Library of Heaven’s Path

Zhang Xuan had thought that it would be easy and that he could complete the reverse engineering very quickly. However, who knew that by the time he opened his eyes once more, an entire day would have already passed?

Hu!

Getting to his feet to stretch his back, Zhang Xuan massaged his glabella.

Even with a strong constitution like his, he still couldn’t help but feel like someone had smashed a brick into his head after an entire day of heavy thinking.

However, it was fortunate that hard work never lied. After an entire day of effort, he had successfully deduced a new version of Saint Ascension Decipher.

It sure is a pity… If Vicious hadn’t consumed two-thirds of the writing, I might have been able to create a flawless technique…

In the process of deconstructing Kong shi’s insight, he realized that the intent contained within Kong shi’s calligraphy was the key to reverse engineering the cultivation technique. However, the Library of Heaven’s Path had only replicated the content, so Zhang Xuan only had one-third of it to work with.

With two-thirds of the intent missing, it was inevitable that the Saint Ascension Decipher that he eventually deduced would be flawed.

”There are still three flaws… It is similar to the Quintuple Incandescence Golden Body—I will require certain artifacts to serve as catalysts in order to achieve a breakthrough to Half-Saint, Nascent Saint, and Saint realm!”

Exhaling deeply, Zhang Xuan shook his head.

Even though it would be troublesome to gather those artifacts, the current version he had deduced was at a completely different level from the Saint Ascension Decipher Mu shi’s puppet had given him.

Mu shi’s puppet walked up to Zhang Xuan and asked, ”What’s wrong? Did you have a stroke of inspiration?”

Yesterday, shortly after it received Kong shi’s writing, the other party had suddenly sat down and fallen into deep thought. Perhaps, the other party had also noticed that the scroll contained the key to refining the Saint Ascension Decipher further.

”I did manage to comprehend something,” Zhang Xuan replied with a smile.

Stroking its beard, Mu shi’s puppet said, with eyes gleaming in excitement, ”Not bad! After studying the scroll, I also managed to comprehend something as well. Why don’t we exchange our comprehensions? Perhaps, we might be able to refine the Saint Ascension Decipher further!”

Sensing the confidence in the other party’s words, Zhang Xuan couldn’t help but ask, ”Oh? May I know what Mu shi comprehended?”

”I feel that using seven zhenqi strands to form a knot is wrong… However, I have yet to deduce how many strands are required in order to perfect it…” Soon, Mu shi’s puppet swiftly revealed the comprehensions it had.

On the other hand, hearing the other party’s comprehension, Zhang Xuan couldn’t help but shake his head.

He had thought that the other party’s comprehensions could possibly give him the inspiration to correct the three remaining flaws in the technique, but it seemed like he was putting his expectations too high…

The other party’s understanding of the technique was still at a superficial level, a far way off from matching his freshly-deduced Saint Ascension Decipher.

”What about you? What did you comprehend? Why don’t you share it with me so that we can analyze it together? You might be more talented than me, but in terms of intelligence, I am confident that I won’t lose to anyone!” Mu shi’s puppet chuckled confidently.

Against the top-notch geniuses of the Master Teacher Academy, its talent was indeed unspectacular. There were a handful of principals who were more talented than it, such as Principal Mo Liuzhen. However, in terms of intelligence, he was definitely ranked among the top.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to compile the experiences of those before him and refine the Saint Ascension Decipher, cultivating his Origin Core to Advanced Second Grade.

One must know that very few master teachers had managed to achieve this feat!

As such, he had the utmost confidence in this field. Within the span of a day, he didn’t think that the other party would be able to fare much better than him.

”This…” Not knowing how he should speak of the matter, Zhang Xuan hesitated for a moment before grabbing a brush and an empty book and swiftly writing down a simplified version of the newly-deduced Saint Ascension Decipher, which anyone could cultivate, and passed it over. ”This is what I have comprehended over the past day. You can take a look at it…”

”This is what you comprehended?” Lowering its gaze to take a look, the body of Mu shi’s puppet suddenly began trembling uncontrollably, and it nearly fell to the ground.

