Chapter 768: Eight Senior Sisters in the National Academy

With rounded thighs and slender calves, her perfect curves, combined with fair and delicate skin, created a striking visual impact.

However, Zu An was not in the mood to appreciate it. He looked with some surprise at the sophisticated woman sitting on the windowsill. "Principal Jiang, why are you here?"

"I heard you were ambushed, so I came to check on you. The Xie siblings wanted to come too, but Xie Daoyun was held back by her teacher to draw runes, and Xie Xiu was entangled by his teacher in a chess game. They simply couldn't get away, so they entrusted me to come on their behalf." Jiang Luofu's black hair was coiled up with a jade hairpin, making her neck appear even more slender and elegant, like a swan's. Today, she also wore a pair of exquisite flat-framed glasses. Normally, Zu An's mind would have been filled with fantasies involving teachers, female secretaries, and office ladies.

Looking at her familiar attire, Zu An felt a moment of trance, as if he had returned to his original Earth.

"Did you hit your head? You look a bit foolish right now." The corners of Jiang Luofu's mouth curved slightly into a beautiful arc.

Zu An looked dejected. "You don't seem like you're here to visit an injured person; it's more like you're here to mock me."

"Well, seeing that you're not seriously hurt," Jiang Luofu said. She jumped down from the windowsill and walked gracefully towards him, her long, fair, and slender legs moving elegantly. It had to be said that even her casual stroll was a delightful sight.

In Zu An's impression, perhaps only Miss World Zhang Zilin or Victoria's Secret supermodels from his previous life possessed such grace.

"There's quite a bit of dust on this window; you should clean it properly." Jiang Luofu said, patting the dust off her backside, a slight frown on her face.

Zu An said apologetically, "I only moved into this mansion recently, and I haven't really maintained it. I only added a few servants a while ago."

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but think of Chu Chuyan. He never expected that despite her usual cold demeanor, she was so considerate deep down.

"Why didn't you use the main entrance? Why climb through the window?" Although the mansion had some simple defensive formations, they clearly couldn't stop a true master.

Jiang Luofu also looked dejected. "I tried the main entrance at first, but your servants said you were in a bad mood today and not seeing visitors, so I had no choice but to climb in."

"My apologies," Zu An said with an awkward laugh. Only then did he remember that he had been disheartened upon his return and had indeed given those instructions to his servants.

"It seems you're genuinely not in a good mood today. Normally, given your personality, you'd already be flirting with me. What happened?" Jiang Luofu looked a little surprised.

"Nonsense, am I that kind of person?" Zu An immediately sat up, but quickly deflated again. "Chu Chuyan returned to Brightmoon City."

Jiang Luofu uttered an "Oh?" "I didn't expect you to be such a romantic."

Zu An: "..."

"Big Sister, you're clearly complimenting me, but the more I listen, the more it sounds like an insult."

Jiang Luofu smiled. After coming to his side, her expression grew serious. "I heard you might have been hit by a siege crossbow bolt. How are your injuries now?"

"It's nothing serious..." Zu An was interrupted before he could finish.

Jiang Luofu said directly, "Take off your clothes and let me see."

Zu An: "..."

Are mature older women always this forward? Why does it feel like our roles have been reversed?

As he hesitated, Jiang Luofu had already reached his side and, without a word, pulled his clothes open.

Zu An looked exasperated. "Principal Jiang, are you molesting me?"

"You little brat, talking smart with me?" Jiang Luofu scoffed. "Also, I'm no longer the principal; you don't need to call me that."

"Not the principal anymore?" Zu An was startled.

"Didn't I tell you I was transferred back to the Imperial Academy in the capital? The current principal is Chancellor Chen." Jiang Luofu explained while examining his injuries. "Oh, it really did pierce your chest! But how did your injuries heal so quickly?"

No matter how fast Zu An recovered, such a large hole in his chest should still be lighter in color now and show signs of scabbing.

"You know I'm exceptionally talented," Zu An chuckled. Anyway, she hadn't seen other super-grade talents, so there was no one else she could ask for confirmation.

Jiang Luofu, with one arm crossed over her chest and the other hand on her chin, murmured to herself, "Super-grade talent with such powerful regenerative abilities? That's truly defying nature. No wonder there have been so few such individuals throughout history, and those who did exist eventually became legendary figures."

