Library of Heaven’s Path

“Principal Zhang, farewell!” Guild Leader Ruan also took her leave.

With this, aside from Zhang Xuan, only Sun Qiang and Liu Yang remained in the courtyard.

By the time Zhang Xuan turned around once more, Wang Ying and Elder Wei were already nowhere to be seen. With his hands behind his back, he looked into the deep night sky for a long time before saying, “Alright, let’s return back in.”

What that must go would eventually go.

To become true dragons, they couldn’t always remain by his side. How could they mature if they were always sheltered by him?

“Teacher…” Knowing that Zhang Xuan must be grieved over Wang Ying’s departure, Liu Yang stepped forward, wanting to say something. However, he suddenly felt someone grabbing his arm, holding him back.

“Let Young Master be alone for a while.” Sun Qiang said silently.

Liu Yang turned to look at Sun Qiang and saw the latter shaking his head. He hesitated for a brief moment before nodding and following the latter away.

Indeed. What his teacher needed at the moment were not words of comfort but tranquility.

To see one’s students leaving one’s side one after another was indeed not easy to bear.

After leaving the courtyard, Liu Yang looked at the dark night, and for some reason, the sky looked exceptionally gloomy tonight. He turned to Sun Qiang and asked, “What can I do for teacher?”

“What you can do for him is to cultivate diligently. Don’t let Young Master’s efforts go to waste!” Sun Qiang pondered for a brief moment before replying.

Liu Yang contemplated those words for a moment before clenching his fists tightly together. “You’re right. Zhao Ya, Lu Chong, Yuan Tao, Wei Ruyan, Zheng Yang, and Wang Ying, they have all left. I am the only one remaining now. I must work hard and grow stronger so as to not let teacher down!”

Back in those days when all of them cultivated together, while he wasn’t the one who improved the fastest, he wasn’t the slowest either. Training wasn’t easy, but he was satisfied.

However, that feeling of satisfaction had long vanished, replaced by immense anxiety and stress.

Zhao Ya, Yuan Tao, Wei Ruyan, and Lu Chong had left to inherit heritages that were suited for their unique constitution. Once they fully awakened their unique constitutions, their cultivation would surely soar through the ranks.

On the other hand, Zheng Yang and Wang Ying had left for the Combat Master Hall and Spirit Awakener Guild respectively, where they would inherit complete heritages and receive top-notch cultivation resources. Without a doubt, they would grow stronger swiftly as well.

Of them all, he was the only one who had remained stationary on the spot.

If he were to lag behind the others, wouldn’t it mean that teacher was not on par with those other powers?

“No, this won’t do. I have to work harder than ever!” With a complicated look in his eyes, Liu Yang turned around and returned back to his room.

He couldn’t waste the slightest bit of time. He must work harder than ever on his cultivation so as to catch up with the others!

As fellow students, he didn’t wish to be lagging far behind the others when they met once more. If so, he would truly become a baggage to his teacher.

“Hai…” Noting Liu Yang’s response, Sun Qiang shook his head. “Forget it, I shall not compete with those cultivation maniacs. Let me take a walk through the streets and see if there is any delectable food around here…”

Stretching his back lazily, Sun Qiang began making his way out.

Ever since he arrived at Qingyuan City, he had been accompanying the lot from the Xuanxuan Faction, and he hadn’t really gone anywhere yet. Since he had time now, it would be good for him to experience the nightlife in Qingyuan City for himself.

He didn’t have much interest in cultivation. Otherwise, given that the Young Master had personally tutored him and provided with him with generous cultivation resources, he should have long surpassed Half-Saint by now.

…

Standing quietly on the spot, Zhang Xuan felt an unprecedented feeling of loneliness.

His students had all nearly left him, and Luo Ruoxin was no longer around either. He couldn’t help but feel that it wouldn’t be long before he was all alone once more.

It was as if he was slowly regressing back into those days of solitude when he first transcended over to this world.

Back then, he was under the constant threat of expulsion, and there was not a student under his name.

Everything was completely foreign to him, but there was not the slightest support or solace he could find from those around him.

