After great effort, Zhang Xuan finally drove out the ink-stained fatty and finished tidying up the classroom. Only then did he notice—helplessly—that the sun had already dipped below the western horizon. Night was approaching fast.
"It seems… I only managed to recruit five students."
He shook his head.
Today was the final day for student recruitment. By this point, everything was settled.
Originally, he hadn't expected to recruit anyone at all. Ending up with five students was already a pleasant surprise. For a teacher who ranked dead last in the Teacher Qualification Examination, this could even be considered a respectable outcome.
Closing the classroom door, Zhang Xuan followed the familiar path back to his residence.
As an academy instructor, he was assigned a private dormitory. Unfortunately, it was nothing more than a cramped room of just over ten square meters.
He pushed the door open and sighed the moment he saw the interior.
The room was small, damp, and poorly ventilated. Even the bedding had begun to grow mold. Zhang Xuan couldn't imagine how the previous owner had endured living here.
"Never mind that for now. I have class tomorrow. Tonight, I must first sort out my cultivation and try to improve."
He wasn't hungry—perhaps another lingering effect of his transmigration. Following the memories he had inherited, Zhang Xuan sat cross-legged on the bed.
Though he possessed the original owner's memories, cultivation still felt unfamiliar to him. Yet the thought of growing stronger filled him with excitement.
Now that he had students, he needed solid strength. In this world, power was everything.
The Library of Heaven's Path allowed him to see flaws and vital points, but if his own strength was insufficient, those advantages meant little. Against overwhelming power, even perfect knowledge could be rendered useless. Offend the wrong person, and he might not even die cleanly—he could end up as a living research specimen.
The Library was powerful, but it was not invincible.
Cultivation was still king.
"The technique I cultivate is the Hong Tian Nine Layer Formula," Zhang Xuan recalled. "Created by the founder of Hong Tian Academy, it has nine layers, each corresponding to a realm of the Martial Artist stage."
The Martial Artist realm had nine layers, each progressively harder to cultivate.
The Hong Tian Nine Layer Formula was one of the academy's most widespread techniques—reliable, but hardly extraordinary.
"Among all academy instructors… my cultivation is the lowest."
Most teachers had reached at least the Fourth Layer. He alone remained stuck at the Third.
He had to hurry.
Calming his mind, Zhang Xuan followed the breathing rhythm recorded in his memory. His thoughts focused, his spirit settled.
In an instant, it was as if countless specks of light appeared around him. With every breath, these luminous particles were drawn into his body. True qi began to circulate within his dantian, slowly strengthening.
Time passed unnoticed.
When Zhang Xuan finally opened his eyes, he shook his head.
"This is way too slow."
Even with memories inherited, his consciousness was still that of a modern Earth man. Sitting alone for hours, cultivating in silence, felt unbearable.
Watching true qi condense was like watching bricks stack themselves one by one. Spiritual qi gathered from the air, compressed, merged, and trickled into the dantian like small streams feeding a river.
Many cultivators spent years—sometimes decades—repeating this monotonous process.
Dripping water carving stone.
Several years of such dryness?
He would rather die.
"…Wait."
Suddenly, a thought struck him.
"The Hong Tian Nine Layer Formula may be popular, but it's far from perfect. If I let the Library of Heaven's Path analyze it… I should be able to find its flaws and correct them. If the flaws are removed, wouldn't cultivation become twice as effective with half the effort?"
His eyes lit up.
Others couldn't modify cultivation techniques—but he was different.
With the Library of Heaven's Path, he could identify errors and refine them. If he could create a version without flaws, cultivation speed would skyrocket.
Without hesitation, Zhang Xuan grabbed the Hong Tian Nine Layer Formula manual from his room and skimmed through it.
Hū—
The Library of Heaven's Path trembled in his mind. A book of the same name appeared instantly.
He opened it.
The page was filled—densely packed with flaws.
More than a thousand.
"…I was cultivating this?"
Zhang Xuan was stunned.
Just the Third Layer alone had so many problems. No wonder progress was so slow—it was like eating vegetables riddled with worms.
He picked up other manuals nearby.
Supreme Four Inscriptions.Heaven Meridian Technique.Lotus Acupoint Breakthrough Might…
Each one triggered the Library. Each one revealed thousands of flaws—some exceeding three thousand.
Zhang Xuan felt his scalp go numb.
"With so many errors, even knowing what's wrong doesn't help. Trying to find the perfect path is like navigating thousands of branching roads… I'd die of exhaustion before succeeding."
He exhaled deeply.
"My cultivation is already at the peak of the Third Layer. I don't need to fix everything—just the breakthrough method."
He flipped directly to the breakthrough section.
Sure enough, only ten flaws were listed.
"Sensing spiritual qi incorrectly… poor dissociation control… improper circulation through the Yang Linking Meridian…"
Ten specific errors.
The Library marked mistakes, but didn't provide solutions. Still, this was manageable.
"Wait… those other manuals had different errors in their Third Layer breakthroughs."
A spark of inspiration flashed.
Zhang Xuan quickly compared multiple manuals. Though flawed, each had parts that were correct.
"What's not marked as wrong… must be right."
His eyes shone.
Combining the correct portions, he rewrote the breakthrough method.
Once finished, he activated the Library again.
This time, only one flaw remained.
He refined it further.
When the Library reappeared—there were no flaws left.
"Perfect."
Zhang Xuan clenched his fists.
"This is the most correct Third Layer breakthrough method!"
He sat down immediately and began cultivating.
"Relax the body. Open every pore. Let yourself sink into spiritual qi like a bath… each pore breathing freely…"
Tzzzzzz—
At first, it felt unfamiliar. Then—
Spiritual qi surged.
Every pore absorbed energy simultaneously. Individually weak, but together overwhelming.
Streams merged into torrents, rushing straight toward the dantian.
Bang!
The bottleneck shattered.
True qi overflowed, flooding his body, nourishing muscles and bones. A wave of comfort washed over him.
Martial Artist Fourth Layer — Skin & Bone Realm!
"…That fast?"
Zhang Xuan stared in disbelief.
According to the original technique, even with luck, breaking through should have taken months.
Now?
Five minutes? Three?
Perhaps even less.
Not only that—the true qi he condensed was pure beyond comparison.
Before, his qi had been murky and impure. Now it was clear as spring water, reflective like a mirror.
True qi had ranks—lower, middle, and upper grades. Higher quality meant greater future potential.
His previous qi was clearly inferior.
This new qi?
At least upper-grade.
"But… cultivating upper-grade true qi requires Sacred-grade techniques or higher…"
The Hong Tian Nine Layer Formula was only a high Mortal-grade technique.
"How is this possible?"
Zhang Xuan clenched his fists.
"It's the Library of Heaven's Path."
By completely avoiding every error and following the most perfect route, he had refined a Mortal technique into something far greater.
"If that's the case…"
His eyes burned with excitement.
"With the Library of Heaven's Path… I could even create Sacred-grade—no, Divine-grade—cultivation techniques myself."