“How did it go?”
Apothecary Hong Yun stepped forward and asked.
“Success…”
Mu Yangfeng was exhausted, but excitement twinkled in the depths of his eyes. He turned to look at Guild Leader Liu in reverence.
Having forged alongside him, Mu Yangfeng finally understood how deep his understanding of pill forging was.
This wasn’t a level that one could reach based solely on one’s understanding of medicinal herbs.
Even though he had followed the other party’s instructions strictly, several crises still occurred throughout the process.
It wasn’t because he had made a mistake, but because his cultivation was too low. Tianwu Kingdom was a decently powerful kingdom, but it still wasn’t capable of forging grade-4 pills yet.
For the forging of the pill, maintaining the flame, as well as the temperature of the cauldron, required zhenqi.
There were many times that the pill forging nearly failed due to the depletion of his zhenqi. If not for the many regeneration pills that he had forged throughout the years, he might have died of exhaustion then and there.
Every time his zhenqi ran low and a crisis occurred, this Guild Leader Liu would use inconceivable but surprisingly effective means to salvage the situation. Even though it seemed as though failure was inevitable, he produced miracle after miracle, which led to the ultimate success.
It was as though he could see the situation in the cauldron with his own eyes, and he knew what he had to do to prevent an explosion.
He truly couldn’t imagine how someone of the other party’s age could possess such vast and deep knowledge of pill forging.
Just like Apothecary Hong Yun had guessed, he had learned many things through this pill forging. Regardless of whether it was his skill or his mental fortitude, he had experienced a huge growth. It probably wouldn’t be long before he managed to forge grade-3 primary or even intermediate pills independently!
“Success?”
Seeing Apothecary Mu’s look of admiration, Hong Yun and Jiang Chen also turned to look at Guild Leader Liu, dumbstruck.
To think that the other party could really create a miracle! This was result that one couldn’t accept easily even when seeing it for oneself!
…
After the successful forging of the Frigid Yin Pill, there was nothing left for Zhang Xuan to do here. After a moment of rest, Zhang Xuan started to help Mu Xueqing trigger the medicinal energy accumulated in her body.
Apothecary Mu had prepared the medicinal fluid long ago, and Mu Xueqing had also reached the peak condition, allowing Zhang Xuan to start on the treatment immediately. Using the silver needles as a medium, Zhang Xuan infused the Heaven’s Path zhenqi into the other party’s body.
As soon as that pure zhenqi came into contact with the accumulated medicinal energy within Mu Xueqing, it was as though a spark of flame had come into contact with gasoline. A huge flame was ignited, and massive energy started streaming through her entire body via her meridians.
Pilipala!
Crisp sounds, reminiscent of exploding bamboos, reverberated consecutively throughout her body as numerous acupoints were opened.
Knowing that Mu Xueqing wouldn’t be in any danger under the protection of the medicinal fluid, Zhang Xuan bade Mu Yangfeng farewell and left the guild.
After finding a remote alley, he disguised himself as Yang Xuan and walked towards the residence.
By the time he reached the residence, it was already late at night. It was fortunate that Zhao Ya was still awake. He passed the Frigid Yin Pill to her and instructed her to consume it as soon as possible.
After which, he passed to her the sword Beast Tamer Wang gave him back at the Beast Hall.
This sword was at a significantly higher tier than the one he broke, and it complemented Zhao Ya’s disposition.
After dealing with these miscellaneous matters, Zhang Xuan suddenly felt a surge of fatigue, so he lay down and fell into a deep sleep.
Honestly, he had underestimated the difficulty of forging the Frigid Yin Pill. If not for the Library of Heaven’s Path instantaneous updates which allowed him to peer into the flaws of the forging, an explosion would have occurred.
Keeping his mind working at maximum capacity had exhausted both his body and his soul, causing his face to pale.
Seemed like he had to avoid doing matters beyond his strength. Otherwise, he might just die from exhaustion one day.
…
By the time Zhang Xuan woke up the next day, the sun was already up.
After a good rest, he felt revitalized.
After asking the others, he found out that Zhao Ya had gone into seclusion to cultivate. Thus, he delegated some instructions to Sun Qiang before leaving the residence for Tianwu Academy.
He hadn’t met Lu Chong for two days already, so he felt that he should check on his condition now that he had the time.
“Teacher, you’re here…”
As soon as Zhang Xuan reached the entrance of the classroom, Meng Tao immediately rushed up to him.
“What’s wrong?”
Zhang Xuan looked at him.
Meng Tao had always been a composed person. It was impossible for him to be waiting at the entrance of the classroom for him for nothing.
“Teacher, Sun laoshi has been waiting for you since morning, and it has already been two hours since he arrived!” Meng Tao quickly reported.
“Sun Cheng?”
Zhang Xuan was taken aback.
Wasn’t that Mo Hongyi? Why would he look for him now?
Walking into the room, he saw Mo Hongyi sitting quietly on a stool in the classroom, sipping quietly on a cup of tea.
“You’re finally here! You sure kept me waiting…”
Upon seeing Zhang Xuan walk in, Mo Hongyi flashed a bitter smile.
Zhang Xuan was indeed incredible. To pass the 2-star master teacher exam, Mo Hongyi had been holing himself up in the classroom, not daring to leave at all. Every single day, he would spend eight to ten hours conducting lessons so as to build trust with his students.
This fellow spent less than an hour in his classroom every day and disappeared frequently… Yet, his students were still completely infatuated with him!
They even went to the extent of fighting with ‘Zhang shi’s’ students for his honor…
This was truly maddening!
Mo Hongyi had no choice but to submit to him.
“Let’s go in to speak!”
