Yanhuang Academy covered vast grounds, and Phoenix Hall was practically its largest hall.
Phoenix Hall had been built around "Phoenix Mountain," with thousands of towers and pavilions stretching for ten miles.
Phoenix Hall had three grades in total.
The advanced classes were at the summit of Phoenix Mountain, the intermediate classes were on its slopes, while the newly recruited beginner classes—ten classes in all—were basically located at the foot of the mountain.
In terms of spiritual energy, the advanced classes were undoubtedly the best.
In fact, as academy disciples advanced from the beginner classes to the advanced classes, their numbers steadily dwindled.
Those who could not keep up would be held back, then drop out. Being able to graduate smoothly all the way through was already quite an achievement.
Instructor Mu Wan's "Mu Wan Class" was still in its old location, beside a lake called Flying Spirit Lake.
There were over a hundred buildings here. Every year, the fifty academy disciples of Mu Wan Class cultivated and grew here.
The previous Mu Wan Class had already advanced into the intermediate classes, so Flying Spirit Lake had been vacated.
Li Tianming had been among the first disciples of this class to enter Mu Wan Class, but after clearing the trial, he had returned home to spend some time with his mother.
By the time he arrived today, Flying Spirit Lake had already become lively. Quite a few newly admitted young disciples roamed about excitedly.
"Li Tianming, come in." The moment he reached Flying Spirit Lake, Instructor Mu Wan's voice sounded by his ear.
He suspected that her eyes were everywhere. Otherwise, how had she caught him the instant he approached?
Once again, he was summoned alone to Instructor Mu Wan's "Mufeng Hall."
This was where the instructor normally cultivated—and where she disciplined her disciples...
Li Tianming knocked and entered. In the distant courtyard, Instructor Mu Wan was curled lazily upon a reclining chair.
A sable-fur blanket covered her body, while her long, snow-white legs were exposed outside it.
Just as Li Tianming entered, she turned over and stretched. Her flawless curves were enough to make one's nose bleed wildly.
Li Tianming was an upright gentleman, so he kept a solemn face and did not let his gaze wander—
That was because he knew perfectly well that if he looked a few more times, Instructor Mu Wan would find an excuse to beat him up.
"You've gotten smarter. I can't even find an excuse to give you a beating." Instructor Mu Wan looked at him with a smile.
"Instructor, you are kind and approachable, gentle and captivating, graceful and mild. How could you possibly hit anyone?"
"Shut up. Come massage my shoulders." Mu Wan gave a seductive smile, as though it carried some sort of implication.
But if he truly took it as an invitation and became presumptuous, he would be beaten terribly.
"Ahem." Li Tianming always felt there was a trap.
"You heartless thing. Do you know how much pressure I had to withstand to take you in? Hurry up and show some gratitude." Mu Wan rolled her eyes.
That was true enough. The other nine instructors had turned a blind eye to Li Tianming's performance.
Her full support at that time was indeed something worth being grateful for.
Li Tianming walked over and stood behind her, massaging her shoulders.
Honestly, getting to massage this stunning beauty's shoulders and have such intimate skin contact was hardly suffering.
With her fragrant shoulders in his hands, Li Tianming felt as though the world was his. Under his skilled touch, Mu Wan became so comfortable that she was just short of moaning softly.
"Take out your lifebound beast and let me play with it." Mu Wan suddenly said.
Li Tianming thought he could not suffer this she-devil's "torment" alone, so he immediately seized the chance to pull out Little Yellow Chick.
The little fellow had still been sleeping soundly when Mu Wan picked it up and began to toy with it.
"Who the hell..." Little Yellow Chick, furious from being woken up, was about to curse loudly when it opened its eyes and saw a fragrant beauty before it.
Moreover, this beauty had placed it against her chest.
Its angry expression instantly vanished. It went limp in Mu Wan's hand and enjoyed her "plaything."
Li Tianming stared in dumbfounded disbelief. He had not expected Little Yellow Chick to be so shameless.
"Quite interesting. Your little chick is rather fun." Instructor Mu Wan turned back to glance at him.
"Instructor, I might misunderstand if you speak like that," Li Tianming said shyly.
"Not bad, Li Tianming. You even dare tease me. Your punishment is to massage my shoulders continuously for a month." Mu Wan gave a wicked smile.
He had fallen for it...
He wanted to cry without tears. Still, getting to massage her shoulders for another month seemed like a profit?
"As long as Instructor is happy, this disciple would risk his life to massage your shoulders." Li Tianming spoke as though marching calmly toward death.
"Get lost. You make it sound like I've gained some enormous advantage. Enough. I called you here today to discuss something serious." She became solemn. Li Tianming stopped moving his fingers and waited for her to speak.
"Please speak, Instructor."
"Three years ago, there was a coincidence that I personally found quite interesting."
"Less than ten days after that incident happened to you, news came that Lin Xiaoting had obtained a saint beast battle spirit."
Mu Wan's bright eyes stared straight into his.
"What is Instructor trying to say?" Li Tianming asked.
"I was thinking—the saint beast battle spirit was yours, wasn't it?"
"One day after you returned from the Abyssal Battlefield, I noticed something strange about Jin Yu's feathers. They seemed to carry an ancient aura, but I did not think much of it."
Mu Wan fixed her gaze on him as she asked. In three years, she was the first person to ask Li Tianming such a question.
