Chapter 625: New Teacher

Currently, the Tongyou Mysterious World had turned into the transit point for cultivators returning from the Beyond Heavens Pavilion.

Shang Xia thought that when they returned, Kou Chongxue would immediately make use of the world origin from the Manyu Continent to upgrade the Tongyou Mysterious World into the Tongyou Paradise.

However, it seemed as though he was wrong. He might have been thinking about things too simply, but the institution might also have other plans. Whatever the case, all he knew was that nothing seemed to happen despite Kou Chongxue sending the Nine Blossom Jade Formation Disc back.

Well… it wasn’t as though everything remained completely the same…

At the very least, he discovered that the density of heaven and earth qi in the air grew by a lot when he returned to the mysterious world.

That wasn’t all. Unlike before, the Tongyou Mysterious World seemed a lot more well organized. There were many more structures built in the 3 different regions like pavilions, cultivation chambers, and many more. Shang Xia also discovered a lot more cultivators in the Tongyou Mysterious World than before.

Whatever it was, he didn’t remain in the mysterious world for a long time as he quickly made his way back to the institution.

The Tongyou Institution was a lot livelier than he remembered.

It was the start of the new semester, and students were rushing back from the different parts of the You Continent to start their lessons. There were even cultivators who came from other continents. The entire city was bustling with activity due to the great influx of cultivators.

Looking around, Shang Xia even noticed that there were a few cultivators from the Manyu Continent among the batch of new students. They were either members of the Ren Clan, or cultivators who were saved when the Tongyou Island passed through the belt of land fragments.

As for the cultivators who came from the other continents, Shang Xia knew that they were probably offsprings of cultivators of the You Continent who migrated after the collision of the worlds.

All they needed to do to enter the Tongyou Institution was to prove that either one of their parents came from the You Continent. Naturally, they would also have to possess strong cultivation foundations. After a quick investigation by the Outreach Division, they would be able to enroll as disciples of the Outer Division and become formal students of the Tongyou Institution.

Other than cultivators from the 2 categories before, Shang Xia also noticed quite a few of them from the Azure Spiritual World. They were youngsters of the Swallow Race and they also joined the institution.

There were even several Martial Intent Realm experts of the Swallow Race who took on positions as teachers in the institution. There were also some of them who entered the various divisions like the Outreach Division and the Protection Division.

In recent years, the Tongyou Institution experienced a huge increase in strength. Due to their escapades in the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range, Taihang Mountains, and even the most recent Manyu Continent, the institution managed to gain a steady stream of resources.

Because of those resources, the institution grew even stronger!

Entering the Tongyou Institution silently, Shang Xia managed to gain a lot of information from the conversations happening around him. He learned that each outer division took in more students. Back when Shang Xia was still a student, there were only 6 outer divisions and each of them had 30 students each. Now, there were 12 outer divisions in total and each of them had 40 students!

One Custodian was allocated to each outer division, and due to the lack of manpower, students in the Upper Division who had excellent performance would be chosen to take on the role.

Now, there were 2 Custodians per outer division. One of them was the Main Custodian while the other was the Assistant Custodian. Disciples in the Upper Division could fight for the position through some form of competition, but they would only be able to take on a role as an Assistant Custodian regardless. Only after 2 years of evaluation would they be given the opportunity to become the Main Custodian.

Other than the Outer Division, there had been an increase in students in the Inner and Upper Divisions respectively.

Back then, there were a total of 20 Advisors in the Teaching Division. They were in charge of most lessons, from cultivation to special skills. Now, the number of Advisors increased by 4 and Shang Xia was one of them.

As for instructors, the Outer, Inner, and Upper Division used to have a single Instructor each. With the Tongyou Institution’s increased strength, an Assistant Instructor was added. At the same time, the strength of an Instructor of the institution had to be in the Martial Extermination Realm or higher.

After learning of the changes to the institution, Shang Xia went to report to the Teaching Division. He retrieved a special Teacher’s Jade Plaque from Liu Qinglan who was still an Instructor of the Upper Division. However, she had more than one post currently and she was also the Assistant Head Instructor of the institution.

He learned from Liu Qinglan that there were 2 new Assistant Head Instructors. Yan Su’er took on the other position.

Yan Ming, Yan Su’er’s granddaughter, chose to enter the Outreach Division. As she had already entered the Martial Extermination Realm, she became an Assistant Deacon who worked under Yun Jing.

Now that Shang Xia obtained the Teacher’s Jade Plaque, he officially took on his role. He would be able to receive a monthly stipend from the institution in the form of silver essence. Other than his official job of teaching students, Shang Xia would also be able to record extra contributions he made in his jade plaque.

With those contribution points, Shang Xia would be able to trade cultivation resources with a higher priority. He might also be entitled to a discount.

Anyway, Liu Qinglan didn’t send him away after he received his Teacher’s Jade Plaque. She got him to confirm whatever he was going to teach.

She knew that Shang Xia wouldn’t be holding his post for long anyway. As such, the target of his teachings wouldn’t include the Outer Division. He would mainly be teaching students in the Inner or Upper Division who had already entered the path of cultivation.

Students in the Outer Division should be focused on building their foundations and they shouldn’t be exposed to things far exceeding their abilities. Moreover, Shang Xia couldn’t possibly be sent to teach those new students how to build their foundations. It would be a colossal waste of resources.

After thinking for some time, Shang Xia split the things he was going to teach into 2 parts.

One portion of it would be the art of talisman crafting. He would teach them the basics of how to craft talismans, how to use talismans, and how to respond when talismans were used against them.

