Do Not Believe or Spread Rumors

Galahad is a name derived from King Arthur's Knights of the Round Table.

He was tasked with finding the Holy Grail, a legendary relic with boundless Magic Power that could restore youth and preserve life forever. It was the Sage's Cup used by Jesus in his Blood Ceremony.

It possesses the power of the [Horn of Abundance], providing endless food and eternal youth.

It is a sacred relic that brings glory, the lord of mercy, the lord of prosperity, [LAPIS EXCILLIS].

I closed the magic academy's brochure; the introductory page simply described the teaching team that imparts extraordinary powers.

At this moment, Jiang Xueming was in a classroom in the west wing of the Twin Towers, squeezed together with many top students.

The students around him were mostly half-wolves and Homo sapiens, unlike the children in the eight-year school system. Most of these students had formal bachelor's degrees and were the rising stars of the railway system.

Everyone was waiting for the arrival of the visiting professor—today Wood Plark was returning to Balason, to Galahad, to teach his students.

Previously, Professor Wood and Xue Ming had said that if they had the time, they should definitely come to Galahad to study psionics.

[Fragrant Dream]'s spiritual state is very subtle. If she can become more obedient under Teacher Wood's guidance and have a higher level of understanding with Xue Ming, that would be a great joy.

Whispers drifted from the ancient stone building; Xue Ming looked in the direction of the sound.

It wasn't that the students were getting impatient; rather, it was the paintings hanging between the porch stairs and the walls that were speaking.

Yes, you read that right, it means exactly what it says.

Three paintings are placed on the right side of the classroom near the window. They are made using a bizarre technique similar to the human skin painting of Thangka paintings in Tibetan Buddhism. These magical mediums supposedly lock the spirits of the living into the paintings, turning them into living ghosts.

The painting closest to the podium is from 1588, depicting a handsome young man. When asked about the fashion trends of the mundane world, his bell-bottoms and padded jacket suggest he's a trend-conscious young man who cares about his appearance.

The background of this person is noted below the painting.

[The 21st Professor of Psychics at Galahad died of venereal disease – Romero Van Persie]

A portrait of a somber and aloof woman, dressed in Edward attire, hangs on the wall of the classroom facing the corridor.

[Lilith Pink, Galahad's third Potions Master, died from a natural lightning strike]

A portrait of a heroic and valiant Mongol general hangs on the back door of the classroom.

[A haunted painting, unearthed from some unknown corner; according to the spirit's account, after being captured, a siege shell broke his right leg, and he later died of the plague—Uriyangkhad Alanmoko]

These spirits seemed to know everything about the past and present, and had been living in the form of portraits. Xue Ming followed the noisy conversation and saw Professor Romero winking and criticizing the students' fashion sense.

He exchanged a glance with Pinkman, but was immediately forced to look away by Pinkman's extremely aggressive and malevolent spiritual pressure.

The old woman squats down in the portrait, leaning close to her own descendant, as if mocking the unworthy son who came home for the New Year without bringing his girlfriend, mercilessly ridiculing him in every aspect, from his magical skills to his economic status.

Behind him sat General Alan Moko in a wheelchair, flies buzzing in his ears. He could only laugh out loud at the playful banter and insults of his two old friends.

All of this gave Xue Ming a somewhat unreal feeling, as if she were living in Hogwarts. These paintings were like videotapes, sealing away the heroic and evil spirits of the past, becoming the best preservation device.

Thinking about it carefully, psionic energy is truly a wondrous thing. No wonder Director Simmons values credits so much and wants to rally other teachers to pressure the dean to take back all the credits for knight combat skills.

This kind of magical miracle is a source of pride for the extraordinary, and it is worlds apart from the skills taught by Xue Ming.

Wood Plark pushed open the door and entered, glancing only at the portraits—

After greeting these old friends, the classroom fell silent.

"Quiet."

Class has begun.

As a transfer student Xue Ming was completely unable to keep up with Mr. Wood's teaching pace.

Today's topic revolves around using hallucinogens and incense from Forty-Eight District to perform psychic rituals and magic.

He had never studied potions or ritual magic, and he didn't understand the principles of rituals. He couldn't understand a word of what Master Xue Ming was saying.

Two whole hours passed. The other students had written more than twenty pages of notes, drawn magic circles, and written down formulas. Xue Ming had only traced each student's face with a pencil, without remembering anything.

