Less than fifteen minutes later...
"Alright, I'm done. Tutor, come inspect these Divine Movement Talismans," Shen Lang said with a yawn. He had finished drawing on all five yellow sheets on the Black Iron table with a flurry of strokes, then slapped them around a bit, considering that the Refinement process.
"Hahaha!" Xu Qing and his cronies led the burst of laughter.
'This kid has no sense of self-preservation. He just scribbles randomly on a piece of paper and that makes it a Divine Movement Talisman?'
'Does he take us for idiots?'
'Is making a Divine Movement Talisman that easy?'
'When Qin Hun Tutor demonstrated just a moment ago, it took him a full half hour to successfully make a single one. And afterward, his Divine Thought was so depleted he had to rest and take a nap!'
'And you just churned out five of them with a few scribbles?'
'You didn't even perform the initial step of inscribing a Spiritual Field, nor the final step of Refinement with Spiritual Fire. And you call that Talisman Making?'
'Tayun Academy's school rules aren't actually that strict, but the punishment for lying to and deceiving a tutor is extremely severe!'
'It's over! Shen Lang, you're definitely done for this time!'
'Let's see who can save you this time!'
Xu Qing and the others had a vicious glint in their eyes, as if they could already picture Shen Lang being furiously expelled from the academy by the Vice Dean.
Meanwhile, Qin Hun Tutor also wore a brilliant smile. An unknowing observer might have thought he was delighted that his student had successfully crafted a Talisman.
The Divine Movement Talisman, as its name suggested, was a talisman used to increase one's movement speed. However, it was only suitable for traveling, not for combat, because the fluctuations of Spiritual Power during a battle could easily destroy it.
Typically, those who used Divine Movement Talismans were people too poor to buy a Spirit Beast for transport, and they certainly couldn't afford to use a Teleportation Array. This was because the talismans themselves were dirt cheap.
But, of course, you get what you pay for. The Divine Movement Talisman's biggest drawback was that it was difficult to control.
Many people who used Divine Movement Talismans ran so fast they would either crash into a tree or fall into a ditch, often ending up battered and bloody.
There was a saying: a beautiful woman is indisposed for a few days each month, while a user of Divine Movement Talismans is bedridden for seven or eight—from falling.
Speaking of whom, Qin Hun Tutor came jogging over smugly, his heart racing with excitement at the prospect of exposing Shen Lang's trick. He unhesitatingly slapped the Divine Movement Talisman Shen Lang had "refined" onto his own leg.
"Come, come, stick on the Divine Movement Talismans you refined. All of them! Let's see how much speed these things can really give me! If you dare to deceive me, heh heh..." A malicious glint flashed in Qin Hun Tutor's eyes.
Shen Lang said with a troubled look, "Tutor, these Divine Movement Talismans of mine are incredibly fast... I don't know the exact speed, but suffice to say, they're fast. Using too many at once is very dangerous."
"Cut the crap! How fast could anything you made possibly be? And even if they are fast, I, your tutor, am not afraid. I'm looking for a thrill! Now hurry up and stick them all on me!" Qin Hun Tutor said dismissively, not believing a word of his nonsense.
The more Shen Lang acted like this, the less Qin Hun believed he could actually refine a Divine Movement Talisman, and the more eager he became to expose the fraud.
By this point, all the students in the class had gathered around. They wore various expressions, but every one of them was intensely curious.
With a look of utter helplessness, Shen Lang stuck all five Divine Movement Talismans onto Qin Hun Tutor's legs. Then, still looking uneasy, he asked again, "Tutor, my Divine Movement Talismans are seriously fast. The risk factor is very high. Are you sure you want to stack all five?"
"All five! I'm a man of the world. You think I'd be afraid of a little danger?" Qin Hun Tutor said, striking a heroic pose. The surrounding students immediately hurled basketfuls of flattery his way, puffing up his ego until he felt he might float away on the breeze.
"Fine," Shen Lang said with a pained expression. He muttered a few words and shouted, "Rise!"
Qin Hun Tutor's feet lifted off the ground. He smugly adjusted his hat, straightened his robes, and cupped his hands in a salute to the students.