It had thought that it had managed to comprehend a lot within a single day, but compared to the other party, its feat was not even a drop in the ocean!

It was as if two rivaling authors had started on their work simultaneously, and while one had just confirmed the name of the protagonist, the other had already finished the entire book… This was the overwhelming frustration that it felt at that very moment!

It was barely at the starting point, but the other party had already deduced the most correct cultivation technique!

The difference was so great that it felt as if it was about to suffer a mental breakdown.

How could the world be so unfair as to allow for there to be such great difference between two people?

Thinking back about what it had just shared with the other party, it felt so embarrassed that it felt tempted to drill a hole in the ground and hide itself for eternity to come!

”Zhang shi is indeed a man of great talent; I am impressed!” After learning about the difference between them, Mu shi’s puppet decided to put down his attitude as the founder of the Master Teacher Academy.

Seeing that he had unintentionally dealt a heavy blow to the other party, Zhang Xuan offered his consolation. ”There is no need to worry. As long as you work hard, you will surely improve.”

”… Yes.” The mouth of Mu shi’s puppet twitched.

It had always been the one to say those words to others so as to encourage its juniors… Who could have thought that it would hear those words directed toward it at such an age!

But nevertheless, it was indeed true that its intelligence was far beneath the other party. As the saying goes, ’the proficient becomes the teacher’. The other party wasn’t really getting ahead of himself to say such words to it.

Shaking its head, Mu shi’s puppet passed the book back. ”Zhang shi, this Saint Ascension Decipher is something you comprehended yourself. I can’t cultivate it even if I wanted to, so you should keep it well…”

Existing only as a puppet now, it could no longer cultivate. As such, the Saint Ascension Decipher was useless to it.

”It’s fine!” Zhang Xuan waved his hand. ”You should keep it. Pass it to the next person who clears the ninth level!”

The cultivation technique he had deduced was valuable, but it was derived on the foundations of the other party’s Saint Ascension Decipher and the insights Kong shi had left behind, so it couldn’t be exactly called his private possession.

In any case, it would serve a greater purpose here. Geniuses who cleared the Mountain of Records for generations to come would be able to learn the perfected version of the Saint Ascension Decipher, thus bolstering the forces of mankind.

As for why he chose not to just release it to the world so that everyone could cultivate the technique…

It was not that he was unwilling to do so, but he shared the same worries as Kong shi back then.

The Saint Ascension Decipher was an unparalleled treasure to top-notch geniuses, but to others, it would only grant them false hope before crushing it mercilessly, tearing their confidence and motivation to shreds.

This was similar to how a billion gold coins might be a small goal to a tycoon, but to ordinary humans, such a goal would only be a source of endless frustration.

”Yes!” After hearing Zhang Xuan’s decision, Mu shi’s puppet nodded as it bowed deeply. ”Allow me to thank you in place of the later generations of the Master Teacher Academy!”

To contribute the cultivation technique he had comprehended unreservedly to others, this was the deed of a true master teacher!

Over the past day of interaction, it had learned that the young man was the new principal of the Master Teacher Academy, and it had been shocked for a long while. However, at this moment, it could see why the other party would be nominated to become the principal despite his young age.

There was indeed something extraordinary about him.

”Mu shi, there is no need to stand on ceremony. As a master teacher, it is my responsibility to impart knowledge to others and leave behind my heritage to benefit the later generations,” Zhang Xuan replied.

”Nevertheless, I feel that I should compensate Zhang shi for your generosity. As the new principal, you should be aware of the existence of the Mausoleum of Principals, right?” Mu shi’s puppet asked.

”Of course!” Zhang Xuan nodded.

”I took a look earlier, and a breakthrough to Half-Saint through your Saint Ascension Decipher will require a Scarlet Firefly Fruit, which I don’t have on me unfortunately. However, I do have the Lightning Resonance Rock required for the breakthrough to Nascent Saint, and it is currently stored in the Mausoleum of Principals!” Mu shi’s puppet said with a kind smile.

”Lightning Resonance Rock? You have it? That’s great!” Zhang Xuan’s eyes lit up, and he nearly leaped up in excitement.

