Proctoring

Ning Chen had oversimplified things, not just the situation itself, but also the students at the academy.

He hadn't expected that in this day and age, people would still cheat.

There were four cheaters, and among them was a seemingly petite and adorable female student.

Normally, Ning Chen might have turned a blind eye, but it was still snowing today, and he was in a terrible mood.

The biting pain in his leg was starting to wear on him. He turned his head to look at the snow outside, and in the end, he couldn't convince himself to pretend he hadn't seen anything.

The wheelchair creaked, and the students still answering questions instinctively looked up, only to see Ning Chen approach the nearest female student.

Ning Chen silently extended his hand towards the female student, hoping she would hand it over herself.

Lin Wan'er's delicate brows furrowed. She looked at the outstretched hand, then up at him, and smiled brightly, but showed no intention of handing anything over.

The two stared at each other for a long time. Ning Chen remained calmly persistent, his hand still extended, showing no sign of retreating.

"Here."

Lin Wan'er's pretty face changed several times before she finally chose to concede for the time being, placing a slip of paper into Ning Chen's hand.

Ning Chen nodded slightly, took the slip, and with a gentle squeeze, it turned into confetti, which he then casually scattered into a nearby wooden bin for trash.

Following the same process, Ning Chen collected the cheating tools from the other three: a brush with carved characters, an inkstone with a hidden compartment, and one who had sewn the answers into their clothes.

Ning Chen showed no mercy, even watching the last person tear the answers from their clothing.

The academy's punishment for cheating was severe, so the three of them dared not resist too much.

Ning Chen had no intention of keeping the evidence. With a squeeze of his hand, the brush, inkstone, and cloth strip all turned into fragments, which he casually tossed into the wooden bin.

This display made everyone's eyelids twitch. They realized that this seemingly mild-mannered substitute teacher was not as easy to deal with as he appeared.

Although some of them also practiced martial arts, none could casually crush a hard inkstone and soft cloth strip into fragments like the teacher before them.

For the rest of the time, everyone was well-behaved. Just as Ning Chen thought nothing else would happen and closed his eyes to rest, the petite and adorable female student gave him another surprise.

Ning Chen quietly opened his eyes and looked at Lin Wan'er. Then, with a squeeze of his hand, the slip of paper in her hand instantly flew over to him.

"There won't be a next time," Ning Chen said calmly, his voice faint.

Lin Wan'er's small face flushed with anger, and the others in the hall were also surprised. In two months, this was the first time they had heard Ning Chen speak.

"My grandfather is the Headmaster!" Lin Wan'er snapped, slamming her hand on the table like a furious little lionesses.

The students in the hall were scared, but Ning Chen smiled. Such familiar words. It seems similar things happen in every era.

"I am the invigilator," Ning Chen said, pointing to the wooden plaque on his chest.

"You're only a substitute," Lin Wan'er retorted, unconvinced.

"Then I am still your invigilator," Ning Chen said calmly.

"You—" Lin Wan'er was very unconvinced, but had nothing to refute him with. In the examination hall, the invigilator held the highest authority; this was the academy's rule.

Seeing Lin Wan'er sitting there sulking, Ning Chen no longer provoked her. During the exam, he was their invigilator, but after the exam, they would be strangers to each other, so there was no need for excessive interaction.

This exam on Confucian poetry, literature, rites, and the I Ching was indeed very challenging. The Master's questions were few but difficult, and few of those present could finish them.

Every year, the Master's class was the most difficult to pass at the academy. The Master was very upright and would not show an ounce of partiality in grading.

After the exam, Ning Chen collected the papers and left. The snow outside was still heavy, seemingly unending, and it was so cold that it made people extremely uncomfortable.

A northern gust blew, and Ning Chen subconsciously hunched his shoulders, then turned his wheelchair and moved forward.

Suddenly, he felt his hand lighten. He turned his head and saw a young man in blue pushing his wheelchair from behind.

Ning Chen recognized this young man as one of the students who had cheated earlier, the one who had sewn the answers into his clothes. It wasn't clever, but he had been very cautious.

"Thank you, Sir," Yin Yifei said, a little embarrassed. After all, cheating was not a glorious thing.

He had only wanted to achieve a good rank in the Master's class to secure a better future for himself, but he hadn't expected to be discovered by the teacher.

The academy's punishment for cheating students was severe. If the teacher had kept the evidence, their fates would have been miserable, and it wasn't impossible for them to be expelled from the academy. There had been such examples in previous years. However, people always held onto a sliver of hope, and cheating could never be completely eradicated.

"Once we leave this classroom, I am no longer the invigilator; you don't need to call me Sir," Ning Chen said, shaking his head.

"In this student's heart, you will always be Sir," Yin Yifei said with unusual stubbornness.

Hearing this, Ning Chen no longer argued, instead allowing Yin Yifei to push his wheelchair forward.

From that day on, Ning Chen always had a young man pushing his wheelchair by his side.

However, when Ning Chen chopped firewood, he never let Yin Yifei help. In his opinion, the Yin family sent Yin Yifei to the academy to study and practice martial arts, not to chop firewood.

