Chapter 5#
No. 005 chapter#
The students couldn’t hold back their laughter.
They recalled how at first, before the beast-man, they had been like ants trying to topple a tree—their chances of survival slim, nothing but despair.
Who would have thought that a few rounds of arithmetic competition would pull them out of the mire? Seeing the beast-man get bested now, they all felt deeply vindicated.
The beast-man ignored them, staring only at Duan Wei. “Fine. Next.”
Duan Wei said, “Me.”
The beast-man said, “Good.”
Duan Wei stood on the square for the fifth time.
He knew the drill by now—he set the contest as arithmetic and started teaching.
The beast-man still listened attentively the whole time.
After absorbing a large quantity of unfamiliar knowledge, he stared at the complex problems on the blackboard in silence.
Sometimes he tried to use the experience and approaches he’d accumulated earlier, but this bastard always managed to make none of it applicable. Aside from some basic calculations, everything he’d learned—finding the area of shaded regions, functions, and so on—was utterly useless here.
Duan Wei stepped aside to let him solve the problems and walked alone to the edge of the square.
The random backdrop this time was again high in the air, but there was no sea of clouds. Beneath his feet was a city, its buildings and streets clearly visible.
Since transmigrating, he’d been stuck inside the ancient realm and hadn’t yet gotten a look at this world, so he curiously took a few glances.
The beast-man stared at the blackboard for a long moment, then tossed down the chalk and walked over.
Duan Wei heard the footsteps and asked, “Is what’s down there a real place?”
The beast-man didn’t answer, tilting his head to look at him.
Not hearing a response, Duan Wei turned to meet his gaze.
The beast-man’s expression and tone were both calm. “What’s your name?”
In the stands, Lang Xu rose and drew his sword.
He had slaughtered two demonic beasts before, and each time he’d returned, he’d sheathed his sword back into his storage device. This was the first time the students had seen his blade.
It was pitch-black all over, its sword aura so tangible it was terrifying—as if merely getting close would cut you.
The gentle-faced teacher held it, and while it didn’t look out of place on him, it made people dare not speak to him casually anymore.
They hesitated. “…Teacher?”
His two companions stood up as well. “We’re almost out. Stand together and don’t move.”
The students started, then quickly and obediently grouped up.
On the square, Duan Wei said, “Are you asking about my old name or my current one?”
The beast-man said, “You have two names?”
Duan Wei said, “I do. I used to be called He Lingjin—my parents gave me that one.”
The beast-man said, “And now?”
Duan Wei said, “Duan Wei. My master gave me that one.”
The beast-man said, “The one who taught you arithmetic?”
Duan Wei said, “No, the one who taught me cultivation.”
The beast-man: “?”
The crowd in the stands: “?”
What kind of master gives you a new name just for teaching you how to guide qi into your body?
The beast-man was well-traveled and guessed, “Did you not get along with your family?”
Duan Wei said, “We got along fine. Our family was just unlucky—our circumstances went from good to bad. Of the four of us, my parents and my older brother have all died, leaving only me. My master says my fortune is bad too. The name He Lingjin—with ‘spirit’ and ‘gold’ in it—is too precious, too heavy for me to bear. If I don’t change it, my life will be in danger.”
The beast-man said, “Why change the surname too?”
Duan Wei said, “He said the surname Duan suits me better. I didn’t believe him at first; when people asked, I still answered He Lingjin. But then I got swept into a secret realm on my way to study here, and now I’ve run into another one. I had no choice but to believe him. I’ve decided to listen to him, and once my centuries-long tribulation is over, I’ll change my name back.”
The students nodded silently.
To be fair, he really was unlucky.
Ancient realms weren’t something you ran into casually. They’d only encountered one this once, and he’d already been in two.
Besides, today’s assessment clearly had nothing to do with him, yet he’d somehow ended up inside anyway. There really was some bad luck hanging over him.
Duan Wei said at last, “If you want me to pick one right now, then I’ll tell you—my name is Duan Wei.”
The beast-man murmured, “Duan Wei.”
He raised his hand and waved. A token materialized out of thin air and landed in the other’s arms. The pattern on it was identical to the one on the stone bricks.
Duan Wei took it and looked it over. “What’s this for?”
The beast-man gestured to the city below. “When you come here with this token someday, you’ll find out.”
