Yama Rising

During this time, his heart was fraught with incomparable anxiety. The official documents alone would already pile up like mountains in his week-long absence, and there was still the need to keep Arthis in check to prevent all forms of… corruption. They even needed to attend to the most pressing issue of firming up the next steps of Hell’s developmental work. After all, they had only two years’ time to establish a sea port city good enough for commencement of their trade routes. There was truly no time to lose. That said… he had no choice but to stick to his leave of absence.

Local Bully was a man who was completely oblivious to all forms of social cues whatsoever!

One thing was certain - Local Bully would make for a good father in future. That said, Qin Ye couldn’t wait to get out of this ‘fatherly’ hell as soon as he could.

During this time, some of his other students had dropped by in their free time to visit him, and their presence was what helped sustain him through the long, arduous week. That said, he couldn’t hold on any longer.

It was already the final sprint leading up to the end of the semester, so most of the students were already holed up in their little booths in the library, and few could be seen scattered about the campus grounds. Everything looked bare and empty, save for the occasional regular citizen passers-by who were pointing and commenting on the fence surrounding the campus grounds.

He pushed open the door to the faculty office, only to notice Zhou Xianlong look up from his desk in surprise, “Have you finally been discharged? I’ve been anticipating your arrival. It’s good to be young. Your rate of recovery is extraordinary. Come, take a seat. You’re just in time, there are some things that I want to show you.”

He had a request to make to Zhou Xianlong, so he would naturally have to comply with Zhou Xianlong’s instructions. I’ll listen to the leadership, and then comply with their instructions so that I can remain with the organizatio--... What the hell is this?!!

“Take a seat, take a seat.” Zhou Xianlong placed his arm on Qin Ye’s shoulder and pressed him back down onto his seat, “Little Qin…”

Straight to the point. Zhou Xianlong had never expected Qin Ye to be so direct, and he paused for a moment, “We don’t operate cabs around here…”

Qin Ye nearly rolled his eyes, “Faculty Head Zhou, I’ve already recovered, I can still continue to teach! We’ve got to be responsible for the students under our charge! Can the other instructors possibly take over the matters which I’ve been imbibing our students with? Would the students be able to understand these key concepts about the supernatural without my guidance? I’ve been hearing the despondent cries of my students even in my sleep back at the hospital!”

The students aren’t as stupid as you make them out to be…

Qin Ye still had a large amount of credits under his name that hadn’t been spent. Although the evaluation guideline for the determination of associate professors had changed somewhat, he was undoubtedly still in the running for the highly coveted title. One could only imagine how the first batch of teaching staff were going to be treated after the graduation of the first batch of students! Qin Ye was naturally bent on fighting for his teaching post, even if that meant dragging his name through the mud!

“Or are you saying that I’m not teaching well enough? Or am I not strong enough? Or do you take issue with my attitude?”

Zhou Xianlong sighed softly. He had only come to this very decision after having regard to a multitude of considerations. Yet, faced with Qin Ye’s feisty, accusatory gaze, he found himself rendered completely speechless.

Just then, a voice suddenly called out from the door behind Qin Ye, “Instructor Qin, you’ve misunderstood us.” Qin Ye turned back in surprise, only to see Xu Anguo standing at the door, holding a cup of tea.

“Understood.” Zhou Xianlong chuckled bitterly. He had already done much to restrain his volatile temperament, but there was admittedly still much room for improvement.

Hmm?

Couldn’t you have told me these things earlier…

“Your situation is rather special.” Xu Anguo picked up the documents on Zhou Xianlong’s desk and began flipping through them, “There are several considerations that were playing on our mind when we decided to approve of the proposed course of action. Firstly, your physical condition is a huge issue. The First Academy of Cultivators doesn’t possess the ability to undo the curse. Something afflicted by a Prefect-class entity will require another Prefect-class entity to undo. To this end, there are only three such existences in Cathay itself. Together, they constitute the Cathay’s bulwark in this war against the netherworldly forces. These experts are usually impossible to contact. Thus, if you remain with the First Academy of Cultivators, you’d only be waiting for death. This is something that none of us want to see.”

