The professor entered soon after. Xiao Lin’s last professor was that fierce woman they called a dragon, so when he saw this professor’s appearance, he paused for a while before snapping back to reality.
He was a wizened old man. Even though his gait was still strong and healthy, his face was still incredibly old. He had a head full of white hair, and wore incredibly thick glasses.
Thanks to Lifewater, Dawn Academy’s old professors usually looked a lot younger than they were. For instance, Professor Dai from his history class last semester looked like a middle-aged man. That was why when Xiao Lin looked at the old man in front of him, he could not help feeling like something was off.
Furthermore, it was the elemental sword aura class, which was definitely an extremely physical swordsmanship course. Was there really no problem allowing that old man to teach the class? Xiao Lin could not help but have a head full of questions.
“That’s Professor Zhang.” Cheng Xiaolin said to Xiao Lin in a whisper.
“Oh? There’s a new student this semester?” Professor Zhang looked toward the source of the noise, his eyes spirited under his thick glasses.
Cheng Xiaolin could not help but look at Xiao Lin suspiciously. Normally, after registering for classes the list of students would be sent to the professor, yet Professor Zhang seemed to have been confused.
Xiao Lin coughed dryly. He had used his special rights to enter the class, so he pretended to not know anything. Thankfully, Professor Zhang did not press the issue, waving his hands as he started the class.
“I’ve already covered the theory last semester, so we’ll start with actual practice this semester. It’s not hard to release elemental sword aura. The difficult part is mastering how to integrate the elements properly. The degree and ratio of the elemental usage also affects the power…”
As Professor Zhang started his lecture, the rest of them could not help but glance at Xiao Lin. Xiao Lin had missed out on the theory lessons from the last semester, but Professor Zhang could not stop the course just for one person.
Could this new student really keep up?
After the simple explanation, Professor Zhang did not waste time, immediately arranging for practice. It was more or less the same as Basic Swordsmanship, where two of them would group up to train. The results were much better than training alone.
The rest of them had long known each other, and after a few minutes of grouping up, everyone noticed something awkward. The original elemental sword aura class had an even number of people, but now they had an extra with Xiao Lin.
“Just add him into my group. We can train as three!” Cheng Xiaolin who talked to Xiao Lin earlier suggested.
“No need.” Professor Zhang adjusted his glasses. “I’ll do it myself.”
Everyone gaped in shock, and the attention shifted to Xiao Lin. Some of them were filled with admiration, and some of them were a little happy at his misfortune.
The attention caused Xiao Lin to fidget in place as he raised his hand and said, “I feel like I should just train with Cheng Xiaolin.”
There was a sudden silence, and Cheng Xiaolin glared at Xiao Lin in disbelief, as if refusing to believe that the new student dared to reject the offer.
“Oh.” Professor Zhang laughed self-mockingly. “You think I’m too old.”
Xiao Lin was a little awkward, but Professor Zhang’s frail appearance did lead to suspicions regarding his combat ability. Even if Dawn Academy’s professors were all true experts, experts were still split into combat types and theoretical ones. Theoretical experts might not be that strong.
“Professor, I don’t want to harm you.” Since the professor did not intend to change his mind, Xiao Lin could not help but thicken his face in explanation. His tone and attitude were very humble.
Xiao Lin was actually quite vexed. He was very familiar with his own ability. He might just be a Black-Iron- ranked new student, but he dared to challenge Bronze-ranked opponents when he had Miracle and Ruin active. Even though he would not use those two skills in training, even his flame sword aura was not to be underestimated at full force.
The professor in front of him, who was full of age spots and had scrawny arms, led Xiao Lin to suspect that the professor was not even at Black-Iron-ranked in skill. He definitely did not want to make a mistake during training and cause any harm to the professor. He knew very well that the professors in the academy were all precious and important treasures.
“Xiao Lin!” Cheng Xiaolin whispered, her face anxious as if she wanted to remind him of something.
However, Professor Zhang raised his hand and stopped her. He took off his glasses and massaged his tired skin as he smiled calmly, “There’s no way around it. Age spares no one. However, you can relax, I was quite skilled when I was younger. Don’t worry, you won’t hurt me. Furthermore this training hall has its own recovery system.”
Xiao Lin thought about it and agreed. Individual training definitely paled in comparison to dueling. Even if he still suspected the old man’s skill, since the other party was being so polite, he had no reason to reject it.
“Oh right, what did you want to say earlier?” Xiao Lin suddenly turned around, asking Cheng Xiaolin.
Cheng Xiaolin actually had a lot she wanted to say, but did not know what she should do, so she just replied, “Be careful.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll watch my strength. Anyway, I just started learning elemental sword aura.”
Everyone suddenly had a look of a mixture of pity and anticipation as they looked at Xiao Lin walk toward Professor Zhang with the steel training sword. Due to the special nature of elemental sword aura, even the training swords were made with steel, since regular wooden swords would be destroyed by the elements.
“Professor, please give me a lot of advice.” Xiao Lin decided to show off his current skills. He had managed to learn elemental sword aura from the professor last semester, but that was just a drop of knowledge. Now, he was about to receive advice from someone much more well-versed in the topic.
Professor Zhang smiled and nodded.
Xiao Lin raised his sword, but paused as he tilted his head, “Professor, this is?”
For some reason, the professor had retrieved his own weapon from the rack as well, even taking off his jacket, revealing a short sleeved T-shirt underneath. He was definitely very frail, causing anyone looking at it to worry.
“If I don’t test you myself, how would I know your level? Alright, stop with the small talk. If you wish to continue listening to my class, you best give me your best performance!” Professor Zhang’s face suddenly lost a part of its warmth when he picked up the sword, and instead gained a look of dignity.
Xiao Lin shrugged in exasperation as he took a deep breath, remembering the key points to elemental sword aura. He quickly communicated with the elements around him. His elemental affinity was inclined toward fire and water, and he currently had the most training with the offensively stronger flame elemental sword aura.
Boom!
A coil of flame burst out from his sword; the flame was three meters tall, and the embers burnt the floorboards. The deep red flames started to rapidly increase the temperature in the training hall.
The seniors who were anticipating a good show suddenly turned serious as shock burned in their eyes. They muttered, “What strong elemental sword aura! That brat is not bad!”