“They might learn better and stronger cultivation techniques staying by my side, but… it’s for the best that they have left! Staying by my side will only limit their growth as a person…”

A growth in cultivation was only a small aspect of life. In order to mature into adults, his students would have to venture into the larger world themselves and experience all kinds of things themselves.

As this thought surfaced in his mind, Zhang Xuan suddenly felt like he had grasped hold of that elusive thing he had been clawing at earlier.

“A teacher who truly loves his students would think ahead for them. Grooming a student isn’t like forging a weapon, where a forging technique and a blueprint would be sufficient to craft a good weapon. The students have their own life to live. They should experience the many aspects of life themselves, be it joy, anger, sorrow, or bitterness, and they should find their own goal and struggle for it too! If I were to just keep them by my side, all I can offer them is knowledge. They might be able to grow powerful this way as well, but I would be depriving them of an opportunity to temper themselves, and they would never be able to become true experts this way. The fact that they are leaving my side shows that they have already matured…”

Hong long!

His mind jolted, and a sound reminiscent of the rumbling of thunder echoed in his head. In the next moment, a unique aura abruptly descended from the sky and shrouded his figure.

The fourth acknowledgement of Celestial Master Teacher!

Tzzzzzzz!

That unique energy dived into his body, raising his Soul Depth swiftly.

At the same time, he fell into a trance, and his aura gradually grew deeper and steadier.

…

The Conference Hall of the Combat Master Hall.

“Hall Master Xing, here is the compilation of the combat knowledge we have learned from the Xuanxuan Faction over the past few days. According to them, they were all imparted from Principal Zhang!” the head of the Footwork Division, Lu Wangqiu, took out a few thick books.

He had only left to the Xuanxuan Faction to study. It didn’t mean that he was never coming back to the Combat Master Hall.

Hall Master Xing casually flipped open the first book and began browsing through it. Before long, his eyes lit up in excitement.

When he finally browsed through the books and mused over their content, he couldn’t help but exclaim, “Principal Zhang is indeed a genius. His understanding of combat has reached an unfathomable level! As simple as these theories may seem, they are directed towards the very crux of cultivation. Through this knowledge, our combat masters will be able to easily find the flaws of any battle technique and overcome them easily!”

He had never known that combat could be interpreted in such a straightforward and refreshing manner. As expected of Yang shi’s direct disciple, Principal Zhang was truly an incredible figure!

“Indeed. I was paying close heed when he conducted the lecture earlier during the exchange, and even though the knowledge he had imparted was simple, it was extremely enlightening. I felt that many new windows have opened up for my cultivation just by listening to his lecture!” the head of the Palm Division, Yan Qinghai, added.

The other division heads also nodded in agreement.

If they were still a little opposed to joining the Xuanxuan Faction before, after the exchange they had, such a feeling had vanished entirely. If anything, they would be delighted to join the Xuanxuan Faction at this point!

As long as they were to study diligently, they could foresee the overall prowess of the Combat Master Hall increasing by leaps and bounds.

“It seems like it’s the correct decision for us to participate in the exchange…” Hall Master Xing nodded in agreement. However, halfway through his words, he suddenly sensed something, and his eyes narrowed in astonishment.

Huala!

The other division heads seemed to have sensed the same thing that he did as well, and they hurriedly got to their feet.

“Let’s head over to take a look!”

Without any hesitation, Hall Master Xing dashed out. Not too long later, he arrived at a massive hall located a short distance away from the Conference Hall.

Placed within the hall were the tablets of the outstanding predecessors of the Combat Master Hall, as well as a sculpture of their founder.

Upon stepping into the hall, they saw the tablets and the sculpture of their founder trembling non-stop, as if they had witnessed something terrifying.

“What’s going on?” the head of the Footwork Division, Lu Wangqiu, asked in apprehension.

This was the first time he had seen such an occurrence in the eight hundred years of his life! Furthermore, there was no record of something of this sort happening in the long history of their Combat Master Hall!

Huala!

Just as Hall Master Xing and the other division heads were completely bewildered by the happenings before them, the tablets suddenly fell towards a certain direction. For some reason, their movement seemed to carry a hint of deference and respect.

At the same time, the sculpture of the founder also fell to the ground. It was as if it had finally encountered an existence worthy of its respect.

“T-this… Could it be…” Upon seeing these happenings, a thought suddenly came to Hall Master Xing’s mind, and his eyes narrowed in shock.