Once the tutor had finished his preparations, Shen Lang suppressed a laugh, pointed two fingers like a sword at the Divine Movement Talismans on his leg, and shouted, "Go!"
Before anyone could see clearly, a figure shot past. The figure then became a streak of white light and vanished in the blink of an eye. As the crowd stood there, utterly baffled, several articles of clothing rained down from the sky: a hat, a long robe, pants, boxer shorts...
"Holy shit, go save him!" Xu Qing was the first to come to his senses. He hurriedly led a group of classmates in pursuit, but there was no trace of the tutor to be found.
Left with no other choice, Xu Qing and the others found Wooden Zither Tutor. She led them in the search, and they eventually found Qin Hun Tutor embedded in the wall of Celestial Phoenix City. The man had crashed headfirst into it, penetrating a full thirty feet and nearly blasting straight through. He had smashed a crater into the wall shaped like a person with arms and legs splayed out.
The body of a Qi Martial Realm Fifth Heaven expert was just that tough. You had to be impressed.
But that all came later, of course.
Meanwhile, after sending Qin Hun Tutor on his way, Shen Lang saw that the entire class had run off. He dusted off his hands, took the large bag of Gathering Spirit Tokens that Lin Feng handed him, and gave them a list of materials to procure. Just as he was about to head back to his dorm with the bag...
...he stopped in his tracks before he'd even fully stood up.
About ten meters away, at the edge of the woods, a young man was standing under a tree and smiling at him. Behind this youth, a group of henchmen stood like a pack of hungry wolves, seemingly ready to pounce at any moment.
"I have a bad feeling about this, Young Master Lang," Lin Feng said, his face a mask of misery. "I told you to go, but you wouldn't listen. Now we can't leave even if we wanted to. Shen Jianfeng is here..." Su Hen didn't say a word, but his expression was just as grim.
This Shen Jianfeng, mind you, was no moron like Shen Daofeng. He was someone with genuinely formidable strength—a genius of Tayun Academy, one of the very few to have broken through to the Qi Martial Realm before the age of twenty.
Of course, Shen Lang knew Shen Jianfeng's whole story. He was his paternal cousin, after all.
The man's Cultivation was genuinely impressive. His only weakness was his love of posturing—just like Chu Qingcheng.
He'd spend his free time with his hands clasped behind his back, brow furrowed, standing on a mountaintop or by a river, staring into the distance... striking some ridiculously profound and inscrutable pose.
But at Tayun Academy, he was always completely overshadowed by Chu Qingcheng. Even his posturing was no match for the real thing.
Wherever Chu Qingcheng went, Shen Jianfeng never had a chance to shine.
Whenever Chu Qingcheng showed up, the highest point in the vicinity would inevitably be occupied by him first—be it the top of a flagpole, the peak of a mountain, or the summit of a giant boulder.
On top of that, Chu Qingcheng was far more handsome. Chu Qingcheng was also one of Shen Lang's best friends, though he had since followed Shen Lang's older sister to the Imperial Capital Jialan Academy.
Take, for instance, one of his ridiculous stunts. When he was just eleven or twelve, he went to the Imperial Capital to eat at a restaurant. As it happened, Chu Qingcheng was at the next table. They couldn't stand each other back then, so of course they didn't exchange greetings. And, by sheer coincidence, the restaurant was owned by the Chu Family. When Chu Qingcheng finished his meal, he simply told the owner, "Put it on my tab," and sauntered off, looking effortlessly cool.
Shen Jianfeng found this astounding. And since the fool was always secretly trying to imitate Chu Qingcheng, this time was no different. He mimicked Chu Qingcheng's dignified gait, clasped his hands behind his back, and, with a sidelong glance, said, "Put it on my tab," as he tried to leave. He was promptly dragged back by the waiters and thrashed soundly.
'Put it on his tab, my ass! Who the hell did he think he was?!'
Anyway, speaking of Shen Jianfeng's attempts at posturing, there was a famous story that made the rounds at Tayun Academy—and this particular one involved Shen Lang.
One day, Shen Jianfeng went to see a doctor. Much like today, he was smiling so radiantly that it made one feel as if they were basking in a spring breeze.
