Chapter 773: Penniless

"Teach me?"

The woman's eyes lit up.

The Drifting Fragrance Dance Technique was her strongest ultimate move, which she had never been able to master. If she could truly correct it and master it, her strength would increase greatly!

"That's right. This dance technique lies in the state of mind. Although you lack the feeling of eternal devotion in passionate love, you have the cold solitude of being willing to endure loneliness for cultivation. As long as you bring out this state of mind, its power will be equally astonishing!"

Zhang Xuan pondered for a moment and said.

"I beg you... to teach me!"

The woman bowed with cupped fists.

Through the conversation just now, she already knew that his understanding of the Jinghong Master far surpassed hers.

Those who attain it are teachers. Although she was a Saint Domain powerhouse, when encountering someone who could resolve her doubts, she would sincerely seek guidance and not feel insulted.

"Hmm!" Seeing her attitude, Zhang Xuan nodded inwardly.

She was a true master who humbly learned, and could be convinced by knowledge. If she were a reckless person who didn't consider consequences, there would be no way.

After thinking for a moment and carefully deliberating according to her state of mind, he finally spoke and explained the revised Drifting Fragrance Dance Technique.

After hearing his words, the woman deliberated for a while, and the more she deliberated, the more astonished she became. Knowing that it was created entirely for her, she looked at him again, filled with admiration.

"I was too rash..."

Hastily dissolving the true qi cage around Zhang Xuan, the woman bowed with cupped fists to apologize.

Previously, she had suspected that this person intended harm to the Jinghong Academy or wanted to steal something from the library, but now, that thought was completely gone.

The books in this library were useful to the academy's students and teachers, but had no effect on her.

If they had little effect on her, how could this person, whose understanding of the Jinghong Master was deeper than hers, possibly covet them?

It seemed that the invisible person had nothing to do with this man; she had been overly sensitive.

"May I ask... what is this master's name?"

Having figured this out, the woman's attitude became much more amiable, and she asked with slight curiosity.

"Senior is too kind. I am Zhang Xuan, just a new student who just entered the academy!" Zhang Xuan hurriedly said.

"Zhang Xuan? You are Zhang Xuan?"

Stunned, the woman's eyes widened.

"You know my name?" Zhang Xuan looked over.

"Of course I know. Dean Mi actively chased after you to take you as a student, Dean Zhao willingly accepted you on behalf of his teacher... These two matters are being circulated among all the teachers. If I still didn't know, I would truly be isolated from the world..."

The woman smiled bitterly.

This new student had set so many records upon arrival. Although not widely spread among ordinary students, it was almost explosive among the teachers.

It could be said that since the establishment of the Master Teacher Academy over the years, there had never been a case where both deans were willing to befriend someone, yet the other party calmly refused.

"I thought that Master Zhang only had profound attainments in beast taming and artifact forging, but I didn't expect him to have such an understanding of Jinghong..." Sighing, the woman looked at him with admiration.

She had inquired about Zhang Xuan's background, and it was said that he had a teacher who could instruct Hall Master Mo.

How could such a person do anything detrimental to the Jinghong Academy?

She had truly wronged him.

"Senior is too kind. The Jinghong profession is vast and profound; I have only learned a fraction!" Zhang Xuan hurriedly said.

Every profession that has been passed down has its unique charm. Although he understood quite a bit about the Jinghong Master, it was only a drop in the bucket for the entire profession. Thus, saying this was not overly modest.

"To have such knowledge at such a young age without being arrogant—no wonder you have achieved so much!"

The woman nodded: "My name is Wei Ranxue, an elder of the academy. You far surpass me in the Jinghong profession; calling me 'senior' is truly undeserved. Just call me 'Xiao Wei.' In the future, I will likely have many difficult problems to consult you about!"

He had guided her, which counted as a half-teacher relationship.

Even if she was older and had higher cultivation, she dared not claim to be a senior.

"Alright!"

Seeing her sincerity, Zhang Xuan had no choice but to nod.

Such a form of address was nothing.

For example, Luo Qiqi was about the same age as him, and strictly speaking, slightly older, yet she also called him teacher.

This was a courtesy of "those who attain it are teachers" in the interaction of master teachers, and also a desire and recognition of knowledge.

"Master Zhang said earlier that you came here to take the Jinghong Master assessment. Could it be... you don't have a badge yet?" Remembering something, Wei Ranxue looked at him with confusion.

"I have always studied under my teacher and never taken any grade assessment..." Zhang Xuan said.

"No grade assessment? That's simple. The Jinghong Master is not like those upper-nine-rank professions that require various assessments to be awarded. Your understanding of Jinghong is deeper than mine, which I have personally verified and cannot be faked... How about this: I will apply for a six-star Jinghong Master badge for you right now and send it to you!"

Wei Ranxue smiled.

Upper-nine-rank professions have strict assessments, requiring various tests and even strict requirements for cultivation.

Although the Jinghong Master is one of the ten professions of the Master Teacher Academy, it is a lower-nine-rank profession and does not have such strict requirements. Since she had passed the six-star peak Jinghong Master review, she could help apply.

It wouldn't take much effort.

"Then thank you very much..."

Unexpectedly, she would take the initiative to apply for him. Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up, and he quickly cupped his fists.

