Chapter Seven: The Spirit of Courage

In an instant, the classroom of over two hundred students fell utterly silent. Every gaze turned toward the doorway, each student quietly awaiting the arrival of Jian Muqian. From this alone, it was clear just how popular she was; during last year’s school-wide vote for “Star Teacher,” Jian Muqian had swept first place by a landslide. Even many male teachers had campaigned for her!

“Hello, everyone—it’s been a while!” At that moment, a graceful and beautiful figure appeared in the doorway. She stood an impressive one point seven meters tall, her long hair tied back, her figure slim and elegant as she strode lightly into the classroom. Her lovely oval face wore a dazzling smile, making everyone feel as if they were bathed in a spring breeze.

It was no illusion; as a spiritual cultivation instructor, Jian Muqian practiced a rather rare and peculiar “spirit affinity” technique. A faint floral fragrance lingered about her, and her complexion was radiant, as if she herself were a blossom in full bloom in the heart of March.

“Good morning, Instructor Jian!”

“You look especially beautiful today—” Many students couldn’t help but smile.

Jian Muqian beamed, her bright eyes sweeping over the gathered students. She exuded an air of effortless charm. Her voice rang clear: “No more compliments, please! In a moment, I’ll ask you all a question. If anyone can’t answer, no matter how many nice things you say about me, you’ll still be punished!”

“Instructor, what kind of punishment?” Song Dahai asked with a grin.

She shook her head, playfully mysterious. “I’m not telling! You’ll find out when we start class.” As her words faded, the bell signaling the start of class rang out.

“Very well, let’s begin. Our Huaxia’s Meridian and Acupoint Cultivation has long been renowned worldwide! To become a true martial artist and step into the ‘Qi Gathering’ stage, one must break through all one hundred and eight acupoints throughout the body. But the order in which these points are breached varies from person to person. Many of you have trained since childhood, only to realize later that you started off wrong…”

With that, Jian Muqian surveyed the room and began her questioning: “So, with each acupoint breakthrough, we must be clear about its function! The Baihui point on the head and neck, the Tanzhong point on the torso, and the Jugubone point on the limbs—of these three, which should be breached first? What are their respective functions? Who among you knows?”

Upon hearing this, every student furrowed their brow in confusion, clearly at a loss. Silence once again enveloped the class.

Jian Muqian glanced around, raising her pink phone. “Is this question really so difficult? Just last night in the ‘Special Training Camp,’ your senior Yu Zhisha answered it in mere minutes!”

Hearing Yu Zhisha’s name, the students were first surprised, then fell silent. Almost involuntarily, they turned to look at Su Ye, who sat by the window.

The “Special Training Camp” was reserved for the top ten students in the entire school—a group of geniuses numbering only a few dozen in any given year. The principal had originally created it specifically to nurture Su Ye, who, in his heyday, was acclaimed as a prodigy and the very first member of the group, to the envy of countless others.

But now, Su Ye had long since been expelled from the camp.

“Instructor, didn’t Su Ye used to be in the Special Training Camp? He must know the answer!” Song Dahai suddenly piped up with a broad grin, his intentions all too obvious.

Another boy from the elite class chimed in, “Him? A useless nobody who hasn’t even managed to open his acupoints? He’s no longer the Azure Skylark he once was. If anyone here can answer, it’ll be Lu Heyan or Jiu Yuyue from our elite class. The rest? You might as well not bother asking!”

On the dais, Jian Muqian looked toward Su Ye. She, too, was curious whether this former prodigy still remembered what he once knew. If he did, now would be the time to stand and answer.

But as she saw Su Ye still sitting alone and silent, unmoved even when others called him “worthless,” not uttering a word in his defense, Jian Muqian suddenly raised her voice, speaking with gravity:

“The order in which these three acupoints are breached makes a world of difference for the practitioner! If you begin with Baihui, then Tanzhong, then Jugubone, what you gain most is ‘force of spirit’—you could call it ‘courage.’ Whether a person is brave, whether they have the nerve to rise again after failure, whether they can live upright rather than cowering in shame, it all comes from this force of spirit!”

As she spoke, her gaze landed squarely on Su Ye.

This once celebrated genius, ever since his fall from grace, had never recovered his former vitality—a lamentable waste, truly.

The students all understood Jian Muqian’s implication. With a sense of superiority, one after another glanced at Su Ye.

