Sun Mo put down his hand that was about to knock on the door. After all, he was a teacher. Even though this place was his villa, even though it was late into the night, being quiet with no one around, Sun Mo still felt that he should conduct himself with dignity.

  “Moreover, it’s too selfish to disturb Zhiruo’s sleep just to open chests!”

  Sun Mo reflected and was about to leave when he saw that the door suddenly opened.

  “Teacher?”

  The papaya girl stood behind the door, rubbing her sleepy eyes with one hand. After ascertaining that it was Sun Mo and not an illusion, she pounced over and hugged him.

  “Teacher!”

  Lu Zhiruo called out sweetly, giving off a bright smile like the blooming fresh flowers and the arrival of the warm spring!

  “Uhh!”

  Sun Mo felt very awkward, but they mustn’t stay here. “Come, let’s talk in the room!”

  “I understand!”

  Lu Zhiruo let go of Sun Mo and let him enter her bedroom. She then leaned by the door, checking around to ascertain that there wasn’t anyone else around before she closed the door.

  Li Ziqi had said that she must be wary of Dong He if she were to sleep here. After all, the teleportation gate couldn’t disappear after it was permanently set up. Although Dong He wouldn’t be able to use the teleportation gate without Sun Mo’s approval even if she were to come across it, seeing it alone was considered leaking the secret.

  The reason why Lu Zhiruo stayed here was firstly for the convenience of entering the Wind King Divine Hall to cultivate, and secondly, to keep an eye on Dong He.

  Sun Mo’s lips twitched when he saw that the guest room’s interior decor had been changed to a strong young lady style, the messy bedsheets, as well as the neatly folded clothes on the bed. It was quite embarrassing to say this, but he had never entered a girl’s room before.

  This was Sun Mo’s first time and to think that it was his female student’s.

  “I’ve sinned!”

  Sun Mo was about to say that there was nothing on and he was going to make a move first when he was hugged from the back by Lu Zhiruo.

  “Wuuu, Teacher, I missed you so much!”

  The papaya girl put her face against Sun Mo’s body, sensing his body temperature. Her eyes squinted and she wore a delighted expression.

  It was like a pet cat had finally seen its master who had just returned from a business trip for many days. It then snuggled up with him on the sofa to watch television and eat chips, not wanting to be apart from him.

  “I dreamed that Teacher had come back and got up to take a look. I didn’t expect that it’s really Teacher! Hehe, this is really great!”

  Lu Zhiruo’s arms that were hugging Sun Mo exerted force, wanting to hug him tighter.

  “Let go of me first!”

  Sun Mo coughed.

  “Teacher, do you not like me anymore?”

  Lu Zhiruo didn’t let go of Sun Mo but asked meekly.

  “That’s not true!”

  Sun Mo felt puzzled. Why did she say this?

  “Then why don’t you pat me on the head anymore?”

  After Lu Zhiruo asked that, she suddenly came to a realization. “Oh, I forgot! The posture isn’t right!”

  The papaya girl didn’t let go but moved her legs and circled around Sun Mo, wanting to move in front of him.

  “Zhiruo, let go of me first!”

  Sun Mo felt really troubled, wanting to tug off the papaya girl’s hands, but she was hugging him quite tightly.

  “Teacher!”

  Lu Zhiruo turned over and raised her small head, looking at Sun Mo like she was going to cry.

  (Did I do something wrong? Yes, I must have done something wrong. Otherwise, why would Teacher come back to look for me in the middle of the night?)

  At the thought of this, the papaya girl quickly let go and knelt on the ground with a plop.

  “Your disciple is stupid! Teacher, please punish me!”

  As the papaya girl said that, she crossed her arms and pressed her forehead on the back of her hands, kowtowing.

  “You didn’t do anything wrong. I’m back……”

  Sun Mo couldn’t continue anymore. He couldn’t possibly say ‘Lu Zhiruo, I’m back only because I want to borrow your amazing luck to open chests.’, right? Hence, he said, “I’m back only because I want to take a look at how you guys are doing!”