Until the bell rang, Wood packed up his lesson plan, put on gloves, and shook hands with each student with a smile to say goodbye.

Xue Ming straightened up and stretched, as if he had just been released from prison. He was about to go back to his dormitory to rest for a while when Teacher Wood rushed forward and grabbed Xue Ming's arm.

"Wait a minute."

The empty classroom was now empty except for the two of them.

Xue Ming: "Teacher, isn't class over now?"

Wood: "Our class hasn't even started yet."

Xue Ming had no idea what Professor Wood was up to, and was just waiting for an explanation.

The visiting professor carefully put away his lesson plan, took out two sets of teaching aids from his shoulder bag, and patiently explained them to Xue Ming.

"These students are all top students in agriculture, forestry and animal husbandry in the Greenstone District. I don't have much time to teach in Galahad, so I'll just slip you into the classroom so you can meet them, even if it's just to get acquainted with them."

Xue Ming: "Oh"

Wood: "You're a gunsmith. If you go and take classes with regular students in an eight-year program, it'll be like you're playing dumb to fool others—the professor who teaches Introduction to Psionics only makes $140,000 a year, which isn't even as much as you make in a few minutes of sewing. How can you expect him to teach you?"

Xue Ming didn't understand. "Does this have anything to do with income?"

"This society is very realistic, Jiang Xueming," Wood said matter-of-factly. "Take Director Simmons, for example. If he were to run into Daniel from your class—"

He would say, "Daniel, you're a smart kid, you have a bright future ahead of you."

"If I met Kaycee-- "

"--He would say, 'Little angel Kaycee, if my little nephew goes to the Transportation Department in the future, I'll need your father to help him out and take care of him.'"

"If I met Liu Xiaomin-- "

He would say, "Girl, you don't seem very bright. Try to connect more with your classmates. The opportunity to change your destiny is right in front of you. Exams and marriage are the most important choices in life, and they possess the immense power to turn your fate around."

Xue Ming laughed until he was breathless, "Ha!"

"It's realistic, and ridiculous, isn't it?" Wood took off his glasses, abandoning his usual refined scoundrel act, and put his arm around Xue Ming's shoulder, leading him to the front of the class. "It would be wrong of you to laugh at them, Xue Ming. Lions have their way of surviving, and jackals have theirs."

Xue Ming pursed her lips, unsure how to respond, "That director is really wicked."

Wood: "What's wrong with it?"

Xue Ming: "According to what you're saying, teacher, would Simmons really encourage poor and powerless girls to curry favor with rich second-generation heirs?"

Wood: "Don't make baseless accusations! Director Simmons is indeed that kind of person, but language itself has Magic Power, it's a kind of magic trick. He never says it outright; he always uses grand and eloquent language."

"This topic is way beyond my level," Xue Ming said without batting an eye. "I'm still young, I'm a baby."

Wood waved and gestured. "Shall we begin the lesson?"

Xue Ming: "Okay."

"First, Xue Ming," Wood Plark removed his gloves, revealing his two bare hands, "We need to take a good look at our hands—because you and I, like each other, rely on our bare hands to unleash the superpower of Soul Might."

Xue Ming followed suit and took off his thick cotton gloves.

"Whether in the East or the West, many religious rituals within the realm of mysticism include the prayer gesture of pressing the palms together," Wood Plark said. "This is a yearning for a transcendent deity, a savior, to help us mortals, to unleash its divine power and bestow its grace upon us."

Xue Ming looked at Mr. Wood's palm--

Just like when we first met, Mr. Plark's palms were worn smooth, without fingerprints or palm prints, making it almost impossible to distinguish between his left and right hands.

Wood pointed to the paintings in the classroom and patiently explained them.

"These portraits are inhabited by the spirits of the dead. You've been to Niflheim, so you know what Red Star Hill is like, and what its geological environment and soil composition are like."

Xue Ming immediately replied, "They are all chiral molecules."

"That's right, but that's not important." Teacher Wood rephrased it, because Xue Ming had dropped out of high school, and although he was a book-loving child, it would take too much time to teach him chemistry. "We need to figure out the essential difference between spirits and soul power so that you can better control your [Fragrant Dream]."

Xue Ming: "Please continue."

