Chapter 95

Song Yi was heartbroken.

What happened to this world being especially friendly to cubs? What happened to this world’s heroes receiving courteous treatment? She was just one little cub, chased all over the place by her teacher, and not a single person reached out a helping hand. Everyone simply stood off to the side with big smiles, watching the show.

The morals of society were declining. Truly declining.

Of course, everyone knew Song Yi was their hero and ought to be “helped.” But a teacher wanting to beat up a naughty child also seemed perfectly natural?

And so, everyone said one after another, “Sorry, my stamina and spiritual power are completely drained. I really can’t move.”

“Yeah, yeah, actually, I really want to help you too.”

If the smiles on your faces were not so huge, maybe you would look a little more sincere.

Song Yi complained inwardly, but her eyes and the corners of her mouth both curved up. In truth, she was happy too. Compared with being chased by ghost creatures, she would much rather be chased by her teacher.

She could also understand everyone’s joy. It was not that they simply liked seeing her make a fool of herself. It was because only in a safe camp could a scene of a teacher chasing a student around possibly appear.

Of course, maybe certain people with nasty tastes simply enjoyed seeing Song Yi make a fool of herself.

This battle was not without casualties. Two people had been dragged into the wave of ghost creatures, leaving not even bones behind.

A dozen or so people were seriously injured and were relying on medical cultivators to keep them alive. Some would even need to enter the city before they could receive treatment.

As for those who had overdrawn their divine thought and spiritual power, that was basically everyone. Even the demon beasts that had come to support them were slumped weakly on the ground.

But compared to the possible outcome of total annihilation, this was already the best ending they could possibly have asked for.

Everyone collapsed where they were and rested for a while, then got back to their feet. They needed to clean up the battlefield.

Someone released a spiritual fire to deal with all the severed limbs and remains scattered across the ground.

Someone silently prayed for themselves, having survived the disaster.

Someone walked toward the demon beasts, handed pills to them, and invited them to join the ceremony that would follow.

There were also those questioning their lives, like the timid little guy. Just like the medical cultivator from before, he scratched his ears and cheeks as he thought: You can do that? You can really do that?

This absolutely does not conform to experimental standards!

But the results were really good?

Maybe next time he should try it too?

It felt as if the door to a whole new world had already opened before him.

There were also people calculating their losses and preparing to ask the City Defense Department for a large sum in pensions and subsidies.

Although this was outside the Human Realm, and personal property was not protected.

However, for those who resisted a wave of ghost creatures and suffered losses because of it, the City Defense Department would still provide subsidies and corresponding allowances. “In the face of a shared disaster for all living beings under heaven, we ought to unite every bit of strength. We must encourage and commend every person who stands at the very front.”

The black-hearted shopkeeper had fought the hardest earlier, and now he was already muttering as he calculated how to get the highest subsidy. “Which of these two plans gets more money?”

“The first one.”

A little hand slapped down on one of the options.

The black-hearted shopkeeper was just about to nod when his expression suddenly changed. He turned his face and saw that a little face had appeared beside him at some point, startling him.

After dealing with the ghost tide, the black-hearted shopkeeper Song Yi was familiar with had returned. She scratched her face and said, “I thought you were so straightforward when you took out all your own things that you didn’t care about that little bit of money at all.”

Wasn’t this usually the script heroes took? At least, Song Yi remembered that was how the Moral Education textbooks wrote it.

The shopkeeper revealed an expression of physical pain. “A little bit of money? This is my whole life and fortune, all right!”

He patted Song Yi on the shoulder. “Although I’m not a teacher, I can still teach you one important social principle. We have to do what should be done, and we also have to take the benefits we should take. We have to be flexible.”

Song Yi curled her lip. “I was flexible, but Teacher Yuan went back on his word. So adults really are too unreliable.”

She had also wanted to take advantage of the moment Teacher Yuan was moved by her grand deed to fish up some benefits for herself.

The shopkeeper almost laughed because of her. This kid was far too real. She was clearly so formidable, yet her wish was so simple and plain that it suddenly made people remember she was still an elementary school student.

