The Headmaster

Old Lu's yard was a mess, with hardly any space to step, but he didn't seem to care, as if he meant to let it run wild.

Ning Chen, left with no choice, started by tidying up the yard for Old Lu. If things continued like this, the yard would become uninhabitable.

The first time he'd come to this yard, Old Lu had practically dragged him there. It had been rough, but also strangely comforting.

In Old Lu's eyes, whether someone was disabled or not made no difference. Perhaps his own disability was slightly better than what some old men called useless.

Old Lu hadn't struck him too hard just now. The main reason was that Ning Chen hadn't fully recovered after being injured by the Old Eunuch, and coupled with the endless torment in the Netherworld Hell, his internal injuries had worsened repeatedly. If he were to fight, it would easily trigger his old injuries.

Thinking about it, ever since he came to this world, he'd mostly been injured, one time after another, seemingly never fully recovering.

Fortunately, he was still alive!

Old Lu stood in front of the door, looking at the wheelchair beneath the busy young man. His brow furrowed slightly. Back then, it was his first time making a wheelchair, and besides adding a few small mechanisms, it had no other special features.

Now, making the wheelchair more agile would be quite a challenge.

After all, a wheelchair wasn't meant to be fast.

Ning Chen wasn't in a hurry, waiting patiently for Old Lu to think. He continued tidying the yard. He didn't know how many days it would be until he returned after leaving. If he didn't properly clean up for Old Lu, he might not even find his way back in when he returned.

Someone like Old Lu, if he were in Ning Chen's world, would probably be a mad scientist.

"Come here."

After a long while, Old Lu's frown deepened as he called out.

Ning Chen threw the last piece of wood onto the mountain of trash in the corner, then turned his wheelchair and rolled over.

Old Lu stepped forward and placed his hand on the wheelchair. The next moment, a tremendous force pressed down. With a thump, the wheelchair instantly shattered into pieces, scattered everywhere.

"Old Lu, you—"

Ning Chen was startled. In that instant, he drew his Ink Sword and plunged it into the ground with a clang, barely managing to avoid falling flat on his face.

"Good reaction," Old Lu said plainly, then bent down to pick up the two wheels from the ground and casually walked back into the room.

CRASH!

The door slammed shut, and a detached voice came from inside, "Wait outside. Don't come in."

Only a fool would want to go in, Ning Chen muttered to himself, then sat down on the ground, waiting bored.

Suddenly, a tightness gripped his chest, and drops of fresh blood seeped from the corner of his mouth. Ning Chen clutched his chest with his left hand, a wave of irritation washing over him. Although these injuries wouldn't kill him, constantly spitting blood like this was not a solution.

He closed his eyes, activating his true qi. Silver light circulated through his meridians once more, suppressing his injuries.

Within his Dantian Qihai, beneath the first Golden Pages, the silver qi vortex grew stronger by the day, slowly rotating like a galaxy. Beside it, threads of dull yellow true qi gathered, vaguely forming a small, independent qi vortex. Another Golden Pages floated above, constantly absorbing the nourishment of true essence.

In recent days, his cultivation growth had gradually slowed. He knew he had reached a bottleneck. Martial arts fifth-rank was the first hurdle of the Houtian Realm, and many people got stuck there, unable to advance even an inch.

True geniuses, like Qing Ling, the Divine Son, and Xia Miaoyu, who at a young age had swept through and broken through to the peak of ninth-rank, were very rare.

With his injuries suppressed, Ning Chen continued to cultivate where he was. Old Lu wouldn't be out anytime soon. Before returning to the palace, he had to seize every moment to improve his strength.

He didn't know when his cultivation would break through to fifth-rank. The expansion of the silver qi vortex had also gradually slowed. Now, the fastest way for him to increase his strength was to quickly cultivate the second qi vortex. It might prove unexpectedly useful in combat.

In the past two days, the growth rate of the dull yellow qi vortex far exceeded that of the silver qi vortex, which had already reached its limit. Without the ability to break through to fifth-rank, it would be the best cultivation choice.

