Chapter 751: You Still Have the Nerve to Ask for Credits?

The individuals he mentioned were all renowned geniuses from the Artifact Forging Institute, whose strength was on par with or even surpassed Luo Yan's.

Artifact forging first requires rigorous physical training, a demanding process that many found too difficult to endure, leading them to abandon the profession. Consequently, the Artifact Forging Institute didn't have many truly exceptional geniuses. This issue had always weighed heavily on him, and upon hearing of someone attempting a challenge, he couldn't help but sigh.

"None of them," Luo Yan quickly clarified. "It's a new student, named Zhang Xuan!"

"A new student? A new student who just arrived?" Yuan Hong was taken aback.

"Yes," Luo Yan explained. "Apparently, he only passed the assessment and entered the academy today. He doesn't even have a student ID. His aim in challenging the record is to earn academic credits, activate his Qi Sea, and be assessed as a Five-star Artifact Forger."

"Preposterous!" Yuan Hong exclaimed, his eyebrows shooting up at the idea of someone without even a student ID challenging the record. As the Vice Dean of the Artifact Forging Institute, he always valued adherence to rules. For someone who knew nothing to attempt such a challenge was simply suicidal. Did he even understand what the Earth Fire Passage record entailed?

"Others might not understand, Luo Yan, but surely you do?" Yuan Hong continued. "The Earth Fire Passage is a grueling test of the physical body. How could a new student, who hasn't even begun systematic training at the academy, possibly endure it?" As he spoke, Yuan Hong's anger escalated, and his face turned ashen.

"Teacher..." Luo Yan blinked, trying to speak, but was cut off.

"Alright, you're just a student," Yuan Hong conceded. "If someone truly wishes to challenge the record, they can't be stopped. I'm not blaming you for saying all this; I just feel that students nowadays are becoming increasingly overconfident. Frankly, the recent batches have been the worst I've ever taught..." Yuan Hong sighed, realizing it was wrong to lash out at a student. He shook his head. "Alright, so this fellow lasted a few minutes, didn't he? Is he severely injured? This is Clear Spirit Liquid; it can treat burns..."

"No, this new student... he's still inside!" Luo Yan finally managed to blurt out, seizing the opportunity to speak. His teacher was excellent in every respect, with the sole exception of his incessant nagging. Consequently, every student who had ever attended his lectures invariably complained of headaches.

"This Clear Spirit Liquid just needs to be applied externally..." Thinking Luo Yan was asking for instructions on its use, Yuan Hong began to explain, but then he suddenly froze, his eyes widening. "What did you say? Not out yet? What do you mean, 'not out'? When did he go in?"

"He... went in about an hour ago!" Luo Yan replied.

"An hour ago?" Yuan Hong swayed, nearly collapsing.

"Yes, I don't know what happened," Luo Yan quickly said. "So I had to come and report it to you, Teacher..."

"Report? What's the point of reporting now?" Yuan Hong snapped. "An hour, and he's still not out? He certainly didn't endure it and break the record; he must have been incinerated within two breaths of entering!" Yuan Hong was seething with rage. He slammed his hand on the table and stood up.

"What in the world! You failed to report it when you should have, and now it's far too late! In the Earth Fire Passage, if someone dies, their body is typically ejected. However, if they're incinerated to ashes the moment they enter, leaving no trace, then of course there would be no sign of them. He's been in there for an hour without any sign, so he must have died a long time ago."

"Oh... there's such a possibility? I... I didn't know that..." Luo Yan stammered, dumbfounded. He only knew that mechanisms would eject bodies if someone died inside. He had never heard of someone being incinerated within two breaths of entering... What were they to do? This person didn't seem weak; he shouldn't have died so easily...

"You are still too inexperienced," Yuan Hong snorted. "I've been at the Master Teacher Academy for over eight hundred years; I've witnessed more than you've ever read in books! Fine, I'll go with you, open the passage, and have it cleared. Such reckless individuals who don't know their own limits are nothing but trouble, even if they somehow manage to survive..."

He waved a dismissive hand, about to continue speaking, when suddenly the ground beneath their feet trembled. This was immediately followed by the sound of something collapsing, coming precisely from the direction of the record passage.

"What's wrong?" With raised eyebrows, both men quickly moved outside the room. A new student had just died, and now there was such a massive commotion. What was happening today?

"This is bad, Master Yuan... the Earth Fire Passage has collapsed..." A Master Teacher soon rushed over, panting.

"Collapsed? What do you mean... what collapsed?" Yuan Hong asked, dumbfounded.

"The Earth Fire Passage, the one inside the record passage..." the Master Teacher clarified.

Yuan Hong nearly lost his mind. "I know what it is! But... it was jointly forged by the Artifact Forging Institute and the Heavenly Crafts Institute, constructed from countless mechanisms! How could it possibly collapse?" The Earth Fire Passage, an integral part of the record passage, was jointly forged by the Artifact Forging Institute and the Heavenly Crafts Institute, making it incredibly robust. It wasn't a mere stone structure; how could it possibly collapse so easily? What exactly had happened? Luo Yan, standing nearby, also staggered. He had just been talking about the Earth Fire Passage, and now something had happened to it. What could it be?

The rushing Master Teacher also seemed to be in disbelief. "I don't know either," he said, "I just saw the area turn into ruins..."

"Let's go take a look..." Knowing there was no time to delay, Yuan Hong's mouth twitched several times before he quickly walked forward. In a short while, they arrived in front of the record passage. At this moment, half of the record passage had already collapsed, and the entire hall was filled with smoke and dust.

