Strict Teacher

Evening.

Shatuo and Reilo arrived at Mentor Gubo's home, seemingly nervous about the good news they were about to report. The two sat on chairs, appearing somewhat reserved and uneasy.

Mentor Gubo hadn't returned yet. Wushuang was away for an extended period, and Bailing had gone out to collect specimens and hadn't returned either. Lianyi, the mentor's wife, brought a plate of strange fruit and placed it before the two.

Seeing their nervous demeanor, Lianyi showed a gentle expression.

"Why are you two so tense? Your mentor isn't a magical beast, he won't eat you, will he?"

On the fruit plate was a peculiar fruit called the Thunderlip Fruit.

Lianyi peeled the Thunderlip Fruit, cut the flesh into small pieces with a fruit knife, and skewered them with toothpicks, placing them on the plate and handing it to the two.

"Thank you, Auntie," Shatuo said.

Shatuo took the plate and looked at Reilo, gesturing. "Junior disciple, you haven't tried the Thunderlip Fruit before, have you? The Thunderlip Fruit only appears in small quantities deep within Bloodwolf Valley in Thorn Forest during winter, and is quickly snatched up and devoured by the nearby snow wolves. Therefore, each fruit is incredibly valuable. The Royal Academy of Sciences spent a great deal of effort to successfully transplant a fruit tree a few years ago, which is why the academy distributes a few fruits to mentors each year!"

"Oh?"

Hearing that the fruit he had never seen before was so precious, Reilo's curiosity was piqued. He gently picked up a toothpick.

Looking at the milky white flesh on the toothpick, under the smiling gazes of Lianyi and Shatuo, Reilo slowly put it into his mouth.

Zzzzt!

An unexpected numbness struck him the moment the Thunderlip Fruit touched his lips, as if struck by a bolt of lightning. It quickly spread to every cell in his body. Reilo instantly felt his entire body tremble with indescribable pain and pleasure, his teeth chattering uncontrollably.

"Hiss..."

He took a sharp breath.

Though it was only a brief moment, it felt like days. The Thunderlip Fruit's effect faded, turning into a fragrant liquid that flowed down his lips and into his throat. Reilo felt an inexplicable lightness, a sense of refreshing clarity.

"Junior disciple, how do you feel?"

In contrast, Shatuo could already handle the stimulation of the Thunderlip Fruit as if it were nothing.

"This, this is too amazing! To think such a miraculous fruit exists in the world. Nature's evolution is truly incredible. No wonder the academy went to such lengths to transplant a tree!"

Reilo had already adopted the eloquent language of a scholar.

Auntie Lianyi chuckled lightly and gracefully. "Work hard, your mentor has many more good things. They'll all be yours in the future."

Hearing Auntie Lianyi's words, Reilo imagined telling his mentor the good news soon and receiving his praise and approval for completing his basic enlightenment. His heart couldn't help but surge with excitement, a joy even more wonderful than the Thunderlip Fruit!

His mentor would never imagine that he could complete his basic enlightenment in just one month!

Thinking of this, Reilo couldn't help but feel a sense of pride.

Creak.

Suddenly, the sound of the wooden gate of the courtyard outside could be heard.

Shatuo and Reilo stood up from their wooden chairs simultaneously, as if electrocuted, and looked respectfully towards the door.

Auntie Lianyi saw them looking like mice encountering a cat and shook her head with a smile. "Alright, your mentor is back."

Opening the door, Lianyi looked at Gubo, who appeared preoccupied, and said gently, "Shatuo and Reilo are here."

Gubo looked up and glanced at the two standing nervously in the hall. Without saying much, he grunted in response and walked into his study.

Shatuo and Reilo followed their mentor into the study, not daring to breathe.

"What is it?"

As soon as Gubo entered the study, he began searching the bookshelves with his back to them, asking without turning his head.

Reilo and Shatuo exchanged a glance. Reilo pursed his lips and remained silent. Shatuo spoke word by word respectfully, "Mentor, Junior disciple has completed his enlightenment course and can now follow his teaching mentor to study basic academic courses with the new students of this cohort."

Reilo kept his head bowed tightly, his ears and the back of his neck turning bright red with shyness.

Receiving praise from Mentor Gubo would be the most potent stimulant in the world for Reilo.

Gubo, who was searching for books, paused slightly before continuing his work at the bookshelf. Still without turning his head, Gubo said calmly, "He has developed academic awareness already?"

"Yes," Shatuo replied earnestly.

"Hmm, I understand. Come back tomorrow morning."

Gubo's voice was very calm, as if all of this was expected and without the slightest ripple.

