But you probably have no idea just how petty your Lord Zuo can be!
Making me the butt of your jokes, huh? Just you wait.
"Back to the subject."
The little fatty seemed to become a different person in an instant. Not only was he utterly composed, he even had something of the stillness of a deep pool and the imposing presence of a mountain. "To discuss history, we must first introduce our continent. Our Star Soul Continent has a history so long that it can no longer be traced. To divide it merely by years would be a desecration. Thus, we can only use the countless spider-silk threads and hoofprints left by our predecessors to deduce what happened in each period. Of course, all this is too difficult, too complicated, and too unfathomable for you, but for a genius like me, it's as easy as turning over my hand. I can reel it off without a thought."
After blowing his own trumpet, the little fatty continued before boos could erupt from below. "Now, allow me to explain in detail. Zuo Xiaoduo, don't think you can glare at me just because you beat me today. Though you're older and have better combat instincts than me, do you believe I can have you thrown out with a single word right now? Now, immediately, this instant, smile at me-and make it ingratiating!"
The whole room roared with laughter.
Utterly dumbfounded, Zuo Xiaoduo hurriedly did his best to cooperate, putting on the fawning expression of a lackey as he nodded and bowed. "Hello, Teacher Li. Thank you for your hard work, Teacher Li. Teacher Li, you're badass. Teacher Li, you're a little heifer turned sword immortal, flying across the four seas and eight wildernesses, a million miles of flying cow... you-know-whats..."
Li Chenglong nodded with restraint. "Sit down and pay attention. Now that's a good child, making progress every day. Teacher Li hereby gives you a word of praise. Student Zuo Xiaoduo, you probably haven't received much praise in your five years of repeating grades, have you? Is your heart surging a little?"
The entire class roared with laughter again, rocking back and forth.
Zuo Xiaoduo smiled without a trace of warmth. "Yes, my heart is surging. I'm overwhelmed with feelings. Teacher Li, it seems there's another ranking tournament tomorrow."
Li Chenglong shuddered, then glared. "Class begins!"
Qin Fangyang nodded inwardly.
Even if Li Chenglong found it difficult to advance any further in cultivation, he was unquestionably excellent teaching material. Just his ability to warm up the room, stir the atmosphere, and draw everyone's attention with his opening words was already extraordinary. And that was before he singled someone out to cooperate with him, each complementing the other. It was truly masterful.
Of course, such a harmonious atmosphere also owed much to the other person's cooperation. Though Zuo Xiaoduo was older than every other student in the class, he remarkably put on no airs and played along seamlessly.
With a class warmed up to this extent, everyone would certainly remember what followed very clearly. It would not even be surprising if they remembered it for the rest of their lives.
"The Star Soul Continent is vast. No one knows just how large it is." The little fatty's voice grew serious.
"In ancient times, there was a mighty being whom we call Father God. Father God opened up this expanse of space-what we call cleaving heaven and earth apart-then created life out of nothing, and indeed everything on the Star Soul Continent. This was the very beginning of the Star Soul Continent."
"After completing creation, Father God left this place to pursue the Heavenly Dao, leaving behind only a primordial age. But exactly how many years that age lasted is utterly impossible to establish. It was an age that truly left not a single spider-silk thread or hoofprint, so I won't dwell on it here. After the primordial age came the legendary age of primordial desolation."
The little fatty paused, then said gravely, "Though it cannot be verified, my research and analysis have led me to one conclusion: during that time, humans must have struggled to survive and huddled together for warmth. Then powerful individuals appeared, sects appeared, and various mighty beings emerged after them..."
"Deducing that alone is nothing worth mentioning; it stands to reason. But I also deduced that these people should have huddled together for warmth, fighting heaven, fighting earth, fighting monstrous beasts and wild beasts, fighting their living conditions, and indeed every aspect of their cruel surroundings. Yet in the end, disputes arose among them. It was because of this that the primordial age developed into the age of primordial desolation. There must have been some other cause behind it, but with such a vast span of years separating us, that cause remains difficult to verify. We can only speculate."
"But we don't have enough time for me to finish explaining those speculations. So I won't."
"Next, let's discuss the age of primordial desolation. Humans in different regions gave their own peoples titles and names. Then they had leaders and powerful individuals. The strongest were called... sages!"
"Several of these mighty sages led their peoples to occupy their own domains, regulate the ways of the world, establish rules, recuperate and prosper, and develop their respective schools and legacies. For a time, though there were disputes on the continent, they lived in relative peace. It could more or less be considered the golden years following the primordial age."
"Next came the age of immortals and gods. Powerful individuals emerged in succession from the great schools, and their ambitions grew ever greater. They sought to lay their hands on other territories and other peoples, and so warfare began. One side established the Heavenly Court, and the other established the Netherworld. One governed heaven, earth, and humanity; the other governed reincarnation and departed souls. Hmm, other organizations also entered the scene and fought. After a great war of the century, both sides suffered grievous losses and withdrew to lick their wounds, recuperate, and recover. Thus, the age of immortals and gods finally drew to a close."
Li Chenglong said, "We're keeping things brief here. There must have been far too many grudges, loves, hatreds, schemes, and power struggles to list. But that war was truly so devastating that both heaven and earth suffered grievous damage to their vitality and could no longer carry on!"
"According to ancient texts and legends, one of the more credible accounts..."
The little fatty considered, then said, "...roughly speaking, after that war, the eight great sects with their inherited legacies all considered it beneath them to share a continent with the others. So the mighty members of their peoples joined forces and forcibly split the continent apart. With their own bases as their points of origin, they drifted away into the starry sky, their whereabouts unknown."
"But another account says that a powerful individual subdued all the sects by force. Yet after successive great battles, that individual had little lifespan remaining. Fearing further upheaval after death, that individual expended every last bit of remaining lifespan to unleash power beyond their own limits, splitting the continent apart and expelling all eight inherited schools and peoples that had fought each other without end. They were left to wander the starry sky, forbidden to return."