As for everyone else, even if Li Tianming told them the truth, no one would believe him.
Before Li Tianming could answer, Mu Wan lay back down and said, "So, although I'm an outsider, I've filled in a few details and imagined a story. Do you want to hear it?"
"Of course. I love listening to stories," Li Tianming said.
"This story has a boy and a girl."
"They were in love for a year. The boy deeply loved the girl, but the girl seemed to have other thoughts."
"One day, the boy obtained a treasure that could shake the world. He told only the girl about it."
"He never imagined that the girl would use that news as a springboard to climb into the arms of a young master from a prestigious family, join forces with him to seize the treasure, slander and cripple the boy, and condemn him to eternal damnation."
After saying that, she turned back and looked at Li Tianming with a half-smile. "What do you think of this story? Does it feel real?"
"Instructor has quite an imagination, but I think it is a little exaggerated. Besides, calling them a boy and a girl feels a bit awkward, doesn't it?" Li Tianming said with a smile.
After he said that, Mu Wan gazed at him for a long time.
She was not joking. She looked at Li Tianming with complete seriousness.
"I can be rather selfish at times, and I enjoy teasing people too. But no matter what, there is still a little sense of justice in my heart."
"If that youth in this story can rise again after being driven to the brink of death, then I would be willing to help him a little."
Instructor Mu Wan shook her head and smiled.
"Then he is rather fortunate. After all, there really are not many good people," Li Tianming said.
"But I must remind him that after gaining a new opportunity, he must cultivate steadily and honestly."
"Under no circumstances should he let hatred blind his eyes. He must not ruin his chance at rebirth. A gentleman can take revenge even ten years later. It has only been three years."
Mu Wan spoke seriously and directly.
Li Tianming understood what she meant. Those words were the reason she had called him here today.
He was truly grateful. In this chaotic world, meeting an instructor like her was his good fortune.
He took a deep breath and said, "Instructor, perhaps he wants to tell you that for the past three years, he has slept on brushwood and licked gall, all so he could send his enemies to hell. He is not a gentleman. He cannot wait ten years."
"If he truly thinks that way, I cannot stop him."
"But he must remember this: a true avenger will not make the foolish mistake of using an egg to strike a stone again. Once a revenge plan fails, his enemies will be able to live carefree for another hundred years. That would be the true tragedy!"
"But what if even Instructor has underestimated him?" Li Tianming asked.
Mu Wan pressed her lips together and said nothing.
"This time, his goal is to enter Heavenly Court. If he can enter Heavenly Court, then anything will be possible in the future."
"But please rest assured, Instructor. He possesses a conviction ordinary people do not have. Someone with such conviction will not lose, because no one knows what he has endured over these past three years!"
Li Tianming had not expected that he would find this hysterical feeling here with Instructor Mu Wan.
His emotions burst forth wildly.
At that moment, he felt like a crazed beast. His blood tore through his veins and even rushed into his brain, as though the entire world had turned crimson.
And within that crimson haze, the scene from three years ago repeated itself over and over. The feathers torn from Jin Yu's body lay scattered across the ground.
Every single one was stained with its tears of pain and blood.
Tianming, save me!
Those four words were like poisoned needles stabbing into his mind. That piercing pain could turn a person into a beast.
The crimson was so thick that it almost left him unable to breathe.
Three years.
Was it doing well in that other world...
Would it hate him, because after three years, he still had not given it an explanation?
Who said it could wait ten years? How could he wait ten years!
The emotions of that moment seemed to fill his chest with magma, while endless torrents of magma continued pouring in, ready to explode at any instant.
"Child..."
At that moment, a warm and soft embrace gave his blazing heart something to lean on.
Perhaps such a gentle embrace was born with the power to calm people down.
The crimson in his eyes gradually faded.
It turned out that Mu Wan had gently embraced him, her hands softly stroking his head and back, allowing him, wild as a beast at that moment, to calm down.
That soft embrace was truly unforgettable.
"Instructor, if I perform that state from just now a few more times in the future, will you still hold me like this?" Li Tianming suddenly asked.
"Naughty!" Instructor Mu Wan did not release him. Perhaps being able to melt a volcano with tenderness was a kind of accomplishment too, so she was rather pleased.
However, her palm pinched the flesh on Li Tianming's neck and gave it a slight twist, making him bare his teeth in pain.
"Let this teach you what happens when you dare tease me." Only then did Mu Wan let go, looking at him with glee at his misfortune.
"Instructor, I still came out ahead." Although his neck hurt, the warmth, softness, and fragrance from before were truly unforgettable.
"Get lost." Mu Wan realized that she could no longer intimidate him.
He seemed to have changed. The Li Tianming from three years ago had been obedient and innocent.
"Alright, I'll scram at once."
Li Tianming grabbed Little Yellow Chick, which had been watching the show nearby, and darted away in a flash.
After all, he had already taken all the advantage he could. If he stayed any longer, he would definitely get beaten again.
Yet when the wind rushed into his nose and mouth, he realized that the fire in his chest was still burning.
He raised his head and looked beyond Phoenix Mountain.
He knew that was the direction of Heavenly Court!
He and she might already have heard news of his return.
[Major Announcement]
On the 29th, next Monday—meaning the night after tomorrow at 8:00 p.m.—the third phase of the new book event will be held!
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Remember to participate then!
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