Before passing out, Mo Hongyi’s heart was filled with boundless resentment.
I came to look for you out of goodwill, yet first, I was poisoned by your students, then, I ended up being knocked unconscious by your slap…
How in the world did I offend you?
“Liu laoshi…”
Zhao Wuxing and the others were perplexed as well.
Ignoring their shocked gazes, Zhang Xuan took out a few silver needles, and driving his zhenqi, he pierced the needles at several acupoints of the other party.
He had read about the ‘Dry Earthen Powder’ in some books before, so he knew about the symptoms and the treatment method. Under normal circumstances, one would have to concoct the antidote, and the entire process was lengthy and troublesome.
However, if he were to use the silver needles and Heaven’s Path zhenqi, it could be solved in a matter of moments.
However, his zhenqi was extremely pure, so he couldn’t allow any outsiders to learn of it. Mo Hongyi was a genius, and his cultivation realm also equaled his own. Instead of being stumped by his questions later on, Zhang Xuan decided to knock him out first.
Before long, more than a dozen of silver needles were pierced into the locations where the bulk of the poison aura was accumulated. Under the cleansing from Heaven’s Path zhenqi, the poison was absorbed by the silver needles, causing their surfaces to turn black. Mo Hongyi’s pale face slowly alleviated, and traces of redness returned to it.
“Incredible…”
Zhao Wuxing and Liu Changyan stared at one another in shock.
They had heard of Liu laoshi’s amazing feat of solving nineteen questions on the Wall of Dilemma consecutively, making him the new guild leader of the Physician Guild. Even so, they didn’t have a clear grasp of his abilities. Upon seeing it firsthand now, they finally realized how fearsome the capability of the other party was.
Even without conducting a diagnosis, with just a few needles, he was able to heal the incapacitated Sun laoshi. Compared to him, the physicians in the academy seemed like complete amateurs.
“You two, send Sun laoshi back. He should wake up in about two hours!”
After finishing the acupuncture and confirming that the poison in the other party’s body had been expelled, Zhang Xuan instructed the duo.
Grade-2 pinnacle poison was an extremely fearsome substance. Even if it was cleared from one’s body, it would take a while before one could recover from its damage.
Of course, if Zhang Xuan were to infuse a little more Heaven’s Path zhenqi into the other party’s body, he should be able to wake up swiftly. However, he would be unable to explain away his Heaven’s Path zhenqi that way.
“Yes!” Zhao Wuxing and Liu Changyan quickly lifted Sun laoshi and carried him to his classroom.
“Someone wants to poison me. Mo Hongyi only happened to be at that spot at the wrong timing and drank that drugged tea… Who is the one trying to kill me?”
Rubbing his glabella, Zhang Xuan was stumped.
He was currently ‘Liu Cheng’ and he didn’t remember offending anyone. Who in the world would go through so much trouble to procure such a valuable poison to kill him?
Could it be those men from the Physician Guild?
Were they unhappy that he had become the new guild leader?
Zhang Xuan immediately shook his head.
Physicians were responsible for healing the injured and treating the sick, and those who choose this occupation carried compassion in their hearts. At the very least, they wouldn’t resort to such lowly methods.
Putting aside the fact that this Dry Earthen Powder wasn’t fatal, more importantly, if he were killed and the headquarter were to investigate this matter, the physician would stand to lose more than he had gained.
After pondering for a long moment, Zhang Xuan was unable to fathom who it was. Thus, he rubbed his glabella and decided not to be bothered about it anymore.
“Let’s go to Lu Chong’s dormitory!”
With Meng Tao leading the way, the duo soon arrived at the student dormitory.
Rather than living with the other students, Lu Chong stayed in a storage room beside the dormitory.
A typical room in the Tianwu Academy student dormitory consisted of four students. The reason why Lu Chong decided to stay there was because he was afraid of revealing his secrets in his sleep talk.
The storage room was small and dirty, but he would be able to guard his secrets here.
“Lu Chong! Lu Chong! Why didn’t you come to class today? Teacher is here to meet you!”
Walking to the door, Meng Tao nodded.
There was no response. Gedeng, Zhang Xuan’s heart skipped a beat.
