"Alright, I will end the lecture here!"
The public lecture had lasted for an entire two hours, and after seeing that most students and teachers had benefited greatly from it, Zhang Xuan came to a stop.
"It's ending just like that?"
"In the past, when I attended the lecture of other teachers, I would be praying to get out of class as soon as possible. But for Zhang shi's lecture… Why does it feel like it has only just begun?"
"Indeed, it ended too quickly! I have barely gotten started…"
"If I could listen to this kind of lecture frequently, my chances at making a breakthrough to Saint realm would surely be increased by manyfold, and the duration I would take to graduate would also be cut by several years…"
As Zhang Xuan came to a halt, the crowd recovered from their trance, and excitement gleamed in their eyes.
It was only a two hours lecture, but it was comparable to months or even years of studying and cultivating!
"Look!"
Suddenly, someone amid the crowd exclaimed, and everyone swiftly raised their gazes, only to see a bunch of animals flying above them.
There were chickens, ducks, geese, peacocks, cranes…
It was as if the Master Teacher Academy had turned into a zoo! All animals capable of flight filled the entire skies.
"Laudation of Myriad Birds… Have they all arrived due to the sheer quality of the lecture?" someone among the crowd muttered with a quivering voice.
Laudation of Myriad Birds was a phenomenon that was at a far higher level than Spirit Gathering Diction! Only 8-star master teachers were capable of producing such a sight!
With mere words, even the birds in the area would go into an excited frenzy and gather in the area.
But Zhang shi was only a 4-star master teacher, how could he draw so many birds over?
Furthermore… chickens, ducks, geese, and peacocks? What the hell were those?
Were those animals capable of steady flight like that?
How could they remain in the sky for such a long period of time?
Furthermore, the calls of innumerable other animals could be heard beyond the walls of the Master Teacher Academy as well. One particularly conspicuous sound among it was the majestic braying of a donkey, seemingly trying to display to the world that it harbored great potential within as well. In the hands of a discerning man, it could transform into a Thousand Miles Donkey, so by no means should its talents be allowed to remain buried…
Just what was going on?
"Your guess is right; it was indeed Zhang shi's lecture that drew so many animals here. Furthermore, it seems his lecture didn't discriminate between races, allowing even non-human listeners to comprehend it and go into a frenzy over it… Perhaps, this is the real reason he was able to tame the spirit beasts and saint beasts of the Cloudmist Ridge!" an elder said meaningfully.
He had paid careful attention to the lecture, and he noticed that it seemed to talk straight to one's soul, unimpeded by the barriers of language. Even ordinary animals that had not comprehended the human tongue could benefit from Zhang shi's lecture!
Such capability was already far beyond the means of a 6-star or even 7-star master teacher!
The heavens nourished all living beings, regardless of race or language. Such was the same for the true Impartation of Heaven's Will as well.
Back then, when Kong shi conducted lectures, not only would humans, animals, spirit beasts, and saint beasts benefit greatly from his teachings, even the flora and fauna would form sentience and begin to cultivate.
While Zhang shi still didn't wield the capability to sway plants with his words, just the ability to induce a breakthrough in ordinary animals was already an extremely fearsome feat in itself.
"It seems like Principal Zhang will be able to clear the Empire Building test easily…" School Head Mo muttered beneath his breath as he gulped down a mouthful of saliva.
The Empire Building test was the most difficult option among all of the different 6-star master teacher examinations, and barely any master teachers would dare to challenge it. He had thought that even someone as capable of Principal Zhang would face troubles with it, but after watching such a sight, he realized that he was still grossly underestimating the latter.
Putting everything else aside, with just Principal Zhang's lecturing capability, he should be able to raise the prowess of a Conferred Kingdom to an Unranked Empire just by conducting a lecture once a week for two months straight…
With such a lecture, not only would the humans become experts, even the roosters, ducks, donkeys, and such could easily become experts themselves with time!
This was how fearsome his lecture was!
