Yama Rising

Shaa… The Director of the Internal Affairs Department immediately shot to his feet and stared at the soul sphere in disbelief.

Sha, sha, sha… All of the other school leaders shot to their feet simultaneously. If not for the fact that this was a lecture hall, they might very well have made their way over to the soul sphere by now.

Lecture is over…

How can the opening lecture end just like that?!

They ruminated on their newfound yet piecemeal knowledge from this lecture as they continued to cast begrudging looks at the panel of old men behind the lecture hall. It’s all thanks to this “group of observers” that we don’t even have one cohesive concept to take back from this message. Are you trying to get us killed on the battlefield in future?

That’s right, two hours passed in the blink of an eye.

But now, each of them sincerely felt that the last two hours had passed by too quickly… it had truly been fleeting! Qin Ye hadn’t even been able to get into much detail… and they would have to wait three whole days for his next lecture. What are the characteristics of an incarnate revenant? How exactly did he determine that the other cities in Cathay had begun to show signs of the intersection of realms and the appearance of a nest of ten thousand captive ghosts?

“His lecture will definitely become one of the mainstays in the academy in future.” Zhu Youde chuckled, “But… is this truly the time to be discussing these matters?”

This was a lecture hall.

And they were all part of the panel of evaluators.

That said…

This had been a lecture intended for students, and yet the panel of evaluators ended up being the ones posing him questions time and again. Even Zhou Xianlong, Xu Anguo and some others were huddled together in an impassioned group discussion right now. Rather than describe this as a lecture for students, perhaps it might be more accurate to say that… they were the ones who had benefited most from it.

“What do you think?” Long Qin, the Director of the Human Resources Department, asked the four men in black on the side.

The four men in black, especially the one who had earlier been casting aspersions on Qin Ye’s abilities, felt as though a rock had been lodged in their throats. It was incredibly stifling.

Did he not have sufficient content to support this lecture and the lectures to come?

“Guys?” Zhou Ruping, the Director of the Department of Academy Administration, raised his eyebrows quizzically. The SRC was renowned for their expertise in academia - so why were they suddenly completely silent?

Clap, clap, clap…

They didn’t know who the revered fellow of the SRC, Professor Yu, was. They only saw that a white-beareded, white-haired old man was smiling faintly and applauding Qin Ye’s efforts. The applause naturally spread - from one person, to a handful, to dozens, to a hundred, until finally… the entire student body was applauding!

Local Bully and a few others gnashed their teeth as they clapped along in a contrived manner. Su Feng glanced at Local Bully, “Don’t you feel stressed about your lecture this afternoon?”

The applause continued for over ten seconds. Professor Yu led the applause, and his entourage of assistants from the SRC followed suit. They were the ones who led the first wave of applause, and the rest of the leaders of the academy had no choice but to follow suit. They had to extend the SRC that measure of face, respect and courtesy at the very least… the SRC were the ones preparing the teaching materials after all…

Hang on!

Notwithstanding the fact that Xu Anguo was staring so intently at Professor Yu that his eyeballs looked like they were on the brink of falling out of its sockets, Professor Yu simply turned a blind eye to all of this as he continued to applaud gently, “I’d never expected to be sitting in for a lecture that was not only meant for the students, but for us as well!”

Xu Anguo clearly had a bad hunch of what was to come - This old man isn’t sticking to the script… Is he trying to subvert the rules? Can anybody tell me how I’m supposed to seal the lips of one of the esteemed fellows of the SRC? Pretty please…

“Principal Xu.” Professor Yu turned around with an amiable smile as soon as Xu Anguo began to speak, “I guarantee that this research topic will be submitted to the Association of Parapsychology within half a year. As soon as it gets the necessary approvals... how many Yin spirits do you think we’ll be able to capture?”

“Yes, your hunch is spot on. The implications of Instructor Qin’s topic is massive. It proffers a systematization of the types of Yin spirits and their abilities. His perspectives and insights are fresh and novel. I wonder how many cultivators would be blessed by these insights of his as soon as they’re proven true? In light of these, I give this lecture nine points.”

Didn’t you just give me your word that you weren’t here to lend him any support?!

Xu Anguo could feel his eyelids twitching uncontrollably. Admittedly, Qin Ye’s performance at this opening lecture had been incredible. However--

This is the First Academy of Cultivators! There are still several other instructors who are giving their opening lectures at the very same time! And there are still four instructors from the Faculty of Combat who are waiting for their turn after Instructor Qin! How could you just pop up out of nowhere and bestow nine points on Instructor Qin?! I want to give him a high score as well, but haven’t you considered the feelings of others?!

The two old men glared at each other, and tensions ran high. The threatening glint in Old Man Yu’s eyes were apparent - What’s the matter? Doesn’t my word carry any weight anymore? Do you guys not want any more teaching materials next semester?

Old Man Yu - The students from the Faculty of Science and Research and the Faculty of Theory have to attend a compulsory internship at the SRC, don’t they? Do you really want us to refuse them? Besides, there’s no retracting what I’ve said, so are you going to still score him an eight in an attempt to prove that you’re a better judge of a person than I am? That’s fine, go ahead. While you’re at it, I’ll pass you a pen as well, and you can draft up the syllabus and teaching materials on your own!

Goddammit!

Ummm… I wonder if these kids would put in a request to change faculties?

“Nine points!” After contemplating for several seconds, Xu Anguo succumbed to the forces of evil. Incidentally, Old Man Yu had “evil” written all over his face and clothes…

Qin Ye glanced back - Copy that.

Zhu Youde gave the Blaze Squad a look of commiseration and shrugged his shoulders as he, too, declared with a loud voice, “Nine points.”

All ten members of the panel of evaluators suggested nine points!

Just like that, the first lecture of the day was dismissed amidst a buzz of chatter and discussions, and Local Bully rejected Qin Ye’s invitation to lunch in protest of what had just transpired. After lunch, Qin Ye returned to his own dorm room, where he promptly logged onto the website of the First Academy of Cultivators for his very first time.

Everything to do with his teaching credits, ranging from his past performance, his critique, as well as the tally of his score to date were set out in detail on the website, accessible only by him when he logged into his own account.

“My score.” Qin Ye entered his password quickly, and then shut his eyes in relief, “What do I do, Arti? I feel like my self-confidence is swelling so much that I’m bursting at my seams…”

Currently tabulating the instructors’ scores… Qin Ye glanced over at Arthis’ screen, “It’s because I performed well at the lecture too… What rank are you now? That looks like a rather intense game? Holy crap! That Q flash combo, and blue essence?!”

Qin Ye felt like he was about to explode with exasperation!

It was alright for a female challenger tier player to be streaming her gameplay, but there’s no way it would be fine for a silicone doll to appear on air like that!

1. This refers to a blink + Q ability skill combo in LoL

2. I understand this to be the currency you use in game to buy characters and cosmetics

3. This is the penultimate tier in LoL.

4. The highest tier in LoL.

5. Both are streaming sites in China. They’re a little bit like twitch.