Chapter 359: Alchemist Mu

"Great!"

With an excited chuckle, Yuan Tao quickly caught it and tucked it into his bosom.

"We'll take our leave now!"

Since Master Zhang wasn't there, staying any longer was pointless. Steward Lu of the Great Medicine King turned and left.

As soon as the two left, Zheng Yang and the others looked at Yuan Tao.

"What are you getting that medicine for?"

The things from the Poison Hall were terrifying; no one wanted to touch them. But Yuan Tao had directly asked for a bottle—no one knew what he was thinking.

"Although Zhao Ya will compete with that Mu Xueqing again in three days, the more I think about that Teacher Liu, the angrier I get. If I don't get back at him, I won't be able to swallow it!" Yuan Tao's eyes flickered.

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

"Exactly! He snapped Zhao Ya's longsword with one finger and kicked us out. What's he pretending for? Showing off his strength? I hate that kind of pretentiousness!"

Yuan Tao gnashed his teeth.

He was an orphan, fearless since childhood. Now he loathed this Teacher Liu, so naturally he wanted to harm him—even if he couldn't, he'd at least disgust him!

"Heh heh, I like this. Count me in when you do it..."

Zheng Yang laughed.

Seeing the two plotting 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 world of cultivation, if everyone were merciful, the competition wouldn't be so fierce.

...

Zhang Xuan had no idea that his students were bent on finding a way to do him in. At that moment, he was sitting in the classroom, looking speechlessly at the unreasonable Elder Bai before him.

This guy had rushed over to become his disciple, leaving him somewhat helpless.

You're a renowned elder of the academy, and if you want to take a teacher, fine—but to take my student as your teacher, and so brazenly at that... what's that supposed to mean?

"Elder Bai, I really can't be your teacher... The saber technique was created by my teacher, and without his permission, I can't pass it on. Please forgive me!"

After spending a long time getting Elder Bai to leave, Mu Xueqing came to Zhang Xuan, her face flushed: "Teacher, I've let you down!"

"The competition is over; dwelling on it is useless!" Zhang Xuan shook his head.

Although he had been put in a difficult position by two groups of students, if he thought about it carefully, they had both been trying to win honor for him, and they hadn't done anything wrong.

The only mistake was that the two groups had run into each other and refused to yield.

"I beg you to guide me, Teacher, so I can improve my strength!"

Seeing that her teacher didn't blame her, Mu Xueqing felt even more ashamed. She knelt down, her eyes filled with determination.

"Improve your strength?"

"Yes!" Mu Xueqing nodded.

"You've comprehended saber intent, and your saber techniques are all spontaneous moves, even surpassing Elder Bai. In terms of martial skills, there's nothing more I can teach you. To quickly boost your combat power, there's only one way—raise your cultivation level!"

After a moment of thought, Zhang Xuan said.

To increase combat power, there were two aspects: first, raising cultivation; second, learning powerful martial skills.

By cultivating the Heavenly Dao Saber Technique and comprehending saber intent, Mu Xueqing had already reached a certain level in her mastery of martial skills. To improve further, only the first option remained.

"Raise my cultivation?" Mu Xueqing's face fell.

If cultivation were easy to raise, there wouldn't be so few experts.

Especially at the Aperture Opening realm, each aperture required careful exploration before it could be opened. Every additional aperture took months. In three days... the improvement would likely be minimal!

"For others, three days would indeed yield little improvement, but you're different!"

Seeing her frustration, Zhang Xuan smiled: "You've taken pills since childhood, and while there's pill poison in your body, there's also a lot of medicinal power stored and accumulated. If you can activate that medicinal power and combine it with a special method, a short-term surge in strength is not difficult!"

Zhang Xuan said.

The reason he said he could help her improve her strength was that he had already thought it through.

Mu Xueqing had taken pills since childhood; the pill poison remained in her body, but there was also more medicinal power accumulated, like fat that couldn't be broken down.

If he could activate that medicinal power, her cultivation would surely rise quickly.

"This... Teacher... can you do it?"

Mu Xueqing was stunned.

Her teacher made it sound simple, but coming from a family of alchemists, she knew the difficulty involved.

Not to mention her, even her father, or even the president of the Alchemist Guild, couldn't do it. The medicinal power of pills was fierce and nourishing, like fat; the body's absorption capacity had a limit, and what couldn't be absorbed would accumulate.

Normally, as cultivation increased, it would eventually be broken down, but that would take a long time—years or even decades.

To fully release the medicinal power accumulated over years within three days and help her break through... how was that possible?

"It's possible, but I need to prepare some things in advance."

Zhang Xuan hesitated for a moment.

These accumulated medicinal substances would be hidden in various places depending on the cultivator's physique and technique. For others, they couldn't even find them, let alone activate and release their effects. But he was different; in the books generated by the Library of Heaven's Path, these flaws were clearly visible, making them easy to locate.

Once found, combined with pure Heavenly Dao true energy, he could easily dissolve the medicinal power, turning it into energy to boost her strength.

