Chapter 26 Counseling

Qiao Yu was currently carrying Lin Lang on his back, heading towards Wan Lihao's location.

Although he had successfully obtained the Qiongqi pendant, he felt a slight ache in his heart.

His principal seemed to be anything but ordinary!

Ma Fei was overtly showing off, but the principal was subtly injuring people with his pretense.

Could it be that sword cultivators all have a penchant for acting cool?

"Knock, knock, knock!"

Wan Lihao was awakened from his slumber by a series of knocks.

He frowned and glanced at the time. 3:30 AM?!

What kind of lunatic would knock on his door in the middle of the night?

Wan Lihao rose to his feet, bare-chested. He vowed that if the person outside couldn't provide a reasonable explanation, he would show them the terrifying might of a Wang-level physical cultivator.

The moment he opened the door, Wan Lihao saw Qiao Yu's handsome face, plastered with a smile.

"Good evening, Teacher Wan!"

"At 3:30 AM, I'm good to you..." Wan Lihao took a deep breath, suppressing the national essence that had already surged to his throat.

No, he was a teacher now; he couldn't curse.

"What is it?" Wan Lihao asked.

"The principal asked me to hand him over to you and let you handle it." Qiao Yu pointed to the ground. Only then did Wan Lihao notice a disheveled man lying face down, his features indistinguishable.

Wan Lihao was instantly dumbfounded!

"The principal... asked you... in the middle of the night... to send a man... to me?!" Wan Lihao asked incredulously.

His eyes were filled with horror as he glanced at the man on the ground and then back at Qiao Yu.

Then, Wan Lihao took a deep breath and his gaze hardened.

"Qiao Yu, take him away. And please tell Principal Ji for me that although I, Wan Lihao, am a muscle man, I do not yearn for freedom! Nor do I have that kind of hobby!"

Qiao Yu was instantly dumbfounded. What was going on? He felt like something was off with Wan Lihao.

"Teacher Wan, you've misunderstood. This person on the ground is Lin Lang!"

"Lin Lang?!" Wan Lihao's expression was complicated.

He naturally remembered the name. When Lin Lang went missing, he had mobilized all his resources to search for him, but to no avail.

Wan Lihao raised his head, his gaze becoming even more resolute.

"If it's Lin Lang, then it's even more unacceptable! He's my student. There can be no impropriety between teacher and student. It's my principle! You should take him away quickly!"

Qiao Yu: "..."

Teacher Wan couldn't be persuaded, ah, no, Teacher Wan was acting strangely!

He suddenly remembered that Wan Lihao didn't seem to know about Lin Lang joining Bai Ze and killing Qin Xuan.

So, Qiao Yu quickly explained the whole situation to Wan Lihao.

Only then did Wan Lihao understand Ji Pingyang's intention in having Qiao Yu bring Lin Lang over.

"I understand. You can go back now; I'll take care of Lin Lang's matter."

Wan Lihao raised his head again and reminded him,

"Oh, right, remember to participate in the exclusive dungeon! Before the combat competition, the school will arrange special training for you!"

Qiao Yu nodded and then turned to return to the dormitory.

...

"Splash! Splash!"

What was that, the sound of waves?

Lin Lang opened his eyes with some difficulty.

Already severely injured, he had passed out from the pressure of Ji Pingyang's aura and had only just now managed to wake up.

Lin Lang looked around. He was on top of a towering mountain peak. Opposite the mountain was another mountain peak, with a bottomless cliff between them!

A man sat on the edge of the cliff, his back to him.

"Teacher Wan!"

Lin Lang instantly recognized the figure.

"Awake? Come, sit." Wan Lihao said calmly.

Lin Lang's expression was complex, but he still walked over and sat down beside Wan Lihao.

"Want a drink?" Wan Lihao handed over a bottle of liquor.

Lin Lang picked up the bottle and took a big gulp. The spicy liquor burned its way down his throat, making Lin Lang's face flush.

"Remember where this is?" Wan Lihao asked.

"I remember, the second stage of training, the place to hide from the Gray Swordfish."

Lin Lang nodded, his eyes filled with resentment. It was here that Qin Xuan had trampled his dignity underfoot and mercilessly humiliated him.

