Translator: StarveCleric Editor: StarveCleric

"Didn't the academy just accept a new batch of freshmen recently? Why don't you allow her to conduct a public lecture and take in any students who are willing to acknowledge her as their teacher?" Mu shi proposed.

"This..." School Head Lu hesitated for a moment before eventually nodding, "Alright then!"

Going by conventions, new teachers weren't qualified to conduct public lectures, but since it was a request from Mu shi, they were willing to bend the rules.

Besides, Mu shi's attitude also seemed to verify the guesses in everyone's heart.

If Luo Ruoxin wasn't a descendent of a Sage Clan, why would Mu shi make such a request on her behalf? If she was just an ordinary junior, he could have just left her to fend for herself in the academy. There was no need for him to go through so much trouble.

More importantly, Luo Ruoxin had a nonchalant expression on her face, as if it was only right for such a thing to happen.

Only the descendant of a powerful clan would dare to put on such an attitude.

"Mu shi..." After making arrangements for Luo Ruoxin, the elders gathered around Mu shi and told him about the issue regarding the Otherworldly Demons.

"I was still troubled as to who I should nominate as the new principal. After all, regardless of whom I choose, there will bound to be disagreements, and this could pose significant inefficiencies in the management of the academy. But since such a matter happened..."

Mu shi hesitated for a moment before continuing, "How about this? Of the ten of you, whoever who finds Byzantium Helios Beast, saves him, and wins his acknowledgement shall be the next principal! You all should have no objections with this, right?"

While the Ten Great Elders managed separate schools each, it was inevitable that there would be some degree of rivalry among them. Otherwise, the principal's seat wouldn't have remained empty despite it being years since the disappearance of the old principal.

Mu shi had been troubled over this issue when he was dispatched to Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy to nominate the next principal, but this incident came at a timely moment.

Through making this the selection criterion, everyone would stand an equal chance at becoming the next principal. Furthermore, through saving the old principal's tamed beast, the new principal would be able to build up his fame and authority, making it hard for anyone to undermine him.

"This... Alright!"

The elders glanced at one another, and after a moment of hesitation, they eventually nodded in agreement.

While this matter would be extremely tricky to deal with, it could also be viewed as an opportunity to display their capability.

If they were able to do what others weren't able to, that could in a way show that they had to qualification to head the Master Teacher Academy.

Otherwise, should the current situation where no one was content with allowing another head them, the Master Teacher Academy would continue to remain divided.

...

While the elders were welcoming Mu shi, Zhang Xuan had finally reached the very center of the Elite Sector.

Due to Elder Mo's anxiety to meet the other elders to discuss the issue regarding the Otherworldly Demons, he could only figure out the way himself.

"If I'm not mistaken, there must be a massive spirit vein beneath the ground. The deeper I head in, the closer I reach the center of the spirit vein, the richer the spiritual energy in the surroundings is!" Zhang Xuan muttered as he felt the changes in the spiritual energy concentration around him.

Most likely, a senior of the academy had set up a massive Spirit Gathering Formation in the area, and over the years, it had grown to become an immense spirit vein.

Even though the residences were built side by side, there was a significant difference between among them. The further in the residences were, the closer they were to the core of the spirit vein. If one could get a lodging at the core of the spirit vein, their cultivation would surely soar swiftly.

But regardless of how concentrated the spiritual energy in the region was, it didn't have much significance to Zhang Xuan. After all, he cultivated mainly through absorbing spirit stones. No matter how concentrated the spiritual energy in the surroundings was, could it possibly possess spiritual energy more concentrated than within a spirit stone?

After looting Yu Cheng and Senior Feng's storage rings, he wasn't lacking any spirit stones at the moment. However, as he had yet to compile the Heaven's Path Divine Art for the next tier, he could only put aside his cultivation for the moment.

In any case, the positioning of his residence didn't matter to him. All he needed now was a quiet residence where he could cultivate.

After walking for a moment longer, a massive building came into sight.

This was where Elder Mo had told him to report to in order to claim a residence in the Elite Sector.

Zhang Xuan slowly walked up the stone stairs and entered the building.

There was only a handful of senior students seated on the chairs in the lounge, and they seemed to be discussing the difficulties they had met in their cultivation.

"For the Northern Harmony Palm, the zhenqi should start flowing from the left and terminate at the right. Through this way, the zhenqi could make a full circulation around one's body, thus maximizing the might of the technique!"

"I don't think that it's as simple as you have said. If that's all to the technique, we would have long mastered it. There must be a problem somewhere with our understanding..."

"I recall my teacher once telling me that this palm technique should rise from the south and end in the north. I think that the direction is significant in this technique as well..."

The group discussed with a deep frown on their foreheads.

To qualify for the Master Teacher Academy, one had to be a 4-star pinnacle master teacher at the minimum. Even though it was hard to determine what grade the seniors before him were in, they carried a relatively powerful aura.

As the other party hadn't driven their zhenqi, it was impossible for Zhang Xuan to gauge their strength without using the Eye of Insight. Nevertheless, their cultivation was unlikely to be beyond Cosmos Bridge realm.

"Seniors!" Seeing that the group were engrossed in their chat, Zhang Xuan clasped his fist and greeted them with a smile.

"You are..."

Hearing those words, the group immediately turned their gazes over. However, upon realizing that it was an unfamiliar face, they frowned.

They were the few worst scoring students in the academy this year, so the academy had punished them by assigning them to various places to do menial labor.

The place they were currently in was the Elite Sector, and students who were qualified to stay here were the top geniuses of their grade. As the academy wanted them to focus their attention on furthering their cultivation, their daily chores ended up falling in their hands.