  Sun Mo pulled Lu Zhiruo’s arm and helped her up.

  “Hehe, I know that Teacher is very concerned about us!”

  Lu Zhiruo beamed and hugged Sun Mo’s arm. She then blinked her big eyes, looking at him with great anticipation.

  (Why are you still not patting my head?)

  Only the naive papaya girl would believe Sun Mo’s crap. No matter how much a teacher was concerned for their disciples, they wouldn’t come knocking on their doors in the middle of the night!

  Sun Mo patted Lu Zhiruo’s head.

  “System, quickly open the chests! Start with that gold treasure chest first!”

  Sun Mo urged.

  Lu Zhiruo wore a satisfied expression. (This feeling is very gentle. That’s right, it’s Teacher! I’m not dreaming!)

  The golden light didn’t dissipate and this made Sun Mo feel a little puzzled. He then discovered that it wasn’t that the light hadn’t dissipated, but that the reward that came up was also emitting a brilliant gold color. It almost blinded him.

  This fruit was the size of a walnut. There were many earthworm-shaped bulges on it, forming strange prints.

  They seemed to be some kind of words or totem characters. They were very strange and mysterious. Sun Mo only took a look and then was unable to avert his gaze from it.

  Ding!

  “Congratulations, you’ve obtained one Divine Force Fruit. This fruit is unique to the Darkness Continent and is rare. As the fruit contains powerful energy within it, after it has been eaten, the energy can be converted into divine force that nourishes the body. Therefore, it is named as the Divine Force Fruit.”

  “Eating this fruit can help cultivators at the divine force realm level up. However, the effects will weaken with time after being eaten over and over again.”

  “Warning, only cultivators in the divine force realm or higher can take this fruit. If cultivators below the divine force realm take it, in less serious cases, their brain and nerves will be destroyed by the divine force. They’d become idiots or paralyzed. In more serious cases, they’d perish directly.”

  “Uhh, do you understand what ‘perish’ means? It has the same meaning as demise, death, and breathing one’s last. To say it more simply, it’s passing away!”

  Sun Mo was listening to the system’s introduction of the Divine Force Fruit when he suddenly heard this. He almost vomited blood from anger.

  “What do you mean? Are you looking down on me? Even though my language was taught by my physical education teacher, I can understand a mere ‘perish’.”

  Sun Mo rolled his eyes. “If you continue to tease me, do you believe that I’ll let you ‘perish’ on the spot?”

  “.……”

  The system was stunned by the retort. (I’m just joking. Do you have to show such a big reaction?) Moreover, Sun Mo really had a very sharp tongue!

  The nickname Black Doggy Sun wasn’t wrong.

  “Alright, stop it with the crap. Quickly open the next one!”

  Sun Mo patted the papaya girl’s head while urging.

  After the diamond-colored brilliant glow dissipated, a skill book was left behind. Its surroundings permeated with pitch-black clouds that emitted a rustic and heavy aura.

  Ding!

  “Congratulations, you’ve obtained the semi-cursive script of the calligraphy skill book. Proficiency index, grandmaster-grade!”

  If it wasn’t because whistling in his female students’ bedroom might appear too frivolous, Sun Mo would really want to do so to vent the happiness he was feeling.

  Sun Mo had always wanted to be able to write beautiful calligraphy. He had practiced for very long but only managed to reach an acceptable level. After all, calligraphy was something that required a tremendous amount of time spent in practicing.

  He hadn’t expected to get his dream fulfilled like this.

  “Grandmaster-grade…… Would that mean that my writings can get a ‘not bad’ rating from a master calligrapher like Wang Xizhi even in the ancient days?”

  Sun Mo secretly felt very happy. He had no idea if it was because he hadn’t opened treasure chests recently or that the papaya girl’s accumulated amazing luck had erupted, but these two rewards were really not bad.

  “Go and rest. I’ll be heading back!”

