Chapter 176 – Life 68, Age 44, Martial King 1

What should I do to assist the School of the Great Teacher? That question had been running through my mind constantly over the past year. 

If they were only facing an internal crisis of confidence, I would have considered not intervening. Such crises can lead to a strengthening of resolve and are a potent way to nourish the souls of everyone involved. Interfering in such a development would have only harmed the students I wished to help.

However, this was not an internal crisis. It was an external force doing their best to lead my students astray. Even though I didn’t have the same attachment to the school that LiTing did, I still didn’t appreciate others messing with something I had helped to build. 

If the people attacking the school had been well-meaning scholars who simply thought they had a better method of soul cultivation, I would have seriously considered letting them poach my students, but these people were not that. These were avaricious vultures who were looking to carve up my school and harm my students to score points in a meaningless competition.

For a time, I kept wanting to revert back to the mindset that I didn’t need to help these people. They would vanish at the end of this loop, and nothing I did here would matter afterward. As long as I got what I needed from them first, their fates weren’t important.

LiTing broke me from that pattern. I was doing everything I could to bring her back with me, and her position in the school was extremely important to her. Too much of her soul’s development was inextricably linked to the school’s development. Allowing the school to be torn apart would have meant LiTing being torn apart.

I had to help, and once I set my mind on that course, I saw new connections. I needed to help my students. Not for LiTing, but for myself, and for them. Yes, from my perspective they were living ephemeral lives, but ‘universal love’ still applied.

My resolve on this course grew, and I knew I had to help, but I still hadn’t answered the original question. What should I do?

I had spent the last year studying the texts I had purchased from the System to try and find an answer to that question. What I came up with might not be what my students were hoping for, but it was the best answer I had.

---------------------------------------------------

When LiTing and I arrived outside of the School of the Great Teacher, a crowd had already gathered at its gates.

This was Ning ChenKun’s direct territory, and it was guarded by Peak Kings who spent all their time practicing martial combat. That meant no one was willing to be too disrespectful to the Ruler of this area, but the crowd was making their displeasure with the school known. Since these protesters were all hired by Lord Hao, the displeasure wasn’t exactly authentic, but they were decent actors.

With the crowd in the way, going in through the main gate would have been difficult. While this group of weak Lords wouldn’t have been able to stop us, forcing our way through would have only made the situation worse. So, LiTing took me in through a more discrete side entrance. 

While Lord Hao’s men had to know of this secondary entrance, they did nothing to blockade it. The only people who would enter through this gate were members of the school, not new recruits. Blocking this entrance would have only disrupted the school’s normal operations to the point where the situation would escalate beyond what either side wanted. For the moment, both factions were happy with this being a civil, scholarly dispute.

Entering the school for the first time, I was nearly blinded by light reflecting from the bright white marble of the buildings. An earth cultivator had spent far too much time crafting and carving an ostentatious facade for what was supposed to be a simple place of learning.

If this were a show of wealth, it would have bothered me, but that wasn’t what this was. As LiTing explained, the school’s students, inspired by the original settlement I made on the Path of Soul, had spent their own time and energy designing this complex as a show of respect.

While I had been having trouble connecting with the students here, this gesture touched me. It wasn’t respect toward me. It was respect toward something I had created, and that made it all the more meaningful. 

As we walked through the halls of the school, everyone we passed bowed deeply to LiTing. I could only sense deep feelings of admiration and respect from them, enough that they didn’t even question who the stranger following behind her was.

She brought me to a conference room where a group of people were in the middle of a heated argument. The moment we stepped in, everyone fell silent.

The room had seventeen chairs, all of which were filled except for the two at the front of the room.

In silence, LiTing and I calmly walked in and sat down. With us there, no one wanted to be the first to speak, so I carefully examined everyone.

I pointed to three people. “I don’t recognize you. Who are you?”

The original spokesman for my students, Wu SiDa, stood and bowed.

“Great Teacher, three of your original students have abandoned us and joined those who wish to see our school destroyed. These three were students of those traitors and have taken over their former teacher’s positions as heads of their classes.”

I studied these three new disciples carefully. As direct disciples of traitors, I would have a hard time trusting these three, but I wouldn’t reject them immediately.

After a bit of contemplation, I nodded and turned to address the entire group.

“I’ve studied the situation the school is in carefully. After considering the options available to us, I have decided that the School of the Great Master must close its doors. We must not enroll any new students.”

Everyone’s mouths dropped in shock, but one of the three newcomers erupted in anger.

“What do you mean!? Who are you to make such a decision? Are you trying to ruin us?”

I raised a hand to quiet him.

