Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97
Putong!
"Pour him a cup of water?"
"He's actually trying to get the pavilion master to pour him a cup of water?"
Hearing those words, Su Fan and Ling Yuheng's mouths twitched violently. In that instant, the two Transcendent Mortal 4-dan experts nearly fell to the ground together.
When they first entered, they told Zhang Xuan clearly that the pavilion master was an austere person, and he had to take note of what he said... Who knew that this fool would actually order him around as though trying to teach a servant a lesson...
The heck!
Are you insane?
The both of us had to plead so hard with him for your slot, do you think that it has been easy for us? Yet, you seem to be trying your best to dump this slot away from you...
Just as tears were trailing down the faces of the duo as they anticipated the wrath of the pavilion master, the usually austere pavilion master suddenly stood up and respectfully replied, "Yes!"
Turning around, he began heating up a pot of water. After which, he took out his most prized tea leaves, filled the cup with it, before passing it over to Zhang Xuan.
"The heck!"
"What... is going on?"
The two 4-star master teachers, Transcendent Mortal 4-dan elders, stared at one another in astonishment, frenzied by the sight before them.
Pavilion Master Kang was known in the Myriad Kingdom City for his austerity. Even Alliance Head Zhao wouldn't have the privilege of being served tea by him, and yet, despite Zhang shi speaking to him so impolitely, he still obeyed the other party's command respectfully...
What in the world happened?
Suddenly, Su shi thought of something and his body trembled violently.
"It's... Impartation of Heaven's Will!"
The main reason why lower ranked master teachers didn't dare to disobey the words of higher ranked master teachers was because of this!
The words of Zhang shi a moment ago seemed to harness the voice of the heavens, the energy of the soul... Because it wasn't directed at them and they were busy analyzing the case as well, they didn't notice it... But thinking back, that was indeed it!
To actually use Impartation of Heaven's Will against Pavilion Master Kang... and to succeed at that!
What the heck?!
Su shi and Ling shi stared at one another, and at this moment, they even felt like dying already.
Pavilion Master Kang was an existence whose Soul Depth had reached at least 14.0. For the number one master teacher in Myriad Kingdom City to fall for Impartation of Heaven's Will... and on top of that, for the one who did so to be a 2-star master teacher who wasn't even twenty yet... If word were to spread out, many people would surely die from shock.
"Hmm?"
While the duo was in shock, Pavilion Master Kang also recovered from his trance and his eyes slowly widened. His cheeks twitched violently, and he nearly spurted a mouthful of blood.
To think that the strongest master teacher of the Master Teacher Pavilion would actually be beguiled by the Impartation of Heaven's Will of a 2-star master teacher, and willingly serve the latter tea...
Just the thought of it left him in frenzy.
Just as he was considering what he should do next, the young man before him sipped on the tea served to him and looked at him nonchalantly, "Alright, let's move on to the second question!"
"Second question..."
Pavilion Master Kang's eyelids twitched.
The first question had already made him prey to the other party's Impartation of Heaven's Will. If he were to ask another question, would he be put under the same condition again?
With a righteous expression, Pavilion Master Kang grandly declared, "There's no need for it. The three questions are to test whether you have the qualifications to attend the selection round. Given how your answer for the first question was much more logical than our answers, that proves testimony to your capability. There's no need for the next two questions!"
The main point of the three questions was to test the other party's capability as a master teacher. Given how the other party used a single move to solve a question that would require five moves from his part, not to mention, how he fell prey to the other party's Impartation of Heaven's Will... Just this in itself made him qualified to attend the selection round!
Since that was the case, it was meaningless to proceed on with the other questions. If so, he might as well be magnanimous and allow the other party to pass straight. Otherwise, if he were to be beguiled again, that would truly be embarrassing.
Waving his hands grandly, Pavilion Master Kang turned around and said, "Elder Ling, go and sound the Assembly Bell. Have everyone gather at the Master Teacher Hall now, we'll conduct the selection round!"
"Yes!" Nodding his head, Elder Ling retreated from the room.
