novelraw Chapter 76 : Yuyin's Decision
Chapter 76 : Yuyin's Decision
76: Yuyin's Decision
As soon as Teacher Zhang Huajie said this, the students of the Swordsman Department grew excited. It seemed the rumors were true!
Chen Qian'ning was both the Department Head and the Head of Student Affairs. Her strength and accomplishments went without saying, but she was too busy, and the classes she personally taught were few and far between. They were mostly guidance on major directions, great realms, states of mind, and occasional demonstrations of profound sword arts. The chance to receive her careful guidance was truly rare and precious.
To be accepted as a Direct Disciple by Chen Qian'ning, to receive one-on-one, individual instruction and targeted guidance, the gap between that and occasionally listening to her lecture to dozens or hundreds of students or seeing her demonstrate a sword technique was as vast as heaven and earth.
"A Direct Disciple of a Department Head, I don’t need to spell out the benefits for you. Besides, our Swordsman Department is the pride of the academy."
Hearing the teacher say this, all the students in the department grew restless. Who wouldn’t want to be Chen Qian'ning’s Direct Disciple? Not only was she powerful, but there were all sorts of benefits unavailable to ordinary students, plus one-on-one teaching from such a great beauty… If there was a single drawback, it was that she was a bit strict, but was that really a drawback?
"I know you’re all eager to sign up," Zhang Huajie said with a slow smile. "But don’t be impatient. Listen to what I have to say. Our Lingdu Source Martial Academy has always emphasized that rights, interests, and responsibilities go hand in hand; to gain something, you must give something. Teacher Chen Qian'ning has said that the door is open to every student in the department below their third year, fair and without favoritism. To become her Direct Disciple, you must meet two conditions."
"First, win the Direct Disciple test."
"Second, in the future, you must make a trip… to The Other Side."
Zhang Huajie spread his hands. "It’s that simple. Those who feel they can accept these two conditions and have confidence in themselves can come to Liu Xing now to sign up."
For a moment, the students of the Swordsman Department fell silent.
The first condition went without saying. With only one spot, a test was necessary.
But this second condition…
Many hesitated.
The Other Side… There were still students here who were not Source Martial Practitioners and were not qualified to know the name Prison Abyss. Usually, even if people knew about it, they wouldn’t dare to mention its name directly when talking. The Other Side was too dangerous; just hearing about it was enough to make one’s hair stand on end.
They had worked so hard to get in. If they weren’t fully confident in their strength, going down there might mean they would never return.
This was a heavy and difficult choice. No matter how great the benefits of being a Direct Disciple were, you had to be alive to enjoy them.
Even if many students weren’t afraid and intended to serve the nation, it would be after graduation, at least in their fourth year. To make such a decision now was truly demanding.
"It’s a shame I don’t have a chance. I missed the right enrollment time. You’re luckier than me. Is anyone coming up to sign up?" Liu Xing said, holding a clipboard.
For a time, no one made a move. They all looked at each other, a stark contrast to the passion and anticipation from moments before.
Yuyin, standing in the crowd, was also thinking. Since she had come to the Swordsman Department, of course, if she was going to learn, she should learn from the best. Teacher Chen Qian'ning was the Department Head, the strongest in the Swordsman Department, and she was a woman, too. It would naturally be the best choice to study under her. Moreover, a Direct Disciple likely had many other benefits and preferential treatment, which were very necessary for Yuyin, who wanted to improve her strength as quickly as possible.
This Direct Disciple position, Yuyin naturally wanted to fight for.
The test, regardless of success or failure, was a form of experience, so it didn’t matter.
But… to go to the Prison Abyss?
Although it didn’t say when, it would presumably be during the school year. Considering that the dean had said fourth-year students would go to the Prison Abyss under Lan Lingfeng’s leadership, it seemed that it wasn’t uncommon for fourth-year students to go to the Prison Abyss. From this, it would probably be before their third year.
"I only have two and a half years left… When the time comes, even if I hide at home and go nowhere, the Ghost King’s incredibly powerful attendants will come to take me away; the Ghost King himself might even come in person."
"From the fact that many fourth-year students can go to the Prison Abyss, it’s possible that if it’s just the peripheral areas of the Prison Abyss, the strength of fourth-year students is sufficient for a certain degree of safety, or they have strong teachers leading them to provide protection. If it were a suicide mission, the academy wouldn’t let them go."
"In that case, under the academy’s arrangements, the danger of going to the Prison Abyss is much smaller than the threat of the Ghost King." Yuyin made this judgment in her heart.
