The sun hung low over the horizon of Silver-Leaf City, casting long, bruised shadows across the cracked marble pillars of the Celestial Path Academy. Once, this place had been a beacon of knowledge, a sanctuary where the brightest stars of the kingdom were forged. Now, it resembled a dying beast—its walls peeling, its gardens overgrown with weeds, and its halls echoing with the silence of a forgotten era.
Inside Classroom 104, a young man sat slumped over a stained wooden desk. Dust motes danced in the single shaft of amber light that managed to pierce through the grime-streaked window.
His name was Lin Fan.
"Ugh..." A sharp, throbbing pain lanced through his skull, as if someone were trying to stitch two different souls together with a blunt needle.
Lin Fan's eyes snapped open. He didn't see the sleek, modern office he expected. Instead, he saw a mountain of dusty scrolls, a flickering oil lamp, and his own hands—pale, thin, and stained with ink.
Memories that weren't his began to unfold in his mind like a blooming lotus. In his previous life on Earth, he was a dedicated scholar, a man who lived and breathed books. But the memories he was absorbing now were filled with bitterness, mockery, and failure.
This world was a vast, unforgiving place known as the Grand Desolate Continent. Here, Cultivation was the only law. Those who could harness the Qi of the heavens were kings; those who couldn't were dust. And at the heart of this civilization stood the Master Teachers—the architects of power, the ones who guided the next generation to greatness.
However, the "Lin Fan" of this world was the polar opposite of a great teacher.
"Zero students..." Lin Fan whispered, his voice dry and raspy. "A failed teacher at a Rank-1 Border Academy... scheduled for eviction in twenty-four hours."
He picked up a crumpled piece of paper on his desk. It was an official notice from the Academy's Administration.
"Teacher Lin Fan, your teaching license is hereby suspended pending permanent revocation. Due to your total lack of student enrollment and the 'Blood-Deviation Incident' involving your last student, you have until sunset tomorrow to recruit at least three students. Fail to do so, and you will be stripped of your robes and banished from the Celestial Path Academy."
Lin Fan leaned back, a bitter smile tugging at his lips. The "Blood-Deviation Incident" was the final nail in his predecessor's coffin. He had tried to teach a student a basic fire-element technique without realizing the student had a cold-natured constitution. The resulting energy clash had nearly killed the boy, ruining Lin Fan's reputation forever.
"What a mess," Lin Fan sighed. He stood up, his legs shaky. He felt weak, his own cultivation stuck at the very first stage of the Body Tempering Realm. In a world where even a common guard was at Stage 3 or 4, he was practically a mortal.
He turned toward a small, rickety bookshelf in the corner. His scholar's instinct compelled him to reach for a book. He picked up a thin, yellowed manual titled [Basic Qi-Sensing Breath].
The moment his fingers touched the parchment, his vision blurred. A thunderous sound echoed in his soul, like the opening of a massive, ancient vault.
[Ding! The Divine Library is Initializing...]
[Soul-Binding Process... 100% Complete.]
[Welcome, Master Lin Fan. The Heavens are flawed; the Library is Truth.]
Lin Fan froze. A translucent, golden screen appeared before his eyes, but it wasn't a flat digital display. It was a 3D projection of a vast, infinite library stretching into the clouds of his mind.
"The Divine Library?"
Suddenly, the book in his hand began to glow. A golden copy of the manual flew into the mental library and landed on a shelf.
[Scanning Book: 'Basic Qi-Sensing Breath'...]
[Analysis Complete.]
[Grade: Common (Low Rank).]
[Number of Flaws: 22.]
Lin Fan stared in shock. As he focused on the word "Flaws," a list appeared:
Inhalation depth is excessive at the three-second mark, causing lung strain.
Qi-pathway omits the secondary meridian in the left arm, leading to 30% energy loss.
The stance causes a subtle tilt in the spine, blocking the flow to the brain...
"My god," Lin Fan breathed out. "I can see the faults of any technique just by touching it?"
He quickly grabbed another book: [Foundation Fist Art].
[Scanning... 35 Flaws Detected!]
Another: [Iron-Skin Tempering].
[Scanning... 19 Flaws Detected!]
He felt a surge of excitement he had never felt before. This wasn't just a library; it was a weapon of absolute perfection. If he knew the flaws, he could fix them. If he fixed them, he could become the greatest teacher the world had ever seen.
"Wait," Lin Fan remembered a core function of the system. "10-to-1 Synthesis."
He looked at the shelf. He had just scanned three books on basic body tempering. He realized that if he gathered seven more, he could merge them.
