Library of Heaven's Path

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

"Indeed, I am Zhang Xuan!"

Zhang Xuan scratched his head bewilderedly, uncomprehending of the reactions of the seniors.

'I am already being very low profile, choosing not to take out the Byzantium Helios Beast. Why are you all still acting like that?

'Besides, my points are lower than Yu Cheng's as well. Surely your agitation should be directed toward him instead of me?'

Not only was Zhang Xuan stunned, the other master teachers in the area were also surprised to see such reactions from the composed seniors. Did all of them suffer a stroke simultaneously?

Suddenly, one of the older seniors exclaimed, "Everyone, he is Zhang shi!", catching the attention of all of the other seniors.

"What? He is Zhang shi?"

"So it's you, you are as dashing as I thought…"

"Zhang shi, I am Liu Chuang from Grade 2, pleased to meet you. If you find yourself facing any trouble in the academy, feel free to look for me…"

"I am Zhi Zhijun from Grade 2, a member of the Enforcement Squad in the academy. Are you free tonight? Our team would like to host a welcome party to celebrate your enrollment…"

"Hah, is a welcome party all you can offer? Zhang shi, I know that you are a beast tamer, so I have prepared 2000 Beast Crystals for you. You need not feel any pressure accepting these, just regard it as a gift from a brother…"

"Beast Crystals? What a shabby gift to offer to another. Zhang shi, I have prepared a Beast Blood Pill for you…"

…

Hearing the exclamation, the invigilating seniors immediately tossed aside their jobs and rushed up to Zhang Xuan. They gazed at Zhang Xuan intimately as if he were their kin, and their eyes were shining so brightly in excitement that they could nearly light up the night.

"This…"

Not expecting the other seniors to treat him in such an amiable fashion right after hearing his name, Zhang Xuan rubbed his nose awkwardly. He couldn't comprehend the sight before him… Could it be that the news of him beating up the Byzantium Helios Beast had become known?

But that shouldn't be!

He had instructed Vicious to ensure that no one was around when he pummeled the Byzantium Helios Beast, so it should be impossible for anyone to have noticed that matter.

Not even Elder Mo would be able to get past Vicious' radar!

But if the news hadn't been leaked, what kind of insanity were these people up to?

Zhang Xuan hadn't killed a single high-tier spirit beast or display outstanding prowess throughout the examination… Could he be so brilliant that not even his humble performance could conceal his radiance any longer?

Upon thinking of this, Zhang Xuan subconsciously glanced down at his appearance—a normal master teacher robe… Un, it didn't seem that there was anything unique about him. His aura… had also been suppressed to Consonant Spirit realm pinnacle. As for his Heaven's Path zhenqi, they shouldn't be able to sense it either…

While Zhang Xuan was baffled by the situation before him, Yu Cheng was on the verge of going insane.

'I am clearly the winner, alright?

'I won the bet, accumulating a score of more than two thousand points, displaying an extraordinary performance in contrast to my peers… Yet, instead of speaking to me, you actually chose to show care and concern to a loser instead, inviting him to a meal and even gifting him valuable items…

'Do you need to be so obvious that you are fawning on someone?

'Where is your pride as seniors!'

Yu Cheng's lips twitched violently, and his eyes reddened in frenzy… 'The heck! I am the freaking winner here, I really am! It isn't this Zhang shi over here!'

On the other hand, Senior Feng also swallowed his saliva upon seeing the situation before him. The insanity that was unfolding before him had left him on the verge of madness.

He thought that he would be able to wash away his previous humiliations with this triumph, but who knew that the other party would still up him one in the end!

In the end, it seemed like nothing had changed at all.

"What is going on? What are you doing gathering here instead of invigilating the test properly?"

Just as everyone was feeling faint from the madness before them, a sharp bellow suddenly echoed in the air. Following which, a stern-looking middle-aged man walked over.

