Chapter Five No Seniority

  Chen Luo's identity as Tong Tian Lao Zu is known only to his master in this world, and no one else. Not even Tu Lao Tou knows about it. The things he did a few years ago were too crazy, including openly despising the central array towers of various domains. And Tu Lao Tou was the tower master. If he knew that Chen Luo had once despised them, the consequences would be unbearable.

  The space inside the room was not very large, and Chen Luo felt a cool breeze as soon as he walked in. He knew that there must be a small cooling array set up here. In the center of the room, an old man with grayish-white long hair was reclining on a wooden chair, its four legs curved in a semi-circle. The old man sat comfortably, swaying gently back and forth.

  "Put down the fruit and thank you on behalf of the old man, the owner of this garden."

  The old butcher closed his eyes, listened to the little tune, stretched out his hand and signaled for the other person to leave.

  "I wonder if Mr. Tu would still like this 'Heart Lock Melody'?"

  Chen Luo walked over and sat down beside him. Without being polite, he casually picked up some fruits on the table and started eating them.

  "Ah, this tune..." Old Butcher said, as if feeling something was off, the slowly swaying chair suddenly stopped, and a pair of eyes that were originally closed suddenly opened wide. He sat up slowly, turned his head to look around, and when he saw Chen Luo who was crazily devouring fruit, Old Butcher's expression changed to one of surprise, then immediately turned into great joy. He stood up, rushed over, and hugged Chen Luo, laughing loudly: "Luo kid, you're finally out! Haha! You really made our family worry to death!"

  "Get out! You old fogey!"

  Although Chen Luo knew that Tu Lao was a hypocrite who put on a dignified front in public but was actually a despicable old man, he was still disgusted by his enthusiasm this time and quickly pushed him away, angrily saying: "I've been released long ago."

  "Hey, being locked up for over a year and your temper has gotten worse!" Old Butcher pulled over a chair and sat down beside him, eyeing Chen Luo slantingly as he scolded: "I didn't say you were the one who...you said you were fine, what's with going to meddle in dark things? Now look at you, you've been caught!"

  Chen Luo was now dizzy with hunger and had no mood to talk about this, so he picked up the fruit one by one and gnawed on them.

  "I say, Xiaozi, even if you've just been released from prison, it shouldn't be this bad, should it? You look like a ghost who's starved to death."

  "I haven't eaten for two days, get me something to eat!" In this world, Butcher Laotou is probably the only person who doesn't know how to be polite to Chen Luo.

  The old butcher curled his lip in disdain, then called over a young servant and ordered a table full of fine wine and delicacies. Chen Luo grasped a chicken leg in one hand and gnawed on a pig's trotter with the other, eating vigorously for a whole quarter of an hour before finally letting out a satisfied belch and saying lazily: "Do you also think I'm trying to take a shortcut by resorting to darkness?"

  "What's wrong, listening to your tone, the Guardians of Light are framing you?"

  Chen Luo shook his head, but couldn't help smiling wryly. He couldn't very well tell Old Man Tu that he had been tainted by darkness because he was trying to crack a strange formation, could he? His secret was known only to his late master, and no one else in this world. Old Man Tu only knew that Chen Luo was extremely talented in the field of formations, but he had no idea what Chen Luo had been up to all these years.

  Chen Luo didn't explain, and Old Man Tu glared at him, saying: "This is enough, they're not framing you."

  "Alas." Chen Luo could only sigh.

  "You're so stupid." Old Butcher started scolding again: "You said you have such a good array talent, why bother practicing to be a wizard? Being an array master is much more awesome! With your talent, as long as I train you, it won't take a few years for you to become the top array master in the Xuan Huang world. If I say so, it's all because of that Cloud Wanderer bastard that you ended up like this."

  "What does this have to do with my master?"

  "What's wrong with that? Hmph! At first, I said let you follow me to learn array techniques. But Cloud Wandering Child, this rascal, refused and said he would teach you himself. I admit that he has some real skills in the field of arrays, but after all, he is just an unverified wandering array master who hasn't systematically studied array knowledge. He's completely walking a wild path, how can he understand teaching you?"