After all, the mere phantom of the sedan-carrying evil ghost gave Yuyin a pressure far exceeding that of Zhang Henglong. Fourth-year students going to the Prison Abyss would never have to face such an existence. That wouldn’t be fighting for humanity; it would be suicide, a waste of all of humanity’s resources.
Besides, the resources and energy spent cultivating a Direct Disciple far exceeded those for an ordinary student. The academy would be even less likely to let them go to their deaths.
In that sense, this requirement for a Direct Disciple to go to the Prison Abyss was dangerous, but more of a trial. Without tempering oneself in dangerous situations and life-or-death environments, no amount of resources could make one a true powerhouse.
If she was afraid to venture into dangerous places even with the academy’s protection and organization, what would she rely on in the future to face the Ghost King? To say no to the Ghost King?
And Yuyin now felt that the Ghost King and the Prison Abyss were very likely connected, and there must be a great secret between them.
What must be faced, must eventually be faced!
Without tempering, without daring to venture into dangerous places, how could one become a powerhouse? How could one protect oneself and the people one cherished?
What was the point of cultivating at all?
Everyone was lost and hesitant, but in Yuyin’s heart, things gradually became clear and decisive. Her chest rose and fell deeply. She had made her decision.
"Look…"
Many students let out cries of envy.
Shenwu walked out, stepping from the crowd to stand before Teacher Zhang Huajie, his eyes bright and piercing.
"Teacher Zhang, I want to sign up."
"Very good. Go register and sign with Liu Xing."
The other students all had an expression of "of course it’s him, it should be him."
Shenwu, the strongest first-year student in the Swordsman Department last year, had been recruited as an officer of the Student Council. This year, in everyone’s eyes, he was naturally the strongest among the first and second-year students in the department and the top contender for the Direct Disciple position.
If he didn’t sign up, if even he didn’t dare to go to the Prison Abyss, then there was no hope for this cohort.
Influenced by Shenwu, a few male and female second-year students came up to sign up one after another. There were five of them in total. These five could be said to be the five strongest students in the Swordsman Department below their third year. In everyone’s eyes, the Direct Disciple would surely be chosen from among them.
Regardless of whether they dared to go to the Prison Abyss, since these five had signed up, for anyone else to sign up would just be to accompany the prince in his studies, a mere formality with little meaning.
"Sigh… I guess things like this also depend on luck," a third-year student with a small mustache said. "In terms of strength, I might not lose to them, but I’m a third-year, with only one year left in school. There isn’t even enough time for instruction. I can’t sign up. I just missed it."
"Sigh, this is all about luck. Who made the last Direct Disciple graduate just then? We were born at the wrong time," another third-year student said with an air of premature world-weariness.
"All I can say is that the second-years are lucky. The first-years just started and can’t compete, and we third-years can’t compete. They really got a bargain…" The small-mustached student shook his head helplessly.
At this moment, a stir went through the crowd.
"Hey… you, what are you doing?" the long-haired girl who ranked in the top eight in the water competition and won a villa whispered.
From among the new students, Yuyin walked out. With her long, slender, fair legs, she moved without the slightest hesitation, nor with excessive eagerness, but with a calm, composed grace.
She walked past the surprised and confused second and third-year upperclassmen and stopped before the tall, thin teacher.
"Teacher, I want to sign up," Yuyin said calmly.
"Huh???" Whether they were new students or upperclassmen, everyone was stunned.
The teacher’s eyebrow also twitched. Although nominally both first and second-years were eligible, to compete on the same stage, how could a new student who had only just enrolled yesterday contend with the elite powerhouses of the second year, who had been cultivated in an environment like the Lingdu Source Martial Academy?
But Zhang Huajie was a man of some depth and didn’t show excessive surprise, which would seem disrespectful to the new student. He just reminded her, "Xia Yuyin, I have heard of you. However… you have only just enrolled and haven’t even begun your formal cultivation studies. Do you… have confidence?"
"Teacher, I’d like to give it a try. Is that okay?" Yuyin said, still ladylike and humble.
"Hmm… Of course. Your spirit is commendable and should be encouraged." The teacher nodded and had Yuyin go register with Senior Liu.
Yuyin signed her name with Liu Xing, but behind her, the chatter was incessant. While everyone acknowledged Yuyin’s performance and talent among the new students, it was still too much of a stretch for her to compete with the aces of the second-year department. Some of the male and female students who had recently become infatuated with Yuyin were worried for her, afraid she would be at a disadvantage.
