Chapter 254: A Beast Falls Gravely Ill

Master teachers are protected by the Teacher Guild and the Master Teacher Hall. Not only assassination, but even the slightest offense against them could lead to being blacklisted.

Their blacklist orders carry immense power, respected by countless forces and experts. Not even a small second-rank kingdom, let alone a first-rank kingdom like Tianwu, could hold out for long before collapsing.

In short, if someone were to assassinate a master teacher and the Master Teacher Hall found out, not only would they die, but the kingdom behind them would also be implicated.

This is the terror of master teachers!

The number one profession in the world cannot be insulted or defiled.

Whoever dares to defile a master teacher, be they a king or a sect leader, no matter how strong or high their status, the Master Teacher Hall can easily erase them with a single word.

Legend has it that the king of a titled kingdom once harassed a beautiful female master teacher, enraging her. Without even mobilizing the Master Teacher Hall, she gave lectures on the spot for seven days, attracting countless experts. With a single command, they captured the king and beat him to death.

The kingdom's ancestor, though powerful enough to stop it, dared not intervene.

There was no help for it; if the king died, a new one could be chosen, but if the kingdom was destroyed, nothing would remain.

A master teacher has countless disciples. A single instruction creates a bond of half a teacher. They are like a hornet's nest—touch them, and you die or are crippled.

Assassinating a master teacher... to be honest, it's no different from courting death.

Zhu Jinhuang and the others trembled in fear, and anyone else who had such thoughts immediately suppressed them.

"Master teacher?" Zhang Xuan shook his head, surprised that Miss Mo Yu would think that. "I'm not one yet!"

He currently held a status jointly recognized by three master teachers, but he was just an advanced apprentice. He hadn't taken the exam, so naturally, he wasn't a master teacher.

"Not one?" Miss Mo Yu was stunned.

She had thought he was a master teacher, which explained his incredible skills and endless methods, but he wasn't...

"Not one? That's great..."

"As long as he isn't one, we can kill him without a second thought!"

Zhou Xuan and Zhu Jinhuang, who had been worried, relaxed and their scheming minds stirred again upon hearing he wasn't a master teacher.

But before they could scheme for long, Shen Biru's voice rang out: "Teacher Zhang isn't a master teacher, but he is the senior brother of Master Liu and Master Zhuang from Beiwu Kingdom, and Master Zheng from Hanwu Kingdom!"

"Senior brother of master teachers?"

The two exchanged glances and this time truly wanted to cry.

These three master teachers were famous in second-rank kingdoms, among the most outstanding. How could they not know them?

Their senior brother...

Even if he wasn't a master teacher, his status was even higher!

And they had thought about killing him without a second thought... Luckily, they hadn't acted; otherwise, he would have killed them without a second thought...

...

"I know Master Liu of Beiwu Kingdom. I've met him once. He attended lectures under two-star master teacher Jiang Shu and is considered a half-disciple. You are his senior brother, so could it be..."

Hearing Shen Biru's words, Mo Yu also realized something and her pupils contracted.

Not a master teacher but a senior brother meant they shared the same teacher. For a master teacher to willingly take a teacher, that teacher must be at least two-star, or even higher!

A personal disciple of at least a two-star master teacher...

Such a status was not lower than hers as a princess, and might even be higher.

Moreover, being accepted as a personal disciple by such a person indicated immense potential, and his future achievements might surpass hers.

After all, although she was an apprentice of two-star master teacher Jiang Shu, she was not a personal disciple.

Knowing this, she looked at the young man before her with great respect.

...

"So he's a personal disciple of a master teacher. No wonder he has such an understanding of taming beasts!"

Hall Master Feng and the others also understood and nodded.

Earlier, they had planned to inquire and learn Zhang Xuan's method of taming beasts by beating, but knowing his true identity, they abandoned that idea.

Although beast tamers were among the top nine professions, there was still a gap between them and the pinnacle profession of master teachers.

Moreover, this Zhang Xuan's method of taming by beating might have come from that master teacher. If he found out they wanted to pry into his techniques, there would certainly be trouble.

Instead, it was better to find ways to build a good relationship.

"Here is your one-star beast tamer badge!"

Knowing his 'identity,' the three beast tamers became much friendlier and quickly fetched the badge representing his status as a beast tamer.

Taking the badge, Zhang Xuan casually placed it into his storage ring and looked over.

"I want to go to the Red Lotus Mountain Range and need a flying beast. What do you think would be suitable?"

Although he had become a beast tamer and read many books, he had never ridden a flying beast and couldn't confirm how far it could fly or how many days it would take.

"Red Lotus Mountain Range?"

Hall Master Feng stroked his beard and calculated: "Tianwu Kingdom is tens of thousands of kilometers from here. Riding the green eagle you just tamed, it would take about half a month!"

"Half a month?"

Zhang Xuan was startled.

He had thought that with the green eagle at half-step Zongshi, it would take only a few days to reach the Red Lotus Mountain Range, but it still required half a month.