Once the application succeeded, he would have two six-star auxiliary professions, and only four more were needed to assess for a six-star master teacher.

"You're welcome!"

Wei Ranxue nodded and smiled invitingly: "If Master Zhang doesn't mind, would you like to visit the Jinghong Hall for a chat, so I can learn from you?"

"In my current state... I'd better not disturb you. I just had an epiphany and also suffered a qi deviation, so it's inconvenient to impose..."

Looking down at his mud-covered clothes, Zhang Xuan said.

His physical body had been crashing into walls, and his soul had been attacked by her, causing injuries from the inside out. The urgent matter was to go back and recuperate.

"I was too rash..."

Only then did she remember that he had just suffered a qi deviation. Wei Ranxue felt a bit embarrassed.

"Farewell!"

Relieved, Zhang Xuan could no longer care about anything else and turned to leave.

There were very few male students in the Jinghong Academy, and it was already past noon. Walking through it inevitably attracted attention, but he couldn't worry about that now.

Hurrying all the way, he finally returned to the elite district, to his residence.

"Teacher, are you injured?"

As soon as he entered the room, Luo Qiqi came up to him. Seeing his disheveled appearance, she was startled.

"It's nothing. Let me rest first!"

Without explaining, Zhang Xuan pushed open his door and went in.

The physical injuries were not serious; the Heavenly Dao true qi would quickly heal them. The main issue was the soul.

Several heavy blows from the Saint Domain powerhouse left him feeling torn. If his soul body weren't strong, he might not have been able to hold on and would have collapsed on the spot.

Whoosh!

The soul appeared in the room, and with a light grasp, a high-grade spirit stone appeared in his palm.

"Heavenly Dao Soul!"

Without hesitation, Zhang Xuan immediately activated the cultivation technique of the soul. In an instant, countless pure spiritual energy rolled from the high-grade spirit stone into his entire body, repairing the injured areas.

Soul injuries were much harder to recover from than physical ones. Even with the Heavenly Dao technique and high-grade spirit stones, it still took a considerable amount of time.

It took a full two hours before his soul body was once again crystal clear and full of power, just like before.

"It seems that even if I want to read books, I need to be careful in the future!"

Returning to his body, Zhang Xuan reflected on today's events and felt helpless.

Previously, he had imagined finishing reading all the books in the Master Teacher Academy in ten days and then leaving, but now he realized it was still too naive.

Since the academy's library had many restrictions, it certainly wouldn't be easy to enter and exit, even for a soul.

Today, he was lucky to have learned the Jinghong Master profession and convinced her. If he hadn't learned it, or if she hadn't bought it, it would have been troublesome.

"Continue cultivating the soul; every bit of improvement counts!"

He had compiled two sets of Heavenly Dao soul cultivation techniques from the Jinghong Academy's library. Now that his soul power was restored, it was time to cultivate.

Only when the soul's strength was strong would reading be easier and not be discovered.

"Whoosh!"

He released his clone, and with a thought, transmitted the two simplified secret manuals to it.

The clone's power came from the soul. Without a technique, it had been stuck at the Spirit Fusion Realm for a long time without advancing.

With the secret manuals in hand, they could cultivate together.

Both souls left their bodies simultaneously, each holding a high-grade spirit stone. Zhang Xuan and his clone operated the power according to the newly obtained cultivation formulas.

Pure spiritual energy flowed through their bodies, and the aura of the souls gathered like rivers converging, growing stronger and denser.

After an unknown amount of time.

Rumble!

The souls shook, and both broke through simultaneously, reaching the Bridge Heaven Realm.

Continued absorption.

Bridge Heaven Realm Initial Stage!

Bridge Heaven Realm Middle Stage!

Bridge Heaven Realm Late Stage...

Half an hour later, both the original body and the clone had reached the Bridge Heaven Realm Peak.

Although the clone cultivated a simplified version of the Heavenly Dao technique, thanks to the nourishment of the Nine Heavens Lotus Embryo, its cultivation speed was on par with the original body.

Crack!

Just as they were about to continue breaking through to a higher realm, a crisp sound came, and the high-grade spirit stones in their hands shattered into powder.

Both the original body and the clone were ten-meter-tall soul bodies, requiring a huge amount of spiritual energy. One high-grade spirit stone was barely enough.

"Continue!"

His expression was solemn.

One high-grade spirit stone was consumed just to reach the Bridge Heaven Realm. The Unity Realm was even higher, and would likely require even more.

Exhaling, he took out all the remaining eight spirit stones, giving four to himself and four to the clone.

"Begin!"

The souls left their bodies and continued cultivating.

Breaking through to the Unity Realm consumed one high-grade spirit stone.

Reaching the Unity Realm Middle Stage consumed a little over one.

Soon, all four high-grade spirit stones were used up, and their strength stopped at the Unity Realm Late Stage, not even reaching the peak.

"This consumption is too great!"

Looking down at the remnants on the ground, seeing that all ten hard-earned high-grade spirit stones were completely depleted, and he had only just entered the Unity Realm Late Stage, Zhang Xuan's face was full of resentment.

He was only at the Unity Realm, and the consumption was already this huge. As the level increased, it would definitely require more. What should he do?

He had thought that with ten high-grade spirit stones, he had become a rich man, but who knew... in the blink of an eye, he had become penniless again!