Chapter 835: Collective Class Drop

"Coming to the Alchemy Academy?"

Dean Lu Feng was startled, then his eyes narrowed. "He's no longer a student of the Master Teacher Academy. Why was he not stopped?" Since he's no longer a student, how could he be allowed to enter and exit freely?

"He... possesses tokens from Dean Mi, Dean Zhao, and Dean Wei. Moreover, he's the teacher of a guest elder, making his seniority even higher than a teacher's... We couldn't stop him!" The young man's face flushed. The Master Teacher Academy isn't some forbidden ground. Besides, he held tokens from the academy's elders. How could they stop him?

"What is he doing at the Alchemy Academy?" Knowing the young man had a point, and that even he, let alone students, couldn't stop the person, Lu Feng's expression darkened.

"I don't know. He came to the academy and went straight to the library..." the young man said.

"The library?" Dean Lu Feng frowned. "He doesn't have a student ID. Going there would be useless, wouldn't it?" To enter the library, two conditions are required: a student ID and academic credits. The person caused a big commotion at the Physician Guild, so credits aren't an issue. But... he doesn't have a student ID, and he's not even a student here anymore. Even if he wanted to enter, he couldn't!

"He didn't go in. Instead, he stood outside the library... spacing out!" At this point, a strange expression appeared on the young man's face.

"Spacing out?" Lu Feng, Vice Dean Zhou, and the others were all dumbfounded. That place... what's there to space out at?

"Yes, he was just completely still, staring straight ahead, not saying a word..." the young man replied.

Everyone blinked. They had thought this guy came to the Alchemy Academy for some purpose, but he just came to space out... What was he up to?

"Is he still there now?" Lu Feng couldn't help but ask.

"He was still there when I left. He's been there for over half an hour already!" The young man nodded.

"First, this fellow collapsed the Artifact Forging Academy, then he challenged the Physician Tower, leaving it... unrecognizable. Now he's suddenly spacing out at the library. There must be a trick involved. Everyone, come with me to check it out!" Hearing that the person had been motionless for half an hour, Lu Feng felt something was amiss and couldn't help but stand up. Although he had only met Zhang Xuan once, the memory of Zhang Xuan's unyielding demeanor, which had forced him into a difficult position, was still vivid. Coupled with Zhang Xuan's previous statement about challenging the Alchemy Academy, Lu Feng felt an inexplicable unease and wouldn't be at peace until he saw it for himself.

"Yes!" The other four deans, recalling Zhang Shi's various actions, also twitched their mouths and stood up simultaneously. Previously, when other academies collapsed or descended into chaos, they had felt somewhat fortunate. Now that this fellow had come to their academy, an inexplicable sense of crisis enveloped them.

Hurrying towards the library, the group moved quickly and arrived in less than ten minutes. As before, the library was a tall building, towering into the clouds, with no signs of collapse. There wasn't a single person in sight. Lu Feng couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief, then turned around and asked, "Where is he?"

"I don't know either... He was just here a moment ago!" The young man pointed forward, a bewildered expression on his face. The fellow had just been standing in front of the library, spacing out. How could he have gone to fetch a dean, and in less than half an hour round trip, the person was gone without a trace? Because Zhang Xuan was very famous, there had been quite a crowd gathered there just now.

"Wait a moment, I'll find someone to ask!" After looking around and not finding anyone, the young man quickly walked towards a house next to the library. That was where the students guarding the library lived; they were all third-year students working there to earn money for their studies.

Before he even reached the house, he heard a "creak!" The door opened, and two young men walked out.

"Hu Xu..." Recognizing one of them, he quickly approached.

"Senior Brother Lu Hui!" Hu Xu cupped his fist in salute.

"Where are you two... going?" Seeing them carrying luggage, Lu Hui was very puzzled. Students working at the library for work-study generally lived there for a semester. It had only been a few days since the semester began, so why were they coming out with their luggage?

"Reporting, Senior Brother, I just heard Zhang Shi give a lecture, and it enlightened me. I realized that I'm not suited for alchemy, so... I want to leave here and pursue another profession!" Hu Xu said.

"Giving a lecture?" Lu Hui's eyes widened, and Lu Feng and the others couldn't help but look over. This rascal... gave a lecture here?

"Yes, Zhang Shi stood here for a while and began lecturing. I was fortunate enough to listen for a bit, and that's when I realized that although alchemy is among the top-tier professions, I am simply not cut out for it. All these years have been wasted..." Shaking his head with a bitter smile, Hu Xu looked crestfallen. Zhang Shi's lecture was profound and insightful. Listening for even a short while was incredibly beneficial. Although he had been studying alchemy for some time, only after listening to the lecture did he truly understand that he wasn't meant for it! Even if he forced himself to continue, it would only become increasingly difficult, making further progress nearly impossible. Rather than suffering, it was better to give it up immediately. After all, the Master Teacher Academy offered nine other auxiliary professions. If he didn't study alchemy, he could learn something else. There would surely be a path that suited him and allowed him to progress quickly.

"You also feel you're not suited for alchemy?" After hearing Hu Xu's words, Lu Hui couldn't help but look at the other third-year student who had come out with him.

