Chapter 843: Who Is Your Teacher?

"Indeed, the reason I didn't contact you all these days is that I was at a critical point in my breakthrough and couldn't afford distraction!"

Ziyang Beast said, "If not for my master, I would still be at the peak of Saint Domain First Layer, with no possibility of breaking through!"

What it said was the truth.

During this time, aside from being beaten, it was placed in the Thousand Ant Hive, unable even to stretch its body. The intense anger also served as a foundation for a smooth breakthrough.

The Divine Consciousness Realm is related to the soul and state of mind. These days of sunless humiliation had made its spirit more resilient.

Without this experience, even with Hong Yuan Beast's inner core, whether it could break through would have been uncertain.

The crowd was speechless.

For cultivators in seclusion, months or even years are common; the other party had only been in seclusion for about half a month—not a long time.

"Senior Ziyang Beast was once the old dean's beast pet and made many contributions to the academy—needless to say, everyone knows. Teacher Zhang painstakingly helped it break through, expending great effort... And you actually slander him as an alien! Lu Feng, if you can't explain yourself today, you won't escape the charge of slander. Even if it goes to the Qingyuan Empire, I'll see it through!"

Raising an eyebrow, Zhao Bingxu took the lead in launching an attack.

You said Teacher Zhang beat Ziyang Beast and was an alien; now the victim itself has come out to refute that... What else do you have to say?

His face twisted, Lu Feng's body trembled, veins bulging on his forehead, so frustrated he could vomit blood.

He had thought that with this information, he could surely make this Zhang Xuan wish he were dead, but he never dreamed there would be such a reversal...

Beside him, Dong Xin's delicate body also trembled, on the verge of fainting.

She had seen with her own eyes how he commanded his subordinates to beat this Ziyang Beast, ruthless and merciless; how could it suddenly become helping it break through?

Breaking through—was there such a way of beating without regard for life and death?

"No, could it be..."

Suddenly a thought struck her, an idea emerging.

Thinking of this, she quickly cupped her fists: "Teacher Mu, Senior Jinyuan Ding, all elders, I have a thought, I don't know if I should speak it!"

"Today is only about finding the truth; speak freely if you have something to say!"

Teacher Mu nodded.

"I saw with my own eyes Zhang Xuan ordering people to beat Senior Ziyang Beast, yet now the senior speaks for him... Could it be that he is under some threat or has some unspeakable difficulty? Or perhaps the purpose of the beating was to make it submit?"

Dong Xin said.

Just a few days ago it was beaten half to death, and now it shows no hostility and even acknowledges him as master—who would believe that?

Such a rapid change, aside from genuine submission, could also be... insincerity!

"You mean coercion?" Teacher Mu frowned.

The many elders were also taken aback.

Such a situation was not unheard of.

If it was truly coercion, then its words were not from the heart, and even they, as master teachers, would find it hard to discern.

"Exactly. Everyone knows that Senior Ziyang was utterly loyal to the old dean. The dean's fate—alive or dead—is still uncertain, yet it acknowledges another as master. I, for one, don't believe it!"

His eyes lighting up, Lu Feng cast a praising glance at Dong Xin and snorted.

The old dean went into the ruins and never returned; the academy has classified it as missing, not certain whether he is dead or not.

If that were the case, it would be intriguing.

Without even confirming whether the master is dead or alive, to acknowledge another as master—it's simply baffling.

"Could it be that this Zhang Xuan has obtained some information and is using the old dean's life or death to coerce Senior Ziyang into acknowledging him as master and speaking for him? Or perhaps... he used some unknown special method?"

Chen Chengxun stood up.

He and Lu Feng were on the same side and could no longer retreat.

Teacher Mu pondered.

If his old friend was indeed not dead and someone used that as a threat, then given Ziyang Beast's loyal nature, it might indeed change its story.

"Since we cannot determine whether it was coerced, Senior Ziyang Beast's words are not credible!"

Lu Feng continued.

"You... bullshit!"

Never expecting that its own clarification would lead to such absurd reasoning, Ziyang Beast's face flushed red as it roared angrily, "Every word I said comes from the heart; how can it be untrustworthy?"

"Senior, don't be agitated. The aliens have many methods and are especially skilled in soul confusion techniques. Before we can confirm whether you have been confused, your words are truly hard for us to discern!"

Lu Feng said.

In ancient times, the profession of Soul Shaman once defected to the aliens, so the latter have a high mastery over souls. You were beaten just a few days ago, yet now you say the exact opposite—who would believe that?

"Dean Lu, if this reasoning holds, may I also suspect that you have been bewitched by the aliens and are deliberately trying to harm a master teacher with the Eye of Clarity?"

Mo Gaoyuan, who had remained silent since entering the room, suddenly spoke.

"Exactly! A master teacher with the Eye of Clarity is of great importance to humanity. Dean Lu has been targeting him all along—could it be that you are already one of the aliens?"

Elder Mi also stroked his beard and said.

You say Ziyang Beast's words are not credible—fine then... how credible are your words?

