Chapter 779: Establishing a Faction

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

"A-a-apprentice?"

"Zhang Xuan's apprentice?'

For a short moment, Xue Zhenyang and the others were stupefied by what they had heard.

What is going on?

Didn't you say that you would teach Zhang Xuan a lesson? How did you end up becoming his apprentice instead?

There were two types of apprentices. One type was those who were new to the occupation, having yet to receive even their 1-star emblem. They would follow an official member of the occupation and learn under them.

The other would be a lower ranked member of the occupation serving as a private apprentice to a higher ranked member.

To distinguish between the two types of apprenticeships, the latter was often known as a private apprentice.

While the goal for a private apprentice was to learn from their master, the truth was that their standing was beneath that of even a student, and they were expected to deal with all sorts of miscellaneous issues for their master.

As the top students of the academy, each of the four of them had private apprentices under them. For example, Xinru was Hu Yaoyao's private apprentice.

But weren't you going to make Zhang shi submit to you?

Why did you become his private apprentice instead?

"I failed. I wasn't Zhang shi's match... You all can leave now." After reintroducing herself, Hu Yaoyao waved her hand to gesture for the rest of them to leave, unwilling to speak any more.

"This..."

They had come to celebrate the victory, but after hearing those words, Dong Xin, Xue Zhenyang, and Long Cangyue could only leave with bewildered looks.

"What is going on?"

After leaving the residence, the trio stared at one another in confusion.

"From the looks of it... it seems her plan has failed, and she even ended up being taught a lesson by Zhang Xuan instead!" Dong Xin said.

Based on her understanding of Hu Yaoyao, this was the only possibility she could think of.

"That seems to be the case..." Xue Zhenyang scratched his head. "But that's Hu Yaoyao! I have exchanged blows with her several times, and I have suffered quite a bit due to her unconventional means. To think that she would actually suffer such a crushing defeat to a freshman..."

"There seems to be something uncanny about that freshman... but the more uncanny he is, the more interested I become in him!" Long Cangyue said as a sharp glint flashed through his eyes.

They were all the top geniuses of the Master Teacher Academy, so when had they feared a challenge from another before?

For a freshman to foil their businesses so brazenly as soon as he arrived, they had to retaliate in order to uphold their authority.

"Honestly, I am also rather interested in him as a person as well." Dong Xin chuckled.

At this point, she remembered something and turned to Xue Zhenyang. "Didn't you dispatch some men to deal with those freshmen who assisted him?"

"I thought that Hu Yaoyao would be able to succeed, so I dispatched my men to put those troublemaking freshmen in order before coming here... Judging by the time, it should already be done by now!" Xue Zhenyang replied.

Dong Xin pondered for a moment before shaking her head. "Given the strength of your subordinates, they shouldn't face any problems dealing with those freshmen. However... those freshmen have Zhang Xuan backing them, and we have yet to take the latter down. You were too rash; you should have waited for news of Hu Yaoyao's success first. As the saying goes, a cornered dog bites. If we push him too far, we might end up getting burnt ourselves too."

"So what? From the moment he foiled our business, we were already destined to be enemies. Even if you are willing to be compassionate to your enemy, do you think that your enemy will do the same for you? You must be joking! Besides, my men challenged them in a manner which is in accordance to the school rules. Even if Zhang Xuan wishes to get even with me over that, what can he do? As long as my men didn't breach the rules, not even School Head Mo or School Head Zhao will be able to say a thing about the matter!" Xue Zhenyang spoke confidently with a light chuckle.

"Unless... he is able to surpass my subordinates in terms of battle techniques, he will just have to accept it as it is!"

"Your men challenged him in the field of battle techniques?" Long Cangyue burst into laughter. "Indeed, you are the big senior of the Martial Arts School, the pride of the school head. Your understanding of the spear has already reached an unfathomable level. Having received your impartations, your subordinates' comprehension of martial arts should also be top-notch. Battle techniques require years of training in order to refine one's form and intention to perfection and achieve a harmony between them. No matter how talented Zhang shi is, he's still far too inexperienced. It is unlikely for him to have achieved great accomplishment in the field of martial arts as well."

Unlike most supporting occupations where it was possible for one to make swift progress, one could only take a step at a time for battle techniques. Only through persistent effort over a long period of time could one accomplish anything.

Xue Zhenyang had a fiery and reckless personality, but his understanding of battle techniques, especially in the field of spearmanship, was unmatched amongst the students of the Master Teacher Academy.

