Daily life of a teacher in the martial arts department

Chapter Twenty-Six: Response

"Misfortunes never come singly..."

Ying Qin Guan sighed and stood in front of his door.

Getting lost and forgetting his keys left him somewhat bewildered.

"Couldn't you invent a door that doesn't require a key, where you can open it with something you'd always carry with you, like a finger or something..."

Ying Qin was thinking about all sorts of random things, while preparing to go downstairs to ask the dormitory supervisor to open the door.

—Because he had listened to the Nocturne earlier, he was in a relatively good mood now and not as furious as last time.

As he turned around, he happened to see Mu Nandong walking by with a sour face. Judging from his expression, it was as if he had forgotten his keys and the landlord owed him eight million.

When Ying Qin Guan saw him, he originally wanted to extend Er Kang's hand and say "Fellow Daoist, please wait," but seeing his expression, he inexplicably felt flustered and was suppressed in terms of aura. He felt extremely scared and immediately chickened out, intending to obediently go down to find the dormitory supervisor to open the door.

Suddenly, the other person stopped and looked up at them coldly.

"You forgot your keys again?"

With that expression and that aura, even if he said "you are already dead," Ying Qin Guan would not be surprised at all.

But the platypus's soul is immortal, Ying Qin Guan said vaguely, "For some reasons that are inconvenient to explain..."

It's inconvenient to say (×)

Forgot (√)

"You don't seem to have a bad memory. You can't judge a book by its cover." Mu Nandong walked to Ying Qin Guan's door, put his hand in his pocket, and seemed to be planning to use the same thing from last time to open the door for Ying Qin Guan.

Ying Qin Guan suspected that he was being sarcastic or disrespectful, but he wasn't sure.

But he stopped halfway through his outstretched hand, squinted, and asked, "Judging from the direction you're walking, are you planning to go downstairs to find the dorm supervisor? I'm right here, why don't you come find me?"

Your expression makes me feel like I owe you eight million!

Ying Qin Guan mentally complained loudly, but dared not show it on his face. He scratched the back of his head and said awkwardly, "I think you might be very busy..." or something like that.

"If you don't come to me and go to the dorm manager instead, you will waste a hundred times more time and get complaints from menopausal aunties. In comparison, it only takes a few seconds to ask me, and my answer is quick whether I agree or not, and the same goes for opening the door."

Mu Nandong opened the door, frowned, and said, "It only takes a few seconds to try, with such low cost and such a high rate of return, why are you unwilling to give it a shot?"

"Is the reason that you think I'm too busy valid?"

"Ah..." Ying Qin Guan hurriedly racked his brains and explained, "Because you always look very serious, as if you have something important to do..."

"Is that so...? Perhaps the students think so too, I understand."

Mu Nandong nodded, intending to leave.

Before Ying Qin Guan could even breathe a sigh of relief, Mu Nan Dong suddenly stopped and turned around, saying, "By the way... I asked Wu Chang Ying about you. I heard you know something like... Mind Slash?"

"Yes," Ying Qin Guan said, "Using a specific stance, eye contact, and subtle facial expressions and gestures, coupled with a certain amount of internal energy stimulation, you can create the illusion that your opponent is about to be killed. The stronger the opponent, the clearer the perception. As for you, you'll probably only perceive a blurry mess..."

Mu Nandong nodded, but Ying Qin Guan didn't know if he understood or not.

"This skill is quite good." Mu Nandong's tone remained indifferent as he said, "One of the most criticized aspects of the Royal Academy's Martial Arts Department students is that they have never actually been on the battlefield and do not know what it feels like to kill or be killed. This skill can greatly enrich their experience. I will suggest to the Dean that we add an elective course on 'being killed'... or even a compulsory course."

Ying Qin Guan's awkward smile gradually froze.

"Of course, you'll probably get a higher salary too."

Ying Qin Guan's stiff smile immediately turned sincere.

"But if that's the case... you were the one who did that incident in the cafeteria? The student who suddenly collapsed?"

