Chapter 913: Challenge the Dean

"Is this the Master Teacher Zhang Xuan you mentioned? He seems even younger!" Chu Yi raised an eyebrow in the training ground where many emperors were gathered.

He had learned the news last night: the new dean was a 20-year-old four-star master teacher. Although prepared, seeing him in person still felt unbelievable. Master Teacher Zhang appeared even younger than he had imagined.

Had the Ten Grand Elders gone mad? How could they let such a mere youth become the dean?

"Didn't Master Teacher Mu personally select him? Where is Master Teacher Mu?" an emperor couldn't help but ask. Everyone looked around but found no trace of him.

"Master Teacher Mu had an important matter and seemed to have left last night," Yu Shenqing explained.

"Left overnight?" Chu Yi scoffed, "I don't think it was an important matter; he probably just didn't want to witness this farce!"

In his opinion, letting a 20-year-old become the dean of the Master Teacher Academy was an absolute and undeniable farce.

"Brother Chu, don't jump to conclusions so quickly. Perhaps after truly interacting with Master Teacher Zhang, you'll have a different perspective..." Seeing Chu Yi's strong opinions, Yu Shenqing knew that explanations would be futile, so he simply offered this advice.

"I hope so..." Chu Yi flicked his sleeve.

A similar scene unfolded at the Master Teacher Hall's location, where several arriving hall masters looked displeased upon seeing how young the new dean was.

Hearing the murmurs from below, Zhang Xuan shook his head and walked a few steps to the high platform.

Doubts about him becoming dean were certainly to be expected.

"Although Master Teacher Zhang is young, he possesses unparalleled talent and ability. He has been jointly selected by Master Teacher Mu and our Ten Grand Elders to become the 104th dean of the Master Teacher Academy!" Ignoring the crowd's discussions, Zhao Bingxu waved his hand and continued, "Now for the first item: the Question and Answer session! Does anyone have questions they wish to ask Dean Zhang?"

"I do!" As soon as the words fell, an old man stood up.

It was Wu Weitian, the Hall Master of the Hongchi Empire's Master Teacher Hall!

Wu Weitian was a peak six-star master teacher with extremely high status and prestige across many empires. During the selection of the Ten Grand Elders, he lost to Zhao Bingxu by only one vote; otherwise, the dean of the Academy of Artificers would undoubtedly have been him.

"Master Teacher Wu, what is your question?" Zhao Bingxu frowned.

If it were anyone else, he could have reprimanded them for being disrespectful, but with this person, even he lacked the authority.

"To become the dean of the Master Teacher Academy, one must possess impressive cultivation; otherwise, how can you command respect?" Wu Weitian raised an eyebrow, and a powerful aura emanated from him. "I am the Hall Master of the Hongchi Empire's Master Teacher Hall. My position certainly cannot compare to the dean's, but I would like to challenge the dean's cultivation. I hope you will not hesitate to enlighten me!"

"Challenge his cultivation?" "This is a blatant slap in the face..." "Indeed, this young man is only 20. Even if he started cultivating from birth, how high could his cultivation be? Hall Master Wu Weitian didn't even say a word, just challenged his cultivation... he's giving him no respect at all!"

Hearing Master Teacher Wu's words, everyone was in an uproar.

For master teachers, while imparting knowledge and nurturing talent is important, without sufficient strength to back it up, one cannot gain trust.

It's like a Mortal Realm expert trying to guide a Saint Realm cultivator; if their cultivation isn't sufficient, no matter how eloquent their words, they won't be believed!

To challenge his cultivation right at the outset was a direct affront, showing no mercy at all.

"Master Teacher Wu, Master Teacher Zhang is only at the Chrysalis Sealing Realm's early stage. How can he contend with a peak Saint Realm 1-dan expert like you..." Unexpectedly, the other party would issue a direct challenge, and Zhao Bingxu's expression darkened. However, before he finished speaking, he saw Master Teacher Zhang wave his hand and look over calmly.

"Hall Master Wu, is that right? You wish to challenge my cultivation?"

"That's right. I hope the dean will indulge me!" Wu Weitian sneered.

He simply wanted to put the dean in an impossible situation.

"I can accept a challenge to my cultivation, but I'd like to ask beforehand: what exactly is 'cultivation'?" Zhang Xuan asked.

"Cultivation is strength, it's combat ability!" Wu Weitian replied.

"Alright then, I am a beast tamer. Does having my beast pet fight count as my strength?" Zhang Xuan asked calmly.

"A beast pet is tamed by the beast tamer; it's part of his ability, so yes..." Wu Weitian nodded, unsure why the other party asked this.

Beast tamers and their pets always fight together, just as martial artists use weapons.

"As long as you admit this is my strength..." With a light chuckle, Zhang Xuan waved his hand. "Ah Zi, this fellow is all yours..."

"Yes!" Following a loud roar, everyone saw a colossal Saint Beast descend from the sky, its massive hooves striking down.

"What?" Unexpectedly, a Spirit Realm Saint Beast suddenly appeared. Before Wu Weitian could react, he was slapped into the ground, spitting out large mouthfuls of blood.

When the Violetleaf Beast was still at the peak of Saint Realm 1-dan, none of the Ten Grand Elders were its match. Now that it had broken through to the Spirit Realm, Wu Weitian, though not weak, was still vastly outmatched.

"Alright, let me introduce everyone. This is the beast pet I've tamed!" Seeing that Violetleaf had slapped the man into unconsciousness, Zhang Xuan ignored him, glanced around, and said calmly.

