Oblivious to the happenings in the Ivory Fist Clan, Harry happily woke up in his new dorm. It was well into the morning, and his stomach was rumbling. He hadn't eaten anything in a day.
He wanted to get some food, but this bed was too comfortable. Compared to the thing he slept on in Wool's Orphanage, or the ground of the Wyvern Woods, it was like laying on the clouds. Yawning and stretching, he turned around, and decided to go back to sleep.
'Food can wait,' he muttered into his pillow. He hadn't slept this well since forever.
A couple hours, he woke up again, and got out of bed for real. It was already past noon, and he couldn't ignore his stomach for much longer. He remembered seeing a cafeteria in the guidebook, so he decided to head there.
But when he exited his dorm, he noticed two Outer Disciples nervously standing outside, as if they were waiting for him. When they saw him come out, both breathed a sigh of relief.
"Were you guys waiting for me?" Harry frowned.
"Our teacher told us to find you," one of them explained.
"Teacher?" Harry asked blankly.
"Right, our teacher. You weren't at the morning lessons, so the teacher was furious!" the other nervously said.
"What morning lessons? Lessons, like school?"
Of course, Harry had gone to school before, at Crystal Mine City, but that was when he was a small child. He learned to read and write, along with some other basic knowledge and life skills. But those lessons stopped nearly a decade ago, and then he was off to the mines.
Now it was the disciples' turn to stare at Harry blankly.
"Right, school. We have class four days a week. Didn't you know?"
"No," Harry shrugged. "No one told me we had class. What sort of lessons do we have?"
"Well, we have three hours of lessons in the morning, and another three in the afternoon. Today's morning lesson was an orientation to the Swan Sea Sect, and this afternoon we're supposed to be learning about fighting techniques and – "
"Fighting techniques?" Harry perked up. "Ok, I'll go. But I need to eat first."
The disciples looked at each other, both hesitant to speak. Instead, they were prodding each other to talk.
"What is it?" Harry finally asked. "Is there something wrong?"
"No! It's just, the teacher ordered you to get class immediately. The afternoon lessons should already have started by now," one of them finally stammered.
"Fine, lead the way," Harry sighed. It seemed food would have to wait.
With sighs of relief, the disciples led Harry towards the classroom.
"By the way, James, if you don't mind me asking, do you have any merit points yet?" he asked.
"No, I don't. Why?"
"Well, maybe you don't know yet, but you need merit points to eat at the cafeteria. It's one merit point for a day's worth of food."
Harry cursed and stopped right in his tracks.
Right, that was mentioned in the guidebook! There was just so much other information that it slipped his mind.
'Looks like I need to get merit points,' he sighed. He continued walking, only to see the disciples ahead of him looking at him in fright.
"Ah, excuse me. I'm just really hungry, that's all. By the way, where did you two get those robes?" He only just noticed they were all wearing the same dark blue robes, with the image of a swan stitched in.
Once again, the disciples looked at each other hesitantly, before one of them finally spoke up.
"We got them in our morning class, as part of the orientation. But the teacher… he said that since you missed class, you wouldn't get one. You have to buy one with merit points."
"What? No robes?" he yelled. He was looking forward to getting some new robes!
'Who the fuck does this teacher think he is?' he swore. Even before they met, this teacher was already making his life difficult.
"That's what the teacher said, not me!" the disciple hurriedly explained. The last thing he wanted was to anger James. If James got annoyed with him, who knew what he'd do?
But as he spoke, he couldn't help but look at James' terrible clothing, and grimaced.
Regarding James, the main point of discussion was his brute force strength, along with his lack of self-control. Even if Maynard Hatton attacked him, he wasn't supposed to attack Maynard back! After all, Maynard was from the Ivory Fist Clan, who would retaliate for the slightest grievance. Against those who offended them, the Ivory Fist Clan would exterminate entire families and clans for revenge. Only an idiot would attack Maynard.
Besides that, the other discussion was his terrible robes. They were torn in dozens of places, and stained with many years' worth of grime. And further, the few intact pieces were clearly burned. None of them could understand why he didn't just buy a new pair.
"Ah, whatever," Harry sighed. It was just some robes, and he could get them later. It wasn't worth getting angry over.
With the disciples leading the way, they reached the classroom in a few minutes. It was a large lecture hall, with hundreds of seats and a podium in the front where the teacher stood. His classmates scurried into the hall and found their seats, while Harry casually stepped inside.
Almost immediately, all eyes were focused on him. Not only was he the top Outer Disciple, he was also the one who injured Maynard Hatton in one blow, right in front of his clan Elder. On top of that, he even dared to skip the first class, and offend the teacher. All his fellow disciples were in awe of his huge courage.
But before he could find an empty seat, the teacher immediately snapped at him.
