Daily life of a teacher in the martial arts department

“I can hardly be considered an excellent educator.” Wu Changying shook his head, not minding Ye Qu’s polite words. He paused for a moment and asked, “Then why did you come here?”

"A woman..."

Nocturne pushed open the door to Jiu Yi's office, her emerald green pupils reflecting the sky outside the window.

"Come... let this journey come to an end."

Wu Changying was slightly taken aback, clearly Ye Qu's way of speaking was not easy to understand, but he still reacted very quickly and asked, "You want to resign?"

"Yes."

"...Although it might be presumptuous of me to ask this, I still want to ask, why?"

Nocturne smiled helplessly and replied:

"A choice made out of necessity."

Chapter Forty Meeting

Himura Danzao put on her eye mask, intending to rest for a while.

He is currently on a plane, flying to a remote little country... This trip is on the orders of Ji Chaoge, who needs Himura Tan's arrival.

The reason... wasn't given, but there was nothing that could be done. He wanted Himura Tanzaku to go, so she couldn't refuse.

After days of travel, Himura Tanzakura was quite tired, so she put on an eye mask and planned to rest for a while.

But as soon as the blindfold was put on, he reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, his fur standing on end, and he abruptly ripped off the blindfold.

The world before my eyes... was all gray and white.

Himura Tanzakura looked up and saw the man's magazine, which was half-turned, and the coffee that had been knocked over by the child, the liquid splashing and lingering in mid-air. She showed a look of horror and subconsciously stepped back, trying to avoid the flight attendant who was wading through the scalding coffee.

Time... has stopped.

Himura Tanzakura realized what was happening, but before he could verify the conclusion, a voice rang in his ears.

"It's not that time has stopped, lady... I've just accelerated your thinking speed by ten thousand times. Feel it; right now, your thinking speed is nearly five hundred times faster than Kui's."

The speed increased by ten thousand times, and then by five hundred times compared to Kui... Hisumura Tan's primary focus wasn't actually on the ten thousand-fold speed increase, but rather on these two obvious comparisons. If this statement were true, wouldn't Kui's thinking speed be twenty times faster than hers?

He wanted to get up and speak to observe the situation, but as soon as he moved, he pulled the semi-transparent "Himura Tansakura" out of that body. Himura Tansakura turned her head and saw that she was still in the action of taking off her blindfold, while the semi-transparent Himura Tansakura was already able to move freely in this gray world.

"I think this might make communication easier."

A bright spot appeared in the gray world, a woman with a blurry figure. In this gray world, she and the soul-detached Himura Danzai were the only beings with color.

"..Who are you?"

Even Himura Danzao, when faced with this situation, could only ask a pointless and unoriginal question like "Who are you?"

Who I am is not important.

Clearly, the other party's appearance in this manner indicated that she was going to be the riddle teller, and naturally she wouldn't answer Himura Dan's question. She said meaningfully, "The important thing is you, Himura Dan, your fate."

".."

Himura remained silent.

The woman didn't seem to care and said, "I'll be blunt. That man is summoning you. Do you know why he wants you to go?"

".."

Himura Danzao remained silent. If the situation weren't against him, he would surely have retorted with a few sarcastic remarks. Although the exchange was brief, he realized that the person opposite him was an even more enigmatic riddle-maker than himself. If he knew the answer, the other person certainly wouldn't have asked the question.

As expected, the woman didn't expect Himura Tan's answer at all. She smiled and said, "It's okay if you don't know, I'll tell you... He is going to inherit the destiny of the Earth Mother Goddess and a ceremony will be held."

"...?!"

Hiyoma Tan's heart was slightly startled. The other party's words revealed too much information. The Earth Mother Goddess was a piece of information that only Ying Qin Guan, Yorozuya, and he and Shen Jiu knew. It was not surprising that the other party was so powerful and knew about this. But she said that the man was going to inherit the fate of the Earth Mother Goddess... The Earth Mother Goddess was killed by Ying Qin Guan himself. How could she fall into the hands of others?

Himura Tanzakura instinctively wanted to speak, but her mouth closed halfway.

“It seems you’ve figured it out too,” the woman said. “That’s right, it’s the Joker. His methods are beyond your imagination.”

"Needless to say about his methods, yours have already exceeded my expectations..."

Himura Tan's heart was secretly alarmed, but on the surface she remained calm.

“The clown took some things from the Earth Mother Goddess, things that were enough to be used as ritual offerings,” the woman said. “Himura Tansaku, what are your thoughts on this?”

"What are your thoughts, young man...? Why do you ask this?"