Previously, Talisman Master Gong came up with the curriculum for talisman crafting. However, he was getting older as the years passed and his cultivation hadn’t been improving. His condition was on a slight decline and he had already given up on becoming a rank four Talisman Grandmaster. He started to focus on nurturing the next generation of Talisman Masters, and he eventually came up with a talisman course for the various divisions.

What Shang Xia was going to teach was the practical use of talismans and problems they might run into on the battlefield.

Naturally, Shang Xia couldn’t possibly talk about that forever. It would be enough for him to guide them on the topic every ten days or so. The teaching process was also really flexible and Shang Xia was free to change and readjust the content he was teaching about the use of talismans whenever he wished.

The other part he was planning to teach had something to do with his own cultivation. He planned to use his experience to teach the new generation of students about cultivation.

That included the Essence Realm he extrapolated from his knowledge of cultivation, which corresponded to the Martial Realm in the Azure Origin World. He would also be imparting his knowledge on the Yin Yang Realm, and the Triple Command Realm. It even included some explanation and his understanding of his Four Constellation Realm.

It also went without saying that Shang Xia would reveal his entire path of cultivation. That would only serve to cause chaos among the students and confuse them on whatever they already knew. Moreover, not everyone in the institution would agree with his teachings.

Currently, Shang Xia could only use his limited knowledge of cultivation to find an entirely new path. One could say that he was mixing what he was learning with whatever he knew, or one could even say that he was replacing the original meaning of it with his own interpretation. No matter what it was, it would clash with the current cultivation system.

That was something Kou Chongxue and Shang Bo had mentioned to him multiple times.

After some discussion with Liu Qinglan, Shang Xia decided that he would lecture on the topic once a month. He could also adjust his lesson however he saw fit.

From that, one could see that even Liu Qinglan, who knew a little more about Shang Xia’s unique cultivation method, was acting very prudently when it came to him sharing his knowledge.

At the end of the day, she wasn’t against him teaching his cultivation method to others. Instead, she seemed more inclined to protect him.

After leaving the Teaching Division, Shang Xia suddenly recalled his position as a Talisman Grandmaster of the institution. He should have been receiving his salary for that every month, but he hadn’t gotten a single payment!

According to his original plan, he wanted to return home to take a nice break for several days. Now that he thought about it, he turned immediately to head for the Talisman Hall.

After returning, he learned that it was already the 849th year of the Divine Martial Calendar. He left for the Manyu Continent in the 847th year, and 2 years had passed in the blink of an eye. He didn’t know the current state of the Talisman Hall and was curious to find out.

…

When Shang Xia was doing whatever it was he was doing, Yun Jing went to look for Liu Zhiyuan.

As the patriarch of the Great Liu Clan, he had been placed in charge of the Warehouse Division of the institution a long time ago.

Since the older generation had started to retreat behind the scenes, they were slowly handing their authority over to the members of the younger generation. Liu Zhiyuan could be considered part of the highest authority due to this status.

“Aunt Yun, is something the matter?” Liu Zhiyuan maintained his respectful mannerisms in front of Yun Jing despite his position in the institution at the moment.

Ever since Liu Jitang sacrificed himself in the Coral Forest, the Liu Clan seemed to be on a massive decline. They didn’t even seem to deserve their spot as a great clan of the Tongyou City any longer.

However, the foundations of the Liu Clan were still intact. With the support of Kou Chongxue, Shang Bo, Yun Jing, and the others, Liu Zhiyuan was quickly pushed into the Martial Extermination Realm to maintain the status of the Liu Clan.

Even though Liu Zhiyuan had been gaining some fame in the recent years and had status that rivaled Yun Jing as the patriarch of the Liu Clan, he would still act deferentially when he spoke to Yun Jing.

Yun Jing chuckled in response, “We haven’t met for 2 to 3 years… I heard about your achievements and what you did after coming back and I believe Second Brother Liu’s spirit in heaven will feel extremely gratified.

Liu Zhiyuan replied solemnly, “The Liu Clan and I only managed to retain what we have today because of the support of the various elders. I wouldn’t dare to be lazy when it comes to dealing with matters of the clan and institution!”

“That’s great!” Yun Jing revealed a wide smile in response. However, her tone changed suddenly and she muttered in a profound voice, “From what I can see, you entered the second layer of the Martial Extermination Realm for some time now. However, you haven't made much improvement in recent years…”

Liu Zhiyuan’s expression froze for a second and he sighed, “I… I was distracted by my responsibilities…”

“Even if you have a lot to do, you should spend a little more effort when it comes to cultivation. One’s cultivation is the root of their power. In front of absolute strength, everything else is nothing!” Yun Jing sighed.

Lowering his head slightly, Liu Zhiyuan muttered, “Aunt Yun, I understand what you mean. However, there are too many new students joining us recently and the institution has been expanding rapidly over the past years. It’s chaos every time the new semester starts. After getting through this period, I plan on handing my responsibilities over to several others and concentrate on my cultivation for some time.”

Yun Jing’s gaze was deep when she looked at him again. Eventually, she muttered, “Since you already have a plan, I won’t say anymore. You can do it your way. However, there’s something that requires your Liu Clan’s assistance.”

Raising his head with a slight trace of shock, Liu Zhiyuan asked, “Aunt Yun, is there anything you need me to do?”

“Go take a look in your Liu Clan’s treasury. If you have any spiritual treasure of the metal or earth element of the fourth, or even fifth rank, send a portion over to the Shang Clan.”

“What? Why?!” Liu Zhiyuan cried in shock.