CHAPTER 324: CHAPTER 322: I CAN’T HANDLE THE TEACHER, BUT I CAN HANDLE YOU?

Whoa!

Even though many had vaguely anticipated it, when Leyu admitted she really was not just a key player but the outright ringleader in the recent Dongyang Rebellion, plenty of students were still taken aback.

Technically, famous people coming to teach at the Imperial Academy was an old tradition, but there were all kinds of "famous." After all, how could someone currently in the thick of major events have time to swing by the capital to report in—and casually teach a class on the side? People who could juggle making history and teaching it were rare beasts indeed.

Moreover, Glory had been sliding downhill for decades, but the biggest events were always unspeakable palace intrigues. Its decline was like food slowly going past expiration—no one realized it was inedible till fate finally took a bite. That made the only history to truly grab student attention the kind that touched the entire nation: either a world-shaking catastrophe, or the now-infamous Dongyang Rebellion.

Even if some students had no clue, in the half-hour cleanup just now, someone had quietly dished out the real reason for this course: basically, it was about riding the hype.

An earth-shaking event just a month ago, and the Imperial Academy had already rolled out a matching elective by the first week of term? Some students with inside info on the Dongyang Rebellion honestly found it odd—hell, the Rebellion’s official term hadn’t even been settled, so how’d the Academy already jump to conclusions?

Now, at last, they understood where the Academy’s confidence came from—the Academy had gone and invited the one who’d write Dongyang Silver Blood’s epitaph right into the classroom.

Imagining Qinyin’s role as both victim and perpetrator in the Dongyang Rebellion, a major figure in Silver Blood, students felt as if the abdicated emperor—a full-on traitor—was now here to regale them with stories of their past.

The thrill of "witnessing the drama firsthand" instantly filled their chests with joy.

If "a mere speck of history lands on a person and it’s like a mountain weight," then Teacher Qinyin was that wild spray riding the frontline of the era itself—bringing tidal waves crashing down on countless people!

How many times in life did you get to watch that kind of real-time, epochal drama unfold?

"So-called imperial stratagems and techniques of rulership, once you strip ’em down, aren’t worth a damn," Leyu said blandly, "It’s just hit ’em with a stick, toss ’em a carrot. Of course, all of it rides on owning the means of production—and in this classroom, that’s the ’class participation points’ I’ve just handed to each team captain."

"I own what you want; if you want the payoff, you take my job offer. That’s at the core of Silver Blood’s rule, and the very reason Dongyang overthrew ’em."

"But teacher, isn’t it basic logic to take a job for pay?" a lavishly-dressed student yelled, "What, am I supposed to see something you own and just snatch it? Wouldn’t that turn society into chaos? How’s that any different from a lawless wasteland?"

"Yeah!"

"If we take your logic, teacher," said Ming Yueyan, dark circles under his eyes, "the scope of production resources is pretty damn broad. Pretty much all human history is ’those with the resources hiring those without’—the resources could be food, clothing, power... Don’t tell me that’s a mistake?"

"The concept isn’t wrong," Leyu laughed, "It’s people that are the problem."

"You honestly still think what I did just now in that half-hour with the sandglass was ’right’?"

The students shook their heads; after all, Leyu had just sat around doing nothing, ordering the male students to run errands and the female students to massage his shoulders and trim his nails—acting like a total brat. The others could only grit their teeth, itching to take his place—or hell, itching to serve some good old justice on the spot!

If it weren’t for the fact Leyu was the teacher and holding their grades over their heads, who’d ever bow so low—never mind the air of humility, every last one of them was an ivory-towered prodigy with more pride than a cold pine!

"Danchi Xia!" Leyu suddenly called out loudly, "You clearly didn’t want to run errands for me just now—so why did you give in the end?"

Student Danchi Xia froze, unable to answer, "I..."

"Tell me. The instant you left the classroom, did you truly, willingly run errands for me for fifty participation points?"

Danchi Xia struggled quite a while, then nodded hard, "I did!"

"Really? Then why didn’t you just say yes on the spot?" Leyu asked airily, "Why’d I have to dock you ten points before you finally ’saw the light’? Are you stupid or gutless? You gotta be one or the other—or maybe both?"

"You, I..." Danchi Xia, irritated and anxious, his twenty-year-old face flushing red, but no words came out.

Suddenly, from the back of the room, came a hoarse sneer, "He was gutless before; now he’s just an idiot."

Everyone looked over and saw Shi Wen, sitting right by the back wall. Because he wasn’t even an Imperial Academy student, Leyu had no clue how he’d managed to sneak into class, so hadn’t paid him any mind during groups—and more to the point, no credits if you’re not an Academy student, Leyu’s "resource" meant zilch to Shi Wen.

Meeting everyone’s vaguely judgmental eyes, Shi Wen didn’t bat an eye—in fact, he sat there even smugger, "When you took ten points off him earlier, he already regretted it. Then you tossed him a few soft words to give him face, so he folded—that’s gutless."

"Shi Wen!" Danchi Xia snapped, "You dare—"

"Of course I dare. Now you put his cowardice on blast right here—how could he possibly admit he just wimped out? He can only say he’d willingly play your lapdog, just to cover his weakness. But that plays right into your hands, doesn’t it? You needed some dumb, gutless tool for a sacrificial lamb your first day in class!"

"You shit-talking mutt!"

Danchi Xia’s steps hit double time, his whole body morphing to a blur as he shot toward Shi Wen, too fast for the ring of students to even react. Leyu said nothing—Danchi Xia had already mastered the Lingxu Battle Technique, nearly reaching Integration and Mastery, the Lingxu Step as smooth as skating on air!

