Chapter 183: Qualification Exam

Tianshi Hall.

Xu Qingfeng stared blankly at the thick stack of proposal papers shoved into his hands, unable to react for a long time.

“Xuanmen Celestial Master… Vocational Academy?!”

What kind of nonsense was that?!

“That’s right!” Yun Jiao nodded seriously and explained, “I’ve been thinking about it. Compared to the underworld and the demon realm, the Xuanmen’s current overall strength lags far behind. Relying solely on my Qingyang to provide teaching can only help a limited number of people improve. Yet the Xuanmen has a vast number of disciples—that’s our innate advantage. To strengthen our collective power, the most direct and effective way is to open a school. Training classes are too superficial—they treat the symptoms, not the root cause.”

“Then… those elective classes listed here are…?” Xu Hall Master was still dazed.

“Divination, talismans, formations, artifacts, and healing—each taught as a specialized course. Let’s start with a small goal: open ten classes for each subject and run them as a trial.” Yun Jiao continued calmly, “We can begin by letting everyone choose a single major and teach them accordingly. Later, we’ll open mental cultivation courses taught by specialized instructors. Each person will focus on one skill, which will make learning much easier. Of course, everyone pays the same tuition—no extra fees for double majors.”

Xu finally grasped what she meant. “So, Fellow Daoist Yun means… to gather all Xuanmen disciples here at Tianshi Hall to study mystic arts?”

“Not all!” Yun Jiao shook her head. “We’ll admit students in stages. Even though there are fewer demon and ghost disturbances now, someone still needs to handle them. Besides, we can’t monopolize education—monopolies breed corruption. Other sects can be encouraged to open their own schools too. Mainly, each sect can send disciples here for training, who’ll then go back to teach others. We welcome that model.”

In other words, just like before, they didn’t need to change sects or pay any special price—anyone could come learn and improve their mystic skills freely, widely, and without barriers!

Xu’s face immediately flushed with excitement. That meant even ordinary disciples would now have the chance to learn advanced arts—not just the elite disciples privileged to attend Qingyang’s lectures.

While the sharing of techniques had become common within the Xuanmen—no one hoarded secret arts anymore—the problem remained: when disciples taught one another, errors and distortions crept in. Talented ones might still comprehend, but the less gifted often struggled, leading to wildly different results with the same techniques.

If all disciples could learn directly and uniformly from the same instructors, that would be ideal.

“This is a good idea,” Xu nodded, then frowned again. “But according to this plan,”—he tapped the papers—“you’ll need at least twenty instructors. But Fellow Daoist Yun, didn’t you say there are only three Celestial Masters at Qingyang, including yourself? How are you going to manage that?”

“Ah, that’s not a problem.” Yun Jiao turned toward him with an utterly serious expression. “Aren’t there you and the other sect leaders?”

“Us?!” Xu blinked, a sense of foreboding creeping in.

“Of course!” Yun Jiao nodded solemnly. “You’re the best candidates. You have teaching experience and were the first batch of graduates from Class One. I’ve already decided—I’ll organize a teacher qualification exam for you in the next few days. I’ve written all the test papers—Divination, Talismans, Formations, Artifacts, Healing—each one specialized and targeted. This way, we’ll definitely find the most outstanding Xuanmen teachers!”

“…” Xu felt his knees go weak; he almost collapsed on the spot.

“Oh, and from now on, teachers from any other sect that opens schools will also have to pass this certification exam. That’s how we ensure teaching quality!”

“……”

Stop—please don’t!

(Д≡Д)

“Also,” Yun Jiao’s tone suddenly sank, her face serious, “I reviewed Class Four’s exam results a few days ago, and I was very disappointed! Their passing rate increased by ten percent compared to last term, but more than half of their mistakes were identical! After checking their sect group chats, I discovered that before handing in their tests, they discussed the questions—and even asked last term’s students for help. That means they not only cheated but also plagiarized each other’s answers! This completely violates the purpose of learning!”

“……”

As someone who had helped his disciples with homework before, Xu quietly swallowed the scream rising in his throat.

“So…” Yun Jiao patted his shoulder firmly. “By comparison, your Class One is much better!”

“……”

No, we’re not! Don’t lie!

“At least your mistakes were creative and unique—no repeats!”

“……”

Wait a minute, why didn’t that sound like praise?

“In short,” Yun Jiao concluded earnestly, “I’ll entrust the academy’s first batch of teachers to you all. I have complete faith in you!”

“……”

No, please, absolutely not, Yun Master!

Back then, it wasn’t that they didn’t want to cheat—it was that they had no one to copy from!

“Good luck! Remember to inform your classmates. The exam will be held at Tianshi Hall three days from now at the hour of Chen. Don’t be late.”

“……”

Xu truly wanted to cry. They had finally escaped the nightmare of Class One’s exams—why did they have to suffer through another one?!

But the worst part was… he couldn’t refute her. Whether it was the academy plan or the teacher certification, everything Yun Jiao said was undeniably for the good of the Xuanmen. She wasn’t wrong—she was never wrong. The Xuanmen’s current strength couldn’t compare with the demon or underworld realms. Even compared to a thousand years ago, they had fallen behind drastically. If this plan succeeded, in less than five years the Xuanmen could regain its ancient glory.

She was right—completely right. But still… did they really have to take exams again?!

Just remembering those hellish test papers from months ago made his heart ache. But as the head of Tianshi Hall, he was the one person with the least right to object.

So…

Being the Hall Master—he really didn’t want this job anymore!

(;Д')

———

After submitting the proposal to Tianshi Hall, Yun Jiao felt a weight lift off her shoulders, like she could write ten more sets of exam papers in one breath. Her mood had never been better—she even approved three months of meal stipends for the old man at once.

On the back of the proposal, she’d already included tuition standards, budget plans, and expenditure breakdowns. She trusted Tianshi Hall’s capability completely. She believed that soon, the academy would run smoothly, universal mystic education would be achieved, and—most importantly—her Qingyang Sect would finally be lifted out of poverty.

Just as this major task was settled, news came from the Underworld—

Sheng Heng had awakened!

(End of Chapter)