Chapter 15: The 1-on-100 Decree and the Master's Gamble
The news of the Azure Spring Transformation didn't just walk through the Grand Alliance Academy; it sprinted like a wildfire fueled by high-grade spirit oil. By dawn, every tea house in the Capital was buzzing with the same improbable headline: A janitor from the outskirts had tamed the Guardian Salamander and turned the Elite Spring into a common bathhouse for his 'trash' students.
The Alliance Council, the governing body of the world's most powerful educators, could ignore a rebellious student. They could even ignore a corrupt Vice-Principal. But they could not ignore a threat to the Scientific Hierarchy. If a 2-Star Regional Teacher could outperform the Academy's 3-Star elite, the very foundation of their power—the Star-Ranking System—would crumble.
The Summons of the Elders
Tian Mo sat on a stone bench outside the Sector 9 Archive, calmly sipping a cup of low-grade tea. Beside him, his nine students were undergoing a "Cool-Down" phase. Their skin still emitted a faint jade glow, a remnant of the Dragon-Pulse energy they had absorbed.
"Teacher," Lu Feng said, his voice deeper and more resonant than ever. "The air is heavy today. I can feel at least fifty high-level gazes locked onto this basement."
"Let them watch, Lu Feng," Tian Mo replied, looking at the tea leaves. "They are like crows watching a tiger eat, waiting for a scrap of logic they can steal. But logic without the Divine Library is just a hollow shell."
Suddenly, the sky above the Academy turned a deep, bruised purple. A scroll, glowing with golden light, descended from the clouds, unfurling itself with the thunderous sound of a thousand drums.
[Divine Library Notification: Royal Decree Detected.]
[Source: The Alliance Council High Board.]
[Content: The Challenge of the Hundred Parallels.]
"Tian Mo!" a voice boomed from the sky. It was Grand Elder Zhong, a 4-Star Master whose power was said to be close to the Nascent Soul realm. "Your actions at the Spirit Spring are a violation of the Natural Order. You claim to possess a logic superior to the Imperial Curriculum. Therefore, the Council decrees: Tomorrow, at the Plaza of Suns, you will engage in a 1-on-100 Teaching Duel."
The students gasped. A Teaching Duel was the most brutal form of academic combat. One teacher would stand against a hundred challengers. If even one of the hundred could present a problem the teacher couldn't solve, or if the teacher's students were outperformed by the challengers' students, the teacher would be stripped of their rank and exiled.
"And the stakes?" Tian Mo asked, his voice cutting through the Grand Elder's booming aura.
"If you win," the voice replied, "you are granted the 3-Star Sovereign Candidate status and unlimited access to the Great Archive. If you lose... you and your nine students will have your Dantians shattered and be cast into the Desolation Pass as slaves."
Tian Mo stood up, setting his tea cup down with a sharp clack.
"One hundred is a small number," Tian Mo said, a cold smile playing on his lips. "Tell them to bring their best. I'd hate to waste a perfectly good morning on mediocre minds."
The Night of Preparation: 10x Neural Overdrive
The night before the duel was silent, but for Tian Mo, it was a symphony of data. He entered the Divine Library, his consciousness expanding into the Rank 2.5 interface.
[Ding! 1-on-100 Duel Simulation Initiated.]
[Calculating potential challengers...]
[Note: The Council will bring masters of various auxiliary professions. Apothecaries, Beast Tamers, Array Masters, and Poison Experts.]
"I need more than just facts," Tian Mo whispered to the Tactician Shadow, Wei. "I need a way to teach nine people a hundred years of wisdom in six hours."
[Tactician Wei: Analysis Complete.]
[Solution: The 'Hive-Mind' Resonance. By using your 10x Refined Qi as a bridge, you can temporarily link your students' Dantians into a singular processing unit.]
Tian Mo called his students into a circle. "Tonight, we do not sleep. We evolve. You have the Peak Foundation power, but you lack the 'Eye of the Sovereign'. I am going to open your Neural Gateways."
Tian Mo placed his hands on the heads of Lu Feng and Qin Yue. His Qi surged, not as a blunt force, but as a fine needle of information. He began transferring the "Logic of Flaws" directly into their subconscious.
[Warning! 10x Energy Consumption: Critical Level!]
[System Note: Transferring high-level logic consumes 1,000 Spirit Stones per minute.]
Tian Mo felt the familiar hunger clawing at his gut. He reached into his robes and pulled out a handful of High-Grade Spirit Essence he had 'borrowed' from the Spirit Spring's core during the previous chapter. He crushed them, inhaling the dust.
"Breathe with me," Tian Mo commanded.
For six hours, the Sector 9 Archive glowed with a rhythmic, golden pulse. By the time the first ray of sun hit the Plaza of Suns, the nine "trash" students were no longer just cultivators. They were walking encyclopedias of structural flaws.
The Plaza of Suns: The Lion's Den
The Plaza of Suns was a massive amphitheater made of white marble. In the center stood a single stone podium. Surrounding it were a hundred chairs, occupied by the elite 2-Star and 3-Star Teachers of the Alliance. These weren't just teachers; they were the heads of guilds, the personal tutors of Kings, and the masters of hidden sects.
In the spectator stands, thousands of students and citizens watched in breathless anticipation. Madam Yue, the "Violet Widow," sat in a VIP box, her fingers gripping her fan so hard the silk threatened to tear.
"He's insane," she whispered. "Even a 4-Star Master wouldn't take this bet."
Tian Mo walked into the plaza. He was still wearing his janitor robes, but he had cleaned them. He looked like a king who had chosen to dress as a peasant for a day.
