Chapter 9: Betting

The rumors about that good-for-nothing teacher were endless. Even before arriving at the academy, they had heard so much about him that they were thoroughly tired of it.

They said he was incompetent, lacked real knowledge, and misled his students!

They claimed he knew nothing about cultivation and couldn't perform martial arts techniques...

In short, there was all kinds of slander!

Any student would be wise to stay far away from him and absolutely avoid getting involved. Otherwise, suffering a qi deviation would be the least of their worries; they might even die at his hands!

When the two brothers came to the academy to find a master, they had also heard similar rumors and had been very cautious. They never dreamed that this aloof, impressively arrogant expert before them was the legendary good-for-nothing!

"Teacher, you're so powerful, why..." Zheng Yang couldn't help but ask.

Although they hadn't known him long, the teacher before them was unfathomable, and every movement exuded grace. How could he possibly be a good-for-nothing?

"People often envy the wise and capable. It's nothing unusual!" Zhang Xuan said, eyes angled upwards at forty-five degrees, a hint of faint regret and sorrow in his gaze, as if lamenting the world's misunderstanding.

His expression was perfectly composed, but inwardly, he was cursing continuously.

If it weren't for the Library of Heaven's Path, considering his previous self's conduct, it would have been good enough not to get negative points. Zero points... was already quite high, wasn't it?!

"I am willing to clear Teacher's name!" Moved by his teacher's "sorrowful" expression, indicating "no one in the world understands," Zheng Yang couldn't help but say.

"Alright, my reputation doesn't matter. As long as you cultivate diligently in the future, your teacher will be satisfied!" Zhang Xuan, having finished his dramatic act and successfully captured the student's admiration, nodded immediately. "Take your identity token and go collect your bedding. Be on time for class tomorrow, don't be late!"

"Yes!"

Zheng Yang pulled Mo Xiao, who was beside him, and the two walked out.

"Four students now!"

Watching the two leave, a hint of excitement flashed in Zhang Xuan's eyes.

The naive young girl, Wang Ying; the student won in a bet, Liu Yang; the arrogant young lady, Zhao Ya; and this spear prodigy, Zheng Yang.

He had thought today would be like before, ending in failure without recruiting a single student. He never expected to have four already!

"I don't have any identity tokens left. Even if more students come, I won't be able to accept them as disciples. While I still have time, I should go get a few more!"

After marveling at recruiting four students, Zhang Xuan then realized he had no more identity tokens on him.

These tokens were uniformly issued by the academy. Because his reputation was too poor, the teacher in charge of tokens had only given him four, believing he wouldn't possibly use them all. If he didn't go get more, even if new students came, they couldn't formally become his disciples!

The token contained the teacher's information. Once a drop of blood was applied to acknowledge mastery, it signified acceptance of that teacher. If a student wanted to withdraw from the class, the teacher only needed to apply a drop of blood to the token to erase the student's information.

He stood up and walked out of the classroom.

Outside, the sun was shining brightly, and heat waves stealthily crept through the tree shade, making one's forehead slightly damp with sweat.

On the academy's streets, new students and senior students walked amongst them, each with excitement on their faces.

The new students were all happy to enroll, enter a new environment, and take on a teacher. As for the senior students, they were all beaming with smiles, thinking about the new students they could prank.

After walking along the street for a while, a spacious building appeared before him. On the plaque in the very center were three large characters: "Logistics Department!"

The tokens representing a teacher's identity were collected from this very place.

"Oh, look who it is," a sarcastic voice rang out as he stepped inside. "Isn't this our 'star teacher'? Shouldn't you be diligently recruiting students in your classroom? What are you doing here? Oh, let me guess, you haven't used a single identity token and came here to return them, didn't you?"

Zhang Xuan looked up, and a man with a fleshy face came into view.

This fellow weighed at least 150 to 200 kilograms. From a distance, his width and height seemed almost equal, like a giant ball of flesh.

"Qian Biao!" A name surfaced in his memory.

