Star Odyssey

Chapter 2189: Class Time

The timeslot that Lu Yin had chosen was the very last one of the week, which was why none of the other instructors had chosen it. Given the fact that it was the last class of the week, many students would already have started enjoying their free day, and would therefore not be willing to attend such a class. However, Lu Yin was not overly concerned about this. He had no desire to remain an instructor forever, and he had his own motivations for joining Virtue Archives. Thus, popularity did not matter to him.

Lu Yin’s motivation for staying in Virtue Archives was to first discover what had drawn the four ruling powers to the academy. Then, he wanted to find a way to use the students that he taught to get in touch with the four ruling powers. At the same time, he intended to use this time to roll his die.

Lu Yin had no idea where Senior Brother Qing Ping might have gone. Was he perhaps visiting Senior Brother Mu Xie? Did the Progenitor even know that Lu Yin was a junior disciple brother? Also, where had Kui Luo gone?

On a neighboring stone pillar, while Prof. Xiao Wen appeared to be quite calm, she was actually observing Lu Yin's pillar. She was well aware of her great-grandfather’s intentions, and while she had no desire to have any further contact with the new instructor, she was quite curious about him.

The fact that Prof. Xiao Wen’s great-grandfather wanted her to get closer to this new instructor meant that he could not be very old. In fact, he might even be as young as Xiao Wen herself, though it was highly unusual for someone so young to be an Envoy.

Also, Prof. Xiao Wen was surprised to see that the new instructor had not set up any restrictions on his pillar yet.

The pillars were not only the faculty’s homes, but also a sort of status symbol. Every instructor would place their own restrictions on their pillar, so unless an instructor was fully devoted to teaching the students, there was no reason to not set up any restrictions. It was unheard of for someone to simply use the restrictions left behind by the pillar’s previous resident.

However, Lu Yin had not made any changes at all to his stone pillar, and he seemed content to use the restrictions that Prof. Xiao Wen had put in place. She had also heard that the students had tried to coerce the new instructor into challenging the Eighteen Lines Formation, but he had bluntly refused to give in to their demands. How much pressure from the students would he be able to endure?

Also, why was someone so young an instructor?

A middle-aged man appeared from the other pillar that neighbored Lu Yin’s. The man had a rather refined appearance, and he seemed to be another instructor.

Lu Yin smiled politely at the man when he showed himself.

The man was taken aback by Lu Yin’s presence, and he quickly glanced further away and saw Prof. Xiao Wen on a different pillar. Odd, had she moved?

The man slowly asked, "Might you be the new instructor, Prof. Hao Yu?"

Lu Yin's eyes flashed, as he had sensed the man’s domain. It had clearly reached the void god level of mastery, as the void was trembling from his domain’s presence. This was clearly the power of space. Lu Yin had sensed the same feeling when he had seen Hen Xin’s battle, and again when facing Sky Garan’s Eight Star Garan innate gift during the Dao Chosen selection. That innate gift had been a version of spatial memory. On top of that, Lu Yin had learned the Ce Secret Art and comprehended its Board Manipulation ability. Everything that Lu Yin remembered involved the power of space, and so he was rather familiar with the peculiar feeling of such power.

"That’s me. I’ll have to ask you to watch over me in the future, Mr. Tang," Lu Yin said with a smile.

Mr. Tang laughed. "We’ll watch over each other."

He then looked back at the more distant Prof. Xiao Wen and quickly discerned Headmaster Wen’s intentions. There was no denying that the new instructor was young, very good looking, and also had an impressive cultivation.

This new instructor meant that Virtue Archives now had fourteen instructors, as well as two headmasters. However, there were fifteen stone pillars that surrounded the academy, as well as the headmaster’s pillar at the center. As for the honorary headmaster, he did not live in the academy, which meant that there was still an unoccupied pillar.

Given the fact that it was the end of the day, many of the instructors were returning to their residences to rest.

Lu Yin did not bother observing any of the other pillars. While it was possible to see the adjacent pillars with the naked eye, looking at the more distant pillars would require Lu Yin to use some additional means, which would be considered rude.

