"Rumors are mostly made up. I don’t buy it," another male teacher said, joining the discussion with a sleazy grin. "I’m more inclined to believe this kid’s background... Heh heh, you all know what I mean. That sort of thing is perfectly normal." 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Yi Ning’s brows knitted together. Unable to stand listening to them gossip behind someone’s back, she got up and left.

After she was gone, one of the male teachers chuckled lecherously. "Did you see that? Yi Ning... she’s probably taken a liking to that arrogant Qin!"

"Don’t be ridiculous. They haven’t even met. How could she like him!" the well-built male teacher said, clearly displeased.

"Heh, Teacher Wei doesn’t want to hear it, but I might be telling the truth! Did you see Yi Ning’s expression when we were talking about that Qin Li? She looked very unhappy. Maybe they knew each other from before!"

"Impossible!" the well-built Teacher Wei shouted. "Hmph. I’ll challenge him tomorrow! I’ll make him understand that he can’t be so arrogant and presumptuous here at the Imperial Advanced Academy!"

...

This was Qin Li’s first time here. He could feel the vibrant, youthful energy radiating from the young men and women. Unlike the spoiled rich kids he had imagined, they weren’t much different from the students he had seen in his previous life. The only real difference, perhaps, was that these seemingly fervent youths were actually geniuses among geniuses, the elite of the elite.

’And to think I’d end up teaching people like this,’ he thought. ’Life is truly unpredictable.’

Qin Li first needed to report to the academic affairs office. Although his status was noble, now that he was at the academy, he had to follow its arrangements. Acting privileged would only earn him contempt.

’Besides, I only have to come here once a week,’ Qin Li thought.

As he stepped out of the carriage, someone was already waiting for him. A young girl, looking a little nervous, gave Qin Li a gentle smile. "Excuse me, are you Teacher Qin Li?"

Qin Li nodded. "I am."

Seeing how easygoing Qin Li was, the girl’s nervousness subsided a bit. "Please come upstairs," she said. "The vice principal is waiting for you!"

When the crowd of students saw Qin Li enter the academy’s administrative building, they all consciously stopped and waited outside. They would not rest until they got a proper look at the young marquis who had recently shaken Cyan Dragon City.

Within the crowd, the royal princess, Zhao Qianqian, was also present, chatting casually with several other girls.

One of them, a girl with a few freckles on her face, looked at Zhao Qianqian and asked, "Princess Qianqian, do you think that Teacher Qin Li is really that amazing? He could even force a Celestial Level Martial Artist onto the defensive?"

"A ninth-rank Celestial Level! And Sir Chen is the Royal Family’s Chief Great Tributor!" Zhao Qianqian corrected her. "Why would I lie to you? Back then, my father the Emperor said he was stronger than me, and I didn’t believe it either. You’ll all see soon enough. He... is really strong!"

"With such a strong expert to guide us, I’m sure we’ll be able to improve even faster!" said a girl with a curvaceous figure and a seductive face, her expression full of hope.

"Sister Wuyin, I think you’re getting a crush! You’re boy-crazy!" Zhao Qianqian teased her companion with a grin.

The beautiful and seductive Wuyin giggled. "So what if I am? I think Your Highness... when it comes to Teacher Qin Li, you probably also..."

"Don’t you dare say it!" Zhao Qianqian suddenly blushed, glaring at Wuyin threateningly. "If you do, I won’t take you to the Royal Garden in a few days!"

"Alright, alright." Wuyin pouted and muttered under her breath, "’Honestly, if you like him, just say so. What’s the big deal? Hmph, all you know how to do is threaten me...’"

...

Qin Li followed the young woman up to the third floor and stopped in front of a large room. The girl knocked gently on the door, and a voice full of authority called from inside.

"Come in!"

The girl opened the door, gestured for Qin Li to enter, and then remained outside.

Qin Li stepped into a large office. The outer area was a reception space, while the inner area was for work. As Qin Li entered, a man walked out from inside. He looked to be in his forties, fair-faced and clean-shaven, with short hair and sharp, spirited eyes. He had a very refined and scholarly air about him; it was clear he must have been a handsome man in his youth.

The moment Qin Li saw him, he was stunned. A flash of surprise flickered in his eyes and was gone.

The man didn’t notice. He looked at Qin Li and said coolly, "You must be the Five Elements Marquis, Qin Li. I am Bu Tong, the Marquis of the Bauhinia Flower. I am also the vice principal of the Advanced Academy. It’s a pleasure to meet you! I’ve heard a great deal about you recently. In any case, you are a genius Martial Artist, and I welcome you to the Cyan Dragon Kingdom to contribute to nurturing our talent."

