Library of Heaven’s Path

Several long queues of master teachers extending all the way to the horizon could be seen on the plain at the foot of the mountain.

At the forefront of every single queue were upper-grade students from the academy. They were in charge of checking the quantity and grade of the inner cores procured by the examinees and tabulating the scores. From time to time, there were those who tried their chances by bringing out inner cores procured before the examination, but how could the eyes of a master teacher be fooled that easily?

Zhang Xuan had joined one of those queues. He curiously glanced at the spectacle ahead of him.

There seemed to be a couple of examinees who passed the examination, but those who failed seemed to be in the majority.

”The examination this year is too hard! From the looks of it, out of the thirty thousand examinees, perhaps only ten thousand will pass!”

”This is way too difficult! We have allied ourselves with the master teachers from two other empires, and we thought that we could clear the examination easily. Who could have known that we would end up falling for the spirit beasts’ encirclement and suffer heavy losses?”

”We also fell into their trap as well! Our group of three hundred ended up being scattered by their onslaught, and eventually, fifty of us were grievously wounded in the encounter. After two hours of battle, right after noon, the spirit beasts suddenly retreated. Only then did we manage to hunt down a few spirit beasts, but it was still insufficient for most of us to clear the examination!”

”The spirit beasts who encircled us also retreated after noon. However, we weren’t as lucky. There were simply too many casualties among us, so we could only rest on the spot. In the end, we only managed to gather a handful of inner cores.”

…

Proceeding forward, Zhang Xuan heard some discussions among the examinees.

’It is fortunate that we managed to avoid the worst situation…’

Hearing the discussions, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief instead.

It was fortunate that he had noticed and intervened in the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe’s scheme early on. Otherwise, it would be hard to tell how many of the thirty thousand master teachers would still be breathing now.

Such loss would be severe even for the Master Teacher Pavilion!

’This credit… I guess I shan’t claim it from the Master Teacher Pavilion!’

After a moment of hesitation, Zhang Xuan chose to hide this matter.

Unravelling the sinister ploy of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe and saving several ten thousand master teachers was a huge achievement. If reported, Zhang Xuan would be handsomely rewarded. At the very least, it shouldn’t be difficult for him to obtain dozens of high-tier spirit stones from this.

But if so, it would be hard for him to explain about Vicious and the Otherworldly Demon puppets. These two were currently his most valuable asset, his life preservation means. They were more valuable than any spirit stones.

Thus, there was no choice but to forgo this credit.

’Such a pity…’

Having this opportunity slip right by his fingers, Zhang Xuan felt his heart ache.

If he could obtain several dozen high-tier spirit stones, that would be sufficient for him to cultivate up to Saint realm!

If there was any consolation, at least he managed to obtain the valuable Aerial Strike Amulet, and more importantly, the Myriad Anthive Nest and the Byzantium Helios Beast.

’If it comes down to it, I can always kill the Byzantium Helios Beast. Its meat can be broiled as soup, its bones and claws can be forged as weapons, its fur can be weaved as clothes, and its inner core is a valuable cultivation resource… Considering that these are parts of a saint beast, they should fetch quite a number of spirit stones!’ Zhang Xuan thought as he stroked chin.

While it was a pity that he couldn’t receive the rewards from the Master Teacher Pavilion, he should still be able to earn some wealth from dissecting the Byzantium Helios Beast and selling its parts.

’Yes. I should look into this matter after the examination. If that fellow still remains as obstinate as before…’

Thinking that it was a feasible solution, Zhang Xuan nodded in satisfaction. ’But when I sell it, I should make sure to do it discreetly so as to not reveal my identity. Otherwise, it may become hard to explain where the saint beast came from and how it was killed!’

The Byzantium Helios Beast was a Saint 1-dan pinnacle expert. In Hongyuan Empire, it could be considered as one of the strongest existence already.

If it became known that a freshman of the Master Teacher Academy had managed to hunt such a beast and dissected it to sell, it would surely cause a huge stir.

If the Ten Great Master Teachers were to come begging to take him in as their disciple, he would be put in a spot.

Just the thought of it left him with a splitting headache.

Why was remaining humble such a difficult task?

He had already made up his mind to study silently in the Master Teacher Academy and leave right after his strength had become satisfactorily… He didn’t want to cause a huge stir as he did in the other empires and kingdoms.

To be seen as the God of Destruction despite being a master teacher was truly shameful.

Just as Zhang Xuan was in the midst of contemplation, he suddenly heard an interesting piece of news.

”You know, I heard that a batch of people returned at noon. Despite returning early, not only did they clear the examination, they even received a frightening number of points!” A master teacher who had managed to lay his hands on some intelligence revealed that in a hushed voice.

”Returned at noon? Frightening number of points? Who?” the second master teacher asked skeptically.

”I am not too sure. I only heard of the matter from the seniors in front. It seems like the current first place for the examination has a massive lead over the others!”

”Massive lead over the others? Do you mean that the person surpasses even Senior Hu from Wanyu Empire? I saw Senior Hu taking out 27 inner cores personally, and a couple of them were from Cosmos Bridge realm spirit beasts. All in all, he was awarded more than 700 points! Yet, someone actually achieved a score higher than him? Are you for real?”

The second master teacher widened his eyes in shock.

Most of those in their group didn’t even manage to acquire a single point, but Senior Hu from Wanyu Empire actually managed to take out 27 inner cores. As such, this matter caused a huge stir amongst the examinees. Yet, there was actually someone who arrived at noon who did better than Senior Hu?

