Chapter 36: 36. Chapter 36

36. Chapter 36

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"... Excuse me, who are you, brother?" Atian was completely stunned when she saw the man's face.

"What's wrong? I'm Song Zhicheng!" The man wore a bewildered expression.

"Liar! Senior Brother Song is clearly a majestic man with a thick beard!" Atian slapped the table and stood up.

"I do have one! Ah..." The man stood up excitedly as well, even dropping his bun into the plate. Halfway through speaking, he seemed to remember something and reached up to touch his chin. Naturally, there was only smooth skin there. "Oh right, my beard is gone..."

"My beard is gone!"

Sweeping the steamer off the table, the youth—suspected to be "Song Zhicheng with his beard shaved off"—slumped onto the table and let out a wail. Atian swore she could hear the sobbing in his trembling voice.

"S-Senior Brother Song?" The cautious question she posed received a pitiful "Mm" from the other party, which immediately terrified her. "It really is Senior Brother Song? How did you... become like this?"

It wasn't her fault; anyone would be shocked to discover that the bearded man who loved stinky feet and the clean-shaven youth before her were the same person.

Song Zhicheng, having had his beard shaved off, lifted his head upon hearing this, his face full of desolation and despair. "Last night, they told me to go pay my respects to the Senior Brother. I stood outside the Stone Chamber waiting and waiting, and finally, when you came out..."

He only said half of what he meant, but Atian had already understood completely. She pursed her lips and asked in a low voice, "You... passed out?"

Song Zhicheng's answer to this was a weak nod, and he couldn't help but shiver. "That guy... is too terrifying. I couldn't hold out. When I woke up, I found myself lying on the bed with Elder Guo standing beside me. He was cleaning the remains of my beard. Not only that, he wouldn't let me call myself 'Old Man' anymore, saying the Beihai Sword Sect doesn't need embarrassing bumpkins..."

A feeling of shared misery spread between the two. Atian's eyes were full of sympathy, and her hand holding the chopsticks quietly reached toward the steamer, snatching a bun and stuffing it into her mouth with lightning speed.

"That really is too much..." Atian agreed vaguely.

"... Hey," Song Zhicheng looked at her mouth, which was covered by her sleeve. "The thing you're eating, is that my bun?"

"Your eyes are playing tricks on you." Atian swallowed what was in her mouth, gave him a shy smile, and picked up another one to put in her mouth.

Song Zhicheng stared dumbfounded as the buns in the steamer disappeared into thin air, then looked at Atian, who was still covering her mouth with her sleeve. He was completely shocked by her shamelessness. "... Can you move your sleeve and let me see?"

Atian gave him an embarrassed look, but she didn't control her strength well, and the chopsticks were snapped into several pieces.

"No, Big Boss, I shouldn't have asked. Please, go ahead..."

Song Zhicheng pushed the entire steamer in front of him toward the young girl with a mournful face.

Thus, after Su Ying finished her morning class, she saw Atian sitting in the middle of the cafeteria, being waited on hand and foot by the newly joined Junior Brother.

"What are you two doing?" she asked.

Atian covered her mouth and smiled, put down the chopsticks in her hand, and said softly and gently, "Senior Brother Song saw how hard I worked yesterday and couldn't bear to see me laboring more. He really is a good person."

A good person?

Su Ying looked at Song Zhicheng, who was running back and forth, her eyes filled with suspicion.

This guy, he isn't trying to poach the Senior Brother's territory, is he?

Song Zhicheng felt so wronged he could have cried snow in June.

The disciples who had finished their morning classes entered the cafeteria one after another. They carried their food and sat down at the long tables in turn. The legendary immortals were said to sleep in the open, but in reality, cultivators who had not yet achieved Bigu still needed to eat, and even those who had successfully achieved Bigu were often happy to satisfy their appetites.

Watching the number of people in the cafeteria grow, the string in Atian's mind tightened. The more people eating, the more people there would be taking the Enlightenment class with her later, and the stronger her sense of crisis became.

"Senior Brother Song, shall we go first?" She frowned.

"Eh? Why? I still want to eat a little more..." Song Zhicheng looked at the porridge in his hand with reluctance.

Atian showed a look of difficulty, and failing to control her strength, the chopsticks in her hand followed in the footsteps of their predecessor.

Song Zhicheng, having witnessed the whole process, immediately nodded like a chick pecking at rice. "Sorry, Big Boss! I'm going! I'm going right now!"

Having finished their breakfast at lightning speed, the senior brother and junior sister followed the errand route from last night to find the Classroom. It was an inconspicuous little palace, even looking somewhat shabby compared to other buildings, but the plaque hanging on it proved they hadn't found the wrong place.

The door to the Classroom was tightly shut, and a stone statue of a Jiaotu was coiled at the entrance; at first glance, the thing looked like a large lion carrying a snail shell. Atian unfolded the class schedule Su Ying had given her, found "Enlightenment" among the courses offered today, and according to the instructions on the sheet, placed her hand on the head of the Jiaotu statue at the door and loudly recited the name of the teaching Elder.

The majestic-looking Jiaotu statue seemed startled by the sudden voice; it actually jumped up directly from the doorway, the entire lion shrinking into its snail shell, and then rolled away, clearing the path to the interior, with the words "Path to Enlightenment Course" written on it in golden characters.

The two entered one after another, and then, they both saw a pair of upturned buttocks.

Immortal Elder Zhao Kuo, who had disappeared without a trace after bringing Atian to Shengxian Town, was crawling on his stomach between rows of desks and chairs, clutching a handful of Yellow Talismans, muttering incantations that couldn't be understood, and inching forward.

"Is this person... sick?"