’When Qin Li heard the vice principal’s name, he was startled, but he managed to conceal it. The first moment he saw the man, he’d felt a sense of familiarity, because he looked so much like Bu Yunyan! He never expected the man’s surname was actually Bu! Qin Li had never asked and had always assumed Bu Yunyan had taken her mother’s surname. He seemed to recall Bu Yunyan even saying as much herself. Looking at it now, either Bu Yunyan had lied, or her mother hadn’t told her the truth! Perhaps she didn’t want her daughter to find that man based on his surname, or maybe there was some other reason. However, Bu Yunyan’s mother was already dead. And this man, in all likelihood, was related to Bu Yunyan!’

"Now that you are at the academy, you should forget about things like noble titles. Any random instructor here holds the rank of Count or Viscount. We are all nobles enfeoffed by His Majesty, but in the academy, you must obey the academy’s rules," Bu Tong said slowly.

It gave Qin Li the absurd feeling of being back in his past life, dealing with petty bureaucrats. He didn’t argue, however, just smiled and nodded.

Seeing that Qin Li lacked the arrogant air he expected, Bu Tong felt slightly better. In truth, he was not at all pleased about this young marquis coming to teach at the Advanced Academy.

The reason was simple: right now, he was the most powerful person in the Advanced Academy.

The principal was gone most of the year, appearing and disappearing like a ghost. Even when he occasionally returned, he would just lock himself up to research something. Everyone in the academy knew the principal was preparing to break through to the Celestial Level, so he had no mind to manage the academy’s affairs.

The other vice principals were mostly old, either engrossed in research or focused on their own cultivation. They had little interest in power.

The only administrator in the prime of his life was the man before him, Bu Tong.

Bu Tong was different from most. At forty-five years old, he possessed the strength of a ninth-rank Earth Level, which was considered quite good. But he had no desire to advance much further on the Martial Dao. What he truly loved was the feeling of holding power in his hands. That wonderful taste was a constant source of satisfaction for him—the feeling of standing on high, with everyone looking up at him in admiration, was simply intoxicating.

The day the old principal broke through to the Celestial Level and entered the Celestial Shattering Realm would be the day he sat on the principal’s throne.

The principal of the Imperial Advanced Academy wielded a level of power that was no less than that of a Grand General!

After all, the graduates from this place were the top elite talents of the entire nation. If he became the principal, these people would forever be his students.

Who could match such a network of connections?

In fact, things had been moving in this direction all along. Bu Tong had even set aside his cultivation to take control of all matters, big and small, at the academy, quickly building up a high level of prestige.

Last year, the long-missing old principal had reappeared, announcing he would be going into long-term seclusion to attempt a breakthrough to the Celestial Level, and he completely handed over power to Bu Tong.

Although Bu Tong was still technically a vice principal, everyone at the Advanced Academy knew that the next principal would undoubtedly be him.

Bu Tong himself believed this as well.

But he never expected that, recently, a genius youth would appear out of nowhere in Cyan Dragon City. He had swept away the Daqing Gang, won the favor of both the Emperor and the Royal Family’s Chief Tributor, Chen Yihan, and was directly recommended for an instructor position at the Advanced Academy.

This made Bu Tong extremely unhappy. Others might only see Qin Li’s youth and his title of marquis and feel jealous, but Bu Tong saw things differently. He was more worried about his own future!

Because he was the Crown Prince’s man! And this Qin Li was a thorn in the Crown Prince’s side!

Not only that, but for someone so young to possess such strength made it easy for him to become an idol in the eyes of the academy’s proud and arrogant geniuses.

This might not seem like much, but if Qin Li knew how to use such a connection, it wouldn’t be long before this young marquis’s prestige could rival his own, or even... surpass it!

Therefore, Bu Tong deeply disliked this person. If he hadn’t been unable to refuse, he certainly would not have agreed to let Qin Li come to the Advanced Academy.

Narrowing his eyes, he sized up the seemingly gentle young man a few more times before saying coolly, "For now, you’ll be in charge of High Level Class D. Their teacher was just transferred to serve as a City Lord somewhere, so you can fill the vacancy. Alright, you may go. Someone will guide you there shortly."

Since the other party was clearly not fond of him, Qin Li naturally wouldn’t be too polite either, especially after sensing this man was connected to Bu Yunyan. Qin Li smiled faintly and said, "Vice Principal Bu, His Majesty said that I only need to come here once a week to casually guide the students. Hmm, in other words, I don’t require a salary from the Advanced Academy. I’m more of a... guest lecturer. Yes, a guest lecturer."

"What Teacher Qin means is... you don’t intend to become a full-time instructor at the Advanced Academy?" Bu Tong asked coolly, his face a mask as he narrowed his eyes.