Chapter 400: Elder?

"Another one?"

Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up.

He had painstakingly guided Mu Xueqing, even teaching her swordsmanship, and now that their teacher-student bond was temporarily parted, he unexpectedly received her sincere gratitude and another golden book.

Although he didn't know the full extent of this Heavenly Dao tome's effects, it could easily elevate his mental state and allow him to memorize countless pieces of knowledge—these two benefits alone made it priceless.

"Teacher, no matter where you go, we will come find you!"

Swearing silently in her heart, Mu Xueqing turned and left with the others.

The room soon quieted down, with only Lu Chong remaining, standing motionless and expressionless.

"You..."

Zhang Xuan was about to speak when he was interrupted.

"Teacher, I am rootless and adrift. Wherever you go, I will follow!" Lu Chong's gaze was firm.

"Alright!"

Seeing no hesitation in him, Zhang Xuan understood his student's temperament and knew further persuasion was futile, so he nodded.

After dealing with the many students, as soon as he stepped out of the room, Teacher Liu approached with a worried expression.

"Are you just going to let them kneel like that?"

Zheng Yang, Yuan Tao, Wang Ying, and the others were still kneeling in the hall, motionless. Were they supposed to kneel forever?

"Their cultivation has advanced too quickly, making them a bit impetuous. Kneeling a while longer will help stabilize their minds and keep them from acting so rashly!"

Zhang Xuan said.

The poisoning was nothing to him, and naturally he wasn't angry. The reason he deliberately left them kneeling without a word was solely to temper their minds, so their future paths could go further.

Take Lu Chong, for example. After his family's upheaval, his heart had become as hard as steel. Even though his cultivation had soared in just a few days, there was no trace of frivolity; instead, he had become more grounded.

Zheng Yang, Yuan Tao, Wang Ying, and the others had followed him all along, receiving the best education and growing accustomed to privilege. It was time to teach them a lesson, to make them understand the hardships of cultivation and not to be too complacent.

"You're right, I overlooked that..."

Teacher Liu nodded, now truly admiring this senior brother.

When he first met this senior brother, he was still immature in many things, but now he had the demeanor of a 'teacher,' with the bearing of a 'teacher' in every aspect.

A teacher must not only elevate a student's cultivation but also solidify their mental state.

If cultivation were compared to building a structure, the mental state would be the steel framework.

Without a framework, no matter how many bricks or how superb the technique, the height would be limited, and it would be hard to withstand storms.

Using this as an excuse, he punished them with a stern attitude, but in truth, he was painstakingly tempering them...

Without enduring the bitter cold, how could the plum blossom's fragrance be so rich?

"I hope they can understand your good intentions..." Teacher Liu sighed.

Sometimes students don't understand why their teacher is so strict and become rebellious, only to regret it when it's too late.

Zhang Xuan nodded, chatted with Teacher Liu for a while, then left the residence to handle the remaining matters.

Great Pharmacist and Liao Qing had already left the royal city. The Ji family came to apologize and offered many gifts, which he swept into his storage ring.

The Ji family matter was trivial to begin with, nothing worth pursuing.

By the time everything was settled, it was already late at night.

The next day, he went to the Physician Guild, scanned all the books he hadn't read, and then collected books from several other guilds in the kingdom into his library. He worked until dark before returning to his residence.

"Let's begin!"

With a thought, he summoned a golden book.

Two four-star master teachers had specifically requested to see Yang Xuan. It was impossible to keep putting them off. To avoid being seen through, he needed a wealth of knowledge. Since he now had two golden books, using one wasn't a waste.

"Learn knowledge..."

Boom!

With the thought, a violent roar erupted. The golden book suddenly released a dazzling light, and the contents of the books in the library instantly poured into his mind. Zhang Xuan's vision went black, and he fainted.

...

Physician Guild.

Looking at Physician Mu Hong, who was still lying on the ground unconscious, Physician Cheng Feng was helpless.

This former guild leader had gone to the Lin family to help detoxify someone, but instead of curing the poison, he ended up like this.

A three-star physician... how embarrassing.

"Physician Cheng Feng, is there a way to treat him?"

Physician Mu Hong's student was Xie Shunda, a two-star physician of the guild.

At this moment, he looked over with great anxiety.

"I've tried everything. The poison he's afflicted with... is too potent. I'm powerless."

Physician Cheng Feng shook his head.

He had studied the poison carefully; it could merge with true energy, leaving one helpless.

"Unless..."

"What?" Xie Shunda's face tightened.

"Unless Guild Leader Liu, that is, Teacher Zhang, personally steps in. He has solved so many difficult cases and has remarkable medical skills. Although this poison is potent, he might have a solution."

Physician Cheng Feng said.

"Zhang Xuan..."

Hearing this name, Xie Shunda's face darkened instead of brightening, and he let out a long growl: "It was his student who administered the poison. He must have colluded with that Poison Hall master!"

That Hall Master Liao had been as respectful to this Teacher Zhang as if he were his own father.

Physician Mu Hong was severely poisoned, and the Poison Hall master appeared. Who would believe there was no connection?

"Nonsense! Don't talk nonsense!"

