"Reporting to Tian laoshi, this is Zhang Xuan, an outstanding young teacher of Hongtian Academy." Liu Ling introduced.
Even though Elder Tian was no longer teaching him, he was still used to addressing him as teacher.
A teacher for a day, a father for life.
In this world, the dignity of a teacher was extremely strict. Even master teachers didn't dare to go against it.
"Zhang Xuan?" Elder Tian shook his head. With a calm expression, he asked doubtfully, "Isn't the outstanding teacher of Hongtian Academy Lu Xun?"
"Lu laoshi is outstanding as well, but Miss Zhang isn't any weaker than him. In fact, she might even surpass him." Recalling the scenes he had seen in Hongtian Academy over the past two days, Liu Ling couldn't help but praise.
He had casually taught his students for ten days, slacking off every single day. In the end... every single one of his students had advanced by leaps and bounds.
Putting aside ordinary teachers, even the three of them would find it hard to achieve such a feat.
"Surpass him?" A glint flashed across Elder Tian's eyes. "To be able to receive such praise from you, she is indeed capable and qualified to sit here. However, it isn't that easy to drink my tea. She has to pass a test."
"Test?"
Zhang Xuan looked at him.
I am only accompanying Liu Shi and the others here, not to drink tea.
Besides, is your tea Gods Nectar? One has to pass a test to drink it?
Just as Zhang Xuan was about to reject him, Liu Ling's eyes lit up and he looked at him excitedly.
"Great! Zhang Xuan laoshi, this is a good opportunity. You must make use of it..."
"Opportunity?"
It's just a cup of tea, what kind of opportunity is there?
"To be able to drink Tian laoshi's tea is the dream of countless cultivators."
Seeing his confusion, Liu Ling explained with a smile, "You might not know this, but Tian laoshi's tea is very particular in terms of tea leaves and brewing method."
"The tea on the table right now is called Spirit Calming Tea. There are less than three tea trees in the entire Tianxuan Kingdom, and they grow on the snowy peak of White Pearl Peak. Every day, the sunlight lasts for sixteen hours. This is precisely the reason why the tea leaves are so fragrant when it is brewed. "
"It's fine if there are only a few tea trees, but the leaves we pick cannot be young or old. They can only be picked six hours after the tea tree has bloomed. The tea leaves at this time of the year contain a faint floral fragrance. Combined with the coldness of the White Pearl Peak, it will be more enjoyable if it is steeped in boiling water. "
"A single tea tree doesn't have many leaves to begin with, and given how strict the requirements are, it's easy to imagine how much tea leaves it produces. To tell you the truth, the entire Tianxuan Kingdom only produces around three taels of tea leaves a year."
Zhang Xuan was speechless.
It was no wonder why the other party was so serious. Just the rarity of the tea leaves made it worth it.
"Of course, there are very few of them. It's just that these tea leaves are precious. For cultivators, it's up to them whether they want to drink it or not. It's not an opportunity."
Cultivators paid the most attention to their own cultivation. No matter how delicious the tea was, not drinking it wouldn't make a difference. There was no need to pay such a huge price for the sake of food.
"The reason why it's important is because of the effects of the tea! Spirit Calming Tea has the effect of calming one's mind. If an ordinary person were to consume it, they would be able to sleep better, recover their spirit, and increase their stamina significantly. On the other hand, if a fighter were to consume it, they would be able to reach the Heart of Tranquil Water realm within a short period of time. Even though it's only for a short period of time and one will automatically exit after a short period of time, it allows one to experience the profoundness of the state of mind in advance. It will be of great help to one's future improvement. "
Liu Shi continued, "Of course, just the tea alone isn't able to achieve such an effect. Tian laoshi's superb Way of Tea is required to achieve such an effect!"
"It can allow one to reach the Heart of Tranquil Water realm within a short period of time?"
Zhang Xuan widened his eyes in shock.
Only by reaching the Heart of Tranquil Water realm would one be able to focus and not be affected by other emotions.