Of course, once this energy is released, it will be as violent as a flood bursting its banks. If it were Lu Chong, there would be no need to worry—he would definitely be able to withstand it. But this Mu Xueqing might not.

She was born into a good family and hasn't trained hard. If she can't bear it, serious injury that can't be healed is the least of it; the main issue is that she'll waste this opportunity.

So, we need to prepare in advance, preferably with a medicinal liquid to protect the body.

"First, adjust your state and don't leave. I'm going to the Alchemist Guild!"

After thinking for a moment, Zhang Xuan instructed.

This kind of medicinal liquid, like the nourishing liquid he had prepared for Wang Ying before, was only available at the Alchemist Guild.

"Alchemist Guild? Teacher, how about I go with you? My father is a two-star peak alchemist in the guild. Whatever you need, he will definitely do his best to help!" Mu Xueqing said hastily.

"Alright!"

Startled for a moment, Zhang Xuan nodded.

He was currently disguised as Liu Cheng, so naturally he couldn't reveal his identity as an alchemist. Having an alchemist help would save a lot of trouble.

After instructing Meng Tao and the others on their training and checking Lu Chong's progress—finding no issues—Zhang Xuan led Mu Xueqing toward the Alchemist Guild.

It had to be said, this Lu Chong was indeed ruthless in his training. He had already trained three times, enduring immense pain, and the results were very significant.

His current strength was no weaker than even the initial stage of the Tongxuan realm.

It seemed that with a few more sessions, defeating a Tongxuan realm peak cultivator was only a matter of time.

Walking along, the guild was not too far from the academy. 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, knowing the way well. Before long, they found her father, Alchemist Mu.

"Thank you, President Liu, for resolving my daughter's pill poison隐患..."

Hearing that Teacher Liu had arrived, Alchemist Mu couldn't stay put and immediately came forward to greet him.

Although he was a two-star alchemist, the other party was the president of the Physician Guild and had solved a major problem for his daughter while teaching her powerful martial techniques. Therefore, he dared not act arrogantly in front of him.

"My daughter just told me the situation. Teacher Liu wants to help her activate the medicinal power stored in her body? What do you need from me? Just say the word!"

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Alchemist Mu spoke.

His daughter had just told him about this Teacher Liu's decision, and he still found it hard to believe.

As a two-star alchemist, he knew how difficult this task was!

If anyone else had said this, he would have thought they were boasting. But this man before him was someone who could even resolve pill poison; perhaps he could truly accomplish what even the guild president couldn't.

"I need a dose of medicinal liquid to strengthen the foundation and nourish the origin. The higher the grade, the better!"

Zhang Xuan hesitated for a moment: "Also, I'd like to take a look at your guild's library. I hope you can make an exception."

The medicinal liquid to strengthen the foundation and nourish the origin could protect the body from excessive harm, so activating the medicinal power would not be too dangerous.

As for visiting the library...

First, to enrich his alchemy knowledge; second, to find a way to help Zhao Ya advance her cultivation.

Since they 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 in her body, she had a Pure Yin constitution. The previous Poyin Pill had only activated ten percent of it. If he could activate it to twenty percent, her strength would surely increase significantly again.

Of course, the prerequisite was finding a method to enhance her constitution.

Previously, at the Tianxuan Kingdom Alchemist Guild, he had found the method to use the Poyin Pill. Perhaps this guild also had similar descriptions.

"I'll get the medicinal liquid—that's simple. As for visiting the library? Normally, non-official alchemists aren't qualified to enter... However, President Liu is a distinguished physician, and physicians and alchemists share common ground. Besides, you're helping my daughter activate her medicinal power... I'll go apply to the president; maybe he can make an exception!"

After hesitating for a moment, Alchemist Mu said.

Normally, the guild's library was only open to special professionals; outsiders had no qualifications.

However, the man 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.

"Mm!" Zhang Xuan nodded.

Alchemist Mu stepped out and returned shortly: "The president has agreed!"

"Thank you for your trouble!"

After instructing Mu Xueqing to adjust her state, Zhang Xuan nodded and, led by Alchemist Mu, strode toward the library.

...

In a classroom at Tianwu Academy.

"Teacher Sun Cheng, the dean is looking for you!"

A teacher pushed the door open and walked in.

"Me?" Teacher Sun was puzzled.

"Yes, it seems to be about Teacher Liu Cheng!" said the teacher.

"What happened to him?" Teacher Sun was startled.

"You don't know..." Seeing his bewildered expression, the teacher was speechless. The matter had caused such a stir outside, and only this guy could stay calm and continue teaching here.

"Teacher Liu's students got into a fight with Master Zhang Xuan's students... You and Teacher Liu entered the academy together and know each other well. The dean probably wants to discuss this with you!"

The teacher said.

"Teacher Liu... Master Zhang Xuan?" Teacher Sun stood dumbfounded.

If Zhang Xuan were here, he would surely recognize that this Teacher Sun Cheng was none other than the extraordinary genius who had taken the two-star master teacher exam with him... Mo Hongyi.