Looking at the crowd, which was still immersed in the lecture, Zhao Bingxu shook his head and announced loudly, "With this, we conclude the Principal Zhang's public lecture. Now, let's begin forming the Principal's Seal!"
They were already at the final formality, so it would be good to wrap up the inauguration ceremony as soon as possible in case any mishap occurred.
"The process for forming the Principal's Seal is extremely simple. I will activate a formation later on, and those who are willing to earnestly recognize Principal Zhang as the next principal of the Master Teacher Academy, offer a droplet of your blood. Once the blood comes into contact with the formation, it will automatically extract your will contained within it and gather them all together to form the seal that governs the academy," Zhao Bingxu explained.
Infused within a human's blood was a hint of their will. With the earnest will of a hundred thousand people gathered together, it could generate power beyond one's imagination.
For one, if the principal could command all of the students through the Principal's Seal and organize them neatly, the overall fighting power of the Master Teacher Academy could be enhanced significantly.
On top of that, the Principal's Seal contained the will of countless master teachers, making it a nigh indestructible artifact. When used for defense, even a Saint realm 4-dan or even 5-dan expert would find it hard to overcome it.
In essence, it could be said that the Principal's Seal represented the authority of the principal of the Master Teacher Academy in itself, making in an invaluable artifact.
"We will start now!" After explaining the matter, Zhao Bingxu raised his palm and closed it into a fist.
Hong long!
The ground began to shake as a massive formation whirred into life. Something reminiscent of a net of light materialized in the air, shrouding the Master Teacher Academy.
Grade-7 formation, Nine Revolution Heaven Net!
The master teachers from the headquarters had dispatched their men to erect this formation back when the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy was just founded.
It was neither an offensive formation nor a defensive formation. Its sole purpose lay in just gathering the wills infused in the blood of those in its area and condensing them all to form the palm-size Principal's Seal.
"Gather the blood!"
Seeing the formation whir into action, the master teachers bit their thumbs, and a droplet of their blood essence flew out of each of them.
When each of these droplets of blood essence came into contact with the Nine Revolution Heaven Net, it began to emanate a brilliant glow.
"Form the Principal's Seal!" Zhao Bingxu shouted once more after noting that everyone had released a droplet of their blood.
Hong long long!
The net in the sky suddenly converged together swiftly, gathering all of the droplets of blood essence together to a point. A deafening buzz rang out as a brilliant bundle of light shimmered at the center of the formation, seemingly heralding the birth of an artifact.
As he looked at the brilliant bundle of light in the sky, School Head Mo couldn't help but ask, "What level of Principal's Seal do you think our principal will be able to form?"
Even though everyone had released a droplet of their blood, it was impossible to tell whether they had truly accepted Principal Zhang from the depths of their heart or not.
In order to contribute to the Principal's Seal, one's subconscious mind must have fully accepted the succeeding principal, there mustn't be the slightest hint of rejection.
Jiang Qingqin hesitated for a moment before replying. "It's hard to say… However, considering how well the public lecture went, he should be able to form the Golden Principal's Seal at the very least!"
Before the Principal's Seal was formed, it would be difficult to say for sure.
As the saying goes, 'one's true heart is hidden beneath a layer of skin'. Even as 6-star pinnacle master teachers, it was still impossible for them to read the minds of others.
Nevertheless, considering how Principal Zhang had managed to draw everyone in with his lecture previously, he should have at least won the recognition of over 60% of the school populace… In other words, even at the very least, he should be able to form the Golden Principal's Seal!
By no means should the Golden Principal's Seal be underestimated. Even among the hundred preceding principals, such a result could already be considered outstanding.
Ultimately, Principal Zhang was still young, and it had only been a month since he had arrived at the Master Teacher Academy. On top of that, he had spent most of his time demolishing buildings!
If he had been given more time to conduct more lectures and build his reputation and prestige, forming a higher tier Principal's Seal would have been a walk in the park!