Waiting upon those geniuses would temper their mental fortitude, and at the same time, it provides a platform for them to build connections with those geniuses. These connections may prove to be useful to their future.

As such, the group here was familiar with everyone in the Elite Sector, and the young man before them was clearly a foreign face.

"I am a freshman of the academy. Elder Mo directed me to you for a residence in this sector, so I'll be troubling you for that." With a light chuckle, Wang Chong whipped out the token Elder Mo had passed to him.

"Elder Mo?" Taken aback, the group hurriedly got to their feet.

Elder Mo was the head of the Beast School, as well as one of the Ten Great Master Teachers. Even as seniors, they dared not to disrespect a student whom Elder Mo had directed here.

After checking his token and verifying it to be the real thing, one of the older students clasped his fist and said, "Give us a moment, junior. We'll bring you to your residence right after some discussion!"

With those words, he gathered the group to a side of the room.

Due to the spiritual energy concentration gradient down the spirit vein, there was a significant difference between each residence. If they were to settle him into the wrong room, they might bring trouble upon themselves.

As such, it was imperative that they discussed this matter thoroughly.

"Since Elder Mo directed him here personally, that junior probably possesses incredible talent. It just happens that the junior living in the first residence in the D Sector has just moved away after being promoted to Grade 2, so we could settle him there."

"The first residence in the D Sector? That sounds like a good plan!" Another senior nodded in agreement.

The Elite Sector could be divided into the A Sector, B Sector, C Sector, and D Sector, corresponding to Grade 4, Grade 3, Grade 2, and Grade 1 respectively. Naturally, those in the higher grade would be prioritized in terms of proximity to the core of the spirit vein.

Even though the junior before them was only a freshman, just the fact that he was directed here by Elder Mo hinted at his capability, making him qualified to stay in the first residence.

"But is it really good to assign a freshman the first residence?" While there were some who agreed with that course of action, some voiced their objections as well.

"She's right. The other students have been eyeing the first residence ever since news broke that Cheng Yue would be promoted to Grade 2. Those fellows would surely be outraged if they were to hear that a freshman had taken their place!" Another senior added.

The grades in the Master Teacher Academy were determined by one's ranking as a master teacher, not how many years one had been in the academy. One would enroll into the academy as a 4-star pinnacle master teacher, and the requirement to be promoted to Grade 2 was to become a 5-star master teacher.

In order to advance to 5-star, not only must one's cultivation reach Transcendent Mortal 6-dan Cosmos Bridge realm, one's Soul Depth and knowledge must also reach a certain mark. On top of that, one must have five 5-star supporting occupations.

As such, it would take around a decade for an average master teacher to advance a grade!

It was in view of this that the Master Teacher Tournament was only held once every ten years. Outside of it, the Master Teacher Academy would only accept a handful of students each year. On that note, that was how Huanyu Empire's Ye Qian joined the academy.

But getting back to the matter at hand, as long as one hadn't made the breakthrough to 5-star yet, one would be ineligible to be promoted to Grade 2.

The first residence in the D Sector had always been occupied by a Grade 1 student known as Cheng Yue, and he had just successfully passed his 5-star master teacher examination this year. As such, he had left his previous residence for one in the C Sector.

However, there were many other Grade 1 master teachers who were eyeing the same residence as well. If they were to assign it to a freshman, they might turn hostile against that freshman.

"But what can we do about it? It was Elder Mo who pointed him here, they will have to accept it somehow. In any case, we aren't the ones who should be troubled by this matter. This will be an opportunity for us to see how capable the freshman is for Elder Mo to give him his token!" One of the seniors said with a chuckle.

"That's true..." The others nodded in agreement as well.

After discussing the matter, they walked up to Zhang Xuan and said, "We have found a residence for you. This way please!"

With those words, the group began walking to the D Sector, and Zhang Xuan followed closely behind them.

Soon, they arrived at the entrance of a residence.

After taking a quick glance of it, Zhang Xuan nodded in satisfaction.

This residence was located very close to the core of the spirit vein, so it was rich in spiritual energy. On top of that, its surroundings were very quiet. In other words, as long as he were to set up a formation around the residence, no one would be aware of it even if he were to pummel the Byzantium Helios Beast in it.

"Zhang shi, this will be your residence. Here is the key!" The senior opened the door before passing it over to him.

They had learned of the young man's name on the way here, so they changed their method of address from junior to Zhang shi.

"Thank you!" Zhang Xuan nodded.

But just as he was about to step into the residence, a young man suddenly appeared with an awful complexion on his face and said, "Huang Xing and Zhou Tong, what do you mean by this? I've told you many times to hand the key over to me, but you rejected my request again and again. Who is this fellow? Why are you giving the key to him instead?"

"Are you in Grade 1? Why haven't I seen you around before?"

"To attempt to move into the residence right after enrolling in the academy, do you think that you are Cheng Yue?"

A man and a lady dressed in the master teacher robe with four stars pinned on their chest entered right after the young man. Upon seeing the key in Zhang Xuan's hands, they glared at him in displeasure.

They were the occupants of the second, third, and fourth residence in the D Sector, and they had been eyeing this residence for a very long time.

If they could take down the first residence, not only would they get to enjoy the concentrated spiritual energy there, it would also signify that they were the top of the Grade 1 students, a position of immense prestige.

The trio had thought that with Cheng Yue's departure, the residence would be passed down to one of them. Who knew that Huang Xing and the others would bring a complete stranger in!

Who the hell was this?

Even if they had offered the residence to you, to move in without any hesitation... Do you even know what this signifies?