Chapter 148: Student Dueling Platform
Translator: StarveCleric Editor: GaiaNove
Without the Heaven's Path Divine Art to complement the Heaven's Path Spear Art, even if the other party learned it, it would be significantly weaker than his.
Furthermore, it was a move he had devised through the other party's books, so teaching the other party wasn't a big deal.
Thus, Zhang Xuan agreed to Wang Chong's request without much hesitation.
Of course, it was impossible for him to impart him the full version. After all, the Heaven's Path Spear Art was too fearsome. It would be unparalleled even if he were to just impart a portion of it.
"I..."
Wang Chong had raised this request without harboring much hope. Upon hearing Zhang Xuan agree to it, his entire body trembled in agitation and his eyes reddened.
Experts usually only imparted the moves they created to their children and disciple, never allowing it to leak out. Putting others aside, he was one of them as well. Other than his son, he had never taught anyone else the moves that he had created.
Yet, Apothecary Zhang was willing to impart such a profound move to him so easily. This magnanimity and personality...
"This move is extremely profound, I can't learn it for free..." Hesitating for a moment, Wang Chong said.
Even though the other party was willing to impart him the move, it wasn't appropriate for him to take something without giving anything back in return.
It was just like how one had to send betrothal gifts when marrying other's daughter. How could there be free lunch in this world?
"Apothecary Zhang is lacking gold coins to purchase some pills. I think it would be best for you to pay him some money to serve as the tuition fee!" Ouyang Cheng interjected.
Zhang Xuan had yet to pay him for the pills he had bought in his stead. He knew the other party was definitely looking for a way to earn money to repay him, and since his old friend wished to repay the favor, it was best for him to simply give Zhang Xuan money.
Furthermore, after imparting the battle technique to Wang Chong, Zhang Xuan would be considered as half a teacher to Wang Cong. If Zhang Xuan turned out to be very demanding thereafter, he might be unable to repay this favor and this would put him in a very difficult position.
Putting others aside, what if Zhang Xuan wanted to learn the spear arts Wang Chong had created... Should he teach it to him?
"Alright!"
Understanding the intentions behind his old friend's words, Wang Chong hurriedly nodded his head. He turned around to delegate some tasks to the butler.
Not long later, the butler came in with a stack of bills and passed it over to Zhang Xuan.
"This is the tuition fee. I hope that Apothecary Zhang can accept it. It would be inappropriate for me to learn your spear art for free..."
"Hm?" Zhang Xuan's eyes widened.
Am I dreaming?
I came here to learn spear art, but... why did I become the one teaching... Furthermore, I am even earning money?
However, Zhang Xuan found it hard to reject his money, looking at that stack of bills which was worth at least two million.
Upon keeping the money, Zhang Xuan began to display the technique slowly and explained the concept and workings behind it in detail.
As expected of a spear master, although Wang Chong had not yet achieved Spear Intent, his knowledge of spears had already permeated deep into his bones. With a single demonstration, he had already almost fully grasped the concept. Even though his might was still far from Zhang Xuan's original version, there were no problem with his form and his movements.
"Apothecary Zhang, thank you for imparting me the move!"
Only after learning this move did Wang Chong truly understand how powerful it was. He was astounded by its might. He could already foresee that if he were to continue practicing the skill, in less than a year, he would be able to achieve Spear Intent and grow even stronger.
Regardless of whether he had paid the school fee or not, Zhang Xuan had already become half a teacher to him.
By 'half a teacher', it meant that one had learned a move or two from another person, or had been granted pointers from him.
Since he had already grasped the move, there was no need for Zhang Xuan to remain here. Along with Ouyang Cheng, he bided farewell and left.
"Guild Leader Ouyang, help me keep an eye on those pills. I will claim them from you when the time comes!"
Leaving Spear Master Wang Chong's residence, Zhang Xuan said.
"Rest easy!" Ouyang Cheng nodded his head.
Previously, he simply thought that as long as this young man studied diligently, he could become the first 2-star apothecary of Tianxuan Kingdom. However, such thoughts had vanished altogether from his mind.
