Daily life of a teacher in the martial arts department

Ying Qin sighed with concern and looked outside.

Shen Xin lay lazily in the chair, his body perfectly upright, a true tough guy. Noticing Ying Qin Guan's gaze, he became angry and threw the blackboard at him, which Ying Qin Guan dodged.

Jiu Yi and his wealthy girlfriend were surfing at sea. Since getting a girlfriend, he has become somewhat of a recluse. He is rarely seen at board game arcades and rarely participates in any major events. He is truly a winner in life.

Nephalem, wearing sunglasses, a tasteless floral shirt, and beach shorts, was sunbathing. His assistant, Silver, was running around beside him, glancing at Shenxin and Yu Xietian from time to time, increasingly wondering what was wrong with their side.

Ji Fa has somehow brought along his unfortunate younger sister, and is now giving her a long, rambling brainwashing session, insisting that he say no to the pressure to get married and that he wants to stand with his sister.

Luo Shui is never still; she runs around everywhere, full of energy. She's quite spirited at this time, but when it's time for class, she's like a worm again, which is really frustrating.

Zhong Hongyu was able to relax for a while, which was rare. Like Mu Nandong, she reminded people of ascetic monks, but the two were ultimately different.

With the sound of waves crashing and the warm, comfortable sunshine, Ying Qin Guan felt a little drowsy.

Just as I was about to close my eyes, I suddenly felt a chill on my right cheek. I opened my eyes... It was Nocturne.

She was holding two bottles of chilled drinks, which she must have used to touch Ying Qin Guan's face earlier.

She handed one of the bottles to Ying Qin Guan, and with her free hand she brushed aside her long hair that had been blown in front of her by the wind, exuding charm for a moment.

Nocturne smiled, but her voice was hazy and dreamlike, as if it were rising from the clouds beyond the nine heavens, indistinct.

"If only time could stand still at this moment."

Ying Qin Guan took the drink, looked ahead, his gaze calm and profound.

"Yes."

"May this moment last forever, but the future will always come. Are you ready?"

The two were chatting. Yu Xietian, standing behind them, couldn't stand it and started shouting.

"You two make it sound so easy, but I'm the one carrying the burden for you! I hope these terrible days will pass soon!"

Nocturne waved his fan, a helpless smile on his face.

Ying Qin Guan felt a little more relaxed. He gazed at the distant sea and silently recited in his heart.

"It doesn't matter who it is, what time it is, or where it is... whether you're prepared or not, it's all the same."

Future Chapter: The Investiture of the Gods

"Do you know a very interesting word that comes from the ancient Cyborg language? It is pronounced 'akisioubika' and means 'temporary compromise'."

"This word runs through the entire history of humankind, and indeed all intelligent beings. You can find something related to this word at any stage and in any place."

The history teacher stood on the podium and spoke eloquently.

"Many things, even if you know they are wrong or inappropriate, will be done in order to better control the situation and consolidate your regime. For example, the system of collective punishment in the ancient Southern Qin Dynasty, where if one person rebelled, nine generations of their family would be executed. This seems incredibly barbaric to modern eyes. Classmates, what are these nine generations? One version says great-great-grandfather, grandfather, father, oneself, son, grandson, great-great-grandson, and great-great-great-grandson. Another version says four generations from the father's family, three generations from the mother's family, and two generations from the wife's family. But no matter which version it is, it is extremely broad. You could be sitting at home, and your younger sister who left home at a young age married the son of a high-ranking official. If the official rebelled, good heavens, they would all be wiped out without exception."

Is this barbaric?

"It's too barbaric. Even if the concepts of human life differ between ancient and modern times, it's hard to deny the barbarity of this system."

"However, in that era, such rules were necessary to ensure the stability of the regime. It should be understood that for any ruler, consolidating power is of paramount importance, and paying some price for it is nothing. This was a temporary compromise, and to this day, this compromise continues."

"Of course, what we're talking about today isn't about consolidating power... to be precise, it's something on a whole different level."

"The higher the level, the lower the bottom line, which you should all understand. So, what could be more important than consolidating power? I think you all have the answer... Without a doubt, it's to consolidate human rule and our dominant position on this planet."

"For a long time, humans used a policy of extermination against other races, which, as I said before, seems barbaric to us today. But for people at that time, it was the right and unavoidable choice. But did the other races do anything wrong? No, they didn't."

