Chapter 175: Violating Master's Dignity

Actually, Longxiang Academy did not care much about whether students attended classes or not. After all, whether one could acquire knowledge here was entirely a personal matter, and the method of study was up to the individual as well. Many students came from powerful sects, and their entry into Longxiang Academy was almost exclusively aimed at the library and the Inquiry Pagoda. Therefore, those who arrived late usually made the wise choice not to show up at all.

However, Lin Xiaobao, who had been standing at the entrance, was immediately called aside by Kuang Lizhen for private guidance the moment he entered Longxiang Academy, and then spent a full month cultivating inside the Inquiry Pagoda. How could he possibly know anything about Zhuo Zhengyang's rules at this moment?

"Report, Instructor! This student was unaware of your rules!" In order to leave a good impression in front of the instructor, Lin Xiaobao tried his best to make his words sound neither humble nor arrogant.

Gutsy! Hearing Lin Xiaobao's reply, the students present secretly praised him with malicious glee in their hearts. Right now, they were extremely eager to see just what kind of divine figure this badass classmate turned out to be.

Similarly, Lin Xiaobao's reply sounded like extreme provocation to Zhuo Zhengyang's ears. Such students were not without precedent in his many years of teaching career, but their endings had always been miserable... utterly miserable...

With a wave of his large sleeve, the courtyard gates burst open, and Lin Xiaobao's figure appeared in everyone's view.

Who was this kid? Why had they never seen him before? Aside from a very few people who recognized Lin Xiaobao and revealed expressions of surprise or confusion... the vast majority of the crowd was guessing who this fellow might be.

As the gates opened, Lin Xiaobao saw that the instructor here was none other than the teacher who had previously led him to find Kuang Lizhen. The pressure in his heart lessened considerably; after all, they had met at least once before. He immediately put on what he thought was a very friendly smile and said, "Thank you, Teacher!" With that, he began walking toward the rear of the Martial Cultivation Hall.

"Stop right there!" Lin Xiaobao might have remembered Zhuo Zhengyang, but how could Zhuo Zhengyang possibly remember him? "Who allowed you to go in?"

"Didn't the instructor open the door so that I could come in and attend the lecture?" Lin Xiaobao asked, somewhat puzzled. According to the conventions of his previous life, if one was late and the instructor opened the door, one simply went to the back corner to find a seat and listen to the lecture. Could the rules in this world be different?

"Did you not hear me say on the first day of the semester that anyone who arrives late for my class need not bother coming?" As an instructor, no matter how furious he felt inside, Zhuo Zhengyang believed he first needed to find a reason to discipline someone. "Do you take my words as nothing?"

Looking into Zhuo Zhengyang's furious eyes, Lin Xiaobao immediately felt the surrounding space become locked by an invisible force. A powerful pressure surged toward him, making it almost difficult to breathe.

However, following Old Wu's dormancy, much of the slickness and worldly wisdom in Lin Xiaobao had also vanished. Under normal circumstances, he would have found a way to maneuver and stall for time, but this formidable imposing aura instead ignited the unyielding spirit deep within him. He retorted right on the spot, "I wasn't even here at the start of the semester! Today is my first day of class!"

Gutsy! The students once again mentally branded Lin Xiaobao with the label of having guts. Although everyone agreed that Zhuo Zhengyang gave great lectures, virtually everyone present was considered a genius in their respective origins. Having been suppressed by Zhuo Zhengyang for this long, they all harbored a certain amount of resentment in their hearts. Right now, Lin Xiaobao's act of a grassroots underdog defying authority was something that had appeared in their own dreams once upon a time. In fact, the gazes of quite a few female students toward Lin Xiaobao had already begun to change.

The most severe reaction came from Bai Lanxue, who had traveled alongside Ding Mengqiu and had disparaged Lin Xiaobao back at the restaurant in Black Wind City. At this moment, she was actually thinking that if Lin Xiaobao were beaten so badly by Instructor Zhuo that he couldn't get out of bed, she would skip classes just to take good care of him.

