Library of Heaven's Path

Chapter 786: Xue Zhenyang’s Determination

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

"Stand up! As long as you work diligently for the Xuanxuan Faction, I will guide you in your spearmanship!" Zhang Xuan nodded.

The Xuanxuan Faction had just been established, and considering it was a faction consisting solely of freshmen, it was in dire need of credible fighting power. However, Zhang Xuan didn’t have the time to protect its members every time something happened, so he needed to bring in sufficiently powerful cultivators to ward off troublemakers.

Considering that these three were geniuses of the Grade-4 students, they were indeed the most suitable candidates.

This was also the reason Zhang Xuan had provoked them into agreeing to the bet of becoming the gatekeepers of Xuanxuan Faction.

He wasn’t intentionally trying to humiliate them. He was hoping that through their presence, the troublemakers would have to stop and think for themselves whether they could really afford to provoke the Xuanxuan Faction or not.

Ying Qin stood up and said, "Alright. The three of us will back out of the True Helios Faction to join Xuanxuan Faction!"

At this moment, he wasn’t just awed by the other party’s fighting prowess but his character as well.

Even in a duel, the latter intentionally used a feather duster against him just to teach him that the foundation of spearmanship didn’t lay in the weapon itself.

This comprehension hadn’t led to an increase in his fighting prowess yet, but it did open up a brand-new world before him. Now that he knew the general direction in which he should advance, as long as he built on it, he would surely be able to climb to great heights.

"Un!" Zhang Xuan nodded before turning his gaze back to the crowd.

"Faction leader, faction leader!"

"Faction leader, faction leader!"

...

Suddenly, someone amidst the crowd began shouting ’faction leader!’, and before long, more and more people joined in the chant, and it grew louder and louder. Eventually, everyone was shouting vehemently as they stared at the young man on the dueling platform with deep excitement and admiration gleaming from their eyes.

If they had still harbored doubts as to whether it was truly the correct decision for them to follow Zhang shi previously, at this very moment, they knew that they had made the right decision.

He was able to easily defeat the geniuses of the Martial Arts School, the top fighters of the True Helios Faction. As long as he was around, what else did they have to fear?

This is our faction leader!

The pillar of support for us freshmen. As long as he is around, we have nothing to fear!

Feeling the earnest emotions from the crowd, Zhang Xuan couldn’t help but feel a little moved as well. At this moment, Ruohuan gongzi stepped onto the stage and raised his hand.

The chanting immediately quietened down.

"In the Master Teacher Academy, every batch of freshmen faces the oppression of the seniors. This is to beat the arrogance and conceit out of them, teaching them that there is always a higher mountain, a world beyond what they see! This should have been a good tradition to uphold within the academy, but... as time passed, this tradition nurtured a sense of superiority within them, and they got more and more overboard in their actions, turning the culture of humility into a toxic cesspool!" Ruohuan gongzi’s voice was heard clearly throughout the crowd.

"They forced us into purchasing their products at excessively inflated pricing. They forced us to join their factions and become tools for them to earn their fortunes and Academic Credits. And if we refused, they would use their connections to deprive us of crucial resources needed to survive in the academy! Are we freshmen supposed to sit idly and allow them to oppress us like that?

"We can’t!

"We can’t, and we won’t! We won’t allow them to oppress us like that! We won’t allow them to turn us into their money-earning slaves! We won’t allow our dignity to be trampled beneath their feet! We are master teachers. We are the leaders who will guide humanity to higher grounds, not pitiful beings who can be bullied by anyone!

"We might be weak individually, but even oceans are made of tiny droplets of water. If we can gather our strength together, we will find the might to stand against them! Thus, we must unite together as one!

"On this note, I nominate Zhang shi to be our leader! In order to allow many of us to enroll in the academy, he willingly gave away his own points in the entrance examination. So that we wouldn’t be taken advantage of by the seniors, he compiled his own version of the Teacher Information Documentation and distributed it for free. To uphold the dignity of us freshmen, he stood up and defeated the Grade-4 students who came to oppress us, convincing them to lend a hand to our cause!

