Chapter 346: Physicians' Guild

Mu Xueqing and the others left the classroom, and Zhang Xuan followed suit. To quickly enhance Lu Chong's strength, he needed to acquire sufficient herbs to formulate poisons. Remaining at the academy would not allow him to obtain these items.

"There are only two sources for these herbs: a 'Medicine King' or the Physician Guild!" he mused as he walked.

A "Medicine King" is essentially a supplier who accumulates vast quantities of medicinal ingredients, earning them this title. The Grand Medicine King of Red Lotus City, for instance, was the largest herbal trader in the surrounding thirteen kingdoms.

"If Tianwu Royal City had a Medicine King, Bai Chan and the others wouldn't have needed to travel all the way to Red Lotus City to buy herbs... I should just go to the Physician Guild!"

The fact that Bai Chan and many other physicians traveled to Red Lotus City to purchase herbs indicated that Tianwu Kingdom either had no Medicine King or, if it did, its stock of medicinal ingredients was incomplete. Otherwise, no one would risk traveling such a long distance just to buy supplies.

Given this, it was better to go directly to the Physician Guild.

Both the Alchemist Guild and the Physician Guild use medicinal ingredients. However, the former primarily refines drugs related to cultivation, stocking mostly tonics and spiritual medicines. The latter, when treating patients, can also incorporate poisons into their remedies. Therefore, only the Physician Guild would be able to provide these specific items.

After leaving campus, he asked around and quickly found out the location of the Physician Guild.

It wasn't too far from Tianwu Academy; half an hour later, he arrived.

Compared to the Master Teacher Pavilion, the Physician Guild was considerably less grand, yet it was still much larger and more imposing than the Calligrapher-Painter Guild.

Entering the main hall, he immediately saw many people gathered, queuing neatly. In the front, apprentices were consulting, much like hospitals in his previous life.

He bypassed the crowd and approached the front desk, where a young woman in her twenties greeted him with a sweet smile.

"How may I help you, young master?"

"I'd like to buy some medicinal ingredients!" Zhang Xuan replied.

"Buy herbs?" The young woman paused, then politely looked at him. "Please present your prescription!"

"A prescription?" He was there to buy herbs; why would he have that?

"You need a prescription to buy herbs..." Seeing his confused expression, the young woman frowned slightly.

"Where do I get a prescription?" Zhang Xuan asked.

"Physicians and apprentices can both write them!" The young woman looked at him as if he were an alien. "However, apprentices can only prescribe lower-grade medicines. If what you want to buy is more valuable, you'll need to see a physician!"

He didn't even know who could write a prescription and yet dared to come here to buy medicine. It was a good thing her temper was amiable; otherwise, she would have certainly taken him for a troublemaker and kicked him out.

"Oh, the herbs I want aren't high-grade, just rather rare. Let me tell you what they are, and you can tell me whether a physician or an apprentice needs to write the prescription for them."

Glancing at the long queue, Zhang Xuan decided to clarify things first.

What if he waited in line behind an apprentice for several hours, only to find they couldn't prescribe what he needed? That would be a complete waste.

"Alright," the young woman nodded.

"I need White Angelica Flower, Red-tailed Autumn Leaf, Wolfsbane Grass..." After thinking for a moment, Zhang Xuan listed more than a dozen herbs.

Before he could finish, the young woman across from him widened her eyes, looking at him as if he were a monster. Then, with a wary expression, she took a few steps back and struck a bronze gong behind her. "Guard team, we have a troublemaker..."

"..." Zhang Xuan was speechless.

*Clang! Clang!* Several armored guards approached.

"Miss Yarou, what's wrong?" The guard captain was a tall, burly man, built like an iron tower, exuding an intense aura of pressure.

He was actually a Tongxuan realm expert.

"This person is deliberately causing trouble..." Yarou, the attendant, pointed.

"Ahem..." Zhang Xuan shook his head, surprised to be mistaken for a troublemaker when he simply came to buy herbs. "I'm a teacher from Tianwu Academy; I came specifically to purchase medicines!"

With that, he took out the emblem that signified his teacher status.

He certainly didn't want to be thrown out right after entering the guild.

"So it's Teacher Liu! My apologies!" The guard captain examined the emblem carefully, clasped his fist, and then looked at Yarou with confusion. "What's going on here?"

Tianwu Academy was renowned as a sacred land of cultivation, and its teachers held high status within the royal city, making them not to be underestimated.

Since the other party was a teacher, one who upheld their status, how could they possibly be causing trouble?

"He... he doesn't even have a prescription and wants to buy prohibited herbs like White Angelica Flower, Red-tailed Autumn Leaf, and Wolfsbane Grass. What else would you call that besides causing trouble?" Yarou was stunned to learn that this clueless fellow was an academy teacher.

"Buying prohibited herbs?" Understanding the situation, the guard captain looked at Zhang Xuan. "Teacher Liu, the guild does not easily sell prohibited herbs, especially highly toxic ones like Wolfsbane Grass. Even with a prescription, you wouldn't be able to buy them, unless... the physician himself comes forward. Otherwise, the guild cannot sell them!"

"You can't buy them even with a prescription?"

"That's right! These prohibited herbs are highly toxic. The guild has these strict requirements to prevent unscrupulous individuals from using them for malicious purposes. We hope you understand!" The guard captain cupped his fist.

