Chapter 728: Battlegod Rampart
“...”
There was no problem with this reply, but Sun Mo kept having the feeling that something didn’t seem right. If someone were to hear this, their impression of him would probably drop a little.
Qin Yaoguang did a somersault and jumped up to the roof like an agile lark. She then grabbed onto Sun Mo’s arm, shaking it and pleading.
“Teacher, I also want to experience the God Hands!”
Sun Mo frowned, exerting force in his left arm and tugged it out from Qin Yaoguang’s embrace.
It could be that they hadn’t gotten familiar with each other yet, or that Qin Yaoguang appeared more mature than others her age. Therefore, Sun Mo paid more attention to this.
He tried to avoid having physical contact with this girl who always had snacks stashed in her pockets.
“You don’t need it for now!”
Sun Mo shook his head.
“Teacher, is it because you don’t like me?”
Qin Yaoguang pouted and sat down, hugging her knees with one arm and drawing small circles on the tile with the other hand.
“If I don’t like you, I wouldn’t have taken you in as my disciple.”
Sun Mo explained. “Although the ancient massaging technique is good, it can’t be used often.”
“Hmmm? Isn’t it called the Ancient Dragon Capturing Hands?”
Qin Yaoguang was surprised. Then, she let out a cry, wearing an expression as if she had discovered a new world. “So is this its real name?”
“Uhh!”
Sun Mo scratched his head. He had spoken too fast and exposed it.
“But why do you have to change the name?”
After Qin Yaoguang asked that, she clapped her hands and wore an expression of a sudden realization. “It’s because it sounds bad, right? Ancient massage... It makes one feel like a masseur, very low class.”
“...”
(Such quick answers. But this perspective is very close to mine.)
“Regardless of the name, I like it as long as it’s Teacher’s.”
Qin Yaoguang looked up and smiled sweetly at Sun Mo, looking like an infatuated fan girl.
Sun Mo was about to say something humble when he saw Qin Yaoguang lowering her head, looking disappointed. “But it’s a pity that Teacher doesn’t let me experience it.”
“Don’t be in a rush. Wait a little longer!”
Sun Mo consoled her and then secretly activated Divine Sight.
Suddenly, four big red words appeared in his vision.
Unknown target!
Alright, it was still the same.
Sun Mo felt helpless. He had no idea if the system was trying to test him. As Helian Beifang and Qin Yaoguang were the students he had recruited without observing their data through Divine Sight, after Sun Mo had completed his mission, he still couldn’t see any of their data.
The difficulty of teaching them multiplied. After all, Sun Mo was unable to understand their strengths and weaknesses at the very first instant. He was also unable to obtain first-hand information data after they cultivated, thus unable to make timely adjustments to their training plan.
“En, there’s no hurry!”
Qin Yaoguang nodded and quickly forgot about this matter, smiling as she took out a piece of osmanthus cake from her pocket. She removed the yellow packaging and tore it into halves.
She looked to the left and right, gauging the size of each piece. Then after a round of hesitation, she handed the larger piece to Sun Mo.
“Teacher, eat!”
“I’m not hungry!”
Sun Mo shook his head.
After spending time with her for half a month, he had a general grasp of Qin Yaoguang’s character. This girl who looked a few years older than her age had a positive character. She was always smiling and could get along with anyone. Moreover, she liked to eat a lot and her pockets were always filled with snacks.
“You’re just feeling bad about eating something from your student, right?”
Qin Yaoguang wore an expression as if she understood everything and then suddenly reached out her hand and stuffed the osmanthus cake into Sun Mo’s mouth. “It’s alright. I don’t mind it.”
“Cough cough!”
Sun Mo coughed and quickly took out the osmanthus cake. He almost choked. (Even if you don’t mind, I do. As a great teacher, how can I eat food from my students easily? What would that make of my teaching ethics?)
“Teacher, quickly eat it.”
