Yama Reborn-Chapter 517 - 514 [Am I Still Asleep?]

Chapter 514: Am I Still Half Asleep?

Wu Daodao felt he was already living a life worse than death!

Originally, upon seeing Chen Nuo at his doorstep, the eldest disciple thought he was finally going to be rescued from this hell, wasn’t he!

But what happened? After a chat with that female scourge, Chen Nuo actually... just ignored him!

I had long suspected those two were up to something!!

But fine, if you don’t care about me, you don’t care.

Why would you also aid the enemy?!

Wu Daodao struggled to wield a thirty-pound iron sword, strenuously practicing the Qingyun Sect’s secret swordsmanship for cultivating Inner Breath.

The person supervising him had changed from Yun Yin to Chen Nuo!

The most infuriating part was that this jerk held a soy sauce duck leg in his hand, nibbling on it while keeping an eye on Wu Daodao’s swordplay.

He would occasionally murmur a critique, "Eldest disciple, your squatting posture in that last move wasn’t quite right! And now, hop on one leg! Why aren’t you jumping?! Didn’t you have lunch?"

Wu Daodao’s eye muscles twitched uncontrollably.

If he didn’t know he couldn’t beat this bastard, he would have already wanted to slice him with the sword, for goodness’ sake!

The most hateful part wasn’t actually this guy helping Yun Yin supervise his practice.

It was the fact that the sword meant for practice had gone from a light wooden one to this thirty-pound iron monstrosity in his hands—this was all this kid’s idea!!

He even had the nerve to say that to improve his swordsmanship, he needed to up the difficulty and practice hard with a heavier sword to enhance muscle memory. That if he could get used to a thirty-pound sword, then...

Then my ass!

I don’t want to learn it in the first place, alright?!

Chen Nuo watched Wu Daodao, who glared at him while hopping on one foot with the iron sword. Hmm, this move in the Qingyun Sect’s secret sword training technique is called the Fire-Lifting to the Sky Stance.

"Eldest disciple, I know you’re anxious, but don’t rush."

"Look, having such a top expert to guide you is something ordinary Ability Users wouldn’t even be able to beg for."

"Strict teachers produce outstanding students. The stricter she is with you, the greater your achievements will be."

"So what if she beats you a few times? When Situ Beixuan was a child, didn’t you hit her a few times while teaching her to practice? You must have, right?"

"Just think about it this way: no pain, no gain."

"Look at you, with that look you’re giving your junior. Are you very angry? Do you want to hit me? But you can’t beat me. Now you see the benefits of being stronger, right? Just keep training hard, train desperately. When your supreme skill is perfected and your strength skyrockets, becoming an invincible expert, you can hang me up and hit me then. Doesn’t that thought fill you with immediate vigor?"

Wu Daodao finally finished a set of sword practices and violently threw the sword onto the ground.

And believe it or not, his motivation really did increase quite a bit!

Become an invincible expert and beat this Chen Xiaoguo to death!

And that duck leg was supposed to be my dinner! This guy ate it all up, leaving me just the duck’s butt?!

Chen Nuo sighed, his tone sincere. "Leaving the facts aside, as the Sect Leader of the Qingyun Sect, don’t you have any faults of your own?"

Toss...

Toss your sister!

With Chen Nuo helping to supervise, Yun Yin could devote most of her Time to recording those lost Qingyun Sect Spells.

She sat in that half-collapsed house for two whole days, writing feverishly.

After watching for a day, Chen Nuo couldn’t help but offer a suggestion.

"Actually, handwriting is very slow. Haven’t you thought about using a computer to type?"

Yun Yin silently put down her pen and glanced to the side—more than a hundred workbooks the middle-aged woman had brought were already half used up.

Yun Yin: "..."

Although computers were not as prevalent as in later generations, they weren’t considered too rare in this era, especially since Yun Yin didn’t need to access the internet.

