Chapter 944: Battle Master Selection Starts Early

After becoming the dean, Zhang Xuan was allocated a separate residence by the academy. It was well-located and rich in spiritual energy, but he still spent most of his time living elsewhere. His chosen residence was not far from the academy, ensuring he wouldn't be delayed if anything happened. Moreover, it was much quieter than the academy, allowing him more time to instruct his students.

"Young Master, you're back!" Sun Qiang exclaimed, his face alight with excitement, as soon as Zhang Xuan entered the courtyard. After two months apart, Sun Qiang seemed even rounder, with an oily sheen on his lips. He had made some progress in cultivation, but it wasn't significant. Given his usual laziness, it appeared he had indulged in a lot of good food recently but hadn't put much effort into his training.

Knowing Sun Qiang's habits, Zhang Xuan mildly reprimanded him before instructing, "Call Wang Ying and the others over."

"Yes!" Sun Qiang replied, then left.

Soon after, Wang Ying and the others entered. Having not seen them for over two months, Zhang Xuan noticed that his direct disciples had made significant progress, almost catching up to him. Wang Ying had already broken through to the early stage of Chrysalis Realm, while Zheng Yang and Liu Yang had both reached the peak of Void-Treading Realm, appearing on the verge of breakthroughs. This wasn't solely due to their innate talent. Before leaving, Zhang Xuan had imparted to them the simplified version of the Heaven's Path cultivation technique, supplemented by numerous resources sent from Cloudmist Ridge and countless pills for enhancing cultivation. Given such advantages, slow progress would truly have been a disservice to his nurturing.

While the other three had made significant strides, Wei Ruyan, his last disciple, hadn't shown much increase in cultivation. She remained at the early stage of Chrysalis Realm, the same as two months prior. However, this was expected. Wei Ruyan's previous rapid advancement had been too aggressive; although she had reached the strength of Mortal-Transcendence Ninth Layer, it was built on a shaky foundation. Hasty cultivation would only lead to a collapse, making further progress difficult. Therefore, before leaving, Zhang Xuan had instructed her to restart her cultivation from Martial Artist First Layer, meticulously refining each realm. In just over two months, she had returned to the early stage of Chrysalis Realm. Although her cultivation level was the same, her foundational strength and combat prowess were qualitatively different from when she had first awakened, incomparable to before. In essence, after two months of refinement, her current power genuinely matched the Chrysalis Realm, unlike her previous state, which was merely a pitiful accumulation of power through medicine.

"Excellent!" Zhang Xuan nodded in satisfaction. It seemed his students were reliable, applying themselves to cultivation far more diligently than Sun Qiang, truly living up to his expectations.

"Some of you have now reached the Chrysalis Realm, and even those who haven't are very close. You now have two paths to choose from," Zhang Xuan announced, his expression serious, as he activated a formation to shield their surroundings. "I have two sets of cultivation techniques here. The first allows for rapid increase in cultivation, quickly reaching the Saint realm. The second, while much slower and more complex to cultivate, will double your combat power upon successful completion, yielding astonishing might!"

He wouldn't force his students to choose between the God-Sealing Deciphering Art and the regular Heaven's Path cultivation technique; he wanted them to decide for themselves. The God-Sealing Deciphering Art offered immense power but was incredibly difficult, requiring unwavering resolve to master. He made sure to explain this upfront.

"Teacher, I choose the second one!" Wang Ying declared first after a brief pause.

"We choose the second one too!" The others followed suit without hesitation. Having come this far, none of them wanted to miss out on a cultivation technique that could double their combat power.

"Choosing the second option means enduring more hardship, putting in more sweat, and success isn't even guaranteed... Are you sure about this?" Zhang Xuan pressed.

"We're sure!""Hardship is nothing, as long as we become strong, we're not afraid!" the students eagerly replied.

"Good!" Seeing their unhesitating choice for the second option, Zhang Xuan nodded with satisfaction. Cultivation inherently involves striving against the heavens and challenging one's destiny. If they lacked even this courage, they wouldn't achieve much in the future, even with his personal guidance.

He took out the simplified version of the God-Sealing Deciphering Art and handed it to them. After they had memorized its contents, Zhang Xuan provided a detailed explanation. The God-Sealing Deciphering Art was extremely complex; even he found it somewhat challenging to fully comprehend. If he didn't explain it clearly, any misinterpretation could easily lead to problems during cultivation.

Two hours later, seeing that everyone had fully grasped the concepts, Zhang Xuan finally relaxed. After dismissing his students to cultivate, he turned his attention back to Sun Qiang.

"You must be well aware of my teacher's power!"

"Yes!" Sun Qiang hastily nodded. Although he didn't know the exact extent of the Old Master's power, he was certain it surpassed the eight-star level, making him one of the most formidable figures on the continent.

"Good that you know. If he wished, he could easily find many seven-star, or even eight-star master teachers to serve as his steward! If your strength remains at this level, and you're unwilling to cultivate, I might consider informing him to replace you," Zhang Xuan said indifferently. Dealing with this fellow required a firm hand; mere encouragement was utterly ineffective.

