Chapter 991: Seniority

Seeing his appearance, Zhang Xuan shook his head. If only he had known then what he knew now!

There is great fear between life and death, but surrendering to the Otherworldly Demons meant losing one's sense of morality. Morality and life are a trade-off; one gains one and loses the other. Since a choice had been made, one must bear the consequences of failure.

"It's a pity Wei Ruyan is unconscious and can't see this scene..."

Wei Changfeng died because of You Xu. As his daughter, not being able to personally witness her enemy's death before her eyes was a slight regret. However, publicly executing You Xu to demonstrate the Master Teacher Pavilion's determination in dealing with traitors was a decision made by the headquarters, and he couldn't change it. Besides, You Xu had lingered on for so long; it was about time he faced his punishment.

"Four Deans, Master Zhan Liao, Master Zhan Zhuo, Elders, the two of us are here for an important discussion. Please follow me!" Master Mu said, looking at everyone after You Xu had been dealt with.

"Yes..."

Responding, everyone followed closely behind, heading towards the Elders' Guild. Zhang Xuan didn't say much and followed suit. He had found it strange before that the headquarters sent two 7-star master teachers, one of whom had reached Saint 4-dan. If it was just to handle You Xu, there would have been no need for such a high-level presence. There must be other matters to attend to.

Master Mu had stayed in the academy for a long time, so he knew his way around and quickly arrived at the Elders' Guild meeting hall. Once everyone was seated, the formation was activated, isolating the surroundings. Master Mu looked around and said, "I've called you all here for an important discussion, and it's also about information we obtained during our interrogation of You Xu."

Finishing his sentence, he flipped his wrist, and a token appeared in his palm. The token was extremely worn and old, with many abrasions, appearing as if it could shatter at any moment.

"I presume you all recognize this object!" Master Mu looked around.

"Is it the Dean's Token?" Zhang Xuan frowned and asked. Although the token looked dilapidated, one could clearly sense countless wills empowering it, making it somewhat similar to the Dean's Token in his own possession. It just looked very crude.

"That's right, this is the Dean's Token, the Dean's Token of your Hongyuan Academy's Old Dean, Zhang Yinqiu!" Master Mu explained.

"The Old Dean's Dean's Token? Could it be..." Hearing the introduction, Elder Mi was stunned, then his face flushed with excitement, "He... isn't dead?" The others present also looked over nervously. Although they acknowledged the current Zhang Xuan, they had, after all, spent a long time with the Old Dean. Hearing this news, they were all uncontrollably excited.

"Whether he's dead or not, I'm not clear, but this item was sent out from a ruin by someone using great power!" Master Mu said, his brows furrowed.

"Sent out by someone, what exactly happened? Master Mu, could you explain in detail?" Zhang Xuan asked.

"This matter isn't complicated. That day, after I brought You Xu back to the headquarters, through interrogation, we learned the exact location of the ruin the Old Dean intended to go to. So, we sent people to investigate!" Master Mu nodded, lost in thought: "The ruin is intricate and complex, seeming to have certain rules. It can only be entered at specific times; once missed, one has to wait! Our people were calculating the best time to enter when this token sensed the aura of a Master Teacher and flew over, piercing through the air!"

Hearing this, Elder Mi, at his side, excitedly flushed: "Master Mu, are you saying... that after capturing You Xu and investigating the ruin, the Dean's Token flew out?"

"That's right!" Master Mu nodded.

"Then..." Elder Mi's breathing quickened, "Does that mean the Old Dean sent out the Dean's Token?" Only three months had passed since You Xu was captured. For the Dean's Token to reappear after that indicated that the Old Dean might not be dead! It was highly probable that he was trapped somewhere in the ruin, unable to escape, and thus sent it out with great power to inform the world.

"None of us know the situation within the ruin. It's also possible that this Dean's Token was released two years ago but only fully appeared after sensing the aura of a Master Teacher!" Master Mu, not as optimistic as he was, said.

"This..." Everyone fell silent. What he said also made sense. The Dean's Token was formed from countless wills and possessed unique spiritual properties. If the Old Dean had released it two years ago when he encountered danger, instructing it to only appear when a Master Teacher was present... it wasn't impossible that Master Teacher Pavilion personnel only discovered it upon their arrival. Therefore, the mere appearance of this token couldn't definitively determine whether the Old Dean was alive or dead.

"Master Mu, where is this ruin, can we go and see it?" Elder Mi hesitated before speaking. No matter what, the Old Dean was a friend they had associated with for hundreds of years. Now that they had received this news, they had to go and investigate; otherwise, how could their hearts be at peace?

"I called you all here precisely for this matter!" Master Mu looked at everyone: "According to our investigation, this ruin will reopen in about a month, so I wish to invite everyone to go together! Firstly, we can search for the Old Dean and his group, and if they're not dead, we can rescue them. Secondly, the Otherworldly Demons have been very active recently, and I suspect it has a strong connection with this ruin!"

"Alright, we'll go!" Hearing this, Elder Mi's eyes lit up. Without the slightest hesitation, he quickly nodded. Only after speaking did he realize he had overstepped his bounds and hurriedly turned to look at Zhang Xuan nearby, "Dean..."

