Chapter 46 (2/2)

Zhou Bai looked at Lu Chongyang, who stood in front of him. Although he felt nervous, he summoned up his courage and said, “Teacher…I think I still won’t be coming to class.”

“What do you mean?”

Zhou Bai felt a monumental aura pressing down on him, making him feel like a small boat in the middle of a hurricane. The raging storm crashed against him, and he felt as if he would fall apart at any moment.

But Zhou Bai took a deep breath and said earnestly, “Teacher, I have my own way of practicing Tao. The usual procedures don’t suit me. I want to go at my own pace.”

Lu Chongyang focused his gaze, and he said slowly, “Donghua Tao Academy has been established for more than one hundred years. Thousands of predecessors have died just to compile the ninety-nine chapters of the Taoist Sutra. We’ve paid an incredible price to create the materials and classes you have now to practice Tao.

“Although I’m not as great as the predecessors, I’m also a practitioner with a 56% Degree of Taoification in the fifth realm. You think learning on your own will be more productive than studying with us?”

Hearing what Lu Chongyang said, Zhou Bai couldn’t think of anything convincing to refute him. Everything he said was correct. Ordinary students, no matter how gifted, couldn’t exceed the accumulated experience of Donghua Tao Academy just by working on their own.

As Lu Chongyang spoke, an aura of the fifth realm hit him. It was like substantial air pressure, cracking down on Zhou Bai’s body and spirit.

Zhou Bai even felt his bones make light cracking sounds.

That heavy sensation was enough to make normal people bow down in worship.

But Zhou Bai was not a normal person.

He had already practiced four star points on the Taiyi Disc. His body had gone through four rounds of enhancement. It was no longer what it used to be. His 99-point Primordial Spirit Value also gave him a strong mental immunity.

Plus with help from the auxiliary system, he was able to stand against Lu Chongyang’s pressure and answer seriously. “Teacher, the uniform classes…are too slow. I can practice faster by self-studying. I don’t want to waste time going to class.

“I want to become stronger faster, faster, faster. I want to have the power to slaughter Mara and resist goblins.”

Zhou Bai gazed at Lu Chongyang. He told him the real reason in another fashion. “If I go to class obediently now, it will indeed be much safer, and I can become stronger safely…”

Zhou Bai’s fists clenched tighter and tighter. Countless dark memories flashed in his mind, “But…this is not the path I want to take. I have a gift. I have the ability. I should be able to advance faster and farther. I can withstand more. I can become stronger.

“I don’t want to remain the way I was today, and in the past, always being protected by others, unable to do anything myself.”

Zhou Bai stuck out his chest, staring at Lu Chongyang. An aura like never before rose from his body.

“If I don’t place first in the test in two months, it means this is the limit of my gift. Then I promise never to cut class again.”

Lu Chongyang stared at Zhou Bai. He saw an earnestness that exceeded all his peers in Zhou Bai’s eyes.

Lu Chongyang said coldly, “You’re cutting class for two months. If you don’t pass the test, it won’t be as easy as simply returning to class. You’ll get expelled.”

An even greater pressure was thrown at him. Zhou Bai felt like he was tossed into the bottom of the ocean. The air around him heaved. Thoughts of surrender popped up endlessly in his mind.

He took a deep breath, then said decisively, “If I don’t succeed, I’m willing to accept the school’s arrangements.”

Seeing Zhou Bai say this against his aura, Lu Chongyang finally realized something at that moment.

“This kid…he’s serious. He really thinks that even if he doesn’t go to class for two months, he can still pass the test and get first place, when he doesn’t even know what he’ll be tested on.”

Lu Chongyang was a little surprised at Zhou Bai’s determination. He was planning on using his aura to pressure him and make Zhou Bai aware of his errors so that he would turn back on his wrong path and go back to class.

But he didn’t expect that under the pressure of his aura, Zhou Bai wouldn’t yield. Instead, he showed Lu Chongyang the determination and earnestness in his heart. His sincere expression from before really shocked Lu Chongyang.

At that moment, Lu Chongyang remembered something someone once said. “The path of Tao practice depends on one’s will. It’s one personal choice after another. What the future holds, only they can control it.

“I’ll reserve your seat in class for you, but you only have two months.”