Chapter 405: Chapter 282: Looking for a Ghost Specimen?
2023, September 1, Lunar July 14th.
This day is of epoch-making significance for Da Xia!
After ten years of preparation, martial arts academies in various provinces of Da Xia officially opened today!
“How about this outfit?”
“What about this one?”
“Um… do I have to wear a tie as well?”
“Of course, my husband. Today is a formal occasion… Did you memorize the speech Feng Zhaoqing gave you?”
Early morning.
In the villa.
Yang Yin helped Xu Yang get dressed and tied his tie.
To be honest…
This was Xu Yang’s first time wearing a tie.
He felt a little awkward, loosening his collar with his hand, and then he was a bit more comfortable.
Then he went to the dressing mirror and looked at himself closely, unable to stop himself from saying, “Holy shit, I think I look even more handsome!”
Yang Yin giggled and coquettishly said, “Yes, my husband is the most handsome… Now hurry up and have breakfast.”
“Is Shi Shi still in cultivation?”
“Yes.”
At the dining table, Xu Yang and Yang Yin were alone in the huge villa.
Xu Yang took a sip of porridge and asked, “What about Yue Qiluo and the others?”
Qiluo elder sister and Xiao Yu are busy dealing with the Ghost Market affairs… You know, my husband, the Ghost Festival is tomorrow, and a lot of preparations are needed. In addition, we need to be careful to avoid any accidents.”
Xu Yang naturally knew what Yang Yin meant by “accidents”.
When the Ghost Festival comes,
Ghost Gate will open, and countless Yin spirits will enter the world.
The Yin-Yang Path has been broken for six hundred years…
There was turmoil in the Underworld Palace, so who knew if any powerful beings would sneak into the world this time?
“No worries.”
Xu Yang was not worried at all, saying, “Rest assured, I’ve made arrangements… No matter how many ghosts come, our Xi Xia Ghost Market is not afraid.”
After breakfast,
Xu Yang called Ma Xiaotiao and asked him to request more supplies from the vendor who usually delivered to their funeral parlor, 10 times the amount they’d normally need in a month!
Then Xu Yang set off, driving to Wu City Martial Arts Academy.
“Hello, Director!”
The doorman recognized Xu Yang.
After all, Xu Yang had been to the academy for several days in a row before, so when he saw Xu Yang’s black Mercedes-Benz approaching, he quickly saluted and let him in.
After entering the school,
As soon as Xu Yang’s car stopped at the parking spot at the office building, Feng Zhaoqing ran over in a hurry.
“Director Xu!”
“Why are you only just now showing up… Hurry up, the faculty and students are waiting for your speech!”
“Huh?”
Xu Yang was surprised, “It’s only 9:30, and it’s already my turn to speak?”
Feng Zhaoqing’s mouth twitched, saying, “Our martial arts academy’s first day of school has nothing else but the opening ceremony, and you’re the only one scheduled to speak…”
Xu Yang: “…”
On the sports field.
It was already packed with people.
There were a total of 25 classes, about 40 people in each class, with 5 Daoist Classes and 20 martial arts classes, totaling 1023 students.
Don’t think it’s a lot.
Remember, there is only one martial arts academy throughout the whole Xi Xia Province!
Moreover, the recruitment was open to the whole society, and many people from other provinces came to apply for the exam.
Among these 1023 students, there were more than 200 from other provinces.
So in other words, Wu City Martial Arts Academy only selected fewer than 800 students from the entire Xi Xia Province in the first enrollment!
The school’s teaching staff was quite plentiful.
After all, building the martial arts academy was a project that Wang Hou had been preparing for ten years, and a large number of highly qualified teachers had already been trained!
For each class, in addition to a homeroom teacher, there were also teachers for swordsmanship, blade skills, and boxing. Some special weapons also have large classrooms for elective courses.
Xu Yang came to the flagpole and laughed, “Teachers and fellow students, I’m sorry for being late. There was some traffic on the road.”
Thunderous applause sounded throughout the audience.
Some people even shouted “Master Xu”, and many students’ eyes were filled with admiration.
Xu Yang raised his hand.
Everyone quieted down immediately.
“Fellow students,”
“In school, you have to call me Director Xu… Well, let’s not waste time talking and discuss the rules of the martial arts academy.”
With that,
He pulled out several sheets of A4 paper from his pocket.
There was laughter from the students.
Xu Yang did not mind, saying, “To be honest, I’m not really sure about the specific rules of our martial arts academy… But we have a draft, all the rules are on it.”
After a pause,
Xu Yang’s body flashed with Daoist energy, and in a moment, a unique pressure spread throughout the audience. He said solemnly, “Next, I will announce the rules of Wu City Martial Arts Academy. Everyone, please remember each word and sentence in your hearts. If you violate any rules in the future, we’ll be strict in punishing you!”
There were many rules.
Xu Yang read them out for more than 20 minutes.
Following that, there was an additional page of speech notes.
Xu Yang took a quick glance, put away the draft, and followed the speech notes freely, speaking for another 20 minutes.
“Anyway, cultivate diligently.”
“You are the first batch of students at the martial arts academy and shoulder heavy responsibilities. Troubled times are approaching…”
Afterwards.
He went on gabbing for a while before finally waving his hand and saying, “Alright, dismissed!”
The teachers and students dispersed.
Feng Zhaoqing hurriedly brought over a cup of cold tea from one side.
Xu Yang downed it in one gulp, saying, “Give me another cup…”
After drinking two cups of cold tea in a row, he finally quenched his thirst and couldn’t help but sigh, “It seems I was wrong to blame the principal back then… We used to think his half-hour speeches every Monday were too much, but now it seems he’s already become more restrained.”
