CHAPTER 29: FOUR INSTRUCTORS

Dongfang Sansan was silent for a long while before he finally seemed to have arrived at some type of conclusion, and he rose to his feet and began slowly pacing as he said, "Firstly, all those who are aware of this matter are to be assigned roles in the underground base. They are not to leave the base for ten years, at which point the situation will be reassessed. Make sure that the living needs of their families are taken care of during this time.

“Secondly, the hall master, deputy hall master, and all other important figures in the White Cloud Prefecture’s Hall of Protectionists are to be transferred away. I will personally select their replacements, starting with Chen Ruhai and Fan Tiantiao, who will serve as the hall master and deputy hall master, respectively. In three years, one of them is to be transferred away.

“Instruct their replacements in the Green Wave City Hall of Protectionists to help out the Fang Clan where possible. You are the only one who is to be privy to this matter in White Cloud Academy. As for Fang Che, I'll leave him to your discretion. There's no need to oppress him or deny him resources that should rightfully be his.

“However, one thing that must be ensured is his safety. Also, from now on, any developments on Fang Che are to be reported directly to the headquarters by Chen Ruhai and Fan Tiantiao, and they are to keep this matter confidential at all costs. Also, Fang Che's maidservant needs a new codename and a fresh start.

“Destroy all of her past files, and assign her the codename of Moon Shadow. I'll arrange for someone to work with you in White Cloud Academy. Additionally, I suggest that you cast any preconceived biases toward Fang Che out of your mind. Otherwise, your decisions could prove very dangerous."

A meaningful gleam flashed through Dongfang Sansan's eyes as he spoke.

"Yes, Master Nine, I will be sure to treat him as objectively as I am capable of," Huang Yifan hurriedly promised.

Dongfang Sansan turned his gaze back to the copper coins on the table.

Huang Yifan did the same, but he had no idea what he was looking at anyway.

From there, they began to discuss the finer details.

Huang Yifan was clearly struggling to keep up, and Dongfang Sansan was beginning to grow quite impatient and exasperated. In the end, he made a jade slip on the spot, then slapped it against Huang Yifan's forehead to inject all of the information directly into his mind.

By the time Huang Yifan emerged from the headquarters, he discovered that precisely two hours had passed by, not a minute more or less.

Huang Yifan was very impressed with Dongfang Sansan's precise timekeeping while also still reeling from the excitement of meeting such a prestigious figure.

He took a moment to compose himself before departing. After some time, he turned around to look back at the headquarters, and he noticed someone standing on the observation, peering into the distant sky, cutting a very lonesome figure.

The figure on the observation deck seemed to have sensed Huang Yifan's gaze, even from close to ten kilometers away, and their eyes met for a fleeting moment.

Huang Yifan's mind instantly went completely blank, and by the time he returned to his senses, he had already traveled hundreds of kilometers, completely without his own knowledge.

Who the hell was that?!

***

Fang Che had been assigned to the first class of the first years, and he was classmates with Mo Ganyun, while all of the other students in the top ten had been split up into different classes.

This was a tradition of the academy. There was a competitive relationship between the classes, so they couldn't just put all of the top prodigies in the same class.

Having one class completely dominate the rest was definitely not conducive to collective improvement.

The despair of having an insurmountable rival class would negatively impact all of the children in the other classes.

Mo Ganyun was originally supposed to have been put in another class, but somehow, he was able to pull some strings and remain in the first class.

The classroom for each class was a hall that could hold several hundred people at once, but each class only had a hundred students, making the classrooms appear excessively spacious.

The main instructor was Li Changkong, and he was joined by three of his colleagues, namely Bao Feiyu, Bing Shangxue, and Duan Zhongliu.

These four were renowned golden instructors of the academy. They had just taught the graduating cohort of fifth-years and had rotated back to teach the first-years, beginning the five-year cycle anew.

For the first lesson, all four instructors were present, and they introduced themselves before making a roll call.

Fang Che noticed that the eyes of the four instructors were extremely sharp, and that they were constantly raking back and forth over the faces of students before them.

However, it seemed like all of them were in rather foul moods, and Fang Che deduced that this was most likely because they were still suffering from the emotional toll of recently parting with the cohort of students that they had taught for five years.

Fang Che was very pleased to see this as in his eyes, this was a reflection of instructors' humanity.

Furthermore, he couldn't help but be impressed with the instructors' names, all of which were very badass.[1]

Mo Ganyun's voice rang out beside his ears. "I wonder how these four got their names, they're all so badass."

A meaningful smile appeared on Fang Che's face.

He was certain that they had given themselves these names, which meant that they had most likely been given some rather embarrassing birth names.

However, asking them what their birth names were would be nothing short of courting death.

These instructors were going to be supervising them for the entirety of their five years here, so getting on their bad side this early would undoubtedly entail five years of hell.

