Library of Heaven’s Path 2: Eternal Destiny

Chapter 74: Yu Longqing’s Shock

Zhang Xuan skimmed through the few hundred books, and within just a dozen breaths, he had recorded all of them into his Library of Heaven's Path. As countless pieces of knowledge about horses flowed into his mind, he analyzed the information.

"Although these books didn’t mark out every meridian within a fine horse, they detailed dozens of them clearly enough. This should significantly improve Dao Li's ability to absorb Source Energy," Zhang Xuan thought, satisfied with the outcome.

After leaving the stables, Zhang Xuan didn’t bother to explore further and returned directly to the academy. His goals for the day—buying feed and finding books on horse anatomy—had both been achieved. Moreover, he had earned plenty of Source Coins and even gained a guest elder position. With everything settled, there was no need to stir up more trouble for now.

Back at the small courtyard, Zhang Xuan ensured that Dao Li had eaten its fill, then carefully explained the structure of its meridians. He even developed a tailored cultivation technique with the help of Heaven’s Path Nature for the horse, which he wrote down, instructing Dao Li to practice it. Once that was done, Zhang Xuan returned to his room.

Although he had reached the late stage of the Energy Storing Realm (Source Pool Level 3), he still had a long way to go to reach its peak. Moreover, his injuries had yet to fully heal, so it was time to focus on both recovery and advancement.

As he cultivated, pure Source Energy continuously flowed into his body, filling his Source Pool, expanding his meridians, and slowly increasing his strength...

...

Meanwhile, in a student dormitory not too far from Zhang Xuan’s location, a shadow appeared quietly by the window.

A light tapping sounded on the window.

"Who’s there?" a crisp voice called from inside—it was Yu Xiaoyu.

"It’s your father," the figure replied.

The door opened, and City Lord Yu Longqing entered, smiling at his daughter. "I’ve kept you waiting! Take out the Qingguang Beast blood, and I’ll help you ignite your furnace now. Don’t worry, with me here, the worst you’ll get is a top-grade furnace, nothing inferior to Mo Yanxue’s."

To his surprise, Yu Xiaoyu’s face flushed with embarrassment. "Dad, there’s no need. Teacher Zhang already helped me ignite the furnace."

Yu Longqing was taken aback. "Didn’t I instruct Adviser Liao to have you hide the Qingguang Beast blood and use the Luozhi Bird blood instead?"

Yu Xiaoyu produced a small bottle and placed it in front of her father with a wry smile. "I didn’t use the Qingguang Beast blood at all. Teacher Zhang used the Luozhi Bird blood to ignite my furnace."

Yu Longqing opened the bottle and examined it closely. Sure enough, the Qingguang Beast blood was untouched. His vision darkened. "This is bad..."

Luozhi Bird blood was one of the worst ignition materials—using it shouldn’t have been successful. The fact that it worked meant... he might have inadvertently harmed his daughter.

His fingers trembled, and his voice quavered, "You... you didn’t end up with a low-grade furnace, did you? Let me see how much Source Energy it can absorb in a day—10 streams? 15 streams? Or... 20?"

A low-grade furnace absorbed Source Energy slowly, which meant Yu Xiaoyu would need to work much harder and rely on more resources like pills and treasures to progress.

"None of those! Let me show you..." Yu Xiaoyu said, not wasting time on further explanation. She sat down cross-legged, and immediately, the surrounding Source Energy flowed into her body rapidly.

"One stream, two streams, three streams... This is like the Flowing Stream..." Yu Longqing’s eyes widened in shock. "A top-grade peak furnace that can absorb 200 streams of Source Energy per day?"

"Yes!" Yu Xiaoyu nodded. She still couldn’t believe it herself. "Teacher Zhang used the Luozhi Bird blood to ignite a top-grade peak furnace for me."

Yu Longqing was completely baffled. "How is that even possible? Tell me everything!"

Yu Xiaoyu recounted the entire day’s events, including the bet and the involvement of the low-talented student, Hong Yi.

"No matter how strong or weak someone’s talent is, to ignite a top-grade peak furnace using Luozhi Bird and Hanbei Turtle blood... Teacher Zhang’s abilities seem even greater than I imagined!" Yu Longqing clenched his fists, feeling both excited and regretful. If he hadn’t tried to be clever by suggesting the Luozhi Bird blood, but had instead provided the Qingguang Beast blood, what level of furnace might have been ignited? Imperial grade? Or even... Emperor grade?

What a wasted opportunity!

"Dad, did you know about Teacher Zhang’s abilities and that’s why you insisted I study under him?" Yu Xiaoyu asked, her suspicion growing.

"I..." Yu Longqing was at a loss for words.

