Chapter 813: You Can't Get Hurt

“How about it? Is such a fundamental knowledge lecture worth 200 middle-grade spirit stones?” Seeing his expression, Sun Qiang knew he was captivated by Wang Ying’s explanation. He looked over with a smile.

He was extremely confident in the knowledge and theories of his master and young master.

So many master teachers had once submitted to his master; wouldn’t it be easy to impress an inexperienced young man like this?

“Worth it, absolutely worth it!”

Xue Zhenyang nodded quickly.

“Alright, where are your subordinates? For every lecture Wang Ying and the others give, each person will need to pay 200 middle-grade spirit stones. You’d best prepare the payment first before we go, otherwise… we’ll drop this matter!”

Sun Qiang was a shrewd businessman; since he’d set a price, he naturally aimed for the greatest profit.

“200 middle-grade spirit stones per lecture?” Xue Zhenyang’s mouth twitched, but he immediately nodded. “Alright!”

For master teachers, apart from direct disciples or personal instruction, external lectures usually came at a high price. Given how profound Elder Aunt Wang Ying, Elder Uncle Liu Yang, and Teacher Zheng Yang’s understanding of cultivation was, 200 middle-grade spirit stones for one lesson was quite cheap.

Although Master Kong, when he established the master teacher profession, aimed to educate the world and help everyone achieve greatness, he didn't teach just anyone.

Otherwise, there wouldn't have been only seventy-two true disciples.

It’s said that Master Kong’s initial intention was indeed to teach all without discrimination. Unfortunately, one student later misunderstood his cultivation methods, which led to countless geniuses being ruined after adopting that student’s incorrect knowledge.

An incompetent doctor harms people, and an incompetent teacher harms a nation!

The saying "the Dao should not be carelessly revealed, and methods should not be lightly passed on" precisely refers to this.

This is why there were later classifications like direct disciples, lecture attendees, and auditors, leading to the concept of a "half-teacher" relationship.

With students categorized in various ways, master teachers naturally needed to collect fees.

“Alright, you can arrange when the lectures will take place!” Seeing the other party agree, Sun Qiang nodded in satisfaction.

He was just worrying about money, and this fellow delivered it right to him. What a good person!

It seemed that if they ever got truly poor in the future, opening a training class could also bring in a lot of income…

“Naturally, the sooner, the better. How about Teacher Zheng Yang and the two Elder Uncles go over at dawn?” Xue Zhenyang said eagerly.

Seizing this opportunity, the True Yang Society would surely soar. Naturally, the faster, the better, the sooner, the better!

“At dawn?” Sun Qiang hadn't expected the other party to be so eager. After pondering for a moment, he said, “That works!”

It wasn't a major issue; at most, he'd go report it to the young master at dawn.

“Alright then, tomorrow morning, you all will come with me to the Master Teacher Academy!” Hearing the agreement, Xue Zhenyang nodded repeatedly in excitement.

“Master Teacher Academy?” Everyone was stunned. Sun Qiang was startled and looked over. “You’re… a master teacher?”

“That’s right!” Xue Zhenyang nodded.

“This…” Everyone exchanged glances.

They had thought he was some ignorant fellow who popped up out of nowhere, but he turned out to be a top student from the Master Teacher Academy…

Their young master was also at the academy; wouldn’t it be a bit awkward for them to go there to teach?

“Uncle Qiang, what should we do?”

Everyone’s gaze simultaneously focused on Sun Qiang, sending him mental messages.

“Well… it should be fine, right? So what if they’re master teachers? Plenty of master teachers have submitted to the master’s authority, even Hall Master Mo was full of admiration, wasn’t he? There’s no need to be afraid to teach master teachers! You just need to lecture carefully according to the content the young master taught you, and there… shouldn’t be any problems!”

Sun Qiang hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth.

He had always been a fearless individual. So what if it was the Master Teacher Academy?

They were the ones inviting them to teach, not the other way around!

“Then… what about Teacher?”

Wang Ying was a little worried.

“I’ll talk to the young master about it. You just go ahead and teach… As long as we can earn money, the young master shouldn’t say anything!” Sun Qiang said.

They were as poor as ghosts now. Without income, they couldn't just starve!

They had finally encountered a generous patron; it would be a real pity to let this opportunity slip by.

Surely, the young master would understand.

“Alright… Teacher has always taken care of us, it’s time we did something for him!”

Wang Ying and the others nodded, their fists clenched.

Their teacher had always guided them and provided them with various cultivation resources. Now that they had the chance, it was their turn to earn money and repay him.

“Good, it’s settled then. You can rest here tonight, and tomorrow, Wang Ying, Zheng Yang, and the others will go with you to the Master Teacher Academy!”

After the discussion concluded, Sun Qiang didn't waste any more words and stated directly.

“Alright!” Xue Zhenyang nodded repeatedly in excitement.

After several hours, Zhang Xuan finally imprinted all the books from the Physician Academy into his mind. Only then did he sigh in relief.

He found an opportunity to slip out of the library and return to his residence.

“Heaven’s Path Medical Arts!”

With a thought, the numerous books converged, quickly forming six volumes, representing the first to sixth stars.

As he was already a four-star physician, it didn't matter whether he reviewed the earlier volumes or not, so he directly picked up the fifth one.

*Whoosh!*

The content of the book transformed into a torrent, imprinting itself upon his mind as Zhang Xuan rapidly absorbed the knowledge.

After an unknown period, he finally fully comprehended the book.

He then looked at the sixth volume.

After more than half an hour, he had finished studying it as well.

