Qin Ye blinked as he watched the bubbly, spritely figures enter the bus. For some reason, his heart was suddenly filled with a desire to fix them⊠no, rather, it was a sense of responsibility to groom and nurture them into respectable members of society.
His sense of responsibility wasnât an inherent one that he was born with, but more of a byproduct of a confluence of opportunity and the right circumstances - the right time, the right place, and the right people gave rise to an immaculately touching display of fireworks. And out of the ashes arises a single notion: what can I do for them?
Arthis was always whispering in Qin Yeâs ears, âYouâve got to try your best!â âYou canât be lazy anymore! Youâre the future King Yanluo after all!â
But he didnât have a single shred of any sense of responsibility at all.
Even when it came to the immensely grand order of reestablishing Hell, the thought of dropping everything and running away had crossed his mind countless times to date.
Yet the things that triggered that spark of responsibility and nurtured it into a burgeoning sense of determination were the incidents with That Amorous Affair, the impunity of the matricide, and the Yin spirits that continue to pour into Hell.
Each incident had but stirred a single fleeting moment of emotion within his heart, and yet those ephemeral moments managed to catalyze the germination of a sprouting deep sense of responsibility in his heart. After all, actions speak louder than words - just like right now.
The manâs sincere gaze, heartfelt gratitude, and even an ostensible reaction of immense joy at a single nod told Qin Ye that this man was indubitably here for him⊠and Qin Ye suddenly felt a sense of burden weighing on his shoulders.
âItâs good to be young.â He smiled and went back to work. As the sun rose higher into the sky, the number of students pouring towards the registration counters increased progressively. Accordingly, Qin Ye processed the registration for several more students. At 9.00 a.m., Su Feng arrived at the table right on time and smiled, âHow are you feeling?â
âPretty good.â Qin Ye packed his things, âIâm already looking forward to the teaching days ahead⊠Iâve already registered on this document the students who have reported thus far, so Iâll take my leave.â
After returning to his dorm room, Qin Ye didnât rest immediately. Instead, he pulled out his lesson plan and began to go through his notes and scrutinize every detail intently.
âArti, come over here and review it together with me. Letâs see if Iâm missing anything, alright?â He spoke as he continued going through his plan. Arthis responded somewhat impatiently, âIs it really necessary?â
âOf courseâŠâ Qin Ye continued to scrutinize his work, âThe arrival of the freshmen also means that⊠the second part of the instructorsâ evaluation is soon about to begin.â
âSo?â
âSo I want to start right at the finishing point!â Qin Ye rolled his eyes at Arthis, before giving her a look which appeared to suggest âhow could you not understand this muchâ, âZhou Xianlong had earlier mentioned that the second part of the instructorsâ evaluation has no rubrics at all. Wouldnât I be right to say, then, that⊠every single moment in the upcoming semester would form part of the instructorsâ evaluation?â
âThis guyâs positioning... is starting to resemble mine back in those days⊠And he hasnât even landed a single skill to boot. What a load of crap, eh? Cough⊠do continue, you do make a lot of sense. Iâm listening intently.â
Qin Ye fervently suppressed the idea of cutting the power cord to the laptop because he knew that such an act would be the death of him. After all, she was in the heat of battle, and they were vying with others for the title of top three. Self-preservation took precedence, and he sensibly let go of Arthisâ perfunctory response as he coughed lightly, âThe first class conducted reflects the standards of all of the instructors of the academy. If I do well, I would most certainly be able to gain for myself a good amount of teaching credits. The only event that can possibly trump the importance of this lecture would probably only be the final examâs score evaluationâŠâ
Do you see how sincere Iâm pleading with you?
Why donât you come over and review these things with me?