He didn't waste a second. He rushed out of his classroom and toward the Academy's main library.
The Silent Library
The Academy Library was a Rank-1 facility, meaning it only held basic manuals suited for the Border Cities. To a high-rank Master Teacher, these books were trash. But to Lin Fan, they were raw material.
The librarian, an old man named Elder Mo, didn't even look up as Lin Fan entered. "The Academy is closing, Teacher Lin. Why bother reading? You'll be gone by tomorrow anyway."
Lin Fan ignored the jab. He walked to the 'Body Tempering' section. His hands moved like lightning. He didn't need to read the books—he just needed to touch the spines.
Touch. [Scan: Basic Pushing Palms... 14 Flaws.]
Touch. [Scan: Stone-Crushing Leg... 27 Flaws.]
Touch. [Scan: Seven-Star Breath... 11 Flaws.]
By the time he reached the end of the shelf, he had scanned twenty different manuals.
"System! Synthesize the best 10 Body Tempering techniques!" Lin Fan commanded in his mind.
[Requirement Met: 10 Body-Tempering Manuals Selected.]
[Processing... Extracting Truths... Eliminating Contradictions...]
[Synthesizing...]
[Success! New Manual Created: 'Celestial Path Body Tempering Art' (Grade: Flawless/Heaven-Path).]
A massive wave of information crashed into Lin Fan's brain. It wasn't just words; it was muscle memory, a deep understanding of the human anatomy, and the exact vibration required to harmonize Qi with flesh.
He felt his own body react. Without even trying, his breathing shifted. The "Celestial Path" technique began to run automatically. His dry skin became supple, his dull eyes brightened, and the stagnant Qi in his Dantian began to rotate with the speed of a hurricane.
CRACK!
His bones popped.
[Cultivation Level Up: Body Tempering Stage 2!]
[Cultivation Level Up: Body Tempering Stage 3!]
In just ten seconds, he had surpassed a year's worth of effort.
"Now," Lin Fan whispered, a sharp glint in his eyes. "I have the knowledge. Now I need the students."
The Plaza of Despair
The main plaza of the Celestial Path Academy was a chaotic sea of people. It was the annual Recruitment Day.
On the high stage, several 1-Star Master Teachers sat in ornate chairs, looking down at the nervous teenagers. These teachers were the celebrities of Silver-Leaf City. One was a Master Alchemist, another a Grandmaster of the Sword.
Behind them stood their Divine Halos—ethereal rings of light that signaled their rank. A 1-Star teacher had one to three halos. The more halos, the more students they could guide simultaneously.
Lin Fan walked into the plaza, his simple, faded green robes fluttering in the wind.
"Look! It's the 'Death-Teacher' Lin Fan!" a parent whispered, pulling their child away.
"I heard he almost turned a student into a vegetable last month. Don't let him even look at you!"
Lin Fan ignored the whispers. He wasn't looking for the "geniuses" that everyone else was fighting over. Those kids had "Iron-Body" or "Swift-Wind" bloodlines—common and easy to teach.
He walked toward the far corner of the plaza, a place known as the "Trash Section." This was where the children who had been rejected by every other teacher sat in shame.
There were three of them.
The first was a boy, about fourteen, with skin so pale it was almost translucent. He was coughing into a tattered rag, his body trembling. This was Mu Tie. Everyone said his Dantian was "Broken" because it couldn't hold any heat-based Qi.
The second was a girl with a fierce, stubborn expression. A jagged, red scar ran from her forehead down to her cheek, ruining her beauty. Her name was Ling'er. She had been kicked out of her Clan because she couldn't manifest her family's "Blaze Bloodline."
The third was a chubby boy sitting on the floor, eating a steamed bun with a look of total resignation. This was Fatty Lu. He was rejected because he was "too lazy" and his body absorbed Qi like a sponge but never showed any results in his muscles.
Lin Fan stood before them.
"Why are you here?" Lin Fan asked.
Mu Tie looked up, his eyes hollow. "Because we are wastes, Teacher. My family spent all their money, but my Dantian is a frozen void. I'm just waiting to die."
Lin Fan didn't say a word. He activated his Divine Library and looked at the boy.
[Scanning Student: Mu Tie.]
[Physique: Frozen Dragon Bloodline (Dormant).]
[Condition: Severe Qi-Frostbite due to practicing fire-based 'Iron Skin' technique.]
[Solution: Practice 'Celestial Path Body Tempering' with cold-focus. Success Rate: 100%.]
Lin Fan's heart hammered against his ribs. Frozen Dragon Bloodline? That was one of the Thousands of Rare Bloodlines! In a Rank-1 city like this, nobody had the knowledge to identify it. They thought he was sick, when in reality, he was a sleeping God.