“I will explain. After studying the school and how it operates, I have discovered a serious problem. You are all relying on teaching lessons in soul cultivation to earn contribution points so that you can buy the karmic energy needed to push yourselves through the Lord realm. This is destroying your foundations.”

Being the group’s recognized leader, Wu SiDa was the first to respond.

“Teacher, what do you mean? Are we not supposed to use our lessons to earn points? Countless people need to improve their souls and there are very few places where they can go to learn how to do that. These lessons have been a great boon for us all.”

I looked at him, trying to convey a kind expression.

“I know, but you must understand the truth of matters. Teaching soul cultivation is itself a form of soul cultivation. If you are only teaching to earn a profit, that will become an indelible part of who you are. It will twist your soul into something you won’t be able to recognize.”

I gave everyone the weightiest stare I could manage.

“This is one of the reasons so few are willing to teach soul cultivation. It must be done carefully and deliberately. Otherwise, the teacher will only find their soul corrupted by the effort. By closing the school to new students, we can take the time we need to refocus and ensure everyone is walking down the proper path.”

The man who had been shouting at me before stood.

“I’ve never even seen you before, and now you think you can close down the school with just a word. This will not stand!”

I gazed at him calmly.

“I am the Great Teacher. This is the School of the Great Teacher. It is now closed. Anyone who cannot accept this is free to leave.”

The man looked at his compatriots, but none of them were willing to meet his eye, not even the other two newcomers.

Turning dramatically and twisting his robes, the man stormed out of the conference room.

I let my eyes roam across the fourteen remaining students. They were shaken by my words, but no others were willing to abandon their positions.

“Call a meeting of all the school’s students. I will address everyone.”

---------------------------------------------------

When I entered the school’s grand hall, all the students were already waiting for me. I walked to the center of the dais at the front of the room and kneeled down on a cultivation mat while nearly a hundred pairs of eyes watched my every move.

“Hello. This is the first time I have met most of you, but I will do my best to guide you all in the coming years. I am the one you call the Great Teacher.”

This caused looks of excitement to appear on many faces, but not all. Most of the people here were low to mid-level Lords who would need a long time before they were prepared to ascend the mountain any further, so they would readily accept anything that may make that wait shorter. The few in the crowd who had already reached King were less inclined to accept any changes that could delay their ascent.

“I have called you all here today to make an important announcement.”

In the middle of my speech, a shout rang out from the back of the hall.

“He’s shutting down the school! He’s destroying the work of all the students and teachers who have spent years building it up!”

Three men walked in through the hall’s entrance. One was the man who had stormed out of the meeting earlier, and another was one of my former students who had abandoned the school. 

The third man was someone I didn’t recognize. A quick check showed that he was a Martial King. I felt everyone in the hall tense, and I could only hope that this wouldn’t turn into a battle.

Instead of responding directly, I simply watched and waited as the three men walked through the gathering of the students and stepped onto the dais. They loomed over my kneeling form, but after a quick sneer, they turned as one and looked out across the gathering, and the man I didn’t know addressed the audience. 

“I am Hao MuQin, brother of King Hao MuChen. We have been working tirelessly to save everyone who was fooled into coming to this school, and now even its founder has to admit his fault. Come with me, and I will take you to the School of True Soul. We will teach you the proper way to cultivate.”

The audience was stunned into silence. I used that moment to add fuel to the fire.

“Anyone who wishes may leave to join them. We, of course, hold no one here against their will. However, you should be aware. After today, the school’s gates will be closed. We will accept no new disciples. Any who leave and later wish to return will not be allowed to do so.”

The crowd burst out in murmurs, but the man who had stormed out of the meeting earlier in the day spoke up to silence it.

“I had already resigned from my position and joined the School of True Soul. I encourage all of my disciples, and everyone else who is willing, to follow us out of this pit. This place does not value talented disciples properly and cannot provide you with what skilled cultivators truly deserve. Abandon the darkness and join the light.”

I turned my head to him and gave a slight bow before speaking to the crowd of students.

“That is very true. This is a small school, and we do not have room for one as great as he is. If anyone else believes they are too big for this place, I would suggest they leave as well.”

The man’s nostrils flared in anger at my words, but Hao MuQin put a hand on his shoulder to calm him.

“Great Teacher, please do not be so petty. He speaks only the truth.” As I was considering a retort, he turned and addressed the crowd. “I would challenge the Great Teacher to a friendly competition. This is the best way to resolve our differences and show the truth of things.”

I raised an eyebrow. “What do you have in mind?”

“I believe nearly everyone here is a Daoist. We shall discuss the Dao. Our audience can decide whose words hold more truth in them.”

