Chapter 1 Gaining an Understanding

The eyes of the students behind him immediately shifted from Zhao Chenghuang to the Yuanshi Tianzun being questioned by the dean.

This was an instinctive gaze. In reality, the students present didn't take the matter to heart. They even felt that the teachers of Qinfeng Academy were making a mountain out of a molehill. What was so surprising about sneaking into Jiaoren Lake?

Qinfeng Academy lacked electronic devices, entertainment activities, and facilities, and yet they weren't allowed to have fun?

Maybe in a few days, when they were bored, they would also sneak into Jiaoren Lake to frolic with the stunningly beautiful Jiaoren.

Only Zhang Yuanqing knew best that if his act of sneaking into Jiaoren Lake were exposed, firstly, the academy's teachers would question him on how he learned about the hidden quest.

Secondly, his competitor would know about him. Moreover, because he was taking the blame, the armored man would escape unscathed.

Finally, in the next few days, he would definitely be under close scrutiny, making it difficult for him to enter the Stone Gate again.

Because even if he entered the Stone Gate and obtained treasures, headquarters would know who did it.

Facing the sharp, profound gaze of Dean Li Yanqi, Zhang Yuanqing shook his head, revealing an ambiguous smile:

"Teacher Song Man said that the Jiaoren have little tiger teeth. I'm not an Earth Master; I'm very self-aware of my own defenses." The male students erupted in knowing laughter.

A few female students who understood blushed and spat lightly, or couldn't help but smile along.

The Dean nodded seriously, looking at Sun Miaomiao, and said:

"Was it you who snuck into Jiaoren Lake?" Sun Miaomiao shook her head:

"It wasn't me. After returning to the dormitory, I've been in my room catching up with Fairy Peony and Little Fairy Niulanshan."

The Dean scrutinized her for a few seconds, then said "Mmm" and moved on to the next person.

*Hoo*, I passed successfully. Just like I thought, the 'Sage' price of the Ghost Mirror can smooth out all emotional fluctuations. Even a Scout's insight technique won't be able to see through it. If that's the case, most lie detection tools can be avoided unless it's a tool that forces you to tell the truth. Zhang Yuanqing silently breathed a sigh of relief.

The most troublesome thing about insight techniques is that they don't apply any negative buffs to you, they just observe you.

If a negative buff was applied, Zhang Yuanqing could transfer it to Little Doubi and the Ghost Bride.

Without using tools, how could a Star Official's lie deceive a Swordsman's insight?

Fortunately, Zhang Yuanqing had taken precautions when reviewing the situation, considering that the academy teachers would strictly investigate this matter.

He gave the Ghost Mirror to Princess Yinyao and then separated half of his spirit body to enter the princess's body. He then triggered the price by holding the Ghost Mirror.

The spirit bodies on both sides were one.

It was as if he was using Princess Yinyao as a medium to allow the price of the Ghost Mirror to affect his main body.

The Dean's grand actions this time verified one of his guesses: the Jiaoren clan, the Tiger King, and the academy's teachers were all burdened with the responsibility of guarding the hidden quest.

Fu Qingyang didn't mention this, which shouldn't be an oversight on his part, but rather because it was Ling Jun who snuck into Jiaoren Lake back then, the grandson of the Great Elder of Baihua Hui (Hundred Flowers Association). If it were anyone else, they would probably have a collective inquiry.

"Judging from the current situation, the hidden quest of Hundred Beast Island is equivalent to a taboo of Qinfeng Academy, which is enough to show how much Baihua Hui values the hidden quest."

"From this, it can be inferred that the higher-ups of Baihua Hui know what's behind the Stone Gate, or at least have a general understanding. No one would value something they don't understand so much."

"Hiss, if I want to obtain the treasure behind the Stone Gate and exclusively possess the Shinto artifacts of Takamagahara, the difficulty is a bit high. I absolutely, absolutely cannot let headquarters know."

The number of competitors has increased again.

