Chapter 340: Returning (2)
At the same time.
On the way from Nanyuan to the capital.
The old principal of Nanyuan Secondary School was driving an old truck with Liu Wenyan in the passenger's seat.
While driving, he nagged, "Old Liu, you're not young anymore. Don't be so stubborn. With your strength, what can you do in the capital?"
Liu Wenyan did not say anything. Instead, he was staring ahead in daze. It had been 50 years. He had stayed in Nanyuan for 50 years. He had not contacted any of his old friends. Even when some of his old friends passed away, he only mourned in silence.
Today, he was returning. He felt like this still wasn't the time for him to return. He should have returned in the future. But...some people were forcing him to return.
Zhang Ruoling...
Numerous scenes from the past rose in his mind. Back then, he was in his prime.
Back then, he was high-spirited.
Back then, he looked down on all the heroes under the sky. He, Liu Wenyan, was capable of fighting and slaying Skysoars at the Mental Tempering Stage.
First place in the top 100? That was something he could get by merely reaching out and taking it.
His teacher was the strongest human Sunmoon in existence. With a teacher that reigned supreme above so many people and a student who was similarly as impressive, who could contend against them?
Even before entering the Skysoar Realm, he could already disregard all in the Skysoar Realm.
That year, his teacher failed to affirm his dao. His martial uncles were all killed in battle. His teacher was carried back as a corpse, leaving only a single character behind. Nothing else remained.
He was not reconciled to that. He could not accept that. He believed that there was a conspiracy. His teacher once said that he was capable of fighting Invincibles. He was the strongest Sunmoon across the Myriad Realms.
Anyone might fail in their dao affirmation, but not his teacher. Alas...his teacher had ultimately failed. The few seniors that were able to return with their lives were filled with regret and indignance. They could do nothing but to leave with indignation.
They couldn't accept that result either. How could the fifth principal fail? Why would there be two Invincibles ambushing the fifth principal?
That year, he took in his teacher's Divine Character, hoping to recreate the glory of the fifth principal. Alas, the heavens played a joke on him. The character was too powerful, resulting in his sea of willpower suffering a heavy injury. His existing characters were damaged and even his physical body broke apart.
A genius once capable of slaughtering Skysoars had been reduced into a cripple that couldn't even kill a chicken. That year, a group of his close friends walked the same path as him. They were similarly indignant. They were similarly unwilling to give up.
How could the fifth principal fail? They believed that the fifth principal should have succeeded even against two Invincibles. The fifth principal should have been able to break through in combat and kill the two Invincibles. There must be an issue somewhere.
"Zhang Ruoling..."
Muttering that name, Liu Wenyan's eyes turned red. It had been nine years since that person was dead. Why were they disturbing him even after he was dead? Was it really a good thing to pass these characters on?
Zhang Ruoling had carried his character to his grave because he did not wish to ruin the life of another cultivator. Why couldn't those people understand him? Even Liu Wenyan himself planned to bring his character to the grave if he couldn't find a suitable successor.
While he was thinking, a demon beast appeared ahead of their vehicle. The old principal was alarmed. This was going to get troublesome. But suddenly, a streak of sword light erupted, cutting the beast into pieces. A silhouette appeared ahead of them.
"Teacher!"
The newcomer looked young. If Su Yu was present, he would recognize that this was the young teacher who had tried advising him against fighting Huang Qifeng during the challenge matches.
Liu Wenyan stared at the youth silently.
The old principal stared at the newcomer for a bit before exclaiming in astonishment, "Liu Chuan, is that you?"
This was a student of Liu Wenyan from a long time ago. In truth, this student was probably near 50 years in age already. He only looked young.
The principal had heard that this student had been stuck at the Skysoar Realm for many years. He was currently serving as a teaching assistant in the academy. Over the years, he had never returned to Nanyuan. Why was he here?
"Greetings, Principal." He extended his greeting to the principal before looking at Liu Wenyan. His eyes turned red as he said, "Teacher, let me clear the path for you."
Liu Wenyan stared at him silently for a long time before finally saying, "Why are you getting yourself involved in this? Do you even have the strength to get involved? After entering the academy, you are no longer my student. I have merely taught you for a few years. We don't have any other relationship."
"Teacher!" The man said, "I might be weak, but I am still willing to clear the path for you. There are a lot of people waiting for your return in the Great Xia Cultural Research Academy."
"Return?" Liu Wenyan had a self-mocking smile as he shut his eyes and ignored his student, "Drive."
The old principal did not know how he should react. While driving, he hollered, "Liu Chuan, just go back. An old bag of bones like me is enough to send your teacher there. You can go back."
Liu Chuan said nothing. He merely flickered before vanishing into thin air. Not far ahead of them, sounds of combat started ringing out.
"Old Liu..." The old principal asked, "What is going on? Did you contact him in advance without telling me about it? Are you pretending to be clueless now?"
Liu Wenyan opened his eyes and glared at the old principal. Bullshit! He knew who was the one who had notified Liu Chuan. Apart from that crazy old woman, nobody else would do so. He couldn't even be bothered to give the old principal an answer.