As the sun set and the moon rose, and the world changed, the door remained closed. Ning Chen sat motionless in the yard, letting the cold frost dampen his clothes.

Under the moonlight, a massive dull yellow vortex formed in the yard, wildly devouring the spiritual energy of heaven and earth with Ning Chen at its center.

Without the bottleneck restrictions between realms, the dull yellow qi vortex expanded rapidly, subtly showing a tendency to rival the silver qi vortex in a short time.

However, such growth ultimately had its flaws. Lacking the tempering of realms, the dull yellow qi vortex, both in quality and quantity, seemed to be a notch inferior, always struggling to achieve the boundless oppressive feeling of the silver qi vortex.

Just then, the door of the room opened, and Old Lu walked out, his face tired, but his ancient eyes were as bright as starlight.

Ning Chen opened his eyes, reined in his aura, and quietly watched the old man before him.

"Kid, what's martial arts for?" Old Lu asked.

"Fighting," Ning Chen answered honestly.

"And the sword in your hand?"

"Killing."

"What if the person you want to kill, or the person who wants to kill you, has a good reason?"

"What's it to me?"

Old Lu laughed heartily, praising, "I like that about you, your unashamed shamelessness."

"Thank you for the compliment," Ning Chen accepted frankly.

"The wheelchair's done. No need to thank me."

"You're overthinking it."

Ning Chen looked at the new black wheelchair beside Old Lu, his eyes blazing with dazzling light. Then, he slammed his right hand on the ground, and his body suddenly shot up, landing on the wheelchair.

The next moment, the wheelchair spun, tracing streaks of light in the yard. Ning Chen suddenly stopped, looked at Old Lu, and said, "Old Lu, let's spar."

Old Lu chuckled, cheerfully replying, "You're just asking to get thrashed."

Thud!

Old Lu flashed forward, his right palm striking down through the air. Even with his power suppressed by 70%, it was still an unstoppable, terrifying force.

Ning Chen rapidly retreated, avoiding the brunt of the attack. After seven steps, he pointed his left index finger and surged forward, aiming his finger at the Tianzong acupoint on the old man's right shoulder.

Old Lu shifted, dodging the move. However, Ning Chen was even faster. With a metallic clang, he drew Ink Sword with his right hand, executing a flawless strike that forced Old Lu back another half-step.

"Sneaky!"

Old Lu exclaimed in surprise. He no longer dared to suppress the aura around him, which exploded outwards with a terrifying pressure, immediately sending Ning Chen flying back.

Whoosh!

Ink Sword in Ning Chen's hand plunged into the ground, dragging for two zhang before he finally came to a stop.

"Old Lu, have you no shame?" Ning Chen asked, his face flushed with anger.

"Heh heh, an accident, an accident," Old Lu said, a rare blush appearing on his face. It was indeed a bit disgraceful to use his cultivation to suppress a junior. However, this young man's moves were quite peculiar. Though not extremely fast, the angles and timing were surprisingly tricky and difficult to deal with.

He still remembered when Ning Chen first arrived at the Academy, his legs crippled, and his martial arts merely at the level of a Houtian Realm second-rank novice. Aside from his decent personality, he had been utterly unremarkable.

Yet, in just a few months, that little novice had made such tremendous progress.

It seemed that human potential was truly brought out under pressure. Talent and disability, while obstacles, were not absolute determining factors.

"Old Lu, I'm leaving. Goodbye."

Having achieved his goal, Ning Chen really didn't want to see Old Lu's irritating face anymore. He waved his hand and turned his wheelchair to depart.

"Good riddance!" Old Lu said impatiently.

"Next time I'll bring you some imperial wine from the palace!"

In the night, Ning Chen's figure slowly receded, on the verge of disappearing from sight.

Old Lu's expression instantly changed, and his tone shifted. He stretched out his hand and shouted loudly, "Kid, welcome back anytime!"