"James, how dare you skip my class? Do you know what the punishment is?"
Harry took a good look at the teacher. He was a middle-aged man, dressed like a scholar. He looked quite ordinary, besides the deep scowl on his face. But his cultivation…
'9th level of the Body Tempering Realm,' Harry frowned. He didn't expect this teacher to be so weak. Not to mention himself, plenty of other Outer Disciples were just as strong as the teacher. How was he supposed to teach them how to fight?
"Lashes?" Harry guessed.
"Right. The punishment for missing my class is 5 lashes!"
Those from the Ivory Fist Clan shot Harry nasty grins. Obviously, they couldn't wait to see him get punished. But Harry wasn't worried.
"And do you know the punishment for showing up late to my class?"
"More lashes?" Harry tried.
"It's 3 lashes!" the teacher snapped.
"Ok, 8 lashes then," Harry said indifferently, only angering the teacher further.
"Hmph. James, you can act tough now, but I'll make you regret skipping my class. Being accepted to the Swan Sea Sect is your life's greatest fortune, and everyone cherishes the opportunity to hear my lectures. Yet, you actually dared to ditch class. In three hours, I'll be sure to teach you a painful lesson. You better curb that attitude of yours."
'This guy is really full of himself,' Harry snorted. So what if he missed a class? Was it that big of a deal?
But the teacher wasn't done berating him.
"You think just because you're at the top of the Outer Ranking, that gives you the right to skip my class? If you don't pay attention to my classes, I guarantee you won't hold onto that top spot. What were you even doing this morning, that was more important than my class?"
"I don't care about holding onto the top spot," Harry said honestly. He truly had no interest in the Outer Ranking. The only reason he was in the sect was because the cat sent him here.
"And as for how I spent the morning, I was sleeping."
If possible, the teacher's face darkened even further.
"Sleeping? You mean, you were sleeping until noon?"
"So what if I was?" Harry shot back. "Is that against the rules too? Are you going to whip me for sleeping?"
"Boy – humph. Just go find a seat. Stay after class for your punishment."
Harry went and found an empty seat near the back of the room, where no one else was sitting nearby. His mood was considerably sourer after interacting with this teacher.
"This afternoon, I will be lecturing about fighting strategies. As cultivators, we speak with our strength. In our world, it's common for disputes to be settled with fighting. Therefore, it's important you all learn how to fight. But when fighting, pure strength is not the most important thing. To win a battle you also need skills such as situational awareness, and the ability to identify your enemies' weaknesses. You must…"
As the teacher droned on and on, Harry just sat there blankly. When he heard the lesson was on fighting techniques, he expected to be on a training field, actually fighting something.
Instead, he was listening to the stupidest speech he'd ever heard. It wasn't that the teacher was wrong, but rather, everything he was saying was pointless. How was listening to a lecture supposed to help cultivators become better fighters? Obviously, that could only be learned through actual fighting.
Besides, all the information was obvious. Situational awareness? Identify your enemies' weaknesses? Wasn't that just common sense?
To his amusement, he saw some disciples actually taking notes, as if their notes would help them in the middle of a battle. Clearly, these disciples had never been in a real fight before. Once they experienced one, they'd realize just how useless their notes would be. Just the very thought was laughable.
What were they supposed to do when it came time to actually fight? Ask for a time out so they could consult their notes?
He listened for a bit longer, but quickly tuned out. As it turned out, this teacher only knew how to boast and spout empty words. Who would actually cherish the opportunity to listen to this idiot? Instead, he just thought about the next steps in his cultivation.
He needed to get Fire Qi, and get some fast. Preferably, in a manner that didn't involve touching fire. But where was he supposed to find Fire Qi? He doubted any fire attribute Magic Beasts lived by the Swan Sea, and it was even less likely he'd find Natural Essences here. After all, Natural Essences with Fire Qi needed a source of fire. If anything, he was more likely to find Water Qi here.
'Perhaps my only hope is to trade for fire attribute resources with merit points,' he reasoned, and mentally made a note to visit the Missions Hall after classes ended.
But he knew earning merit points was no easy task. After removing the cost for eating, most Outer Disciples barely earned 10 or 20 merit points a week. It would take a long time to save up enough points to buy expensive cultivation resources.
His thoughts wandered some more. He thought of ways to escape the classroom, about where the cat and Slughorn were, about how to find cultivation resources – it wasn't until the lecture hall was completely silent when Harry realized something was wrong.
He looked around, only to see that everyone was staring at him. And at the front of the room, the teacher looked furious.
"James, were you paying attention? What did I just say?" the teacher snapped.
"Uh… identify the enemies' weaknesses," Harry recalled the last thing he could remember.
The teacher's expression darkened yet another shade.