“What is it?”

The division heads quickly turned their gazes to him.

As combat masters devoted their time to furthering their combat skills, they weren’t as knowledgeable as the master teachers. It was inevitable that they would be ignorant about the various legends and formalities of the Master Teacher Pavilion either.

“Trembling of Myriad Tokens, the Bow of Submission of the Predecessors. This… it is the sign of the birth of a Celestial Master Teacher!” Hall Master Xing said hoarsely, his voice quivering in disbelief.

“Celestial Master Teacher?”

Those words left the faces of the other division heads paling as well.

…

Lu Ran was a master teacher apprentice of the Qingyuan Empire Master Teacher Pavilion.

He was in charge of cleaning and organizing the Teacher Acknowledgement Hall. It should have been his rest day today, but the other apprentice on duty had something urgent on, so he could only fill up for him.

I have already made an appointment with Luo Yan to meet her parents. Damn it, she’ll surely hold a grudge against me for this! Lu Ran muttered in distress.

If not for this darned duty, he would have been able to make it for their appointment tonight, and if things go well, he might be able to finally bring the beauty he had been courting back home and officially terminate his long term of singlehood… But due to this darned duty, all of his plans had gone down the drain.

The more he thought about this matter, the more frustrated he felt.

It’s only a bunch of lifeless tokens, is there a need to guard them day in day out? Pushing open the door to the Teacher Acknowledgement Hall, Lu Ran looked at the same barren sight before him and shook his head in frustration.

All that was in the Teacher Acknowledgement Hall was a bunch of old tokens and a sculpture of Kong shi.

He understood the need to respect one’s ancestors, but those were all lifeless objects! It should suffice to clean them once in a while, surely there should be no need to appoint a guard to specially look over them?

Forget it, I just have to endure this for another half a year. Once I am promoted to an official master teacher, I won’t have to do such dreary chores anymore! As an ordinary apprentice, it was inevitable that he would be appointed to carry out some menial labor for the Master Teacher Pavilion. However, once he became a true master teacher, his standing would become completely different from before.

It was true that a 1-star master teacher wasn’t anything much in Qingyuan Empire, but a master teacher was still a master teacher. With this identity shielding him, he wouldn’t have to live so humbly anymore, being at the beck and call of others.

Forget it, I should just have a good sleep here and apologize to Luo Yan tomorrow morning! Stretching his back lazily, Lu Ran headed to a corner of the Teacher Acknowledge Hall and placed a few cushions together before lying down on it.

Closing his eyes, he was on the verge of sleeping when he suddenly felt the entire hall tremoring intensely.

“W-what? What is going on?” Nearly scared of his wits, Lu Ran immediately leaped to his feet in horror.

He was in the Master Teacher Pavilion, the most important ground in Qingyuan Empire! There were many formations erected around it, such that even if an earthquake or avalanche were to occur, the Master Teacher Pavilion would still be able to emerge from it completely intact. And yet… just what in the world could have happened for such intense tremors to occur?

Horrified, he scanned the room warily, only to see the many tokens leaping down from their stands.

“This…” Upon seeing this sight, Lu Ran’s body shuddered in fear.

He had never encountered or heard of such a situation before!

Those tokens should have been lifeless objects! In the past, when he was cleaning those tokens, he had accidentally knocked down some of them, but it was not as if anything had happened to him…

Why would they suddenly come to life, jumping down from their stands?

Hualala!

Falling to the ground, they stood in a neat row, as if filing in on someone’s command, and with a simultaneous action, they turned to look in a specific direction.

Completely chilled by that eerie sight, Lu Ran hid in the corner, covering his mouth tightly with his trembling hands. He was afraid that if he would be killed if he were to make a move at this moment.

Hong long!

Just as he was considering whether he should quietly sneak out of the room to report this matter to the pavilion master, he suddenly saw the unmoving sculpture of Kong shi coming to life as well. It turned around and looked in the same direction as the tokens.

Its eyes were deep and distant, reminiscent to that of a living person.

In that instant, Lu Ran even forgot how to breathe. Kong shi’s sculpture slowly lowered its back and clasped its fist.

“Greetings, my comrade!”