Way of the Knights

Chapter 906: Educator Paul and his Turtle Lineage

Paul sat on a chair, silently pondering to himself while monitoring the situation in front of him.action

There is a crystal ball on the table that projected real-time feed of what’s happening in an arena. Currently, a heated fight of two students were being displayed and Paul was silently gauging their potentials.

Right next to him, a professor asked: “What do you think of them, Headmaster?”

“…could be better.” He replied flatly, ignoring the dismayed expression of the professor next to him.

If someone would’ve told him decades ago that he’ll grow-up to have the same job as how own father – a Headmaster of an Academy, Paul would’ve never believe them. He’ll even go as far as to swearing that such a thing isn’t possible.

But fate really is fateful sometimes…

Look at him now, the Headmaster of the Dawn Council’s Academy of Young Geniuses. It’s hilarious to think that him of all people would become a Headmaster but it seems that being a educator runs in their blood.

Paul never really thought too much about it. All he really knew is that he worked hard the moment he ascended to the Divine Realm.

The boorish and stupid son that he was back then was no more. He’s now a dignified adult, burdened by responsibility and had accumulated scars and experience all these years.

He never explicitly wanted to become the Headmaster of the Academy, then again, he wasn’t really against it either. To him, he just did his best and before he knew it, he found himself being elected as the Headmaster.

It was purely coincidence believe it or not. He never expressed any desire to become the Headmaster. It’s just that his responsibilities often ended-up with him looking after the Academy.

Paul was one of the people who had majorly contributed to the construction of the Academy. He was the one who gathered the materials, who figured out the general design and theme of it, and he also worked on the curriculum that they will follow.

All of these were things concepts that he learned from his own father and big brother, who became Headmasters of the Knight’s Academy back at their home. Due to him being close to them, he unknowingly understands how to build a school and the needs it has, coupled with his own experiences in the formula and there, the Dawn Council’s Academy of Young Geniuses was founded.

Unbeknownst to him, Paul has a rich talent for teaching. He often found himself being sought after by many students asking for his advice. He even took on several disciples who’s lives changed under his care.

All of these, gradually accumulated and before he knew it, he was elected as the Headmaster of the Academy. Raven even personally voted for him.

Really, it’s all absurd now that he thought about it but at the end of the day, this feeling isn’t so bad.

Being an educator isn’t really as boring as his young self initially thought. It’s quite rewarding if he’s being completely honest.

Of course, it has its ups and downs but that’s normal. This was something that is out of his control anyway.

“Professor John, is there any news about my disciples?” He asked the professor sitting next to him without looking.

“Uh, there’s none Headmaster. We tried reaching out to them but we haven’t received any response.”

“I see…” Paul acknowledged softly, “I wonder how those unfilial disciples are doing.”

Professor John smiled softly and said: “I’m sure they’ll be fine Headmaster. Those kids are strong, they are your disciples after all.”

“I’m aware.” Paul sighed, “I just want to see them for a bit. Things are about to get really hectic, I won’t have time to look after them when that happens.”

Professor John couldn’t reply to that. Not that Paul was expecting anything out of him anyways.

The old professor was Paul’s right hand man. He has been working as his assistant ever since the Academy was founded. Paul trusted John and he was privy to some details they discuss at the council.

Simply put, John knows about the approaching threat. Saying that John isn’t afraid would be a lie. He’s deathly afraid of the Abyssals especially after knowing what they can do and how big their army is.

To think that kind of threat exists beyond their home was unbelievable. He didn’t dare to believe it at first but recently, John also felt the stifling pressure pressing down on his chest.

John himself is a Divine Knight, his Divinity is Wisdom. He is a direct descendant of an Oracle Lineage, meaning that he could deduce Heavenly Secrets in exchange of his longevity, which is also why he appeared old and haggard even though in reality, he isn’t that old.

When he learned about the existence of the Abyssals from Paul, he deduced their origins and suffered from a terrible backlash. He didn’t see anything but he felt their presence for a brief duration.

Up until this day, John could never forget that stifling pressure he felt. It was so horrible that he felt numbness all over his body, he was haunted by nightmares for a whole month after that which caused him to suffer greatly.

When he felt the invisible threat washing over the realm, he felt cold from head to toe. And when Paul revealed to him a few days ago about Raven’s deduction, impulse forced him to deduce it himself and once again, he suffered.

Now, he could no longer deny it since he saw them with his own eyes. They really are coming. And to see how many of them there is, made his skin crawl. John was so traumatized that he appeared older than before after his deduction.

In hindsight, Paul told him to not do it. It was him who didn’t listen.

Still, this was an unmistakable evidence. John never doubted his own deductions, more so Raven’s, so he truly understand the threat they’re about to face.

It is for this very reason that Paul made an effort to establish a tournament every three years to monitor the progress of the young geniuses closely.

With the rich reward and a promise of receiving guidance from him, all students participated with a fiery passion.

John however, knew the real purpose behind this. He knew that Paul did this to pressure the young geniuses. By establishing a friendly competition, he’s hoping to ignite the hot bloodedness of these students and whet their fighting spirit.

With how much experience they’re accumulating with continuous battles, it directly increases their chances at surviving the approaching crisis.

And it’s precisely because of this that Paul was chosen as the Headmaster of the Academy.

Whether he admits it or not, he cares a lot about the students. He is a true educator that only wanted to see students flourish.

As for the matter of his own disciples missing, it really isn’t much of a big deal. If Paul really wanted to, he could directly figure out where they are but he refrained from doing so.

Paul gave them freedom to explore on their own. He wanted them to be independent and strong.

It’s silly actually, those kids named themselves the ‘Turtle Lineage’ without his consent. And to further emphasize this fact, they deliberately wore turtle shells on their person wherever they go and they stick to each other like glue.

Paul would often berate them for looking ridiculous but deep down, he’s so proud of them. Hell, he’s even bragging about them on his wife and friends. In truth, Paul was very fond of those kids, especially since they vowed to be the personal guards of their Young Master – which is Richard, Paul’s son.

Believe it or not, the Turtle Lineage is quite famous all over Divine Realm. They’re talented yes but that’s not their selling point. It’s their shamelessness.

Their quite iconic actually. The turtle shells they wore is made out of precious materials and is incredibly dense and sturdy. Attacks below Empyrean are completely useless if they turn around.

They are loud and proud bunch, but their hearts are big. It is rumored that they even stopped world-ending tsunami by turning themselves into a barricade.

Their trip this time was for the sake of strengthening themselves. They said that in order to guard their Young Master, they themselves have to be really strong first.

Paul currently has no idea where they’re at but he’s aware that none of them are in danger. They have left life jades at the academy and at the first sign of threat, Paul will immediately be notified.

Those kids might be shameless, loud and sometimes arrogant but make no mistake, they are young Heroes. And even though they never confirmed nor denied that they’re disciples of Paul, many people could make the connection. Which is why most people didn’t dare to slight them.

As for where their feet will take them, that’ll depend on them. What Paul wanted right now is too see these kids and see how they’re doing since, who knows? Maybe its the last time they’ll see each other.

He at least want to give them a pleasant memory before the Realm War begins.