"Yes!" Cold sweat trickled down Sun Qiang's face. Recently, the flattery from the Hongyuan Empire's imperial family and the constant influx of profits from the Shen and Liu families had made him lose his way. Hearing his young master's words, he finally realized that to continue following them, strength was paramount. Without strength, neither the Young Master nor the Old Master would spare him a second glance. And without these two, he would merely be an ordinary fat man, amounting to nothing.

"Alright, have there been any significant updates during my absence these past two months?" Zhang Xuan asked, having finished his warning and sensing that Sun Qiang had grasped the seriousness of the situation.

"Hmm, the Shen Clan Head visited some time ago. He suggested that it's best not to sell all the Cloudmist Flowers at once, but rather to treat them as a rare commodity, selling them gradually for greater long-term profit... So, I discussed with them, and we agreed to release only ten jin per empire each month..." Sun Qiang quickly recounted the recent business developments after a moment's thought.

"You coordinate with them on this; I won't interfere," Zhang Xuan said, waving his hand. He knew he was certainly not as adept at business as Sun Qiang, much less the Shen clan, so it was better to delegate authority to them to avoid complications.

"Understood... This is the first profit from the Cloudmist Flowers!" Seeing that his young master didn't want to deal with it, Sun Qiang said no more and handed over a storage ring.

Zhang Xuan casually took the ring and glanced inside. His eyes suddenly widened in shock. "So much?" he gasped. Inside the ring, a vast pile of high-grade spirit stones shimmered, exuding such dense spiritual energy that it almost made him catch his breath. There were thousands of them, packed tightly together.

"The first profit totaled three thousand three hundred and twenty-seven high-grade spirit stones, and the second profit should be settled next month..." Sun Qiang chuckled.

"Over three thousand..." Zhang Xuan's mouth twitched. He had put in so much effort, using enticement and beast taming, only to earn a few hundred high-grade spirit stones. Yet, selling just Cloudmist Flowers yielded such a massive profit... It was practically robbery! However, for him, the more spirit stones, the better. Over 3,000 high-grade spirit stones seemed like a vast fortune, but it might not even be enough for him to cultivate to the early stage of Saint First Layer. Moreover, his students were now cultivating the God-Sealing Deciphering Art, which had enormous consumption, and there were also the advancements of the Violetleaf Beast and the nine great kings... money was being spent constantly. Not to mention just a few thousand high-grade spirit stones; even tens of thousands would be insignificant in the face of his massive consumption.

In truth, while Cloudmist Flowers were precious, it would have been difficult to sell them for such a high price if not for current circumstances. Otherwise, the sacred beasts would have already been in business long before his arrival. But now, with the earth vein spiritual liquid depleted and the mountain mists having receded, flower tea could no longer be produced. What was consumed was simply gone, making them unique and irreplaceable treasures. Coupled with the extremely old age of the sold flowers, and the principle of "rarity equals value," along with the Shen clan's promotion, the price had naturally skyrocketed.

"Also, Elder Mi came yesterday. He mentioned that someone was looking for you at the academy!" Sun Qiang recalled after a moment's thought.

"Looking for me? Who?"

"It's the deans from the other three academies... They've already arrived in Hongyuan City! They want to discuss the Combat Master selection with you, Young Master," Sun Qiang explained.

"They're here already?" Zhang Xuan was surprised, then remembered that the century-long Combat Master selection was about to begin.

"I'll return to the academy right away!" Zhang Xuan nodded. The Combat Master selection was a grand event held once every century by the four great academies, involving the reputation of the academy. As dean, he had no reason to decline or refuse.

Leaving his residence and arriving back at the Elder's Pavilion, he saw Zhao Bingxu hurrying towards him, his face etched with anxiety.

"Dean, you're finally back! This is great..."

"What happened?" Seeing his worried expression, Zhang Xuan inquired.

"Reporting, Dean... Dean Wu Tianqiong of Cloud Void Academy, Dean Shen Pingchao of Luoying Academy, and Dean Wu Ran of Green Bamboo Academy have already arrived at the academy. It's said that people from the Combat Master Hall will follow shortly. Elder Mi and the others are already waiting there, and I came specifically to find you after hearing you'd returned..." Zhao Bingxu quickly explained.

"Isn't it too early?" Zhang Xuan wondered. When he returned from the Sanctum of Sages, the Golden Origin Cauldron had told him the selection would begin in three months. By his calculations, it should still be a few more days... Why had everyone suddenly arrived?

"The Combat Master Hall sent word, stating they received an order from the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters, requiring our four academies to complete the selection within three days!" Zhao Bingxu clarified.

"So soon?" He had originally planned to find the academy's contestants after returning, lecture them in advance, and help them improve their strength. But to have a competition immediately upon his arrival... wasn't that too fast?!

"They didn't give a specific reason. They could arrive at any moment now... and the selection could begin at any time. Please, Dean, come and preside over the situation!" Zhao Bingxu urged. The elders had initially intended to take over if the dean hadn't returned, but now that he was back, it was natural for him to personally oversee the situation. Although many young talents had been selected from the academy in the past two months, they still lacked confidence when considering the students from the other three academies. The disparity between them was quite evident; if nothing unexpected happened, only a few would likely pass, just as they had previously predicted.

"Let's go take a look." Zhang Xuan nodded, and he and Zhao Bingxu quickly headed towards the training grounds.