After completing his study, he integrated the first four volumes into his mind and found many similarities with his previous compilations, with no major changes.

“Now, my medical skills are no weaker than, and perhaps even stronger than, those of a peak six-star physician…”

Having finished studying all six volumes of the Heaven’s Path Medical Arts, Zhang Xuan let out a breath.

His medical skills were now so advanced that even the Dean of the Physician Academy would likely fall far short in comparison. He had reached the pinnacle of the six-star level and was even on par with some seven-star physicians.

“Wei Ruyan’s condition…”

Despite his significant progress in medical arts, he recalled Wei Ruyan’s condition and pondered for a long time, but ultimately shook his head.

The girl possessed an innate toxic constitution, compounded by damage sustained in the womb. Both her body and soul were already on the verge of collapse. Even now, he couldn't think of a better solution than to gently nourish her soul and strengthen her physical body.

“If I obtain the Ten-Leaf Flower and combine it with some other herbs to enhance its effects, it should help her soul recover faster.”

The Ten-Leaf Flower at Vice Dean You’s place hadn't fully matured yet, so its effectiveness would be considerably weaker. Previously, there wasn't much he could do, but now, with his improved medical skills, he could combine it with other medicinal ingredients to greatly amplify its effects.

“Another night has passed!”

Dismissing these thoughts, Zhang Xuan stretched, walked out of his room, and realized that dawn had broken.

Sunlight spilled into the courtyard, casting a golden glow upon the ground.

“Teacher!”

After eating some breakfast and just as he was about to leave, Luo Qiqi walked in.

“You came at a good time. There was something I forgot to ask you yesterday!”

Seeing her arrive, Zhang Xuan remembered something and looked at her with a smile.

Yesterday, he had been preoccupied with finding Wu Yangzi's former residence, and when he later learned the mansion was his own, he was so utterly shocked that he forgot an important matter.

“Please tell me, Teacher!” Luo Qiqi looked at him curiously.

“Have you ever heard of the Cloud Mist Flower?” Zhang Xuan asked.

He had noticed Wei Changfeng acting a bit strangely yesterday, but after asking and being told it was nothing, he hadn't thought much of it. Now that he thought about it, it might not be that simple.

“Cloud Mist Flower? Teacher, are you referring to the Cloud Mist Flower from Cloud Mist Ridge that can be brewed into tea?” Luo Qiqi considered for a moment before replying.

“That’s the one!”

He didn't know about Cloud Mist Ridge, but Wei Changfeng had indeed mentioned that this flower could be processed into tea, was incredibly fragrant, and had a misty appearance, making it very valuable.

“This plant grows in Cloud Mist Ridge. Not only is it rare, but it’s also very difficult to harvest. There are only a few specimens in the entire Hongyuan Empire; even the imperial family only has the opportunity to use it when hosting foreign envoys!”

Luo Qiqi thought for a moment and said, “I only learned about it after hearing Yu Fei’er mention it once!”

“That rare?” Zhang Xuan was startled, his brows furrowing. “What did you mean just now by ‘difficult to harvest’?”

“Oh, Cloud Mist Ridge is part of the Hongyuan Mountain Range, a gathering place for spirit beasts. Countless spirit beasts and saint beasts reside there. As soon as humans enter, they are ambushed, making it extremely dangerous. Even a grandmaster beast tamer like Dean Mi wouldn’t dare to venture deep inside!”

Luo Qiqi added, “Because of this, it’s also known as a forbidden zone for humans!”

“Forbidden zone for humans?” His heart sank, and Zhang Xuan’s expression turned grim.

“Yes!” Seeing his change in color, Luo Qiqi looked at him, puzzled. “What’s wrong, Teacher?”

“What would happen if a Saint realm expert went in to harvest the Cloud Mist Flower?” Zhang Xuan asked, his gaze intense.

“A single Saint realm expert? They would almost certainly never return! The Cloud Mist Flowers preserved by the Hongyuan Empire's imperial family were almost all harvested by a combined effort of over a dozen Saint realm experts, and even then, they dared not collect too many. For one person to go alone, it’s virtually a death sentence; how could they possibly survive?” Luo Qiqi shook her head.

“Never return? This is bad!” His fists clenched.

Zhang Xuan finally understood why Wei Changfeng’s expression had turned grim upon hearing about the Cloud Mist Flower.

It seemed he was aware of the dangers there!

“No wonder that You Xu initially refused to sell, but later offered a Cloud Mist Flower as exchange… So that was his true intention!”

His face was ashen, and his entire being seemed to be a storm brewing, ready to erupt at any moment.

“Teacher…”

Luo Qiqi’s delicate body tensed.

Ever since she had known this teacher, he had always remained composed no matter the situation, even facing extreme danger in the underground palace with equanimity. But now, seeing him like this, something must have happened to enrage him.

“I’m fine!” Recovering himself, Zhang Xuan turned to his female disciple. “Where is Cloud Mist Ridge?”

“Cloud Mist Ridge is located directly east of here, about a thousand li away. It’s surrounded by mist all year round, hence its name, and it’s very easy to find!”

Luo Qiqi replied.

“Wait here. I’m going there!”

Knowing the location, Zhang Xuan wasted no more time. With a flicker of his body, he shot out of the room, leaped into the air.

At the same moment, he sent out a quick mental command, and soon after, the Violetwing Heavenly Gliding Beast flew over. He stepped onto its back, and they flew straight towards the east.

Wei Changfeng, since you have pledged allegiance and are my subordinate, then I… absolutely cannot allow anything to happen to you!