Rumor had it that he had already comprehended the Heart of Weapons, achieving perfect harmony with his spear.

"Indeed. Even though we are master teachers, we are cultivators as well. If we don't show them what we seniors are capable of, they might just think that we have spent our years in the Master Teacher Academy achieving nothing!" With his back as straight as a spear, Xue Zhenyang spoke with absolute confidence.

He was no match for Hu Yaoyao in terms of scheming—in fact, he had been outwitted each and every time—but in terms of fighting prowess, the latter wasn't a match for him.

His spear possessed might reminiscent of a mighty dragon. Even amongst all of the Grade-5 students in the academy, there was only a handful who could match him in a battle.

"You're right. Supporting occupations are important, but the most important aspect of a cultivator is ultimately still strength. Let's head over and see your subordinates teach those freshmen a lesson!" Long Cangyue chuckled softly.

"Alright!" Xue Zhenyang nodded.

With this, the trio began walking toward the freshmen living quarters.

...

Shortly after leaving Hu Yaoyao's old residence with Luo Qiqi, as Zhang Xuan reached his residence in the Elite Sector, he saw Ruohuan gongzi standing anxiously outside his door.

"Zhang shi, Senior Qiqi!" Upon seeing the both of them, Ruohuan gongzi's eyes immediately lit up, and he rushed up to them.

"I was just about to find you!" Zhang Xuan harrumphed coldly.

"Find me?" Ruohuan gongzi was taken aback.

"You were the one who distributed the Teacher Information Document to the other freshmen for free, right?" Zhang Xuan questioned coldly.

That fellow had distributed the book that he had compiled for them to the other freshmen without his knowledge, and he had even used his name in doing so. Due to that incident, he had become an eyesore for all of the student factions.

He had done nothing at all, but this grudge just suddenly fell on him, bringing him so much trouble... He hadn't even confronted Ruohuan gongzi to settle this score with him, but the latter had already come knocking on his door.

He sure was brazen!

"That was the least I could do; Zhang shi need not thank me for it!" Upon hearing those words, Ruohuan gongzi waved his hands magnanimously, as if saying that he only did what he had to.

The least that you could do?

No need to thank me for it?

Zhang Xuan nearly choked on his saliva.

The other party had screwed him over so badly, but why did he act as if he had done an anonymous good deed instead?

As frustrated as Zhang Xuan was feeling at this very instant, seeing the grim expression on Ruohuan gongzi's face, it seemed that the latter had something urgent that required his help. Thus, he decided to put the matter aside for the moment and asked, "Did something happen?"

"Due to the matter with the Teacher Information Documentation, there were quite a few seniors who have come to challenged us over the past few days. Today, three experts arrived at the freshmen living quarters, and the words they spoke were truly infuriating. Out of fury, we accepted their challenge to a duel, but in the end... we were defeated tragically, and quite a few of us were severely injured," Ruohuan gongzi said.

Most of the freshmen were at Transcendent Mortal 4-dan pinnacle, and only a small handful had reached Transcendent Mortal 5-dan and 6-dan. On the other hand, even the weakest of the seniors were at the Cosmos Bridge realm. How could they possibly be a match for them?

Seemingly noticing the doubts running through Zhang Xuan's mind, Ruohuan gongzi replied, "They suppressed their cultivation realm to our level and challenged us to a battle of pure martial arts..."

"Martial arts?" Zhang Xuan was stunned for an instant before nodding in realization.

If the seniors had suppressed their cultivation realm to be of the same level as the freshmen, the battle would be decided mainly by the expertise and skillful utilization of their martial arts. In that case, it would at least be a fairer match between the two.

"Indeed. They have been standing outside the living quarters, saying that they will only back down if someone is able to defeat them. Otherwise, they will make sure to beat us until we dare not take a single step out of our rooms!"

After saying those words, Ruohuan gongzi lifted his gaze, and with a conflicted expression, he continued, "On top of that... they said that if no one is able to defeat them by today, they want Zhang shi to make a public apology to them, and all of the freshmen will have to purchase a copy of the Teacher Information Documentation!"

"Public apology? Me? What does this matter have to do with me?" Zhang Xuan was speechless.

So what if the seniors challenged the freshmen? What did this have to do with him?

For him to make a public apology... just how in the world did he cross them this time?

