Approximately when Zhao Ya began to cultivate after consuming the Unravel Yin Pill, in the forest behind Hongtian Academy, Yuan Tao was finally done adjusting his state, and he stared fixedly at the jade bottle before him.
He was a wandering cultivator, and due to his lack of proper guidance, his results in the entrance examination were poor. Unlike Zhao Ya, who has a private dormitory of her own, he could only squeeze in with the others. Since Zhang laoshi said that applying the paste in the jade bottle will be painful and dangerous, it was clear that he can’t do it in the dormitory. Thus, after pondering over the matter, he decided to come here.
It was quiet with no threats of an assault by a savage beast or so, making it a suitable ground for cultivation.
"I should begin!"
As he had already made up his mind previously, there was nothing for him to hesitate about. He opened the bottle immediately.
Weng!
An overwhelming smell of pungent blood gushed out from the jade bottle. Following promptly, he felt an extraordinarily violent energy and it made him tremble involuntarily.
After taking off the clothes on his body, piece by piece, he poured out the liquid from the jade bottle and spread it on his body.
Sssssssss!
The moment the crimson-red fluid came into contact with his skin, Yuan Tao felt as though his entire body was pierced with needles. The pain was so excruciating that he felt as though his skin was being torn over and over again.
"AH..."
Under the excruciating pain, Yuan Tao collapsed onto the floor.
This pain far surpassed all other which he had experienced in the past. It felt as though someone was carving his skin off with a sharp dagger.
His face lost all colors quickly, taking on a shade of absolute paleness. Cold sweat dripped off Yuan Tao's face and his body shivered unceasingly.
"The pain..."
His sight blurred and he found himself losing grasp on his consciousness.
No matter what, he is just a sixteen to seventeen-year-old child. Regardless of what he had gone through and what he had suffered in the past, he would still cower in the face of excruciating pain.
"Why don't I... give up... the present state of things is not that bad, why do I have to raise my strength?"
The thought invaded his mind, striking at his will repeatedly.
"If I give up... Will Zhang laoshi reprimand me?"
Just as he felt his determination wearing thin, a figure suddenly appeared before him.
Zhang laoshi!
He was looking at him with that ever impassive expression. His eyebrows were creased, and his displeasure was apparent.
"No, I can't betray the trust he has in me..."
Noticing the seemingly angered Zhang laoshi, Yuan Tao shivered and illimitable fighting spirit came gushing out from him anew.
Before meeting Zhang laoshi, he was always the butt of jokes. Not only was he plump and had poor comprehension ability, his cultivation realm was sorely lacking. He had pleaded with more than ten teachers, only to be chased out of each of their doors. No one wanted to bother him.
He thought that he spend his life without achieving anything. But... he met Zhang laoshi.
It's Zhang laoshi who did not despise him for his figure or his ability. It's Zhang laoshi who specially tailored cultivation techniques for him, even toiling through the night to obtain this liquid so that he can improve and break through to higher realms!
To him, Yuan Tao felt indebted. The other party had put effort into grooming him.
If he were to be unable to take such little bit of pain, how can he have the cheek to face him in the future?
Zhang laoshi, rest assured. I will not let you down. I will persevere on and obtain your approval!
An unyielding resolution bloomed in his heart. When his eyes opened once more, he realized that the heart-wrenching pain had dulled by a fair bit.
After an unknown period of time.
The pain slowly subsided. Lowering his head to take a look, Yuan Tao realized that the red substance he had spread over his entire body had been completely absorbed. At the same time, a thick layer of armor resembling scales had appeared on his skin.
Even though he had no idea what it was, he knew that his defensive ability had been increased by multiple folds.
"Zhang laoshi said that it isn't sufficient to just apply the substance once. Continue!"
Seeing that there is still a fair bit of liquid in the jade bottle, Yuan Tao spread it over his body once more.
