The Martial Arts Hall grew quiet at once, pairs of gazes shifting to land on the youth.
The freshmen, who had been complaining bitterly just moments before, all lit up with excitement.
How could they not recognize the name Li Qingshan, which had dominated the top of the hot searches for the past two years, with a statue erected right in the school?
"Sen—Wuwu!"
The one who called out first had his mouth covered by a classmate beside him and was dragged to the back, while the remaining freshmen excitedly spoke up.
"Senior Li, you're back!"
"Senior Li, I specifically transferred to Luoying High School just for you."
"Senior Li, I'm so happy to be able to see you. I literally grew up listening to your legends."
Facing the many enthusiastic junior schoolmates, Li Qingshan shook his head with a chuckle.
"Don't rush to be excited just yet, go take your class properly!"
As he spoke, Li Qingshan exchanged a glance with Wan Keshan, nodded, and then retreated to the wall, crossing his arms over his chest with the look of a spectator.
"Heh heh, what he said is right, you're celebrating way too early!"
Wan Keshan's mouth split into a grin as he looked toward the crowd of freshmen, baring white teeth.
"Since everyone is in such high spirits, we'll have our first martial arts class right now—draw your blades!"
Raising his right hand, he slammed a palm against the cage.
The black cloth ripped, and the alloy iron cage shattered inch by inch, turning into powder.
The Wolf Venom revealed its form, abruptly opening its crimson pupils and roaring savagely.
"Roar!"
The terrifying roar instantly echoed through the entire hall.
A fishy gale rushed at their faces, and all the excitement of the freshmen vanished; their legs trembled and they stood rooted to the spot in stupefaction.
Li Qingshan leaned against the wall, taking it easy.
He quietly watched the scene that felt so familiar, the passage of time seemingly flashing back more than a hundred thousand years...
No, four years.
The difference was that,
this time, no one went crazy like he had back then, fighting the Wolf Venom to the death.
Under Wan Keshan's heavy oppression, over a hundred freshmen stepped forward like they were heading to a execution ground, hacking down with a single blade before hastily retreating.
Time ticked by bit by bit,
perhaps due to Wan Keshan's oppression, or perhaps because their "idol" was present, every single freshman on the scene managed to complete the "first martial arts lesson" without missing one.
Wan Keshan looked at the pale-faced freshmen, nodding with satisfaction, and slammed a palm toward the crown of the Wolf Venom's head.
"Teacher, let me!"
Before his words faded, Li Qingshan's figure abruptly appeared, preemptively landing a palm strike that caused the Wolf Venom to instantly collapse and deflate.
Many freshmen instantly filled their eyes with adoration, while Wan Keshan's gaze was filled with astonishment and suspicion.
"Kid, do you really have a grudge against the Wolf Venom clan?"
"How could that be? I just haven't forgotten my original aspiration."
Li Qingshan withdrew his palm, revealing a satisfied smile.
A mosquito's meat was still meat, after all!
"Fine then."
Wan Keshan shook his head helplessly, looked at all the freshmen, and issued a command.
"Class dismissed!"
With that, he brought Li Qingshan and turned to walk out the main gates.
After exiting the Martial Arts Hall,
Li Qingshan looked at Wan Keshan, a smile blooming at the corners of his mouth as he said earnestly:
"Teacher, long time no see."
"It's only been two years." Wan Keshan shook his head with a chuckle, asking in puzzlement:
"The Star Academy doesn't give holidays, and the distance is so far, why did you suddenly come back..."
His words pausing, Wan Keshan reined in his smile and said gravely:
"Are you already prepared to enter the Crimson Rainbow Continent? The Lingtian Sect is deeply rooted in the Crimson Rainbow Continent, so you must be careful in all things. Don't even think about getting revenge for now..."
"Teacher." Li Qingshan spoke up to interrupt him, shaking his head:
"The Lingtian Sect is already gone."
"G... gone?!?"
Wan Keshan's eyes bulged, his face blank.
