Shackles of Humanity

After selecting majors, it was time for class assignments, but a small problem arose. It turned out that Shangjing University only accepted five hundred students each year, divided into ten classes of exactly fifty. No more, no less. It was a rule established at the university’s founding, as the number fifty was said to correspond with the Great Dao.

Tuoba Ye immediately grew annoyed again. ”Old Zhang, why is there so much bullshit? Get Pei Hong over here. That old geezer is still so damn rigid!”

The old man behind the desk glared, his beard bristling. ”You brat! Still so disrespectful! You think Principal Pei is someone you can just summon at will?!”

”Alright, alright, Old Zhang. Just hurry up and find a place for my little brother here. I just came from Ou Ning’s office. That woman is getting more and more neurotic, just like her father.”

The old man thought for a long while before cautiously suggesting, ”How about we let this young man stay in Rufeng Valley for now? Besides, once you’re enrolled, you can attend lectures anywhere. Dorms and class assignments don’t really matter.”

Tuoba Ye flew into a rage. ”You’ve got some nerve, Old Zhang! You’re bullying my brother, aren’t you?”

”Excuse me, what is this Rufeng Valley?” Luo Kai asked, however.

”It’s where the school’s farmers live! Xiaokai, we brothers won’t be bullied by them. Let’s go! Come with me to find my Master!” Tuoba Ye grabbed Luo Kai and started to storm out.

The old man’s face went pale. Knowing Tuoba Ye’s reckless personality, he knew it was entirely possible he’d go disturb the Saint Master’s seclusion. He hurried out after them, shouting, ”Tuoba Kid, we can still discuss this!”

”Discuss my ass! Did the school committee’s bunch of old geezers put you up to this? Dammit! They dare to bully me? Just you wait. I’ll burn their Yonghong Hall to the ground!” Tuoba Ye was incandescent with rage. Streaks of golden light flickered around him, so dazzlingly bright they seemed to form a solid shroud. Paired with his towering frame, he truly looked like a War God descending to the mortal world!

Luo Kai frowned. He had a tranquil disposition and didn’t care about such things. Besides, his path of Cultivation was already set: first, achieve resonance with the Five Elements to complete a small cycle within his Little Cosmos. He didn’t really need to learn other Body Techniques. He had come to Shangjing University to learn about scientific and technological methods. If he let Tuoba Ye keep making a scene, things might really get out of hand. He reached out and tugged on his arm. ”Forget it. You know I don’t mind.”

Tuoba Ye still couldn’t suppress his anger. ”Xiaokai, how about we just wreck this damn school today?”

Luo Kai shook his head. ”There’s no need.” His voice was firm, and his Spiritual Power emanated from him, the Water Frequency soothing Tuoba Ye’s agitated mind and body.

Tuoba Ye seemed to sense something. He was stunned for a moment, then took a deep breath. The golden light around him gradually receded into his body. His face darkened, and he said no more.

Luo Kai turned to the old man. ”Sir, I haven’t had the honor of asking your name.”

The old man glanced at Tuoba Ye, and only after confirming he wouldn’t cause any more trouble did he let out a sigh of relief. He stroked his beard and said, ”This old man is Zhang Zhengqi.”

”Teacher Zhang, please go ahead and make the arrangements for me.”

In the end, he was assigned to Rufeng Valley. The valley was situated in a long, narrow gully, with a small creek flowing down from the mountains. On both sides of the creek were fields of lush, thriving farmland.

Shangjing University was different from other schools. It emphasized self-reliance. Aside from some necessary machinery, it tried to be as self-sufficient as possible in all other aspects, including food. Rufeng Valley was where the crops were grown, and it also served as the school’s research center for breeding methods. ”Food is heaven to the people,” and for humanity, food was the most important prerequisite for prosperity. In this era, advanced genetic modification technology and the abundance of Active Energy in the world made a yield of ten thousand jin per mu no longer a myth.

Even at Shangjing University, a gathering place for countless talented disciples, there was a distinction between the good and the bad. Students who failed to meet course standards or performed poorly would be sent to Rufeng Valley to ”experience agricultural life.” If they still failed to measure up, they faced the possibility of expulsion. In short, Rufeng Valley was essentially Shangjing University’s place of exile. No wonder Tuoba Ye had been so furious.

Tuoba Ye accompanied him to Rufeng Valley, his face dark the entire way, not saying a single word.

Luo Kai, however, was very happy looking at the verdant green fields before him. His way of thinking was far more profound than that of an ordinary person. He instantly understood the original intention behind this system. The earth represents virtue and the capacity to bear all things, while plants represent vigorous, upward growth. A person in constant contact with the fields would inevitably be influenced in both mind and body.