"What happened?" Luo Yan couldn't help but ask Li Xuan.

"I don't know either..." Li Xuan said with a mournful expression. "We were just waiting for Master Zhang when we heard a roar... and then, then it just turned into this..." Not only Li Xuan but everyone else present was utterly bewildered. No one could understand why the usually sturdy record passage had suddenly collapsed, especially since the epicenter was precisely where the Earth Fire Passage was located.

"Master Zhang... he's probably dead!" Luo Yan thought, recalling his teacher's words. He waved his hand, about to explain, when suddenly footsteps echoed from within the smoke and dust. This was immediately followed by coughing sounds: "Cough, cough..."

Hearing this sound, everyone present was jolted. They all simultaneously looked forward, only to see a young man emerge. Who else could it be but the Master Zhang who had entered earlier!

"You... you... are you alright?" Luo Yan stammered, his body trembling and his eyes wide. Just moments ago, his teacher had confidently declared Zhang Xuan must have been incinerated to ashes. Yet, in the blink of an eye, he had emerged, completely unscathed, without a single mark on him. Was this real? Not only was he not dead, but he had stayed inside for over an hour and even caused the Earth Fire Passage to collapse... What exactly had he come here to do?

"I'm fine!" Zhang Xuan replied with a touch of awkwardness, turning to look at the ruined passage nearby. "It's just that this Earth Fire Passage seems... broken!"

"Does it 'seem' broken?" everyone thought, collectively staggering. This massive pile of ruins was so obvious that even a blind person could tell it was broken, couldn't they?

"You're the new student who went in for the trial just now?" Yuan Hong asked, forcibly suppressing the tremor in his lips as he looked over.

"Yes!" Zhang Xuan nodded. Although he didn't recognize the man, Zhang Xuan could tell from his robust power and astonishing aura that his strength was extraordinary. He didn't seem much weaker than Elder Mi or Hall Master Mo, whom Zhang Xuan had encountered earlier.

"Weren't you challenging the record?" Yuan Hong couldn't help but ask. "What on earth happened?" Challenging the record... and ending up collapsing the entire Earth Fire Passage?

"Well... I don't quite understand it myself," Zhang Xuan said, his face flushing slightly. "After I went in, I found the Earth Fire Passage wasn't too difficult, so I just stayed and cultivated. And then, unknowingly... it collapsed!" Just now, inside the passage, his ethereal spirit cultivated outside his body, absorbing spiritual energy at an extremely fast rate. His spirit body grew larger and larger. After an unknown amount of time, absorbing an unknown amount of energy, his whole body suddenly shook, exceeding ten meters in height. As his spirit body suddenly expanded, the rate of spiritual energy absorption instantly accelerated. Coupled with his previous consumption, the Earth Core Crimson Rocks couldn't possibly withstand such a drain and were depleted in a short time. With the spiritual energy in the Crimson Rocks exhausted, it was like a car losing its engine. How could the formation that maintained its operation possibly hold up? Similar to what happened with the Transmogrification Pond, without an energy supply to maintain its balance, it was fortunate that the formation didn't explode on the spot. And so, the scene before everyone's eyes unfolded: the passage collapsed, and the structure was destroyed... Fortunately, he reacted quickly, his spirit instantly returning to his body. He used his True Qi to block the falling debris. Otherwise, he might have become the first student in the Artifact Forging Academy to challenge the Earth Fire Passage and die not from the heat, but from being crushed by rocks. Seeing the widespread ruins, Zhang Xuan felt an indescribable dejection. This time... he had genuinely only wanted to break a record and earn some academic credits. He never in his wildest dreams imagined it would turn out like this. Still, even if he was responsible for the collapse, he couldn't admit it. Setting aside everything else, he simply couldn't afford to compensate for those four Earth Core Crimson Rocks. Therefore, he had no choice but to brazenly feign ignorance.

"Unknowingly... it just collapsed?" Hearing such an outrageous statement, everyone felt faint, and Yuan Hong himself staggered. That Earth Fire Passage had stood in the academy for at least three or four millennia. Countless people had used it without incident, yet it collapsed precisely when you were inside... And with a simple "unknowingly," you expect to gloss over it? Even a ghost wouldn't fall for that! Could he at least offer a more convincing excuse?

"What exactly happened?" Yuan Hong demanded, his expression darkening.

"After entering the passage, I found the heat of the flames inside was just right for tempering my body," Zhang Xuan reluctantly explained. "So, I couldn't help but absorb a bit more... I didn't expect it to collapse, though..."

"Just right? And you absorbed a bit *more*?" Yuan Hong was left speechless. Others might not know the details of the Earth Fire Passage, but Yuan Hong had participated in its repairs and knew it intimately. It contained four Earth Core Crimson Rocks, each imbued with boundless scorching spiritual energy. An ordinary person would be incinerated upon mere contact, and even a Six-star Artifact Forger would be burned alive if they tried to absorb it. Yet you... thought it was "just right" for body tempering, and even absorbed "a bit more"? Just how much, for crying out loud, did you absorb to cause the entire passage to collapse?

His face ashen, Yuan Hong was about to inquire exactly how he had absorbed the energy and how much, when the young man before him looked up with hopeful eyes. "I stayed in this Earth Fire Passage for about an hour just now. That should count as breaking the record, right? May I ask... can I exchange this for academic credits now?"

"Exchange for academic credits? You still have the nerve to ask me for credits?" Yuan Hong nearly exploded with rage. He'd caused utter chaos throughout the entire record passage, ruined the Artifact Forging Institute's Earth Fire Passage, and still had the audacity to ask for academic credits... Where was his shame?