A Kind-Hearted Instructor

Boom!

Another charred corpse fell from midair. Yan Feng withdrew his fist and stood tall as the crimson battle qi around him slowly receded.

This was already the seventh Dou Master in eight days who had failed to recognize his place.

The fellow was currently embedded in the rock wall so deeply that he could not even be pried out.

Inside the carriage, the nine students clung to the windows, their eyes wide as saucers.

"Th-the seventh one..."

Liu Yuting counted on her fingers, her voice trembling.

"That one seemed to be an eight-star Dou Master, right?"

Liu Mingyu swallowed.

"And he got taken out with one punch..."

As for Dou Zhes, Yan Feng had probably killed at least a hundred, if not three hundred, over the past few days.

Jiang Donghua leaned against the carriage shaft with his arms folded, the corner of his mouth twitching.

If he had not massaged Instructor Yan's shoulders and legs every day, he never would have known that the black-clad masked man from yesterday had been a genuine Four-star Great Battle Master!

Yet Old Yan had blasted him until not even dregs remained with a single Fire Python Heart Devour.

"Sit tight!"

Yan Feng shook his wrist. His burly body blocked out the sunlight completely.

He glanced at the "artwork" embedded in the rock wall and suddenly sighed.

"What a pity..."

The students immediately grew solemn. Was their instructor lamenting the hardship of cultivation?

Or mourning the fall of his opponent?

"In another two days, we'll meet up with the main group. More than a dozen Da Dou Shis gathered together..."

Yan Feng rubbed the stubble on his chin and gazed mournfully at the sky.

"How am I supposed to show off then... Ahem, how am I supposed to demonstrate practical combat for you?"

"..."

The carriage fell deathly silent.

Yan Feng frowned, his rough fingers continuously tapping against the carriage window frame with a soft rat-a-tat.

He narrowed his eyes and carefully examined Jiang Donghua, who was sitting cross-legged in the corner. Something about him felt off.

"This kid..."

It had been nearly four months.

Ever since Jiang Donghua had broken through to become a Dou Zhe, Yan Feng had noticed something strange.

This student clearly meditated and cultivated every day, yet Yan Feng had never seen him practice any combat skills.

That was not normal.

In a place like the Battle Qi Continent, a Dou Zhe without combat skills was like a wolf without claws or fangs. He simply could not survive.

Yet Jiang Donghua was doing just fine. Whenever danger arose, he could even unleash astonishing combat power.

"Jiang Donghua."

Yan Feng finally could not hold back any longer. His voice was low and stern.

Jiang Donghua slowly opened his eyes, a trace of puzzlement flashing through his dark pupils.

"Instructor?"

"What combat skills have you cultivated so far?"

Yan Feng asked bluntly.

The other students in the carriage perked up their ears as well.

Liu Yuting blinked her big eyes and looked over curiously. Liu Mingyu stroked his chin thoughtfully. Though Zhou Yan pretended not to care, his ears were clearly standing tall.

Jiang Donghua's heart tightened.

Damn it, was I found out?

He instinctively glanced at the system panel only he could see.

[Offline cultivation in progress...]

[Current realm: One-star Dou Zhe (876/1000)]

[Clone 1: Cultivating (Battle Qi Condensation)]

[Clone 2: Cultivating (Battle Qi Condensation)]

This system was his greatest secret. It absolutely could not be exposed!

"Uh..."

Jiang Donghua scratched his head and put on an embarrassed expression.

"Actually... I haven't learned any combat skills yet."

"What?!"

Yan Feng slapped his thigh, making the entire carriage shake.

"You're already a Dou Zhe, and you haven't even learned a Yellow-grade Combat Skill?!"

Jiang Donghua shrank his neck and muttered softly.

"It's just... I'm poor..."

Yan Feng's eyes widened as he stared at him as though he were some kind of monster.

"Poor? What about all the loot you collected while wiping out bandits along the way?"

"I... saved it all..."

Donghua gave an awkward laugh, his gaze wandering.

Yan Feng was so furious that even his beard bristled.

