Chapter 336: Medicinal Herbs Obtained
Zhao Ya’s injury was far more severe than they expected. If not for her resilient physical constitution, she might not have even survived the journey back.
Liu Ling didn’t expect someone to end up so severely injured on a trip to the academy. Shocked, he hurriedly went up to them.
"What happened?"
"She was injured by a vile woman. Liu shi, please save her!" Zheng Yang said.
"Un!" After taking a look, Liu Ling heaved a sigh of relief. "Her zhenqi is in an erratic state having suffered violent tremors. It isn’t a serious problem, she should recover after half a month of recuperation."
"Half a month? This won’t do. She has to duel with that woman once more three days later..."
Taken aback, Zheng Yang was about to plead with Liu shi to do something about the matter when the latter waved his hands and clasped his fist toward Yang shi, "This is your grandteacher, Yang shi. Hurry up and greet him!"
"Grandteacher?"
"Yang shi?"
Only at this moment did Zheng Yang and the others notice the middle-aged man who was sitting at the center of the room.
Yang shi was a man who had produced innumerable miracles in Tianxuan Kingdom. But more important than that, their teacher was his direct disciple.
They had heard of the other party’s legends, but they never had the chance to meet him.
Upon hearing Liu shi’s words, they trembled in shock, hurriedly kneeled on the floor, and bowed deeply.
"Grandstudent Zhao Ya (Zheng Yang, Wang Ying, Liu Yang, Yuan Tao) pays respect to grandteacher!"
"Un!"
Zhang Xuan nodded his head. Then, with a frown, he turned to Zhao Ya and said, "What’s wrong?"
He didn’t expect that someone would actually dare to beat up Zhao Ya when he had barely left for just a single day. Who in the world had such guts so as to lay their hands on his student?
"Reporting to grandteacher, my injuries are a result of a loss to another in a fair duel. It’s only due to my lacking cultivation that such a situation arose!" Zhao Ya explained.
"A fair duel?" Zhang Xuan frowned.
If she lost in a fair duel, it could only mean to say that she was lacking as compared to the other party. Even as her teacher, it wasn’t appropriate for him to stand up for her such a situation.
"Come over!" Zhang Xuan beckoned.
"Yes!" Zhao Ya walked forward.
Placing his finger on the other party’s pulse, he sent a surge of pure zhenqi through the latter’s body via her meridians.
Pilipala!
Under the nourishment of the Heaven’s Path zhenqi, Zhao Ya’s erratic zhenqi gradually calmed down, and her wounds healed at a speed visible to the eye.
"Thank you grandteacher for treating me!" Feeling strength returning to her body, Zhao Ya’s eyes gleamed in excitement.
Their grandteacher was indeed as incredible as the rumors put him out to be. With such a casual action, not only did the other party manage to heal her injuries, he seemed to have triggered her cultivation as well. At the current moment, Zhao Ya suddenly felt that an urge to achieve a breakthrough.
"Incredible!"
Upon seeing this sight, Liu Ling’s admiration toward Yang shi soared once more.
He could tell that Zhao Ya’s injury was a result of her forcefully tapping into her strength, overexerting herself, thus resulting in a backlash. Her internal organs had been jolted, and her zhenqi had been dissipated forcefully. It wasn’t really a huge matter, but it would take at least half a month for her to recover fully.
Yet, Yang shi managed to heal her completely just by placing a finger on her pulse for a few breaths. His means were truly unfathomable. If not for witnessing the sight personally, he would have never thought of this to be possible.
"What do you mean by dueling with someone else three days later?"
After waving his hands to show that it wasn’t a huge matter, Zhang Xuan suddenly recalled Zheng Yang’s words and frowned.
What was with these little fellows? Why were they always pitting themselves against others, arranging duels even?
"Reporting to grandteacher, we were outside strolling when we heard a woman publicly sullying the reputation of our teacher. Unable to tolerate it, Zhao Ya stepped forth and challenged her to a duel to uphold our teacher’s honor. Who could have known that the other party wasn’t weak, and Zhao Ya was eventually beaten into such a state!"
Before Zhao Ya could reply, Yuan Tao had already opened his mouth.
Upon hearing his words, the crowd was taken aback.
Most master teachers detested seeing their own students causing trouble.