This Qian Biao was a teacher in charge of logistics. He was always mean-spirited and liked to take bribes and withhold supplies. As the lowest-ranking teacher, Zhang Xuan's salary was always meager, and he couldn't claim many supplies. Consequently, he had rarely given Qian Biao any "respectful gifts."

Because of this, he had offended Qian Biao, who would resort to all sorts of sarcasm and taunts whenever they met, just to humiliate him publicly.

Giving him only four identity tokens, claiming he wouldn't use them all, was also this person's doing.

"I've used up my identity tokens. I'd like to get a few more!" Zhang Xuan said indifferently, too lazy to argue with the other party.

"Used them all?" Qian Biao was startled, then suddenly burst into loud laughter. "Haha, everyone, come and see! Our last-place teacher here actually came here bragging that he used up all the identity tokens given to him! Haha, that's the funniest joke I've ever heard..."

"I remember you gave him four identity tokens, right? Used them all? Him? What a joke!"

"Teacher Sun Yan, ranked second to last, reportedly only has one student so far. This guy scored an unprecedented zero in the teacher qualification exam; can he really recruit students? What is he bragging about?"

"Just kick him out. Anyway, once today is over, he'll be fired..."

Several teachers from the Logistics Department heard Qian Biao's roar and all came over, each of them looking at Zhang Xuan with faces full of disdain.

A guy ranked last, with zero points in his teacher qualification exam, what was he pretending for?

Students would run away at the mere mention of his name, and yet accept him as a teacher... What a joke!

"Oh? You say I'm bragging? Alright then, dare to make a bet?" Zhang Xuan wasn't angry; he just smiled faintly.

"A bet? Fine, if you want to lose, I'll indulge you," Qian Biao sneered coldly, surprised that this fellow he had always looked down upon dared to openly challenge his authority and propose a bet. "I just worry that a poor devil like you won't have anything to put up!"

"Whether I'm poor or not is none of your business," Zhang Xuan said, lifting an eyelid. "Since I'm betting with you, of course I'll put up something I can afford!"

"Oh? You can afford it? With your financial standing, anything you put up would just be scrap metal, like trash. Do you think I, your grandpa, would bet with you? I wouldn't stoop so low!" Qian Biao said, full of disdain.

Zhang Xuan was the lowest-ranking teacher in the academy and ranked last. Not only could he not recruit students, but he also received no bonuses or anything similar. If there was an award for the poorest teacher in the academy, it would undoubtedly go to him.

His daily life was already tight, let alone having cultivation resources!

"Heh heh!" Zhang Xuan wasn't bothered by the other party's insults. He chuckled, then continued, "I'm not betting on treasures or items, but on... dignity! If you lose, you'll let me slap your face three times in front of everyone! If I lose, I'll let you slap my face three times! Do you dare?"

"Slap your face?"

He hadn't expected the other party to bet on this. Qian Biao couldn't help but be startled, feeling a bit hesitant.

To be slapped in the face publicly, especially by the lowest-ranked teacher in the entire academy... If he truly lost, he might as well die. The shame would be enough to kill him.

"What, you don't dare?" Zhang Xuan smiled as he looked over.

"Qian Biao, what are you afraid of? You know this guy's level!"

"Someone who scored zero in the teacher qualification exam can recruit students? Isn't that just dreaming?"

"He's just trying to scare you. If he could recruit students, I'd recruit hundreds! Even if this year's students were blind, they couldn't be that blind, could they?"

"Alright, I agree!" Hearing everyone's words, which Qian Biao had always found reasonable, he couldn't help but nod.

"You're all cheering so much," Zhang Xuan said, looking at the other three teachers in the Logistics Department, "Do you also want to make a bet with me? The stakes are the same as his?"

These three had also mocked him quite fiercely earlier. Since he was betting with one, he didn't mind betting with a few more.

"What? Is your face itching? Want us to slap you a few more times? Fine, I'll play along!" one teacher said boldly.

"I'll play along too!"

"Who's afraid of whom? Scoring zero and still trying to show off in front of us brothers, you're asking for death!"

The three simultaneously nodded and agreed with smiles.

In their opinion, Zhang Xuan was sure to lose this bet. They just had to wait to slap his face today!