The classroom was filled with students, so it wasn’t a good location to speak. Thus, Zhang Xuan beckoned Mo Hongyi into the mini tutoring room.
“I have two matters to discuss with you!”
Mo Hongyi dived straight into the topic. “Firstly, the principal asked me to convince you to meet with Zhang shi for a meal so that no conflict will evolve between you two over the students’ fight!”
“Meet with Zhang shi?” Zhang Xuan blinked in shock. “How can I agree to that…”
Meeting with himself? And have a meal at that?
How in the world can he do it?
“Who asked you to be so high profile…” Seeing the fellow who had broken most of his records suffering from this dilemma, Mo Hongyi chuckled gleefully.
You were only asked to act as an ordinary teacher, yet you went to the Physician Guild to take on the role of their guild leader, and the students you teach even insisted on fighting it out with ‘Zhang shi’s’ students…
Given how high-profile you are, it will be difficult for you not to attract any attention!
You were the one who put yourself in such an awkward position!
“Alright, let’s not talk about this anymore. I know that you won’t agree to it anyway. However, given the principal’s attitude, if I tell him that I am unable to persuade you, he’ll definitely come to look for you personally! At that time, it’ll be difficult for you to turn him down!”
Mo Hongyi shook his head as he changed the topic. “Let’s talk about the second matter then. After the past few days of effort, I think the Trust Level of my students should have already reached 40. Thus, I intend to return to the Master Teacher Pavilion to end the examination!”
“Your students also seem to hold a high level of trust in you, so why don’t we go together! Once you end the examination, others will know that Liu laoshi is Zhang shi, and you will be able to get out of this dilemma. At the same time, your students will also stop their quarreling!”
“Un…”
After hesitating for a moment, Zhang Xuan nodded.
The condition that the Master Teacher Pavilion gave them was to earn a Trust Level of 40 from their students within ten days in their disguised self.
This time was just a limit on the examination. If one could achieve this feat earlier, one would be able to end this examination in advance.
However, if it turned out to be a fail, the students would definitely know their true identity, making it impossible for them to continue on with the examination. If so, it would be a fail for their 2-star master teacher examination.
After the past few days of guidance, putting Mu Xueqing and Lu Chong who Zhang Xuan were exceptionally close to aside, Meng Tao and the others were also completely obedient to his words. Even if their Trust Level in him wasn’t too high, Zhang Xuan was confident that it had already reached 40, allowing him to pass the examination.
Seeing the other party agree to it, Mo Hongyi chuckled. “Alright, then let’s visit the Master Teacher Pavilion tomorrow morning then!”
“Alright!” Zhang Xuan replied.
This matter wasn’t too complicated, so after coming to an agreement, Mo Hongyi bade his farewell and left. He wanted to continue on his lesson to make one last push.
Returning back to the classroom, Zhang Xuan guided Meng Tao and the others on their cultivation before asking, “Where’s Lu Chong? Why isn’t he here today?”
“He should be cultivating. I’ll get him here…”
Meng Tao replied and left.
As a student of the academy, Lu Chong lived in the dormitory.
Knowing that it would take some time before Meng Tao can get Lu Chong here, Zhang Xuan took a seat. While overlooking the students’ cultivation, he poured himself a cup of tea and placed it to his lips.
Just as his lips came into contact with the cup, he suddenly frowned.
“Dry Earthen Powder?”
Zhang Xuan had never taken the poison master examination, but after taking in all of the books in the Poison Hall, he already possessed the capability of a 2-star pinnacle poison master.
Even before coming into contact with the tea in the cup, he already noticed the lethal poison contained within.
Dry Earthen Powder was a type of grade-2 pinnacle poison, and it was effective even on Zongshi realm pinnacle experts. Even though it wasn’t deadly, it could sap a person’s energy completely and induce both nausea and diarrhea, leaving him in agony.
Who would spike his teacup?
And why?
Frowning, Zhang Xuan was just about to ask who had come into contact with his tea set when Meng Tao suddenly rushed back in with a bizarre and frantic expression.
“Liu laoshi, bad news!”
“What’s wrong, has something happened to Lu Chong?”
Seeing the other party’s expression, Zhang Xuan’s eyebrows shot up.
He had told the other party to look for Lu Chong, yet the other party came back with a panicked expression. Did that fellow deviate from the cultivation technique he taught him, and a problem had occurred?
If the student he taught during this period of time were to go berserk or die…
Putting aside failing the 2-star master teacher examination, he might even be expelled!
If it was in the past, given how he possessed the Library of Heaven’s Path, being a master teacher or not meant nothing much to him.
However, if he didn’t become a 9-star master teacher before reaching thirty, the Innate Fetal Poison in him would act up, causing his death. He had to pass the examination!
Even though he knew that there were other ways as well, there was no guarantee that he would be able to find them…
If he couldn’t find those solutions, there was no point knowing of their existence! The best chance that he had now was this.
Others might deem it impossible, but to Zhang Xuan, as long as he cultivated diligently and found the corresponding cultivation technique manuals he required, there was a high chance he could succeed.
“That shouldn’t be it. I have sent in a surge of Heaven’s Path zhenqi to protect his heart. Furthermore, he has already survived the hardest ordeal, so he shouldn’t meet with any problem!”
Before leaving, Zhang Xuan had made sure to double check that the zhenqi he infused earlier was still within Lu Chong’s body. Since he had survived even the hardest ordeal, there should be no reason why a problem would occur now.
“It’s not Lu Chong!” Meng Tao shook his head. A bizarre expression slowly unfurled on his face. “It’s Sun Cheng laoshi! H-He…”
“What about him?” Zhang Xuan asked.
With an awkward expression, Meng Tao replied, “H-he fell into the fecal drain…”