"The rules are simple," Grand Elder Zhong announced from his high throne. "The challengers will present a problem—a broken formation, a dying beast, a poisoned patient, or a flawed technique. If Tian Mo fails to provide the 'Perfect Correction' within ten breaths, he loses. After the teachers are done, the students will duel."
"Let the first challenger stand," Tian Mo said, stepping onto the podium.
The First Wave: The Guild Masters
A man in crimson robes stood up. Master Huo, the Head of the Blacksmith Guild. He placed a shattered shield on the ground.
"This is the Aegis of the Sun," Huo sneered. "It was broken by a Nascent Soul blow. Our best smiths say it cannot be repaired because the 'Spirit-Thread' has been severed. Correct it, or resign."
Tian Mo didn't even touch the shield.
"The Spirit-Thread isn't severed; it's coiled," Tian Mo said. "You tried to weld it with 'Fire-Qi', which only made the thread retract further into the cold-iron base. Take a hammer, strike the 'South-West' corner at a 42-degree angle with 'Ice-Qi', and the thread will uncoil itself seeking the heat of the air."
Master Huo's eyes widened. He took a small tuning hammer and did exactly as told.
Clang!
The shattered shield didn't just mend; it hummed with a light far brighter than before. The 'Spirit-Thread' re-emerged, weaving itself back together like a living thing.
"One," Tian Mo said.
A woman in green robes stood up next. Master Bi, a 3-Star Beast Tamer. She held a cage containing a Frost-Fire Sparrow that was shivering violently, its feathers falling out.
"This bird is undergoing an elemental clash. It will die in three minutes. Save it."
Tian Mo looked at the bird.
"It's not an elemental clash," Tian Mo said. "It has a 'Wind-Tick' parasite in its left air sac. The parasite is drinking the Frost-Qi, causing the Fire-Qi to overheat the body. Don't use medicine. Play a 'High-C' note on a flute. The frequency will burst the parasite's bladder, and the bird will sneeze it out."
Master Bi pulled out a jade flute and played the note. The sparrow let out a violent sneeze, a tiny black insect flew out, and the bird immediately burst into vibrant, healthy flames.
"Two," Tian Mo said.
For the next three hours, the plaza was a blur of "Impossible" problems being solved in seconds. Poisoned Kings were cured with vinegar; "Unsolvable" math equations were finished with a single stroke; "Unbreakable" arrays were collapsed by removing a single pebble.
By the 90th challenger, the Plaza of Suns was deathly silent. The "Janitor" hadn't just solved the problems; he had made the challengers look like toddlers playing with blocks.
The Final Boss: The Grand Elder's Trap
Grand Elder Zhong stood up, his face darkened with a mixture of fear and fury. "Enough! These are mere trifles. The 100th challenge will be set by me."
Zhong waved his hand, and a massive, ancient stone pillar was brought into the plaza. It was covered in millions of tiny, flickering runes.
"This is the Pillar of the First Sovereign," Zhong announced. "It is said to contain the 'Ultimate Technique'. For a thousand years, no one has been able to read it because the runes change every second. Read the first sentence, Tian Mo, or accept your fate."
Tian Mo looked at the pillar. The runes were a chaotic mess of light and shadow, moving so fast they created a blinding glare.
[Divine Library: WARNING!]
[Detection: This is not a technique. This is a 'Soul-Trap' formation designed to blind anyone who looks at it for more than five seconds.]
"You want me to read the 'Ultimate Technique'?" Tian Mo asked, his voice echoing.
"If you can," Zhong smirked.
Tian Mo turned his back to the pillar. He looked at the shadow the pillar cast on the white marble floor.
"The runes on the pillar are a lie," Tian Mo said. "The 'Ultimate Technique' isn't written in the light; it's written in the shadows created by the gaps in the stone. The changing runes are just a 'Shutter' to create a cinematic projection."
Tian Mo walked to the shadow. "The first sentence is: 'A Teacher is not a master of answers, but a servant of the Truth.'"
The pillar suddenly stopped flickering. The millions of runes vanished, leaving behind a simple, smooth stone. The shadow on the ground, however, remained, clearly spelling out the sentence Tian Mo had just recited.
The entire Alliance Council stood up in shock. For a thousand years, they had worshipped a 'Secret' that was hidden in plain sight, blinded by their own desire for complexity.
The Student Duel: The Final Nail
"The teaching duel is over," Tian Mo said, stepping off the podium. "Now, let's see if your 'Elite' students can stand against my 'Trash'."
One hundred of the Academy's top students, all at the Foundation Establishment (Late Stage), stepped onto the field. They were armed with the best weapons and armored in spirit-silk.
Tian Mo's nine students stepped forward. They were empty-handed.
"Don't kill them," Tian Mo commanded. "Just... show them the flaws in their existence."
The duel lasted exactly sixty seconds.
Lu Feng and the others didn't use flashy techniques. They moved like ghosts, tapping the Academy students on specific points of their armor or their wrists. Because they had the 'Hive-Mind' resonance and the 10x Foundation, they could see the 'Fracture Point' of every shield and every sword.
Crack. Snap. Clang.
A hundred elite weapons shattered. A hundred elite students fell to their knees, paralyzed by a single finger-tap to their pressure points.
Tian Mo walked to the center of the defeated crowd. He looked up at Grand Elder Zhong.
"The 'Trash' of Sector 9 has spoken," Tian Mo said. "Now, give me my 3rd Star. I have a library to organize, and your 'Ultimate Pillar' is currently blocking my view of the sun."
The Technical Summary
| Metric | Outcome |
|---|---|
| Duel Status | Victory (100/100 Solved) |
| Reputation Gained | 1,000,000+ (Alliance Wide) |
| New Rank | 3-Star Sovereign Candidate |
| Library Status | Rank 2.5 Stabilized; Shadow Guard Wei Active |