He did not dodge. Facing Chen Xin's finger, condensed with Sword Intent, Bashan merely took a sharp breath.
The muscle on his chest instantly swelled like an inflated ball.
Not only that, but a faint metallic sheen appeared across its surface.
"Clang!"
Chen Xin's finger struck Bashan's chest.
A crisp sound like metal striking stone rang out.
Chen Xin felt as though he had poked a slab of tempered steel.
A powerful rebounding force surged back through his fingertip, numbing his entire right arm.
He hurriedly withdrew his finger and used the force to retreat two steps, steadying himself.
Bashan stood where he was without so much as swaying.
He lowered his head and looked at his chest.
A faint white mark had been left on that muscle.
"Interesting."
Bashan rubbed the white mark, and the look in his eyes as he watched Chen Xin changed.
The mocking disdain was gone, replaced by the respect one martial artist held for another.
"You old man clearly don't have the foundation of battle techniques forged through countless trials like we do in Yankang Kingdom."
"Yet the timing and angle of that finger strike were so viciously precise. It even carried a hint of the National Preceptor's style of weaving Arithmetic into the sword."
Bashan stroked his chin.
"Looks like the National Preceptor gave you quite a few private lessons last night."
Chen Xin shook out his numb right arm and gave a bitter smile.
"Your Excellency's physical body is what truly opened this old man's eyes."
"While suppressed to the Spirit Fetus realm, you could withstand my strike through muscle control alone."
"This kind of body-tempering art is unheard of on Douluo Continent."
At that, Bashan threw back his head and laughed, his voice ringing like a great bell.
"Old man, you really haven't seen much."
"In Yankang Kingdom, the body is the boat that carries you across the river."
"If the boat isn't sturdy, it'll sink the moment it meets wind and waves."
"Still, that move of yours just now only worked because you caught me off guard."
Bashan's gaze suddenly turned sharp.
He lowered his body slightly, like a fierce tiger preparing to pounce.
"It's only proper to return what one receives."
"Old man, take one of my punches too!"
Before his words had even faded, Bashan vanished from where he stood.
Too fast!
Even suppressed to the Spirit Fetus realm, the sheer speed Bashan unleashed through his physical body far exceeded Chen Xin's expectations.
A violent gust from a fist came straight at Chen Xin from his left.
Chen Xin had no time to turn and look.
Relying entirely on instincts honed through years of battle, he slid half a step to the right.
At the same time, he raised his left arm in front of himself.
"Bang!"
A dull impact exploded along the tree-lined path.
Bashan's fist grazed Chen Xin's left arm as it smashed past.
Though it had only clipped him slightly,
the terrifying force behind the punch still struck Chen Xin's bones like an iron hammer.
Chen Xin grunted.
He lost his balance and fell straight toward the grass beside the path.
Just as he was about to hit the ground,
Bashan did not pursue.
He withdrew his fist, straightened up, and beckoned to the Azure Ox nearby.
"Alright, that's enough for today."
Bashan picked up his broad-backed saber and climbed back onto the ox's back.
Looking down at Chen Xin, who was climbing up from the grass, he stroked his beard.
"Old man, your foundation is too weak."
"But your mind is quick, and your Sword Intent is pure. You've got potential."
Bashan lifted his wine gourd and took a drink.
"Once you've recovered at the Imperial Academy and become familiar with Yankang's foundational battle techniques and Arithmetic diagrams,"
"come find me at the Divine Strategy Battalion."
"I'll teach you how to use this mortal body to split open those monsters' skulls!"
The Azure Ox snorted and slowly turned around.
"Old man, hurry up and eat some meat to build yourself back up."
"Just looking at you, like you'd topple over in the wind, makes Niu Niu worry."
Man and ox swayed away down the tree-lined path.
Chen Xin was left standing there alone.
He brushed the grass clippings from his clothes and watched Bashan's retreating back, a genuine smile appearing on his lips.
This kind of straightforward martial exchange, every blow landing solidly against flesh,
was far more exhilarating than the scheming and Soul Skill bombardments of Douluo Continent.
Meanwhile, beyond the Sky Screen,
the viewers of Douluo Continent also let out long sighs of relief.
At Shrek Academy,
Dai Mubai wiped the sweat from his forehead and chuckled.
"This Bashan Libationer looks like a brute, but he's actually an honest man."
"Not only did that punch not go for the kill, it also let Senior Chen Xin personally experience the might of Yankang Kingdom's martial arts."
Yu Xiaogang wrote several lines in his notebook.
"Abandon flashy Soul Skills and focus on tempering the body and precisely calculating techniques."
"That is the confidence of the Great Ruins' cultivators."
"Senior Chen Xin truly turned disaster into fortune this time."
The Sky Screen froze on Chen Xin's back as he turned and walked deeper into the Imperial Academy.
