Library of Heaven’s Path

”This...”

Hearing the howling of the three, Elder Mo and Huang Yu glanced at one another before turning to look at Zhang Xuan.

If what they said was true, the Teacher Guild would have to look into the matter!

If the results of the investigation were in line with their claims, it was quite likely for this Zhang laoshi to be stripped of his teaching license!

”Seems like I have underestimated them. They are also skilled at using rules to their advantage!”

He didn’t expect that after suffering so many consecutive blows, they would still be able to make a counterattack. Zhang Xuan frowned.

It seemed that regardless which world one was in, some things never changed. If a despicable person were to lay their fangs on someone, they could only await their death.

To speak of the truth, the mess that his previous self had left him was indeed troublesome to deal with.

If the academy didn’t bring it up, he would be safe and he could continue on conducting his lessons. On the other hand, if the academy decided to bring it up, they could report it to the Teacher Guild and he would face the danger of having his teaching license revoked.

If he was stripped of his teaching license, his situation would not be any better than Cao Xiong!

Thus, no matter what, he mustn’t let them succeed!

However, it was a fact that he had scored a zero in the Teacher Qualification Examination, and he did indeed send a student’s cultivation berserk. This was the doing of his previous self, and he was unable to undo it even if he wanted to…

That is to say, the mess that his previous self left him with was potentially his downfall. Even if he was able to nurture powerful students through the Library of Heaven’s Path from today onwards, it would still be difficult for him to become a Master Teacher and earn the trust of others.

He must find a way to resolve the problem!

Rubbing his glabella[1], Zhang Xuan felt helpless.

His transcension was something he had no power over, and he was unable to decide the timeline where he would transcend into. Besides, if not for the failings of his previous self, he would be unable to transcend over as well!

Could he just stand idly as they report the incident up to the Teacher Guild and have his teaching license revoked?

Absolutely not!

”Un? Aren’t I unable to explain the reason behind the sudden surge in my strength? What a coincidence, I can make use of this...”

Just as he was at a loss of what to do, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind and an incredible idea popped into his head. Looking at Shang Chen and Shang Bin once more, the corners of his lips crept upwards, ”Since neither of you are willing to leave a path for me, I will be apologizing in advance then...”

…

”Zhang Xuan, aren’t you gleeful? Let’s see how you can continue being so gleeful after you are summoned to the Teacher Guild...” Sensing Elder Mo and Huang Yu’s hesitation, Shang Bin laughed in anticipation.

However, before his laughter could come to an end, he caught sight of Zhang Xuan. His hands were behind his back and he looked over hesitatingly, with dilemma reflected in his gaze.

There seemed to be something bothering his mind, and he was contemplating whether he should speak of it or not.

”Why? You want to beg for mercy?” Seeing Zhang Xuan behaving in such a manner, exultation filled Shang Bin. ”However... it’s too late now!”

”Beg for mercy?” Zhang Xuan shook his head. ”You’re thinking too much about it. I am just considering... whether I should speak of it or not?”

”Sigh!”

At this point, he sighed. His frustration and pain, as well as sorrow and dilemma, could be felt from his sigh.

All in all, it was clear from his sigh that worries plagued his mind, and that he was a sorrowful man with a story behind his back.

”Speak of it? Speak of what?”

Unsure about what he was up to, Shang Bin frowned.

”Forget it, since that is the case...”

Ignoring his words, Zhang Xuan shook his head. With a bewailing look on his face, he hesitated for a moment longer before speaking, ”Initially, as colleagues and fellow teachers, for the sake of the reputation of the academy, even if you have done something overboard, I should keep the big picture in mind and let it go. From the looks of it now...”

At this point, with his hands behind his back, his eyes gazed upwards, seemingly filled with pain.

”Hm? What do you mean?”

Seeing him sigh and shake his head, the attention of the crowd focused on him. Shang Bin and Shang Chen exchanged gazes, unsure of what that fellow was up to.

What are you putting on an act for!

