Chapter 65

"That's correct," Elder Mo Xiang nodded. "For a teacher to be assessed as a master teacher, their students' trust in them must exceed sixty. This is a strict requirement; otherwise, it's impossible to succeed."

"Sixty..." Elder Shang Chen clicked his tongue in disbelief. "Such a high level of trust is comparable to what students have for their parents!"

Parents and children grow up together, and their trust level is only around sixty. For a teacher-student relationship to achieve that same level, the immense difficulty is readily apparent.

No wonder there isn't a single master teacher in the entire Tianxuan Kingdom—it's simply too challenging!

"Lu Xun and Wang Chao from your academy, if they can maintain this standard for another thirty years, they might have a chance to become assistant teachers!" Elder Mo stroked his beard.

Master teachers don't handle every task personally; many duties are delegated to assistant teachers. Similar to an apprenticeship, becoming a master teacher requires progressing through the assistant teacher ranks.

"Assistant teachers?" Elder Shang Chen was astonished.

The mere chance of becoming an assistant teacher was enough to demonstrate Lu Xun and Wang Chao's caliber.

"I wonder how much trust their students have in them..." he mused.

"They've gained considerable renown over the past few years. Their long-term students should be able to achieve around forty points! Going higher than that would be challenging," Elder Mo said, shaking his head. As an elder of the Teachers' Guild, he was thoroughly familiar with the situations of many teachers.

"Indeed!" Shang Chen nodded. Trust is hard to build but can be lost very quickly; sometimes, a minor incident can completely destroy it. If this weren't the case, master teachers wouldn't be so highly regarded.

"I heard... that our Teachers' Guild has a genius young woman, only eighteen or nineteen years old, who has already become a low-level assistant teacher?" Elder Shang Chen asked, recalling a piece of news.

"She's our Guild Master's daughter, and truly a genius!" Elder Mo said, stroking his beard and nodding in affirmation, his face full of praise. Assistant teachers are categorized into three levels: low, medium, and high. To become an assistant teacher before the age of twenty, even at the lowest level, is astonishing.

"Remarkable!" Upon hearing the confirmation, Elder Shang Chen couldn't help but express his admiration. Although he was the Director of Education at Hongtian Academy, he was, in fact, only a senior teacher and not qualified to be even a low-level assistant teacher for a master teacher.

After his moment of reflection, Shang Chen said no more, turning to Zhang Xuan and Cao Xiong. "Elder Mo, what do you estimate their trust levels to be?"

***

"You... you should leave now. Get out of Hongtian Academy and never return..."

Seeing the young man foolishly waiting for the results of the Soul-Search Interrogation, Shen Biru couldn't help but approach him and lower her voice. In her eyes, Zhang Xuan and Shang Bin belonged to two different worlds and would have had no interaction whatsoever if not for her. Given the current situation, if Zhang Xuan were to be truly subjected to a hundred "Demon-Slaying Rod" strikes and lose his teaching qualifications, she would certainly feel immense guilt.

"Thinking of leaving now? Isn't it a bit late!" Shang Bin gritted his teeth and scoffed, seeing his goddess actually concerned about another man. "I've been beaten so badly, and you don't care, yet you're concerned about a guy who scored zero on his teacher assessment! Despicable, utterly despicable!" His face contorted hideously; he was so furious he felt his lungs would burst.

"That's right, the Soul-Search Interrogation has already begun; still thinking of leaving? You must be dreaming!" Cao Xiong stepped forward, his face twisted in excited malice. "The results will be out any moment now, and you'll realize just how foolish the decision you made was!"

"Are you so certain you'll win?" Seeing the other party's confident demeanor, as if he had already sealed his victory, Zhang Xuan shook his head and spoke.

"Heh heh!" Cao Xiong sneered, looking at the young man as if he were an imbecile. "To tell you the truth, I specifically recruited Liu Yang. We've spent almost half a month together, and our trust level likely exceeds twenty! As for you? Can you even manage ten points? After forcibly taking him from me, I'm afraid a negative score is highly probable!" A zero score signifies a complete lack of trust, while a negative score indicates dislike, with a larger negative value denoting greater aversion. The day before yesterday, Liu Yang's reluctance to part from him was still vivid in Cao Xiong's memory. How could someone who taught students to go berserk possibly make this proud young man yield? It was highly probable that their relationship was still at rock bottom, and Liu Yang must have harbored a grudge against Zhang Xuan.