Three Abyssal Prefects, huh… To think that there would be three Prefect-class experts hidden within the mortal realm. The head honcho of the Special Investigations Department should be one. Then, what about the other two? Taoist? Buddhist?

Qin Ye’s lips trembled slightly, but he remained taciturn.

What a wily old fox. What masterful use of rhetorics and soft-argumentative style. Qin Ye had a feeling that he would be fully persuaded by Xu Anguo today.

“And don’t be in a hurry to refute me just yet. Consider this - how do you know when your curse would next act up? What if you’re in the midst of an important lesson or a crucial demonstration? What happens if this happens during the actual combat practice? These aren’t matters that we can gloss over lightly.”

Having noticed his silence, Xu Anguo smiled faintly once more, “Thirdly…”

“Sss…” Qin Ye gasped and turned to look at Xu Anguo with great disbelief.

They had laid the groundwork for over a decade, and the consequences of the supernatural outbreaks across the three eastern provinces were clearly too severe to conceal any longer. Thus, riding the wave of the opportunity that had presented itself, the Cathayan government… had finally decided that the time was ripe.

Nobody knows what the future would hold for them. That said, one thing was for certain - everything would hinge on whether they could overcome this obstacle that was a tidal wave of Yin spirits headed for them right now!

“Over the last ten years, Cathay has established satellite offices across the entire nation, populating even the remotest counties with cultivators and experts of all sorts. Every county has at least a hundred cultivators protecting them. Unfortunately… this is far from enough as far as cities are concerned.” Xu Anguo could tell that Qin Ye was mulling over these things, and he promptly added, “It’s not that there’s insufficient headcount. Rather, what’s lacking is the number of elites.”

Xu Anguo sighed softly and set down his teacup, “To make matters worse… they’re not at all familiar with Yin spirits at all. Supernatural outbreaks have only become more commonplace in the last decade or so. On the other hand, the sects, clans and other forces have complex and intricate organizational structures that are generally inward-looking. Their rate of development and adaptation is slow, and it was only in the last two to three years that some of these experts have come out of their seclusion to experience the changes in the world once more. What remains head knowledge requires time and bloodshed to be converted into practical experience and knowledge. This is why most urbanized areas are still looking for true experts who have the means of dealing with the increasing supernatural threat.”

“Everything is in the works right now.” Zhou Xianlong explained, “Nobody knows exactly when it’s going to happen, but it’s only going to be a matter of time in the near future. This is why the competition for cultivators over the last half a year has never been stronger, and I’m afraid it will only continue to get more and more intense over the next decade or so.”

Xu Anguo added, “How to defend against or deal with Yin spirits are matters that must be learnt through practical experience. Besides, how many experts do you think there are in Cathay who actually possess the requisite ability to deal with the threat of the supernatural? Most of them have already come to the First Academy of Cultivators. We've already received over a thousand such requests and applications for assistance from various cities around. There are even some cities that have come together to pool their resources to attract the best talent around. Unfortunately, the pool of talents they're vying for is simply too limited. Incidentally, you're one of these talents that everyone is looking for."

Of course I'm agreeable to this!

"Excellent! I knew we could count on Instructor Qin!” Zhou Xianlong finally breathed a sigh of relief, “Come, Instructor Qin, take a look at the cities we’ve picked for you. We’ve especially shortlisted the cities with the highest level of supernatural outbreak so that your talents wouldn’t be wasted! Furthermore, when we previously channeled true energy through your body earlier, we’ve discovered that you’re already close to breaking through to becoming an Anitya Hellguard. Being caught in life-and-death battles would only increase the odds of breaking through!”

Qin Ye stared at Zhou Xianlong as though he had just seen a ghost.

I’d very much rather have a home with a sea view and wake up to the smell of a bed of roses!