Lin Fan turned to the scarred girl, Ling'er.
[Scanning Student: Ling'er.]
[Physique: Nine-Sun Phoenix Bloodline (Lvl 1 Awakening).]
[Cause of Scar: Attempted bloodline suppression by a rival family.]
Then the fatty.
[Scanning Student: Lu Bao.]
[Physique: Bottomless Void Constitution.]
[Notes: Requires 10x the normal Qi to level up, but results in 100x the normal strength.]
Lin Fan almost laughed out loud. These weren't "trash" students. This was the greatest collection of talent in the entire kingdom, and they were sitting in a pile of dirt because their teachers were idiots.
"Mu Tie," Lin Fan said, his voice echoing with a new authority. "You think you are a waste? I see a Dragon waiting to fly."
Mu Tie froze. "Teacher... don't mock me."
"I don't mock my students," Lin Fan said. He reached out and tapped a specific pressure point on Mu Tie's chest. He used the Deadly Poison Qi conversion—not to kill, but to neutralize the burning fire energy that was trapped in the boy's lungs.
Cough!
Mu Tie spat out a glob of black, foul-smelling blood.
Suddenly, the boy's face regained its color. For the first time in years, the icy chill in his chest felt... comfortable.
"My... my chest doesn't hurt," Mu Tie gasped.
"Follow me," Lin Fan said, looking at all three of them. "I will not promise you an easy life. I will not promise you fame. But I promise you this: by the end of this month, everyone who called you 'trash' will be kneeling at your feet, begging for your mercy."
The three students looked at each other. They saw the sincerity in Lin Fan's eyes—a fire that no other teacher possessed.
"I... I will follow you!" Mu Tie stood up, his legs finally steady.
"Me too," Ling'er said, clutching her fist.
Fatty Lu finished his bun and stood up with a grunt. "If you can make me strong enough to protect my food, I'm in."
The Duel of Wills
As Lin Fan led his three "Trash Students" back toward his classroom, a loud, mocking laugh rang out.
"Stop right there, Lin Fan!"
It was Teacher Zhao. He was a 1-Star Master Teacher with two Divine Halos floating behind his head. He was surrounded by a dozen "Genius" students he had just recruited.
"So, these are your new students?" Zhao pointed at the coughing boy, the scarred girl, and the fat kid. "A cripple, a monster, and a pig. How fitting for the 'Death-Teacher'."
The crowd in the plaza gathered around, sensing a drama.
"Teacher Zhao," Lin Fan said, his voice calm. "A teacher's job is to find the diamond in the coal. If you only pick the diamonds that are already polished, you aren't a teacher—you're just a collector."
Zhao's face turned red. "How dare you! I am a 1-Star Master Teacher! My 'Tiger-Roar Technique' has guided three students to the 5th Stage of Body Tempering! What have you done? You almost killed your last student!"
Lin Fan looked at the "Genius" standing next to Zhao. He touched his chin and smiled.
"The student to your left, the one with the 'Iron Sword' bloodline. He has a flaw in his stance. His right kidney is slightly misaligned. If he practices your 'Tiger-Roar' for another week, he'll become impotent."
The student's face went pale. The crowd gasped.
"You... you dare slander my teaching?!" Zhao roared. He stepped forward, his Qi Stage 6 power exploding out.
"I don't slander. I state facts," Lin Fan said. He looked at the massive Strength Stone nearby—a 5-meter tall obsidian pillar used to measure power.
"Mu Tie," Lin Fan commanded. "Go. Strike the stone using the breathing I just showed you."
"But Teacher... I've never reached even 50 Jin of strength," Mu Tie whispered.
"Trust me. Trust yourself," Lin Fan said.
Mu Tie walked to the stone. He closed his eyes. He felt the "Celestial Path" technique Lin Fan had whispered to him. He felt the ice in his blood turn into a flowing river of power.
He punched.
BOOM!
The obsidian stone vibrated. The numbers on the side glowed with a blinding light.
[Strength: 800 Jin!]
[Rank: 8 Bulls!]
The plaza went dead silent.
800 Jin? That was the strength of a Stage 4 Cultivator! Mu Tie was a kid who had just been "trash" five minutes ago!
Lin Fan looked at Teacher Zhao, whose jaw was practically touching the ground.
"Teacher Zhao," Lin Fan said, his voice cool and sharp. "It seems your 'Geniuses' have a long way to go. My 'Trash' students are just getting started."
Lin Fan turned and walked away, his three students following him with their heads held high