Chapter 729: Blacksmith School

Chapter 729: Blacksmith School

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: StarveCleric

Every single battle technique has its own unique zhenqi circulation method and execution style, so it's important for a cultivator to pair them together wisely.

Using an analogy, while it's possible for one to punch his left fist to the right while punching the right fist to the left, the clash in the momentum from both actions made in unison would potentially result in muscle tear and disturbances in one's zhenqi.

This was the problem Wu Chan was suffering from at this instant.

The maneuvers which Zhang Xuan advised Ran Xiaoxiao on was in consideration of her unique circumstances having just opened her Ziwei and Yingtai acupoint and her incredible physical flexibility as a woman.

On the other hand, Wu Chan had yet to open those who acupoints, and his body was slightly more rigid as a male as well, making it highly dangerous for him to execute those moves in succession.

I am guiding Ran Xiaoxiao, why in the world are you trying to learn it as well? Look at what this brings you, you ended up crippling yourself before you can achieve anything...

With this incident, there was no way Wu Chan could be a match for Ran Xiaoxiao anymore!

If Wu Chan were to know Zhang Xuan's thoughts, he would surely burst into tears.

Your Impartation of Heaven's Will is so powerful, and my Soul Depth has been my main weakness all along. After seeing the massive improvement Ran Xiaoxiao has made under your guidance, how could I possibly hold myself back from giving it a try...

In the end, of the three geniuses who came to challenge Zhang shi, two of them were lying on the ground, frothing at the lips, while the last one was completely obedient to him. Huang Xing and the others couldn't help but gape at that sight.

This was way too exaggerated!

The second, third, and fourth rankers of the Annual Tournament had come to challenge him. Yet, with just a few words from their opponents, they ended up turning against one another, eventually landing them in utter defeat...

They couldn't help but doubt the authenticity of the sight before them. Was this a show they had cooked up to toy with them, or were they just dreaming?

It was fortunate that they hadn't offended Zhang shi earlier! Otherwise, the ones who would be lying on the ground at this moment might be them!

It was no wonder by Elder Mo would direct him to the Elite Sector personally, he did possess the talent worthy of that!

At the same time, Ran Xiaoxiao was staring at the sight before her in a daze. It seemed as if she could hardly believe that the rivals whom she wasn't able to overcome in the past few years could be defeated so easily.

"Alright, I'll be leaving the rest to you all then..."

With Zhang Xuan's current Cosmos Bridge realm pinnacle cultivation, it would be almost bullying if he were to make a move on these Grade 1 students. It would be damaging to his reputation if word were to spread out, so he had opted to have Ran Xiaoxiao fight in his place instead.

With this, there should be no one else in the Grade 1 who would oppose his occupation of the first residence. With nothing else tying him here, he waved his hand casually and walked toward the residence.

Pushing open the door to the residence, he immediately felt a surge of spiritual energy blew past him.

The residence was extremely large. On top of the usual amenities, there was even a personal training ground in the courtyard and a sealed chamber for discussing important matters. Honestly speaking, it seemed more like a manor than a residence.

It was no wonder the trio had wanted this residence. The privileges granted to the top of the grade was indeed incredible.

After taking a casual look around the residence, Zhang Xuan didn't dive straight into cultivating. Instead, he took a seat in one of the rooms to contemplate on his next course of action.

There were a total of ten schools representing an occupation each in this academy, and each of them had a humongous library containing a precious trove of knowledge. It wasn't easy for Zhang Xuan to enroll into the academy, so he should make use of the opportunity to tour the academy and learn everything he could.

By the time he was done, he should be ready to take on the 6-star master teacher examination.

Only upon becoming a 6-star master teacher would one be considered to have taken one's first step into the world of the top experts in the Master Teacher Continent. This was an essential step for Zhang Xuan to gain the power to protect himself and those around him.

"But before then, I have to find higher tier cultivation technique manuals first!"

Zhang Xuan's Heaven's Path Divine Art was only up to Cosmos Bridge realm at the moment. To advance to Perfect Harmonization realm, he would have to gather even more cultivation technique manuals to compile a complete Heaven's Path Divine Art for that cultivation realm.

"The cultivation techniques are gathered in the Cultivation Hall!"

