Daily life of a teacher in the martial arts department

"The path of martial arts is essentially the path of protecting others. When injustice and unfairness occur in this world, and the world's system is not perfect enough to resolve these issues, that is when martial artists should step in. Even if they have to bear responsibilities that they wouldn't normally have to... but ultimately, this is what martial artists strive for."

"To help those in need when you see injustice on the road—this may sound naive and laughable now, but it is actually the ultimate pursuit of a martial artist."

"In this situation, Godheart, you ask me what the meaning of being the strongest is... well, let me tell you."

Ying Qin Guan turned slightly and looked at Shen Xin.

"If a martial artist wants to protect something, they must bear the corresponding responsibility, and the responsibility a person can bear is directly proportional to their ability. It's like passing through a city and seeing a thug extorting protection money from a grandfather and grandson. You can beat up the thug and walk away. But the grandfather and grandson being extorted aren't actually saved; they still live in misery..."

"But actually, when you get involved in this matter, you've already taken on a part of the responsibility... If you just pat yourself on the back and walk away, you might feel good, acting righteously and then nothing more happens. But the bully who was beaten might hold a grudge, but he can't afford to mess with you. What can he do then? Who can he vent his anger on?"

Ying Qin Guan paused slightly, and after Shen Xin had processed what he said, he said softly, "But what if... you are the God of War?"

“Your every move is watched by the whole world, your power makes the whole world fear you, you are invincible, you are unrivaled, and you sweep across the entire world. And then you are here, rescuing this grandfather and grandson. So do you think that even if you just leave like this... that bully would dare to do anything? Probably not.”

"Of course, even if you're not a God of War, but a Sword Saint, you won't need to do much. But if you're a little weaker, you'll have to put in some effort to completely resolve this matter. For example, dealing with this bully and the string of gangs behind him, or spending money to help this grandfather and grandson leave this environment. But in any case, at this level, you start to consume 'practical' things, such as 'money,' 'time,' and 'energy.'"

“Unlike a God of War or a Sword Saint, you don’t need a ‘face’ to motivate others to do things for you. In most cases, at your level, if you use your ‘face’ on such trivial matters, no matter how many times, someone will do it for you. In other words, your ‘face’ is an ‘infinite resource’ in trivial matters, and no one will go against you for some small things.”

"However, 'big things' and 'small things' are relative. A matter might be a big matter for a Sword Saint, but a small matter for a God of War. Whether a matter is big or small depends on the responsibility a martial artist can bear. And the responsibility a martial artist can bear depends on his strength."

"The strongest person in the world can shoulder responsibilities that others cannot or dare not shoulder."

"The strongest is not to be compared with other martial artists, but with an era."

"Why is the God of War so revered? Because he is the only one who truly and completely triumphed over his era in that barbaric age with a weak sense of law. If he were an evil person, then all would be lost, but he was not an evil person. On the contrary, he shouldered countless responsibilities."

"So I think..."

In the darkness, Ying Qin Guan's eyes seemed to be shining.

"Martial artists should not take pride in being the strongest, but in taking pride in the responsibility they bear. However, if you want to take on the most responsibility, you must be the strongest."

"Take on what others dare not or cannot take on, and do what others dare not or cannot do."

"That's the meaning of being the 'strongest'."

"Like the God of War..."

"With both feet I tread the waves of the mortal world, and with one shoulder I bear all the sorrows of the past and present!"

Chapter Forty-Four: A Temporary End

On June 7th, Hiramura Danzakura and Kamiku boarded the plane and found their seats.

"You failed." Shen Jiu started the conversation, but it was unclear what he was talking about.

"I can't always succeed either." Hishimura Tan's right cheek was almost swollen like a pig's head. When he fought the Sword Saint that night, he used his internal energy to suppress the swelling. Such a violation of the body's natural laws naturally brought him retribution.

After a few days, given his physique, his injuries should have been almost fully healed. After all, Ying Qin Guan's attack was purely physical damage, without any internal energy involved. However, he forcibly suppressed it that night, and after a few days, the injuries rebounded, and now his face is ridiculously swollen—his eyes were already squinty, and now they're almost completely squeezed out of his face.

"Does that also include being beaten until your head is turned into a pig's head?"

"Hehe, little Shen Jiu, you've been getting more and more outrageous lately..."