"Don't answer questions with questions, or you'll easily get beaten up." The woman extended her index finger and gently shook it.

"You're more likely to get beaten up than I am when you talk like that..."

"You know perfectly well what you're thinking," the woman said. "Himurura Tan'er, your facade is quite impressive. But it's useless in front of Wenren Geshi. He's a top-tier psychologist; you're like an eight-year-old child in front of him, unable to hide anything..."

"No, even I can see it, let alone him. Himura Tan's plan is to use him to obtain the Primordial Destiny and remove the Undying Worm Virus from your body. Then, you'll find an opportunity to join forces with the military, working from within and without, to defeat him..."

Hishimura Danzao asked in a hoarse voice, "You can read my mind?!"

"It is indeed possible... but in reality, it is completely unnecessary. You can tell at a glance because you are too easy to understand."

".."

Himura Danzao chose to remain silent once again. Sometimes it's not that a particular person chooses to be silent, but rather that in such situations, only silence can preserve one's last shred of dignity.

The woman's voice was calm as she said, "You don't need to worry about whether what I said is true or false. You will know the truth in time. Let me ask you one more question, Himura Tan's Sakura. If Wenren Geshi wants to inherit the destiny of the Earth Mother Goddess this time, what do you think?"

This question from a woman is quite intriguing. Rather than asking "What do you think?", it's more like asking "What do you want to do?" What she really wants to ask is probably the latter.

What does Himura Danzakura want to do?

Hisumura Tan's eyes flickered as he gazed at the woman. He pursed his lips slightly but remained silent.

Because some questions don't even need an answer; the questioner knows the answer before even asking it.

“Yes, it’s obvious what you’ll do…” the woman sighed and said, “You’ve joined his camp for two reasons: first, to obtain the Primordial Destiny and eliminate the Undying Worm Virus; second, to defeat him. If he’s really going there to hold a ceremony, then it’s like giving you a tremendous opportunity to accomplish both of these things at the same time. What you’ll do is self-evident.”

Himura Tanzaku nodded slightly and said, "Yes."

"So, under that premise, let me ask you one more question."

The woman said, "If you were Wenren Geshi, and if you knew that Feicun Tanying was a traitor, would you call this unstable traitor back when you were about to hold your ceremony?"

"...What exactly are you trying to say?"

Chapter 41 The Voice of the Heart

(PS: 64 missing)

If what she said is true, and Wenren Geshi really is going to hold a ceremony to seize the destiny of the Earth Mother Goddess, and if he really does see that she has a rebellious streak and is a traitor like Ichimaru Gin, then why would Wenren Geshi call her over in the first place?

This was an answer that wasn't hard to come to. Hishimura Tan's reaction was quick; she whispered, "A test? A deterrent?"

"Yes, and not entirely." The woman was quite satisfied with Hisumura Tan's quick reaction, but it was only right that she recognized this.

"He is confident he can kill you, so he is testing you. Don't doubt his trump card. If he wants to kill you, you will definitely not escape, whether it is a battle on the plains or in the city... But for someone like him, it doesn't matter whether it's a plain or a city."

Wenren Geshi, thirty-five years old, has a hobby of massing troops and using area-of-effect attacks to clear the ground, whether it's a plain or a city, he does it without hesitation, probably in some people's eyes "a person who achieves great things does not concern himself with trifles".

The woman paused slightly, observing Hisumura Tan's reaction. Seeing that he was deep in thought, she remained silent, waiting for Hisumura Tan to sort things out.

"One polishing, one warning."

After a moment, Himura Tan's thoughts cleared, and she said, "If the boy makes a move, he'll take me away. If the boy doesn't, it will still serve as a deterrent and a promise of a better future..."

"You're pretty much right," the woman said meaningfully. "But if you make a move, he might not necessarily kill you, and if you don't, he might not necessarily let you go. It all depends on how you behave at the time."

"...Why are you telling me these things?"

“Don’t rush to end this topic.” The woman shook her head and said, “I just said ‘yes and no.’ Wenren Geshi did this for more than one reason. He certainly wanted to warn and intimidate you. But that was just a side effect. More importantly, it was a test, an experiment, of fate and destiny.”

These words were somewhat mysterious, and Hishimura Tan's expression didn't change much. She simply said in a low voice, "I'd like to hear the details."

"The progenitor will face a thirty-seventh tribulation, known as the Human Tribulation," the woman said. "Like the legendary Mu family ancestor who was feared to encounter the last one. Or the progenitor in the movie 'The Nameless Swordsman of Southern Qin.' Both of these progenitors encountered humans during their thirty-sixth tribulation, and their fates were controlled by them... Regardless of whether these legends and movies are true or false, this phenomenon is real."

