Chapter 294 The Wait
The group advanced once again and, in the blink of an eye, appeared at the third stage’s Heavenly Waterfall Lake. Looking at the plunging Heavenly Waterfall, everyone’s faces revealed astonishment of varying degrees.
Hoppes sighed and said, “The work of the second generation Headmaster is still soul-stirring no matter how many times I see it. This Heavenly Waterfall Lake is really an uncanny work of great splendor.”
Head of Department James laughed, “Hahahaha, there’s no one again? To be clearing all the stages of the Killing Techniques Palace within a day… Hahahaha… Hoppes, has there ever been such a person in the history of the Great Western Region Regional Academy?”
“No.” Hoppes shook his head and said, “Forget about the Great Western Region, there hasn’t even been such a case across the Empire’s eight regions. Fang Xingjian is the first.”
James nodded in satisfaction and said, “Then he must be learning the Lightless Sword in the fourth stage. Let’s not disturb him and just wait here.”
With that, James took the lead and sat down on one side of the Heavenly Waterfall Lake, as if he was admiring the scenery.
All the other Conferred Knights looked at each other helplessly. One guy with a saber scar on his face frowned and said, “Sir, although Fang Xingjian has outstanding talent, I don’t think it’s good to let so many teachers and seniors wait for him here. It’s bad influence for the others, and even he would probably be terrified.”
In other words, he meant, ‘Aren’t you treating Fang Xingjian with too much reverence? We’re giving him respect by waiting for him, but this is at the expense of our pride.’
It was a pity that Head of Department James did not care for his pride at all. What a joke. The only reason he had become the head of the Sword Arts Department was because he had taken a liking to Fang Xingjian’s talent and wanted to persuade Fang Xingjian to share the Pantheon Monument’s seven levels of mysteries with the Regional Academy.
What status did James have? He was the Headmaster from two generations ago, and, at his age, it was impossible for his martial arts to have much progress, and what he cared about was something beyond status. What he cared about was the academy’s future, the Empire’s future.
Looking at Fang Xingjian’s astonishing performance once again, this student was now like a piece of extremely delicious meat to him. A thought appeared in James’ mind, which was to protect and to escort Fang Xingjian.
Hearing the words of the guy with a scar, James’ lips curled and he said, “If you were to clear the Killing Techniques Palace in a day, I’ll wait for as long as you want me to.”
The scarred face guy was put into a bad spot and could not help but retort, “You can’t possibly rely on the rate of learning to determine that someone is better, right? There are so many seniors here. Which of them are not above him in terms of their level, abilities, ether synchronization rate, reputation and status?” He was bringing in other people to support his stand.
However, no one else joined in. Head of Department James let out a cold laugh and said, “We’re all martial arts practitioners here. What are we competing in other than martial arts? Are we going to compare who is older? Who eats more?”
He sneered, “Why is there the National Selection? It’s to see who the real talents are, and who’s more superior.
“Let me ask you here. Were any of you here even half as amazing as Fang Xingjian is when you were at his age? He’s a seventeen year old genius, and there’s still at least twenty to thirty years for him to be in his fast growth stage.
“When he’s at your age, what level would he have reached?”
Regardless of who it was, the scarred face guy or other teachers, none of them had anything else to say. It was because the talent Fang Xingjian had shown now was that impervious to reason.
James, who had laid out everything, now nodded in satisfaction. Although Fang Xingjian’s talent was amazing, in this world, not everyone would listen to you or help you just because your talent was great.
Back then, even the previous Pope whose battle prowess were unrivalled across the world was still unable to unify the whole world, nor could he get everyone to heed his words. So how could anyone else do it, even if the person had the world’s best talent?
This was the reason why James had a strong urge to take care of this talent and to protect Fang Xingjian.
Another teacher pointed to Hoult and the others who were nearby and asked, “Should we get them to leave?”
James threw them a glance and said indifferently, “It doesn’t matter.”
Hoult, Norman, and the others who had been following James and the others saw that they had stopped and thus also came to a stop a distance away.
A student asked curiously, “Why have they stopped here? What are they waiting for?”
Another student looked at the empty Heavenly Waterfall Lake and said, “Could it be that Fang Xingjian has already cleared the third stage?”
Thinking of this possibility, everyone fell silent.
Norman threw a glance at Hoult’s furrowed brows and laughed awkwardly, “Aren’t Lord James and the others waiting here? What does this say? This says that, according to their judgement, Fang Xingjian has yet to clear this stage. This is why they’re still waiting here.”
The more he spoke, the clearer his thoughts became, and the more confident his tone became.
He continued to say, “What level is Lord James at? What sword arts cultivation does Master Hoppes have? Since they’re waiting here, it must mean that Fang Xingjian has yet to clear the third stage and thus they’re waiting.”
His tone was filled with certainty and the others all nodded in agreement when they heard what he said.
However, a soft voice rang out, “What if they’re waiting for Fang Xingjian to come back from the fourth stage? There’s no one on guard at the final stage of the Killing Techniques Palace.”
Norman glared at the one who spoke and said, “You’re saying that the Headmaster from two generations ago, James, the head of the sword arts team, Hoppes, and so many other teachers are waiting here, waiting for Fang Xingjian, a newcomer? Do you think that that’s possible?”
Even the person who suggested it felt that it was quite impossible, and he scratched his head, feeling embarrassed.
However, Hoult still appeared slightly gloomy. Hearing everyone’s guesses, he could not help but say, “Alright, stop trying to make guesses. Let’s just wait here.”
Therefore, everyone sat down, crossed their legs, and waited for an unknown result.
Half an hour passed… One hour passed… After about one hour and fifteen minutes, everyone appeared slightly impatient. Just then, from a path on the opposite side of the Heavenly Waterfall Lake, four silhouettes walked over.
It was Fang Xingjian, Rota, and two students who were leading the way.
James laughed out loud and went up to him with the others. He asked, with some anticipation in his eyes, “Xingjian, have you cleared all four stages of the Killing Techniques Palace?”
Seeing the sudden appearance of such a large group of people and the many solemn looking teachers standing before them, the two students became extremely nervous. They had never come across such a large formation, with close to half of the leaders in the Sword Arts Department standing before them. What was going on?
Especially the old man who had no care for his appearances and seemed as old as an ancient tree… Amongst those who had participated in the Regional Selection and comprehended the Pantheon Monument, which of them did not recognize that he was the academy’s Headmaster from two generations ago?
And there was only one possible reason why so many people had gathered here—Fang Xingjian.
The two of them turned to look at Fang Xingjian, their gazes filled with jealousy.
Especially when Fang Xingjian had a youthful appearance of seventeen years old. What everyone now saw was not youth and immaturity, but a brilliant, shining future.