Chapter 82: I Want to Drop the Course (Part 2)

It wasn't just Lu Xun who looked like that; even Elder Hong Hao, standing beside him, was utterly bewildered, his mind unable to comprehend.

Isn't this Zhang Xuan the worst teacher in the academy?

Just moments ago, he had boasted that merely letting the word out would cause students to flock to him. He never dreamed that before any news even spread, one of his most promising students was already planning to drop his class and go to Zhang Xuan!

And what's more... it would be one thing if Zhang Xuan accepted you... but to become an auditor?

Are you serious? You must be joking! Auditors have no status! You won't be my direct disciple, but you'll run off to be an auditor for him...

Lu Xun's face twitched uncontrollably; he felt utterly unwell.

"Please, Teacher Lu, grant my request!" Wang Yan quickly pleaded.

"You..."

After a long pause, he recovered. Seeing Wang Yan's serious expression, Lu Xun knew he wasn't joking. With a grim face, he said, "Do you know that a student Teacher Zhang Xuan once taught suffered from qi deviation? And you want to become his auditor..."

"I know!" Wang Yan nodded, his face completely unfazed. He had witnessed Teacher Zhang's impressive display of power in the Study Heart Tower moments ago, which had convinced even his own grandfather. His heart had yearned for it ever since.

Seeing Wang Yan's resolute stance, Lu Xun's face darkened with anger. He waved a hand towards a few students nearby: "Go fetch Zhao Yanfeng for me!"

"Teacher Lu!"

Shortly after, Zhao Yanfeng arrived.

"Wang Yan wants to drop my class and audit Teacher Zhang Xuan's. Tell him about your past experience cultivating with Teacher Zhang, so he understands how foolish this decision is!" Lu Xun flicked his sleeve.

Zhao Yanfeng said nothing, simply dropping to his knees and repeatedly kowtowing.

"What's wrong? Didn't you always talk about it?" Lu Xun frowned, puzzled. Zhao Yanfeng, having suffered qi deviation due to Teacher Zhang Xuan's teaching, was the most qualified to speak on the matter. He used to frequently badmouth Teacher Zhang, though Lu Xun had often stopped him. Why, then, was he stammering today, as if harboring some inexpressible secret?

"Teacher Lu, I... I actually want to audit Teacher Zhang's class, just like Wang Yan!" Finally making up his mind, Zhao Yanfeng declared.

"You want to go too?" Lu Xun's face stiffened, and he nearly stumbled. Weren't you taught by him until you suffered qi deviation, hating him to your very core? Didn't you often speak ill of him? Why do you also want to drop my class and audit his?

Lu Xun felt like he was losing his mind.

"Teacher Zhang's kindness to me is immense, and I feel deeply guilty for leaving without a word last time! I hope Teacher Lu will grant my request!" Zhao Yanfeng said respectfully.

Immense kindness? What immense kindness! The "kindness" of suffering qi deviation? Left without a word? You clearly ran away, didn't you? Guilty? When you were insulting Teacher Zhang Xuan every day, I never saw a trace of guilt in you!

Lu Xun was going mad.

"Alright, alright, since you've made up your minds, I'll drop both your classes right now!" He turned, retrieved two jade tokens, bit his fingertip, and dipped blood onto them.

As the academy's star teacher, Lu Xun was a proud man. Since these two students had already made their decision, continued attempts to retain them would only breed resentment. It was better to let them go.

"Thank you, Teacher!" Upon receiving the jade tokens, knowing their courses were officially dropped, both Zhao Yanfeng and Wang Yan's eyes lit up.

"You are no longer my students; you may leave!" Lu Xun, suppressing the rage that threatened to burst from his chest, waved them away.

"Understood!" The two then walked out.

"This is outrageous! Absolutely outrageous!" As they left, Lu Xun let out a furious roar.

