Chapter 201: The Test

"Reporting to Teacher Tian, this is Zhang Xuan, an outstanding young teacher from Hongtian Academy." Liu Ling introduced.

Although Old Tian no longer taught him, he still habitually addressed him as teacher.

A teacher for a day is a father for a lifetime.

In this world, the dignity of the teaching profession was extremely strict; even famous teachers dared not violate it.

"Zhang Xuan?" Old Tian shook his head, his face calm and unruffled, with a hint of doubt: "Isn't the outstanding teacher of Hongtian Academy Lu Xun?"

"Teacher Lu is also excellent, but Teacher Zhang is in no way inferior, and even surpasses him." Recalling the scenes he had witnessed at Hongtian Academy over the past two days, Liu Ling couldn't help but praise.

He had casually taught students for about ten days, often skipping days, yet... every student had made rapid progress and their strength had surged.

Such teaching results were difficult for not only ordinary teachers but even the three of them to achieve.

"Surpasses him?" Old Tian's eyes flickered: "To earn such praise from you shows he indeed has skill and is qualified to sit. However, to drink my tea is not so easy; you must pass a test."

"Test?"

Zhang Xuan looked over.

I just came along with Teacher Liu and the others; I don't need to drink tea.

Besides, is your tea brewed by immortals? Must one pass an exam to drink it?

Just as he was about to refuse, he saw Liu Ling nearby brighten and look over excitedly.

"Great! Teacher Zhang Xuan, this is a good opportunity—you must seize it..."

"Opportunity?"

Just drinking tea, what kind of opportunity is that?

"Being able to drink tea personally brewed by Teacher Tian is a dream for countless cultivators."

Seeing his confusion, Liu Ling smiled and explained: "You may not know, but Teacher Tian's tea is very particular, both in terms of the leaves and the brewing technique."

"What's on the table now is called Tranquility Tea. There are no more than three tea trees of this kind in the entire Tianxuan Kingdom, growing on the snowy peaks of the highest summit of White Pearl Peak, with daily sunlight lasting over eight shichen. Because of this, when brewed, it is fragrant and long-lasting."

"Not only are the trees scarce, but the leaves picked must be neither too tender nor too old; they can only be taken in the third shichen after the tree blooms. At that time, the leaves contain a faint floral fragrance, which, combined with the cold of White Pearl Peak and brewed with boiling water, gives a more exquisite enjoyment."

"A single tree has few leaves to begin with, and with such strict requirements, the yield of this tea is可想而知. To tell you the truth, the total annual yield of the entire Tianxuan Kingdom is only about three liang."

Zhang Xuan was astonished.

No wonder the other spoke so solemnly, even requiring a test to drink tea; just the rarity of the tea leaves alone made it worthwhile.

"Of course, the scarcity only speaks to the tea's preciousness. For cultivators, drinking it or not is optional; it's not really an opportunity."

Cultivators prioritize their own cultivation. No matter how good the tea, not drinking it won't cost them anything; there's no need to pay a huge price for the pleasure of eating and drinking.

"What makes it important is the tea's effect! Tranquility Tea has the property of calming the mind and soothing the spirit. For ordinary people, it can improve sleep, restore energy, and greatly boost vitality; for martial artists, it can allow them to reach the state of 'heart like still water' in a short time. Although it's only a brief entry and will automatically recede after a short while, it allows one to experience the subtleties of this state in advance, greatly aiding future progress."

Teacher Liu continued: "Of course, the tea alone doesn't have this effect; it requires Teacher Tian's superb tea ceremony skills to achieve such efficacy!"

"Can it allow one to reach the state of 'heart like still water' in a short time?"

Zhang Xuan's eyes widened.

Only by reaching the state of 'heart like still water' can one focus on anything without being affected by other emotions.

For example, when the alchemists Meng Yan and Chen Xiao, encountered during the pill debate, were refining the mind-calming pill, they were easily swayed by their own emotions and physical state, causing the pill to mutate and lose its original effect.

The reason for this was that their state of mind had not broken through.

Once one reaches the second state, 'heart like still water,' even if burdened by negative matters, one can maintain peace of mind and remain unaffected, refining a perfect mind-calming pill.

Luo Chong, the president of the Artifact Refiners Guild, had reached this state, but because he ate dragon-scale shrimp, he could never calm his mind during artifact refining, eventually becoming unable to refine at all.

"Many cultivators neglect the state of mind, thinking it useless, but that's not the case. For a martial artist to break through to Grandmaster and become a Martial Artist of the Eighth Layer, they must reach the second state of mind. Otherwise, with an impure mind, no matter how they try, it's hard to grasp the essence and flavor of Grandmaster. Not only martial artists, but many professions also have special requirements. For example, to qualify as a famous teacher or formation master, one must also have reached the state of 'heart like still water' to be eligible for the examination."

Liu Ling, afraid Zhang Xuan might not understand, explained once more.

"Mm!" Zhang Xuan nodded.

Regarding descriptions of the state of mind, there were some records in the kingdom's library. With a thought, he had read through them and knew a bit; it was no secret.

Precisely because he knew this, he understood the difficulty of advancing in state of mind. Drinking a cup of tea to enter that state, even if only temporarily, was still terrifying; its efficacy was something even the mind-calming pill could not achieve.

No wonder tea ceremony was so popular throughout the kingdom, even surpassing calligraphy and painting; this was the fundamental reason.

In other words, if the two alchemists Meng Yan and Chen Xiao had drunk a cup before refining, they could have produced flawless mind-calming pills, and Zhang Xuan's pill debate victory would not have been so easy.