  After a goodbye, Sun Mo immediately returned to the hotel in Guangling through the teleportation gate. He then took out the skill book and shattered it with a slam.

  Hua!

  The skill book shattered into countless black-colored big words that danced in the air. All of them then shot into his brain.

  Sun Mo felt that the world had turned into a piece of paper while he had become a brush, moving around as he wished. Thereafter, he seemed to have turned into a pool of ink, being painted onto the mountains, rivers, and earth by an invisible brush!

  A while later, the system’s notification rang out.

  Ding!

  “Congratulations, you’ve learned the semi-cursive script calligraphy. Proficiency index, grandmaster-grade!”

  Ding!

  “Congratulations, you’ve obtained the title ‘calligrapher’!”

  Sun Mo was elated. “Calligrapher plus artist. Am I also considered to be a master of both calligraphy and art now?”

  “Please conduct yourself with dignity! Remaining humble and studious is the drive for a person’s improvement!”

  The system advised.

  “Tsk!”

  Sun Mo stuck up a thumb. “Alright, you can quickly take your leave. I’m going to practice calligraphy!”

  Sun Mo decided to skip his sleep. He then took out his brush, ink, and paper and started practicing.

  He ended up practicing for the entire night!

  In the morning, the sun rose from the east, cascading warm sunlight down.

  Knock knock!

  Gu Xiuxun knocked on Sun Mo’s door. “Have you woken up? Let’s go have our meal together!”

  “Alright!”

  Sun Mo replied. A short moment later, he opened the door.

  Gu Xiuxun had wanted to ask if Sun Mo had a good sleep. But after seeing his blood-shot eyes and that quite a lot of ink had gotten onto his face, hands, and clothes, she got quite a shock.

  “What were you doing?”

  Was it some kind of mysterious praying ritual? Did Sun Mo rely on this to get full marks?

  Many pieces of paper had scattered over the entire bedroom, almost covering up the entire floor. Moreover, all of them were covered in big words.

  “Practicing calligraphy!”

  Sun Mo said simply, “Hold on. We’ll leave after I’m done with this set!”

  “You couldn’t have been practicing for the entire night, could you?”

  Gu Xiuxun couldn’t help but complain after seeing Sun Mo nodding. “Are you crazy? The fourth round of the examination might be starting this afternoon. To think that you didn’t sleep for the entire night? Do you want to be eliminated?”

  “It’s fine. I’m young. I can live with skipping one to two nights of sleep!”

  Sun Mo recalled how it had been back in his university days. It was a daily norm to go to cybercafes to play games throughout the night and then get a pancake for breakfast the next morning. It was a happy life!

  “You’re crazy! But…… your writing isn’t bad!”

  Gu Xiuxun lowered her head and saw those words, her eyes uncontrollably lit up. These words had the air of a great calligrapher. She didn’t know that Sun Mo was a calligrapher as well!

  Wait a minute, the content seemed to be even better?

  Gu Xiuxun bent over and picked up a piece of paper, reading it out softly, “Where will I wake up from my drunken stupor tonight? It’ll probably be by the shores with the willow tree, facing the harsh morning wind and the waning crescent at dawn! [1] Tsk, I couldn’t tell that you’re a guy who likes to grieve over the changing seasons. You must have deceived several young girls with this poetry, right?”

  Gu Xiuxun teased and picked up another piece of paper.

  “The river flows toward the east, the huge waves washing away all the heroes of the past [2]. Ha, this line is bold and imperious. Where’s the next line?”

  Gu Xiuxun squatted on the floor and started to go through the papers.

  [1] Extract from “Rain-soaked Bell”, a Ci poetry by Liu Yong.

  [2] Extract from “Memories of the Past at Red Cliff”, a Song Dynasty poem by Su Shi.

  Chapter 461: At the Jiang Manor, They Say, ‘Like A Dog In Front of the Door’ Sun Mo!

  The papers were in a mess all over the floor, filled with words.

