Chapter 491: The Dragon Master Who Loves to Teach

The old man wore a flowing pale wide-sleeved robe, his grizzled hair combed with meticulous care; he carried a ruler and walked step by step up to the lectern.

Silence!

The schoolroom, which moments ago had held only two people, fell abruptly silent—so quiet one could hear a pin drop.

Dragon Demon Daoist!

Watching the old scholar walk step by step toward him, Li Yuan stood rigidly rooted to the spot, like a small bird fixed by the stare of a heaven-sovereign dragon, not daring to move a muscle.

'Damn it, I can't move!'

Cold sweat streamed down Li Yuan's face; he truly could not move, as if bound fast to his seat, as if a student respectfully awaiting the master.

The trouble was, he sat in the very first row, less than five chi from this supreme grand master…

'This old man…'

In the furthest corner, Han Han Chuijun's eyelids were twitching wildly; the survival instinct honed through countless brushes with death told him the man before them was immensely dangerous.

Yet he too could not move, and could only let his arms hang, bent at the waist, bowing his head with the deepest deference.

"So this is the great secret?"

Li Yuan was somewhat dazed; the pressure this old scholar exerted was beyond imagination, even though he appeared to possess no Wu Gong at all.

"Hm?!"

Li Yuan was still mulling it over when he suddenly heard a sound behind him; he wanted to turn his head, but his keen senses caught something amiss, and he forcibly restrained himself, only sweeping a sidelong glance.

That single glance made his heart lurch again.

The spacious schoolroom had nine rows in all, seating a hundred; he was in the first row, Old Han in the far right of the ninth.

And now, behind him, in the third and fourth rows, a flash of brilliant light appeared in each, and two figures materialized with startled, suspicious expressions—and he actually recognized both of them.

One was clad in green armor, tall and long-armed—none other than Chi Chi Zhuiyang.

The other, in a golden python robe, was the Prefect of Jingping.

'Why are these two here too? Have they come to pick a fight?'

A chill shot straight up Li Yuan's spine; the two of them were less than two zhang from him, and he couldn't move a muscle.

If a fight broke out, he wouldn't even have time to flee.

'No—these two can't move either!'

As Li Yuan's thoughts spun wildly, behind him Chi Chi Zhuiyang and the Prefect of Jingping had already let out grunts of pain—clearly their attempts to break free had failed.

"You?"

The instant they arrived, Chi Chi Zhuiyang instinctively looked around and happened to spot Han Han Chuijun in the corner; his gaze went cold, and he had just raised his hand when his vision blurred.

An old man with a full head of white beard and hair stood before him, face dark.

"Being late might be forgiven, but disrupting the schoolroom and glaring at your fellow students cannot be pardoned!"

The old scholar glanced at the two latecomers and said, "Hold out your hands."

"What?"

Chi Chi Zhuiyang and the other were still somewhat dazed, but Yu Yu Xuanji had already realized something was wrong, because they simply could not leave their seats, and against their will, their hands extended.

"Crack!"

The ruler came down.

Li Yuan first heard a crisp snap, and then an anguished, blood-curdling scream exploded behind him.

"Ah!"

With only a single blow to the palm, Chi Chi Zhuiyang's eyes instantly filled with blood, nearly bursting from their sockets—no matter how tempered his body, no matter how battle-hardened his spirit, he simply could not endure it.

The ghastly sight was as if he had been cleaved from head to toe in two—no, as if even his spirit had been shattered.

"Does a smack on the palm really hurt this much?!"

Li Yuan's sidelong glance swept past; even Old Han in the corner was dumbfounded—this was a supreme grand master, his spirit steeled beyond measure, and yet he couldn't withstand even one blow?

"You?!"

Seeing Chi Chi Zhuiyang reduced to such wailing after a single strike, the Prefect of Jingping's face changed drastically; he strained to pull his hand back, but couldn't move it a fraction.

With a 'crack', the ruler fell.

