90: Fat guy who collects protection money
The next day, Xie Ning got up early. Unexpectedly, the door opposite was already open, and Su Qin was cultivating on the lawn. It seemed to be Ancient Martial Arts as well, though the Moves were different from Xie Ning's.
“Big Brother Xie, good morning~” Su Qin stopped his movements and greeted Xie Ning while panting slightly.
Xie Ning replied with a smile, “Morning, you're quite diligent too.”
“Hehe~ I'm not like Big Brother Xie, who is already a Bronze Grade Demon. I'm only at the Black Iron Rank. Although I've cultivated Ancient Martial Arts for several years, my progress has been minimal because my Mental Energy is too weak.” Su Qin scratched his head, smiling shyly.
Afterward, the two practiced their respective Cultivation Techniques on the lawn. When it was almost time, they rode the Poison Flame White Wolf and rushed toward the classroom.
Lingnan Academy was vast. If one walked, it might take half an hour to reach the end. Therefore, riding a Demon Tamers Beast was not restricted, as long as its size did not exceed five meters.
The Poison Flame White Wolf was just barely at the warning line.
Speeding along the way, they left a white blur behind. They didn't need to consciously memorize the route; they just had to follow the main crowd forward.
Halfway there, Xie Ning looked down at the school uniform he was wearing—white with blue edges, the school badge and name printed on the chest—and said with a bitter smile, “Even in the era of Demon Tamers, Huaguo's school uniforms are as ugly as ever.”
Su Qin grinned.
Arriving at the teaching building, they put away the Poison Flame White Wolf and quickly headed upstairs.
Following the class numbers, the two walked from the brightest part of the teaching building toward the interior. From the location of this classroom, Xie Ning once again realized the kind of treatment Yan Ruyu received at Lingnan Academy.
Finally, after several twists and turns, they found the classroom door. Just as they were about to enter, they heard a 'bang' as a massive ball of flesh was thrown out from inside the classroom.
Xie Ning instinctively pulled Su Qin to the side to dodge and raised his leg to kick that ball of flesh.
“Ouch!”
To his surprise, the ball of flesh let out a scream and landed on the ground with a 'thud,' splayed out like the character for 'big' in an overly plump way.
“Um... classmate, are you okay? Sorry, I didn't notice you just now. I thought you were a ball...” Xie Ning said with an embarrassed expression, quickly stepping forward to help the Fatty up with some effort, though he couldn't help but laugh by the end.
This Fatty actually had a good temper and didn't get angry. After standing up, he patted off the dirt and said proudly, “Fatty is fine. To tell you the truth, even if I fell from upstairs, Fatty's layers of fat are more shock-absorbent than you skinny guys. I'm telling you... Woah! Again?!”
Halfway through his sentence, he cried out in alarm and took off running. His speed was not much slower than Xie Ning's.
A split second later, a knife flew out and embedded itself into the floor where the Fatty had been standing a moment ago, the handle vibrating violently.
“This...”
Xie Ning and Su Qin looked at each other, both wearing expressions of surprise.
At this moment, a boy wearing black-rimmed glasses with a scar on his forehead walked out of the classroom. He smiled and said, “You two must be Xie Ning and Su Qin, right?”
Su Qin nodded and asked, “Yes. Is this Teacher Yan Ruyu's class?”
“Yes, this is it.” The boy with black-rimmed glasses grinned, his youthfulness somehow producing several wrinkles. “Let me introduce myself. My name is Class Monitor, and I'm the Class Monitor of Class 33. We'll be classmates from now on.”
Then, Xie Ning and Su Qin followed Class Monitor into the classroom. At this time, several people in the classroom were gathered around a Girl, softly comforting her.
Upon asking, they learned that the Fatty being beaten up was related to this Girl.
The Fatty had blocked the Girl several times before to demand protection fees. Out of fear, the Girl had given him the living expenses she had worked hard to save. Today was the first day of school, and unexpectedly, the Fatty was recognized when he passed by the classroom. The students, upon learning what had happened, angrily dragged the Fatty into the classroom and gave him a thorough beating.
Then the scene Xie Ning had just witnessed occurred—a very large ball... Xie Ning suddenly understood why the Fatty had to run so fast.
“That Fatty Moves quite fast; it seems his strength is actually pretty good.”
As soon as Su Qin finished speaking, the students immediately burst into laughter.