  Most people would write freely when practicing calligraphy, writing things that they were familiar with. Usually, they’d be poetry. After all, even children could memorize things like the three tang poems.

  At this moment, the charm of ancient poetry from China was fully displayed.

  Gu Xiuxun was squatting on the ground and looking for the continuation to the Memories of the Past at Red Cliff, but when she randomly came across another piece, she’d be drawn in after reading one line.

  They were really too resplendent, filled with charm, like sipping on great wine!

  The masochist instinctively started to pick these pieces of paper up and even smoothen out the creases made by Sun Mo, placing them carefully.

  Sun Mo had been immersed in the joy of calligraphy until he saw this scene. Then, he was so shocked that he almost peed himself. He quickly rushed over and snatched the paper from the masochist’s hands, tearing them into pieces.

  “What are you doing?”

  Gu Xiuxun was angry and she bellowed at Sun Mo.

  “They are just some unworthy pieces and not worth looking at!”

  Sun Mo chuckled.

  Middle-Earth’s Nine Provinces were at the peak of feudal dynasties, where poetries were also in the trend. However, there weren’t beautiful pieces like those from ancient China here. After all, people like Li Bai and Su Shi [1] would be great talents no matter which era they were placed in.

  Their poetries could win against all the nine provinces’ natives.

  If these poetries were to disseminate out, it’d definitely take Middle-Earth by storm and Sun Mo would become famous because of it.

  As a teacher, this reputation would add far too great of an impact to his image. However, a ‘reputation’ like this wasn’t something he dared to ask for.

  Although no one could call him out for plagiarism, he couldn’t get it past himself for doing it.

  To be honest, who wouldn’t want to become famous throughout the world?

  After Sun Mo had written half of the story [Journey to the West], his reputation had taken Jinling by storm in just one month, starting to spread out toward the rest of the world. If he were to finish writing the story, he’d be a great writer of the generation.

  However, Sun Mo didn’t do that. Even though Zheng Qingfang had begged him many times, he kept refusing on the excuse that he didn’t have time.

  Did Sun Mo really have no time?

  To Sun Mo who was very familiar with the story, he only needed to write out the content in simple words. However, he was someone with morals.

  “Unworthy work?”

  Gu Xiuxun assessed Sun Mo dubiously and then thought back on the lines she had read earlier. “Are you being modest? Or are you insulting my ability to appreciate works?”

  “Uhh!”

  Sun Mo realized that he had said the wrong thing out of anxiety just now. He quickly explained, “These aren’t unworthy works. I copied them!”

  “From where?”

  The masochist asked.

  “An ancient book!”

  Sun Mo tried to push the responsibility away.

  “The hell I’d believe that! Sun Mo, you’re really abominable!”

  Gu Xiuxun rolled her eyes at Sun Mo and then went to seize the remaining pieces of paper.

  She was a young lady who also liked arts. Although she didn’t dare to say that she had read all the poetries in the nine provinces, she had definitely gone through 70% of them. Moreover, great pieces like these would definitely not be hidden in the shadows once they were completed.

  However, Gu Xiuxun had never seen these lines before.

  “Be nice, don’t scold!”

  Sun Mo moved very quickly, wanting to destroy all the pieces of paper.

  “What’s the name of that ancient book? Where is it? Can you lend it to me?”

  Gu Xiuxun pursued.

  “Uhh!”

  Sun Mo was speechless.

  “Didn’t you just say yesterday that we’re good friends?”

  The masochist was being very sharp with her words. When she saw Sun Mo stuttering and hesitating, she knew that her guess was right. These poetries might have come from Sun Mo.

  Otherwise, given how generous he was as a person, he’d definitely not refuse her. After all, what importance would a book of ancient poetries have? He had taught his students the Dharma Skyshock Fist right before her.

  That was a saint-tier cultivation art, something many times more precious than ancient poetries.

  Sun Mo scratched his head. It was really troublesome to talk with smart people. If he were to lie, he’d have to come up with even more lies to cover up his previous lie. Then, there’d be more and more flaws.

