That made sense. Anyone being reprimanded this way would probably feel annoyed, what more to say of the highly-respected state preceptor? This was blatant humiliation.
Intolerable.
Trouble was brewing.
A clever subordinate had secretly gone off to inform the princes about the confrontation. Worst-case scenario, this incident might even end up startling the emperor.
When that time comes, they wouldn’t be able to resolve this nicely.
The others may not know who spoke but Lin Jin did.
Knowing Shu Xiaolou, he was confident that she would never tolerate such behavior. He and Shu Xiaolou were friends, so if someone mistreated Lin Jin, she would undoubtedly step in and defend him.
The opposite would be true as well.
The voice inside the carriage spoke again, “What if I refuse to come out? What can you do about it?”
Sima Qing’s anger was reaching a breaking point. “How noble can you be to speak ill of someone behind their back? Get out here!”
He spoke with a sort of beastly intimidation that forced any cowards nearby to fall paralyzed to the ground.
The terror of a Rank 5 pet beast.
The state preceptor of a premium nation shouldn’t be taken lightly after all.
However, Lin Jin could now easily resolve such pressures. Shu Xiaolou’s retort earlier clearly added fuel to the fire and Lin Jin knew she was just toying with Sima Qing. That being the case, he should lend a hand too.
He intentionally went over to advise Sima Qing, “Appraiser Sima, I’m at fault here. Let’s forget it, okay? You’re so noble and forgiving so please don’t dwell on this anymore. I’ll apologize to you, okay?”
“Get lost!” Sima Qing swept his sleeve across the air and a gust of wind forced Lin Jin back.
The man was furious.
This no longer had anything to do with Lin Jin. His target was the one inside the carriage.
Things would have gone well if Lin Jin hadn’t tried advising him. But he did, and Sima Qing couldn’t suppress his rage anymore.
No one dared to speak to him this way, so how dare they try to lecture him?
Not even his senior, Zhong Zifeng, could admonish him. As a Rank 5 beast appraiser and state preceptor, Sima Qing had this sense of superiority that made him assume that even his senior was below him.
He didn’t plan on ignoring this incident anymore. Whoever had the audacity to speak ill of him in public must be punished. Even if Heavenly Spiral Kingdom’s emperor found out, the latter would surely side with him.
“If you won’t come out, I’ll destroy this carriage and see just how long you can hide.” Sima Qing’s aura began to surge. In fact, he was already taking action as he spoke.
The shadow of a large beast emerged from his back, and its shape resembled that of a multi-headed snake monster. Sima Qing was utilizing a portion of his pet beast’s strength.
Lifting his hand and then pressing it down, a wave of invisible pressure came crashing down from above. Its potency was such that it was enough to flatten a house, much less a carriage.
Sima Qing was obviously infuriated.
Lin Jin could tell that Sima Qing deserved his position as state preceptor. Skillful and dexterous, the man was much stronger than he was.
An expert.
But Lin Jin wouldn’t get involved. Since Shu Xiaolou had actively provoked Sima Qing, she definitely had something in mind, so Lin Jin wasn’t all that worried.
Resolving this invisible force didn’t prove too difficult for Shu Xiaolou either.
Sure enough, the force was blocked. As if there was an invisible ceiling above the carriage, the domineering pressure was parried away.
The invisible impact caused the pressure to scatter and Sima Qing’s robes swayed as a result while some of the people standing nearby were thrown back.
Sima Qing’s expression faltered slightly.
He had acted out of rage earlier. At first, he assumed he had been a little too forceful and feared he might accidentally kill that person inside, but the outcome surprised him.
His heart thumped and immediately he raised his guard.
After all, only a handful of people in the entire United Continent could resist his attacks, especially in such a manner.
Just who was inside the carriage?
Sima Qing began to hesitate. Just then, the drapes were pulled aside and Shu Xiaolou emerged from the carriage.
Shu Xiaolou said in all seriousness, “How imposing, State Preceptor. If I refused to alight from the carriage, you would force me out. I see you’ve gotten bold over the years.”
At the sight of Shu Xiaolou, like a ball being popped by a needle, Sima Qing’s aura deflated.
Even his eyes widened in disbelief.
“Shu… Shu… Shu…”
Memories began to flash through his mind after taking in Shu Xiaolou’s appearance.
Sima Qing didn’t respect many people in this world.
Zhong Zifeng was one of them. Being his senior and twenty years older, Zhong Zifeng felt like a brother to him. That man had helped him a lot on his beast appraising journey.
Besides him would be his and Zhong Zifeng’s mentor, also the previous pavilion master of the Beast Appraisal Pavilion.
Their teacher was a distinguished individual, naturally worth his respect.
Other than Zhong Zifeng and their teacher, one other person had a great impact on Sima Qing’s life.
And that would be Shu Xiaolou.
Fifty years ago, when Zhong Zifeng was a young man and Sima Qing, a teenager, they began studying the art of beast appraising together at the Beast Appraisal Pavilion.
Back then, their teacher was already an elderly man in his nineties and an honored Rank 5 beast appraiser.
Sima Qing once believed there was no beast appraiser stronger than his teacher.
Not until the day he met Shu Xiaolou.
Shu Xiaolou looked practically the same as before. After fifty years, how she used to look, was how she looked now.
This was very mystifying.
Sima Qing remembered that even his teacher revered Senior Shu and treated her with a great degree of respect.
From then on, Sima Qing came to learn that Senior Shu Xiaolou was much more amazing than his teacher.
Senior Shu’s whereabouts were usually unknown. She would appear once in several years. Sometimes, she’d never even be seen for years on end. Some of the rare times when his teacher sought guidance from Senior Shu, Sima Qing was present as well, where he would listen to her teachings.
He learned so much from her.
When their teacher passed away, Sima Qing would not see Senior Shu for more than a decade. Assuming that Senior Shu passed as well since she was much older than their teacher, Sima Qing finally knew it wasn’t true when he asked his senior, Zhong Zifeng, about her one day.
Zhong Zifeng took some time to answer his question.
“Even when our grandchildren pass away, Senior Shu will still exist in this world. Remember, should you ever meet Senior Shu in the future, you must mind your manners. That is non-negotiable!”
His answer had frightened Sima Qing.
Although he had been indifferent back then, after becoming state preceptor and a Rank 5 beast appraiser, Sima Qing came to learn more about the academy’s history. In the notes of all previous generation Beast Appraisal Pavilion pavilion masters, everyone had mentioned Senior Shu in their writings.
Also, Sima Qing was fully aware of Zhong Zifeng’s capabilities.
In terms of beast appraising, Zhong Zifeng already possessed the qualification of a Rank 5 beast appraiser. He even obtained it long before Sima Qing. However, for decades, Zhong Zifeng never brought it up.
