Library of Heaven’s Path

Guild Leader Liao was initially certain that Zhang Xuan’s medical skills would be way beneath his, but at this moment, he realized that he was nothing more than a firefly standing before the radiant sun.

Their skills were not even in the same league!

“Does this mean that I have earned the right to use the Great Displacement Teleportation Formation now?” Zhang Xuan asked.

“Of course! There are still some procedures that must be cleared; I’ll have to report this matter upward first. However, you should be able to receive your token by this afternoon at the latest,” Guild Leader Liao said.

Even though Zhang Xuan had already met the criteria, there was still a need to report this matter to the other Skies and have a token forged specifically for him before he could use the Great Displacement Teleportation Formation.

“I understand.”

He had already been in this city for quite a few days; he did not mind waiting for another half a day. So, he bade farewell and left the residence together with Qi Ling-er.

Shortly after they left, the room fell silent.

Guild Leader Liao could not help but ask, “Ao Hua, did he really manage to defeat you with the prowess of his physical body?”

“Yes, that’s indeed what happened,” Ao Hua replied.

The resilience of his physical body surpasses yours, his skills in pill forging have won Fu Jiangchen’s praise, and his mastery in the Way of Medicine has reached an unfathomable level that even I am unable to see through. The world sure has many amazing individuals!” Guild Leader Liao remarked deeply.

He had thought that he would be able to ravage Drifting Specter Royal City’s Physician Guild and catapult the reputation of Cloud Dragon Royal City’s Physician Guild to new heights. Yet, who could have known that he would suffer such a tragic defeat before he could even encounter the lot from Drifting Specter Royal City’s Physician Guild?

If even he was not a match for Zhang Xuan, it was likely to be even more so for the rest.

“Let’s go back!” Guild Leader Liao instructed with a deep sigh of helplessness.

“What about the Physician Tournament with Drifting Specter Royal City’s Physician Guild?”

“As long as Physician Zhang is a citizen of the Sky of Drifting Specter, even if we defeat Drifting Specter Royal City’s Physician Guild, we still won’t be able to establish our dominance over them. There’s no point in going ahead with it,”

Guild Leader Liao replied.

As long as Zhang Xuan existed, they would never be able to claim that their physicians were superior to those of the Sky of Drifting Specters. Their goal in going there was to buff up their reputation, but since it was not going to work out, there was no point in it anymore.

It would just be a waste of effort and time.

“Alright then…”

Understanding where Guild Leader Liao was coming from, the other physicians nodded in agreement.

In Drifting Specter Royal City’s Physician Guild…

“Congratulations, Physician Zhao Chong!”

After a few rounds of selections, the candidate that was chosen to represent them was Physician Zhao Chong!

While his reputation was not as sound as the other candidates, there was no questioning that his medical skills were amazing. The set of medical maneuvers he performed during the selection phase had really astounded the crowd.

“Of course, Physician Zhao Chong is the real deal. He isn’t someone whom the likes of an apothecary can compete with!”

“Are you referring to Zhang Xuan? Hehe. I admit that he’s indeed a prodigy when it comes to pill forging, but medicine? Hah! He still has a long way to go!”

“Each occupation has its own challenges to surmount. It’s lucky that we turned him away, or else I would have cringed each time he made a mistake!”

Seeing Zhao Chong’s amazing performance, the crowd could not help but think of the conceited young man from earlier, and they could not help but burst into laughter.

So what if the young man was good at forging pills? Physicians did not compete on the grounds of pill forging!

If they had really allowed an apothecary to represent them, others would mock their Physician Guild for being so desperate as to send even those of the other occupations forward!

At this moment, a middle-aged man suddenly rushed into the room.

“What’s wrong?” Guild Leader Sun Xuan asked with a frown.

The physicians of the Sky of Cloud Dragon have left!”

They’ve left? What do you mean by that? Are they going to forfeit the challenge?” Guild Leader Sun Xuan was taken aback.

The opponent had arrived with the intention of using them as stepping stones, so why were they backing out before the battle even began?

