Chapter 210: 210. Teacher Acknowledgement (First Half)

"Actually, the Poison Hall refers to the Poison Master Guild!"

"Poison Master Guild?" Zhang Xuan blinked his eyes blankly.

Since it's a guild, it should be called Poison Master Guild just like the Apothecary Guild, Blacksmith Guild, and Teachers Guild. Why would it be called the Poison Hall?

The name sounded eerie.

"Do you feel like since it's a guild, it should just name itself as a guild just like the others? Are you wondering why it would be called the bizarre name of Poison Hall?" Seeing through Zhang Xuan's doubts, Liu Ling explained, "Actually, this has something to do with the identity of Poison Masters.

"Poison Masters are adept in utilizing poison. Often, their means can get through the guard of others, inducing massive fear against them. Reviling their underhanded means, they are classified in the Lower Nine Paths. On the other hand, due to their fearsome means, countless experts of the continent allied together to deal with the Poison Master Guild. Back then, when the guild was destroyed, countless poison masters died in the ordeal.

"Afterwards, even though they had managed to pass down their heritage, in fear of the same thing occurring to them once more, they dared not appear in the world. As a result, they secretly formed the Poison Hall and hid amid the mountains and rivers. This is precisely the reason why even though there are poison masters, they are hard to find within the kingdom. If one has to speak of a place which has the most books on poison, it has to be here. It's just that even I cannot confirm its exact location."

Liu Ling shook his head.

"Ah…"

Zhang Xuan smiled wryly.

In the end, Liu Ling's words turned out to be pointless.

What Zhang Xuan needed now were books on poison. If he was unable to find the Poison Hall, there wasn't any point listening to all of this.

"Playing with poison is extremely dangerous. Many poison masters, in order to concoct more potent poisons, often use their own bodies as test subjects. As such, very few of them live for long. Very few people want to come into contact with poison without sufficient reason. Zhang laoshi, may I know what you intend to do by asking for books of this kind?"

The three master teachers were perplexed.

Due to the lethal nature of poison, unless one possessed a great hatred for someone stronger than them and needed the strength of poison to exact their vengeance, very few people would dabble in it.

Even if people didn't try the poison they concocted for themselves, coming into contact with poison daily would also result in minute doses of it being absorbed into their body daily. Eventually, it would accumulate, so most poison masters couldn't live for long. This had also caused most of their personalities to be eccentric.

It could be said that just speaking of this occupation was sufficient to leave people apprehensive. Very few people would be willing to come into contact with it. This Zhang laoshi refused to become their apprentice and asked them about this matter instead. The master teachers couldn't stop from feeling curious about this matter.

"I am just asking out of curiosity." Zhang Xuan smiled.

He couldn't speak about the matter of him being poisoned. Otherwise, it would lead to questions like "Why isn't the poison acting up?" or "Why is your zhenqi so pure?" and eventually, it might expose the existence of the Library of Heaven's Path.

This item was his greatest secret, and he would never tell anyone about it.

Seeing that the other party was unwilling to say anything about the matter, Liu Ling asked no further either. After pondering for a moment, he added, "Actually, even though I don't know the exact location of the Poison Hall, I've heard that there is a Poison Hall branch in the Red Lotus Ridge, which is in the extreme northwest of Tier 1 Tianwu Kingdom. Of course, this is only hearsay. As for whether there is truly a branch there, I can't really confirm it."

"Tier 1 Tianwu Kingdom?" Zhang Xuan nodded his head. A book regarding the country appeared in his head.

If they had a 1-star master teacher backing the country, it would be eligible to be ranked as a Tier 2 Kingdom.

Given how Tianxuan Kingdom had no master teachers at all, it could only be considered as an unranked kingdom.

Tianwu Kingdom was the strongest kingdom of the surrounding territories reaching the level of Tier 1. It was even higher ranked than the Beiwu Kingdom Liu Ling came from. It was said that there was a 2-star master teacher backing the country.

