Yama Rising

His sense of responsibility wasn’t an inherent one that he was born with, but more of a byproduct of a confluence of opportunity and the right circumstances - the right time, the right place, and the right people gave rise to an immaculately touching display of fireworks. And out of the ashes arises a single notion: what can I do for them?

But he didn’t have a single shred of any sense of responsibility at all.

Yet the things that triggered that spark of responsibility and nurtured it into a burgeoning sense of determination were the incidents with That Amorous Affair, the impunity of the matricide, and the Yin spirits that continue to pour into Hell.

The man’s sincere gaze, heartfelt gratitude, and even an ostensible reaction of immense joy at a single nod told Qin Ye that this man was indubitably here for him… and Qin Ye suddenly felt a sense of burden weighing on his shoulders.

“Pretty good.” Qin Ye packed his things, “I’m already looking forward to the teaching days ahead… I’ve already registered on this document the students who have reported thus far, so I’ll take my leave.”

“Arti, come over here and review it together with me. Let’s see if I’m missing anything, alright?” He spoke as he continued going through his plan. Arthis responded somewhat impatiently, “Is it really necessary?”

“So?”

“This guy’s positioning... is starting to resemble mine back in those days… And he hasn’t even landed a single skill to boot. What a load of crap, eh? Cough… do continue, you do make a lot of sense. I’m listening intently.”

Do you see how sincere I’m pleading with you?

Almost as though she could hear the cry of his heart, Arthis finally shifted her feet slightly and made her way over with a gracious look on her face. After a thorough reexamination of the lesson plan, Arthis declared with utter certainty, “It’s fine.”

“Why don’t you phrase that statement more in the imperative?!” Arthis snorted in dissatisfaction, “It’s not that I want to brag about this, but given the level of research on Yin spirits in the mortal realm, a single Anitya Hellguard from the glory days of the old Hell would be able to crush all of their experts altogether! This lesson plan was something that I’d personally picked out and crafted after deep discussion with you. It’s not like I’m targeting anyone in particular. It’s just that everyone here… You know what, forget it. The point here is simply this - everyone here are no more than little kids.”

Qin Ye was relieved. He went through his notes till 11 a.m., and then made a call to Professor Yu.

Qin Ye smiled, “It’s like this, Old Man Yu, school has just started…”

Without missing a beat, his voice grew somewhat stern and somber, “Good is good, bad is bad. The rigours of education strictly comes first. I’ve heard news of the First Academy of Cultivator’s evaluation system, and I know that teaching credits are incredibly important to you. However, if your preparation is insufficient and goes against the grain of the First Academy’s spirit of education, I won’t be able to turn a blind eye to that.”

Meanwhile, at the other end of the call, a fleet of five black Audis were currently driving from Mount Tai City straight towards the City of Salvation.

Old Man Yu was seated right in the reinforced Audi, holding onto his phone in one hand while holding onto another notebook with his other as he scrutinized the data on it. When he heard Qin Ye’s declaration of confidence, he was slightly taken aback. However, the corners of his lips quickly curled up into a silent smile.

Academia. What is academia? It is essentially painstakingly hard work tackling the difficult questions that span over centuries or even millenia. Some questions may even come up that remain unanswered by the concerted efforts of hundreds of academicians. Professor Yu was considered an outstanding talent across all of Cathay with a wealth of experience under his belt. Were there any questions he hadn’t seen before, much less questions posed by a young, sproutling instructor from a simple lesson plan?

After exchanging some pleasantries with each other, they hung up the phone, and a man dressed in a white lab coat riding shotgun in the same vehicle turned to Old Man Yu with a smile, “Old Man Yu, what’s up?”

He was one of the three great academicians and founding fathers of the SRC. He was naturally entitled to some latitude of confidence in this regard.

Old Man Yu tapped lightly on the window of his car, “You’ve seen Little Qin before. He just told me that he guarantees that the contents of his lesson is going to be absolutely refreshing. What do you think?”

It was as though Buddha himself were looking at an ascetic monk. The monk thinks that he’s understood the true meaning of Buddha’s teachings, yet wasn’t able to discern the identity of the man across him.

“That’s right. I’m looking forward to it as well.” Old Man Yu closed his eyes, “An absolutely refreshing topic huh… let’s wait and see what kind of a treat we’re in for.”

He was just about to review his lesson plan a second time when his phone suddenly buzzed.

The five instructors and all of its professors were already in the group. Zhou Xianlong switched on the voice-to-text function, and immediately explained, “Of our first batch of students, none of them are the super geniuses of the clans, sects, bloodlines or other associations from which they hail from. After all, the First Academy of Cultivators isn’t tried and tested just yet. The first batch of students are naturally the second-class cultivators within their respective organizations. None of them have ever experienced a true supernatural incident before.”

“And it’s precisely because of this that we have to groom and nurture them so that they can display the fullest extent of their potential. We will make these cultivation organizations beg us to send their true elites and geniuses to the school in two years’ time!”

Lin Han was straightforward, “Beat them up if they don’t listen in class!”

The others immediately cowered at Zhou Xianlong’s display of criminal force. Li Runxue suddenly typed, “What about some orientation activitiies? I hear that other regular colleges generally have some form of this to welcome their students.”

Li Runxue grew taciturn.

“Don’t get any wrong ideas. What we want to do is something somber, memorable, and also laden with educational undertones. It would be best if it achieves the goal of uniting the freshmen as well.”

These idiots have never been to college…

If we talked about something impressive, educational, and memorable by all freshmen and instructors alike, it’s got to be that…

The evil, sinister intentions of his heart were abundantly clear to all.

Lin Han sent him a private message, “Holy cow… you’re evil. You’re truly evil. I guarantee you that all the freshmen, without exception, will sincerely thank you and your eight generations of ancestors from the bottom of their hearts!”

An emergency drill was undoubtedly something that every Cathayan university student abhorred.

How many people would want to bury their heads in the ground in shame and scream in agony whenever they were reminded of their last encounter with an emergency drill?

We’ve been training, while you’ve been playing games in the comfort of your own organizations… But now… let’s see if the heavens spare any of you...