"How dare you hold me back like this? Who on earth do you even think you are?" Wei Feng spoke, his voice laced with anger.
"This was just a punch. What makes you think I would waste my energy on you—"
Before Wei Feng could finish his statement, a loud crackling sound rang through the crowd.
"Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!" Wei Feng shouted in pain as Lu Chang twisted.
"You call yourself a genius, but you're just a firecracker. One big bang, and now you're just damp paper. Get lost before I decide to fix your 'short-stamina' problem by removing the source entirely," Lu Chang said with a straight face, turning to glance at Qin Yue, who was rooted to the spot, scared to move, as though she was frozen there.
'How cute,' Lu Chang thought as he scanned her one more time.
"This can't be happening. Wei Feng is really moving away. Wait, I thought Lu Chang was the coward—turns out I was wrong," someone said as the crowd watched Wei Feng walk away in utter defeat, his face still twisted in pain.
The crowd started to disperse gradually, dumbfounded by what they saw.
"That guy might be sandbagging," someone said as he kept staring at him.
When the crowd finally dispersed, Lu Chang began to speak.
"Become my student, and in a week your core will be back to full function. Fail to do so, and your core will burst open tomorrow, killing you."
Lu Chang said this because from the book he read on Qin Yue, he could tell she kept trying hard to cultivate each day, which kept freezing her core, and inevitably it would crack and burst within a day.
Qin Yue raised her head in utter disbelief; her core was shattered. No teacher in this academy would want a student with a crippled core.
Definitely, it was an opportunity she desperately needed to jump on.
But she was hesitant; besides, what much could a teacher with zero stars to his name do for a normal student, talk less of her, who had a crippled core?
Qin Yue was lost in thought, not realizing that Lu Chang had already begun heading back to his cottage.
She quickly rushed after him. After all, she didn't have many options; her core was crippled.
********
It took Lu Chang just thirty minutes to arrive back at his cottage. It was obviously very old, since he was not even a one-star teacher.
He wasn't able to get the meal anymore because of the coincidence, but looking at the good side, that might have brought him a student.
"Excuse me, sir, I think I might be interested in being your student, as far as my core can be fixed," Qin Yue said, her head down as she circled lines with her feet on the floor.
Lu Chang heard the familiar voice and instinctively directed her inside the cottage.
He moved right to his inner room immediately, where he took his seat in front of the old dusty table.
"You said you want to be my student, right?" Lu Chang asked as he scrambled for the student–teacher signing documents.
Qin Yue only nodded as she watched him fiddle through the papers.
"Then sign this. Once you're done, we can begin. Firstly, we will start by reviving that core of yours," he said instinctively, pushing a pen and paper forward for her to sign.
She took a deep breath and finally signed the documents.
With a satisfying smile, Lu chang pulled the paper back and tucked it in,
before turning, adjusting himself, and focusing on Qin Yue.
"You feel it, don't you? Every time you try to circulate mana, it feels like needles of ice piercing your lower abdomen.
That's because your 'Jade Pillar' is suffocating. My remedy is simple: Manual Yang Stimulation. I will manually force my heat into those blocked points.
It will be painful. It will be… stimulating. And it will be the only reason you ever cultivate again. Now, strip to your inner robe and lie on the desk. We're losing sunlight," Lu Chang said, his voice as professional as it could be.
Qin Yue's eyes were filled with shock and reproach. What a pervert, she thought inwardly, deciding to leave immediately—but Lu Chang caught the strain in her expression.
"I do not have time to waste. There are other students who need help.
If you want to remain crippled, then leave and continue your life," Lu Chang said, pulling out the signed documents and lighting a candle, waiting for her decision.
He saw the resistance in her eyes; he was sure he was playing his cards right. Of course, he didn't want to lose such a student, but he had to be on top to gain her trust.
Qin Yue took a deep breath as she gave Lu Chang a long look before reaching for her robes. After all, there was nothing to lose; it was better to have something with a teacher than to remain crippled.
After all, he sounded so professional; besides, it was a risk worth taking.
"You know what? Just lie down and let me handle it. It looks like you're a little shy." Lu Chang stood up, stretching like it was going to be a hard day.
Meanwhile, he couldn't wait to dive into this cultivation technique.
Qin Yue lay on the desk as commanded, her figure shaking as she did. Lu Chang readily waited at the edge so as not to look desperate.
After she was settled in, Lu Chang finally spoke.
He looked over her figure; her robes slightly exposed her delicate thighs. He could barely wait to begin the process.
But professionalism is everything.
"This process will take a while, but as long as you follow all my instructions to the letter, you will have a fully functioning core at the end. Are you with me?" Lu Chang said, looking at Qin Yue.
She nodded slightly, her face holding a glimmer of hope.