The Central Continent was the apex of the world. Here, the Qi was so dense it manifested as a perpetual silver mist that clung to the towering mountain peaks. This was the home of the Master Teacher Pavilion Headquarters, the majestic Imperial Capital, and the most ancient sects that had survived since the era of the God-Tribe.
As the Celestial Path Academy's flying boat crossed the continental border, the sheer scale of the landscape left even Mu Tie and Ling'er breathless. Floating palaces the size of cities drifted through the clouds, and the sky was alive with the silhouettes of legendary beasts—Griffins, Phoenix-kin, and massive Sky-Whales carrying entire markets on their backs.
Lin Fan stood at the helm, his Level 4 Divine Library humming in his mind. With his new Instant Scan ability, every flying vessel he passed was instantly cataloged.
[Divine Library: Instant Scan Active...]
[1,200 Vessels detected. Analysis: 80% are High-Rank (Stage 7+).]
[Detection: A Rank-5 'Heavenly Music' Boat is approaching. Harmony-based arrays detected.]
From the mist ahead, a vessel made of translucent white jade emerged. It had no sails; instead, it moved to the rhythm of a faint, ethereal melody that seemed to vibrate in the very souls of those who heard it.
"Teacher, that music..." Mu Tie gripped his sword hilt, his brow furrowed. "It makes my frost-blood feel... slow. Almost peaceful."
"It's the 'Song of the Serene Soul'," Lin Fan explained, his eyes fixed on the jade boat. "It's a high-level harmonic technique used by the Heavenly Music Sect. They don't fight with blades; they fight with the frequency of the universe."
The Encounter with the Saintess
As the jade boat pulled alongside, a woman stepped onto its balcony. She was draped in robes of gossamer silk that shifted through the colors of the dawn. Her face was veiled in a thin mist, but her eyes—large, calm, and the color of a clear mountain lake—held a depth that suggested she had seen the birth of stars.
This was Saintess Qingya, the second of the women tied to Lin Fan's destiny. Unlike the dominating fire of Queen Medusa, Qingya was the embodiment of water and stillness.
[Divine Library: Scanning Target...]
[Name: Qingya. Title: Saintess of Heavenly Music.]
[Rank: Stage 9 (Initial) Cultivator.]
[Status: Heart-Soul Disconnection. She has mastered the 'Music of the Heavens' but has lost the ability to feel 'Human Emotion,' preventing her from reaching the Saint Rank.]
"The Silver-Sand Queen's seal is on your vessel," Qingya's voice was like the tinkling of wind chimes, carrying no malice, yet echoing with an unsettling emptiness. "Master Lin Fan, the Pavilion has sent word of your arrival. They expected a man of iron and fire. They did not mention you traveled with the melody of the desert."
"The desert is but one note in a very long song, Saintess," Lin Fan replied, his voice perfectly matching the frequency of her ship's aura.
Qingya's eyes flickered with a hint of surprise. To match her ship's frequency without a musical instrument required a level of internal control that was almost unheard of.
"You speak of songs, yet your soul is silent," she said, stepping off her boat and walking across the air as if it were a solid floor. "Master Lin, the High Elders are waiting for you at the Headquarters. But they have laid a trial before you. You are not allowed to enter the Capital through the main gates. You must pass through the 'Valley of Whispers'."
"The Valley of Whispers?" Ling'er stepped forward, her Phoenix fire flickering. "Isn't that the place where the ghosts of failed teachers wander?"
"It is a test of the Heart-Soul," Qingya said, her gaze lingering on Lin Fan. "If your teaching is based on logic alone, the ghosts will tear your mind apart. But if your soul is true, they will guide you. I have been sent to... observe."
The Valley of Whispers: The Trial of Regret
The Valley of Whispers was a jagged canyon that served as the natural barrier to the Master Teacher Pavilion's holy grounds. As the flying boat descended into its depths, the silver mist turned into a thick, grey fog.
"Close your eyes!" Lin Fan commanded his students. "Do not listen to the voices with your ears. They will tell you that you are still trash. They will tell you that I am a fraud who will lead you to death."
Suddenly, thousands of grey, translucent figures appeared in the fog. These were the echoes of teachers who had lost their way—men and women who had prioritized fame and power over the growth of their students.
"Lin Fan..." a ghostly voice hissed. "You think you can teach a Phoenix? You are but a spark. You will burn her to ash, just as you almost killed your student in Silver-Leaf City."