Physician Cheng Feng's expression turned serious: "Teacher Zhang is a master teacher and a grandmaster of medicine. How could he have anything to do with the Poison Hall?"

"Nonsense? Hmph, so many people saw it with their own eyes. Could it be fake?"

Xie Shunda snorted coldly: "He broke through the Wall of Difficulties and became guild leader—bah! What right does someone who associates with the Poison Hall have to be the guild leader of the Physician Guild?"

"In fact, I think he doesn't even understand medicine. The problems on the Wall of Difficulties were all prepared in advance. Otherwise, how could he have solved so many problems in such a short time?"

Seeing his teacher lying motionless on the ground, Xie Shunda could no longer hold back and roared.

Every difficult case on the Wall of Difficulties was incredibly hard. A guy not even twenty years old—how skilled could he be even if he started learning medicine in the womb?

Clearly, someone had given him the answers in advance, and he was just reciting them.

Otherwise, if his medical skills were so great, why hadn't he treated anyone else? No one had heard of him curing anyone's illness. (Treating the national beast was confidential, and many were unaware.)

"This..." Physician Cheng Feng hesitated.

When this Teacher Zhang first came to the Physician Guild, he was present. He didn't know much about many things, and directly charging into the Wall of Difficulties... clearly showed he knew nothing.

That such a person could consecutively solve nineteen difficult cases was itself suspicious.

To be honest, he also had some doubts.

"Such a person is unworthy to be our guild leader. I hope Physician Cheng Feng can uphold justice, convene a physician assembly, and revoke his title as guild leader, so he doesn't continue to deceive people..."

Xie Shunda continued to snort.

Before he could finish, a middle-aged man rushed in hurriedly.

"Physicians Cheng Feng and Xie Shunda, there's movement at the Wall of Difficulties... a message has come!"

As soon as he entered, the middle-aged man shouted excitedly.

"A message? Is the last answer wrong?"

Xie Shunda's eyes lit up, and he quickly looked over.

A few days ago, that Teacher Zhang had consecutively answered twenty difficult cases. For the last one, the other side of the Wall of Difficulties hadn't given a definite reply.

They had expected to wait over ten days, but news came today.

"Wrong?" The middle-aged man who ran in was taken aback and quickly shook his head: "It didn't say right or wrong..."

"Didn't say?"

Both were stunned.

Since there was a reply, it should be either correct or incorrect. What did 'didn't say' mean?

"Then... what did it say?"

Xie Shunda couldn't help asking.

The middle-aged man hesitated: "It says... appoint Liu Cheng as an elder of the Ten Thousand Kingdoms Alliance Physician Guild. Specific rank to be determined after his cultivation reaches the appropriate level."

"Appoint him... as an elder of the Ten Thousand Kingdoms Alliance Physician Guild?"

Physician Cheng Feng and Xie Shunda exchanged glances, both staggering as if about to vomit blood.

What the hell? What was going on?

The Ten Thousand Kingdoms Alliance was the highest level of kingdoms, and its Physician Guild elders were at least four-star level.

Appointing this Liu Cheng as an elder?

Xie Shunda felt his face burning as if he had been slapped hard.

He had just said the man was unworthy to be guild leader, and now the Ten Thousand Kingdoms Alliance Physician Guild sent a message asking him to be their elder...

Damn!

Are you doing this on purpose...

Face flushed red, Xie Shunda was on the verge of tears.

...

In a room of the Master Teacher Pavilion, there was only a pure white wall.

Message Wall!

Teacher Su, Teacher Ling, Hall Master Jiang, and others stood before the wall.

"Reporting to Teacher Su, Teacher Ling, and Hall Master Jiang, the Sealing Master Hall has been fully repaired!"

Elder Zhu entered the room and clasped his fists.

"That's good!"

Hall Master Jiang breathed a sigh of relief.

"Confucius's statue suddenly shook, causing countless ancestral tablets to fall. Such an incident has never occurred elsewhere. Teacher Ling, have you found the cause?"

Teacher Su frowned and looked over.

They had all been present that day. Confucius's statue suddenly toppled, causing the entire hall to shake, and they still hadn't figured out what had happened.

Earlier, they had suspected whether it was due to Teacher Zhang's bow triggering ancestral recognition, but in the end, they shook their heads.

That was Confucius's statue, containing Confucius's will. How could it easily recognize someone?

Legend had it that a nine-star master teacher once bowed, hoping to become Confucius's student, but was rejected. A two-star master teacher... ridiculous!

"I can't figure it out!"

Teacher Ling also found it utterly baffling. He shook his head, picked up a brush, and smiled: "But don't worry, I plan to ask the headquarters now... If we can't figure it out, the guild leader should have heard of it."

"Yes, ask quickly..."

Teacher Su nodded and was about to say how to inquire when the huge wall suddenly flashed, and a line of text appeared.

"The sage was rejected, the bell tolls in sorrow! Within the Ten Thousand Kingdoms Alliance, someone, after taking the master teacher examination, rejected ancestral recognition. If the Sealing Master Hall has collapsed, report immediately!"

"Sealing Master Hall collapsed?" Teacher Su, Teacher Ling, Hall Master Jiang, and the others were dumbfounded.