Chapter 10: Defaulting on a Debt

"Alright, you say you've taken on four students. Are you going to bring them here for us to confirm, or are you going to stick your face out for a slap?"

Seeing that this last-place fellow actually dared to bet with all four of them at once, Qian Biao sneered coldly.

"Bring the students here?" Zhang Xuan shook his head. "You're all teachers from the Logistics Office; you can't possibly not know the simplest thing! It's very easy to verify whether I've taken on four students. As soon as a student drips blood onto my token to acknowledge me as their master, the Academic Affairs Office automatically generates their identity information. Just check with the Academic Affairs Office, and everything will be clear. The Academic Affairs Office can't possibly be colluding with me to fool you!"

As long as a student's identity is verified, the information is automatically transmitted to the Academic Affairs Office, where it is recorded in detail. No one can falsify that!

"Li Yuan, go check it out! I want to see how this guy keeps putting on airs later!"

Hearing his words and seeing his confident expression, Qian Biao was taken aback, then turned and gave an order.

Li Yuan was one of the teachers who had mocked Zhang Xuan earlier. Upon hearing the order, he turned and walked out.

The Academic Affairs Office and the Logistics Office were both administrative departments, not far apart. Li Yuan went out and returned after a short while, his face grim.

"How is it?"

Seeing him like this, Qian Biao's heart skipped a beat, and a foreboding feeling arose.

"There are... four students who have taken him as their master! Here are their names and detailed information..."

Li Yuan's face was ashen.

He still couldn't believe it was true.

Were these four students blind? With so many teachers at Hongtian Academy to choose from, why pick a guy who scored zero in the teacher assessment and knew nothing?

"Let me see. Don't tell me he found some blind, lame students who could be expelled at any moment to pass off as his own!"

Qian Biao snatched the list.

The other two teachers quickly gathered around.

Many teachers, to increase their student count, would take on poor students as fillers. These students could be expelled at any time, and even if kept, wouldn't last more than a few months!

In Qian Biao's view, even if a last-place guy like Zhang Xuan could recruit students, they would definitely be the worst, the most rotten, the ones no one wanted.

Taking on such people just to make up numbers was not only nothing to be proud of but even more embarrassing!

"Wang Ying... a girl? Just the name doesn't sound like much. Probably one of the worst in the entrance exam..." Seeing the first name on the list, Qian Biao snorted.

Not just anyone could enter Hongtian Academy. To get in, one first had to take an entrance exam. The academy would rank them based on their scores, and only those who met the qualifications would be admitted.

Those with high rankings in the entrance exam were usually the targets of excellent teachers, all very famous. It seemed there was no one named Wang Ying among them.

"Teacher Qian, keep reading..." Before Qian Biao could finish, he heard a slightly trembling voice from a teacher beside him.

"What's wrong? Is she even worse than I said?"

With a cold laugh, Qian Biao looked down. The moment he saw it, his pupils involuntarily contracted. Behind Wang Ying was a detailed note: "Sixty-seventh place in the new student entrance exam, younger sister of senior student Wang Tao, daughter of one of the four great families of Tianxuan City, the Wang family!"

"Daughter of the Wang family? Wang Tao's sister?" Qian Biao gasped.

The Tianxuan Kingdom had four great families, and the Wang family was one of them. The young lady of this family had taken as her master the guy who ranked last in the teacher assessment? Was that real?

Shouldn't someone like her be seeking out Lu Xun or Wang Chao?

If the family alone was intimidating, what was even more crushing was Wang Ying's brother, Wang Tao!

A new student from two years ago, he had been in the top ten of the annual comprehensive evaluation every year since enrollment—an incredibly strong existence. This year, he was even taken as a personal disciple by an elder of the academy!

With a brother like that, how could the sister be bad?

With influence, talent, and a good brother, she actually acknowledged this guy as her master?

I must be blind. Did I misread?

Qian Biao felt as if thunder were crashing around him; he was about to faint.

"Look at the next one..."

Just as he was convulsing in disbelief, another teacher called out shakily.

"If he managed to get a Wang Ying, that's already incredibly lucky. I don't believe he could get anyone even more impressive..." Gritting his teeth, Qian Biao looked down the list. As his eyes met a name, his whole body trembled again, and darkness swam before his eyes.

"Zhao Ya? Zhao Ya, ranked seventh in the grade assessment? The daughter of the lord of White Jade City?"