Zhang Yuanqing was lost in thought, tilting his head and chasing after the Dean with his eyes, watching him "interrogate" one by one, until he had questioned the last person and still hadn't found the intruder.

He actually didn't find the armored man? This is a bit tricky. His heart quietly grew heavy.

Because this meant that it would be equally difficult for him to find the armored man. The other party was definitely not an easy character.

"Didn't you say that a student snuck into Jiaoren Lake? Where is the person?" Hong Ji-ge (Red Rooster) shouted, "You gathered us here in the middle of the night, only for it to turn out to be a false alarm? Are you kidding me? It's best not to bother me with this kind of thing again in the future."

I have to say, Fire Masters are really good at attracting hatred and diverting attention, the rabble-rouser in Werewolf! Zhang Yuanqing gave Hong Ji-ge a thumbs up.

Looking again at Tianxia Guihuo, who was calmly thinking and remained silent, he secretly spat in his heart: A disgrace to Fire Masters!

"Everyone, please be patient, remain quiet, and wait in place," the gray-haired old dean said in a deep voice.

The students were still considerate enough not to leave, but ignored the "quiet" request and chatted noisily.

After a while, Song Man, the long-legged, slim-waisted, round-hipped, and sexy medical room teacher, returned. She stopped beside the Dean and whispered in his ear.

After listening, the Dean frowned slightly, then smiled and said:

"I'm very sorry, it was a misunderstanding! Zhao Chenghuang, Sun Miaomiao, Xie Lingzhou, Zhao Feiwen, Liu Yushu, Zhu Mingxu, Xiahou Aotian, you few come with me for a moment. The rest of you, go back to the dormitory. Tomorrow morning there's a history class, starting at nine o'clock, don't be late."

The students dispersed in a rush.

Room. Zhang Yuanqing pushed open the door, took the Ghost Mirror back from Princess Yinyao, and conveyed mental fluctuations in the unique way of a Night Wanderer: "The Dean questioned all the students today, he didn't find the armored man."

He told Princess Yinyao about what happened in the library lobby.

Zhang Yuanqing was a person who readily accepted good advice, and was happy to listen to his companions' suggestions and advice.

Princess Yinyao sat in a ladylike posture, saying:

"You are a Star Official and possess the Night Wanderer skill, so the plants and trees outside the dormitory cannot detect you. Then why can the armored man also hide from the plants, trees, and animals? There are two possibilities:"

"One, the armored man is also a Night Wanderer, or possesses Night Wanderer items."

"Two, the armored man is not a student, but a teacher at the academy. Given the Swordsman's failed insight, I am more inclined to the second possibility."

Zhang Yuanqing shook his head: If he was a teacher at the academy, then his only purpose would be to muddy the waters and frame the students.

But the behavior shown by the armored man didn't match.

Princess Yinyao tilted her head, her crimson eyes looking over, waiting for him to explain.

"If the armored man is a teacher at the academy, then he must have been planning for a long time, knowing the environment, the Jiaoren clan's guards, and the Stone Gate like the back of his hand, waiting for the students to arrive to take action immediately. But the armored man's actions tonight were more like reconnaissance."

Zhang Yuanqing recalled the armored man's actions of searching for the Stone Gate. How did that look like he had been planning for a long time?

Princess Yinyao thought it was reasonable and said, "The situation is a bit complicated. Three-way game, what will you do?" Zhang Yuanqing shook his head:

"The armored man must have special means of concealment. I'm a Night Wanderer and not good at this. The only thing that can act as a lie detection tool is the Houtu Boots, but I can't have all the students wear them. I have no leads for now. Does Your Highness have any ideas?"

Princess Yinyao said indifferently: "Wash up and go to sleep."

"I've already washed up."

"Then go to sleep early."

The next day, Zhang Yuanqing got up at seven-thirty, put on his Qinfeng school uniform, and strolled through the beautiful scenery of the academy towards the cafeteria.

