High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1336: Chapter 83: 10 Minutes Before Class

”11:47? Hmm, just a dozen more minutes... But no worries, there’s plenty of time. We can just sit down and wait a bit.”

The teacher, pressing on Zheng Qing’s shoulders, pushed him to sit on the bench inside the pavilion.

Zheng Qing shifted uneasily:

”Teacher, where are we right now...?”

”Of course, we’re at school. After all, I’m here to give you a lesson.”

”School?” Zheng Qing raised his eyebrows in surprise.

He originally wanted to confirm whether they were in a dream or in reality. But the teacher’s answer seemed to offer more than what he had intended to ask.

The young scholarship student carefully observed his surroundings.

White mist rolled non-stop a few meters outside the pavilion, a huge floor mirror stood silently in the center. There was no blackboard, no box of chalk, nor an experimental table. The teacher also didn’t have any handouts or textbooks in his arms.

It didn’t seem like a good place for a lesson.

”Of course, it’s the school,” the teacher said with a gentle smile. ”After all, you’re still attending First University... Speaking of which, I believe you must have a lot of thoughts on that. Not every freshman gets to participate in the year-long night patrols of Lin Zhong Lake.”

Zheng Qing opened his mouth but didn’t know what to say.

In any case, blushing would do.

The teacher didn’t dwell on this embarrassing question and casually changed the topic, asking lightly, ”Speaking of which, having been at the school for so long, do you have any thoughts about it?”

”Thoughts?”

”Your impressions of the school.”

”Um...”

It was a complicated topic, but as far as the current mention of First University went, Zheng Qing’s first reaction was chaos. The warlock hesitated for a few seconds and honestly expressed his first reaction: ”Chaotic.”

”An interesting viewpoint,” the teacher squinted and slightly tilted his head. ”Could you explain a bit?”

Zheng Qing paused for a while, then started counting on his fingers:

”Jiuyou Academy and Alpha Academy are constantly bickering every other day; Atlas Academy is a mess within itself with factions criticizing each other; Starry Sky Academy is quiet, they just go straight to using their hands.”

Speaking of the students themselves... ”The leaders of the Sacred Will and the Blood Comrades just destroyed half a street in Beta Town a few days ago, while the Student Union only muddles along in the middle. The School Works Committee is useless too—apart from keeping records, they only bully isolated students and don’t dare to touch those big societies... Reporting abnormalities at school to them and you won’t hear back for weeks!”

Zheng Qing grew more indignant as he spoke:

”And then there are the Fishmen of Lin Zhong Lake, clearly disturbing the teaching order of the school, and yet the school has no solution as if they are the true masters. Professors can’t be found every other day, either busy with something ’no one can talk about’ or locked up in their labs... How long have I been on night patrol, and I’ve already encountered four or five Wild Demons wandering around the campus at night... The security of the school is really concerning.”

The teacher gave a soft cough.

”Hmm, I think the last point might be controversial,” the gentleman said calmly. ”Apart from you, probably no one else encounters so many demons on campus. The reason for this, I believe, has already been explained to you.”

Zheng Qing opened his mouth but was at a loss for words for a moment.

After a while, he collected himself, pushed his jaw back in place, and grumbled, ”In any case... the school is in chaos.”

”It’s indeed hard to deny that,” the gentleman nodded.

Another pause ensued.

”In the end, it’s all related to the school’s divisional system,” concluded the young state-sponsored student, who also offered his solution: ”This is a world where magic reigns supreme. A wizard of surpassing power can quell any conflict, turning a spiky Wolf Fang Club into a rolling pin. Fishmen causing trouble? Fight them until they submit.”

The gentleman looked at the young man in surprise.

”I never knew you could have such an aggressive thought,” he tilted his head, pondered, and agreed, ”That’s probably an idea all children once had. The monk’s staff opens the path of life and death; the precept knife slays the unjust. Lu Zhishen may look old, but inside, he harbors the heart of a child.”

”But your solution also reminds me of a book I read not long ago. It contained a very thought-provoking passage.”

”’Almost all empires are built with force, yet none can continue with force alone. To govern the world for a long time, one must transform force into duty. Without this, rulers will exhaust their energy maintaining authority but lack the power to shape the future, and shaping the future is the ultimate goal of the politician. If oppression can give way to consensus, the empire can be sustained.’”

The quote the gentleman cited was slightly convoluted.

But not difficult to understand.

Whether it was Qin and Han, Jin and Tang, or Yuan and Ming, empires were established by force. But no state has been maintained by force alone. The Qin Dynasty established counties, the Han Dynasty fostered Confucianism, the Tang Dynasty expanded the exam system, the Ming Dynasty integrated everything. Dynasties that lasted hundreds of years all united elites with a shared consensus, maintaining rule with duty and order.

A counterexample is the Yuan Dynasty. Their military might was unparalleled, yet they failed to shape the future. The empire sustained for a century before collapsing. Even today, the lands of the Mongolians coincide roughly with their territory before conquest—a territory also formed by tribal consensus.

”Suppressing all dissent with overwhelming power is, of course, not difficult. But it’s like a spring. If you compress it tightly, it will eventually lose its elasticity, and with it, the capacity to respond to other risks and challenges. This is not the action of a wise man.”

”Your sense of chaos comes from confusion.”

”And confusion comes from a lack of clarity.”

”Fortunately, the next destination we will visit can greatly enhance your ability in this regard.” With that, the gentleman reached out, and the silver pocket watch Zheng Qing had placed in the grey cloth bag appeared in his hand.

The gentleman looked down at the watch face and said, ”Hmm, eleven fifty-nine and forty seconds... Twenty seconds left. Next, we’re going to take a stroll in a wondrous world. I hope you will not be misled by falsehood and illusion.”

With these words, he got Zheng Qing to stand up and walked towards the gigantic floor mirror.

Outside the pavilion, the white mist roiled more fiercely.

As the second hand ticked towards the end, a dim silvery light slowly emerged on the calm surface of the floor mirror. Zheng Qing watched his reflection in the mirror, dressed in a Red Gown, bright and rosy-cheeked, his cowlick spiritedly sticking up.

Everything was normal.

Until the reflection in the mirror grinned, revealing a mouthful of sharp teeth.

The warlock was startled, almost falling to the ground. No one can maintain a calm facade after seeing their own reflection with a mouth full of fangs, dripping blood from the corner of their mouth.