Picking a fight with another was already a folly in itself. Yet, they were still unwilling to admit their mistakes and even complained so brazenly. Zhang shi might still be willing to overlook it, but to utter such words before a master teacher whose rank was likely to have exceeded 3-star... There was no doubt that the other party would be displeased. In the worst case scenario, Zhang shi might even suffer a severe reprimand from the latter...
Knowing this, everyone rolled their eyes at Yuan Tao. They were all nervous that Yang shi would get angry.
"Sullying the reputation of your teacher?"
Yang shi’s eyebrows shot up, "Not bad, a student should indeed uphold the honor of his teacher. You all did well!"
"Did well?"
They thought that they would have to suffer a severe lashing, but Yang shi ended up praising them instead. Everyone was stunned, and even Liu shi couldn’t help but stagger.
Did this mean that he was encouraging them to fight with others?
The ideology that this teacher of his had was... way too extreme, wasn’t it!
"However, it is shameful to get beaten up when you were the one who challenged the other party to a duel!" Zhang Xuan harrumphed.
"Actually... Zhao Ya didn’t lose out to her in terms of cultivation. It was just that the other party’s battle techniques were too strong..." Zheng Yang hesitated for a moment before speaking.
In truth, the other party won only due to her superior battle techniques.
Tianwu Kingdom was a Tier 1 Kingdom whereas Tianxuan Kingdom was an Unranked Kingdom. Given their different ranks, there was a world of difference in the battle techniques available in the two kingdoms as well.
It was already an incredible feat for Zhao Ya to withstand the other party’s moves for so long.
"Battle techniques?"
Only at this moment did Zhang Xuan recall that he had never imparted Zhao Ya any battle technique before.
He had imparted Wang Ying the Heaven’s Path Leg Art and Heaven’s Path Movement Art, Zheng Yang the Heaven’s Path Spear Art, and Liu Yang the Heaven’s Path Fist Art. After awakening the unique constitutions of Yuan Tao and Zhao Ya, he didn’t impart them any battle technique. It was no wonder why they would suffer a huge disadvantage when battling others.
"Since your teacher is currently taking the 2-star master teacher examination, I will impart you a battle technique on his behalf. Are you willing to learn it?"
Thus, Zhang Xuan turned to the lady before him and asked.
"I am willing!" Hearing that grandteacher was going to impart her a battle technique personally. Zhao Ya hurriedly clasped her fist and bowed.
What a joke! This was the teacher of her teacher! The battle technique he was going to impart her was definitely incredibly profound.
"Since you’ve been using a sword since young, I’ll impart you a sword art!"
After contemplating for a moment, Zhang Xuan said.
"However, my sword art is sharp. You’ve just gotten injured so it’s not suitable for you to cultivate for the time being. You should just rest for today, I’ll impart the sword art to you tomorrow!"
Even though Zhao Ya had learned some kicking and punching battle techniques, those weren’t her expertise. Her true specialty lies in swordsmanship instead, which she had been learning from young. Thus, she would be most suited to learn a sword art.
"Yes!" Zhao Ya nodded.
She had just gotten injured, and she was indeed not in a good condition to be learning a formidable sword art at the moment. Only when in her top condition would she be able to learn better and bring out greater might from the sword art.
"Alright, you should rest for now. Sun Qiang, send someone to the Master Teacher Pavilion to get Jiang Shu over. Tell him that I have something I need him for!"
After dealing with Zhao Ya’s matter, Zhang Xuan waved his hands and dismissed them.
He had browsed through many books in the Master Teacher Pavilion, and there were a substantial number of them on swordsmanship. However, those techniques were rather profound, and it might be difficult for Zhao Ya to master them if he were to impart them straight. Thus, Zhang Xuan decided to learn them for himself and test their might before modifying it to suit her.
If he didn’t attempt to comprehend every aspect of the sword art before imparting them to Zhao Ya, it might affect her fundamentals, thus causing potential problems in the future.
Sun Qiang moved swiftly and in less than an hour, Pavilion Master Jiang was already before him.
Looking at Yang shi, who was seated at the main seat in the hall, he excitedly kneeled down and bowed, "Jiang Shu pays respect to teacher!"
Not only did the person before him help him to tame a powerful savage beast, the other party even imparted him a cultivation technique to clear away the trauma in his body. As such, he was filled with gratitude for the other party.
"There are two medicinal herbs that I need, Goldleaf Spark Twig and Nine Worms Flower. Do you have them?"
