Daily life of a teacher in the martial arts department

This is like a letter sent to the future, visible only to those in the future. Ji Chaoge waits here, hoping his beloved will come, but she doesn't.

"Is it because I'm actually afraid to use this program?"

"No...no, actually I used this program, and then she saw that this was something that happened in the 'future,' meant to make her 'go' to the future. But in reality, even if I didn't use this program, she should still be able to 'see' the future, right?"

Going to the future and then coming back to see the future are two different things: one is time travel, and the other is foreseeing the future. Although Ji Chaoge jokingly calls the former a high-end version of the latter, they are essentially two different abilities.

"Logically speaking, my use of this program also makes me one of many future possibilities..."

"Or is it that, in either future, I simply don't have the courage to use this program?"

"Or perhaps the likelihood of me using this program is so low that she didn't observe that future?"

"Or perhaps..."

Ji Chaoge looked thoughtful. He pressed the countdown button again, but the time displayed on the screen was now 240 seconds.

Each time, he would press the stop button with 1-5 seconds remaining, then refresh the timer, repeating this process tirelessly like a rhythmic machine. Several times, he would even close his eyes, deliberately obscuring his sense of time to ensure he wouldn't press the stop button before the countdown ended—all to introduce more variables into the future. This way, even if he didn't dare release the program, there was still a possibility the audio would leak out in the future... Of course. In the end, Ji Chaoge pressed the stop button every time.

Before we knew it, it was exactly 10 p.m.... and the beauty still hadn't arrived.

Even Ji Chaoge showed a headache at this moment.

He was certain he wasn't the cowardly type, but his beloved never came.

But in reality, the woman may have come, but after she came and learned everything she wanted to know, she left again.

Even Ji Chaoge couldn't have predicted these things accurately.

He frowned, lost in thought.

"Has she been here?"

Theoretically, the woman might have already been there and gotten Ji Chaoge's plan for free. The biggest problem is that she can negotiate with someone who has time manipulation abilities—they can take all your plans for free. But who is Ji Chaoge? Would he not have anticipated this?

"No, she probably didn't come. To preserve this memory and ensure her stance, I'll definitely use the alien's detection methods as leverage to sign a contract with her. If she chooses to take advantage of me and leave, then the contract will disappear..."

"To get this plan for free, she deliberately went back in time? No, there's no need. Killing Cain was our shared desire. I didn't expect to get anything more from her; on the contrary, I could give her more. She had absolutely no need to go back in time just to keep me in the dark..."

Ji Chaoge remained calm, her slender fingers tapping on the cold countertop.

"The alien detection program—if I were to sign a contract with her, the transaction would definitely be in the future. Therefore, as long as she wants this, she can't go back in time, and I will inevitably retain this memory..."

"In that case, there are only two possibilities."

Ji Chaoge curled the corners of her lips, revealing a contented smile.

"First, I'm a useless coward. I don't dare to send out this program at all. This kind of future doesn't exist at all. Hongyan couldn't observe that future."

He raised his head and looked out the window, directly at the bright moon, his eyes fixed on it with a strange fierceness and mockery.

"Secondly... on the true timeline unique to Hongyan, her ability to foresee the future malfunctioned. Therefore, she couldn't see it. So, what could the problem be...?"

Ji Chaoge took out his pipe, took a light puff, and began a new round of brainstorming.

When facing someone like P.S., the more you do, the more mistakes you make. But when facing someone like Ji Chaoge, everything you do or don't do is wrong, unless you just attack him head-on.

Chapter Sixty-Four: Old Wounds

"Ms. Shenzhou-9, how are you feeling now?"

"I feel okay."

"...Excuse me for being nosy, but is your punctuation just a habit, or is it some kind of lingering effect?"

"My own reasons and aftereffects are unrelated."

"...That's good. Well then, please take a short rest...There might be some bad news coming up."

"Ah."

Relying on the *Yinhensheng* plant that Kui brought from the Black Dragon Ruins, the military successfully treated Shen Jiu. Afterwards, Kui conducted some investigations... The military analyzed the components of the two *Yinhensheng* plants and added them to the prescription left by Feng Yunke. However, neither had any effect, showing neither side effects nor positive effects. With only two sets of materials remaining, they had no choice but to use the *Yinhensheng* plant that appeared to be unaffected by radiation. It worked instantly, successfully treating Shen Jiu.

Kui discovered that the plant he used was the same one he had later found outside.

He did indeed do some thinking about the Yinhen Sheng, but he misunderstood many things. He thought that the first Yinhen Sheng would kill Shen Jiu, and that he, who brought the Yinhen Sheng, would also be in an awkward situation. This was a complete misunderstanding. There are countless ways to kill Shen Jiu, and there is no need to go through such a long and complicated process.