Lin Fan walked to the prow. He didn't close his eyes. He didn't hide.
"My flaws are my history, not my future," Lin Fan spoke, his voice booming through the valley. "The boy I almost hurt became the foundation of the man I am now. I do not hide from my mistakes; I synthesize them into truth!"
[Divine Library: Activating 'Soul-Projection Teaching'...]
A massive golden projection of Lin Fan's soul rose above the flying boat. It wasn't a warrior; it was a scholar holding a brush. The projection began to write characters in the air—the names of his students, their breakthroughs, and the 'Perfect Manuals' he had created.
The golden light hit the ghosts. They didn't scream; they stopped. For the first time in centuries, the ghosts of the valley saw a teacher who truly, purely loved the act of guidance.
"He... he is sharing his soul-resonance with the dead?" Qingya whispered, standing on the deck. A single tear—the first she had felt in years—began to form in her eye. "The melody... it's changing."
The Trap of the Nine-Chord Formation
Just as they reached the end of the valley, the grey fog was suddenly incinerated by nine pillars of blue light.
"Who dares bring a Gold-Purple badge into our holy land without kneeling?!"
Nine elders of the Heavenly Music Sect appeared, each sitting on a floating lotus. They were holding lutes, harps, and flutes. They had formed the 'Nine-Chord Soul-Shattering Formation'.
"Saintess! Step away!" the lead Elder shouted. "This man is a heretic! He uses demonic synthesis to trick the Halos! We will cleanse his soul!"
The elders began to play. The music was no longer Serene; it was a cacophony of high-pitched shrieks that aimed to vibrate the students' Dantians until they exploded.
"Teacher! My frost... it's cracking!" Mu Tie fell to his knees, clutching his chest.
"Lu Bao! Ling'er! Protect the boat!" Lin Fan roared.
[Divine Library: Analyzing Nine-Chord Formation...]
[Flaws: 1,289. The formation relies on perfect harmony, but the lead Elder has a slight grudge against the second Elder, causing a 0.01-second dissonance in the third chord.]
"Saintess," Lin Fan turned to Qingya. "Your sect has forgotten that music is meant to heal, not to murder. Watch."
Lin Fan didn't use a musical instrument. He picked up a simple bamboo flute from his table—a cheap toy Lu Bao had bought.
[Teacher's Skill: The Silent Note.]
Lin Fan blew into the flute. No sound came out. At least, not one the human ear could hear.
But at the 0.01-second dissonance of the Elders' formation, Lin Fan's "Silent Note" struck. It was like a needle popping a massive balloon.
BOOM!
The Nine-Chord formation didn't just break; it reversed. The blue pillars of light turned into sonic waves that sent the nine Elders flying off their lotuses. Their instruments shattered into dust.
"How... how can a bamboo flute break our Sect's Grand Formation?!" the lead Elder wheezed, coughing up blood.
"It wasn't the flute," Lin Fan said, walking toward them. "It was the truth. You played with hatred. I played with the silence of the void. Silence always wins against noise."
The Saintess's Awakening
Saintess Qingya stood in the center of the deck, her veil finally falling away to reveal a face of ethereal, breathtaking beauty. She was staring at Lin Fan as if seeing him for the first time.
The tear she had felt earlier finally fell, hitting the jade floor with a soft ping.
[Ding! Target 'Qingya' Soul-Disconnection Resolved.]
[Status: Emotion Unlocked. Progress to Saint Rank: 95%.]
"Master Lin..." she whispered, her lake-like eyes now filled with a swirling storm of emotions. "You didn't just break the formation. You broke the silence in my heart. I remember... I remember what it feels like to be human."
She walked up to him and, in front of her fallen Elders, she didn't bow—she took his hand. It was a gesture of deep, spiritual intimacy.
"The Pavilion Elders will kill you for this," she said, her voice now rich with feeling. "But I will stand by your side. If you are a heretic, then the heavens themselves have forgotten how to sing."
The Central Pavilion: The 9-Star Trial
They reached the gates of the Master Teacher Pavilion Headquarters. It was a mountain carved into the shape of a seated sage, ten kilometers high.
Standing at the gate was Grandmaster Mo, looking older and more worried than before. Next to him was a man in dark robes with a cold, sharp face—High Elder Yan, the leader of the 'Orthodox Faction'.
"Lin Fan," Yan said, his voice like grinding stones. "You have humiliated our Elders and corrupted our Saintess. But the Law of the Pavilion is absolute. You have come here to claim your right to the 9-Star Trial."
