Chapter 962: Heartbroken War Masters

His lectures, while enabling rapid progress and significant power boosts, also depend on the cultivator's talent. Some people are naturally slow to grasp martial arts, and no matter how much he explains, it would be in vain.

Furthermore, to help these hundred students quickly enhance their true qi and physical strength, he spent a full five hundred high-grade spirit stones. For the entire academy's one hundred thousand students, he couldn't possibly afford 500,000 high-grade spirit stones, nor could he set up such an enormous Spirit Gathering Formation.

Therefore, no matter how much he lectured, it would be unrealistic to turn all the academy's students into combat masters.

Moreover, the Combat Master Hall has annual recruitment quotas. Even if one's strength is sufficient, whether they can become a member isn't up to me, but rather to the person over there...

Thinking this, he couldn't help but turn to look, wanting to hear Zhuo Qingfeng's opinion, only to see his face twitching wildly, filled with resentment.

To be honest, at that moment, Zhuo Qingfeng felt like he was going to die. If Dean Zhang truly intended to do that, it wouldn't be long before the entire Combat Master Hall became a mere branch of Hongyuan Academy.

"Cough, cough, Dean Zhang, for our Combat Master Hall, the more geniuses, the better, of course... However, master teachers are even more crucial. If all master teachers became combat masters, wouldn't Hongyuan Academy cease to exist in name and reality?"

Suppressing the madness in his heart, Zhuo Qingfeng gritted his teeth. For the Combat Master Hall, while more people were generally better, too many would strain resources, which would not be a good thing.

It was like a country needing an army for defense; more soldiers would make the country more stable. However, if the numbers were too high, the upkeep would be immense and unsustainable.

Everything required balance; too much was as bad as too little.

Precisely because of this, the Combat Master Hall always recruited people according to a specific ratio.

If everyone became a combat master, who would teach and nurture people, who would impart knowledge? If everyone only focused on killing and fighting, wouldn't the world descend into chaos?

"Indeed..." Zhang Xuan nodded, abandoning his plan to turn everyone into combat masters.

It certainly wouldn't look good if, immediately after taking over the Master Teacher Academy, he caused all the students to disappear.

After a moment of hesitation, he said, "How about this: In a while, I will give a lecture at the Xuanxuan Society. Only official members will be allowed to attend. However, after attending the lecture, no one is permitted to attempt the combat master assessment!"

While he couldn't elevate all the students in the entire academy, he could still help the members of the Xuanxuan Society improve. After all, these individuals had followed him for a long time and were among his most loyal supporters. There should be a reward for effort; a balance of rewards and punishments was necessary to motivate people.

"Great!" Hearing that the Dean was actually going to lecture, the many members of the Xuanxuan Society all nodded excitedly.

Even if they couldn't attempt the combat master assessment, a significant increase in strength would still be an immense gain.

"Alright, this Combat Master Hall selection is concluded!" Zhuo Qingfeng waved his hand. "In three days, several cultivators who are not master teachers wish to attempt the combat master assessment. It will be held here, and we hope you all can come to watch!"

"Cultivators who aren't master teachers are going to be assessed?" "Who are they?" "I don't know either..." Everyone found it strange.

Zhang Xuan was also full of curiosity and couldn't help but ask, "What kind of genius would attempt the combat master assessment without even being a master teacher?"

"Cough, cough!" Hearing his question, Zhuo Qingfeng choked on his saliva. "They are... Dean Zhang's direct disciples!"

"My direct disciples? Are you talking about Wang Ying, Zheng Yang, and the others? How do you know them?" Zhang Xuan was taken aback.

Zheng Yang had come yesterday to challenge many combat masters, but Zhang Xuan had been lecturing and was unaware of it.

"Yes... your student named Zheng Yang came to challenge us yesterday... None of us at the same level were a match for him, and even I was defeated..." Zhuo Qingfeng was filled with embarrassment.

"That fellow... truly mischievous!" Zhang Xuan shook his head.

No wonder the combat masters seemed dispirited and listless this morning; being challenged in such a way would naturally be disheartening.

This Zheng Yang was indeed quite reckless.

"You don't need to dwell on it," Zhang Xuan said, seeing their dejection, unable to resist offering comfort. "Zheng Yang is my direct disciple. I've taught him for almost a year now, starting from the Breath Gathering realm, and he's been through a lot along the way... It's perfectly normal that you couldn't defeat him!"

Instead of comforting them, his words made everyone feel even worse.

Less than a year of teaching, from the Breath Gathering realm to a Cocoon Sealing realm expert, spanning over a dozen major cultivation levels... and the crucial point was his ability to fight opponents above his own level... Why did it feel like his "comfort" only made them more choked up than before?

And what did he mean by "perfectly normal" that they couldn't defeat him? They were combat masters, the strongest master teachers in terms of combat power!

"I'm not talking anymore, I still need to take them to cultivate!" Feeling a suffocating tightness in his chest, Zhuo Qingfeng knew that continuing to talk with this person would surely drive him to an early grave. He stood up, raised his hand, and bid farewell.

There was a type of genius who left people speechless; though not intentional, every word he uttered struck at the heart... and that was probably the fellow standing before him.

His eyes were clearly sincere, and his words were straightforward, yet... why did they sound like a constant slap to the face? "We are geniuses!"

Seeing him leave, the numerous combat masters quickly followed suit and soon departed.

