“This is... a principle of the Dao that I have never heard of?”
Shuang Jiang suddenly stood up from the stone bed.
Her gaze swept towards the classroom beyond the quiet room, across the entire central courtyard.
Her heart was incredibly agitated, almost wanting to push open the door and rush out.
But after touching her face, she held back.
“He said he is a teacher here, but from his aura, he is only at the Qi Refining Early Stage. How is this possible...?”
At this moment, Shuang Jiang was completely bewildered.
Zhang Xiu greatly admired Su Jingzhe and always felt that the content Su Jingzhe taught was extraordinary.
But she was, after all, only at the Qi Refining Late Stage and couldn't comprehend the full meaning.
As for the other Cultivators in Peach Blossom Lane, although they appeared friendly with Su Jingzhe, they secretly disdained him.
Even though the children taught by Su Jingzhe showed excellent spiritual awakening, everyone believed it was merely due to luck and the children's inherent Aptitude.
Therefore, no one truly cared about what Su Jingzhe taught.
Shuang Jiang, however, was different.
She could clearly sense the presence of Dao rhyme from these few words.
“A few mere words, yet they secretly contain the rhythm of the Great Dao!”
Shuang Jiang concentrated and held her breath. The rhythm of the Great Dao was profound and mysterious, unrelated to cultivation, but it was greatly beneficial for her Realm's Bottleneck.
She propped open the window, gazing from afar at Su Jingzhe, who now seemed to possess an air of immortality. Her heart felt a little complicated.
Suppressing the impulse in her heart, she closed the window and sat back down on the stone bed.
She silently waited for Su Jingzhe to come find her after school.
...
Time flew by.
The Academy only had about twenty students, and Su Jingzhe's day of lessons was quickly completed.
The children happily ran out of the Academy.
Su Jingzhe closed the classroom door and looked towards the quiet room on the other side of the central courtyard.
Just as he was about to go over, a familiar figure suddenly appeared at the Academy's entrance.
It was Zhang Xiu.
Today, she wore a neat and simple black gauze dress, her hair casually tied with a wooden hairpin, and her curvaceous figure remained unconcealed.
With each light step, the mature aura, like a ripe peach, wafted towards him.
However, Su Jingzhe noticed that the expression on her face was different from usual; it seemed somewhat serious.
Su Jingzhe frowned slightly, knowing that something might have happened.
“Sister-in-law, has something happened?”
Su Jingzhe asked proactively.
Zhang Xiu walked to his side, her expression still grave.
“Mr. Su, something big is about to happen in our Linjiang City.
It's best if you don't go out during this period; don't go anywhere.”
Originally, due to the incident at Chunxi Tower yesterday, there was a subtle tension between them.
But the news she received last night made her disregard such trivial matters; she had to personally warn Su Jingzhe to set her mind at ease.
Upon hearing this, Su Jingzhe's heart grew even more puzzled, and he felt a vague unease.
“Sister-in-law, what exactly happened?”
Zhang Xiu subconsciously looked around and said, “It is said that at midnight last night, an unparalleled Magic Treasure appeared outside Linjiang City.
It caused a great anomaly in Qingfeng Mountain; the night, which was bright with the moon and sparse stars, suddenly erupted with lightning and thunder.
Early this morning, many powerhouses from the Huayang Sect main branch arrived. It is said that powerhouses from other Sects and various Loose Cultivators are also rushing towards Linjiang City.
Now the city is a mix of Dragons and fishes, hiding countless experts. I'm afraid you don't know the situation and might be in danger if you go out rashly.
If something happens at this critical juncture, the Huayang Branch Sect might not be able to cover it.”
Hearing Zhang Xiu's words, Su Jingzhe subconsciously thought of Shuang Jiang again.
Didn't she appear at midnight? There must be some connection.
Su Jingzhe remained calm.
He showed a look of shock, then smiled bitterly and said, “Sister-in-law, rest assured. I usually live a secluded life.
Since things are not peaceful lately, I won't go out.”
“That's good. After this period of turmoil passes, Sister-in-law will find you a good girl.”
