Chapter 42: Chapter 42: The First Class
Xianyun Peak, southeast of Mingxin Academy, rose a hundred zhang high, shrouded in clouds and mist. A high platform stood upon its summit, where a young man was standing. He wore a blue robe with gold patterns, the character for "Teacher" embroidered on his chest. His eyes flashed like lightning, piercing through the dense clouds to gaze down at the base of the peak.
At the base of the peak...
A dozen or so young men and women stared up at the summit of Xianyun Peak, their eyes filled with anticipation. They had all dabbled in the Alchemy Dao to some extent and were quite curious about the academy’s new High-Level Alchemy Teacher.
All of them were experts in Martial Arts. The weakest among them had reached Spiritual Element Second Grade, while the strongest—a fair-skinned, beautiful young woman—was at Spiritual Element Ninth Grade. The gazes of everyone around were drawn to her.
"Look, it’s Mu Xue, one of the academy’s goddesses."
"She came too! I heard she’s already a Second-Grade Alchemist. That’s incredible. If she had focused all her energy on Martial Arts, she probably would have already broken through to the Earth Element Realm."
"Even so, she’s still in the top ten of the Hidden Dragon List, making her one of the most powerful students in the entire Yunxiao Empire."
"It’s not just Mu Xue. Feng Ling, next to her, is also an expert on the Hidden Dragon List. Getting to see both of them makes this trip worthwhile."
The crowd’s whispers naturally reached the ears of Feng Ling and Mu Xue. The two women seemed accustomed to this, their expressions calm. Mu Xue’s clear, beautiful eyes gazed at the summit, a hint of anticipation showing through.
"Feng Ling, what do you think this new teacher will look like?"
"Tch, what could he look like? Probably some stuffy old geezer, just like Teacher Liu—rigid and utterly boring," Feng Ling said with a pout. "I wouldn’t have even come if you hadn’t insisted."
"Alright, let’s go."
Xianyun Peak was a hundred zhang tall, and no one present was a slouch. They each displayed their Body Techniques and shot toward the summit. Mu Xue, in particular, unleashed her Spiritual Element Ninth Grade cultivation. Her figure moved like a graceful shadow, and aside from Feng Ling and a handful of others, everyone else was left far behind.
Watching her departing figure, the others couldn’t help but smile bitterly. They were hailed as geniuses in the outside world, but compared to a supreme prodigy like Mu Xue, they were lacking by more than a single tier. Facing a talent like her was probably how the very people who called them geniuses felt when looking at them.
Her anticipation for the new teacher added a considerable boost to Mu Xue’s speed, and soon, she was the first to reach the summit.
"Phew..."
Mu Xue’s lovely face was slightly flushed as her excited gaze swept across the summit. When she saw the blue figure on the high platform, she couldn’t help but be astonished. ’Huh? Someone actually got here even faster than me? Who is it?’
As she wondered, the figure in blue seemed to notice her presence and slowly turned around. Suddenly, Mu Xue’s jaw dropped, her face a mask of utter disbelief. She pointed at Qin Ya, completely speechless.
At that moment, a few more people arrived at the summit. Feng Ling walked over, patted Mu Xue’s shoulder, and complained, "Mu Xue, why did you run so fast? Honestly... huh? What’s wrong?"
Noticing Mu Xue’s strange reaction, Feng Ling looked toward the high platform. Her pupils constricted, and her expression became identical to Mu Xue’s. The others who had arrived also looked as if they had seen a ghost.
Qin Ya looked down at Mu Xue and her friend from the platform, also a little surprised. He never expected that the people he had met by chance at the academy the other day would be students in his very first class. It was truly a case of life being full of coincidences.
The students continued to arrive one after another. Qin Ya did a quick scan—thirty-seven people in total. Mingxin Academy had twenty-three thousand students, and while not many dabbled in the Alchemy Dao, the number shouldn’t be this low. ’It must be because this is my first class and I’m not well-known yet.’
As for the thirty-seven students before him, they were all staring at Qin Ya, completely dumbstruck. Without even having to think about it, Qin Ya knew what was going on. He had grown used to it over the past few days.
’My appearance doesn’t match the highly respected position of a High-Level Teacher at all. But so what?’
’Since I’m already in this position, I might as well show a little of my strength to these people who can’t recognize greatness when they see it. For me, serving as a mere High-Level Teacher is a piece of cake anyway.’
"Is the academy trying to screw with us? They actually got a little brat like this to be a teacher—and a High-Level Teacher at that!" At that moment, a young man, staring at the blue and gold teacher’s robe on Qin Ya, spoke with an indignant expression, snapping the other dazed students out of their stupor.
"Holy shit, what the hell is going on? Did all the academy’s instructors get their heads caught in a door? They’re letting a kid younger than me be a High-Level Teacher!"
"I protest! I’m going to protest this...!"
"The academy has to be joking, right? A boy like that isn’t a student but a teacher? And his cultivation is only Profound Origin Sixth Grade! That’s just a little better than an average student. Aren’t the academy’s leaders afraid of ruining their thousand-year reputation as a cornerstone of the Empire?"
Among them, a seductive woman’s figure flashed, and in the blink of an eye, she appeared behind Qin Ya. Her slender fingers brushed across his cheek as she whispered in his ear, her breath soft and fragrant, "Little brother, how old are you? How did you become a teacher? Why don’t you tell your big sister, hmm?"
Feeling a tickle in his ear, Qin Ya couldn’t help but take a step to the side. He fixed his gaze on the seductive woman and said indifferently, "To dare openly harass a teacher in the middle of class... You certainly have a lot of nerve, student."
Hearing this, the seductive woman was taken aback for a moment, then covered her mouth and began to laugh, her body shaking delicately. Her ample chest, in particular, bounced up and down, captivating the male students present and causing them to gulp audibly.
Some of the female students spat in disgust, muttering "Shameless," while glancing down at their own small "hills" and feeling a sudden wave of defeat.
"Alright, let me introduce myself. My name is Qin Ya, and I am a High-Level Teacher personally hired by the academy. Find a seat and get ready for class." After Qin Ya spoke, everyone noticed the rows of cushions on the high platform, and they couldn’t help but hesitate.
"How interesting. I’d like to see just what you’re made of, little brother." The seductive woman smiled, then found a place to sit, her clear, autumn-like eyes fixed on Qin Ya.
"Student, while classes at the academy are informal, I would still appreciate it if you would address me as Teacher Qin."
The seductive woman heard this, smiled, and said, "Alright, alright, little brother—no, Teacher Qin. My apologies, I was rude."
Seeing the seductive woman take a seat, the other students hesitated for a moment before finally walking onto the high platform and finding places to sit. Although they were highly skeptical of Qin Ya’s abilities, they had never seen such a young teacher before and were also quite curious.
Mu Xue walked onto the high platform and stared at Qin Ya for a moment. "Teacher Qin, hello. We meet again."
"Mm, hello. We do meet again," Qin Ya said with a smile.
"I thought you were a new teacher at the academy, but I never expected you to be a High-Level Teacher. It’s truly shocking." Even now, the astonishment in Mu Xue’s heart hadn’t lessened in the slightest.
At the same time, she also felt a twinge of disappointment. Like everyone else, she was highly skeptical of Qin Ya’s abilities. ’Even if a boy this young is an Alchemist, how skilled could he possibly be?’
The greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment. The fleeting look of disappointment in Mu Xue’s eyes did not escape Qin Ya’s notice.
He smiled faintly. "Please, take your seat."