Even Kui, who directly encountered Ji Chaoge and Cain within the Black Dragon Ruins, believed that Shenzhou-9 was currently in good condition, let alone the military.

When Shen Jiu first awoke, her speech was punctuated with some strange pauses... This was a side effect of the backlash from her abilities, resulting in the loss of some of her language skills. Therefore, when she tried to familiarize herself with the language again, she experienced a sense of unfamiliarity and awkwardness. However, after a period of practice, she could still speak normally... But if this happened repeatedly, it would be quite normal to truly lose her language ability; it's common for a human child to be blind, deaf, and mute.

The military personnel quickly delivered the letter that Hiramura Tanzaku had left with, and also told her about the aftermath of the Battle of Osaka. After reading the letter, Kamiku fell into a long silence.

The military personnel said, "Out of respect for Mr. Himura, we have not been monitoring his movements, and we will not do so until he comes to us... Your sister is currently in the Seven Stars; would you like to go see her?"

Shenzhou-9 slowly shook its head.

"I think I need to calm down first."

-

"Cough...cough cough!"

On her sickbed, Wang Qiushui coughed painfully. She chanted a short syllable, and a soft light emanated from her hands, which made her feel a little better.

Sometimes you really have to admit that people's physical constitutions cannot be generalized.

Ying Qin Guan fought Ye Jiao Fang, and in the end, half of his heart was shattered, his internal energy entered his body, and half of his meridians were torn apart. He was hospitalized, but he was discharged even earlier than Nephalem. Now, he has almost no major problems. Perhaps after he turns one hundred, these accumulated hidden injuries will erupt... but that's a long way off.

Looking across the autumn waters, things weren't so easy.

She was defeated by Ye Jiaofang and struck by a sword. Although she quickly escaped and used several spells to heal herself, she still suffered many problems.

But these problems don't actually stem from Ye Jiaofang's attack alone.

If it were Wang Qiushui, in her thirties or forties, who had received the same blow from Zhong Ye Jiao Fang, a month would have passed, and while she might not be as lively and energetic as Ying Qin Guan, she should at least be mostly recovered. But as the saying goes, no one stays eighteen forever, and youth has its advantages; even a novice can defeat a master with a flurry of punches. No matter the world, there's a universal phenomenon: the recovery and resilience of the elderly are tragically limited.

In terms of overall combat power, in the extraordinary world, perhaps the elderly have an advantage. But in modern times, there's no such thing; everyone has an upper limit. Wang Qiushui suffered from her age. Her like-minded partner, Mingxuan Hou, was also a god-like figure who had lived for so long, yet he died of old age so suddenly. Ji Chaoge swore to heaven that he really didn't do it; Mingxuan Hou still had a lot of value to be extracted from him, but he suddenly died. What could be done?

No way.

Wang Qiushui and Ye Jiaofang are both on the verge of death. They are from the same era and have lived for over a thousand years. But if you think, "They have lived for so long, they can definitely continue to live," you are wrong. Their condition is like a single-player novel with a million words and less than a dozen readers. They could die silently at any time.

Unless you are the progenitor, death will forever haunt you.

Ye Jiao's attack accelerated the evaporation of Wang Qiushui's life force... The hidden injuries erupted, causing a chain reaction, and her body began to naturally collapse. She didn't know when death would come, but she was certain that she didn't have much time left.

"There's no time... I must become the progenitor."

【"immediately!"】

Because she missed the two major battles on July 15th and July 31st, Wang Qiushui's intelligence was quite outdated... but she wasn't the only one behind. Even those who knew a lot dared not say anything; Cain could read minds and memories unconditionally, and uttering a single careless word would send them to hell.

But even though she hadn't revealed any flaws yet, the letter sent to the future had already seen through much of her.

She struggled to her feet, dressed, and uttered two syllables, causing the space to distort. She planned to find the Black Dragon Emperor; she needed to obtain an ancestral destiny as quickly as possible, and there was no time to delay.

She went to that place... This was Ji Chaoge's former hiding place, a basement in a villa in a small border town of the Botao Kingdom. The villa's owner was an elderly, reclusive wealthy man, and no one would have imagined that the emperor of the Black Dragon Empire was hiding under the house.

In the past, she could always find Ji Chaoge here... Of course, Wang Qiushui didn't know Ji Chaoge, she only knew Wenren Geshi.

However, this time, when she arrived, the small basement was completely empty, without a single person in sight. It was quiet and cold, and even the desk where Ji Chaoge usually sat was covered with a thin layer of dust.

"Not...not here?!"

"How could this be..."

Wang Qiushui took a few steps, but then felt a sudden discomfort in her lungs and began to cough violently.

"What happened during my break...?"

Amidst her violent coughing, Wang Qiushui didn't forget to step forward and rummage through the desk, hoping to find something. Perhaps a letter left for herself, written in Wenren Geshi's habitual mystical tone, something like, "Wang Qiushui, when you see this letter..."

