Conscripted

Huang Tieyi had just taken Bibi Dong back to Spirit Hall and was about to slip away when he ran straight into Huang Batian, who was returning from outside.

"You little brat, you filthy rascal. You vanished the moment court was dismissed! Do you have any idea how exhausted I've been today? Counting how many people in Spirit Hall have Body Martial Souls, discussing where to build the Body Academy and all the plans to go with it..." Huang Batian pinched Huang Tieyi's ear. "This was your idea, and now you're leaving me to do all the work? You've got some nerve..."

"Grandpa, that's not fair. His Holiness the Pope appointed you vice dean of the Body Academy. You're in charge of building and running it, so what does that have to do with me? I'm already a Soul Saint. I don't need to study anymore, and I'm not worrying about things I don't have to!" Huang Tieyi said indignantly.

"You'll worry about them whether you want to or not, you little bastard. You found work for me, and now you think you can stay out of it? Dream on." Huang Batian's tone left no room for argument.

"Grandpa, could you lower your voice? Look how many people are around. They're all staring!" Huang Tieyi said helplessly.

Huang Batian glared at the surrounding Soul Masters. "What are you looking at? Never seen a grandfather scold his grandson?"

"Old Huang, I've seen you scold your grandson plenty of times, but I've never seen you take credit for his work..."

"So the Body Academy was A Yi's idea! I knew it. Old Huang's getting on in years and his brain's gone rusty. How could he have thought of reforming education?"

"Old Huang, I'm ashamed of you. Your precious grandson handed you such a fine chance to shine, and you can't even handle it..."

"Shut up, all of you! The brat can figure this out for me. If he won't let me enjoy an easy retirement, he can do the work himself..." Huang Batian said smugly. "Your grandsons don't have the talent, so spare me the snide remarks. You're just jealous..."

From Spirit Hall's main gate, Huang Batian dragged Huang Tieyi all the way back to the Elder Council's living quarters. His cracked-gong voice drew Soul Masters out to watch, and he traded barbs with them the whole way.

Huang Batian shoved Huang Tieyi into the study. "Brat, His Holiness the Pope has approved the Body Academy. Draw up your ideas for the campus layout." With that, he shut the door and left.

Huang Tieyi sat down at the desk with a helpless sigh, picked up a pen, and began sketching on the paper.

Back on Earth, he hadn't studied landscape design, but between his exposure to the internet and the attention he had paid to the subject, he knew a thing or two about planning a campus.

The Body Academy's main purpose was to teach students. Whether a student's Body Martial Soul was their entire body or just one part of it, their training generally had to account for attributes, strength, and speed.

"The paths along the campus walls can be for running laps, building speed and endurance. Equipment can go in this area for strength training. This open ground can be for students with earth attributes. This area for fire control..." The more Huang Tieyi thought, the more absorbed he became, and the ideas came more smoothly. He numbered the sheets and kept designing, one after another.

Training grounds, a library, classrooms, dormitories, a dining hall... He drew one sheet after another until he had twenty in all.

By the time Huang Tieyi stopped drawing, the moon was overhead. It was already midnight.

Huang Tieyi stood and stretched, then stacked the drawings in numerical order before leaving the study.

He yawned and was about to return to his room to sleep when he felt someone watching him. He looked up at the roof and saw Qian Xunji standing there silently.

Qian Xunji flew down beside Huang Tieyi. Before he could react, Qian Xunji seized him, took flight, and headed straight out of Spirit Hall.

Fifteen li northwest of Spirit City, Qian Xunji brought Huang Tieyi down to the ground.

"A Yi, there's plenty of room here, and the land is flat. What do you think of building the Body Academy here?" Qian Xunji asked.

"Your Holiness, you should discuss that with my grandfather." By the moonlight, Huang Tieyi surveyed the remarkably level ground around them and suppressed his questions.

"Hah. Still pretending? I heard your grandfather the moment he opened that cracked-gong mouth of his." Qian Xunji gave Huang Tieyi a cold look. "Besides, I first heard about the Body Academy when we came out of the Star Dou Great Forest.

"I'd meant to talk to you that day. What Zhong Hunmie said had shaken everything I thought I knew. I was standing outside, and I heard what you said."

"One general's glory is built on ten thousand bones. Without those words, what Zhong Hunmie said about the Angel God might truly have left me lost and sinking into doubt. Your words cleared away my confusion." Qian Xunji gazed at the moon as if recalling that moment—or as if he could see the Divine Realm through the night sky.

"I heard about the Body Academy then, too. Honestly, I'd love to know how your mind works. How did you come up with such an extraordinary idea?" Qian Xunji raised a hand and gently tapped Huang Tieyi on the head. "Building the Body Academy is a good idea, but your original reason for it was wrong.

"The Offering Hall is a mark of Super Douluos' standing within Spirit Hall, not my father's private army. The Elder Council belongs to Spirit Hall, too. It isn't a tool for the Pope to suppress the Great Enshrined or the Offering Hall. Spirit Hall has no need to play games of checks and balances or suppression like a worldly empire."

Huang Tieyi looked at Qian Xunji, his eyes full of questions, and started to speak.

Qian Xunji raised a hand to stop him. "I approved the Body Academy because I've realized Soul Master education has become rigid. Too many theories are applied to students they plainly don't suit, holding back their growth..."

"Your Holiness, given enough time, the Body Academy's theories will become rigid too. I wonder who'll break that pattern when the time comes..." Huang Tieyi said with a sigh.

"Those who plant trees come before those who enjoy the shade. Who knows? Some things are better done first. Only by doing them can we find out where we went wrong," Qian Xunji said quietly.

"You're right, Your Holiness. Only by doing something can we learn the outcome. If we leave an idea on paper, we might as well have done nothing..." Huang Tieyi nodded in agreement.

Qian Xunji stepped in front of Huang Tieyi, shielding him with his body. "A Yi, it's easy to talk with you. But it seems our conversation is over. I never expected a passing thought to..."

Behind Qian Xunji, Huang Tieyi carefully tried to sense the presences around them. He found he couldn't detect a thing, and his face tightened with alarm.