Chapter 801: Xu Changqing's Shock

"You..."

Hearing this, seeing the other's disdainful look of contempt, Xu Changqing not only had green beard, but his entire face turned green!

The Martial Arts Academy, although ranking behind the Physician Academy among the ten academies at only sixth place, was still a veritable behemoth. He himself, among the ten elders, even if not the strongest in single combat, could definitely rank in the top three!

A figure of such peak status—it was one thing not to recognize him, but to actually ask him for money?

Asking for money was bad enough, but calling him a pauper?

Pauper my ass!

Coming to the Martial Arts Academy and not even recognizing the dean—what corner of the world did this guy crawl out from?

"I came to take a look, not to attend the lecture!" Suppressing the twitching of his face, Xu Changqing waved his hand.

As the dean, he had to maintain the demeanor of a dean; naturally, he couldn't start a bloody fight just because of a few words.

"Take a look?" The fat man looked over with suspicion.

Xu Changqing nodded, stroking his beard, an air of a lofty master naturally arising.

If even this didn't reveal his identity, it would be truly inexcusable.

"Alright!"

The fat man seemed to understand something, set the basket on the ground, and stopped collecting money: "You can go in."

"Mm."

Seeing that the other had finally caught on, Xu Changqing nodded with satisfaction. He lifted his foot, but before stepping through the gate, he heard the man's deliberately lowered muttering.

"What the hell! If you've got no money, just say so. Why put on airs? 'Take a look'... you've got the nerve to say that. Aren't you just here to sneak a lesson? I've seen shameless people, but never one this shameless! And a famous teacher at that... pah!"

Rolling his eyes, the fat man's disdain was written all over his face.

"You..."

Stumbling, Xu Changqing nearly spat out a mouthful of old blood and fainted on the spot.

He was the dean, one of the ten elders, and here he was being called shameless and a poser to his face... A blazing fury was about to ignite, driving him mad.

He had seen foolish people, but never one this foolish.

Hadn't he just displayed the demeanor of a lofty master? Couldn't the man guess his identity?

"Fine, I'll pay!" Knowing that arguing with such a person would only infuriate him to death, and that making a scene would be beneath his dignity, Xu Changqing gritted his teeth and tossed a spirit stone into the basket.

"A high-grade spirit stone?"

Seeing the falling spirit stone, gleaming with light, its spiritual energy surging like the roar of a dragon, the fat man's eyes lit up.

He had thought this guy was really a pauper, but it turned out he could casually pull out a high-grade stone... So he wasn't poor after all, but a wealthy landlord!

"Can I go in now?"

Xu Changqing snorted.

"I'll give you change. One high-grade spirit stone is worth ten thousand medium-grade. The lecture fee is one hundred medium-grade spirit stones. I owe you... nine thousand nine hundred medium-grade spirit stones!"

The fat man muttered to himself, rummaging through the basket as if to find the corresponding spirit stones.

"Keep the change!" Xu Changqing waved his hand.

As one of the ten elders and a peak Saint Domain first-level powerhouse, a high-grade spirit stone, though precious in others' eyes, was nothing to him.

"Great! I didn't have change anyway..." The fat man's eyes sparkled.

"..." Xu Changqing swayed again, feeling a tightness in his chest.

What kind of person was this...

Too shameless!

How could Xue Zhenyang have found such a fellow for the academy? Wasn't this tarnishing the name of the Martial Arts Academy?

The more he thought, the angrier he got. Suppressing the urge to slap the man to death, he strode into the courtyard. No sooner had he entered than he heard the fat man shout again from behind: "This somewhat older-looking classmate gave a tip of 9900 spirit stones! Everyone should learn from him!"

His body stiffened, his brows twitching wildly, Xu Changqing nearly went mad on the spot.

A tip?

And learn from him?

He had only wanted to sneak a look, see what was going on, and give Xue Zhenyang a scolding. Now, the dignified dean of the Martial Arts Academy had come to attend a lecture, paid tuition, and even given a tip...

This was something he couldn't wash clean even if he jumped into Hongyuan Lake!

Sure enough, before the thought had even finished, he saw all the students in front staring at him.

"It's Dean Xu..."

"Dean Xu came too, not only paid tuition but also gave such a big tip?"

"Impressive. It seems he also acknowledges the prowess of Teacher Zheng, Teacher Liu, and Teacher Wang!"

"Yeah..."

...

Seeing the dean come in person and even give a tip, everyone was in an uproar.

Two students from the martial arts academy couldn't help but run over and approach him: 'Dean, you're here too. The front seats are good—come listen over here!'

His vision darkened, and Xu Changqing's body swayed.

Good seats...

I'm here to pick a fight, not to attend a lecture!

'Yeah, Dean, the president is waiting for you over there. Let's hurry over; otherwise, with so many people watching, it'll be embarrassing to delay the class...'

Another student added.

