Book 2: Chapter 5: While Crossing the Rainbow, Three Fingers on the Arrow

After giving a respectful greeting towards Mu Qing who stood at the entrance of the freshman dormitory, handing over the letter that now smelled like food, Lin Xi explained the rules regarding letters in the academy to Li Kaiyun and the others while heading towards the single-eyed black-robed lecturer already waiting outside the freshman dormitory.

“Turns out teacher’s surname was Tong…”

When Lin Xi approached, he also gave a respectful bow. Originally, he wanted to get closer to this professor who wasn’t all that bad to Bian Linghan and himself, but the single-eyed black-robed lecturer instead didn’t pay him much attention, moreover not bringing these Self Defense Department new students into yesterday’s valley, instead bringing them in the direction of the freshman dormitory.

On the cliff on the other side of the freshman dormitory was a three-floored wooden building. This wooden building looked ordinary on the outside, only a layer of clear paint covering it. Its design was rather simplistic, built next to the cliff. One could directly reach the top of this wooden building through the loft.

When one looked down from this wooden building, they would find that not far from this cliff, was a lake. Cattails grew from within the lake, some fish swimming about within, unknown insects releasing their cries. If there was a low table set up next to the window, a small red earth stove warming some yellow wine, or maybe a pot of tea, all of the new Self Defense Department students might feel that this scene would be extremely nice. However, when they heard that this wooden building’s rooftop was precisely where their second lesson was going to take place, most of the new Self Defense Department students’ faces paled slightly, their brows furrowing.

The wooden boards of this loft looked like they would break at any time. If they fell asleep by accident while cultivating, they might very well fall off the cliff. Meanwhile, what rested next to the wooden building, below the cliff, were sharp stones. If they fell down, then what awaited them might very well be their heads in the east, bodies south, and legs west, this type of end.

Even though they knew that this single-eyed black-robed lecturer was here, the chances of this type of thing happening low, when they considered what would happen if more than ten people fell together, that this black robed lecturer might not be able to save all of them in time, the already nervous and carefully sitting down new Self Defense Department students still couldn’t help but quietly complain to the students next to them. “No wonder our Self Defense Department’s Professor Qin liked to squat on the palace roof like a big monkey, turns out it is a habit produced from our Self Defense Department’s normal training.”

“If you cannot calmly enter meditation cultivation even in this type of overhanging old building loft, when you all are on the battlefield in the future, how will you be able to enter meditation?” These words were actually heard by the single-eyed black-robed lecturer. Without the slightest trace of expression, he looked at that student and coldly said, “If you knew that our Professor Qin, after completing his first year in the university, during his self-tempering in the border army, was chased down by eleven opponents of the same cultivation level, then nine out of those eleven persuers died instead, with him returning safe and sound, you wouldn’t be saying this.”

All of the students immediately became silent.

Even though apart from the four ‘border barbarians’, most of the students didn’t have that much of a concrete concept towards cultivation, to face eleven cultivators of the same level as the enemy, and then killing nine of them before returning… just from the fiery radiance in this single-eyed black-robed  lecturer’s expression and the expressions of the four ‘border barbarians’, all of the new students could sense just how cruel and bitter of an experience that was.

The single-eyed black-robed lecturer’s feet tapped on the rooftop, everyone only feeling the wooden floor below them shaking slightly, but his body already passed over several students’ heads like a fluttering leaf, landing on the eaves no one was willing to approach.

Because the eaves were slanted, his body was also leaning forward, yet he turned around, completely unconcerned, pointing at an open space next to him and saying, “Wang Xinglun, Lin Xi, Bian Linghan, the three of you, sit here.”

Lin Xi and Bian Linghan knew that the single-eyed black-robed lecturer was likely doing this to give them preferential treatment. However, when they saw that dangerous edge that was hard to even sit still on, Hua Jiyue’s expression changed slightly, saying, “Teacher, just now, Lin Xi and Bian Linghan didn’t say anything, why are you punishing them?”

“You will also come and sit here.” The single-eyed black-robed lecturer gave the dissatisfied Hua Jiyue a look, and then simply said; “Who else is unsatisfied? You can also come and sit here.”

Hua Jiyue stood up angrily, while Tang Ke also silently stood up. Li Kaiyun also stood up, sitting by Lin Xi and Bian Linghan.

“Very good.” The single-eyed black-robed lecturer gave these students an expressionless look, and then after uttering these two words, unknown if they really were praise, slowly said, “There is one more matter I have to inform everyone about. Lin Xi and Bian Linghan didn’t listen to instructions, so they have been punished, ordered to do manual labor in Qilin Peak Medicine Valley for an hour each day as a warning to others.”

“Punished well!” Mu Shanzi’s eyes brightened, taking joy in their disaster, clapping his hands and speaking in praise.

“You, come over here as well.”

“Teacher, I…”

“Alright, from now on, close your eyes and cultivate.”

…

Even though everything before their eyes went dark when they closed their eyes, no difference left in this world, their inclined body and the emptiness before them, as well as the slightly damp wind that blew over from the distant lake, still added quite a bit of pressure onto their minds.

Bian Linghan followed the method the black-robed single-eyed lecturer taught them, placing her tongue against the roof of her mouth, focusing on her breathing, the natural movement of saliva moving down her throat. However, after swallowing who knew how many times, she still couldn’t calm herself down. Just as she was about to panic, she instead heard the breathing of Lin Xi beside her already become extremely smooth, fine, and drawn-out.