Zhang Xuan recalled the words Luo Qiqi had told him on the journey here.

Gathered in the Cultivation Hall was the reflection and comprehension notes and cultivation technique manuals that countless geniuses had left behind over the years.

As long as he could gain entry into the Cultivation Hall, he would surely be able to compile a complete Perfect Harmonization realm Heaven's Path Divine Art!

Or if luck would permit it, perhaps even beyond that!

"However, the prerequisite to viewing the Perfect Harmonization realm cultivation technique manuals in the Cultivation Hall is for one to be a 5-star master teacher, and an adequate amount of Academic Credits! For the time being... I should first try to become a 5-star master teacher first!"

Despite the sea of knowledge hidden within the Cultivation Hall, there was a price for its entry.

As a 4-star master teacher, Zhang Xuan was only qualified to view the Consonant Spirit realm and Cosmos Bridge realm cultivation technique manuals at the moment. The Perfect Harmonization realm cultivation technique manuals were currently beyond his reach.

And more importantly, in the first place, he would need some Academic Credits to enter the Cultivation Hall.

Naturally, he had no Academic Credits having just enrolled in the academy. He would only be turned away at the entrance even if he were to head for the Cultivation Hall.

"To qualify for the 5-star master teacher examination, I would need five 5-star supporting occupation, and at the moment, the only occupation that I have at that rank is appraiser. It seems like I'll need to prepare a bit before taking the examination... How troublesome!" Zhang Xuan rubbed in glabella in frustration.

For each advancement in one's master teacher rank, one would have to take on another supporting occupation while raising the ranks of all supporting occupation to the corresponding master teacher rank.

Too often were there master teachers who were hindered not by their cultivation, but their inability to bring up the required number of supporting occupations to the required rank to be promoted.

So far, the only 5-star supporting occupation Zhang Xuan had was appraiser. As for the remaining supporting occupations, formation master, physician, painter, and beast tamer were at 4-star, while apothecary was at 3-star.

While Zhang Xuan had other supporting occupations such as poison master and soul oracle, those occupations were often frowned upon due to their history and their nature, and he might be shunned for learning their skills. Thus he wouldn't be able to consider them for his promotion prerequisites.

"I should pay a visit to the other schools while I have the time to take the examinations for my supporting occupations!"

After some contemplation on the matter, Zhang Xuan thought that it would be better for him to take things a step at a time.

He wasn't in a rush for time anyway, and the academy provided a convenient platform for him to take the examinations as well. If he could clear as many examinations as he could here, he could be spared the trouble from trying to find the occupation guilds in the future.

"I have managed to compile the Heaven's Path Smith Art recently but I haven't gotten a chance to take the examination yet. Perhaps I should take the examination for it first..."

Eventually, Zhang Xuan decided to visit the Blacksmith School first.

Through compiling the books Wu Yangzi had left behind, his current smithing proficiency could be said to be on par, or even superior to a 6-star pinnacle blacksmith. Thus, he could take the 6-star blacksmith examination straight without a problem.

At the same time, this was a good opportunity for him to get a view on the capability of the Blacksmith School.

With this thought in mind, Zhang Xuan stood up without hesitation and walked out of his residence.

By the time he stood out, Wu Chan and the others had already left.

After all, as seniors in the school, it was indeed embarrassing for them to remain here after losing to a freshman.

Zhang Xuan went back to the massive building and swiftly found Huang Xing and the others. From them, he got the location of the Blacksmith School, and swiftly made his way over.

Of the ten schools, the Blacksmith School was second only to the Apothecary School. There were many students who took it as their supporting occupation, and even when he was a distance away, he could already see a huge crowd moving to and fro the area.

"Perfect Harmonization realm, Ethereal Treading realm..."

Zhang Xuan gauged the cultivation of the crowd by sweeping through them with his Eye of Insight.

There were plenty of students who had reached Perfect Harmonization realm and Ethereal Treading realm among the crowd, and there was even a handful who had reached Chrysalis realm.

With such strength, they would stand unchallenged in Huanyu Empire. Even in Hongyuan Empire, they stood amongst the top.

As expected of the Blacksmith School, it was indeed incredible.

