Volume One: The Dragon Soul Awakens Chapter 41: The Mentor Conference

The broom once again found its way back into Mr. Shen’s hands.

“Is this... a boomerang?” Mo Xing asked, puzzled.

“More or less the same principle,” Mr. Shen nodded. “This is the proper way to use the returning strike. What you learned at the academy is far too formulaic.”

“Let me try,” Mo Xing said.

He picked up the Frostless Divine and tossed it forward; the blade flew straight to the thicket opposite.

“Return!” he called.

The blade halted in midair.

“Return!”

It still hovered, unmoving.

“Return!”

No response.

“How strange, what’s going on?” Mo Xing scratched his head. “It’s just stuck there, not coming back?”

“Interesting,” Mr. Shen stroked his beard, then shuddered suddenly. “Keep practicing. I have something urgent to attend to.”

“Wait, Mr. Shen, where are you going?” Mo Xing grabbed his sleeve, startled. Through the fabric, Mr. Shen’s arm felt nothing like that of an old man—no wrinkles, but rather firm and strong.

“I’ll teach you next time. I really must be off!” Mr. Shen shook free from Mo Xing’s grip. A gust of wind swept past, and he vanished from sight.

Mo Xing wiped his brow. Just now, Mr. Shen’s voice had changed, his skin and bones too; he seemed to grow younger—was that a disguise technique? He clearly wasn’t a simple old man!

Who... who was he, really?

“Meow!”

A cat’s cry came from behind. Mo Xing turned, seeing the kitten named Moonshadow approaching.

“Little one, what are you doing here?” Mo Xing frowned.

“Meow, meow, meow!” Moonshadow let out a startling cry, sounding more like an alert.

“Oh, Moonshadow, how did you get here?” Mo Xing looked up to see Senior Cai Hong rushing over.

“Senior!” Mo Xing greeted him.

“Junior, so it’s you—I thought you looked familiar from afar.” Cai Hong smiled, then suddenly his expression changed and he shouted, “Look out!”

Mo Xing spun around. The Frostless Divine was flying back towards him. At that critical moment, an orange shield appeared in front of him, blocking the strike; the blade clattered to the ground.

“What’s going on?” Cai Hong frowned. “That flying blade, and this orange shield?”

“I’m not sure...” Mo Xing wiped his sweat; the shield before him began to dissipate.

“Meow~” Moonshadow flicked her tail.

“This weapon was given to me by Teacher Tianqi. I was just trying out a new move, but the blade got stuck in midair, and when I wasn’t paying attention, it flew back. As for the shield, I don’t really understand it either,” Mo Xing scratched his head.

“Alright, so that’s what happened.” Cai Hong nodded.

“Meow~” Moonshadow called again.

“Could it be Moonshadow’s skill?” Mo Xing pointed at the kitten, speculating.

“Maybe. I heard from the shop that she’s not an ordinary pet, but a divine creature. Perhaps the shield was cast by her?” Cai Hong said, suddenly enlightened.

“Really... was it you?” Mo Xing looked at Moonshadow.

“Meow~” Moonshadow nodded.

“She truly is a divine cat!” Cai Hong exclaimed.

The Hall of the Divine King.

Mentors’ conference room.

Zhang Zhihao, dressed smartly, stood outside the door like a messenger awaiting orders.

“I’ve been waiting a long time,” he said suddenly.

The last mentor hurried over from the far end of the corridor. Zhang Zhihao bowed slightly.

“Please.”

“Ah... yes.” The mentor nodded.

Zhang Zhihao opened the door and entered alongside the teacher.

Inside, a long table was surrounded by people.

“Sorry I’m late,” the mentor wiped the sweat from her brow.

Her name was Chen Muxi, fifth rank of the Violet Cauldron tier, the only female mentor from the Royal Academy of Saint Sky to break into the top ten. She should have been a paragon among women, yet she had the bad habit of tardiness. Of course, her strength spoke for itself, so no one dared complain.

“No matter, we’ve just arrived ourselves,” said Long Lian, who had joined the academy the same year as her, his tone courteous.

“Alright.”

Chen Muxi found a seat, and Zhang Zhihao stood nearby. As a student attending the mentors’ meeting, he naturally couldn’t sit as an equal—whether out of etiquette or unwritten rules.

“Everyone’s here. Let’s begin,” said the elderly figure at the head of the table. He was Grant Char, principal of the Royal Academy of Saint Sky, and the only person at the academy to have reached the Dark Gold tier.

“Today’s meeting is chiefly about the incident with forbidden drugs during the freshmen’s assessment. Please speak in order,” he continued.

“I’ll start. The student who used the forbidden drug was rescued in time and has now recovered. The disciplinary office has voided his results and expelled him,” said Director Xue Dinghai, handing out several reports.