This time there was no scream, but Li Yuan clearly saw the Prefect of Jingping's body shudder violently, like a wisp of cloud blown apart by wind, then forcibly bound back together.

A single blow had nearly shattered this grand master's spirit-image to pieces.

"It hurts me to death!"

Chi Chi Zhuiyang's face went green, his whole body trembling, looking as if he had just been dragged out of water, drenched in sweat.

He stared, eyes wide, at the ruler about to fall again, a flash of terror crossing his gaze: "No…"

"Crack!"

"Ah!!"

"Crack!"

"…"

"Crack!"

Ten crisp strikes in all, accompanied by five screams.

Under the horrified gaze of Li Yuan and the other, the man ranked second on the contemporary Heroes List was beaten into continuous wailing; after the final blow, his whole body had slumped across the desk.

As for the Prefect of Jingping, he made no sound at all, yet his entire body had shrunk by more than half—not even as tall as the desk.

His spirit-image had been beaten away by half!

"…"

After the ten strikes on the palm, watching the old scholar stroll back to the lectern, Li Yuan's cold sweat poured down, the clothes on his back soaked through.

A smack on the palm that even a grand master couldn't endure—he had no desire to try it himself.

"The seats of those two seem to have moved back a row?"

That was Li Yuan's keen eye, after all—with only the four of them in the classroom, it couldn't have been more obvious.

"Dragon Demon Daoist, Dragon Demon Daoist!"

The two who had been beaten into exhaustion and shriveled were now full of shock, fury, and grievance. Chi Chi Zhuiyang was breathing out more than in, yet dared not make another sound.

'This is bad.'

In the corner, Han Han Chuijun's attention, however, fell on Chi Chi Zhuiyang and the other man.

Putting himself in their shoes—his own disgrace had been witnessed by others, and killing them to silence them was practically the only option. Would those two be any different?

'I have to find a way to kill those two!'

Head lowered in greeting, Han Han Chuijun's mind churned. If this were the outside world, of course it would be impossible—but if it were here…

A few more strikes from that ruler, and it really could beat a Grandmaster to death.

"I have to kill those two!"

Head lowered, not looking at the old teacher, Li Yuan's thoughts raced—but until he figured out the rules of this place, he didn't dare move a muscle.

"Yesterday, I lectured on the 'Treatise on Form Transformation.'"

From the lectern, the old teacher spoke. His voice was calm, yet every one of them who heard it couldn't help but tense up.

"Which student will recite?"

Hearing the question and feeling that gaze upon them, the faces of the Jingping Division Chief and Chi Chi Zhuiyang both turned a shade of green. And in the corner, Han Han Chuijun muttered inwardly that this was bad—was it aimed at him?

"You."

Under Li Yuan's worried gaze, Han Han Chuijun was called upon.

"Form Transformation…"

Han Han Chuijun was startled but not flustered. During this period, he had happened to be poring over Dragon Demon Daoist's manuscripts, and just before entering the tower he had been reading the Treatise on Form Transformation, so he wasn't panicked.

"…Form Transformation is the method of emulating the myriad spirits of heaven and earth to alter one's own physical constitution and innate bones."

Listening to Old Han's voice from behind him, Li Yuan broke out in a cold sweat. God only knew what Dragon Demon Daoist had written yesterday.

"Emulating the ten thousand beasts, emulating heaven and earth—using the infinite heaven and earth to transform the finite human body…"

Han Han Chuijun spoke methodically, laying out everything he knew, the contents of Dragon Demon's manuscript, one by one.

"Passable."

Hearing those words, even Han Han Chuijun couldn't help his heart skipping a beat. Chi Chi Zhuiyang and the other man merely watched coldly from the sidelines, also analyzing the rules of this place.

"Compared to before, there's slight improvement."

The old teacher shifted his tone, seeming quite tolerant of the student in the last row.

Whine~

It was at this moment that Li Yuan noticed Old Han's seat had abruptly moved forward one row.