A moment later, a bell chimed loudly in the master Teacher Pavilion. As long as one was a master teacher of Myriad Kingdom Alliance, one had to gather immediately upon hearing the sound.
"Bring Zhang shi to the Master Teacher Hall. Su shi and I will be going over later!"
Hearing the chime, Pavilion Master Kang knew that the Master Teacher Hall would be crowded very soon. Thus, he decided to instruct an apprentice outside to Zhang Xuan over first. Upon hearing the instruction, the young man guarding outside came in, bowed respectfully to Zhang Xuan, and led the way.
Knowing that he was heading over to the Master Teacher Hall for the selection round, Zhang Xuan followed the young man without any complaints.
As the duo left the room, the room abruptly fell silent.
Pavilion Master Kang stared at Elder Su Fan, whom he had been a close friend with for several decades, hesitated for a moment, before asking, "Regarding Zhang shi, do you have anything to say?"
"He... is a 2-star master teacher from Tianwu Kingdom. He isn't twenty yet..." Su shi said.
"That's not what I'm asking!" Pavilion Master Kang's complexion darkened. "I want detailed information. I want to know the reason why you two are so determined to recommend him!"
What the heck?!
You two are elders of the Myriad Kingdom Alliance Master Teacher Pavilion. Given that person's humble background, how could you have recommended him instead of your own students?
After all, Su shi had a student who had reached 3-star pinnacle as well, and his capability was in no way inferior to Fu Xiaochen.
"This..."
Su shi hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Shall we head to the Chamber of Confidence?"
The Chamber of Confidence was a unique room where secrets were discussed. No matter how powerful one was, it would be impossible for one to eavesdrop on the content discussed from the outside. Thus, there was no need to worry about a single word being leaked out from within.
"Alright!"
With a grim expression, Pavilion Master Kang stood up.
As the head of the Master Teacher Pavilion, he had to come into contact with innumerable secrets. As such, there was a Chamber of Confidence within his room as well. Pushing open the door and walking in, he activated the formation and the duo immediately fell into an absolutely silent atmosphere.
After seating down, Pavilion Master Kang urged, "You may speak now!"
Given how grim Elder Su's expression was, the matter he had to talk about must be of grave importance. Thus, he calmed himself down and prepared himself mentally.
"Twenty days ago, a Rejection of the Ancestors, Sorrowful Chimes of the Bell happened in our Master Teacher Pavilion... Does pavilion master still remember the incident?"
"Given how huge the matter is, how could I forget about it? I've already informed all lower Master Teacher Pavilion to look into the matter... Just that, there have been no results at all. I can't help but suspect whether it might be triggered by the master teachers from the other empires participating in the Master Teacher Tournament."
Pavilion Master Kang nodded.
Back when they were in the midst of conducting a conference, the Teacher Acknowledgement Hall suddenly started trembling non-stop. Even though he had suppressed the news, as someone who had witnessed the massive uproar then, how could he possibly not remember the incident?
"You sent a message to Tianwu Kingdom saying that... if either Kong shi's statue had shaken or the Teacher Acknowledgement Hall had collapsed, report to the Myraid Kingdom Alliance Master Teacher Pavilion immediately..." Su shi continued.
"Un! Rejection of the Ancestors, Sorrowful Chimes of the Bell... The most direct manifestation of this situation is the trembling of Kong shi's statue and the collapse of the Teacher Acknowledgement Hall. If it happened in the region, one can confirm that the exact location of the genius was there then..."
Answering the question, Pavilion Master Kang suddenly froze and his breathing hastened, "Twenty days ago, you were in Tianwu Kingdom... Could it be that the Teacher Acknowledgement Hall there collapsed?"
"That's right! However, due to the possible consequences of the matter, for fear of the news leaking out, I asked them to reply with a 'no' for the time being!" Su shi clasped his fist. "I seek your pardon for that!"
Back then, Su shi had instructed the Tianwu Kingdom Master Teacher Pavilion to reply with a negative then.
Otherwise, if the matter were to blow up, Zhang shi would be in dire danger.