Ning Chen didn't know much about the Yin family, only that they were an extraordinary clan.

It wasn't that surprising, really. Any student from the academy would likely come from an impressive background.

The Great Xia Dynasty had existed for over a thousand years, and during that time, nobles and prominent families had multiplied like stars across its vast territory—too many to count.

If not for the Academy Head holding things down, the academy would have been overthrown by these powerful ancestral clans long ago.

The sheer intimidating power of a Xiantian Realm existence was evident in how the academy managed to keep so many arrogant aristocratic youths in line.

Ning Chen looked up, his gaze passing through the various obstructions to rest on an unassuming building within the academy. He knew the academy's most powerful Head resided there, a strong individual revered throughout Great Xia like a deity.

It was said that the current Three Grand Ministers of Great Xia had all once been students at the academy. After ten years of arduous study, they had mastered their fields and eventually became Great Xia's Grand Confucian, Grand General, and Grand Eunuch.

Therefore, the academy was truly an excellent place to learn, whether for scholarly pursuits or martial arts.

Boom!

Two days later, on an ordinary morning, a dazzling pillar of light shot into the sky from the distant east, like a white rainbow piercing through heaven and earth. Its terrifying might made the entire world tremble.

At this moment, all the martial artists in the human realm shuddered, their eyes fixed on the east, filled with disbelief.

"A sixth Xiantian!"

It was a real and terrifying truth. After nearly a century, someone in the human realm had finally broken through the shackles of heaven and earth once again, surpassing everyone behind them to reach the Xiantian Realm.

"Who could it be?"

This was the question on everyone's mind. Every Xiantian expert was a formidable presence, and the power represented by this newly ascended Xiantian would have an undeniable impact on the world's balance of power.

Especially now, with the world situation already extremely complex, no one could predict what kind of change the sudden appearance of a Xiantian expert would bring to the overall trend.

"Is it you?"

Ning Chen gazed at the white rainbow soaring into the sky from the east and murmured softly. Within that white rainbow, he sensed a familiar yet predominantly unfamiliar aura. For some reason, his mood gradually soured.

The unfamiliarity within the familiar scent disgusted him, making him feel very uncomfortable, extremely uncomfortable.

That unfamiliar aura was too cold, a superior indifference, an indifference that abandoned everything, which he found deeply displeasing.

Mu Chengxue used to be cold too, but it wasn't this kind of indifference to everything in the world.

"Are you trying to ascend to godhood?!"

Ning Chen's heart was troubled. He cursed at the pillar of light with great displeasure, then turned his wheelchair and left with a scowl on his face.

That day, the firewood in the academy was chopped haphazardly, varying in size and length, clearly indicating the wood-chopping youth was in an extremely bad mood.

Two more days passed. After all the academy exams concluded, students began to leave one after another. With over a month for family visits, most students and teachers were going home.

Why "most"? Because one person remained at the academy: Ning Chen.

It wasn't that Ning Chen didn't want to go home; it was that he had no home to return to.

After the students left, there was no longer any need to chop the piled firewood, but Ning Chen continued to go and chop it every day without interruption.

On the fifth day, as night fell, the firewood was all chopped. Ning Chen stared blankly at the axe in his hand, wondering where he should go.

"What are you thinking about?"

At some point, an extremely old, pale figure appeared behind his wheelchair and slowly asked.

"I don't know."

Ning Chen replied dejectedly. He was only zoning out here because he didn't know what to think or what to do.

"The Master, do you have a home?" Ning Chen asked softly.

"I once did."

The Master replied calmly and slowly. Having lived for so long, he had almost forgotten the word "home," but he truly had once had one.

"The Master, I don't know where I should go."

A deep sense of confusion appeared in Ning Chen's eyes. He couldn't return to the palace, and the academy's firewood was all chopped. Where could he go? The world was too vast, and how far could his wheelchair take him?

"Where you came from, that's where you should return," The Master replied simply, stating the most basic truth.

"I can't go back."

The confusion in Ning Chen's eyes deepened. He looked up at the snowflakes drifting in the night sky. In the distant starry sky, was someone thinking of him?

The Master didn't speak, quietly listening to Ning Chen's narration.

That night, Ning Chen spoke a lot with The Master, even revealing his origins. Some things, hidden in his heart for too long, were nearly driving him mad, so he told The Master everything.

The Master's expression remained calm. Even after hearing such unbelievable things, there wasn't much change. Life had myriad forms, and Ning Chen's experience might be outside those forms, but no matter what, it was still life.

The Master was an excellent listener. Although Ning Chen and The Master had only known each other for a short time, Ning Chen trusted The Master more than anyone else. He wasn't worried that The Master would reveal what was said tonight. The reason was simple: he was The Master.

"Since you have nowhere to go, then just head north. Life doesn't always require a goal to move forward. Sometimes, being lost isn't a bad thing."

As dawn broke, The Master calmly spoke these words, then slowly walked away with his aged steps.

Then, Ning Chen also left, heading north, in the direction The Master had casually pointed, without any particular intention.