Chapter 865: Jade Feier's Invitation

The Jin Yuan Cauldron, a true sacred artifact and the guardian of the Master Teacher Academy, was incredibly arrogant. While successive rectors of the Master Teacher Academy had the right to request its assistance, none had ever managed to make it acknowledge them as master.

Even the previous rector, who had broken through the six-star barrier and reached seven-star before his disappearance, still found himself helpless against it. Not only was this artifact arrogant, but it was also incredibly lazy, often sleeping for days. Getting it to help refine weapons was utterly impossible.

Now, when it came to asking it to help refine pills, everyone had initially believed it to be impossible. They never dreamed such a swift change would occur. "And 'Cauldron-y'... Oh, come on!"

"You are a dignified sacred artifact, the guardian deity of the academy... Can you not have some dignity?" Lu Feng was on the verge of going crazy. Earlier, when Lu Feng had attempted to solicit its help, the cauldron was incredibly haughty, even threatening to reduce him to cinders in minutes. Now, however, it was rubbing its body against Zhang Xuan, looking as if it feared offending him. The disparity between people is simply too vast!

"It's done!" Zhang Xuan said, smiling as he looked over, having successfully subdued the Jin Yuan Cauldron. Even a sacred artifact would have flaws. Zhang Xuan had simply found its weakness and then promised to help it improve its grade, making its subjugation quite simple.

"Rector... that's incredible!" His face flushed, Zhao Bingxu took a moment to compose himself before finally giving a thumbs-up. He couldn't help but be convinced. This new rector consistently did the unexpected, astonishing everyone. Perhaps in the future, he really could lead the Master Teacher Academy to greater heights, even making it the foremost among the four major academies.

"Master, this fellow was determined to harm you," the Jin Yuan Cauldron conveyed with a fierce thought, "Shall we refine him into cinders?" Now subdued, the Jin Yuan Cauldron began to consider its master's interests, sending a fierce thought towards Lu Feng, who stood nearby. It had witnessed Lu Feng's arrogant behavior firsthand. While its master, as a grand-teacher, might overlook the transgressions of a 'grandson' (in terms of lineage/rank), the cauldron itself would not.

"Senior..." Lu Feng's face turned ashen with fright. The Jin Yuan Cauldron was the Master Teacher Academy's guardian sacred artifact, with a status akin to an ancient ancestor. If it truly refined him into cinders, even Elder Mu wouldn't be able to say a word in his defense.

"Who are you calling 'Senior'?" the Jin Yuan Cauldron snorted coldly. "Call me 'Grandpa'!"

"I..." Lu Feng almost burst into tears. He frantically looked at Elder Mu, hoping he would intervene and ensure fairness.

Elder Mu shook his head. "Senior Jin Yuan Cauldron is right," he stated. "You slandered a Master Teacher and damaged his reputation. I will compile a detailed report of today's events and submit it to the headquarters. Barring unforeseen circumstances, your position as Rector of the Pill Debating Academy will not be secure, and your Master Teacher qualification might even be revoked!"

"Revoke Master Teacher qualification?" His face instantly turned pale. Lu Feng felt his legs turn to jelly, nearly collapsing to the ground. His removal as Rector of the Pill Debating Academy was within expectations, but having his Master Teacher qualification revoked would render a lifetime of effort completely meaningless.

Seeing his distraught state, Elder Mu sighed. "A Master Teacher leads by example and serves as a role model," he stated. "For your own personal desires, you maliciously framed someone without first verifying the facts. You have clearly violated the requirements and ethics of a Master Teacher. This matter is your own fault; I cannot help you!"

After speaking, he shook his head. If he and the others had believed Lu Feng's words and not given Master Zhang a chance to explain, a great disaster would surely have occurred. Allowing him to remain would only make him a black sheep among Master Teachers; it was better to expel him.

"Yes!" His face turned deathly pale. This high-grade six-star Master Teacher and half-step Spirit Aperture realm expert, who just an hour ago had been so commanding and confident that the rector position was within his grasp, now looked utterly despondent, devoid of any spirit. In his contest with Zhang Xuan, he had lost, utterly defeated.