And judging from her wish, as well as Teacher Yuan’s practiced movements, she was probably a student whose moral character and academics were both not excellent.

He said earnestly, “You still don’t have enough experience. Take me, for example. I recorded everything that needed to be recorded. Later, I’m going to make the inn a little more ruined. All of this is evidence. Since you were already selling misery, you had to go all the way. Don’t recover so quickly. He’s not a professional medical cultivator. If you pretend your divine sense hurts and act weak for two days, how could he not agree to you?”

“But I don’t want Teacher Yuan to feel too bad.” Song Yi blinked.

She knew Teacher Yuan had blamed himself a lot at the time.

The shopkeeper could not help wanting to reach out and rub Song Yi’s head. When this child behaved, she really was very likable.

Without a doubt, Song Yi dodged quickly. What a joke. Her head was not that easy to rub, all right? She had already become experienced at dodging.

“Then choose for yourself. Do you want benefits, or do you want to make your teacher feel bad for a bit?”

Song Yi held her steamed-bun face stiffly. After careful consideration, she regretted it a little. “Sure enough, benefits are still more important. Let Teacher Yuan suffer a bit.”

She was a thoughtful little padded jacket, but one that let in drafts.

“Right?” The black-hearted shopkeeper laughed. He knew this child was one of his kind. In any case, they were scamming someone else, so he felt no pressure at all.

Just then, Song Yi’s eyes rolled, and she looked at him. “I can’t get the benefits from Teacher for now. But what about you? Aren’t you considering giving me hush money? I recorded what you just said too!”

The shopkeeper’s smiling face stiffened. “Little friend, your teacher probably didn’t teach you this.”

“That’s right. Teacher didn’t teach me, but you did.” Song Yi said it with perfect confidence. “I have to take the benefits I should take.”

The shopkeeper had underestimated how quickly Song Yi could learn and apply things, and had overestimated her moral standards. That was what caused this current scene of him lifting a rock only to drop it on his own foot.

He raised his head to the sky and sighed. “I finally know why you want a full score in Moral Education so badly. Because under normal circumstances, you definitely wouldn’t be able to get one, right?”

Song Yi grinned and said, “I’ll raise the price, you know.”

The shopkeeper immediately changed his tune. “There are truly too few little friends as noble and devoted as you. Your teacher has poor judgment. If it were me, you would absolutely get full marks in every subject.”

Song Yi nodded with deep agreement. “Exactly, exactly. Do you want to apply to be a teacher at our school? I’ll help you reach the peak of life.”

Behind the two shameless people, a sinister voice drifted over. “What are you two talking about?”

Teacher Yuan felt that some “rebellious commoner” was trying to usurp the throne. Although under normal circumstances, he was just a teacher and had nothing much worth scheming for.

The shopkeeper bent down and slung an arm around Song Yi’s shoulders, looking as if they were the best of brothers. “Nothing at all. We just hit it off right away and were chatting, haha, just chatting.”

Teacher Yuan: …

Every time he felt that Song Yi’s ideological realm might make great progress, he would very soon start worrying that her ideological level had taken a huge step backward.

Or rather, had the progress only been his illusion?

To be fair, he was not such a harsh teacher.

Actually, even if Song Yi had not mentioned the full-score matter, with what she had done, Teacher Yuan would still have been willing to give her full marks. Flawed in minor matters, blameless in major ones. This was a very rare and precious quality.

But she was too smug, and her fantasies were too beautiful. She even wanted to graduate directly and stop attending elementary school altogether.

So Teacher Yuan changed his mind. On matters of minor conduct, sure enough, he still had to put in more effort. He could not let her become too arrogant.

The spiritual fire spread, already surrounding the entire settlement.

At this moment, everyone and every demon beast inside the settlement stood up and looked toward the spiritual fire, their expressions solemn and grave.

Everyone was observing silence and paying respect to the unfortunate victims and the pioneers.

