If Li Shen wasn’t pressed for time he would have liked to stroll to the Conclave Academy as usual but he opted to take the newest convenience for disciples, teleportation circles.
And no it wasn’t pressed for time because he was supposedly going on a mission, he just said that to sell his story more.
Even though he wasn’t using coercion methods to convert disciples to his family’s side, he was still using them to infiltrate the other factions.
After everything he said in the hall, calling out Lin Dong and the others, does that make him a hypocrite?
The answer to that would be yes, yes he was. But anything was fair game in the world of schemers and con-artists.
However, it wasn’t like there weren't some truth mixed in. He indeed respected the Celestial Academy, and as a disciple under it's legacy, he held the responsibility to uphold its teachings and that heavy legacy.
After taking the teleportation circle he appeared inside a rather large hall, where numerous Worker and Conclave Disciples were seen forming a bustling crowd.
They were distinguishable from their clothing as the Worker Disciple wore plain gray robes, a different shade from the Outer Disciples' own. While the Conclave Disciples wore clothes fit for their senior-most position in the Academy. Their robes were black, embroidered with fancy designs in golden threads at the hems.
The Academy Insignia of a mountain valley embroidered large on their back, similar to all other disciples but theirs having a more stylistic appearance.
The sound of them chattering and walking bombarded Li Shen’s senses as he appeared.
Stepping off the teleportation circle, he looked around to see several others being used.
He smiled, feeling a bit proud.
It wasn’t like he hadn’t seen this before, it was just that he like to admire his work behind the scenes, even if people didn’t know he was responsible for them.
The Celestial Academy never had small teleportation circles like this before. They had two large ones that were used to visit several places on the Continent. But they were limited in use, and instead of a convivence they were more of a hassle.
For one, the number of resources needed to activate them was unquantifiable so it was only used when the Celestial Academy itself was called to action and had to mobilized its disciples. And second, it's not even that safe with its spatial runes written by outdated knowledge hundreds of years ago.
Why the Academy couldn't improve it? That was because the person who created it kicked the bucket years ago and they didn't want to chance it only to end up destroying it fully.
Though them being the only ones was up until Li Shen got fed up and decided to do something about it. Well, that and the fact that he wanted to hide his own that he set up in his courtyard.
Can't be too careful with High Experts senses.
How he did it, was that the disciples he instructed in rune inscription and formation creation who graduated from his seminars, had become the talk of the Formation Division.
After a few messages from him, and giving them a blueprint of a miniature teleportation rune formation of his design, that he tweaked to accommodate Spiritual Qi usage. He tasked them to create it and pitch it to the Celestial Academy to have them be built for disciples' convenience.
Everything went well and the Academy even built these new Teleportation Halls to place the teleportation circles inside.
No one notice this or may never will, but Li Shen’s influence had already seeped into the Academy in more ways than one.
He hadn’t only reinvigorated disciples' cultivation talents but provided them with his knowledge in various fields.
Another was Alchemy, and after leaving the Sword Pavilion those taught by him went to join the Bai Clan’s Alchemy Division that’s led by Bai Xiaofung.
They had made waves in the Alchemy Division as well.
Li Shen was basically using his skills and knowledge to groom competent followers.
After being told the Maple Content's power structure by his father, he developed an understanding of how to create and extend his influence like a web, and more, much more.
Like one person had described him, he was an innovator that would take what already exists and make something newer and better from it.
That was one thing that was common throughout his many reincarnations memories, not just Avarice’s. It was a core aspect of him that would forever exist no matter how many lives he lived.
Whether that was a result of the Greed Petal, Li Shen didn’t know. Like many clouded mysteries about his existence, like the origin point of these memories, he’ll have to dig deep to eventually come to know in the future.
After admiring his secret handy works, Li Shen turned to leave the Teleportation Hall.
However, on his way out down its steps, someone suddenly called out from behind.
At first, Li Shen didn’t know the person was addressing him as they were saying “benefactor,” but after the person came closer Li Shen couldn't help but turn around.
Seeing the young man in front of him, Li Shen wondered who this person was. He looked familiar but he never remembered being anyone’s benefactor, or at least to someone from the Conclave Academy, as seen from his robes.
