Returning back to the time right after the end of the inauguration ceremony…
After watching such a thrilling inauguration ceremony, Shen Wanting and Liu Zaiyan were filled with agitation and awe.
This was especially so for Shen Wanting. As the man who wielded absolute power over the largest clan in Hongyuan City, he had a clear idea of the significance of the commotion that had occurred today.
To become the master of every single beast of the Cloudmist Ridge, and to be recognized by every single master teacher in the Master Teacher Academy… the authority the other party wielded could be said to be unmatched in Hongyuan City.
Even Emperor Yu Shenqing couldn't even come close to measuring up to the power the other party wielded!
If the Shen Clan could get on good terms with the other party, it would surely rise through the ranks and prosper for many generations to come!
Thus, he was intending to rush back to the clan to discuss with the other elders and come up with a plan to forging a close relationship with Principal Zhang, but at that very moment, his prided son was suddenly brought to him on a stretcher, severely wounded.
"What happened?" Shen Wanting's face darkened in fury.
As the head of the Four Great Clans, the Shen Clan wielded immense power in Hongyuan City. For his son, the young successor to the clan, to be pummeled like that in broad daylight, the culprit sure was brazen! Did the name of the Shen Clan mean nothing to him?
"Father, you must redress my grievance!" Upon seeing Shen Wanting, Shen Jun howled in agony with tears and snot flowing down his face.
"Regardless of who the culprit is, to dare provoke our Shen Clan, I will make sure that he pays for his action dearly even if he is a noble or a relative of the royal family!" With eyes narrowed in rage, Shen Wanting made his declaration majestically with unquestionable authority.
As the head of the number one clan in Hongyuan City, he did have the right to say such words.
"The culprit is an obscure master teacher of the Master Teacher Academy… That despicable bastard colluded with his comrades to lure me and Liu Quan into a trap, surrounding us and pummeling us viciously!" Shen Jun clenched his jaw.
He knew that there were many people involved in the attack, but as his head was covered in a gunny sack throughout the entire incident, he wasn't clear how many had participated. Of the entire attack, he only recalled endless blows raining down upon him before fainting… And when he came to once more, he was already in his current state.
"An obscure master teacher? Surrounding you and pummeling you viciously?" Shen Wanting's eyebrows shot up. "He must be tired of living to be so brazen as to provoke our Shen Clan!"
The Shen Clan was a behemoth with influence across almost every single trade in Hongyuan City. In fact, even the Master Teacher Pavilion had seven 6-star master teachers who were allied with them. There were also a couple of clan members who were 6-star master teachers as well.
As such, if the enemy was just an ordinary master teacher, the Shen Clan would still be able to deal with the other party easily. Regardless of whether it was the Master Teacher Pavilion or the Master Teacher Academy, they would still at least give this small privilege to the Shen Clan.
"What rank is he?" Even though Shen Jun had said that the other party was an obscure master teacher, Shen Wanting still felt that it was better to be safe.
"4-star!" Shen Jun hurriedly replied.
A mere 4-star master teacher, with his father making a move personally, it would only take moments before that despicable bastard was destroyed!
"A fellow of that level actually dared bully you?" Shen Wanting narrowed his eyes in rage as he flung his sleeves furiously. "What is his name? I will send our men to apprehend him this instant!"
"The name of that despicable bastard is Zhang Xuan!" Shen Jun replied with his fists clenched in excitement. With this, that fellow was a goner!
However, after hearing that name, Shen Wanting seemed to have frozen on the spot, and his face paled. Noticing the bizarre silence lingering in the room, as well as the peculiar state his father was in, Shen Jun couldn't help but ask, "Father, what is wrong? Is…"
But before he could finish his words, Shen Wanting's feet suddenly flew right toward his chest as he bellowed furiously, "To hell with you! If you want to die, go ahead. Don't drag the Shen Clan down with you!"
Peng!
Not expecting that his father would suddenly make a move on him, Shen Jun was unprepared for the kick and was sent crashing right into the wall. Huge spurts of blood gushed out of his mouth, and he nearly died on the spot.