Wood revealed one of the teaching aids, which consisted of sulfuric acid and medical supplies.

"The Underworld of Helheim and the real world are like two symmetrical yet completely different worlds. You were attacked by the soul power of [Icon] before, and your soul left your body, right?"

Xue Ming recalled the spirit form at that time, "Yes, it was like a tin can, but without a lower body."

"Because you were in the cocooning stage at that time," Wood continued. "Your spirit was fragmented and not fully developed. The organs inside the cocoon were scattered and had not found their correct positions."

He grabbed Xue Ming's hand and smeared sulfuric acid on his fingers.

"Soul Power is different; it possesses a complete consciousness, like when you see a ghost, when you see your own dead soul. Like many ghost stories, it has some supernatural powers—for example, mischievous floor sprites. If you're not careful, the screw you lost at your workstation will disappear in the blink of an eye; who knows, it might be these guys secretly causing trouble."

Removing Xue Ming's fingerprints is a ritual that eliminates a portion of the chirality of his spirit and physical body, bringing the two closer to mirror symmetry.

"If horror movies became reality, how strong do you think the Ring's power would be as a ghost?"

Xue Ming endured the burning sensation in her fingers, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Uh..."

"It's a remotely controlled, precision-manipulated Soul Curse," Wood said. "It requires a videotape as a magical medium to launch the Soul Curse attack. The victim must possess a videotape player and a television to complete the ritual of the cursed death. The activation cycle is seven days. Only then will this Avada Kedavra curse take effect. Those cursed have almost no chance of survival."

Xue Ming: "Indeed."

Teacher Wood carefully peeled away the charred skin from Xue Ming's fingers, as if he were having a casual chat.

"The more powerful the special ability, the more complex the ritual for casting the magic. For example, my [Sexy Bomb] and your [Fragrant Dream] both require the palm of the hand to be in direct contact with the target. We need to maintain a state of unity between spirit and body to infuse spiritual energy into the target's body and make the special ability take effect. Allow me to ask one more question, lest I presume to ask—you do indeed need to withdraw your spirit body and touch the enemy with your hands to make the enemy fall asleep and dream, is that correct?"

Xue Ming: "That's right."

Wood breathed a sigh of relief, his expression somewhat comical.

"Me too. If my physical body can't touch the enemy, I can't create an explosion. Even if the spirit leaves the body and moves freely, throwing a vicious punch that beats the enemy to a pulp, it still can't turn them into a human bomb. This is the superior attack range that comes with limited range—in most battles, as long as we retract our spirit and touch the target with our bare hands, the game is over."

After disinfecting and stopping the bleeding for Xue Ming to prevent infection of the finger wound, and removing the fingerprints...

After Wood Plark finished his introduction to the spiritual body, he finally got to the main topic.

"Now call upon your [Fragrant Dream]."

"SD!" Xue Ming shouted loudly, calling out the abbreviation of Hunwei.

The steel cat emerged from Xue Ming's body, but was immediately locked in place after taking just one step. Its expression was one of shock and astonishment. This was the first time it had left Xue Ming's physical body since transforming back into its male form.

Jiang Xueming seemed unaware of what was happening. He raised his hand to touch the Soul Might Spirit Body, only to find that Fragrant Dream raised her hand forward in sync with him, a doppelganger that followed him like a shadow.

Xue Ming quickly asked, "What's going on?"

"What's going on?!" Fragrant Dream cried out in alarm, "Gunsmith! What did this guy do to you?! Why can't I move?"

Wood Plark explained, "I've removed your fingerprints and some of the chirality from your spirit. You and this unruly big cat will have to share a set of nerves for now."

Xue Ming took two steps back, and Fragrant Dream did the same, moving in sync with Xue Ming's movements.

Raising arms and straightening the body, standing in a stance and kicking legs, it's like twins born of the same mother, like conjoined twins, in perfect harmony and inseparable.

Xue Ming: "The range has shortened?"

Originally Fragrant Dream could travel sixteen meters away from her physical body to attack distant enemies. Now, she can only take a maximum of forty centimeters before being firmly locked in place by her physical body and unable to move forward.

Wood: "Yes, your connection will be even closer."

Xue Ming: "Why do you do this?"