‘Know? If I had known, I wouldn’t have given you the Luozhi Bird blood…’

However, he couldn’t admit that, so he sighed. "You don’t need to know the reasons. Just make sure you respect Teacher Zhang and follow his guidance closely. If you do, you’ll reap countless benefits in the future."

"Yes, Dad," Yu Xiaoyu agreed, noting the seriousness in her father’s voice.

Worried she might press further, Yu Longqing changed the subject. "You mentioned that Teacher Zhang will be teaching you the Accumulation technique tomorrow?"

"Yes," Yu Xiaoyu confirmed.

Yu Longqing thought for a moment. "Accumulation is the process of absorbing Source Energy to build up strength, an essential step for all Source Warriors. I assume he’ll teach you the academy’s standard method, the Returning Energy Accumulation Technique. It’s not a bad method, but the City Lord’s Mansion has the Five Directions Accumulation Technique, which is the best in White Roc City. It’s far superior to anything else available."

"So, tomorrow, no matter what Teacher Zhang teaches—whether it’s simple or difficult—just say you understand and that you’ve already mastered it. Then, come home in the evening, and I’ll teach you the Five Directions Accumulation Technique. The next day, when you demonstrate your progress, Teacher Zhang will surely be impressed."

"Alright!" Yu Xiaoyu agreed, though she wasn’t entirely sure of her father’s intentions. Still, given how seriously he spoke, she decided to follow his plan.

"Actually, I’ll drop by the class tomorrow as well," Yu Longqing continued. "I want to see if I can find any flaws or gaps in his teaching. If I do, I’ll explain them to you in the evening. Then, you can bring them up to Teacher Zhang the next day, as if you’ve figured them out on your own."

Yu Xiaoyu frowned. "But tomorrow’s class isn’t a public one. Teacher Zhang might not let you in."

Yu Longqing smiled confidently. "If I can’t get in, I’ll listen from outside. One way or another, I’ll find out what he’s teaching. And if all else fails, you can take notes and show them to me later!"

"Alright," Yu Xiaoyu agreed, though she remained a bit puzzled by her father’s eagerness.

While Yu Longqing and Yu Xiaoyu were making their plans, another student, Liu Mingyue, was also cultivating in her dormitory. Sitting cross-legged on her bed, she continuously absorbed Source Energy, feeling the pure power flowing through her meridians like a rushing river, gradually filling her empty Source Pool.

"Even though Teacher Zhang used Hanbei Turtle blood to ignite my furnace, it doesn’t seem any different from a furnace ignited by a Lingyun Beast!" Liu Mingyue thought, her eyes filled with confusion as she recalled the events of the day. "Could it be that Teacher Zhang isn’t the useless man I thought he was? No, that’s impossible! He was just a servant yesterday, with no cultivation at all, and we even made a bet..."

Remembering their bet at the school gate, Liu Mingyue’s anger flared. Not only had she been humiliated, but she had also lost her precious fine horse to him!

She touched her face, where the marks from the horse’s hooves had disappeared, though her skin was still red and swollen. "Dao Li, you ungrateful traitor..."

Her frustration grew as she thought about the horse, which her father, Liu Tianzheng, had painstakingly acquired from White Roc Stables at great expense. The horse, which had seen battle, cost three times as much as Mo Yanxue’s prized steed—over 300,000 Source Coins! And now, it was gone...

"If Dad finds out that the fine horse he worked so hard to get was taken by a mere auxiliary teacher, he’ll be furious..." The more Liu Mingyue thought about it, the more upset she became.

"Since that’s the case, I’ll tell Dad that the teacher forcibly took Dao Li from me. That way, he’ll cause trouble for Zhang Xuan, and maybe I’ll even get a better teacher out of it... Yes, that’s what I’ll do!"

Feeling vindicated by her plan, Liu Mingyue wasted no time calling in her groom and instructing him on what to say.

After he left, Liu Mingyue still felt unsatisfied and came up with another idea.

"Knowing my father’s temper, he’ll definitely cause a scene when he comes to the academy. If things are going to escalate anyway, why not mess with that teacher a little more as payback?"

"What’s the most frustrating thing for a teacher? It’s when their students don’t understand or learn anything, no matter how hard they try to teach! So, no matter what Zhang Xuan says tomorrow, I’ll pretend not to understand, as if I can’t learn a thing... That’ll drive him crazy!"

"Hehe! I’m so clever. That’s exactly what I’ll do!" Liu Mingyue grinned, already imagining Zhang Xuan’s face contorted with anger and frustration.

...

Meanwhile, at the Liu family estate—one of the three great families of White Roc City—the patriarch’s quarters were brightly lit.