Chen Nuo ran to the nearby county town and came back with two laptops. Each, when fully charged, could let Yun Yin write for two to three hours.

Two laptops: one was left charging inside the Qingyun Sect, and the other was taken to the back mountain.

When one’s battery ran out, Chen Nuo would run it back to the Qingyun Sect for charging and bring the other one over.

After another day, when Chen Nuo went back to the Qingyun Sect to switch laptops, he saw the middle-aged woman in the courtyard, wielding a whip, chasing Erya and beating her!

And the beating was fierce!

Poor Situ Beixuan, stripped of all dignity, covered his butt while being chased around, screaming miserably.

Chen Nuo quickly stepped in to stop it—after all, this was Iris from his past life, and he still felt a sense of kinship.

Only after asking did he find out that Erya, seeing an extra laptop at home and being a child, had thought about secretly using it to play games.

But this laptop contained many of Qingyun Sect’s secret methods that Yun Yin had recorded. How much did the middle-aged woman treasure it?

Erya had taken advantage of the middle-aged woman going to the market to buy vegetables, stolen it, and just turned it on. She hadn’t even had time to play Minesweeper for a bit before the middle-aged woman returned from shopping and saw her.

Then came a ruthless beating!

Well, considering Situ Erya was also one of the neurotic children who had followed him in his past life, Chen Nuo still felt pity.

Seeing Situ Erya’s small hands swollen like pig’s trotters from the whipping, Chen Nuo thought for a moment and decided to make another trip. He went to the county town and bought another laptop. While there, he kindly picked up a few game discs from the computer store—this era had nothing like STEAM.

If you wanted to play a game, you either downloaded a pirated cracked version online or used pirated CDs.

The Qingyun Sect had no internet connection, so downloading was out of the question, but a few pirated CDs solved everything.

After buying the computer, Chen Nuo decided not to return to the back mountain that evening and stayed in the Qingyun Sect, teaching Erya how to install games.

As a result...

After the installation, Chen Nuo tried playing a couple of games—and got addicted!

Poor Erya just stared with longing eyes as Chen Nuo played StarCraft, from after dinner all the way to one-thirty in the morning!

Have you ever had that experience in an arcade where a bully takes over your game machine and won’t let you play?

Erya would say, what’s that compared to when the one hogging your game machine is a Controller big shot?

It wasn’t until late into the night that Chen Nuo, still not quite satisfied, ended a game and then, under Erya’s eager gaze, shut down the computer.

"Growing children need their sleep. Staying up late isn’t good for you; go to bed now."

Erya: "..."

The next day at noon, when the middle-aged woman went to deliver food to the back mountain, she took Erya with her as well.

Chen Nuo saw right through the middle-aged woman’s intentions: A grandmaster-level elder of our sect is here, training disciples—letting an old waste like Wu Daodao monopolize her is too wasteful! These kids in the sect are all very talented. If they could be brought here for arduous training, what a great opportunity that would be! The eldest disciple, Nangong Tiezhu, isn’t suitable; he’s a young boy. But Erya is perfect! She’s young, a girl, and her talent is top-notch. Most importantly, a little girl can act cute in front of a senior. Perhaps if the ancestor’s heart softens, she might teach her a trick or two! It’d be a waste not to get something out of their own sect’s ancestor!

Yun Yin wasn’t a fool and naturally understood the middle-aged woman’s intention, but she remained indifferent to Erya’s arrival, showing not the slightest bit of courtesy.

Even Chen Nuo was a bit surprised by Yun Yin’s attitude.

But Chen Nuo, after all, was still considerate of Erya. Seeing that lunch was delivered and Yun Yin still hadn’t spoken, Chen Nuo smiled at the middle-aged woman and said, "Sister-in-law, you’re busy at home, don’t dally here. Go on back. Hmm, Erya will stay then. We’re short on people here for chores like cooking and cleaning. You stay here, be diligent, and tidy up the house."