The situation was baffling to him…
Father, I am the one who was pummeled! It is one thing if you aren't willing to get even with the other party for my sake, but to be chastising me and even kicking me because of the matter.
Furthermore, to hell with me? I am your son!
Clenching his jaws, Shen Jun said indignantly, "Father, if you don't intend to help me, I can settle the matter myself. As the eldest son of the Shen Clan, I still have the ability to deal with a 4-star master teacher easily."
No matter what, he was a person who had greatly contributed to Hongyuan Empire, a meritorious subject of the royal court. It was already a blessing for someone of his standing not to bully others, but to think that someone would dare bully him instead.
If he was really pushed to a corner, he could even pull his connections within the military to get the job done. After all, given his backing, there were plenty who would be eager to fawn over him!
All it took to teach a 4-star master teacher a lesson was just a word from him.
"You aren't going to give up? Do you really want me to chop off your hands?" Hearing the words of his unfilial son, Shen Wanting nearly spurted blood. He hurriedly waved his hands and said, "Men, bind this fellow up and pummel him. I will punish anyone who dares hold back on him!"
"This…" Hearing the command, the subordinates in the room glanced at one another, bewildered by the abrupt command.
However, they dared not defy a direct command from the clan head. They hurried forward to tie Shen Jun now, but they didn't make a move immediately. Instead, they turned to Shen Wanting to seek his confirmation on the matter.
Seeing that his father was serious about this matter, Shen Jun uttered in disbelief, "Why?"
"You are asking me why? Do you know who the new principal of the Master Teacher Academy is?" Shen Wanting roared as his hands trembled in overwhelming rage.
"Principal? I was pummeled shortly after entering the academy, so I didn't attend the inauguration ceremony," Shen Jun said awkwardly.
Even though his father had taken him to the inauguration ceremony so as to broaden his horizons, he had been beaten up before the ceremony began, so he had no choice but to have his subordinates carry him back to the clan.
As such, he had no idea what had happened at the inauguration ceremony, and he didn't have the slightest clue who the new principal was either.
"The new principal is the 4-star master teacher you spoke of, Zhang Xuan!" Shen Wanting howled furiously before turning to the subordinates and gesturing majestically. "After pummeling him, carry this unfilial son to the Master Teacher Academy to apologize. Wait, no, he will follow me to the royal palace later on. I have to meet Emperor Shen Yuqing first!"
Given the atrocious crime his unfilial son had committed, he probably would not even be granted entry if he just went over to apologize. Thus, he could only ask Shen Yuqing for a favor!
A similar scene also played out in the Liu Clan.
The bewildered Liu Quan was viciously lashed by his father, and more importantly, the latter even prohibited him from applying medicine to his wounds. As such, many of his open wounds ended up being infected, causing him great agony. At the same time, his state also became so horrifying that no one was willing to allow their gaze to linger on his body more than an instant.
If Liu Quan and Shen Jun were still indignant at how their fathers had treated him a moment earlier, after seeing Zhang Xuan naturally take the main seat in the room, drive King Huai into tears of gratefulness with just a few words, and Emperor Yu Shenqing begging him to accept the Bodhi Seed… With their wits, how could they possibly still remain oblivious to the standing of the young man before them?
The heavily wounded Shen Jun lowered his head and pleaded, "I will take responsibility for my own actions. I was the one who was insolent to Principal Zhang, so I beseech you to not implicate our Shen Clan in this matter."
"I was the one who gathered those men, this has nothing to do with the Liu Clan at all. My father was completely oblivious to my actions," Liu Quan quickly added.
After hearing those words, Zhang Xuan finally got a rough idea as to what had happened, and he couldn't help but shake his head.
To march into the Master Teacher Academy, declaring that you wish to teach me a lesson publicly… Aren't you just asking for trouble?
Even if you weren't aware that I am the principal, the strength and scale of the Xuanxuan Faction was there for all to see. You should be counting your blessings that you weren't mobbed to death!
Even though Shen Jun and Liu Quan had meant him harm, they had already gotten what they deserved. In any case, he wasn't injured in the matter either. As such, Zhang Xuan was intending to turn down the compensation, but a thought that suddenly flashed across his mind prompted him to accept the storage ring from Shen Wanting.
