Chapter 79: Substitute Teaching Revitalizes the Cultivation World (79% Progress)

In the east, the faint morning light pierced through the thin mist, gilding the isolated island in the middle of the sea with a mysterious golden-red hue.

At this time of year, the bustling coastal area always presents a remarkably orderly scene.

Countless eyes instinctively turned to the vast, boundless sea, as if trying to cross the distant horizon to see another place they could not reach.

I wish they were the ones who landed on the island.

The monks on the coastal land thought this way.

Since the Tianyan Academy closed its doors, many small sects with no real resources have moved their residences to the seaside in an attempt to motivate their disciples.

This move was remarkably effective, and the disciples trained even harder, especially the young people under the age of thirty who were putting in their best effort to hone their skills in order to secure an admission spot when the Tianyan Academy opened its doors again.

Faced with this situation, the major sects do not complain that Tianyan Academy is taking away the middle-level students.

This is because although Tianyan Academy teaches and nurtures students, it has no intention of taking away the resources of top disciples. Each batch of students will only study at the academy for five years. After they graduate from the academy, they will inevitably become the top cultivators of their age group in the four continents, and they will be independent and not belong to any sect.

This is tantamount to indirectly providing them with the best resources, so apart from a few individuals with ulterior motives, other sects are happy to see this and are also pleased to use it to motivate their own talents.

Students at the academy have one opportunity to communicate with the outside world each month. Although they are not allowed to reveal what happens inside the academy, they can tell from their radiant appearance and rapidly improving cultivation that they are doing very well. In addition, the official website, which can be accessed by everyone from time to time, will release some photos or messages. Therefore, people outside do not know the specific situation inside, but they are filled with longing and fantasy.

"Have you seen the latest photos of the Winter Solstice released by Tianyan Academy?" a cultivator asked his companion.

Upon hearing this, the companion, who had been indifferent, suddenly became excited: "Of course I watched it! I clicked on it as soon as it was released. As expected of a talisman cultivator who inherited the secret techniques of the Dao Ancestor, Shen Suqi led the talisman cultivator class to win the best class award. On the winter solstice, she gave a speech as a student representative. Her heroic demeanor is truly worthy of being the light of our talisman cultivators!"

"That's because Young Master Helian didn't exert his full strength." The cultivator chuckled. "In the Winter Solstice commemorative photo, Young Master Helian said that he would definitely not let the Talisman Cultivation Class receive the Medal of Honor."

"Young Master Helian is strong, but Su Xiaoyao is still one step ahead of him. In the photo, she said that we'll see the outcome next month."

"This time it's not just a one-on-one duel between them. Now it involves the entire class and is about the overall level. The talisman cultivation class and the weapon cultivation class can't possibly beat the sword cultivation class when they get serious. What's more, the leader of the sword cultivation class is Young Master Helian, whose strength is not much different from Su Xiaoyao's."

"Tianyan Academy never tests only cultivation level; they must have different criteria for judgment. It's hard to say who will win or lose."

"How about we take a gamble? I think Young Master Helian will definitely keep his word."

“Great, I think Fu Xiuban’s Shen Suqi has a good chance of retaining first place.”

"Hey you guys, you haven't forgotten about that maverick ghost cultivation class, have you?" a passerby who had overheard interrupted.

"You mean..." The cultivator paused, remembering the special class he had mentioned, "Jiang Yun from the Ghost Cultivator Class?"

"That's him," a passerby said. "Have you forgotten? He's currently far ahead in the overall rankings within Tianyan Academy. Although we don't know the ranking method, since it's a comprehensive ranking list and it's on the first page of the official website, it means it's extremely valuable. On this list, he surpasses Helian Yi and Su Xiaoyao, leaving everyone else far behind!"

The passerby's tone was exaggerated, but what he said was indeed a well-known fact: "Furthermore, although the Ghost Cultivation Class is always talking nonsense and there are no team-building activities in their group photos, no matter which Ghost Cultivator you pick out, their overall ranking is not low. I heard from someone that the textbooks studied by all the Ghost Cultivation Class members come from the Guixu Daojun who ascended ten thousand years ago. I think once Jiang Yun puts his strength into it, there will be no one else to compete with."

"This is a reference point, but I still think that Fu Xiu's class is more united. There is a reason why they have won the title of best class so many times in a row."

"Isn't unity easy to achieve? All Young Master Helian needs to do is throw spirit stones at it. Sword cultivators will cooperate at all costs to maintain their swords. Anyway, Young Master Helian is very experienced in throwing money around."

The three men each had their own valid points, and after discussing it for a while, they decided to place a bet.

