Chapter 899: Inviting the Predecessors

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

After a very long moment of silence, someone amid the crowd exclaimed, "Wait! Have you noticed that they addressed Zhang shi as 'Master' in their congratulations?"

Overwhelmed by the shock of the gifts, none of them had really noticed it. However, now that they were given some time to process what had just happened, realization suddenly dawned upon them.

"Indeed! They did say 'congratulations to Master'!"

"For them to call Zhang shi their master, there can only be one possibility... they are his tamed beasts!"

"Wait, doesn't that mean that Zhang shi... has managed to tame all of the kings of the Cloudmist Ridge? Is that the reason they cleared out their den to prepare these gifts to offer to him during the inauguration ceremony?"

As if a stone dropped into a tranquil lake, a commotion swiftly rippled across the crowd.

As students of the Master Teacher Academy, none of them were fools. It only took them a brief moment to understand the situation before them.

Shocked gazes swiftly turned to the composed, twenty-year-old young man standing on the stage, and the crowd felt as if their minds were about to blow.

This was especially so for the students of the Beast Tamer School. They were completely frenzied by the situation before them.

Just to tame a single spirit beast, they would need to spend several years giving the other party all kinds of treasures and delicacies while putting aside their dignity to fawn over the beast, as if trying to please one's ancestor...

Yet, the young man on the stage had not only tamed the Byzantium Helios Beast but the kings of the Cloudmist Ridge as well...

Can you be any more exaggerated than that?

While they were flabbergasted by the situation before them, the several dozen spirit beasts in the air and on ground abruptly bowed down toward the young man on the stage and howled in unison.

"Roar roar roar roar roar..."

"That's the Ancient Beast Language!" one of the older beast tamers amid the crowd exclaimed.

Someone else hurriedly asked, "Ancient Beast Language? What are they saying?"

It was extremely difficult to learn the Ancient Beast Language, and even among the master teachers of the Master Teacher Academy, there was only a small handful who could understand it.

"I can only make out some of the simpler words..."

The older beast tamer hesitated for an instant before saying, "It seems like they are saying... Congratulations to Master for becoming the principal of the Master Teacher Academy..."

"Master? Wait, it can't be that... these spirit beasts have been tamed by Zhang shi as well? All of them are his tamed beasts?"

"That seems to be the case..."

"While taming the kings of the Cloudmist Ridge, he conveniently tamed the other spirit beasts as well?"

"Faction leader—wait, it should be Principal Zhang now—sure devastates everything in his path..."

The eyelids of the crowd began twitching uncontrollably once more.

It was just a moment ago that they had thought that the situation was already sufficiently exaggerated, and that was when such a scene occurred before them...

Principal Zhang, are you sure that you are only a 4-star master teacher and not Kong shi in disguise?

In fact, even Kong shi had no record of being able to tame several dozen thousand spirit beasts and saint beasts in a single breath during his younger years.

One of the students of the Beast Tamer School who had participated in the battle was the first to realize the truth.

"It seems like we really got it all wrong this time around. Principal Zhang participated in the negotiations as well, but instead of humbling himself before the beasts of the Cloudmist Ridge and paying a heavy price in order to bring about peace, he went to overturn the other party's den!"

"Indeed! To run straight into their base to tame the Ten Indomitable Kings and all of the spirit beasts beneath them... With such capability, were negotiations even required?"

"It's laughable that we actually doubted Principal Zhang! It is no wonder School Head Zhao said that we don't have to worry about beast stampedes from the Cloudmist Ridge anymore. With all of the spirit beasts and saint beasts becoming Principal Zhang's tamed beasts, how could a beast stampede possibly occur?"

"The Cloudmist Ridge is a problem that the Master Teacher Academy has been unable to resolve for countless years, and yet, Zhang shi has already resolved it before he was even inaugurated as the principal. If I was one of the Ten Great Master Teachers, I would also have nominated him to be the principal! Who else could possibly be better suited for the role than him?"

After recovering from the shock, a bitter smile surfaced on their faces.