Could this fellow have truly collapsed from the poison?
Without any hesitation, Zhang Xuan kicked open the door and walked in.
The room was small, and all kinds of miscellaneous objects were placed here. However, it was packed properly, and at the very corner, there was a small bed where one could rest on.
“No one is here?”
The place was small, and with a brief glance, Zhang Xuan could see that there was no one in here.
“Teacher…”
Meng Tao noticed something, and he passed it over to Zhang Xuan.
It was an envelope, and written on it was ‘To Liu laoshi’.
From the looks of it, he knew that Zhang Xuan would look for him, so he made preparations beforehand.
Zhang Xuan swiftly tore open the envelope.
There was just a line of words, and the meaning behind it was simple.
“Liu laoshi, pardon your unfilial student, but I can’t abandon my vengeance for my parents and kin. Please don’t look for me!”
“He… went to exact vengeance?”
Zhang Xuan frowned.
He knew that Lu Chong was carrying a huge burden in his heart, and there wasn’t a single day that he didn’t think about exacting vengeance on his enemies. Even so, to rush over as soon as his Poison Body was successfully cultivated, wasn’t he being a little too anxious!
Even so, Zhang Xuan could understand his impulse.
How could a person allow the murderer of his family and relatives to get away scot-free? He had toiled silently for two years just for this, and upon seeing his goal right before him, how could he remain seated?
“Just that, I wonder who his enemy is…”
Afraid of implicating him, Lu Chong had never revealed who his enemy was. Even though Zhang Xuan wanted to look for Lu Chong, he didn’t have any idea where he should start from!
“Pay close attention to the movements in Tianwu Royal City these few days. If anyone is killed or there’s any sort of uproar, notify me immediately!”
Zhang Xuan instructed.
Those students of his came from distinguished families. Alone, Zhang Xuan might be unable to find anything, but through their connections, he should be able to get some news soon.
Since Lu Chong was going as far as to feign mute, there was a high probability that his enemy was in the capital, and he possessed a high standing at that!
Thus, if he were to make his move, it would surely cause a huge commotion. By then, it shouldn’t be a problem to find him.
“Reckless!”
Zhang Xuan shook his head.
He was just thinking of imparting the other party a battle technique after he had finished cultivating his poison body to increase his chances of winning.
Who knew that the other party would leave as soon as he was done, not even greeting him at that. Despite his composed nature, he sure acted rashly.
Actually, Zhang Xuan knew that Lu Chong was doing this because he didn’t want to implicate him.
If Zhang Xuan were to find out about it, he would surely interfere in his matters. Even more so, if he were to meet in danger, there was a high possibility that Zhang Xuan would stand up for him. If so, Zhang Xuan would be implicated to this matter as well.
In order not to bring harm to his respected teacher, he chose to depart by his own, leaving behind just a letter.
This fellow may be young, but he sure had a lot of thoughts.
“Let’s return to the classroom first!”
Sighing, Zhang Xuan started walking back toward the classroom.
Even though he felt that the fellow was acting too rashly, Zhang Xuan felt moved by his gesture.
“Teacher and student. What makes a teacher? What makes a student?”
Zhang Xuan contemplated as he walked.
Ever since his transcension, he had been accepting students and teaching them for his own motives.
He was earnest in his job as a teacher, and the knowledge he imparted was also carefully selected with the welfare of his students at heart… But in truth, from the very start until now, he hadn’t been able to understand the true meaning behind a teacher.
It was just like a pair of young parents. They might shower unconditional love and concern for their child, but the notion of being a parent was still blurred to them.
Zhang Xuan was only a librarian of a high school in his previous life, so he wasn’t a teacher in the truest sense.
Even though he had accepted quite a few students, his time with them hadn’t been long, and he was plagued with many other affairs as well.
Somehow, Lu Chong’s actions had unwittingly struck a chord in his heart.
“Does imparting knowledge make a teacher? Does accepting knowledge make a student?
“That’s not it! Being a teacher isn’t that simple, and being a student isn’t that easy!”
The interactions he had with Zhao Ya, Mu Xueqing, Lu Chong, and all of his others students slowly trickled through his mind, and gradually, the fog veiling Zhang Xuan’s mind gradually cleared.
