Library of Heaven's Path

"You want me to accept me as your student?"

"Indeed. As long as you agree to be my student, the Master Teacher Arrest Warrant, the Zhang Clan, and the Glacier Plain Court, I can help you resolve them all!" Yang shi said with a smile.

In the first place, even though the Zhang Clan and the Glacier Plain Court had been humiliated by the matter, they had not lost any of their men due to that. Furthermore, Zhang Xuan was the head of the Sanctum of Sages, so the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters would be lenient on him, especially considering the current circumstances. Thus, as long as he spoke up on Zhang Xuan's behalf, in deference to his standing and power, this seemingly unresolvable issue could be resolved rather easily.

At the very most, he would just have to bring Zhang Xuan around to make more contributions so as to strike off whatever misdeeds he had done in the past.

As a grand elder of the Master Teacher Pavilion, he believed in his appeal to others. As long as he proclaimed his interest in taking in a student, countless masters teachers would immediately rush over to him. Considering how he had even made a direct offer to Zhang Xuan, he believed that the latter would not turn him down.

Just as he thought that the young man would delightfully kneel down and acknowledge him as his teacher, the young man shook his head instead and said, "Yang shi, thank you for your high opinion of me, but… I don't have any intention of acknowledging a teacher just yet!"

Having undergone five Celestial Master Teacher acknowledgement, his eyes were already set on higher grounds. Even if Kong shi offered to take him in as his disciple again, he might not necessarily agree to it, let alone Yang shi!

"Hmm?" Yang shi was stunned for a moment before his eyes slowly widened in astonishment. "You do have a strong foundation, possessing unique insights into battle techniques and cultivation. Under normal circumstances, it's true that you wouldn't need a teacher. After all, you have already found your own way of cultivation, and it would be meaningless for you to forcefully adopt another person's lineage.

"That being said, the Master Teacher Pavilion still heavily emphasizes the idea of lineage. With a good teacher, your standing in the Master Teacher Pavilion could be increased significantly, thus bringing you greater convenience in whatever you intend to do in the future. Furthermore, beyond Saint 9-dan, there won't be any predecessors whose path you can emulate. Without a teacher to guide you along, there's a high chance that you might accidentally head down the wrong path, and that could pose to be deadly!"

"There won't be any predecessors whose path I can emulate?" Zhang Xuan turned to look at Yang shi with a doubtful look in his eyes.

As he had not raised his cultivation or master teacher rank to the corresponding level yet, he had not been able to acquire any news regarding the affairs of 9-star master teachers. As such, he was completely oblivious to what lay beyond Saint 9-dan and how such a level of cultivation could be achieved.

"Becoming a 9-star master teacher isn't just about one's cultivation or Soul Depth. More than that, one must find their own philosophy of education and achieve a certain level of accomplishment in the field of teaching. Take Kong shi for example, the philosophies that he left behind include teaching without discrimination, individualized impartation of knowledge, cultivating a passion toward learning, wholesome education, and so on. The beliefs that he left behind have lasted through the ages, inspiring generation after generation of teachers.

"Not only so, one of the core requirements to becoming a 9-star master teacher is to achieve a breakthrough beyond Saint 9-dan, but it is no easy feat to do so at all. Even I had to tread carefully as if walking on thin ice, fearing that the slightest mistake would lead to my downfall! It's during times like this that the guidance of a teacher plays a crucial role. If you simply rely on fumbling your way through, it'll be difficult for you to get far!" Yang shi said with a shake of his head.

"Cultivation is a struggle against the heavens, so it's bound to be fraught with difficulties. However…" Knowing that Yang shi bore good intentions at heart, Zhang Xuan pondered deeply for a moment, seemingly deciding on an important decision. A moment later, he exhaled deeply before walking up to Yang shi and saying, "Yang shi, please take a look at this!"

After which, Zhang Xuan tapped his finger forward, and a surge of Heaven's Path zhenqi slowly gathered at the tip of his finger. At the same time, a unique aura was slowly being released from his body, pushing toward the elder.

Yang shi was initially a little perplexed over what Zhang Xuan was going to do, but upon sensing the aura that the young man emanating, he hurriedly retreated two steps as his eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. His finger trembled non-stop as a furious tempest broke out in his heart. "Y-you are…"

Zhang Xuan nodded silently.

"This… But… No wonder!" Yang shi took a deep breath before conducting a solemn, proper bow toward Zhang Xuan.

He felt light on his feet, almost as if he was floating on cloud. The situation was simply too unbelievable to him.

It was no wonder the other party was unwilling to be his student. It turned out that he was a Celestial Master Teacher!

Having the acknowledgement of the world, it would be no exaggeration to say that he was the disciple of the very world itself. In terms of standing, the young man before him could be said to be on par with even Kong shi! Putting him aside, even if Kong shi was reincarnated, he might still be unqualified to take the young man before him in as his student!

