Library of Heaven’s Path 2: Eternal Destiny

Chapter 75: A Real Lesson

Having attended yesterday’s public lecture, Hong Yi had already heard that the teacher in front of him was recruited for his expertise in taming beasts. He initially thought "expertise" meant just taming horses to make them obedient, but he never imagined it would be to this extent!

Seeing the horse cleaning the courtyard and mopping the floor left him stunned, unable to believe his eyes. It was a complete reversal of what he understood.

As he remained in shock, he saw that the teacher had finished washing up and was now looking at the horse mopping the floor. "Have you prepared breakfast?" Zhang Xuan asked.

"Neigh~" Dao Li quickly nodded, put down the mop, and trotted off to the kitchen. Moments later, it came out holding a plate with a few pieces of roasted meat.

"..." Hong Yi was dumbfounded.

He had heard that his teacher used to be a groom who served horses, but it seemed the situation was reversed. Wasn’t it more like this horse was acting as the “human,” specifically serving the teacher? How else could it be so skilled at cleaning and cooking?

While he was still processing this shocking scene, he heard Zhang Xuan’s displeased voice, "Didn’t I tell you to use less salt? How could you make it so salty again? How am I supposed to eat this? And have you ever seen anyone eating roasted meat so early in the morning? Tomorrow, make some stir-fried vegetables. I’ll leave you a recipe in advance..."

"Neigh, neigh~" Dao Li nodded repeatedly, looking sincerely eager to learn.

"Ah, okay!" Hong Yi replied, still dazed as he followed Zhang Xuan out of the courtyard. He couldn’t help but wonder if everything he had just experienced was real.

However, after the initial shock passed, a strong sense of joy replaced it. Initially, he thought he was just lucky to have found a teacher who would guide him to gain more knowledge and quickly become stronger. But now, he realized that yesterday’s seemingly small opportunity was the beginning of something much bigger!

This teacher was not only extraordinary, but there was also a good chance that he was a hidden master! Perhaps, to avoid attracting attention, he deliberately disguised himself as a mere groom...

Otherwise, why would the City Lord push his own daughter to study under him, and why would the dean go out of his way to support him, even breaking the rules?

Hong Yi made up his mind to cherish this opportunity and not let it slip away.

Because it wasn’t a public lecture, the classroom was quiet, with no curious onlookers outside. When they entered, the classroom had been cleaned and looked brand new.

"Teacher Zhang!"

Yu Xiaoyu and Liu Mingyue had already arrived and stood up as Zhang Xuan entered.

Zhang Xuan nodded in satisfaction. "Since you have all successfully ignited your furnaces, today I will teach you how to cultivate in the Energy Storing Realm. But first, each of you should perform a set of boxing techniques, so I can assess your strength and better understand your true capabilities."

"Boxing techniques?" The three students exchanged confused glances.

"By seeing your power in action, I can better understand your level and tailor my teaching to your needs," Zhang Xuan explained.

Yu Xiaoyu and Liu Mingyue were enlightened, especially the latter, who showed a hint of doubt. This kind of approach was something their previous teachers never used. Could it be that this "auxiliary teacher" really had some skills?

"I’ll go first!" Liu Mingyue stepped forward, her voice clear.

Her punches were powerful, accompanied by strong gusts of wind. As the daughter of the Liu family patriarch, each of her moves was precise and full of strength. Even without using the Library of Heaven’s Path, it was clear that her foundation was solid.

Zhang Xuan focused his mind, and a book appeared in his consciousness.

"Liu Mingyue, daughter of Liu Tianzheng, the Liu family patriarch in White Roc City. Early stage of the Energy Storing Realm."

"Cultivation Technique: Frost Thousand-Seeking Technique."

...

"Flaws: Thirty-one in total. The first flaw is a sensitive nature prone to overthinking, yet practicing a rigid and structured technique that suppresses her natural disposition, leading to low enthusiasm for cultivation. The second flaw is..."

The book was filled with detailed flaws, related to both her personality and the errors in her understanding of her cultivation.

After reading through this information, Zhang Xuan gently grasped the knowledge, and dozens of books formed by Heaven’s Fate Source Energy burned within him. The next moment, a small, naked figure resembling Liu Mingyue appeared, sitting cross-legged nearby. Soon after, a series of cultivation paths flashed continuously.

Heaven’s Path Order was deducing techniques.

In the blink of an eye, a book without a title appeared in Zhang Xuan’s hand—it was the most suitable Energy Storing Realm cultivation technique for Liu Mingyue.