“It’s camaraderie, it’s responsibility, it’s interdependence, it’s…”
Boom!
After a seemingly long yet short period of time, Zhang Xuan suddenly felt everything before him clearing it. It seemed as though something blocked him had been removed, and he felt enlightened.
Then, a powerful energy shaped as though countless lines descended from the skies and seeped into Zhang Xuan’s head, causing his mind to become clearer and richer.
“Don’t allow anyone to interrupt me, I am going into seclusion!”
Sensing the change in his State of Mind, Zhang Xuan could no longer hold himself back. After instructing Meng Tao, he walked into the mini tutoring room and sat down.
…
Master Teacher Pavilion.
“Father, I’m speaking the truth. That Liu Cheng laoshi really guided Apothecary Mu to forge a grade-4 pill…”
Jiang Chen looked at this father, who was seated a short distance away from him.
The sight yesterday was too shocking that he had yet to recover from it even now.
After looking through numerous books, he realized the impossibility of guiding a 2-star apothecary to forge a grade-4 pill. In any case, it wasn’t something that could be explained by possessing absolute knowledge in medicinal herbs.
In other words, that Liu laoshi was likely to be an apothecary, an extremely skilled one at that.
“Ok, I believe you!” Pavilion Master Jiang nodded.
He already knew that this senior of his possessed pill forging skills far beyond others. Even so, this feat was still beyond his expectations.
“Father, tell me the truth. Is Liu laoshi related to Senior Uncle Zhang?”
Seeing that his father was nonchalant, Jiang Chen raised his doubts.
Jiang Chen had been harboring this doubt since yesterday.
Zhang shi was skilled in pill forging, and so was Liu laoshi! The day that Zhang shi disappeared for the 2-star master teacher mission, Liu laoshi appeared… The coincidences between these two absolute geniuses couldn’t help but make him consider this possibility.
Seeing that his son was getting doubtful, Pavilion Master Jiang opened his mouth to speak, but he suddenly paused and his face warped in shock.
“What?”
He wasn’t the only one. Jiang Chen was dumbstruck as well.
“It’s the Teacher Acknowledgement Hall!”
Pavilion Master Jiang quickly dashed out, and Jiang Chen followed closely behind.
After leaving the residence, he realized that all of the master teachers had been alarmed, and they were all headed anxiously for the Teacher Acknowledgement Hall.
The Teacher Acknowledgement Hall was where master teachers were where master teachers were given their emblem and officially acknowledged.
After passing the examination, the new master teachers were to apply for their emblems here, pay respects to Kong shi, and request for the acknowledgement of the Master Teacher Pavilion. It was similar to how normal clans paid respect to their ancestors.
As for the Question Symposium, it was more like a public declaration of one’s identity after one was acknowledged in the Teacher Acknowledgement Hall. However, Zhang Xuan had applied for the 2-star master teacher examination right after passing the first examination, so he hadn’t had the chance to come here yet.
Huhuhuhu!
Many master teachers arrived at the Teacher Acknowledgement Hall at the same time, and they lifted their heads to take a look.
The innumerable memorial tablets of the predecessors were shaking non-stop, as though an earthquake was going on.
Putong! Putong! Putong!
One after another, the memorial tablets fell over.
“Trembling of Myriad Tablets, this is… [Celestial Master Teacher]?” Pavilion Master Jiang’s lips quivered.
“That isn’t just the case. Pavilion master, look…”
A master teacher pointed at a direction.
Hearing those words, Pavilion Master Jiang and the others immediately looked over.
At the center of the room, Kong shi’s statue was trembling slightly non-stop as well.
“This is… Kong shi Admits a Disciple, the Student of the Sage?” Pavilion Master Jiang exclaimed.
I suddenly realized that because I’ve been uploading the chapters myself, my editors haven’t been getting the credits they deserve. So, I’ll just write down their names here to thank them. GaiaNova, Zayn, Chrissy, Millman, Kurisu, Modlawl, Sleeping Pig, Nocturneus, Sai101 (Hopefully I got everyone here), and many others who offered their help, both on Discord and the comment section here.
