Library of Heaven’s Path

Following behind Liu Ling, Pavilion Master Jiang entered the hall.

”Paying respects to teacher!” Pavilion Master Jiang clasped his fist and bowed. Before he could speak, he heard his teacher ask, ”Is there any books regarding ’Empyrean Kong shi’ in the Master Teacher Pavilion?”

”Empyrean Kong shi?”

Pavilion Master Jiang was taken aback. ”There are some records about Kong shi in the 2-star library, but it isn’t too detailed...”

”Bring me there!” Hearing the other party confirm the matter, Zhang Xuan’s eyes lit up.

Even though the Innate Fetal Poison was still dormant at the moment, he couldn’t rest easy knowing that there was a ticking time bomb on him.

It would be best if he could solve it as soon as possible.

”Yes!” Pavilion Master Jiang nodded.

The 2-star library of the Master Teacher Pavilion was only open to 2-star master teachers. However, given his teacher’s capability, he was definitely a master teacher who surpassed 2-star. Thus, he was qualified to enter freely.

Thus, under Jiang Shu’s lead, the duo headed to the Master Teacher Pavilion.

The residence wasn’t too far from the residence, so it didn’t take them too long before arriving at the 2-star library.

Insisting that Pavilion Master Jiang stay outside, Zhang Xuan walked in.

Even though the number of books in the 2-star library paled to that of the 1-star library, the quantity was still astonishing. Since Zhang Xuan had nothing urgent at hand, he began collecting them all into the Library of Heaven’s Path.

It took him around half a day to collect all of the books in the 2-star library.

”Kong shi!”

As soon as that thought popped in his mind, two books appeared before him.

He casually flipped it open.

”Empyrean Kong shi possesses Innate Saint Soul Depth...”

A few matters concerning Kong shi were written on the two books.

Looking through the matters regarding Kong shi before he reached thirty-year-old twice, Zhang Xuan realized that something was amiss.

Not only was Kong shi talented, he was also extremely diligent in his cultivation. In order to raise his strength, he put himself in precarious situations; entering the deep sea, stepping into the wilderness, infiltrating underground caverns... At an age below thirty, he had already reached the level of a 9-star master teacher!

But after that, he seemed to have suddenly toned down. He traveled around the world to enlighten the masses, established the Master Teacher Pavilion, and brought order to the entire continent... While his deeds were still spectacular, he clearly wasn’t as driven as he was in the past.

”Could… becoming a 9-star master teacher be the key to solving the Innate Fetal Poison?”

Gedeng, Zhang Xuan’s heart skipped a beat.

Unlike other occupations, master teachers had a strict requirement of one’s cultivation. When Zhang Xuan was still at Tongxuan realm, he was still able to receive 2-star emblems from the Beast Hall and the Painter Guild. However, in the Master Teacher Pavilion, he wasn’t even eligible to take the examination.

To become a 9-star master teacher, on top of possessing overwhelming Soul Depth, Zhang Xuan’s cultivation had to reach an unimaginable level as well.

If he had to reach this level to solve the Innate Fetal Poison, then this was truly terrible news!

”I should test my hypothesis!”

A blank book appeared in his palm, and fetching a brush, Zhang Xuan wrote, ”Reaching 9-star master teacher can solve the Innate Fetal Poison!”

He touched the book with his finger.

Weng!

A book appeared in the Library of Heaven’s Path. Quickly flipping through it, Zhang Xuan’s eyebrows shot up.

There weren’t any errors reflected in the book. In other words... this sentence was true!

”I have to reach 9-star master teacher to solve the Innate Fetal Poison... In other words, if I don’t reach 9-star master teacher before thirty, I will die?”

Zhang Xuan’s body swayed weakly and he found himself on the verge of tears.

The heck, did the world have a grudge with him?

Other cultivators like Zhao Ya and Yuan Tao possessed all kinds of amazing physical constitutions, and by awakening them, their cultivation would be raised exponentially as if riding on a rocket.

On the other hand, he was cursed with the Innate Fetal Poison which threatened to claim his life if he didn’t become a 9-star master teacher before thirty!

Are you for real?

9-star master teachers were the greatest experts who could shake the entire continent with their stomp.

Every single one of them only managed to reach that realm after countless years of accumulation. To reach that level before thirty...

