Chapter 773: Poor
Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97
"Teach me?" The lady’s eyes lit up.
The Fleeting Fragrance Terpsichorean Art was currently the strongest technique she possessed, but she had never been able to successfully cultivate it. If she could master the technique after its modification, it would surely augment her fighting prowess significantly.
Zhang Xuan contemplated for a moment before saying, "That’s right. The core of this terpsichorean art lies in its intent. Even though you have never experienced the deep anticipation in wanting to spend your life together with a person you deeply love, you have experienced the loneliness and determination in striving for excellence in your cultivation. Even though that is a different emotion from the former, it doesn’t pale in its intensity. If you can tap on it, you will still be able to draw out immense power from the terpsichorean art."
"I ask of you to enlighten me!" The lady clasped her fist and bowed.
From their previous conversation, she could already tell that the other party’s understanding of terpsichorean arts far surpassed hers.
Master teachers believed in taking the proficient as their teacher. Even though she was a Saint realm expert, it wouldn’t be a humiliation for her to humbly seek guidance for the doubts she was facing from someone weaker than her.
"Okay!" Seeing the other party’s polite attitude, Zhang Xuan nodded in commendation.
A true master teacher should always remain humble and prepared to learn from the strengths of others, regardless of how young or weak they might be.
After a moment of contemplation, Zhang Xuan reshaped the Fleeting Fragrance Terpsichorean Art to fit the intent the other party was capable of drawing out. He reconfirmed the feasibility and effectiveness of the technique before imparting it to the other party.
Hearing the details of the revised Fleeting Fragrance Terpsichorean Art, the lady slowly went through every part of it so as to better comprehend the technique, and the astonishment on her face gradually increased. Realizing that the technique imparted to her was tailored to her needs, she turned to the other party with eyes filled with awe.
The lady hurriedly dispelled the zhenqi cage around Zhang Xuan, clasped her fist, and earnestly apologized, "Pardon me, I was reckless..."
If she had been thinking that the other party intended to steal something from the Terpsichore Compendium Pavilion earlier, such a thought had already vanished from her mind by this moment.
While the collection of books in the library was beneficial to most students and teachers, it was already no longer useful in advancing her proficiency as a terpsichore.
Since it was useless to her, considering the fact that the other party’s comprehension of the terpsichorean art was even deeper than hers, what could possibly interest him in there?
It seemed like the young man before her really had nothing to do with that fellow she had found hiding in the Terpsichore Compendium Pavilion earlier. The entire matter was just a coincidence.
"May I know how I can address you?" Having thought this matter through, the lady’s attitude became much politer than before.
"Elder, you are too polite. I am Zhang Xuan, a freshman who has just enrolled at the academy!" Zhang Xuan quickly replied.
"Zhang Xuan? You are Zhang Xuan?" Taken aback, the lady’s eyes slowly widened into huge circles.
"You know me?" Zhang Xuan asked.
"Of course, you are the student whom School Head Mo proactively wanted to take under his wing and School Head Zhao wanted to acknowledge as his junior... These two matters have spread like wildfire amongst the teachers in the academy! I would have to be living under a rock to not have heard of it..." the lady said with a bitter smile.
This freshman had broken far too many records right after his arrival. While he might still be little known amongst the student populace, he had already caused a massive stir amongst the teachers.
Never in the history of the Master Teacher Academy had there been a student who had earned the favor of two school heads, only to reject the both of them flatly.
"I thought that Zhang shi only possesses outstanding talent in beast taming and smithing, to think that your understanding of terpsichorean arts has reached such astounding depths as well..." the lady said with eyes gleaming in admiration.
She had tried looking into Zhang Xuan’s background at one time, and according to the rumors, he had a teacher who was sufficiently capable to even offer pointers to Pavilion Master Mo.
How could such an outstanding figure possibly intend the Terpsichore School harm? There was no benefit that the Terpsichore School could offer him.
Thus, it could only mean that she had wronged him.
"Elder, you are too courteous. The study of terpsichorean arts is deep and expansive, I have barely scraped the surface!" Zhang Xuan quickly replied.
Each occupation that had withstood the test of time was powerful and profound in its own right. Even though Zhang Xuan had gained a deep understanding of terpsichores over the past few hours, it was just the tip of the iceberg of the entire occupation. As such, his words were not just humility.
The lady nodded. "To be able to remain humble despite your achievements, it is no wonder School Head Mo and School Head Zhao have such a high opinion of you!
