The Heavenly Wandering Sword
Chapter 46
After the staff meeting, Li Jian returned back to his classroom. The class would start in a few minutes and he probably should do some preparatory work. He read through the list of topics that were to be covered today and decided that the next step was to push them harder. They all had been forbidden from coming to class with their treasured weapons and equipment. To this day, they still carried the regular steel swords that were the same ones issued to the Yao Kingdom’s military. He heard the door open, looking up to see which one of his students decided that they wanted to be super early. He looked over with a distinct lack of interest only to see Wu Min standing there, her arms crossed.
“Oh you’re here. Was there something you wanted?” He asked her curiously, leaning back in his chair as he looked at her. She stared at him for a moment before gesturing for him to follow her before turning around and walking out of the classroom. He was either about to be yelled at or have more work dumped in his lap. Or, both. He followed her to the end of the hall and opened a door which lead into a large spacious office. He rarely went down to the end of the hall so he had never explored any of the rooms there. She sat down behind the desk. “Close the door and sit down.” Yep, he was going to get yelled at.
“Since we have not had a formal meeting yet, I decided that now would be a great time for it. You already know me, so please tell me a bit about yourself and your teaching history.” She continued to stare at him as he thought about how to best answer that question. “Well I am not from this continent. I grew up in a small fishing village on the continent that you call the Golden continent. Hmm. I journeyed through the lands and did whatever cultivator does. I also came here on a boat that got lost and ended up in prison until the principal forced me to take on this job.” He shrugged after telling her the most general version of his history as he could.
She glanced at him with a look of disappointment. She had hoped there was a reason beyond just being unique that landed him the position of elite hall professor. In truth, she had done very little teaching. The resources needed and used by the elite hall was tremendous. In order to manage the single class, they needed not just the tuition fees by the students of course but also a generous sponsorship by the government as well. It helped that the students were all important relatives of the Kingdom heads but it was still a tremendously expensive effort.
“I will be frank with you. I am personally quite surprised by the fact that you were selected to be the professor by the Principal. I have my doubts about you, but Principal Fu is quite adept at picking out talent when she sees it. Perhaps you may surprise me in the future, but I just want you to know that I am keeping an eye on you.” She looked at him quite sternly. Li Jian examined her again and sighed, she had what he liked to call the princess syndrome. Talented and beautiful at birth, she had gone her entire life having everything catered to her.
“Since you have been honest with me, can I be honest with you then?” He asked her, leaning back in his chair as his eyes looked her over. She hesitated for a moment before nodding for him to continue. “I humbly apologize for not coming to see you earlier but I am only here to teach. Please, have your doubts about me if you wish but understand I will not kowtow to you and beg for your attention. I’d much prefer if we left each other alone.”
Perhaps this was bullying but he released a tiny bit of spiritual energy, just enough to let her understand that he was much more powerful than he was letting on. He had learned at the last minute in the Golden Continent when he was forced to really unleash his power that he must nip things in the bud before they can be allowed to sprout.
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Wu Min’s face paled slightly, she swallowed with difficulty and slowly nodded in understanding. True to her nickname though, her face refused to show that she was cowed. “I.. will keep that in mind then Master Li.” He nodded and stood up, walking out casually to his class. After he had walked out, she let out a deep sigh and shook her head. On one hand she was glad he wasn’t just another one of the cocky male professors trying to hit on her. On the other hand, she was quite sure that meant he was not someone she can control.
When class finally started, his students all stared at him expectantly. He looked at all of them and nodded slightly, before waving at them to bring out their swords. “All of you know, the reason that I have you all use only steel swords is because quite frankly all your treasured items and rare swords do is impede you. It’s a crutch, and you come to expect it. When you only have a steel sword, you can truly learn more and demonstrate your actual strength. It’s been a few months now so let’s see your progress.” He stood up and from his storage ring he summoned a solid half sphere chunk of what looked like obsidian. It was a good size one, the size of a chicken or so. He placed it on his desk and then stood to the side before having them line up. “One by one, strike it with your sword and we will see what it says. Feel free to infuse your sword with spiritual force.”
The results were as expected. None of them were able to do anything to the stone. “This stone is a progress marker. If you’re able to leave a mark in the stone with your sword, that means you are powerful enough to have enough control over your spiritual force that you’re able to use your spiritual force to cut the stone. The steel sword is only a carrier.”
He paused and thought about how he was going to phrase the next section of his words. “I’ve decided that the class should have a Captain. It also means all of you are going to duke it out on three different levels. Close combat, swordsmanship, and ranged attack. The top scorer will become the Class Captain.” He looked at his students, some of whom looked nervous at the idea of combat while others jut looked excited to prove themselves.
“Master Li, what is the point of the class captain?” Of course, it was Su Lan who asked that question. Li Jian grinned with a dark look on his face. “How does the elite class prove itself to be the elite class? Is it because your parents are important people? Or is it because the Principal said you are?” He shook his head and picked up his mug of peach tea and looked at the group of them. The students looked at him with anticipation.
“No, you’re only the elite class if you are able to stand toe to toe against the rest of the Academy. All of you one day will have a big influence on the country, like it or not. First, how do you survive until it’s your turn to rule? By being strong. Second, how do you make sure that you get a fair chance at influencing the kingdom? By being strong. Third, how do you ensure that the decisions you make are carried out properly? By being strong.” He sipped at his mug and grinned at them smugly. “All of you are like porcelain. It doesn’t matter what qualities you have, but everyone is afraid to try and touch you. After all, who would dare offend the prince and princess that may become king and empress?”
Wu Shenbao looked puzzled. “But is that not power? No one dares offend us.” Shing Hai nodded. “Why would anyone dare offend any single one of us?” Li Jian just laughed at this naïve answer. “That only means that your parents have power. The rest of you do not. Do you think that if your parents were not here, the other students would not dare? Think about that question carefully.”
The students all looked at each other, wondering what he was leading to. “The world of cultivation is cutthroat. Right now, I am your professor and perhaps I can make a positive impact in your lives and keep you alive in the future to not just rule, but also rule with benevolence. Benevolence comes from absolute strength. Let me ask you this, if someone was powerful enough to defeat all three rulers why would they not dare to offend any one of you?” He would look over at Su Lan, who seemed to have the most understanding. “Student Su seems to get it.”
She nodded pensively, suddenly understanding why the professor had no issues dealing with her mother the Empress Suyan during the professor-parents conference. The others all looked at her questioningly but he just laughed lightly and shook his head slightly. “Don’t overthink it. It’s a simple concept but much harder to understand.”
“Back to my point, what qualifies you to be elite students? The only true qualification is whether or not you are capable of outthinking and outfighting your opponents. Your opponents are all the other students in this academy. That is why the elite class will begin fighting each other. All of you have your strengths and your weaknesses but that is also a good example of life. Don’t forget, this is the Arbor Continent. There are many other continents with much more powerful cultivators. How will you be able to defend against them in the future?” He lightly played with his mug that he had drained of its contents and smiled at them. “It also means that you will be entitled to more cultivation resources as the class captain to distribute to the rest of the class. It’s good practice for all of you as you are all expected to rule one day.”