Almost as though she could hear the cry of his heart, Arthis finally shifted her feet slightly and made her way over with a gracious look on her face. After a thorough reexamination of the lesson plan, Arthis declared with utter certainty, âItâs fine.â
âThe topic of my upcoming lesson is the diversity of Yin spirits.â Qin Ye shut his notes and sighed, âFrom the way I see it, the Faculty of Combat has far more experience dealing with Yin spirits than anyone else in other faculties. Survival is key. After all, itâs only when one survives that he can begin to think about slaying and purging Yin spirits. Incidentally, this topic would perfectly complement the purposes of our faculty. Do you think that⊠Iâll be able to secure the top spot with this topic of mine?â
âWhy donât you phrase that statement more in the imperative?!â Arthis snorted in dissatisfaction, âItâs not that I want to brag about this, but given the level of research on Yin spirits in the mortal realm, a single Anitya Hellguard from the glory days of the old Hell would be able to crush all of their experts altogether! This lesson plan was something that Iâd personally picked out and crafted after deep discussion with you. Itâs not like Iâm targeting anyone in particular. Itâs just that everyone here⊠You know what, forget it. The point here is simply this - everyone here are no more than little kids.â
âIâd specially picked out these examples because theyâre clearly not the normal run-of-the-mill Yin spirits. Unfortunately, the mortal realm isnât able to distinguish any of them from the regular Yin spirits. Youâre just giving them a taster and an introduction of these things. Drop them a clue or two on their telltale features, and theyâll immediately understand whatâs going on! Donât you think that overwhelming your competition would be as easy as a flick of the wrist?â
Qin Ye was relieved. He went through his notes till 11 a.m., and then made a call to Professor Yu.
âLittle Qin, whatâs up?â Old Man Yu asked with a light chuckle. He was just as lively as ever.
Qin Ye smiled, âItâs like this, Old Man Yu, school has just startedâŠâ
âIâve got it.â Old Man Yu paused meaningfully before adding, âIâd never break my promise to you. It just so happens that both of your principals have invited me over for a simple exchange and to take a look around. I should be able to make it in time. That said⊠Iâve got to remind you of something.â
Without missing a beat, his voice grew somewhat stern and somber, âGood is good, bad is bad. The rigours of education strictly comes first. Iâve heard news of the First Academy of Cultivatorâs evaluation system, and I know that teaching credits are incredibly important to you. However, if your preparation is insufficient and goes against the grain of the First Academyâs spirit of education, I wonât be able to turn a blind eye to that.â
Qin Ye straightened his expression, âDonât worry, Old Man Yu. I was just asking you to pop by and give me some moral support. I guarantee you that the contents of my lesson is going to be absolutely refreshing. Iâd never deign to impose a duty of wilful blindness on you.â
Meanwhile, at the other end of the call, a fleet of five black Audis were currently driving from Mount Tai City straight towards the City of Salvation.
The Audi in the center had obviously been reinforced with bulletproof glass, while its doors were all made of special alloys. Even the undercarriage of the vehicle was reinforced.
Old Man Yu was seated right in the reinforced Audi, holding onto his phone in one hand while holding onto another notebook with his other as he scrutinized the data on it. When he heard Qin Yeâs declaration of confidence, he was slightly taken aback. However, the corners of his lips quickly curled up into a silent smile.
This kid⊠really has no fear.
Academia. What is academia? It is essentially painstakingly hard work tackling the difficult questions that span over centuries or even millenia. Some questions may even come up that remain unanswered by the concerted efforts of hundreds of academicians. Professor Yu was considered an outstanding talent across all of Cathay with a wealth of experience under his belt. Were there any questions he hadnât seen before, much less questions posed by a young, sproutling instructor from a simple lesson plan?
Something that would be absolutely refreshing?
After exchanging some pleasantries with each other, they hung up the phone, and a man dressed in a white lab coat riding shotgun in the same vehicle turned to Old Man Yu with a smile, âOld Man Yu, whatâs up?â
Old Man Yu didnât respond immediately. Instead, he simply turned to gaze at the idyllic scenery of large plains that were passing by slowly in the distance as the vehicle rumbled on. After a long time, he quipped, âIâve always thought that academia is like the mountains. Just like how one can always find a mountain taller than the other, the more we learn, the smaller we get. Oftentimes, we see people showing up, thinking that they are trailblazers in the fields of their own research, only to discover to their abject dismay that they are presenting no more than what others have been researching for ages. In fact, others might even have walked further down the path of that research topic, and the presenterâs concepts would be completely dwarfed by the same.â
He was one of the three great academicians and founding fathers of the SRC. He was naturally entitled to some latitude of confidence in this regard.
âThatâs true.â The man in the white lab coat chuckled in agreement.
Old Man Yu tapped lightly on the window of his car, âYouâve seen Little Qin before. He just told me that he guarantees that the contents of his lesson is going to be absolutely refreshing. What do you think?â
The man in the white lab coat immediately understood why Old Man Yu was smiling to himself.
It was as though Buddha himself were looking at an ascetic monk. The monk thinks that heâs understood the true meaning of Buddhaâs teachings, yet wasnât able to discern the identity of the man across him.
