Library of Heaven’s Path

”Cough cough! So, you are Principal Zhang! I have heard much about you, and you are indeed an outstanding individual!”

It took a long while before Wo Tianqiong and Shen Pingchao flew over awkwardly from the rubble to meet Zhang Xuan.

Had they known that it would end with such embarrassment, they would have just alighted from the ship immediately.

After suffering such a heavy and embarrassing fall, the towering and otherworldly image they had built with great difficulty had shattered into bits too.

”Junior Zhang Xuan pays respect to Principal Wo and Principal Shen!” Zhang Xuan bowed deeply.

As a 6-star master teacher, he couldn’t show any breach in etiquette toward a 7-star master teacher, or else the other party would be able to easily criticize his behavior.

”As fellow principals, we can be considered peers, so there is no need to uphold such formalities with us. Principal Zhang, it was indeed impolite of me to drive my flying ship into your Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy, but… may I ask of you to return my saint beasts to me?” Wo Tianqiong asked with a livid face as he clasped his fist.

As an artifact, the Cloudcliff Flying Ship wasn’t so fragile as to be destroyed with a single crash. While it did suffer a certain degree of damage, it was still within an acceptable range and could be repaired. However, those saint beasts were valuable assets of their Yunxu Master Teacher Academy, and even with the great wealth they possessed, it would be a huge blow to lose them!

Furthermore, without those saint beasts, how were their students and teachers supposed to return to the academy after the Combat Master Selection came to an end?

Qingyuan Conferred Empire had vast territories, and the Four Great Master Teacher Academies were located very far from one another. Even on the Cloudcliff Flying Ship, it still took them more than a month to get there. If they were to travel on foot, those who hadn’t reached Saint realm would probably first die of old age before returning back!

With a conflicted expression, Zhang Xuan pondered for a moment before saying, ”It is not really a problem for me to return them to you, but…”

”But what?” Wo Tianqiong asked.

Shaking his head, Zhang Xuan replied, ”To be honest, for this Combat Master Selection, our Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy invited top-notch gardeners to put up exquisite sights for those present to enjoy. For that, we purchased many valuable artifacts in order to bring out magnificent aesthetics worthy of the occasion, and as a result, we are still knee-deep in debt at the moment. Yet, your flying ship has destroyed everything with its crash. Considering the wealth that your Yunxu Master Teacher Academy has, is it possible… for you to compensate us for that? If you are willing to do so, I will surely return your saint beasts immediately!”

The fall of the Cloudcliff Flying Ship had caused a huge depression in the ground, and many of the academy’s buildings had been reduced to rubble.

”Top-notch gardeners? Exquisite sights? Valuable artifacts?” Wo Tianqiong’s mouth twitched.

It was not like he couldn’t see the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy from his flying ship, and he knew that those were ordinary buildings. Furthermore, exquisite sights? Valuable artifacts? He had taken a look when the ship crashed to the ground, and the wreckage only covered an ordinary square and several streets.

Despite knowing this, he had no choice but to go along with whatever the other party was saying since his saint beasts were being held captive by the other party. Thus, clasping his fist, Wo Tianqiong asked, ”May I know how much it will cost?”

”I am not too sure about it either. As you all know, it hasn’t been long since I became the principal, so I am not too sure about such matters either. Why don’t I help you ask around?”

Waving his hand, Zhang Xuan beckoned School Head Mo over and asked, ”School Head Mo, I need you to come up with an estimate for the cost of repairing the buildings and artifacts that Principal Wo’s flying ship has destroyed.”

”Yes!” School Head Mo nodded before flying into the air to assess the damage.

A moment later, he returned and informed Zhang Xuan through zhenqi telepathy, ”Principal Zhang, the flying ship has destroyed a total of eight buildings and three lakes. All in all, the reparation cost should add up to around… two high-tier spirit stones!”

Even though it might seem as if high-tier spirit stones were not worth much, given the astounding pace at which Zhang Xuan was consuming them, their purchasing power was not to be scoffed at.

The area that the flying ship had crashed into didn’t have any important amenities, so two high-tier spirit stones was more than sufficient to repair them perfectly.