...
At the same time.
Even further ahead of them.
Wu Qi killed an enemy with a swing of her sword and smiled, "Why is the Myriad Race Cult getting involved in this as well? What a bother. Because of you, I need to make a move as well. His return has nothing to do with you guys. By the way, since that's grandaunt's lover...is he my granduncle?"
Wu Qi almost laughed in amusement.
...
Even further ahead.
A silhouette flickered in the air.
Then, someone appeared. That was Wu Yuehua.
She stared at the empty space in front of her and sneered, "Are you guys thinking of stopping his return as well? Dream on!"
"Wu Yuehua!"
An old woman walked out of thin air and coldly said, "Liu Wenyan was expelled. He was exiled. Nanyuan is his place of exile. He does not have permission to leave. There was an agreement that he could leave with the fifth principal's character, but he could no longer return to the capital unless he could find a way to repay all the losses their faction had incurred all those years ago."
The old woman was none other than Elder Yu Hong. When Wu Yuehua mentioned the matter involving Zhang Ruoling's grave earlier in the day, Zhou Mingren guessed that Liu Wenyan might have learned of it as well.
And sure enough, he was right. Liu Wenyan was really on his way back.
"He is free to return if he wants. As for dregs like you, feel free to try digging out Zhang Ruoling's grave. As long as you dare to do so, I'll kill all of you and fill the grave with your bodies."
"Wu Yuehua, don't get too cocky."
Wu Yuehua merely sneered. Suddenly, the space around the two of them started collapsing. A short while later, Wu Yuehua walked out of the area of disturbance, leaving the old woman coughing blood behind her.
"Garbage."
Wu Yuehua sneered and did not spare her a second glance. "You're actually someone from the fifth principal's generation. Why are you such a piece of trash? So what if you're a Mountainsea? The pillmaking faction is still good enough to suppress you."
The old woman had nothing to say. A moment later, the air flickered and a different individual appeared.
Elder Sun had arrived. Taking a step forward from thin air, he said, "Yuehua, Liu Wenyan can't be allowed to return. At the very least, not now."
"Hmph!"
Wu Yuehua snorted with contempt.
Yet again, the air flickered. A middle-aged man stepped out of thin air. With a somewhat pale face, he coughed and said, "Old Sun, don't block the way. Both you and Yu Hong are not good enough to stop us. As for Old Li, I reckon he won't be able to make it here."
Elder Sun's face changed as he asked, "What did you do to Old Li?"
"Nothing much. He was feeling unwell so he returned to the academy."
The middle-aged man said, "Don't push things too far. Big Brother Liu has been keeping to his word all these years. If you guys hadn't gone so far, he wouldn't have decided to return right now."
Elder Sun's face changed repeatedly. After a while, he said, "I might not necessarily agree with Old Zhou. But there is no denying that the living is more important than the dead. Zhang Ruoling's character can save Yuming. And Zhang Ruoling is already dead. He passed away from illness. None of us had pushed him to his death. It would be a waste to keep the character in his grave..."
"Nonsense!" Wu Yuehua asked, "Would you agree if I dig up your grave for our characters after your death?"
Elder Sun calmly replied, "Yes. In fact, I don't even need you to do so. I will voluntarily leave my characters behind before my death."
"Are you going to insist on stopping us?"
Wu Yuehua questioned with an unsightly expression. She no longer felt like arguing more with them.
Elder Sun said, "Tell Liu Wenyan to return to Nanyuan. The academy is no longer the same academy from 50 years ago. The fifth principal had exhausted the academy's accumulation of many years. Because of the fifth principal, the entire academy nearly shut down. Are we going to let Liu Wenyan lead the academy to ruin once again?"
"You sure sound righteous." Wu Yuehua coldly said, "If you can get Zhou Mingren to give up on the grave, Liu Wenyan can definitely stop his journey. Otherwise, we will wait until he's here before starting a new faculty with him. At that time, we can have some fun with each other."
Elder Sun said, "Yuehua, back then, I was also a good friend of your mother..."
Wu Yuehua sneered with disdain.
Elder Sun shook his head, "Unless Liu Wenyan fully recovers and enters the Mountainsea Realm, he will never be able to start a new faculty. Stop dreaming already. That person from Great Zhou is already on the cusp of the Invincible Realm. He once said that the moment he reaches the Invincible Realm, he would come to collect his debt and settle the score of his father's death with the multiple character faction."
Wu Yuehua's face finally changed.
Elder Sun said, "If Liu Wenyan continues keeping to himself, that person might not make a move against a cripple like him. But the moment Liu Wenyan ends his retirement, that person will not let the matter rest."
That person was from the Zhou Family of Great Zhou. A prefecture that was likely to be even stronger than Great Xia. But after the death of Great Zhou King's younger brother 50 years ago, Great Zhou had been maintaining a relatively low profile after losing one of their Invincible experts.
And now, they were going to welcome a second Invincible other than the Great Zhou King. This was going to be an Invincible who was hostile toward the multiple character faction.