"My name is Wei Ranxue, and I am an elder of the Terpsichore School. Honestly speaking, your mastery as a terpsichore is far above mine, so you need not address me as elder; just ’Little Wei’ will do. I might have more problems regarding terpsichorean arts that I will require your advice on in the future, so I will be in your care." Since the other party had offered her valuable guidance, he could be considered as half a teacher to her.
As such, despite her older age and higher cultivation, she couldn’t accept Zhang Xuan addressing her as ’elder’.
"Alright then." Seeing the other party’s earnest expression, Zhang Xuan could only nod in agreement.
In truth, such a situation was nothing much.
This was somewhat similar to the relationship between him and Luo Qiqi. Despite the latter’s higher cultivation and older age, she still addressed him as teacher nonetheless.
This was one of the master teacher traditions, taking the proficient as one’s teacher, as well as an acknowledgement of a master teacher’s desire for knowledge.
Recalling the matter beforehand, Wei Ranxue turned to look at Zhang Xuan thoughtfully.
"Zhang shi, I seem to recall you saying that you are here to take the terpsichore examination... Does that mean that you don’t have an emblem yet?"
"I have been learning my terpsichorean arts from my teacher all along, so I haven’t had a chance to take the terpsichore examination yet," Zhang Xuan said.
"You have never taken the terpsichore examination? This is no problem at all. Unlike those Upper Nine Paths occupations, where one has to go through all kinds of examinations in order to obtain their emblem, with my testimony that your comprehension of terpsichorean arts is beyond mine, I will apply for a 6-star terpsichore emblem for you right now and deliver it to you later!" Wei Ranxue chuckled.
The ranking system amongst the Upper Nine Paths was much stricter, and one had to go through all kinds of examinations in order to advance a rank. At the same time, there was a rigid prerequisite on one’s cultivation realm as well.
Even though terpsichores were one of the ten supporting occupations taught in the Master Teacher Academy, it was a Lower Nine Paths occupation. As such, it didn’t have requirements as strict as the others. As long as Wei Ranxue served as a guarantor of his abilities, she would be able to apply for a 6-star pinnacle terpsichore emblem for him straightaway, thus sparing him the trouble.
"Thank you for this..." Not expecting the other party to volunteer to help him apply for the 6-star terpsichore emblem, Zhang Xuan’s eyes lit up, and he immediately clasped his fist in gratitude.
Once the application passed, he would have two 6-star supporting occupations. Four more and he would be able to take the 6-star master teacher examination.
"You’re too polite!" Wei Ranxue replied. With a smile on her lips, she invited, "If Zhang shi doesn’t mind, do you want to take a seat in the Terpsichore Hall? I wish to learn more about your insights regarding terpsichorean art!"
"That... With my current state, I think I shall not impose on you. Furthermore, I have only just recovered from my berserk state, so I will need to rest for a moment..." Zhang Xuan said as he glanced at his muddied clothes.
His body was first face-planted into the ground before bashing through innumerable walls in an attempt to escape. He had also been injured by the other party’s soul attack, thus leaving him with both internal and external injuries. Therefore, he needed to return to his residence to recuperate from his wounds.
"Ah, pardon me for my discourtesy..." It was only at this moment that Wei Ranxue recalled that the other party had just gone berserk a moment ago, so she immediately apologized in embarrassment.
"I’ll be bidding farewell now then!" Heaving a sigh of relief, Zhang Xuan turned around and walked away.
The Terpsichore School was severely lacking in male students, and considering that it was already noon, it was inevitable that Zhang Xuan would catch the gazes of many as he walked amidst the crowd. However, he couldn’t care less at the moment.
Rushing forward, he soon returned back to his residence in the Elite Sector.
"Teacher, you are injured?"
As soon as Zhang Xuan walked into the room, Luo Qiqi immediately walked up to welcome him. However, upon seeing his unkempt look, she froze in shock.
"Don’t worry about it, it’s not a problem at all. I’ll go take a rest first." Too exhausted to explain, Zhang Xuan pushed open the doors to his room and walked in.
His physical wounds weren’t a problem. By circulating his Heaven’s Path zhenqi, he would be able to recover from the swiftly. The main problem lay with his soul.
He had taken several heavy blows from a Saint realm expert, leaving his soul with a feeling as if it had been ripped apart. If not for the extraordinary resilience of his soul, it might have already dissipated by now.
Hu!
Zhang Xuan took out a high-tier spirit stone from his storage ring.
Without any hesitation, he began driving his cultivation technique, and pure spiritual energy began flowing from the high-tier spirit stone into his body, mending his injuries.
The wounds on his soul were more difficult to treat than his physical injuries. Even with the Heaven’s Path Soul Art and a high-tier spirit stone, it still took him some time.
