Chapter 176: Life 68, Age 44, Martial King 1

What should I do to assist the School of the Great Teacher? That question had been running through my mind constantly over the past year. If they were only facing an internal crisis of confidence, I would have considered not intervening. Such crises can lead to a strengthening of resolve and are a potent way to nourish the souls of everyone involved. Interfering in such a development would have only harmed the students I wished to help. However, this was not an internal crisis. It was an external force doing their best to lead my students astray. Even though I didn’t have the same attachment to the school that LiTing did, I still didn’t appreciate others messing with something I had helped to build. If the people attacking the school had been well-meaning scholars who simply thought they had a better method of soul cultivation, I would have seriously considered backing off and letting them poach any students interested in following a different path, but these people were not that. These were avaricious vultures who were looking to carve up my school and harm my students to score points in some meaningless competition. For a time, I kept wanting to revert back to the mindset that I didn’t need to help these people. They would vanish at the end of this loop, and nothing I did here would matter afterward. As long as I got what I needed from them first, their fates weren’t important. LiTing broke me from that pattern. I was doing everything I could to bring her back with me, and her position in the school was extremely important to her. Too much of her soul’s development was inextricably linked to the school’s development. Allowing the school to be torn apart would have meant LiTing being torn apart. I had to help, and once I set my mind on that course, I saw new connections. I needed to help my students. Not for LiTing, but for myself, and for them. Yes, from my perspective, they were living ephemeral lives, but ‘universal love’ still applied. Their lives still had meaning. As my understanding and resolve grew, I knew I had to help, but I still hadn’t answered the original question. What should I do? I had spent the last year studying the texts I had purchased from the System to try and find an answer to that question. In the end, the answer I came up with might not be what my students were hoping for, but it was the best one I had. --------------------------------------------------- When LiTing and I arrived outside of the School of the Great Teacher, a crowd had already gathered at its gates. This was Ning ChenKun’s territory, and it was guarded by Peak Kings who spent all their free time practicing martial combat, so no one was willing to be too disrespectful. However, the crowd was making their displeasure with the school known in more peaceful ways. Since these protesters were all hired by Lord Hao, the displeasure wasn’t exactly authentic, but they were decent actors. Ning ChenKun could have had this crowd forcibly removed, but that would have been an admission of defeat. As LiTing had told me, this was a battle of soul cultivation, not martial prowess. With the crowd in the way, going in through the main gate would have been difficult. While this group of weak Lords wouldn’t have been able to stop us, forcing our way through would have only made the situation worse. So, LiTing took me in through a more discrete side entrance. While Lord Hao’s men had to know of this secondary entrance, they did nothing to blockade it. The only people who would enter through this gate were members of the school, not new recruits. Blocking this entrance would have only disrupted the school’s normal operations to the point where the situation would escalate beyond what either side wanted. Both factions were happy with this remaining a civil, scholarly dispute. Entering the school for the first time, I was nearly blinded by light reflecting from the bright white marble of the buildings. An earth cultivator had spent far too much time crafting and carving an ostentatious facade for what was supposed to be a simple place of learning. If this were a show of wealth, it would have bothered me, but that wasn’t what this was. As LiTing explained, the school’s students, inspired by our original homestead on the Path of Soul, had spent their own time and energy designing this complex as a show of respect. While I had been having trouble connecting with the students here, this gesture touched me. It wasn’t respect toward me. It was respect toward something I had created, and that made it all the more meaningful. As we walked through the halls of the school, everyone we passed bowed deeply to LiTing, and I could only sense deep feelings of admiration and respect from them. Their trust in her was such that they didn’t even question the stranger following her. She brought me to a conference room where a group of people were in the middle of a heated argument. The moment we stepped in, everyone fell silent. The room had seventeen chairs, all of which were filled except for the two at the front of the room. In silence, LiTing and I calmly walked in and sat down. With us there, no one wanted to be the first to speak, so I carefully examined everyone. I pointed to three people. “I don’t recognize you. Who are you?” The original spokesman for my students, Wu SiDa, stood and bowed. “Great Teacher, three of your original students have abandoned us and joined those who wish to see our school destroyed. These three were students of those traitors and have taken over their former teachers’ positions as heads of their classes.” I studied these three new disciples carefully. As direct disciples of traitors, I would have a hard time trusting these three, but I wouldn’t reject them immediately. After a bit of contemplation, I nodded and turned to address the entire group. “I’ve studied the situation the school is in carefully. After considering the options available to us, I have decided that the School of the Great Master must close its doors. We must not enroll any new students.” Everyone’s