Song Zhicheng looked surprised, but Atian waved her hand enthusiastically to greet him: "Zhao~ Immortal~ Elder~"

These three words, like a death warrant, reached his ears, and Zhao Kuo shuddered all over. His mouth stuttered, and he recited the spell wrong; by the time he realized it, it was too late to save it.

"Boom!!"

A mushroom cloud rose slowly over the Classroom, and the disciples who saw it continued with their own business as if nothing had happened.

"Cough, cough, cough, cough, cough," a series of coughs came from the smoke. When the smoke and dust that obscured their vision cleared, Zhao Kuo, who had been blasted until he was covered in dirt, hunched over like a shrimp, coughing while patting the dust off his body, still muttering, "Thunderbolt Bomb from Leihuo Mountain... you bastards, this is going to get someone killed."

"Immortal Elder Zhao?" Atian looked at him with concern.

Hearing the death warrant again, Zhao Kuo subconsciously shuddered again to show his respect. He turned his head mechanically and gave Bai Tian a smile that was uglier than crying. "... Junior Sister Bai."

As soon as this form of address came out, he wanted to slap himself twice. Why call her Junior Sister? Why call her Junior Sister! This sounded like a lecher trying to get close; hadn't he been beaten hard enough already?!

Atian naturally didn't know the dramatic changes in his heart. Thinking that she had already joined the sect, it was indeed inappropriate to call him Immortal Elder so distantly, so she immediately changed her words. "Senior Brother Zhao, are you here to attend this class too?"

As soon as this question came out, the smile on Zhao Kuo's face became even stiffer. "Reviewing the old to learn the new, reviewing the old to learn the new! Every time I listen to Elder Li talk about the content of Enlightenment, I have new insights."

Although he said this, he was crying on the inside. Because of his poor performance during the mission, he didn't dare to go to the Senior Brother to collect his mission reward, fearing that if things went wrong, he would lose his life. He never expected that Bai Xinli would enthusiastically deliver the goods to his door! If it were just being beaten until his face was bruised and swollen, that would be fine, but after receiving a sound thrashing under the guise of "Intern Instructor," before Bai Xinli even said anything, his dear Master had already taken the lead.

Although the Beihai Sword Sect had abolished the one-on-one master-disciple system, if you were particularly compatible with a certain Elder, you still had the chance to become their personal disciple. You would attend classes with others as usual on weekdays; the only difference was that personal disciples could occasionally enjoy special instruction from their own Master.

So far, the Beihai Sword Sect had three major personal disciples. The position of the Grandmaster's personal disciple was naturally firmly held by the Senior Brother Bai Xinli. Elder Tan Tianming, who was responsible for managing mission releases, had Senior Sister Su Ying under his tutelage, and Zhao Kuo, who couldn't do anything right and couldn't finish anything he ate, had actually squeezed into their ranks; his Master was none other than the jolly Guo Huai.

Because his performance during the mission was truly too terrible, Zhao Kuo, who could have already accessed higher-level courses, was kicked by his Master to be "re-forged."

Of course, this couldn't be told to Bai Tian.

"Senior Brother Zhao, what are you crawling on the ground for?" Atian continued to ask.

"I'm dismantling traps," Zhao Kuo wiped his face. "In our sect, there is an unwritten rule: as long as you can break the defenses and traps the other party left on their seat, you can occupy their position. It's just that these bastards often use dangerous items to occupy seats, so one must remain vigilant."

"So that's how it is!" Atian clenched her right fist and tapped it against her open left palm. "Then just how dangerous is it?"

"A group of brats who just joined the sect got their hands on Thunderbolt Bombs from Leihuo Mountain. In terms of power, they are only slightly inferior to the Soul-Chasing Arrow of the Tianxing Sect," Zhao Kuo waved his hand. "Hmph, but these are just petty tricks that rely on external forces. Don't be afraid, let your Senior Brother take you to fly."

"Inferior to the Soul-Chasing Arrow..."

Atian seemed lost in thought, then, under Song Zhicheng's horrified gaze, she walked straight toward the table and chairs, stepped over Zhao Kuo who was sprawled on the floor, went to the spot with the best view, pulled out a chair, and sat down.

"Hey, hey, hey! That's very dang...!"

Zhao Kuo's anxious warning was only half-spoken when he saw the little black ball that had just given him a pot-full suddenly pop out; at the very instant it was about to explode, it was tightly gripped by a slender, jade-like hand, and the expected sound of an explosion did not come, but instead, black fragments leaked out from between her fingers.

"I like this spot," Atian said, taking out a handkerchief to wipe her hands and turning her head to the two men who were stunned like wooden chickens, "snatching a spot isn't that hard, is it?"

"Fine, Big Boss, whatever you say is right."

Zhao Kuo replied while covering his face, with Song Zhicheng standing beside him, his face a complete blank.

She shrugged, "The struggle for the Dao Lineage is inherently a matter of life and death; if your skills are inferior, you deserve to die. In the final analysis, this is not some personal grudge, but merely a bottom line that neither side can touch."

"Senior Sister Luo," Li Ke spoke up to interrupt the woman, frowning with some helplessness, "this is my class..."

"Don't say it like that, Junior Brother Li," the woman said, swinging the feet she had rested on the table, "everyone was reminded one by one when they entered the sect that if they violate the sect rules, a Law Enforcement Elder will come to teach them how to behave; isn't that exactly what I'm doing now?"

Atian understood; the short-haired woman with a scar on her face before her was Elder Luo Li, whom Su Ying had mentioned, and also her future instructor.

Just as Li Ke pursed his lips, Luo Li jumped up from her seat all of a sudden, her movement so fast that even Bai Tian, who had been staring at her the whole time, was startled.