This country wasn't too far from Tianxuan Kingdom. They could even be considered as close neighbors since they both bordered the Red Lotus Ridge.

"Other than the Poison Hall, the Master Teacher Pavilion also has books on all occupations. Plenty of them are on poison too. Even though the quantity and quality can't be compared to the former, the size of its collection far exceeds that of some countries. If you only wish to gain an understanding of the occupation, you should visit the Master Teacher Pavilion to take a look. But of course, if you wish to enter the book collection vault, you have to first pass the master teacher examination."

Zhuang Xian smiled. It seemed like he hadn't given up on the idea of having Zhang Xuan come under him as his apprentice.

"Master Teacher Pavilion?"

"Yeah. Even though master teachers come into the Teachers Guild in name, due to their prestigious identity, the guild isn't capable of interfering in their affairs. Thus, another autonomous organization was created to govern the master teachers and conduct examinations. It's known as the Master Teacher Pavilion."

Zhuang Xian added, "The Master Teacher Pavilion is actually just like any other guild. The treasures and secret manuals within are only accessible by master teachers. Its book collection vault contains the knowledge of countless occupations, so there's surely books regarding poison there."

"Oh!" Zhang Xuan nodded his head.

It seemed that if he wasn't able to find the Poison Hall, becoming a master teacher and entering the book collection vault of the Master Teacher Pavilion could solve his current problem too.

"Alright, we hope that you can give this matter more thought. Given your talent, as long as you study diligently, you will surely be able to become a master teacher one day. You shouldn't think too much about other things."

The four of them chatted awhile longer, but upon seeing that the young man seemed to be truly disinterested in becoming their apprentice, Liu Ling offered Zhang Xuan advice before leaving with the other two.

They knew that it was best to slowly convince a talented teacher like Zhang Xuan instead of pressuring him. Perhaps he might truly change his mind within a couple of days. If they were to keep persistently questioning him about the matter, it might have the opposite effect instead.

After the trio left, the several students immediately ran up to Zhang laoshi. Admiration glimmered in their eyes.

Did you see that? Other teachers would definitely lose their mind upon hearing that a master teacher wanted to accept them as their student, yet our Zhang laoshi simply rejected three master teachers calmly….

Isn't he too incredible!

"Don't give me those looks. I haven't settled the score with you all from the recent event!"

Zhang Xuan's complexion darkened.

These brats had actually said that the three master teachers were lecherous peeping toms. It was fortunate that it was only ink and the other party didn't intend to pursue the matter. Otherwise, even Zhang Xuan would be stumped by this problem.

After rebuking them, he went ahead to guide them one by one. After all was said and done, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of satisfaction.

Even though these fellows were mischievous and unreliable, they were extremely serious in their training, not slacking off in the least.

Other than Yuan Tao, his other students had all reached Fighter 2-dan Dantian realm.

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Initially, he thought that the one who would improve the most would be Zheng Yang, but contrary to his expectations, it turned out to be the weak-looking Wang Ying.

In just a short few days, her cultivation had soared. Not only did she break through the Fighter 2-dan barrier, she reached the pinnacle of Fighter 2-dan intermediate stage, and she was currently just a step away from reaching advanced stage!

The rate of her improvement was nothing short of shocking.

Even though this lass may seem airheaded on the surface and she blushed easily when speaking with others, she actually possessed an extraordinarily determined will. When she hardened her resolve to accomplish something, not even Zhao Ya would be able to best her.

His other students had also done well.

However, that was to be expected. After all, he had imparted them with the cultivation techniques and battle techniques compiled by the library. If they were unable to achieve such a level of improvement, it would truly be embarrassing.

Through the library, Zhang Xuan could tell that his five students had been secretly cultivating a joint attack formation. Taking a single look, there weren't any disadvantages to the formation. Instead, it augmented their combined fighting power.

As long as they weren't fooling around, Zhang Xuan wouldn't interfere in their affairs.