You are about to be fired at any moment now, the fact won’t change no matter how superb your acting is!

”I think he is just intentionally spouting bullshit to divert our attention! Don’t be fooled by him!” Shang Bin harrumphed.

Scoring zero for the Teacher Qualification Examination and making a student go berserk were facts about him that everyone in the academy knew... No matter what he did, it was impossible for him to clean the stain off his name.

So what if you are eloquent?

You are unable to deny these facts!

Even if you try to deny it, there are archives of your doings. Let’s see how you can round up your story then.

”Master Zhang, is there something that is bothering your mind? Elder Mo and I are here, so feel free to speak up!” Huang Yu said.

”Indeed!” Zhang Xuan looked at the other party in commendation as he nodded his head.

Putting on an act for so long, what he had been waiting for were these words. Now that she had finally posed the question, he could proceed with the story.

”Actually, I didn’t want to expose this...”

Zhang Xuan shook his head bitterly and a sorrowful expression overlaid his face. Taking two steps over to the Strength Measuring Rock Pillar in the center of the hall, he clenched his fist and sent it straight at the pillar.

Weng!

Light flashed on it and a string of number floated into appearance!

55 ding!

He only used half of his strength, but after re-cultivating the first 3 dans of his cultivation technique, the zhenqi in his body became even purer, causing his 49 ding of strength to rise slightly.

”55 ding?”

”Pixue realm pinnacle?”

”If he possesses the strength of a Pixue realm pinnacle, then... Why does the examination reflect his strength as Zhenqi realm?”

…

Despite hearing from Bai xiao wangye that Zhang Xuan was stronger than him and the crowd had already prepared themselves mentally for it, they were still filled with disbelief upon seeing how much strength he held beneath his fists! Gasps of shock floated in the room as the lower jaws of everyone in the room seemed to be falling to the floor.

Fighter 6-dan Pixue realm, for every acupoint broken through, one’s strength would be increased by 1 ding. Most people only ended up opening 30 to 40 acupoints in their lives. Even at Pixue realm pinnacle, their strength didn’t reach such heights.

To possess such strength with just a single fist, this clearly showed that... he had reached Pixue realm pinnacle!

But... the examination he had undergone before the break clearly showed that he only had the strength of a Fighter 3-dan Zhenqi realm pinnacle. For his strength to jump several realms in the duration of a break…

This was impossible!

This was unheard of, even with the most incredible geniuses in the history of the kingdom!

Bewildered, everyone looked at him as they awaited his explanation.

”During the examination that was conducted before the break, I was only Zhenqi realm. I’m sure everyone is curious to know how I became a Pixue realm expert all of a sudden!”

After taking in everyone’s reaction, Zhang Xuan slowly explained, ”Actually... my cultivation didn’t soar within just a week! Just like everyone else, I trained through the conventional method! Even though my strength did not reach 50 ding before the break, I wasn’t too far off from it!”

”You already possessed such strength before the break? No, that can’t be right. Back then, during the Teacher Qualification Examination, your cultivation realm was evaluated to be...”

Halfway through his words, clan head Wang Hong suddenly paused. A thought flashed through his mind and he continued, ”Hongtian Academy’s Teacher Qualification Examination is held under private conditions, and the results of individual teachers are released by the Education Bureau... One wouldn’t know how another fares in the examination other than through the results released by the Education Bureau! That means... the examination results of you possessing the cultivation level of Zhenqi realm from the Education Bureau is not true...”

Hearing his words, everyone came to a realization.

Regardless of whether it was his Teacher Qualification Examination results or his level of cultivation, they were evaluated and released by the Education Bureau. During the examination, no one else was at the scene.

That is to say... It was highly possible that the Education Bureau falsified the results!

[1] Glabella -> Center of eyebrows

[2] 贼咬一口，入骨三分 -> If a despicable person were to lay their fangs on someone, they can only await their death.

Translating literally: If a despicable person were to bite you, their fangs will sink into your bones.

It describes the scenario where one is unable to redress themselves of their accusations from another.