The doctor looked at his complexion and thought something was strange; he didn't seem sick at all. "What are your symptoms?" the doctor asked. "What's bothering you?"
Shen Jianfeng smiled arrogantly. "It is deeply concealed."
The doctor was enraged. 'What is this crap? You came here just to posture? I'm the damn doctor!' Suppressing his anger, he snapped, "Do you want to be treated or not? If you do, then use plain language!"
Shen Jianfeng's head drooped. "...My... fore... skin... is too long."
This story should never have gotten out, as Shen Jianfeng had posted a group of his men to guard the door.
But, as luck would have it, Shen Lang had been in the very next room buying medicine for his father and had heard the entire exchange crystal clear.
For this reason, Shen Jianfeng had wanted to find an opportunity to slaughter him ever since.
However, the Little Witch, Xue Dangdang, was collecting a protection fee from Shen Lang, so as long as she was around, he didn't dare make a move.
Furthermore, Chu Qingcheng was the undisputed number-one student at Tayun Academy. With him at Shen Lang's side, not even the tutors could touch him, to say nothing of Shen Jianfeng.
To make matters worse, Shen Lang slept all day, every day. Shen Jianfeng waited day and night but never found his chance, nearly making himself sick with pent-up frustration.
But now, things were looking up. Shen Lang had beaten up his brother, and he'd actually stopped sleeping all the time. The opportunity had finally arrived...
Shen Lang saw Shen Jianfeng smile, and he smiled right back. "Cousin, you don't seem to be in a good mood today. That smile's a little fake. They say that when you're feeling down, you should look up at the clouds. The clouds will shift their shapes according to your wishes, displaying them for you. As long as you have hope in your heart, the clouds will answer. See? Right now, the clouds are forming the shape of a donkey. Isn't that just what you wanted? Now, what can I do for you?"
"You know why I'm here. Pick a place," Shen Jianfeng said, still smiling, though he was desperately trying to figure out whether Shen Lang's nonsensical tirade had been a compliment or an insult.
Shen Lang shook his head again and again. "Cousin, not to be critical, but you're a real failure. You're not the 'idol' type, yet you insist on posturing and imitating Chu Qingcheng, but your acting skills are terrible. That's a failure. You clearly want to gut me, yet you're faking a smile while the corner of your mouth is twitching. That's a failure. Old Chu left for Jialan Academy, and even with him gone, you still haven't managed to stand out. That's a failure. Hey now, don't get angry. You're an expert, and an expert must have an expert's bearing. Look over there, lots of pretty girls are watching. Mind your status."
Shen Jianfeng was so furious he was practically fuming, but a glance told him that many people on the training grounds had indeed turned their attention to them.
And, yes, a lot of them were junior and senior female students...
Before he could speak, Shen Lang continued, "Since you're an expert, you have to act like one. You can't just attack someone at random; it's beneath you. For example, you want to beat me up right now, but just starting a brawl like some street thug would be a disgrace to your status. A true expert dares to face a bleak life, dares to face dripping blood... Whoops, got sidetracked. What I mean is, you should issue a formal challenge, set a date for us to fight in the arena, and beat me fair and square. Not only will you get your satisfaction, but after building up the hype, you'll be the center of attention. All the girls in the academy will be looking at you with stars in their eyes, and the old-timers at the academy will see your Martial Arts accomplishments and your magnanimity—You agree? Great, it's settled. In ten days, we'll meet in the arena."
"Ten days is too long. My temperament won't allow me to wait," Shen Jianfeng said with a cold snort.
"Fine, three days. Three days should be enough, right? If an expert can't even wait three days, how can you expect the world to look up to you? How can you expect the tutors to praise you? How can you expect the junior girls to—You agree? Excellent, it's a deal then. See ya."
With that, Shen Lang swaggered off toward the classroom, leaving Lin Feng, Su Hen, and the entire group of henchmen behind Shen Jianfeng completely dumbfounded.
"Damn it all... wasn't I going to drag him to the training grounds and beat him up right now? How did it turn into... Crap. Wait a minute... his grandma is my grandma, isn't she? My head's spinning..." Shen Jianfeng scratched his head, beginning to puzzle over these complex problems.