Chapter 31: Heart Like Still Water

Elder Mo took the book, glanced at it, and his body trembled.

"This... it can't be, can it?"

"Alright, is there anything else you don't understand? If not, I'm leaving!" Zhang Xuan looked over, full of puzzlement.

Are these two crazy? If you're going to ask questions, ask something difficult. Asking about things that are already explained in books, without even needing to think, is so boring.

And you call yourselves a library administrator, a master, a star teacher? Bah! You're not even as good as a transmigrator like me; your knowledge is truly shallow!

"Don't rush, I have a question I've been wanting to ask: how do you explain 'Qi flows through the meridians, the mind wanders among all things'?" Suppressing his disbelief, Elder Mo continued.

This phrase was asked by an elder a few days ago, and he couldn't explain it. The elder had searched the Hidden Scripture Pavilion for a long time but couldn't find the answer, leaving in frustration. Seeing the young man casually explain several questions now, Elder Mo couldn't help but ask.

"You don't even know this?" Zhang Xuan looked at him as if he were an idiot. "This is the most basic thing in cultivation, isn't it? It means that when your Qi and blood circulate through one cycle in your body, your state of mind is as if you've traveled the world and comprehended the rules of all things! This sentence is recorded in Senior Baiming's 'Treatise on Qi and Blood,' on page 69, in row 27!"

"Qi flows through the meridians, the mind wanders among all things" is one of the flawless phrases in the first level of martial arts cultivation. Zhang Xuan remembered it very well because a senior at Hongtian Academy had specifically explained it, so he paid extra attention. It wasn't difficult at all. How could this esteemed elder, who guards the Hidden Scripture Pavilion, need to ask him?

Instead of answering directly, Elder Mo, just like Shen Biru earlier, rushed into the Hidden Scripture Pavilion. A moment later, he indeed found the 'Treatise on Qi and Blood,' flipped to page 69, and his body swayed.

It was exactly as Zhang Xuan had said! Just a few days ago, that elder had searched through many books without finding it. He never dreamed that it would be recorded in such an obscure book!

An obscure book like that... he had actually read it, and he even knew... the page number?

Elder Mo felt his head spin, as if he were going crazy. If he hadn't been concerned about his image, he probably would have been tearing his hair out.

He had just accused Zhang Xuan of coming to cause trouble, yet the young man not only read the books but remembered their contents. Elder Mo's face burned with shame; he wished a crack would open in the ground so he could disappear into it.

Was he truly the teacher who ranked last in the faculty assessment? If his level of knowledge still put him last, then Elder Mo himself wouldn't even score zero!

"Alright, read more books in the future; these questions are all documented!" Seeing both of them looking dazed, Zhang Xuan said profoundly, shaking his head, "I'll be leaving now if there's nothing else!"

With that, he lifted his foot and walked out. He was truly too hungry to bear it; if he didn't eat soon, he might actually faint.

"Teacher Zhang Xuan, wait for me..." Shen Biru finally recovered from her shock and hurried to catch up.

"What do you want now?" Zhang Xuan asked helplessly. Is this woman crazy or something?

I've already taught you what you didn't understand. Is there no end to this? Can't you see I'm hungry and want to eat?

"I haven't eaten either. Don't you want to invite me to dinner?" Shen Biru gritted her teeth.

She was the academy's goddess; many men had invited her to eat with them, but she had never agreed. Even Shang Bin had invited her multiple times, and she had never accepted.

Today, this young man had astonished her so much that she couldn't help but become curious, leading to her decision. She wanted to take this opportunity to find out what was truly going on with him.

"Invite you?" Zhang Xuan looked at her with a strange expression. "What are you thinking? If you want to eat, why don't you pay for it yourself? How can you be so shameless?"

You ask me for guidance, I give it to you, and you still expect me to treat you? How utterly shameless!

Though he had lived two lives, having spent much of his previous life researching various "films" and related materials, he was in reality a true homebody, a genuine recluse who had never truly interacted with girls. How could he possibly understand a girl's mind?