"I think the Platinum Principal's Seal is still within reach!" School Head Mo remarked. "Even though there have only been two principals who have reached such a tier since the founding of the academy, considering that this is Principal Zhang we are talking about… it should definitely be doable!"
The Principal's Seal could be divided into four tiers—Platinum, Golden, Copper, and Iron.
It would take the recognition of at least half of the academy's populace in order to form a Copper Principal's Seal, 60% for Golden Principal's Seal, and 70% for Platinum Principal's Seal.
"Platinum? I think you are still underestimating Principal Zhang!" Wei Ranxue argued with a sharp glint in her eyes. "Before even entering the Master Teacher Academy, Principal Zhang generously gave away his points to the other examinees so that they could clear the examination as well, thus winning him the respect and admiration of the thirty thousand freshmen. It is their shared respect for him that led to them coming together to form the Xuanxuan Faction. With this, he already has the support of 30% of the academy's hundred thousand populace secured!"
"Un!" The other school heads nodded in agreement.
The Xuanxuan Faction was not only the largest student faction throughout the Master Teacher Academy, its members were also known to be exceptionally loyal to the organization.
Considering that it was their faction leader that was becoming the principal, they probably wouldn't have any objection to it whatsoever.
"After which, he donated Elder Wu Yangzi's forging and body cultivation technique to the Blacksmith school without demanding any compensation in return. For this, the students of the Blacksmith School should be filled with gratitude for him, right?"
"This…" Jiang Qingqin and School Head Mo were stunned for a moment before nodding in agreement.
Even though School Head Zhao and the other elders of the Blacksmith School didn't officially announce Zhang Xuan's achievements, the news had eventually been leaked to the students, so most of them were aware of the matter.
"As the second largest school in the Master Teacher Academy, even after subtracting the freshmen, there are still at least thirty thousand students in the Blacksmith School… In other words, there are already a total of 60,000 people who would recognize Principal Zhang, so he has already reached the mark required to form the Golden Principal's Seal!
"After which, he challenged the vice head of the Physician School, You Xu, causing a huge ruckus. Even though there are quite a few students who found his actions reckless and disrespectful, a larger proportion of the students ended up admiring him for his courageous act in standing up against You Xu's abuse of power. The Physician School is only the fifth largest school in the Master Teacher Academy, and taking into account the overlap in the students between the Physician School and the Blacksmith School as well… there should still be an additional five thousand students there!"
The students of the Master Teacher Academy were allowed to take on multiple supporting occupations at once, so there were frequently overlaps between the students of each school.
But even taking the overlaps into consideration, there should still be at least five thousand new students who hadn't been taken into account previously, thus adding up the total to 65,000 students!
"Following that, he caused a huge ruckus in the Apothecary School, conducting a public lecture and emptying the school of its students and teachers… As the largest school in the Master Teacher Academy, it boasted the largest student population of all! Even taking into account the various overlaps, there should still be ten thousand new students yet to be taken into account there. This brings the total to 75,000 people, which means that 75% of the student populace will likely recognize Principal Zhang as their principal, thus reaching the level required to form the Platinum Principal's Seal," Wei Ranxue said.
"This…" Hearing her analysis, the school heads couldn't help but leap in shock.
It was only after having it explained to them that they realize how much prestige Principal Zhang wielded among the academy populace despite the short duration he had been in the academy…
"That isn't all… In the matter yesterday, Zhang Xuan's act of taming all of the beasts in the Cloudmist Ridge saved many students from the Beast Tamer School and spared the students from the Martial Arts School from a possibly bitter fight!"
With eyes shining in excitement, Wei Ranxue continued, "Taking them into account, there should be at least an additional five thousand students… In other words, using a conservative estimate, Principal Zhang should have at least won the earnest respect of more than 80% of the academy populace!"
"80%?"
School Head Mo and the others glanced at one another as they gulped down a mouthful of saliva each. Hoarsely, School Head Mo muttered, "That… Supreme Principal's Seal?"