”Hey, don’t be angry anymore. I mean, you’re a grown man, how can you still get angry so easily? I think you should stay here for a while. Once you can learn to curb your pride and impatience, your Cultivation will surely rise to the next level.”

Tuoba Ye was taken aback. He stared at Luo Kai with a strange expression. ”Someone else has told me those exact same words.”

”Who?”

”My Master.”

Luo Kai smiled. ”Then that means I was right, and you didn’t listen.”

Tuoba Ye snorted. ”What’s the point of farming? I’m not poor. Drinking and chasing girls is way more fun.”

Luo Kai gave him a helpless eye-roll. ’There’s no use trying to reason with this old rascal.’

As the two arrived, a few grimy figures stood up from the waist-deep farmland. A chubby young man shouted, ”Who are you and what are you doing here?”

”I’m new here.”

The young man rushed out, overjoyed. ”Great! We finally got someone else! Hurry up and help, there’s too much work for just the few of us!”

The farmland was likely several hundred mu in size. There was no machinery; all the farm work was done by hand. Even for Martial Artists, the work would probably be overwhelming if there weren’t enough of them.

Sensing waves of intimate, cloud-like frequencies coming from the rice paddies, Luo Kai placed his sword on the ridge of the field, rolled up his pant legs, and turned back to Tuoba Ye. ”Old Tuoba, you should head back. Remember to curb your pride and impatience.”

Tuoba Ye wanted to say something else, but in the end, he just mumbled uncertainly, ”...You should call me Uncle.” Watching Luo Kai enter the fields and skillfully begin to clear weeds, he understood that this might be the life Luo Kai truly enjoyed. He sighed to himself and turned to leave.

After leaving Rufeng Valley, he was walking down a wooded path when he saw a graceful figure standing there. He immediately let out a heavy snort and strode quickly to go around her.

”Stop.”

”What do you want?” Tuoba Ye turned around, his voice gruff.

”Was that young man just now Luo Kai?” The figure slowly walked over. It was the female teacher, Ou Ning. She took two letters from her pocket and said coolly, ”Su Chengbo wrote to me, and even Xi Jinghui sent me a letter. And now you’ve personally brought him here. It seems you all have quite a good relationship with this young man.”

Tuoba Ye’s thick brows shot up. ”I sent you a good student and you rejected him. Don’t you come to regret it.”

”If what Su Chengbo said in his letter is true, I can’t possibly teach a student who created a Heavenly Rank Body Technique.”

Tuoba Ye pursed his lips. ”You’re right, you’re not skilled enough to teach him. It’d be more like him teaching you!”

”You...” Ou Ning gritted her silver teeth in anger and said coldly, ”I was originally going to follow Su Chengbo’s wishes and introduce him to my Master. But now it seems there’s no need. A person who can create a Heavenly Rank Body Technique is probably someone even my Master can’t teach.” With that, she flicked her sleeves and turned to leave.

Now it was Tuoba Ye’s turn to get anxious. He hurried after her. ”Hey, Ning! You can’t just bury a great talent out of spite for me.”

A blush crept onto Ou Ning’s face. She stopped, her voice as faint as a mosquito’s buzz. ”You called me by my nickname again.”

Tuoba Ye chuckled slyly and pointed to the small woods around them. ”Remember how we used to always come here to...”

Before he could finish, flames suddenly erupted from Ou Ning’s body. She swung her palm, striking out fiercely. Caught completely off guard, Tuoba Ye was sent flying. He scrambled back to his feet, the flames still burning on him. In an instant, everything but his leather jacket—his other clothes, his hair, his eyebrows—was burned away.

”Crazy bitch! What the hell is wrong with you?!” He had just cursed when that Zi Re fire fist came smashing toward him again. Among the Five Elements, Fire overcomes Metal. Tuoba Ye was perfectly countered by her, and for a moment, he could only dodge pathetically under the assault of the blazing fists of flame.

Gradually, Tuoba Ye grew furious. Blinding golden light erupted from his body, and just as he was about to counterattack, the fiery red figure flashed into the woods, leaving behind a cold voice. ”Tuoba Ye, go back to your twelve wives. If you dare come looking for me again, I won’t be so courteous.”

Tuoba Ye hesitated, not daring to give chase. A long time later, he muttered under his breath, ”How strange. That little firecracker used to be so passionate. Why is she getting colder and colder? She’s really gone crazy.”