When Zhang Wan heard that Vice Dean Qi was being transferred, he felt slightly relieved.
He was not familiar with the dean or the three vice deans of the Beginner Martial Arts Academy, but he had met them all before.
Although the dean and Vice Deans Huang and Xin were all powerful and shrewd as foxes, Zhang Wan was not particularly afraid of dealing with them.
As long as he did not overstep his bounds, Zhang Wan knew that nothing would happen with those three.
But although Vice Dean Qi Lin appeared gentle, Zhang Wan always felt his heart race whenever he interacted with him.
It was as if a man-eating devil lurked beneath that man's gentle exterior, making Zhang Wan deeply uncomfortable.
Now that Vice Dean Qi had been transferred away, whether that feeling had been real or an illusion, it was still a good thing for Zhang Wan.
But in the blink of an eye, Zhang Wan felt a headache coming on.
When Fengliu Commandery had fallen into chaos earlier, he had guessed that someone must have wanted to achieve some purpose by taking advantage of it, and had therefore allowed Fengliu Commandery to rot.
Now that the rebellious martial artists had been suppressed and the chaos swept away, Fengliu Commandery was beginning to return to its former state.
This was a good thing. It meant that the person behind the scenes had most likely achieved his objective, or perhaps had abandoned his original plans for some reason.
Regardless, the other party's scheme had come to an end, and Fengliu Commandery would be able to enjoy a period of peace again.
What gave Zhang Wan a headache was that he felt the person behind the scenes was very likely the new Xiantian expert sent by the Jade Bone Sect!
For the sect-appointed leader stationed in a place to sit back and watch Fengliu Commandery rot for his own ulterior purpose was simply too perfectly plausible!
As a sect Xiantian expert who had also been appointed by the sect to oversee Fengliu Commandery, this person had more than enough ability to do such a thing!
Although Zhang Wan could not think of any benefit this would bring no matter how hard he tried, when it came to suspicion, the sect's Xiantian expert was indeed highly suspect.
If Fengliu Commandery had truly ended up with such a ruthless person—someone who would sit by and watch the commandery city rot for his own purposes, turning a blind eye to countless deaths and injuries—then the peace throughout Fengliu Commandery would be nothing more than a fleeting illusion.
No matter how he thought about it, Zhang Wan could not imagine such a person quietly carrying out his duty as its guardian.
Of course, he might have guessed wrong.
But Zhang Wan would rather be right.
Otherwise, if someone could make the Jade Bone Sect disregard Fengliu Commandery's situation and then, afterward, make the sect send an Xiantian expert to clean up the mess, the person behind the scenes would only be even more terrifying.
Compared with that even more terrifying possibility, Zhang Wan would rather it had been the newly appointed Xiantian expert of Fengliu Commandery.
Of course, all of this was merely speculation, and Zhang Wan had no way to determine which possibility was correct.
Even so, he still spent a considerable amount of time thinking about it.
If things truly were as he imagined, he could at least remain on guard. If something happened because of it in the future, he would be able to react immediately, rather than falling into a pit without realizing it.
After the turmoil in Fengliu Commandery subsided, everything returned to normal.
Zhang Wan and the other tenth-level students entered the final stage of their studies.
The students who had broken through to the Houtian Realm, including Zhao Qixin, Yu Shui, Zhang Wan, Xu Hui, and Lin Fangyan, began considering their future paths while making their final push.
The remaining students trained desperately, hoping to break through to the Houtian Realm before their academy careers ended and become outer disciples of the Jade Bone Sect.
Otherwise, they would be left with only two paths: becoming servant disciples or remaining ordinary mortals.
Zhang Wan was one of the more relaxed people among them.
He ranked near the top of his cohort and had entered the Spirit Planter Hall early on.
After graduating from the academy, he could enter the Spirit Planter Hall directly without any gap.
He had long since decided where he would go in the future, and had already set foot on that path. He was entirely free of the confusion, unease, and anxiety that plagued the others.
But Zhang Wan also had matters to attend to.
Besides cultivating, raising plants, and drawing talismans, Zhang Wan was also busy with matters concerning his second sister and third brother.
Zhang Wan knew very well that, with him keeping an eye on them, even if his second sister and third brother had thoughts of their own, they would still temper themselves according to the training plan he had drawn up.
But once he graduated and left the academy, no one would be watching over the two little ones.
Who knew whether they would remain disciplined then, or slack off completely once they were no longer restrained?
Although Zhang Wan had watched the two little ones grow up and knew they were obedient and sensible, he still could not guarantee that Zhang Lingshu and Zhang Yan would train themselves diligently after he left.
"There are still several months before graduation. Perhaps I should gradually let go during this period."
"I should see how they perform after losing their restraints."
"At least I'm still here now. If I discover any problems, I can still find a way to solve them."
"But once I really graduate, even if I discover that they've completely slacked off without my supervision, I'll be too far away to do anything." Zhang Wan muttered to himself. After graduating, even if he occasionally came back, he could only manage them for that brief moment. He would no longer be able to supervise them constantly as he did now, nor could he control whether they were diligent and hardworking in their daily lives.
After that, Zhang Wan gradually loosened his restrictions, no longer strictly requiring Zhang Lingshu and Zhang Yan to temper themselves according to the schedule he had set.
As expected, Zhang Lingshu and Zhang Yan began to slack off somewhat.
But what comforted Zhang Wan was that, after he silently observed them and spent two months loosening his restrictions step by step, until he ultimately stopped managing them altogether, Zhang Lingshu and Zhang Yan only became somewhat lax. After their literary and martial lessons during the day, they still continued tempering themselves at night.
It seemed that after practicing this way for several years, it had become a habit for them.
That was very good.
From the very beginning, Zhang Wan had never expected that, without his restraint, his second sister and third brother could work as hard as before.
That was unrealistic.
Everyone disliked suffering, and training oneself through hard work was painful.
The fact that his second sister and third brother had only slacked off a little actually surprised Zhang Wan.
"Could it be because I've always cultivated diligently without slacking off, and they've seen all of it and been influenced by me?" Zhang Wan thought of leading by example and teaching through words and deeds. He felt that this was very likely.
"Mm, perhaps it also has something to do with the stories I've always told them and the harsh realities I've explained to them."
Zhang Wan recalled how, whenever he had time, he would tell his second sister and third brother about the brutality of the Martial World, the sorrow and helplessness of having no strength, and all kinds of wisdom about life.
Ever since he began training his second sister and third brother, he had systematically told them what the Martial World was truly like, dispelling their ignorance step by step and slowly revealing the brutal Martial World before their eyes.
"Perhaps it's precisely these things that have made my second sister and third brother understand the importance of tempering themselves and increasing their strength." A stone was finally lifted from Zhang Wan's heart.
At the same time, he felt happy. The education into which he had once poured so much time and effort had already begun to bear fruit before he even realized it.
But even though Zhang Lingshu and Zhang Yan were displaying impressive self-discipline at present,
Zhang Wan was still preparing to add an extra layer of insurance!
After graduation, it would be difficult for him to keep watch over them personally, but he could prepare rewards to hang before them like bait and stir up their initiative.
He could come back every so often to check on their cultivation progress.
He could offer different rewards according to how much progress they had made! In this way, he could motivate the two of them to cultivate diligently!
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