Library of Heaven's Path - Chapter 296

He had heard of experts injuring others because of a mere disagreement and had also heard of experts breaking societal conventions.
But he had never heard of experts going around accepting random strangers as students...
The middle-aged man blinked his eyes.
The ability to achieve Zongshi realm pinnacle bore testimony to his talents, but he was also aware that he was a far cry from true geniuses.
He wasn’t a genius, yet the other party, without thinking twice, offered to accept him as his disciple...
What in the world is going on?
"That's right! Are you bewildered why I would accept you as my student?" Zhang Xuan shook his hands casually. With profound intent and composure reflecting in his eyes, he spoke, "Your talent isn't top-notch and your cultivation isn't anything. Therefore, there should be no reason for me to have taken a fancy to you, right?"
"I..."
Having his thoughts verbalized, the middle-aged cultivator smiled awkwardly.
"I watched your battle with the Crimson Tiger, you complemented the [Verdant Stream Movement Technique] with [Hong Yan Fist]. Even though it's quite a good combo, you are unable to display the full might of these skills. If I'm not wrong, the Hong Yan Fist which you practice is incomplete!"
Zhang Xuan said, as a matter-of-factly.
"Elder... How did you know?" The middle-aged man's face warped in shock immediately.
The Verdant Stream Movement Technique was a famous movement technique in Tianwu Kingdom, so it wasn't surprising that the other party knew it. However, Hong Yan Fist was his exclusive technique. He happened to stumble upon the grave of a Zhizun expert inside a valley during his travels and, in it, he found the Hong Yan Fist secret manual.
The fist technique was created by an elder named Hong Yan. The technique allows the user to exert an immense force that is capable of breaking through even a savage beast's resilient defense.
Even though the secret manual left in the grave of the expert was an incomplete version, after practicing the technique for many years, the middle-aged cultivator had already mastered it, and he had since always regarded it as his trump card in times of danger. During the battle with the Crimson Tiger, he executed the technique with the intention of brushing up his skills. Never in his dreams did he expect that this elder would be able to recognize it in a single glance.
Zhang Xuan didn't reply his question. Rather, he continued impassively, "The Hong Yan Fist emphasizes heavily on brute force through huge motions. If you practiced just this battle technique, even though it is incomplete, there wouldn't be any adverse side effects. However, you cultivated the [Three Cun Fist] along with it. The main concept behind the idea is a burst of strength within three cun of space. The idea of huge motions and explosive strength is at odds with each other. If I'm not wrong, you should have some stubborn ailments on you!"
"I..."
The middle-aged man shuddered in astonishment and hurriedly clasped his fist out of respect, "Elder... you're right!"
The very first battle technique that he ever practiced was the Three Cun Fist.
Subsequently, when he encountered the Hong Yan Fist, he knew that it was likely that the two techniques would be in conflict, but was unwilling to allow such a powerful fist technique pass him by. Thus, he chose to practice it forcefully. He thought that given his identity, he would be able to solve all possible traumas easily. But who knew that the more he cultivated the technique, the greater the damage to his body was.
Especially in the recent few years, he could already sense that his stamina was far lacking as compared to before. This was precisely the reason why he wanted to tame this young Crimson Tiger. If anything happened to him, he could still ensure the safety of his kins.
"As a master teacher, despite knowing that there is a conflict between both fist techniques, you chose to go ahead and practice it, damaging your own body. Foolish." Zhang Xuan spoke sharply.
"Elder... You know that I'm a master teacher?" The middle-aged man stared at Zhang Xuan in disbelief.
In the previous battle, he had utilized both the Hong Yan Fist and Three Cun Fist, thus it wasn't surprising for the other party to be able to tell that much. However, he wasn't dressed in the master teacher robe and didn't don the emblem either. How did the other party know that he was a master teacher?
He didn't say anything that would have betrayed his identity!
"When you fought with the Crimson Tiger, you were able to predict and avoid the other party's lethal blows. Even though this is partly due to the numerous fights with it which resulted in familiarity with each other's techniques, the fact you were able to exploit the other party's weaknesses to launch counterattacks precisely every single time proves that you are a master teacher!" Zhang Xuan said.
