Heart of Tranquil Water

Grabbing hold of the book from Shen Bi Ru, Elder Mo took a glance at it and his entire body trembled.

[This… should be impossible!]

“Alright, is there still anything you are unsure of that you would like to consult? If not, I’ll be leaving!” Zhang Xuan looked at them with puzzlement reflecting on his face.

[Are these two fellows sick?!]

If they wanted to consult him, they should have come up with some harder questions. Yet, they chose to ask those that have been answered within the books. He didn’t even have to churn his brain to derive out an answer for them. How boring.

[To think that one of them is a librarian and an expert while the other one is a reputable and popular teacher… Pui! To be unable to match up to a transcender like me, they are truly lacking in knowledge!]

“If you don’t mind, I have another question that has been plaguing me. How would you interpret ‘Circulating a cycle of qi, reflecting the sight of ten thousand creations’?”

Suppressing the disbelief in his mind, Elder Mo continued to ask.

Another elder has raised this question with him a few days ago. After being stumped by it, he had been scavenging the Compendium Pavilion to seek an answer to it, but to no avail. Thus, he could only depart from the library dispirited. Now that the young lad before him had answered several questions, he couldn’t resist bringing it up to him.

“You don’t even know that?” Zhang Xuan looked at him as though he was looking at an idiot. “That is the utmost basics of cultivation, alright? It refers to the phenomenon where while one’s qi is circulating through one’s body in a complete cycle, one’s mind would seem to be in a state of wandering around the entire world as they comprehend the rules behind creationism! These words are recorded in senior Bai Ming’s 《Theories of Blood and Qi》. The book is on the 27th shelf and the explanation is on the 69th page!”

‘Circulating a cycle of qi, reflecting the sight of ten thousand creations’, this was one of the few flawless teachings that were in the Fighter 1-dan cultivation technique manuals, thus it left quite an impression with Zhang Xuan. It happened that a predecessor of Hongtian Academy had once deciphered it, so he paid additional notice to it. Why would an elder, who is the sentinel of the Compendium Library, need to direct such an easy question towards him?

Elder Mo didn’t reply to his words immediately and instead, just like Shen Bi Ru, walked into the Compendium Pavilion hurriedly. A short moment later, he found the book titled 《Theories of Blood and Qi》 and flipped it over to the 69th page. His body staggered.

It was exactly as he described!

A few days ago, that elder flipped through many different secret manuals, but couldn’t find an answer to his question. Never in his dreams would he have imagined that it would be recorded in an obscure book!

Such an obscure book… To think that he would have read it, to the extent of even remembering… the pages?

Elder Mo felt the world spinning around him and everything seemed so ludicrous to him in this instant.

If it wasn’t for his consideration for his image, he might be tugging on the ends of his hair at this moment.

A moment ago, he accused the other party of causing trouble in the library. In the end, not only was he reading books properly, he even memorized the contents contained within it. He felt a fiery sting on his face and fervently wished for a burrow to appear, so that he could hide in it.

Was he really the same teacher who scored a zero in the Teacher Qualification Examination?

If Zhang Xuan could be the last with such a level of knowledge, didn’t this mean that he wasn’t even qualified to get zero marks?

“Alright. In the future, read more books. The answers to the questions that you have posed are all recorded in them!” Seeing their stunned expressions, Zhang Xuan lectured them in a deep tone. Then, he shook his head and said, “If there is nothing else, I’ll be leaving!”

After saying those words, he lifted his legs to walk away.

He was simply way too hungry. If he didn’t get food anytime soon, he might really faint from starvation.

“Zhang Xuan laoshi, wait for me…”

Only now did Shen Bi Ru recover from her shock and she swiftly caught up with Zhang Xuan.

“What else do you want?” Zhang Xuan said in a slightly annoyed tone.

[Is this woman sick or something?

I had already clarified your queries for you! Are you done yet? Can’t you see that I am hungry and would like to eat?]

“I have yet to eat as well. Do you want to share a meal with me?” Shen Bi Ru gritted her teeth.

She was the Aphrodite of the academy. Many men had asked her out for a meal, only to be rejected by her. She had not even accepted a single one of the innumerable meal dates from Shang Bin.

The shock that this young man generated in her today made her curious about him, thus she decided to ask him out, so as to make use of the opportunity to see what it was that caused the changes in him.

“You want me to treat you?” Zhang Xuan looked at her with a bizarre expression. “What are you thinking of! If you want to eat, use your own money! How can one’s skin be so thick?”

[You had questions for me, so I answered them for you. You still expect me to treat you after that?

How can you be so shameless?]

In his previous life, he had researched numerous ‘action films’, but even so, he was a true shut-in. He had never truly come in contact with the opposite gender before, so how could he understand the thoughts of a lady?