Zu An inwardly groaned beside her, "I can't take this anymore." Her mature office lady style of dress was one thing, but her current posture was also exceptionally alluring. *Ah, these women are all finding ways to tempt me into making mistakes.*

After a moment, she snapped back to reality. "By the way, besides visiting you, I also wanted to tell you something."

"What?" Seeing her serious attitude, Zu An also dropped his nonchalant smile.

"From what I've learned these past few days," Jiang Luofu said, a hint of concern entering her cool, alluring eyes, "I found that since you arrived in the capital, you seem to have survived several assassination attempts. In addition, various factions have overtly and covertly targeted you several times."

Zu An sighed. "What can I do? I'm always so eye-catching. No matter where I go, I attract envy from my peers. They naturally wish I were dead."

"Your mouth is certainly as glib as ever," Jiang Luofu said with a smile. "Do you still remember your status as a teacher at Brightmoon Academy?"

"Yes, a temporary worker," Zu An grumbled.

Jiang Luofu: "..."

"Now that I'm back at the Imperial Academy, I'm trying to see if I can get you a teaching position here again. If you have the title of an Imperial Academy teacher, I imagine any faction trying to target you would think twice."

Zu An couldn't help but be surprised. "Principal Jiang, why are you so good to me?"

"Perhaps we're destined," Jiang Luofu chuckled. "Don't get the wrong idea. I simply find you agreeable, and your super-grade talent makes me very curious to see how far you can grow."

"There's no love involved at all?" Zu An felt a little disappointed.

Jiang Luofu's expression darkened. "Get lost!"

"Come on, let's go to the academy to pay our respects to Chancellor. To become a teacher at the academy, you need his approval." Jiang Luofu stood up from the stool, her long legs truly luminous.

"Okay." Zu An had long wanted to meet the Chancellor and get answers to his confusions.

"Then let's go." Jiang Luofu snapped her fingers with flair, then turned and left.

The servants in the mansion watched Zu An and her walk out, one after the other, their eyes widened in amazement. A group of maids and servants quietly whispered:

"Those long legs are simply out of this world, aren't they?"

"Hmph, she dresses so provocatively. Nowhere near as good as our young mistress."

"Our young mistress just left how long ago, and Master has already hooked up with another woman. Tsk, what a scumbag!"

"What do you know? This only proves how charming Master is."

...

The Imperial Academy was located at the foot of Jade Spring Mountain, west of the city.

There weren't many mountainous areas within the entire capital city. The most magnificent and beautiful were Purple Gold Mountain and Jade Spring Mountain.

At the foot of Purple Gold Mountain stood the imperial palace, while the Imperial Academy was located at the foot of Jade Spring Mountain. This demonstrated the academy's extraordinary status.

Zu An followed Jiang Luofu all the way to the foot of Jade Spring Mountain. In front of them stood a magnificent archway with vermilion columns and a blue base, bearing three grand, gilded characters written in a flourishing style: "Guozijian."

Noticing the confusion in Zu An's eyes, Jiang Luofu explained, "The Imperial Academy was originally called Guozijian. It was later renamed the Royal Imperial Academy. However, because this plaque was inscribed by the first Chancellor and was connected to the academy's mountain-guarding array, it has been kept ever since."

"Why was it renamed the Imperial Academy?" Zu An's expression was strange. "This name sounds so modern. Could it be that some transmigrator senior changed it?"

Jiang Luofu was startled. "You've really stumped me with that one. I don't know when it was changed. It seems everyone just started calling it that without realizing it."

"Oh?" Zu An fell into contemplation.

After passing through the archway, they entered a straight, tree-lined avenue. The large trees on both sides were tall and ancient; it was clear they were quite old, further testament to the academy's profound history.

Next, they arrived at a grand, square gate. A plaque above it bore the large characters "Royal Imperial Academy." The calligraphy clearly indicated it wasn't by the same hand as the outer archway.

Perhaps because they recognized Jiang Luofu, the guards at the gate did not stop them.

Zu An followed Jiang Luofu inside, finding that the overall impression it gave him was completely different from Brightmoon Academy.

Brightmoon Academy was noticeably newer, both its trees and buildings, making it appear bright and shiny.

The overall color scheme of the Imperial Academy appeared somewhat darker. Firstly, due to the towering trees within, and secondly, many buildings appeared old. Moreover, the walls were covered with climbing plants like ivy, exuding a sense of age everywhere.

Zu An suddenly felt something unusual because some passing students not far away kept glancing in his direction.

