Chapter 2199: A Game
It was undeniable that Yu Hao had risen from an average cultivator to become an exceptional talent over the course of just twenty years. What had happened to induce such a change?
Headmaster Wen looked towards Lu Yin's pillar. It was clear that there was no disguise being used, as Headmaster Wen would instantly be able to see through any such thing. Hao Yu really was Yu Hao.
Achieving such incredible accomplishments in such a short period of time had lifted Yu Hao to stand on the same level as the Junior Progenitors. No, in some ways, he had even surpassed them.
There were still some things that needed to be looked into. After all, Xia Ziheng was trying to eliminate Yu Hao, and Headmaster Wen did not intend to let that happen. The God of Food had personally recruited the young man, and he had formally joined Virtue Archives as an instructor.
There was no way that Headmaster Wen would allow anyone to touch his Virtue Archives’ instructors.
In the entire academy, only Wu Taibai and Headmaster Wen were aware of Hao Yu’s true identity, as not even Xia Shenguang was aware of it. Xia Yuan had not said anything to the young man, as the elder feared that the youth’s impulsiveness would reveal Yu Hao to the entire academy and make the matter public.
For Xia Yuan, getting Yu Hao to go to Shenwu's Sky was more important than anything.
Even though Virtue Archives was not closed to outsiders, the fact that a Semi-Progenitor was in charge prevented outsiders from being willing to force their way in.
Lu Yin spent his time thinking about how Kui Luo had clearly wanted to create trouble for Virtue Archives, and he also visited Prof. Wei again to ask her a few more questions.
"From the first recorded history of the Perennial World, a total of 3,657 Redbacks have been captured, and each one was someone with a high status. The Lu family alone eliminated 211," Prof. Wei said.
Lu Yin visibly grew upset. "Redbacks are the greatest hidden danger that threatens the Perennial World."
Prof. Wei was completely calm. "Given historical records and the overall averages, there should be no less than twenty Redbacks at present. Two or three decades ago, it was discovered that even one of Humility’s Gate’s nine gatemasters was a Redback. The Aeternals’ ability to infiltrate humanity is disturbingly strong. It’s even possible that there are Redbacks here in this academy."
"That’s not very likely, given that there’s a Semi-Progenitor here," Lu Yin countered.
Prof. Wei replied, "Semi-Progenitors are neither omniscient nor omnipotent."
"I certainly hope not," Lu Yin said.
Prof. Wei was as calm as ever as she looked at Lu Yin. "It's time for your class to begin, Prof. Hao Yu."
Lu Yin glanced at the time. "You’re right, it is. In that case, please excuse me, Prof. Wei."
Prof. Wei smiled. "Life in the academy can often be quite boring, so I’m happy to have you come and chat with me."
Lu Yin smiled back. "Then that settles it. I’ll make sure to visit you more often."
Prof. Wei nodded.
Before leaving, Lu Yin made a point to ask Prof. Wei to look into a few historical matters. Lu Yin had wanted to ask about certain details, but he knew that it was important to first establish a relationship, as most people would not share too much with strangers.
As soon as Lu Yin left Prof. Wei's stone pillar, he ran into Bai Nan.
The student was momentarily startled, as he had not expected Lu Yin to be in such a place. "Why are you here?"
Lu Yin smiled as he warned the student. "Address me as 'Professor.'"
Bai Nan’s eyes turned cold as he stared at Lu Yin. "Prof. Hao Yu, if I remember correctly, your class is about to start, so why are you here visiting Prof. Wei?"
Lu Yin smiled. "I come here frequently."
With that, he simply left.
Bai Nan stared at Lu Yin's back. The young man started to get upset. Hao Yu visited Prof. Wei frequently? How shameless! Everyone already knew about the rumors concerning Hao Yu and Prof. Xiao Wen, and now he was going after Prof. Wei? Absolutely shameless!
Still, Bai Nan could only rage internally, as not even Xia Shenguang could make trouble for Lu Yin anymore. It was completely beyond Bai Nan’s abilities.
The students who attended Lu Yin's classes had become consistent, though there were still some who came for the eye candy, in addition to the ones who were eager to learn about lockbreaking.
For example, the short, stuttering fatty was a diligent and studious student, and he simply could not speak that well.