After going through the agony once, Yuan Tao felt a little hesitant. However, upon thinking of Zhang laoshi, Yuan Tao steeled his heart.
Eventually, he utilized the entire bottle of red substance.
"This is..."
Lowering his head to take a look, Yuan Tao realized that a layer of cuticle had formed on the surface of his skin after he had absorbed the red substance, and it is somewhat reminiscent of fish scales.
"I should give it a try..."
Doubtful, the flames of curiosity appeared in Yuan Tao's mind, and he charged straight at a tree nearby.
Kacha!
With a crisp sound, the bowl-size thick tree was immediately broken at the trunk. At the same time, all he felt on his body was an itch. There wasn't even the slightest bit of pain.
Yuan Tao's eyes narrowed.
Just how strong are his defensive and offensive abilities now?
"Teacher... I have succeeded..."
Recalling the suffering that he had gone through, Yuan Tao clenched his fists and tears came streaming down his cheeks.
At the very least, I didn't betray teacher's trust in me...
Zhang laoshi, I have succeeded in meeting your goal!
…………
At the same time, Wang Ying, Zheng Yang, and Liu Yang were also working hard.
After receiving a movement technique manual and a leg technique manual from Zhang laoshi, Wang Ying did not hesitate in the least and returned back home immediately to train. Her fighting prowess is rising progressively.
Zheng Yang continued to push against the boundaries of Fighter 2-dan so that he can reach Dantian realm within five days.
Liu Yang had also started practicing Heaven's Path Fist Art. The sound of his fists created sonic booms here and there.
While the five great disciples were busy training, the respected teacher, Zhang laoshi finally woke up, stretching his back lazily.
"How did I fall asleep here?"
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Upon opening his eyes, he realized that he had fallen asleep in the resting area in the classroom. There were no beddings, but he didn't feel the slightest chill. Unknowingly, a layer of clothes had been placed on him to keep him warm.
There were both male and female clothing in the mix...
His five students, fearful that he would catch a cold, took off their coats for him.
"These little fellows..."
Zhang Xuan shook his head.
Due to the overwhelming exhaustion he felt yesterday, he fell asleep the moment he sat on the chair. His students probably carried him here gently before covering him with their clothes.
Looks like he had really overexerted himself. Otherwise, given his strength, it shouldn’t have been possible for him to be moved without realizing it at all.
After the sleep, the fatigue which he had accumulated over five days disappeared entirely.
Looking through the windows, he realized that it is already noon the next day.
"Since I've accepted their money, I should attend to their problems..."
As a 'master teacher', he had accepted eighty million from the others. Given his fatigued state, it is one thing for him to have ignored them yesterday. However, now that he has recovered, he should at least offer them some pointers in return for their money.
Otherwise, he would feel guilty.
Returning back to his residence, he saw Sun Qiang welcoming him anxiously with tears brimming from his eyes.
After eating some food, Zhang Xuan had Sun Qiang invite the people in, according to the sequence in which they paid up.
These people were mainly those who had met a wall in their cultivation and hoped to achieve a breakthrough.
A person's cultivation is just like a river flow. If one is unable to achieve a breakthrough, it means that there must be something hindering him from doing so. Possessing the Library of Heaven's Path, Zhang Xuan is able to easily locate the blockage site and, utilizing his silver needles and pure zhenqi, inducing a breakthrough isn't a difficult task at all.
After all, these people had cultivated for an extremely long time and the accumulation of their hard work had brought them to a state where they are merely a single step away from breaking through, just that this step had obstructed their path for a very long time.
What Zhang Xuan had to do was to merely assist them across the door. Using the river analogy once more, just by inducing a crack in the obstruction, the overwhelming volume of water which had accumulated over time would blast open the entire blockage through sheer force.
Of course, while the principle sounds simple, it is nigh impossible for any other master teacher to accomplish the same feat as Zhang Xuan.