"Some students might say that during the Age of Gods, other races enslaved humans... On this point, both sides are equally guilty. To be precise, at that time, other races wanted to use humans as reproductive tools. Because humans could reproduce with any other race, while different races could not intermarry, there would be reproductive isolation, at most it could only be considered domestication. In contrast, humans wanted to directly exterminate other races. Talking about good and bad, right and wrong in matters of race is a bit too naive."

"Getting back to the topic itself, the alien race didn't do anything wrong. But they just wanted to die in order to maintain their rule... Many people realized this a long time ago. But even those who realized this wouldn't say anything. Because they were powerless to change it. If they spoke up, it would be sacrificing the interests of humanity to help the alien race. Only a purely derogatory 'saintly hypocrite' would do that."

"But in fact, going a step further, let alone the alien races, even the progenitor himself did nothing wrong."

"Why were the alien races exterminated? Because they were almost no different from humans, and from birth they were controlled by their ancestors, who held the power of life and death over them, taking whatever they wanted. This was predetermined from birth, and they were powerless to change it, so they were innocent."

"But was the progenitor necessarily guilty of heinous crimes and deserving of death?"

"From an objective standpoint, striving for higher levels is the instinct of all living beings. Living beings become magical beasts, magical beasts become tribulation transcendents, tribulation transcendents become sacred magical beasts, and sacred magical beasts become progenitors—there's no problem with that. And as everyone knows, the progenitors automatically acquire their abilities upon becoming progenitors; what those abilities are is entirely beyond their control. And within this process, controlling one's own lineage of alien races is an essential, fundamental skill..."

"In other words, the ability to control other races will be with the Ancestor whether he wants it or not... Then some people will say, why didn't the Ancestor just stop having children?"

"No creature should be deprived of its right to reproduce. The progenitor may not have children, but to be deprived of that right is an unbearable humiliation. How many intelligent beings could accept that? It's clear that they want to exterminate your race. Even the immortal progenitor race will eventually be wiped out."

"So, once this mistake was passed from the alien race to the progenitor, the chain of hatred stopped there, and people stopped thinking about the next step. But in reality, the progenitor was also innocent. They just wanted to reproduce. Was that wrong? Not at all. If they were wrong, they should be put on trial after they manipulated their own lineage of alien races to carry out some illegal actions."

"—The above statement is based on a completely idealistic scenario, without considering 'temporary compromises.' But where in the world are there so many idealistic scenarios? The fact is, for a long time, humanity was simply powerless to solve these problems. So the only option was to kill indiscriminately and cover everything up with bloodshed. I want to emphasize again that this behavior was not wrong at the time."

"However... it's not our fault to compromise temporarily, but it is our fault to keep compromising without seeking change."

"The two people who brought about change in this lesson are, in your young people's terms, the two god-like characters in Time and Space Kill. It's amazing, one is a martial artist and the other is an alchemist, but in the end, the identity used to make them god-like is 'sokifenala'. Don't understand? That's ancient Cyborg language, meaning 'the one who does not yield'."

"Never yield to 'it has always been this way,' never yield to 'custom.'"

"Two brave warriors... Mu Nandong and Fu Feihan."

Future Chapter: The Second Chapter of Fengshen

The students below naturally knew Mu Nandong and Fu Feihan.

These two are truly remarkable... They ascended to the pinnacle of power in the game "Time and Space Kill" almost simultaneously, which is extremely rare. Furthermore, one was the best alchemist of his time, and the other was a top-tier master who swept across the world, virtually invincible. But the identity ultimately used to bestow their divine status... as the history teacher said, was neither that of an alchemist nor a martial artist, but rather that of "the one who never yielded."

Even though they already possessed sufficiently distinctive characteristics and abilities, they still chose another identity, which means that those deeds accounted for a larger proportion of their lives.

"Let's start with Mu Nandong. As I just said, the progenitors themselves were innocent; they couldn't choose whether or not they possessed such abilities. But there's an old saying in Nanqin: 'With a sharp weapon in one's heart, the will to kill arises.' The narrow interpretation of this saying is quite clear. In a broader sense, if a creature possesses extremely strong abilities, then there's nothing it can't do. The progenitors are a perfect example of this, and the most notorious among them is the Clown."