Also, Qing Feng had become a regular attendee of Lu Yin’s lectures. Ever since his spar with Xia Shenguang, Qing Feng had become obsessed with sourcebox arrays. He had climbed up Lu Yin's pillar several times to ask for advice, and while Qing Feng was incapable of getting past the Teleportation Formation on his own, Lu Yin gave the student a bit of preferential treatment and was willing to teach him.
Also, Nong Siniang would occasionally bring a sourcebox and ask Lu Yin to open it. In doing so, Lu Yin not only gained practice lockbreaking, but he also acquired academy credits.
For his current lecture, Lu Yin only expected to see his regular students, so it was a surprise to see that not just a stranger attend, but a stranger who had an impressive level of cultivation.
The moment Lu Yin saw the man, it was clear that he had to be the heir of one of the four ruling powers.
"Wang Xiaofan actually came! During his entire time here in the academy, he’s only ever attended the headmaster’s classes. He’s never once attended any other lectures," someone commented.
Nong Siniang kept a wary eye on Wang Xiaofan, hoping that he had not shown up just to make trouble for Prof. Hao Yu like Xia Shenguang.
Nong Siniang was not the only student with such suspicions, as all of the students had similar thoughts.
However, Wang Xiaofan simply listened to the lecture and then left halfway through the class. Not once did he say anything or reveal any sort of reaction.
After Wang Xiaofan left, someone else appeared, and this student’s arrival caused Qing Feng to blush, as well as short fatty. This student was a young girl. She was beautiful, stood out starkly in her white dress, looked classy and refined, and had sparkling eyes like stars that had stories of their own. She was Bai Weiwei from the Celestial Frost Sect.
There were three students in Virtue Archives who had been acknowledged to stand head and shoulders above any of the others, peerless in their generation. Those three were Bai Weiwei, Wang Xiaofan, and Xia Shenguang. However, Liu Que’s arrival meant that there were now four students at that level.
Three of these top four students came from the four ruling powers. Due to the White Dragon Clan’s inadequate foundation, they had no exceptional talents in the current generation, and instead, Liu Que had risen up.
With this, Lu Yin had seen practically all of Virtue Archives’ most talented students.
Bai Weiwei was completely different from Xia Shenguang and Wang Xiaofan, as she did not give off an innate arrogance, but was instead a very quiet person.
However, Nong Siniang was more irritated by Bai Weiwei’s presence in Prof. Hao Yu’s class than Xia Shenguang’s earlier interference.
"I never thought that I would see a Senior Array Master here in the academy, Prof. Hao Yu. I’m also an Array Master, so may I ask you for help if I have any questions?" Bai Weiwei spoke no louder than any of the other students, and she also did not try to disrupt the class at all.
"Hey, if you’re already an Array Master, then what do you need Prof. Hao Yu’s help for?" Nong Siniang became very upset.
Bai Weiwei glanced over at Nong Siniang. "I'm only an Array Master, while Prof. Hao Yu is a Senior Array Master."
Nong Siniang rolled her eyes. "Your Celestial Frost Sect even has Realm Array Masters, so why don’t you go ask them for help?"
"Prof. Hao Yu is so good-looking, why wouldn’t I want to speak to him?" Bai Weiwei answered with a smile.
Nong Siniang ground her teeth. This woman wanted to steal Prof. Hao Yu.
In reality, Bai Weiwei was simply joking around to tease Nong Siniang. While the two women were about the same age, Nong Siniang acted more like a child.
"Absolutely. Bring any questions you may have to me, though I might not be able to answer them," Lu Yin said with a smile.
Bai Weiwei's eyes lit up. "I have many questions that I haven’t been able to ask anyone for quite some time. Prof. Hao Yu, would you mind if we play a game of Stable Zone? That would allow us both to see the other’s lockbreaking mastery."
Instantly, many of the students were interested. Stable Zone was a game that could only be played by Array Masters, so most people had only ever heard of the game and had never watched it be played. The only public match that had occurred had been the one two decades earlier on Dragon Mountain that had been played between Lu Xiaoxuan and Qiu Ling. Seeing the abilities of an Array Grandmaster had been an eye opener to many people, as almost no one was able to witness such a thing in the flesh.
Everyone was very interested in seeing a game of Stable Zone.
Nong Siniang wanted to refuse on Hao Yu’s behalf. While Stable Zone was called a game, it was really a battle that compared two people’s lockbreaking mastery. Asking to play a game was no different from Xia Shenguang's request for a fight with Hao Yu.