"This seat…"

The Jingping Division Chief, standing on his stool, was only seven chi tall. His mind turned, comparing their situations, and he had already guessed the rules of this place.

"Forward is reward, backward is punishment… so, to obtain Dragon Demon Daoist's inheritance…"

Chi Chi Zhuiyang also noticed this point, but his mind turned, and he had already looked toward Li Yuan seated in the first row:

"Who is this person? What right does he have to sit in the first row?"

The minds of everyone in the schoolroom were turning, but soon, everyone grew wary again. The old teacher swept his gaze over them, seeming about to ask another question.

"Are the seats arranged by talent? Or by the amount of Form Transformation? What's the benefit of sitting forward? What if I advance another step?"

Feeling the old teacher's gaze, Li Yuan hurriedly gathered his thoughts, but that gaze shifted, already passing over him and landing on Chi Chi Zhuiyang.

"Me?"

Chi Chi Zhuiyang's heart gave a sudden lurch.

"How was yesterday's homework reviewed?"

"…"

Hearing the question, Chi Chi Zhuiyang's heart turned to ice. How the hell would he know what homework had been assigned.

"I, I…"

Feeling the pitying gazes of the others, Chi Chi Zhuiyang's thoughts spun frantically, but the next instant, he saw that ruler.

"Advance is joy, retreat is shame!"

The old teacher said sternly: "That deserves a beating!"

Chi Chi Zhuiyang nearly ground his teeth to dust, yet could only helplessly extend his hand, and then the ruler came down.

*Crack*—Chi Chi Zhuiyang bit through his own tooth. The searing pain that pierced to his very soul turned his vision black, and he couldn't help but scream.

Another five strikes landed, Chi Chi Zhuiyang's aura plummeted, and his seat had dropped to the sixth row—only two rows away from Han Han Chuijun now.

……

Whimper~

◆￠o

Amid curling incense smoke, Qin Li Shixian focused her gaze. All manner of light and shadow wove before her—clearly that brightly lit schoolroom.

"Three more strikes to his palm, and Chi Chi Zhuiyang will undoubtedly die."

Hearing the screams emanating from the light and shadow, Qin Li Shixian found it quite pleasing to both body and mind, but upon seeing that ruler, she couldn't help but feel a lingering dread.

Years ago, she had been struck on the palm once. Just that once—and in all these years since, she had never entered a second time. That kind of searing pain…

Just thinking about it made her shudder.

"Who is this person?"

At this moment, Qin Yun's voice came through. Within the incense smoke, he opened his eyes and pointed at Han Han Chuijun.

"This person is Han Han Chuijun."

Qin Li Shixian answered: "The master Li Yuan apprenticed under in the Divine Weapon Valley has decent talent and comprehension; he should have altered a hundred and twenty forms."

"A bit older, hmm, but still serviceable."

Qin Yun nodded, his gaze falling on Li Yuan: "At first glance this boy is only of peerless talent, yet he managed to sit in the front row…"

"He's probably truly got some special constitution, just as you said."

Qin Li Shixian had been suspicious for quite a while now; she had only entered this lecture hall once, but she still knew a fair bit about its rules.

To sit in the front row, one must at least possess world-shaking talent!

"Hard to discern with the naked eye."

Qin Yun frowned slightly.

Though he had not summoned Li Yuan, in the Eight Directions Pagoda it was no different from facing him in person; he had sized him up several times, yet detected no special constitution.

But the weight of being able to sit in the front row—he naturally understood it in his heart; without world-shaking innate endowment, don't even think about it.

"Perhaps some constitution that has never appeared before?"

Qin Li Shixian's attention clearly wasn't on this; she was very concerned about this lecture hall:

"With his seating position, if he earns the Ancestor's praise, could he truly receive the Ancestor's mantle and inheritance?"

"Perhaps, but the further forward the seat, the harder it is to receive the Ancestor's reward…"

As Qin Yun spoke, he suddenly fell silent.