Sunlight spilled across the bluestone path.
A brand-new road was slowly unfolding beneath the old swordsman's feet.
Sunlight filtered through the tall ginkgo trees lining the road, scattering mottled patches of light across the Imperial Academy's smooth bluestone pavement.
Chen Xin slowly walked along the shaded path.
After taking Bashan Libationer's punch, his left arm still throbbed faintly.
Without Soul Power, the frailty of this mortal body left him somewhat unaccustomed to it.
Yet he walked slowly and steadily.
The Imperial Academy was truly vast.
There were no walls here. Several magnificent lecture halls and towers had been built against the mountains and beside the water.
Along the way, he saw many young students dressed in blue scholar's robes.
Some gathered in pavilions, charcoal pens in hand as they rapidly calculated complex formation formulas on paper;
others operated mechanical wooden birds in open spaces. The wooden birds circled nimbly through the air, powered entirely by Spirit Stones and formation patterns embedded within them.
Watching these energetic young people perfectly combine wisdom with cultivation, Chen Xin felt his horizons broaden.
On Douluo Continent, Soul Masters of this age spent all their time thinking about which forest to visit and what age of Soul Beast to hunt. No one would quietly devote themselves to studying seemingly tedious things like Arithmetic and mechanisms.
Without realizing it, Chen Xin had wandered off course.
He had originally intended to report to the steward in the front courtyard, but by chance, he turned onto a quiet pebble path.
Lush green bamboo grew thickly along both sides of the path. When the breeze passed through, the leaves rustled softly, completely shutting out the noise beyond.
Following the path to its end, his view suddenly opened up.
Before him stood an elegant little courtyard.
There were no unnecessary decorations within, only a clear ancient well and an old plum tree that had lived for who knew how many years.
Beneath the old plum tree stood a stone table and two stone stools.
A small red-clay stove sat on the stone table. Fine silver-thread charcoal burned within it, and a purple clay teapot rested above. The spring water inside had just boiled, sending wisps of steam drifting out as a refreshing tea fragrance filled the air.
And beside the stone table sat someone.
He was a young man dressed in a simple white robe.
He was astonishingly handsome.
His features were so exquisite that he seemed like a work of art personally carved by an immortal from heaven. His fair, warm skin was flawless.
A gentle smile that made others feel like they were bathed in spring breezes rested upon his handsome face.
Every movement he made carried an effortless, refined grace.
At that moment, he was using bamboo tea tongs to slowly place tea leaves into the purple clay teapot.
Chen Xin stood at the courtyard entrance and instinctively stopped.
He feared interrupting the young gentleman's enjoyment.
More importantly, before this handsome youth, who appeared incapable of even trussing a chicken, Chen Xin felt an indescribable sense of peace.
It was as though this person had already merged with the ancient well, old tree, and gentle breeze around him.
"Old sir, since you have wandered into this quiet place of cultivation, our meeting must be fate."
The young man did not raise his head. His voice was warm and pleasant, carrying a distinctive magnetic quality.
"Since fate has brought us together, why not come have a cup of clear tea and soothe your throat?"
Hearing the warm invitation, Chen Xin could hardly turn around and leave.
He straightened his sleeves, walked to the stone table, and cupped his hands in a respectful greeting between equals.
"This old man has only just arrived at the Imperial Academy and lost his way for a moment. I have disturbed your enjoyment, young sir. I hope you will forgive me."
The young man smiled and extended his slender, perfect fingers in a gesture of invitation.
"No matter. The Imperial Academy is an open place to begin with; there are no such rigid formalities here. Please, sit."
Chen Xin thanked him and took a seat on the stone stool opposite him.
The young man lifted the purple clay teapot and smoothly poured Chen Xin a cup of tea.
The pale green tea swirled in the porcelain cup, while several tea leaves slowly unfurled on the surface like light little boats.
"Try it." The man smiled with his eyes.
"This is Cloud Mist Spirit Tea picked earlier this year. It is greatly beneficial for settling a newly condensed Spirit Fetus."
At the words "Spirit Fetus," Chen Xin's hand holding the teacup paused slightly.
He raised his head and carefully examined the young gentleman before him.
The other man looked only a little over twenty, and his face was so handsome that it even retained a trace of youthful innocence.
But when Chen Xin's gaze met the man's eyes, his heart suddenly trembled.
What kind of eyes were those?
Calm, weathered.
Like two ancient wells that had witnessed countless eras of drought and abundance.
Within those seemingly gentle eyes, Chen Xin could discern an ancient quality that had seen worldly splendor fade and oceans turn into fields.
Such a gaze could never belong to a young man in his twenties.
It was the great wisdom left behind after the tempering of endless years, after seeing through the cycles of Life and Death.
