655: Chapter 655 Zen One Blocks the Way

[On the other side.]

[Three days later, in the early morning, you stood in the courtyard for a long time, your brows locked in a deep frown.]

[This morning, you cast several divination hexagrams for Qin Han. No matter where you checked, the result was always 'Ordinary'—this clearly meant you were being targeted by Venerable Tianming, who was preparing to make a move against you.]

[You wondered—if you continued to stay here, would you implicate your family?]

[Or perhaps, should you calmly Face death to avoid dragging them down with you?]

[Fairy Tianxuan stood at the doorway of the side chamber, watching you.]

[Qin Yao and Qin Chuan stood behind her, while Qin Han crouched on your shoulder.]

[No one spoke.]

[After a long time, you said: "I am leaving."]

[Fairy Tianxuan felt a stinging sensation in her nose and nodded: "Mm."]

[Qin Yao pursed her lips, wanting to say something, but swallowed it back.]

[Qin Chuan glanced at you, then lowered his head.]

[Qin Han floated in front of Qin Yao, tilting his head up: "Younger brother, younger sister, wait for me to bring you something delicious when I return!"]

[Qin Yao stroked his head: "Okay."]

[Qin Chuan looked at Qin Han, his voice very low: "Protect Father well."]

[Qin Han raised his head: "Rest assured, I am very strong."]

[You looked at the three of them, walked over, and took out three copper coins to cast a hexagram.]

['Lucky'.]

[With your current strength, you could calculate that they would be safe for at least a year.]

[Looking at the hexagram, you breathed a sigh of relief and then turned around.]

[When you reached the courtyard gate, two shouts came from behind—]

["Dad, remember to bring me something to eat!"]

["Dad, take care!"]

[Your nose stung, your eyes reddened, and you forced yourself not to turn back, raising your hand to wave:]

["Okay!"]

[You did not linger.]

[With a movement of your figure, you left with Qin Han.]

[Watching the direction where you disappeared, Fairy Tianxuan walked over to Qin Yao and Qin Chuan and patted their shoulders.]

["Wuwuwu..." Qin Yao buried herself in her arms and began to cry loudly.]

[She didn't even know why she was crying; she just felt an unbearable ache in her heart after seeing your lonely back.]

[Qin Chuan sniffled, his voice choked with sobs: "Mother, I will work hard to Cultivate. Once I am strong in the future, I will help Father take revenge."]

[You bore the blood feud of the Qin Immortal Clan—the Dean had told them about this long ago.]

[Fairy Tianxuan's eyes were red, she pursed her lips, and nodded heavily.]

[Meanwhile, you arrived at the teleportation plaza of the Merit Hall.]

[A person stood in the center of the plaza.]

[He had a large belly, wore grey monk robes, and had his hands tucked into his sleeves, watching you with a beaming smile.]

[It was Instructor Chan Yi—you had seen him during the Heavenly Palace Grand Competition, where he was sitting in the inspector's seat.]

["Amitabha." Instructor Chan Yi smiled without warmth, "This humble monk heard that Benefactor Qin came to the academy, why didn't you say anything? This humble monk would have liked to play the host to express my regards."]

[Before you could open your mouth, Qin Han on your shoulder was already baring his teeth, revealing dense, gleaming fangs: "So you're the damned bald donkey who is eyeing my younger sister?"]

[Instructor Chan Yi ignored him and just looked at you, his smile unchanged: "Fellow Daoist Qin, why are you in such a rush to leave? Why not give this humble monk some Face and come to my home for a chat?"]

["I'm sorry," you said with a smile, "I still have some urgent matters to attend to; let's do it next time."]

[Instructor Chan Yi's smile suddenly turned cold, and his tone changed: "Benefactor Qin, this is not up to you. If you leave, aren't you afraid that something might happen to your family?"]

["What do you mean?" Your voice sank.]

["This humble monk has an obsession; if it cannot be fulfilled, I fear I will be unable to move a single step from now on." Instructor Chan Yi pressed his palms together, "I hope Fellow Daoist Qin can help me out."]

["Stop beating around the bush, speak directly."]

["Amitabha." He raised his head, his gaze fixed directly on you, "Hand over your daughter, Qin Yao, to this humble monk."]

[Your Face was as gloomy as water, but a huge doubt arose in your heart—by all logic, Instructor Chan Yi could not possibly be unaware of your strength.]

