LoHP Chapter 31: Heart of Tranquil Water

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Chapter 31: Heart of Tranquil Water

Grabbing hold of the book from Shen Bi Ru, Elder Mo takes a glance at it and his entire body trembles.

This… should be impossible!

“Alright, is there still anything you are unsure of that you would like to consult? If not, I’ll be leaving!” Zhang Xuan looks at them with puzzlement reflecting on his face.

Are these two fellows sick?!

If they wanted to consult him, they should have come up with some harder questions. Yet, they chose to ask those that have been answered within the books. He didn’t even have to churn his brain to derive out an answer for them. How boring.

To think that one of them is a librarian and an expert while the other one is a reputable and popular teacher… Pui! To be unable to match up to a transcender like me, they are truly lacking in knowledge!

“If you don’t mind, I have another question that has been plaguing me. How would you interpret ‘Circulating a cycle of qi, reflecting the sight of ten thousand creations’?”

Suppressing the disbelief in his mind, Elder Mo continues to ask.

Another elder has raised this question with him a few days ago. After being stumped by it, he has been scavenging the Compendium Pavilion to seek an answer to it, but to no avail. Thus, he could only depart from the library dispirited. Now that the young lad before him had answered several questions, he couldn’t resist bringing it up to him.

“You don’t even know that?” Zhang Xuan looks at him as though he is looking at an idiot. “That is the utmost basics of cultivation, alright? It refers to the phenomenon where while one’s qi is circulating through one’s body in a complete cycle, one’s mind would seem to be in a state of wandering around the entire world as they comprehend the rules behind creationism! These words are recorded in senior Bai Ming’s 《Theories of Blood and Qi》. The book is on the 27th shelf and the explanation is on the 69th page!”

‘Circulating a cycle of qi, reflecting the sight of ten thousand creations’, this is one of the few flawless teachings that are in the Fighter 1-dan cultivation technique manuals, thus it left quite an impression with Zhang Xuan. It happens that a predecessor of Hongtian Academy had once deciphered it, so he paid additional notice to it. Why would an elder, who is the sentinel of the Compendium Library, need to direct such an easy question towards him?

Elder Mo didn’t reply to his words immediately and instead, just like Shen Bi Ru, walks into the Compendium Pavilion hurriedly. A short moment later, he finds the book titled 《Theories of Blood and Qi》 and flips it over to the 69th page. His body staggers.

It is exactly as he described!

A few days ago, that elder flipped through many different secret manuals but couldn’t find an answer to his question. Never in his dreams would he have imagined that it would be recorded in an obscure book!

Such an obscure book… To think that he would have read it, to the extent of even remembering… the pages?

Elder Mo feels the world spinning around him and everything seems so ludicrous to him in this instant.

If it isn’t for his consideration for his image, he might be tugging on the ends of his hair at this moment.

A moment ago, he accused the other party of causing trouble in the library. In the end, not only is he reading books properly, he even memorized the contents contained within it. He feels a fiery sting on his face and fervently wishes for a burrow to appear so that he could hide in it.

Is he really the same teacher who scored a zero in the Teacher Qualification Examination?

If Zhang Xuan could be the last with such a level of knowledge, doesn’t this mean that he isn’t even qualified to get zero marks?

“Alright. In the future, read more books. The answers to the questions that you have posed are all recorded in them!” Seeing their stunned expressions, Zhang Xuan lectures them with a deep tone. Then, he shakes his head and says, “If there is nothing else, I’ll be leaving!”

After saying those words, he lifts his legs to walk away.

He is simply way too hungry. If he doesn’t get food anytime soon, he might really faint from starvation.

“Zhang Xuan laoshi, wait for me…”

Only now does Shen Bi Ru recover from her shock and she swiftly catches up with Zhang Xuan.

“What else do you want?” Zhang Xuan says in a slightly annoyed tone.

Is this woman sick or something?

I had already clarified your queries for you! Are you done yet? Can’t you see that I am hungry and would like to eat?

“I have yet to eat as well. Do you want to share a meal with me?” Shen Bi Ru grits her teeth.

She is the Aphrodite of the academy. Many men had asked her out for a meal, only to be rejected by her. She had not even accepted a single one of the innumerable meal dates from Shang Bin.

The shock that this young man generated in her today made her curious about him, thus she decided to ask him out so as to make use of the opportunity to see what is it that caused the changes in him.

“You want me to treat you?” Zhang Xuan looks at her with a bizarre expression. “What are you thinking of! If you want to eat, use your own money! How can one’s skin be so thick?”

You had questions for me, so I answered them for you. You still expect me to treat you after that?

How can you be so shameless?

In his previous life, he had researched numerous ‘action films’, but even so, he is a true shut-in. He had never truly come in contact with the opposite gender before, so how could he understand the thoughts of a lady?

“You…” Seeing the gaze of the young man and hearing his words, Shen Bi Ru almost shoots out a mouthful of blood and faints.

I am a beautiful lady, alright? Beautiful ladies have special privileges!

So many people had invited me out and I turned down every single one of them. Yet, when I ask you out, you look at me as though I am a monster…

Shameless?!

Shameless your head!

Is there anyone in the world who would term a beautiful lady as such?

The lady is on the verge of going berserk.

“Fine, I’ll treat you, okay? I’ll treat you!” Grinding her silver teeth together, Shen Bi Ru spits out these words.