Class Monitor explained to Su Qin, saying, “That Fatty is called Fei Shanqiu. He's at the bottom of the Intermediate class. He can only bully students from the Beginner Class. When facing anyone from an Intermediate class, he wilts.”
Xie Ning nodded and introduced himself to the people in the class.
Most of them were quite friendly toward Xie Ning and Su Qin, except for a boy named Qin Tianyu, who merely gave them a faint glance without speaking. But according to the Class Monitor, he was the one who hit the hardest when they were venting their anger for the Girl, and that last dagger belonged to him.
After some inquiry, they learned that Yan Ruyu's class, including the two of them, only had a pitiful 23 people. Furthermore, they weren't divided into elementary, Intermediate, or Advanced levels. In other words, in her single class, there were the strongest Silver Rank Demon Tamers and the weakest Black Iron Rank ones.
Afterward, Xie Ning and Su Qin took the white-and-blue bracelets handed to them by the Class Monitor and bound their information according to the instructions.
This was the students' pass within the academy, containing many functions.
Su Qin then asked, “If one class has students from three different grades, how does Teacher Yan teach? The things each grade needs to learn should be different, right?”
“This... look, the teacher is here. You'll find out in a moment.” Class Monitor gestured toward the door.
The two turned their heads and indeed saw Yan Ruyu stepping into the classroom.
With her arrival, the classroom immediately became quiet, and the students returned to their seats.
Today, Yan Ruyu wore a white shirt on top and a blue hip-hugging skirt, which accentuated her graceful figure to the fullest. Her black hair was pinned up with a blue Phoenix-head hairpin, giving her a more dignified and elegant temperament than usual.
After entering the classroom, she first glanced at Xie Ning, then had the new students introduce themselves and explained some of the academy's rules.
“First, private fighting is strictly forbidden, but public duels are allowed; second, high-grade Materials, weapons, Beast Taming Skills, and other items must be exchanged for with Credits. You can do more missions to accumulate Credits in your spare time; third, I do not force you to stay in class, as everyone has their own way to Cultivate; fourth...”
Rule by rule, Xie Ning gained a general understanding of Lingnan Academy and also a general idea of Yan Ruyu's teaching style.
Every morning of the week, she would help students answer questions. The afternoon was usually for students to Cultivate or spar on their own. She also didn't restrict students to the classroom because she herself might not even be there.
From what they knew so far, Yan Ruyu's teaching philosophy was very different from other mentors. No wonder she was criticized.
After finishing the rules, Yan Ruyu began the lecture.
Once the actual teaching started, Xie Ning discovered that this person, who seemed cold and spoke as if words were gold, was actually exceptionally detailed when lecturing students.
The morning's class ended within the sound of her pleasant voice.
“Class dismissed.”
As the bell rang, Yan Ruyu concluded her topic and said faintly, then added at the end:
“Xie Ning, come to my office for a moment.”
After saying that, she left the classroom with the 'clack, clack, clack' of her high heels.
Xie Ning was stunned upon hearing this, then nodded. Under the curious gazes of the crowd, he followed behind Yan Ruyu and walked toward her office.
Yan Ruyu was not alone in her office. There was also a Middle-aged beautiful woman who had previously presided over the students' Secret Realm Trial. When she saw Xie Ning enter, she couldn't help but cast a curious look at him.
Xie Ning and Yan Ruyu sat on separate sofas with a coffee table between them. Two glass cups were set out on it, and the green tea leaves slowly unfurled, floating up and down.
After a long silence, Yan Ruyu said, “Late last night, Yan Chengze did not lie. Why did you still choose me as your teacher?”
“Didn't I already answer? I wanted to choose a good-looking mentor.” As Xie Ning spoke, he held the thick, heat-proof base of the glass cup, blew on it, and took a cautious sip.
Yan Ruyu's eyes widened. “Stop being glib!”
“Fine,” Xie Ning put down the cup, sat up straight, and said with a serious expression, “Just based on the fact that you saved my life, that's enough.”
“You are joking with your own future development! This is foolish!”
Hearing this, Xie Ning only smiled slightly and did not answer.
After a while, seeing that he still refused to answer, Yan Ruyu closed her eyes and said faintly, “I hope you won't regret it.”
“Naturally.” Xie Ning smiled. “But I think the reason Teacher sought me out today isn't just for this matter, right?”
Yan Ruyu nodded slightly and said, “Yes, I want to trade something with you.”
“What is it?”