  “I understand it now. You want your name to take the world by storm but not as a poet!”

  Gu Xiuxun thought that she had discovered an important point. In Middle-Earth’s Nine Provinces, master poets would definitely not be as respected as great teachers.

  Moreover, there’d be times when poets might be seen by some biased great teachers as an inferior occupation that entertained people. After all, what kind of places would poetries and songs be the most popular at?

  It’d be in brothels! They were techniques that prostitutes used to raise their value when trying to draw in customers!

  What else could Sun Mo say?

  He could only smile!

  “What’s the next line for ‘The river flows toward the east, the huge waves washing away all the heroes of the past’?”

  Gu Xiuxun asked curiously.

  “Past campsites in the west, they say, Zhou [2] from the Three Kingdoms fought a fierce battle at the Red Cliff!”

  Sun Mo didn’t hide anything.

  Gu Xiuxun made a guess, saying in a soft voice, “Although I don’t know who this Zhou is, judging from the poetry’s vibe, this should be an amazing great teacher!”

  “En!”

  Sun Mo said half-heartedly, grabbing Gu Xiuxun’s wrist and wanting to pull her up. “Alright, let’s go eat!”

  “Wait a minute. I feel that this line can be changed to ‘at the Jiang Manor, they say, ‘Like A Dog In Front of the Door’ Sun Mo.’ What do you think?”

  Before Sun Mo could reply, Gu Xiuxun laughed. To speak the truth, the nickname ‘Like A Dog In Front of the Door’ was used to mock Sun Mo. But now, after the third round of the examinations, who would still doubt him?

  “How dare you laugh!”

  Sun Mo put out his hand and pinched Gu Xiuxun’s face, causing her red lips to pout.

  “Uhh!”

  The masochist was stunned, not expecting Sun Mo to be so daring. Although she wasn’t particular about men and women’s interaction, touching one’s face was considered a very intimate act.

  Almost out of instinct, the masochist slapped Sun Mo’s hand.

  Pa!

  Sun Mo’s hand was slapped away. He was stunned for a moment before he quickly apologized, “I’m sorry!”

  He had taken things too far. Even if this was done in modern society, the guy would also be beaten by the girl!

  Gu Xiuxun’s face was a little red. She felt a little regretful after she had hit Sun Mo’s hand. Although it felt a little uncomfortable to be pinched by Sun Mo’s big hand, she felt a greater sense of excitement.

  To be honest, this feeling wasn’t bad!

  Hearing Sun Mo’s apology, Gu Xiuxun wanted to say that it was fine. However, she immediately thought that if she were to do that, wouldn’t it make her appear not reserved?

  (Wait a minute, what am I thinking? I can’t let my future husband down. I must uphold my chastity.) Gu Xiuxun then moved a few steps to the side.

  (En, this distance should be alright, right? Is it too far? Would Sun Mo feel that I’m hating him?)

  The masochist hesitated, then moved back one step, then another.

  “.……”

  Sun Mo was speechless. (What are you trying to do? Some kind of performance art?)

  Gu Xiuxun didn’t notice Sun Mo’s expression because she had seen one more piece of paper under the table. She picked it up.

  “There are two trees in front of my house. One is a date tree, the other is also a date tree [3]?”

  After Gu Xiuxun had read that, she appeared confused and looked toward Sun Mo. “The writing is good, but what the hell is with this content?”

  “It’s quite good!”

  Sun Mo chuckled.

  “To hell that it is good!”

  Gu Xiuxun rolled her eyes and crushed the paper up into a ball, casually throwing it aside. “This is trash compared to those poetries earlier! It’ll be too tough to even be used to wipe butt!”

  “Lu Xun would feel like beating you up if he heard this!”

  Sun Mo didn’t wish to fight about this.

  “Who is Lu Xun?”

  Gu Xiuxun asked curiously.

  “Someone who has made many great quotes. Oh right, the one he is most famous for is ‘I haven’t said this before—Lu Xun!’”

