Chapter 1075: Becoming a Saint, I Can Give It a Try

"Shattered... collapsed? What do you mean?"

Ji Yan and Tan Qing were both stunned, their faces blank with bewilderment.

If he had said they couldn't find the entrance, hadn't passed the stele inscribed with 'Qiuwu Palace,' or hadn't entered, they could understand, but... shattered by the blow?

Why did it sound so profound, completely incomprehensible?

Could he please explain more clearly?

"You'd better tell them..."

Seeing the two men's curious expressions, Wu Shi's face reddened, unsure how to explain, so he turned to President Han.

He wasn't a master teacher; letting him explain would be more effective.

"Alright, it's like this..."

With a wry smile, President Han prepared his words and recounted the whole story in detail.

"You're saying... Teacher Zhang saw the flaw in the Ancient Saint's palm technique? Not only did he master it, but he also corrected it?"

"And he wants to take the Ancient Saint... as his disciple?"

The two vice deans were dumbfounded, nearly spitting blood and fainting on the spot.

Was this a story?

Was there such an outrageous master teacher in the world?

That was Qiuwu Ancient Saint... anyone who had heard his name would worship him like a god, not daring to speak loudly in his presence. But this fellow... wanted to take him as a disciple? Had he never taken a disciple before, or was he just that bold?

"Ahem... I was just stating the facts. I didn't expect Qiuwu Ancient Saint to be so fragile, so unable to withstand the blow. Ah, it seems his state of mind needs more tempering..."

Seeing their gazes, Zhang Xuan sighed.

He hadn't wanted this to happen either.

But there was no other way...

"Fragile..."

"Tempering?"

The two were speechless.

One of the famous Ancient Saints of the Master Teacher Hall, attendant of the Teacher of Ten Thousand Ages... and you, a junior tens of thousands of years later, want to take him as a disciple? It's a miracle he didn't die of rage. What more of a blow could there be?

Modifying his proud, self-created palm technique on the spot, and making it far more powerful... it was impressive that he managed to finish speaking.

"Without obtaining the inheritance... it seems we really can't get out..." After a while, Ji Yan shook his head with a bitter smile.

Returning empty-handed from a mountain of treasures—how did such an absurd master teacher become a college dean?

They were truly worried about the future of Hongyuan Academy.

But without the inheritance, they couldn't break the spatial seal, and worrying was useless.

They had hoped that someone who received their message could rescue them, but now... that seemed too optimistic.

"What exactly is the Saint Sealing Pavilion? And what's its connection to the Saint Sealing Platform?"

Ignoring everyone's reactions, Zhang Xuan looked over.

The Saint Sealing Pavilion and the Saint Sealing Platform—their names were so similar, and both related to Teacher Kong. He wouldn't believe they had no connection.

"They are indeed connected. If I'm not mistaken..."

Seeing his inquiry, Ji Yan was about to answer when everyone felt the ground shake violently, as if an earthquake were about to collapse the entire building.

"What's happening?"

Wu Shi and the others' pupils contracted.

"This thing is irregular every day. Today's has started... Come, I'll take you to see Zhang Yinqiu. But I warn you in advance, we only have the time it takes to burn an incense stick. We must return within that time, or we'll be like before, unable to escape again..."

Ji Yan seemed accustomed to the shaking, paused, and then gritted his teeth.

"See Zhang Yinqiu?" Everyone was taken aback, then nodded: "Alright!"

"Let's go!"

Without further ado, Ji Yan led the way out. Since Tan Qing had no limbs and couldn't fly in some places, making movement difficult, he stayed behind.

Skirting the many array traps outside the room, they climbed upward and soon reached the top of the building. They discovered that this tower-like structure had a flat roof, with a small circular platform in the center emitting a dazzling light.

The earlier tremor had been triggered by this platform.

"This is..."

Zhang Xuan was startled.

It was identical to the circular platform that had appeared after he destroyed the insights on the Saint Sealing Platform.

Back then, after pointing out errors in Teacher Kong's insights, the stele shattered, and the platform emerged from the rock wall. He and Luo Ruoxin were directly teleported into a folded space.

At the time, he had thought that platform was the one Teacher Kong sat on when becoming a saint. Seeing this, he suddenly realized it might not be.

"Correct. This is the real Saint Sealing Platform left by Teacher Kong when he became a saint. The one outside is just a replica..."

Seeing his confusion, Ji Yan nodded.

"The real Saint Sealing Platform?" Zhang Xuan clenched his fists.

Yes.

A Heaven-acknowledged saint was no ordinary person. The place of sainthood, imbued with the laws of heaven and earth—how could it only have some halos? And how could it be hidden on a mountain peak, unafraid of being found?

Activating his Eye of Insight, he looked at the Saint Sealing Platform before him.