He was no longer an ordinary student anymore but the principal of the Master Teacher Academy. If he didn't deal with someone who had attempted to provoke him promptly, that could potentially undermine the authority of the Master Teacher Academy. Furthermore, that would also be driving the two clans into a corner.
Putting everything aside, just considering his current influence and standing, if others were to know that the Shen Clan and Liu Clan had once offended him, who would still dare do business with them?
Everyone would avoid them like the plague!
That was how society worked. One's actions must be aligned with one's standing, or else there would only be chaos.
After taking the storage ring, Zhang Xuan swiftly looked over the contents within and saw innumerable treasures.
Just looking at the high-tier spirit stones by themselves, there were already more than five hundred of them.
These two clans sure are generous! Zhang Xuan was astounded.
This wasn't a small number of high-tier spirit stones. Even the Hongyuan royal family would have to tighten their budget significantly for the next few decades if they were to take out such a sum from their treasury. The fact that the two clans were able to fork out such a sum easily reflected the extent of their strong foundations.
"The Shen Clan has businesses all over Hongyuan Empire, and they trade frequently with Qingyuan Conferred Empire as well. Over the years, they have accumulated great wealth, and in terms of liquid assets, perhaps even our royal family can't compete with them." Noticing Zhang Xuan's astonishment, Shen Yuqing discreetly sent a message through zhenqi telepathy to him.
They are even wealthier than the royal family? Zhang Xuan was truly shocked this time around.
It was no wonder Shen Jun could afford to take out two high-tier spirit stones each for him and Luo Qiqi to serve as welcome gifts. One must know that this was something that Xing Yuan and Yu Fei-er could not afford to do.
So, it turned out that he was from a truly wealthy clan; that explained everything!
Since they specialize in running businesses, and they have connections with Qingyuan Empire, perhaps I can use their help. Recalling his previous intentions, Zhang Xuan's eyes suddenly lit up.
Currently, he was severely lacking high-tier spirit stones. While he had obtained a huge pile of resources from the beasts of the Cloudmist Ridge, he didn't have the connections and means to sell them. However, if he could tap into the connections of the Shen Clan, it shouldn't be too difficult to sell his items.
In any case, it would be far easier than fumbling his way around it alone.
"I will be accepting your items then!" Zhang Xuan nodded and put away the storage ring before turning his gaze back to Shen Wanting once more. "Clan Head Shen and Clan Head Liu, I happen to have something that I may require your help on."
Shen Wanting and Liu Zaiyan's eyes lit up, and they quickly clasped their fists and replied, "Principal Zhang, feel free to speak. As long as it is something within the means of our Shen Clan and Liu Clan, we will surely accomplish it!"
Their only fear was that Zhang Xuan would have nothing to ask of them. Only when the other party had a request to ask of them would they be able to forge a strong relationship with him.
"I believe you should have seen the situation at the inauguration ceremony back then. The beasts of the Cloudmist Ridge have gifted me quite some stuff, but I don't really need most of it. Since the both of your clans have vast business connections, are you interested in selling my items for me?" Zhang Xuan revealed his motive.
"This… We are more than willing to!" Upon hearing the request, Shen Wanting and Liu Zaiyan couldn't help but burst into delight.
Considering that huge profits were involved in this dealing, the fact that the other party was willing to leave this matter to them meant that he was willing cast aside their differences and trust them.
"That is good." Zhang Xuan nodded as he passed a storage ring over.
The items that the beasts of the Cloudmist Ridge had gifted him were in it.
Even though these items were valuable, they weren't of much use to him. It would be much better for him to trade them for high-tier spirit stones to cultivate instead.
In any case, the two clans had their foundations rooted in Hongyuan Empire, so they wouldn't dare play any tricks with the Master Teacher Academy looming over them.
"These items are highly sought after regardless of whether it is within Hongyuan Empire or the other empires. Principal Zhang, rest assured, we will surely sell all of it for you within two months!" Shen Wanting said confidently.