Chapter 902: The Donkey Goes Wild

Condensing the Dean's Order required gathering the will of all teachers and students of the Master Academy—solemn and sacred. Before that, the new dean had to deliver a public lecture.

Let the entire school test his teaching ability. If he couldn't even captivate the audience with his lecture, how could he gather everyone's will and put it to better use?

"Let us also hear Teacher Zhang's lecture!"

"If the students are so impressive, the teacher must be even stronger..."

"Great! He's been recognized by all the deans. I really want to know what his lecture is like..."

Everyone wore expressions of anticipation.

Teacher Zhang's students could make even basic cultivation techniques enthralling; as the teacher himself, he was naturally even more powerful.

"Since this is required, I'll give everyone a basic lesson!" Zhang Xuan stepped forward to the edge of the platform.

Before coming, Elder Mi had explained the succession ceremony procedures, so he knew a public lecture was mandatory and there was nothing to decline.

Moreover, having comprehended the heart of a teacher, he understood the way of teaching more deeply. He knew that only by passing on knowledge could it be better propagated, so there was no need to hide his abilities.

"Cultivation is like building a tower: the firmer the foundation, the higher the tower; otherwise, it's a castle in the air, a moon in the mirror! Now I will explain how to break through from the Spirit Fusion Realm to the Bridge Heaven Realm..."

Zhang Xuan glanced around, and his calm voice rang out.

Though he didn't exert himself deliberately, his steady voice spread in all directions, clear and audible to everyone present.

As he spoke, clusters of spiritual energy descended from the sky, converging to form pure white flowers in the air, dazzling and radiant.

Words gathering spiritual energy, mouth spitting lotus flowers!

All the students listened, utterly entranced, unable to contain themselves.

...

On the streets outside the Master Academy, everything for eating, living, and using was available, forming a highly developed industrial chain.

Masters were the most moneyed profession on the continent; anyone who could open a shop here basically made a fortune, rolling in wealth.

"Boss, for others, being near the Master Academy is about making money secondarily, but primarily about contacting masters more often. Once they receive guidance, they can greatly improve their strength... But in twenty years, your strength hasn't changed at all?"

In a small tavern, a down-and-out swordsman held a fine wine, lazily looking at the boss nearby.

He had come here twenty years ago and stayed for several months; the two were already familiar.

The man standing nearby, in his fifties, potbellied, with the appearance of a merchant, was actually a famous swordsman decades ago, with considerable strength!

However, for some reason, he had retired from the martial world and come here to sell wine. Now, decades later, surrounding shops had changed one after another, but he remained in place, his strength unchanged.

This puzzled the swordsman.

"I also want to improve my strength, but unfortunately, over the years, the masters who have drunk at my place number no less than ten thousand, and those who have given me guidance number at least two or three thousand... But my talent is limited to this; I can't progress further!"

The boss smiled bitterly and shook his head.

As a swordsman, sheathing his sword and retiring naturally had his own unavoidable difficulties.

Severely injured, unable to cultivate anymore, his cultivation destroyed... He came to open a tavern outside the Master Academy precisely hoping to receive guidance and return to his peak...

Unfortunately, over decades, though he had met many masters, not one could resolve his physical隐患 and let him pick up his sword again!

He had once held great hope, but over time it turned to disappointment. The longsword was no longer as useful as the kitchen knife.

"Sigh!"

The down-and-out swordsman also guessed his helplessness. He took a big gulp of wine, sighed, and was about to say something comforting when he suddenly felt all the spiritual energy around him rush toward the Master Academy.

"What's going on?"

He frowned.

"I heard today is the succession ceremony for the new dean of the academy. According to normal procedure, he should be giving a public lecture! A six-star master gathering spiritual energy with words is nothing strange..."

The boss glanced and shook his head.

When a master reaches five stars, they can achieve words gathering spiritual energy and mouth spitting lotus flowers, but the range is limited.

Since the other party was the new dean giving a public lecture, gathering spiritual energy was nothing special.

"Oh..."

The down-and-out swordsman nodded, raised his glass to continue drinking, when he heard a distant voice in his ear: "Cultivation is like building a tower: the firmer the foundation, the higher the tower..."

The sound originated from the academy, and the tavern was right against the wall, so it could be heard, albeit faintly and unclearly.

"This... although it explains the basics, it directly points to the essence of cultivation..."

After listening for a while, the down-and-out swordsman involuntarily put down his glass, his eyes growing brighter. The true qi in his body also jumped involuntarily with the other's words, as if on the verge of breaking through.

"Impressive..."

Even from such a distance, it could cause a reaction in his body. What level of strength and realm had this dean, who was lecturing at the Master Academy, reached?

This was no longer mere teaching; it was approaching the Dao!

"Boss, come over and listen..."

Seeing the boss mixing wine, the down-and-out swordsman couldn't help calling out.