“They said that since their skills are lacking, it’s meaningless to proceed with the challenge. So, they decided to leave,” the middle-aged man exclaimed.

Their skills are lacking? What do they mean by that?”

Everyone was stunned.

They had not faced each other yet!

Why would the opponent suddenly come to such a conclusion?

“According to what I heard, it seems like a physician from our Sky of Drifting Specter went to their accommodation and defeated Guild Leader Liao with ease. They were awed by the proficiency he displayed in the Way of Medicine, so they decided to admit defeat!” The middle-aged man revealed what he had heard thus far.

“Someone challenged Guild Leader Liao and won against him?”

“Are you serious? Guild Leader Liao’s medical skills are known to be at the forefront of the Nine Skies!”

“Indeed! He’s the person who I look up to the most, you know!”

“Wait a moment! Who defeated Guild Leader Liao?”

Everyone stared at one another blankly before a physician spoke up in bewilderment. “All of the physicians registered in Royal City are here at the moment, and none of us have left here since a while ago. It doesn’t make sense. Are we missing someone here?”

“I was confused as well so I asked them about it earlier, and it seems like the physician’s name is… Zhang Xuan!” the middle-aged man exclaimed.

“Zhang Xuan?”

“The person whom we just drove away… Apothecary Zhang?”

“Are you sure? That’s a physician who was able to defeat the great Guild Leader Liao! I find it hard to believe that Apothecary Zhang wields such capability…”

“Could you have heard wrong somehow?”

The crowd was dumbstruck. Recalling how they had driven the young man out earlier, their faces turned so red that it looked as if someone had given them a few firm slaps.

It was not too long ago that they mocked the apothecary for wanting to participate in their selections, but who would have thought that the apothecary was even more skilled than the highly respected Guild Leader Liao?

Guild Leader Sun Xuan’s lips twitched in shock.

At this moment, he wanted to just burrow his way into the ground so that he would not have to feel so awkward and embarrassed.

Oblivious to the mental breakdown that Drifting Specter Royal City’s Physician Guild was going through at the moment, Zhang Xuan looked at the token on the table before him before raising his head to ask, “Is this the token to use the Great Displacement Teleportation Formation?”

Just a few minutes prior, Guild Leader Liao had arrived personally to pass the token to him.

The token was roughly the size of an infant’s fist, and there were some inscriptions carved on it. Vaguely, one could feel a powerful will lingering within the token, inducing deference in the depths of one’s soul.

“This is a token carved personally by a God Monarch. It has the power to withstand the spatial turbulence caused by the Great Displacement Teleportation Formation,” Qi Ling-er explained as she looked at the token in envy.

Even though she was a core member of the Qi Clan and had great power in her grasp, she still was not qualified to possess such a token.

This token would allow one to travel from one Sky to another in a matter of seconds. As long as one had enough money, one could easily tour around the Nine Skies without any trouble.

Zhang Xuan nodded silently in response.

He could also tell that the inscriptions on the token were imbued with extraordinary power that was even greater than what he had felt from Conferred God King Qi Meng.

“Alright. I’ll leave you to continue handling the sales of the Beauty Pill and Breakthrough Pill. Remember, my aim is to create as much hype around the pills as possible. Other than that, I hope that you can also help look after my parents and Sun Qiang. If there’s anything that they require for their cultivation, try to meet their demands,” Zhang Xuan instructed.

As he would be venturing into the foreign Sky of Spirit Origin, it was likely that he could encounter some danger there. So, he had chosen not to take his parents along with him.

After the Xingmeng Sword Saints received the guidance from the experts of the Sword Hut, their comprehension of swordsmanship had become significantly deeper. This had a synergistic effect on their cultivation, allowing them to grow swiftly.

On top of that, Zhang Xuan was providing them with all the cultivation resources they needed. They were gobbling down the invaluable and much sought-after Beauty Pills and Breakthrough Pills as if they were cheap candy balls.

Due to that, they had managed to raise their cultivation to low-tier Celestial God!