"I've heard about what happened to you. I also saw what happened back then. I originally thought it would motivate you to cultivate even harder, but I didn't expect it to turn out like this. It's my fault."

Wan Lihao raised the bottle and took a big gulp of liquor.

"After you went missing, your parents came to me, and I told them you had gone on a mission."

"Thank you." Lin Lang's voice was hoarse. "Teacher Wan, if possible, please don't tell them I've become like this."

Wan Lihao didn't respond. Instead, he changed the subject, looked at the sky, and slowly opened his mouth, not knowing whether he was talking to Lin Lang or to himself.

"I'm actually a very flawed person. I'm not cut out to be a teacher, but I still ended up teaching at Jing University."

"I used to be known as a battle maniac because I was addicted to fighting. I couldn't stand it if I didn't fight for a day."

"Back then, if someone had told me, 'Wan Lihao, you're going to be a teacher in the future,' I would have slapped him in the face. That's nonsense. How could I, Wan Lihao, ever become a teacher?"

Wan Lihao reached out a hand and gently pressed it on Lin Lang's head.

"So, why the long face? What can't a young person overcome? When I was your age, I would have dared to take on even the King of Heaven!"

"When you make a mistake, you have to admit it. At worst, you can start over. A true powerhouse isn't someone who never makes mistakes, but someone who dares to face the mistakes they've made!"

"Sigh, I'm really not suited for preaching."

Wan Lihao took another big gulp of liquor, and the bottle in his hand was instantly empty.

Lin Lang lowered his head in silence. No one knew what he was thinking.

The two of them, one big and one small, sat on the edge of the cliff, not speaking, taking swig after swig of liquor.

...

Beside a small lake deep within the vast Endless Forest.

A man holding a fishing rod was fishing with his eyes closed.

The float suddenly dipped down a few times. The man yanked the fishing rod, and a small fish three fingers wide was pulled out of the water.

"Oh? Old Bai is in such a good mood? Even fishing!" A man who was only about five feet tall and unremarkable in appearance walked over.

"It's Sword King? How's Hammer King?" The man known as Old Bai said in a calm tone, but the words he uttered were shocking.

Sword King! That was the terrifying existence who had once competed with Ji Pingyang for the title of the number one sword cultivator and ultimately lost by a single move!

"Mu Wang saved him, but he lost half his body."

Sword King shook his head, then looked up in one direction.

"Speak of the devil, and he shall appear."

As soon as he finished speaking, a huge vine emerged from the ground, with Hammer King Huang Huayu, who was only half a body, wrapped around it.

"Ah, Hammer King, it's great that you were able to return safely!" Sword King said with a smile.

Veins popped out on Huang Huayu's forehead.

I'm missing half my body. You call that returning safely?

But he only dared to say this in his heart. The words that came to his lips were,

"Thank you for your concern, Sword King!"

Now he only had half a body left, and his strength was less than 10% of what it used to be. If he angered Sword King, and he killed himself with a single sword, he could only blame himself for his bad luck.

"Now you understand, right? It's impossible to defeat Ji Pingyang one-on-one. We have to take advantage of the time, the place, and the people, and work together to have even the slightest chance of killing him."

After Sword King finished speaking, he looked at the man who was still fishing.

"Old Bai, what do you say?"

"Splash!"

Another fish was pulled out of the lake.

"Ji Pingyang is too much of a hindrance, he should be eliminated indeed."

The man's tone was very calm.

"The battlefield will be set in Su City. Those people in Su City have spent so much time and haven't been able to catch Qiao Anqing's son. Just treat it as making use of trash. Other specific matters will be contacted later."

"I have no objection!" Sword King immediately agreed.

Just as Sword King was about to leave, he noticed a sharp fishhook hovering in front of his eyes at some point.

If he took another step forward, the fishhook would directly hook his eyeball.

Sword King's Adam's apple bobbed up and down. He asked with an embarrassed smile.

"Old Bai, is there anything else?"

A faint voice sounded from behind Sword King.

"One more question, to surround and kill Ji Pingyang, how many of the Eight Kings will you send?"