Chapter 200: Shocked Third Division (Part 1)

This black gas wasn't any kind of potent poison he knew of. What exactly was it?

"Let's see if I can force it out!" Zhang Xuan's eyes were grave as he channeled the True Qi within his body.

Although he didn't know the full extent of the poisonous gas's harm, allowing it to remain in his body indefinitely would eventually cause trouble. It was one thing not to have discovered it before, but now that he knew, he had to find a way to deal with it quickly. Otherwise, it would be like having a knife pointed at his heart—anyone would feel uneasy.

Using True Qi to expel poison was recorded in a book. Learning it wasn't complicated; with a single thought, he had already mastered it.

Seeing the True Qi surging, the black gas seemed to have met its nemesis. With a slight shimmer, it burrowed between his meridians and hid itself.

"It's no use..." His expression darkened.

This poisonous gas was truly formidable; it could even evade the True Qi's encirclement. At the moment, it merely burrowed between his meridians, which was minor. However, if it went berserk and entered vital parts of his body, he might be poisoned to death on the spot before he could even react.

A poison that could evade True Qi as if it had intelligence—what kind of poison was this? And when did he get poisoned?

He searched through all the books on poison in the library, but there was no record of this substance, indicating that this poison's level was higher than anything known in Tianxuan Kingdom! Yet, he found this level of poisonous gas inside his own body. Zhang Xuan became increasingly bewildered.

He tried various detoxification methods, but none worked, so he had to temporarily give up.

It seemed this black gas was very afraid of his True Qi and dared not cause trouble for now. Otherwise, he wouldn't have lived this long without noticing it.

However, while there was no immediate life-threatening danger, how he got poisoned was a major issue. If it was accidental, that was one thing, but if someone intentionally poisoned him without his knowledge, that would be terrifying. If their first attempt failed, they would surely try again. It's not the actual theft you fear, but the constant threat of a thief.

"First, I need to confirm whether I was poisoned before or after my reincarnation, and whether it was intentional or accidental. That way, I can prepare in advance!"

Becoming alert, Zhang Xuan looked at the black gas again and studied it for a long time... but he found absolutely nothing.

It wasn't that he was too stupid; it was because this poison was simply too advanced, beyond the scope of Tianxuan Kingdom's understanding. He couldn't discern any clues, let alone figure out when he was poisoned or what exactly it was.

"Let's try something!" After racking his brain for a long time without understanding, and just as he was about to give up, an idea suddenly struck him.

Just because he couldn't figure it out didn't mean the Library of Heaven's Path was powerless!

The Library could only form books and reveal flaws when he touched something or observed someone performing techniques. This poisonous gas was hidden between his meridians, so touching it was definitely out, and asking it to perform techniques... cough cough, that was a pipe dream.

However, simply confirming some basic questions wouldn't be a problem for Zhang Xuan.

He casually took out a blank book, picked up a brush, and wrote: "The poisonous gas in my body was contracted after reincarnation, and someone is framing me!"

As his finger swept across, an identical book immediately appeared in his mind. He casually opened it, and sure enough, the flaws in that sentence appeared.

After reading the content, his face turned ashen. According to the feedback, he was poisoned *before* his reincarnation, and it wasn't accidental; someone had intentionally harmed him! In other words... someone wanted to kill him.

"Could it be... that my predecessor didn't die from drinking himself to death in depression, but rather... from this poison?"

He had previously found it strange that his predecessor was so weak; a dignified True Qi Realm peak expert dying from drinking was odd. Now it seemed that wasn't the case at all.

As soon as he thought of it, he wrote down all his conjectures in the book.

After an unknown amount of time, Zhang Xuan stopped. Through this half-day of deductions, he had gained a general understanding.

His predecessor was indeed poisoned to death, and it was precisely because of this that he transmigrated.

The reason he was fine after reincarnation was that his Cultivation of Heaven's Path True Qi was exceptionally pure. This poisonous gas naturally feared it and was suppressed, unable to move. Otherwise, he wouldn't have survived until now.

In other words, his survival was thanks to his diligence in continuous cultivation. Otherwise, if his True Qi ever became insufficient, the black gas would immediately retaliate and poison him to death.

"Another mess left by my predecessor..."

He had thought that after resolving the teacher qualification exam, he could finally live freely, with the sky as his limit. But now he realized he had been overly optimistic.

Unless this black gas was completely dealt with, he would always be in danger.

"I must find the person who wants to kill me."

The person who wanted to kill him was hidden, making them impossible to find. But if they dared to strike again, he would definitely be able to trace them back to their ancestors, thanks to the Library of Heaven's Path.

So, there was nothing to fear, but he was puzzled. His predecessor was an an orphan with no relatives and was considered a good-for-nothing who hadn't offended anyone. Who on earth would use a poison not found in Tianxuan Kingdom to kill him?

To acquire such a poison, their strength must be considerable. Why go to such great lengths instead of simply killing him with a single slap? Wasn't this just making things unnecessarily complicated?