"You..." Seeing the young man's gaze and hearing his words, Shen Biru nearly spat out a mouthful of old blood and fainted on the spot.

I'm a beauty, alright? Beauties have privileges, don't they? Others want to invite me out, but I refuse. I'm letting you invite me, and you're looking at me like I'm a monster...

And you call me shameless! Shameless my foot! Who talks to a beautiful woman like that?

The girl was on the verge of madness.

"Fine, how about I treat you? I'll treat you to dinner!" Shen Biru said, gritting her teeth.

"You'll treat me?" Zhang Xuan paused. His previous self, being the academy's worst teacher, had a low salary and almost no income. If someone was paying, that would be good. Thinking this, he nodded. "It's acceptable, but I want a grand meal. I won't go for simple steamed buns or fried cakes!"

"..." Shen Biru was driven to madness again.

Steamed buns and fried cakes? Are you serious?!

"Let's go!" She no longer wanted to explain. She feared that if she said anything more, this guy in front of her would literally infuriate her to death.

The Heaven's Path Library could discern the flaws in all techniques and the weak points of all people, but it couldn't read a girl's mood. Zhang Xuan had no idea that his few simple words were about to make the Hongtian Academy's number one beauty in front of him vomit blood in anger.

Instead, he followed behind her, walking out along the road.

Hongtian Academy at night, though not as brightly lit as his previous world, was exceptionally beautiful under the moonlight. Enveloped by abundant spiritual energy, it appeared even more peaceful and serene.

In his previous life, he lived amidst noise and smog everywhere. How could it be this quiet? Zhang Xuan couldn't help but become absorbed in such beautiful scenery.

Shen Biru walked ahead, expecting the young man following her to deliberately strike up a conversation, ask some questions, or break the awkward silence. After waiting for a long time without hearing a sound, she couldn't help but turn her head.

What she saw made her pause in surprise.

The young man walked quietly, the moonlight shining on him like a serene painting.

"This is... this is... the second realm of mental cultivation, 'Mind Like Still Water'?"

Her pupils contracted.

For martial artists, cultivation isn't just about true qi and the physical body; more importantly, it's about the state of mind!

The higher one's state of mind, the better their grasp on cultivation, the faster their cultivation speed, and the greater their future achievements.

For this very reason, powerful cultivators have divided mental states into numerous levels.

"Mind Like Still Water" is precisely the second realm!

Mental states are even harder to cultivate than martial arts. In the entire academy, it was said that only the headmaster had reached this realm. Even she, renowned for her unparalleled talent, having reached the peak of Martial Artist Fifth Layer, Dingli Realm, at only twenty years old — second only to the famous genius Prince Bai Xiao — was still very far from the second realm of mental cultivation.

She had thought it would be difficult for a second person in the entire academy to reach this realm. She never dreamed that the "trash teacher" everyone talked about had actually achieved it!

If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, she would never have believed it!

How was this possible?

This was the second realm of mental cultivation, even harder to achieve than reaching the Martial Artist Sixth or Seventh Layer!

"Could it be... he's not a waste at all, but rather... he deliberately scored zero on the faculty assessment, wanting to use others' ridicule to temper his mind?"

Suddenly, a strange idea emerged.

She had rarely interacted with Teacher Zhang Xuan before and didn't know much about him. But today, during their conversation, she found that he was not only vastly knowledgeable but his state of mind had also reached the second realm, "Mind Like Still Water."

This was something countless people yearned for but could never achieve!

It seemed his performance in the faculty assessment was all an act. He merely wanted to use others' insults to temper his mind and break through to the second realm of mental cultivation.

She refused to believe that someone with such a state of mind couldn't even pass a simple faculty assessment.

"Hmph, let's see how you keep up your act! I'll expose you!"

Realizing that she had also been fooled by this guy, Shen Biru gritted her teeth.

This guy was so annoying; she had to find an opportunity to expose him in public!