"The Direct Disciple test will be East Yushan Test A. Students participating in the test, please gather at the entrance to East Yushan in the academy at 5:30 a.m. this Saturday," Liu Xing announced.
Several of the second-year students who had signed up and many of the upperclassmen were taken aback. Shenwu also frowned.
"East Yushan Test A?" Yuyin didn’t know what kind of test that was.
76: The Senior's Training
Just the shock from Yuyin signing up earned her 25 Soul Charm Points. Regardless of the outcome, it felt like a worthwhile gain.
After announcing the matter of the Direct Disciple, the tall, thin teacher began the formal lesson for the Swordsman Department.
"Regarding the main purpose of the Swordsman Department, Teacher Chen Qian'ning will explain it to you all in person later, so I will not overstep my authority. I am only in charge of the specific courses. Now, all third-year students, please come with me. Second-year students, follow your Senior Liu Xing to the training ground on the north side of Yuehu Lake. First-year new students, your basic introductory training for the Swordsman Department will be handled by Senior Shenwu and a few other upperclassmen."
With that, the Swordsman Department students split into three groups by year and each began their first class of the semester. This Source Martial University was the same as an ordinary university. Unlike high school, where teachers filled the schedule with classes every day, here each course lasted several weeks or a month or two. The teacher would explain for a day or two, then assign everyone to practice on their own, with periodic check-ups and guidance from the teacher. University cultivation was all about taking the initiative.
The second and third-year Swordsman Department students left the main hall, following the tall, thin teacher and Senior Liu Xing, leaving behind dozens of somewhat dazed new students.
"It seems the teaching staff at the Lingdu Source Martial Academy is really stretched… Our classes are being taught directly by second-year upperclassmen?" Yuyin thought to herself. "But if this mode of Source Martial cultivation is more like a sect, a master-apprentice model, then it’s normal for senior martial brothers to lead the new junior martial brothers and sisters in basic training. The sect leader, grandmasters, and such, wouldn’t personally instruct them every day, would they?"
This, in turn, made the position of a Direct Disciple seem even more precious.
"Fellow students, please gather here," the tall Shenwu called out, lining the new students up in front of him.
"Although we are the Swordsman Department, please don’t think you can touch a sword as soon as you arrive. Building a solid foundation is the key. This foundation consists of three things: one, balance; two, footwork; three, physical fitness." Shenwu said with great seriousness.
"Today, you don’t have to do anything else. Just practice your stance."
"Huh?" This statement was unexpected by the new students.
Shenwu had some second-year students bring over a cart with dozens of electronic rings and arrange them on the ground.
"Everyone, stand in a ring. These rings have electronic sensors that will record your individual data and movement. If the cumulative deviation exceeds the limit, you’ll have to start over. Today, each of you must stand in a standard stance for four hours without moving." Shenwu said.
"What? Four hours? What about going to the bathroom?" a male student complained.
Shenwu walked up to him, his presence intimidating despite his lack of anger. "This student, who do you think you are? A pampered child from an ordinary family? You were able to get in here, which means you are at least quasi-Source Martial Practitioners. What is a few hours of not moving? If you don’t even have this much composure and patience, let me ask you, how will you have the perseverance and determination to walk the great path of cultivation?"
"Tch…" The male student had no choice but to comply.
Yuyin didn’t say anything. Since she was here, she would study seriously. She felt that Shenwu wasn’t as sincere as he appeared on the surface, but this training method was probably not something he made up.
Yuyin stepped into a small circle with a diameter of no more than thirty centimeters.
"Hehe, Xia Yuyin, you don’t have to. With the confidence to participate in the Direct Disciple test, your basic skills must already be incredibly solid. Why not practice with us second-years instead?" Shenwu came over with a smile.
He was already calling her by her name? Wasn’t that a bit too fast? If it were a senior female student, it would be one thing, but a senior male student… Yuyin felt a bit uncomfortable.
"There’s no need, Senior. My basic skills aren’t that solid." With that, Yuyin stood up straight, her chest out, in a posture that was perhaps more textbook-perfect than a textbook.
Shenwu’s eyebrow twitched almost imperceptibly. Her basic skills weren’t solid? He had watched the video of her in the water competition several times last night. With that kind of balance, she claimed her basics weren’t solid? Who would believe that?
This one stance lasted the entire morning. Although everyone here was highly talented, not all of them had practiced this kind of stance before. Four hours, and if their posture was even slightly off-standard, the electronic ring would beep, and they’d have to start over. Many students couldn’t do it, but everyone’s physical fitness was good, so they weren’t too tired.