  In Chen Luo's memory, Tu Lao Tou, a certified array master, often looked down on his master, saying that he was from a humble background and walked an unconventional path, unable to take the stage. Occasionally, Master would also mock him for not understanding flexibility, and sometimes even set up some 'wild' array methods, leaving Tu Lao Tou speechless.

  The master's skills are very great, he just rarely shows them in front of outsiders.

  Chen Luo knew that every time Tu Lao Tou played against Shifu, he had never won. After losing, he would always despise Shifu for being a rough and unorthodox player. Chen Luo was sure that Tu Lao Tou also knew that Shifu's skills were superior to his own, although he had never admitted it out loud. However, Chen Luo remembered the moving sighs Tu Lao Tou made at Shifu's grave after his death, so even though Tu Lao Tou kept criticizing Shifu now, Chen Luo didn't retort.

  It seems that scolding his master in front of Chen Luo is not good, and Butcher Laotou also feels a bit tired, dry mouth and tongue, glances at Chen Luo with a bowl of wine and drinks it all, sees Chen Luo gnawing on the fruit, and asks in a bad tone: "Luo Xiazi, I heard that you were expelled by Xiao Luotian Temple when you came back the other day? What are you going to do next?"

  "What else can I do? Take it one step at a time. I promised Master that I would pass the assessment and enter the gates of Central Academy."

  "You only have one year, it's not that our family looks down on you, but with your situation, wanting to pass the assessment of the Central Academy in a year is simply impossible. Even if I were as talented as the legendary genius of my generation, I wouldn't dare say such a thing."

  "You are you, I am me, your incompetence doesn't mean I'm incompetent." Chen Luo had been following Tu Lao around since he was a kid, and after several years, the two of them would often bicker and quarrel, but they were used to it.

  "You little rascal!" Old Butcher spat contemptuously: "You really have no shame!"

  "You're not ashamed to call yourself a genius of heaven and earth, what do I have to be ashamed of?"

  "It's been over a year since we last met, and your kid's face has gotten a lot thicker." After that, Butcher Old Man started chatting with Chen Luo again, asking about his plans, to which Chen Luo only replied that he had no plans, just looking for a place to stay.

  "Since you have nowhere to live, come to our Array Tower first. We'll train you for a few years and make you a top-notch Array Master!" Old Slaughter had long wanted to take Chen Luo as his disciple due to his exceptional talent in array magic, but Chen Luo had always refused, using various excuses.

  "This...my master wants me to take the entrance exam for Central Academy." Chen Luo replied with some difficulty.

  "You good-for-nothing thing, what's so great about the Central Academy? Do you know what kind of behavior this is? You're wasting your talent in array techniques, you'll be condemned by heaven...!" The emperor isn't anxious but the eunuch is, watching Chen Luo, who has a talent for array techniques, not studying hard, Old Butcher was furious. With a "bang", he opened the wine jar, took a few gulps, sighed and said: "We won't force you to join the Array Tower anymore, if you don't come to our family's academy to cultivate, do you have any objections?"

  "Your college? You still have a college? How come I don't know?" Now it's Chen Luo's turn to be curious, since he got to know Butcher Old Man, he really hadn't heard that this old man had a college.

  "You don't know many things, our family is not only the master of the Array Tower, but also the principal of Xiaojin Gou Academy."

  "Xiao Jingu College? The Xiao Jingu College in Changxin City? The Xiao Jingu College that ranked last among the over 20 colleges in Jinshui Domain? And you're the principal of Xiao Jingu? Hahaha!" Chen Luo burst out laughing. Although he had never been to Xiao Jingu, he had still heard of its "great name". In the Jinshui Domain's martial arts competitions, Xiao Jingu always ranked last. He couldn't believe that Butcher Old Man was actually the principal of Xiao Jingu. He had thought of using this opportunity to humiliate him a bit, but didn't do so in the end, and even stopped laughing.

  Because he suddenly remembered that Xiaojingou was the only free academy in the entire Jingshui domain, which didn't care about qualifications or family background, as long as one wanted to cultivate, regardless of age, they could become a disciple of Xiaojingou. Thinking of this, Chen looked at Tu Lao and his originally disreputable image suddenly became radiant and upright. He said sincerely: "Tu Lao, I didn't expect that you would do something so kind."

  "You little scamp, what kind of talk is this? When has our family ever done anything inhumane? Don't give me nonsense, are you coming or not?"