The middle-aged woman’s typically indifferent, dead-fish eyes suddenly showed a hint of joy, and her gaze towards Chen Nuo held three parts gratitude.

She stole a glance at Yun Yin, who still said nothing. While the middle-aged woman hesitated, Chen Nuo said, "Alright, alright, Erya stays. You can go back first."

Yun Yin still said nothing, but warmth filled the middle-aged woman’s heart.

That’s an implicit agreement, right?

So, after giving Erya some stern instructions, the middle-aged woman left joyfully.

Two thoughts were in her mind:

First thought: Hmm... I’ll make something tasty for Junior Brother Chen Nuo later! And I’ll ask him to put in a few more good words; maybe tomorrow I can send the third and fourth children over too!

Second thought: Chen Nuo and that little grandmaster really do have a thing! The grandmaster might be using Body Seizing, but she’s still a woman, and sure enough, she likes pretty boys like Chen Xiaoguo! They say people’s hearts aren’t what they used to be, but damn, even the hearts of the ancients weren’t what they used to be!

Erya, who had been left behind, felt as if ten thousand frustrated alpacas were stampeding through her heart!

Wasn’t I just supposed to come over to deliver a meal?

The computer I bought yesterday, the game that was downloaded—I haven’t even played it for a minute!!

And now I’m not allowed to go home?!

However, Chen Nuo soon gave Erya a task: to supervise Wu Daodao’s practice.

"I know you and your master have a deep bond..."

"It’s not actually that deep," Erya said with a woeful face.

"I’m afraid you’ll go easy on him during supervision because you have a soft heart, so here’s how we’ll do it. You’re responsible for pointing out his mistakes, but you can’t go easy on him. I have a rough idea of your master’s practice level; I know about how many times he’ll mess up a set of movements. So, you supervise here. If you can’t find a single mistake, you get no dinner tonight. If the errors you point out match the number I typically find when supervising, then Wu Daodao gets no dinner tonight."

Chen Nuo happily announced the rules, then left the master and disciple staring blankly at each other.

Well, let this master and disciple duo happily inflict harm upon each other.

Who enjoys standing in the yard under the hot afternoon sun to supervise and get sunburned?

Isn’t it nicer to go inside and watch the lovely Miss Yun Yin typing away?

The middle-aged woman had even brought tea and a thermos of hot water.

Chen Nuo brewed himself a cup of black tea and sat beside Yun Yin, watching her clacking away at the keyboard.

Well, her typing technique isn’t quite proficient yet, but she’s a top expert... Even if it’s just two-finger typing, her hand speed is incredible!

It seems my estimate was still too low. Although this laptop can handle it, the keyboard probably won’t last long. I’ll buy a few external keyboards as backups later. Chen Nuo made a mental note of this.

He brewed another cup of hot tea and placed it in front of Yun Yin. Yun Yin didn’t look up, continuing to type while staring at the computer screen, but she said faintly, "You seem to admire that little girl from my sect quite a bit, don’t you?"

"Hm?"

"You were the one who decided to let her stay," Yun Yin stated coldly.

"Logically speaking, she’s your disciple’s disciple. I’m just looking out for the welfare of someone from your sect. You, as a senior of the sect, should be the one taking good care of your own people."

Yun Yin suddenly stopped typing, looked up at Chen Nuo, and surprisingly nodded. "This girl’s talent is indeed impressive."

Just as Chen Nuo was about to agree further, this old senior from the Qingyun Sect added, "...But still not as good as I was back then."

Alright then. Since we’re not that familiar with each other yet, it turns out you have quite the proud tsundere personality, Yun Yin.

"If you have such nostalgic feelings for the Qingyun Sect, why are you so stingy about giving these kids some guidance?" Chen Nuo couldn’t help asking.

Yun Yin didn’t answer, lowering her head and continuing to type.

Just when Chen Nuo thought he wouldn’t get an answer, Yun Yin suddenly spoke after a long pause.

