Chapter 910: Conditions Required to Assess Six-Star Master Teachers

While these empires cannot directly appoint the Dean, they do have the power to vote for or against the appointment. If a dean proves unreliable, they can challenge the appointment or even report it to a higher Master Teacher Pavilion for intervention.

After all, running such a large academy requires enormous expenditure, with much of the funding provided free of charge by the subordinate first-tier empires.

This means these empires allocate a substantial amount of funding to the academy annually. An incompetent dean could easily lead to the academy's collapse, which they certainly wouldn't want to see.

Should numerous subordinate empires collectively submit a petition, even the headquarters would surely give it serious consideration.

The Master Teacher Pavilion, though supreme and responsible for protecting humanity's stability and unity, also maintains good relations with its subordinate nations. Otherwise, if public sentiment turns against them, the higher they stand, the harder they fall.

A similar scene was unfolding at the Hongyuan Empire's Master Teacher Pavilion.

Seeing the many hall masters before him, all filled with doubt, Mo Gaoyuan rubbed his temples, unsure how to explain.

The Emperors of the four great empires — Hongchi, Yuanjiang, Baituo, and Chiyao — had arrived in Hongyuan City, and their respective Master Teacher Pavilion branches had naturally sent representatives as well.

Three hall masters and one deputy hall master!

They were all outraged upon hearing that such a venerable academy would appoint a mere four-star Master Teacher as its Dean.

Unlike empires, they are only half a rank lower than the Master Teacher Academy. This means each hall master holds a status comparable to that of the Ten Elders.

Furthermore, as fellow Master Teachers, they were fully qualified to voice their objections.

"Regardless of what abilities this new Dean possesses," one exclaimed, "I, for one, refuse to accept it. Just wait until the Q&A session; I'll make sure he's humiliated!"

"A mere four-star Master Teacher aspiring to be Dean is simply showing too little respect for all Master Teachers!"

"Being Dean isn't that easy; otherwise, this position wouldn't have been vacant for two whole years!"

The eyes of several hall masters flickered.

As hall masters with status equal to the Ten Elders, it would be false to claim they had never considered the Dean's position. If a Master Teacher of high prestige and profound strength were to take the role, they would have nothing to say and might even secretly admire them. But a four-star Master Teacher who is only 20 years old... it would be absurd to expect their approval!

At the Master Teacher Academy.

Numerous injured students gathered together, their faces ashen.

One fourth-year student slammed his hand on a table.

"For the venerable Master Teacher Academy to surrender to spirit beasts is an utter disgrace!"

"I heard it's because the new Dean is taking office, and they don't want any disturbances... otherwise, it would look bad for those in power."

"Nonsense! To save the new Dean's face, where does that leave the honor of humanity?"

"It completely shames the dignity of Master Teachers! I'd rather die fighting on the battlefield than attend some inauguration ceremony here!"

"As passionate men, we knew our responsibilities and burdens the moment we became Master Teachers. To save face, they went to negotiate — it's utterly humiliating!"

Everyone was seething with anger.

Zhang Xuan had not allowed the other elders to spread news of what happened in Cloudmist Ridge. These students, who had participated in the battle, didn't know that all the spirit beasts and Saint beasts had already surrendered. They still believed the academy had advocated for negotiations and conceded to the spirit beasts to ensure a peaceful transition for the new Dean.

Otherwise, why would the spirit beasts, who had previously been so ferocious and intent on tearing everyone apart, willingly retreat?

"By the way, does anyone know who the new Dean is?" someone asked.

"No idea!" everyone shook their heads simultaneously.

The academy had kept the news of the new Dean strictly under wraps, and even the students were completely unaware.

"Who cares who he is!" one person exclaimed. "Negotiating with spirit beasts has never happened since the academy was founded! Such a person deserves no respect whatsoever! So, tomorrow when the ceremony begins, why don't we stage a protest? We'll make this new Dean personally declare what humiliating and academy-disgracing conditions he agreed to with Cloudmist Ridge!"

"Good, let's do that," another agreed. "I also want to hear what benefits he promised those spirit beasts to make them obediently retreat to Cloudmist Ridge and stop their harassment!"

Although they didn't know who the new Dean was, this incident alone prevented anyone from having a good impression of him.

Unaware that his inauguration ceremony hadn't even begun yet and he was already reviled by countless people, Zhang Xuan finished teaching Wei Ruyan a cultivation art and arranging her training as dawn broke.

Just as he was about to rest and have some breakfast, Elder Mi came to visit.

"Dean, this is the inauguration ceremony's procedure. Please take a look and familiarize yourself with it!" Saying this, he handed over a jade tablet covered in script.

Zhang Xuan glanced at it, and his eyebrows couldn't help but twitch.

This inauguration ceremony was indeed not as simple as he had imagined. Not only did he have to answer questions from the entire faculty and student body, but he also had to publicly worship the academy's many ancestors. Only after gaining their recognition could he receive the mental support of the faculty and students, condense the Dean's Token, and truly become the Dean.

Finally, he would also have to give a public lecture.

All these procedures were incredibly complicated and would take at least half a day.

However, to become the Dean of an academy that safeguards over a dozen first-tier empires, it would certainly be difficult to gain public acceptance without undergoing these trials.

"The Q&A session is an assessment of the new Dean by the academy's faculty and students," Elder Mi explained with a smile, seeing Zhang Xuan's silence and fearing he might not understand. "If you perform well, it can increase your recognition. Typically, student representatives, teacher representatives, and other Master Teacher Pavilion branches will ask questions or issue challenges, and the Dean will respond, usually about cultivation or auxiliary occupations. With Master Teacher Zhang's understanding of various occupations and his knowledge of cultivation, it should be quite easy!"