Duan Wei understood this was the ancient realm’s reward for clearing it.
From the information he had gathered, merely obtaining something from an ordinary trial ancient realm already meant absurdly good luck. But what he held was given by a hell-mode trial ancient realm.
He had traveled through many worlds and understood human nature all too well. Without formidable strength, this token was no different from a death warrant.
He said modestly, “If we won at all, it’s all thanks to my teacher.”
The beast-man said, “In the arena, a contest decides victory.”
As he said this, his calm demeanor dissipated, his gaze turning bloodthirsty and sinister. He bared his teeth in a grin. “Duan Wei. I’ll remember you. Next time we meet, I’ll give you a proper welcome.”
Duan Wei watched him put on his split-personality show live and shuffled a few steps aside. “No need, really.”
The beast-man stood still as the ancient realm’s formation manifested—lines of dark gold running from the ground over his entire body.
His expression was full of unwillingness, but as the formation tightened around him, he finally forced out three words: “I concede.”
The entire arena split apart in an instant, revealing the blood-colored grassland behind it.
A moment later, the grassland also split open in silence, and faint light poured in from outside.
Duan Wei stood at the center of the collapse, watching the beast-man gradually fade. In his peripheral vision, a figure descended from the heights, and a sword slammed into the stone bricks with a resounding clang—all things froze in that instant.
When he came back to himself, he had already been sent out of the ancient realm.
The students were sent out with him. They staggered to steady themselves, looked up, and their breath caught.
Before them was the familiar secret realm of the school, but now both the ground and the sky were crowded with people.
A formation had already been erected—three rings stacked from bottom to top—and as the ancient realm’s aura leaked out, layers of spiritual light rippled across it.
The assessment secret realm refined by Qimu Sect wasn’t high-level; it could only accommodate Qi Refining and Foundation Building cultivators. Higher-level cultivators could enter, but only on the condition that they didn’t cause a major disturbance.
At this moment, Lang Xu was fighting inside while the formation was being activated outside. Cracks were gradually splitting open around the secret realm, just like the arena moments before—on the verge of collapse.
The people outside were maintaining the formation and hadn’t restrained their cultivation.
A group of Qi Refining students, emerging right into this pressure, were all stricken with terror, nearly falling to their knees.
Fortunately, it only lasted an instant. A cultivator had followed them out of the ancient realm and shielded them from the pressure, guiding them outward.
Not daring to stay and cause trouble, they followed him quickly beyond the formation’s perimeter and arrived before the group of cultivators.
The man at the head was exceptionally handsome, wearing a black robe with a gold-patterned jade pendant at his waist—quite conspicuous.
The students recognized the pattern at a glance, and their breath caught again.
Even with their limited experience, they could recognize the emblem of Guwang City, and Guwang City was controlled by the Zuoqiu family.
Duan Wei had gone to pledge himself to the young master that morning—they all knew about that. Besides, the cultivator beside this man wore the chief disciple robes of Qimu Sect. If he could make the sect’s chief disciple stand in a subordinate position, this man was probably the Zuoqiu young master, wasn’t he?
The next moment, the cultivator who had escorted them out confirmed their guess, calling out, “Rong-ge.”
Zuoqiu Rong’s gaze swept briefly over Duan Wei, then he asked, “How are things inside?”
The man said, “It’s a trial ancient realm. It’s already over.”
Zuoqiu Rong gave an “Mm.” Sensing that the cracks in the ancient realm were finally wide enough for outsiders to pass through, he stepped forward and vanished from where he stood in an instant. The others swiftly followed.
Among the students, the quick-witted ones quietly looked at the cultivator beside them, their attitudes turning cautious. To be able to call the young master “Rong-ge” so familiarly—was he really a teacher of Qimu Sect?
The man paid no attention to their scrutiny. He said, “Your teachers should all be outside. Go find them, and don’t wander off.”
With that brief instruction, he waved his hand and sent them out of the secret realm.
The school’s three teachers had been waiting anxiously at the back mountain. Seeing this, they hurried forward. A sweep of their spiritual sense confirmed the number of people, and their hearts ached.
But they had no idea when the students had been drawn into the ancient realm; over the course of the night, they’d entertained every terrible possibility. That more than twenty people were still alive was already a stroke of luck.