The mentors all flipped through the dense documents.

“After investigation, thirteen students were found to have developed or used forbidden drugs, conducting illicit experiments in the abandoned Divine Weapon Tower. The main culprit is Li Qingchi, a third-year A-level student, confirmed as a member of the Calendis Sect. He’s now imprisoned in the Crystal Cell. Another is Chen Anye, a second-year student. He’s more slippery—no one knows where he’s escaped to.” Xue Dinghai rubbed his neck, turning his gaze to Tianqi. “Both were your students. Tianqi Yang, do you have anything to say?”

Yang Tianqi slowly rose. All eyes turned to him as he bowed deeply.

“I apologize. It was my negligence.”

“Poor thing...” Chen Muxi whispered, so quietly only Zhang Zhihao could hear.

“According to Academy regulations, Chapter Three, Article Twenty-Eight: If a student violates laws and causes serious consequences, their combat class mentor loses eligibility for annual selection and year-end benefits,” Xue Dinghai added.

“I understand,” Tianqi replied.

“Xue Dinghai, is this really the time to discuss that?” Long Lian interjected.

There were mentor rivalries within the academy. Xue Dinghai always seemed to target popular mentors like Tianqi, perhaps because he was more old-fashioned, with rules and regulations forever on his lips—a sense of the old guard clashing with the new.

“Just emphasizing the rules,” Xue Dinghai closed the file, continuing, “Of course, the greatest contributor in this crisis was the student council president—Zhang Zhihao!”

All eyes followed his gesture to Zhang Zhihao standing beside Chen Muxi, and applause thundered through the room.

“In all these years, no student has ever been invited to attend the mentors’ council. You are the first,” Grant Char nodded, his profound gaze conveying approval.

“No wonder he’s my student—so outstanding,” Chen Muxi smiled to herself. As Zhang Zhihao’s combat class mentor, she felt pride in his achievements.

The Royal Academy of Saint Sky’s curriculum was divided into theory, combat, and electives. Theory classes were large, combat classes small. Each student’s honor or disgrace reflected on their teachers, especially combat mentors. Thus Tianqi was punished for his students’ misconduct, while Chen Muxi was honored for her student’s success.

Zhang Zhihao smiled calmly, pressing his hand over the academy badge on his chest, and bowed deeply.

“Thank you, Principal, for your words, and mentors for your recognition, and Teacher Chen Muxi for your guidance. I will continue to do my best, contributing what I can for the academy and for Arslant.”

“Excellent.” Long Lian clapped vigorously. As Zhang Zhihao’s theory mentor, he too felt a touch of pride. Though not overly ambitious, he was nonetheless proud of his student.

“Your presence here today is not just to commend your achievements, but also for another matter,” Grant Char paused, “regarding Han Chuan Academy.”

“Understood,” Zhang Zhihao replied simply.

“Wait, Principal Grant,” Chen Muxi raised her hand. “My student just returned from an exchange program at the Spirit Academy, and now you want to send him north to Han Chuan?”

“Yes. This mission is rather challenging.” Grant Char turned to Su Yunzhou, “Cloud State, please distribute the materials and explain.”

“Certainly.” Su Yunzhou handed out the documents.

The other mentors glanced at the files and their expressions changed.

“Dragonfang Island, my homeland. Ten years ago, a conflict over the Twin Moon Cliff territory led the alien races to wage a devastating war against the Sealing Sky Clan. The Saint Sky Guardians intervened, and a peace treaty was signed, putting an end to the carnage,” Su Yunzhou explained.

“In that war, the Sealing Sky Clan lost over fifty thousand, with more than thirty thousand dead. Aside from a few children and youths away from home, the entire clan was nearly wiped out. I was among the survivors, as I happened to be a mentor at the academy then.”

Yang Tianqi nodded gently. He had joined the academy as a mentor the same year as Su Yunzhou, and they had a close rapport.

In Tianqi’s memory, Su Yunzhou had been a cheerful soul, sharing stories of his homeland and making colleagues laugh. After the tragedy, he returned home for a while. When he came back, he still smiled, but never as brightly as before; a sense of detachment and world-weariness lingered about him. The blow had been immense.

“Recently, the alien races have launched a campaign to eradicate all Sealing Sky Clan survivors, even threatening the teachers and students of Han Chuan Academy, severely disrupting the academy’s operations. Therefore, Han Chuan Academy has decided to unite with the other four major academies—” Su Yunzhou paused.

Zhang Zhihao noticed that Su Yunzhou’s hand trembled. The mentor took a deep breath and continued:

“To launch a comprehensive, uncompromising—”

“Purge against the alien races, the mutated dragon kin!”

============== Idle Talk by the Pit =============

The crisis of the Dragon Tribe’s Forbidden Zone is about to begin. Please support the story, everyone!