This time, he didn't narcissistically assume those people were looking at him. It was mainly because Jiang Luofu's long legs were simply too eye-catching. Furthermore, although the Great Zhou Dynasty was more open than any ancient Chinese dynasty, those dressed like her were still extremely rare.

Many bolder students even whistled and winked in their direction.

"You haven't seen her wear stockings on a normal day, all kinds of black, white, and nude ones, never repeating a style each day. Oh, just talking about it is unbearable!"

"Are you crazy? She seems to be the new Teacher Jiang at the academy! And I heard she used to be a principal of a prefecture academy!"

"Tsk tsk, a principal! That makes me even more excited!"

...

A group of male students huddled together in the distance, whispering. Their voices were as low as they could make them, but Zu An and Jiang Luofu's cultivation levels were so profound now that they could hear almost every word clearly.

Zu An's expression was strange. "I thought the people at the Imperial Academy would have a higher moral standing. I didn't expect them to be so... fond of women as well."

A faint smile played on Jiang Luofu's lips. "At such a vigorous age, it would be abnormal not to have such thoughts."

Zu An was a little surprised. "Aren't you angry?"

"Why should I be angry?" Jiang Luofu looked at him with a strange expression. "I dress this way precisely to be seen. The more they like it, the more it proves that I look good in what I'm wearing. I'm too busy being happy to be angry."

Zu An: "..."

"What you said makes so much sense. For a moment, I didn't know how to refute it."

*Ah, mature women truly are different from ordinary young girls. If it were a naive young girl, being looked at and teased like this, she'd probably be mortified with shame.*

*Is this the charm of a sophisticated woman?*

*Speaking of which, if I had known this earlier, Wei Suo wouldn't have had to peek at you furtively back then. He could have just stared openly.*

Jiang Luofu clearly didn't take this little interlude to heart. She continued walking inwards while introducing, "The academy is divided into the front and back mountains. The front mountain is what you see now, similar to Brightmoon Academy. Teachers of various subjects provide general courses to all students."

"The back mountain is mainly where the Chancellor's direct disciples cultivate and study. At the same time, when outstanding students emerge from the front mountain, they can apprentice themselves to those direct disciples and receive one-on-one tailored instruction from those teachers."

Zu An thought to himself, *Isn't this just like undergraduates and graduate students from my previous life? Hmm, or in xianxia novels, outer disciples and inner disciples?*

"Joining the back mountain is the second biggest goal pursued by many students at the Imperial Academy," Jiang Luofu continued.

Zu An was stunned. "What's the first goal?"

Jiang Luofu replied, "Of course, it's to become a personal disciple of the Chancellor. However, over the years, the Chancellor has only accepted 12 disciples. This goal is clearly very difficult to achieve."

"Twelve, huh." It wasn't the first time Zu An had heard that the Chancellor had 12 disciples. "Oh, right, does the academy have alchemy cauldrons?"

He had always been thinking about getting an alchemy cauldron. After all, ordinary medicinal furnaces couldn't be used for alchemy, and he had asked many people, all of whom said only the academy had them.

"Alchemy cauldron?" Jiang Luofu was startled. "What do you want an alchemy cauldron for?"

"Just to play around with alchemy," Zu An replied.

Jiang Luofu widened her eyes, her voice involuntarily rising. "You can do alchemy?"

Zu An became dejected. "What kind of look is that? Can't I know how to do alchemy?"

"It is a bit unusual. After all, it has a very high barrier to entry. You really do give me a lot of surprises, kid," Jiang Luofu said with a smile. "Alright, after we visit Chancellor later, I'll go to Shen Xuzi and get you an alchemy cauldron. In the entire capital, his alchemy skills are unmatched."

"Shen Xuzi?" Zu An was startled. *There are people in the world who take Daoist titles like that?*

A hint of a smile appeared on Jiang Luofu's face. She clearly guessed what he was thinking. "It's the character 'shen' from 'even.' He greatly admires the great alchemist masters from history, such as Chong Xuzi, Xuan Xuzi, Qing Xuzi, and so on. So he also wanted to take a similar name for himself. Unfortunately, most alchemists throughout history had the same idea, almost exhausting all available 'Xus.' In desperation, he decided to find another path and gave himself the title 'Shen Xuzi.' That way, even if he achieves nothing in the field of alchemy later, he can still be remembered in history by this name."