“You…” Seeing the gaze of the young man and hearing his words, Shen Bi Ru almost shot out a mouthful of blood and fainted.

[I am a beautiful lady, alright? Beautiful ladies have special privileges!

So many people had invited me out and I turned down every single one of them. Yet, when I ask you out, you look at me as though I am a monster…

Shameless?!

Shameless your head!

Is there anyone in the world who would term a beautiful lady as such?]

The lady was on the verge of going berserk.

“Fine, I’ll treat you, okay? I’ll treat you!” Grinding her silver teeth together, Shen Bi Ru spat out these words.

“You, treat me?” Zhang Xuan paused for a moment. Due to his previous self being the worst teacher in the academy, his income was nearly negligible. As such, it wasn’t a bad thing to have someone treat him. Thus, he nodded his head, “It’s fine with me, but I want a luxurious meal. I won’t eat just any ordinary mantous[1] and fried pancakes!”

“…”Shen Bi Ru went berserk again.

[Mantou and fried pancakes? The heck with it!]

“Let’s go!” She didn’t want to say anything anymore. She’s afraid that if she continued talking to him, she would die from anger.

The Library of Heaven’s Path allowed him to see through the flaws of all skills and everyone’s mingmen. However, it was unable to peer into the heart of a lady. Zhang Xuan was oblivious to the fact that he had made Hongtian Academy’s number one beauty furious to the point of vomiting blood with just a few simple words of his.

Following behind Shen Bi Ru, Zhang Xuan walked along the pavement towards the entrance of the campus.

Although the night scenery at Hongtian Academy wasn’t as radiant as the school in his previous life, it was still quite an exquisite sight under the illumination of the moon. Shrouded by spirit energy, the atmosphere seemed exceptionally tranquil and peaceful.

In his previous life, he was surrounded by hubble-bubble and smog could be found everywhere. It was very different from the serenity one could experience here. Zhang Xuan subconsciously immersed himself in this enchanting scenery.

Walking in front, Shen Bi Ru thought that the young man following behind her would intentionally ask some questions to break the awkward silence. However, after the absence of sound for a long period of time, she couldn’t resist turning around to take a look.

Sneaking a glance, she was taken aback.

The young man walked quietly as the moonlight illuminated his figure, the image of it reminiscent of a serene painting.

“This… This… Will of Mind 2-dan, Heart of Tranquil Water?”

Her eyes narrowed.

Fighters didn’t just cultivate their zhenqi and physical body. What was even more crucial to them was their mind!

The stronger one’s mind was, the greater control they have over their cultivation. As a result, one’s cultivation could surge even more swiftly, thus allowing them to reach greater heights in the future.

That’s precisely the reason why experts classified the Will of Mind into many different levels.

Heart of Tranquil Water was the 2-dan realm of it!

The mind was harder to train than battle techniques. It was said that of the entire academy, only the principal had reached such a level. Even Shen Bi Ru, who was reputed to possess unparalleled talents and had reached Fighter 5-dan pinnacle by the age of 20, second only to the renowned young genius Bai wangye [2], was still a long way away from Will of Mind 2-dan.

Initially, she thought that it would be too difficult for a second person to reach such a level, but never in her dreams would she dare to think that the trash teacher in the mouths of others would actually reach such heights!

If not for the fact that she witnessed it personally, she would never believe it!

[How is this possible?

That is Will of Mind 2-dan! It is a height harder to climb to than Fighter 6-dan 7-dan!]

“Could it be that… He isn’t a trash at all, but he… intentionally scored a zero in the Teacher Qualification Examination, so as to make use of the insults and derision of others to temper his will?”

Suddenly, a peculiar thought popped up in her mind.

In the past, she didn’t have much contact with Zhang Xuan laoshi, so she wasn’t really aware of his affairs. Today, through their conversation, she realized that he was not only knowledgeable, he had even reached Will of Mind 2-dan Heart of Tranquil Water!

That was a level many dream about, but never achieved in their lifetime!

Looks like his Teacher Qualification Examination results were all feigned. His true goal was to make use of the scorn of others to train his mind, so as to break into the Will of Mind 2-dan.

She found it unbelievable that a person with such Will of Mind would be unable to achieve a pass in the simple Teacher Qualification Examination.

“Hmph, continue putting on an act. See how I’ll expose you!”

Thinking about how she was duped by this fellow, she gritted her silver teeth tightly.

This fellow was simply too hateful. She was resolute to look for a chance to expose him before others!

[1] Mantou -> Bun| Basically, he means he won’t just eat street food/ from vendors by the street.

[2] Wangye is a title granted from the emperor to princes of the country.