He pondered for a while but couldn't figure it out, so Zhang Xuan stopped overthinking. The poisoner hadn't appeared yet, so thinking further was useless. He could only focus on solving the problem within his body first.

"To detoxify, I first need to know what kind of poison this is. Tianxuan Kingdom has too few books on poisons. It seems I'll have to go to places with more books..."

With the Library of Heaven's Path, as long as he had enough books on poisons, he could detoxify himself.

However, such books were hard to find. He had already checked the royal library without any success. As for books in other places, he knew without looking that they certainly wouldn't have them either.

After all, this poison was too advanced; even advanced kingdoms like Tianxuan couldn't find it. If they didn't even have records of the poison, how could they have solutions?

To truly eliminate this hidden danger, he would probably have to go to a higher-level kingdom and search for places with more books of this kind.

"I'll ask the three master teachers about it later..."

He wasn't aware of such places, but perhaps the three master teachers would know something. They came from a higher-level kingdom and had traveled extensively, so they surely knew more than him.

"No rush, I'll deal with things here first."

Anyway, with the Heaven's Path True Qi suppressing it, the black gas wouldn't dare to cause trouble anytime soon. Zhang Xuan shook his head, stopped thinking about it, stretched, and continued to deal with the remaining issues from the money-making scheme.

"Teacher Liu, why did we change our clothes?" Zheng Fei asked, unable to help himself, as the three master teachers walked along the streets of Hongtian Academy, looking at their casual attire.

Normally, they wore the unique attire of master teachers, commanding respect wherever they went. Switching to ordinary clothes felt a bit unfamiliar.

"Master teacher attire is too conspicuous," Liu Ling said. "If we truly wore them here, Teacher Zhang Xuan would definitely rush over, obedient and extremely respectful. If that happened, how could we discern his true character?"

"That's right, casual clothes are better," Zhuang Xian nodded in agreement. "No one will recognize us, which is perfect for testing his character!"

Zheng Fei understood. By changing into ordinary clothes and intentionally suppressing their cultivation, no one would guess that they were master teachers; everyone would simply take them for ordinary old men.

Only under such circumstances could they observe the truth most closely.

Asking around, it didn't take long for them to find Zhang Xuan's classroom.

"This classroom is too small!" Seeing the appearance of the classroom before them, Liu Ling and the others frowned.

They had observed the scale of Hongtian Academy as they walked through it. Even the most ordinary teachers' classrooms were several hundred square meters, but this one wasn't even a hundred. Both its construction and decoration appeared exceptionally crude.

It was clear at a glance that this was one of the worst.

"It seems Teacher Zhang's treatment at the academy is indeed poor!"

In such a poor teaching environment, they truly wondered how Teacher Zhang could endure it. If it were them, they would have long since caused a scene at the academy and left in a huff.

"To teach in such an environment and still remain calm, unmoved by honor or disgrace, he seems to have forgotten personal feelings. Truly admirable," Liu Ling sighed with emotion.

To suffer unfair treatment yet harbor no resentment, and not to neglect students because of it—this quality of being unperturbed by favor or disgrace alone was impressive.

"Cousin Wang Tao, I still don't understand what Teacher Zhang said about 'Condensing Qi and Converging Flow.' Can you explain it to me again?" Taking a few steps closer, before even entering the classroom, they heard a questioning voice from the lawn in front of the building.

The three stopped in their tracks.

"Alright, but Teacher Zhang's explanation of that part was very profound. Even I only grasped less than a tenth of it," the senior student named Wang Tao said, hesitating slightly. "How about this: I took notes when Teacher Zhang explained it, so let's study them together!"

"That's great!" The first voice was full of excitement.

"Look, Teacher Zhang said this: in the Gathering Breath realm, for 'Condensing Qi and Converging Flow,' you should treat the spiritual energy of the world as a part of your body, rather than forcefully absorbing it. This way, the energy will naturally use you as a vessel, increasing the speed at which spiritual energy gathers. Teacher Zhang mentioned ten methods at the time, but I only remembered three. We can study them together. Look at the first one..." Wang Tao's voice followed.

"Treat the spiritual energy of the world as a part of your body?" Listening to the two students' conversation, the three master teachers were simultaneously shocked, each revealing an expression of astonishment.

"I've also only heard this theory from my own teacher... How could this Teacher Zhang Xuan explain it so profoundly?" Liu Ling's mouth fell open.

An expert's skill is evident the moment they act. As master teachers, standing at the pinnacle of the teaching profession, they naturally had a deep understanding of pedagogy and knew what explanations were correct and what were flawed.

Although they hadn't heard the lecture directly, just from the conversation between the two students, they could tell that Teacher Zhang's theory was not only novel but also perfectly correct, directly addressing the core of cultivation.

Even they would find it difficult to deliver teaching content of such a high level.

The two students ahead continued to discuss more and more. The theories they spoke of, while not overly abstruse, were profoundly insightful, like a vast ocean—limitless in expanse and depth. The more they listened, the more helpful it was for their cultivation, and the more they benefited.

The three master teachers grew increasingly astonished as they listened, each trembling with excitement, unable to move from where they stood.