Although it hadn’t reached the level of Heaven’s Path, it was still one of the top techniques.

Returning from his mental library, Zhang Xuan saw that Liu Mingyue had just finished her last move and was preparing to test her strength on the apparatus.

Buzz!

The apparatus buzzed softly, and a number appeared: 0.4.

"Not bad..." Zhang Xuan nodded.

The number indicated horsepower—a unit representing the full strength of a mature horse. A typical, untrained adult man generally had about 0.15 horsepower, while a woman might have around 0.1. Liu Mingyue, despite being only in the early stage of the Energy Storing Realm, had already achieved 0.4 horsepower, nearly three times that of an average man. Though she seemed prone to crying, her foundation was undeniably strong, and her talent was high.

After Liu Mingyue finished, Hong Yi stepped forward.

His punches were visibly less refined, and his score was only 0.2 horsepower, slightly above the strength of an average person. This was after lighting a top-grade furnace and cultivating for a night; otherwise, the difference would have been even greater.

Quickly, the Heaven’s Path Order deduced a suitable technique for Hong Yi as well.

Finally, after the first two had finished, Yu Xiaoyu stepped up, her bells jingling as she moved gracefully to the front of the class.

"Teacher... I’m ready!" she announced just as she noticed Zhang Xuan frowning and seemingly lost in thought. Hesitant, she asked, "Should I proceed?"

"Yes, go ahead!" Zhang Xuan waved his hand, though there was a trace of helplessness in his eyes.

Since yesterday, he had consumed all the Heaven’s Fate Source Energy in the Library of Heaven's Path while forming Heaven’s Path techniques and finding flaws in the wild horses he tamed. Now, he had no energy left—not even to create a single book. This meant that even if Yu Xiaoyu demonstrated her boxing techniques and continued her cultivation, no new books with her flaws would be generated. Without those, how could he teach her effectively?

He couldn’t exactly teach two of the students today and tell the third to wait until tomorrow! But without a suitable technique tailored to her needs, teaching carelessly could lead to problems, especially given the dense and potent Source Energy involved, which was far more powerful than the spiritual energy he was used to.

For a moment, Zhang Xuan wasn’t sure what to do.

...

Outside White Rock Academy, Chen Hao and his two lackeys, Zhou Qingkai and Wang Yuxing, were waiting early in the morning.

As time passed with no sign of anyone arriving, Chen Hao grew impatient. "We’re running out of time. I’ll go intercept that auxiliary teacher and find a way to force him to make today’s lesson public. You two wait here for my father and the Liu patriarch. As soon as they arrive, bring them over immediately and help me expose his lies in front of everyone!"

Zhou Qingkai and Wang Yuxing bowed. "Understood!"

Inside the classroom, as Zhang Xuan was lost in thought, Yu Xiaoyu finished her routine, and the apparatus buzzed again, showing her score: 0.42.

It was slightly higher than Liu Mingyue’s, which left the latter surprised and a bit disgruntled.

Without Heaven’s Fate Source Energy, Zhang Xuan couldn’t generate books, but as a Master Teacher with the Insight Eye, he could still discern most of the issues in their cultivation. However, deducing a suitable technique without Heaven’s Fate Source Energy was beyond his current ability.

He compared the techniques generated for Liu Mingyue and Hong Yi. The former’s was more refined, while the latter’s was more basic.

If Hong Yi was an average student, then Liu Mingyue was like an Olympiad participant. Therefore, even when teaching the same subject, the content had to be differentiated. Otherwise, the material would either be too difficult for some or a waste of time for others.

"Since I’m not yet clear on Yu Xiaoyu’s situation, today I’ll teach them the basic knowledge and methods for refining their meridians. Tomorrow, once I find some Heaven’s Fate Source Energy and generate the corresponding techniques, I’ll teach them individually," Zhang Xuan thought, having made up his mind. He looked up at the three students. "I now have a good understanding of each of your situations. Let’s begin your Energy Storing Realm training."

"Yes, Teacher!" the three students responded, sitting attentively, eager to learn.

Zhang Xuan nodded in approval of their attitude and began explaining. "The Energy Storing Realm is the process of gathering strength. The pure Source Energy refined by your furnace is stored in your Source Pool and used to temper your meridians, laying the foundation for the Body Tempering Realm..."

