Chapter 376: Mu Dan Master

"Great!" Yuan Tao exclaimed with an excited chuckle, quickly catching it and tucking it into his embrace.

"We'll take our leave now!" Since Master Zhang wasn't there, there was no point in staying. The Grand Alchemist Steward Lu turned and left.

As soon as the two left, Zheng Yang and the others looked at Yuan Tao. "What do you want that medicine for?" The items from the Poison Hall were terrifying; no one wanted to get involved with them. Yet, Yuan Tao had actually asked for a bottle, making them wonder what he was thinking.

"Although Zhao Ya will continue her match with Mu Xueqing in three days, I keep getting angrier thinking about that Teacher Liu. I just can't swallow it without getting some revenge!" Yuan Tao's eyes gleamed.

"You mean... you want to use this poison to make him suffer a bit?" Zheng Yang's eyes also lit up.

"Exactly! He broke Zhao Ya's longsword with one finger and then chased us away. Who does he think he is? Showing off his strength? I despise this kind of pretense!" Yuan Tao gnashed his teeth.

He was an orphan, fearless since childhood. Now, he utterly detested Teacher Liu and naturally wanted to harm him. Even if he couldn't actually hurt him, he'd at least make him sick!

"Hehe, I like that. Count me in when the time comes..." Zheng Yang chuckled.

Seeing the two hatching schemes, Zhao Ya couldn't help but shake her head. Although she didn't approve of such things, she didn't oppose them either. In the cultivation world, if everyone were benevolent, the competition wouldn't be so fierce.

Zhang Xuan had no idea that several of his students were secretly plotting to cause him trouble. At that moment, he was sitting in the classroom, utterly speechless as Elder Bai continued to be unreasonable. This fellow had rushed over, insisting on becoming his disciple, which left Zhang Xuan feeling helpless. "You're a renowned elder of the academy, and if you want to take a master, fine, but why are you so righteous about wanting to learn from my *student*... What kind of behavior is that?"

"Elder Bai, I truly cannot be your teacher... The blade art was created by my teacher, and without his permission, I cannot teach it to outsiders. Please understand!" After much effort, Mu Xueqing finally convinced Elder Bai to leave. She then approached Zhang Xuan, her face flushed. "Teacher, I've disgraced you!"

"The match is already over; there's no point in dwelling on it!" Zhang Xuan shook his head. Although he had been put in a very passive position by two groups of students, in truth, they had acted to help him gain honor, so they hadn't actually done anything wrong. It was just... that these two groups had encountered each other and refused to yield.

"Please, Teacher, guide me so I can improve my strength!" Seeing that her teacher wasn't blaming her, Mu Xueqing felt even more ashamed. She knelt on the ground, her eyes filled with determination.

"Improve your strength?" "Yes!" Mu Xueqing nodded.

"With your comprehension of blade intent, every move you make with your blade art is a technique, stronger than even Elder Bai's. There's nothing more to teach you in terms of martial skills. If you want to quickly enhance your combat power, there's only one way: improve your cultivation!" Zhang Xuan pondered for a moment before speaking.

To increase combat power, there are two aspects: first, improving one's cultivation level; second, cultivating powerful martial arts. Mu Xueqing had already reached a certain level of mastery over martial arts by practicing the Heaven's Path Blade Art and comprehending blade intent. To improve further, only the first option remained.

"Improve my strength?" Mu Xueqing's face fell like a bitter gourd. If cultivation were easy to improve, there wouldn't be so few experts. Especially upon reaching the Acupoint Opening Realm, each acupoint required careful exploration before it could be opened. Each additional acupoint took several months, so three days... probably wouldn't make much difference!

"For others, three days wouldn't yield much improvement, but you're different!" Seeing her frustration, Zhang Xuan smiled. "You've been taking pills since childhood, so you have accumulated drug toxins and a substantial amount of medicinal power stored within your body. If we can activate that medicinal power with a special method, a rapid surge in strength within a short time is not difficult!" Zhang Xuan explained.

His offer to help her improve her strength was, of course, well-considered. Mu Xueqing had consumed pills since childhood, leading to drug toxins and an accumulation of medicinal power in her body, much like fat, which couldn't be dissolved. If this medicinal power could be activated, her cultivation would undoubtedly improve quickly.

"This... Teacher... can that be done?" Mu Xueqing was stunned. Her teacher spoke simply, but coming from a family of alchemists, she knew the difficulty involved. Not to mention her, even her father or the Alchemist Guild President couldn't do it. Medicinal pills had potent effects and were considered great tonics. Just like fat, the body's absorption capacity had limits; what couldn't be absorbed would accumulate.

Normally, these would eventually dissolve as one's cultivation increased, but it would take a long time—years or even decades. To fully unleash medicinal power accumulated over many years and help her break through within three days... how could that be possible?

"Yes, but we'll need to prepare some things beforehand!" Zhang Xuan hesitated for a moment. These accumulated medicines would be hidden in various corners of the body, depending on the cultivator's physique and cultivation technique. Others wouldn't even be able to find them, let alone activate their medicinal effects. But he was different; in the books generated, these flaws were clearly visible, making them extremely easy to locate.

