The moment Xuan Mu pushed the door open, the light flickered inside.
There was no window nor table inside this classroom, nothing but a chair decorated with draconic symbols. It was as if only the ultimate supreme would be able to sit on it.
Yet, the teacher was nowhere to be found.
Xuan Mu paused, uncertainty gnawing at him, yet he moved forward, stepping inside.
The moment he sat down on the chair, the scene changed.
Before him was a majestic palace, the place where a king of the heavens would reside. He was sitting in its throne, as though it was the most natural thing in the world. It felt as if the chair belonged to him alone, and none other could claim it.
"Whoosh!" Infinite light was released suddenly from his chest. His sea of memories was illuminated as well as the deepest depths of his soul!
However, an even more incredible thing happened. The sealed location in his mind suddenly unlocked completely with a click.
Countless feelings raged in his heart as if he had returned to the past. His sealed heart had it layers unwrapped one by one.
"Boom!" His dao heart appeared, the source of this peerless light. Nothing could stop the power from his dao heart, capable of piercing through all things.
The light pierced through the palace with a force capable of piercing through three thousand worlds.
Xuan Mu's dao heart was illuminating everything now, turning him into the sole ruler.
"I am now back. The heavens will need to play nice this generation or I'll destroy them all! I'll be the last one standing till the end of time!" Xuan Mu proudly claimed.
The light from his chest quickly receded. Although the light was very strong, it failed to penetrate through the walls of this hidden dimension. The Earth outside never knew what happened inside.
This was a place cut off from the world.
Sitting upon his throne, he slowly closed his eyes as if he wanted to sleep here. Everything became incredibly quiet and peaceful — a state of gentle repose.
This place was a self-contained space, and it was tightly linked together with the Huanglong Academy. If the academy was one side of a coin, then this space that contained Xuan Mu was the other; the two of them were one and the same. This spatial realm was unable to be clearly discerned by anyone.
After a long time, he opened his eyes as stood up and began to walk towards outside the palace gates.
There were ancient temples and jade pavilions everywhere as if this location was hiding countless secrets.
One would find rows of shelves made from sacred wood scattered around on the ground. Decay was virtually impossible for them. Jade scrolls and boxes were everywhere on the shelves.
A few of them didn't have any light but when one got closer, they would feel a terrible and chilling divinity.
Without a doubt, the best artifacts were contained within all of these boxes.
However, the jade scrolls were arranged in an orderly fashion. Some were covered in dust but one could still see the words "battle arts", "secret laws", and "divine techniques".
Though he was the one who gathered them, thus he must know them all too well, Xuan Mu still need look at these scrolls again to remember them.
"Buzz." An erased memory suddenly popped in his head and his lost memories suddenly resurfaced. He could only recall a tiny portion of his knowledge, so he would need to lay his eyes again upon further pieces of ancient knowledge to fully awakened his sealed memories.
Xuan Mu's location inside this self-contained space was still the Foundation classroom. After taking all the treasures and resources, he sat down again in his throne.
He then turned the armrest of the chair. With a whooshing sound, he instantly disappeared.
At the next moment, he turned up on his classroom.
A young man was found bowing on the ground, his posture respectful and measured, holding a cup and a plate in his hands with delicate pastries. A delicate fragrance of tea permeated the air, carrying with it the essence of the spring season.
His demeanor was steady, and within his eyes flickered a profound intelligence, one that could not be discerned by mere appearance. He was neither handsome nor imposing, but there was an aura about him—a quiet force that came not from his looks, but from the depths of his cultivated mind.
"This is spring tea, please try it." The young man said, holding the cup with both hands.
"The tea isn't bad at all, though you need to improve your pastry skills." Xuan Mu accepted it, enjoying both the snack and the tea.
"T-thank you for your advice senior, I'll keep it in mind," the young man replied, his voice faltering for just a moment.
Although he kept a reclusive identity, he was still a very prestigious person.
Based on the time Xuan Mu joined the academy, Xuan Mu would be his junior. However, because he heard from the Principal that Zhao Jinxiu, the Founder of the Huanglong Academy seemed to hold him the highest regard, anyone within the third generation – no matter how young or old – would have to respect him as if he was their elder.
If he didn't have a debt towards the Principal, the one who had helped him when he was abandoned and turned his life around, he wouldn't have done this in the first place. Yet, not only did Xuan Mu fail to show gratitude, but he also had the audacity to critique him. He simply endured it.
The Founder had been here since the inception of the academy. This meant that he had lived over 300 long years. That would be an ancestor of his ancestor. So, with Xuan Mu being related to such a person, this treatment became, at the very least, tolerable.
"You do not understand," With a calm expression, Xuan Mu took another sip of the tea as he chuckled: "It is an honor to receive advice from me. You may not realize it now, but one day, you will."
The young man's eyes narrowed, a spark of indignation stirring within him.
"Senior, your words are indeed... profound," the young man spoke, his tone calm but firm, "However, respect must be earned. Only then will I deem it worthy to listen."
"Earned, you say?" Xuan Mu's lips curled into a slight, amused smile. "You'll come to learn that some things aren't earned—they simply are. Whether you choose to grasp it now or later makes no difference; time has a way of teaching all lessons, in its own manner."
The young man fell silent. Had others heard Xuan Mu's words, they would have mocked him without a second thought. If the Principal of Huanglong Academy, or even any senior, had spoken, it would have been believable. But for someone younger than him? It was simply absurd.
"That old geezer Jinxiu, is he still dragging his decaying shell around, or has he finally learned to stay down?" Xuan Mu asked, his voice indifferent.
The young man changed his expression after hearing this. His face darkened.
Xuan Mu's attitude was simply too arrogant towards the Founder.