Qin Yaoguang took a bite of the osmanthus cake and chewed on it slowly, revealing an enjoying expression. “From now on, we’ll be Teacher and student who shared a piece of osmanthus cake before. Our love will be stronger than gold.”
“What do you mean love will be stronger than gold?”
Sun Mo was dumbfounded. “Don’t use idioms whimsically. That is used for lovers.”
If someone were to overhear this, he’d have to be investigated by the Saint Gate.
“Hmmm? It’s referring to men and women, right? Forget it. Whatever. Anyway, Teacher has eaten my osmanthus cake. No matter what you eat in the future, you must save a share for me.”
Qin Yaoguang looked at Sun Mo. Her playful lips curled up into an arch and her gaze revealed a hint of craftiness.
One long-term meal ticket obtained.
Perfect!
“What?”
Sun Mo looked at the osmanthus cake in his hand. “I haven’t bitten on it yet. Can I return it to you?”
“Hmm?”
Qin Yaoguang was stunned for a moment and then burst out laughing. (Teacher, you’re so interesting. You’re much more adorable than the teachers I met in the past.)
“Hehe!”
Sun Mo smiled faintly and took a bite of the cake. He then looked at Qin Yaoguang’s eyes. “I’ve asked every one of my personal disciples what they want to do in the future. What about you?”
Even in modern society, a girl would avert her gaze from embarrassment if she was stared at by a guy. However, Qin Yaoguang didn’t do that. Instead, she boldly returned Sun Mo’s gaze.
“I want to become a great teacher, one who is extremely knowledgeable. I also want to teach students, nurturing bad guys into talents!”
Qin Yaoguang had a yearning for the future.
“If students are naughty, I’ll teach them strictly. If the students can’t take it, they’ll betray me and then meet fortuitous encounters outside. After they achieve success in their learnings, they’ll come back and we’ll have a love-hate relationship.”
“What the hell?”
Sun Mo had initially thought that Qin Yaoguang had great aspirations, but as he listened on, something started to feel wrong. What the hell was to have a love-hate relationship?
(Given your imagination, you should become a writer, one who primarily writes romance stories.)
“Oh my, it’s too late. I’ll be leaving.”
Qin Yaoguang got up and patted off the dust on her butt. She then jumped off the roof and ran away.
At this time, Zhang Dessert Store’s last pot of black sesame paste should be out. If she were to be late, there’d be none left.
Sun Mo smiled speechlessly as he looked at the back view of the snacking girl. Compared to the reserved Helian Beifang, he preferred Qin Yaoguang’s cheerful and lively character more. At least, they had interaction and he’d be able to find out what she was thinking.
...
Early the next day, An Rou arrived at the door and waited there.
Even though Sun Mo wasn’t her teacher, she still maintained an extremely great amount of respect toward him. She and Qin Yaoguang were two polar opposites to each other.
In the following five days, An Rou would come over and listen to Sun Mo’s teachings whenever she had the time to do so. She even performed her cultivation art once through and let Sun Mo correct her.
She had already decided to give it her all and win a ranking in the personal disciples battle, winning the 4-star great teacher title for her teacher.
Even if her teacher were to punish her and despise her after discovering that she had sought Sun Mo’s help, even if she was driven out of her tutelage, An Rou didn’t care.
“You admire Great Teacher Jin a lot, right?”
Sun Mo could sense An Rou’s feelings toward Jin Mujie. It was admiration and respect, an imitation of each and every single one of Jin Mujie’s qualities.
“Teacher Jin is the best teacher in the world.”
After An Rou said that, she realized that she was before Sun Mo. She quickly added, “Teacher Sun is very good too.”
“How do I compare against Teacher Jin?”
Sun Mo teased.
“Uhh...”
An Rou’s smiling face instantly wrinkled up into a bittergourd.
“Haha!”
Sun Mo rubbed An Rou’s head and said, “Alright, I was just kidding.”
