The three days passed in a blur of golden light and rising power within the Blue Lotus Estate. While the city gossiped about the "Mad Teacher" who had moved into the Yue Clan's property, Lu Chen had been busy. Using his Level-2 Scanning Speed, he had finished every book Madam Yue possessed and had even sent Han Feng to "borrow" (scan) the private collections of several local guilds.
[System Notification: Total Books Scanned: 45,000.]
[Status: 1-Star Master Teacher Knowledge Base perfected. 'Halo of Epiphany' fully charged.]
The morning of the 1-Star Master Teacher Exam arrived. The Master Teacher Pavilion of Cloud Mist City was a sprawling complex of white marble and gold leaf, usually a place of quiet dignity. Today, it was a circus.
Every teacher, student, and noble in the Rank-1 Territory had gathered. They wanted to see if Lu Chen was truly a hidden genius or if the "Tiger Cub" incident was just a fluke.
As Lu Chen's carriage arrived, the crowd parted. He stepped out, dressed in a new robe of midnight blue, provided by Madam Yue. His Origin Spirit Pen was tucked into a silver sash, and the Heavenly Lightning King cub—now the size of a large dog—walked regally at his side.
"Look! It's the Trash Teacher!" someone shouted, but the mockery died down quickly as Lu Chen's Sovereign Architect's Pressure washed over them.
Standing at the top of the pavilion steps was a man who looked like he had stepped out of a painting. He wore a silver robe with three brilliant stars embroidered on the collar. His eyes were like cold flint. This was Grandmaster Yan, the 3-Star Master Teacher sent from the Capital.
"Lu Chen," Grandmaster Yan spoke, his voice carrying a resonance that made the air vibrate. "I have heard of your arrogance. You claim the 1-Star exams are beneath you. You claim our foundations are flawed. Today, you will either prove your words or lose your tongue for heresy."
Lu Chen walked up the steps until he was eye-to-eye with the 3-Star master. "I don't claim your foundations are flawed, Grandmaster Yan. I state it as a fact. Your own 'Shattering Sky' technique, for instance, has a 12% energy leak in the second transition. That is why your hair is prematurely white despite your high cultivation."
The entire square went silent. To point out the flaws of a 3-Star Master Teacher in public was suicide.
Grandmaster Yan's eyes narrowed, a killing intent flaring for a split second. "Bold. Let us see if your knowledge matches your mouth. Enter the Hall of Theory."
Phase 1: The Knowledge Pavilion
The first stage of the exam was the Theory Test. Usually, a candidate had to answer 100 complex questions about cultivation and professions.
"For you, Lu Chen," Grandmaster Yan sneered, "we have prepared the 'Thousand-Scroll Challenge'. You must identify the errors in 1,000 random manuals within one hour. If you miss even one, you fail."
The crowd gasped. This was a 4-Star level difficulty!
Lu Chen walked into the center of the hall, surrounded by stacks of ancient scrolls. He didn't even sit down. He looked at the first stack.
[Architectural God-Interface: Visual Scan Initiated...]
[Analyzing 1,000 Scrolls... Cross-referencing with 45,000 Scanned Volumes...]
Lu Chen began to speak. He didn't write; he just spoke, his voice amplified by the Halo of Clarity.
"Scroll 1: The 'Iron Skin' manual. Page 4, line 12—the breathing rhythm is inverted, causing internal bruising."
"Scroll 2: 'Basic Alchemy'. The ratio of Sun-Herb to Water-Root is 3:1, not 2:1. Using 2:1 results in a toxic explosion."
"Scroll 15: 'The Wind-Walker Step'..."
The words poured out of his mouth like a torrential river. The three 1-Star examiners tasked with checking the answers couldn't keep up. Their hands were shaking as they flipped through the reference books.
"Correct!"
"Correct!"
"Heavens... he's right about the 15th-century revision of the 'Cloud-Sect' laws too!"
By the 40-minute mark, Lu Chen had finished all 1,000 scrolls. He hadn't just identified the errors; he had provided the Perfect Corrections for each one.
Grandmaster Yan's face was a mask of shock. "Impossible. No one has that kind of memory."
"It's not memory, Grandmaster," Lu Chen said, brushing a speck of dust off his robe. "It's architecture. When a structure is wrong, it stands out like a broken pillar."
Phase 2: Disciple Nurturing (The Live Breakthrough)
"Theory is one thing," Grandmaster Yan shouted, his composure slipping. "But a Master Teacher is judged by his students! For the second phase, you must guide this 'problem student' to a breakthrough in thirty minutes."
A young man was brought forward. He looked malnourished, his eyes darting around in fear. This was Mo Xiao, a student whose dantian had been 'frozen' by a rare icy poison during an accident. He had been a 'trash' student for five years.
