The Imperial Martial Pill Venerable

It had been over half a month since he’d arrived at Mingxin Academy. As the saying goes, if you take the job, you do the work. Having agreed to Huaa Que’s request and become a teacher at the Academy, it was time to fulfill his duties.

After a glance at the immense, pale blue light screen, Qin Ya smiled serenely and walked into a nearby pavilion.

The pavilion’s interior was simple. In the main hall sat a single, white-haired old man in a cloth robe, meditating on a cushion with a tranquil expression. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open, a cold light flashing within them.

"Kid, don’t you know only teachers are permitted to set foot in here?" Gu Shantong’s expression turned frigid. A chill radiated from his eyes, piercing as two steel blades and making one’s heart shudder.

Qin Ya’s expression remained unchanged, his tone tinged with detachment. "You must be Elder Gu. I am Qin Ya, the new teacher."

With a flash of light in his hand, Qin Ya produced a cyan Jade Order.

"This is... a High-Level Jade Order!" Gu Shantong’s pupils shrank to the size of a pinprick. His voice was filled with astonishment as he stared at Qin Ya, his face a mask of unconcealed shock. "You’re a High-Level Teacher?"

He had seen his share of High-Level Teachers, but the title alone wasn’t enough to surprise him, let alone leave him this stunned.

But a High-Level Teacher this young? In his decades at Mingxin Academy, he had never even heard of such a thing. In fact, in the Academy’s thousand-year history, there had never been another like him.

"You... you really are a High-Level Teacher." Gu Shantong’s voice trembled as he stared at the cyan Jade Order. The order was genuine; it couldn’t be forged. Yet, he still found it hard to believe.

"The real deal," Qin Ya said calmly.

"Whew... Truly unbelievable." Gu Shantong took a deep breath, trying to compose himself. "Have you come here to schedule a class for the near future?"

"Yes..."

.........

After leaving the pavilion, Qin Ya began to wander around the Academy. And after he was gone, the immense, pale blue light screen rippled.

At the very top, several new lines of text had appeared.

Course: Alchemy Without Title.

Location: Xianyun Peak.

Time: March 20th.

Teacher: High-Level Teacher... Qin Ya.

The change on the light screen naturally drew the attention of some passersby. Students walking past wore looks of surprise.

"Qin Ya? I’ve never heard that name. Is he a new teacher the Academy just brought in? Alchemy Without Title... heh."

"Another High-Level Teacher in the Academy."

"I wonder how good he is. I think I’ll go take a look."

"Ugh, you can tell it’s a guy just from the name. Boring."

"’Alchemy Without Title’? Interesting. I’ve been running into some trouble Refining the Tide Pill lately. I think I’ll go check it out."

"Without Title" was an extremely open teaching format where students could ask the teacher any question they had about their Cultivation.

"Alchemy Without Title," therefore, meant that any and all questions regarding the Alchemy Dao could be brought up in class.

Any teacher who used this method had immense confidence in themselves. The path of Cultivation was vast and all-encompassing; even a high-level Martial Artist couldn’t necessarily answer every question a low-level Martial Artist might have.

Gazing at the course listing at the very top of the pale blue light screen, Muu Xue turned to her friend Feng Ling and said excitedly, "Feng Ling, look! Our Academy has a new High-Level Teacher, and he’s an Alchemist! Please, come with me to check it out?"

"Alright, alright. You get all worked up whenever Alchemy is mentioned."

"A new Alchemist... just thinking about it is exciting. I hope he can help me with my research," Muu Xue said with anticipation.

"Even Teacher Liu, a Fifth-Grade Alchemist, was powerless to help with your research. Do you really think this newcomer can?" Feng Ling didn’t want to dash her friend’s hopes, but she felt she had to be honest.

"It’s worth a shot! It’s not like things could get any worse."

While the students were buzzing about the new teacher, Qin Ya had already arrived at the Academy’s Restaurant.

The Restaurant was built like a five-story pagoda and covered an extremely wide area. Qin Ya estimated it was a hundred meters across.

Although Martial Artists could absorb energy from the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi to sustain themselves and achieve a state of Fasting, most were still quite fond of such culinary pleasures.

Furthermore, delicacies made from certain Fierce Beasts could also condition a Martial Artist’s body. It was said that some supreme experts feasted on Dragon Liver and Phoenix Marrow, the effects of which rivaled a Miracle Elixir.

The Restaurant before Qin Ya was called the Mountain Delicacies Tower. It was the only one in Mingxin Academy, and its prices were notoriously high. A single bowl of rice porridge cost over a hundred Silver Coins, a price far beyond the reach of ordinary students.

Of course, there was a reason for the steep prices. The Mountain Delicacies Tower used only Top Level ingredients, including various Fierce Beasts and Spiritual Materials, so in a way, it was worth the cost.

The moment he stepped into the Mountain Delicacies Tower, a rich aroma wafted over him, enough to make anyone’s mouth water. Even Qin Ya felt a stir of anticipation.

He looked for a table to sit at, only to find that although the first floor of the Mountain Delicacies Tower was spacious, it was already packed. There wasn’t a single empty seat, which surprised him.

’It seems that even though the Restaurant is expensive, there’s no shortage of wealthy people in this Academy,’ he thought. ’To think it would be this crowded.’

Shaking his head, Qin Ya continued toward the second floor.

"Ugh, looks like I caught the dinner rush," he muttered. He made his way up to the third floor. While it wasn’t crowded and had plenty of empty seats, it was noisy. It seemed some kind of banquet was underway.

This wasn’t to the liking of Qin Ya, who preferred peace and quiet. He glanced toward the fourth floor and sighed. "All I want is to get a meal. Why does everything have to be so difficult?"

Just as he was about to head up, a young man hurriedly called out to him. "Excuse me, classmate, please wait."

Qin Ya gave the young man a questioning look. The young man explained, "You must be new to the Academy. The first three floors of the Mountain Delicacies Tower are for students, but the fourth and fifth are reserved for teachers. We students aren’t allowed to dine up there."

Hearing this, Qin Ya smiled faintly. "Thank you for letting me know."

"Yun Xiu, why bother with a country bumpkin like him?" At that moment, an arrogant, extravagantly dressed young man swaggered over, shooting Qin Ya a disdainful look. "He’s just a Profound Origin Fifth Grade, and look at him—not a single decent thing on him. You can tell he’s a commoner Martial Artist at a glance. What money could he possibly have to eat at the Mountain Delicacies Tower?"

"Liyang, don’t say that. We’re all students of Mingxin Academy," Yun Xiu said with a slight frown.

There was a saying: "Poverty for scholars, wealth for warriors." A Martial Artist’s Cultivation required a great deal of resources, and thus demanded immense financial backing.

In the early stages of Martial Arts, the path of Cultivation was incredibly difficult without substantial financial support. Among the student body were commoners who had overcome countless hardships just to test into Mingxin Academy.

These individuals were known as commoner Martial Artists.

Commoner Martial Artists were generally looked down upon by Martial Artists from the Noble Families, and conflicts between the two groups were not uncommon.

"Hmph. He stinks of poverty," Lin Liyang said contemptuously.