Previously, when they had heard that School Head Mo was proposing a negotiation with the Cloudmist Ridge, they had thought that the Master Teacher Academy was going to be forced into humiliating terms.

But from the looks of it, they had been sorely mistaken. On the contrary, they had even helped to vent the many years of frustrations of mankind.

Once the news spread, the entire Qingyuan Conferred Empire would find their lower jaws dropping in astonishment as well.

"He actually managed to tame all of them..."

Watching the sight before him, Zhu Chenqing's eyes reddened in agitation.

His greatest goal had always been to exact vengeance for his family, and with all of the beasts submitting to Zhang shi, he could finally let go of this grudge.

"Principal Zhang, thank you!" Kneeling to the ground, Zhu Chenqing expressed his earnest gratitude toward Zhang Xuan.

"Alright, all of you may leave now!" After accepting all of the gifts, Zhang Xuan rubbed his glabella.

He had no idea that the spirit beasts and saint beasts would cause such a huge ruckus during the inauguration ceremony!

If he had known in advance, he would have surely stopped them from messing around like that!

While it was true that their actions had indeed won him some prestige, he still couldn't help but feel stifled within.

As the saying goes, 'flaunting one's wealth is nothing short of foolishness'. How hard would it have been for you to have passed those gifts to me discreetly? But to present them as congratulatory gifts in the middle of the inauguration ceremony, isn't that as good as telling everyone in the academy that I have struck it rich?

"Yes!" Nodding, the Scarlet Blaze Lion swiftly led the spirit beasts and saint beasts out of the Master Teacher Academy.

Watching the spirit beasts and saint beasts leaving orderly on command, the master teachers in the area couldn't help but feel a surge of admiration.

With such a principal leading them, it would just be a matter of time before the academy rose through the ranks!

Seeing that Principal Zhang had managed to win everyone over, Zhao Bingxu chuckled softly and said, "Alright, if no one else have any other questions, we shall proceed on to the next formality, paying respects to the predecessors!"

"We are willing to recognize Zhang shi as the next principal of the Master Teacher Academy!" the crowd hurriedly responded.

The young man on the stage had already shown outstanding character, professionalism, exceptional teaching capability, deep knowledge of cultivation, and magnanimity to them. They would only be embarrassing themselves if they challenged such a man further.

"Good. Invite the predecessors!" Zhao Bingxu announced loudly.

Inviting the predecessors to witness the inauguration of the principal was a convention of the Master Teacher Academy. In this formality, the succeeding principal will seek the recognition of the preceding principals.

While this might sound similar to how the Teacher Acknowledgement Hall worked, there was a significant difference between the two.

In the Teacher Acknowledgement Hall, master teachers would seek the acknowledgement from the wills of the outstanding predecessors of the Master Teacher Pavilion, and the more predecessors who acknowledged them, the greater one's accomplishments were likely to be in the future.

On the other hand, in this formality of the inauguration ceremony, the succeeding principal would be seeking the recognition from the wills of the preceding principals. The greater the number of principals that recognized the succeeding principal, the greater the authority and power the succeeding principal would obtain in the Master Teacher Academy.

The Master Teacher Academy wasn't as simple as it looked on the surface. There were many deeper secrets to it that even an esteemed school head like Zhao Bingxu was unqualified to learn of.

Hong long!

As Zhao Bingxu's words echoed in the air, a massive formation inscribed onto the stage began whirring into action, and the sky abruptly darkened, as if an ominous cloud had concealed the sun.

"What is going on?"

This was the first time that most of the students had witnessed this formality, so they couldn't help but be unnerved by the bizarre happenings around them.

Didn't School Head Zhao say that he would invite the predecessors? Why would the sky suddenly darken?

"Don't worry, I was present in the inauguration ceremony of the old principal, and this was the exact same situation that happened then as well!" An elder stroked his beard and said, "By predecessors, it actually refers to the wills that the preceding principals left behind in the academy. As these wills exist in a form similar to souls, they are unable to move around in the sunlight, so a formation must be activated to conceal the sun before the predecessors can be summoned!"