Seeing that Yang shi understood what was going on, Zhang Xuan clasped his fist and explained, "You should also understand how astounding my identity is. I know that revealing my identity could help me out of the quandary I am currently in, but it would surely draw the frenzied aggression of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe. I think it would be utterly foolish to place my life in the hands of another, so until I am powerful enough to protect myself, I don't intend to reveal my true identity. It's also for that reason that I claimed to be your student and used it as a cover to rationalize my accomplishments… I hope for your understanding for using your name without your consent!"

Back then, when he first impersonated Yang shi, he had been unaware of the other party's existence. Perhaps, this was the path that destiny was veering him toward. Since things had already worked out this way, he might as well just play along with it.

This way, he would also be able to justify why he had chosen to impersonate Yang shi in the first place.

"I-it's my honor!" Yang shi nodded with a dazed look on his face, having yet to recover from the shocking revelation.

It was his utmost fortune to have the Celestial Master Teacher claiming to be his disciple. He would have never dared imagine such a thing happening otherwise!

"I guess that's to be expected. Who else other than the Celestial Master Teacher could wield such tremendous abilities?"

It took Yang shi a long moment of rumination before he was able to regain himself.

It was no wonder the young man had been able to pull off so many inconceivable feats, such as commanding the lightning tribulation! In his lifetime, Yang shi had seen plenty of geniuses, but none of them could match up to even a tenth of Zhang Xuan's capabilities!

His direct disciple, Feng Ziyi, was one such example. In the eyes of others, he was a hard-to-come-by genius who possessed unparalleled talent, and he could very well join the upper echelons of the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters in the future. However, when compared to the young man before him, the difference between the two of them was so great that he could not bear to look at his direct disciple anymore. They were simply on two entirely different levels!

"Yang shi, the implications concerning a Celestial Master Teacher are too great, so I ask of you to keep this matter a secret," said Zhang Xuan as he clasped his fist.

"Don't worry, I won't speak of this matter to another soul," Yang shi replied with a nod.

The term 'Celestial Master Teacher' had come to take on too great a significance throughout the entire world. If it became known that Zhang Xuan was the Celestial Master Teacher, it would raise a huge commotion, such that even the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters would be rattled at its core.

At the same time, the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe would also launch an all-out assault against mankind, not caring about the damage that they would sustain as a result of their actions, just so that they could prevent another Kong shi from rising among the humans. This would place mankind in grave danger, and the situation could very well run out of control.

"You have my gratitude!" Zhang Xuan clasped his fist.

Even though this was the first time that he had met Yang shi, for some inexplicable reason, he felt that the latter was someone whom he could trust and rely on, which was also the reason he had chosen to reveal his identity to Yang shi in the first place.

The greater the number of people who knew of his identity, the higher the risk that the news would leak out. As such, he could not afford to have the entire Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters learning of his identity as a Celestial Master Teacher. But at the same time, he also understood the unfavorable situation that he was in.

If he could just bring Yang shi over to his side and have the latter mediate on his behalf, this matter could very well be resolved peacefully without him having to expose his identity to too many people.

"There's no need to stand on ceremony. This is part of my duty as a master teacher." At this point, Yang shi turned a serious gaze to Zhang Xuan as he continued speaking. "You are a Celestial Master Teacher, and I understand that I don't have the qualifications to take you in as my student. However, without exposing that you are the Celestial Master Teacher or having you come under any lineages, I'm afraid that it'll still be hard for me to convince the Master Teacher Pavilion to get off your back."

"Hard?" Zhang Xuan frowned.

He knew that the person standing right before him was the First Grand Elder of the Master Teacher Pavilion. Surely, with the other party's esteemed standing, he would be able to resolve this matter easily. Why would it be hard for him?

"You have had quite a few clashes with the Master Teacher Pavilion, so I believe that you should be able to tell that the current Master Teacher Pavilion is no longer what it used to be," Yang shi said with a deep sigh of resignation.

Zhang Xuan blinked, not expecting to hear such words from Yang shi.

"The purpose behind the founding of the Master Teacher Pavilion was to empower mankind and grant it the strength required to fend off any external threats. Anything aside from its primary purpose, master teachers would strive not to get involved with or even pay attention to at all. After Kong shi's passing, most of the predecessors continued to embrace such a tradition. Alas, all men have ambitions and desires; the allure of power corrupts them so."

Woefulness rippled in Yang shi's eyes as he shook his head bitterly, seemingly lamenting the vicissitudes of life. "The effects of power appear benign in the short-run, but those who have enjoyed it for far too long fear having it stripped from their hands, and they will do anything to preserve their grip on power. Such is the case with the current Master Teacher Pavilion.

"They feel that the scars on their bodies and the blood that they have shed make them the rightful leaders of the Master Teacher Continent, and there's no human and no power who is worthy of refuting their contribution to the world. They feel that the Master Teacher Pavilion deserves the very prestige that it's accorded, and anyone who shows them any disrespect is contemptible. It's a true pity that they have already lost sight of the very people who granted them their power in the first place. Without humans, who would care about whatever sacrifices the master teachers have made?

"I simply couldn't stand such snobbishness. So, I chose to spend my days roaming outside, rarely returning to the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters!"