"It’s not that I’m fixated on the Qingyun Sect. I’m fixated on the Sect Leader of the Qingyun Sect."

Chen Nuo was startled, but strangely enough, he immediately understood Yun Yin’s feelings.

Considering Yun Yin’s background:

Her father was once the most formidable among all the past masters of the Qingyun Sect. During his tenure, his word was law in the sect, and he held immense power and authority.

With Yun Yin’s talent as a child, if her father hadn’t been injured and died young in that battle in Africa, she should have been able to grow up under the protection of her top-expert father.

Then, it would have been a near certainty that she would naturally succeed him as the next Sect Leader of the Qingyun Sect.

Therefore, in Yun Yin’s perception and obsession, the Sect Leader of the Qingyun Sect should be someone who stands high above the rest in the sect, immensely powerful, radiating brilliance, an unparalleled existence!

That was what fit her image of the "Sect Leader of the Qingyun Sect."

In contrast, Wu Daodao, who was afraid of his wife and couldn’t even defeat his own disciple, probably equated to "trash" in Yun Yin’s mind.

If all the past Sect Leaders of the Qingyun Sect were compared, Wu Daodao would undoubtedly be at the very bottom.

If not for her deep affection for the Qingyun Sect as an institution, Yun Yin might have already slapped this useless Wu Daodao to death!

Moreover, Chen Nuo’s guess was spot on!

Because Yun Yin had already stated it very bluntly, "Over these past few days, I’ve had the urge to slap this waste to death at least five or six times a day. I’ve just forcefully suppressed it."

Chen Nuo scratched his head and glanced at Wu Daodao, who was in the courtyard "mutually harming" his disciple.

Eldest disciple, you’re really lucky to be alive...

"Since you think so highly of this young girl, let her train with Wu Daodao starting tomorrow."

After dropping this casual remark, Yun Yin resumed typing with full concentration.

Chen Nuo glanced at the woman.

Good, she’s very dedicated to her typing.

For the old principal of the village elementary school, these past few days had been exceptionally good!

Firstly, the young man who had come to ask for leave for Teacher Sun Keke had indeed kept his word. A bald man named Wu Lei arrived with a convoy of building materials for the school, and three days later, he brought a construction team.

After some planning at the school, the teaching schedule was urgently adjusted. Several classes were temporarily merged, freeing up half the school to serve as a construction site.

And so, construction began!

Moreover, this construction team was very cooperative with the school, willing to avoid working during the daytime and instead work at night.

Regarding this point, Brother Lei stated that with enough money, anything was possible.

The construction team expressed that in such hot summer weather, being able to sleep during the day and work when it was cooler at night was quite pleasant.

The old principal even invited a construction inspection technician from the town’s Government to conduct an examination, and the results were satisfactory.

The building materials all met the standards, and the cement grade was correct.

The qualifications of the construction team had also been checked; they were solid, having undertaken significant real estate projects in Jinling City and were affiliated with a state-owned construction group.

The only thing that made the old principal slightly uneasy was the bald man named Wu Lei.

Well, the construction crew all called him Brother Lei.

This man just doesn’t look like a kind person.

The old principal even secretly warned some of the young female teachers at the school to keep their distance if they encountered this Brother Lei.

Completely unaware of this, Brother Lei felt that his days in the village were quite comfortable.

There were no worries about food and drink in the village. He could occasionally get some farm-raised free-range chicken for soup, eat fresh vegetables and fruits, and there was also grain alcohol brewed by the villagers...

It was quite a carefree existence.

As for having a wandering eye, Brother Lei didn’t, being a married man.

The only thing that slightly concerned Brother Lei was a phone call from Chen Nuo a couple of nights ago. Chen Nuo had said he was going on a long trip, possibly for a year or a year and a half, and asked Brother Lei to look after his home during that time.

If Nuo Ge is leaving for a year and a half, it must be for something very important. Brother Lei didn’t dare to delay and wanted to return to Jinling City that very night. However, Chen Nuo repeatedly told him not to rush back and to first ensure the school construction project was properly managed.