  Sun Mo destroyed all the paper.

  “What rubbish is that?”

  Gu Xiuxun frowned. ……

  Qian Dun got up and was about to wash up when he suddenly saw Sun Mo coming out. He had wanted to greet him, but he saw Gu Xiuxun quickly coming out after him.

  “My god!”

  Qian Dun was astonished. What was this situation? Why was Gu Xiuxun coming out from Sun Mo’s room so early in the morning? Even if nothing had happened between the two of them, this situation was enough to say that their relationship was very close.

  Qian Dun then started to envy Sun Mo.

  He had wanted to call Sun Mo to have breakfast together with him, but he could only pass on it. Therefore, he went to a roadside stall by himself and ordered a bowl of noodles.

  “Waiter, get me two garlic!”

  Qian Dun had just slurped up some noodles when an old man sat next to him. He then said, “Add another plate of beef and a plate of vegetarian tofu!”

  “You are?”

  Qian Dun was baffled. This old man was dressed luxuriously, not looking like someone who’d eat at a roadside stall.

  “I’m the vice-headmaster of Springflower Academy. The reason I’ve come to disturb you so abruptly is because I want to find out some things from you!”

  The old man smiled, carrying himself with an air of someone capable. However, his eyes were too small and he looked vulgar instead.

  Hearing this, Qian Dun quickly got up and bowed.

  The Springflower Academy’s full name was the Warm Spring Blooming Flowers Academy. It was a ‘B’ grade academy and was quite well-known. Its vice-headmaster would be at least a 5-star great teacher.

  “Sit down and talk!”

  The old man waved his hand, gesturing for Qian Dun to not be so reserved.

  Qian Dun sat down, but only half of his butt was on the bench. He didn’t dare to eat the beef noodles either. He then wiped his mouth and secretly licked his teeth for fear of showing off an unsightly image.

  “May I know how’s Great Teacher Sun Mo’s reputation is in your school?”

  The old man smiled and asked.

  Qian Dun had guessed the reason why the old man had approached him. After all, Springflower Academy’s vice-headmaster wouldn’t care for an unimportant character like himself. “God Hands!”

  “What?”

  The old man was stunned.

  “Teacher Sun has the great reputation of having God Hands. In the past, Liu Mubai was the most famous person in the Central Province Academy, having the title of the twin jade annulus of Jinling together with the Myriad Daos Academy’s Fang Wuji. But now, Teacher Sun is the most famous person in our school!

  “Ever since he got the job and started giving lectures, all of his medical cultivation classes are full. The students wouldn’t be able to get a seat if they didn’t go two hours in advance!

  “He then led the new student group to get first place in the ‘D’ Grade newbie competition this year, helping our school to rise and become a ‘C’ grade famous school!”

  Qian Dun spoke very forthrightly, wanting to exaggerate things and make Sun Mo appear more glorious. However, he realized that there wasn’t a need for him to do that since Sun Mo’s achievements were already brilliant enough.

  The old man stroked his beard, maintaining a calm expression. However, as he listened on, the astonishment on his face became increasingly intense. At the very end, he was completely stunned.

  “You’re lying, right? God Hands? Do you know what this represents? And trying to get seats two hours in advance? Do you think that he is a 3-star great teacher?”

  The old man wanted to retaliate, but the words had just reached his mouth when he realized that he couldn’t voice them out. He was a 5-star great teacher after all and had met too many people. He was able to tell at one glance that Qian Dun wasn’t lying.

  “Turns out that Sun Mo is a lot more amazing than I predicted!”

  The old man was astonished but then felt elated. He had been contemplating about the price he should pay to headhunt Sun Mo, but he was now sure that he should go all out!

  [1] Chinese poets from the Tang Dynasty and Song Dynasty respectively.

  [2] Referring to Zhou Yu. A Chinese military general and strategist serving under the warlord Sun Ce in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China.

  [3] Extract from ‘Autumn Night’ by Lu Xun in 1924.