"Hongtian Academy is the foremost academy in the Tianxuan Kingdom. If a student's trust in a teacher truly falls below ten points, it will likely become a widespread joke throughout the entire kingdom!" Shang Bin chuckled, a mocking smirk on his face. "Oh, right, I forgot. Your reputation is already so tarnished anyway; you wouldn't be afraid of becoming a laughingstock again..."

"You..." Witnessing their gloating, Shen Biru's beautiful face flushed crimson with anger. Just as she was about to retort, she noticed Zhang Xuan, the target of their ridicule, wore an expression of calm indifference, seemingly unfazed by their taunts.

Honestly, Zhang Xuan truly didn't care. These two could only run their mouths for now. Once the results were revealed, they wouldn't know what hit them.

***

"Them?" Hearing Elder Shang Chen's question, Elder Mo Xiang paused, then carefully considered: "Liu Yang was recruited by Teacher Cao Xiong, so his trust in Cao Xiong should be somewhat high. However, in my estimation, it would only be around eighteen or nineteen; twenty is a significant barrier. As for Zhang Xuan... if coercion was involved, the score might even be negative!"

"If the trust level is negative, Hongtian Academy will be disgraced. In that event, I'll trouble Elder Mo to deal with the fallout!" Elder Shang Chen stated.

"Naturally!" Elder Mo's eyes gleamed. "As an elder of the Teachers' Guild, I will absolutely not tolerate the presence of such a scoundrel! If the score is truly negative, it will undoubtedly confirm that Liu Yang was coerced, and I will immediately report it to the guild to definitively revoke Zhang Xuan's teaching qualifications!"

Hearing the other's pledge, Elder Shang Chen smiled, his eyes flashing as he pointed forward. "Look, the results are about to appear!"

No sooner had he spoken than the light emanating from the two crystal balls in the center of the room began to flicker erratically, gradually dimming. During a Soul-Search Interrogation, the subject must undergo various illusions to make a genuine choice from their heart. The diminishing light indicated that these experiences were now complete, and the scores would be revealed imminently.

*Buzz!*

The crystal ball on the left shimmered gently, and a row of numbers materialized.

"The results are out; you're about to be in big trouble..." Cao Xiong's eyes flickered with excitement as he watched the numbers slowly materialize on the crystal ball. This time, he could not only reclaim Liu Yang as his student but also drive Zhang Xuan away and gain favor with Young Master Shang Bin. With such a powerful patron, wouldn't his path in the academy be smooth sailing from now on? He would likely be promoted to a senior teacher within a few years.

While he was caught up in his excited imaginings, the crystal ball finally stopped swaying, and numbers materialized before everyone's eyes.

"His trust in me will surely be over twenty..."

With a triumphant roar, Cao Xiong hastily looked, but after a single glance, his excited words caught in his throat. He resembled a duck whose neck had been squeezed, his eyes bulging as if they might pop out. "This... how is this possible?" The score before his eyes almost drove him insane! This was utterly unimaginable just moments ago! Liu Yang was his personal recruit; they had spent at least half a month together and had established a very good rapport. How could the trust level be so meager?

On the crystal ball, a single, large number stood out, clear and dazzling, piercing his heart like a sharp sword—ten! Liu Yang's trust in him was, in fact, only ten points! A score below ten indicated distrust. While ten was a borderline score, it was still perilously close to outright distrust. He had just boastfully claimed it would certainly be above twenty, but the actual result was a humiliating slap in the face.

"Is this the source of your confidence?" Zhang Xuan asked.

"I..." Cao Xiong nearly gasped for air, on the verge of fainting from sheer rage. "I worked so hard to find you, to bring you all this way, and we've spent so much time together. How could your trust level be this low...? Brother, what is going on with you...?"

Gazing at Liu Yang, Cao Xiong felt like dying. Where was the trust? Where was the most fundamental trust between people?