âThatâs rather unfortunate. During our last encounter, his observations were astute, and his perspective was sharp. It left an indelible impression in my mind. But things are going to be completely different this time. Weâre talking about the accumulation of knowledge right now. Itâs like a baking professor claiming that he can show us something completely fresh on the techniques of cake making. But can he really make something that hasnât already been done before? I personally donât think itâs very likely. But that said⊠I still do look forward to it.â
âThatâs right. Iâm looking forward to it as well.â Old Man Yu closed his eyes, âAn absolutely refreshing topic huh⊠letâs wait and see what kind of a treat weâre in for.â
Qin Ye was completely oblivious to the kind of evaluation he was receiving right now. Regardless, he was filled with confidence. After all, he had consulted and pored through every database he could find over the last two months, only to learn that there had never been much progress on this research topic of his.
He was just about to review his lesson plan a second time when his phone suddenly buzzed.
It was a notification message from the Momo app. He opened it, and immediately noticed that he had already been added to the group called âFirst Academy of Cultivators Faculty of Combatâ by a user with an ID of âHead of Faculty of Combat Zhou Xianlongâ.
The five instructors and all of its professors were already in the group. Zhou Xianlong switched on the voice-to-text function, and immediately explained, âOf our first batch of students, none of them are the super geniuses of the clans, sects, bloodlines or other associations from which they hail from. After all, the First Academy of Cultivators isnât tried and tested just yet. The first batch of students are naturally the second-class cultivators within their respective organizations. None of them have ever experienced a true supernatural incident before.â
None of them responded, and they continued to look at the texts intently.
âAnd itâs precisely because of this that we have to groom and nurture them so that they can display the fullest extent of their potential. We will make these cultivation organizations beg us to send their true elites and geniuses to the school in two yearsâ time!â
âThe college term is approximately half of that of any other colleges out there. The full course takes two yearsâ time. In that regard, the Faculty of Combat is the faculty that will come into direct contact with supernatural incidents. I ask this of you - we have to show them that theyâre being taken seriously by the academy, and at the same time, we will still have to keep the string taut and push them as far as they can go. What are your thoughts? Please share freely.â
Lin Han was straightforward, âBeat them up if they donât listen in class!â
âStrong and Potent has been muted for one minute.â
The others immediately cowered at Zhou Xianlongâs display of criminal force. Li Runxue suddenly typed, âWhat about some orientation activitiies? I hear that other regular colleges generally have some form of this to welcome their students.â
âAnd whoâs going to perform for them?â Zhou Xianlong immediately replied, âYou? What performances can you put up? A group display of martial arts? Or are you suggesting that I go up and sing for them?â
Li Runxue grew taciturn.
That image is far too beautiful for my mindâŠ
âDonât get any wrong ideas. What we want to do is something somber, memorable, and also laden with educational undertones. It would be best if it achieves the goal of uniting the freshmen as well.â
Everyone fell deep into thought. Nobody wanted to be embarrassed by their suggestions. On the other hand, Qin Ye chuckled at his end of the phone.
These idiots have never been to collegeâŠ
How could you possibly compare to an elite like me whoâs been to college for six or seven times now?
If we talked about something impressive, educational, and memorable by all freshmen and instructors alike, itâs got to be thatâŠ
With these thoughts on his mind, he sent a line of probative text to the group chat, âHow about an emergency drill?â
The evil, sinister intentions of his heart were abundantly clear to all.
The entire group suddenly went silent.
Lin Han sent him a private message, âHoly cow⊠youâre evil. Youâre truly evil. I guarantee you that all the freshmen, without exception, will sincerely thank you and your eight generations of ancestors from the bottom of their hearts!â
âYou flatter me.â Qin Ye smiled sinisterly as he responded.
An emergency drill was undoubtedly something that every Cathayan university student abhorred.
After all, people invariably show their ugliest side to the gods or goddesses of their dreams. How could they possibly reveal such a horrific image to each other?
How many people would want to bury their heads in the ground in shame and scream in agony whenever they were reminded of their last encounter with an emergency drill?
Yet, when Qin Ye considered the prospects of seeing the most humiliating image of each of his facultyâs students, he felt awash with⊠an inexplicably dark pleasureâŠ
Weâve been training, while youâve been playing games in the comfort of your own organizations⊠But now⊠letâs see if the heavens spare any of you...
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