Who was he? He was Hongtian Academy's top star teacher; countless students competed to be his disciples, and he had to carefully select them. He had always believed that no one in the entire academy could poach his students, yet... not only did they poach, they took two!

The most crucial thing was... it would have been one thing if the ones poaching his students were teachers like Wang Chao or Shen Biru. But it was... the very person who scored zero in the teacher assessment, the last-place guy!

A strong sense of humiliation made him feel as if he were going mad. To make matters worse, he had just promised Elder Hong Hao that he would poach Zhang Xuan's students. Yet, before he could even act, his own students had been poached from under his nose... If not for his composure and concern for his reputation, he would have stormed over and given Zhang Xuan a beating!

"Zhu Hong!" After his outburst, Lu Xun's anger somewhat subsided. He turned and called out.

"Teacher Lu!" A sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy walked over. Zhu Hong, the student who ranked fourth in the recent entrance examination, was one of the most talented students Lu Xun had recruited this semester. Though barely sixteen, his strength had already reached the peak of the Qi Gathering Realm, on the verge of a breakthrough.

"Go to Teacher Zhang Xuan's and deliver a challenge letter for me!" Lu Xun gritted out.

"A challenge letter?" Elder Hong Hao, who was standing nearby, paused at Lu Xun's decision, then quickly understood. "Are you planning for the Freshmen Grand Competition..."

"Precisely! How dare he poach my students? I, Lu Xun, have never suffered such an indignity!" Teacher Lu Xun waved his hand, his fists clenching with a cracking sound. "Since he dared to make a move, he must now face my wrath!" With that, he pulled out a piece of paper, quickly wrote on it, and handed it over.

"Take this to Zhang Xuan. Tell him that at the Freshmen Grand Competition in half a month, I want to conduct a teacher assessment with him. Ask him if he dares to accept. If not, then he should stop his underhanded tricks!" Lu Xun flicked his sleeve.

Every year, a Freshmen Grand Competition is held about half a month after the academy admits new students. This competition, a contest among students, reveals their innate talent and progress. The teacher assessment, however, is a direct competition between teachers. In a teacher assessment, two competing teachers select several of their students. Their cultivation, combat skills, theoretical knowledge, and overall abilities are then compared one by one to evaluate the teaching effectiveness of each teacher. This comparative method is used to gauge the abilities of the teachers. Teacher Lu Xun's proposal to compete with Zhang Xuan in such an assessment was, to others, a declaration of overwhelming superiority.

"Understood!" Zhu Hong's eyes gleamed with admiration. Teacher assessments bear heavily on a teacher's reputation, and even when they occur, they are usually conducted discreetly. To issue a direct challenge letter, openly confronting someone, only Teacher Lu possessed such confidence and arrogance. He truly was his idol—so incredibly cool! He expressed his anger openly, without any restraint—a true role model!

"Go!" Lu Xun waved his hand. Zhu Hong nodded, turned, and walked out.

"Are you really going through with a teacher assessment?" Elder Hong Hao walked over, unable to stop himself from asking.

"Precisely. Not only will I assess, but I'll also make a wager with him: if he loses, all his students will become mine!" Lu Xun's eyes gleamed. Since becoming a teacher, he had enjoyed smooth sailing, gradually rising to become the most renowned star instructor. He was just planning to leverage his credentials to gain the attention of master teachers and become an assistant when this incident occurred. If not for this ambition, why would he have accepted Zhao Yanfeng as a student, given his low cultivation and history of qi deviation? He was a teacher, not a philanthropist! If he were truly just a kind person, with so many students applying for his class each semester, he would simply accept them all. What would be the point of holding selections then? It was all for reputation! To accumulate the qualifications to become a master teacher's apprentice!

But now, if word got out that his students were dropping his class just to audit the lessons of a teacher who scored zero in the assessment, wouldn't his reputation be utterly ruined, turning him into a laughingstock? Therefore, he had to reclaim his prestige, no matter the cost!