Not only the two people who had died tonight. For the wave of ghost creatures to have formed to this scale, at least this many humans or beasts had been transformed into ghost creatures, and definitely more than that. Some had been swallowed directly.

A sound cultivator brought out their instrument. Soothing and solemn music rang out. Afterward, everyone began singing along with the music.

Song Yi was no stranger to this song either. During school breaks and the New Year celebration, this song, “New Era,” was often played.

Song Yi, who had not known how to sing before, also subconsciously hummed along.

“Every ordinary person builds the world we live in. Every ordinary person is our hero.”

“An unyielding soul is the soul of cultivation. The road of our predecessors is the city of those who come after. Explore, seek truth, and never stop!”

Mixed in among it were one or two long howls from demon beasts.

The music gradually grew stirring, then came to an abrupt stop.

Only then did Wenwen move close to Song Yi and whisper, “Little Yi, you were off-key just now.”

When it came to this kind of thing, Song Yi was also a little friend who cared about face. Her face instantly flushed red. “I-I wasn’t off-key! You definitely heard wrong!”

Li Wenwen giggled. “I wouldn’t hear your voice wrong. Even the demon beasts kept the rhythm better than you.”

Then Song Yi started saying hard-to-understand things like, “Something like pitch is just like sword techniques. In essence, there’s no fixed standard. The key is whether it works. Only beginners follow the standard.”

Lin Ze patted her shoulder. “No rush. You can just choose two music classes as electives in the future.”

In other words, he also thought Song Yi had sung off-key.

Song Yi raised her sword and chased after them, preparing to righteously annihilate her friends.

So what if she had no artistic cells? The art of sword cultivators was the sword. See? Didn’t Li Wenwen and Lin Ze change their tune?

“Little Yi, I heard wrong just now. Lin Ze was the one who sang off-key.”

As Song Yi was running, the residents of the settlement swarmed forward, picked the child up, and tossed her into the air.

“We won! We won!”

“We survived!”

As soon as she fell, another few hands pushed her upward again.

She even felt as if some demon beast had bumped her up once.

Song Yi felt that their way of celebrating was way too bizarre. It was practically great disrespect! Wenwen, however, really liked this sort of thing. She happily spread her arms, and so some adults tossed her up too.

“Oh-ho!” Wenwen cheered happily. “Little Yi, you have to shout with me too!”

So childish.

Then Song Yi also secretly followed and shouted twice. Why secretly?

Because the waves of sound were noisy, and once her voice was mixed in, it could not be picked out.

After the song of tribute ended, they began a small celebration right there. This was probably also a characteristic of the New Cultivation Era: mourn the dead, but also raise a cup in salute to the living.

In truth, this was also part of consoling the dead. Your sacrifices had value, and the living would continue the brilliance onward.

The tavern owner moved out all his treasured stock. The first cup was handed to Song Yi.

Song Yi’s eyes lit up. Then she cautiously looked at Teacher Yuan.

As it happened, Teacher Yuan was also staring at her.

Song Yi: …

She silently withdrew the hand she had stretched out and refused with righteous seriousness. “Little friends can’t drink alcohol.”

The tavern owner was especially tactful. He knew she was not unwilling, but did not dare, so he said with a grin, “Teacher Yuan, outside the Human Realm, there’s no such thing as being underage. Just let her drink a little. She’s tonight’s hero.”

Teacher Yuan sighed. “This child has bad drinking manners.”

“It’s fine. Just one cup.”

Looking at the child’s eagerly expectant expression, Teacher Yuan reluctantly nodded.

“Yay!”

The humans and beasts all raised their cups together, to the dead, and also to the living.

The spiritual wine the tavern owner brewed himself was much more fiery than the kind Song Yi had drunk at New Year, even giving a throat-slicing feeling, as if she had swallowed wind and sand. But it also had a unique flavor.

It was just that the aftereffect was not so strong. Or maybe Song Yi had not drunk that much, so it had not gone to her head yet.

She smacked her lips twice, set down the cup with lingering desire, then obediently switched to other drinks. Restrictions were restrictions, then. This way, that tiny bit tasted even better.