"His selfless character is a role model for all of us! If such a man is going to be our leader, I am willing to join the Xuanxuan Faction and listen to his commands!

"What about the rest of you?"

Ruohuan gongzi’s gaze fell on the crowd as his voice echoed resoundingly, "Are you willing to stand up as well?"

"We are willing to join the cause!"

"We will join the Xuanxuan Faction!"

...

With thirty thousand freshmen shouting simultaneously, it seemed as if the buildings in the area would collapse due to the sheer volume.

"Good! Since everyone is agreeable, our Xuanxuan Faction shall be officially established today, and Zhang shi will be our leader!" Ruohuan gongzi roared.

Even though most knew of the existence of the Xuanxuan Faction due to Ruohuan gongzi’s attempt to gather members, its formation had yet to be officially announced. As such, making use of this opportunity when everyone was gathered together, he decided to announce its establishment. From this moment onward, the largest student faction in the academy was no longer the True Helios Faction nor the Bewitching Devil Faction but the Xuanxuan Faction!

The faction established by Zhang Xuan, a freshman who had barely arrived in the academy for less than five days.

"Xuanxuan Faction! Xuanxuan Faction!"

"Xuanxuan Faction! Xuanxuan Faction!"

...

Deafening chanting sounded from the excited crowd.

Even if a student were to join a senior’s faction, while they would be protected from the oppression from other student factions, they would still face oppression from the seniors in the same faction. The only way for them to escape that altogether was to establish their faction!

Furthermore, given Zhang shi’s noble character, they were more than willing to obey his commands as well!

Thus, the crowd agreed to join the Xuanxuan Faction without any hesitation.

"Since everyone is agreeable, allow me to invite our faction leader up to say a word or two!" Interjecting in the chanting, Ruohuan gongzi turned to Zhang Xuan and gestured him forward.

"Me?" Zhang Xuan was caught off guard by that remark. But facing the expectant gazes of thirty thousand freshmen, he had no choice but to step forward. "There’s only one thing I have to say. We might be freshmen, but we aren’t inferior to the seniors. What the seniors can do, we can accomplish as well! Only through standing on our own two feet will others acknowledge our strength. If we don’t even respect ourselves, who will respect us? Thus, I will warn the members of the Xuanxuan Faction against provoking others, but if anyone comes to provoke us, we shall not back down!"

"Well said!"

"We will let them know our prowess!"

A wave of cheering swept across the crowd.

It had only been five days since they’d enrolled at the academy, but many of those present had already suffered great grievances from the oppression of the seniors. Thus, those words touched the depths of their hearts, leaving them deeply moved.

Seeing this, Ying Qin and the others also felt their blood running wild in passion. It was at this very moment that they couldn’t help but think that perhaps... it wasn’t a bad decision to join the Xuanxuan Faction.

Most other student factions operated by forcing others to join their ranks, so their members were united on the surface but divided internally. However, the members of the Xuanxuan Faction were all united in their wills. Perhaps, they might achieve greatness that no other student factions had before!

...

As the student faction was being established, Xue Zhenyang, Long Cangyue, and Dong Xin were also about to arrive at the dormitories of the freshmen.

They had been rushing there ever since leaving Hu Yaoyao’s residence, but due to the significant distance between both places, it had taken them quite a while.

"Faction leader!"

Before long, row after row of towering buildings appeared in their sights. They were just about to sneak in under the cover of the night to see how Ying Qin was doing teaching the freshmen a lesson when they suddenly saw a figure rushing toward them before stopping right before them.

"How is Ying Qin doing?" Xue Zhenyang asked.

The other party was the subordinate whom he sent to scout the situation.

"This..." The figure hesitated for a moment before replying, "Ying Qin, Yuan Gang, and Bai Mian... have been defeated by Zhang shi, and as per their bet, they have left the True Helios Faction to join the Xuanxuan Faction!"