Once found, combined with pure Heaven's Path True Qi, the medicinal power could be easily dissolved and transformed into energy to boost one's strength. Of course, once so much energy was released, it would be as violent as a flood. For Lu Chong, there would be no worries, he could certainly endure it, but for Mu Xueqing, it was uncertain. She came from a good background and didn't cultivate diligently. If she couldn't withstand it, severe, irreversible injury would be a minor issue; the main concern was wasting this opportunity. Therefore, preparations were needed beforehand, ideally with a protective medicinal liquid.

"You should adjust your condition and stay here. I'm going to the Alchemist Guild!" After a moment's thought, Zhang Xuan instructed. This type of medicinal liquid, like the body-nourishing fluid he had prepared for Wang Ying previously, was only available at the Alchemist Guild.

"The Alchemist Guild? Teacher, why don't I go with you? My father is a two-star peak alchemist at the guild; he'll definitely do his best to help with anything you need!" Mu Xueqing quickly offered. "Alright!" Zhang Xuan paused for a moment, then nodded. His current identity as Liu Cheng was a disguise, so he naturally couldn't reveal his alchemist status. Having an alchemist help would save a lot of trouble.

After instructing Meng Tao and the others on their cultivation and checking Lu Chong's progress, finding no issues, Zhang Xuan led Mu Xueqing towards the Alchemist Guild. It had to be said that Lu Chong was indeed exceptionally ruthless in his cultivation; he had already practiced three times, endured immense pain, and achieved remarkable results.

His current strength was no weaker than that of an initial-stage Ethereal Realm cultivator. It seemed that with a few more sessions, defeating a peak Ethereal Realm cultivator would only be a matter of time.

They continued on their way. The guild wasn't too far from the academy, and in about half an hour, they arrived. The Alchemist Guild of Tianwu Kingdom was much more imposing and grander than that of Tianxuan Kingdom.

Mu Xueqing clearly came here often and, knowing her way around, quickly found her father, Alchemist Mu. "Thank you, President Liu, for helping my daughter resolve her hidden drug toxin issues..." Hearing that Teacher Liu had arrived, Alchemist Mu couldn't stay put and immediately came to greet him.

Although he was a two-star alchemist, the other party was the President of the Physician Guild and had solved a great problem for his daughter, even teaching her powerful martial arts. Therefore, he dared not act presumptuous in front of him. "My daughter just told me the situation. Teacher Liu wants to help her activate the medicinal power stored within her? Whatever you need from me, just say the word!" After a few pleasantries, Alchemist Mu spoke.

His daughter had just approached him, relaying Teacher Liu's decision, which still left him incredulous. As a two-star alchemist, he knew the difficulty of such a feat! If anyone else had said this, he would have dismissed it as bragging. But this person standing before him could even resolve drug toxins; perhaps he truly could accomplish something even the President couldn't.

"I need a portion of body-strengthening and origin-nourishing medicinal liquid, the higher the grade, the better!" Zhang Xuan hesitated for a moment. "Also, I'd like to consult your guild's library, if you could grant access!"

The body-strengthening and origin-nourishing medicinal liquid could protect the body from excessive harm, making the activation of medicinal power less dangerous. As for visiting the library... firstly, it was to enrich his own knowledge of alchemy; secondly, he also wanted to find a way to help Zhao Ya advance her cultivation.

Since both parties had agreed to another duel, he couldn't just help one improve and not the other. Although Zhao Ya didn't have a large accumulation of medicinal power, she possessed a Pure Yin physique. The Yin-Breaking Pill had only helped her activate ten percent of it. If it could be activated to twenty percent, her strength would undoubtedly increase significantly again.

Of course, the prerequisite was finding a method to improve her physique. He had found a way to use the Yin-Breaking Pill at the Tianxuan Kingdom Alchemist Guild; perhaps this guild also had similar descriptions.

"I'll go find the medicinal liquid; that's simple. As for the library? Normally, one isn't qualified to enter unless they are an official alchemist... However, President Liu is a formidable physician, and physicians and alchemists have commonalities. Moreover, you're helping my daughter activate her medicinal power... I'll apply to the President; perhaps an exception can be made!" Alchemist Mu said with some hesitation.

Under normal circumstances, the guild's library was only accessible to specialized professionals; outsiders were not qualified. However, the person before him was the President of the Physician Guild and his daughter's teacher. Even if it meant breaking the rules, he had to find a way to help.

"Alright!" Zhang Xuan nodded. Alchemist Mu stepped out and returned shortly. "The President has agreed!"

"Much obliged!" Instructing Mu Xueqing to prepare herself, Zhang Xuan nodded and, led by Alchemist Mu, strode towards the library.

In a classroom at Tianwu Academy. "Teacher Sun Cheng, the Headmaster is looking for you!" A teacher pushed open the door and entered.

"Me?" Teacher Sun was puzzled. "Yes, it seems to be about Teacher Liu Cheng!" the teacher replied.

"What happened to him?" Teacher Sun was startled. "You don't know, do you...?" Seeing his confused expression, the other teacher was speechless. So much commotion was happening outside, yet this fellow remained calm, peacefully teaching his class here.

"Teacher Liu's students and Master Teacher Zhang Xuan's students got into a fight... You and Teacher Liu entered the academy together and know each other well, so the Headmaster might want to discuss this with you!" the teacher explained.

"Teacher Liu... Master Teacher Zhang Xuan?" Teacher Sun was stunned. If Zhang Xuan had been there, he would have recognized that Teacher Sun Cheng was none other than Mo Hongyi, the peerless genius who had taken the two-star master teacher examination with him.