Sensing that Chen Nuo’s voice and tone during the call were very calm, not sounding like he was in any danger or hurry, Brother Lei felt reassured.

He put his worries aside and decided to stay and focus on his work there.

But the good days didn’t last three days...

Trouble arose.

That evening, he had poured himself a couple of small drinks. He had ordered a large pot of potato and chicken stew from a nearby farmhouse restaurant, along with a plate of fried peanuts and a plate of tomatoes dressed with sugar.

Brother Lei was in a dormitory room at the school that had been cleared out for him, drinking by himself.

The door opened automatically without any warning.

Outside stood a chubby boy with curly hair, dark skin, and sparkling eyes, smiling at Brother Lei.

Brother Lei was startled and instinctively tensed up!

"You are..."

"We’ve met before," Seed said, smiling at Brother Lei.

"...Ah, yes, you do look familiar." Brother Lei felt an inexplicable sense of danger. After all, being an Ability User, his spiritual power was greater than that of ordinary people. Standing before Seed, he instinctively felt an oppressive pressure, as if he couldn’t breathe. Even though the child before him looked young, he didn’t dare to be presumptuous and spoke cautiously, "May I ask who you are?"

How could he not be careful?

Just two years ago, he had been careless in front of a young man in a high school uniform and ended up being pinned to the ground and thrashed.

"We met before in Jinling City," Seed said with a harmless smile. "But I was thinner back then."

Brother Lei’s eyes widened instantly!

He recognized him!

Although he was many sizes larger, the contours of his face were still vaguely familiar.

Besides, Seed’s previous visit had left a very deep impression on Brother Lei! He had sensed back then that this person was extraordinary!

Later, when he mentioned it to Chen Nuo, Chen Nuo had even warned him that this person was incredibly powerful and dangerous, a top-tier figure that even Nuo Ge himself couldn’t handle.

"I need you to do me a favor."

"What is it?" Brother Lei asked, forcing a smile and politely inviting Seed into the room to sit down. "What can I do for you?"

Seed glanced at the food and drinks on the table.

He skipped over the potato and chicken stew and only glanced at the peanuts.

The sugared tomatoes caught Seed’s attention.

Brother Lei was incredibly perceptive. He quickly handed over a clean pair of chopsticks. "Would you like to try this dish? I haven’t used these chopsticks; please, use them."

Then, regardless of whether Seed drank alcohol, he poured the boy a cup of homemade rice wine.

Seed took a bite of the sugared tomatoes, and his smile widened.

And the rice wine... it tasted like sweet fermented rice.

The intensely sweet flavor immediately delighted Seed.

"You have excellent taste in food," Seed said, smiling at Brother Lei. "I like you very much."

"You’re too kind!" Brother Lei quickly pushed the entire bottle of rice wine towards Seed. "You came to find me, is there something you need me to do? As long as it’s within my capabilities, just say the word."

"It’s like this: I need to stay in this area for a while, but I get quite bored being alone every day, so I’m looking for something to do..." Seed paused here and chuckled. "It sounds complicated to explain, but it’s actually quite simple. It can be explained in one sentence."

"...Um, may I ask, what is it exactly?"

"Will you be my father?" Seed said with a smile.

CLATTER.

The wine cup in front of Brother Lei was knocked over by his own hand! His face was aghast as he stared at the little boy before him.

What Brother Lei didn’t know was that, unknowingly, he had reached the pinnacle of his life.

「The next day, in the morning, in the principal’s office.」

"You say... this is your son?" The old principal rubbed his reading glasses vigorously on his sleeve protector, looking at the chubby little boy trailing behind Brother Lei.

The expression on the old principal’s face clearly said: Are you freaking kidding me, old man?!

Brother Lei forced himself. "Yes, he’s my son."

"Your biological son? Why is his skin so dark?"

"Uh... he ate too much soy sauce when he was little."