"He's quite a character," Zu An couldn't help but laugh. He thought, *Is he sure he'll be remembered in history? He might just become a historical laughingstock.*

At the same time, a luxurious carriage ascended the mountain path to Fish Peak of Dong'e, the highest point of Jade Spring Mountain's back side.

"Stop the carriage. I will walk the rest of the way, lest it seem disrespectful to Chancellor." A pleasant female voice rang out from within the carriage.

A palace maid quickly opened the carriage door and assisted her mistress in disembarking.

A magnificent palace gown was revealed. Accompanied by the crisp jingle of jade ornaments, a stunning beauty slowly stepped down from the carriage.

"Crown Princess, be careful," a maid beside her reminded. It turned out that this group was none other than the Crown Princess and her entourage.

Bi Linglong smiled faintly. "Don't worry, I'm not that fragile."

She looked up and surveyed the pond not far away. The pond water was clear. The surface was covered with emerald lotus leaves, subtly adorned with lotus flowers of various colors: pink, light yellow, pure white...

Together, they formed an exquisite picture. It was a sight that captivated the heart and refreshed the spirit with just one glance.

The Crown Princess couldn't help but exclaim, "The climate at this mountaintop is rather cold, originally unsuitable for lotus growth. Yet this pond of lotuses thrives so splendidly. Chancellor truly possesses divine craftsmanship."

"So the Crown Princess is also a flower lover." A deep voice slowly emanated from the distant pine forest. It was neither joyful nor sorrowful; one could not discern the speaker's mood.

The Crown Princess bowed. "Linglong has come to pay respects to Chancellor."

No answering voice came through the wind. There was only a creaking sound, evidently the sound of a large door opening.

The Crown Princess's face lit up with joy. It was well known that the Chancellor rarely received visitors; his willingness to see her implied a good start. She quickly gestured for her attendants to remain there and wait for her, then walked alone into the pine forest.

On the other side, as Zu An and Jiang Luofu passed a lawn, they saw a group of young students in the distance, arguing heatedly, their faces red.

"Nonsense! How can fire not be hot?"

"Of course fire can be not hot. Because 'fire' is a name, and 'hot' is a reality. 'Fire' is not hot; if 'fire' were hot, people's mouths would burn when they say the word 'fire.' Since saying 'fire' doesn't burn their mouths, it's clear that fire is not hot."

"You're just twisting words!"

"Do you think I'm wrong? If I'm wrong, then point it out. But you can't point it out; you can only say I'm wrong. That's not the way of our School of Names. Teacher, don't you think I'm right?"

The student then bowed to a short, plump man who was sitting. Although the plump man was heavy-set, he wore a green scholar's robe and a hat on his head. He had a walrus mustache, and his whole demeanor exuded an inexplicable humor.

Upon hearing this, the plump man said, "Piao Guochang has a point; he has grasped the essence of our School of Names."

After receiving his praise, the student who had been speaking so eloquently looked smug and cast a challenging glance at his classmate.

The other student, however, looked dejected. After all, he had lost face in front of the teacher and became someone else's stepping stone.

Zu An couldn't help but look at Jiang Luofu beside him. "Is that allowed?"

Jiang Luofu gave a wry smile. "That's the way of the School of Names. That's how their lineage operates. That short, plump man is one of the Chancellor's direct disciples, Yin Shi, who ranks eleventh."

Zu An thought to himself, *Aren't these just a bunch of argumentative types? Jiao Sigun would definitely be in his element here.*

*Wait a minute. This guy is also ranked eleventh... Why the hell am I so destined to meet argumentative people?*

Just then, the short, plump man named Yin Shi seemed to sense something and subconsciously looked back in their direction.

Jiang Luofu's expression changed. She quickly grabbed Zu An's hand. "Quick, let's go!"

Zu An was bewildered. *Why leave? Could there be danger even in the venerable Imperial Academy?*

But the immense force pulling his arm showed Jiang Luofu was not joking. He stumbled, pulled along.

Zu An quickly heightened his vigilance and prepared for battle at any moment.

Suddenly, his vision blurred. A fleshy ball rolled in front of them. Only when it stretched out its limbs and stood up did he realize it was the same Yin Shi from before.

"Oh, it's Eighth Senior Sister," Yin Shi said with a smile, stroking his walrus mustache. "Why do you run when you see me?"

Zu An looked at Jiang Luofu in surprise. "Eighth Senior Sister?"