"Elder Mi is right, we must go. This is the stance of our Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy!" Zhang Xuan replied. He had known the Old Dean intended to go to the ruin since he was in the Dean's Mausoleum, and had planned to check it out back then. Now, after the Underground Caves incident and the unusual actions of the Otherworldly Demons... No matter what, if he didn't go and see, his heart wouldn't be at ease.

"Hmm! And the rest of you?" As if he had long expected this outcome, Master Mu showed no surprise. He nodded and looked at the other three deans nearby.

"Since it involves the Otherworldly Demons, we also have an undeniable responsibility!" Wu Tianqiong, Shen Pingchao, and the others also nodded simultaneously.

"How could our Combat Master Hall fall behind!" Liao Song also smiled.

"Since everyone agrees, I won't say more. In a month, we'll go to that ruin. Of course, let me be frank: this ruin is extremely dangerous. Otherwise, it wouldn't have caused Zhang Yinqiu and his group to be completely wiped out! Even our headquarters doesn't have much information... Once we go, it's highly possible we might never return!" Master Mu looked at them.

"We understand that!" everyone nodded simultaneously.

"Very good, then it's settled..."

Seeing that everyone had no hesitation, Master Mu responded. Just as he was about to make a decision, he heard Master Wu Rufeng on one side raise an eyebrow and look over: "This trip to the ruin, to ensure safety, requires a minimum cultivation level of Saint Realm to be qualified! This Dean Zhang is only at the Half-Saint level. I think he shouldn't go, or he'll just drag everyone down!"

"Me?" Zhang Xuan frowned. Although he was a Half-Saint, when he unleashed his true power, he could easily defeat a peak Saint 1-dan. Moreover, most importantly... he had numerous life-saving abilities. It could be said that if everyone in the room attacked him together, the ones who would certainly die would be his attackers! This guy knew nothing yet claimed he would be a burden... For a dignified 7-star high-tier Master Teacher, wasn't that too arbitrary?

"Martial Uncle, Master Wu... is a bit self-righteous, please forgive him..." Seeing his martial uncle displeased, Master Mu hurriedly sent a telepathic message.

"Self-righteous?"

"Yes, although You Xu's betrayal of humanity has nothing to do with Martial Uncle, when it was revealed... you were the Dean, which means... there was some lax management! Furthermore, your age and cultivation level are somewhat different from a Dean's, so he has some opinions about Martial Uncle..." Master Mu said quickly.

Hearing the other party's explanation, Zhang Xuan gave a wry smile and shook his head helplessly. It seemed this fellow, having stayed in a high position for too long, had become detached from normal human life. When a subordinate makes a mistake, the superior is implicated... He had only been at the academy for a total of four months, and as soon as he met You Xu, he captured him. Not only was he not rewarded, but the blame was also placed on him... This was truly typical leadership style—when something went wrong, find a scapegoat to take the fall, to display his authority and keen insight... And he was the sheep that got caught!

If it were anyone else, being personally reprimanded by a 7-star high-tier Master Teacher would be impossible to refute. But how could Zhang Xuan suffer such a loss? He raised his eyes and looked over: "Wu Rufeng, right?"

"Presumptuous! A low-level Master Teacher, addressing a high-level Master Teacher by name, what kind of decorum is that?" Master Wu's face sank, not expecting him to speak up.

"What kind of decorum?" Zhang Xuan smiled, hands clasped behind his back, looking over with a calm expression: "Master Wu, how do you address Master Mu?"

"Master Mu and I are both 7-star Master Teachers, naturally peers!" Narrowing his eyes, Master Wu snorted, despite his anger. Since they were all Master Teachers of the Qingyuan Empire's Master Teacher Pavilion, and both 7-star, they were naturally peers.

"Peers? Alright then..." Zhang Xuan turned to look at Master Mu nearby: "Little Hongzi, how do you address me?"

"Martial Uncle!" Master Mu answered truthfully.

"You heard him. You and Master Mu are peers, and he calls me Martial Uncle... This means you are one generation below me. What's wrong with me directly calling you Wu Rufeng? Could it be... you think calling you by your full name isn't intimate enough?" Zhang Xuan pondered for a moment, then said, "How about this, I'll call you, Little Fengzi..."

"You..." Hearing the three words "Little Fengzi," Master Wu almost vomited blood and fainted. He hurriedly turned to look at Master Mu, wanting to see if... he was telling the truth. Why he would address the other as Martial Uncle.

"Dean Zhang's teacher, I must address as Grandmaster. According to seniority, there's nothing wrong with me calling him Martial Uncle..." Knowing what he wanted to ask, Master Mu quickly said.

"This..." Master Wu's face turned green. Master Teachers valued etiquette and seniority. Even if this Dean Zhang himself wasn't particularly distinguished, if his teacher had high seniority, he would possess an extremely high status despite his own lower rank. Just like Confucius's students, even if they knew nothing, a 9-star Master Teacher would still have to address them as "Senior"! This was the rule. He had originally intended to give the other party a show of force, but unexpectedly, in the blink of an eye, he had become a martial nephew. Just thinking about it made him feel depressed.