"It is Bai shi from the academy's Enforcement Hall! He is known throughout the academy to be an austere person…"

"I heard that Bai shi is Elder Mo's direct disciple. Even though he is a 6-star low-tier master teacher, he possesses a great deal of influence in the academy!"

"Direct disciple? You must be mistaken. Up until now, Elder Mo has been known to have never accepted a single direct disciple. Bai shi is simply an ordinary student under him…"

"Regardless of whether he is a direct disciple or not, he is still a figure that we can only look up to…."

…

Such soft whispers could be heard amidst the crowd.

Bai shi's cultivation and master teacher rank couldn't be considered to be exceptional, but he was extremely famous in the academy. As he had always followed behind Elder Mo, most had thought of him to be the latter's direct disciple.

"Bai shi!"

As expected, as soon as the seniors noticed Bai shi's arrival, they immediately dashed back to their positions at the speed of light.

"The reason teacher has made you the invigilators of this examination is due to his high opinion of your diligence and honesty. Who allowed you to approach the examinees on your own whim to strike up private connections with them here?" Bai shi glared at the seniors coldly.

The powerful aura of a Transcendent Mortal 9-dan weighed down heavily on them.

5-star master teacher corresponded to cultivation realms of Transcendent Mortal 6-dan, 7-dan, and 8-dan. To become a 6-star master teacher, one had to at least possess the cultivation of a 9-dan!

As a 6-star low-tier master teacher, Bai shi was a Transcendent Mortal 9-dan pinnacle expert. There were none that stood here who could match him.

"Yes…"

Those words left the faces of the seniors turning red in embarrassment.

"What are you waiting for? Hurry up and continue with the invigilation!"

Bai shi waved his hand majestically.

The frightened seniors hurriedly turned their attention back to tabulating the scores of the examinees.

"Humph!"

Bai shi harrumphed coldly. After ensuring that everything was back in order, he turned to Zhang Xuan. Unlike the previous austerity he had shown to the seniors, he had a slight smile on his face at the moment. Clasping his fist, he bowed. "Senior Zhang, teacher has invited you to meet him!"

"Senior?"

"Bai shi has addressed Zhang shi as… senior? Could it be that Elder Mo intends to take Zhang shi in as his direct disciple?"

"That would explain why all of the seniors are eager to fawn over him. After all, Elder Mo is one of the Ten Great Elders of the academy! The standing of his students is above that of most teachers. Just look at Bai shi, there is barely anyone who would dare stand in his way!"

"Indeed. To be accepted as the direct disciple despite having yet to officially enroll in the academy… How enviable!"

…

Seeing the politeness Bai shi was showing to Zhang shi, everyone suddenly froze.

For one to be addressed in such a manner by a 6-star master teacher, there was only one possibility—Elder Mo was intending to take in Zhang Xuan as his direct disciple!

But… hadn't Zhang shi just arrived at the academy, just like them?

All they had done to date was take the entrance examination. What in the world did the other party do to actually catch the eye of Elder Mo, who had never accepted a single direct disciple before?

Wasn't he way too lucky!

"Elder Mo? Alright."

Noticing all of the gazes on him, Zhang Xuan realized that his plan to maintain a low profile had fallen through. With a deep sigh, he nodded and followed Bai shi down the mountain.

A moment later, they disappeared from the crowd's sight.

"Why?! I am obviously the victor! I am the one who won! But why…"

Seeing Zhang Xuan leave under the escort of Bai shi, Yu Cheng's eyes reddened in frenzy.

The reason he intentionally challenged Zhang Xuan was so as to force himself to perform spectacularly.

Even with his inner cores stolen, he still managed to obtain an amazing score exceeding two thousand points.

Given his outstanding result, why did Elder Mo choose to take in a person who had lost to him instead?

Seeing how Yu shi was raging over the matter, a senior finally couldn't stand watching the situation any longer. With a look of pity, the senior asked, "You won? Yu shi, do you know what Zhang shi's score is?"

Stunned by the abrupt question, Yu Cheng replied, "His score? Wasn't it tabulated at 2580 just now?"

