absolutely necessary.

As for the cost, it is usually borne by the loser.

In the eyes of Cao Xiong and the others, Zhang Xuan was merely a good-for-nothing who scored zero on the teacher qualification exam and knew nothing. How could Liu Yang, a student ranked among the top hundred, willingly become his student?

Once the inquiry began, he was bound to lose!

At that point, they could not only humiliate him and expel him from the academy but also cause him to lose everything and ruin his reputation—achieving three objectives at once.

"Let's begin!"

Seeing that neither of them had any objections, Elder Shang Chen waved his hand.

Zhang Xuan and Cao Xiong each stepped forward and dripped their blood onto a crystal orb.

A warm glow radiated, and the faces of both men were reflected within the Heart-Seeking Crystal Orbs.

"Go!"

Following Elder Shang Chen's command, Liu Yang walked over and placed his left and right hands on the two crystal orbs.

*Hum!*

The crystal orbs immediately emitted a white light, enveloping him.

"The Heart-Seeking Stone possesses a hypnotic power. Upon contact, one quickly falls into a trance. In this state, all actions originate from the heart, unmarred by any external emotions. If a student was coerced into becoming a disciple, they would not only lack trust in the teacher but might even feel aversion! Therefore, the Heart-Seeking Inquiry can most directly and accurately determine whether a student genuinely wishes to apprentice themselves to a teacher!" Elder Mo Xiang watched Liu Yang, who had closed his eyes and fallen into a trance, and spoke slowly.

"Indeed," Elder Shang Chen stroked his beard, "Trust Level represents the degree of trust and is divided into one hundred points, with each ten points marking a level. Zero points signify no trust whatsoever. Ten points indicate slight trust, twenty points general trust... The relationship between a student and a teacher typically ranges around thirty. It's said that exceptional teachers can achieve a student's trust level of fifty, which is quite astounding and rarely seen even across the entire Tianxuan Kingdom! After all, a student's trust level for their own parents is only around sixty."

Their conversation was essentially explaining the principle behind the Heart-Seeking Inquiry to everyone present.

Humans are thinking beings, each with their own thoughts, and it is not easy to make one person trust another.

Not to mention others, even parents who have lived with their children from birth cannot achieve one hundred percent trust!

Teachers, naturally, are no exception.

Only with prolonged interaction can trust levels rise significantly.

With only two days until school starts, and given Zhang Xuan's poor reputation, what trust level could he possibly have?

Anyone could figure that out.

"By the way, Elder Mo," Elder Shang Chen remembered something and asked, "I've heard that the Guild has criteria for evaluating Master Teachers, and it seems a student's trust level is one of them. Is that true?"

Teacher titles are divided into three levels: Elementary, Intermediate, and Advanced. Zhang Xuan holds the lowest, Elementary title, while Shen Biru, Shang Bin, and others have already reached the Advanced level.

For most, reaching the Advanced level is considered the pinnacle.

At Hongtian Academy, the renowned Lu Xun and Wang Chao also hold this rank.

Above Advanced, there are Master Teachers!

Master Teachers are not just famous; they possess profound insight into guidance and cultivation. Students who learn from such individuals will grow increasingly powerful, eventually becoming formidable figures.

Emperor Shen Zhui, neither the legitimate heir nor the eldest son, logically should never have ascended the throne. However, it's said that in his youth, he studied under a Master Teacher for a few days. He then made rapid progress, becoming the strongest among the royal family's younger generation and subsequently the kingdom's foremost expert. Only then did he inherit the throne and expand the territory!

Becoming a disciple of a Master Teacher is a dream for countless individuals!

While the teaching profession is considered among the lowest of the nine ranks, once one achieves the title of Master Teacher, it becomes the undisputed top profession among all the higher-ranked occupations.

Their influence, in particular, is astonishingly terrifying; popular professions like alchemists, artifact forgers, and formation masters cannot compare!

Teachers are said to have disciples everywhere, but Master Teachers even more so. Any powerful expert could potentially be their student. If anything goes wrong, a single call from a Master Teacher will garner a hundred responses, and even those in power dare not offend them.

Legend has it that a king of a large kingdom somehow offended a Master Teacher. With a single command from the Master Teacher, dozens of Grandmasters who had reached Martial Arts Eightfold swarmed in. The entire royal city was utterly destroyed in less than a day, and the royal family was annihilated, their bloodline extinguished.

For this reason, every cultivator knows they can offend anyone but a Master Teacher!

Who knows how many students they have, or how many powerful experts are among those students?

Offending one is like poking a massive hornet's nest; one will be severely injured, if not killed!

Of course, the title of Master Teacher is not easily obtained. It requires numerous conditions, and quickly raising a student's trust level is one of them.