The academy's architecture retained the Qin Dynasty style while incorporating modern elements, making it look antique and yet not as simple and inconvenient as ancient residences.

The buildings were connected by winding bluestone and cobblestone paths, punctuated by pavilions, stone tables, and stone chairs.

A large number of green plants were planted along the roadside. It was early autumn, and the flowering season had not yet passed. Amidst the lush greenery were vibrant and colorful exotic flowers that couldn't be seen in the real world. As he walked, Zhang Yuanqing saw Sun Miaomiao. The woman had her hair tied up, her head full of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple flowers, and she was still picking one and putting it in.

Seeing Zhang Yuanqing coming towards her, the sweet and neighborly Sun Miaomiao struck a cute pose and said, "Is it pretty?"

"Pretty, pretty. Flowers and beauties go well together, it's definitely a truth. However, in my opinion, Miaomiao's beauty surpasses the flowers." Zhang Yuanqing clapped vigorously.

Sun Miaomiao said happily, "I asked Yuan Ting and Zhao Chenghuang, and they both said I was crazy and infatuated."

"They obviously don't know how to appreciate your beauty," Zhang Yuanqing criticized.

"Hmph, you really are suitable to be a scumbag."

Sun Miaomiao smiled even more happily, "Where's Little Doubi, let me play with him."

"No way, unless you beg me."

"I beg you."

"What about your pride as a member of the third generation of the Taiyi Sect?" Zhang Yuanqing helplessly spat out Taiyin power, which landed and transformed into a round and adorable baby.

"Ha, baby~." Sun Miaomiao was overjoyed, ran over, picked up Little Doubi from the ground, and kissed him madly, her face full of doting happiness. Little Doubi was also very happy, taking the opportunity to absorb more Taiyin power to reduce the burden of nurturing for his master.

"Let me play with him for a few days, I'll return him to you before I leave Qinfeng Academy," Sun Miaomiao pleaded.

Zhang Yuanqing thought for a moment and said, "I can let you play with him during the day, but you have to return him to me before dark. Also, you have to cover all my expenses at Qinfeng Academy."

"All expenses?" Sun Miaomiao wrinkled her nose. "You are a villain who sells his son for money. Fine."

The two entered the cafeteria together, and as soon as they entered, they heard a commotion.

Following the sound, they saw Hong Ji-ge pointing at the chef's nose and yelling:

"I'll say it again, I want to drink porridge, porridge made with the freshest Moonlight Fish. Toast, butter, fried eggs, sausage, bacon, don't you dare give me these Western things."

"There's no Chinese breakfast? Why don't you take a piss and look at your own skin color, and if you keep yapping, I'll beat you up."

The chef didn't believe him, and with his neck stiff, he said, "What can you do to me? Hitting academy staff will result in a deduction in salary and disciplinary action."

Before he could finish speaking, his two-hundred-pound body went flying.

Hong Ji-ge pounced on him and beat him up.

The cafeteria staff and Five Elements Alliance students stepped forward to break up the fight. "Quick, call a teacher. Stop hitting him, he's not a Lingjing Xingzhe (Spirit Realm Wanderer)."

"This chef is also stupid, arguing with a Fire Master! Class monitor, quickly organize him."

"Hong Ji-ge, stop hitting him, give Xiahou Aotian some face... Ouch, you even dare to hit me, just wait!"

"Seriously, I've been using Yeguo Reading to read books and catch up on updates recently. It's great for switching sources and has many reading voices. Both Android and Apple are available."

"Eh, what is the class monitor doing? Holy crap, you're assembling a cannon? Calm down!" The scene was a complete mess.

Zhang Yuanqing and Sun Miaomiao ignored the conflict between the students, looked around, and sat down by the window. Yuan Ting and Zhao Chenghuang were slowly enjoying breakfast.

The former was staring intently at the people breaking up the fight, while the latter was eating, oblivious to everything else.

"What did the dean keep you for last night?" Zhang Yuanqing snatched a piece of bacon from Zhao Chenghuang and said as he chewed.