"The most active progenitor, bar none,"

"Students should have learned about the mystery of fear in their second year of high school. The clown was the culprit. When the Seven Luminaries were weak, he created the false weapon of 'fear' in the hope of intimidating all sides. However, due to the sudden death of the old king, the transmission of this news was disrupted, and Mu Huai Ren was forced to go to war. The false fear met the real clown. As a result, he was branded as a deserter. Political creatures especially like to make a fuss about this. Mu Nan Dong grew up in that environment, which is the source of his rebellion."

"Even now, it remains an unsolved mystery. The idea that Mu Huai-ren was a deserter has taken deep root in people's minds. Regardless of the truth, there must have been a figure of ancestral significance involved. And more than twenty years have passed since then... Apart from myself, no one is interested in that truth. Under such circumstances, how can an ordinary human being go against the tide and find the truth?"

"This is what a 'person who doesn't give in' is like—knowing something is impossible yet still doing it anyway."

"Of course, sheer willpower alone is useless; nobody wants to admit it. But this world is results-oriented. If you succeed, even your farts have a profound meaning, and plenty of people will write self-help interviews for you. Even if you're just a pig who stumbled upon dog poop and rode the wave of fame, if you fail, no matter how hard you try, you're just a pathetic worm struggling. No matter how outstanding your personal abilities are, it doesn't matter..."

"—Some students mentioned the Black Dragon Emperor, but that's a misconception. He did have some great successes, which is enough to be considered part of the result. To this day, he remains the world's best alchemist and biologist."

"Mu Nandong has naturally made further progress... We'll discuss that with Fu Feihan next."

"Fu Feihan...you're probably more familiar with this name than Mu Nandong."

"For nearly two hundred years, the Sword Saint has consistently held the title of the world's number one, followed by the nameless swordsman of Southern Qin who appeared briefly and disappeared just as quickly. Then came Ying Qin Guan of the Seven Luminaries and Hishimura Tan Ying of Sakura Man, two peerless masters, with the former generally considered stronger. However, both of them seem to have been buried in the City of Truth Incident, though it's said that some people later saw them. But they have faded from the martial arts world, so we won't discuss them further. For the next forty years, the entire martial arts world was dominated by Fu Fei Han..."

"He did not have overwhelming combat power, but in the forty years since the incident in the City of Truth, he fought hundreds of battles, from one-on-one duels to challenging a dojo by himself, and then to facing an army. He won without killing anyone and never suffered a defeat. No matter how difficult the situation or how unfavorable it was, he won it all. It is a very legendary story. The number of bloody battles he experienced in his life is probably only surpassed by the God of War."

"The reason he experienced so many battles is because he was the first to realize that 'we can no longer compromise' and take effective and substantial action to achieve this. During the City of Truth incident, the military obtained the technology to identify alien races and was already making preparations in secret, planning to carry out a brutal massacre. Fu Feihan ran around for this, and together with the Yorozuya and the military, he participated in the war to exterminate the six progenitors. He almost died in every battle, but won all six battles. However, he only killed one progenitor, made peace with two progenitors, and spared the lives of many alien races."

"He dedicated his life to this cause, but he was not a mindless saint. He personally killed quite a few alien races. However, the major problem of the alien races could not be solved by pure force. He worked tirelessly until the very end, seemingly only one step away from success. But in reality, it was still a long way off. What finally made him take that step was Mu Nandong's research."

"He pursued a two-pronged approach: on one hand, he studied the life source of the alien races, attempting to uncover the secret of the progenitor's control over them; on the other hand, he researched the Gate. Ultimately, the latter achieved a breakthrough... not solely due to his efforts, but undoubtedly the primary achievement. He found a way to deceive the Gate, allowing the progenitor's ability to control the alien races to remain within the 'Gate' after killing one progenitor. Subsequently, progenitors came to the Gate, expressing their allegiance, as they had long since become accustomed to human life. However, many progenitors remained unwilling to submit, unleashing a great chaos that swept across the world, reducing the global population from 11 billion to 8.3 billion in twenty years... an unhealable wound. But thankfully, all of this has come to a temporary end."