The other's body was damaged, unable to continue cultivating. Hearing such a lecture might repair his internal injuries and return him to his peak.

"Listen to what? I've seen academy elders before; even with their personal guidance, they could do nothing for my condition. What use is a public lecture?" The boss shook his head dismissively.

Even with a master's personal guidance, his ailment couldn't be cured. How could listening to a public lecture allow him to cultivate again?

What a joke!

After so many years, he had long since come to terms with it!

He no longer had the same faith in masters as before.

"Really, come over and listen; it will definitely help..."

Seeing his disbelief, the down-and-out swordsman grew anxious.

He had traveled far and wide, met countless masters, and heard many lectures, but compared to this public lecture, they were far inferior—no comparison at all!

Though he had only caught fragments, he had already benefited greatly.

"I don't believe it!"

The boss shook his head, continuing to mix wine, too lazy to walk over.

"Don't believe it? Look at that donkey..."

Seeing he wouldn't come, the down-and-out swordsman shook his head, unsure how to persuade him, when suddenly he saw something and his eyes widened, pointing at a donkey in the yard.

It was the donkey the boss used to transport wine.

"Donkey?"

The boss frowned and looked over. The moment he saw it, he froze in place.

The donkey that had been with him for years had its large ears pricked up, pressed against the academy wall, listening intently, utterly entranced. Occasionally it snorted and nodded in reverence.

"A donkey listening to a lecture?"

His pupils contracted.

Legend said that a powerful master could teach without discrimination, imparting correct knowledge to both humans and animals, making them cultivate obediently.

But those who could reach such a realm were extremely rare; at least in all his years living outside the Master Academy, he had never seen one.

Now the new dean was being inaugurated, and even a donkey was attending the lecture... What was he teaching?

Just as he was wondering, he saw the ordinary donkey raise its head and bray to the sky. Its aura surged, its power growing stronger.

Crack! Crack!

It broke through a realm, transforming from an ordinary animal into a savage beast!

Owww, owww!

Having broken through, the donkey, like a martial arts master, exuded a powerful aura and looked over challengingly.

It seemed that the oppression it had suffered over the years was finally released! It would use its donkey hooves to fight against the injustice of fate.

"A donkey can break through... Can't you? You're not even as good as a donkey, are you?"

The down-and-out swordsman looked over.

The boss's face turned pale.

The donkey he had raised was just an ordinary one, without a trace of savage beast bloodline. After listening to just a bit of the lecture, it broke through... How powerful was the lecture inside?

Perhaps listening for a while could really break the shackles binding him...

Just as he was about to approach the wall, he saw a rooster that had been waiting to be slaughtered in the yard suddenly leap out of its cage and fly skyward, its wings flapping like a phoenix soaring in the heavens.

An ordinary domestic chicken, after listening to a bit of the lecture, had also become a savage beast!

Then, a pig waiting to be slaughtered, fish in a bucket... all jumped up, each becoming stronger, as if ready to escape the yard and flee their fate of being killed...

"This, this..."

The boss rubbed his eyes vigorously.

What exactly was this new dean in the yard teaching, that these creatures about to become dishes had all been reborn?

Cluck cluck, quack quack!

Before he could recover, he heard a commotion all around. The various beasts and animals along the street all advanced by leaps and bounds, greatly increasing in strength. Even many small vendors listening to the lecture were energized, breaking through their previous limits.

In just a short while, the entire street had transformed, completely different from before.

"Quick... I need to listen too!"

Knowing it must be due to the lecture inside, the boss no longer hesitated. He hurriedly pressed against the wall, ear against it, wanting to hear what was being taught.

After listening for a few sentences, his eyes grew dazed, and he fell into a special state of mind, unable to extricate himself.

Boom!

After who knows how long, his cultivation, stagnant for decades, finally began to circulate again. With a roar, it broke through the shackles.

"I succeeded..."

Seeing that he could once again pick up his longsword, the boss's body trembled with excitement. Though he didn't know who was lecturing, he knelt down involuntarily, sincerely convinced.

...

The same scene played out on all the streets adjacent to the academy.

Among those who listened, those whose cultivation had reached a certain level, nine out of ten benefited, even breaking through their shackles!

Even more common animals broke through to become savage beasts.

Inside the imperial city.

A white-haired historian recorded with his brush...

In the thirty-third year of the Shenqing Era of the Hongyuan Empire, spring.

Teacher Zhang succeeded as dean of the Master Academy and gave a public lecture. Spiritual energy descended, heavenly flowers scattered. All formal members of the Xuanxuan Society broke through simultaneously, and countless other students broke through beyond count.

To attend the lecture, all savage beasts and spirit beasts pressed against the walls of the Master Academy. For a time, beasts filled the streets, donkeys brayed, dogs barked...