He took two steps back and bowed deeply. "Your student will never forget you for as long as he lives, Teacher Hu. Please take care!"
Hu Ruoyun drew a deep breath, forced a smile, and nodded, saying nothing more.
Zuo Xiaoduo turned and left, walking step by step to the door of Class Nine without looking back again.
Hu Ruoyun's eyes blurred with tears, her heart full of reluctance to part. Watching Zuo Xiaoduo's retreating figure, she suddenly felt that something was not quite right, though she could not put her finger on anything specific. Her only thought was-Xiaoduo had actually worn an old-fashioned robe today.
That robe...? Did it look a little like a Daoist robe?
Hu Ruoyun was a little bewildered.
Zuo Xiaoduo... what was he up to? He had actually come to report to his new class wearing a Daoist robe?
Inside Martial Warrior Class Nine.
Qin Fangyang, the homeroom teacher with the resolute face, explained Martial Dao theory as though nothing had happened, occasionally demonstrating a martial arts move to his students. He seemed not to have noticed the arrival of the two people outside.
The Martial Warrior students seated on individual meditation cushions below him, however, all seemed somewhat distracted.
It was no secret that a transfer student was coming today, nor was that anything unusual. What truly interested them, and what they were looking forward to discovering, was just what sort of fellow this so-called Number One Martial Disciple of Second High was.
After all, someone who had repeated the Martial Disciple stage for a full five years was truly a rare sight.
If they counted his regular school year, that made six whole years!
What sort of fellow could go six years without breaking through to Martial Warrior?
He had cultivated for six whole years without giving up, then suddenly broken through one day!
All thirty-five young Martial Warriors of Class Nine were quite curious about this incoming classmate. Among them were even two of Zuo Xiaoduo's former classmates from his Martial Disciple class.
Only Qin Fangyang, their experienced homeroom teacher, remained entirely unmoved. After all, he had already seen far too many classes of Martial Warrior students off over the years. He had long since grown accustomed to their coming and going.
The road of cultivation was arduous, the path ahead rugged, and cultivators differed markedly in aptitude, as they did in the effort they put in. To Teacher Qin, someone who had spent six years as a Martial Disciple was rare, but not unprecedented. Moreover-
"As a homeroom teacher, you must not grow attached to your students!"
This was Qin Fangyang's motto. Over the years, he had always taught methodically, finished teaching with meticulous care, and left immediately afterward.
What did any of the rest have to do with me?!
Just then, a sudden knock sounded at the door.
Knock, knock.
Qin Fangyang turned his head for an indifferent glance, ignored it, and continued his lesson.
The other thirty-five pairs of eyes, however, all turned toward the door in unison.
Qin Fangyang barked coldly, "What are you looking at? It's just a new transfer student. What's there to see? A martial artist needs to knock on a door? If he won't come in himself, he can get lost! If you won't listen to the lesson, you can choose to get out too!"
All the students immediately fell silent like cicadas in the cold, withdrawing their gazes and sitting upright to quiet their minds.
Every student felt a heartfelt awe of this strict homeroom teacher.
Qin Fangyang said indifferently, "A martial artist's door must be pushed open, smashed open, or kicked open. Even if you have to batter your head bloody, you must open it. But if you don't even have the courage to open it yourself, you have no hope for the rest of your life."
His voice was not quiet.
The students in the classroom heard him, and the transfer student at the door should have heard him too.
Indeed, those words seemed to have been intended specifically for the person outside.
As Teacher Qin's voice fell silent, the knocking at the door stopped.
Qin Fangyang's expression did not change, and he continued teaching.
Suddenly!
Boom!
An explosive crash!
With that boom, the classroom door was no longer intact. The entire wooden door was kicked straight into the room, breaking apart as it fell into the dust and sending dirt flying everywhere!
All the students cried out at the sight.
Even Qin Fangyang's brows twitched.
This student was a little overbearing.
I was only saying it as an example, and you actually kicked it!
Chapter 13: The Charlatan Transfer Student
Amid the billowing dust, a figure slowly emerged in the classroom doorway. The newcomer was tall and slender, dressed in a long robe, though its style seemed somewhat odd. He walked in with a swaying gait.
A smile blossomed on the newcomer's very clean face. He bowed deeply and said courteously, "Hello, Teacher Qin. Hello, classmates. I'm Zuo Xiaoduo. I'm new here, so please look after me from now on. My personal specialties and hobbies are fortune-telling and face-reading, and I consider myself quite accomplished. If any of you need those services in the future, you can come to me. I take your money and dispel your calamities. A reading costs just one hundred yuan-that's the friendship price for classmates. Please don't stand on ceremony with me!"
This unexpected opening speech instantly silenced the entire classroom.
Only the shattered wooden door continued to creak on the floor, finally falling completely silent a few moments later.
He had kicked his way in, then been courtesy itself.
Qin Fangyang turned and looked the new student up and down. A cold gleam faintly flickered in his long, narrow eyes as he said flatly, "Come up to the lectern to introduce yourself."
He vaguely felt that this new student seemed rather unusual. Beneath that seemingly deferential, polite exterior lurked a restless heart.
A faint smile lingered on Zuo Xiaoduo's face throughout as he strode in with poise, sweeping his gaze over everyone in the classroom.
This was a large, spacious classroom measuring over two hundred square meters, with only thirty-five students inside. Each had a meditation cushion, with at least a meter between each student. Overhead, the classroom had a domed ceiling inlaid with scattered star soul stones, forming a spiritual energy array.
The entire classroom was filled with surging stellar power and spiritual energy. It truly offered an excellent atmosphere for cultivation.
Martial Warrior classes really have it good, Zuo Xiaoduo thought. Martial Disciple classes never get treatment like this... Hmm, if a Martial Warrior class is already like this, wouldn't a Martial Master class be even more amazing? And then higher still...
Just thinking about it, Zuo Xiaoduo could not help feeling the urge to drool.