"This is a kind of weight training." Wood summoned the ram-headed spirit of [Sexy Bomb], its fiery phantoms tapping against the steel cat's helmet like a student being disciplined. "Not only will its range decrease, but its speed and accuracy will also drop—to the same level as your physical essence. I want you to slowly subdue it, to make it your phantom avatar. After all, it possesses a portion of the Ming De essence, mischievous and difficult to manage; these traits will cost you your life."

Wood carefully put away the teaching materials, and also put the second set of teaching materials into his shoulder bag.

"If you can't handle this kind of weight training, you can cut off your finger at any time, drink White Lady's products, and break the seal of the Fragrant Dream."

Fragrant Dream: "Can I bear this injustice?"

Wood laughed and said, "You had no choice."

Xue Ming had previously considered that if Fragrant Dream were willing to take up arms and fight, learn about various weapons, and calculate its power output based on its spiritual energy, it would be an Astartes super soldier.

Unfortunately, this lazy cat doesn't like studying at all, so it's a good thing that Teacher Wood put this weight training on it. It's just unclear how long this training will last.

Xue Ming asked curiously, "What is the second set of teaching aids?"

"Once the weight training is over, I'll tell you what the second set of training equipment is," Wood said mysteriously. "Your spirit and I have another similarity—we both possess inhuman qualities."

The fiery incarnation of [Sexy Bomb] has ram's hooves and horns, and even its head shape belongs to the Baphomet.

"I erased my palm prints and fingerprints," Wood said, showing his palms. "It's so I can control it better. It's extremely disobedient and has interfered with my private life more than once. My wife and I have a daughter who was born with a tail and has very strong psychic abilities. It's a curse from the devil; it seems to want to descend to earth in this way."

Wood pointed to the morpho tattoo on his neck.

"I have a tattoo on my Adam's apple on my neck—a morpho butterfly of love—that helps me control Baphomet's power. My palms are blank; [Sexy Bomb] will only obey my commands. Unlike other VIPs—their Soul Power won't go out of control."

While taking notes, Xue Ming discussed these matters with the anonymous group and shared her classroom experience with her partners.

Jason Megan: Don't believe or spread rumors.

"This introductory lesson on psionics is finished. Actually, there are many subfields of spirits." Professor Wood couldn't stop talking when he got to the advanced topics, pointing to the paintings on the wall. "These spirits can be divided into [Tower Spirits]—old mage towers always had some stewards. The knowledge recorded on paper usually doesn't last more than a hundred years before turning to ashes. In order to better manage the tower castle, the mages would use spirit cores to retain trustworthy old stewards, so that these workers could continue to work overtime and maintain the cultural heritage for their descendants. Like the clubs made by the BOSS, most of them have [Guardian Spirits], which are pure souls that have lost their conscious subject and have no memories. They only execute a program, teaching the user a certain skill, and playing a specialized role in a certain field. They are the passenger's first teacher."

Xue Ming's expression was strange as he thought of his Holy Light Greatsword.

If this thing is harboring a [spirit guardian], then wouldn't it only have two skills in its previous life: being lewd and glowing?

Wood pushed the Fragrant Dream back into Xue Ming's body.

"After people die, the spirits that wander the world are called [wandering spirits]. The Fafnir Corrupted Dragon of the Skull and Bones Society that you saw before was also a monster created by the Madness Butterfly Sect by collecting wandering spirit energy. These spirits carry some information, and when the Lapis Lazuli Guards are investigating cases, they usually use these remnants of spiritual energy to find clues."

"Your teacher has a good brother named Jack Martin."

At this point, Wood's previously relaxed expression turned serious.

"He lost half his soul and should be considered dead. His physical body should have been buried, so he can use dust as a medium to appear, drift, and solidify into a physical body like smog. Judging from his previous battle record with Mary Stuart and his combat performance on the Ironclad Warrior, he is a standard [evil spirit] - in the mortal world, many Spirit Calamity are classified and filed according to these four types of spiritual entities."

[Jack Martin: Don't believe or spread rumors.]

Now that we've finished discussing business, it's time to have some fun.

After Teacher Wood's ritualistic maneuver, Xue Ming now possesses the special effects of Windfury Double Strike with critical hits and area damage from high-pressure airflow from spirits—but he hasn't found a suitable opponent and doesn't dare to test his skills on his students.

The core strength of the Fragrant Dream is extremely strong; a Toyota Corolla weighs only one ton, yet it can easily lift an AE86.