He abruptly stood, his burly body nearly hitting the carriage roof, and pointed at Jiang Donghua's nose as he cursed.

"Bullshit! I clearly saw you secretly stash away a bag of gold coins yesterday!"

Donghua's heart skipped a beat.

It's over. He saw me!

In a flash of inspiration, he immediately put on a pitiful expression.

"Instructor, I was saving that to buy powerful combat skills... You know it too—without higher-grade combat skills, learning them would be pointless anyway..."

Yan Feng froze, then caught on.

"You don't even have a single combat skill manual?!"

Donghua lowered his head, pretending to be ashamed while frantically figuring out how to keep up the lie.

Yan Feng took a deep breath and tried to suppress the emotions on the verge of exploding within him.

He rubbed his temples, suddenly feeling that his dream of becoming a Yellow-grade Class Instructor might be doomed.

"You..."

He pointed at Donghua, his finger trembling.

"Do you know what will happen to a Dou Zhe without combat skills in Jia Nan Academy's selection tournament?"

Donghua blinked.

"I'll get beaten up badly?"

Yan Feng roared.

"You'll get beaten into a pig's head!"

"And make me lose face along with you!"

The carriage fell silent.

Donghua sighed and said with feigned helplessness, "Instructor, I actually really want to learn combat skills, but it's just that..."

"Shut up!"

Yan Feng cut him off, pulled a scroll glowing with crimson light from his robes, and said viciously, "This is Blazing Palm, a Yellow-tier Advanced Dou Technique. I'm lending it to you! You must master it before the selection tournament, or else..."

He gave a menacing grin.

"My fists will teach you what the power of a Da Dou Shi is like!"

Jiang Donghua.

"..."

Why did this instructor act like a bandit?

He helplessly accepted the scroll, but inwardly, he was overjoyed.

Getting a combat skill for free—what a steal!

At the same time, a new line quietly appeared on the system panel.

[New skill detected: Blazing Palm (Yellow-grade High-tier). Begin offline cultivation?]

The corners of Jiang Donghua's mouth rose slightly.

Of course he would set it to cultivate!

At night, only the mournful howling of the wind filled the wilderness of the Black Corner Region.

Jiang Donghua and Yan Feng stood side by side outside the carriage, taking a piss. Two streams arced silver-bright beneath the moonlight.

"Pssss—"

Yan Feng gave himself a shake, then suddenly pulled another scroll glowing with green light from his robes and shoved it into Donghua's hands with ill grace.

"Take it!"

Jiang Donghua looked down. It was actually Cloud-Chasing Steps, a Yellow-Tier High-Grade Movement Combat Skill!

"Instructor, this..."

"Shut up and listen!"

Yan Feng fastened his belt, lowering his voice extremely low.

"Before the selection tournament, get Blazing Palm to minor mastery, and at least get Cloud-Chasing Steps started."

His rough finger poked Jiang Donghua in the chest.

"If you make me lose face..."

In the moonlight, Jiang Donghua could clearly see what flickered in the bear-like man's eyes. It was not calculation, but a nearly clumsy kind of expectation.

"Instructor..."

Jiang Donghua suddenly felt the scrolls in his hands become incredibly heavy.

"Aren't you afraid I won't be able to learn them?"

Yan Feng sneered and turned toward the carriage.

"You went from the eighth stage to a Dou Zhe in three months. If you can't learn them..."

He turned back and glared at him.

"I'll turn that useless Zhou Yan into a genius!"

Zhou Yan, sleeping inside the carriage, suddenly sneezed.

Jiang Donghua watched Yan Feng's broad back and suddenly smiled.

He looked at the two scrolls as the system prompt appeared at just the right moment.

[New skills detected]

1. Blazing Palm (Yellow-grade High-tier) → Offline cultivation available

2. Cloud-Chasing Steps (Yellow-grade High-tier) → Offline cultivation available

"First, I'll push for Two-star Dou Master..."

he softly told the moon.

"Then I'll give Old Bear a surprise."