However, before Nong Siniang could say a thing, Lu Yin had already agreed. "Certainly. You can decide the time and place. I haven't played a match for quite a long time, so I’m eager to do so."
Bai Weiwei smiled. "Professor, you should be tired from today’s class, so why don’t we have a match here tomorrow evening? Would that work for you?"
Lu Yin nodded. "Yes."
Bai Weiwei left in a very calm manner.
Nong Siniang was already worried. "Professor, how could you agree to a match? The Celestial Frost Sect has more than one Array Master, and even if Bai Weiwei’s only an Array Master, she’s accumulated a tremendous amount of experience, and she’s played many games of Stable Zone. Even if you are a Senior Array Master, you might not hold the advantage against her."
Qing Feng also came to his senses. Apparently Prof. Hao Yu had just been challenged once again. "Professor, I also think that it would be better for you to avoid the match. Stable Zone might be just a game, but it’s also very dangerous. This won’t be as easy as the fight against Xia Shenguang."
"Ye- ye- yes! The- these games are ve- very dangerous," the little fatty agreed.
Lu Yin just laughed. "What's wrong with all of you? I’m a Senior Array Master while she’s just an Array master, so why are you so worried about me? Calm down, this is just a bit of fun. If Bai Weiwei wants to learn more lockbreaking through a game, then I’m happy to teach her."
Nong Siniang opened her mouth, but she found no words to reply. Teach her? This was quite ambitious. Even if Bai Weiwei was only an Array Master, her mastery and experience in lockbreaking far exceeded ordinary an Array Master’s.
Still, Prof. Hao Yu was a level above Bai Weiwei, so he should not suffer too badly in a game of Stable Zone.
Lu Yin looked off into the distance at the back of the quiet girl who was leaving his class. How many years has it been? Has the four ruling powers’ prestige really risen this high where an Senior Array Master is being looked down on? Is it just because she’s from the Celestial Frost Sect?
The students’ attitudes fully expressed just how highly they regarded the four ruling powers’ strength. Qing Feng and Nong Siniang had such an opinion, so it could only be imagined what the people from smaller organizations thought.
The fact that the four ruling powers were becoming more and more established and highly regarded in the Perennial World was not a good thing. Since this was happening, Lu Yin felt that it would be a good idea to teach them a good lesson.
The following evening, many students arrived at the lakeside where Lu Yin held his classes. Everyone had heard that Bai Weiwei and Prof. Hao Yu were going to play a game of Stable Zone, so a crowd had already gathered to watch.
In addition to the students, many of the faculty members had also arrived. Prof. Huai, Wu Taibai, Prof. Zheng, Prof. Bai, and even Prof. Wei were present. This was especially startling as Prof. Wei was known to generally prefer quiet places and avoid crowded gatherings.
Bai Weiwei had already arrived, and she was waiting patiently.
Bai Nan was already annoyed. "Prof. Hao Yu isn’t here yet? Why? Is he too afraid to even show up?"
"Bai Nan, stop spouting nonsense. No one will think that you’re mute even if you say nothing." Nong Siniang firmly supported Lu Yin.
Bai Nan snorted contemptuously, but he at least stayed silent.
Qing Feng was quite worried. He was not confident in Prof. Hao Yu’s chances, even if he was the higher ranked Lockbreaker. After all, his opponent was from the Celestial Frost Sect.
Xia Shenguang, Wang Xiaofan, and Liu Que were also present, and even Jin Chongshan was standing just outside the crowd, staring off into the distance. Why hadn’t the professor shown up yet?
A short while later, Lu Yin finally arrived, late. He quickly apologized when he saw so many students had gathered, "I'm sorry, I overslept. I apologize for keeping all of you students waiting."
Nong Siniang quickly tried to reassure Lu Yin, "It’s important to have enough rest, Professor."
An entire group of girls also spoke up. "Professor, you need to take care of yourself."
"Yes, take care of yourself, Professor."
Bai Nan became even more irritated. This eye candy was quickly becoming more and more infuriating to see.
Bai Weiwei just showed a calm smile when she saw Lu Yin had arrived. "Since you’re here, let’s get started, Prof. Hao Yu."
Lu Yin nodded. "Which sourceboxes should we use?"
"Your decision, Professor."
Lu Yin thought for a moment. "Why don’t I decide the level of the sourceboxes, and you can choose the sourceboxes themselves?"
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