In the lecture hall, after the old scholar finished his questioning, he began the lesson.

……

Drip drop~

The sound of sweat drops hitting the ground made Li Yuan's heart tremble.

This was the most terrifying class he had ever attended; before the lesson even began, his cold sweat had already poured out by the bucketful.

But comparatively, he was lucky—several rounds of questioning never landed on him, only circulating among the other three; Old Han was questioned once and narrowly passed.

Chi Chi Zhuiyang and the other were each questioned twice; counting the beating upon entry, they took three beatings in total, their seats knocked from the third or fourth row down to the sixth or seventh.

The Commander of Jingping Bureau, from over seven chi tall, was beaten down to less than two chi; standing on a chair was no longer enough, and he had to stand on the table.

From far away, Li Yuan could sense the fury of this Grandmaster of the Zunda Sect.

"Old bastard!"

On the table, the Commander of Jingping Bureau's figure flickered unsteadily; he was so angry he couldn't stabilize his form.

With his status and position, when had He Ceng ever suffered such an extraordinary humiliation?

But at this moment, he did not dare show it in the slightest; he still had to bow and lower his head, showing respect, his heart so aggrieved it nearly exploded.

"Today, I shall lecture on the Heaven and Earth Eight Directions."

At the lectern, the old scholar spoke in a deep voice: "Students, listen first and then ask questions. I, the old man, lecture first and then ask questions; please take note."

The hearts of those below all jolted, every one of them focusing intently.

"The ancients said, the heavens are like a domed tent, covering the eight directions, encompassing all things. However, this contains much conjecture—the heavens are not a domed tent; beyond the heavens, there are yet more heavens…"

The old scholar began his lecture.

His voice was not loud, yet very clear; with every word he uttered, a wisp of true qi rose up, and following his words, various scenes materialized.

"True qi taking form, and the Divine Realm."

Li Yuan saw it with perfect clarity; he could even see the colors of true qi flashing around the old scholar, all hues converging, just like the radiance of Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing.

His exposition was not particularly accessible, but paired with the true qi manifestations, it wasn't too obscure either; the few who were listening attentively felt somewhat reassured.

But soon, the expressions of the few changed.

The Heaven and Earth Eight Directions was only the beginning; afterward he began to mention form-altering, altering the forms of heaven and earth, modeling after the forms of nature, and then further extended into ancient history.

At this point, Li Yuan also felt things were not going well.

This old scholar started from the Great Zhou and traced backward—Great Xu, Great Ye, Great Yi, Great Xin… finally reaching back ten thousand years.

All manner of allusions, unofficial histories, origins of martial arts, divine weapons, names of people—too many for even Li Yuan, who had switched his control combinations and bolstered his spirit, to keep up; his head was starting to swell.

"Not good…"

Apart from Li Yuan, the faces of the others all turned somewhat bitter.

A martial artist's qi and blood are robust, their vigor abundant, and their memory is relatively better than ordinary people's, but at this rate, even a Grandmaster couldn't hold out.

He didn't know how long had passed; Li Yuan was getting drowsy when the voice from the lectern finally stopped.

"…Your Majesty wishes to sacrifice at the Eight Directions Temple, the whole nation joining in this grand occasion; our Imperial Academy cannot be an exception. After this term ends, I, the old man, will select one person from among the students to accompany me to observe the rites."

At this, the old scholar paused slightly.

Yet everyone below tightened inwardly; clearly, before the term ended, there would be questioning first.

"Hmm…"

With the old scholar's deliberation, the atmosphere instantly grew tense; feeling his gaze wandering, everyone's heart turned cold.

"Me again?"

Chi Chi Zhuiyang's heart turned cold, as if plunged into an ice vault.

At the lectern, the Dragon Demon Daoist posed his question:

"The sixth emperor of the Great Yi Dynasty, who in his youth wandered among the common folk, once by chance in some ancient tomb saw a remnant stele left after a splitting fire had burned…

What was written on that stele?"