Shen Jiu immediately shut up, closed her eyes, and looked out the window... This action is actually quite strange for a blind person. But Shen Jiu wasn't completely blind; on the contrary, she saw much more than most people could.

In this respect, Shenxin is the same as her, except that Shenxin does not use sight.

Where are we going next?

Himura Tanzaku leaned back in her chair and chuckled, "Where is the world's best swordsmith?"

“Living in, in, the Holy Union, of, the remnants of Southern Qin, the son of the evil.”

“That’s right.” Hisumura Tanzakura nodded and smiled. “We’re going there.”

-

In the afternoon, the Yorozuya group disembarked and returned to the Seven Luminaries Capital.

The mission failed, so we have to come back.

Yu Xietian had previously told Jiu Yi something like, "Regardless of whether we played a role or not, we should be paid for our efforts." However, that depends on the situation. At that time, the matter was resolved, and the money received was not much, which was considered a satisfactory ending, so Jiu Yi accepted the money.

However, now that the young girl's grandfather has died and you failed to complete the mission, saying something like "Although I didn't complete the mission, I did my part, so you have to pay me" is a bit... well, you know.

Anyway, Yu Xietian would never do such a thing.

Fortunately, the bill was able to be sent to Ankokuji... a small trick by Shenxin that put him in a somewhat restrained position.

"In the end, we all came for nothing." Yu Xietian sighed, waved to Ying Qin Guan, and said, "Then let's part ways here. As you can see, I can't pay any wages anyway."

Ying Qin Guan didn't care much, nodded casually, and took a taxi back to the royal palace.

Meeting Hiyomura Tan's wife and Kai on this trip made the journey worthwhile for him.

Moreover...

He pulled out the event boss, Kagi... With this, he wasn't exactly leaving empty-handed.

This is the strength I should have. Who is that four-health Nan Qin Xiaobaiban? I don't know him!

Ying Qin Guan put away the card... He planned to go back to the teachers' dormitory to take a shower first, and then check if anyone was at the board game arcade. If not, he would have to play a 1v1 game with the dean. But when he got to the dormitory, he touched his pocket and his expression changed slightly...

At this moment, a silver-haired man with a slanted face, who was still conducting research in the alchemy workshop, suddenly raised his head and looked around warily.

-

"Ah, life is so comfortable when the boss isn't around."

Inside the Anguo Division, Miss Yin openly placed the travelogue of the nameless swordsman from Southern Qin on the table.

Nephalem is away on a business trip, so she can watch however she wants, whenever she wants, and however position she wants... ah, never mind that.

In short, she is very free!

I'm going to skip work later and go out for afternoon tea. This is what life is all about! Working six days a week, ten hours a day, sixty hours a week—is that even humanly possible? At this rate, I won't even live to forty...

Thinking of this, Yin couldn't help but close his eyes, put his hands together, and strike a pose like the heroine of a certain visual novel.

"I hope the director's business trip will last a little longer..."

Perhaps the goddess heard Miss Silver's plea, for when she opened her eyes, she saw Nephalem standing in front of her with a blank expression, looking at the book on her desk.

Opening Lightning Strike

Goddess! You tricked me!

Miss Yin was perhaps so terrified that she rebounded, revealing an extremely calm demeanor. She calmly remarked, "If this were a horror game, it would be a 'kill with your eyes open' moment..."

Nephalem calmly said, "Believe me, when you get your payslip on the first of next month, the number on it will be even more terrifying than this eye-opening killer."

"Please have mercy on me! I only slack off occasionally; I work hard the rest of the time, waaaaaah!!"

This was far more terrifying than a goddess's backstab, leaving Miss Silver with tears in her eyes. However, Nephalem, as the head of a ruthless real estate agency and the Empire's top agent, had a heart colder than the knife of the dockworker Bodhisattva Parker. He expressionlessly took Miss Silver's book and said, "Depending on your performance, I'm confiscating this book for now. Go to the front desk to pick it up after get off work."

Just now, seeing Miss Yin, who was in high spirits, nod reluctantly, I thought to myself that the goddess was really unreliable, and I might as well find a folk evil god to worship...

Nephalem took the book, walked into his office, and went to the bookshelf.