"That's all for today." Wood packed up his tools and then turned to Xue Ming, saying, "It's almost time. You need to be alert and get ready for your students."

Xue Ming understood the implication in Professor Wood's words and immediately pressed, "Is someone trying to harm me?"

"It definitely won't be easy." Wood put his glasses back on, reverting to his suave and ruthless demeanor. "Director Simmons knows the importance of credits, let alone the other instructors whose credits you've taken. They certainly won't stand idly by. During this month-long trial period, someone will definitely come looking for trouble for you."

The train conductor leaned close to Xue Ming's ear, deliberately avoiding the eyes and ears of the spirit in the portrait, and whispered a reminder.

"What you teach isn't just about self-defense, it's also about killing. If the trial period doesn't go well, your course will be canceled, and the credits, like power, will return to the teachers. That's good for them; they'd love to see you make a fool of yourself."

"Think about it from another angle. You are the nameless gunsmith, the nemesis of the Madness Butterfly Sect. If knightly combat skills are to become a proper and systematic discipline, and you can train a second Big Sister, a second gunsmith, you can train a hundred Big Sister, a hundred gunsmiths. I'm afraid these cultists will also try to interfere and make things difficult for you."

Xue Ming seemed to be deep in thought, but then he began to feel troubled. Because visible enemies are easier to deal with, but invisible enemies are the most difficult to handle.

Like this classroom, if it weren't for the fact that the painting had the surname [Van Persie] on it, he wouldn't have remembered that the governor of Forty-Eight District also had the surname Van Persie. This family was deeply rooted in the Abyssal Railway, and the old ghost who had been dead for hundreds of years might have been a sentinel who tipped them off.

"Don't be so nervous." Teacher Wood put on his gloves, smiled, and patted Xue Ming on the shoulder. "The school anniversary is in six months. The Academy Cup, also known as the Sage's Cup, is a magical competition between the various colleges, where they will use psionic energy to duel. I believe in your abilities in the knightly tournament."

Xue Ming covered his forehead, somewhat dazed.

"I came to Galahad and found it strange, really strange."

Wood: "What makes you say that?"

Xue Ming: "On the train, a student told me that he wanted me to become friends with him—by exchanging a watch."

Wood: "."

Xue Ming sighed.

"I can't understand it, I can't comprehend it, I've thought about it for a very long time and still can't figure it out. It's as if friendship isn't friendship at all, it's just a few words uttered lightly. Do these children really understand what friendship is?"

"Today, when I heard Mr. Wood talk about Director Simmons, it turned out that love and marriage were no longer love and marriage; they had all become an account—I remember this school was a playground where children learned, grew, and traveled together from the age of thirteen until graduation at twenty-one."

"These past few days I've visited the dorms, eaten at the cafeteria, and played chess with people in the recreation room. Meteor also likes to play games with strangers. Everything is great."

"Just going back to schoolwork, back to this small society, I always feel that Daniel and Kaycee are living such tiring lives."

"They had to be very careful when they spoke to me, and they wouldn't miss any opportunity to compete for credits. They would always come to me and talk about their families. Others would be praised for getting 90 points, but they would worry about being surpassed and scolded by their parents if they got 90 points."

"I heard from my steward's servant that it is a blessing for the antelope to be able to attend the same school and learn survival skills together as the lion's cub and the antelope's cub."

"I feel like something's wrong, but I can't quite put my finger on it. It's like punching empty air; there's no sound at all, but you can hear thunder."

Wood Plark responded immediately when he heard Xue Ming mention these things.

"Are you twenty-four years old this year?"

Xue Ming: "That's right, does it have anything to do with age?"

Wood: "A little, but not much. People start to overthink things as they grow up. You're always so worried, always planning ahead. You're getting married soon, aren't you?"

Xue Ming: "Shouldn't I be thinking about these things?"

Wood: "Gunsmith, you need to understand that in Galahad you are first and foremost a teacher. When you're a teacher, you shouldn't be so distant from the children; you should be more like a child than these students—I think you should find the answers to these questions in the children themselves, rather than asking me. Meteor is a good example; he can give you endless energy."

At this point, Professor Plark turned to the last page of Galahad's brochure, pointing to the proverb of the Philosopher's Cup, which read like a love letter to his students.

Friendship is the most magical thing!