Martial Cultivator

Divine Capital, by the banks of South Lake.

Tonight, the moonlight was bright and clear, with the full moon and countless stars sharing the night sky.

Xie Nandu walked slowly along the lakeside, holding a lantern. Several flying swords trailed behind her, bouncing along like playful children.

By now, the lakeside was empty of students, and the flying swords seemed noticeably more spirited. After following Xie Nandu for a while, they leaped into South Lake, darting through the water.

In the moonlight, occasional flashes of cold light appeared, resembling fish leaping from the lake's surface.

In the entire world, there was only one female sword cultivator with so many lifeblood flying swords.

Recently, she had started teaching at the academy, giving the occasional lectures. Many students have taken a keen interest in her lessons, and nowadays, most of them refer to her as "Tutor Xie."

Xie Nandu did not dislike the title, but she could not say she liked it either.

Doing these things was perhaps merely her way of making some minor contributions

Some things could be done in three to five years, while others might take three to five decades, or even three to five centuries.

She did not know when she would finish what she needed to do, but she understood that if she did not start now, the time to finish would only stretch further into the future.

Since that was the case, starting now was the best choice.

After walking a short distance, Xie Nandu summoned back White Deer. The flying sword gently carried the lantern in front of her at a slow pace, while she slowed her steps, lost in thought.

When it came to Sword Dao, she faced no significant doubts. All that remained was to keep walking, and she believed it would not take long before she reached the Great Beyond, and later arrive at Nepenthe.

Beyond Sword Dao, she had delved deeply into the teachings of the saints. Although she did not claim to know them all, there were likely few in the world today who understood them more profoundly than she did.

As for the military texts in the academy's library, she had already studied many of them. At this point, she could likely be considered a true expert in military strategy and formations.

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History had seen no one who was all-knowing and all-powerful, yet it seemed that as long as this woman was willing, there was nothing she could not achieve if she set her mind to it.

If she were not a woman, she would undoubtedly leave a bold and vivid mark in the annals of history.

No...even as a woman, she was destined to leave a bold and vivid mark in the annals of history!

Stopping and starting as she walked, Xie Nandu subconsciously went to the small pavilion in the middle of the lake. Xie Nandu instinctively looked toward the heart of the lake. In the past, her teacher would occasionally appear there. Yet now, it had been a long time since anyone at the academy had seen the Dean.

The ordinary students did not think much of it. After all, they rarely saw the Dean in their daily lives. But those with the privilege of meeting him knew that the Dean had truly disappeared.

The leader of the scholars in the world had vanished quietly, without a trace, and no one knew where he had gone.

Such a thing had never occurred in all the years past.

And now, during this delicate moment in time, the Dean's disappearance was undoubtedly causing much speculation among the observant and conscientious people.

Xie Nandu stood by the lakeshore for a moment, then finally made her way toward the pavilion at the center of the lake.

Though she did not see her teacher, but for some reason, she always felt that her teacher was right there.

As usual, her flying sword carried the lantern ahead of her, illuminating the waters of the lake.

Xie Nandu arrived at the small pavilion at the heart of the lake, finding it empty and deserted.

Xie Nandu stood still, silent and unmoving.

Nor did she turn to leave.

After an unknown amount of time had passed, perhaps only a moment, a hand reached out and lifted the lantern.

It was none other than the Dean, who had been missing for so long.

This leader of scholars under the heavens held the lantern, glanced at his final disciple, and lamented with a sigh, “You were born with a rare, perceptive heart. Truly hard to come across.” �

Xie Nandu asked, “Even Senior Brother Wei couldn't find you, Teacher?”

Wei Xu was the Dean's longest-standing disciple, the one who had spent the most time by his side. If anyone should have known where the dean might be, it was him.

“I didn’t want him to find me, so he naturally couldn't find me.”

The Dean looked at Xie Nandu, a trace of complicated emotion in his eyes.

Xie Nandu thought for a moment, then nodded and said, “I understand.”

The Dean sighed and said, “You are all my disciples, each as precious as the flesh on the back or palm of my hand. Favoring any one of you wouldn't be fair. So, I chose to step away from it all instead.”

Xie Nandu shook her head and said, “Teacher, doing so isn't quite right.”

“It is right and wrong that should come first, and closeness second. Only a saint can achieve that. I, as your teacher, do not possess such a realm.”

The Dean sighed, looking at Xie Nandu as he said, “Sometimes I think, if my disciples were all ordinary, perhaps it wouldn't be so difficult. But how could any of my students be ordinary...”

Xie Nandu did not respond to this. Instead, she said, “Isn't Teacher a Saint?”

“The so-called Saints of the world are those who have reached the end of Nepenthe in cultivation and can thus be called a Saint. But a true saint has never had anything to do with cultivation realms.”

The Dean shook his head and said, “In my lifetime, I don't ever hope to reach such a state.”

Xie Nandu replied, “There's no need to pursue it so persistently.”

The Dean chuckled. “You're rather carefree.”

Xie Nandu remained silent.

The Dean changed the topic. “Since entering the academy, how many of your senior brothers have you met?”

Xie Nandu thought for a moment before answering, “Three.”

The Dean nodded. “I modeled myself after the saints, accepting seventy-two disciples over my life. Yet in the end, the truly outstanding ones amount to only a dozen or so.”

“Among them, there are three in whom I placed the greatest hope.”

The Dean smiled and said, “Of those three, you should already know two.”

Xie Nandu nodded. Those two were naturally Liu Banbi and Wei Xu.

What about the third person?

After a moment of thought, Xie Nandu said, “This student seems to know who the third person is.”

The Dean looked at Xie Nandu with some curiosity.

“When Chen Chao hadn't yet come to Divine Capital, he lived in Peach Blossom Alley in Tianqing County. Across from him was a man who didn't seem like an ordinary person. Later, Chen Chao wrote letters, which seemed to be addressed to him. I came across some information earlier, an old story involving the Zhou Family of the Divine Capital...”

Some things did not need to be said explicitly, the answer was already clear.

The Dean gave Xie Nandu an approving glance and nodded. “That's him. Among the three, I placed the greatest hope in him. Yet, I didn't expect that a sudden incident would force him to leave Divine Capital...‘leaving’ is putting it lightly, it took great effort back then just to save his life.”

Xie Nandu nodded. “Involves the foreign lands.”

The Dean nodded as well. “The Zhou Family, everyone in it but him perished. In truth, during that incident, as his teacher, I didn't do much. It was His Majesty who withstood the pressure. Speaking of which, it should be Her Highness the Princess...”

Xie Nandu nodded, understanding that it must have been a story from long ago.

“These years, though he’s been far from Shendu, it's not as though he's done nothing. A while ago, I went to see him. He told me he was working on something big. Just a few days ago, he sent me a letter...”

The Dean sighed heavily. A letter from a disciple was not inherently troubling, but the content of this letter clearly was.

Xie Nandu asked plainly, “Teacher, can you tell me what the letter said?”