From a complete beginner, just by reading two hours of books, he was able to easily create a move that even Wang Chong revered, furthermore achieving Spear Intent... Such a person would surely strike it big and his name would ring across the world.
"Return to the academy!"
The Body Nourishment Medicinal Solution and Meridian Rejuvenation Pill were already in his possession, so he thought that he should pass them over to his students so that they could cultivate even faster.
After bidding Ouyang Cheng farewell, he returned to his classroom swiftly. However, when he arrived, he only saw Wang Ying in the classroom; the rest were absent.
"Where are the others?"
Zhang Xuan frowned.
He had been finding all means to help them raise their strength swiftly, yet this bunch of fellows didn't even come for training.
"They... They..."
Not expecting Zhang laoshi to appear at such a moment, Wang Ying was terrified. Cowering backward in fear, she stuttered.
Zhang laoshi had said when he left class yesterday that he would be busy, and he might be unable to make it for lessons for the time being. Why is he back so soon?
"Speak!"
Zhang Xuan's complexion darkened.
In order to awaken their unique constitution and heal their wounds, he went through the trouble of undertaking the apothecary examination and disguised himself as a master teacher. Yet, they were skipping out on lessons. He was truly infuriated.
If he knew that this would happen, he would never have bothered expending such effort on them. Was he giving them dowry?
If students didn’t working hard themselves, no matter how much assistance the teacher provides them, it would still be difficult for them to achieve great heights in the future. After all, rotten mud would just slide down no matter how high you carry them up.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. At the point, Zhang Xuan's face was completely cold.
"Teacher..." Wang Ying shivered.
She had a weak character, and upon seeing Zhang laoshi's rage, she was scared speechless.
Jiyaa!
At this point, the door opened. Before anyone could walk in, a voice echoed, "Wang Ying, hurry up and come. They have started fighting..."
Halfway through his words, the owner of the voice saw the icy-faced Zhang Xuan and the remaining words cluttered in his throats.
"Zhang laoshi..."
The owner of the voice shuddered.
Fatty Yuan Tao.
"Started fighting? Getting someone to help? Did I get you here to cultivate or to fight?" Zhang Xuan's voice was icy.
"I..." Yuan Tao's face paled.
"You have barely learnt a thing or two and you are already out fighting others. Is it that you don't need me as your teacher anymore?"
Truthfully, Zhang Xuan wasn't angry, his heart simple ached.
Even though he hadn't gotten along with these students of his for long, he had already treated them as his closest kin and had worked hard for their sake. Yet, they went out to engage in a group fight, running back to call for backup when they found themselves in a bad position...
He felt frustrated over how they simply had not matured.
"Zhang laoshi, that's not it..." Anxiety appeared on Yuan Tao's plump face.
"That's not it? Then tell me, what does fighting and you calling Wang Ying to help means? If I were to hear of any false words from your mouth today, I will expel you. Don't even dream of calling me teacher ever again!"
Zhang Xuan flung his robe backward furiously.
If these children were not worth grooming, he wouldn't want to waste his effort as well. The most that could happen was for him to lose and leave Tianxuan Kingdom and Hongtian Academy.
With the Library of Heaven's Path in his possession, where else could he not go in this vast world?
The reason why he stayed was because his previous self's longing for this place and his sense of responsibility toward his students.
"It's..." Yuan Tao shivered for a moment before gritting his teeth. "It's like this. Today, the academy is allocating cultivation resources and they said that you are... the worst teacher in the academy, so you don't have any rights to claim it! We felt furious with their words and went over to argue it out with them. As such, a conflict broke out..."
"Allocating cultivation resources?"
Zhang Xuan was stunned for a moment before he recalled.
Every month, the academy would allocate cultivation resources to each teacher. The amount of resources a teacher received depended on the amount of students the teacher had, the results of his Teacher Qualification Examination, as well as his overall evaluation.
The teachers could use these resources themselves or to reward the better students in order to encourage them to work harder. Usually, these cultivation resources were allocated by the 【Student Bureau】.
Student Bureau was the department that was responsible for managing and conducting examinations for students, as well as to distribute cultivation resources to the students and teachers.
