Chapter 942: Four Great Deans

"Already finished the exam?""In just two months, he upgraded a Conferred Kingdom to an Empire?""I remember our academy's record holder, Dean Mo Liuzhen, took a full three years, didn't he?""This is just too fast..."

All the elders were stunned. They had long suspected that the dean's assessment to upgrade to an empire would surely pass, but they never dreamed it would happen so quickly! Succeeding in two months had probably already broken the Master Teacher Pavilion's record.

"Indeed, it's incredibly fast. If all goes well, the dean should already be on his way back..." Elder Mi nodded.

"That's for the best; he'll just make it back for the Combat Master selection..." said Zhao Bingxu.

"Exactly!" At the mention of the Combat Master selection, everyone's expressions turned solemn. The four Master Teacher Academies held this event once every hundred years. Although outwardly it seemed uneventful, it was, in reality, a subtle competition. It would be ideal for the dean to return personally to oversee the situation, especially now that he had become a 6-star Master Teacher.

"Every grade has a chance to participate in the Combat Master selection. After two months of competition, the top twenty from each grade have almost been chosen," said Xu Changqing. The Combat Master selection prioritized combat prowess. Over the past two months, each grade had been holding intense competitions, and finally, their respective top twenty students were selected. These individuals would represent the academy and compete against the other three academies for the final spots.

"How strong are our students?" Zhao Bingxu paused, then asked upon hearing about the selection.

"Based on past performance, they're still a bit weaker. Probably... not many will pass!" Xu Changqing blushed. Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy had always been at the bottom among the four academies. In its ten thousand years of existence, only 327 people had become Combat Masters. Distributed over a century, that averaged only three or four people per selection.

"There are still a few days until the selection. Gather these students and have them cultivate diligently to try and help them advance further!" Zhao Bingxu said, hearing that the situation was not optimistic.

"That's all we can do!" Everyone nodded. While last-minute efforts would have minimal effect, there was no other choice. The other Master Teacher Academies had 7-star Master Teachers overseeing them, and their resources were far more abundant than Hongyuan Academy's. Many top talents chose to study at those three academies, leaving Hongyuan to recruit only the remaining students... There was no way to compete with the others.

Teaching is a reciprocal process; even if teachers are excellent, it's not enough if the student pool is weak. Without talented students, there's no success rate. This was a vicious cycle: consistently poor results over many years meant fewer rewards from the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters, a damaged reputation, and naturally, good students would no longer enroll... making future prospects even worse.

As the elders of the Master Teacher Academy were deliberating, a massive airship landed just outside Hongyuan City. It was seventy to eighty meters long and over ten stories high, complete with pavilions and terraces, appearing exceptionally luxurious from a distance. At both the front and back of the airship, eight sacred beasts, infused with dragon blood, controlled its movement, lifting the enormous vessel into the air and gently descending without a single jolt.

On the deck, two elderly men stood, smiling faintly as they gazed at the majestic and vast city walls before them.

"Dean Wu, thanks to your Cloud Cliff Airship, otherwise, reaching here so quickly would have been quite difficult!" the elderly man in blue robes on the left said, stroking his beard.

"The four academies are connected, and mutual assistance is only natural! Besides, since this selection is taking place at Hongyuan Academy, and we pass by your Luojing Academy on our way from Yunxu Academy, it was perfect to pick you up... This also allows the students to interact earlier and understand the vastness of the world, with strong individuals everywhere! Otherwise, constantly secluding themselves and thinking they are unrivaled heroes does nothing for their growth," the elderly man in gray robes on the right chuckled.

Both men possessed cultivation levels beyond the Saint realm, their auras ethereal, giving off an unfathomable impression. Especially the emblem on the chest of their Master Teacher robes, with seven stars shimmering, indicated that they had already reached the 7-star level. A 7-star Master Teacher – a rank that no one in the Hongyuan Empire's Master Teacher Pavilion, or even its Master Teacher Academy, had attained.

"Indeed, without debate, truth remains obscure; without explanation, paths remain unclear... These students who can distinguish themselves from the academy and participate in the Combat Master selection are generally exceptionally talented individuals. Arrogance due to their talent is inevitable. Letting them know in advance that there's always someone better is no fault; on the contrary, it's very beneficial!" The elderly man in blue robes nodded.

"We've all arrived, but where is Dean Wu? Why haven't we seen him?" Dean Wu asked, puzzled.

"You know Wu Ran; he's obsessed with the insights left by Master Kong at the Confucius Temple, and he even founded the Consecration Society. He left several months ago, so he's probably already in the city by now!" the elderly man in blue robes said.

The Wu Ran they spoke of was precisely the Dean of Qingzhu Master Teacher Academy and President of the Consecration Society, whom Zhang Xuan had met at the Confucius Temple. This elderly man in blue robes was Shen Pingchao, Dean of Luojing Master Teacher Academy, while Dean Wu was Wu Tianqiong, Dean of Yunxu Academy. Yunxu, Luojing, Qingzhu, and Hongyuan were the four Master Teacher Academies under the Qingyuan Conferred Kingdom. Yunxu ranked first, and Hongyuan ranked last.

"Master Wu, Master Shen, my teacher Wu Ran invites you!"