He had already found the Scarlet Firefly Fruit required for a breakthrough to Half-Saint, so that wasn’t a problem.

However, the breakthrough to Nascent Saint required a Lightning Resonance Rock, an extremely rare ore that was only formed after being nurtured by nature’s lightning over a course of ten thousand years.

The Ten Indomitable Kings of the Cloudmist Ridge had gifted him many valuable ores, but there wasn’t a single Lightning Resonance Rock in it. This went to show how valuable it was.

He was still deliberating how he could obtain it when Mu shi’s puppet suddenly said that it had left one in the Mausoleum of Principals.

Indeed, kindness begets kindness. If he hadn’t donated the cultivation technique for free, it would have surely taken him a lot of effort in order to procure the Lightning Resonance Rock.

”I happened to chance upon one while I was roaming the world, but I wasn’t able to find a use for it, so I just kept it with me.” Mu shi’s puppet nodded.

After which, it flicked its wrist, and a unique token appeared in its hand. ”After you enter the Mausoleum of Principals, head to where my body is buried and flash this token. The treasures I have hidden there should automatically appear. Those are the items I saved up over my entire life for the geniuses of the later generations to inherit.”

”Thank you, Mu shi!” Taking the token, Zhang Xuan clasped his fist and bowed respectfully.

To think of the later generations even as death approached, leaving behind his possessions and heritage for those after him to enjoy, Mu shi was indeed a true teacher through and through.

”Since you have cleared the ninth level of the Mountain of Records and received the reward, you may return now!” After saying everything it wanted to say, Mu shi’s puppet nodded in satisfaction before waving his hands.

It was reassured, knowing that the young man before it would bring the Master Teacher Academy to even greater heights.

”Farewell!” Nodding, Zhang Xuan clasped his fist and headed down.

Returning back to the eighth level, he encountered the worried School Head Mo and the others. After reassuring them that he was fine, he headed out of the Mountain of Records with them.

When they finally arrived at the bottom, Zhang Xuan couldn’t help but heave a sigh of relief.

It was fortunate that he had headed there as soon as he became the principal. Otherwise, once he made the breakthrough to Half-Saint, he would be unqualified to challenge it, and he wouldn’t have been able to obtain the Saint Ascension Decipher, thus missing the opportunity to advance his Origin Core to higher grades.

”Principal Zhang, where are you intending to go now?”

”The Cultivation Compendium,” Zhang Xuan replied.

”Cultivation Compendium?” The others were taken aback.

”Un. I intend to read through some books and study.” Zhang Xuan nodded.

With the Saint Ascension Decipher, he no longer needed the Heaven’s Path Divine Art from Chrysalis realm to Nascent Saint. Nevertheless, he still wanted to take a look and see if he could perfect it with the books there.

If he succeeded, he would be able to make breakthroughs to higher realms even without collecting the required artifacts.

”I will take you over,” School Head Mo said as he took the lead.

The Master Teacher Academy’s Cultivation Compendium was located near the Elder Hall, and it didn’t take long for the both of them to arrive there.

The Cultivation Compendium was very unlike the other buildings in the Master Teacher Academy. Despite its majestic scale, it had a rather old and traditional architecture. There was a soothing atmosphere around it that whisked away the anxiety within one.

Knowing that Principal Zhang was just going to study, School Head Zhao and the others didn’t tag along.

”Principal Zhang, this is the Cultivation Compendium. There is a total of five floors here. The bottommost floor is open to students with outstanding contribution. The second floor is open to teachers. The third floor is open to elders of the academy. The fourth floor is open only to the principal of each generation. And as for the fifth floor… other principals might be unable to enter, but you should have no problem doing so!” School Head Mo smiled.

Given that Zhang Xuan had received Supreme Jurisdiction and the Impeccable Principal’s Seal, there was not an inch of ground within the Master Teacher Academy that he couldn’t step on.

”Un.” Zhang Xuan nodded as he shot the huge building another gaze.

After which, he pushed open the door and stepped in.

After two months…

Here I finally am, Cultivation Compendium!