Chapter 3
496 2 30
X
Reading Options
Font Size
A- 15px A+
Width
Reset
X
Table of Contents
Loading... please wait.

“So, first, calm down. It's not so bad, maybe you were wrong, and this is not the protagonist of that stupid novel,” Tian Zhe was lost in thought as Tian Lan continued the roll call. His head was splitting from a new portion of headaches due to the sudden realization that this whole world begins to remind him of the world of the novel "Saga of the Seven Scriptures."

Tian Zhe looked around again. He did not know many of his classmates. He did not really care about their appearance and origin, but what worried him was several boys' appearance, whose color of the spiritual core and appearance remotely resembled the story's characters.

“The names are different, but the appearance, origin, and color of the nuclei are the same. Even though the terminology is also different, the division into ranks is very similar in general.”

“What's with him?” Li Xue watched in bewilderment as her eccentric neighbor began to mutter something to himself. She was not worried about Tian Zhe's background because her family is more influential, but despite this, the girl regretted that the young man sat down next to her.

“It won't work to escape, to become an ally, especially, to kill is also unlikely,” while Tian Zhe was biting his nail thinking aloud about what to do, Li Xue quietly moved away from him, just in case.

Finally coming to his senses, the young man listened to the speech of his Tian Lan. He needed information to confirm the situation, while Tian Lan, who had finished the roll call, began an introductory lecture.

“I suppose it's not worth mentioning that the Jade City with the adjacent territory is one of the lasts, if not the last stronghold of humanity on the continent,” Tian Lan decided to start with a brief state of affairs in the world. Although those who entered already knew this from their parents, this was the traditional start of an introductory lecture at the academy. All classes went through this. “Once humanity flourished globally, many human empires ruled the world, but two thousand years ago, they all fell under the Great Invasion of demonic beasts.”

Tian Lan paused briefly, staring at the class. Her gaze rested on her nephew. Fortunately, for the girl, he stopped lying on the desk and looked at her carefully, as if he was afraid to miss at least one word. Satisfied that the young man would not throw away anything, Tian Lan continued her speech.

“Since the death of the ancient empires, the Dark Ages have come, marking the decline of humanity,” Tian Lan has omitted the main historical events since she has considered them insignificant. Even if one of the students was interested in history, it was outside her working position. “over the past two millennia, at least five empires and kingdoms were formed according to the evidence we have preserved, but, like the ancient empires, they were destroyed by demonic beasts.”

The noble students listened without interest, as their home teaching included history and already knew the key events. Only the poor listened with interest, as their parents and families could not boast of the home education other than household work or crafts experience.

Tian Zhe was dying of boredom and useless information. He knew from the short story in some details, and therefore, even if something did not fit, it could be neglected.

“Our homeland, the Jade City, is the last surviving city on the Heavenly Ridge border and the Great Emerald Plain. It was founded by legendary spellcasters who survived the Black Dragon Empire's destruction, which emerged in the Dark Ages on the ancient Thundercloud Empire's ruins.” At their age, teenagers are already beginning to be interested in the opposite sex, and the young teacher, moreover, was dressed in a very seductive qipao, emphasizing her figure.

“In this regard, you can be proud of the rich history of our city,” Tian Lan summed up.

“How can you be proud of something like that if the development and culture of the Jade City are strikingly different from what it was in the Black Dragon Empire?” Tian Zhe was indignant. “Even if the ancestors of the founders were of legendary rank, their social position in the Black Dragon empire was not so high, not to mention that many advanced development techniques and elixir recipes have been lost since the fall of the empire.”

As a reader of the novel, Tian Zhe knew perfectly well that the preparations and techniques for improving the Jade City were not even third-rate than those used in the Black Dragon Empire, not to mention the legacy of the Thundercloud empire.

“This is just an introductory lecture. You shouldn't have expected much,” Zhe reassured himself. “You yourself know that your relative will not teach anything important, teaching only the basics known to all students from noble families and that these basics will be so scattered that only one commoner in the future will reach the golden rank.”

When Tian Zhe was already mentally preparing to become a regular in the library and find a tutor, the lecture continued.

“I’m finished with history, and if you have any questions, you can always go to the library,” as if reading her nephew’s thoughts, Tian Lan cleverly relinquished the responsibility to answer questions related to history. “Now, I will get to the point of the lessons that I will teach.”

The class perked up. People from low-income families all entered the academy with one goal, to become stronger.

“For powerful demonic beasts, neither natural nor artificial barriers pose any threat. For this reason, the most important protection of Jade City is its warriors and spellcasters. Only thanks to the heroic courage of our defenders, the city in which we all live have not yet fallen,” Tian Lan began from afar. “You all entered the Ice Lotus Academy to join the ranks of the city's defenders in the future.”

The already attentive Tian Zhe passed from the state of "an attentive listener" to the state of "a student who at the last night before the session, drank two liters of an energy drink," his entire nervous system turned into a machine for cramming and quick analysis.

“Come on, fill in the gaps in the knowledge of this body and the holes in the lore of the novel,” the young man, in his impatience, showed genuine interest. He lacked accurate, academic knowledge to understand the world order of cultivating adepts fully. “Don't make me waste a couple of extra days in the library.”

