Chapter 974: Wu Shi's Shame

"This..."

Witnessing this scene, Wu Shi's brow twitched.

A Saint-level defeating a Saint Realm Second Layer combat master with bare hands... that was too terrifying.

Most critically, he had just said the other's strength was insufficient, and now he had defeated Zhuo Combat Master on the spot—it was a blatant slap in the face.

"According to the information we have, there are many powerful beings of the Heterodox Spirit Tribe in this relic. Once captured, even You Xu, a Six-Star peak master teacher, cannot withstand them! What makes you confident that you can resist?"

With hands clasped behind his back, Wu Shi looked over coldly, his tone accusatory, firing off questions: "Have you ever seen the Heterodox Spirit Tribe? Dealt with them? Do you know how terrifying they are?"

"I..."

Zhang Xuan was about to answer when he saw the Seven-Star master teacher wave his hand again.

"To tell you the truth, I have fought them, personally slain fifty-two of them. They are not only powerful, capable of fighting above their level, but more importantly, the killing aura they emit is irresistible."

"Encountering such creatures, it's not just your combat strength that matters; more crucial is your mental state and willpower. If you lack these abilities, it's better not to go."

He wasn't deliberately targeting Zhang Xuan, but this mission was too dangerous; not a single misstep could be allowed, or else they might all be annihilated.

Even if the other party had strong combat power and a formidable teacher, he was still just a young man in his twenties. He had seen many such geniuses; when faced with terrifying Heterodox Spirit Tribe members, they easily had their psychological barriers breached, leading to unforeseen consequences.

"As for the Heterodox Spirit Tribe..." Knowing that the other meant no harm but was just a bit subjective after being a leader for too long, Zhang Xuan shook his head and was about to explain when he saw an elder rush in hurriedly from outside.

"Dean..." The elder quickly cupped his fists upon arrival.

Seeing his troubled expression, Zhang Xuan frowned: "What's wrong?"

The elder hesitated for a moment, then said: "Reporting to the Dean, Lu Feng... Master Lu requests an audience!"

Lu Feng had clashed with Dean Zhang and nearly had his master teacher qualification revoked. Although this was only known within a small circle, the elder was aware of it... Thus, he knew the relationship between the two was hardly amicable. Lu Feng coming to see the dean made him feel awkward, unsure how to report.

"Lu Feng?"

Unaware of his thoughts, Zhang Xuan was startled for a moment, then smiled.

After leaving the seal, he had specifically looked for this group but hadn't found them. Now it seemed they had truly emerged from the underground cavern.

"Show him in!" He waved his hand.

"Yes..." Seeing that the dean did not blame him, the elder breathed a sigh of relief and hurried out.

Before long, an old man followed him in. Who else could it be but Lu Feng?

Lu Feng no longer had his previous sharp aura; his eyes were simple, giving an impression of greater composure and steadiness.

It seemed that after the last incident, his entire mentality had undergone a great change.

"Dean, you're really fine? That's great..."

Seeing the young man seated calmly in the center of the hall, Lu Feng breathed a sigh of relief.

Although he had guessed that Zhang Xuan was fine and had left the underground cavern, seeing it with his own eyes still eased his mind.

If not for him, they would surely have died. He had risked danger to save them and slain so many Heterodox Spirit Tribe members; the debt of gratitude was immense, like being reborn.

"Of course I'm fine. What about you? Are your injuries healed?" Zhang Xuan smiled.

"Our injuries are fully healed. It was the Dean who selflessly risked his life to save us, preventing a major catastrophe. Please accept Lu Feng's bow..."

With that, he was about to kneel.

"Master Lu, you're too kind..." Zhang Xuan moved and appeared beside him, helping him up.

Seeing the two, who had previously been at odds, being so courteous, Elder Mi and Elder Zhao exchanged glances, looking puzzled.

"What's going on?"

Dean Jiang Qingqin, standing to the side, couldn't help but ask.

"Oh, it's like this!"

Hearing the question, Lu Feng nodded: "Five days ago, Dean Zhang descended into the underground cavern, rescued forty of us Six-Star master teachers, and single-handedly killed over two hundred Saint-level Heterodox Spirit Tribe members and two Saint Realm Fourth Layer kings... I have reported the details to headquarters and just received a reply. I originally thought that Dean Zhang's merits should not be buried, but I didn't expect the Dean had already emerged from the cavern..."

"Descended into the underground cavern?"

"Rescued over forty master teachers?"

"Killed over two hundred Saint-level Heterodox Spirit Tribe members and kings?"

...

Hearing his words, the surroundings fell silent. Wu Shi, who had been so aggressive just moments ago, widened his eyes and nearly fainted on the spot.

He had just said the other had never seen Heterodox Spirit Tribe members, and now Lu Feng came saying he had killed over two hundred... Was that true or false?

Even he, a Saint Realm Fourth Layer powerhouse, had never killed that many!