If the other party hadn't been an academy teacher, he would have certainly assumed they were there to cause trouble.

Knowing nothing and yet coming to the guild to buy prohibited herbs... he certainly had a lot of nerve.

"Oh!" Zhang Xuan nodded.

He could actually understand. In his previous life, powerful drugs like sleeping pills couldn't be bought, or bought in large quantities, even with a doctor's prescription.

This was also to prevent highly toxic substances from circulating and causing unnecessary problems.

"Since Teacher Liu understands the rules, please leave. Don't make things difficult for us..." Seeing that Zhang Xuan understood, the guard captain continued.

However, before he could finish, the young man in front of him furrowed his brow into a knot, shaking his head helplessly. "It seems... I'll have to take the physician's exam. Ugh, buying herbs is such a hassle..."

"Take the physician's exam?"

"Buying herbs is such a hassle?"

The guards and Yarou, the attendant, almost collapsed on the spot and fainted when they heard this.

Among the Upper Nine Paths professions, physicians ranked highly, and the difficulty of their examination was immense, as one could well imagine.

You're not even an apprentice, a guy who doesn't even know about prescriptions for buying herbs, yet you boast about taking the physician's exam, simply because buying herbs is "a hassle"...

Big brother, do you have to be so pretentious?

Yarou, in particular, had an ashen, displeased face.

She had seen people who liked to brag, but never someone who bragged this much.

Even if you didn't know you needed a prescription to buy herbs, or were ignorant of many rules, if you wanted to take the physician's exam, you surely had to understand medicinal ingredients!

You don't even know that White Angelica Flower, Red-tailed Autumn Leaf, and Wolfsbane Grass are prohibited herbs... and you want to take the physician's exam? What a joke!

"Teacher Liu, being a physician isn't as simple as you imagine..." Though his expression was grim, the guard captain suppressed his anger out of respect for the other party's status as an academy teacher, huffing out the words.

"Yes, I know! How could it be easy to become one of the Upper Nine Paths professions?" Zhang Xuan nodded.

Hearing him say he knew, the guard captain thought he had come to his senses and was about to respond, only to hear Zhang Xuan's next words, causing him to stumble and almost vomit blood.

The young man in front of him looked at him with a serious expression: "Excuse me... where does one take the physician's exam?"

He doesn't even know where to take the physician's exam... and he wants to take it?

"Over there, in the Physician Hall..." Forcing down his anger, the guard captain pointed forward.

Following the direction of the finger, Zhang Xuan indeed saw a large hall in the distance with three prominent characters: "Physician Hall!"

"Great, thank you! Could you please prepare the herbs I mentioned earlier? I'll come pick them up once I've finished my physician's exam!"

Knowing the location, Zhang Xuan turned to instruct Yarou, the attendant, and then walked directly forward.

"Braggart!" Seeing him leave, Yarou could no longer hold back and scoffed, her eyes full of disdain.

Now she was 100% certain that this guy was just there to cause trouble.

Otherwise, who would try to take a physician's exam without knowing anything?

"He certainly seems unreliable. How could such a noble profession as a physician be something you can just decide to test for on a whim?" The guard captain also shook his head.

If he had said he had studied before, that would be one thing. But he didn't even know where to take the physician's exam, or that he needed a prescription to buy herbs, yet he wanted to be examined...

Did he really think this profession was easy?

"That's not necessarily true," a guard interjected. "I recall there was a case in our guild before where someone, not even an apprentice, directly passed the One-Star Physician exam!"

"Oh, you're talking about Three-Star Physician Mu Hong. He's different. He comes from a distinguished medical lineage; his ancestors were all physician families. Although he had never taken an exam at the guild, he possessed genuine skills, which is why he could pass on his first attempt!" the guard captain explained.

The other guard was right; there indeed was such a precedent in the guild.

It was the very famous Physician Mu Hong.

At the time, even though this physician had never taken an exam and wasn't even an apprentice, he had already gained considerable fame by constantly following his father and treating patients.

"He's just an arrogant fool; how could he compare to Physician Mu Hong?" Yarou scoffed.

Physician Mu Hong had studied medicine since childhood, began treating patients independently at thirteen, and although he had never taken an exam, he practically grew up in the Physician Guild and was familiar with everything there.

But this fellow in front of them knew nothing, looked completely clueless, and didn't even know about prohibited herbs... How could they possibly compare?

"It's hard to say. Regardless, this person is a teacher from Tianwu Academy. He wouldn't disregard his own reputation, would he?" the guard captain said.

"Well..." Yarou was silenced.

The teaching profession, upon closer inspection, might not be as prestigious as that of a physician, but due to the Master Teacher lineage, teachers were highly respected. A formal teacher from a reputable academy surely wouldn't disregard their status and deliberately cause trouble!

"Perhaps he's someone with genuine ability!"

"Yes, it's possible he's like Physician Mu Hong, never having taken an exam. If he were to take one, he might just astound everyone!"

The two guards still held considerable respect for the teaching profession.

"When you put it that way, it's not impossible..." Hearing everyone's analysis, Yarou hesitated, then finally nodded. Just as she was about to speak again, she saw the young man who had just left return, looking a bit sheepish.

"Excuse me... what are the steps for the physician's exam? And are there any books I need to read?"

"..." Yarou was speechless.

"..." The guards were speechless.