"Chen Chengxun," Elder Mu continued, "for listening to others' words and failing to distinguish right from wrong, effective today, your position as Rector of the Formation Master Academy is revoked, and you shall await the headquarters' decision!" After dealing with Lu Feng, Elder Mu turned his gaze to Chen Chengxun. Although Rector Chen's transgression wasn't as severe, conspiring with Lu Feng to slander Master Zhang was still no small offense.

"Yes!" Daring not to refute, Chen Chengxun nodded.

"As for Dong Xin," Elder Mu continued, "as a student of the Master Teacher Academy, instead of diligently studying and setting an example for new students, you instead involved yourself in academy conflicts, becoming a tool for Lu Feng to frame Master Zhang. By reporting to the academy without first discerning the facts, you nearly caused a grave error... Effective today, your student status is revoked. In other words, you are expelled!" Elder Mu waved his hand again.

Now that Zhang Xuan's grievances were cleared and he had even become the academy's rector, those who had framed him had to be dealt with. Otherwise, if such actions were unpunished, everyone would attempt to frame others in the future, leading to utter chaos. A rector must uphold the dignity and status of their office; they cannot be slandered by just anyone. Although Dong Xin claimed to have witnessed the events herself, Lu Feng and Chen Chengxun were punished due to her report. As a Master Teacher, reporting an incident without first verifying its truthfulness was inherently problematic. She had to be severely punished.

"Yes!" Her face gray, Dong Xin cupped her fists in acceptance. She had believed she found leverage against Zhang Xuan, hoping to make him suffer the consequences. Instead... not only did she end up in the 'great-grandson' generation (in terms of lineage), but she was also expelled. Although she was still a six-star Master Teacher upon leaving the academy, all the connections she had built there over the years had turned to dust. Moreover, with this blemish on her record, her future path to advancement would no longer be easy.

"Among the four of us, Hu Yaoyao is still the smartest!" She sighed. The four major associations were always in competition. Now, thinking about it, Hu Yaoyao was truly the cleverest. By becoming Master Zhang's direct apprentice, she had instantly transformed into a rector's personal student. With this status, her future path, whether in cultivation or in testing for higher ranks, would be smooth sailing. No one else could compare to her.

"Rector Zhang, is this handling acceptable?" He addressed him as "Rector Zhang" instead of "Martial Uncle," clearly stating his position: first, to avoid overstepping his authority, and second, to prevent any appearance of favoritism or corruption.

"Well... alright!" Zhang Xuan nodded. In truth, Zhang Xuan's initial thought was to simply confiscate the spirit stones from the three of them and not impose any further punishment, as they couldn't cause any more trouble anyway. But now, with qualifications revoked and expulsions enacted, he found himself with nothing to say.

"I still have some matters to attend to, so I'll head back now," Zhang Xuan said. "Ding-ding, come with me!" Knowing that lingering would only create awkwardness, Zhang Xuan flicked his wrist, storing the Jin Yuan Cauldron into his storage ring, and bid farewell to the group.

Upon returning to his residence, he instructed Sun Qiang to invite Alchemist Lu and others from the Xuanxuan Club, while he himself headed to the Pill Debating Academy. When he had contacted the headquarters earlier, they had promised to send the Continuous Grass, and by his calculations, it should have arrived by now. Arriving at the Pill Debating Academy, which he now knew well, he indeed found that the medicinal herbs they had promised had arrived several days prior. Apparently, the person who delivered the medicine had wanted to hand it to him personally but, after waiting a full day without seeing him, had reluctantly departed.

After retrieving the Continuous Grass, just as he was about to return to his residence to check on Wei Ruyan's condition, he saw Luo Qiqi approaching him.

"Teacher, you're back!" Luo Qiqi's eyes lit up when she saw him.