He explained that while the speed of refining Source Energy depended on the quality of their furnaces, the effectiveness of meridian tempering was closely related to the cultivation technique used. A technique that suited one’s constitution would yield twice the result with half the effort, allowing the practitioner to quickly complete the accumulation and progress to the Body Tempering Realm. In contrast, an unsuitable technique would lead to slow progress, akin to being stuck in a quagmire.

"I will now explain some basic methods for refining your meridians. You should test your own meridian limits, and when you reach them, let me know so I can create a personalized technique for you," Zhang Xuan instructed.

"Personalized technique?" Liu Mingyue and Yu Xiaoyu exchanged glances, both startled. "Does that mean the teacher won’t be teaching us the academy’s Returning Energy Accumulation Technique?"

Zhang Xuan shook his head. "That technique has too many flaws. How could it be worthy of my students?"

Although these students weren’t his direct disciples, Zhang Xuan, as a Master Teacher, took his responsibility seriously. He would never allow his students to learn something flawed, even if it meant more work for him. A teacher must never mislead their students!

Without further explanation, Zhang Xuan continued, "Let’s begin with the basics. The Source Energy refined by your furnace is much more docile, but the human meridians are delicate and often blocked, like channels clogged with silt. Refining the meridians is essentially a process of clearing out this silt..."

"If the silt is forcibly pushed through, it can cause a blockage, hindering future progress. Therefore, I advocate for three things to do and three things not to do..."

"First, control the energy as a thin thread, guiding it through the blocked areas..."

Zhang Xuan quickly and thoroughly explained the foundational techniques of the Energy Storing Realm that had been derived in the Library of Heaven’s Path.

Liu Mingyue and Yu Xiaoyu were both astonished.

As daughters of noble families, although they hadn’t yet cultivated the Energy Storing Realm techniques, they had been exposed to such knowledge before. This was the first time they had heard such a detailed and logical explanation.

"It must be something he’s made up to fool us!" Liu Mingyue scoffed inwardly, her eyes showing a hint of disdain. "What could a auxiliary teacher possibly know?"

However, this thought didn’t last long before doubt crept in. "Some of what he said actually makes sense... I guess I’ll try it secretly and see how it works. But I’ll still pretend not to understand anything to frustrate him!"

With this in mind, Liu Mingyue raised her chin defiantly, feigning a confused expression while secretly following Zhang Xuan’s instructions.

She began by guiding the refined Source Energy along a meridian near her Source Pool, the first place where Source Warriors typically start tempering. According to the usual method, the practitioner would control the Source Energy to repeatedly flush through the narrow channel, much like forcing water through a clogged pipe to clear it.

However, Zhang Xuan’s method involved controlling the Source Energy as a fine thread, guiding it gently through the meridian to first identify the areas where the silt had accumulated. Once these were mapped out, a specific technique could be used to clear each blockage.

Following Zhang Xuan’s method, Liu Mingyue quickly identified all the blockages in her meridian—three distinct types, just as Zhang Xuan had described. She then applied his technique to clear one of the blockages.

Boom!

The meridian vibrated slightly, and the blockage was cleared instantly. The previously weak meridian now felt much stronger.

"His method seems to work... but it’s just clearing blockages. It shouldn’t be that significant!" Liu Mingyue was shocked that Zhang Xuan’s method had actually worked but quickly dismissed its importance.

Although she knew about various cultivation methods, she had never practiced them herself. This meant her knowledge was theoretical, without practical experience. Since Zhang Xuan’s technique had cleared the blockage so easily, she assumed other methods would be just as effective.

But it didn’t matter—she would clear her meridians first and deal with the rest later. Even if Zhang Xuan’s technique was useful, she planned to act as if she didn’t understand a thing. What could he do about it?

With that in mind, Liu Mingyue continued to act confused while diligently following Zhang Xuan’s instructions, playing both sides.

Yu Xiaoyu, on the other hand, was feeling conflicted.

Although she didn’t know much about Energy Storing Realm techniques, her upbringing in the City Lord’s Mansion had given her a strong ability to discern quality. It seemed that Zhang Xuan’s method was indeed superior to the Returning Energy Accumulation Technique. However, she wasn’t sure if it could compare to the Five Directions Accumulation Technique her father had mentioned.

"It probably can’t. My father said that the Five Directions Accumulation Technique is the most advanced technique in White Roc City, unmatched by any other. Since that’s the case, I won’t bother with this method," Yu Xiaoyu concluded.

She decided to wait until her father taught her the superior technique, thinking there was no need to learn a weaker one only to switch later. So, she pretended to understand while quietly deciding not to practice what Zhang Xuan taught.