"He asked us if we knew about the hidden dungeon of Qinfeng Academy, and he even used lie detection tools on us," Zhao Chenghuang said coldly.

Yuan Ting retracted his gaze and kindly divided a piece of toast for Yuanshi Tianzun, saying, "He didn't even ask you to stay behind."

Just as Zhang Yuanqing was about to speak, he heard a deep and calm voice:

"Because Yuanshi Tianzun is a commoner."

Tianxia Guihuo carried a plate, pulled up a chair, squeezed between Sun Miaomiao and Zhang Yuanqing, and said, "Make room..."

After the two made room, he sat down and said:

"The dean might make a big fuss for a hundred thousand yuan, but he wouldn't keep you few behind and relentlessly pursue you for a hundred thousand yuan. The only possibility is..."

"There's a secret at the bottom of Jiaoren Lake, and it's a secret that can't be spread. And the person who knows this secret has a pivotal position in the official world and in the Spirit Realm families."

"Although Yuanshi Tianzun is the center of attention, he is a commoner, without elders or a family, so the dean excluded him."

He took a sip of coffee and said, "These are just my conjectures."

Although I am a commoner, my brother-in-law treats me like his own son. Zhang Yuanqing joked to himself.

Fu Qingyang was indeed very kind to him.

Zhao Chenghuang and Sun Miaomiao were thoughtful.

Yuan Ting's eyes suddenly lit up: "In that case, the dean's actions weren't because someone violated the school rule that you can't sneak into the lake. On the surface, it's for the safety of the students, but in reality, there's another mystery. Tianxia Guihuo, what's the secret at the bottom of the lake?"

Tianxia Guihuo scoffed: "Since it's a secret, how could I possibly know? What about you two?"

The purpose of his hard squeeze was for this.

Zhao Chenghuang and Sun Miaomiao shook their heads.

Tianxia Guihuo looked at Yuanshi Tianzun: "What are your thoughts?"

With how familiar he is with me, if I don't express my opinion at this time and avoid the topic, he will definitely suspect me. Zhang Yuanqing then grabbed a sausage from Tianxia Guihuo and said, "Someone among the students is after the owner of that secret. Well, it might not be a student, it could be a teacher."

Zhang Yuanqing didn't think it was a teacher, because he had personally witnessed the armored man's actions, but from the perspective of an unrelated person, if the students couldn't be found, then the teachers must also be suspected.

Zhao Chenghuang was the first to refuse: "Not interested."

Tianxia Guihuo nodded: "That's what I thought too. If there's a chance, should we pick a time to go underwater and take a look?"

Sun Miaomiao and Yuan Ting were a little tempted.

Zhang Yuanqing deliberately showed a longing expression, but with hidden concerns, "We'll talk about it if there's a chance. There's probably no hope in the near future. The students and teachers will be watching."

After a simple breakfast, the students came to the library next door, to that "church."

The course schedule had already been distributed to the students. The academy's courses were:

"Spirit Realm History,"

"Major Profession Research (including overseas),"

"Alchemy,"

"Weapon Crafting,"

"Astrology,"

"Item Classification,"

"Combat,"

"Pharmacology."

Today they were learning theory, with a "Spirit Realm History" class in the morning, a "Major Profession Lecture" and an "Item Classification" class in the afternoon. Zhang Yuanqing had extremely high expectations for the academy's courses.

In terms of dungeon攻略 and combat, the academy's teachers might not be stronger than him, or even much stronger than the students, but their knowledge would crush this group of newly promoted Saints.

There was a lot of knowledge that the official world wouldn't tell you until you reached a certain level.

For example, in terms of item classification, Zhang Yuanqing currently only knew of two major categories.

Then there were overseas professions, astrology, pharmacology, and so on.

In terms of Spirit Realm history, I know quite a bit. Hmm, I'll bring Princess Yinyao along too. Maybe I can teach the dean some knowledge in reverse... Zhang Yuanqing thought with a perverse sense of humor.