Gu Qiheng sounded as if he was praising Li Qiye to the students, but this was certainly not the case.
There were only one hundred students inside versus the tens of thousands outside; how could one describe this scene as the students eager to learn? It was a blatant mockery.
âRight, we canât wait to hear the lecture and learn.â Another student sarcastically shouted.
âHahaha!â Blaring laughter erupted.
It wasnât that the students here hated Li Qiye but rather Gu Qiheng was too popular and well-liked among the student body.
If they had to pick one between the two, the majority wouldnât hesitate at all before picking Qiheng since they didnât know Li Qiye at all.
âBrother Qiheng, donât worry, even the elders are willing to wait for Young Noble Liâs lecture.â A woman rapidly floated through the sky just like a goddess. No one would be able to stay calm before her.
âTeacher Qianxuan is here too.â She naturally attracted the attention of the students so one of them shouted.
Qianxuan said after arriving: âGreat, not late for the young nobleâs lecture.â She then took her seat.
Everyone was stunned to see this since Qianxuan was definitely on the same level as Qiheng among the young teachers. She didnât come to support Qiheng but came early for Li Qiyeâs?
Qihengâs expression naturally shifted a bit but he quickly smiled and kept his cool style.
At this moment, two more people were entering the valley. They seemed a bit unfamiliar with the layout.
One was a burly man with a divine saber while the beautiful woman was more delicate and slender with a longsword on her back.
They hid their auras and power so no one could read their cultivation at all.
âItâs been a while, this is the right place?â The middle-aged man looked at the courtyard and asked.
âHusband, where are you looking at? Thatâs the dao wall over there and the dao flowers. Where else has these flowers at the academy but the dao courtyard?â The beautiful woman smiled and said.
âTrue, then weâre at the right place.â The middle-aged man scratched his head.
The appearance of this couple surprised the students. They wondered where these two popped up from since they didnât seem to be teachers at the academy.
âThey look so familiar, Iâm sure Iâve seen them before.â A student found this quite strange.
âYouâre right, I see that too but canât seem to recall.â Another student agreed.
âLetâs go, stop messing around. Itâs so rare that Teacher would actually do a lecture.â The woman told the man.
âRight, right, itâs good that weâre not late or I would have to slap myself.â The middle-aged man smile back.
The two of them walked hand-in-hand to the courtyard. The students inside naturally stared at them.
âSeniors, please excuse my late reception.â Qianxuan quickly stood up and went to greet them.
âOh, youâre so big now. No need to be so polite, weâre closer than that.â The woman smilingly said.
The man joked: âThis little girl is about to be stronger than us. Seems like the future waves will keep growing stronger and better.â
âUncle Yang, you always tease me like this. Your sword and saber combination is unbeatable in the present.â Qianxuan smiled freely like a little girl.
âI, I know who they are now!â An Emperor Mansion student suddenly blurted out but he realized that this was too disrespectful.
He quickly lowered his voice: âThatâs the guardians of our academy, Harmony Immortal Monarchs.â
âYes, thatâs them, Iâve seen their portraits before in Literature.â A different student quietly agreed.
Everyone finally realized why this couple looked so familiar since they have seen their gigantic statues at the entrance of Literature.
Of course, they also became slack-jawed - even two Immortal Monarchs were coming to listen to this lecture? How astonishing.
These two monarchs have slain a Grand Emperor with eight wills before with their sword and saber. They were well-respected as older monarchs but who would have thought that they would come here in person.
âGood, Iâm not late or it would be a great crime.â A burst of free laughter echoed in the sky as another person entered the courtyard.
âSouth Emperorâ¦â A student cried out.
He had just become an Immortal Monarch two days ago with four wills. The guy was quite famous right now so the students were stunned again by his presence.
âThe young generation will surpass us. Little Brother, you will shoulder twelve wills in the future and become the pride of our academy just like Immortal Monarch Yiye.â Yang Zhenwei, the husband, patted South Emperorâs shoulder and laughed.
âDao Brother, thank you.â South Emperor cupped his fist in response: âYour sword and saber are invincible, a junior like me have a lot to learn from you two.â
âWho is the junior here?â Guo Xinyue smiled charmingly and said. [1]
âSeniority isnât determined by age, you two were first on the dao path so I am the junior.â South Emperor smiled back.
The husband and wife smiled before getting into their spot.
At this moment, Yao Ting and her peers were scared out of their mind with a tinge of excitement. There was no way to describe their feelings right now.
Remember, it was impossible for them to meet these legendary characters normally. But now, they could hear them chat casually.
Sitting with an emperor was a fortune in and of itself. They could feel the emperorsâ radiance; this would be a conversational topic lasting for a lifetime.
Even if they couldnât become big shots in the future, but they could still tell their juniors in the future that they have sat and talked with Harmony Monarch and South Emperor before. Their chest would be arched forward as they tell their descendants with pride about the event, that your ancestors have seen some big shots before.
âDamned old men, hurry up or weâll be late. Youâre so old now but still tardy like a student? Have you no shame?â An old voice disrupted the frozen atmosphere.
An old man with a cane walked as if he was flying inside. His spirit was still high with bright silvery eyes.
âThe previous headmasterâ¦â A student stammered after recognizing him. [2]
âGeezer Shi, think youâre cool because you can still go fast?â Someone behind him shouted.
Next, a group of old people happily walked into the valley, all with gray hair.
âAm, am I seeing things, theyâre all ancestors from the academy⦠why are they here? For the lecture?â All the students became petrified after seeing this group.
These were the strongest characters at the academy. Normally, they didnât bother giving a lecture at all unless they were in the mood. Thus, attending one of these classrooms would be the blessing of three lifetimes.
But now, they were coming in droves just to hear Li Qiyeâs lecture!
âTeachers.â Yao Ting and the others couldnât believe that they were attending a lecture with these ancestors. No one would ever believe this if told.
âHarmony, the two of you are here too.â One ancestor laughed after South Emperor and the two monarchs stood up to greet the old group.
Famous monarchs they might be, some of the ancestors have taught them before.
âTeacher, if you lecture again, weâll certainly be there.â Yang Zhenwei laughed.
After the quick exchange, these ancestors sat down. Yao Tingâs group finally became relieved and sat down as well. They didnât dare to breathe loudly at this moment and were secretly jubilating. If they didnât come in early, they wouldnât have been in a position to walk in after these big shots were already around.
It was an issue of seniority and showing respect. They werenât qualified to sit down with the ancestors and emperors.
Some students outside were regretting their decision. If they had done with Yao Tingâs group did, they could be sitting just fine in the courtyard now without breaking any formality.
âOh, all of you didnât even bother letting me know and just sneak here? Think Iâm too slow and would drag everyone down?â Another old voice came about.
An ordinary-looking old man slowly wandered into the courtyard. However, all the ancestors and emperors immediately stood up.
Harmony Immortal Monarchs rushed ahead and held the old man up, one to his left and right. They were as obedient as students before this old man.
1. This one can be interpreted in two ways. The first could be that she saw through his real age; the second is that she believes heâll be more powerful/is more powerful right now
2. This one can be headmaster (respectful) or ex-headmaster. I canât tell without further context or the presence of the âcurrentâ headmaster, just one of those things. But the previous headmaster has been mentioned before, so Iâm guessing that this is the case here.