One of the students couldn't help but ask curiously, "Soul? Is that the means of a soul oracle?"

"Means of a soul oracle? Of course not! The means of the soul oracles are extremely sinister and callous, consisting of methods to lengthen one's lifespan through possessing the bodies of others and turning living bodies into Soulless Metal Humanoids. On the other hand, the methods our Master Teacher Pavilion use are upright and orthodox!" the elder replied disdainfully.

"Then..." The student was confused.

According to what he knew, only soul oracles had to avoid the sunlight, confined in the shades of darkness.

"These predecessors are the wills left behind the preceding generations of principals, and naturally, they can't be compared with mere soul oracles! If you don't believe me, just take a look yourself..."

Shortly after the elder said those words, a huge gust of wind blew, and the vague silhouette of an elder materialized above the stage.

This elder had a square face, and a hint of valiantness seemed to be etched into his glabella, granting him a majestic and authoritative disposition.

Unlike the cold and sinister aura that soul oracles usually carried, his presence felt upright and warm.

Upon seeing the elder, Zhang Xuan couldn't help but frown.

Just like the other students, he had also been wondering whether or not the predecessors had used the means of soul oracles in order to sustain themselves, as a duration of ten millenniums was more than sufficient to dissipate the soul of even the most capable master teacher.

However, after seeing the elder, he realized that the predecessors existed in a form strikingly similar to the young Kong shi he had met at the Saint Acknowledgement Platform.

He wasn't too sure about the details, but the soul felt upright, devoid of the disquieting aura characteristic of a soul oracle.

But of course, existing in such a form had its own disadvantages as well. For one, the soul before him didn't seem to be complete, which impeded it from exerting significant power.

On top of that, soul oracles often possessed their full consciousness, but the soul of the master teacher could only be said to be a sliver of will, similar to the state that Vicious was in at the moment.

"Judging from his appearance and aura, it seems like he is the first principal of the Master Teacher Academy, Mu shi!"

Unlike Zhang Xuan's questioning gaze, the eyes of the teachers and students of the Master Teacher Academy lit up upon seeing the elder.

The founder of the Master Teacher Academy appearing before their eyes, how could they not be excited?

It might just be an incomplete soul, but it harnessed his will within it!

Hu hu hu hu!

Shortly after Mu Kai appeared, several dozen more figures flickered into existence as well.

Even though their silhouettes looked extremely faint, they harnessed a powerful aura that exerted great pressure on those before them.

As students and teachers of the Master Teacher Academy, they were expected to remember the history of the Master Teacher Academy. Besides, those who were able to become the principal of the Master Teacher Academy in their generation possessed capability surpassing that of their peers, making them figures of admiration among students and teachers alike.

Seeing so many of their idols appearing simultaneously, the atmosphere in the training grounds was about to burst through the sky.

"Is that Principal Liu Changyuan from the seventh generation? I have been studying his 'Changyuan Great Sorrow Palm' and 'Thousand Leaves Revolution Palm' for the past few years..."

"That must be Principal Mo Liuzhen! As expected of the one famed for possessing the greatest talent among all of the principals; just his presence seems to hint at the boundless might he possesses!"

"Principal Mo Liuzhen is indeed strong, but it's a pity that he entered the Subterranean Gallery in order to push himself to make a breakthrough to becoming an 8-star master teacher and never returned. His death is truly one of the greatest loss to the Master Teacher Pavilion..."

"My idol is Principal Zhu Xuanqing of the 79th generation. Even though he never managed to become a 7-star master teacher in his lifetime, he specialized in a total of 12 supporting occupations and compiled his insights into each of them in great detail, leaving behind an incredible trove of knowledge for the generations to come..."

...

The many master teachers in the training grounds couldn't help but feel their hearts leaping in excitement.

Hu hu!

Amidst the discussions of the crowd, a total of 102 figures had materialized on the stage.

Zhang Xuan frowned. "102? Why don't I see the old principal anywhere?"