"I'm not suited for it either. Farewell!" With that, the two didn't linger and turned to leave.

"This..." Seeing the two leave, and no students guarding the library, the deans exchanged glances, unsure what to do. Just then, several more students walked over, also carrying luggage.

"Vice Dean Qi, those few... aren't they your direct disciples?" After clearly seeing their faces, one of the vice deans couldn't help but ask. Although they were deans and held respected positions, they had also taken on many students as direct disciples.

"Yes, they are indeed my direct disciples, Shu Yongning and the others!" Recognizing them, Vice Dean Qi nodded.

"They're also carrying luggage... Could it be that they also feel they're not suited for alchemy?" The vice dean's mouth twitched.

"How could that be?!" Vice Dean Qi shook his head. "Shu Yongning, among all the students I've ever taught, might not be the most talented, but he's certainly among the top few. His understanding of alchemy is exceptionally high. In time, he's destined to become a 6-star alchemist. How could he possibly be unsuitable for studying it?" Shu Yongning was one of his most outstanding students. If even he wasn't suited for alchemy, then almost none of his disciples would be!

"Then why is he...?" The vice dean was full of doubts. Carrying luggage, he was clearly like Hu Xu just now. If he wasn't leaving the Alchemy Academy, why would he be doing this?

"I'll go ask!" His face ashen, Vice Dean Qi snorted. Just as he was about to walk over, the student named Shu Yongning seemed to see him and hurried forward to greet him.

"Teacher!" Approaching, Shu Yongning cupped his fist in salute.

"What's wrong with you?" Vice Dean Qi narrowed his eyes.

"Reporting, Teacher, I... wish to take my leave from your tutelage!" Shu Yongning's knees buckled, and he knelt on the ground.

"Take your leave? You also feel alchemy isn't suitable?" Vice Dean Qi felt like his head was about to explode.

"No, it's not that. It's just... I feel that your lessons are not quite suited for me. Rather than continuing to study and finding it hard to make progress, it's better to resign now and not hinder you from recruiting new students..." Shu Yongning looked a bit embarrassed. With a flick of his wrist, he produced the jade token for his course. Teachers could choose students, and students could also choose teachers; it was a two-way street.

"My lessons... aren't suited for you?" Vice Dean Qi was stunned. He was the Vice Dean of the Alchemy Academy, and his alchemy skills were not much inferior to Dean Lu Feng's. He was a true peak 6-star alchemist... This guy was actually resigning from his course...

"Yes, after listening to Zhang Shi's lecture just now, I finally understood what alchemy truly is. Although your lectures are good, Teacher... compared to his, there's still a significant gap. I hope you can forgive me. I'm going to join the Xuanxuan Society now to attend Zhang Shi's lectures!" After saying this, he handed over the course jade token, stood up, and turned to leave.

Taking the jade token, Vice Dean Qi stood rigid, his face twitching uncontrollably, on the verge of going mad! A dignified peak 6-star alchemist was publicly dropped by a student... and was even told directly that his lectures were far inferior... Damn it! This was a blatant slap in the face!

"Teacher, we're also here to drop the course. We're truly sorry!" "Zhang Shi's lectures are incredibly enlightening. Even after listening for just a short while, I knew that having him as my teacher would allow me to go further and progress faster..." Before he could finish stewing in his frustration, several other students who had been with Shu Yongning also hurried forward, each handing over their own jade tokens. Previously, these very students had gone to great lengths and were incredibly excited just to be accepted into his class. Now, they were actively dropping out, seemingly afraid that he wouldn't agree, driving Vice Dean Qi to utter distraction.

"Something's not right!" Watching the numerous students cheerfully leave after dropping their courses, Lu Feng's mouth twitched several times. He approached Vice Dean Qi: "Did something go wrong with your teaching, giving Zhang Xuan leverage, which is why students are collectively dropping your course?" If students collectively dropped a course, there was only one possible reason: the teacher's lectures had a major flaw! Should such a situation occur, not only would the teacher's reputation be damaged, but the entire academy's prestige would plummet. The Alchemy Academy was renowned as the top academy in the Master Teacher Academy because of the large number of students studying alchemy — over sixty thousand people... If all these students were to drop out... the entire academy would instantly collapse, transforming from the first among the ten great academies to the last in the blink of an eye!

"I... I shouldn't have any problems..." Hearing the accusation, Vice Dean Qi's face was bitter, and he felt completely bewildered. His lectures strictly adhered to alchemist standards. Even if they weren't particularly brilliant, they contained no errors. How could a problem arise that would make students voluntarily drop his course after listening to someone else's single lecture?

"Then what's going on?" Lu Feng frowned, just about to continue speaking, when he saw several students hurrying over.

"Dean, they all seem to be your direct disciples..." Vice Dean Qi said.

Lu Feng nodded. These few, like Lu Hui, were his direct disciples whom he had taught for several years.

"Don't worry, my lectures are flawless. My students would never be like yours! They're probably here to report something about Zhang Xuan..." Seeing the students approach, Dean Lu Feng nodded, just about to ask them something, when he saw them all simultaneously buckle at the knees and fall to the ground.

"Thank you, Teacher, for all your guidance over the years, but we wish to... drop your course!"