“Teacher is so bad!”
An Rou pouted.
Compared to when they had just met, An Rou now acted a lot more naturally and was more relaxed when in front of Sun Mo. This change had unknowingly come to be.
To An Rou, Sun Mo wasn’t just a teacher, but he was also a friend whom she could talk to about anything. Many times, she would forget that Sun Mo was a teacher and instead, treated him as an elder brother who doted on her.
It wasn’t bad to keep on learning under his tutelage either!
An Rou sneaked a glance at Sun Mo and then suddenly came back to her senses. Her mentality wasn’t right. She’d be failing Teacher Jin to be thinking this.
“An Rou, what the hell are you thinking about?”
Although An Rou kept on warning herself, Sun Mo’s status in her heart still grew greater by the day.
Ding!
Favorable impression points from An Rou +100. Respect (2,900/10,000).
“Don’t be distracted. Focus on your cultivation.”
Sun Mo reminded. He had already gotten used to receiving favorable impression points from An Rou every now and then.
...
Two small heads observed from behind the door for a while before quietly shrinking back.
“Eldest Martial Sister, is Teacher planning on headhunting that An Rou?”
Lu Zhiruo looked very distressed. “But I’ve checked. She has a teacher.”
“So what if she does? It’s her honor to be able to learn from Teacher.”
Ying Baiwu suddenly spoke out, giving Lu Zhiruo a fright.
“Junior Martial Sister Baiwu is right. We shouldn’t let Teacher worry about such matters. I’ll take care of this personally, giving money and spirit stones to purchase that An Rou.”
Li Ziqi made the call.
“Huh? Should we watch on for a little more?”
Lu Zhiruo was a little scared. After all, headhunting students was a great taboo in the great teachers world. She was worried that it might affect her teacher’s reputation.
“There’s no need for that. This girl will have limitless prospects if she follows Teacher instead. We’re helping her.”
Ying Baiwu’s respect and trust toward Sun Mo was deeply engraved into her bones.
“That’s right.”
The little sunny egg nodded. “Who is her teacher?”
“Teacher Jin, Jin Mujie.”
Over the past few days, other than taking care of that hungover immortal crane, Lu Zhiruo had been spending the rest of her time to find out about An Rou’s information. She had gained a clear grasp of her situation.
“Teacher Jin?”
Li Ziqi furrowed her brows a little. If it was a close acquaintance, this wouldn’t be easy to deal with.
“Zhiruo, I didn’t know that you have the talent to be an informant.”
The iron-headed young girl was surprised.
“Please call me Senior Martial Sister Lu!”
Lu Zhiruo reminded her.
Junior Martial Sister Yaoguang was the one who had told her this information.
“Alright, Zhiruo!”
Ying Baiwu put her head out and secretly observed An Rou. She couldn’t tell what was so special about her.
(She isn’t beautiful. Although her figure isn’t flat like Ziqi’s, her butt is small, clearly one who isn’t good at childbearing [1]. What use would Teacher have for her?)
“Are you guys mistaken?”
Ying Baiwu doubted.
“What are you guys talking about?”
The voice that suddenly rang out from behind them gave the three girls a shock.
Li Ziqi turned and when she saw that it was An Xinhui, she quickly straightened her body, bowing to greet her. “Headmaster!”
After the little sunny egg called that, she heard ‘Mistress’ rang out from beside her. The voice was sweet and soft, like the rice dumplings eaten during the Dragon Boat Festival.
“Oh my, I didn’t expect that you, the papaya girl with the innocent face, have learned to curry up to others too.”
Li Ziqi hesitated if she should change her appellation toward An Xinhui. She wasn’t afraid to offend An Xinhui, but she was worried that Headmaster An might share pillow talk to Sun Mo that she didn’t respect her.
(What if Teacher doesn’t like me anymore? Wait a minute, given the current situation between Teacher and An Xinhui, there shouldn’t be any pillow talk going on, right?)