All of the students stood up and greeted in unison, "Greetings, teachers."

Li Changkong raised a hand in a cold manner as he declared, "Please refer to us as instructors. You are not permitted to refer to us as teachers for now! We were hired by the academy to nurture all of you into capable warriors. You're paying for your tuition, and we're being paid by the academy, so right now, this is nothing more than a transaction.

“Only once we've gained each other's approval will we truly enter a teacher and student relationship, but even then, we'll still only be teacher and student, not master and disciple. I hope you can all understand that. Now that that's out of the way, it's time to have your aptitude tested. All of you line up, and you'll take turns entering one of four rooms to undergo testing.

“No one is to reveal their aptitude to other students. Of course, you're free to do so if you have a death wish. I don't care what past glories you've attained, whether you're the top-ranked prospect or the champion or whatever. Starting from today, everything is reset, understood?"

Fang Che couldn't help but roll his eyes. Li Changkong had only stopped just short of directly mentioning his name.

The four instructors sprang into action, organizing the class of a hundred people into four lines to enter the four rooms and have their cultivation bases and aptitude assessed.

Mo Ganyun was towering over the rest of the class, standing at 230 centimeters tall, while Fang Che was a distant second at 185 centimeters, and that was even after a recent growth spurt.[2]

185 centimeters was already a very impressive height, but Fang Che found himself completely dwarfed by Mo Ganyun.

If a giant blade were to sweep horizontally through the entire classroom at the height of Mo Ganyun's head, he would be decapitated, while the rest of the students would only feel a rush of wind over their heads.

In addition to his incredible height, Mo Ganyun was also ridiculously well-built, weighing over two hundred kilograms.[3]

In spite of his immense weight, he wasn't carrying around any excess body fat, and at his moment, he was standing right beside Fang Che, much to the latter's dismay.

"Stay away from me!"

"Why?"

"I'm worried that you'll accidentally fall over and crush me!"

Mo Ganyun rolled his eyes in response.

This would've been a normal gesture for anyone else, but for Mo Ganyun, it felt like his pupils had a long way to go before they were completely rolled up.

***

Mo Ganyun was the first to be tested, and Li Changkong was in for a pleasant surprise.

Legendary aptitude, eh? Not bad at all!

He then examined Mo Ganyun's cultivation base, and he was even more pleased with what he saw.

Peak third-rank Warrior Master with an extremely solid foundation, ready for a breakthrough at any time. No damage sustained to meridians, no signs of taking any pills, and exceptional bodily coordination. This is an outstanding talent!

A faint smile broke through his calm facade as he asked, "You're from the Mo Clan, right? Why did you come to White Cloud Warrior Academy instead of staying in your clan to cultivate?"

"None of my clansmen at my age are anywhere near my level, so there's not enough pressure back home. Hence, I decided to come try my luck at the academy. If I can't find what I want here, then I'll go try some other academy," Mo Ganyun replied in a candid manner.

Li Changkong wasn't bothered to hear this at all.

Mo Ganyun was telling the truth. Given the power of the Mo Clan, they could easily transfer him to any of the top-tier warrior academies however many times he wanted.

"You seem to be quite close with Fang Che."

"Fang Che?"

Mo Ganyun was rather perplexed about why Fang Che had suddenly been brought up.

"Fang Che is my target for the moment, and I feel like he's a decent guy."

Li Changkong nodded in response. "I have some ties with your Mo Clan, so I feel obligated to advise you to keep your guard up around Fang Che."

Mo Ganyun was rather unconvinced, but he didn't let it show. "Alright, I'll keep that in mind."

"Why didn't you join a sect?"

"Sects are too isolated, and there are many sects that completely close themselves off to the outside world in times of war. Hence, our ancestors have forbidden us from joining sects. The men of the Mo Clan would rather die on the battlefield than cower in sects!"

"Well said!" Li Changkong praised.

Upon emerging from the room, Mo Ganyun gave Fang Che a subtle look, warning him to be careful of Li Changkong as the instructor clearly wasn't very fond of him.

Fang Che was already mentally prepared, and he entered the room with no qualms.

"Come in," Li Changkong said in a cold voice, displaying a hostile attitude that definitely shouldn't have been reserved for the champion of the new student tournament.

Even though he hadn't brought up the incident concerning the Su Clan, it was clear that Li Changkong had some preconceived biases.

However, his cold facade was quickly shattered as it was revealed that Fang Che's aptitude went completely beyond the upper limits of the Dragon Fish Pagoda.

Li Changkong's mouth had gaped open so wide that an ostrich egg could've been stuffed in there whole.

1. They all have names that translate to things like Raging Storm and Ice on Snow. ☜

2. Roughly 7'7" and 6'1", respectively. ☜

3. 440lbs. ☜