Summoning the Teaching Staff

Luo Xiaoshi's martial soul transformation had reached its limit, and upon returning to the academy, the new enrollment period was already drawing near.

Chen An had no desire to simply recruit disciples; otherwise, he would have established a sect long ago rather than opening this academy.

"Hiss, how am I supposed to find teachers for this place? What a headache."

With enrollment approaching, he remained the only person in the academy who met the qualifications to teach.

His two students were still far too inexperienced.

In his view, a standard teacher should at least be a Soul Ancestor, or at the very least, a Soul Elder.

Unless he reached out to Martial Soul Hall, he truly had no resources at his disposal. As for the Heaven Dou Cities, aside from the major academies, all talent was already monopolized by Martial Soul Hall and the city officials.

"The seeds in the academy's medicinal garden have just been planted; it will take at least half a year before they can provide a stable supply."

He had laid the groundwork for the future, but time was running short. If he wanted to make a grand impression, he was falling behind schedule.

Waiting another year wasn't impossible—after all, so many years had already passed, so what was one more? But Chen An had a gut feeling that if he didn't settle this matter this year, his destiny would suffer.

If he were affected, it would inevitably implicate his two precious disciples. Luo Xiaoshi would be fine; he had nothing to begin with, so no matter how bad things got, it wouldn't be worse than before.

But Zhu Zhuqing was different; Chen An would never allow such a thing to happen.

Furthermore, he could not afford to miss the Soul Master Elite Tournament in a year and a half—it was far too critical a juncture.

"I even wanted to introduce philosophy classes for the kids. How annoying!"

Fortunately, Chen An's moment of madness took place in his own office; unfortunately, Zhu Zhuqing happened to walk in at that exact moment.

"Uh, Master."

Hearing that voice, Chen An froze in place, his exaggerated gesture still hanging in mid-air.

After a moment, he composed himself back to his usual state before speaking.

"Ahem, is there something you need?"

Zhu Zhuqing felt a bit awkward as well, quickly asking about the difficulties she was having with her cultivation. Once Chen An finished answering, she prepared to leave.

"Zhuqing, did you see anything just now?"

She hesitated for a moment, then shook her head vigorously.

"No, I didn't see anything... Master, I won't tell anyone, I promise."

Chen An stared at Zhu Zhuqing, which put immense pressure on the girl. For some reason, the scene from the Great Star Dou Forest flashed through her mind.

Her composure shattered, and she hurriedly explained herself, looking exactly like a frightened cat.

"???"

"Is it really that scary?"

Zhu Zhuqing nodded very seriously, which forced Chen An to raise the priority of the Heart Inquiry Hall.

In his original plan, he intended to use the Heart Inquiry Hall to help students temper their state of mind.

"Forget it, go back now. Remember not to speak of this; it's quite embarrassing."

He felt helpless. With her in this state, what else could Chen An do but let her go?

He still had to remind her, though. He might be able to discard his dignity at times, but he still possessed a certain level of vanity regarding his image.

"Why aren't you leaving?"

Once he withdrew his intense gaze, Zhu Zhuqing let out a sigh of relief and replied.

"Master, I saw how frustrated you were just now. What is bothering you?"

After the initial fear passed, curiosity took over.

Having spent over half a year together, this was the first time she had seen Chen An in such a state.

"I'm preparing for enrollment soon, but there are no other teachers."

There was no point in hiding this; he might as well be honest, as Zhuqing was one of his own.

Hearing this, Zhu Zhuqing thought for a moment. Given her status, she really couldn't help, and from her observations, she knew her master didn't want to be too deeply entangled with the three major powers.

"Master, I have an idea."

"Let's hear it."

"I wonder if Master is also top-tier in the field of medicine."

From Zhu Zhuqing's perspective, Chen An was omnipotent, proficient in all arts, and well-versed in profound philosophies.

As for his strength, it went without saying. Having witnessed him in action, she even felt that if they failed to compete later, she would only need to act spoiled toward her master, and even the Star Dou side wouldn't dare to make a move.

It was like Zhang Cuishan not wanting to die—could Zhang Sanfeng just stand by and watch?

"I know a thing or two."

Those words didn't sound like "a thing or two" to Zhu Zhuqing's ears.

Once, when she asked Chen An about the mental cultivation method of the Master of Shadow Flow, he had said he only knew a little, yet when he taught her, it was already at the Great Completion level.