Even though the Library of Heaven’s Path allowed him to raise his cultivation swiftly, where in the world was he supposed to find sufficient spiritual energy to sustain his cultivation? More importantly, where in the world was he supposed to find so many secret manuals for the compilation of subsequent levels of Heaven’s Path Divine Art?

Dismayed, Zhang Xuan wrote another line.

”Other than becoming a 9-star master teacher, there are other solutions to solving the Innate Fetal Poison!”

He touched the book once more.

Weng!

The book refreshed, and there were still no errors on it.

”There are other solutions to it...”

Upon seeing this, Zhang Xuan immediately grew agitated.

However, his agitation only lasted for a short moment before bitterness crept onto his face.

So what if he knew that there were other solutions? If he didn’t know what they were, they were no different from being non-existent.

Even if you know that transforming into a bird can allow you to soar in the skies... it doesn’t mean a thing if you are unable to do so!

”Forget it. Since there are other solutions, I should be able to find them. Otherwise, I will just have to experiment slowly!”

Zhang Xuan consoled himself.

Even though the Library of Heaven’s Path couldn’t give him the solution to a problem, it could determine whether something was right or wrong. If it comes down to it, he would just have to try treatment methods one after another. He should at least stumble upon the right one eventually.

There was still some time before he reached thirty, so there wasn’t much of a need for him to worry too much about it at the moment.

At this moment, the sun had already set. Zhang Xuan walked out of the library while stretching his back.

Leaving the Master Teacher Pavilion, he headed straight back to the academy and continued helping Lu Chong with the cultivation of the Poison Body. After which, he stepped into the small tutoring room and took out the spirit stone.

Spiritual energy flowed within the transparent and brilliant stone, and it felt warm and comfortable to the touch.

”Time to cultivate!”

With the spirit stone and the complete Zongshi realm Heaven’s Path Divine Art in hand, there was no need for Zhang Xuan to hesitate.

Nothing was more concrete than strength.

Only with sufficient strength could Zhang Xuan win the deference of others without disguising as ’Yang Xuan’.

Placing the spirit stone in his palm, he closed his hands and started to cultivate according to the formula recorded in the Zongshi realm Heaven’s Path Divine Art.

Gugugu!

Spiritual energy immediately gushed into his meridians and turned into pure zhenqi before slowly accumulating in his dantian.

Under the infusion of spiritual energy, Zhang Xuan’s cultivation rose swiftly.

Zongshi realm primary stage!

Zongshi realm intermediate stage!

An hour later, Zhang Xuan’s cultivation had already reached Zongshi realm intermediate stage, and he was only a step away from reaching Zongshi realm advanced stage.

Kacha!

Just when he was going to attempt the breakthrough to Zongshi realm advanced stage, the spirit stone in his palm suddenly cracked and crumbled into dust.

The spiritual energy in the spirit stone had been completely depleted.

”It crumbled? Just like that?” Seeing the spirit stone being depleted of its spiritual energy and crumbling into dust, Zhang Xuan scratched his head.

He thought that he should at least be able to reach Zongshi realm pinnacle with this spirit stone, but it seemed like... he was overestimating it.

There was no doubt that spirit stones were concentrated with spiritual energy, but there was still a limit to how much spiritual energy each spirit stone could contain.

If it was any other Zongshi realm cultivator, they might have been able to reach Zongshi realm pinnacle with a single spirit stone. However, Zhang Xuan was different.

The Heaven’s Path zhenqi was incomparably pure, and it demanded an equal quality of the spiritual energy it absorbed as well. It would refuse spiritual energy with the slightest bit of impurity in them. Thus, almost half of the spiritual energy in the spirit stone ended up being wastes. It was already a huge blessing that Zhang Xuan was able to reach Zongshi realm intermediate stage despite the immense wastage!

”Since a single spirit stone is insufficient... Didn’t the emperor ask me to treat someone’s illness? Maybe I can try asking for a few more from him then...”

Having known the prowess of a spirit stone, Zhang Xuan began to devise a plan to obtain more of it.

Since the emperor was willing to gift a spirit stone to him, chances are that he had more of it. If he could lay his hands on a few more, he would be able to easily reach Zongshi realm pinnacle!

With such strength, even if he were to abandon his identity as a master teacher, no one would dare to stand in his way in Tianwu Kingdom.

