Volume 1 Chapter 21: That Middle Aged Idiot Uncle
"This roulette, it can be pushed bit by bit?"
Lin Xi just couldn't understand. While carrying emotions of disbelief, he continued reading.
The writing in characters he couldn't be any more familiar with was extremely easygoing. "You probably know about the soul force's cultivation levels, right? Then, if you are like me, can feel this roulette in your head, then once you cultivate to Soul Expert level, you will understand the meaning behind what I just said. Also, once you reach State Knight level, you'll then discover something else..."
"Also, isn't your cultivation aptitude rather poor? Is it just like mine, also two? If it is, then once you start your cultivation, it really will be a bit slow. However, let me tell you, even an aptitude of two has its own benefits. Your status won't be that great, so you can be comparatively more low profile. In this world, being a bit more low key is also good, because no matter how great your cultivation is, soul force will still be consumed. A great army can still drown you to death, even if you reach State Knight level, able to hack through a hundred layers of heavy armor, your soul force can still be exhausted. This world still has many powerful individuals. Also, perhaps because what we can hold is equivalent to two souls, the amount of soul force we can accumulate is double that of an ordinary person. As for why exactly this is good, even if you don't understand right now, since you already entered Green Luan Academy, you'll definitely understand soon..."
"Fellow otherworlder who I've yet to meet, what else do I want to tell you? ...apart from no one else being able to understand the things from our past world, this really is quite the interesting world. Right, my arrival at Green Luan Academy is actually not by chance... I snuck into Imperial City and saw some records unreleased to the public. The cultivation method of this world seems to be related to the legends of the Ancient Devils and Ancient Immortals... how do I explain this? I guess in a way that is easier for people like us to understand, many years ago, there were a group of extraterrestrials called Ancient Immortals who came to this 'earth', and then afterwards, there was another group of extraterrestrials called 'Ancient Devils'. In the end, a great war broke out between these two foreign powers, while the ordinary people here obtained some cultivation methods as a result. As the Ancient Devils and Ancient Immortals died out, these cultivation methods were passed down... before I came here, Green Luan Academy had already existed. Moreover, this Green Luan Academy is rumored to be related to the Green Luan Palace inheritance, this Green Luan Palace, during the era of the past Ancient Devils and Immortals, was precisely one of the sects established by ordinary people. By now, there is already no one left who knows the exact whereabouts of Green Luan Palace and the other sects, but it is still entirely possible that they still exist in places difficult to reach. The reason why I originally came to Green Luan Academy was precisely to find the whereabouts of Green Luan Palace... The reasoning behind why I wish to find the Green Luan Palace hidden in a certain corner of this world is actually quite simple; since I came to this world, possessing an ability we didn't have in the other world, then I wish to see all of this world's most magnificent, majestic, and mysterious places for myself. Moreover, Green Luan Palace should have an even more formidable cultivation method that just might make me even stronger, perhaps allow me to touch upon things on an even deeper level, maybe even figure out just what kind of time-space this place is in... Later on, from the clues I obtained after searching for an extremely long time, I discovered this recorded Green Luan Palace might very well be in the Heaven Ascension Mountain Range's Frozen God Domain. As for how great this frozen land is, no one knows for sure exactly... Fellow otherworlder who I've never met, I don't know when you are reading these things I am writing. If over a hundred and eighty years have passed, then I might have already died in this world. If the years haven't exceeded a hundred eighty, then either something unexpected happened to me, or I am still surviving in a certain place in the Frozen God Domain behind Heaven Ascension Mountain Range, maybe even already inside the legendary Green Luan Palace. If it is the latter, then perhaps we still have a chance to meet up and have a chat..."
"What should I say to wrap this up? I think I won't say anything, if there is a chance for us to meet, then we can continue then... if I tell you about all of the interesting things in this world, then, my fellow otherworlder, that would be taking away quite a bit of the fun..."
Lin Xi quietly read this monument, feeling as if he was watching a middle-aged physics professor mutter to himself. He wanted to continue listening to this middle-aged uncle's ramblings, but the stele's familiar characters, following the middle-aged uncle's final line and a string of ellipsis, came to a grunting stop, nothing more to read.
"You idiot... you clearly knew how hard it was to find someone from the same homeland who could understand you, yet you couldn't just write a bit more, speak in a bit more detail?!"
Lin Xi suddenly screamed at this stele hysterically, sounding extremely wronged, just letting all of his feelings go. Meanwhile, from his eyes, tears began to tumble uncontrollably.
Everyone was stupefied, all of them turning around to look at Lin Xi. He was clearly shouting at the monument, scolding Principal Zhang... in this world, there was actually someone who dared berate Principal Zhang...
However, Lin Xi didn't feel any misgivings. Ever since he arrived in this world, he found that he could go back ten halts, an ability that let him go back ten minutes in time. As long as he thought about pushing that roulette-like green light, then he could return to ten minutes before. Even though he could only use this once a day, after he arrived in this world, it indeed allowed him to never lose to anyone.