The Nephalem reached out and pulled out the ninth book in the third column. He flipped through it casually and found a bookmark tucked inside—a seemingly ordinary card.

He flicked his finger, and the card flew up and landed on his desk.

Nephalem bit his finger, tapped it on the card, and muttered a sentence in a low voice.

"rise!"

Around the card, a miniature array quickly formed, opening a dark entrance.

Nephalem pulled a secret letter from his pocket and stuffed it into the dark entrance. Then he snapped his fingers, disabling the formation and causing the entrance to disappear.

After doing all this, he collapsed into a chair.

In just a few days, he actually managed to gather quite a bit of information.

Holy Union... Holy Union, what exactly is this union now? It's really hard to say.

He exhaled a breath of stale air, pulled open his clothes, revealing numerous bruises and injuries. But none of them were serious... If the Nephalem had killed or won, these injuries would indeed be insignificant.

"Corpse Dog, Devourer... You've got some skill."

Nephalem's gaze was somber. He sat in his seat, quietly awaiting the reply that might come, or it might not. He had always hoped that a reply wouldn't come, because if it did, it would mean he would have to make another trip. But this time... he actually hoped for a reply.

Unfortunately, a reply never came.

"Tch..." Nephalem clicked his tongue, knowing that the matter was hopeless, and turned his attention to the social gathering.

Chapter Forty-Five: God - King of the Black Dragons

The news of the Sword Saint's failed challenge against Kui circulated in the Imperial Academy for a while. But since they weren't from their own country, the students of the Imperial Academy eventually returned to their original lives after discussing it.

A third of June has already passed, and there are only twenty days left until the final exams.

The Imperial Academy's midterm and final exams are the same in terms of the projects, but the final exams are more important. The tasks for the Martial Arts and Magic departments are much more difficult and complex, usually taking up most of the summer vacation. The exams for the Arts and Alchemy departments are also more complicated. The Arts department usually requires teamwork and long rehearsals, and the Alchemy department is even more demanding, with a certain stern-faced, silver-haired man keeping a close eye on things. Since he became the head of the Alchemy department, the failure rate has skyrocketed.

—But what's absurd is that, despite the soaring failure rate, students' overall academic level has actually improved.

Of course, none of this had anything to do with Ying Qin Guan. Over a month, he gradually got used to life in the Imperial Court. He could even selectively ignore some of Ji Fa's words while playing cards.

June 11th.

Ying Qin Guan finished his class as usual and was about to go to the board game hall to have a showdown with Jiu Yi, but Zhong Hongyu stopped him.

"Teacher Ying...wait a minute."

She called out to Ying Qin Guan and said, "Teacher Wu said he wants you to come to his office after class. He has something to discuss with you."

Ying Qin Guan was puzzled, not knowing what was going on. He nodded and jogged to the Bird's Nest—one of his rotating class locations, so he wouldn't get lost.

He knocked on the door and went in after receiving permission.

"You've arrived... Please have a seat."

When Ying Qin Guan walked in, Wu Chang Ying was standing by the bookshelf, reading a usage manual. When Ying Qin Guan sat down, he closed the book and then sat opposite him.

"Actually, this time... it's about 'Consciousness Slash'." Wu Changying considered her words for a moment before saying, "I don't know if Mu Nandong has told you, but the students of the Imperial Academy are good in every way. However, it's true that they lack experience in facing life and death, and there's nothing that can be done about it. But your Consciousness Slash might be able to help the students face potential dangers in a better state..."

Wu Changying paused slightly and said, "Can you control the power of your Consciousness Slash? Or is it entirely determined by the strength of your opponent?"

Ying Qin Guan said, "It can be controlled... movements, 'hints' in the eyes, the amount of internal energy released, and the amount of killing intent. All of these can control the power of the consciousness slash to a certain extent. However, regarding what can be seen, the main factor is still the strength of the person being slashed..."

“It’s enough to be able to control it.” Wu Changying nodded and said, “The school hopes to improve students’ experience in this area. But we don’t know how effective it will be, so we plan to conduct an internal test in the last three weeks of this semester. If the results are satisfactory, it can be expanded to an elective course for both the martial arts and magic departments next semester. As for the pay… this semester we’ve decided on one class per week, forty pounds per class. Let’s see how it goes first, and we’ll decide on the pay for next semester. What do you think?”