When dawn arrived, he passed the bottle of poison to Lu Chong, taught him how to use it, and instructed him to continue tempering his Poison Body. After which, he left the classroom and headed toward the royal palace.

...

Tianwu royal palace.

”Emperor Tianxue, Prince Fei Xuan had traveled such a long distance to propose to Princess Mo Yu. With a matrimony occurs between Tianwu and Kunqian Kingdom, we would be able to deepen our trust and better support one another. If so, the other countries would surely dare not harbor any ambitious thoughts against us!”

In the royal court, an elder clasped his hand as he spoke to Mo Tianxue, who was sitting on the throne.

The elder was Envoy Ran Mu from Kunqian Kingdom.

A Zongshi realm pinnacle expert.

There was a twenty-four-year-old youngster standing beside him. He had a dashing appearance, but the arrogance on his face seemed to spoil the aesthetics of his features. Despite his young age, he was actually a Tongxuan realm pinnacle expert!

At the current moment, the young man was gazing at Mo Yu with unconcealed admiration.

However, Mo Yu simply frowned. It seemed like not only was she uninterested in this prince, she even carried slight abhorrence for him.

”Envoy Ran Mu, there’s no need to rush things. Mo Yu is the daughter that I dote the most on, so I propose that we discuss the matter slowly!” Mo Tianxue replied with a vague answer, neither agreeing nor disagreeing to Envoy Ran Mu’s proposal.

”Emperor Tianxue has already said such words many times. The very reason why I am here with the prince this time around is to facilitate this matter!”

Envoy Ran Mu smiled, ”I heard that something has happened to your guardian beast and that you have been using a formation to confine it. May I know if it is true?”

Mo Tianxue’s face darkened, ”What do you mean by that?”

”Hehe!” Envoy Ran Mu chuckled. ”Since our Kunqian Kingdom is able to obtain such news, naturally, the other kingdoms should already know of it as well! As long as His Majesty agrees to the marriage, we will present a stalk of [Spirit Beast Grass] to you! I believe that with this, you should have no reason to reject us!”

”Spirit Beast Grass?”

Mo Tianxue frowned.

Just like cultivators, savage beasts had cultivation realms as well.

Savage beasts who surpassed Zhizun realm to reach a higher level of existence were known as spirit beasts.

Spirit Beast Grass was a medicinal herb which grew in areas where spiritual energy was dense. Spirit beasts are extremely fond of it, and they often fought with one another over it.

The value of a Spirit Beast Grass was in no way inferior to a spirit stone.

But of course, its rarity and value weren’t what that appealed to Mo Tianxue. What Mo Tianxue was interested in was its ability to soothe the injuries of a savage beast.

On top of that, if a Zhizun realm savage beast could consume it frequently over a period of time, there was a good possibility that it might be able to advance to a spirit beast.

The main reason why Tianwu Kingdom had been able to become a Tier 1 Kingdom and deter the aggression of surrounding Tier 1 Kingdoms was mainly due to the existence of their Half-Zhizun guardian beast.

However, the guardian beast hadn’t been in good condition recently. That was also the reason why Mo Tianxue approached Liu laoshi, hoping that the latter could treat it.

Even though a stalk of Spirit Beast Grass was probably insufficient to cure the guardian beast’s illness, it could alleviate its condition.

However, Mo Tianxue was grooming Mo Yu with the intention of making her inherit the throne. How could he sell the future emperor of the country for a single stalk of Spirit Beast Grass? Just as he was about to reject the other party’s offer, Mo Yu stepped forward.

”Father, since Prince Fei Xuan is proposing to me, may I offer my views on this matter?”

”Feel free!” Mo Tianxue nodded.

”In truth, I don’t have any objections to getting married. However...”

Glancing at Prince Fei Xuan, Mo Yu spoke impassively, ”You are also aware that I am a beast tamer. My tamed beast doesn’t have a good temper, and if someone were to approach me, it would immediately fly into a temper. As such, I fear for Prince Fei Xuan’s life if he were to marry me. Thus, only if he is capable of defeating my tamed beast will agree to the marriage!”

”Defeat your tamed beast? Do you mean it?” Prince Fei Xuan’s eyes lit up.

”Of course!”

Chuckling lightly, Mo Yu raised her hand and a massive Viridescent Eagle flew into the hall.