Master teachers possess the State of Insight, which allows them to peer into the flaws and weaknesses of each battle technique. It is through such that they are able to pinpoint problems and their causes and steer their students to the right path.
This is also the reason why master teachers are the strongest among cultivators of the same realm.
In the battle just now, the middle-aged cultivator was able to strike a good balance between offense and defense. Despite facing a ferocious savage beast, he was able to remain calm, and every single move he made was purposeful. Any cultivator could have easily sensed that something was amiss.
Furthermore, when he fought with the Crimson Tiger previously, he had executed several battle techniques. As such, a book on him had been compiled in the Library of Heaven's Path...
"Elder, your eye of discernment is incredible..."
The middle-aged man contemplated for a brief moment and suddenly, his eyes lit up. "Can it be that... is elder a master teacher as well?"
Other than a master teacher, he couldn't think of anyone else who would be capable of discerning the battle technique he practiced, deduce that there was a problem with his body, and even identify his occupation.
As Zhang Xuan placed his hands behind his back, a mountainous breeze tugged on his robe, creating an impression reminiscent of a saint. "I spend my time traveling around the world, and it has been years since someone last addressed me by that title!"
"As expected, elder is a master teacher..."
Hearing the other party's words, the middle-aged man's eyes shone in agitation.
The fact that the other party was at least a Zhizun realm cultivator and that his discernment ability far surpassed his meant that... he was at least a 3-star master teacher!
If he was a master teacher, he could understand why the other party would request him to become his student although they had just met.
Master teachers bear the responsibility of educating the masses. Upon meeting the puzzled, they are to answer their doubts. This is precisely the reason why the human race was able to prosper throughout the entire land.
It was the reason why master teachers became an occupation respected by the masses.

The hierarchy among master teachers was strict. It was normal for a low-tier master teacher to address a high-tier master teacher as teacher, and there weren’t rules against acknowledging a fellow master teacher as one's teacher.
More importantly, given how the other party was able to see through his problems in a single glance, and that he could help him tame the Crimson Tiger, it would be nothing but advantageous for him to become his student!
"It's my honor to become elder's student!"
Holding back his agitation, he hastily replied with a reddened face.
"Do you not doubt me anymore?" Zhang Xuan asked.
"I dare not to!"
The middle-aged man quickly nodded his head.
Given the other party's indiscernible cultivation realm, Half-Zhizun tamed beast, and incredible discernment ability, even if the other party were to now claim that he wasn't a master teacher, he would definitely not believe it.
"The Crimson Tiger that you fought with has yet to mature, and his strength hasn't reached its peak yet. If you can find a way to raise its cultivation to Zongshi realm pinnacle, it won't be difficult for you to tame it!"
Now that the other party was convinced of his identity as a master teacher, the rest was easy to accomplish. Without further ado, Zhang Xuan began to toss out the benefits.
"That... I know that as well, and I've tried. However, I couldn’t find anything that can raise its cultivation..." The middle-aged man hesitated for a moment before answering.
Master teachers are expected to be knowledgeable in all occupations, and the middle-aged cultivator dabbled in beast taming, so he knew that he would have to offer some incentive to tame the other party. However... he had experimented numerous methods, but wasn't able to find anything which could help this Crimson Tiger achieve a breakthrough.
After all, the savage beast's strength was shackled to its age. There are no herbs in this world that can raise one's age! Even if such a herb did exist, that would be equivalent to pulling on a seedling for it to grow taller. If the Crimson Tiger were to learn of it, it would definitely feel a resentment toward him, and by then, it would be impossible for him to tame it.
"Do you have any pills on you?"
Zhang Xuan asked impassively.
"I do... I have a few pills for injuries!" Not knowing the intention behind the question, the middle-aged cultivator hesitated for a moment before replying.
"Pass it to me!" Zhang Xuan stretched out his hand.
