Library of Heaven’s Path 2: Eternal Destiny

Chapter 64: The Truth

"What, you don't even have 500 source coins?" Zhang Xuan frowned.

For him, an apology meant nothing. Money, however, was practical.

Although he was now a teacher at White Rock Academy, he hadn't received any salary yet and was still broke. If he were alone, it wouldn't matter, but now he had Dao Li to take care of, which required a considerable amount of soybeans, bran, and fine forage every day.

A great horse was not easy to maintain; his previous horse, Su Shuang, had already been costly, and Dao Li, being larger and more robust, naturally cost even more. Therefore, the more money he could get, the better.

Chen Hao, unaware of Zhang Xuan's thoughts, trembled with anger. He had thought Zhang Xuan was being kind-hearted, but now he realized it was deliberate humiliation.

Who was he? The only son of the Chen family head, a well-known genius in the academy. He had never knelt to anyone except his parents, the heavens, and his teachers. Offering to kneel and apologize was a significant concession, yet Zhang Xuan didn't feel moved. Instead, he demanded 500 source coins… Was he trying to insult him?

"Since you can't afford it, if 500 is too much, how about 300… fine, 100 source coins?" Zhang Xuan didn't know his identity, thinking he was just an ordinary student. Seeing Chen Hao's conflicted expression, Zhang Xuan assumed he couldn't afford it, so he kept lowering the amount.

"You…"

Feeling utterly humiliated, Chen Hao saw red and felt like he was about to explode with rage. Clenching his teeth, he said slowly, "You don't need to provoke me. I said I would kneel and apologize, and I will keep my word!"

He pulled away from the hand holding him, took a step back, and knelt down, "I lost and am willing to apologize to Teacher Zhang. I was wrong!"

After a loud kowtow, he stood up and walked away. The humiliation was too much; he couldn't stay there any longer.

After taking a few steps, still not far away, he heard Zhang Xuan's dissatisfied muttering, "Can't even afford 100 source coins? Young people today are so stingy."

Stumbling, Chen Hao almost spat out blood. It turned out Zhang Xuan genuinely wanted the money, not just mocking him.

If he had known, he would have just given the money and skipped the kowtow.

"Alright, today's public lecture ends here. Everyone, disperse!" Dean Lu Mingrong announced, his voice echoing across the area. Feeling relieved that the genius's identity had not been exposed and his reputation remained intact, he waved his hand dismissively.

"The dean didn't choose wrong; this Teacher Zhang is indeed skilled!"

"Skilled? He's better than most teachers and comparable to some elders. No wonder City Lord Yu insisted on his daughter becoming his disciple."

"Witnessing the birth of three top-grade furnaces, this public lecture was truly enlightening…"

The onlookers were excited, discussing fervently as they slowly dispersed.

Lu Mingrong then smiled at the young man before him, "Teacher Zhang, do you wish to continue teaching, or do you have other plans?"

"I want to buy some forage for my horse and look for some books about horses. Where can I find these?" Zhang Xuan asked.

Not knowing the meridian distribution of horses, although he used his Primordial Yellow Energy to help Dao Li ignite the furnace, the horse had only opened one meridian and could only absorb ten streams of source energy a day. It was incredibly slow…

With some free time now, he thought it was a good opportunity to find what he needed and buy some feed.

His previous horse, Su Shuang, had its spirituality awakened from a corpse, so it survived as long as the body remained intact. But now, with Dao Li, if the horse starved to death, the spirit within it would also perish. This was like a soul borrowing a body; if the revived body died again, the spirit would also disappear.

"Forage, horses?" Dean Lu was taken aback but then remembered Zhang Xuan's talent in taming beasts.

After a moment of thought, he nodded, "You can find these things at the White Roc Horse Ranch. If you want, I can accompany you there."

"No need, just tell me the location and I'll go myself," Zhang Xuan declined.

He wanted to study the horse's meridians privately and didn't want too many people to know.

Seeing his refusal, Lu Mingrong didn't mind and explained the location of the ranch in detail.

"See you, dean!"

Knowing the exact location, Zhang Xuan instructed Yu Xiaoyu, Liu Mingyue, and Hong Yi to return the next day, then headed back to his place. He mounted Dao Li and quickly rode towards the horse ranch.

Watching him leave, Dean Lu suddenly remembered something and was taken aback, "Oh no, the White Roc Horse Ranch is owned by the Chen family. Zhang Xuan just made Chen Hao kneel and apologize; won't they give him a hard time?"

"They shouldn't. This just happened, so the news probably hasn't reached them yet. Besides, Chen Hao was in the wrong, it's not Zhang Xuan's fault," Wu Yunzhou reassured him.

Lu Mingrong nodded but then his expression became serious. He turned to Yu Xiaoyu and Liu Mingyue, who hadn't left yet, "You two, and the elders, come with me to the office."

"Us?" The two girls exchanged puzzled looks.

Though they had high status from birth, they were still just students and didn't feel qualified to go to the dean's office, especially with so many elders.

"Dean, what's going on?" Wu Yunzhou also looked confused.

Hadn't the public lecture ended successfully? Was there still something unresolved?

"You'll see when we get there." Without further explanation, Lu Mingrong strode ahead. Soon, everyone was seated in the principal's office. Yu Xiaoyu and Liu Mingyue didn't dare sit, so they stood at the back of the group.

"Vice Principal Wu, elders, take a look at this first…" With all eyes on him, Lu Mingrong took out the jade bottles he had received from Chen Hao and handed them over.

"These bottles contained the ignition materials?" Wu Yunzhou smiled as he took one. He opened it and glanced inside, his pupils constricting sharply.

"Oh…"

He hurriedly took the other jade bottle, opened it, and after looking inside, his face turned pale.

"What's wrong?" Ran Qingxu and the others were baffled. "Is there something wrong with the Heaven's Fate Source Beast essence blood?"

Full of questions, they crowded around. Moments later, their eyes widened in shock.

"This… This isn't Qingguang Beast or Lingyun Beast essence blood, but… Luo Zhi Bird’s and Hanbei Turtle’s! What is going on?" Ran Qingxu couldn't hold back his astonishment.

"I don't know the specifics. We need to ask them…" Lu Mingrong exhaled and looked sharply at the two girls in the room.

Hearing this, both girls were equally stunned. Liu Mingyue turned to the beauty next to her, "You used Luo Zhi Bird essence blood?"

Yu Xiaoyu's eyes widened, "You used Hanbei Turtle essence blood?"