The golden-medal cultivator was sitting not far from Song Yi. His puppetized body had also suffered damage in many places and probably needed repairs.

He was still relatively silent and did not say much.

After discovering that Song Yi kept looking at him, he grew a little uncomfortable again. His gaze drifted for a moment before he said, “I heard you liked that room of mine. You can stay there.”

Song Yi sighed. “If only our Teacher Yuan were as sensible as you.”

The cultivator: …

Question from someone who truly did not understand: were all children these days this amazing, and this deserving of a beating?

“You seem to keep looking at me.” He had noticed it earlier.

“You’re not quite the same as the hero I imagined,” Song Yi said. Setting aside the matter of moral character and conduct, just in terms of strength, he was weaker than she had imagined.

No offense intended, but she had thought that someone who received a golden medal should be some Tribulation Transcendence big shot. But he was only at Nascent Soul. That was why she kept observing him.

The cultivator smiled and did not feel offended. “Because I’m not a hero. I was just lucky and survived.”

A very, very long time ago, he had also had teammates. They were only an ordinary exploration team, dreaming their beautiful dream of finding ancient ruins and becoming rich overnight.

He was not very good at socializing, but his teammates treated him very well.

But during one ghost tide, only he survived. Later, he became a ghost-creature hunter, walking in the places with the highest mortality rate. Because of that, he did not need teammates.

Every time, he was prepared to die. But every time he lived, he would also celebrate for himself.

That was how he had obtained his medal, and that was how his body had become what it was now.

He was only an ordinary person who happened to be lucky. He was not a cultivation genius, nor did he feel that he counted as a hero.

Song Yi pondered for a moment and said, “I think it’s like the lyrics just now. ‘Every ordinary person is our hero.’ Like you.”

The cultivator also smiled and raised his cup toward her. “And like you.”

Song Yi felt a little embarrassed. She had the experience of more than four hundred years from her previous life as a foundation. And in the past, she had never done anything like this.

The spiritual fire was slowly going out. The light of dawn pierced through the darkness at the edge of the sky. A new day was about to begin again.

She looked at the survivors sitting cross-legged. Smiles hung on the cultivators’ faces, and they hummed some songs softly. The demon beasts were also howling aw-oo, aw-oo, passing along their emotions.

This was not a land of order. Once today passed, everything would even return to the way it had been before. The black shop that wanted to rip customers off would still rip customers off, cultivators who found one another displeasing would still fight, and cultivators and demon beasts would still remain on each other’s menus.

But at this moment, she felt that order and peace had been born here.

She was very happy. Happier than when she alone had survived a disaster.

Song Yi thought that she probably understood the greatest difference between the two cultivation eras now.

Both worlds had chaos.

But in the Old Era, chaos would only breed even greater chaos and disorder.

Here, however, she was willing to believe that beautiful things could be born from chaos.

This was not her belief alone. It was the belief of everyone here. She had probably realized it rather late.

Just then, Song Yi heard Old Wang’s senior’s classmates discussing the future. She immediately put down the emotions in her heart, went over, and said, “So? Did you discover how amazing the sword Dao is? Do you want to walk the sword Dao?”

She admitted that everyone here had made an important contribution, but there should be no objection if she self-proclaimed herself the best performer of the whole scene, right?

A powerful Dao was naturally easy to attract people. By conveniently winning that advertisement too, Song Yi felt she had achieved multiple goals in one stroke. She had won so hard.

“The sword Dao is very powerful.” Wang Yisheng’s classmate considered it for a moment, but still decided to honestly tell the truth. “But I think being a teacher is even more powerful.”

Thinking about it carefully, saying that teaching was the most badass profession was totally reasonable, right?

No matter how powerful you sword cultivators were, didn’t you still get chased around by a teacher?

Song Yi froze.

The roast meat by her mouth stopped smelling good.

So after working so hard for so long, had she been “working” for someone else?

The teacher had won so hard, and Song Yi had lost so hard.

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