mouths dropped in shock, but one of the three newcomers erupted in anger. “What do you mean!? Who are you to make such a decision? Are you trying to ruin us?” I raised a hand to quiet him. “I will explain. After studying the school and how it operates, I have discovered a serious problem. You are all relying on teaching lessons in soul cultivation to earn contribution points so that you can buy the karmic energy needed to push yourselves through the Lord realm and beyond. This is destroying your foundations.” Being the group’s recognized leader, Wu SiDa was the first to respond. “Teacher, what do you mean? Are we not supposed to use our lessons to earn points? Countless people need to improve their souls and there are very few places where they can go to learn how to do that. These lessons have been a great boon for us all.” I looked at him, trying to convey a kind expression. “I know, but you must understand the truth of matters. Teaching soul cultivation is itself a form of soul cultivation. If you are only teaching to earn a profit, that will become an indelible part of who you are. It will twist your soul into something you won’t be able to recognize.” I gave everyone the weightiest stare I could manage. “This is one of the reasons so few are willing to teach soul cultivation. It must be done carefully and deliberately. Otherwise, the teacher will only find their soul corrupted. By closing the school to new students, we can take the time we need to refocus and ensure everyone is walking a proper path.” The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. The man who had been shouting at me before stood. “I’ve never even seen you before, and now you think you can close down the school with just a word. This will not stand!” “Let’s start with 50 stones.” My former student poured them into my cylinder first. The moment he did, the field around me became several times stronger, and I instinctively winced at the increased effect. Hao MuQin smirked at my pain, and when the stones were poured into his formation’s cylinder, he didn’t show any signs of discomfort. Before I had fully adjusted to the new pressure I was under, he pounced on my slight disorientation to increase the stakes of our competition. “Why don’t we make this interesting? My brother would like to meet you. If I defeat you here, you will come with me to have a talk with him.” I considered the offer and eventually smiled. “Fine. But if I win, these two formation plates belong to me.” While I had Emperor Shen’s book on Rank 6 formations, a single book couldn’t possibly contain everything, and having two working formations to study could be invaluable, even if their use in soul cultivation was not nearly as beneficial as my opponent claimed. Hao MuQin gave an amused laugh. “Very good. My brother will award me well for this.” He turned to my former student. “100 more stones.” With the addition of the extra spirit stones, the formation’s effects jumped once more, but I was prepared for it this time. While it was powerful, it was nowhere close to my limit. Looking at my competitor, I raised an eyebrow in surprise. Again, he showed no reaction to the additional suppression. While I could resist this formation without much trouble, LiTing would have had a hard time even sitting up straight under its pressure. Was Hao MuQin’s soul really that far beyond hers? It was possible, but something about this entire situation seemed suspicious. I tossed LiTing a storage bag. “Add 200 more stones to each cylinder.” As she did so, Hao MuQin only snorted in amusement. I expected him to try and stop her, but he only checked to make sure she did the job properly. The intense pressure from the added stones nearly made me bow down, but after a minute of adjustment, I returned to normal. My opponent still showed no reaction. That meant the spirit stones weren’t the problem. Either Hao MuQin had a much stronger soul than I had expected, or the formation plates were somehow rigged. I used energy vision and stared at the two cylinders. It was difficult to see anything through whatever metal they were made from, and standard qi vision wouldn’t have been able to manage it. However, my energy vision was able to show me just enough that I could figure out what was happening. My cylinder was empty. All the spirit stones that had been placed inside it had turned to dust and their energy was empowering the formation. Hao MuQin’s cylinder, on the other hand, was more than three-quarters full. None of the stones had been consumed. I smiled and turned to LiTing. “Add 500 more to each cylinder.” Hao MuQin finally reacted. “What? You can’t be serious. That will cripple you.” I waved him off. “No need to worry. I’m perfectly fine.” His right cheek twitched in anger as he tried to find a solution. “Fine, but she has to add them to yours first. If you can’t withstand the strain, then I win.” I smiled and motioned to LiTing who stepped forward and poured a small mountain of spirit stones into my cylinder. The pressure on my soul skyrocketed, and I could barely withstand it. The edges of my soul began to crack and fray, but the shielded core provided a strong support that kept me lucid. After several minutes, I was able to gather myself. I turned to my opponent. “It’s your turn.” LiTing moved to add the stones to his cylinder, but Hao MuQin looked at my former student. “Stop her. Don’t let her approach my formation.” I looked at him with false concern. “Oh? So, you’re conceding the match?” He looked like he wanted to spit venom, but he didn’t have a good response. Either he let LiTing add the stones, and everyone saw them overtop his cylinder, or he refused to let them be added and conceded. With a growl of frustration, he turned to the two who had followed him in. “Let’s leave this sorry excuse for a school.” Without looking back, Hao MuQin stood and stormed away. I looked at the students assembled before me. “Anyone who wishes may follow him. As I said before, I will not keep you here against your will. However, before you leave, understand that doing so will be permanent.”