Zhao Ya had scored within the top ten of the freshmen and did not have to share a dormitory with the others. It was the department which allocated her dormitory to her.
"Bring me over!" Knowing that they were standing up for him, Zhang Xuan felt a surge of warmth in his heart. His rage had also quelled significantly.
Those lads...
"Yes!"
Yuan Tao did not dare to say anything else. He immediately led the way, with Wang Ying also tagging along. The three of them started to walk toward the Student Bureau.
…………………………
Student Bureau.
"The Teacher Guild had already endorsed Zhang laoshi's innocence on the affair, Zhou laoshi, why do you still refuse to allocate the resources belonging to him?"
Zheng Yang glared at the young man before him furiously.
That was a previous student who had become a teacher in the school, Zhou Tian.
"Innocence? Are the documents here? Did they any notify us?" Zhou Tian lifted his eyebrows and a hint of mockery appeared on his face. "Since there's nothing at all, Zhang Xuan remains the worst teacher in the school who scored a zero for his Teacher Qualification Examination. It is a waste to grant him resources. Don't blame me for having not allocated resources to you, blame yourselves for acknowledging the wrong teacher!"
As the ancient saying goes, wealth, peers, teachings, and land. Of which, wealth came first, and from this, it was clear to see how important it was for one's cultivation.
TL: This is a Buddhism term that states the four things one need to achieve enlightenment. Without sufficient wealth, one is unable to immerse himself in his cultivation. Without peers, it is difficult for one to reach great heights. Without teachings, it is likely for one to stray from the correct path. Without a suitable land, it is likely for one to be affected by his surroundings.
This was precisely the reason why Wang Ying hesitated back then when Zhang Xuan said that she might face a shortage of cultivation resources.
Every month, Hongtian Academy would allocate some cultivation resources to its students and teachers. Most of them were low-level pills. Even though it wasn't of much use to the teachers, it was excellent tonic for students who had just started cultivating.
This was the reason why many people were able to improve rapidly.
Today was the day of the allocation, but they were not informed. Naturally, they took the initiative to inquire about the matter.
"Even if the documents from the Teacher Guild had yet to be passed down, I recall that all teachers of Hongtian Academy, regardless of how terrible their results are, as long as they had students, they would qualify to claim the Breath Forging Powder! What rights do you have to not even give that to us?"
Zhao Ya stepped forward.
Breath Forging Powder was the most common cultivation resources used by the lower grade students. It allowed the students in Juxi realm to better sense the spiritual energy in the air.
The Breath Forging Powder couldn't be considered as a pill and even Wen Xue, who hadn't qualified as an apprentice apothecary could make it, thus making it inexpensive. According to the school rules, any teacher with students was entitled to it.
You may be able to find excuses to avoid allocating the expensive cultivation resource to us, but if you refuse to give this to us as well, it would be clear that you are trying to make things difficult for us!
"There's such a rule, but there's also a clause stating that if the students weren't worth grooming, the Student Bureau could choose not to allocate any to the students. You all refused to follow by the Student Bureau's arrangement and made a fuss here. Hence, it is logical that I would reject your request!"
Zhou Tian said arrogantly.
"You..."
Seeing that the other party was determined not to give it to them, Zhao Ya's breathing hastened and her face flushed.
"Why? Are you unsatisfied with my arrangements?"
The corners of Zhou Tian's lips crept up. "If you are not satisfied, that is a 【Student Dueling Platform】 over there. You can challenge my students and if you are able to defeat all of them, not only will I give you the Breath Forging Powder, I can even give you the Breath Forging Bead! Remember, this is a Breath Forging Bead. Weren't you all causing a ruckus demanding for me to give Zhang Xuan his resources? Even though this isn't a true pill, it isn't far from that. It is effective even for Pixue realm experts. An ordinary teacher could only claim one every month. If you dare to take on the challenge and succeed, I will give you all three of it!"
The Student Dueling Platform was one of the means to settle a conflict between students and teachers. Of all methods, it was only second to the 【Teacher Dueling Platform】. The way it operated was simple. As long as the one challenging the teacher was able to defeat all of the students under him, that teacher would have to apologize to the student.