"What did you say? Mingyue was taken as a student by a auxiliary teacher?" Liu Tianzheng, the Liu family patriarch, slammed his hand on the table, his eyes blazing with fury.

As Liu Mingyue’s father, he doted on his daughter and would do anything for her. But now, not only had Lu Mingrong refused to take her as a student, but he had allowed a mere auxiliary teacher to do so instead... Was this an insult to the Liu family?

"That’s right. Lady Mingyue has been crying every day and every night, hoping that you will stand up for her!" Wang Yuxing, who had come to deliver the news, embellished the story. "Moreover... it looks like she was beaten. When I saw her today, her face was red and swollen, with traces of blood..."

Chen Hao had instructed Wang Yuxing to make things sound as dire as possible, so he exaggerated the situation. Although it was true that Liu Mingyue’s face had been swollen earlier, the cause was a mark that vaguely resembled a circular imprint, though its origin was unclear.

"He dared to lay a hand on my daughter?" Liu Tianzheng’s anger flared. Just as he was about to ask for more details, the steward hurried in.

"Patriarch, Lady Mingyue’s groom requests an audience!"

"Didn’t he accompany Mingyue to the academy? Let him in!" Liu Tianzheng ordered.

The groom soon entered the room, immediately kneeling on the floor, and relayed Liu Mingyue’s instructions in detail. "Patriarch, Lady Mingyue was bullied, and her horse, Dao Li, was taken away by someone..."

"You’re saying that a auxiliary teacher not only forced Mingyue to become his student but also demanded Dao Li as a tribute?" If he had been skeptical of Wang Yuxing’s account, Liu Tianzheng now had no doubts. His daughter had sent someone to report the situation, confirming his worst fears.

Enraged, Liu Tianzheng’s face turned green. "A lowly auxiliary teacher, who only got into the academy through connections, dares to act so arrogantly! Tell Mingyue that I will personally go to White Rock Academy tomorrow. I’ll flip his desk over and show him that using my family to boost his reputation is nothing but a pipe dream!"

When it came to his daughter, Liu Tianzheng wouldn’t tolerate any insults or harm. If anyone mistreated his beloved child, they would face the full wrath of the Liu family.

"Understood!" The groom and Wang Yuxing nodded eagerly, their eyes gleaming with anticipation. With Liu Tianzheng this furious, they knew Zhang Xuan was in serious trouble.

...

After a night of cultivation, Zhang Xuan had fully connected all his meridians and finally reached the peak of the Energy Storing Realm. He could break through to the next level at any moment.

"It seems I need to find a cultivation technique for the Body Tempering Realm (Source Pool Level 4)... Techniques are easy to find, but the Heaven’s Fate Source Energy isn’t..." Zhang Xuan frowned.

As a teacher at the academy, he had free access to the library, where he had already come across techniques for the Body Tempering Realm, as well as the Meridian Unclogging Realm and the Organs Easing Realm. However, just reading these books wasn’t enough.

Without sufficient Heaven’s Fate Source Energy, he couldn’t record them into the Library of Heaven's Path, which meant he couldn’t generate a flawless Heaven’s Path cultivation technique. Without that, he couldn’t advance.

"I’ll have to find an opportunity today to ask Dean Lu if the Source Pool assessment is still happening. Maybe I can borrow some energy... Just borrow, I swear I won’t actually enter!" Zhang Xuan thought to himself.

Stepping out of his room, Zhang Xuan was washing up when there was a knock at the door.

A moment later, Hong Yi, the student he had taken on yesterday, entered the courtyard. "Teacher Zhang, I’ve finished cleaning the classroom. Is there anything else you need me to do? There’s still time before class, so I can help with whatever you need."

As a student who barely had the chance to become an apprentice, Hong Yi cherished this opportunity. Although Zhang Xuan was only a auxiliary teacher, the fact that he had helped Hong Yi ignite a top-grade furnace showed that his abilities were exceptional.

Grateful and respectful, Hong Yi had arrived early to clean the classroom. Now, he was eager to clean Zhang Xuan’s courtyard as well.

"I’ve already taken care of things here, so there’s no need to worry," Zhang Xuan replied, pleased with Hong Yi’s attitude. He went back to his tasks.

"Understood!" Hong Yi let out a relieved sigh and sat down on a stone bench in the courtyard. As he did, he noticed a large horse holding a mop in its mouth, diligently scrubbing the floor. The courtyard was spotless.

When the horse saw Hong Yi looking, it grinned, baring its teeth in a friendly manner.

"???" Hong Yi was stunned.

Is this what you meant by 'taking care of things,' Teacher Zhang? You’re having the horse mop the floor?