"If the news were to leak, the master teacher responsible for the incident might be in trouble... You made the right call!" Pavilion Master Kang nodded his head.
If he were put in the other party's position, he would have surely done the same as well.
After all, as senior master teachers, they had a duty to protect their talented juniors.
"When the Tianwu Kingdom's Teacher Acknowledgement Hall collapsed... Zhang shi was in the midst of taking the 2-star master teacher examination!" Su shi said.
"You're saying that... he is likely to be the genius who rejected the acknowledgement of the predecessors and triggered the Sorrowful Chimes of the Bell?" Pavilion Master Kang narrowed his eyes.
At this moment, he finally understood why the duo had recommended Zhang Xuan so strongly, even putting their everything on the line. To be able to win the acknowledgement of so many predecessors... How talented must he be?
"Not only so, if I'm not mistaken... Zhang shi is very likely to be a... Celestial Master Teacher!" Su shi said.
In truth, he should have reported this matter to the pavilion master as soon as he returned. The reason why he and Ling shi chose to continue to keep it to themselves wasn't because they were intentionally hiding the matter but that... they couldn't confirm it at all!
Thus, they had been spending their time flipping through the books to ascertain the facts.
However, it was a pity that there had only been one Celestial Master Teacher in history, and that was Kong shi. Without sufficient information, they couldn't confirm their deductions. Even after spending almost a dozen days buried in books, he and Elder Ling were still completely bewildered.
"What did you say?"
Pavilion Master Kang narrowed his eyes.
"Back when Zhang shi took the master teacher examination, not only did the Teacher Acknowledgement Hall collapse, Kong shi's statue broke as well. Other than the acknowledgement of a Celestial Master Teacher, the Student of a Sage, I can't really think of any other possibility." Su shi explained the happenings he had seen in Tianwu Kingdom.
"Th-this..." Upon hearing of the phenomena that had occurred in Tianwu Kingdom Master Teacher Pavilion, Pavilion Master Kang's lips turned dry.
Even though he couldn't confirm anything at this point, there was a good chance that Zhang shi, the culprit of all of these bizarre happenings, is a Celestial Master Teacher!
Suddenly, he recalled another incident.
"Ten days ago, another acknowledgement of Celestial Master Teacher occurred. Could it be him as well?"
Several days ago, the phenomenon of 'Trembling of Myriad Tokens, Harmony of the Chimes' occurred in the Myriad Kingdom Alliance Master Teacher Alliance, and based on the ancient records, this was a sign of the acknowledgement of Celestial Master Teacher.
But it was a pity that despite all the effort he had devoted into investigating the matter, there wasn't the slightest news on the matter.
Since Zhang shi was likely to be a Celestial Master Teacher, could it be him this time as well?
"That I'm not too sure, but judging from the timing, I doubt that he was at the capital then..." Su shi shook his head.
Since Zhang shi wasn't at the capital then, it would make it even harder to verify the matter.
"Regardless of whether it is true or not... Given that he's likely to be a Celestial Master Teacher, there shouldn't be a problem in him participating in the tournament. It's just that it's a pity that..."
After a moment of hesitation, Pavilion Master Kang shook his head, "He's still too young, and his cultivation is too weak. He might not be able to match up to the others!"
Even though the other party was a Celestial Master Teacher, an impressive figure recognized by even the heavens... he was still much too young.
Those who could participate in the tournament were all nearing their thirties. With ten years of difference, no matter how talented Zhang shi was, it would still be difficult for him to match up to the others.
"Forget it, let's not think about this matter anymore. In any case, you did well in this matter. Make sure to keep this a secret, don't let anyone find out about it!"
Shaking his head, Pavilion Master Kang decided to shove it aside for the moment. "All of the master teachers should be in place already, let's head over to the Master Teacher Hall as well!"
"Un!" Su shi stood up, but after taking two steps, he realized that the pavilion master was still stationary behind. Turning around, he saw the latter looking at him with an embarrassed expression.
"Um... regarding the issue of me being beguiled earlier... I hope that you can keep it a secret!"
"..." Su shi.