Recruiting Teachers

Luo Xiaoshi's Martial Soul had changed as much as it was going to. After returning to the academy, the next enrollment period was just around the corner.

Chen An didn't want to recruit only disciples. Otherwise, he would have established a sect long ago instead of opening an academy.

"Ugh, what am I supposed to do about teachers for this academy? What a headache."

Enrollment was approaching, and he was still the only person at the academy qualified to teach.

His two students were both still a long way off.

In his view, ordinary teachers should be Soul Ancestors at the very least, and Soul Elders at an absolute minimum.

Unless he contacted Spirit Hall, there weren't many resources he could get his hands on. As for the Heaven Dou Cities, aside from the various academies, everything was under the control of Spirit Hall or the city authorities.

"The seeds in the academy's medicine garden have only just been planted. It'll take at least half a year before we can get a steady supply."

He had laid the groundwork for the road ahead, but he didn't have enough time. He wanted to make a stunning display in front of everyone, but there was no way he could get it done in time.

Waiting another year would be fine, after all. So many years had passed already; one more or less wouldn't make much difference. But Chen An had a feeling that if he didn't settle this matter this year, his luck would take a turn for the worse.

Once it was affected, his two good disciples would surely get caught up in it as well. Luo Xiaoshi would be fine; he had nothing to begin with, so no matter how much trouble came his way, things couldn't get worse than before.

But Zhu Zhuqing was different. Chen An would never let that happen to her.

Besides, the Soul Master Elite Tournament a year and a half from now was such an important turning point. There was no way he'd let it pass him by.

"I was even hoping to teach the kids all about the way of the world. What a pain!"

Fortunately, Chen An was having his meltdown in his own office. Unfortunately, Zhu Zhuqing happened to walk in.

"Um, Master."

At the sound of her voice, Chen An froze in place, his exaggerated pose still suspended in midair.

After a moment, he composed himself and returned to his usual manner before speaking.

"Ahem. What is it?"

Zhu Zhuqing felt a little awkward too. She hurriedly asked about a problem she'd encountered in her cultivation. Once Chen An answered her, he thought she was about to leave.

"Qing, did you happen to see anything just now?"

She paused for a moment, then hurriedly shook her head.

"No, I didn't see anything at all... Master, I won't tell anyone!"

Chen An stared at Zhu Zhuqing, and the pressure weighed heavily on her. For some reason, the scene in the great forest came back to her.

Her composure crumbled. She hurriedly tried to explain herself, looking exactly like a frightened cat.

"???"

"Am I really that scary?"

Zhu Zhuqing nodded very seriously. Chen An couldn't help but raise the importance of the Heart Inquiry Hall in his plans.

His original plan had been to establish the Heart Inquiry Hall to help students temper their state of mind.

"Never mind. You can go back for now. Just remember not to tell anyone. It's embarrassing."

There was no helping it. Zhu Zhuqing was already in this state, so what could Chen An do but let her go?

Still, he had to remind her. There were times when he didn't mind saving face, but he did have an image to maintain.

"Why aren't you leaving?"

Once Chen An stopped glaring at her, Zhu Zhuqing breathed a sigh of relief, then answered,

"Master, you looked really frustrated just now. What was bothering you?"

After a brief moment of fear, she had stopped being scared and grown curious instead.

They'd been together for more than half a year, and this was the first time she'd seen Chen An act like this.

"We're preparing to enroll students soon, and we don't have any other teachers."

There was no need to hide this. He could just tell her the truth. Qing was one of his own, after all.

Zhu Zhuqing thought it over briefly. With her status, she really couldn't help him. And from what she'd observed, her master didn't seem to want to get too deeply entangled with the three great powers.

"Master, I have an idea."

"Let's hear it."

"I wonder if you're just as skilled in medicine."

In Zhu Zhuqing's eyes, Chen An could do anything. He had mastered all manner of weapons and knew all sorts of profound principles.

As for his strength, there was no need to mention it. She'd seen him fight, and she even felt that if she lost the struggle for the throne, all she'd have to do was act cute around Master, and the Star Dou Forest wouldn't dare make a move.

Just like Zhang Cuishan not wanting to die—could Zhang Sanfeng really stand by and do nothing?

"I know a thing or two."

But to Zhu Zhuqing, that didn't sound like merely knowing a thing or two.

Once, she'd asked Chen An about Master of Shadow Flow's mental cultivation method. He'd also said he knew a thing or two, but when he started teaching her, he'd already reached the level of great mastery.

"Then it's simple, Master. You can go work as a doctor. Just look for people who are seriously ill, can't be treated, and have an illness you can cure."

