"I cannot teach him."
The mentor soon realized this fact.
Originally, the mentor had intended to use this opportunity to guide Fang Ming in swordsmanship.
He had initially believed that with his combat experience from fighting numerous powerful individuals in the outside world, he would be sufficient to teach Fang Ming.
But now, he deeply understood that he would be utterly defeated if he were to fight Fang Ming at the same level.
If he were to suppress his cultivation to the same Qi Yuan Fifth Stage as Fang Ming, he would undoubtedly lose.
Only by suppressing with a stronger cultivation and power could victory be achieved.
However, this would completely deviate from the mentor's original intention of guiding Fang Ming.
Suppressing such swordsmanship with superior cultivation and power would not allow him to impart any lessons on swordsmanship to the young man before him; instead, it would merely be an act of overwhelming force.
Could such an act of overwhelming force truly be considered mentorship?
Although the mentor felt ashamed at this moment, Fang Ming's sword had already attacked, and he could only hastily respond. He also drew his sword, unleashing a Qi Yuan Realm cultivation level that was just sufficient to make Fang Ming's strike glance off him upon contact.
After a series of clashes, both retreated.
"Your swordsmanship is very proficient, and you performed well."
The mentor, feeling awkward, forced himself to say this.
Fang Ming noticed the mentor's embarrassment and quickly guessed the reason. Fang Ming, not foolish enough to expose him directly, replied humbly, "Thank you for your praise, mentor."
The mentor then said, "I have something to attend to, I must leave. You all continue practicing."
With that, he quickly departed.
Fang Ming watched his disappearing figure, knowing that he was surely going to report to the academy's higher-ups.
After all, a fourteen-year-old boy, regardless of his previous identity or past, could not possess such a level of combat skill, even considering all possibilities.
One possibility involved the concept of reincarnation.
Fang Ming had learned through his studies that transcendent beings who achieved the Fate Severing Realm could transfer their lives to the next, a process known as reincarnation and re-cultivation. Problems could arise during this reincarnation process.
For instance, the "infant amnesia" might not be overcome.
In such cases, the reincarnated individual would have their memories wiped, becoming a new entity in every sense. However, some combat experience from the "Fate Severing" stage before reincarnation might be "inherited" by the new individual.
Another possibility involved the concept of a "Heaven-Born Battle Physique."
Fang Ming had learned from the extraordinary knowledge in the library that some individuals in the Divine Realm possessed physiques different from ordinary people. One such physique was called the Heaven-Born Battle Physique, which bestowed a vast amount of combat experience from birth.
This physique had appeared at the academy before, but it was centuries ago.
For such special physiques, the Purple Cloud Academy did not have specific detection methods and could only rely on experience for judgment.
Fang Ming's unusual situation could be categorized under this physique if one were to force it.
"It depends on their perspective. But no matter what, I've caught the attention of the academy's higher-ups."
Fang Ming murmured to himself.
He looked around, and all his classmates were looking at him with envious gazes.
"Fang Ming, your swordsmanship is actually this formidable?"
Lin Feng stood beside Fang Ming and said with a smile, "This... could you teach me?"
Lin Feng, it turned out, was envious of Fang Ming's swordsmanship.
Fang Ming naturally replied, "Of course."
The two conversed harmoniously.
Huang Cheng also shamelessly approached to seek guidance.
An Ping, having been knocked down, stood isolated to the side, not daring to step forward.
Fang Ming glanced at him, then turned back, saying nothing.
Ever since that incident, An Ping's relationship with Huang Cheng, Lin Feng, and others had deteriorated rapidly.
They now had almost no contact.
Each person walked their own path.
The choices were their own.
There was no one to blame.
...
Within the Purple Cloud Academy, in an office.
"Suspected reincarnation of a Fate Severing Realm transcendent?"
"Or perhaps... a Heaven-Born Battle Physique?"
A middle-aged man held a document in his hand.
Opposite him sat Fang Ming's mentor.
The mentor stated with certainty, "How could a fourteen-year-old boy possess such combat skills? It's simply unreasonable."
"I've thought about it extensively and checked the library. I found that only two special circumstances could explain someone mastering such combat skills at the age of fourteen."
"It's impossible to achieve under normal circumstances."
The middle-aged man put down his tea.
He asked, "Then, in your opinion, which one is it?"
The mentor pondered for a moment and said, "It doesn't seem like a reincarnation of a powerful being. I believe a Fate Severing Realm expert reincarnating wouldn't come to our academy to learn. After all, the knowledge we can impart would be useless to them."
"Perhaps it's a Heaven-Born Battle Physique."
The mentor said this, and he also thought this.
Even if a Fate Severing Realm transcendent reincarnated and re-cultivated, even if they were a rogue cultivator, they would have already learned all the knowledge. Why would they come to this academy?
They would have complete cultivation techniques and all extraordinary knowledge. Without companions or mentors, they could break through bottlenecks on their own. In such a situation, they would not come to the Purple Cloud Academy.
This is because the Purple Cloud Academy offered nothing that could attract a former Fate Severing Realm transcendent.
This probability was low.
The middle-aged man smiled and echoed, "Indeed, it might be a Heaven-Born Battle Physique."
"This is a special talent where one is born with extensive combat experience. Only with such a physique can a young boy possess the experience of millions of years of cultivation."
The middle-aged man first affirmed the mentor's words, then changed his tone: "However, there are also Fate Severing Realm transcendent reincarnators who fall into 'infant amnesia' and lose their memories."
"A Fate Severing Realm transcendent who has lost their memory, after reincarnating and re-cultivating, cannot reawaken their former self. They are essentially a completely new transcendent."
"A normal Fate Severing Realm transcendent with memories is unlikely to come to our academy for further study. But if they suffer from 'infant amnesia,' losing all their memories, and only inheriting some combat skills from their previous life without extraordinary common sense or cultivation techniques, then it's not strange for them to come to our academy for further study."
The middle-aged man finished his explanation.
The mentor became confused.
"This is possible, and that is also possible. Then, which possibility should we use to handle this?"
The middle-aged man said, "Whether it is a Fate Severing Realm transcendent who encountered 'infant amnesia' and lost all memories can be detected by an instrument."
"However, for a Heaven-Born Battle Physique, we have neither instruments nor methods to detect it."
"But, it doesn't matter. We can use the method of elimination."
By eliminating the possibility of a Fate Severing Realm transcendent's reincarnation, the remaining possibility is the Heaven-Born Battle Physique.
The logic was that simple.
The middle-aged man was a high-ranking official of the academy and also a cultivator of the Fate Severing Realm. Using the "magical artifact" he possessed to detect whether someone was a reincarnator was not difficult.