"I asked a question."
Since the three stayed silent while the elder looked at them, he frowned and called them out again. It was only a small change in facial expression but that along with a sliver of the elder's aura was like a heavy weight to their chests.
Since the elder didn't seem to know the full story, this would have been a good chance to resolve the problem peacefully, but the time Fatty and Serina took to consider this was too long.
"My apologies, instructor. It's just that I couldn't sit still when I heard this fellow insult us and your lesson."
"Huh?!" Serina and Fatty cried out in surprise but there was nothing they could do now.
"Hoho, is that true?"
When the elder stared at Fatty, he felt as if he had been banned from telling any lies or half-truths.
"Well, I wouldn't call it an insult. I was just saying that the lesson wouldn't be too useful to me."
"Oh, and why is that?"
"..."
Fatty opened his mouth, but because he could say nothing but the truth, he hesitated. No matter how he spun it, the answer to the question would sound offensive. Serina also knew this but just like Fatty, she didn't know how to say it in way that wouldn't sound rude.
"What, you won't answer? Do you think that because you're from a big clan you don't need to pay me any respect?"
"That's not it."
"Then answer me. Why do you think my lesson wouldn't be useful to you?"
Fatty really didn't want to give his response to the elder, but at this rate words would be forced into his mouth anyways.
"...Because it's too basic."
The entire class exploded with exclamations and murmurs due to Fatty's reply and gazes containing malice and killing intent focused on him. Serina knew that he wasn't trying to aggravate them but she couldn't help wondering if he couldn't say it another way.
"Is, that so,"
The elder's face quickly turned ugly but Fatty couldn't take his words back.
"Fine, then why don't you enlighten the class with your knowledge?"
"No, that's alright."
Fatty grabbed Serina's hand and tried to leave the arena, but he found their path blocked by a group of familiar faces. One of which was familiar to Serina as well.
"Why are you running Piggy? Don't you want to help your fellow disciples?"
Tico, along with some of the guys who used to bully Fatty, stopped him with confident smirks. If it was the day before, Fatty would be shaking in his boots, but now he could return a sneer while hiding the rapid beating of his heart.
"Hmph, you mean like you. I heard you greeted your fellow disciples naked. Were you trying to teach them to be open-minded?"
"Shut up!!!"
While Serina was confused, majority of the class couldn't help chuckling.
'Hehe, my prank was successful.'
After knocking Tico out, Fatty used a spell to make sure he was unconscious before taking off his clothes and writing 'pervert' on his chest with permanent ink. Just the memory of it inspired a laugh.
"Fatty, what are you two talking about?"
"Just some small talk. Tico was always the type to show off, but I never thought he would want to show off his small package too."
"Pfft!"
As the class broke out in laughter and even some of the guys Tico brought along barely held back their smiles, Tico's face was red with anger. When he was found by a gathering of disciples, he managed to wake up and hastily escape. But by then images of his disgraceful state were already made and spread throughout the school.
Tico was determined to pay back Fatty ten times over, especially because of the looks he got when he returned to his clan. Never had he been so embarrassed, and so the anger he felt was unprecedented.
"Stop changing the subject! You said that this lesson was too basic, so you must possess knowledge greater than what was being taught. As a disciple of the Burning Mountain Sect, do you plan on hoarding such knowledge?"
"Well said," the elder added.
It was a ridiculous reason as the sect favoured personal strength above all, so the sect would never encourage its disciples to share their comprehension and secrets to their skills. However, Fatty wasn't in a position to refuse this request.
'Tch, is there no choice?'
The advice that he got from Shui would be enough, but the only thing he would be able to do was repeat those lines as he only had a faint understanding of the profundity behind Shui's words.
"Hmph, no response now, huh? Then I won't make things difficult for you. If you won't speak then just kneel before the class and apologize and we'll let you off. Hahahaha."
As Fatty's expression got uglier, Tico grew more excited.
'This is only the beginning. I'll make sure to work you and that girl like dogs before burying you six feet under.'
Tico's smile got wider as his imagination ran wild, but his smiling face froze when he heard Fatty.
"Fine, I'll do it."
"Huh?"
Shocking everyone including Serina, Fatty went towards the instructor with firm steps. Serina only wondered if his explanation would be enough to satisfy them, but the others wondered what he could possibly be planning on saying to them.
"You, do you think you can get out this by saying some random garbage?!" Tico shouted.
"Whether it'll be garbage or not, it's too early to judge."
As he replied, Fatty tried to keep himself calm. The instructor's sceptical gaze certainly didn't help him build up courage, but as long as he didn't face him he would be fine.
'Nope, never mind. I'm not fine.'
After turning his back to the instructor, Fatty had to face the disciples staring at him with cold eyes. At best, they expected him to explain topics they already knew about and demolish him with their superior understanding. However, after closing his eyes and drawing a sharp breath, Fatty's atmosphere changed.
From a nervous wreck, he became an experienced scholar. As she saw the way he relaxed his expression and tried to put on a sophisticated smile, that only looked arrogant on his face, Serina immediately understood what Fatty was doing.
'He's actually trying to imitate him. I can't wait to tell him about this when we meet again.'
Besides Serina who had a sweet smile, the spectators raised their eyebrows at this change, but before they could question it Fatty began.
"While I speak, I hope that no one will ask any questions. Just focus on what you can understand."
There was a light air of arrogance in his tone, but for some reason everyone agreed to wait for him to mess up before calling him out.
"You seemed to have been discussing the relationship between mental state and cultivation so I shall continue on that topic. One's mental state is related to 'condition' aspect of the three c's of cultivation breakthroughs. The dangers that can arise from a poor mental state are well-known, going from mental collapse to heart demons. However, rather than worrying about these dangers it's far more important to know how to prevent and treat them.
The obvious method is to simply not be stressed in the first place, but well that's easier said than done. Still, it is possible. And no, unless you're plagued by some curse there is no need for any fancy scripture or technique to solve your mental troubles. All you need is one thing to be completely devoted to. And it has to be something that is completely yours.
A person, no, a person has a free will, so they can betray you, even if they don't want to. A place, only in your heart so that it can never change. A dream, it must be one that you won't give up even if the world ends."
At the start they all thought that it was inevitable for him to become a laughing stock, but less than a minute in and they were proven wrong.