Qian Biao felt like crying but had no tears.

He had just said he didn't believe he could recruit any more impressive students, and never in his dreams did he expect there actually was one... and not just any, but a super star that countless teachers were crazy over!

This Zhao Ya, he had heard of her before she even arrived. She was the daughter of the lord of White Jade City, beautiful and extremely talented!

Someone like her would be fought over by countless top-ranked teachers. How could she acknowledge this useless guy?

Impossible, impossible!

Forcing himself to stay calm, he looked further down. Liu Yang and Zheng Yang, though not very famous, had decent rankings in the new student entrance exam, both in the top hundred!

Especially Zheng Yang, who was said to be skilled with a spear. During the exam, he didn't have a chance to show his full potential, which is why his rank was lower. If he had been allowed to use his spear, he might have even made it into the top twenty!

After carefully reviewing the list of the four several times, Qian Biao and the other teachers felt like they were going crazy.

This simply wasn't logical!

"You must have used some trick to deceive them. They may have taken you as their master, but they don't know who you really are. Once they find out, they'll soon drop the course..."

Suddenly, Qian Biao roared, his face twisted with rage.

What right did someone who scored zero in the teacher assessment have to recruit such excellent students? He must have used some unknown, despicable means. Once those means were exposed, these students would surely leave in anger!

In other words, it was true that he had four students, but none of them would stay long; sooner or later, they would all drop the course.

"Whether they drop the course or not is none of your concern. Our bet was about whether I currently have students. Now that you've confirmed I have four students, isn't it time to honor the bet?"

Too lazy to bother with their wild thoughts and twisted faces, Zhang Xuan said calmly.

Qian Biao, Li Yuan, and the other two looked as if they had lost their parents.

The content of their bet was indeed whether he currently had students, not about the future.

By that measure, they had lost!

But admitting defeat and letting the academy's worst teacher slap their faces was absolutely unacceptable!

"The bet? Kid, what if we don't honor it?"

After a moment's hesitation, Qian Biao sneered coldly, his fat face full of malice.

"That's right. Even if we don't honor it, what can you do to us? Haha, want to beat us up? But do you have the strength?"

"The academy's worst teacher also has the lowest cultivation. Putting on airs in front of us? Believe me, even if the four of us beat you to a pulp right now, no one would dare to cause trouble for us."

"If you'd just stop showing off, you might last a bit longer at the academy. Otherwise, you'll be kicked out soon enough, making a fool of yourself!"

Li Yuan and the others immediately caught Qian Biao's meaning and sneered in unison.

Zhang Xuan was not only poor in the teacher assessment but also mediocre in cultivation among all the teachers—if not dead last, then close to it!

Because of that, he lacked the insight to spot problems in students' training.

Naturally, Qian Biao and the others were unwilling to be slapped. Since the opponent was weak, they planned to simply default.

"Oh? So you're saying you don't intend to honor it?"

Zhang Xuan wasn't angry; instead, he looked over with a smile.

"That's right! Kid, who do you think you are? You want to slap me? Believe me, I'll slap you to death right now!"

Seeing that this guy still didn't know his place and was acting cocky, Li Yuan flew into a rage and swung a slap at him.

Before the palm even reached him, the whistling wind pressed down, making it hard to breathe.

Although Li Yuan was just a teacher in the Logistics Office, his cultivation was indeed not low—he had reached the late stage of the fourth level of martial artist!

The nine levels of martial artist: first, Breath Gathering; second, Dantian; third, True Qi; fourth, Skin and Bone; fifth, Cauldron Strength; sixth, Acupoint Opening; seventh, Profound Connection; eighth, Grandmaster; ninth, Supreme!

Each level is a world apart; the higher you go, the harder it is to cultivate.

Each level is further divided into four stages: early, middle, late, and peak.

Zhang Xuan was the youngest teacher in the academy, only nineteen this year, and his cultivation was only at the peak of the third level, True Qi!

Li Yuan was a full major level higher than him!

The gap in strength between major levels was enormous, almost impossible to bridge.

Slap!

Just as everyone thought Li Yuan would surely slap Zhang Xuan's face, sending him reeling, a crisp sound rang out. Then they saw Li Yuan's face flush red, blood spraying from his mouth, and his teeth scattered all over the floor.

"This... how is this possible?"

Everyone stood frozen in place, on the verge of losing their minds.