He saw a special light shield standing on it, with ripples flowing across its surface, giving a peculiar sensation. It seemed that inhaling a single breath could greatly enhance one's cultivation and enrich the saintly aura within.

"When heaven seals a saint, even a wisp of dissipated energy is a huge treasure for cultivators like us. The reason I've been cultivating so fast is because of this..." Ji Yan nodded.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

The light from the platform felt warm on the skin, like bathing in holy radiance. Although they had just arrived, they could already feel their thoughts quickening and muscles activating, making cultivation seem twice as effective with half the effort.

Cultivating in such a place, as long as one's talent wasn't too poor, progress would be extremely fast. It was understandable that someone could advance three major levels in just two years.

Seeing their expressions, Ji Yan knew they understood. He stepped forward and pointed not far from the platform: "The dean is here..."

Everyone was startled and looked over, seeing a stone statue standing nearby.

It was an old man, carved lifelike, identical to the portrait of Zhang Yinqiu among the students.

"Wu Shi? You're here..."

Just as they were wondering, a faint voice came from the statue. They looked closely and saw the statue, like Qiuwu Ancient Saint earlier, speaking.

"Zhang Yinqiu, how did you..."

His heart aching, Wu Shi couldn't help but look over.

No wonder Ji Yan said there were fewer than three of them. Zhang Yinqiu could speak and recognize him, showing he still had consciousness and wasn't dead... but this state was no different from death.

"To save us, the dean had his physical body destroyed by King Tianye. At that moment, the Saint Sealing Platform was operating, and the holy light shone. His soul didn't dissipate but was absorbed into a stone, unable to leave or escape. However, he still has his consciousness and isn't completely dead... That's how he became like this!"

Ji Yan explained.

The situation was complicated then. Dean Zhang Yinqiu's physical body was blown apart on the spot. They thought he was surely dead, but never dreamed that the Saint Sealing Platform left by Teacher Kong possessed great power. Under the holy light, his soul survived, attached to a stone.

Over time, it transformed into a stone statue. But he couldn't escape or move, only stand here silently. To be honest... it was no different from being dead.

"The old dean tamed the Purple Sun Beast not through soul taming but through a blood contract. With his physical body dead, the master-servant relationship was naturally dissolved... No wonder the library didn't know its master when it investigated that beast earlier..."

Zhang Xuan understood.

When he tamed sacred beasts or spirit beasts, he used soul sacrifice, with the beast's soul completely under his control. The old dean clearly hadn't taken that path; he had only used essence blood to sign a contract.

Although such a contract could also tame a sacred beast, once the physical body died, the master-servant relationship would automatically dissolve.

When he had investigated the Purple Sun Beast earlier, he didn't know its master was the old dean, leading to that misunderstanding... He had thought the dean was truly dead, but it turned out to be this situation.

"It's nothing. This is fine too; at least I'm alive..."

Seeing everyone sad, especially his old friend Wu Shi, whose face had turned pale, Zhang Yinqiu's stone statue smiled.

This wasn't what he wanted, but... it was better than being utterly annihilated, like a lamp extinguished when the oil runs out.

"Since you've come in, you must have seen the traces I left and obtained Qiuwu Ancient Saint's inheritance, right?"

After comforting them, Zhang Yinqiu looked over.

If they obtained the inheritance, they could escape and wouldn't be trapped here forever.

Although he couldn't leave, the two vice deans, Ji Yan and Tan Qing, could escape smoothly, preserving some strength for the Master Teacher Academy.

"We didn't get the inheritance..."

Seeing the dean's inquiry, this time without waiting for Wu Shi to answer, Ji Yan quickly recounted what had happened.

"You..."

After hearing the explanation, Zhang Yinqiu's eyes widened as if seeing a ghost. He looked at Zhang Xuan, wanting to say something, but finally stopped, filled with helplessness: "Without the Ancient Saint's inheritance, leaving is almost impossible... Unless, like Teacher Kong, you are acknowledged by heaven and directly sealed as a saint!"

"Becoming a saint?" Zhang Xuan was startled.

"Yes," Zhang Yinqiu continued. "This Saint Sealing Pavilion houses the real Saint Sealing Platform, along with many insights and introductions about becoming a saint. Its sole purpose is for Teacher Kong to leave for future generations, hoping they too can gain heaven's recognition! As long as someone breaks through on this platform and becomes a Heaven-acknowledged saint, the seals around us will also disappear!"

Hearing the condition for leaving, Wu Shi and the others smiled bitterly: "That's completely impossible..."

"Yes, indeed impossible..."

In history, only Teacher Kong had accomplished it. The difficulty was evident. How could it be done?

With just a few stragglers like them?

"So we never thought about getting out. Before coming here, we had already arranged our affairs. Being able to linger on like this is not bad..."

Ji Yan said.

"Actually..."

Seeing everyone dejected, Zhang Xuan hesitated, then looked over.

"Becoming a saint... I can give it a try."