Regardless, the people living on the various pillars were all instructors, so Lu Yin was free to meet them.

Nothing was said throughout the night, and the next day, Lu Yin went to visit the academy’s library. It housed numerous ancient records and classic books, and he was quite excited to visit the place.

Unfortunately, he found that he was barred from entering.

"Instructor, credits are required to enter the library." An old man stopped Lu Yin and explained the matter with a smile.

Lu Yin blinked. "But I’m an instructor."

"I know. You’re the new one, Prof. Hao Yu," the old man said with a smile.

Lu Yin felt a bit frustrated. "So even instructors need credits in order to use the library?"

"No one told you that? Students can use their credits for practically anything that’s within the academy’s rules, but instructors also need credits. For example, the students only have access to the first two floors of this library while instructors can gain access to five floors. However, it costs more credits to gain access to each subsequent floor. Also, the top floor houses several secret techniques, and they are available for anyone to learn, as long as they have the required credits."

This was shocking. Was Virtue Archives really this casual about disseminating their secret techniques?

"How do I earn credits?" Lu Yin asked.

The old man pointed to the library. "Third floor, fifth row, ninth book. That’s where you can find the information regarding how the academy’s instructors can earn credits, and you’re free to read that book."

Lu Yin nodded and went in. He found the book exactly where the old man had said.

Lu Yin flipped through the book, reading it quickly.

Instructors were able to earn credits in much the same way as students: fighting on the rear battlefield, catching traitors, spies, and Redback, and, of course, teaching the students and helping them improve. Even if someone was too afraid of death and refused to go to the rear battlefield, there were other ways to earn credits. Still, Lu Yin found it a bit odd that one of the methods to earn credits as an instructor was to act as a tutor.

Many of the most promising students were assigned a tutor, and tutors were responsible for providing personal instruction for their student, and the students were also allowed limitless access to their tutor. It was not uncommon for a deep bond to develop between tutors and their students, and some of the students even referred to their tutors as their schoolfather or schoolmother. Surprisingly, receiving such a title awarded the instructor with a great deal of points. Well, Virtue Archives was an academy, and training the students was the primary responsibility of the faculty.

As for how the instructors could use their credits, the book did not mention it.

Lu Yin was shocked at the last bit of information he saw in the book, and he was instantly reminded of Ku Wei. How was being awarded such a title any different from encouraging the teachers to be brown-nosers? It sounded rather exhausting to deal with, but the method must be quite effective if it was mentioned in a book that was available in the academy library.

"If any student is willing to call you their schoolfather, you’ll receive a large number of credits," the old guardian of the library offered a reminder as he swept the floor, "However, you can’t coerce or threaten any student into doing so. It has to be completely sincere and voluntary."

Lu Yin put the book back. "That method of earning points sounds too exhausting."

The old man laughed and continued sweeping the floor, not responding at all.

Some time later, Lu Yin checked the time and saw it was almost time for the next class to start. The instructor of this class was Prof. Huai, a peak Enlighter who had been an instructor in Virtue Archives for more than ten years.

Lu Yin’s biggest headache at the moment was that he had no idea how to teach a class.

Every instructor in the academy was assigned their own area for their classes. The academy was beyond massive—let alone just over a dozen instructors, even ten times that would easily be assigned a large region of the academy for their individual classes.

Lu Yin rushed to where Prof. Huai held his class, which was within a dense forest. The instructor enjoyed the feeling of winding paths that led to secluded places, though Lu Yin felt that the man might have chosen such a location simply because too few students attended his class, and he feared humiliating himself by openly showing the size of his class. Within the forest, it was impossible to see the size of a class, regardless of how many students attended.

Only a bit more than fifty students attended Prof. Huai's class, and although they were scattered throughout the forest, they all listened to the lecture with great interest. The main topic covered how to become a Limiteer.

Limiteer. This was a word that Lu Yin had not even thought of for years. After all, his cultivation was simply too far removed from the Limiteer realm and so he was surprised to hear about such a topic.

"Becoming a Limiteer requires…" Prof. Huai sat on a large tree within the dense forest as he happily delivered his lecture. Lu Yin could not help but feel a bit of admiration for the instructor.