Be it physique, cultivation technique, habits, every single person varies immensely from the other... Thus, the blockage in each and every person differs greatly. It is just like how there are no two identical leaves in the world, the blockages in the meridian within a cultivator's body were vastly different.
Without the Library of Heaven's Path, it would be impossible for one to know where the source of the problem is, needless to say, help the other person achieve a breakthrough.
...
Outside Zhang Xuan's residence.
Sun Qiang opened the door and shouted, "Next..."
"I'm sorry, can you let us through?"
The moment Sun Qiang's words sounded, another voice came from the back and two young men came forward with widened strides.
They are Lu Xun and Wang Chao from Hongtian Academy, and they are here to visit Yang shi.
As they were dressed in teacher’s robes, even though the crowd was displeased by their action of cutting their queue, they nevertheless opened up a path for them.
"Butler Sun, we are..."
Wang Chao stepped forward and clasped his hands.
They had waited for an entire day, and initially, they thought that their statuses as star teachers would be able to attract Yang Xuan’s attention and that he would quickly summon them in. Yet...
Yang shi did not appear the entire day. Whenever Sun Qiang emerges, he would just shout for the next in the queue to enter. He refused their name scrolls, and this caused them to panic.
"Scram!"
Before Wang Chao could even finish his words, Sun Qiang frowned, "Did you think that this is your house, for you to charge forward like this? Go to the back of the queue!"
"I..."
To be bellowed at by a mere Pigu realm butler, Wang Chao's face flushed and he nearly exploded into rage.
As a star teacher, regardless of where he goes, Wang Chao receives tremendous respect. There are no master teachers in Tianxuan Kingdom, and as such, Lu Xun and he are the most welcomed figures in the capital. He thought that just by stepping forward to reveal his identity, he would be able to hand over his name scroll and enter the residence. Yet, beyond his wildest dreams, before he could even finish his sentence, this plump butler demanded him to scram.
"Why? Do you wish to violate the rules?"
Sun Qiang flung his hands majestically, "Do you want to try me? Without even lifting a single finger of mine, there will be someone to throw you out."
The heck, where did this bumpkin come from?
To dare to cut the queue outside a master teacher's residence, he must be truly ignorant.
Even though Sun Qiang isn't a master teacher, the people who are here to pay Yang shi a visit would be more than willing to do the job for him.
Hearing these words, Wang Chao became so angry that his body started to tremble with agitation.
Anywhere else, such an insignificant figure would have been easily crushed by him with a single, casual blow, and no one would dare to speak up for him. Yet, this person is now asking him to scram, even threatening to throw him out...
His face flushed, and he clenched his fists tightly. Even though he was angry, he didn't dare to rebuke Sun Qiang.
After all, they are here to earn Yang shi's favor and become his apprentice. If they were to offend his butler even before meeting him, all hope would be lost.
"Butler Sun, please calm down. I am Lu Xun, a teacher from Hongtian Academy. I wish to pay Yang shi a visit, and I hope that you can help refer us to him..."
Extending his hand to restrain his good buddy, Lu Xun stepped forward with a smile on his face.
"Lu Xun laoshi?"
Sun Qiang was taken aback.
Even though he was just an ordinary merchant in the commercial city who rarely came into contact with top-notch figures, he had long heard of Lu Xun laoshi’s great name, him being an incredibly famous figure in the capital. He is the sole son of the emperor's tutor, Master Lu Chen, as well as the most likely person in Tianxuan Kingdom to become a master teacher.
Not only so, despite being under twenty-five, he has already achieved Pixue realm. His talent is top-notch, even within the entire kingdom.
Due to his identity, even Fighter 7-dan Tongxuan realm experts treat him with the utmost respect.
Yet... Sun Qiang just asked him to 'scram'?
Cough cough, his luck is truly bad.
He had just offended three master teachers, and now, he has offended another potential master teacher...
He had seen how the old master criticized others however he wished, and it looked easy then. Yet, why was it that difficult for him to do the same?