Chapter 64: Detailed Explanation of Trust

Being expelled from the academy still meant being a teacher; not at Hongtian Academy, but you could still teach at other schools!

But having your teaching qualification revoked was different—it meant losing your status, becoming a stain wherever you went, and being ridiculed!

That was precisely why Elder Shangchen had summoned Elder Mo from the Teachers' Guild. After all, even as the dean of Hongtian Academy, he didn't have the authority to revoke a teaching qualification. Unexpectedly... before he could even speak, this fellow brought it up himself!

Moreover, he wanted to add a hundred God-Slaying Strikes...

The God-Slaying Staff was a special implement refined exclusively in Tianxuan Kingdom. It inflicted pain, tore the skin and flesh, but didn't harm the vitals. A hundred strikes would leave even the strongest half-dead...

Did you think that wasn't harsh enough, or did you think you weren't dying fast enough?

Everyone stared at the youth as if he were an idiot.

Teacher Zhang Xuan, you...

Teacher Shen Biru behind him nearly fainted.

Brother, couldn't you see that this was a trap set by Shang Bin and Cao Xiong? Their goal was to make you fall for it. Originally, being expelled from the academy was already a severe punishment. Instead of refusing, you added more stakes—are you crazy or what...

"Seeking death yourself, no one else to blame!" Cao Xiong snorted coldly, then turned to Shangchen in the middle: "Elder Shang, I think Teacher Zhang's proposal is good. I hope the academy will grant it!"

Seeing him agree so quickly, Liu Yang on the side slapped his forehead and looked at him with sympathy.

Teacher Zhang was too wicked!

First, he pretended to be guilty to boost the other's confidence, then seized the opportunity to raise the stakes. Teacher Cao Xiong would probably be toyed to death without even knowing what hit him!

"Thank goodness I became his student, or my life would be over..."

Recalling that he had nearly become a student of this Teacher Cao, Liu Yang couldn't help but shudder and shrink his neck.

"Mm, good. Since both parties have agreed on the wager, let's begin!" Elder Shangchen nodded. Two crystal balls were pushed forward, each the size of a watermelon, placed on stone pillars, completely transparent, emitting a warm luster.

"These are crystal balls made from [Heart-Questioning Stones]. Zhang Xuan and Cao Xiong, each of you will drop a drop of blood on one. Liu Yang will go over and touch them, and the crystal balls will reflect his true thoughts in the form of [trust levels]! Whoever has the higher trust level wins! The rules are simple. Any questions?"

Elder Shangchen said.

"No!"

Zhang Xuan and Cao Xiong nodded simultaneously.

The heart-study interrogation was actually very simple: it used the special ability of the Heart-Questioning Stone to inquire into the student's heart. Whichever teacher had the higher trust level naturally won.

The rules were simple, but the Heart-Questioning Stone was valuable and hard to come by on the market. It was a one-time consumable; once used, it was ruined. Therefore, unless absolutely necessary, even the academy was unwilling to use this method.

As for the cost, it was generally borne by the loser.

In the eyes of Cao Xiong and the others, Zhang Xuan was a waste who scored zero in the teacher qualification assessment, knowing nothing. How could Liu Yang, a top-100 student, willingly become his student?

Once the assessment began, he was bound to lose!

Then they could not only humiliate him and drive him out of the academy, but also bankrupt him and ruin his reputation—killing three birds with one stone.

"Let's begin!"

Seeing no objections, Elder Shangchen waved his hand.

Zhang Xuan and Cao Xiong each stepped forward and dripped blood onto the crystal balls.

A warm light shone, and their faces were reflected in the Heart-Questioning crystal balls.

"Go!"

At Elder Shangchen's command, Liu Yang walked over and placed his left and right hands on the two crystal balls.

Hum!

The crystal balls immediately emitted a white light that enveloped him.

"The Heart-Questioning Stone has a hypnotic power. Once touched, one quickly falls into an illusion. There, every action springs from the heart, untainted by emotion. If a student was coerced into becoming a disciple, they would have no trust in the teacher, and might even feel aversion! Thus, the heart-study interrogation can most intuitively and accurately determine whether a student's apprenticeship is genuine and willing!"

Elder Mo Xiang looked at Liu Yang, who had closed his eyes and fallen into the illusion, and said slowly.

"Yes, trust levels represent the degree of trust, divided into one hundred points, with every ten points as a level. Zero points mean no trust at all! Ten points mean slight trust, twenty points mean general trust... The relationship between a student and teacher is generally around thirty. It is said that an outstanding teacher can achieve a trust level of fifty from a student, which is considered extremely terrifying. Even in the entire Tianxuan Kingdom, such cases are rare! After all, a student's trust in their parents is only around sixty!"

Elder Shangchen also stroked his beard.

Their conversation was actually also explaining the principle of the heart-study interrogation to everyone.

Humans are thinking creatures, each with their own thoughts. Making one person trust another is not that easy.

Not to mention others, even with parents, who have lived together since childhood, one cannot achieve one hundred percent trust!

Let alone a teacher.

Only after spending a long time together can trust rise sharply.

Now, only two days had passed since the start of the semester, and with Zhang Xuan's terrible reputation, what trust could he have?

Anyone could figure that out with their toes.

"By the way, Elder Mo, I heard that the guild has criteria for evaluating master teachers, and the student's trust level is one of them. Is that true?"

After explaining, Elder Shangchen recalled something and couldn't help asking.

Teacher titles were divided into three levels: junior, intermediate, and senior. Zhang Xuan was the lowest junior, while Shen Biru, Shang Bin, and others had already reached senior.

For ordinary people, reaching senior was the end of the road.

Lu Xun and Wang Chao of Hongtian Academy, who were quite famous, were also at this level.

Above senior was master teacher!

A master teacher was not only renowned but also had profound insights into guidance and cultivation. Being a student of such a person would make one stronger and stronger, eventually becoming a regional hero.

His Majesty Shen Zhui was neither the eldest nor the legitimate son; according to the rules, the throne should never have fallen to him. However, it was said that when he was young, he studied under a master teacher for a few days, and later advanced by leaps and bounds, becoming the strongest of the younger generation in the royal family, and then the strongest in the kingdom, thus inheriting the throne and expanding the territory!

Being able to study under a master teacher was a dream for countless people!

The profession of teacher could only be considered low-grade among the upper nine classes, but once one became a master teacher, it was indisputably the first among all professions in the upper nine classes.

Especially the power of influence, which was terrifyingly strong. Even the popular alchemists, artifact refiners, and array masters could not compare!

Teachers were said to have students all over the world; master teachers even more so. Any strong individual could be their student. Once trouble arose, they could summon a crowd, and even those in power dared not offend them.

Legend has it that a king of a great kingdom somehow offended a master teacher. That person gave an order, and dozens of grandmasters at the eighth level of martial arts swarmed in. The entire royal city was completely destroyed in less than a day, and the royal clan was slaughtered to the last, their bloodline cut off.

Because of this, every cultivator knew that you could offend anyone, but you must not offend a master teacher!

Who knew how many students they had? And how many of those students were strong?

Offending one was like poking a hornet's nest—you'd be crippled if not killed!

Of course, the title of master teacher was not so easily obtained. It required many conditions, and rapidly increasing a student's trust level was one of them.