Cutting straight to the point, Zhang Xuan asked impassively.
"Goldleaf Spark Twig and Nine Worms Flower? I do happen to have them!"
With a flick of his wrist, two medicinal herbs appeared on Jiang Shu’s palm. These were the medicinal herbs that Zhang Xuan was looking for.
"Un!" Taking the medicinal herbs, Zhang Xuan waved his hands. "I won’t take advantage of you. How much do these two medicinal herbs cost? I’ll have Sun Qiang pass you the money later on!"
"I am heavily indebted to teacher. It’s just two medicinal herbs, please treat it as a filial gesture of mine..."
Jiang Shu hurriedly said.
Without Yang shi’s cultivation technique, it was just a matter of time before his trauma acted up. His life would have been constantly at risk. But now, not only did he manage to tame a powerful savage beast, he even managed to clear up his trauma. For this, he would be willing to even run through a mountain of flames for the other party! In comparison to that, two medicinal herbs were truly nothing.
It was this kind of earnest gratitude that induced the formation of a golden page in the Library of Heaven’s Path.
"Fate brought us together, that is the only reason why I helped you. I won’t take advantage of you." Zhang Xuan frowned. With an imposing tone, he said, "I will pay you however much the cost!"
Seeing his teacher insist on the payment, Jiang Shu was impressed.
Did you see that?
This is the true magnanimity of a master teacher.
It was impossible for one to not respect him.
"Yes!" Nodding his head, Jiang Shu rummaged through his memory before replying, "I got these two medicinal herbs from the Great Herb King back then. As both of their maturity exceeds a hundred years, they are worth a total of twenty million gold coins!"
"Twenty million... cough cough!"
Zhang Xuan had intended to pass the money to the other party grandly, but upon hearing those words, he nearly coughed blood and fainted.
Twenty million gold coin?
The heck!
Even if he were to sell himself, he wouldn’t be able to earn this sum of money!
He thought that it would just be a few million gold coins, that was why he offered to pay for it so generously. Never in his dreams did he expect these two medicinal herbs to be even more expensive than all of the other herbs added up together.
What the hell could these herbs be to cost so much money...
All he wanted to do was to accept a student, raise his strength, and earn his trust. To think that just doing so would result in his bankruptcy...
This was way too darned!
"Money is just material possession. As a master teacher, thinking about money all day long... will affect your mental resilience!"
With a reddened face, Zhang Xuan waved his hands grandly.
"..."
Jiang Shu was baffled.
I said that there was no need to pay but you insisted on it. So why are you saying that thinking about money will affect one’s mental resilience now?
Seeing the bizarre expression on the other party’s face, Zhang Xuan coughed awkwardly. Waving his hands casually, he said, "You should condition yourself well for the next few days. I’ll find some time to help you achieve a breakthrough in your cultivation... Treat it as the payment for these two medicinal herbs!"
He had promised the other party to pay him, only to realize that he had insufficient money. As the unfathomable expert Yang shi, he couldn’t afford to lose his reputation over such a minor matter. Thus, he could only promise the other party some other benefits.
"Help me achieve a breakthrough?"
Just as Jiang Shu was curious as to why his teacher would have such a sudden change in attitude, he heard those words and his excitement then instantaneously erased all doubts that were on his mind. He hurriedly kneeled to the floor and kowtowed.
"Thank you, teacher..."
He had been stuck in Zongshi realm pinnacle for many years. If he could achieve a breakthrough and reach Half-Zhizun, his lifespan and strength would be increased significantly.
"You can leave now!"
Having collected all of the medicinal herbs, Zhang Xuan was anxious to return to the academy. Thus, he bided everyone farewell.
"I still have matters to attend to so I’ll be leaving first. I’ll come by once more tomorrow!"
Saying so, Zhang Xuan stepped out of the residence.
After leaving the residence, he walked into an isolated alley. Looking around to ensure that there was no one around, he reverted back to the appearance of Liu laoshi and headed straight back to Tianwu Academy.
The residence that Bai Chan acquired was right between the Master Teacher Pavilion and Tianwu Academy. Thus, it didn’t take him too long to return back to his classroom.
However, before he could enter the classroom, Meng Tao rushed up to him and said in a fluster, "Teacher, you’re back. Please save senior! She’s... injured!"
"Mu Xueqing is injured?"
Zhang Xuan was taken aback.