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He led Dao Li over to them.

"City Lord Yu, Dean Lu, what brings you here?"

After putting the Source Coins into his pocket, Zhang Xuan spotted Liu Tianzheng and greeted him respectfully with a cupped fist. "Master Liu, you\'re here too!"

Having absorbed over 10,000 strands of Heaven\'s Fate Energy, not only did Zhang Xuan not spend a penny, but he also earned an extra 12,000 Source Coins. The Liu family truly seemed like good people, worthy of respect.

"I came to the trading house to buy some things, and I happened to meet City Lord Yu at the entrance, so I invited him to come along. It\'s quite a coincidence to see you here too, Teacher Zhang!" Lu Mingrong replied with a smile.

"It is quite a coincidence. I was just wandering around when I saw the Source Pool assessment, so I thought I\'d give Dao Li a try," Zhang Xuan explained.

The two men exchanged knowing smiles, each hiding their true thoughts.

"A fine horse like that can find its own Source Pool and absorb Heaven\'s Fate Energy?" Lu Mingrong asked, feigning curiosity.

Yu Longqing and Liu Tianzheng perked up, eager to hear Zhang Xuan\'s explanation.

"It didn\'t absorb much, and it wasn’t very useful," Zhang Xuan said, shaking his head with a look of disappointment.

He had expected Dao Li to absorb at least a hundred strands of Heaven\'s Fate Energy given its size, but it only managed forty-something before stopping. Its talent was rather mediocre.

It seemed that even if Dao Li could continue to cultivate, its future potential wouldn’t be very high.

"Not much?" The three men’s eyelids twitched simultaneously.

If absorbing over forty strands of Heaven\'s Fate Energy in one assessment was considered "not much," what did that make the rest of them? Useless?

"As long as there’s some benefit, that’s what matters. It looks like the academy should consider offering a course on horse taming. When the time comes, I hope you’ll be willing to share your expertise, Teacher Zhang," Lu Mingrong said, suppressing his inner embarrassment.

"Teacher Zhang, do you need to purchase anything else? I\'m quite familiar with this trading house and can show you around," he added.

Zhang Xuan shook his head. "There’s nothing I need to buy. I’m just interested in studying Heaven\'s Fate Energy further. Master Liu, when is the next Source Pool assessment here at the trading house? I\'d like to sign up in advance."

This question startled Liu Tianzheng, who quickly tried to shift the responsibility. "Teacher Zhang, if you\'re truly interested in Heaven\'s Fate Energy, you should talk to Dean Lu. He has several unused Destiny Disks that likely still contain a fair amount of energy."

Zhang Xuan was surprised. "Dean Lu, you still have Destiny Disks?"

"I...," Lu Mingrong hesitated, inwardly cursing Liu Tianzheng.

White Rock Academy did have a few Destiny Disks in reserve, but they couldn’t withstand constant use!

Seeing Lu Mingrong’s reluctance, Zhang Xuan asked, "Are these disks very valuable? I could buy one."

Constantly sneaking around to absorb energy and having to disguise his actions was becoming tiresome. If the disks could be purchased, it would certainly reduce a lot of hassle.

"They can be bought, but they’re not cheap. Each one costs around 2 million Source Coins," Lu Mingrong finally admitted, forcing the words out.

Zhang Xuan frowned.

He had just earned 200,000 Source Coins from the Chen family and had thought he was wealthy enough to cover his expenses for a while. But now, it seemed he was still far from having enough.

He would need to earn money quickly!

With that thought, Zhang Xuan looked curiously at Liu Tianzheng. "Master Liu, what’s the most lucrative work in this trading house?"

Since taming horses at the academy had been so rewarding, the trading house surely had similar opportunities. Even if one job didn’t pay much, doing many could add up.

"There are many profitable ventures, but if you want to earn quickly and abundantly, you should focus on services aimed at cultivators," Liu Tianzheng explained after some thought. "For example, conducting Source Pool assessments, helping ignite furnaces, selling top-tier techniques, or assisting in enhancing cultivation levels—all of these can bring substantial rewards."

"I see," Zhang Xuan said, nodding as he considered his options.

Conducting Source Pool assessments would require a large amount of Heaven\'s Fate Energy, so that was out. Helping ignite furnaces required rare ignition materials, which were hard to come by. As for using Xuanhuang Qi, he could only spare it for his own students, so that option was off the table too.

Selling top-tier techniques was possible, but it would require him to study and create new techniques, which in turn required access to a large number of books—and Heaven\'s Fate Energy was essential for that.

It seemed there was only one option left.

A sudden idea flashed in Zhang Xuan\'s mind. He looked up at Dean Lu and asked, "Dean Lu, if I could help you break through to the eighth level of the Source Pool Realm, would you be willing to give me a Destiny Disk?"

"Help me break through?" Lu Mingrong chuckled awkwardly and shook his head. "I\'ve been stuck at the peak of the Jade Bone Realm for a decade, trying countless methods. If I could have broken through, I would have done so long ago. I wouldn’t have waited until now."

Zhang Xuan responded earnestly, "I’d like to try. If it doesn’t work, I won’t ask for any compensation."

Seeing Zhang Xuan’s sincere expression, Lu Mingrong hesitated, then asked, "Teacher Zhang, you’re serious about this?"

"Of course!" Zhang Xuan nodded. "Although my cultivation level isn’t particularly high, I have a keen sense for the flow of energy. If you trust me, I might be able to identify the cause of your bottleneck and help you overcome it."