"If you can make him break through," Yan said, "I will personally bow to you."
Lu Chen looked at Mo Xiao.
[Target: Mo Xiao]
[Condition: Deep-Sea Frost Poison.]
[Analysis: The poison has created a 'Structural Ice-Dam' in his main artery.]
Lu Chen turned to the crowd. "Mo Xiao, do you trust me?"
The boy looked at Lu Chen's calm eyes and felt a strange warmth. "Yes, Master."
Lu Chen didn't use a pill. He didn't use a needle. He raised his Origin Spirit Pen and drew a single, glowing golden rune in the air.
"This is the 'Origin Heat-Script'," Lu Chen explained. He tapped the rune, and it flew into Mo Xiao's chest.
At the same time, Lu Chen activated his Holy Origin Qi. He began to walk around Mo Xiao, tapping the boy's back at three specific points.
"Now, Mo Xiao... scream!"
"Aaaaarrgh!"
As Mo Xiao screamed, a cloud of black, freezing mist erupted from his mouth. The temperature in the hall dropped by ten degrees. The 'Ice-Dam' in his body didn't just melt; it was converted into pure energy by Lu Chen's Structural Correction ability.
BOOM!
Mo Xiao's aura exploded. Stage 1... Stage 2... Stage 3!
In ten minutes, a 'cripple' had become a Stage-3 Acupuncture Realm cultivator. The boy stood up, his skin glowing with health, tears streaming down his face.
The silence in the Pavilion was deafening. Even the guards were staring in awe.
Phase 3: The Public Lecture (The Aura of God)
"Enough!" Grandmaster Yan roared, his face twisted in a mixture of fear and jealousy. "The final test is the Public Lecture. You must convince the 'Heavenly Bell' of this Pavilion to ring. If the Bell rings three times, you are a 1-Star Master Teacher. If it rings five times, you are a genius."
Lu Chen walked to the central podium. Above him hung the Heavenly Bell, an ancient artifact that reacted only to 'True Wisdom'.
Lu Chen didn't talk about basic cultivation. He didn't talk about history. He began to talk about the Architectural Soul of the Universe.
"What is cultivation?" Lu Chen's voice changed. He activated the Halo of Infinite Knowledge. Behind him, a faint image of 10 Arab books seemed to shimmer in the golden light. "It is not the accumulation of power. It is the restoration of the Original Blueprint."
As he spoke, he used his Holy Origin Qi to manifest a holographic image of a human body's energy system. He began to explain how the current world's techniques were 'corrupted' and how they could be 'redesigned'.
DONG!
The Heavenly Bell rang once. The sound was so pure it healed the minor injuries of everyone in the square.
DONG! DONG!
The Bell rang again and again. The crowd was in a trance. Some people were breaking through their bottlenecks just by listening to him.
DONG! DONG! DONG! DONG! DONG!
Five rings. The genius level. But Lu Chen didn't stop. He pushed his Sovereign Architect's Pressure to the limit.
"If the Heavens are the Architect, then we are the bricks! And a brick must know its place in the wall!"
DONG! DONG! DONG! DONG!
Four more rings. Nine rings in total.
The Heavenly Bell didn't just ring; it shattered. The sound waves turned into golden lotus petals that fell from the sky, covering the entire city. This was the legendary 'Heavenly Lotus Rain'—an omen that a Sage had been born.
Grandmaster Yan fell to his knees, his 3-Star pride crushed into dust. "Nine rings... the Legend of the Sovereign Teacher..."
The Aftermath and the New Disciple
Lu Chen stepped down from the podium. He walked toward the trembling Mo Xiao. "You are the third. Welcome to the Sovereign All Path."
[System Notification: Disciple #3 Recruited.]
[Reward: Unlocking 'Structural Reconstruction' - You can now upgrade low-rank weapons to high-rank.]
Lu Chen looked at the shocked crowd and then at Grandmaster Yan. "You said you would bow. I'm waiting."
Grandmaster Yan, the arrogant 3-Star master from the Capital, lowered his head until it touched the marble floor. "This student... recognizes the Grandmaster."
Suddenly, the Architectural God-Interface flashed a deep, pulsing purple.
[WARNING: LEVEL-5 ABYSSAL ENERGY DETECTED.]
[Location: The City Lord's Mansion.]
[Target: Wife No. 2 (Su Lan) is being abducted by the 'Shadow Sect'.]
Lu Chen's eyes turned into cold gold. The celebration was over.
"Han Feng! Yue Qi! Mo Xiao!" Lu Chen's voice thundered. "Mount the Lightning King. It's time for your first lesson in 'Deconstruction'. We are going to erase a City Lord's Mansion from the map."