"Then it's simple, Master. You should become a doctor. Just treat those who have severe illnesses that others cannot cure, but that you can."

Chen An had a sudden realization. That's right, it made perfect sense; he still had some Black Jade Intermittent Ointment left over from when he first learned alchemy in his storage ring.

Relying on this alone would be enough to recruit a few people for emergencies.

Chen An slapped his own palm, his eyes flashing with brilliance as he exclaimed, "Zhuqing, you really are a genius."

"Master has something to attend to and needs to go out for a while. Help me look after the academy; a group of chefs will be arriving in a while, and the contracts have already been signed."

After giving his instructions, he hurried toward the exit.

Zhuqing, who had been left standing there, finally reacted.

"Doesn't that mean I won't get to eat Master's cooking very often in the future? No way!"

She was instantly stunned, running off to share the news with Luo Xiaoshi, and soon after, a mournful cry could be heard from the training grounds.

As for Chen An, after obtaining some intelligence through various channels, he set off according to the information provided from above.

The locations were mostly areas where Martial Soul Hall had little involvement, situated in the outskirts of the two great empires.

It was understandable, given the current locations of these 'crippled' individuals.

The Douluo world was vastly different from his previous life; there was generally no good attitude toward those with background issues who had run into trouble.

This was true for both sects and official authorities.

"Who is it?"

"May I ask if you are Mr. Feng Qingyang?"

"And you are?"

"There is an opportunity to save your life, but you must work for me. Are you interested?"

The other party fell silent, then thought about how he already had nothing left. Since the person before him was so much stronger, what was there to covet? His life? It was already worthless.

To establish credibility, Chen An revealed his spirit rings—in a disguised state, of course, fearing that the full-red display would frighten others.

"Fine."

After a brief treatment, the man marveled at the miracle once more.

Combined with Chen An's level, he was completely convinced.

Hidden agendas? There certainly wouldn't be any, as Chen An had already screened them once before coming.

"Then come with me."

In the time that followed, he repeated the process, bringing all three people on his list under his wing.

Feng Qingyang's situation was actually the mildest among the group of four.

The order of recruitment was deliberate; as the individuals became more difficult to handle, the ability displayed became all the more shocking.

"This is where you will be staying from now on. A batch of new students will be recruited in two and a half months, and your current duty is to be teachers."

After bringing the four back to Phantom Star Academy, Chen An had them meet his two disciples and familiarize themselves with the place before gathering everyone together.

"During this time, I will teach you how to be teachers, as well as the content you are to instruct the students."

The four answered earnestly.

"Yes, my lord."

Before the formal teacher training began, Zhuqing and Luo Xiaoshi both rushed over to join the fun.

"Master, I want to lead students too."

He had originally thought that leading students would slow down their cultivation progress, but seeing their enthusiasm and dedication, he couldn't bear to dampen their spirits.

"Fine, but it cannot affect your own cultivation."

"Master is the best!"

They decided to teach the Five-Tiger Eight-Trigram Staff and the Nine Yin White Bone Claw. As for the cultivation techniques, the adaptability of others wouldn't be particularly high anyway.

Afterward, Chen An selected a few general cultivation techniques and martial skills from the Technique Pavilion to teach those teachers.

He watched over them day and night, which exhausted Chen An, but the results were significant. In two and a half months, he brought them to the entry level, nearing the realm of minor success.

During this period, Chen An also renovated the Technique Pavilion, making the organization clearer and the classifications more distinct.

Three days later, the recruitment began, so it was time to report the results upon graduation.

"Chen An, Myriad Silk, level 89, master of all martial arts, about to advance to level 90, spirit rings all red."

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

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

"The trio, practicing the All-Martial Heart Scripture: Feng Qingyang, level 53, Azure Sun Sword. Tao Leshan, level 52, Mountain Ape. Zhou Yan, level 51, Mad Blade."

The levels were their original ones, but the mindset affected by their previous severe injuries couldn't be restored overnight. They had only recovered to about seventy or eighty percent; if they really had to fight, they could only exert the level of a level 45 fighter.

As for why it was the All-Martial Heart Scripture:

Naturally, it was because this technique was suitable for teaching various martial arts and could identify the basic cultivation problems of others. Chen An would never admit that he had compiled this scripture himself.

Nor would he admit that while this scripture wasn't top-tier in actual combat, it was uniquely suited for teachers to learn.