"This..." Ruohuan gongzi scratched his head in embarrassment as he said, "You also know that joining the factions established by the seniors will require quite a substantial membership fee each year. However, as freshmen, how could we possibly have the money to pay for the membership fee? Thus... all of us decided to join the student faction you established..."

"The student faction I established? When did I establish a student faction?" The more Zhang Xuan listened to the other party's words, the more bewildered he became.

Was it really still him they were talking about? Just when in the world did he establish a student faction?

"Well... I thought that Zhang shi's act of giving away your points in the entrance examination for free to the other students was an attempt to rally them together under you, so I assumed that you were going to establish a faction yourself. On top of that, the only person who all of us freshmen are awed by is you, and all of us are willing to listen to your commands as well. Thus, after some discussion, we decided to start a student faction with you as the leader," Ruohuan gongzi said.

"I am the leader?" Zhang Xuan felt as if the world had gone mad.

Unknowingly, he actually became the leader of a faction... It was as if they were pushing him into a sea of flames!

"Indeed. Zhang shi, we hope that you won't turn this position down. Without an affiliation to any student faction, it is too difficult for a freshman to thrive in the academy. In fact, one might even be hindered at every step taken. Of the thirty thousand freshmen, you are the only one who commands the respect and admiration of everyone. If you don't step up to the position as the leader, who else can?" Ruohuan gongzi said anxiously.

"Besides, the seniors have been doing whatever pleases them, oppressing the freshmen as and when they like just because they have been in the academy for a longer period of time than we have. If we don't unite together to fight back against them, we will never be able to stop their tyranny."

"This..." Hearing those words, Zhang Xuan hesitated.

He was displeased at being pushed to the forefront of the conflict despite having done nothing at all, but Ruohuan gongzi's words did carry some truth in them.

Without being affiliated with any student faction, it would be hard for a freshman to survive in the academy.

Due to the matter with the free Teacher Information Documentation, there were already a fair number of seniors who carried hostility toward the current batch of freshmen. If they didn't unite together to fight back, their life could be made extremely difficult.

"Didn't you guess that such a situation would happen when you gave the Teacher Information Documentation out for free?" Zhang Xuan glanced at Ruohuan gongzi coldly.

As knowledgeable master teachers, how could Song Chao, Luo Xuan, and the others be unaware that their actions would offend the seniors?

"Back then, we only did that out of indignation. The seniors had intentionally raised the price of the Teacher Information Documentation, knowing that we would have no choice but to purchase it. On top of that, they conducted forceful deals, pummeling the students who refused to purchase it to serve as a warning to the others against rejecting them...

"Furthermore, even if we were to buy from one of the student factions, we might end up offending another student faction instead, thus resulting in us getting bullied regardless of the choices we make...

"Therefore, after some discussion with the others, we agreed that instead of living pathetically under their oppression, we might as well stand up and return the favor. As a result, we decided to distribute the book which you'd given us to the other freshmen."

Ruohuan gongzi's face reddened as he added, "For this matter, I ask of Zhang shi's forgiveness. We only did it because we were forced into a corner as well!"

"Jeez..." Zhang Xuan sighed.

Having attended the public lecture event, he had a rough idea of the situation there as well.

He had stopped by a member of the True Helios Faction, and the latter took a particularly arrogant attitude with them, threatening that 'If you don't buy my Teacher Information Documentation, you will be making an enemy out of the entire True Helios Faction'.

Considering that the freshmen who had just enrolled into the academy were the weakest amongst the student populace and that they had no connections to tap into either, they couldn't afford to offend any of the student factions.

Zhang Xuan was fortunate in the sense that he had won Elder Mo's favor during the entrance examination. As a result, most seniors wouldn't dare to provoke Zhang Xuan in fear of bringing Elder Mo's ire upon themselves.

Realizing this, Zhang Xuan sighed in resignation and asked, "Fine. Since you have initiated a student faction in my stead, what is it called? I should at least know this much, right?"

Seeing that Zhang Xuan had accepted the matter, Ruohuan gongzi heaved a sigh of relief and replied, "The student factions are often named after their leader. For example, the True Helios Faction's name is derived from Xue Zhenyang 1 , and the Ashen Moon Faction's name is derived from Long Cangyue 2 ... Thus, we also took your name into consideration in naming our faction so as to make it apparent who our leader is!"

"My name? So, our faction is called the Zhang Xuan Faction?" Zhang Xuan asked.

"No, it's called..."

At this point, a look of excitement appeared on Ruohuan gongzi's face as he said, "Xuanxuan Faction!"