The news was so shocking that it completely stunned him.
The Lingtian Sect wasn't much within the starry skies, but on the Crimson Rainbow Continent, it was a behemoth, and who knew how many old undying Fifth-Order Outer Worlds were hidden within it.
Such a faction was suddenly just gone?
After thinking for a moment, Li Qingshan weighed his words and said:
"Teacher, because I stayed on the Crimson Rainbow Continent for a year, the Lingtian Sect is gone."
"No..."
Wan Keshan's brows knitted together, and he said with annoyance:
"Who taught you your language arts? Is that how 'because of this, therefore that' is used?"
"Teacher, it's not that I don't want to explain in detail, it's mainly that the matter is too complex, and there are many secrets hidden within."
Li Qingshan shook his head, a smile appearing at the corners of his mouth.
"When Teacher steps back into the jianghu, you will naturally understand everything."
"You brat, you're going to turn the heavens upside down just by taking a trip out?"
Wan Keshan feigned anger, then laughed self-deprecatingly and bitterly:
"I'm like this already, what jianghu is there to talk about? Wait..."
Wan Keshan's eyes suddenly widened, staring piercingly at Li Qingshan as he said with a trembling voice:
"Brat, you're not playing me for a fool, are you?"
"How could a student dare to deceive his teacher?"
Li Qingshan straightened his expression, bowed deeply, and presented a jade box with both hands.
"This is the 'Life Creation Pill' I found on the Crimson Rainbow Continent after getting news from Senior Uncle Dai. It can help Teacher recover as before!"
"Why are you bowing, this old man isn't dead yet!"
Wan Keshan's face flushed red, flustered and at a loss for a moment.
Thirty years ago, his acupoints were completely destroyed, his golden body shattered, and his martial dao path was thoroughly severed.
From then on, he completely gave up the dream of setting foot in the vast starry skies, returning to Ziying Star to teach.
He only hoped that the students he taught would be able to step out of Ziying Star and the Crimson Rainbow Star Region to take a good look at this interstellar era for him!
Yet no matter how many times his "cognition" of Li Qingshan was refreshed, he still couldn't imagine that after leaving Ziying Star for a mere two years, Li Qingshan could actually bring back a medicinal pill that would let him recover as before!
"Teacher, let's head to the academy first! For a matter like this, it's best to have Dean Ye keep an eye on things."
Li Qingshan took the initiative to speak, pulling Wan Keshan as he walked to the sports field and boarded the spacecraft.
Old Taoist Tianji was reliable, so the "Life Creation Pill" would naturally be fine as well.
However, since it concerned Wan Keshan's future martial dao path after all, it was still safer to have a major expert watching over it.
The spacecraft lifted off, skimming all the way past numerous Old Continent cities, sweeping across the sea surface, and landing at the gates of Ziying Academy.
The cabin door had just opened when a figure abruptly materialized.
"Back?"
The youth had white hair, a detached smile on his face, and two iron balls slowly revolving in the palm of his right hand.
Dean of the Martial Dao Third Academy, Ye Yukong!
Wan Keshan had already recovered his wits by this moment, stepping out of the cabin and saying dutifully:
"This student greets Teacher."
"Dean?"
Li Qingshan's expression turned dazed as dots of starlight suddenly emerged in the depths of his eyes.
A youth with white hair naturally drew attention, but in the past, he couldn't understand it at all, and could only guess that it was caused by cultivation methods and attainment.
Yet right now, the moment Ye Yukong appeared, Li Qingshan had already seen through the clues.
In his sight, what he saw was not a single person, but an elderly man in his twilight years overlapping with a youthful boy.
The withered aura of dusk and the vibrant surging vitality intertwined, together composing Ye Yukong, who had "youthful white hair"!
Prototype of a Dharma Form?
After seeing through a trace of the clue, Li Qingshan's eyes grew even more puzzled.
The "elderly man" and the "youth"—which one was precisely the prototype of the Dharma Form, and which one was the true physical body?
Before you continue