At this rate, it would not take them too long to reach high-tier Celestial God.

After making arrangements, Zhang Xuan swiftly confirmed the location the Great Displacement Teleportation Formation before riding an aerial celestial beast over.

As long as the Qi Clan thought that he was a God Monarch, they would surely do everything within their means to protect his parents and Sun Qiang, so they should be relatively safe in Drifting Specter Royal City.

But their safety would no longer be guaranteed once they ventured beyond the city walls.

The lucrative market created by the arrival of the Breakthrough Pill and Beauty Pill had stirred the greed in the hearts of many powers. Most of these powers did not dare make a move in Drifting Specter Royal City out of fear of the Qi Clan, but once they left the protection of the Qi Clan, there was no doubt that those powers would make use of the opportunity to strike.

In fact, he felt that his journey to the Great Displacement Teleportation Formation and teleporting straight over to the Sky of Spirit Origin might not be as smooth as he would like.

Sitting on the aerial celestial beast, Zhang Xuan closed his eyes and began conditioning his current state.

As a symbol of neutrality, the Great Displacement Teleportation Formation was not located within Royal City but at the top of a mountain several hundred li away.

So, if one wanted to use the Teleportation Formation, one had to leave Royal City. This meant that there was a good chance that Zhang Xuan could be assaulted by another person while traveling to the Teleportation Formation.

As the person who knew the pill formulas of the Breakthrough Pill and Beauty Pill, there were probably many who viewed him as a fountain of wealth. Anyone who could capture him would gain the key to endless fortune.

There are still fifteen minutes before I finally leave the city, Zhang Xuan thought. I guess I should use this time to work on my Celestial God realm sword art…

It had not been too long since he became a Celestial God, and all this while, he had been too preoccupied with other matters and ended up neglecting his sword art. Since he had some time on hand, it would be good for him to work on it.

He noticed that in order to grasp the sword art of the Pathos of Heaven, he would have to immerse himself in the environment of the Firmament.

If he channeled his consciousness into the isolated Great Codex of Spring and Autumn, even though he would be able to enjoy the benefits of a time acceleration of ten thousand times, it would not help him in his comprehension at all. “The first level of the Pathos of Heaven is Bond of Allegiance, and the sword art is A Heart of Intertwined Threads.

“The second level of the Pathos of Heaven is Camaraderie of Brothers, and the sword art is Unyielding Loyalty.

“The third level is Ties of Teacher and Student.”

The cultivation techniques and sword arts that Zhang Xuan had comprehended from the Pathos of Heaven revolved in his mind, drifting quietly.

Like a painting, they slowly unfurled to reveal a grand picture that depicted his journey thus far.

Some of the times were exciting, and some of the times were sweet. Some of the times were horrifying, and some of the times were heart-wrenching…

It was a picture filled with all sorts of flavors and sentiments, and these were what made him what he was.

Passion and affection, these were emotions.

Hatred and abhorrence, these were also emotions.

Happiness and pain, these were emotions, too.

There were no sentient beings in the world that could escape their emotions, and if the world was devoid of sentience, the heavens would have no reason to exist.

It was as if emotions were the bane of the heavens. They hindered the rationality of the heavens, but they were a natural part of the world as well.

Perhaps emotions could be viewed as an even higher force. The heavens could be destroyed, but emotions would continue to exist as long as life persisted.

A teacher and a student were two people who would be otherwise strangers if not for the bond of mentorship. This bond signified the continuation of one’s knowledge, wisdom, and values, binding the two people tightly together.

It appeared to be a transient relationship bound by nothing more than societal values, but it could become strong enough to rival the bond of kinship…

“I see…”

Zhang Xuan’s heart quivered as an emotion surged. Just as he was about to execute the sword art, he felt goosebumps rising all over his body.

Without any hesitation, he leaped off his aerial celestial beast.

Peng!

The next instant, the aerial celestial beast that he had been riding on suddenly burst apart, and Zhang Xuan was left plummeting from the sky.