"Yes, this green eagle has just broken through, and its cultivation is unstable. It can only cover about four to five thousand kilometers a day, and it needs rest. It can't fly day and night. Half a month is already the fastest speed!" Hall Master Feng said.

Zhang Xuan nodded.

Although he didn't know how fast the green eagle could fly, it had just broken through, so its stamina was limited. With time needed to consolidate its cultivation and rest, it would indeed take a while.

Hesitating, he recalled what Han Qiong had said earlier and couldn't help asking:

"I heard the Beast Hall has a [Lightning Beast Mount] that is extremely fast, covering tens of thousands of kilometers in just a few days. Is that true?"

"The Beast Hall does have Lightning Beast Mounts, which are beasts at the Zongshi realm that can carry people and fly at lightning speed. However..." Hall Master Feng hesitated: "There are only two such mounts in the entire Beast Hall. One has already flown to Qianxue Kingdom, and the other..."

He shook his head, and the other two beast tamers also showed signs of dejection.

"What's wrong?" Seeing their attitude, Zhang Xuan was puzzled.

"This one is gravely ill. Today, it can't even stand, let alone fly. Master Lu and I were just diagnosing it, trying to find a cure, which is why we couldn't come to the assessment and had Master Hong take our place."

Hall Master Feng said.

"Gravely ill?" Zhang Xuan then remembered that when Yun Tao came for the assessment, Master Hong had said Hall Master Feng and the others were busy and couldn't come.

He had wondered what could be more important than the beast tamer assessment, and now he understood.

A Zongshi realm beast was the Beast Hall's greatest asset and foundation. If it was so ill it couldn't even get up, no wonder they were anxious.

"What illness?" Zhang Xuan asked.

Whether the beast was ill or not didn't matter to him, but if he could ride it, it would save a lot of time.

Hearing his question, Hall Master Feng shook his head: "We can't figure out the symptoms, so there's no way to treat it!"

"All three of us have diagnosed it and tried every beast tamer method, but we still can't figure it out!" Master Lu said bitterly.

If they couldn't even identify the illness, how could they treat it?

"Is there a solution?" Miss Mo Yu couldn't help asking.

As a beast tamer, she showed concern upon hearing that a beast was gravely ill.

"We've sent someone to invite Master Qingyang from Beiwu Kingdom. Once he arrives, he might be able to find the cause!" Master Wang said.

"Master Qingyang? Are you referring to the only two-star medical master in Beiwu Kingdom?" Shen Biru recalled something.

"That's right, him! Although we beast tamers have some methods for treating beast illnesses, we are far inferior to true medical masters. We've already sent an invitation, and he should arrive soon!" Master Wang smiled.

Although beast tamers had ways to treat common beast ailments, they were helpless with difficult cases. In such situations, seeking a medical master was the best option.

Beiwu King City wasn't far from here. By flying beast, a round trip would take less than an hour.

Since they had to wait anyway, they had come to watch the beast tamer assessment and encountered the dispute between Zhang Xuan and Master Hong.

After mentioning the medical master, Master Wang seemed confident in this Qingyang. He looked at Zhang Xuan and smiled: "Once the illness is cured, having it take you to the Red Lotus Mountain Range specially shouldn't be a problem. But... riding a Zongshi realm beast mount isn't cheap. You should prepare yourself!"

"How much?"

Zhang Xuan asked.

"According to the Beast Hall's pricing, for such a long distance to Tianwu Kingdom, with a Zongshi realm beast personally dispatched, it would cost at least twenty [Beast Blood Stones]. As an internal member, you get a discount, so it would be about sixteen stones, equivalent to around eight million kingdom gold coins."

"Eight million gold coins?"

Zhang Xuan was stunned, his eyes wide.

Back in Tianxuan Kingdom, he had to disguise himself and work hard to earn a few million. For them to charge that much for a single trip... it was practically robbery!

"There's no help for it. A Zongshi realm beast requires a two-star beast tamer to personally handle it, and it's a solo flight. This price is the lowest!"

Master Wang said bitterly.

Although a Zongshi realm beast had been tamed, without sufficient strength, it was nearly impossible to control it. A two-star beast tamer had to accompany it.

A beast tamer of that level was also at the Zongshi realm.

In other words, for this trip, both a Zongshi realm expert and a Zongshi realm beast had to be deployed. How could the price be low?

Remember, a Zongshi realm expert was considered an ancestor-level figure even in a second-rank kingdom!

For such a person to personally handle it, eight million gold coins was indeed not much.

"Didn't you say... once I became a beast tamer, I could ride for free?" Suppressing his frustration, Zhang Xuan couldn't help asking.

He had taken the beast tamer exam because Yun Tao said riding was free, but now it cost eight million... That was quite frustrating.

"Becoming a beast tamer does allow free rides, but only on beasts below the Zongshi realm. To ride this level of beast for free, you need to be a two-star beast tamer!" Hall Master Feng explained, seeing his confusion.

"Two-star beast tamers ride for free?"

Zhang Xuan hesitated, then added: "In that case... what conditions are needed? If possible, I'll take the exam!"