Chapter 30: Shen Biru's Shock

"Reading seriously?" Old Man Mo's beard bristled as if he was about to explode with rage. "Not copying, not studying, just flipping through books randomly—tell me, is that how you read?"

"Does reading necessarily require copying and studying?" Zhang Xuan finally understood why the other was so angry and found it somewhat amusing.

In his previous life, he was a librarian, with a job similar to Old Man Mo's. As long as one had a library card, they could enter, sleep, eat, and do whatever they wanted as long as they didn't commit murder or arson—no one cared!

He had thought the man was making things difficult because his previous body had performed so poorly in the teacher assessment, but after all this fuss, it was because of this!

"These books were obtained by the academy's predecessors at great cost, each one imbued with their hard work. If you don't want to learn, don't touch them! Flipping through them carelessly like this—what else is that but causing trouble?" Old Man Mo waved his hand grandly.

"I... Fine, if you say I'm causing trouble, then I'm causing trouble!"

Wanting to explain, Zhang Xuan thought for a moment and couldn't help shaking his head.

He certainly couldn't mention the Heavenly Dao Library, and without that, he really couldn't explain why he was flipping through books so frantically.

Since he wasn't coming back anyway, there was no need to drag it out. His reputation was already ruined; a few more stains wouldn't matter.

"Good that you admit it! Get lost!" Seeing him confess, Old Man Mo's eyes showed deep disgust, and he waved his hand dismissively.

"Farewell!"

Just as he was about to leave, a figure flashed before him, and a fragrant breeze swept past as Shen Biru blocked his way: "Hold on!"

"What now?" Zhang Xuan looked helpless. "You read your books, I read mine—I haven't bothered you, have I?"

"Hmph!"

When she stopped someone, they would usually be thrilled to jump up, but this guy looked utterly impatient. Shen Biru frowned slightly. "That's not it. You said you were reading, right? Since you've been reading for so long, you should remember something, shouldn't you?"

"What do you mean?"

Not knowing what trick this woman was up to, Zhang Xuan looked at her with confusion.

"Simple. I just saw you flipping through the book 'Eight Methods of Alchemy,' and I happen to have some questions I don't understand. I'd like to ask for your guidance. As fellow teachers, you wouldn't refuse, would you?" Shen Biru said.

In truth, her idea was simple: wasn't this young man just pretending to flip through books?

So, if she deliberately asked a question he couldn't answer, his lie about reading would be exposed!

"Eight Methods of Alchemy?" Zhang Xuan's mind stirred, and a book appeared in his thoughts. He had indeed flipped through that book earlier. "Ask whatever you don't understand, and I'll help you. But I still need to go back for dinner, so I don't have much time. Hurry up..."

"You..."

Clenching her fists, Shen Biru nearly fainted from anger.

His tone was like that of a student consulting a teacher—full of impatience.

First, I'm a beauty; second, I'm a senior teacher at the academy and a star teacher! I'm testing you, but it sounds like I'm the one seeking your instruction!

Expertise has its specializations, and knowledge has its order. In the academy, teachers do consult and learn from each other, but you—a guy who scored zero on the teacher assessment—what right do you have to make me seek your guidance?

Suppressing her nearly exploding anger, Shen Biru gritted her teeth and looked at him. "I just saw the line, 'When medicine scatters in eight directions, the pill is hard to form; when medicine congeals in the furnace fire, the pill is like yolk.' I find it strange and don't understand it. Teacher Zhang, can you explain it for me?"

When she said the word 'explain,' she nearly ground her teeth to pieces, and the sound of grinding could be heard in her voice.

As a great beauty, she would never seek advice from a waste unless it was to make him look foolish.

"With a memory like yours, you still ask questions..." Zhang Xuan curled his lip when he heard her question. "The line is actually 'When medicine congeals in the furnace fire, the pill is hard to form; when medicine scatters in eight directions, the pill is like yolk!' The meaning is simple: when refining pills, if the powder or liquid congeals into lumps in the furnace fire, the medicinal effects can't fully merge, and the pill can't be formed! Conversely, if it scatters completely and merges fully, the resulting pill is like an egg yolk!"

Having flipped through all the books in the library, he could extract the correct alchemical methods with a thought. This bit of knowledge might stump others, but stumping him was a joke!