"Tea with such effects is hard to come by even for me when I visit. Today, thanks to the three famous teachers, since Old Tian has agreed to give you a chance, it's truly a rare opportunity that cannot be bought with gold." Emperor Shen Zhui also smiled as he looked over.

"What kind of test is it?"

Zhang Xuan was somewhat tempted and couldn't help but look over.

Although he had already reached the state of being as calm as still water, it was only the most basic level. If this tea was effective, it might allow him to feel the intermediate level or even higher.

Old Tian did not answer, but instead waved his hand: "Let them come in too!"

The steward Tian Gang nodded and withdrew. Before long, several people walked in.

They were Tian Long, Lu Xun, Wang Chao, as well as Huang Yu, Bai Xun, and others.

"Lu Xun pays respects to Old Tian!"

Entering the room, Lu Xun stepped forward, cupped his fists, and bowed.

"Mm, everyone sit! You and this Teacher Zhang are both outstanding teachers of Hongtian Academy. Unfortunately, there is only one cup of tea, so we must have a test. How about this: I will set a topic, and the two of you will compete. Whoever wins will be qualified to drink the tea. Liu Ling, what do you think?"

After letting Lu Xun and the others sit, Old Tian looked at Teacher Liu.

He was talking about drinking tea, but anyone who wasn't stupid could understand what was really going on.

"So this old fellow's test is a pretext; he wants to create an opportunity for Lu Xun..."

Seeing this, Zhang Xuan understood everything.

Although he didn't know why Teacher Liu and the others had suddenly become so polite to him, he could now guess: they definitely wanted to take him as an apprentice. Otherwise, why would three great teachers, with nothing better to do, bother with a low-level teacher like him?

This matter was happening in the Tian family estate. As the host, Old Tian couldn't possibly claim ignorance.

So, the so-called tea drinking was a fake; it was probably deliberately making things difficult for him, letting Lu Xun perform well to regain Teacher Liu's favor.

Zhang Xuan had no intention of becoming Teacher Liu's apprentice, but the other party's move still made him feel secretly displeased, as if he had been tricked into a cage.

However, he couldn't refuse now.

After the teacher evaluation incident spread, he had been constantly compared to Lu Xun. On the surface, it was about competing for a cup of tea, but in reality, it was about competing for the qualification to be Teacher Liu's apprentice. If he refused, he would definitely be labeled as afraid.

And Lu Xun would surely become even more smug.

Zhang Xuan understood the meaning, and Liu Ling naturally did too. He frowned, his expression turning somewhat unpleasant.

Clearly, even he hadn't expected Old Tian's decision.

But since Old Tian had spoken, he had no choice but to nod in agreement: "Alright."

Teacher Liu and Zhang Xuan were both somewhat unhappy, but in fact, Old Tian was also quite frustrated.

In the letter Teacher Liu had sent him earlier, he had indeed mentioned Lu Xun, clearly intending to take him as an apprentice. That was why he had specially invited him, deliberately prepared an extra cup of tea, and planned to pretend to test him when he arrived, actually to facilitate the introduction.

But who knew... Lu Xun didn't come; Zhang Xuan came first.

And judging by Teacher Liu's attitude, he seemed to have taken a liking to this Teacher Zhang and given up on Lu Xun, causing his preparations to fall through. Naturally, he was somewhat displeased.

So he improvised this test.

Otherwise, he had already told Lu Xun in advance, and if he ended up not becoming an apprentice, wouldn't that be embarrassing?

"Lu Xun will follow Old Tian's arrangements!"

Understanding the other party's intention, Lu Xun's face lit up with joy as he cupped his fists and spoke.

"Since there's to be a test, there must be content. What is the test about?"

Knowing he couldn't refuse, Zhang Xuan stopped dwelling on it.

"You're here to drink tea, so naturally you must discuss the way of tea!" Tian Long snorted from the side.

"The way of tea?" Zhang Xuan frowned.

"Teacher Zhang has never been exposed to the way of tea. Testing him on it is hardly fair!" Huang Yu couldn't help but speak up.

She had interacted with this Teacher Zhang quite a bit. He was a master of calligraphy and painting, but knew nothing about the way of tea. In fact, before speaking with him today, he had never even heard of it.

Testing someone who knew nothing about the way of tea?

Wasn't this deliberately making things difficult?

Moreover, as far as she knew, Lu Xun had specifically studied the way of tea. Although he wasn't as good as Tian Long, he had actually listened to Old Tian's lectures and could at least brew tea of the first realm... Such an assessment was unfair even to a blind man.

"To become an apprentice to a great teacher, one must be erudite and knowledgeable, and should have dabbled in various professions... The way of tea, as one of the nine schools of professions, is popular throughout the entire kingdom. How could one not know or understand it? If Teacher Zhang really knows nothing, then I'm sorry, but I'll have to drink this tea myself..."

Lu Xun smiled lightly, his eyes filled with confidence, his face full of elegance.

"Little sample, trying to compete with me? Watch me finish you off."

"Exactly. If you don't even understand the way of tea, what right do you have to be an apprentice to a great teacher? Just admit defeat and save yourself the embarrassment!" Wang Chao spoke up.

Having lost face earlier, he seized the opportunity to retaliate immediately.

"Alright. Although I only heard of the way of tea today, I can learn it now. Let's start the test directly!" Seeing the other's smug look, Zhang Xuan shook his head.

Since someone wanted to be slapped in the face, he would give them a good slap.

Although he had only heard of the way of tea today, in the kingdom's library, there were seven or eight shelves full of books on the way of tea, totaling over ten thousand volumes.

He had only collected them into the Heavenly Dao Library before, without observing or studying them. Now... it was time to take a look.