It was just a moment ago that the score had been revealed, and the other party had lost to him and Senior Feng by 78 points. Did the senior forget about it?

"2580?" The senior burst into laughter. Shaking his head, he said, "Do you think that it is possible to catch Elder Mo's eye with such a score?"

"This…" Yu Cheng blinked in shock.

Zhang Xuan had come together with him to have their scores checked. Could there be some mistake with his score? But how could that be possible?

"Let me tell you honestly, his total score adds up to… 43724 points!" The senior spoke affirmatively, but a hint of astonishment still flashed across his eyes while reciting the figure.

"43000 points? B-but how is this possible?"

The astonished Yu Cheng nearly fainted on the spot. His lips twitched intensely in disbelief. "Didn't he only obtain the inner cores from Luoyang Beast, Viridsmoke Beast, Seven Feeler Beast… How did he obtain such a high score?"

Yu Cheng wasn't the only one astounded by this revelation. The master teachers in the surroundings also turned their doubtful gazes over.

They had all witnessed the sight of Zhang shi handing over his inner cores, as well as the tabulation of the results. How in the world did two thousand points turn into forty thousand points?

Wasn't this gap a little too big?

Forty thousand points… Given the score of a hundred points for each Cosmos Bridge realm primary stage spirit beast, one would have to hunt at least 400 of them to achieve that score!

But with the time limit of a single day, was that even possible?

"How is that possible? Zhang shi singlehandedly saved more than two hundred trapped master teachers at Heaven's Thread. In the midst of doing so, he tamed more than four hundred Consonant Spirit realm and Cosmos Bridge realm spirit beasts. How is that not worth forty thousand points?"

Seeing Yu Cheng's disbelief, the senior flung his sleeves and said, "Furthermore, you should also be aware that taming a spirit beast is far more difficult than killing one!"

"He tamed… four hundred spirit beasts?"

Hearing those words, someone suddenly put two and two together and exclaimed, "This… Could it be that Zhang shi is the unparalleled genius that returned at noon whom the seniors were talking about?"

They had previous heard from the seniors that a top scorer had already emerged at noon. Initially, most thought that it would only be two to three thousand points at the maximum, but who could have imagined that it would actually be forty thousand points!

Furthermore, it came actually from this humble-looking Zhang shi!

"Indeed, that person is Zhang shi… After learning of his incredible performance, even Elder Mo and Pavilion Master Mo Gaoyuan are eager to meet him. Do you really think that you have won against him with those measly two thousand points of yours?" the senior said.

How conceited!

Initially, even though Brother Yu and Senior Feng had addressed Zhang Xuan as Zhang shi, they still weren't able to put the two together. After all, there were at least hundreds of master teachers amongst the examinees that went by the surname of Zhang as well.

But for a person to be known as Zhang Xuan and to have come from Huanyu Empire at that, there seemed to only be a single person who fit this description!

The incredible genius whom even Elder Mo was full of praise for!

Honestly speaking, he still found it hard to believe the incident that had happened at noon to be true.

If Zhang shi was only strong and formidable in beast taming, they wouldn't have been so impressed.

More importantly, he was humble and nonchalant to fame and wealth. That was what had truly left them awed.

Most likely, it was this charisma of his that won him the respect of all of the examinees who returned at noon.

Two hundred master teachers bringing more than four hundred spirit beasts back, but every single one of them only asked for a single point. They insisted on transferring the remaining to Zhang shi to thank him for saving their lives. Just by recalling the sight of it now, he would still shake in agitation at the grandness of the sight.

After which, when he heard of the entire story from the master teachers, his respect for Zhang Xuan only further deepened.

Despite taming so many spirit beasts and saving everyone, he didn't boast and demand compensation and credit for his efforts.

After the deed was done, he simply flung his sleeves and left nonchalantly, not even bothering to leave his name behind. Such was his nobility! Simply too few master teachers had managed to achieve such a transcendental attitude in their lifetimes.