”What did you say?” As if he couldn’t believe what he had heard, Zhang Xuan exclaimed in shock as a frown surfaced on his forehead. ”20,000 high-tier spirit stones? Are you sure that is sufficient to fix the amenities perfectly?”

”20,000…” School Head Mo was dumbstruck by Zhang Xuan’s response.

When did I say twenty thousand? I clearly said two high-tier spirit stones…

”Those exquisite buildings were not only carefully built by the hands of top-notch masters, they are also symbolic of the sweat and tears of our predecessors, an important heritage of our Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy! Its value is not something that can be measured with just money! Take a closer look before coming up with another estimate. Don’t worry, the Yunxu Master Teacher Academy is the leading academy of the Four Great Master Teacher Academies. Given their prestige and wealth, they won’t stoop so low as to avoiding payment!” Zhang Xuan said.

”Keng…” School Head Mo’s lips twitched. With a questioning tone, he asked, ”Then… about 25,000? Or perhaps 30,000?”

”Are you certain 30,000 is enough?” Zhang Xuan asked sternly.

”30,000… does seem to be insufficient now that you mention it. How about 50,000?” School Head Mo’s eyelids were twitching uncontrollably as he spoke.

”50,000? We need that many high-tier spirit stones to repair the amenities? Well, I guess that is to be expected. Those are the legacies that our predecessors have left in our hands, and we can’t measure them with just mere money.”

Zhang Xuan sighed deeply before turning an apologetic gaze to Wo Tianqiong. ”Principal Wo, just as you have heard, the destruction the flying ship has caused to our academy is simply too great. We will require roughly 50,000 high-tier spirit stones in order to restore it to its original state.”

Hearing those words, Wo Tianqiong’s eyelids twitched uncontrollably.

Can you be any faker than that?

Those lousy amenities of yours won’t even cost five high-tier spirit stones to repair… but the price you are telling me is 50,000?

Do you take me for a fool?

However, he knew that the other party was intentionally hiking up the price in order to repay the favor. Well, he was indeed the one who had been disrespectful first.

Sighing helplessly, Wo Tianqiong shook his head and offered a compromise, ”Cough cough. Principal Zhang, it was indeed discourteous of me to have my flying ship barge into the grounds of your academy. For this, allow me to earnestly apologize to you for my breach of etiquette. How about this, why don’t you allow my Yunxu to repair your amenities for you? I guarantee that they will be exactly the same as before.”

Noting the other party’s courteous attitude, Zhang Xuan replied with a smile, ”You are offering to repair our amenities for us? I can’t expect Principal Wo to do that for us! However, it happens that our academy is still lacking a grade-7 Spirit Gathering Formation, so if Principal Wo is willing to have one set up for us, we will take care of the reparations ourselves.”

Bringing a massive ship to my academy, are you trying to put on airs before me? You should be glad that I am willing to back down with just this. Otherwise, my airs would be able to easily crush you into the ground!

”A grade-7 Spirit Gathering Formation?” Hearing those words, Wo Tianqiong’s cheeks began to twitch.

To set up a grade-7 formation, not only would one have to invite 7-star formation masters over, one would have to purchase grade-7 formation flags as well. Each one of those grade-7 formation flags cost a huge fortune, and to buy enough of them to construct a formation covering an entire academy and capable of operating for many years… The cost was nothing short of terrifying!

But judging from the other party’s expression, this seemed to be the other party’s bottom line. If he were to turn this down as well, it was likely that he wouldn’t be getting back his saint beasts.

Sixteen saint beasts that possessed the Dragon Bloodline, that was a huge fortune to their academy! Furthermore, for them to be kidnapped before their eyes, that was a huge disgrace to the Yunxu Master Teacher Academy. He had to get them back no matter the cost!

Thus, after a moment of hesitation, Wo Tianqiong finally clenched his jaw and replied, ”Alright, I will agree to your request!”

”Principal Wo sure is generous; you have my respect!” Zhang Xuan clasped his fist politely before turning to the saint beasts behind him and flicking his wrists consecutively to return their droplets of blood, thus releasing their master-servant contract. ”Alright, you are free now. You should return to Yunxu.”