After exchanging communication tokens, the passerby suddenly said, "If this were in the past, since we weren't from the same sect, it would be considered good if we didn't fight over resources when we met."

The other two smiled and said, "Now that we have Tianyan Academy as a benchmark, we are all busy catching up with the people on the island. We no longer have the mind to do things unrelated to cultivation. We have to thank the Dao Ancestor. The atmosphere is much better now. The sect no longer forces us to do useless things, for fear that our disciples' cultivation will fall behind."

"If things are like this outside, I wonder how chaotic it must be for the people on the island," a passerby remarked. "The photos that are ever released are just footage of their events or some snippets of their daily lives, but everyone knows that the footage they release shows them having a blast. The rest of the time, they're never stopping for a moment."

“Yes.” The other two nodded in agreement. “We start cultivating at dawn, while they might stay up all night. We need to work even harder.”

At the same time, the students at the academy, who were being speculated to be "studying all night without sleep"...

"Could you please move aside? That flight path belongs to our Talisman Cultivation Class, while your Sword Cultivation Class's flight path is eight zhang below!"

In mid-air, a group of talisman cultivators took off by transforming talismans, only to collide with a group of sword cultivators flying on swords.

"Make way, make way, we're going to be late!" the other talisman cultivators shouted hurriedly.

The leading swordsman groggily opened his eyes and hurriedly apologized, "Sorry, I was still half asleep and led you the wrong way."

"Don't block the middle of the road! Just because your route is blocked doesn't mean you can take over ours!" A large ship from the equipment repair team next door also blocked the way.

The air was filled with noise, and a large group of people had gathered together, making it impossible to clear the road for a while.

A monk seized the opportunity and approached.

"Buns shop delivery service! Freshly baked hot buns! Delivery fee is only five spirit stones!"

"Give me two." Since the traffic was already congested, someone simply called him over.

After buying two steamed buns, the man couldn't help but say as he paid, "Brother, you're really good at making money."

The monk chuckled: "Life's tough. I just had to spend too many credits and ended up with a mountain of debt."

The person looked on with a sense of shared misfortune: "Sigh, I didn't know anything when I was choosing courses, and as a result, I tried to do too much at once. I didn't even notice that some of the courses were repeated. I just ignored the pop-up notification and continued to choose. Who knew that now I don't even have any rest time left, and I still have a ton of homework. Heaven knows how much Professor Langdu likes to assign homework. I actually chose three of his courses! A thousand talismans for each course!"

The monk was equally heartbroken: "Brother, I understand you! I didn't even notice the notification before clicking 'read,' and now I have a class that I can't attend, so I have to pay someone to take my attendance and take a photo for me. Heaven help me, it's another expense!"

The cultivator who bought the steamed buns patted him on the shoulder: "You're so pitiful. My repeat class is the year after next. I hope I'll have the Nascent Soul stage cultivation by then and be able to cultivate an avatar, even if it's not very smart. That way, I can save on the cost of the substitute teacher."

"The person who invented the substitute teaching service is a genius." The monk counted the money he had earned from the substitute teaching service today and drooled with envy.

"Who says otherwise? There's also the business of purchasing on behalf of others. In the beginning, there were people at Bai Niang Qian Wei Lou who would queue up for others. Tsk, they really have a business mind."

After a brief exchange of thoughts, the evacuation in front of them ended, so they stopped talking and headed to their respective classrooms.

"Oh no, oh no, how could there be a traffic jam halfway here? I'm going to be late." The cultivator stuffed a bun into his mouth as he hurried along, taking in a mouthful of northwest wind.

"Are you also taking Teacher Langdu's class?" A fellow monk next to him sized him up.

The cultivator sighed, "Yes, the talisman cultivation classroom is too far away. We wouldn't have been late if we hadn't gotten stuck in traffic on the way."

The fellow cultivator remained calm: "I heard that it's okay to be a little late for Teacher Langdu's class. The teacher himself is always late, so there's no need for us to rush."

The cultivator smiled wryly: "Classmate, you're not a talisman cultivator, are you? Although Teacher Langdu is always late, what if he's on time today? I have three major courses taught by him this semester, and I can't afford to gamble on that 'what if,' otherwise I won't have enough participation points to save myself."

The term "fellow Daoist" has been abolished in the university; everyone now calls each other "classmate."

The fellow monk nodded: "That's true, I wouldn't dare gamble on my main course teacher being late for class either."

There was still some distance to go, so the cultivator started chatting: "You're not a talisman cultivator, so why did you choose this course?"

