Chapter 201: Shocked Third Division (Part 1)

That is to say, this black qi did not belong to any kind of poison he knew.

What exactly was it?

“Let’s see if I can force it out of my body!”

With a serious expression, Zhang Xuan mobilized the zhenqi within his body.

Although he didn't know the harm the poisonous qi could cause, allowing it to remain in his body indefinitely would eventually lead to 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 as quickly as possible.

Otherwise, it would be like having a knife held to his heart, making anyone uncomfortable.

Expelling poison with zhenqi was documented in a book, and it wasn't complicated to learn. With a thought, he had already mastered it.

Gurgle gurgle!

Seeing the zhenqi surge towards it, the black qi seemed to have met its nemesis. With a slight flicker, it burrowed into his meridians and hid itself.

“No good…”

His expression darkened.

This poisonous qi was truly formidable; it could even evade being cornered by zhenqi. Although it had only burrowed into his meridians for now, which was not critical, if it were to go rampant and enter vital parts of his body, he might be poisoned to death on the spot before he could even resist.

To be able to evade zhenqi, almost as if it possessed intelligence—what kind of poison was this?

And when had he been poisoned?

He searched through all the books on poison in the library, but there was no record of this substance. This indicated that the poison's grade was higher than anything known in Tianxuan Kingdom!

Yet, a poisonous qi of this caliber… was found within his own body.

Zhang Xuan grew increasingly confused.

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

It seemed this black qi was very afraid of his zhenqi and dared not cause trouble for the time being. Otherwise, he wouldn't have lived this long without noticing it.

However, while there was no immediate danger to his life, how he had been poisoned was a major concern. If it was accidental, that would be one thing, but being poisoned by someone without knowing was terrifying.

If the assailant failed on the first attempt, they would surely try again.

It's not being afraid of a thief stealing, but of a thief constantly plotting!

“First, I need to confirm whether I was poisoned before or after my transmigration, and if it was intentional or accidental. That way, I can be prepared in advance!”

Feeling vigilant, Zhang Xuan looked at the black qi again and studied it for a long time… In the end, he learned absolutely nothing.

It wasn't that he was too stupid, but rather… this poison was simply too advanced, beyond the comprehension of Tianxuan Kingdom. He couldn't discern any clues, let alone figure out when he was poisoned or what it actually was.

“Let's try something!”

After much deliberation, he still couldn't figure it out. Just as he was about to give up, an idea suddenly sparked in his mind.

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

For the Library of Heaven's Path to form books and reveal flaws, he needed to either touch the object or have the other party perform a punching technique. Since this poisonous qi was hidden within his meridians, touching it was definitely out of the question, and as for making it perform a punching technique… *cough cough*, that was even more of a pipe dream.

However, merely confirming some simple questions wouldn't stump Zhang Xuan.

He casually took out a blank book, picked up a brush, and wrote: “The poisonous qi in my body was contracted after my transmigration, and someone framed me!”

As his finger traced the words, an identical book immediately appeared in his mind.

He casually flipped it open, and sure enough, the flaws in that statement appeared.

After reading the content, his face turned ashen.

According to the feedback, this poison was contracted before his transmigration, and it wasn't accidental; someone had deliberately targeted him!

In other words… someone wanted to kill him.

“Could it be… that my predecessor didn't die from drinking in depression, but rather… from being poisoned by this?”

He had found it strange before that his predecessor was so weak; a dignified peak Zhenqi realm expert dying from drinking was illogical. Now, it seemed that wasn't the case at all.

He acted on his thoughts, writing down all sorts of conjectures in the book.

He didn't know how much time had passed before Zhang Xuan stopped.

Through half a day of deduction, he had already grasped a general outline.

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

The reason his current self was unharmed after transmigration was because the Heaven's Path zhenqi he cultivated was too pure; this poisonous qi inherently 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 cultivating without pause. Otherwise, once his zhenqi became insufficient, the black qi 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 his own life, free as a bird flying in the vast sky. However, he realized he had been too optimistic.

Unless this black qi was completely resolved, he would constantly be in danger.

“I must find a way to uncover whoever wants to kill me.”

The person who wanted to kill him was hidden and impossible to find, but if they dared to make another move, with the Library of Heaven's Path, he could surely uncover even their entire ancestry.

Therefore, there was nothing to fear, only lingering doubt in his heart.

His predecessor was merely an orphan with no relatives, and a good-for-nothing at that, who hadn't offended anyone. Who exactly would use a poison unknown even in Tianxuan Kingdom to kill him?

To be able to acquire such a poison, their strength must be considerable. Why go to such great lengths instead of simply killing him with a single palm strike?

Wasn't this like pulling down one's pants to fart, creating unnecessary trouble?