"Master Zhang!" Behind the girl were several others: Yu Fei-er, Xing Yuan, Wu Zhen, Ye Qian, and the rest of their group. At this moment, Yu Fei-er, Xing Yuan, and the others had all made significant breakthroughs in their cultivation, reaching the Reversion to One realm, just like Luo Qiqi. It seemed Zhao Bingxu's sinew-cleansing and marrow-tempering technique had greatly benefited them, and their closed-door cultivation during this period had led to remarkable progress.

"Very good!" Zhang Xuan smiled. Although he had some conflicts with them before, the shared experience of life and death in the underground palace had forged a unique bond between them. Seeing their advancements now filled him with great relief and joy.

"Zhang Xuan," Yu Fei-er said, stepping forward. "I promised to pay you for the bet. Here are three high-grade spirit stones; the extra is compensation for these past few days!" Yu Fei-er stepped forward and handed him a jade box containing three high-grade spirit stones, whose surging spiritual energy created an astonishing aura. She had never won a bet against Zhang Xuan; she had even become his maidservant (though she had never actually performed the duties of one). Nonetheless, she had come to honor the bet. As a princess, she had returned to the imperial palace and, with her cultivation having broken through to the Reversion to One realm, obtaining a few high-grade spirit stones was simple.

"Then I won't be polite..." Zhang Xuan believed there was no such thing as too many spirit stones. With a flick of his wrist, he stored them in his spatial ring.

"Master Zhang, we've heard about your affairs at the academy," Xing Yuan and Wu Zhen said. "The various rectors... they didn't give you too much trouble, did they?" Upon emerging from seclusion, all they had heard about was Master Zhang's activities – causing several academies to become completely paralyzed, and even engaging in a life-and-death battle with a vice-rector. It was safe to say that Master Zhang had created more commotion in the academy in just half a month than they had in several years combined.

"No, they didn't," Zhang Xuan replied, smiling, recognizing their genuine concern.

"That's good!" Relieved to hear that the academy hadn't made things difficult for him, the others relaxed. Yu Fei-er then stepped forward, biting her lip, and after a moment's hesitation, said, "My imperial father wishes to meet you!"

"Your imperial father? The Emperor of the Hongyuan Empire?" Zhang Xuan was momentarily stunned. Yu Fei-er was the Sixth Princess, so her imperial father was naturally the reigning Emperor of the Hongyuan Empire.

"Yes!" Yu Fei-er nodded.

"When?" Zhang Xuan was surprised.

"He's inviting you... to attend tonight's banquet!" Yu Fei-er replied.

"Why would he invite me?" Zhang Xuan asked, full of surprise. He was only a four-star Master Teacher. While he had caused some commotion at the academy, it surely wasn't enough for an emperor of an empire to personally extend an invitation, was it?

"Prince Huai personally gifted you a mansion, you want to take me as your maidservant, you've caused such a huge stir at the academy, and you even emptied the entire Spiritual Material Pavilion..." Yu Fei-er huffed. "My imperial father naturally wants to see what kind of person you are!" As the Emperor of a first-tier empire, if he hadn't heard about Zhang Xuan, who had practically turned the imperial capital upside down, he would truly be too incompetent. Furthermore, the fact that Zhang Xuan had taken his daughter as a maidservant was something the Emperor would undoubtedly discover, even if Yu Fei-er hadn't mentioned it.

"Well..." Zhang Xuan scratched his head. "Alright," he said, "but I need to refine pills. If I have time today, I'll go over..." Since he was staying in the Hongyuan Empire, he couldn't avoid the Emperor of this first-tier empire forever. Meeting him wouldn't be a big deal.

"Then it's settled," Yu Fei-er said with a gentle smile, producing an invitation. "The banquet awaits you. The location is the imperial palace. Here's your invitation!"

"Mmm!" Zhang Xuan casually took it and placed it in his storage ring.

After bidding farewell to Yu Fei-er, Luo Qiqi, and the others, Zhang Xuan had just returned to his residence when he saw Sun Qiang rushing up to him with an anxious expression.

"Young Master, this is bad..." Sun Qiang exclaimed. "The Ten-Leaf Flower you planted in the courtyard... its color has completely changed!"