“You…”

Unexpectedly, the two of them flipped their hats back on with a single motion. Lu Feng was so choked he nearly spat blood, so he waved his hand and said, “Fine, we can stop dwelling on that. But… this Zhang Xuan, there’s no refuting that he has subordinates from the alien spirit race, right? Back when Senior Ziyang was captured, we all went to the scene. The aura and traces of the alien spirit race were so obvious—there’s no way to hide them!”

According to Dong Xin’s description, he not only beat up the Ziyang beast but also had a group of alien spirit race subordinates.

This was the most critical and important point.

Moreover, everyone present had gone to investigate and knew what those traces signified.

Elder Mi, Dean Zhao, and the others were all speechless.

They had all seen the traces left by Lei Yuanfeng’s battle, and given Master Zhang’s current cultivation, without help, he couldn’t possibly be a match for Senior Ziyang.

Could he really have alien spirit race subordinates?

If so, it would indeed be troublesome.

A master teacher was forbidden from having any ties with the alien spirit race; otherwise, even with a mouth, he couldn’t explain himself.

“Alien spirit race subordinates… are you referring to these?”

Knowing that if today’s matter wasn’t clarified, it would be a stain for life, Zhang Xuan said nothing more. With a flick of his wrist, a puppet appeared before him.

“I believe your eyesight can tell… this is a puppet refined from an alien spirit race member!”

“Indeed!”

“This is a puppet refined from a real person!”

The crowd was startled, then all nodded.

As six-star upper-rank master teachers, unlike Dong Xin who only caught a glimpse, they could easily distinguish a puppet from a real person.

“Dean Zhao should know that before I came to the academy, I entered a relic with Luo Qiqi, Princess Yufei’er, and others from the academy, and was fortunate enough to receive the inheritance of Senior Wu Yangzi!”

Zhang Xuan continued.

“Mm!” Zhao Bingxu nodded.

He had previously compiled this matter into a detailed record and informed the others.

“These puppets were refined by the senior using great techniques; I merely obtained them by chance!”

Zhang Xuan smiled. “A master teacher cannot have dealings with the alien spirit race, but refining them into puppets for human use—even if not meritorious, should it be considered a fault?”

The crowd was stunned.

They had thought these were alien spirit race members, but they turned out to be puppets. Such things, without orders, could not harm anyone.

No matter how many one subdued, it was harmless.

“These are indeed mindless puppets, and the forging method is exquisite, very similar to the legendary techniques of Wu Yangzi…”

After a careful look, Master Mu nodded.

These puppets had been forged by Wu Yangzi while the alien spirit race members were still alive, using all kinds of precious materials and methods; each one was extremely valuable.

“But… these puppets still contain killing intent and retain the habits of the alien spirit race. Even Wu Yangzi in his lifetime might not have been able to tame them? How did you manage to make them obediently follow orders?”

Spotting the key point, Master Mu frowned.

Although this was a puppet, its killing intent was not weak, and it showed innate hostility toward humans.

Such a powerful being—let alone Wu Yangzi, even he might not be able to tame it. How did this young man, only at the Return to Unity realm, accomplish it?

Zhang Xuan frowned.

Making them obedient was due to the ruthless person, but explaining the ruthless person would require explaining the Heavenly Path Volume, which involved his greatest secret—the Heavenly Path Library.

Thus… he absolutely could not say it.

“Moreover, these puppets were made by forcibly replacing each part of the alien spirit race members’ bodies while they were still alive, right? There’s no sign of rejection, meaning… they were willing to do so! When Wu Yangzi was captured by the alien spirit race back then, it caused a big stir, and the Qingyuan Empire branch has files on it. If he truly had the ability to make these alien spirit race members willingly be refined and obey, how could he have been captured and never returned?”

Master Mu continued.

As a seven-star master teacher, his eyesight was extraordinary. He knew that even if Wu Yangzi was very powerful, succeeding in this refining method was difficult.

“Master Mu is right. Even if these are puppets, how were they successfully refined? With your strength, how did you subdue them?”

Hearing Master Mu’s words, Lu Feng’s eyes lit up. “Unless you are a king of the alien spirit race, able to make the puppets obedient and willing to be killed, so that even after death, they obey you!”

Zhang Xuan’s face darkened.

He was naturally not a king of the alien spirit race, but the ruthless person was, and might even be an emperor among them!

Back then, Wu Yangzi was able to refine these alien spirit race members into puppets precisely because of that person.

But… if he went into detail, the secret of the library would be hard to keep.

“I really don’t know how they were successfully refined; that was done by Senior Wu Yangzi. As for subduing them—”

Hesitating, Zhang Xuan said, “My teacher, worried about my safety, specially tamed them and gave them to me!”

“Your teacher?”

Lu Feng snorted. “Which master teacher is that? Speak up. I’d like to see which master teacher can tame so many mindless puppets, loyal only to the alien spirit race king, into obediently following a four-star master teacher’s orders!”

“My teacher…”

Full of inner conflict, Zhang Xuan was about to explain when a faint voice came from outside the room.

“It’s me.”

An extremely powerful aura instantly descended.