And most critically, there were two kings!

The terror of Heterodox Spirit Tribe kings was unimaginable. Even if he encountered one, he would only end up dead. From Lu Feng's tone, this Dean Zhang was not only unharmed but had killed two...

He felt his breath catch, unable to react.

"Is everything you said true?" He couldn't help but look over.

"Of course, I can vouch for it with my life!" Lu Feng nodded. "And we have already transmitted the details to headquarters, which has acknowledged them and converted them into merit points as a reward... Today, I came to deliver these merit points to the Dean."

With that, Lu Feng flipped his wrist and produced a pale yellow jade token, handing it over.

"Dean, you expended great effort to slay so many Heterodox Spirit Tribe members and save us. We cannot let your contributions be buried... Headquarters assessed the situation and awarded a total of 1,211 points."

"Over a thousand... points?"

Wu Shi swayed, nearly spitting blood.

From the age of sixteen, when he killed his first Heterodox Spirit Tribe member, until now, reaching Seven-Star Upper Grade master teacher... all his accumulated merits over centuries totaled only twenty-two points...

That was already enough to be proud of and amaze countless people.

He had just mocked Dean Zhang for having no merits, and now the other was flaunting over a thousand points... Wasn't that too exaggerated?

Even if he really killed over two hundred Saint-level Heterodox Spirit Tribe members and two kings, it wouldn't amount to that many!

Not only he thought so, but others also had the same doubt.

Seeming to read their thoughts, Lu Feng continued: "These Heterodox Spirit Tribe members came through the seal of the underground cavern with a special mission, clearly plotting something sinister. If they had escaped, the entire Hongyuan Empire could have suffered a devastating blow. Dean Zhang killed them, thus thwarting their conspiracy. The merit is immeasurable; over a thousand points is actually modest..."

"This..." The crowd finally understood.

Indeed.

Killing a few Heterodox Spirit Tribe members might not earn much merit, but thwarting their conspiracy and saving countless lives was a great achievement.

"There's one more thing. Headquarters hasn't confirmed it yet, but they have sent people down to verify. Once confirmed, it might not be just over a thousand points, but possibly tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands..."

Ignoring the crowd's shock, Lu Feng continued.

"Tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands? What great merit is that?"

Mu Shi, standing to the side, quickly asked.

Killing a Saint-level Heterodox Spirit Tribe member earned less than one point, showing how difficult it was to gain merit.

Suddenly reaching over a thousand points was already astonishing, and now there were tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands not yet verified? What could it be?

Not only he was puzzled, but Wu Shi, Elder Mi, and others were also utterly confused, unable to figure it out.

"It's like this. I just went down to the underground cavern again and found that the seal blocking the domain battlefield has been completely repaired... This must have been done by the Dean, right?"

Lu Feng looked up.

"If the seal wasn't repaired, the Heterodox Spirit Tribe would keep invading. So I spent a few days repairing it using methods my teacher once taught me."

Zhang Xuan nodded.

"Indeed..." Lu Feng's eyes lit up.

He had spent over three months in the underground cavern and knew the degree of wear on the seal. He had thought that this Heterodox Spirit Tribe incursion was not an isolated incident and that more would come continuously. But when he went to check again, the seal was already intact.

They had all been together; the Heterodox Spirit Tribe certainly wouldn't dig their own graves. The only possibility was Dean Zhang, who had created so many miracles.

If someone else claimed to have repaired it, he wouldn't believe it. But this Dean Zhang had created too many miracles for him not to believe.

That was why he had verbally confirmed it, and indeed received the other's affirmation.

Repairing the seal, preventing Heterodox Spirit Tribe attacks, was a permanent solution. The merit was immense, immeasurable; even tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of points would be too little.

As for the final assessment, it would have to wait for headquarters to send someone to inspect carefully before giving a clear answer.

"Doesn't the seal involve spatial laws? Can it be repaired?"

"If true, this is truly a great merit benefiting humanity..."

"How was it done?"

Hearing their exchange, everyone around was stunned.

Wu Shi, who had just felt so self-important, was as if struck by lightning.

"By the way, Dean, when I went to the seal before, I noticed some damage. This time, it was already intact... If I'm not mistaken, you must have just come out of the underground cavern, right?"

Remembering something, Lu Feng couldn't help but ask.

He had previously gone to the seal in search of Zhang Xuan and knew the situation. This time it was already intact, indicating it had been repaired recently.

"Yes, I came out less than half an hour ago!" Zhang Xuan smiled wryly. "See, I haven't even had time to change clothes..."

"He just saved the entire Hongyuan Empire, killed hundreds of Heterodox Spirit Tribe members, survived countless dangers, emerged from the dangerous underground cavern, and upon hearing the gathering bell, came without rest or changing clothes... And I blamed him for being late? Thought he was putting on airs?"

Hearing this, Wu Shi's face turned bright red, wishing he could find a hole to crawl into.