After two hours, the students started to disperse. When Prof. Huai noticed Lu Yin, the man excitedly approached. "Prof. Hao Yu, I didn't expect you to visit my lecture."

Lu Yin smiled. "I’m very new and uncertain about my upcoming class. So, I thought that I would observe yours."

Prof. Huai gave a wry smile. "You must have seen how few students I had, which probably gave you a laugh."

"Your lecture was very well delivered, so why did you have so few students?"

Prof. Huai shrugged and then led Lu Yin aside to a seat while the man prepared some tea. "Many of the students who attend Virtue Archives have extraordinary backgrounds, while I’m just an independent cultivator who’s become an Enlighter. I’m completely unable to teach anything to those kinds of students, so I never bothered trying. I simply don’t have much expertise or knowledge, so I can only share my knowledge of the Limiteer realm. After all, not all of our students come from powerful sects or families. Some of them are also independent cultivators, and many of them haven’t even reached the Limiteer realm. Thus, my lectures allow them to establish a bit of a foothold within the academy that they would otherwise lack."

Though the man said nothing about it, Lu Yin could guess that there was no way that Virtue Archives would allow instructors to stay without contributing something to the academy. If no students attended an instructor’s classes, then it was possible that the instructor would be fired.

"However, Prof. Hao Yu has no need to worry about such things, as you’re an Envoy," Prof. Huai mentioned in a tentative, questioning manner.

Lu Yin did not not deny it. "I broke through recently."

Prof. Huai was clearly rather envious. "Virtue Archives doesn’t have very many Envoys as instructors. Once word of your strength is spread, all of the students will start attending your classes. The two of us are simply on different levels."

"There’s no need for such modestly, Prof. Huai. I believe that you’re close to your breakthrough to become an Envoy yourself."

Prof. Huai shook his head. "I might be close, but the breakthrough to become an Envoy is far from easy."

…

Over the following two days, Lu Yin sat in on several instructors' classes, all of whom were Enlighters. Each of the instructors had found their own method to benefit the students and draw them to classes, whether they did so by sharing very basic knowledge or discussing key points of specific aspects of cultivation. Each class invariably drew in at least a few students.

Finally, on the third day, Lu Yin observed Mr. Tang’s class, only to discover that far, far more students attended his class than any of the other Enlighter-realm instructors.

Lu Yin wondered if all of the academy’s students were in attendance.

Mr. Tang’s class by far had the most students of any class that Lu Yin had observed in Virtue Archives. There was also no denying that some of the academy’s students were exceptionally talented, as some of them were already Hunters, which meant they were comparable to the Ten Arbiters.

Lu Yin did not reveal himself, as he did not want to raise a commotion and disrupt Mr. Tang's class.

"Hey, did you hear? A very handsome instructor named Hao Yu has just joined our academy as an instructor. Even his name sounds nice!" a girl commented.

Another girl quickly approached. "I heard about him, too. Prof. Hao Yu, his name really does sound nice. I want to take his class."

"I checked, and it’s this afternoon, and the class isn’t far from here."

"That's great! The school should find more instructors like that. Just look at Prof. Huai's classes. How do they do anything at all? They’re just taking up space."

"That's true. Even I’m stronger than a Limiteer, so what’s the point in attending his classes?"

Lu Yin was rendered speechless at the conversations he overheard. If Prof. Huai heard these students, he would be enraged, as they were simply too condescending.

"Yo- you can't- you can't talk about Huai- Huai- Prof. Huai like that." A short, heavyset young man with a simple and honest face nearby was so upset by the girls’ conversation that he spoke up.

Many of the other people nearby started laughing.

"Prof. Huai? Oh, I'm so worried! Can you even say his name in one go?" one girl teased.

The fat student blushed. "Huai- Huai-"

"Prof. Huai!" A male student laughed loudly.

The short man looked offended. "Prof. Huai is ve- very serious about his classes! I- I like to listen to his lectures."

"If you like them, then go listen to them. Why bother coming here?" Someone else joined in on mocking the young man.

The fatty blushed harder, and he wanted to speak back, but he could not think of anything to say.