The three deans and others also felt suffocated. Knowing that staying longer would only lead to further embarrassment, they found an excuse and hurried away. If not for wanting to watch the selection in three days, they probably would have immediately boarded their Cloud Cliff Flying Vessel and vanished from everyone's sight.

With everyone gone, Zhang Xuan could only shake his head and set off towards the headquarters of the Xuanxuan Society.

By the time he arrived, the place was already packed; almost all the members of the Xuanxuan Society had gathered.

He began his lecture, similar to what he taught others, but without using the Master Teacher's Impartation of Heaven's Will, the effect was significantly diminished, preventing the attendees from achieving immediate breakthroughs.

Even so, the results were still excellent. All members greatly improved their understanding of martial arts and combat techniques, and they also learned new body cultivation and true qi refinement methods, leaving them all incredibly excited.

He lectured for a full five hours until night fell again. After resting for a while, Zhang Xuan found Elder Mi and gave his instructions.

"Prepare everything and take me to the Dean's Mausoleum!"

Since the three deans and the combat masters were now avoiding him like the plague, he wouldn't need to entertain them, which saved a lot of trouble.

It was a perfect opportunity to visit the Dean's Mausoleum. Inside, the Thunderous Stone left by Grandmaster Mu Kai could help him break through from Half-Saint to Conferred Saint.

Having already reached the peak of Half-Saint, it was time to find this item and achieve a breakthrough.

"I had anticipated the Dean would go," Elder Mi said with a smile, nodding. "So, as soon as the news of your success in the Six-Star Master Teacher assessment arrived, I applied to headquarters for a treasure that can split the soul. It was delivered a few days ago..."

Previously, entry was prohibited because he wasn't a Six-Star Master Teacher and couldn't apply for a soul-splitting treasure. Entering without it would require leaving a fragment of his will, which would cause significant damage to his soul.

Now that he had successfully passed the Six-Star Master Teacher assessment and the treasure had been acquired, it was natural to take him there.

"Good!" Zhang Xuan nodded.

As the two walked towards the Dean's Mausoleum and reached its vicinity, Zhao Bingxu approached and handed over the soul-splitting treasure requested from headquarters.

"It's an Azure Soul Bell," Zhao Bingxu explained. "Just hold it in your palm, and it will automatically nourish your soul, allowing it to split off a fragment of will that can be preserved!"

Zhang Xuan looked, and indeed, it was a small, round bell, not much larger than his fist. When he placed it in his palm, he immediately felt a warm current flow into his sea of consciousness, causing his soul to continuously grow.

"It truly is a good item..." His eyes lit up.

For those who cultivated the Witchcraft Soul, splitting the soul was not difficult, but for ordinary people, it was quite problematic. He had previously wondered how so many deans of the academy had managed to leave their intentions behind; it turned out such treasures existed.

By nourishing the soul and then separating a part, using this item as a vessel, it would not dissipate even if preserved for tens of thousands of years.

After all, it was merely preservation, not active life, so the effects of the Five Declines of Soul Power would not be significant.

"The Dean merely needs to hold the Dean's Token to open the gate and enter directly. We are not qualified to accompany you inside..." Elder Mi and the other elder chuckled.

"Understood!" Zhang Xuan nodded and looked towards the Dean's Mausoleum before him.

Still within the Elder's Courtyard, it was built into the mountainside, concealed by various massive cloaking formations that hid the entire mausoleum. Even the mountain peak seemed to vanish; if the two elders hadn't led him there, he would never have found it.

It seemed that this resting place for successive deans held even greater importance within the Master Teacher Academy than the Library Collection.

With a flick of his wrist, he held the Dean's Token in his palm and lightly shone it forward. A crack immediately appeared in the formation, and he stepped through it.

The next moment, there was a jolt, and he found himself in a lush green mountain forest.

The mountains weren't high, more like hills, completely different from the external scenery. Walking a few steps along a path paved with bluestone, Zhang Xuan found a massive stone tablet blocking his way.

It was seventy to eighty meters tall and over twenty meters wide, carved from an unknown material, exuding an ancient and imposing aura that made one feel as if they had traversed history.

"Could this be the mausoleum tablet?" Zhang Xuan wondered.

Earlier, Elder Mi had mentioned that entering the Dean's Mausoleum required leaving a fragment of one's will on the mausoleum tablet. Given the appearance of such an enormous stone tablet now, this was likely that very item.

He circled the stone tablet and indeed felt a dense spiritual power emanating from it. It seemed countless fragments of will resided within, giving it a mountainous, earth-suppressing weight.

"It's definitely the mausoleum tablet..." Zhang Xuan nodded. "First, I'll go find Grandmaster Mu Kai's tomb, then once I've found the Thunderous Stone, I'll split my soul into it!"

His purpose here was to find the Thunderous Stone; as for splitting his soul, he could do that before leaving, since he had just refined the Azure Soul Bell and couldn't yet split his soul.

He walked around the stone tablet and slowly proceeded inward along the stone path.

The entire Dean's Mausoleum was quiet and solemn, exuding a sense of oppression. Zhang Xuan knew this was a forbidden area of the academy, so he didn't linger and quickened his pace.

Before long, a tomb appeared not far away, with a line of text that caught his eye: "Tomb of the 103rd Dean of the Master Teacher Academy!"

"The 103rd Dean? Isn't that the Old Dean? Wasn't he missing and never came here? How could his tomb be here?" Zhang Xuan was stunned.