"Yes!" Even though he didn't understand why the other party wanted his pills, he didn't hesitate at all. With a flick of his wrist, a jade bottle appeared in his palm. With a light toss, the pill rode on his zhenqi and floated slowly to Zhang Xuan.
Even though his actions were simple, it displayed the amazing control he had over his zhenqi.
Zhang Xuan was astonished by the other party's feat but hid his expression well. Grabbing the jade bottle, he opened it casually and saw ten smooth, round pills within. Every single one of the pills had reached grade-2!
Every single grade-2 pill was worth an exponential sum, and the entire bottle of pills was likely to be worth more than ten million! Probably, only a master teacher would bring such a bottle around with him and throw it so casually.
Pouring these pills onto his palm, he started to infuse the pure Heaven's Path zhenqi into them. Then, he crushed the ten pills to form one large pill.
The only way for an immature savage beast to achieve a breakthrough was the Bloodline Evolution. Zhang Xuan didn't know what medicine was capable of inducing a Bloodline Evolution in a Crimson Tiger, but he knew that... his Heaven's Path zhenqi could!
The Crimson Tiger was at Zongshi realm advanced stage while Zhang Xuan was a step away from reaching Zongshi realm. Thus, his Heaven's Path zhenqi should still be highly effective in inducing a Bloodline Evolution in the former.
However, the Heaven's Path zhenqi was too pure, and the other party was a master teacher who also possessed incredible discernment ability. If he were to help the Crimson Tiger achieve a breakthrough directly, it was possible that the other party might notice something suspicious. If so, his efforts in disguising as an expert would have been in vain.
Furthermore, if Zhang Xuan wanted to infuse Heaven's Path zhenqi straight into the other party's meridians, he had to ensure that the other party would not retaliate. Be it his own strength or the middle-aged cultivator's strength, it was impossible for them to knock the Crimson Tiger out.
Thus, even if he wanted to do so, it was unfeasible!
As such, he chose to pump his zhenqi into the pills instead. As soon as the pills dissolve within the Crimson TIger's body, the Heaven's Path zhenqi would permeate into its body. As it circulated along its bloodstream, it would cleanse its bloodline, thus inducing in the savage beast a Bloodline Evolution.
However, the method was exceptionally wasteful on pills. The higher the grade of a pill, the more zhenqi it could hold. In just a short moment, ten million gold coin worth of pills went to waste.
But of course, to Zhang Xuan, it made no difference whatsoever. The pills didn't belong to him.
Furthermore, ten million gold coins for a tamed Zongshi realm pinnacle savage beast... This was an extremely good deal.
"Alright, I've modified the pill a little. Once you feed it to the Crimson Tiger, it would be able to break through its current cultivation realm immediately. As for how you'll make it submit to you afterward, that would depend on your skills!"
With a flick, the pill shot straight back at the middle-aged man.
He didn't possess the other party's control over zhenqi, so he could only use this crude method.
"Yes!" The middle-aged cultivator grabbed the pill but found it hard to believe the other party's words.
He had bought these recovery pills from the Apothecary Guild and knew that there was nothing unique about them. All the elder did was to grab the pills for a moment and then knead all ten of them into a large pill. Is just this… sufficient for the Crimson Tiger to achieve a breakthrough?
Why does it sound so unreliable?"
"Find the Crimson Tiger and feed this to it now!" Zhang Xuan didn't bother to explain.
"Yes!" Even though the middle-aged cultivator held doubts, he didn't think that the other party would lie to him. After all, as a 3-star master teacher and a Zhizun realm expert, there was no need for him to go through so much trouble. Thus, as he nodded his head, he kept the pill properly and dashed in the direction where the Crimson Tiger escaped.
Instead of following him, Zhang Xuan waited calmly on the back of the Howling Firmament Beast.
Around two hours later, a violent roar sounded. Then, the middle-aged cultivator could be seen returning on the Crimson Tiger’s back.
This time, without any hesitation, he leaped off the back of the tiger and kneeled to the floor, "Student Jiang Shu pays respect to teacher!"