In the year 3210 of the Liang Calendar, on June 22nd, the elderly Professor Bai Wendao walked on the road to Tianheng Sword Cultivation Academy.
The last time Bai Wendao had been to the academy was thirty years ago.
He was an old member of Tianheng Sword Cultivation Academy and still had quite some affection for it.
His agreement to come out of retirement and teach again was partly due to his concern for the future development of the Sword Cultivation Academy.
At his age, the chances of making a breakthrough to Core Formation were slim, plus he wasn't short on money. Unless out of love for the profession, there really was no need for him to take up a professorship again.
Bai Wendao was originally supposed to start teaching at the beginning of the new academic term, at the end of September. But having been away from the academy for thirty years, he felt somewhat out of touch with its progress.
Thus, Bai Wendao took the initiative and suggested to Lei Buxiao that he wanted to enter the academy early to acclimate himself.
Which led to the arrangement for Bai Wendao to become the teacher for the graduates' practical combat assessment.
The practical combat assessment for graduates was rather simple.
At least, it was for Bai Wendao.
A veteran cultivator at the Great Perfection of the Foundation Establishment Stage, handling a few little kids in the Qi Cultivation Stage was a piece of cake, wasn't it?
Just a practical combat assessment, what difficulty could there be?
Even if his body was aging, it couldn't be that he wouldn't be able to handle a few youngsters, right?
Because the game "Immortal Gods" included "land cars"—spiritual energy-driven "cars," there were corresponding "roads," "zebra crossings," and "traffic lights."
Bai Wendao arrived at an intersection.
Even as a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, he still had to wait for the traffic light.
Misusing one's cultivation level in public places to disrupt traffic would result in a corresponding fine.
The fine wasn't much, but it would be embarrassing. High-ranking cultivators were respected figures everywhere, and nobody wanted to be caught for a public shaming and education session, ruining their reputation. Thus, everyone implicitly followed the rules.
While waiting for the traffic light, Bai Wendao spotted a particularly beautiful female cultivator.
This female cultivator was not only beautiful, but she also possessed a cool temperament rarely seen in cultivators her age.
She stood there as if she were an ice sculpture exhaling chillness.
From her expression to her movements, she radiated an aura of 'Keep away from me, strangers not welcome.'
As a seasoned lecturer, Bai Wendao could tell upon seeing "Liu Qing" that she was a girl with a pure heart and if her talent was good, she could be an excellent practitioner of cultivation.
As long as she diligently cultivated, her future achievements would surely not be low.
At the very least, surpassing his Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment should not be a big problem.
However...
Bai Wendao felt that this female cultivator, who was looking around as if lost and not crossing even when the light turned green, seemed to be in need of help.
If it had been in the past, Bai Wendao probably wouldn't bother helping, especially with someone carrying a cool aura, as it was likely more trouble than it was worth. But after he met Jiang Cheng, he was influenced by this sunny and kind-hearted young man.
If Jiang Cheng were here, he would probably not hesitate to help this female cultivator, right?
That's what Bai Wendao thought.
Thinking this, he approached Liu Qing.
"Young student, do you need any help?" he asked in a friendly tone.
Liu Qing took a gentle sniff, and the scents of the surrounding environment rushed into her nostrils. Being a snake demoness with two thousand years of cultivation, she could easily distinguish various bits of information hidden in the environment.
Including hostility, malice, danger, excitement...
Liu Qing confirmed that this elderly person with a modest cultivation level had no strange intentions.
She took out a piece of paper, confirmed her destination, then asked, "Excuse me, where is Lakeside Garden?"
Bai Wendao was taken aback.
Considering how serious the female cultivator seemed, he thought some significant issue had arisen.
But it turned out she was merely lost.
"Lakeside Garden..."
Bai Wendao thought for a moment and came up with the location.
Having lived for many years in Wuyue City, such a question about directions was no pressure for him.
"You just follow this 'Kangzhuang Road' straight ahead, turn left at 'Waterfront Elite Residence,' continue straight... and then you'll reach it."
As a lecturer, Bai Wendao definitely had no issues with his eloquence. Plus, with his clear logic, he believed he described the route quite well.
The female cultivator seemed not to have understood at all.
After pondering for a while, she said, "But this road, up ahead, it splits into three."
"Kangzhuang Road doesn't split into three; instead, another road crosses it, forming a crossroads. In short, you just need to follow this road straight ahead, and when you come across 'Waterfront Elite Residence,' take a left, and then..."
"Waterfront Elite Residence, what's that?"
"A residential community."
"Residential community, what's that?"
"A residential community is a bunch of houses gathered together, where a lot of people live."
"So, is this place a residential community?"
"No, this is a hospital!"
"Hospital, what's that?"
Had it been someone else asking, Bai Wendao would have let her experience just how fast his swordsmanship was.
But this female cultivator was strange; she blinked her eyes, polite and seemingly sincere in asking some utterly bewildering questions. She appeared to know very little about the most fundamental aspects of modern society.
Of course, what really eased Bai Wendao's irritation was that the female cultivator always paused to think before speaking, which gave her an elegant air, yet she somehow seemed not too bright.
It wasn't a foolish kind of unintelligence but rather an exquisitely constrained mental capacity.
In short, very strange!
At the entrance of Waterfront Elite Residence.
"Thank you," Liu Qing said to Bai Wendao.
She was genuinely thankful to this elderly man who had taken the trouble to accompany her here, with his low cultivation level and not much remaining lifespan, a rather pitiable old man.
Bai Wendao forced a smile.
After realizing that the female cultivator was asking for directions due to work, he had already begun to silently curse her employer.
Who could be so immoral!
To actually employ a young woman with a mental deficiency!
People these days really seem to have no bottom line at all!
...
Tianheng Sword Cultivation Academy.
There was a minor incident on the way, but Bai Wendao still arrived on time at the place where he once worked.
It had been thirty years since he last set foot here, and there hadn't been many changes at the Sword Cultivation Academy.
The trees were still the old friends, the imposing teaching buildings still stood tall, but the vast majority of faces on campus were now unfamiliar.
Thirty years were enough for many lecturers to be promoted or transferred, completely renewing the academy's lifeblood.
Bai Wendao arrived at the examination hall for graduates.
The equipment used for monitoring the exams had clearly been replaced with brand-new models.
The displays were bigger and clearer, much improved from his time.
Bai Wendao glanced at the leaderboard on the screen.
The student ranked first had earned an impressive score of "8 minutes and 15 seconds."
8 minutes and 15 seconds! Such a level was much more formidable than the students he used to teach.
Bai Wendao nodded with satisfaction.
Not bad.
No wonder that Lei Buxiao dared to organize the academy's upgrade. It turned out that the teaching quality at the Sword Cultivation Academy had improved significantly after his departure.
With such excellent lecturers and students, the academy's upgrade this time should likely face no major issues.
Bai Wendao was about to wander around when he saw Tao Weiping, his former student and now a lecturer at Tianheng Sword Cultivation Academy, approaching him.
"Teacher Bai, you've arrived!"
Bai Wendao looked approvingly at Tao Weiping and said, "Weiping, you guys have done quite well in teaching these past few years. Just look at the scores on the leaderboard, our Sword Cultivation Academy seems to be churning out talents!"
Tao Weiping's face turned pale, "Teacher, there's a lot to say about that. Anyway, first let me discuss with you a few particularly important points to watch out for during the upcoming battles. This is very important!"