"Oh?" Shenwu walked past Yuyin. He had originally thought that after a long time, he would need to correct Yuyin’s stance and use her as an example to educate everyone, but he discovered that Yuyin’s posture was an exact copy of what it had been hours ago. On her electronic ring, not a single point had been deducted!
"She… she can really stand perfectly still on her first try?" He himself absolutely couldn’t have done so well on his first try.
"Ding, gained 6 Soul Charm Points from Shenwu’s shock and ill-intentioned gaze."
"Four hours are up. Those who passed can rest. Those who didn’t, continue." Shenwu said.
Many students breathed a sigh of relief. While their strength might have held out, standing still for four hours was also a test of one’s state of mind.
The main hall didn’t have air conditioning. This was a training ground.
The back of Yuyin’s white T-shirt was also soaked with sweat.
"Xia Yuyin, wait a moment," said the wiry second-year boy with an earring who was on good terms with Shenwu.
He walked over. He was quite a bit shorter than Yuyin and circled her, looking her up and down. "For a genius like you, we naturally have to have higher standards. Otherwise, we upperclassmen would be holding you back. Now, run 50 laps around the main hall. And make it fast."
"Yang Ke…" Shenwu hesitated but ultimately said nothing, tacitly allowing it.
"Go on then, Xia Yuyin? Didn’t you say yourself that your basic skills aren’t solid?" Yang Ke said, tilting his head to look at Yuyin.
"Understood." Yuyin didn’t argue and went to run.
At this point, most of the new students were still practicing their stance because they couldn’t hold it for the full four hours.
Yuyin ran very fast.
"Hmph, running so fast? How many laps can she keep that up?" Yang Ke watched with interest as Yuyin’s long, beautiful legs carried her, her chest seeming to pulsate with endless stamina and dynamism.
He even timed her, but to his surprise, Yuyin was a few tenths of a second faster on each lap than the last. She ran faster and faster, and on the final lap, she was moving as if flying.
"Damn… this woman’s stamina is truly insane! Where is she storing it all?" Yang Ke was stunned.
"Ding, gained 5 Soul Charm Points from Yang Ke’s shock."
Yuyin’s physical constitution was originally good. Over the past few months, she had occasionally been able to eat spirit fruits and spirit medicines gathered by the White Ape and the Medicine Maiden, and she had also cultivated the "Imperial Daughter Body Refinement." To her, this kind of running was nothing at all.
Yang Ke still didn’t believe he couldn’t break Yuyin. As soon as she finished running, he immediately brought over a wooden stake, fixed it in place, and had her begin stake-standing, claiming it was to train her balance.
To have to stand perfectly still right after intense running was not easy.
Yuyin frowned slightly but complied. She knew Yang Ke was deliberately making things difficult for her, but this was also a form of special training.
"This woman… she can really stand still? If I ran like that, my legs would be jelly by now!"
"Ding, gained 8 Soul Charm Points from Yang Ke’s shock."
Nearby, Shenwu also watched Yuyin’s perfect stake-standing posture with a grave expression. "Xia Yuyin, her stamina and balance are actually this outstanding?"
Previously, Shenwu had not considered Yuyin a rival for the Direct Disciple position, but gradually, he was finding that he couldn’t quite see through this woman’s true strength and foundation.
In the evening, many new students, exhausted, were crying out as they headed home.
Yuyin walked by the lake. She had also been put through the wringer all day. Although the second-year students were strict with the new students, they themselves trained even harder. When Yuyin left, Shenwu and the others were still there, planning to continue training.
"Regardless of their motives, this harsh training builds a solid foundation," Yuyin thought to herself.
Just then, she saw on a patch of grass not far away, seventeen or eighteen burly boys, each built like a bear, practicing lifting stone weights.
It was already dark, but they showed no sign of stopping.
"Are they seniors from the Strongman Department?"
These guys were really hardworking.
The tallest of them, a shirtless boy with a large, blue-green owl dragon tattoo on his body, actually lifted a huge stone sculpture by the lake that looked to weigh seven or eight hundred kilograms with one hand.
Yuyin couldn’t help but be startled. "What great strength."
"Boss Da is mighty!" A group of burly boys around him cheered.
Thud.
The boy with the owl dragon tattoo set the sculpture down and clapped his large hands. "What’s so special about that? If we don’t train hard now, when those things come, are we just going to wait to die? Are you all afraid of The Other Side? I’m not!"