Chen An suddenly saw the light. Right, that made sense! He still had some Black Jade Intermittent Ointment left from his earliest attempts at alchemy in his storage ring.

He could use that alone to bring in a few people to help out in an emergency.

Chen An slapped his palm, his eyes lighting up as he exclaimed, "Qing, you're a genius!"

"I have to go out for something. Help look after the academy. A group of cooks will be arriving in a while; their contracts are already signed."

After giving her the instructions, he hurried out.

Zhu Zhuqing, still standing there, finally came to her senses.

"Does that mean I'll hardly ever get to eat Master's cooking again? Nooo!"

She was instantly devastated. She ran off to share the news with Luo Xiaoshi, and soon a mournful cry rang out from the training ground.

As for Chen An, after obtaining some information through certain channels, he set out for the locations listed in it.

Most of the destinations lay on the outskirts of the two great empires, in areas where Spirit Hall had little influence.

It made sense. Those "cripples" were living in such places.

The Douluo World was very different from his previous life. People without powerful backgrounds who ran into trouble were generally treated poorly.

That was true of both sects and the authorities.

"Who is it?"

"May I ask if you're Mr. Feng Qingyang?"

"Who are you?"

"I have a chance to turn your life around, but you'll have to work for me. Are you interested?"

The other man fell silent. He had nothing left, and this stranger was far stronger than him. What could he possibly want to covet? His life? It wasn't worth anything anymore.

For the sake of credibility, Chen An showed him his Soul Rings. Of course, they were disguised; he was afraid that showing him a full set of red rings would scare him.

"Fine."

After a brief treatment, the man marveled as though he'd witnessed a miracle.

And after seeing Chen An's level, he was thoroughly convinced.

Hidden motives? Of course not. Chen An had already screened them before coming here.

"Then come with me."

He repeated the process over the next few days, bringing all three people on the list under his wing.

Feng Qingyang's condition had actually been the mildest among the four of them.

That was because he'd recruited them in a deliberate order, each person more seriously injured than the last. That way, each display of his abilities would leave them even more awestruck.

"This is where you'll be staying from now on. We'll be enrolling a new batch of students in two and a half months. Your job for now is to teach."

After bringing the four of them back to Phantom Star Academy, Chen An introduced them to his two disciples and showed them around. Then he gathered everyone together.

"During this time, I'll teach you how to be teachers, as well as what you'll need to teach the students."

The four answered earnestly.

"Yes, sir."

Before the teacher training officially began, Zhu Zhuqing and Luo Xiaoshi both came over to watch.

"Teacher (Master), I want to teach students too."

Chen An had originally thought that teaching students would slow their cultivation, but seeing how enthusiastic and serious they were, he couldn't bring himself to dampen their spirits.

"Fine, but don't let it interfere with your own cultivation."

"Master is the best!"

They decided they would teach the Five-Tiger Eight-Trigram Staff and the Nine Yin White Bone Claw. As for cultivation methods, the others wouldn't be very suited to them.

After that, Chen An selected a few universal cultivation methods and martial skills from the Technique Pavilion to teach the other instructors.

He watched over them day and night, which left him utterly exhausted. But the results were remarkable: in two and a half months, he brought them all to the entry level, with some nearing minor mastery.

During that time, Chen An also reorganized the Technique Pavilion, making its layout clearer and its categories more distinct.

Three days later, it was time to enroll new students. At the graduation ceremony, they began presenting their results.

"Chen An, Myriad Silk, level 89, Mastery of All Weapons, on the verge of reaching level 90, all Soul Rings red."

"Zhu Zhuqing, Hell Spirit Cat, level 29, Nine Yin White Bone Claw at minor mastery, Shadow Flow Profound Meaning at minor mastery, Nine Nether Profound Technique."

"Luo Xiaoshi, Spirit Stone Monkey, level 22, Five-Tiger Eight-Trigram Staff at minor mastery, Arhat Golden Body Art at entry level, nameless cultivation method (Great Sage Scripture)."

"The trio's cultivation method: All-Martial Heart Scripture.

Feng Qingyang, level 53, Azure Sun Sword.

Tao Leshan, level 52, Mountain Ape.

Zhou Yan, level 51, Mad Blade."

Those were their original levels, but the effects of their severe injuries lingered in their minds and wouldn't fade for a while. They'd only recovered about seventy percent. In a real fight, they could only bring out the strength of someone around level 45.

As for why they were using the All-Martial Heart Scripture,

naturally, it was because this cultivation method was suited to teaching all kinds of martial skills and could identify the basic problems in other people's training. Not that Chen An would admit he'd written the scripture himself.

Nor would he admit that the scripture wasn't top-tier in actual combat and was only suitable for teachers to study.