(Stay calm! Stay calm! I’m the eldest disciple. I mustn’t lose my composure.)
“Headmaster!”
Ying Baiwu didn’t think so much. (As long as you haven’t gotten married to Teacher, you aren’t my Mistress.) Moreover, the iron-headed young girl felt that given how outstanding their teacher was, in the future, An Xinhui might not be good enough for him anymore.
“Uhh!”
Upon hearing Lu Zhiruo’s term of address, An Xinhui’s heartbeat quickened and a hint of flush appeared on her face. (Oh my, Mistress? I suddenly feel that the pressure is very strong!)
“Headmaster, we’ll be going off to train!”
After saying that, Li Ziqi grabbed Lu Zhiruo and Ying Baiwu and then ran off.
...
“Sun Mo!”
When An Xinhui entered the backyard, she saw that Sun Mo was playing with something she didn’t know the name of, while concurrently guiding An Rou in her training.
“An Rou?”
Sun Mo was surprised. Wasn’t this Jin Mujie’s personal disciple?
“Headmaster!”
An Rou quickly greeted.
“Headmaster!”
Sun Mo greeted An Xinhui and then instructed An Rou, “Continue. Don’t stop!”
“Can you not act so distant with me? You can just call me by my name.”
An Xinhui rolled her eyes. She then recalled that there was a student around and instantly returned to her composure. “Cough cough, Sun Mo, are you free in the next three months?”
“What’s the matter?
(You can’t be sending me out on a work trip, right?)
“Do you want to head to the Battlegod Rampart to have fun for a few days?”
An Xinhui smiled. “It’ll be in the name of a work trip. All your expenses will be covered by the school.”
“Battlegod Rampart?”
Sun Mo frowned, finding it a little familiar-sounding.
“What place is that?”
An Rou was at the age where she was curious about everything, let alone it being something with such a domineering name.
“There’s a towering mountain that is 21.3 kilometers tall on the second level of the Darkness Continent. There are all sorts of mysterious murals carved onto its walls. If one looked at the murals and got enlightenment, they could become a battle god, being unrivaled in the world.”
An Xinhui explained.
“Many cultivators would stay at the Battlegod Canyon, some of them even staying for several decades to several centuries each time, all for the sake of gaining enlightenment from the Battlegod Catalog. It can be said that the most famous landmark on the second level of the Darkness Continent would be the Battlegod Canyon.”
“Were those murals engraved by someone?”
Sun Mo felt curious.
“It was said that a man who was unrivaled in the entire Middle-Earth Nine Provinces and the Darkness Continent had come to this towering mountain in his extreme loneliness. He slashed it with his sword, carving the Battlegod Catalog, which was the ultimate art he had learned, onto it. He then shattered the void and left the world.”
An Xinhui was sharing a story that everyone knew of, but it was unreliable in using to assess the actual situation. However, it was true that one could comprehend ultimate arts from the murals.
“Is it just a fraud?”
Sun Mo always maintained a dubious attitude toward things like this.
“No. When my grandfather was young, he stayed in the Battlegod Canyon and studied the murals for three years. He grew a lot stronger after that.”
If it wasn’t for her grandfather’s personal experience, given how wary An Xinhui was, she wouldn’t believe in things like this either.
“Why do you suddenly want me to go to this place?”
Sun Mo’s interest was piqued. Moreover, even if he couldn’t gain enlightenment of the Battlegod Catalog, he could treat it as a trip. He didn’t have to pay for anything.
“Didn’t you have a bet with Li Xiu that you’re going to rise by four stars consecutively? Given your personal disciples’ current cultivation tier, they wouldn’t be able to win in the personal disciples battle even in their dreams.
An Xinhui had fretted a lot for Sun Mo.
“Oh right, Teacher Jin will be going too. You can have exchanges with her.”
[1] The Chinese have an old belief that women with big butts will be good at giving birth to children.