Just like the two apothecaries, Meng Yan and Chen Xiao, he met during the Pill Debate. When forging a calming pill like the Tranquil Heart Pill, it was easy for one to be affected by one's emotions and body, causing the pill to mutate and lose its original effect.
The reason why such a situation occurred was due to the lack of a breakthrough in one's state of mind.
As long as one reaches the second state of Heart of Tranquil Water, one would be able to maintain a calm state of mind even if one were to be affected by negative emotions, thus forging a perfect Tranquil Heart Pill.
The guild leader of the Blacksmith Guild, Luo Chong, had reached this state. However, due to eating the Dragon-scaled Prawn, he was unable to calm his heart whenever he forged, resulting in him being unable to forge even a single weapon.
"Many cultivators don't pay much attention to their state of mind, thinking that it's useless. However, that isn't the case. For a fighter to break through Zongshi and become a Fighter 8-dan expert, one has to reach Soul Depth 2-dan. Otherwise, if one's state of mind isn't pure, no matter how one tries to break through, it will be difficult for one to grasp the essence and state of mind of a Zongshi. Not only do fighters have this requirement, there are many occupations that have it as well. For example, if one hasn't reached the Heart of Tranquil Water realm, one isn't qualified to take the examination. "
Afraid that Zhang Xuan wouldn't understand, Liu Ling explained once more.
"Un!" Zhang Xuan nodded his head.
There were some records regarding the state of mind in the kingdom's Book Collection Vault. With just a thought, Zhang Xuan was able to read through most of them and it wasn't much of a secret.
It was precisely because of this that he understood how difficult it was to raise one's state of mind. To be able to enter a state of mind just by drinking a cup of tea, even though it was only for a short period of time, it was already an incredible feat. Even the Tranquil Heart Pill wasn't able to achieve such a feat.
It was no wonder why the Way of Tea was so popular in the kingdom, even surpassing painting. This was the main reason.
In other words, if Meng Yan and Chen Xiao, the two apothecaries, were able to forge a flawless Tranquil Heart Pill by drinking a cup of tea before forging the pill, Zhang Xuan wouldn't have won the Pill Debate so easily.
"Even if I were to come here every single time, I might not be able to taste such an effective tea. It is all thanks to the three master teachers today. Since Elder Tian has agreed to give you this opportunity, it is definitely a priceless opportunity." Emperor Shen Zhui smiled.
"May I know what kind of test it is?"
Zhang Xuan was moved and he turned to look at Elder Tian.
Even though he had reached the Heart of Tranquil Water realm, it was only at the elementary level. If this tea was effective, he might be able to reach the intermediate level or even higher.
Elder Tian didn't reply. Instead, he gestured, "Invite them in!"
The butler, Tian Gang, nodded his head and left. Not too long later, a few people walked in.
They were Tian Long, Lu Xun, Wang Chao, Huang Yu, Bai Xun, and the others.
"Lu Xun pays respect to Elder Tian!"
Upon entering the room, Lu Xun stepped forward, clasped his hands, and bowed.
"Un, take a seat! You and Miss Zhang are both outstanding teachers of Hongtian Academy. However, it is a pity that there is only one cup of tea. Thus, we can only test you. How about this, I will give you a test. The two of you will compete, and the one who wins will be qualified to drink the tea. Liu Ling, what do you think? "
After getting Lu Xun and the others to sit down, Elder Tian turned to look at Liu Shi.
Even though he said tea, as long as one wasn't a fool, they would be able to understand what was going on.
"So, this old fellow's test is fake. He is trying to create an opportunity for Lu Xun …"
At this point, how could Zhang Xuan still not understand what was going on?
Even though he didn't understand why Liu Shi and the others would suddenly be so courteous to him, he could roughly guess the reason. Elder Tian must be intending to accept him as his apprentice. Otherwise, why would the Three Great Master Teachers waste time with a low-level teacher like him?
As the owner of the Tian Clan's manor, it was impossible for Elder Tian to be unaware of this matter.
