Chapter Sixty-Eight: My Teacher Is Li Tian! (Please Recommend and Add to Favorites)

When Yang Fan once again approached Li Tian, Li Tian casually tossed a long blade toward him.

The blade sliced through the air, landing directly in front of Yang Fan. Yang Fan instinctively reached out to catch it. The instant his hand touched the blade, his expression changed.

“This old man is no good… holds a grudge far too well!”

As the blade met his palm, it pressed Yang Fan’s hand back toward his chest, forcing his entire body to retreat under its weight.

One step.
Two steps.
Three steps…
After thirteen steps, Yang Fan finally regained his balance, his face flushed. The area where his hand had touched the blade now glowed with an orange light.

He looked up to see Li Tian once more reclining in his chair, eyes closed, resting. Yang Fan then looked down at the blade in his hand. It measured one meter and ten centimeters, the blade straight and narrowing toward the tip.

He drew the blade from its sheath. A strong scent of blood assaulted his senses, followed by a sharp, icy gleam. The moment the blade left its sheath, Yang Fan felt its keen edge.

“Kid, consider this blade lent to you. If you win this time, it’s yours. If you lose, don’t expect to get a single hair from me,” Li Tian said, lounging in his chair with a leisurely air.

Yang Fan said nothing, his fingertips gently caressing the blade’s edge. Then, applying a little pressure, a thin line of blood appeared.

“So sharp,” Yang Fan whispered.

“Teacher, what material is this blade made from? I wasn’t even trying, yet it managed to leave a mark on me?” he asked, glancing at Li Tian.

“In terms of hardness, it’s just F-grade alloy. But in terms of sharpness, even E-grade alloys barely compare to it,” Li Tian replied.

Yang Fan was stunned. Though he’d previously mentioned wanting A-grade or B-grade alloy weapons, it had been more of a wish than a serious expectation. He had some thoughts about F-grade alloy weapons, but hadn’t imagined Li Tian would hand him a blade as sharp as an E-grade weapon.

This surprised him greatly.

“Teacher, what material is it made from?” Yang Fan pressed.

“I came across it by chance in the Dark Realm. Later, I had it forged into a weapon. Before smelting, the ore was incomparably hard; after smelting, its properties diminished greatly. For me, it’s useless, but for you, it couldn’t be more suitable,” Li Tian replied with a smile. “You have your weapon now, and your shortcomings have been made up for. The day after tomorrow, you go to Huangshan. Remember: don’t embarrass me.”

Then Li Tian waved his hand, dismissing Yang Fan.

Yang Fan cradled the long blade, saying, “Rest assured, Teacher,” before leaving.

Li Tian watched Yang Fan’s retreating figure and smiled, closing his eyes and murmuring, “Kid, don’t blame me for being harsh. Your nature is smooth, and though there’s some resolve in you, it’s not enough. In this era, cultivators can’t merely protect themselves. You’re at the third rank now; it’s time to step out. The plan can begin.”

…

Three days later, Yang Fan boarded a flight to Anhui.

Once he landed and collected his weapon, someone was already waiting for him at the airport entrance—a middle-aged man in a military uniform, standing tall and straight as he approached.

“Yang Fan, from the Shanghai Cultivation Academy?”

“Yes.”

“I’m here to pick you up. Follow me.”

Yang Fan was somewhat speechless. Picking him up without so much as an explanation? What if this man was a human trafficker?

What nonsense.

The man in uniform seemed to notice Yang Fan’s reluctance and said again, “I’m here on General Wang’s orders to receive you. You can call your teacher if you like.”

Yang Fan felt a bit embarrassed. A third-rank warrior, yet still wary of traffickers…

He nodded.

Taking out his phone, he called Li Tian. The uniformed man’s eyelid twitched—this guy really didn’t trust him.

When Yang Fan hung up, he followed the military man with a broad smile and boarded a Warrior vehicle.

The car sped along. Yang Fan sat in the back, cradling his long blade, silent the whole way.

As the vehicle entered the deep mountains, Yang Fan grew uneasy.

“Where are we headed?”

“The SkyNet branch.”

“SkyNet?” Yang Fan exclaimed.

The man glanced back at him, as if unimpressed. “You haven’t seen much…” He said no more.

Yang Fan was now extremely excited.

SkyNet, an organization—or perhaps a department—that enveloped all of China. Every cultivator or awakened person had heard of SkyNet; even ordinary people found the name familiar.

All cultivators and awakened individuals, theoretically, belonged to SkyNet, including soldiers and students at cultivation academies.

Yet, SkyNet remained shrouded in mystery. Few had ever witnessed its members in action. Most people assumed the Cultivator Administration Bureau was SkyNet, but Yang Fan had learned otherwise. The Bureau’s authority was quite limited; compared to SkyNet, its administrative level was much lower.