Dean Zhang's students can captivate everyone with their lectures, let alone him as a teacher.

In essence, this is an opportunity for the new Dean to showcase his abilities, allowing everyone to see that the selected new Dean possesses genuine skill and to gain their full acceptance.

"As for worshipping the ancestors," Elder Mi continued, "Master Teacher Zhang's talent is so extraordinary. Although you're not yet a six-star Master Teacher, you already possess six auxiliary occupations. Passing the assessment is just a matter of time, and gaining the ancestors' recognition shouldn't be difficult!"

"Finally, the mental augmentation of the Dean's Token is, on the contrary, the most challenging part. No matter how powerful a Master Teacher is, it's impossible to gain recognition from absolutely everyone. Where there is admiration, there will naturally be opposition. Even the former Dean, with his immense prestige back then, only managed to condense a Golden Dean's Token."

"Golden Dean's Token?" Zhang Xuan looked over, puzzled.

"Yes," Elder Mi replied. "As the Dean of the Master Teacher Academy, the more faculty and students who recognize you, the more mental energy is gathered, and the greater the power and higher the rank of the Dean's Token formed. It's usually divided into four levels: Platinum, Gold, Bronze, and Iron!"

"To reach the Bronze level, about half of the academy's faculty and students must genuinely recognize and admire you. For Gold level, it's around sixty percent! Platinum is seventy percent. In the nearly ten thousand years since the Master Teacher Academy was founded, only two individuals have ever condensed a Platinum Dean's Token!"

"One is the founder of our Master Teacher Academy, Master Mu Kai! Master Mu was sincere and treated his students like his own children. During a battle back then, he personally led the charge, sustaining over 130 wounds without retreating. He even exhausted his family's fortune to treat students... only then did he gain such widespread recognition!"

"As for the second individual, it's Dean Mo Liuzhen, from four thousand years ago. Speaking of Dean Mo, he was truly a prodigy who shone brilliantly throughout his era. The miracles he created back then, if discussed in detail, might not be any less impressive than yours, Dean!"

Elder Mi spoke of Dean Mo Liuzhen with immense admiration.

"Oh?" Zhang Xuan was somewhat curious.

He himself had caused quite a commotion since arriving at the Master Teacher Academy. Did Dean Mo also cause a stir?

"He didn't cause as much... commotion as the Dean has..." Seeing Zhang Xuan's gaze, Elder Mi guessed his thoughts and spoke, his face reddening with embarrassment.

For him, an elder, to say the Dean caused a 'commotion' was highly disrespectful.

However, seeing that the other party wasn't angry, he breathed a sigh of relief and continued, "When he came to the academy, he broke records! The academy's Record Mountain still bears his achievements; for four thousand years, no one has been able to surpass them..."

"Record Mountain?" Zhang Xuan was stunned.

He had been at the academy for so long, yet he had never heard of it.

"It's perfectly normal for Master Teacher Zhang not to know," Elder Mi chuckled. "Record Mountain is for the six-star Master Teacher assessment. Since the academy opened, no one has attempted the six-star assessment, so it hasn't been activated... The last time it was activated was half a year ago, by Hu Yaoyao and the others!"

"Hu Yaoyao?"

"Yes," Elder Mi nodded. "According to the Master Teacher Pavilion's rules, one must reach the Half-Saint realm to be eligible for the six-star Master Teacher assessment; otherwise, they'd at most be a Half-Step Six-star. However, they obtained six-star badges precisely because they passed the third stage of Record Mountain! Record Mountain is where cultivation and combat strength are tested. To pass the third stage means one already possesses combat strength infinitely close to a Half-Saint. Coupled with passing numerous previous assessments, they naturally earned the badge!"

"Oh!" Zhang Xuan nodded, then couldn't help but look over. "For the six-star Master Teacher assessment, besides six auxiliary occupations at six-star, what else is needed?"

He currently had six auxiliary occupations that had reached six-star, and two of them had even reached seven-star. In terms of auxiliary occupations, he was already qualified for the six-star Master Teacher assessment. (Artificer, Physician, Alchemist, and Formless had reached six-star, while Demonic Tune and Beast Tamer were seven-star.)

However, there should be other conditions to prepare for.

"Auxiliary occupations, Heart of Ingenuity score, and strength — these are the three fundamental requirements for assessing a Master Teacher!"

Elder Mi said, "Your auxiliary occupations are already sufficient, Dean. Your Heart of Ingenuity score needs to reach 18.0 or higher. Your ability to easily deceive Yu Xu with the Heaven's Path Impartation of Teaching indicates that your Heart of Ingenuity is also not an issue. The most crucial aspect is strength!"

"To be assessed as a six-star Master Teacher, your strength must at least reach the peak of the Chrysalis Realm. You are only at the initial stage, so you're still a bit short! Of course, if you can pass the third stage of Record Mountain, you would also be qualified for the assessment!"

"Once these three fundamental requirements are met, the remaining part is a test of Master Teacher's conduct and integrity! There are many types of these tests, numbering in the thousands, but the most common ones involve giving lectures, guiding students, and providing instruction!"

"Of course, if you, Dean, are to be assessed as a six-star Master Teacher, it will likely be very challenging," Elder Mi said with a slight hesitation. "After all, with your current status, many people will certainly be watching. Choosing something simple wouldn't easily win over the public... If I'm not mistaken, it will most likely be the most difficult one... promoting an empire!"

"Promoting an empire?" Zhang Xuan frowned, completely puzzled.