"Isn't the Violetleaf Beast the old dean's pet? How did Master Teacher Zhang tame it?" "It seems Senior Violetleaf's strength is even greater than before..." "The strength of a beast pet also represents the beast tamer. Since the Violetleaf Beast is Master Teacher Zhang's pet, it indicates that he possesses combat power surpassing a peak Saint Realm 1-dan cultivator!"

Hearing the introduction, a stunned silence fell upon the crowd below.

Beast tamers are powerful precisely because of their beast pets. With such a formidable pet, who would dare say his strength was insufficient?

"To be able to tame the Violetleaf Beast indeed shows a certain level of strength. However, mere strength is brutish. To be the dean of the academy, one also needs a transcendent Mind Scale! I would like to test the dean's Mind Scale. I wonder if the dean can accommodate me!"

Another voice rang out from below the platform. Zhao Bingxu looked over.

It was Liao Cong, the Hall Master of the Yuanjiang Empire's Master Teacher Hall.

Hall Master Liao's strength was slightly inferior to Wu Weitian's, but he was composed and particularly adept at Mind Scale. It was said that he had already reached the pinnacle of six-star, 20.9, and was on the verge of breaking through to become a seven-star master teacher!

"Test Mind Scale?" Zhang Xuan was taken aback.

"Indeed!" Hall Master Liao Cong nodded.

The opponent possessed the Violetleaf Beast, a Saint Beast that had reached the Spirit Realm. Defeating him by force was almost impossible. Only by other means could he be made to lose face.

If successful, the so-called succession ceremony would turn into a joke.

"Alright, how do we conduct this test?" Zhang Xuan lifted an eyebrow.

"It's simple. We each use our Heavenly Mandate of Teacher's Speech. Whoever can bewilder the other wins..." Hall Master Liao Cong sneered.

"Bewilder?" Zhang Xuan shook his head. "Let's change the terms. I don't want to bully you..."

His Heavenly Mandate of Teacher's Speech, combined with his Teacher's Heart, could bewilder even 100,000 spirit beasts in Cloudmist Ridge into instant submission. Where did a six-star master teacher like you get such confidence?

"You..." Hall Master Liao Cong swayed, nearly dying of anger.

I, a dignified peak six-star master teacher, a formidable being with a Mind Scale of 20.9, want to challenge you, and you actually... say you don't want to bully me?

Absurd!

"What, are you scared?" Hall Master Liao Cong gritted his teeth.

"Since you're so persistent, a test won't hurt. How about this: Hall Master Wu, who just got injured, is still down. Go save him first..." With a flicker in his eyes, Zhang Xuan's voice carried a special cadence.

"Yes..." Hall Master Liao Cong froze for a moment, then quickly approached, channeled his true qi, and with a large grasp, pulled Hall Master Wu from the ground. As soon as he finished, he suddenly froze.

He had immediately acted upon the other's words, clearly having been bewildered.

"You..." His face turned ashen, and just as he was about to speak, he heard the young man on the stage look at him calmly. "You have some issues with your cultivation. Have you recently felt a dry throat and a dull ache in your Huyang acupoint? Slap yourself twice; that should fix it..."

"Slap himself?" "This... Hall Master Liao Cong wouldn't be that foolish, would he?" "This is clearly intentional..."

Hearing this, all 100,000 teachers and students were stunned. Just as they wondered how Hall Master Liao Cong would react, they saw him freeze for a moment, then, to everyone's disbelief, fiercely slap his own face.

*Slap! Slap!* Two consecutive slaps, each harsher than the last, immediately filled his mouth with blood.

"Now, stand on your head and let the true qi in your body flow downwards!" Ignoring the crowd's astonishment, Zhang Xuan continued.

Without hesitation, Hall Master Liao Cong stood on his head. After a few breaths, his face became incredibly swollen.

"What's going on?" "Could it be... Heavenly Mandate of Teacher's Speech?" "Even if it is Heavenly Mandate of Teacher's Speech, it shouldn't be able to make a dignified Hall Master slap himself or stand on his head just like that, should it?" "I don't know, but what I do know is that when it comes to Mind Scale, Hall Master Liao Cong clearly lost to Master Teacher Zhang, and he lost very thoroughly!"

Seeing Hall Master Liao Cong, who had just confidently vowed to humiliate Zhang Xuan, now slapping himself and standing on his head, everyone was bewildered and at a loss for how to explain it.

All of them were master teachers and possessed the ability of the Heavenly Mandate of Teacher's Speech, but to make someone self-harm or perform such outlandish postures with just a single sentence was utterly beyond their capabilities.

This had already surpassed the limitations of the Heavenly Mandate of Teacher's Speech!

"Unless... Master Teacher Zhang wasn't toying with him, but rather, his words contained no error whatsoever, making it impossible for Hall Master Liao Cong to refute them, causing his body to unconsciously comply..."

A six-star master teacher couldn't help but say.

While the Heavenly Mandate of Teacher's Speech could control a master teacher's body for a short period, it required speaking the most correct language, in harmony with the Great Dao.

The fact that Zhang Xuan made Hall Master Liao Cong do this, even if the reason wasn't clear, certainly meant there was no error in his words. Otherwise, even if Master Teacher Zhang's Mind Scale was higher than Hall Master Liao Cong's, he wouldn't have been able to obey completely without any ability to refute.

Moments later, to everyone's astonished gaze, Hall Master Liao Cong spat out a mouthful of blood, fell to the ground, then quickly stood up. He looked at the high platform again, immediately clasped his hands, and his eyes held no trace of doubt, only profound admiration.

"Master Teacher Zhang, for saving my life, Liao Cong is eternally grateful..."