Roar roar roar!

Hearing Zhang Xuan’s words, the saint beasts howled indignantly, unwilling to part from him.

As ones who possessed the Dragon Bloodline, they understood the significance behind the Eight Notes of the Heavenly Dragons. The person before them was very likely a transformation of a Pureblooded Dragon. It wasn’t easy for them to take him as their master, and they took pride in the very fact. Yet, in the next moment, their contracts were dispelled, so it was natural that they would feel indignant.

Seeing the reactions of those saint beasts, Wo Tianqiong gritted his teeth and promised, ”If you return to Yunxu, I will double your provisions!”

Roar!

Hearing his promise, the sixteen saint beasts hesitated for a long moment before reluctantly returning back to the Cloudcliff Flying Ship, unhappy and disappointed.

Watching this sight, Wo Tianqiong felt incredibly stifled within, and he had to calm himself for a long while before he could catch his breath.

He had heard that Principal Zhang was a person who had the uncanny ability to realize the seemingly unexpected and impossible, and after seeing it in person, he couldn’t help but fervently agree with it.

Indeed, the other party was indeed so skilled at realizing the unexpected that he felt that he might die from stress if it were to happen a few more times.

Just after he eased the pain in his chest, the young man opposite to him suddenly sighed deeply and said, ”If you really wish to follow me, you can always secretly return after sending them back to Yunxu.”

Roar roar roar!

The sixteen saint beasts immediately howled in frenzied delight.

Wo Tianqiong suddenly felt the intense ache in his chest return, threatening to take his life away.

What the heck is this? You can’t do that!

At this rate, I fear that I will die of rage even before the Combat Master Selection begins.

He had been pumped up when he first arrived, thinking that with the experts Yunxu had, they would surely achieve unprecedentedly good results this time around. Who could have known that even before the Combat Master Selection had begun, he would already be done in badly by the new principal of the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy?

Just thinking about the matter left him incredibly frustrated inside.

Driving his zhenqi to suppress the pain in his chest, Wo Tianqiong said, ”Alright. Now that we have resolved this problem, let’s talk about how we should proceed for the Combat Master Selection.”

”Indeed. The reason we are gathered here today is for the centennial Combat Master Selection, so we should get to the main topic at hand!” Shen Pingchao said. ”Combat masters represent the top fighting power within the Master Teacher Pavilion, and they are the sharpest blades that mankind has to fend off the threat of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe. As such, we have to deal with this matter carefully.”

”That is a given.” Zhang Xuan nodded.

He had only given them a small punishment for their disrespect toward the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy previously. After that was settled, he would still have to collaborate with them closely on the Combat Master Selection so as to not impede such an important matter.

Putting aside the matter from before, Wo Tianqiong said grimly, ”The slots for the Combat Master Selection this round have been doubled. On previous occasions, only fifty students were accepted over the five grades for the Four Great Master Teacher Academies, but this time around, they are accepting a hundred!”

”Accepting a hundred?” This was the first time Zhang Xuan was hearing about the slots for the Combat Master Selection, and he couldn’t help but be astonished.

Over the five grades, Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy had more than a hundred thousand students. Even though he wasn’t too sure about the numbers for the other three Master Teacher Academies, considering their superior standing to Hongyuan, their numbers likely exceeded Hongyuan’s.

In other words, using even the most conservative of estimates, out of a total of 400,000 students across the Four Great Master Teacher Academies, only a hundred people were accepted into the Combat Master Hall once every century!

In other words, the ratio was 1 in 4000!

Furthermore, if they were to consider the norm of fifty slots, the ratio would rise to 1 in 8000. It was no wonder others viewed entering the Combat Master Hall as a great prestige, it was extremely difficult to join!

”While the number of slots did increase, the selection has become stricter as well. I heard that there might even be life-and-death duels!” Shen Pingchao continued.

”Life-and-death duels?” Zhang Xuan frowned upon hearing those words.

”Indeed. Unlike normal master teachers, the sole responsibility for combat masters is to fight and fend off the dangers threatening humanity. Without undergoing a life-and-death situation, how can they display fighting prowess surpassing the ordinary?” Wu Ran said.