Unable to figure it out after some thought, Zhang Xuan stopped pondering. Since the poisoner hadn't appeared yet, overthinking was useless. He could only focus on resolving the issue within his own body first.

“To detoxify, I must first know what kind of poison this is. Tianxuan Kingdom has too few books on poisons. It seems I need to go to places with more extensive collections…”

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 come by. He had already finished reading all the books in the Royal Library and gained no insights. He knew without looking that books in other places wouldn't be of any help either.

After all, this poison was too advanced; even Tianxuan Kingdom couldn't find any information on it.

If they didn't even have records of the poison, how could there be a solution?

To truly eliminate this hidden danger, he would likely have to travel to a higher-ranked kingdom and seek out places with more books on the subject.

“I'll ask the three master teachers later…”

He wasn't aware of such places, but perhaps the three master teachers would know a thing or two.

They came from a higher-ranked kingdom and had traveled extensively, so they surely knew more than he did.

“No rush for now. I'll resolve the current matters here first.”

Since the Heaven's Path zhenqi was suppressing it, the black qi wouldn't dare to cause trouble in the short term. Zhang Xuan shook his head, stopped pondering, stretched, and continued to deal with the lingering issues from his fraudulent activities.

“Teacher Liu, why are we changing clothes?”

The three master teachers were walking down a street in Hongtian Academy. Zheng Fei, looking at the casual clothes on his body, couldn't help but ask.

Normally, they wore the unique attire of master teachers, which commanded respect wherever they went, making them feel superior. Changing into ordinary clothes made them feel somewhat unaccustomed.

“Master teacher attire is too conspicuous. If we really wore it here, Teacher Zhang Xuan would definitely rush over, obediently follow our every word, and be extremely respectful. If that happened, how could we discern his true character?”

Liu Ling said.

“Indeed, it’s better to wear casual clothes. No one will recognize us, and it’s perfect for testing his character!” Zhuang Xian nodded in agreement.

Zheng Fei understood.

By changing into ordinary clothes and deliberately suppressing their cultivation, no one would guess they were master teachers. Everyone would simply take them for ordinary elderly men.

Only in such circumstances could they observe the truth closest to reality.

They inquired along the way and, before long, found 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 seen the scale of Hongtian Academy on their way here. Even the classrooms used by the most ordinary teachers were hundreds of square meters, whereas this one before them was less than one hundred. Both its construction and decoration appeared exceptionally crude.

One look was enough to tell it was among the worst.

“It seems Teacher Zhang’s treatment at the academy is indeed subpar!”

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

“To teach in such an environment while remaining composed, neither arrogant in victory nor disheartened in defeat, suggests he has forgotten the trivialities of honor and disgrace. It’s truly admirable.”

Liu Ling sighed with emotion.

Despite receiving unfair treatment, he harbored no resentment and did not perfunctorily teach his students. This quality of remaining unperturbed by favor or disgrace alone was worthy of admiration.

“Cousin Wang Tao, I still don’t understand what Teacher Zhang taught about Qi Condensation and Convergence. Could you explain it to me again?”

After walking a few more steps, before even entering the classroom, they heard a voice inquiring from the lawn in front of the building.

The three stopped in their tracks.

“Alright, but Teacher Zhang’s explanation of this part was extremely profound, and I’ve only grasped less than a tenth of it myself. How about this: I took notes when Teacher Zhang was explaining, so let’s study them together!” said the senior student named Wang Tao, after a moment of hesitation.

“That’s great!” The first voice was filled with excitement.

“Look, Teacher Zhang said this: For the Qi Gathering Realm, in Qi Condensation and Convergence, you should treat the spiritual energy of heaven and earth as part of your body, rather than forcibly absorbing it. This way, the qi will treat you as a vessel, thus increasing the speed at which spiritual energy gathers. At the time, Teacher Zhang mentioned ten methods, but I only remembered three. We can study them together. Look, this first one…”

Wang Tao’s voice followed immediately.

“Treat the spiritual energy of heaven and earth as part of your body?”

Hearing the two students’ conversation, the three master teachers were simultaneously shaken, each revealing a look of astonishment.

“I’ve also heard of this theory from my own teacher… Can Teacher Zhang Xuan truly explain it so profoundly?”

Liu Ling’s mouth fell open.

A master reveals their skill at first move. As master teachers, standing at the pinnacle of the teaching profession, they naturally had a deep understanding of pedagogy and knew which explanations were correct and which were flawed.

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

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

The two students ahead discussed more and more, and the theories they spoke of, while not overly abstruse, were profoundly insightful. They were like a vast ocean, boundless and deep, and the more they listened, the more beneficial it was for their cultivation, truly enriching their understanding.

The more the three master teachers listened, the more astonished they became. Each of them trembled with excitement, rooted to the spot, unable to move.