Chapter 1

"Li Su!"

"Li Su!"

"Li~! Su~!"

An angry voice rang out.

In his sleep, it seemed as if someone was calling his name. Li Su, who had been drunk last night, groggily opened his eyes.

"Who is it, calling me so early in the morning?"

With a look of dissatisfaction, Li Su slowly opened his eyes. He had finally finished his social engagements and was looking forward to a couple of days of rest, but before he could even get a good night's sleep, someone was already calling him.

Huh?

Opening his eyes, the dazed Li Su couldn't help but shiver as he looked at the unfamiliar yet familiar surroundings.

It was a classroom.

In his blue and white school uniform, he remembered that this should be from when he was in high school.

Am I dreaming?

Li Su, puzzled, couldn't help but rub his eyes. He had clearly already graduated from university, so why had he suddenly returned to his high school days?

Did I reincarnate?

Just as he was puzzled, a piece of chalk flew through the air from the podium.

Bang!

The chalk hit Li Su right between the eyebrows, making him stagger backward, dizzy and disoriented.

Then, a cold voice rang out, "Next time, if you dare to sleep in class, you won't be allowed to come to class anymore."

Sigh!

Li Su drew in a sharp breath. The intense pain instantly woke him up. Clearly, this wasn't a dream.

But why?

That cold voice was familiar, a voice he would never forget in his life. It was his Grade 12 homeroom teacher, Yi Qinglian, the devil teacher, the one who most liked to communicate with parents, the nightmare of all the mischievous students like young Li Su.

During his three years of high school, Li Su had been called to the principal's office thirty-nine times.

What deep-seated grudge could this be?

Even after graduating from university, Li Su still felt a chill when he thought about it. He remembered being beaten countless times by his parents, with belts and bamboo sticks breaking three times.

If he hadn't been so sturdy, he might not have survived.

Looking up, he met her eyes.

Yes, it was that devil.

Li Su instinctively lowered his head. She had left a deep impression on him.

But... why?

After the initial fear, Li Su felt a bit confused.

Although Yi Devil liked to call parents, she had one very distinctive trait: she would never lay a hand on a student, no matter how angry she was. Moreover, her purpose in calling parents wasn't to have them beat the students, but to communicate. Most of the beatings Li Su received were because his parents believed in the saying, "Spare the rod, spoil the child."

And why was it so painful?

Touching his forehead, Li Su felt as if his brain was about to turn to water.

But when he touched it, he was startled to find a solid lump.

It was the remains of the chalk, which had shattered and stuck to his forehead due to the force of the impact. (Hmm? Don't know what it looks like? You can try it yourself. Go to your neighborhood and find some mud, shape it into a ball, and throw it hard against a wall, preferably with wet mud, and try it at home. I used to do this a lot when I was a kid... very vivid.)

How much strength did it take to throw it like that?

Li Su was a bit shocked. Although Yi Devil had a devilish personality, her strength was another matter. Not to mention throwing chalk, even a blackboard eraser wouldn't have that much power, let alone from his seat in the sixth row, which was about five or six meters from the podium.

Such a small piece of chalk, thrown so far, and still with so much force?

"Li Su!"

Just as Li Su was puzzled, Yi Devil's voice rang out again.

"Here!~" Instinctively, Li Su stood up straight, his voice loud and clear. Although he didn't understand the situation, his body and soul had long since told him that when Yi Devil was in front of you, you should only do three things: obey, obey, obey.

"Tell me, in the history of the Song Dynasty, one of the legendary figures, born into the Murong family, with a face like a crown, graceful and elegant, both literary and martial, refined and leisurely, quick-witted, known as one of the 'Two Peaks of the South,' why did Murong Fu repeatedly suffer setbacks, ultimately leading to his mental breakdown?"

Huh?

Originally, Li Su was extremely nervous, thinking that if he didn't pass, he was dead. But he couldn't help but widen his eyes and look at Yi Devil in a dazed manner, his face showing a look of disbelief.

History of the Song Dynasty?

Murong Fu?

Is this something to be discussed in class? And "history of the Song Dynasty"? Is there such a historical period?

Seeing Li Su's stunned and speechless expression, Yi Devil shook her head and turned to another student: "Aileen, you answer."

"Yes, teacher!"

A girl with a single golden ponytail, blue eyes, and a distinctly Nordic appearance, clearly different from the gentle Eastern beauty, stood up.

"Murong Fu, with extraordinary martial talent, unfortunately had mediocre political skills. He was shortsighted and lacked a sense of justice. Although he had lofty ambitions, they were like castles in the air. Not to mention that the people's hearts were with the Song Dynasty, and there were several powerful neighboring states and countless experts, leaving no room for him to take advantage of the chaos..."

Her fluent Mandarin made Li Su feel a bit ashamed, not to mention her clear and logical analysis, which undoubtedly showed her deep understanding of this novel. The descriptions, metaphors, and conclusions were so well done that Li Su couldn't help but nod in agreement.

But in such an important high school class, discussing martial arts novels openly, is that appropriate?

And wait a minute, wait a minute.

In high school, did we have a European or American student? How come I didn't know?

"Very good. Murong Fu had talent, but ultimately failed miserably. The fundamental reason was that he did not base his actions on reality. To reach the top, one must not only have goals but also pay attention to the path. Just talking about lofty dreams without taking practical steps will lead to failure, even for someone with Murong Fu's talent. How much more so for others?"

Yi Devil nodded, a satisfied look on her face. "Very good, Aileen. You have a very thorough understanding of this point. Keep it up."

The golden-haired girl smiled happily, then gave Li Su a proud look, like a little peacock, before sitting down.

"Next, we will continue with the next part of the lesson. Everyone turn to page nineteen of the textbook. Last class, we discussed the two peaks of the Song Dynasty. Today, we will continue with the next lesson, about the legendary figure of the Ming Dynasty, who intimidated the world and roamed the江湖 (jianghu) for over sixty years, achieving the ultimate level of the Heavenly Demon Technique at the age of a hundred, and ultimately transcending the void in his final battle—the great master, Pang Ban..."

Standing in the classroom, Li Su listened dumbfounded to Yi Devil's eloquent lecture and the students' rapt attention. For a moment, he couldn't help but doubt his life.

Did I reincarnate???

No, even if the teacher was joking, and the students were following along, discussing martial arts novels as history in such an important period of high school was still too much.

Moreover, Yi Devil didn't teach history; she taught Chinese.

And he hadn't lost his high school class photos. He often took them out to reminisce about his youth.

There was no golden-haired European or American student in those photos.

What the hell is going on here???