“Even if we can’t answer now, one day we’ll break through those three points! Not like him—he’ll always be trash!”

“So that’s why the acupoint breakthrough is so important. No wonder this loser doesn’t even have the nerve to talk back when he’s insulted. He really is a coward, a useless waste!”

On the platform, Jian Muqian knocked on the desk with sharp raps. “Lu Heyan, Jiu Yuyue, you two—who will demonstrate for us?”

“Ladies first! It’s really not that difficult,” Lu Heyan replied, laughing brightly. Several girls shot him admiring glances; not only was he tall and handsome, but his family owned a publicly listed company—such a genius naturally drew attention.

“Haha, for someone as bold as Brother Heyan, this is nothing! Our great beauty Jiu Yuyue, please!” another student echoed with flattery.

Without hesitation, Jiu Yuyue stood. Her tall, striking figure was immediately apparent. Coldly beautiful, her delicate face wore an icy expression. Dressed all in black, she resembled a black rose, elegant yet forbidding.

This newly transferred “ice queen” seldom spoke—sometimes less than three sentences a day. Nevertheless, she was still considered one of the school’s three great beauties, though not as popular as Jiang Liuying, thus ranking only third.

As she stood, she cast an almost imperceptible glance at Su Ye, her lips moving slightly.

Nearby, a few other beautiful girls whispered, “Yuyue, did you see that? That’s Su Ye, the so-called prodigy—disappointed yet? I told you he’s a loser, but you wouldn’t believe me. Don’t look at him—just focus on your demonstration! We girls can’t lose to the boys again!”

“My, my… Still hung up on your last defeat? Haha,” Lu Heyan joked, perfectly at ease among the beauties.

Meanwhile, silence enveloped Su Ye’s corner. Though they shared a classroom, it felt like two different worlds.

Jiu Yuyue soon reached the dais. Under Jian Muqian’s guidance, she began to circulate her cultivation method step by step.

In that moment, all eyes were drawn to the two beautiful figures on stage.

Su Ye sighed inwardly. He had known the importance of these three acupoints since the age of ten, and had even broken through all three at once! He also knew that if all three were breached simultaneously, a bitterness would flood the mouth—the result of excess bile rising with the surge of blood and Qi, which could even attract insects.

Thinking of this, Su Ye’s heart stirred. Although he could no longer cultivate his human meridians, the thunder source within him pointed to a method of celestial meridian cultivation.

“What effect would it have if I tried to break through these three points as well?”

With that thought, he began slowly channeling his thunder source…

As soon as he started, his head thundered as if countless bolts of lightning crashed into his three great acupoints. Yet, at last, he felt progress—a thrill of excitement surged in him. If no one had been nearby, he might have shouted with joy.

He lay across his desk, quietly circulating his power, and before he knew it, half an hour had passed.

“Very good—Jiu Yuyue has grasped this quickly. Excellent! You have the bearing of your senior Yu Zhisha. You may return to your seat now,” Jian Muqian said warmly, fully absorbed in her teaching. Suddenly, she noticed Su Ye slumped over his desk, clearly not paying attention. She immediately grew angry. “Su Ye, what are you doing? Sleeping? Jiu Yuyue, wake him up for me!”

Again, students sent Su Ye odd looks—who would dare sleep through Jian Muqian’s spiritual cultivation class?

Jiu Yuyue, about to return to her seat, passed by Su Ye’s desk and rapped on it lightly.

Tap, tap, tap!

Su Ye’s cultivation was abruptly broken. He lifted his head to find Jiu Yuyue’s cold, beautiful face before him. At once, a wave of bitterness flooded his mouth—who knew how much bile had surged up his throat.

“Su Ye—do you know why I spoke of force of spirit? Do you want to carry the label ‘worthless’ your whole life? If you won’t change yourself, who can help you?” Jian Muqian was truly angry now, her lovely face flushed.

Song Dahai laughed. “Instructor! Don’t waste your energy on him. A person like that can’t be saved! Right now, China enjoys peace, but in the days of unrest, someone like him would be a cowardly traitor, too scared to even step onto the battlefield…”

Suddenly, with a crash, the glass window beside Su Ye shattered without warning.

The sudden sound shook the entire academic building. Everyone in the classroom—teacher and students alike—was startled, and even the unflappable Jiu Yuyue was pale with shock.

As all eyes turned in panic toward the shattered window, everyone was struck with terror—for through that window, a gigantic python was slithering into the room…