“Are you talking to me?”
Li Shen asked with a confused expression, still trying to remember where he saw this person before.
The young man nodded his head before he bowed at a ninety-degree angle while saying.
“Yes, you are my benefactor!”
His declaration drew a few people's stares as they walked by.
Li Shen’s borrows furrowed.
“Who are you?”
The young man lifted his head and his face broke out with an awkward smile.
“Benefactor, it’s me, Fuangu. I was the one who had...uhh...beaten to a pulp.”
Hearing that, Li Shen finally realize why he looked so familiar. It wasn’t that his awesome memory had malfunctioned for a second, it was just that his interaction with Fuangu was extremely forgettable when compared to the things he would actually like to remember.
He just wasn’t worth remembering.
Well, now that he realized who he was Li Shen frowned gain a hint of dissatisfaction.
Fuangu seeing this went to take a step back, but he stopped himself and gritted his teeth before he stood his ground.
“If benefactor is still upset with me, I’ll accept any punishment to atone for my actions!”
The dissatisfaction never left Li Shen’s face as he asked.
“Why are you calling be benefactor?”
“Because you saved me. After receiving benefactor’s beatings, I went home to receive bulling from my family because of it.”
Li Shen’s face became strange upon hearing that, however, Fuangu quickly went on to further explain what he meant.
“No, that was a good thing! My grandfather finally stepped in at that time. And when my injuries from your beatings were just healing, I met him and he discovered that I had a meridian blockage at my Yin-tang acupoint!”
Fuangu's voice was bursting with happiness as he continue to say.
“If it wasn’t for benefactor hitting that area between my eyebrows at just the right angle, the blockage wouldn’t have revealed itself and grandfather wouldn’t have discovered it!”
Hearing that, Li Shen thought for a second that his ears were malfunctioning.
‘Such coincidences can actually happen in real life?’
“Benefactor, I’m now a respectable disciple of the academy and have been cultivating diligently ever since. I had even made amends with the people I’ve hurt before, trying to be an advocate for Worker Disciples' safety in the Conclave and Academy as a whole.”
After he finished, Li Shen let out a puff of air and shook his head. He then looked at Fuangu and said.
“Well, that’s good on you to take a different path, but you don’t have to think of me as your benefactor, it’s just fine that you don’t go back to your old self.”
With that, Li Shen turned to leave.
Fuangu seeing this showed a hesitant expression, but soon he spoke up.
“Ben-uhh... Second Prince, your highness wait!”
Li Shen would have been annoyed at being addressed as Second Prince before, but he just accepted it.
However, after being stopped for a second time when he was busy as it is, he was starting to get irritated.
“What is it now?”
Fuangu hearing the irritation in his voice hurriedly went to speak, but only after looking around cautiously first.
In a hushed breath, he then said with a hand next to his mouth.
“I won’t tell anyone of your identity as the Shoe-less Hero either. As the leader of the Shoe-less Hero Faction in the academy, I’ll make sure of that.”
Fuangu winked after making that promise.
Li Shen’s blinked his eyes, his irritation fading a bit.
“You're the one in charge of that group? Were you the one who created it?”
Seeing Li Shen’s reaction, Fuangu nodded his head with a proud expression while he rocked back and forth on his heels displaying his feet.
Li Shen looked down to see that he wasn't wearing any shoes.
Suddenly, Li Shen burst into laughter.
He then went next to Fuangu and wrapped a hand around his shoulders.
Fuangu seeing his sudden change in demeanor was taken aback.
“Good good good!”
Li Shen said joyously.
“Look here kid…”
Fuangu was forced to bend his back a little to get on Li Shen’s level, all while wondering why he was being called a kid. He was at least three years older than Li Shen.
However, he simply kept quiet as Li Shen looked at him with shining eyes.
“I’ve been thinking about making the Faction a bit bigger and you're the perfect guy to make that happen! The myth of the Shoe-less Hero is a bit too big to be contained in the Academy no? Why not make it more mainstream?”
**
-Privy readers-
We've reached the first goal, so as promise, two extra chapters this week!!
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