”I am unaware of the details as well. I only heard bits and pieces of the seniors’ conversation…”

”Higher than 700 points? That man who returned at noon sure is incredible! It seems like there are indeed quite a few geniuses amongst the freshmen!”

Hearing the content of the conversation, Zhang Xuan nodded in commendation.

Considering how the inner core of a Cosmos Bridge realm primary stage spirit beast was worth 100 points, it would mean that one would have to slay at least six to seven of them to achieve a score of 700 points!

Most of the examinees were still at Transcendent Mortal 4-dan pinnacle. One could already be considered to be the elite of the group if one’s cultivation was at Consonant Spirit realm. So far, the only Cosmos Bridge realm cultivator Zhang Xuan had seen was Brother Yu.

But even with Brother Yu’s capability, slaying a Cosmos Bridge realm primary stage spirit beast was still an extremely difficult task.

Yet, a formidable genius had actually returned at noon and achieved a score far higher than 700 points. That person’s capability was indeed frightening!

Based on Zhang Xuan’s estimations, that person might even be on par with him.

’I really should find a chance to meet that incredible person. I wonder what kind of formidable figure could nurture such a talented genius!’

The more Zhang Xuan thought about it, the more impressed he felt.

”Massive lead over the others? Did he score a thousand points? But so what if he scored a thousand points, that is nothing at all!”

At that moment, a cold harrumph suddenly sounded.

Hearing such arrogant words, the conversing master teachers frowned and turned around. However, upon seeing the person who spoke those words, they subconsciously took a step back.

What appeared before their eyes were two young men dressed in beastskin. Despite their shabby appearance, the powerful aura they exuded revealed their incredible prowess.

One of them was at the Half-Cosmos Bridge realm whereas the other was a true Cosmos Bridge realm expert!

It was no wonder they were so confident. With their combined strength, even a Cosmos Bridge realm primary stage spirit beast wouldn’t post a threat to them!

Just that…

Why were they both dressed in beastskin, as if they were from some kind of tribal village?

More importantly, the beastskin they wore was extremely crude. There was probably no adjective in the world that could describe how ugly it looked.

The weaker of the duo was even carrying a bag created out of beastskin…

To think that a half 5-star master teacher would actually be carrying a bag… Were they so poor that they couldn’t even afford a storage ring?

While master teachers prided themselves on their humility, weren’t the two of them being a little too humble?

Zhang Xuan also glanced over, and he realized that the both of them were familiar faces.

They were the duo who had made the bet with him… Brother Yu and Senior Feng!

Shouldn’t the both of them be elegant and dashing gentlemen? This newfound style of theirs…

They seem to be challenging their fashion sense a little too far…

”Zhang shi, it’s good that you have returned. Do you dare to verify your score together with me?” Ignoring the astonished crowd, Brother Yu’s lips crept up as he glanced at Zhang Xuan.

Even though his possessions had been stripped clean by a ferocious spirit beast earlier at noon, it was fortunate that he still had his Beastscale Incense. Through it, not only had he managed to hunt a fair number of spirit beasts, he had obtained even more inner cores than before!

With this, he was confident that he would be able to triumph over Zhang shi!

Perhaps, he might even overtake the current first place and make a name for himself in the Master Teacher Academy!

”Sure.”

Zhang Xuan nodded.

While he had spent most of his time on the mountain questioning the Byzantium Helios Beast, he still managed to obtain a fair number of inner cores.

It shouldn’t be too difficult for him to win against these two.

Sensing the strong rivalry between the beastskin master teachers and Zhang shi, the crowd hurriedly opened up a path for them to pass through.

In just a short moment, the trio arrived at the forefront of the queue.

”I have a bet with this Zhang shi, I hope you can tabulate our points for us!”

Looking at the few invigilating seniors ahead of them, Brother Yu bowed politely.

”Bet?”

The invigilating seniors frowned upon hearing those words.

”Indeed! Zhang shi and I have bet a high-tier spirit stone on who would obtain a higher score in this examination. I fear that he will renege on his promise, so I hope that you can help us judge this matter!” Brother Yu said.

”A high-tier spirit stone?”

”The stakes sure are high…”

Hearing the content of the bet, the examinees in the surroundings gasped in shock.

Even the seniors were taken aback as well.

They were Grade 2 students of the Master Teacher Academy, but they didn’t dare to make such a huge bet either.

”To stake a high-tier spirit stone on a bet… The freshmen sure are getting gutsier with each passing year! Fine, I’ll judge your bet!”

The senior remarked before nodding in agreement. ”Pass your inner cores over.”

”Alright!”

Brother Yu beckoned to Senior Feng, and the latter immediately took off his bag and opened it.

Huala!

A bunch of inner cores rolled onto the table.

”So many inner cores…”

”Consonant Spirit and Cosmos Bridge realm spirit beast inner cores… What is that?”

”Crimson in color, t-that is… a Perfect Harmonization realm primary stage spirit beast inner core! How is that possible?”

”The sharp aura reminiscent of a blade and the searing sensation when gazing upon it, there is no doubt that this is the inner core of a Perfect Harmonization realm spirit beast!”

”To actually hunt and procure the inner core of a Perfect Harmonization realm spirit beast… It looks like the champion seat is going to change hands!”

”Indeed…”

…

Looking at the inner cores on the table, the crowd was stunned for an instant before a huge uproar broke out.

Putting aside the other inner cores, just the Perfect Harmonization realm primary stage spirit beast inner core was already worth a hulking 1000 points!

Even the genius who arrived at noon whom the seniors were speaking about was unlikely to compare to this!

It was no wonder the two of them were so arrogant. They had something to back up their words!