“Alright, Sister-in-law must go now.
Remember what I said earlier.”
With that, Zhang Xiu prepared to leave in a hurry.
“Sister-in-law, wait.”
Su Jingzhe called out to Zhang Xiu, took out a jade pendant from his sleeve, and handed it to her, saying, “The world is unstable, Sister-in-law must assist the Huayang Sect in stabilizing the situation. I have this Peace Jade; it has been with me since childhood. It's not a Magic Treasure, just a token of my regard.”
Zhang Xiu hesitated for a few moments, but ultimately decided to accept the jade pendant. Her gaze towards Su Jingzhe still held a hint of affection, and her eyes were filled with complexity.
At this moment, she felt an impulse in her heart, but some words reached her lips and ultimately remained unspoken. She then hurried away.
Watching her retreating figure, Su Jingzhe fell into contemplation.
And at this moment, a line of golden characters suddenly appeared before his eyes.
“Empathy with Zhang Xiu reached: Mutual Affection
Rank Bonus: 4x
Zhang Xiu Cultivation Bonus: 1x
Reward Points: 50”
“Remaining Available Points: 53”
The continuous appearance of golden characters, however, left Su Jingzhe bewildered.
“What the hell? This must be a mistake, I've always treated her as my elder sister-in-law!”
But he quickly reacted. This Golden Finger had been bound when he Transmigrated. Although it wasn't activated then, it started calculating from that time.
For more than two years, he had indeed had the most contact with Zhang Xiu. She had almost always helped him, and he had treated her and her daughter with sincerity.
The Empathy had accumulated little by little through these minor details.
There were eight Ranks of Empathy. This direct jump of four Ranks meant that the points from the previous Ranks would also be accumulated.
That's why there were as many as fifty points, though fifty points for four accumulated Ranks left him a little puzzled.
It felt a bit low.
But putting aside the points, this “Mutual Affection” was simply too embarrassing.
Su Jingzhe guaranteed that most of the time, he truly hadn't harbored any inappropriate thoughts towards his sister-in-law.
“Sigh, let's take it one step at a time.”
Su Jingzhe knew his own situation. Before his shattered Dantian was resolved, he wouldn't drag down Sister-in-law Zhang Xiu.
Moreover, Sister-in-law Zhang Xiu was a rare example among Dao Cultivators who remained chaste for her Dao Companion.
Unexpectedly gaining 50 points, Su Jingzhe was in a great mood.
Now, he could directly Breakthrough to Qi Refining Second Layer!
However, why did Sister-in-law Zhang Xiu have an extra cultivation bonus? What the hell was that?
He didn't understand, but he didn't think much of it.
However, just as he was about to immediately add points and then return to the quiet room to see his benefactor.
Someone else arrived at the Academy's main entrance.
“Mr. Su, you're here.”
The newcomer greeted Su Jingzhe with a smiling face.
“Daoist Lin, long time no see.”
Su Jingzhe responded with a smile.
The newcomer was a middle-aged man in gray clothes named Lin Ping, whose cultivation was at the Qi Refining Middle Stage.
His son had previously studied with Su Jingzhe.
However, he hadn't come back for a month now.
“Yes, Mr. Su, long time no see.” Lin Ping continued to smile, “This time I've come because I have a great matter to discuss with Mr. Su.”
“Oh?”
Su Jingzhe was curious.
He wasn't particularly familiar with Lin Ping; what great matter could he have for him?
Before he could ask more, Lin Ping continued, “It's like this. Cuiliu Lane recently also opened an Enlightenment School, didn't it?
Yes, it's the Academy my son is currently attending.
The person in charge of Cuiliu Academy, Fellow Daoist Chen Chong, intends to integrate all the Academies in Linjiang City, so he entrusted me to ask if Mr. Su would be willing to merge this Academy in Peach Blossom Lane.
At that time, Mr. Su would still be hired as a teacher, with a remuneration of fifty Low-Grade Spirit Stones per year.
What do you think, Mr. Su?”
...