Yang Fan was also puzzled. Li Tian had sent him to spar with an old acquaintance’s disciple—how had he ended up in SkyNet? Was Li Tian’s acquaintance an important figure in SkyNet?

Since he was here, Yang Fan decided not to dwell on it, watching the scenery change outside the window until his mind grew calm.

…

When the car stopped before a cliff, the mountain wall suddenly parted to reveal an entrance. Yang Fan, shocked, followed the vehicle into a tunnel.

“This must be the legendary secret base,” he thought.

The tunnel continued forward, about three kilometers, then began sloping downward. The grade grew steeper, the road plunging deep underground.

Along the way, Yang Fan saw many armed soldiers. Among them, he sensed several cultivators with strong vital energy, though they were too far for him to discern their rank.

The vehicle traveled underground for some time before coming to a halt. Yang Fan exited, following the uniformed man toward a large door.

There, Yang Fan underwent the strictest security check of his life, reduced to nothing but his underwear.

Covering his vital parts, Yang Fan twisted and turned, deeply ashamed.

His face flushed bright red. Yet, surrounded by armed soldiers, he decided to endure. A wise man doesn’t suffer in vain—he’d rather not cause trouble.

When a soldier approached wearing white rubber gloves, Yang Fan’s face turned green.

With a burst of strength, he leapt toward the table holding his blade, drew it instantly, and swept the blade across the stone wall, trailing sparks.

Yang Fan was baffled.

What were those sparks? With an E-grade sharp blade, it should have sliced through, not just sparked.

No time to ponder. As he drew the blade, the sound of bullets being chambered filled his ears.

Yang Fan looked up to see a row of gun barrels aimed at him.

He swallowed hard.

“I’m cooperating as much as I can—don’t treat me like this. I am, after all, a student at Shanghai Cultivation Academy. My teacher is Li Tian,” he said, voice trembling.

The uniformed man stood to the side, watching Yang Fan in his underwear, blade in hand, and laughed. “We know who you are; no need to explain. But this is protocol. You must clear the security check before entering. Why are you so nervous?”

Cold sweat dripped down Yang Fan’s face.

He swallowed again, pointing his blade at the man with white gloves.

“I’ll cooperate with everything else, but not this. You can’t treat me like this.”

“What’s the problem?”

“I’ve seen on TV—anyone wearing those gloves is a pervert…”

The uniformed man’s gaze shifted between Yang Fan and the gloves, before bursting out laughing. The other soldiers joined in, laughing so hard their guns dropped.

Yang Fan relaxed, lowering his blade. “What’s so funny? You lot must have gone mad underground! Is this really amusing? This is a matter of principle!” he thought.

After a while, the uniformed man calmed himself, saying, “You misunderstood—the gloves are for scanning your internal state, like an X-ray. It scans your whole body, nothing like you imagined. Who would do what you’re thinking? If you weren’t disgusted, we’d be even more uncomfortable!”

…

Half an hour later, Yang Fan, face beet-red, followed the uniformed man through the doors and down an elevator.

The whole way, the uniformed man wore a broad smile.

Yang Fan was so mortified, he could have killed someone.

Too humiliating.

Utterly disgraceful.

How could they not explain in advance? It was obviously deliberate. He even overheard soldiers whispering about another fool, comparing him to the last one. Clearly, this wasn’t the first time—it was a running joke among these bastards.

The elevator had no buttons, only a card reader. The uniformed man placed his credentials on it, and the elevator began its descent.

“Xie Guotao?” Yang Fan caught a glimpse of the name on the ID.

“Hey, same surname as Xie Sihua,” he mused.

As the elevator dropped faster, Yang Fan felt the centrifugal force. Thirty seconds later, he stepped out, his legs a bit shaky.

Xie Guotao seemed the same; no matter how many times he experienced it, the body instinctively resisted.

When Yang Fan exited the elevator and saw what lay before him, he was terrified.

He’d thought it was an underground military base—but what he saw was an underground city.

Lights blazed, buildings lined the streets, avenues stretched before him.

Suddenly, Yang Fan felt a weight on his shoulder.

He turned to see Xie Guotao’s large hand resting there.

“Stop gawking—you’ll have plenty of chances to look later. Let’s see General Wang first.”

“General Wang?”

“Yes.”

With that, Xie Guotao strode ahead. Yang Fan hurried to catch up.

Once he caught up, Yang Fan asked obsequiously, “Brother Xie, tell me about SkyNet, will you? And who is General Wang? Isn’t this a SkyNet branch? Why is there a General?”

Xie Guotao glanced at Yang Fan as they walked. “Alright, since there’s still some way to go, I’ll tell you, so you don’t make a fool of yourself.”

The word “fool” made Yang Fan’s face fall instantly.

Would this never end? Was he doomed to be embarrassed forever?

Xie Guotao saw Yang Fan’s changing expression and smiled inwardly—this kid was interesting.

Then he returned to the topic, beginning his explanation to Yang Fan in earnest.