"Then let me teach you the rules today!" With an angry roar and a wave of his large hand, Zhuo Zhengyang swept a crimson palm print directly across Lin Xiaobao's cheek. "This slap is to teach you not to talk back to your instructor!"

Sensing the rapidly escalating fury emanating from his opponent, Lin Xiaobao had already grown extremely cautious. The very moment Zhuo Zhengyang raised his hand, Lin Xiaobao let out a loud shout as well. Concentrating his internal spiritual power to a single point, he erupted instantly, shattering the suppression of Zhuo Zhengyang's aura over him, while rocketing upward into mid-air at the same time. Even so, given the vast disparity in their strength, when Lin Xiaobao's figure was only halfway up, his thigh was still clipped by the crimson palm print.

Mid-air, Lin Xiaobao let out a muffled groan, his entire body sent flying sideways straight into the courtyard wall before crashing down to the ground.

The moment Lin Xiaobao landed, two dark figures flashed across the Martial Cultivation Hall instantly. Wang Dashaha and Si Mengling had already stepped in front of Lin Xiaobao.

"What kind of lousy teacher are you? My Brother Bao hasn't been coming to class lately, so he didn't know about your lousy rules! What right do you have to hit people at the drop of a hat?" Wang Dashaha's mindset had always been very simple. Whoever was Lin Xiaobao's enemy was his enemy. Whether you were an instructor of Longxiang Academy or the headmaster made no difference—the logic remained the same.

After Wang Dashaha finished speaking, Nie Feiyan also stepped up to stand beside him, causing Wang Dashaha to feel quite satisfied with his own performance. He felt that he had acted extremely manly in front of Nie Feiyan this time.

Although Si Mengling did not speak a word, the mere fact that she stood in front of Lin Xiaobao made her stance abundantly clear.

Amidst the sidelong glances of the surrounding students, Zhuo Zhengyang was so infuriated that he laughed out of sheer anger. "Good... very good... Whether I am a good instructor or not, I don't know, but today I am going to teach you what it means to respect your teachers and revere the Dao!"

Just as Zhuo Zhengyang was about to strike again, Lin Xiaobao shouted, "Relying on your superior cultivation and your status as an instructor to bully a newcomer, do you find that very amusing?"

"Today, this-this grandfather won't take advantage of you. I'll suppress my cultivation to the peak of the Ninth Stage of the Spirit Realm. That makes us even, doesn't it? The four of you, come at me together, and I'll let you see if I'm relying on my cultivation to bully people!" Provoked to the extreme by Lin Xiaobao, Zhuo Zhengyang was consumed by rage, completely throwing off his status as an instructor and bursting into vulgarities.

"Is that so? Then I won't take advantage of you either. I'll fight you alone!" Looking at the berserk Zhuo Zhengyang, Lin Xiaobao said with a look of utter disdain.

In truth, this wasn't Lin Xiaobao deliberately overestimating himself. Given the strength of Wang Dashaha and the other three, even if they joined the fight, they wouldn't be able to make much difference. Moreover, judging by Zhuo Zhengyang's attitude right now, once defeated by him, the consequences would undoubtedly be excruciatingly bitter.

Gutsy! At this point, some students even placed their hands under their desks to secretly give Lin Xiaobao a thumbs-up. What kind of place was Longxiang Academy? It could be called the sacred ground for cultivation on the Longxiang Continent, and the status of an instructor at Longxiang Academy naturally rose accordingly. Even disciples from the four major sects would be admonished by their elders before entering Longxiang Academy that they must respect their teachers and value the Dao here.

However, regardless of whether Lin Xiaobao's defiance succeeded today, he was bound to become an idol in the hearts of the students present. Of course, apart from adoration, the gazes directed at him also carried a fair bit of pity—not only because Lin Xiaobao was about to be severely thrashed by Zhuo Zhengyang, but theoretically, Lin Xiaobao would also be expelled from the academy.