He seemed to have spotted Yuyin from afar and deliberately raised his voice, as if to show off his might to the pretty girl.
"Go to the Prison Abyss, get the women! For these two things, I, Jiang Da, will train like hell my whole life!" The owl dragon boy’s heart was full of fighting spirit.
Yuyin didn linger and continued forward. When she reached the lakeside below the villa district, she saw many male and female students sitting by the lake under the willow trees, but they weren’t flirting. They were meditating and contemplating.
The Primordial Energy here was abundant. Since they couldn’t get a villa, they were practicing outside. Who could say anything about it?
"Senior Lu… are you really going to The Other Side next summer vacation?" a girl with a somewhat artistic temperament asked worriedly, looking at the tall, handsome boy meditating nearby.
"Several of my brothers are planning to go. How can I not? Besides, someone has to go," the tall, handsome boy said calmly, gazing at the lake.
These must be upperclassmen. It was already dark, and they were still seizing every opportunity to cultivate. Whether they were doing it for wealth, for fame, for themselves, or to fight for Huaxia, the people at this academy were not only highly talented but also incredibly diligent.
"Although I’ve had many fortuitous encounters, I can’t afford to slack off. Compared to Senior Liu, a third-year, I estimate I still have a significant gap. And that Shenwu is no ordinary person either," Yuyin urged herself on. She would go back, take a shower, and practice her breathing technique tonight.
Having a lakeside villa meant she didn’t have to go outside. Cultivation was quieter and more private, especially for a girl like Yuyin, who liked to wear little when she was deep in cultivation.
This week passed amidst various basic training exercises for the Swordsman Department. The second-year upperclassmen gave Yuyin plenty of "extra meals," but this was, in a way, just increasing the intensity of her training. It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Little Yuan also came back every day to complain, saying the upperclassmen were stricter than her grandfather, that the seniors weren’t human, and that the teachers only played the good cop.
"What kind of department are we in!"
On Friday evening, Little Yuan sat on her bed, bouncing her feet in dissatisfaction. "What is this Daoist Arts Department? It’s basically a Strongman Department that uses eighteen kinds of light and strange weapons! We train our bodies all day. Magic arts? I haven’t seen so much as a wisp of smoke. Waaah… Sister Yuyin… I’m so tired…"
With that, Little Yuan threw herself onto Yuyin’s lap. Yuyin had just finished her shower and was sitting on the edge of the bed, wrapped only in a towel, combing her hair. Little Yuan buried her head in her lap and complained…
"Hey…" Yuyin couldn’t help but feel helpless, her face growing warm.
That night, Yuyin went to bed a little earlier. She rested very well and was fully prepared for the next day’s test.
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · · · · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
Late at night, in an old, detached, towering Western-style villa at the foot of a mountain near the lakeside villa district.
Lan Lianyue stood before the window.
"This Direct Disciple from the Swordsman Department must be someone from our Student Council. I don’t want what happened with the Strongman Department to happen again. Do you understand, Shenwu?" Lan Lianyue said without turning her head, her voice leisurely.
"Yes, Senior Lian. Please rest assured. Most of those who signed up are our own people from the Student Council. There are no factors that could threaten my selection," the tall Shenwu said respectfully, standing at the door of the dim room. The lenses of his glasses gleamed in the night light as he smiled confidently.
"That Xia Yuyin has also signed up," Senior Liu Xing said, leaning against the doorframe beside Shenwu.
"Hehe, her? She’s just a new student. She shouldn’t be a problem, right?" Shenwu said.
"I’m not doubting your strength," Lianyue’s pink, moist lips parted slightly. "You are determined to get this Direct Disciple. On the premise that you guarantee this, it’s also okay to tease that Xia Yuyin a little, hehehe…"
"Understood, Senior Lian." Shenwu bowed his head obediently.
Liu Xing and Shenwu withdrew. In the dim, empty, and rather quaint room, only Lan Lianyue was left.
She gazed into the deep night, the strange, wandering Night Spirits reflected in her deep blue eyes.
"Brother… the entire Student Council will become your backing."
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · · · · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
Saturday morning, in the pre-dawn light, the air was crisp and cold.
Yuyin, wearing a white, sleeveless short T-shirt that revealed her waist and navel, a black leather miniskirt, and leather boots, arrived at the entrance to East Yushan, not far from the lakeside villas.
Today was the test for Chen Qian'ning’s Direct Disciple: East Yushan Test A.