Feng Zhaoqing laughed, “Our Martial Arts Academy doesn’t have that many rules, just the opening ceremony and some other big events require you to give speeches, the rest of the time you can manage however you want.”
“So there’s nothing going on now?”
“There’s a small matter…”
“What is it?”
“On the first day of school, there’s a meeting… All the teachers in the school will attend, and you, as the director, will also need to say a few words.”
Xu Yang: “…”
Luckily, the teachers’ meeting was held in the large conference room.
There wasn’t really much content.
The teaching assignments had already been set, it was just everyone meeting each other, getting acquainted, and then the leader giving a few words of encouragement.
Xu Yang was a straightforward person, not very good at giving lengthy speeches or making grand promises.
He had someone bring a bunch of stones, directly used the Turning Stone into Gold skill, and turned the stones into gold, handing them out to all the teachers, saying, “Just a little gift, I hope you don’t mind.”
“Just now, Director Feng mentioned that our school will have an evaluation at the end of each semester.”
“Classes with outstanding performance will be rewarded.”
Director Feng, of course, referred to Feng Zhaoqing.
In the Martial Arts Academy, Xu Yang was the director, and Feng Zhaoqing was the deputy director.
Xu Yang said, “Based on the school’s rewards, I’ll personally add some more… from now on, the best-performing class each semester will receive an additional 20kg of gold as a reward!”
Upon hearing this, the eyes of many teachers turned red.
They all got up, promising to teach well.
The gazes they exchanged were filled with fighting spirit… amongst each other, the air was tense with rivalry.
Xu Yang added, “Of course… we can’t neglect our own cultivation. Later on, Deputy Director Feng will set up an indoor martial arts competition for us teachers at the end of each semester, and the winners will be handsomely rewarded!”
“Alright then!”
“If there are no issues, everyone can go get busy.”
After the meeting.
Xu Yang went straight back to his office.
He practiced some charms for a while, went to the school cafeteria for lunch, and then returned to his office and played games.
By the afternoon.
Xu Yang, being bored, leisurely strolled around the school, hands behind his back.
And you know what?
Now dressed in a sharp suit, wearing expensive leather shoes that cost over 8,000 dollars, a branded tie around his neck, hands behind his back, and the car key casually hung on his waistband… Xu Yang looked just like a middle-aged government bureaucrat.
As he passed by the Daoist Class.
Xu Yang heard the teacher in charge, instructing the students on the experience of catching ghosts.
“Ghosts.”
“This word originated in oracle bone inscriptions, the ancient form of which resembles a humanoid monster with a large head. The original meaning is the soul after death, as believed by certain religions or superstitious people!”
“The ancients believed that when a person dies, they become a ghost.”
“This statement is both right and wrong.”
“After death, the soul will enter the Underworld Palace… Only those with deep attachments, strong resentment, or great evil, will remain in the world after death, transforming into ferocious ghosts, seeking revenge and causing havoc!”
“As students of the Daoist Class, you will inevitably have to deal with ghosts…You have to remember that every ghost is extremely dangerous, and ghostly words are absolutely not to be believed!”
In the classroom,
A group of students listened intently.
It seemed,
That deep down, they were actually quite scared of “ghosts.”
Xu Yang shook his head, pushed open the door of the classroom, and walked in.
“Director!”
Seeing Xu Yang, the teacher immediately stopped lecturing and greeted him.
Xu Yang nodded and said, “The class is going well…but I have a different understanding of ghosts, and I’d like to share it with the students.”
The teacher quickly said, “Students, let’s welcome Director Xu to give us a personal lecture.”
The students applauded.
Xu Yang raised his hand to signal the students to be quiet.
He originally wanted to find a piece of chalk and write on the blackboard…but found that the blackboards had changed to projection screens, and there was no chalk on the platform.
So he pulled over a chair and said, “Today, let’s just chat casually.”
“Let’s talk about ghosts.”
“People fear ghosts and think that ghosts are evil and bad…but this is actually a prejudice.”
Xu Yang seriously said, “I once read a phrase in a novel that goes, ‘People know that ghosts are terrifying, but ghosts know the viciousness of human hearts’… Compared to the malice of human hearts, ghosts are nothing. Of course, it’s not to deny that there are many malevolent ghosts in the world.”
“But most ghosts, in fact, are very kind.”
“It’s actually the same with people; there are good people and bad people.”
One student timidly asked, “Sir, how can we tell if a ghost is good or bad when we encounter one in the future?”
“That’s a great question!”
Xu Yang said, “Generally, the ghosts that harm people have a strong resentment. Once you master your own cultivation, you’ll probably be able to distinguish them by the resentment they carry. Another way is to discern through their appearance.”
“As the saying goes, the countenance is formed by the heart. This is also true for ghosts, and in fact, it’s even more apparent in them.”
“By the way, who among you has seen a ghost? Raise your hand, please.”
The students exchanged glances, and only four people raised their hands.
Xu Yang frowned, “This won’t do…how can you understand ghosts, let alone catch them, if you’ve never seen one?”
On one side,
The Daoist skills teacher smiled bitterly, “Director…most of these students have just been exposed to Daoist teachings and have no foundation yet. Letting them see ghosts at this point would be too dangerous, don’t you think?”
“What’s so dangerous about it?”
Xu Yang said, “In that case…you go to the Long Flow River and enter the mountains. Once you’re inside, some ghosts will appear. Tell them I sent you and ask them to select a few ghosts to come to our Martial Arts Academy as specimens for the students to study and learn from.”