Tang Wulin felt Leng Hanyuan's gaze on him and shifted slightly, feeling a little uncomfortable.
Something told him that the Spirit Pagoda Grand Elder's gaze seemed somewhat off.
Yet Tang Wulin could not pinpoint what exactly was wrong.
He was probably overthinking it.
Tang Wulin shook his head and pushed that speculation from his mind.
After all, he was merely a minor soul master from an ordinary family. No matter how he thought about it, there was nothing about him worthy of a Spirit Pagoda Grand Elder's attention.
Compared to Tang Wulin's strange feeling, Xie Xie's reaction was much more normal.
His little face was filled with excitement.
This was a legendary figure on the same level as the Spirit Pagoda's master!
To receive guidance from such a great figure, even if it was merely casual instruction gained by riding on the coattails of the girl beside him—
—was an opportunity that countless soul masters across the continent dreamed of.
If the chance to receive casual guidance from someone standing at the pinnacle of the entire continent were auctioned off, it would certainly fetch an astronomical price.
It was practically no different from having a pie fall from the sky.
Though Teacher Wu was actually very good too.
But the difference in cultivation was right there. This person surely had insights that Teacher Wu could not match.
"Hello, Teacher!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Xie Xie stepped forward and changed how he addressed him.
That shamelessly eager appearance made Wu Zhangkong's expression darken slightly.
He naturally understood the gap between himself and this Spirit Pagoda Grand Elder.
But Xie Xie's behavior was simply far too cheap.
It was as though his former teacher was utterly worthless.
Wu Zhangkong was not one to nitpick, but he silently remembered it.
He was definitely a little displeased.
He gave Xie Xie a faint look.
Although Leng Hanyuan would be teaching alongside him,
given this man's personality, his attention would surely be focused on the girl beside him.
He could not possibly devote much thought to ordinary students like Tang Wulin.
Most of the future teaching time would probably still be led by Wu Zhangkong.
Hmm...
It seemed necessary to turn up the pressure on Xie Xie.
Still immersed in the delight of having such an important figure inexplicably become his teacher, Xie Xie had no idea that he had already landed on Wu Zhangkong's special watch list.
Many blessings awaited him in the future.
News that a Spirit Pagoda Grand Elder had gone to teach at Eastsea Academy quickly spread throughout the continent.
Every move made by a person of this caliber attracted widespread attention.
Eastsea Academy consequently became the center of public attention for a time.
However, after the Phoenix Family announced that their ancestor did not wish to have his peace disturbed by others, few people dared rashly go and bother this Grand Elder.
Thus, Leng Hanyuan did not encounter much trouble at Eastsea Academy.
He spent his days drawing more insights about the divine realm from Gu Yue,
while keeping an eye on the shifting balance between Gu Yue and Tang Wulin, and incidentally helping the original protagonist develop a proper outlook on life.
He lived quite leisurely.
But while he was at leisure, someone else was not.
Phoenix Family head Leng Yaozhu had been overwhelmed these past few days.
Several elderly men sat before her.
They were all elders of the Phoenix Family.
And the reason they had come to find Leng Yaozhu was very simple.
"Patriarch, what exactly does the ancestor mean by this?"
"Why did he suddenly go to some tiny Eastsea Academy to become a teacher?"
One of the elders was the first to ask.
At first, the Phoenix Family had indeed found it difficult to accept the sudden appearance of this ancestor, Leng Hanyuan.
But after witnessing Leng Hanyuan's strength and confirming his identity through the portrait in the family treasury, they had accepted the fact that this ancestor from ten thousand years ago had awakened.
Moreover, ever since Leng Hanyuan had overwhelmed the two Limit Douluos, Qiangu Dongfeng and Qiangu Dieting, during the Spirit Pagoda's core high-level meeting, the Phoenix Family's status within the Spirit Pagoda had risen enormously.
It had even faintly begun to rival the Qiangu Family, the ruling family of the Spirit Pagoda.
Their reliance on this ancestor had reached its peak.
Nearly everyone in the Phoenix Family regarded Leng Hanyuan, their ancestor from ten thousand years ago, as a gift from heaven.
They believed this was the Phoenix Family's opportunity to rise and become the Spirit Pagoda's foremost family.
Yet after mapping out the Phoenix Family's future path, this ancestor, Leng Hanyuan, had taken Gu Yue to Eastsea City and become a teacher at Eastsea Academy.
Naturally, this concerned the elders greatly.
They had not felt it before.
But after the appearance of this ancestor, Leng Hanyuan, the entire Phoenix Family had already come to regard him as the family's main pillar.
During the time Leng Hanyuan was absent from the Phoenix Family, the clan had been in a state of unrest.
Everyone felt vaguely unsettled.
"The ancestor has his own plans."
"I am not entirely sure of the specifics either. If you truly wish to know, go ask the ancestor yourselves."
Leng Yaozhu rubbed her brow.
These elders were not the first to come ask about Leng Hanyuan's purpose in going to Eastsea Academy.
Several groups of elders had already come to ask before them.
But Leng Yaozhu was helpless too.
She only knew that Leng Hanyuan had gone to Eastsea Academy because of Gu Yue, his public disciple, who was supposedly the legendary Silver Dragon King.
But Gu Yue's identity was extremely special.
Leng Hanyuan had once instructed her not to reveal it to anyone else.
So Leng Yaozhu could not tell them the truth.
She could only brush them off by saying that she did not know either.
"This..."
Upon hearing Leng Yaozhu's words, troubled expressions immediately appeared on the elders' faces.
How could they dare disturb that ancestor?
Although Leng Hanyuan did not usually seem particularly difficult to get along with,
his seniority was right there.
These elders, already advanced in years, were truly juniors before Leng Hanyuan.
Whenever they faced him, they felt as though they were children facing their elders.
They simply did not dare rashly disturb him, afraid of delaying this ancestor's plans.
Yet they were also terribly curious as to why this ancestor had gone to Eastsea Academy.
That was why they had come to ask Leng Yaozhu, the family head.
After all, Leng Hanyuan had been awakened by her.
When receiving those mysterious honored guests back then, the ancestor had only kept Leng Yaozhu behind.
What did that mean?
That was a clear sign that she was his trusted confidante!
Leng Yaozhu was the confidante the ancestor trusted most in the Phoenix Family!
That was why they had come to her, believing Leng Yaozhu surely knew the ancestor's plans.
Looking at these elders, who were clearly already in their twilight years yet behaved as cautiously as children, Leng Yaozhu tried hard to suppress the twitching of her lips.
She said in a deep voice:
"Enough. You need not concern yourselves too much with the ancestor's affairs."
"Just complete the tasks the ancestor assigned to you."
"If you delay the ancestor's plans and hinder the family's rise..."
"Understood, understood!"
The elders shuddered all over.
If they hindered the family's rise, they would truly become sinners for all eternity.
They would surely be nailed to the family's pillar of shame!
At their age, there were not many things they still cared about.
Their reputation after death was one of them.
The elderly men did not dare ask any further questions. They hurriedly turned and left, returning to the matters at hand.
After they left, Leng Yaozhu could finally no longer hold back her expression and burst into laughter.
Those old fellows who usually relied on their seniority and sometimes did not even take the words of her, the family head, seriously—
—became as obedient as children the moment they heard the word "ancestor."
She understood now.
To deal with these old antiques, she had to bring out an even older antique—the ancestor!
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