"Young Master Shang!"
Cao Xiong's face immediately filled with respect as he stepped forward.
"Teacher Cao?" Shang Bin looked at him with mild surprise. "You were looking for me?"
Although both were instructors at Hong Tian Academy, their paths rarely crossed. Shang Bin's status alone set him apart.
"There is something I would like to trouble Young Master Shang with," Cao Xiong said hesitantly.
"As long as it's within my ability, I will naturally help," Shang Bin replied calmly.
As the biological grandson of Elder Shang Chen, the academy's director, he was used to teachers coming to him for favors.
"It's like this…" Cao Xiong clenched his fists. "Yesterday, I finally recruited an outstanding student with great difficulty. But he was deceived by another teacher through despicable means. Since Elder Shang oversees instructional affairs, I was hoping—perhaps—the student could be transferred back to my class."
The more Cao Xiong spoke, the angrier he became.
Liu Yang was the best student he had painstakingly recruited. Losing him in a public wager to Zhang Xuan was a humiliation he still hadn't swallowed.
Shang Bin frowned.
"If the student transferred voluntarily, it would be very difficult. You know how sensitive students are nowadays. A single complaint to the Royal Court or the Teacher Guild would be troublesome…"
"He wasn't voluntary!" Cao Xiong said quickly. "I can guarantee that."
"Even so," Shang Bin waved his hand, "if the other teacher refuses to release him, it still won't be easy. Academy regulations—"
He suddenly paused.
"You mentioned he was deceived. Which teacher did this?"
Cao Xiong's teeth clenched.
"It was that trash teacher—Zhang Xuan!"
"Zhang Xuan?" Shang Bin's eyes instantly darkened.
That name ignited a fire in his chest.
The same Zhang Xuan who had shamelessly sat beside Shen Biru yesterday. A Martial Artist of the Third Layer, a zero-score failure in the Teacher Qualification Examination—yet he dared to humiliate him in front of the academy goddess.
If not for Shen Biru's presence, Shang Bin would have struck him on the spot.
"Yes!" Cao Xiong said bitterly. "What student would willingly follow such a teacher? I beg Young Master Shang to help me petition Elder Shang—"
"No need," Shang Bin interrupted, waving his hand dismissively. "I'll handle this myself."
"You… you'll handle it?" Cao Xiong froze.
"There's no need to trouble my grandfather over a piece of trash like Zhang Xuan," Shang Bin said coldly. "Deceiving students? That alone is enough reason to discipline him directly."
A cruel smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
He had been searching for a legitimate excuse to act.
Now, Zhang Xuan had delivered it to him personally.
"Y-Young Master Shang…" Cao Xiong's eyes widened in disbelief, then lit up with excitement.
"Come with me," Shang Bin said. "If you're worried, I'll make the move myself."
"Many thanks, Young Master Shang!"
Cao Xiong bowed deeply, nearly trembling with joy.
The two immediately headed toward Zhang Xuan's classroom.
Before they reached the door, they spotted two familiar figures.
Wang Tao—and a steward wrapped like a mummy.
"Wang Tao?" Shang Bin frowned. "Shouldn't you be cultivating under your grandfather? What are you doing here?"
Though Shang Bin held status, Wang Tao was the Wang Family's eldest young master—their positions were not equal.
"Teacher Shang Bin," Wang Tao bowed. "My younger sister was deceived into joining this class. I came to take her back."
"Deceived?" Shang Bin's expression darkened. "Young Lady Wang Ying as well?"
"Yes."
Shang Bin's eyes flashed coldly.
"This Zhang Xuan truly has guts—daring to deceive even the Wang Family's young lady. If I don't discipline him today, he'll never learn obedience."
"Then why are you waiting outside?" Shang Bin asked sharply. "Why not go in?"
Wang Tao hesitated, unable to speak.
Yao Han hurriedly stepped in. "Academy rules state that one may not enter during class. We could only wait."
"Rules?" Shang Bin sneered. "That's only for ordinary people."
Only now did he properly notice Yao Han's battered face.
"And you are?"
"This is Chief Steward Yao Han of White Jade City," Wang Tao introduced quickly.
"So it's Steward Yao." Shang Bin nodded politely. "No need to wait. Follow me inside. Today, I will personally discipline this shameless teacher who lacks ethics."
"Good!"
Wang Tao's eyes lit up.
Yao Han hesitated for a moment, then followed closely.
Inside the classroom.
"Although the Hong Tian Nine Layer Formula is the academy's most basic cultivation technique, it contains many flaws," Zhang Xuan was saying calmly. "For example…"
The five students listened in stunned silence.
The moment his lecture began, they felt as though a veil had been torn from before their eyes.
Years of confusion—instantly clarified.
Zhao Ya felt her inner qi surge violently, on the verge of breaking through.
Liu Yang's breathing grew uneven.
Zheng Yang's spear intent trembled.
Even Yuan Tao, who lacked a cultivation system, felt his body responding instinctively.
They had listened to many teachers before—some even Martial Artist Fifth or Sixth Layer experts—but never had they experienced anything like this.
Zhang Xuan didn't merely explain techniques.
He dissected them, laying bare every flaw, every hidden principle.
Zhao Ya's heart shook violently.
Her father, the City Lord, personally guided her cultivation. She had always believed him to be among the best instructors in the kingdom.
But compared to Teacher Zhang…
Her father was merely groping in the dark.
Liu Yang clenched his fists, trembling.
"I actually thought Teacher Zhang succeeded because of luck… How ridiculous. With his level, helping me break through was child's play."
If he wanted, Teacher Zhang could raise his strength a hundred different ways.
Compared to Cao Xiong?
They weren't even in the same world.
At that moment, all five students shared the same realization:
They hadn't found a bad teacher.
They had found a terrifyingly powerful one.
Just as the atmosphere reached perfect harmony—
Creak.
The classroom door was pushed open.
Several figures strode in.