After asking around, Zhang Xuan soon found the area where blacksmith examinations were held.

The schools in the Master Teacher Academy were associated with the respective occupation guilds, so the results of the examinations held here were officially recognized.

In other words, by clearing the blacksmith examination here, he could receive an official emblem from the Blacksmith Guild.

Considering how there were nearly a hundred thousand master teachers in the academy, if they had to head out to their respective guilds to take the examination, not only would it be a huge inconvenience to the master teachers, it would also be a great burden on the guilds in the vicinity as well.

Thus, the occupations had decided to set up a branch within the respective schools to oversee the examination so as to make things convenient.

"Blacksmith Guild—Hongyuan Academy Branch..."

Zhang Xuan glanced at the plaque hung in front of a towering building before walking in.

The vast lounge was filled bustling with a huge crowd. Zhang Xuan estimated that there was probably at least a few hundred people in here.

"Tailor-made Spirit intermediate-tier weapon from a 5-star blacksmith, priced at only half an Academic Credit!"

"I have a Spirit intermediate-tier saber fresh from the forge, going at just one Academic Credit! Don't miss this opportunity, you won't see another weapon as cheap as this..."

"I'm lacking a Goldenforest Ore, and I am willing to trade two Academic Credits for it!"

"Three Searing Blaze Stones, going at one Academic Credit each..."

...

It was as if Zhang Xuan had leaped into a market. Some were offering weapon forging services, some were selling their forged weapons, some were buying all kinds ores, and some were selling all kind of smithing resources.

Since most of them were dressed in a master teacher robe, they should be students of the academy.

"The purchasing power of Academic Credits sure is amazing..." After taking a look around the stores, Zhang Xuan couldn't help but notice that most trades were conducted using Academic Credits.

When Zhang Xuan first heard about the importance of Academic Credits from Luo Qiqi, he had thought that its price would, at best, be equivalent to middle-tier spirit stones. However, perhaps due to the fact that Academic Credits were essential in accessing most facilities in the Master Teacher Academy, its value seemed to be comparable to even high-tier spirit stones.

It was no wonder why Luo Qiqi and the others had gone all the way to Huanyu Empire to search for Wu Yangzi's underground chamber for just a handful of Academic Credits. It seemed like it wasn't easy to earn Academic Credits at all. Otherwise, 5-star blacksmiths wouldn't have to go to the extent of setting up stores as if roadside vendors.

The items they were offering would be invaluable treasures back in Huanyu Empire, but they weren't even worth half an Academic Credit in here.

"Is there anything you need?"

After squeezing through the crowd to reach the reception desk with much difficulty, Zhang Xuan found a young lady smiling at him.

Through asking around, Zhang Xuan learned that the receptionists were also the students of the academy as well. They had accepted this mission from the academy to earn Academic Credits.

While such missions were humble, they were neither dangerous nor skill-based, so it was more suited for the less-skilled students.

"I wish to take the blacksmith examination!" Zhang Xuan said.

"May I know what rank are you going for? I'll make arrangements for you right now!" Upon hearing that the young man before her was going to take the blacksmith examination, the young lady's eyes immediately lit up.

"I'll... take the 5-star examination!" After a moment of hesitation, Zhang Xuan replied.

If the examination was knowledge-based, it wouldn't be a trouble for him to pass the 6-star examination. However, that was very unlikely to be the case.

Considering his lacking proficiency in smithing, as well as his lacking cultivation, the products he could smith would likely be unflattering.

Thus, he decided to play it safe and take the 5-star examination first. In any case, his current goal was to advance to become a 5-star master teacher for the time being anyway.

"5-star?"

The lady nodded with a smile and said, "May I have your 4-star emblem and your student token? I'll help you register for the examination..."

"Emblem? Student token?" Zhang Xuan's face reddened in embarrassment. "I don't have any of those yet..."

Zhang Xuan had never taken the blacksmith examination before, so he didn't even have a 1-star emblem, On the other hand, as a freshman who had just entered the academy a few hours ago, his name wasn't even listed in the academy's records yet. How could he possibly have a student token on hand?

"You don't have those?"

The young lady froze for an instant before her smile vanished into a frown, "Who are you then? What are you doing at our Master Teacher Academy?"