"I have," Lin Fan said, his three students standing firmly behind him, along with the Saintess.
"The 1-Star teacher wants to take the 9-Star trial?" the crowd of thousands of teachers erupted in mockery. "He hasn't even passed the 2-Star exam!"
"Quiet!" Grandmaster Mo commanded. He looked at Lin Fan. "Lin Fan, to take the 9-Star Trial, you must first pass the 'Professional Decathlon'. You must prove you are a Master in ten different professions, all in one day."
"Ten?" Lu Bao gasped. "Teacher, even the fastest masters take ten years for ten professions!"
"I don't have ten years," Lin Fan said. He looked at the Divine Library's status.
[System Level 4: Multiple Profession Fusion Active.]
[Strategy: Fuse 10 Professions into one 'Universal Mastery'.]
"I'll do it," Lin Fan said. "But I have a condition. If I pass, the 'Orthodox Faction' must step down, and the Celestial Path Academy will be recognized as the Supreme Authority of the Southern and Central Continents."
High Elder Yan laughed. "Deal. Because you will fail at the first hurdle: The Blacksmith's Crucible."
The Professional Decathlon: The First Five
Lin Fan entered the Grand Workshop. For the next six hours, he didn't just work; he performed.
Blacksmithing: He fused a sword using Array-Forging, creating a blade that could cut through space.
Physician: He healed a Stage 9 patient with 'Incurable Poison' by using Beast-Taming logic to tame the poison-worms inside the body.
Architect: He designed a defensive wall for the city using Music-Resonance, making the stones vibrate so fast that any projectile would turn to dust.
Seamstress: He wove a robe for Ling'er using Nirvana Fire, making it an indestructible armor.
Chef: He cooked a meal for the examiners that used Alchemy to permanently boost their soul-strength by 10%.
By the fifth profession, the mockery in the hall had turned into a terrified silence. Lin Fan wasn't just a master; he was rewriting the very definitions of the professions.
The Comedy of the Chef's Trial
During the Chef's trial, Lu Bao couldn't help himself. As Lin Fan was plating the 'Alchemy-Infused Spirit Ribs,' Lu Bao "accidentally" tripped and caught a stray rib in his mouth.
"Lu Bao!" Lin Fan barked. "That was for the High Elder!"
"Mmph... mmmph..." Lu Bao's eyes went wide. His body began to glow like a golden lamp. "Teacher... I think... I think I'm a 1-Star Chef now!"
Suddenly, Lu Bao's own Divine Halo appeared—a single, flickering ring that looked suspiciously like a giant doughnut.
The examiners stared. "Did... did that boy just become a Master Chef by eating a leftover?"
"He has a very... efficient digestive system," Lin Fan sighed, shaking his head.
The Final Hurdle: The Soul-Painting
The tenth profession was Painting. But in the Master Teacher Pavilion, this wasn't about ink. It was about Soul-Manifestation.
"Paint the future of the human race," High Elder Yan commanded. "If the painting does not breathe, you fail."
Lin Fan picked up the brush. He didn't look at the canvas. He looked at Qingya, at his students, and at the distant, rising shadow of the Northern Continent.
He dipped the brush in his own Holy Qi.
[Divine Library: Synthesizing 'The Universe Blueprint'...]
He painted a single image: A library with its doors wide open, and a path leading from it that stretched beyond the stars. But he didn't paint people. He painted Light.
As he finished the last stroke, the painting didn't just breathe. It screamed.
A pillar of golden light erupted from the canvas, merging with Lin Fan's soul.
[Ding! Professional Decathlon Complete.]
[Reputation: 1,000,000 (Universal Awe).]
[System Level Up! Level 4 → Level 5.]
[New Feature Unlocked: 'The Eye of the Creator'—Can see the flaws in the world's laws.]
Lin Fan turned to the High Elders, his Five Divine Halos now so bright they turned the hall into a second sun.
"The professions are mastered," Lin Fan said, his voice echoing like thunder. "Now... give me the 9-Star Trial. I have a Demon King to educate."
The Shadow in the Pavilion
As Lin Fan walked out of the workshop, High Elder Yan's face twisted into a dark, demonic smile. He pulled a black crystal from his robe.
"You may have the light, Lin Fan," Yan whispered to the shadows. "But the Pavilion is already hollow. Tonight, the Saintess dies, and the Central Continent falls."