The fellow cultivator explained, "The course description said, 'If you're not a talisman cultivator, you should definitely choose this course.' I was misled and chose it. I should have just studied pharmacology instead. The pharmacology classroom is closer to my residence."

"I heard that you herbalists plow three miles of land every day? And you do it all yourself? Is that true?" the cultivator suddenly asked.

The fellow cultivator choked, his somber mood brought up, and looked up at the sky with a weary expression: "It's more than three miles! I don't even know how big this island is. I'm practically an old ox! And those damned Beast Taming Class next door, they don't even keep their spirit beasts in check. They came over to my poison shop to steal some, and after they finished, they tried to extort money from me, saying it was my fault for not taking proper safety precautions. They don't even know what level their spirit beasts are. They treat our field's defensive barrier like it doesn't exist. I'm so angry!"

"I can't believe this happened. No wonder I saw you two classes arguing on the intranet. What an undeserved disaster."

"Absolutely, that's incredibly unlucky."

They chatted all the way and finally arrived at the classroom just before the school bell rang, with countless figures swarming around them.

Langdu, who arrived late, quickened his pace to the door, then slowed down a second before entering, pretending that he had deliberately arrived late. He put his hands behind his back and walked into the classroom with a profound and indifferent demeanor.

"Today's lesson is on voodoo and spell magic, which is essential knowledge for all cultivators. If you are a talisman cultivator, the content will help you improve your array and spell magic skills. If you are not a talisman cultivator, the course will allow you to outmaneuver talisman cultivators."

Voodoo spells were Langdu's forte. When talking about his specialty, he was enthusiastic and passionate, speaking with great focus and spittle flying, completely ignoring the lifeless audience below.

The chubby-faced cultivator, arriving late, crouched low and crept into the classroom. Taking advantage of Lang Du turning around to take a group photo, he swiftly darted to sit next to the dashing and handsome cultivator, quickly pulled out his textbook, sat obediently, and then gave the person next to him a sweet smile.

"Good morning, senior brother."

Xiao Tingyuan stared at the "baby-faced junior sister" for a while, then said in a flat tone, "Don't be late for the next class. Be dedicated when taking on jobs, Xiao Yao."

The "round-faced junior sister" smirked, looking dejected: "How could I have been recognized like this? This is so boring. Where did I slip up?"

Xiao Tingyuan smiled mysteriously and didn't respond.

She pouted, and suddenly felt a gust of wind swirling around her.

With a tilt of his head, he discovered that a person had appeared in the previously empty spot.

"Good morning, Xiao Yao, Ting Yuan." Jiang Yun nodded to them, his expression still indifferent, his gaze piercing through Su Xiao Yao's disguise.

Su Xiaoyao stared wide-eyed, feeling utterly defeated. After much hesitation, she decided not to humiliate herself by asking where her disguise had failed. Instead, she turned to Jiang Yun and said, "You actually used such a high-level ghost-style stealth technique to sneak into the classroom when you're late for class."

Jiang Yun glanced at the pendant hanging around her neck: "You also used a gemstone that you bought at a high price in the Mission Hall to conceal your presence and cover up your lateness."

"Well, it's like the Eight Immortals crossing the sea." Su Xiaoyao clutched the pendant around her neck and stuffed it into her collar.

Okay, she knows where she slipped up.

She was a naive little girl who liked to show off, and for a moment she forgot to put away her flashy items.

It was overlooked.

To prevent Langdu from suddenly becoming distracted, Su Xiaoyao set up a photo stone to record Baozi's lesson, adjusted the angle, and prepared to listen attentively and take notes. However, someone patted her on the shoulder from behind.

"Squad leader!"

The person behind him called out affectionately.

The vice class monitor of the equipment repair class was winking at her: "I was just looking for you, but I didn't expect to run into you in the elective class."

Su Xiaoyao was speechless: "You saw my dazzling gemstone too?"

"What gemstone?"

"Then how did you recognize me?" Su Xiaoyao asked in surprise.

The vice class monitor pointed at Xiao Tingyuan and then at Jiang Yun: "Use human coordinates."

Su Xiaoyao choked.

This is indeed easier to recognize than a gemstone. "Why did you call me?"

"Yes! It's very important! It's about our class competition!"

Su Xiaoyao keenly noticed that after she finished speaking, the two people on her left and right sides simultaneously diverted a bit of their attention to her.

She raised an eyebrow: "Tell me about it, I'm listening."

The deputy squad leader looked around, then leaned close to her ear and whispered, "I have two pieces of bad news and zero pieces of good news. Which bad news do you want to hear first?"