Ning Chen waved his hand without looking back, gradually disappearing into the night.

Old Lu sighed wistfully, then turned and went back inside. No more work tonight, just sleep.

Ning Chen returned to the Academy. Little White Horse had already returned from The Master's place. When the two met, they felt an immediate sense of closeness.

Little White Horse tried to nuzzle him, ready to express its joy, but Ning Chen pushed it away. "Go on, I'm going to sleep. Do whatever you want."

Clang! Ning Chen closed his door, leaving Little White Horse alone in the courtyard, wondering what it had done to upset its strange master this time.

The night passed without incident. The next day, Ning Chen left early, not even waking the still-sleeping Little White Horse.

He was going to see the Headmaster, for no other reason than to express his gratitude.

The Headmaster's residence in the courtyard was not a secret; everyone in the world knew about it.

Outside a small grove in the Academy, a plain house sat peacefully. Despite the heavy snow outside, the area within a hundred zhang radius of the small house was perfectly clean, with no snow falling.

Ning Chen arrived outside the house and respectfully said, "Headmaster, Ning Chen requests an audience."

With a soft creak, the door opened. Before him stood an old man dressed in coarse cloth, with an ordinary appearance, looking no different from any common old man on the street.

However, this was one of the five strongest individuals in the world, the Headmaster of Tiancang Academy.

"Hmm." The Headmaster nodded. He was not unfamiliar with the young man before him. The current Empress had never asked anyone for a favor in her life, but she had broken that rule for this young man.

"I came to thank you and to bid you farewell," Ning Chen said.

"Why are you leaving?" the Headmaster asked calmly.

"Returning to the palace."

"For what reason?"

Ning Chen remained silent, not answering.

The Headmaster frowned, asking aggressively, "You don't trust me?"

Ning Chen remained silent again, which served as his answer.

A life-saving kindness and trust were two different matters. There were very few people he could trust in this world, and that wouldn't change just because the Headmaster had saved him.

"You may leave." The Headmaster flicked his sleeve and turned to enter the house.

"Thank you, Headmaster." Ning Chen bowed respectfully, then also turned and left.

Their meeting, from beginning to end, lasted only a few breaths. The Headmaster was busy, and Ning Chen was not idle either, so neither of them wished to waste words.

Ultimately, they weren't very close.

One had been entrusted with a task, and the other was helpless. In truth, there was no need for them to be close.

How many joyous reunions, how much reverence for elders and care for the young, truly exist in this world?

The disparity in strength will always be the greatest barrier between people.

The Headmaster was in the Xiantian Realm, and he was in the Houtian Realm — a difference of one realm, but worlds apart.

Ning Chen wasn't foolish, so he wouldn't do foolish things.

Little White Horse was still sleeping in the courtyard. Ning Chen waited in the courtyard until Little White Horse woke up. He had something to tell Little White Horse, and he felt guilty, so he needed a moment to prepare himself.

More than half an hour later, Little White Horse slowly woke up. Seeing its cruel master standing before it, its body jolted, and all sleepiness vanished in fright.

"I'm leaving."

Ning Chen had deliberated for a long time, but decided it was best to just say it directly.

Hoo-huff!

Little White Horse stood up, ready to follow him.

"I'm going to go alone."

Ning Chen gazed at Little White Horse, speaking calmly.

Hoo-huff, hoo-huff! A panicked look appeared in Little White Horse's eyes, and a series of urgent sounds came from its throat. It didn't know what it had done wrong this time.

"It's not your fault, I broke my promise. But, I still have to go."

Ning Chen suppressed the reluctance in his heart and sighed softly. The journey ahead was too dangerous, and whether he'd return was uncertain. He couldn't let Little White Horse risk itself.

Whimper... Little White Horse lowered its body, whimpering mournfully, tears of pleading faintly welling in its large eyes.

Sigh...

With a silent sigh, Ning Chen hardened his heart and left, refusing to look back even once...

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