'President? Fine, let's see what he's up to!'

Furious to the point of vomiting blood, but hearing that Xue Zhenyang was waiting ahead, Xu Changqing nodded.

Staying here, surrounded by other students, would only be more humiliating. It was better to find that ungrateful disciple and teach him a lesson.

Following behind the two students, he squeezed through the crowd and soon reached the platform.

'Teacher, you're here too...'

Seeing him, Xue Zhenyang looked over excitedly, full of respect.

'What the hell are you up to?'

His face darkened, unable to hold back any longer, Xu Changqing was about to explode.

'Don't be angry first, teacher. Listen for a moment...' Without answering his teacher, Xue Zhenyang pointed to the stage.

'Listen?' Startled, though furious, seeing students all around, Xu Changqing forced himself to hold back and looked up.

The lecturer now was a girl, about sixteen or seventeen, quite beautiful, no less than those famous students like Hu Yaoyao or Dong Xin.

'...Leg techniques are about merging the legs with body movement. We all know that walking and running use the legs. If we can treat these as part of the training process, leg techniques will surely improve greatly...'

'In practicing leg techniques, we focus most on skills: whirlwind kick, cold sun kick, vajra kick... countless leg methods abound, filling volumes. But in fact, we've been heading in the wrong direction. The function of the legs is to walk; maximizing this function is the best approach...'

The girl spoke clearly, chatting freely.

At first dismissive, the more he listened, the more shocked he became, and Xu Changqing's face began to twitch.

An expert knows at a glance whether there is substance.

As the dean of the martial arts academy and a peak six-star master teacher, he had a unique understanding and insight into martial techniques. The leg techniques she explained, though sounding basic, were comprehensive and went straight to the essence.

In fact, in many places, her understanding was... even deeper than his!

One could say... even if he were to lecture, he would be far inferior to her!

'This... is basic? Basic leg techniques can have so many variations?' After listening a while longer, he couldn't help frowning.

As she said, martial techniques emphasize cunning and surprise, making them hard to defend against. But what she explained was the grand path—upright and straightforward, with no crooked tricks.

Yet somehow, this approach seemed to unleash the greatest power.

'...Walking drives the whole body. If we could transmit the power of walking through the soles of the feet? That is the leg technique I will teach today—it can instantly concentrate all the body's power, making the opponent feel your full cultivation...'

The girl on stage continued.

'The legs can drive the whole body. In normal martial techniques, one leg supports while the other attacks, so the power is obviously dispersed. If we release all the power...'

Xu Changqing's eyes grew brighter and brighter.

Listening carefully, after a moment he slapped his thigh: 'Exactly! If you execute leg techniques this way, all problems are solved... Not only is the power stronger, but the speed is faster, and the attack's威力 is greater!'

'Though the attacking moves are simple, they go straight to the core of the great path, embodying the most fundamental variations of all martial techniques...'

Running the girl's lecture through his mind, the more he listened, the more excited he became, and his eyes shone brighter.

The martial techniques she taught might not be as high-level as his, but they were solid basics. Practicing according to her explanations would benefit even him immensely, providing great inspiration for future learning.

'Teacher, how is it?'

Seeing his teacher's expression, Xue Zhenyang looked over with a smile.

He had dared to invite Teacher Zheng, Uncle-Master Wang, and others to give lectures and pay them lecture fees because he guessed his teacher would be angry. So he had prepared in advance.

Sure enough, as expected, after listening for a while, his teacher was also drawn in, unable to extricate himself.

To be honest, these people he had met by chance, though not master teachers, had such profound understanding of martial techniques and cultivation insights that following their teaching methods not only led to rapid progress but also solidified the foundation, making it unassailable!

It was foreseeable that if one listened carefully and trained strictly, future progress would be ever greater, astonishing!

'Impressive!' Xu Changqing couldn't help nodding. 'I never thought someone could understand basic martial techniques so thoroughly... A hundred mid-grade spirit stones for such a lecture is a steal!'

Mid-grade spirit stones were nothing to master teachers like them; any senior student had hundreds or thousands.

Such a small amount of spirit stones for such a brilliant lecture was truly a bargain.

One could imagine that after this class, many would gain new insights into martial techniques and greatly increase their strength.

'Indeed!' Xue Zhenyang nodded.

If it weren't for marveling at her lectures, how could a top student from the Master Teacher Academy have bowed to someone so much younger as his teacher?

'Zhenyang, what background does this girl have?'

After a sigh of admiration, Xu Changqing couldn't help asking.

'I don't know the specifics either. I just met her outside the academy during my travels yesterday... What, teacher, are you thinking of taking her as a disciple?' Xue Zhenyang looked over.

'Take her as a disciple?' Xu Changqing shook his head. 'With such deep understanding of martial techniques, I'm not qualified to be her teacher. Instead, I want to invite her to be the martial arts academy's...'

'Visiting elder.'