"You think I’m scared of you?!"

From Shi Wen came a low bestial growl as he struck a Biting Battle Technique stance—hips lowered, ten gnarled fingers gleaming with accumulated energy. The skin on his hands split and resealed under the radiance, suddenly transforming them into menace-filled, razor-sharp glow claws!

Watching students brawling might ordinarily be a teacher’s guilty pleasure, but Leyu felt it was wiser not to really piss off the old headmaster, so he casually snatched at the air—outpacing the movement afterimages and, like a phantom, landed right between the two.

Combat Technique, Fleeting Wind Grasp plus Lingxu Battle Technique, Shadow-Stepping equals Blood-Drinking Eightfold Flow, Ghost Step!

"I’m sure the headmaster would just love to see us getting along like this—"

The explosions of light from Danchi Xia and Shi Wen’s hands were both snuffed out by Leyu’s Desolate Bite, then Leyu flung them both up onto the dais like a pinwheel, intentionally slamming them together for a comically intimate collision.

"—He’ll be thrilled."

"Wow! Teacher Hongle, you’re amazing!"

Ming Shuangli immediately cheered, stirring up the crowd, and Leyu arched a brow, "Thanks. Close-quarters shenanigans with troublemakers is a vital part of my teaching responsibilities."

Danchi Xia opened his eyes to see Shi Wen’s scarred, ravaged face so close it made him physically ill. He threw a kick without a second thought—but Shi Wen was just as quick, smacking out at the same time and scoring three bloody lines down Danchi Xia’s face.

"Cut it out, you two; you’re never going to actually kill each other with this crap. Either meet up at Wanxiang Forest tonight for a real throwdown, or I’ll get the headmaster here to watch the show—pretty sure he’d love to see you ’bond’ up close."

There was real threat in Leyu’s words. Shi Wen and Danchi Xia locked eyes heatedly, but Leyu wasn’t about to let them off the hook just yet, "Since you’re both here, hope you won’t mind answering a couple questions for me? After all, it’s not like your day could get any worse."

Staring at Shi Wen’s bleeding hands, Leyu’s face stayed cool but his thoughts fumed—"Danchi Xia really was worthy of the Imperial Academy, his Lingxu Battle Technique nearly at Integration and Mastery, a true stand-out. Next to that, Shi Wen’s Biting Battle Technique, barely even at mastery, was just embarrassing."

"But without Leyu getting in the way, even if Danchi Xia could land a blow, Shi Wen would have torn off some of his flesh for sure!"

"Radiance into Claw—an entry-level Biting Battle Technique, when refined becomes the first form, Desolate Bite. But Shi Wen outright mixed radiance with his own flesh and blood, so normal light explosions couldn’t snuff out his attacks and his damage shot way up!"

"But that comes at the cost of self-injury; even Qian Yuliu wouldn’t use it. For the tiny little boost, Radiance into Claw’s self-harm is just not worth it."

"If someone used Radiance into Claw’s sacrificial move the second combat started..."

"It meant he had nothing else left to offer up but his own body."

Because Leyu’s words dripped with sarcasm, Shi Wen and Danchi Xia, both long conditioned by teachers, nodded before thinking—but soon figured out their day could still take a turn for the worse—

"Shi Wen, as an outsider, why’d you goad Danchi Xia? Is it you wanted to show off your cleverness, or wash away the sympathy people had for you half an hour ago by proving how nasty you could be? Is the only way you can hang on to that pathetic pride by clinging to other people’s scorn and fear?"

Shi Wen’s hands shook uncontrollably—he felt clammy and numb, sweating despite the heat. Danchi Xia’s face was starting to break out in a satisfied, gloating smile, but Leyu turned on him, "Hold that thought, Mr. Shi Wen. Danchi Xia, your problem runs deeper."

"Did the Imperial Academy lift all restrictions on brawling, Danchi Xia? If you’d just trashed Shi Wen in a duel, would you get the headmaster’s gold star?"

Danchi Xia was sweating bullets, "Sorry, Teacher Hongle, that was out of line."

"’Impulsive’—what a beautiful word. It’s the go-to excuse of the young, and I look at you all with envy. Life’s beat me till I’m no longer impulsive." Leyu spread his hands, "Well then, Danchi Xia, why were you impulsive? Because Shi Wen insulted you?"

"Right."

"How did he insult you?"

"He, he..."

"Because he said aloud what you did?"

"No!" Danchi Xia quickly said, "Because he insulted you, teacher!"

"Ah, now, isn’t that touching..." Leyu walked up to Danchi Xia, patted him on the shoulder, "A man can run from every demon in this world—except the one in his own heart, called cowardice."

"I’d never even met you before; if you hadn’t enrolled in this class, we wouldn’t have any ties at all—hell, we might never see each other again after this. Yet even so, you still bowed and scraped for a little surface-level respect. Are you really so afraid of my pathetic sliver of power—or is it just that you don’t dare own up to your own ugliness?"

"When faced with oppression, the weak lash out at those weaker, the strong at stronger. Danchi Xia—tell me: are you the weak or the strong? Is it my shining name as a teacher that’s scrambled you so badly, you can’t even tell who’s right and who’s wrong anymore?"

Danchi Xia stood there like a petrified log, all the other students silent—some uneasy, some loving it, while Ming Shuangli was practically gorging himself on the show.

"It wasn’t like no teacher had ever dissected the darkness inside people before, but Leyu ’led by example’ and actually used students as props—this level of raw, filthy truth was truly something to behold."

"When Shi Wen cursed you out, were you thinking..." Leyu leaned in close and whispered in Danchi Xia’s ear, "If I can’t handle the teacher, at least I can handle you?"