But... there was nothing there.

Ji Chaoge left Wang Qiushui nothing; it was as if she had been suddenly abandoned by the whole world.

Chapter Sixty-Five: Sometimes I Believe, Sometimes I Don't

On the evening of August 14th, the moon was bright and the stars were few.

Although it's not yet the Mid-Autumn Festival, the bright moon hanging in the sky has already begun to exhaust the good condition that will last until tomorrow. In the writings of poets and writers, it might be described as "The bright moon rises from the Tianshan Mountains, amidst the vast sea of ​​clouds" or "Stars move over every household, the moon shines brightly in the heavens." In the eyes of lovers, it might be "The moon is so beautiful tonight."

The Imperial College was eerily quiet. The sweltering heat of summer had passed, and although the weather hadn't cooled down yet, the unbearable heat was gone. However, the students, having been battered by the scorching sun for a month, seemed to have developed an aversion to the outdoors. Therefore, the Imperial College had recently appeared rather desolate, except when night fell, the magical circuits inside the air conditioner units were activated, creating a neat, uniform glow.

On the quiet path, Zhong Hongyu, carrying a sword pouch and draped in a moonlight-scented veil, walked through the long red maple forest like a lone hero. But she wasn't there to save the world, nor was there a princess waiting to be rescued; she was simply there to practice her swordsmanship.

This was true before, it is true now, and it will be true in the future.

Zhong Hongyu arrived at the "Zhige" martial arts arena... This is an open-air arena, open 24 hours a day. As long as it's not during winter or summer vacation, there are always people there. However, it's different during winter and summer vacations, especially this recent summer, when it's almost deserted. It's not that the students of the Imperial Academy aren't working hard. After all, the martial arts department only has a few classes and a few students, and it's perfectly normal for most of them to go home for winter and summer vacations.

Zhong Hongyu walked through the long red maple forest and arrived at Zhige, where there was already a figure. Zhong Hongyu looked closely and saw that it was Ying Qinguan.

Ying Qin Guan almost never appears at the martial arts arena... let alone him. Even the other martial arts instructors, aside from teaching, don't come here. Modern training methods are too perfect; they reach their peak long ago and can't progress any further, so they don't come here unless it's for teaching.

The only exception... Zhong Hongyu remembered that it was more than a year ago, when the senior students were graduating, that Ying Qin Guan pushed open the door of the martial arts arena and taught her a set of techniques whose power she still didn't know. At that time, he was the one who found her, but now, a year later, their roles seem to have been reversed.

Neither side responded.

Zhong Hongyu knew that with her strength, Ying Qin Guan must have noticed her long ago when she saw him, but he made no move.

He stood in the very center of the training ground, holding a jet-black Tang sword in his hand... It was the most prized creation of Marquis Mingxuan, the Ten Absolute Techniques. In this world where even 'magic wands' didn't exist, this weapon could already be called a divine artifact. It was originally crafted by Marquis Mingxuan as a gimmick to promote 'Tongliu,' but it ultimately came to nothing. Later, it was stolen by Ye Jiaofang through various means and became his weapon. After defeating Ye Jiaofang, this thing naturally became a trophy of Ying Qin Pass. The military, taking advantage of the situation, gave this weapon, which few people could actually use, to Ying Qin Pass.

Compared to the hope of the founding emperor of the Seven Luminaries, the Ten Absolute Machines, few people recognize them. After all, that was hundreds of years ago, and the idea of ​​making Tongliu the "official school" has long since died out. Even if someone has heard of the Ten Absolute Machines, they would not know what this weapon looks like.

However, martial artists don't judge a weapon by its reputation. With modern technology, most cold weapons are now very similar. Compared to cold weapons, fists and feet, which can be imbued with internal energy and have a faster attack speed at short range, are obviously more favored by martial artists. Therefore, there are very few truly good swords or sabers, although there are quite a few famous ones.

But the jet-black Tang sword still immediately caught Zhong Hongyu's eye. Its jet-black color seemed to devour even the moonlight in the sky.

Having served as the sword masters of Ye Jiaofang and Ying Qinguan for two generations, if this were a cultivation world, even ordinary iron would have given birth to a sword spirit. Unfortunately, this is not a cultivation world. No matter how strong a person is, they cannot cut through the sun and moon. To grasp a sword and die on the road of charging is the most dignified way for a man to die.

"Red Jade".

Ying Qin Guan suddenly spoke up. He never looked up or looked directly at Zhong Hongyu, yet he accurately called out her name.

Do you believe in fate?

Zhong Hongyu walked into the training ground and slowly took off the sword pouch she was carrying.

She said softly, "I didn't believe it at first."

"originally?"

"Yes, originally."