"I trust you, but what exactly would I need to do?" Lu Mingrong asked, feeling a flicker of hope.

If anyone else at the Energy Storing Realm had made such an offer, Lu Mingrong would have dismissed them without a second thought. But given Zhang Xuan’s astonishing abilities—like making a horse start cultivating—maybe there was a chance.

After all, if Zhang Xuan could achieve something as unbelievable as that, what else might he be capable of?

"We should head back to the academy first. It\'s too crowded here, and discretion is important," Zhang Xuan suggested, knowing that helping someone break through was a serious matter that should be handled with care.

"Agreed," Lu Mingrong replied. He cupped his fists toward Yu Longqing and Liu Tianzheng. "Gentlemen, if you’ll excuse us, we’ll be heading back to the academy."

With that, Zhang Xuan and Lu Mingrong, along with Dao Li, made their way out of the trading house and soon disappeared from view.

As they left, Yu Longqing couldn’t help but ask, "Master Liu, do you think Teacher Zhang can really help Dean Lu break through?"

Liu Tianzheng shook his head. "You know as well as I do how difficult it is to break through. If Dean Lu could have succeeded, he would have done so long ago, not waited until now."

"True," Yu Longqing agreed.

Breaking through from the third to the seventh levels of the Source Pool Realm involved refining the body and bones with Source Energy. But reaching the eighth level required refining the spirit—a transformation of both body and soul. It was the most challenging hurdle in the entire Source Pool Realm.

Lu Mingrong had always harbored a desire to compare himself with others, but unfortunately, his talent had limited his success.

Back when he managed to break through, it had been during his travels, where he barely survived a life-threatening situation that allowed him to achieve a breakthrough by sheer luck. As the dean, with so many responsibilities and duties tying him to the academy, Lu Mingrong couldn’t afford to leave and experience such trials. This made it incredibly difficult for him to advance.

"Teacher Zhang is young, and though he’s skilled at things like taming horses, he has no understanding of the eighth level of the Source Pool Realm, the Divine Soul Realm. No matter how talented or sensitive to Source Energy he might be, without the experience of cultivating at that level, all his guesses are like reflections in water—beautiful, but ultimately insubstantial," Liu Tianzheng scoffed.

Yu Longqing seemed to agree but remained silent, nodding slightly in acknowledgment.

To guide someone through a breakthrough, one must have reached that level themselves. Zhang Xuan, who had only recently discovered where his Source Pool was, claiming to guide someone to the eighth level, was indeed unrealistic.

...

In the dean\'s office at White Rock Academy, Lu Mingrong looked curiously at Zhang Xuan and asked, "What do I need to do?"

"Show me a set of your martial techniques," Zhang Xuan replied with a wave of his hand.

Under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t be able to assist someone so many levels above him. Doing so would go against his preference for staying low-key, but the warning he received from Kong Shi had filled him with a deep sense of urgency.

Kong Shi was not one to speak lightly. If he said, "Things aren\'t looking good," it meant he was in genuine danger. The fact that he had repeatedly cautioned Zhang Xuan to be careful suggested that he might have encountered trouble with the Destiny Hall, or perhaps even been captured.

Zhang Xuan knew he needed to increase his strength quickly to find and rescue Kong Shi. Even though offering guidance could be risky, he decided it was worth it—he could always flee White Roc City and assume a new identity if things went wrong.

If he succeeded, people like Patriarch Chen Xiao, Patriarch Liu Tianzheng, and City Lord Yu Longqing could provide him with significant resources, including tens of thousands of strands of Heaven\'s Fate Energy. That would be enough to advance his cultivation to the seventh level of the Source Pool Realm, the Jade Bone Realm, or even higher.

"Alright!" Lu Mingrong, still unsure of Zhang Xuan\'s intentions, nodded and clenched his fists, stepping forward.

Whoosh!

As Lu Mingrong moved, the air around him seemed to tear apart, creating a fierce gust of wind.

Lu Mingrong was indeed a master at the peak of the Jade Bone Realm, with over a decade of experience. Every move he made felt like a hammer striking the air, producing a sharp, resonant sound that carried an undeniable sense of power and invincibility.

Watching him, Zhang Xuan quickly realized that with his current strength, defeating someone like Lu Mingrong would likely require burning at least a tenth of the power from the new world he had created.

Burning that much of his soul and cultivation base just to defeat one person was far too costly.

Shaking his head to clear these thoughts, Zhang Xuan focused his mind and connected with the Library of Heaven\'s Path.

"Identify flaws!"

At his command, the countless books in the library, resembling stars in the sky, began to converge. Within moments, over two thousand books merged to form a new tome.

"The consumption is immense..." Zhang Xuan\'s expression turned serious.

When creating Heaven\'s Path techniques previously, he had burned over three thousand strands of Heaven\'s Fate Energy. Analyzing Lu Mingrong\'s flaws required a similar amount. In contrast, assessing Liu Mingyue and others had only used a few strands.

It confirmed his suspicion: the greater the disparity between his cultivation level and his target\'s, the more Heaven\'s Fate Energy the process required.

Clearly, until he had an ample supply of Heaven\'s Fate Energy, it was best to use the Library of Heaven\'s Path sparingly. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have enough energy left for his own cultivation.

With a light gesture, Zhang Xuan summoned the book into his hand. The cover bore the name "Lu Mingrong" in three characters.

He opened the book casually, but after reading the first few lines, his expression became peculiar.

"This..."