My response was instantaneous. “The Dao that can be told is not the true Dao.”

He snorted. “So, you refuse to even compete?”

“I refuse to partake in a competition that will only harm my students’ foundations.”

Hao MuQin grinned. He must have felt that he scored a point against me in that exchange.

“Very well then, a compromise.”

He reached into his storage bag and pulled out two large metal plates with countless inscriptions carved into them. A single glance told me they were Rank 6 formations, but without days, possibly years of study, I wouldn’t have any chance of deciphering them.

“If you refuse to discuss the Dao, then we can compete more directly. These are two simple formations that will generate a suppression field similar to the Path of Soul.” He looked out across the crowd. “At our school, students use these to bolster the speed at which they cultivate their souls.”

I noticed several flickers of interest at these words, especially amongst the Martial Kings.

He then took out two cylinders and placed them on the plates.

“While the standard field works off of only ambient energy, by filling these cylinders with spirit stones, the field can be magnified several times. The more spirit stones in the container, the stronger the suppression field. Whoever can withstand the highest pressure will be the victor.” He gave me a dismissive look. “This is a standard form of competition amongst soul cultivators.”

As I had never heard of such a competition, I really wanted to ask where it was a standard form of competition, but I held my tongue. I couldn’t broadcast my weaknesses like that.

Instead, I just nodded. “I accept.”

We both took positions on a formation plate. Once they were activated, I cocked my head. Even though it was a Rank 6 formation, the suppression wasn’t much. It couldn’t even compete with the final parts of the Path of Soul to Profound City.

Hao MuQin waved a hand, and my former student who had been silently standing behind him the entire time pulled two buckets of spirit stones from a storage bag.

“Let’s start with 50 stones.”

My former student poured them into my cylinder first. The moment he did, the field around me became several times stronger. I instinctively winced at the increased effect.

Hao MuQin smirked, and when the stones were poured into his formation’s cylinder, he didn’t show any reaction at all.

“Why don’t we make this interesting? My brother would like to meet you. If I defeat you here, you will come with me to have a talk with him.”

I considered the offer and smiled. “Fine. But if I win, these two formation plates belong to me.”

While I had Emperor Shen’s book on Rank 6 formations, a single book couldn’t possibly contain everything, and having two working formations to study could be invaluable, even if their use in soul cultivation was not nearly as beneficial as my opponent claimed.

Hao MuQin gave an amused laugh. “Very good. My brother will award me well for this.”

He turned to my former student. “100 more stones.”

With the addition of the extra spirit stones, the formation’s effects jumped once more, but I was prepared for it this time. While it was powerful, it was nowhere close to my limit.

Looking at my competitor, I raised an eyebrow in surprise. Again, he showed no reaction to the added suppression of the field.

While the current strength wasn’t much to me, LiTing would have a hard time sitting up straight under its pressure. Was Hao MuQin’s soul really that far beyond hers? It was possible, but something about this entire situation seemed suspicious.

I tossed LiTing a storage bag.

“Add 200 more stones to each cylinder.”

As she did so, Hao MuQin only snorted in amusement. I expected him to try and stop her, but he only checked to make sure she did the job properly.

The intense pressure from the added stone nearly made me bow down, but after a minute of adjustment, I returned to normal. My opponent still showed no reaction.

So, since the spirit stones were fine, either Hao MuQin had a much stronger soul than I expected, or the formation plates were rigged.

I used energy vision and stared at the two cylinders. They were difficult to see through, and standard qi vision wouldn’t have been able to manage it, but my energy vision was able to see enough to tell me what was happening.

My cylinder was empty. All of the spirit stones had been turned to dust and their energy was empowering the formation. Hao MuQin’s, on the other hand, was more than three-quarters full. None of the stones had been consumed.

I smiled and turned to LiTing.

“Add 500 more to each cylinder.”

Hao MuQin finally reacted.

“What? You can’t be serious. That will cripple you.”

I waved him off. “No need to worry. I’m perfectly fine.”

LiTing moved to add the stones, but my opponent looked at my former student.

“Stop her. Don’t let her add any more stones.”

I looked at him with false concern. 

“Oh? So, you’re conceding the match?”

 He now looked like he wanted to spit venom, but he didn’t have a good response. Either he let LiTing add the stones, and everyone saw them overtop his cylinder, or he refused to let them be added and conceded.

With a growl of frustration, he turned to the two who had followed him in. 

“Let’s leave this sorry excuse for a school.”

Without looking back, Hao MuQin stood and stormed away.

I looked at the students assembled before me.

“Anyone who wishes may follow him. As I said before, I will not keep you here against your will. However, before you leave, understand that doing so will be permanent.”