Thus, the so-called tea was fake. Elder Tian was probably trying to make things difficult for him so that Lu Xun could perform well and win back Liu Shi's favor.
Zhang Xuan didn't intend to become Liu Shi's apprentice. However, the other party's move still left him displeased. He felt as though he had been fooled by the other party.
However, he couldn't reject him now.
Ever since the Teacher Evaluation, he had been compared to Lu Xun. On the surface, it seemed as though he was competing for a cup of tea, but in reality, he was competing for the qualifications to become Liu Shi's apprentice. If he were to reject him, he would be labeled as a coward.
This Lu Xun would definitely be even more smug.
Since Zhang Xuan understood the meaning behind Elder Tian's words, Liu Ling naturally understood as well. Frowning, his complexion turned awful.
Clearly, Elder Tian's decision was something that even he didn't expect.
However, since Tian laoshi had spoken, he could only nod his head in agreement. "Alright!"
Liu Shi and Zhang Xuan were displeased. Actually, Elder Tian was frustrated as well.
Previously, Liu Shi did mention Lu Xun in his letter, and it was clear that he intended to accept Lu Xun as his apprentice. This was also the reason why Elder Tian specially invited Lu Xun over and prepared an extra cup of tea for him. He pretended to be testing Lu Xun's apprentice, but in reality, it was to facilitate the introduction.
Who knew that instead of Lu Xun, Zhang Xuan came first.
Furthermore, judging from Liu Shi's attitude, he seemed to have taken a liking to Miss Zhang and gave up on Lu Xun. Naturally, he was displeased that Elder Tian had failed in his preparations.
Thus, he came up with this test at the last minute.
Otherwise, if he were to inform Lu Xun beforehand and he were to fail to become his apprentice, wouldn't it be embarrassing?
"Lu Xun will listen to Elder Tian's arrangements!"
Understanding the other party's intentions, Lu Xun clasped his hands in delight.
"Since it's a test, there should be a content to it. May I know what it is?"
Knowing that he couldn't reject it, Zhang Xuan didn't hesitate any further.
"Since you are here to drink tea, of course we have to discuss the Way of Tea!" Tian Long harrumphed.
"Way of Tea?" Zhang Xuan frowned.
"Miss Zhang has never come into contact with the Way of Tea. Isn't it a little biased to test the Way of Tea?" Huang Yu couldn't hold it in any longer and spoke up.
She had interacted with this Miss Zhang a lot. The other party was a master painter, but he knew nothing about the Way of Tea. In fact, before she spoke with him today, she hadn't even heard of it.
Testing a person who knows nothing about the Way of Tea?
Wasn't he intentionally making things difficult for her?
Furthermore, based on what she knew, Lu Xun specialized in the Way of Tea. Even though he wasn't a match for Tian Long, he had listened to Elder Tian's teachings and was able to brew tea of the first level... Even a blind man could tell that this test was unfair.
"To become a master teacher apprentice, one should be knowledgeable in all occupations... As one of the Nine Paths, the Way of Tea is a popular occupation in the entire kingdom. How can one not know it? If Miss Zhang really doesn't know anything, then I'm sorry, but I have no choice but to drink this cup of tea... "
Lu Xun chuckled lightly. Confidence gleamed in his eyes, and his face was filled with elegance.
Little fellow, how dare you challenge me? Let's see if I can't kill you.
"Indeed. If you don't even know the Way of Tea, how can you be a master teacher apprentice? You should just admit defeat and save yourself the embarrassment! "Wang Chao spoke up.
He had lost face a moment ago, so he immediately found an opportunity to exact vengeance.
"Alright. Even though I have only heard of the Way of Tea today, I can learn it now. Let's begin the test!" Seeing the other party's smug expression, Zhang Xuan shook his head.
Since someone wanted to slap his face, he would give him a good slap.
Even though he had only heard of the Way of Tea today, there were seven to eight rows of books on the Way of Tea in the kingdom's Book Collection Vault.
Previously, he had only kept them in the Library of Heaven's Path, but now... it was time for him to take a look.
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