"Ancestors will continue to appear in the future, but indiscriminate slaughter is never the answer. Humans, nature, monsters, alien races, and ancestors are all seeking ways to coexist peacefully. Temporary compromises will never disappear, but they will change with each generation. I hope that one day, everything will be free of compromise, but this is ultimately an infinitely idealistic fantasy..."

"However, just as 'temporary compromise' will never disappear, warriors who pursue 'uncompromising' will also emerge generation after generation. I don't want you to become those warriors. Because it's just too hard. Being misunderstood is the fate of those who express themselves. Mu Nandong was called the son of a fanciful deserter, Fu Feihan was called a traitor. There are many unbearable things. Becoming a warrior is too difficult. I only hope that if one day some warriors do appear, they won't be met with too much malice..."

"Class dismissed."

Battle God Chapter 1

(PS: This should be the last chapter. I still owed forty chapters before the side stories started. It might be a few more or a few less. It's hard to reach exactly forty chapters. I think it's more appropriate to completely end it with the God of War arc.)

Late autumn has arrived.

The autumn wind was bleak, the leaves were withered and yellow. Number 451 stood on the barren land, looking up at the sky, where a line of unfamiliar birds flew northward.

Number 451 remembered Number 319 telling him that when the cold season was approaching, ordinary animals would fly south, while magical beasts would fly north.

This is a very rudimentary method of identification and is not 100% accurate. But that's how folk remedies work—they use the easiest way possible to understand and identify the answer to arrive at the most accurate one.

Monsters constantly struggle against the natural environment to maintain biological evolution. Living in cold regions, amidst ice and snow, they are brightly colored but lack any fur for warmth. Birds are similar; in winter, they fly north to chase the cold, and in summer, they fly south to be scorched by the heat.

In order to maintain the evolution of life, they are willing to suffer and endure hardship. What are they pursuing?

Number 319 walked up to Number 451 and placed his rough hand on the other's short shoulder.

"Birds, they are so foolish. They spend most of their lives here, suffering and tormenting. Why do they do this? Wouldn't it be better to stop and live out their lives?"

Number 319 was a gaunt middle-aged man with a stubble beard, wearing coarse linen clothes, a sallow complexion, and skin and bones. He was about 1.7 meters tall and weighed only about 100 kilograms, or even less. His eyes revealed a longing for food, as if hunger was written all over his face.

Number 451 was still a child, seven or eight years old, very thin, just like the others, skin and bones, dressed in coarse linen. He seemed no different from Number 319, just the same person projected at different ages. He would grow up like Number 319, and then become like Number 319, standing here, lamenting how foolish those birds flying north were.

But number 451 was still not grown up. He looked at the birds in the sky, his lips moved slightly, but he didn't make a sound.

Perhaps he lacked courage, perhaps he lacked strength, or perhaps he knew too little; in any case, he chose silence.

Sometimes silence is the only option.

"Let's go, we need to count heads today."

Number 319 told Number 451 that the two had returned to the village.

It's called a village, but it's really just a few dozen dilapidated houses. The main materials are mud, bamboo, wooden planks, stones, and straw. There are no auxiliary materials. It's cold in winter and hot in summer, leaky and leaky, and it collapses at the slightest touch or blow.

"gather!"

A strange voice rang out, not in human language. But Number 451 and Number 319 could understand it. The two hurriedly ran over, and dozens of people emerged from the dilapidated house one after another. They all had sallow complexions and were weak and listless. They stood in a line in front of a lizardman who could barely be identified as human.

The lizard counted everyone, confirmed the number, and then prepared to leave.

An elderly man with a cane mustered his courage and stopped him.

"My lord..." He called out to the lizardman in the few strange languages ​​he had learned, using a mixture of human and the other man's languages, along with some gestures, to ask his question.

It roughly means...

“A year ago, you took away most of the young women and men in our village who were capable of having children. You released the men after half a month, and the women were probably going to have a period of pregnancy. But no matter what, a year has passed, and even if they had given birth, they should have finished by now... Where are they?”

The lizardman, with a cold expression, uttered a simple syllable and left.

Number 451 is a child who, although learning the lizardman language, understands very little. However, he can understand that particular syllable—or rather, comprehend it.

Almost every time the lizardmen came, they would utter this syllable at the end. Although no one had ever explained it to Number 451, he still understood the meaning of the syllable.

"die"

Life inevitably departs, eyes closed, never to open again.