Only after relentless effort over four hours did his soul finally regain the glow and power it had before.
Recalling the various matters that had happened today, a feeling of helplessness couldn’t help but wash over Zhang Xuan. I really should be more careful the next time I wish to browse through books!
He had been thinking of taking all of the books in the Master Teacher Academy into his Library of Heaven’s Path and leave the empire, but it seemed like this thought was far too naive.
For one, there were many restrictions imposed on the libraries throughout the academy. Even as a soul, it wouldn’t be easy for him to enter or leave those areas.
It was fortunate that he had read the Heaven’s Path Terpsichorean Art up to 6-star beforehand, allowing him to convince the other party that he wasn’t there to cause any harm. But there was no guarantee that he wouldn’t be caught before he was done reading through the books the next time, or that the person he encountered would be as patient and rational as Wei Ranxue.
"Forget it, I should focus on cultivating my soul first!"
In the Terpsichore Compendium Pavilion, Zhang Xuan had managed to compile two Heaven’s Path Soul Arts. Now that his soul energy had recovered, it was about time for him to start cultivating.
The higher his soul cultivation was, the faster he could browse through the books, and the better he would be able to conceal himself from others.
Hu!
Zhang Xuan took his clone out and imparted the simplified versions of the Heaven’s Path Soul Art to him as well.
Constructed out of a God artifact, his clone possessed an incredibly resilient body. His core weaknesses came mainly from his low zhenqi and soul cultivation realm.
Due to the lack of a suitable soul cultivation technique, his soul cultivation realm had been stuck at Consonant Spirit realm for quite a long time.
Since Zhang Xuan had managed to obtain the next two dans of the Heaven’s Path Soul Art, it was best for them to cultivate together. After all, his clone was also a part of his fighting prowess as well.
Zhang Xuan and his clone drew their souls out of their bodies simultaneously, and holding a high-tier spirit stone each, they began to drive their zhenqi according to the cultivation technique they had.
Pure spiritual energy flowed into their souls, and the aura they exuded swiftly grew stronger and stronger.
After an unknown period of time...
Hong long!
With a sudden jolt, both of their souls achieved a breakthrough, reaching Cosmos Bridge realm.
However, they didn’t stop cultivating there.
Cosmos Bridge realm primary stage!
Cosmos Bridge realm intermediate stage!
Cosmos Bridge realm advanced stage...
An hour later, both Zhang Xuan and his clone’s souls reached Cosmos Bridge realm pinnacle simultaneously.
Even though his clone was cultivating the simplified version of Heaven’s Path Soul Art, his rate of cultivation was able to remain on par with the main body due to it being nourished by the Nine Hearts Lotus over an extended period of time.
Kacha!
Just as they were about to strive for a higher realm, with a ’kacha’, the high-tier spirit stones in their hands abruptly shattered into dust.
Both the souls of the main body and the clone were ten-meters tall, so the spiritual energy required for them to achieve a breakthrough was significantly higher than normal souls as well. As a result, one high-tier spirit stone was only barely enough for them to advance from Consonant Spirit realm pinnacle to Cosmos Bridge realm pinnacle.
"Continue!" Zhang Xuan said through gritted teeth.
If advancing to Cosmos Bridge realm pinnacle would take him a high-tier spirit stone, it was hard to imagine how many more he would require in order to reach Perfect Harmonization realm or even higher.
Exhaling deeply, Zhang Xuan took out the remaining eight high-tier spirit stones he had and split them equally between him and his clone.
"Let’s start!"
Drawing his soul out once more, Zhang Xuan resumed his cultivation.
Spending one high-tier spirit stone, he managed to make the breakthrough to Perfect Harmonization realm.
Spending yet another one, he reached Perfect Harmonization realm intermediate stage.
Before long, he was done consuming all four high-tier spirit stones, and his cultivation stopped at Perfect Harmonization realm advanced stage. To think that even four high-tier spirit stones wouldn’t be sufficient for him to reach pinnacle!
Isn’t this rate of consumption a little... way too high?
Looking at the powdery remains of the ten high-tier spirit stones which he had gathered with great difficulty, Zhang Xuan couldn’t help but feel incredibly frustrated.
He was only at Perfect Harmonization realm, but the rate of consumption of spirit stones was already astounding. Without a doubt, the number of spirit stones he would require would only increase exponentially. Where in the world was he supposed to gather that much money?
He’d thought that he had already become a little tycoon with ten high-tier spirit stones in his possession, but in the blink of an eye... he was poor once again!