And the key point was... she had even misquoted the question! Her level was too low!

"What, can't answer? Huh... What did you say?"

She had thought the young man wouldn't be able to answer, but never dreamed he would blurt it out so casually. Shen Biru was caught off guard, startled, and her beautiful eyes nearly popped out.

She had deliberately misquoted the line to mislead him. In her view, this guy had just been putting on airs in the library, not actually reading anything. She had randomly picked a book he must not have seen!

Then, by deliberately misquoting, she could make him look utterly foolish and humiliate him!

But who would have thought... he spotted her misquote at a glance and gave the most correct explanation!

How... was that possible?

Could it be that this guy had actually memorized 'Eight Methods of Alchemy' with just a flip?

Impossible!

This guy couldn't even pass the teacher assessment, scoring zero—how could he know something as obscure as alchemy?

"Alright, any more questions?" Zhang Xuan urged, patting his growling stomach.

"There's more!" Shocked inwardly, but seeing his demeanor, Shen Biru snorted again. "There's another line I don't quite understand: 'Gold burned in fire, without quenching, does not fuse.'"

After saying this, she sneered inwardly, waiting to see him unable to answer.

The previous question was about alchemy, but this was a phrase from artifact forging. When she had seen this line in an ancient book, she studied it for over a month without understanding, until she finally met a master artifact forger and asked him to clarify!

She had only intended to make things difficult for him, to make him pay for offending her. But who knew he would casually explain the meaning of that line from 'Eight Methods of Alchemy'?

This stirred her competitive spirit, and she decided to throw out a tough question to leave him speechless.

"This..."

Old Man Mo, watching from the side, was also surprised that Zhang Xuan had answered the first question directly, but he wasn't particularly shocked.

'Eight Methods of Alchemy' was a basic primer for countless alchemists, like the 'Nine-layered Heavenly Art' for martial artists. Even those who didn't study alchemy might know something about it.

When Shen Biru asked the second question, he was stunned, because even he found it hard to answer.

"Gold burned in fire, without quenching, does not fuse?" Just as both thought he wouldn't be able to answer, Zhang Xuan shook his head and looked at them as if they were idiots. "What's so hard about that? It means that when forging artifacts, all materials must first be burned in fire, thoroughly quenched to remove impurities completely, only then can they be better fused together! Please, if you're going to ask, ask something difficult. These simple things will become clear if you read more books!"

"This..."

Shen Biru's body trembled.

She had consulted many people to find the answer to this question, and the young man had blurted it out in one go. This...

Not only her, but even Old Man Mo nearly fainted from shock.

A question even he couldn't answer, and the other had casually explained it. Could it be... he wasn't just flipping through books earlier, but actually reading?

"Teacher Zhang Xuan, your answer isn't right, is it? I remember an explanation in a book called 'Miscellaneous Doubts' that differs from this. It says that if you want to add a metallic element to a pill, you must first quench it, otherwise it won't fuse!"

Still somewhat incredulous, she spoke up.

"You're mistaken. 'Miscellaneous Doubts' doesn't have that line, nor anything similar. What you're referring to should be from 'Miscellaneous Theories' by Senior Liu Ze. There is indeed a similar line there, but it's 'Gold burned in pill, without quenching, does not fuse,' not 'Gold burned in fire.'"

Zhang Xuan waved his hand.

He didn't know they were deliberately testing him; he thought they genuinely couldn't remember. He said casually, "Oh, that book is in the farthest corner of the ninth row of the library. The line you mentioned is on page 49. As for the line she asked about earlier, if you don't believe my explanation, you can open 'Three Secrets of Artifact Fire' by Senior Du Qu. That book is in the corner of the fifteenth row of shelves, and there's an explanation on page 24."

"Let me see!"

Shen Biru glanced at him doubtfully, then hurried into the library. After a moment, she returned with two books in hand, exactly 'Miscellaneous Theories' and 'Three Secrets of Artifact Fire.' When she flipped to the pages he mentioned, her body swayed, and she nearly fainted on the spot.

It was exactly as the young man had said—not a single difference!

Not only had he remembered the line, but he could also recall which book, which position, and which page!

Was that real or fake?