Nurturing a student was different from raising a plant or a pet. A teacher ought to guide them onto the right path and impart them knowledge to help with their cultivation. Otherwise, if a teacher restricted them in whatever they did, they would lose their independence, becoming nothing more than puppets.

It was just like how the rote learning method in Zhang Xuan's previous life had killed the creativity of numerous children, mass producing adults who were only capable of testing well.

Right after finishing his lecture, Zhang Xuan would leave the classroom. In fact, there were times he would stay out for several days. While there were compelling reasons for his absence, Zhang Xuan wasn't being irresponsible. Rather, he was worried that if he kept interfering in their training, it might impede them from becoming true experts in the future.

A true teacher should impart knowledge and guide students, but not restrain them.

"In order to take the master teacher examination, I need to become an apprentice…. But I don't want to acknowledge Liu Ling and the others as my teacher…."

After instructing his students one by one, Zhang Xuan fell into a dilemma once more.

Apprentice, master teacher; master teacher, apprentice. It felt cyclical, leaving Zhang Xuan with a splitting headache.

'Right, I can choose to become my own apprentice instead!'

After being conflicted for a period of time, a thought abruptly appeared in Zhang Xuan's mind.

Other than Zhang Xuan, wasn't he "Yang shi" as well?

In the minds of others, Yang shi was a master teacher as well. If Zhang Xuan became his apprentice, wasn't he also qualified to take the master teacher examination? Even if Yang shi was unable to provide a recommendation letter for him, he could ask Liu Ling and the others to do so in his place.

When "Yang shi" asks for a favor, who wouldn't comply?

"I'll do it that way then!"

Chuckling softly, Zhang Xuan left the academy and headed toward his mansion.

If he wanted to become Yang shi's apprentice, "Yang shi" had to speak.

……………………

Leaving the academy, Liu Ling and the others smiled bitterly at their failure of being unable to take Zhang Xuan as their apprentice.

Putting aside a remote country like Tianxuan Kingdom, even in Beiwu Kingdom and Hanwu Kingdom, as long as they showed the slightest bit of intention of taking an apprentice, countless star teachers would come fighting for the position.

Yet they had revealed their intentions clearly to this fellow, only to be rejected by him…. They very much so wondered what was in his head.

"To be able to reach an astounding level of mastery in painting, pill forging, and the Way of Tea at such a young age, it is natural for him to be complacent!" Liu Ling commented, remembering the varied and incredible feats the other party had done.

"Indeed! We need not hurry. Tomorrow is the Teacher Evaluation between him and Lu Xun. Perhaps he's thinking of achieving a flawless victory before coming under us. This way, it would be much more justified and glorious," Zhuang Xian guessed upon remembering the event.

"That's possible…"

The other two nodded their heads in unison.

The reason for his rejection might be due to this matter as well.

Otherwise, even if he was unwilling to become their student, would he be willing to give up on the opportunity to become eligible for the master teacher examination?

This was the pursuit of all teachers in the world. It was just like becoming an expert in the path of cultivation, it was something that no one in the occupation would be able to resist.

"We must come over to watch tomorrow's duel. However, before that… should we deal with our personal affairs first?" Liu Ling suddenly said.

"You mean… acknowledging Yang shi as our teacher?"

Zhuang Xian's eyes lit up.

It was impossible for a person to only have a single master in their entire life. This logic applied to master teachers too. Upon reaching higher levels, one could acknowledge another teacher to learn from them.

"Indeed. Since Yang shi was able to easily help Shen Hong and Zheng Fei achieve breakthroughs, it is clear that his methods are much more advanced than ours. If we can acknowledge him as our teacher, we might be able to break through our bottleneck and gain the qualification to become 2-star master teachers. In fact… we might even pass with a single attempt with his guidance!"

The more Liu Ling said, the brighter his eyes shone.

A good teacher would be beneficial to their future development.

After the past few incidents, Yang shi had fully displayed his extraordinary capabilities. If they could acknowledge him as their teacher, they might be able to reach greater heights…

Reaching the level in their dreams, but beyond their reach.

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