“You treat me?” Zhang Xuan pauses for a moment. Due to his previous self being the worst teacher in the academy, his income is nearly negligible. As such, it isn’t a bad thing to have someone treat him. Thus, he nods his head, “It’s fine with me, but I want a luxurious meal. I won’t eat just any ordinary mantous and fried pancakes!”
Mantou -> Bun| Basically, he means he won’t just eat street food/ from vendors by the street.

“…”Shen Bi Ru goes berserk again.

Mantou and fried pancakes? The heck with it!

“Let’s go!” She doesn’t want to say anything anymore. She’s afraid that if she continues talking to him, she would die from anger.

The Library of Heaven’s Path allows him to see through the flaws of all skills and everyone’s mingmen. However, it is unable to peer into the heart of a lady. Zhang Xuan is oblivious to the fact that he had made Hongtian Academy’s number one beauty furious to the point of vomiting blood with just a few simple words of his.

Following behind Shen Bi Ru, Zhang Xuan walks along the pavement towards the entrance of the campus.

Although the night scenery at Hongtian Academy isn’t as radiant as the school in his previous life, it is still quite an exquisite sight under the illumination of the moon. Shrouded by spirit energy, the atmosphere seems exceptionally tranquil and peaceful.

In his previous life, he was surrounded by hubble-bubble and smog could be found everywhere. It was very different from the serenity one could experience here. Zhang Xuan subconsciously immerses himself in this enchanting scenery.

Walking in front, Shen Bi Ru thought that the young man following behind her would intentionally ask some questions to break the awkward silence. However, after the absence of sound for a long period of time, she couldn’t resist turning around to take a look.

Sneaking a glance, she is taken aback.

The young man walks quietly as the moonlight illuminates his figure, the image of it reminiscent of a serene painting.

“This… This… Will of Mind 2-dan, Heart of Tranquil Water?”

Her eyes narrow.

Fighters don’t just cultivate their zhenqi and physical body. What is even more crucial to them is their mind!

The stronger one’s mind is, the greater control they have over their cultivation. As a result, one’s cultivation can surge even more swiftly, thus allowing them to reach greater heights in the future.

That’s precisely the reason why experts classified the Will of Mind into many different levels.

Heart of Tranquil Water is the 2-dan realm of it!

The mind is harder to train than battle techniques. It is said that of the entire academy, only the principal has reached such a level. Even Shen Bi Ru, who is reputed to possess unparalleled talents and has reached Fighter 5-dan pinnacle by the age of 20, second only to the renowned young genius Bai wangye, is still a long way away from Will of Mind 2-dan.
Wangye -> Prince (More is explained below)

Initially, she thought that it would be too difficult for a second person to reach such a level, but never in her dreams would she dare to think that the trash teacher in the mouths of others would actually reach such heights!

If not for the fact that she witnessed it personally, she would never believe it!

How is this possible?

That is Will of Mind 2-dan! It is a height harder to climb to than Fighter 6-dan 7-dan!

“Could it be that… He isn’t a trash at all, but he… intentionally scored a zero in the Teacher Qualification Examination so as to make use of the insults and derision of others to temper his will?”

Suddenly, a peculiar thought pops up in her mind.

In the past, she didn’t have much contact with Zhang Xuan laoshi, so she isn’t really aware of his affairs. Today, through their conversation, she realized that he is not only knowledgeable, he even reached Will of Mind 2-dan Heart of Tranquil Water!

That is a level many dream about, but never achieved in their lifetime!

Looks like his Teacher Qualification Examination results are all feigned. His true goal is to make use of the scorn of others to train his mind, so as to break into the Will of Mind 2-dan.

She finds it unbelievable that a person with such Will of Mind would be unable to achieve a pass in the simple Teacher Qualification Examination.

“Hmph, continue putting on an act. See how I’ll expose you!”

Thinking about how she was duped by this fellow, she grits her silver teeth tightly.

This fellow is simply too hateful. She is resolute to look for a chance to expose him before others!

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I chose to use the Chinese hanyupinyin for wangye (王爷) due to the intricacies of the Chinese nobility. The usage of the term changes through the different eras.
Ok, what I will be explaining now is what I have gathered from other translators and some information from the internet and may not be entirely accurate.

Most of the Chinese states operate in a way where there is an emperor and numerous territorial lords lording over the territory of the emperor. (Feudal system)
Some of these territorial lords are princes who failed to succeed the throne as the emperor.
As such, the emperor grants them title such as qinwang (亲王) and junwang (郡王).
This is also a type of nobility. In terms of social position, it is higher than the duke and prime minister of the country. I.e. second only to the emperor. After all, they are part of royalty. (Note: Social position is different from the true power they may hold. Emperors are often suspicious of subordinates who hold too much power, so they would try to ‘reduce’ their strength through certain measures termed in Chinese as xuefan (削藩))
Wangye is a way people addresses qinwang (亲王) and junwang (郡王).

Most of the time, they own their own territorial and rule over it. Depending on the era and the influence (army, allies etc) of the wangye himself, he could be ‘greater’ than the emperor himself in his land.
The difficult part about translating it is that it is not exactly duke or something (correct me if I’m wrong), the most appropriate term should be king but it sounds weird in English.

Okay after the word bomb, Bai wangye is probably the son of one of these ‘kings’ or the emperor.

Credits to the numerous people who argued over it in the discord chat pfft.

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