Lin Feng paused for a brief moment, his breath coming to a halt as something unfamiliar stirred in his mind.
Ding!
The crisp, mechanical chime echoed clearly in his consciousness.
"Congratulations, Host. You have successfully acquired your first student. As a reward, you have been granted one trillion spirit stones."
A calm yet pleasant woman's voice rang in his ears, carrying neither emotion nor hesitation, as if bestowing such an outrageous reward were the most natural thing in the world.
Lin Feng's pupils shrank.
"Is this true?" he thought. "And a reward this big?"
"System! Are you there?!" Lin Feng roared inwardly, his heart pounding.
Yet just as before, after delivering its message, the system vanished without a trace, leaving behind nothing but silence.
A faint twitch appeared at the corner of his eye.
"Same old cold treatment." he muttered mentally.
Suppressing his excitement, Lin Feng immediately summoned his character interface.
A translucent panel unfolded before his eyes, filled with familiar information.
But this time, something new had appeared.
Inventory.
His breath hitched.
With a mere thought, he opened it.
The space inside resembled an endless void, vast and boundless.
Floating at its center was a single, radiant icon… a spirit stone shimmering with pure spiritual light.
Beneath it was a number so large that Lin Feng had to blink twice to make sure he wasn't hallucinating.
1,000,000,000,000
"A trillion…" Lin Feng silently inhaled.
His lips trembled, then slowly curved upward into an uncontrollable smile.
In this world, spirit stones were more than currency, they were cultivation resources, symbols of power, and measures of status.
Even low-grade spirit stones were treasures hoarded by sects and clans alike.
One spirit stone alone could be exchanged for one hundred thousand gold coins, enough for an ordinary family to live comfortably for generations.
And now… he had a trillion of them.
With this amount, he could buy cultivation techniques, rare pills, weapons, formations, entire sects could be built from the ground up.
Even major powers would be shaken if they learned of such a fortune.
If Lin Feng had not improvised and created a perfect-grade cultivation manual for himself, then this vast amount of spirit stone resources would have been of immeasurable benefit to him.
However, he had a strong hunch that even without relying on any external resources, he could still reach the absolute peak of cultivation in this xianxia world through cultivation alone.
Lin Feng let out a slow breath, forcibly calming his racing heart.
"So this is the benefit of being a teacher…" he thought, amusement flickering in his eyes.
If acquiring just one student brought such a reward, then what about ten? A hundred? A thousand?
The smile on his face deepened.
"Interesting," Lin Feng mused. "Very interesting."
Lin Feng slowly lowered his gaze to the still kneeling figure before him.
Wang Yuyan's posture was straight and respectful, her graceful silhouette outlined beneath the academy's afternoon light.
There was no hesitation in her eyes, only resolve.
Seeing this, Lin Feng nodded faintly, a trace of approval flashing across his calm expression.
"Get up," he said, his voice steady and unhurried. "Come with me. We will formally process your studies under my tutelage. From this day onward, you are my student. You have indeed chosen wisely."
"Thank you, teacher!"
Wang Yuyan's voice rang out clear and bright, unable to conceal her excitement.
She rose swiftly, her heart pounding not with nervousness, but with anticipation.
Though many around her doubted this decision, she felt an inexplicable sense of certainty, as if fate itself had guided her to this moment.
Lin Feng turned without another word and walked back toward his secluded courtyard.
His hands rested behind his back, his steps measured and dignified.
The azure robes marking his status as a teacher fluttered gently in the wind, radiating a quiet authority.
With his tall figure bathed in sunlight and his unruffled demeanor, he looked like a true immortal wandering through a mortal academy—detached, aloof, and entirely unconcerned with the opinions of others.
For a brief moment, the crowd remained silent, stunned by how decisively everything had unfolded.
Then the murmurs began.
"Miss Wang, please reconsider! You mustn't be fooled!"
"Teacher Lin Feng has been a laughingstock for years. Everyone knows he can't teach! He only has a few months left before the academy expels him!"