"The Primordial Ancestors were beings intolerable to Heaven and Earth. Humans wanted to kill them, other races wanted to kill them, and even the world itself wanted to kill them. In cultivation novels, there's a saying about 'seizing the creation of Heaven and Earth,' and the Primordial Ancestors were exactly like that—thieves of Heaven and Earth. Therefore, to deal with the Primordial Ancestors, the Thirty-Seventh Tribulation was created, beyond the Thirty-Six Tribulations. If the first Thirty-Six Tribulations were a vague manifestation of the will of Heaven and Earth, then the Thirty-Seventh Tribulation is the concrete manifestation of the world's will, also known as 'Heaven's Will'..."

Himura Tanzakura seemed thoughtful. He knew all about what the woman was saying; Shin-Kyu had vaguely mentioned these things to him before. Therefore, Himura Tanzakura quickly accepted this explanation.

The woman continued, "The Earth Mother Goddess and Ye Jiaofang, they will be resurrected, or when they clearly show their will to become the progenitor and put it into action, they will encounter the thirty-seventh tribulation... It's hard to say. I'm sure that the Earth Mother Goddess's tribulation was the thirty-seventh tribulation, the human tribulation, but Ye Jiaofang's tribulation was not the will of heaven, but his own choice."

Himura Tan's voice finally broke through his silence. He frowned and said, "You mean, he's going to use me to block the Thirty-Seventh Tribulation?"

“If that were all, I wouldn’t have said so much just now.” The woman shook her head and said, word by word, “He called you over... hoping you would become his thirty-seventh tribulation!”

"...?!"

"As I said, this was a test of fate and destiny for him, and also an experiment. He wanted to confirm whether the Human Tribulation would definitely exist, and whether its intensity would definitely affect the person undergoing it. After all, there are only a handful of people who can influence him. Finally, he also wanted to confirm whether the Human Tribulation could be controlled by humans if it was inevitable. For example, if you went and took action, and no one else came along, then he could basically confirm that the Human Tribulation could be controlled by humans. Although it's not very rigorous, I'm afraid no one is qualified to conduct such experiments frequently to verify their ideas."

Let me... become his thirty-seventh tribulation?!

Hisumura Tan's feelings became complicated. When he first learned about this, his first thought was to pull off a big heist and travel the world with Shin-Kyu. But according to what the other side said, the man not only foresaw this, but had also long ago used him as a tool to test fate and destiny.

At this moment, Himura Tanzakura clearly sensed the huge gap in their respective positions. Ever since she agreed to cooperate with him, she had been a pawn in his hands, and all the seemingly tempting conditions were nothing more than bait thrown out by him.

".."

After a long silence, Himura Tanzaku spoke again, asking a question he had already asked before. But this time, the meaning behind his question was completely different.

"Why are you telling me all this?"

The woman gazed silently at Himura Tanzaku, without uttering a word.

Himura Tanzakura met her gaze, feeling utterly uncertain.

"Life, and some intangible things—which is more important...? Himura, I won't force you anything, nor can I. In fact, whatever you do, from your own perspective, is not wrong; you just want to live, and there's nothing wrong with that. But similarly, if you choose those intangible things, some people will be happier..."

She paused slightly before continuing, "Wenren Geshi, his magnanimity is far greater than you imagine, I can tell you that with certainty. If you truly continue to assist him to the very end, then after everything has settled down, even knowing that you intend to betray him, he will prepare a ceremony for you to inherit the ancestral destiny, and then descend from the sky in a magnificent display, nailing your traitorous corpse to the wall."

“I’m telling you all this not so that you’ll help him. But you should also know this: it’s your right, Himura Tanzakura. I’m telling you everything in the hope that in the end, you can make a choice that you won’t regret even if ten, a hundred, or a thousand years have passed. But I don’t want this ‘finally’ to refer to the ceremony on July 31st. Even if you die, you can’t die in a place like that.”

The gray world gradually melted away, and Hisumura Tan's consciousness blurred. A huge suction force came from the body behind him, trying to pull him into it.

"In the near future, will you choose life, or something that is ethereal yet undeniably real...? Listen carefully to the voice of your own heart."

Chapter Forty-Two: Courage Will Be Forged

Inside Mu Nandong's private alchemy workshop, he stood in front of the experimental table, occasionally chanting incantations and using some basic magic to inscribe magic circuits.