"So, what you mean to say is, you stopped paying attention right after the lecture began?"
"Yeah, something like that."
"Idiot, pay attention! I was talking about the most important thing in a fight, which is teamwork. With good teamwork and coordination, you can defeat an enemy stronger than yourself. By working with - "
"Teamwork?" Harry snorted, directly interrupting the teacher. Since the teacher was clearly targeting him and singling him out, he didn't see any need to be polite.
"You think teamwork is the most important thing in a fight? What if you're alone? Who will you team up with?"
The teacher was momentarily at a loss for how to respond. When he conducted lectures, students never dared to talk back. They all listened respectfully, so he was unused to arguing with his students. But this James boy had no sense of manners. The question caught him off guard, but he quickly recovered.
"If you're alone, then of course teamwork won't help you. There is no strategy that can work for every possible situation. Rather, teamwork is the strategy that will help you the most often," the teacher lectured.
"You're wrong," Harry said bluntly, without a shred of politeness. "If you rely on teamwork, then you depend on your team. What if your team members are weak, and hold you back? What if your team member betrays you? And if you become too dependent on your team, that's even more dangerous. What if your team members aren't there? At some point, you'll have to fight alone. Once that happens, you'll lose the fight."
Of course, those were the lessons the Exalted Cat instilled into him. It always talked about the importance of relying on oneself, not on weapons, backing, or other people.
"James, why do you insist on fighting alone? If you have a good team, all of you will look out for each other! When you need to fight, you'll fight with your team!"
"A fight can break out anywhere. Or do you mean you'll never be alone? What if you're attacked in the middle of the night? Are your team members going to sleep in the same bed as you? What if you're attacked in the bathroom? Don't tell me your team will accompany you to the toilet?"
It may have seemed like he was quibbling, but to Harry, those were valid points. More than once he was woken in the night by the Exalted Cat, telling him to get ready to fight. And one time, he was literally caught with his pants down. A battle truly could happen at any time. But to the rest of the class, it sounded like he was mocking the teacher.
"Pffftt," hearing those words, some disciples started giggling. Those in the front had it the worst. They wanted to laugh, but had to hold their laughter, in case they offended the teacher.
Harry grew up in a friendless environment, where he had to rely on himself to survive. He never worked in a team his entire life, and therefore his perspective was different. But the teacher didn't know that. All he saw was a truant troublemaker mocking him in front of his students.
"Boy, I've taught longer than you've even been alive! You think you're more knowledgeable than me? Then tell me, what do you think is the most important?"
"It's your determination and will to fight," Harry immediately responded. "If you have no determination, you'll never win a fight. Assuming you're fighting a stronger enemy, you can only have a chance at winning if you're willing to risk your life and fight to the end."
"Determination? Will to fight?" the teacher mockingly echoed.
"Right."
"How can you talk about something as abstract as determination? How can you quantify such a thing, or actually practice it? If you rely on determination, what will that do for you in a battle?"
"If you rely on teamwork, then you aren't confident in your own strength. Aren't you admitting you're weak and need others to protect you?" Harry shot back.
That seemed to touch a nerve.
"Enough! James, if you think you're above the need to be in my class, then leave."
"Ok," Harry shrugged and got up, and made his way towards the door. He didn't want to be here anyways.
He was on a tight deadline to reach the 9th level of the Body Tempering Realm, and to find more Fire Qi to cultivate the Nameless Technique. He couldn't waste his time listening to this idiot talk. If he actually paid attention, perhaps he'd even be led astray.
Teamwork? Coordination?
What a joke, that was the stupidest thing he ever heard! Would teamwork have helped him against the Scarlet Flame Wolves? Would coordinating let him beat the Ox Ford Sect disciples?
Besides, he saw the gleeful look on the teacher's face when he spoke about getting to whip him. What sort of teacher actually wanted to whip his students? Obviously no good could be gained from listening to him.
But just as he was nearly at the door, he again felt something was wrong. The room had gone oddly silent. He turned to look around, only to see all the other disciples staring at him, all in disbelief and shock. Then he turned to the teacher, who was glaring at him.
"What?" Harry asked dumbly.
"Boy, where do you think you're going?" the teacher sputtered with rage.
"Didn't you tell me to leave?" Harry was confused. He clearly heard the teacher say he could leave. Did he change his mind?
Now, the red-faced teacher was striding towards him.
"James, you think you're funny? Did you not learn your manners when growing up? Today, I'll take your father's place to teach you – "
"Shut the fuck up."
The words escaped from his mouth before he could stop them, and at the same time, his left hand shot up. It was by instinct, like a reflex he couldn't control, and he struck the irritating teacher like a whip.
Smack!
At the front of the classroom, everyone clearly saw James slap the teacher across the face.