Ying Qin Guan vehemently denied it, saying, "That's not true. I'm not that kind of person."

"As far as I know, bored people have one thing in common: they like to play cards. It's a waste of time, money, and nothing to show for it," Mu Nandong said, launching a sweeping generalization. Then he added, "So you don't like playing cards?"

"Of course, I've sworn never to play cards again, I'm sworn to never coexist with Time and Space Killer... Wait, is there any necessary logical connection between these two things?"

Mu Nandong didn't answer Ying Qinguan, but instead said, "The Imperial Academy isn't a battlefield. The experience of being beheaded during training is good for students. But if someone suddenly cuts off their head, it's more likely to cause them shock, especially when there's a huge difference in strength. It's basically meaningless, and we'll even receive complaints from the students' parents..."

"Hey! I already said it wasn't me!" the platypus stubbornly defended itself. "I, Ying Qinguan, am a true man of integrity, I say what I mean and mean what I say. If I said I wasn't executed, then I wasn't executed!"

However, Mu Nandong seemed not to have heard Ying Qin Guan's words at all, and said with a calm expression, "So I suggest that in order to avoid the dean receiving complaints from parents again, and to avoid leaving students with nightmare memories, we should do this kind of thing less often, or even not at all."

"Alright, alright, it seems there's no point in me saying anything." Ying Qin Guan was almost fooling himself. He crossed his arms and said, "Once a person has made up their mind, what others say is just a passing cloud."

"Hmph..." Mu Nandong snorted coldly, not fooled by Ying Qin Guan at all. He said, "Don't do stupid things like forgetting your keys again. Your incredible memory has forced me to say this a second time."

"Are you a mother hen..." Ying Qin Guan muttered under his breath, then said, "I know, I know! Goodbye!"

As he spoke, he went into the room and was about to close the door. But Mu Nandong suddenly reached out and blocked the door.

"Eh?"

While Ying Qin Guan was puzzled, Mu Nan Dong took a deep breath. His face was gloomy, and his expression was so terrifying that it seemed as if Ying Qin Guan had cheated on him. "Let me make this clear beforehand: I don't care about your thoughts, and I despise meaningless social interactions. Furthermore, I don't need you to stand up for me, nor do I believe you are right. However, my father taught me to respond to those who have good intentions towards me, so..."

Mu Nandong took a deep breath, clenched his teeth, and squeezed out a few words with great difficulty.

"So, about the cafeteria..."

"Thank you."

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Entrustment

"A true man should carry a three-foot sword and achieve unparalleled feats!"

"Though this journey is fraught with danger, we vow to never be outdone!"

"There is no battle in the world that I cannot win."

"The brave are angry and draw their swords against the stronger; the cowardly are angry and draw their swords against the weaker... Unfortunately, I am always the coward, because in this world, no one is stronger than me."

"Goddess, help me!"

"Fuck you! This is idiotic!"

The thrill of winning the Qin Pass only truly ignites during card games, and shouting out the generals' lines is part of the romance of card game players—except, of course, the last line.

—Speaking of which, one-third of the dialogue was copied from historical records, one-third was made up by the card players themselves based on the character settings and battle records, and the remaining one-third was written by the Time and Space Kill board game company.

Time & Space Kill board game company once spent a lot of money to hire an alchemist to make a set of talking general cards. Each card was auctioned off for a high price. Time & Space Kill company did not try to make easy money by replicating this set of cards and contradicting itself. It has always maintained its "uniqueness". Even if a certain card is damaged, it will never be replaced.

They will only release a premium voice card when a new general is released.

The most expensive item sold was the voice card for the Gold Card God General, with a single card selling for tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of pounds. The most expensive one was the "God? Fighting God" voice card, a prize from the Time Cup fifteen years ago, which sold for three million pounds and was resold five years ago for four million two hundred thousand pounds.

Later, Time and Space Kill sent applications to the various voice card holders and released some of the generals' voice lines. As for the rest, according to them, the card owners did not agree, and since the cards already belonged to them, the company had no right to release exclusive voice lines.