The three forced down their emotions and comforted them. “Good that you’re back. Were any of you hurt?”
Seeing familiar elders, the students’ eyes reddened instantly.
The fear of first encountering the ancient realm, the despair of facing the beast-man, the grief of losing companions, and the lingering terror of having brushed past death all surged up at once. A few of them couldn’t hold it together and burst into loud sobs.
The three teachers comforted them with aching hearts, then suddenly caught sight of Duan Wei. Startled, they exclaimed, “How are you here too?”
Duan Wei said, “I accidentally went in.”
The three teachers stared wide-eyed. Leading them away from the back mountain, they reached out and poked him, wanting to scold him—but then they remembered they’d apparently been busy escorting the young master’s guards at the time and hadn’t left anyone watching over the students. They swallowed their words.
The students, unaware of this, worried Duan Wei would be scolded. Forgetting their tears, they quickly crowded around the teachers to change the subject, while also raising the question on their minds—they wanted to know who the three cultivators who saved them were, because they’d been incredible.
Duan Wei cooperatively kept a low profile, falling two steps behind.
They had spent a day and a night in the ancient realm, and by now it was already dawn.
The morning sun spread eagerly across the ground, the grass and leaves all in vivid, lively colors.
The sky was clear and bright, the sun just rising.
He took a deep, pleased breath of the morning air and heard a teacher say, “Of course they’re powerful. That was Lang Xu of Wanchen.”
The students were shocked. “What?!”
Duan Wei was also taken aback.
The recruitment notice had stated very clearly: the collapse of this world might be connected to two people—one was Feng Yuntian of Xuanfang Sect, and the other was Lang Xu of Wanchen Flying Star Sect.
He hadn’t expected to run into one of them so soon after transmigrating. Instinctively, he stopped and turned back.
The team leader and A-Yuan, walking alongside him on either side, stopped with him. “What’s wrong?”
Duan Wei withdrew his gaze and answered casually, “Nothing. I was just thinking—he saved me and gave me food. I should properly thank him.”
The three teachers: “?”
The students: “…”
This young master had declared a few days ago that he wanted to follow the young master, using repaying a life-saving debt as his reason.
The string of impressive arithmetic contests had made them all forget his habit of trying to climb the social ladder. Now, realizing it belatedly and seeing that he’d already switched targets, they were all at a loss for words.
Wait—the young master was in there too! You latched onto him first, and now right in front of him, you’re latching onto Lang Xu? Isn’t that awkward?
The three teachers, for the sake of the school’s dignity, personally held him back. “Behave yourself. Don’t go causing trouble.”
Duan Wei said, “I’m not planning to go back. I just mean I’ll thank him when he comes out.”
The three teachers and the students remained at a loss for words.
Duan Wei silently recalibrated, remembering the original owner’s persona. He considered explaining himself, but then thought: if he ever got the chance to stay by Lang Xu’s side, he would definitely seize it. If he explained now and ended up contradicting himself later, what would he do?
So he kept his mouth shut for the time being and followed them to the school’s front courtyard.
News of the ancient realm had already spread, and quite a few cultivators had gathered here.
Duan Wei surveyed the area, his gaze landing on a tree outside the courtyard.
Hanging high in its branches was a blue cloth, with bold, eye-catching characters written across it: Hi~
The corners of his mouth lifted slightly. “I’m going out to see a friend.”
The teacher said, “No.”
There were too many people around right now; even with elders stationed here, they couldn’t rest easy. “Until the people from the ancient realm come out, no wandering off.”
Duan Wei said, “It’s just outside the gate.”
The teacher looked suspicious. Seeing him point at the cloth, he frowned. “What is that?”
The students heard this and looked. In unison, they said, “A math symbol!”
The teacher: “?”
The students had sat through the lessons too. Even though they couldn’t understand them, after listening for so long, they’d managed to recognize a few symbols.
“He wrote that first letter before.”
“Yeah, I remember it sounds like ’ei’ something…”
“Let me think… aitch?”
Duan Wei gave an appropriate nod of confirmation.
“So I was right!” Seeing the teacher completely baffled, the students felt a sudden joy at having learned something new that they could actually put to use. Pointing at the cloth, they said to the teacher, “Look at the first letter—aitch!”
The teacher: “???”
That’s a letter?
Since when does one letter need two syllables to pronounce in your family?