As the two were conversing, a middle-aged man flew over and landed before them, bowing respectfully with cupped fists.

"See? I told you he would have arrived long ago..." Shen Pingchao chuckled, and without further ado, immediately replied, "We'll go over now!"

After speaking, he gave a few instructions to the teachers and students behind him and Wu Tianqiong, then followed the young man directly into the city.

It didn't take long before they arrived at a spacious courtyard. Entering the main hall, they indeed saw Wu Ran sitting inside, slowly pouring hot water into a teapot with elegant and comfortable movements. It was clear at a glance that he was a master of tea ceremony.

"You old rascal, you arrived quite quickly! What, did you call us here for tea? Warn us beforehand; if it's not good tea, we won't drink it!" Wu Tianqiong chuckled.

"Don't worry, it's definitely good tea!" Wu Ran smiled lightly and looked up. "I had someone buy this specially at a great cost, waiting for the two of you!" As he spoke, he poured the tea from the teapot into cups. The two received their cups, and before even tasting, they saw a rich cloud of mist rising from it, like shimmering vapor, dazzling and eye-catching.

"What beautiful tea..." Their eyes lit up. Putting aside whether the tea tasted good or not, this appearance alone made countless other teas incomparable. With its floating clouds and settling mist, it evoked the image of rivers veiled in smoke, bringing a sense of serenity and refreshment even before it touched their lips.

"Naturally! This is Cloud Mist Tea, unique to Cloud Mist Ridge in the Hongyuan Empire. This small pot cost me ten high-grade spirit stones! What's more, it's rarely available; you practically can't buy it. I asked many people, and only managed to get one tael. I've been saving it, waiting for the two of you..." Wu Ran smiled.

"Just its appearance makes it worth it!" Wu Tianqiong chuckled. "Come, let me try it and see how it tastes!" After chuckling, he took a sip, and his eyes immediately lit up. He praised it profusely: "Excellent tea!" Shen Pingchao, on the side, didn't hesitate. After drinking, his eyes also gleamed.

"Where did you buy this tea? Get me some too..."

"Get some? If I could, I'd have bought ten catties to store for myself first..." Wu Ran shook his head.

"Then sell me your one tael! I'll pay double the price, no problem!" Shen Pingchao quickly said. He was also a tea lover, and such exquisite tea, even after just one taste, was already hard to let go of.

"Not even for double the price... Alright, I won't waste any more time with you two!" Wu Ran shook his head. "Have you heard the news about the former dean of Hongyuan Academy?"

"Yes, we heard he went missing two years ago, with his whereabouts and fate unknown. Hongyuan Academy shouldn't have a new dean yet, right?" Wu Tianqiong shook his head. The deans of the four Master Teacher Academies held equal status. They had long known about the former dean's disappearance during a trial, his failure to return, and his unknown fate, and had privately grieved for a long time.

"The news about the former dean disappearing two years ago is correct. However, Hongyuan Academy has already selected a new dean!" Wu Ran said.

"A new dean has been chosen? What kind of person is he? Did you find out?" Shen Pingchao asked.

"Even without asking, there's much to know... If I tell you about Hongyuan Academy's new dean, you'll certainly be shocked!" He had arrived in Hongyuan City a few days earlier, and news of the new dean was everywhere, making it hard not to know.

"Shocked?" Wu Tianqiong and Shen Pingchao exchanged glances. "Is this dean very famous? Was he sent by headquarters?"

"Of course not. He's a student who just enrolled in the Master Teacher Academy this year. He's only twenty years old, and his name is Zhang Xuan!" Wu Ran replied.

"A freshly enrolled student?""Twenty years old? Are you sure this information is correct?"

Both deans froze simultaneously, wondering if they had heard incorrectly. Was Hongyuan Academy going mad, or simply giving up? A twenty-year-old, still wet behind the ears, becoming an academy dean? Was it true or false?

"Of course it's correct; if you don't believe me, you can ask around anywhere in Hongyuan City!" Wu Ran said with a bitter smile. "Don't underestimate this twenty-year-old dean. I've heard so many things about him that even now, I still find them incredible..."

"Incredible? Tell us!" Wu Tianqiong couldn't help but say.

"Dean Wu, when you took office, you also sought the ancestors' approval, right? How much recognition did you receive from them?" Wu Ran looked at him.

"I am not very talented; I only received 45% of the ancestors' recognition, ranking seventh among over a hundred past deans of Yunxu Academy!" Although he claimed to be untalented, he clearly exuded pride. Among over a hundred ancestors, receiving 45% recognition meant more than forty people acknowledged his status, which was considered powerful throughout history. After all, only 20% recognition was needed to pass; he had nearly doubled that.

"And Dean Shen?" Wu Ran looked at the other.

"I only received 37% recognition, and I haven't even entered the top ten among past deans of Luojing Academy... I'm ashamed!" Shen Pingchao said.

"Forty-five percent, thirty-seven percent... for past ancestors, those aren't weak figures. But for Hongyuan Academy's new dean, you can indeed say they're quite shameful!" Wu Ran shook his head, a look of disbelief in his eyes. The news he had seemed too shocking for him to process even now.

"You mean... we're inferior to him?" The two deans frowned.