"He must have promised you something outrageous to trick you. This is nothing but a desperate gamble on his part!"
"Think carefully, Miss Wang! If your cultivation goes astray, you could suffer a deviation and ruin your future!"
The voices overlapped, some filled with concern, others laced with mockery and schadenfreude.
None of them made any effort to hide their words, fully aware that Lin Feng could hear every sentence clearly.
Yet Lin Feng did not slow his pace. He did not turn around.
It was as though the noise behind him was nothing more than the buzzing of insects who were unworthy of attention.
Wang Yuyan paused. She turned back toward the crowd, her expression composed and dignified.
Bringing her fists together, she gave them a courteous salute.
"I thank everyone for your concern and advice," she said gently. "However, I have already made my decision."
Her gaze sharpened, her tone firming.
"From this moment onward, I am Teacher Lin Feng's student. I believe in my teacher, and I will not waver."
The crowd fell quiet.
Without waiting for further objections, Wang Yuyan turned and hurried after Lin Feng.
As she walked, she discreetly activated a communication talisman, sending word back to her clan to arrange for someone to pick up her niece from the academy.
With her affairs settled, her steps grew lighter, her resolve unshaken.
Ahead of her, Lin Feng's figure remained calm and steady, his robes flowing as if in harmony with the wind itself.
Wang Yuyan watched his back, her eyes glowing faintly with anticipation.
***
Wang Yuyan soon arrived at Lin Feng's secluded courtyard, its surroundings quiet and undisturbed compared to the bustling academy grounds.
The place carried a faint scent of herbs and old books, giving it the air of a scholar's residence rather than that of a powerful cultivator.
Without wasting time, the two proceeded to settle the formal dues for her tutelage.
According to academy regulations, the annual fee for private instruction was ten thousand gold coins.
The contract clearly stated that should Wang Yuyan find herself dissatisfied with Lin Feng's teaching at any point, she was free to transfer to another teacher without penalty or restriction.
Wang Yuyan read through the document carefully, yet her expression never wavered.
She placed the gold coins onto the table in neat stacks, paying the entire amount up front without the slightest hesitation.
To her, this sum was insignificant compared to the opportunity she believed she had grasped.
She then signed her name upon the parchment.
Lin Feng followed suit. Raising his hand, he pressed his personal seal onto the document.
The moment the seal landed, faint spiritual light flickered across the parchment before fading away.
With that, their teacher student relationship was officially recognized by the academy, binding, legitimate, and irreversible unless formally dissolved.
"Return tomorrow," Lin Feng said, his tone calm and authoritative. "Come to Classroom 101. I will begin your treatment then."
"Thank you, Teacher!"
Wang Yuyan bowed deeply, her back straight and her movements precise, the respect in her actions genuine.
"Mm."
Lin Feng merely nodded in response, his expression unreadable.
Recognizing the subtle dismissal, Wang Yuyan did not overstay her welcome.
She quietly turned and left the courtyard, her footsteps light as she departed.
Once her presence faded and the courtyard returned to silence, Lin Feng let out a slow breath.
"Now then…" he muttered to himself. "Let's see Yuyan's condition properly and figure out how to cure it."
With a thought, he summoned the information he had previously observed.
Translucent lines of text materialized before his eyes, layered and dense, detailing Wang Yuyan's constitution, meridians, hidden ailments, and potential treatment paths.
Lin Feng narrowed his eyes and began reading carefully.
Time passed in silence.
Ten seconds.
Thirty seconds.
A full minute.
Suddenly…
Lin Feng stiffened.
His eyes widened, his face twitching as his gaze locked onto a particular line of text.
A sharp breath escaped him, and he nearly spat blood from his nose.
"What the fuck?!"
He slammed his hand onto the table, disbelief written all over his face.
"System!" Lin Feng shouted inwardly, completely abandoning his composed master persona.
"What kind of cure is this supposed to be?!"
The courtyard remained silent, leaving only Lin Feng staring at the floating text, his expression caught somewhere between shock and disbelief.