That day, when that serious and stern young lady who seemed to be even a few years younger than himself came out of who knows where, continuously bombarding him with questions, he felt like this young lady was extremely special. Later on, he saw the bird nest fall from the 'Timely Wind and Rain' archway, so he used this ability to test out the young lady. In the end, that young lady seemed to be even more formidable than that elder; he didn't even see that young lady take action before he was smacked in the head.
As a result, when he returned to when the young lady questioned him intensely, he only dared to obediently answer like a student facing a strict teacher. After this event, it also allowed a tourist like him to understand that in this world, there really were powerful individuals.
However, at that time, he never would have predicted that the middle-aged uncle with the dog-like Qilin and mandarin duck who single-handedly established Green Luan Academy's glory, the most dazzling and influential figure in the past half century, actually came from the same place as himself. This person also knew what a television was, what a computer was, what the internet was... moreover, this middle-aged uncle, he actually blue balled him, actually not going more into details.
"Lin Xi, you..."
Right when all of the lecturers and professors' faces changed and they were about to speak up, Lin Xi wantonly berated out 'idiot', and then shouted 'return'.
In his head, the 'roulette' like green light the middle-aged uncle spoke about spun a circle, and then it became still in his head.
His surroundings returned to the scene from ten minutes before.
He stood together with all of the new Green Luan Academy students, walking on a wooden path, traveling through an expanse of woods, passing over the giant bell tower made from golden mountain stones, heading towards the imposing three-colored glass garden palace.
...
Lin Xi stood inside of this towering and majestic garden palace, standing before the characters left by that middle-aged uncle.
He still couldn't completely control the emotions from an entirely different world, but this time, he didn't expose them, only looking at those incredibly familiar characters, quietly thinking to himself. Perhaps the forcible conversion of Green Luan Academy's halls into departments was not only a momentary whim, but also to leave behind more traces of the fact that he came to this world. Principal Zhang left Green Luan Academy a certain early morning sixteen years ago, then, according to what was recorded on this inscription tablet, this middle-aged uncle who came from the same place as himself, making him momentarily feel no longer as lost and lonely, might still be alive.
Right now, was he wandering within a certain snowy world?
"Since I came to this world, then I should properly see this different world for myself, properly continue living." Lin Xi's eyes stopped on the stele the middle-aged uncle left behind once more. He knew that in this world, there might not be anyone who understood this middle-aged uncle's inner world better than him.
"Since that is the case, then I need to first properly see your Green Luan Academy first." As he read over the words this middle-aged uncle left behind again and again, his mind that was trembling slowly became peaceful.
Under the solemn and serious atmosphere, the middle-aged single-eyed lecturer concluded the tradition of Green Luan Academy's principal, coldly shouting, "Repeat after me in making this vow! I will not turn my back on the glory bestowed by this academy, I will not turn my back on my companions' trust, even if I have to give up my life to protect it!"
"I will not turn my back on the glory bestowed by this academy, I will not turn my back on my companions' trust, even if I have to give up my life to protect it!" All of the new students loudly repeated this line.
Then, all of the lecturers and professors brought the new students out from this dignified garden palace.
"Self Defense Department new students, follow me."
"Statecraft Department new students, follow me."
"Medicine Department new students, follow me."
"..."
When all of the remaining lecturers and professors, including Vice Principal Xia and the black-haired man, Xia Yanbing, and the others left, only six black-robed lecturers remained. They walked down the wooden pathway, loudly shouting in a vacant area.
What made the Self Defense Department new students shiver inwardly was that the one calling for them to gather was precisely that fierce looking, single-eyed lecturer. However, they obviously didn't dare ignore him, immediately bracing themselves and rushing over.
The new students were separately brought to six different palace halls. The new students of Medicine and Spiritual Sacrifice Department were brought to two relatively lower valleys, while Natural Arts, Internal Study, Self Defense, and Statecraft Department new students were separately brought to four different palace halls on overhanging cliffs.
Self Defense Department's seven-layered green hall was the furthest one out. When they got closer, it was extremely terrifying, half of the base was directly exposed over the cliff.
This palace hall's doors were made purely of bronze, the surface covered in dagger and arrow designs. At the sides of the entrance were two war drum-like decorations, laying on the war drums were two qilins. In the middle of the main entrance was a large brass ring that was polished to a shine.
All of the new Self Defense Department new students' eyes widened again. This traditional green-colored palace hall didn't seem all that massive, but the interior was far more complex than what any of them had imagined. That black-robed single-eyed lecturer pulled on the brass ring in the middle of the entrance, and then under dang dang noises, the inner machinery quickly pulled up this large and heavy door.
A bronze stairway that was similarly filled with dagger and arrow designs moved through the air, stopping before their eyes.
These bronze stairs led towards a winding corridor on the palace hall's first floor. The center of this green palace hall was completely empty. Chains suspended pieces of the bronze stairs in midair, winding corridors and rooms in the surroundings. However, these corridors and rooms were also irregular, making the inner space of this palace hall extremely complicated, cut like a giant labyrinth.