Reilo couldn't believe it. His excited anticipation was quickly replaced by incomprehension, as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over him from head to toe, instantly extinguishing all his fervent hopes. He looked up at his mentor, who was still searching the bookshelves, his gaze filled with longing, completely overwhelmed by disappointment and a sense of grievance.

The results of his hard work had only earned him such a response.

Finally, Gubo retrieved a yellowed beast-skin scroll from the bookshelf.

"Spirit Summoning Sacrifice... limbs and organs of human albinos, a spiritual offering for high-level sorcerers. There have been multiple murders of albinos at the academy recently. It seems some sorcerers have infiltrated again... Damn rats, do you still think this is the dark age where you openly confronted the Church!"

Muttering to himself, Gubo seemed to have completely forgotten the two disciples standing before him. He sat in a chair and began to study the beast-skin scroll intently.

Reilo looked up, gazing longingly at Mentor Gubo, who was completely engrossed in the contents of the beast-skin scroll at his desk.

Sensing his robe being gently tugged by his second senior brother, Reilo turned his head. Shatuo pursed his lips and subtly shook his head, signaling Reilo to leave the room with him and not disturb their mentor further.

Shatuo understood Reilo's feelings of grievance; he felt the same pain himself.

I wanted to share this good news with my mentor and make him happy. His happiness was my greatest joy, but I never expected such a lukewarm response.

It wasn't just Reilo; it was the same for me!

Over the years, no matter how hard I tried, I could never earn my mentor's approval. Yet, for the same tasks, Wushuang could just casually handle them and always finish better and more perfectly than me, making our mentor proud. I always lived in Wushuang's insurmountable shadow, a supporting character, experiencing disappointment and despair again and again.

My mentor's heart had been completely occupied by Wushuang.

Any achievement, as long as it didn't surpass Wushuang's accomplishments, would only be met with my mentor's indifference and criticism, regardless of how hard I worked.

Shatuo gently closed the study door, as if it were the most beautiful woman, deserving all his attention, lest he disturb his mentor's contemplation. He gently pulled Reilo's clothes and led him away.

"Huh? Shatuo, Reilo, why are you leaving so soon? Come have dinner together!"

Lianyi, who was preparing dinner, walked out from the kitchen.

"Uh? No, thank you, Master's wife! Junior disciple still has an important concept he hasn't fully grasped. I've already consulted with the mentor, so I should go back and teach him this knowledge first, to avoid forgetting it myself later, hehehe."

Shatuo smiled ingenuously.

Lianyi looked at Reilo, who was lowering his head and avoiding her gaze. Her heart was subtle and delicate, and she immediately understood. She shot a glare at Shatuo, who had just lied to her.

Shatuo couldn't maintain his ingenuous smile and slowly lowered his head, falling silent.

"Sigh... Alright, studies are important. In a couple of days, when Bailing returns, I'll call you all over."

Lianyi sighed, patted Shatuo and Reilo's shoulders, and gently embraced them like a mother, comforting their hearts as she watched them leave.

After Reilo and Shatuo were completely out of sight, Lianyi's sympathetic sigh turned into anger. She pushed open the wooden door to Gubo's study. Gubo, who was studying a beast-skin manuscript, was startled.

"What's wrong?"

Lianyi said, "Shatuo has been your disciple for nearly twenty years. Don't you know how much he's been wronged? What was his mistake! Is it a mistake not to be as outstanding as Wushuang! And now, with Reilo added, do you only have Wushuang in your heart!"

Gubo snorted and threw the beast-skin scroll onto the table.

"I'm not just their mentor; I'm also the Dean of the Academy and the creator of the Ancestral Cloning Academic research field! Have I just achieved a little success, and now I have to act like a wet nurse, constantly praising and encouraging them from behind? Isn't this what he should accomplish as a qualified scholar!"

Gubo said angrily, "The path of exploring Evolution's Profound Meaning is always forged by oneself, not by others' encouragement! If specimens aren't piled up like mountains of corpses, if blood doesn't flow like a sea on the dissection table, if the laboratory isn't a wasteland of white bones, without the courage to break through all obstacles, you will forever be a third-rate scholar, a Gnomes who never grows up!"

"You!"

Lianyi didn't know what else to say. She just stared blankly at Gubo. The room instantly became incredibly quiet, with only the sounds of "thump," "thump" from their heartbeats.

After a while.

"Ah... Hahahaha, we're an old couple, don't be angry. Alright, I get it. I'll pay attention in the future."

After a period of silence, Gubo chuckled somewhat awkwardly.