“Over the next three months, I will teach you the basics of cultivation, from simple meditation practices to expanding your spiritual core. Besides, my courses will include spell theory and martial arts fundamentals. Any questions?”

“Yes, teacher,” one of the commoners jumped up. “How can I become a spellcaster?” rattled the boy and immediately continued without waiting for an answer. “Dad said that they are valued above warriors.”

He asked the question faster than anyone in the class, ahead of his classmates, but he predictably voiced a question that interested all commoners.

“To begin with, you had to raise your hand.” Tian Lan immediately reined in the ill-mannered student. He had first to raise his hand to get permission to ask a question. “Further, answering your question, you should not worry about it since you are not destined to become a spellcaster.”

Tian Lan's cruel words were relentlessly scattered throughout the classroom to wound the hearts of the children. The offspring of noble houses smiled, feeling an inner superiority over their poorer classmates.

“Lord, speak to the point and do not assert yourself at the expense of children!” Tian Zhe was indignant to himself. Being focused on something, he hated being distracted or wasting his time with useless information, so Tian Lan's words only irritated him and gave him a headache.

“Many of you dream of becoming spellcasters to gain prestige and a better life in society,” Tian Lan dismissively looked at the students in shabby rags. “To become spellcasters, cultivators must have a strong spiritual current in order not only to activate but also to control the sealed spell. Not to mention the fact that strong golden-ranked spellcasters can use magic without first writing the spells into a scroll.”

“I already know it.”

“The strength of the spiritual flow directly depends on the color of the spiritual core and only those who have a yellow spiritual core and above can become spellcasters,” Tian Lan continued. “Nevertheless, even among those with yellow spiritual cores, most of them become warriors.”

“I also know, not to mention that this is bullshit!” With each passing minute, Tian Zhe's head was splitting harder. He knew perfectly well how erroneous these judgments are in the world of the "Saga of the Seven Scriptures." “Please don't behave like a third-rate passing villain of a mediocre history and rehabilitate yourself as a person,” the young man could only pray until his level of irritation broke through the dam of self-control.

“But even so, if you cannot become spellcasters and you have to follow the path of the warriors, having reached the silver rank, you can awaken your spirituality, gaining the ability to merge with the spirit of a demonic beast,” with these words, in front of the whole class, Tian Lan changed...

Her eyes changed their color from green to amber, her pupils narrowed, and her sharp fangs adorned her smug smile. Behind, just below the waist, two feline tails emerged from visible spiritual energy.

“I am a silver-ranked spellcaster, and having awakened spirituality, I became a qixing.” Amid the admiring exclamations of the students, Tian Lan began to explain her transformation. “Among hundreds of warriors, only a few will show spirituality, and among hundreds of spellcasters, there will be twenty of them.”

“Come on? After so many shades of water, finally something important!”

“Warriors concentrate their cultivation on hardening the body. Their training is to maximize their physical capabilities, and their spiritual strength is used to strengthen the body and apply fighting techniques. Having mastered martial arts to perfection, the golden warrior can compete with the golden rank demonic beast.”

Although there are basic spiritual techniques and spells that both spellcasters and warriors can use, spellcasters' strength is their spiritual strength and the skill they use. With magic, the golden caster will easily defeat the demonic beast of the golden rank in the battle with which the warrior can receive serious injuries or die.

“The spiritually awakened warriors and spellcasters are called qixing. They are the elite among the city's defenders and merged with the demonic beast's spirit; they can use their powers after a transformation. As a qixing, I merged with the demonic spirit of nekomata, a fiery two-tailed cat. Thanks to this, I can use fire spells without any preparation, and their power will be comparable to that of golden spellcasters. My physical strength is comparable to that of silver warriors.”

The students listened attentively. Their teacher was a real genius because she was able to awaken spirituality. Even children knew that the speed of development of such people outstripped all others, not to mention that only those who awakened spirituality could reach the level of a saint or legendary rank in the entire history of the Jade City.

Seeing the enthusiastic faces of the children, Tian Lan smiled slyly.

“Unfortunately, a trash can never shows spirituality.” Tian Lan smirked back at her brutal speech. “Of all those present in this class, only geniuses like Li Xue, Xiao Ning, and Tian Zhe will be able to merge with demonic beasts.”

“Heaven, I just thought that you took up your mind, and you again disgrace yourself.”

“Commoners and minor nobles are better off humbling themselves for their own good.” Even though Tian Lan enjoyed bullying others, she spoke the truth. “Most of you have read, and orange spiritual cores, and not only will you not be able to become spellcasters, but you will also not be able to reach gold rank by stopping your development at silver rank.”

The students went down completely. Even if they knew this cruel truth of life, there is always hope in people. Many commoners entered the academy with the dream of becoming spellcasters, and the children of noble families dreamed of awakening spirituality and replenishing the number of elite-qixings.

Their dreams were unrealizable, and every mention of it caused inner pain. In this depressing environment, the silence of the audience was pierced by a voice filled with irritation.

“Will you stop with the comedy and the nonsense?!”

30