[It was impossible for him not to have heard of such a major event as you repelling Liu Xuerong.]

[Where did he get the confidence to speak such words in front of you?]

[Was he not afraid of death?]

["Daddy, let me kill him!" Qin Han breathed out a cold mist, and it seemed as if even the air was frozen.]

[You held him down, looked at Instructor Chan Yi, and your tone calmed down: "You want to die? Why not sign a Life-and-Death Contract?"]

[A Life-and-Death Contract involved the Karma of the Heavenly Dao and was the academy's method for resolving conflicts—where life and death were of no consequence.]

["Amitabha." Instructor Chan Yi's expression was calm, "This humble monk knows I am no match for you, but as long as you leave..."]

[He didn't finish, but the meaning was already laid out there.]

[A threat.]

[A naked threat.]

[You understood in an instant—this guy was doing it on purpose.]

[He was hoping that you would kill him inside the academy.]

[You didn't expect that he would actually use his life to set a trap.]

[But you quickly thought of Venerable Tianming—the one who controlled the Law of Destiny always had a way to resurrect him.]

[Now that your Law of Destiny had reached Perfection, you had long understood that there were too many methods in this world to bring someone back from the dead.]

[Of course, the stronger the person being resurrected, the greater the difficulty and cost, and it also required some unknown secret technique.]

[Although you knew it was feasible, you didn't know how it was done.]

[You looked at him, falling into a dilemma for a moment.]

[Instructor Chan Yi's words were definitely not a joke.]

[Once you left the academy, he would definitely make a move against Qin Yao.]

[He was simply forcing you to kill him.]

[As long as you killed him, the academy could rightfully take action against you.]

[Offending the Heavenly Palace might still leave a path of escape, but offending the academy—the instructors and students of the Three Thousand Academies were almost all related to the immortal clans of the entire Immortal Domain.]

[Countless Mahayana Cultivators came from the academy; two thousand years ago, most of the Old Ancestors and Prodigies of your Qin Clan were also students of the academy.]

[The academy was the microcosm of the Immortal Domain.]

[To a Loose Cultivator like you with no Foundation, it was an almost unshakable existence.]

[After thinking for a moment, you ignored Instructor Chan Yi and looked up at the firmament.]

["Old Man Tianming, do you dare to fight me?"]

[Your voice was not loud, but it pierced through the Void Realm and went straight into the ears of Venerable Tianming.]

[His Divine Thought had long covered the Merit Hall, and you had sensed it long ago.]

[Three breaths later, Venerable Tianming's voice rang in your mind, his tone unhurried: "Are you sure you want to fight me?"]

["Do you dare to sign a Life-and-Death Contract?" You said with a calm expression, your voice very soft but every word clear, "If I die, you must not make things difficult for the people around me."]

["A mere ant, why would I bother?" Venerable Tianming's voice rang out again.]

[Suddenly, a figure appeared out of thin air in front of you.]

[The person who arrived was not Venerable Tianming.]

[He sized you up and nodded: "Your Aptitude is average, yet you managed to Cultivate to Body Integration... If not for Heaven-Defying Luck, I fear no one could do it."]

[You were just guessing who this person was when Instructor Chan Yi pressed his palms together and bowed: "Greetings, Venerable Yuqing."]

[So it was Venerable Yuqing, one of the three Vice Deans.]

[You cupped your hands and said: "Greetings, Senior."]

[Venerable Yuqing nodded: "Venerable Tianming's strength is far above Liu Xuerong's; why be so impulsive?"]

["Senior, you have seen it too." You looked at him, your expression calm, "If I do not accept the challenge, they will make a move against the orphans and widows. How can I pretend not to see?"]

[Instructor Chan Yi interjected: "Amitabha, Benefactor Qin is eloquent and glib; this matter is only to resolve the Karma of the Huanling Sect."]

[You ignored him and just looked at Venerable Yuqing: "Senior, this Junior has a matter to entrust to you. If Senior is willing, this Junior will in the next life..."]

[Venerable Yuqing raised his hand to interrupt you, his tone calm: "Your Qin Clan has quite a connection with me. Even if you didn't ask, I would still look after them a little."]

[He paused: "I will take Qin Chuan and Qin Yao as my disciples. Rest assured, as long as I am here, no one will dare to touch them."]