Therefore, Ying Qinguan still doesn't know what voice line has been set for him.

"This stupid game, I'm not playing it anymore!"

Ying Qin Guan enters the game to show off, plays cards with a worried expression, AFKs after dying, reviews the game and criticizes others, fails to criticize others and becomes a riddle teller, gets exposed and then gets angry and throws his cards to quit the game in one go.

He stormed out of the board game store, and the owner chuckled and said, "Welcome back next time."

Ying Qinguan shouted, "I will never play this trash game again!"

The boss shrugged and said, "You always say that."

"I'm serious this time!"

Ying Qin Guan once again uttered harsh words and left.

"What bad luck so early in the morning..."

Today is Saturday, and Ying Qin Guan, unusually, got up early to play a game, only to be the first to die in every match, while watching others play long, drawn-out games... Who could stand this frustration!

"Damn it, should I try to change my luck? I feel like my luck has been terrible lately. Last time I helped someone with a errand, a monster killed me on the way..."

That's what they say, but Ying Qin Guan had no intention of taking any action at all; his lack of initiative can only be described as tragic... except for fighting and playing cards.

He's open to any challenge in battle, but when it comes to cards, he takes the initiative.

"Where are you going?" Ying Qin Guan asked irritably, but then he heard a voice in front of him. He looked up and saw Wu Changying.

Wu Changying looked a little surprised and said, "You're going the wrong way."

"Walking the wrong way...?" Ying Qin Guan was a little confused. "I was just wandering around. What's this talk about going the wrong way or not?"

"Wandering around...looks like you've been forgotten. I'll give that guy a piece of my mind when we get back. So forgetful at such a young age, why didn't he forget his keys?" Ignoring Ying Qin Guan's face darkening from the general outcry, Wu Chang Ying briefly explained, "Come with me. The midterm and final exams for the Martial Arts Department students are different; we need to gather with the teachers for a discussion and to assign tasks. It's a tradition in the Martial Arts Department. I guess that guy thought everyone knew, so he didn't notify us..."

"Luckily I met you, let's come together."

-

The two entered a conference room inside the Bird's Nest, where a dozen or so people were sitting around a huge round table.

These dozen or so people are the teachers of the Martial Arts Department.

There are few students in the Martial Arts Department, and even fewer teachers in the Martial Arts Department.

Learning martial arts costs a lot of money.

It sounds like alchemy, both requiring a significant investment. However, alchemy can generate income; various alchemical equipment and trinkets can be sold for money. Although the money is spent, if you perform well, you can recoup a large portion, or even more, before you even graduate. In contrast, in martial arts... the resources consumed are gone once consumed.

Revenue generation?

It's not that it's impossible, but it's really difficult for students.

Coupled with the exorbitant tuition fees of the Martial Arts Department, if an average middle-class family wants to send their children to the Martial Arts Department, their entire family will lose its previous dignity.

In such an environment, there are fewer students in the martial arts department, fewer people study it, and even fewer people master it.

Then this is the Imperial Academy, and the Imperial Academy's requirements for teachers are definitely not low. But... let's put it this way, those who are good enough for the Imperial Academy are basically not good enough for the Imperial Academy, and those who are good enough for the Imperial Academy don't want to just be ordinary martial arts department teachers.

Because martial artists, alchemists, and mages are all different. Alchemy and magic can be continuously improved even within the school. In fact, they can receive various resources here and be free from external disturbances, allowing them to live a better life.

But martial artists are different; they have almost no way to grow effectively in the Imperial Academy—at least that's the case with the teachers.

For the vast majority of younger martial arts instructors, the martial arts department is just a stepping stone; they come here hoping to one day leave.

Under these circumstances, it is only natural that the Imperial Academy has few teachers in the Martial Arts Department—and for this reason, the Imperial Academy has had to repeatedly reduce the number of students admitted to the Martial Arts Department, thus creating a vicious cycle.

Ying Qin Guan casually picked a seat and sat down.

On the way here, Wu Changying had already given him a general overview.

The Imperial Academy's exams are a bit complicated, divided into departments.