"Young sir... you can see the state of this old man's body?" Chen Xin set down his teacup, his tone unconsciously gaining a trace of reverence.
The young man lifted his own teacup, gently blew away the steam, and took a shallow sip.
"What is there to find difficult about seeing it?"
The man put down his cup and lightly tapped the stone table twice with his slender fingers.
"Though you have washed away the smell of blood, the lingering trauma in your meridians from being flayed and having your tendons torn out remains."
"Moreover, the Sword Intent deep within your brow is sharp and pure, yet carries the fresh vitality of something newly sprouted from the earth."
The man looked up at Chen Xin, a smile of approval appearing on his handsome face.
"To make up your mind to personally shatter the shackles formed from those beasts' remnant souls, scatter your old cultivation, and begin anew."
"Old sir, with such great determination to seek the truth of the Dao, there are scarcely a few people like you in all of Yankang Kingdom."
Praised so highly, Chen Xin's old face reddened slightly, and he shook his head in embarrassment.
"Young sir overpraises me."
"This old man only came to his senses after receiving the National Preceptor's stern rebuke."
"If I had not shattered those old things, this old man's path of the sword would have ended there for the rest of my life."
When he heard Chen Xin mention the National Preceptor, the smile on the young man's lips deepened.
He picked up the fire tongs and stirred the silver-thread charcoal in the little red-clay stove.
"Emperor Yanfeng and that little fellow, the National Preceptor, have indeed put a great deal of thought into reform these past few years."
"If they could recruit someone as pure in the sword as you into the Imperial Academy, it would be Yankang's good fortune."
The moment those words were spoken, it was not only Chen Xin who froze.
Outside the Sky Screen, audiences across the entire Douluo Continent collectively sucked in a breath.
Heaven Dou Imperial City.
The walnut in Xue Ye's hand fell straight to the ground.
"What did he just call the National Preceptor? Little fellow?"
Xue Ye's eyes widened, his face filled with disbelief.
The Yankang Imperial Preceptor, known as the greatest beneath the gods, whose sword had crushed every sect in the world until they could not lift their heads—in this young man's mouth, he only deserved to be called "little fellow"?
Within Shrek Academy.
Zhao Wuji rubbed his gleaming bald head, unable to wrap his mind around it.
"That pretty-boy who looks prettier than a woman sure has a big mouth, doesn't he? He even dares call the National Preceptor a little fellow. Who does he think he is?"
Yu Xiaogang, however, stared fixedly at the white-robed man in the Sky Screen, his breathing growing rapid.
"No... Wuji, look carefully at his eyes and bearing."
Yu Xiaogang's voice trembled.
"This is definitely not arrogance! Look at the way he tends the coals, look at how he pours tea."
"That state of being utterly natural, as though he had become one with the great Dao of heaven and earth."
"This... this is clearly an old monster who has lived for an unknown number of years!"
"Rejuvenation, eternal youth!"
Tang San, standing nearby, also had his pupils contract sharply.
In his previous life, he had read in the ancient records of the Tang Sect that when true grandmasters of martial arts cultivated to the peak, they could lock down their own blood and vital energy, preserving their youthful appearance forever.
That young man, who looked barely over twenty, was likely far older than all of them combined!
Within the Sky Screen.
Chen Xin was a clever man as well. He naturally sensed the terrifying amount of information hidden within the other man's words.
"Young master... you know the National Preceptor?" Chen Xin asked tentatively.
The young man gave a soft laugh.
"Know him? Of course I know him."
The man leaned back against the stone bench, his gaze lifting toward the sky above the courtyard, his thoughts seeming to drift back to a long-forgotten past.
"Back when he was still a hotheaded kid, he came running to my Library Pavilion every day to borrow books."
"Over the matter of reform, he sat with me before a tea tray and argued for three days and three nights, until both of us were red in the face."
"That kid was a rare genius. He was just a little too stubborn sometimes."
The man withdrew his gaze and looked at Chen Xin.
"Since he sent you to the Imperial Academy, I imagine he wants you to start with the most basic Arithmetic and Formation Theory."
"To temper your swordsmanship all over again, right?"
A storm surged through Chen Xin's heart, but he maintained a respectful expression and nodded repeatedly.
"Precisely. The National Preceptor said this old man's sword was too rigid, that I did not understand how to calculate changes in space."
"This old man is slow-witted and was just preparing to visit the Library Pavilion in search of relevant texts."
Hearing this, the young man took out an ancient Wordless Wooden Tablet from his sleeve, gently placed it on the stone table, and pushed it toward Chen Xin.
"The Imperial Academy's Library Pavilion is divided into nine floors."
"Students outside usually can only borrow foundational texts from the lowest three floors."
"Those rare volumes that truly concern profound spatial calculations and analysis of primordial energy nodes are all kept on the top floor."
Before you continue