  Chen shrugged and smiled: "Anyway, I have nowhere else to go. If you're willing to take me in, that's the best."

  ……

  Xiao Jingou Academy is a special academy in Changxin City and even the entire Jinshui region. It doesn't have a long history like other academies, having only been established for 26 years. However, its reputation isn't low. Of course, it's not because of the academy's strong strength, but because this academy unconditionally accepts any apprentice. Yes! Without any conditions, poor qualifications? No problem, other academies don't accept you? Can come here, family is poor? Can't afford tuition? No problem, can come here, already 18 years old and didn't get into a higher institution? No problem, can come here. In short, as long as you want to cultivate, you can join Xiao Jingou Academy.

  Despite this, the number of apprentices in Xiaojin Gou Academy is still not many. After all, cultivation is a big deal and it's related to one's future prospects. Those who have the conditions will naturally go to famous academies like Xiaolu Tian, and even if they don't have the conditions, they'll create them to let their children get in.

  In the afternoon, Chen Luo followed Tu Lao's lead to Xiao Jinguo College. Looking at the stone tablet in front of the main gate, he shook his head with a smile and asked: "I say, Tu Lao, when you first established the college, why did you give it such a tacky name? Xiao Jinguo? You could have called it Da Jinguo, at least that sounds more impressive than Xiao Jinguo."

  "Wouldn't it be more impressive if our family's name was Old Golden Gully?" Butcher Old Man glared at him and responded, "It's just a name, what do you know? This place used to be a desolate Spiritual Stone mountain range, where golden stones were once unearthed. Later, the spiritual vein was abandoned, and people started calling it Little Golden Gully. The academy was established here, so of course it would be called Little Golden Gully, out of respect! It shows our family's respect for the land!"

  "Alright." Chen Luo stopped asking because he knew that once Butcher Old Man mentioned the two words "respectfully", it meant he was very serious.

  "Later, when we enter the academy, you must be humble and respectful to our family, do you understand?" Seeing Chen Luo nodding, Tu Lao Tou adjusted his robe, put his hands behind his back, and walked into the academy. Chen Luo followed behind him, looking around in all directions. The academy was much larger than he had imagined, and overall it looked simple and unadorned. Although it wasn't as luxurious as the Xiao Luo Tian Academy, it also had a kind of rustic beauty.

  Walking on the small path of the college, many students saw Tou Lao Tou and respectfully shouted "Principal", while Tou Lao Tou also nodded in response, speaking with concern. If Chen Luo didn't know what kind of person Tou Lao Tou was, he would have thought that this guy was a prestigious principal.

  "Director, you...you've come!"

  A loud, hoarse voice came over, Chen Luo looked back and a sturdy-looking big guy ran over, his skin was dark and rough, with bulging muscles all over his body, the veins on his arms were like small snakes wrapped around his arms, standing there like a small mountain, really too majestic.

  "Come on, let me introduce you, Niu Wen, this is Chen Luo, the new apprentice at our Xiaojin Gou Academy."

  "Chen Luo, he's a senior student, although also an apprentice, but he's more sensible, so he temporarily takes over the college affairs, later if you have any questions you don't understand, you can find him."

  Chen Luo nodded and walked forward, saying "Chen Luo, take care."

  "Chen Luo?" Niu Ying furrowed his brow, scratching his head, as if suddenly remembering something. His tiger-like eyes widened in surprise, and he exclaimed, "Chen Luo? You're that Chen Luo who was imprisoned by the Guardians of Light for a year because of your contamination with darkness?"

  Chen Luo, this name was once famous for its genius, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that he was a well-known genius in Changxin City at that time. Now, this name is famous for being a dark criminal, a pseudo-genius.

  Seemingly aware of his mistake, Niu Wen looked a bit embarrassed, slapped himself on the palm, and hastily apologized: "Sorry about that, I'm just a bit clumsy with words, Chen, Chen Luo, don't mind me!"

  "No!" Chen Luo shook his head and smiled in response, feeling a bit more affection for the tall and straightforward man in front of him.

  Butcher Old Man waved his hand, indicating that the two of them should not be outsiders, and ordered: "Niu Zei, there is still one room in the courtyard where you live, right? Vacate it and let Chen Luo move in. He's new here, so you take him around to get familiar for a few days."

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