"Defeated? Left the... True Helios Faction?" Xue Zhenyang was flabbergasted.

Before coming over, he had declared confidently that there would be no problems given that he had sent Ying Qin over. Never had he imagined that such a situation would happen instead!

"Yes!" The figure nodded.

"What happened? Putting aside Yuan Gang and Bai Mian, Ying Qin received my personal guidance! How could he have lost?" Xue Zhenyang was unable to believe his ears.

Yuan Gang and Bai Mian might have still been a little lacking, but Ying Qin was one of the top fighters among the Grade-4 students! The other party had followed him for many years, and he had imparted his spear art to him unreservedly... How could he have lost to the freshmen who had just enrolled into the academy?

Dong Xin and Long Cangyue were also dumbfounded by the situation before them.

Ying Qin might not have been a member of their factions, but as one of the most capable members of the True Helios Faction, they were acquainted with him as well. An Ethereal Treading realm expert, 5-star high-tier master teacher, challenged the freshmen to a duel of battle techniques... but lost?

Were their ears playing tricks on them?

"I recorded the scene of the duel. You will understand once you take a look..." Knowing that it was hard to convince them of the matter, the figure flicked his wrist, took out a Record Crystal, and passed it over.

Xue Zhenyang hurriedly took it and infused his zhenqi into it. A few moments later, the scene of the duel appeared before everyone’s eyes.

"The freshmen actually managed to defeat Bai Mian and Yuan Gang easily after receiving his guidance?"

"With a feather duster, he was able to beat Ying Qin into submission?"

...

Upon seeing the content of the Record Crystal, the trio was stunned.

To allow to a freshman to defeat a Grade-4 student after a short moment of guidance... Such a feat was way beyond them!

"Even though he was only using a feather duster, he still managed to subdue Ying Qin by exploiting the flaws in his spear art. This eye of discernment... just how deep an understanding of spearmanship must one possess to be able to do so?" Xue Zhenyang muttered hoarsely as his body trembled uncontrollably.

As a master of the spear, he could tell the prowess of Ying Qin’s attacks. Even he would be forced to dodge when facing them!

Yet, not only did Ying Qin’s opponent manage to overcome his spear art, he even did so casually by catching hold of his spear using his fingers, as if it was as simple as picking up a rock at the side of the road...

To be able to do this so leisurely, this could only mean that he had seen through the main flaws of Ying Qin’s spear art and used them against him.

How frightening must his eye of discernment be?

"It is no wonder Hu Yaoyao ended up becoming his apprentice. His understanding of the spear has reached an unfathomable level... Zhenyang, if you were to fight with him, would you be able to defeat him?" asked Dong Xin, turning to Xue Zhenyang.

"I..." Xue Zhenyang clenched his fists tightly as hesitation flashed across his eyes for a moment. However, his eyes swiftly grew steadfast once more as he said, "I might be unable to defeat him now, but... as long as I am able to reach the tenth dan of the Fallen Leaf Spear, it won’t be hard for me to defeat him!"

As the leader of the True Helios Faction, a celebrated genius of the Martial Arts School, how could he falter that easily before an opponent?

"If I recall correctly, you reached 9-dan three years ago. If it was that easy to reach 10-dan, you wouldn’t have been stuck for so long!" Dong Xin shook her head, thinking that it was unlikely for Xue Zhenyang to succeed.

"Don’t worry, I have already comprehended the essence of the tenth dan. All I am lacking now is an impetus for me to make the breakthrough!"

Back then, in order to overcome his bottleneck, Spear Emperor Lu Xinqing had wandered through the streets to experience the world of the ordinary mortals, and from there, he created the 10 Dans of the Fallen Leaf Spear.

After a moment of hesitation, an unwavering determination appeared in Xue Zhenyang’s eyes as he declared, "Tomorrow, I shall leave the academy and wander the world to comprehend the various intricacies of life in order to find the inspiration to achieve the breakthrough to 10-dan. I will not return to the academy until I manage to achieve the breakthrough!"

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