Lin Xi clearly already entered the meditation cultivation state. Meanwhile, when she heard this type of breathing from Lin Xi beside her, the pressure Bian Linghan felt from having a vacant space before her greatly decreased. After who knew how much time had passed, she herself also forgot that she was on a cliff, that there were sharp rocks in the lake below. Her breathing also became uniform, natural, fine, and drawn-out.

If the lecturers from other academies passed this place, they would discover that Lin Xi was still the first to enter meditation cultivation, and this time, Bian Linghan was the second one.

The single-eyed black-robed lecturer watched these new students without moving. His single eye narrowed slightly, seemingly dozing off. While sitting on the eaves, he was like a boulder, unmoving from morning until noon. Suddenly, his body moved, walking over to Bian Linghan and Lin Xi’s sides. With a grab, he actually easily raised Bian Linghan and Lin Xi, and then with a light tap of his toes, he was like a spider sliding on water, not producing half a bit of activity, descending from the wooden building.

As wind flew by their ears, the sound of clothes fluttering about, Lin Xi and Bian Linghan both woke up with a start.

“Teacher… what if they fall down?” When he saw that it was already close to dusk, just having been lowered onto the ground, his feet touching the ground, Lin Xi already knew that this single-eyed black-robed lecturer was taking him and Bian Linghan to special training. However, when he turned around and saw the students who were still inside the wooden building, especially those he was closest to, still cultivating as if asleep, Lin Xi couldn’t help but quietly ask this.

The single-eyed black-robed lecturer’s body turned slightly, but he didn’t say anything, instead nodding towards the space below the wooden building.

Below the cliff was still a gathering of rocks. However, when he looked where the single-eyed black-robed lecturer nodded towards, Lin Xi was stunned.

A rock suddenly moved, seemingly nodding in greeting towards the single-eyed black-robed lecturer.

“Stealth?” Lin Xi reacted. “Those are also the academy’s lecturers?”

The single-eyed black-robed lecturer nodded. “He is surnamed Zhong, recently promoted to lecturer. However, next year, he will most likely be in charge of your Stealth class.”

“Always staying down there, if someone falls, then he’ll catch them…” Lin Xi couldn’t help but mutter. “Teacher, do you all not need to cultivate?”

The single-eyed black-robed lecturer looked at Lin Xi like he was looking at an idiot, his tone full of disdain, “When aren’t we cultivating?”

Lin Xi’s brows furrowed, as if he was thinking about an extremely important issue. “Teacher, your intention is… the academy’s lecturers and professors can enter meditation cultivation at any time, moreover can quickly sense the change in your environment, able to react accordingly?”

“Everyone needs some time to enter meditation cultivation. As for reacting quickly to changes in your surroundings while in meditation cultivation, in this type of peaceful environment where there are comparatively less changes, most lecturers are capable of it. If it is on an originally chaotic battlefield, then they cannot.”

“Then, teacher, you should be an expert who, even on the battlefield, can quickly enter meditation cultivation, right?”

“Lin Xi, you really have too many questions!”

“I still have one final question.” While looking at this single-eyed black-robed lecturer who brought him and Bian Linghan over to a silverthread zipline, Lin Xi laughed and said, “Originally, I thought that we would receive special training after the cultivation class ended. Now that your respected self brought us away ahead of time, wouldn’t my cultivation time be shorter than them? With my talent, wouldn’t I fall behind even further later on?”

The single-eyed black-robed lecturer shot him a look, saying in an annoyed manner, “You are normally so smart, don’t tell me that you never considered that even if you cannot become a Windstalker, under my training, you can at least exceed others by a huge amount in terms of archery? Equestrian Archery is a required class for our Self Defense Department, so you and Bian Linghan, under my private tutelage, should at least not have any problems obtaining the course points form this topic, and you’ll be able to obtain these points faster than others.”

“Moreover, even if you lose out on two hours of cultivation, you enter meditation so quickly, your true cultivation time wouldn’t be much less than theirs.” After a pause, perhaps because this single-eyed black-robed lecturer felt like he was treating this brat too well, and that was why his questions really were too many, he couldn’t help but scold, “Lin Xi, are you fishing for compliments from me regarding your speed of meditation cultivation, or do you want me to scold you for being stupid?”

Lin Xi and Bian Linghan exchanged a look, laughing, and then obediently remained quiet.

…

Thud!

After learning from his last experience, when he rode the zipline towards its end, Lin Xi’s legs forcefully stepped on the thick padding on the other end to decrease the impact, and then landed steadily on the ground.

This was an exceptionally peaceful gourd-shaped valley. The valleys around this place were all stepped fields, the different colored medicinal herbs forming a beautiful flight of rainbow stairs.

On the opposing mountaintop, they could see that there were quite a few people leading bulls around, plowing some stepped fields that had just been harvested.

“Stop looking at them, those are some Medicine Department students who are farming, Agriculture is one of their elective courses.”

The single-eyed black-robed lecturer landed after Bian Linghan answered a question Lin Xi was wondering about. While heading towards a bamboo building built above several stepped fields, slowly, but in a clear and powerful voice, he said to Lin Xi and Bian Linghan, “Bow handling, arrow control, and shooting the arrow, there are many different styles. However, as a Windstalker, not only does it have to be accurate, it has to be fast, and able to fire continuously for a prolonged period of time. That is why what is most suitable for Windstalkers, is the Three Fingered Control Method.”

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