"..."

Does your family use soy sauce as milk or what?!

The old principal hesitated for a moment. "Mr. Wu, is your wife a foreigner?"

Brother Lei, on the verge of tears, nodded silently.

"...Alright," the old principal sighed. "So, while you’re here at our school for this construction project, you want your child to temporarily enroll and attend classes here, is that right?"

"Yes."

"Let’s be clear first. He can attend classes temporarily, but I can’t arrange for his official school registration. That involves too many complications. Besides... we’re just a village school. Transferring his registration here might not necessarily be good for the child."

"No problem, just letting him attend classes temporarily is fine," Wu Lei quickly replied.

The old principal silently stared at Seed for several moments.

This whole situation was just bizarre!

This bald man, Brother Lei, his son is a little foreigner?

Well, alright then.

And this Brother Lei doesn’t look like he’s short on money. Even if his child needed to attend classes temporarily, why would he arrange for him to come to a small village school like this?

Aren’t there schools in the city?

Then there’s only one explanation: This Brother Lei must have separated from his wife. He’s out here managing construction projects, with no one at home to look after the child, so he has no choice but to bring the child with him.

Yes, it must be quite tough on him.

But this wasn’t a major issue for the old principal.

The man had come all this way to help build a new school building for free.

Allowing his child to attend classes for a while? How big of a deal was that? It didn’t even require transferring school records.

He just needed to find a good class, find a seat in the classroom, and let the boy follow the lessons.

Oh, right, I also need to remind the teacher to take good care of this child, especially since his father is building our new school building.

Thinking this, the old principal’s gaze towards Seed softened considerably.

"How old are you, little friend?"

"Eleven years old."

"Mm-hmm, your Mandarin is quite good," the old principal said, pleased. "What grade were you in before?"

"...Third grade." Seed had done his research; for his age, third or fourth grade was appropriate for an elementary school in Huaxia.

The old principal then took out a notebook and casually wrote down a few third-grade math problems—basic arithmetic, simple linear equations, and the like.

Seed solved them easily. What a joke. After all, he had spent a long time with Fox, and often when Fox didn’t want to do his homework, Seed would do it for him.

Glancing at the answers, all were correct. The old principal wasn’t surprised; they were just elementary school math problems, so getting them all right wasn’t astounding. However, it showed the child had a decent foundation.

"Have you joined the Young Pioneers?"

Yes, I have. Even though I don’t know what that is, it’s better to agree first. Seed thought to himself, then replied aloud, "Yes, I have."

"Alright, then it’s settled. You’ll go to Class 1 of the third grade. I’ll have the homeroom teacher come and take you there in a bit."

Brother Lei, standing to the side, was already drenched in cold sweat!

Should I... should I call Nuo Ge?! But this little monster won’t let me say anything!!

It was on his fourth day on the back mountain that Chen Nuo remembered Brother Lei had been in the village below these past few days, helping with the construction of the school’s teaching building.

Since he would be staying here for another ten days or so, he thought he might as well go and see him.

So, in the morning, Chen Nuo headed down the mountain towards the village.

Chen Nuo was familiar with the village elementary school and found it easily.

Then, he walked through the main gate and happened to see the school students lining up for their morning assembly.

And then, Chen Nuo saw a sight that made him want to break down!

Seed! The strongest Seed in the world! He had released the Life Elements of the Mother-division, sparking a great evolutionary explosion of life. He was, in effect, the Prometheus of this world’s species! The true number one powerhouse in the world! An existence bordering on godhood.

Seed!

He was wearing a bright red scarf around his neck, standing among a group of elementary school students. Beneath the majestic national anthem, facing the vibrant national flag as it slowly rose on the flagpole... he raised a hand, giving the Young Pioneers’ salute!

Chen Nuo rubbed his eyes vigorously.

Let me look again.

No, that can’t be right! Let me rub my eyes again!

What the hell... Am I still half asleep?!