Chapter 188: Choice

Shi Kaihuang sat next to the peaceful lake, fishing.

Of course, he was fishing with a line made of Origin Energy as always. A stick of incense was burning next to him; even as he was entertaining himself, he was cultivating.

Su Chen approached Shi Kaihuang and stood next to him. “Instructor, you wanted to see me?”

Shi Kaihuang opened his muddy eyes and stared out at the lake as he said, “Do you remember? That year, it was here that you kowtowed to me as your instructor.”

Upon hearing this, Su Chen laughed, “Yes, your disciple remembers. I really was so frivolous back then. I thought that I could gain Instructor’s approval just with a bit of talent. Thankfully, Instructor gave me a verbal beating, waking me up from my stupor.”

“Ten years,” Shi Kaihuang sighed. “Ten years have gone by in the blink of an eye; time really has flown by. In a few more days, you all will graduate.”

Su Chen paused for a moment. He sort of understood why Shi Kaihuang had called him here now. All he could do was nod his head and say gently, “Yes.”

Shi Kaihuang asked, “Have you given some thought as to what you will be doing after you leave the Hidden Dragon Institute?”

Su Chen replied, “If possible, I would prefer to not do anything. Just buy a plot of land with a house on it and settle down, then slowly continue my experiments.”

“But you can’t,” Shi Kaihuang said.

That’s right, he couldn’t.

Any student who graduated from the Hidden Dragon Institute wasn’t allowed to become a lazy drifter.

This was one of the Hidden Dragon Institute’s rules, as well as one of Long Sang Country’s rules.

The Hidden Dragon Institute’s tuition wasn’t high. However, the instruction and teachers at the school were top-notch. Considering the resources that were being poured out onto them, the students weren’t allowed to do as they pleased after graduating with so much talent.

Attending the Hidden Dragon Institute meant that one was destined to serve Long Sang Country for at least ten years. After ten years, you were free to do whatever you wanted, but anyone who tried to disobey before then wouldn’t be spared.

While you didn’t have a say in whether you worked or not, you did get to choose where you worked.

Shi Kaihuang was looking for him today to figure out what Su Chen’s choice would be.

Su Chen asked, “Does Instructor have any good propositions?”

Shi Kaihuang said, “I have one idea: Stay in the Hidden Dragon Institute as a lecturer.”

This wasn’t a bad choice. The greatest benefit of remaining in the Hidden Dragon Institute was that nothing would change.

Su Chen could continue to study under Shi Kaihuang and perform his experiments in the Origin Energy Tower under relative safety. No one would dare to make trouble with him within the walls of the Institute, and this would only continue.

However, Su Chen shook his head and said, “Even though the Hidden Dragon Institute is an exceptional place to study, my ability to apply what I’ve learned is limited. Once my foundation is solid enough, I need to explore the vast outside world, seeing, experiencing, and learning new things. That’s the only way that I can pursue my dreams.”

Shi Kaihuang laughed, “Why don’t you just say that you’re lacking research subjects and that they’re hard to find within the Hidden Dragon Institute?”

Su Chen’s face reddened. He replied, “That’s one reason, but my experiences in the ruins last year taught me what ‘walking ten thousand miles is better than reading ten thousand books’ means. Without Patelocke, my foundational understanding and research of Ancient Arcana Techniques might just be sending me in circles. From this, it’s evident that the outside world has many more opportunities waiting to be discovered and taken advantage of.”

“That’s true,” Shi Kaihuang sighed. “It’s been ten years already. You’ve learned what you needed to learn, and your foundation is quite solid. It’s about time for you to explode forth. If that’s the case, why not go and apply to become a Knowledge Executor at the Origin Bureau.”

The Origin Bureau was an internal affairs department within Long Sang Country responsible for managing Origin Qi Scholars. They mostly resolved conflicts between Origin Qi Scholars and supernatural affairs.

Knowledge Executors were vice commanders within the department.

Because Origin Qi Scholars were fewer in number than commoners, there were usually fewer disputes, so they had a lot of free time on their hands. However, they still had quite a few responsibilities; after all, Origin Qi Scholars never stirred up small commotions.

Students of the Hidden Dragon Institute were powerful and had great potential, but they lacked experience. As such, they were usually assigned to deputy positions at first, and many Hidden Dragon Institute graduates chose to be Knowledge Executors upon completing their education.

To Su Chen, this was exactly what he wanted.

Su Chen said excitedly, “That would be great, but do you think the higher-ups would give one to me?”

“Leave that to me. Just figure out where you want to go.”

“Disciple has already thought this through. I want to go to the Crow Region!” Su Chen replied.

“The Crow Region?” Shi Kaihuang was shocked. “The path there isn’t peaceful, and it’s overrun by bandits. It’s renowned as a lawless place. Why would you want to go there?”

Su Chen replied, “First of all, I need a lot of experimental subjects, which I can get there. Second of all, because it’s such a hard place to get to, there might be many ancient relics and medicinal herbs left there. With Patelocke by my side, I can find many opportunities there. Third of all...... It’s very close to Longxi.”

Su Chen’s voice grew quieter as he said that last sentence.

Shi Kaihuang laughed, “Perhaps that last reason is the most important.”

Su Chen was stubborn. “If disciple was purely choosing based on Qingluo, I should have gone to Longxi.”

“The Gu Clan has to welcome you first! You still need to establish your roots well. Only when you reach the Light-Shaking Realm will you perhaps be successful when you ask for her hand.”

Su Chen sighed. This was exactly why he didn’t choose to go to Longxi.

Until his strength reached a certain level, the closer he and Gu Qingluo got, the more difficult things would be. As such, finding a place close to Longxi to stay was much better than going to Longxi directly.

Shi Kaihuang said, “However, the government’s influence in the Crow Region is extremely weak, and the area itself is quite large. Not many governmental officials want to go, so scrounging up a Knowledge Executor position won’t be too difficult. It just so happens that recently, some strange occurrences have been going on in Clear River City. Why don’t you go there? Otherwise, it might be hard to say what kind of opportunity you’ll find for yourself.”

“Thank you for Instructor’s help!”

“You and I are master and disciple; there’s no need to be polite. Just don’t give up on your research in breaking into the Yang Opening Realm. Your only issue is that you get distracted too easily!”

“Your disciple will do his best.”

In these few years, Shi Kaihuang had been researching how to get into the Yang Opening Realm, and Su Chen had made quite a few contributions. Even though he was about to leave the Hidden Dragon Institute, Su Chen wasn’t about to give up on his joint efforts with Shi Kaihuang to develop a method for breaking into the Yang Opening Realm without a bloodline. After all, they could communicate easily through the Dreamrealm.

“Your disciple understands,” Su Chen replied respectfully.

Twenty days later.

When Gu Qingluo came looking for Su Chen, she found that he surprisingly wasn’t in his research lab. Instead, he had dressed himself up and was standing on the Origin Energy Temple’s balcony, gazing off into the distance.

Gu Qingluo smiled as she walked over. “Why do you have time to come out and bask in the sun today?”

Su Chen pulled Gu Qingluo into his embrace as he gazed out into the distance. He said slowly, “Ten years; I’ve been in this Origin Energy Tower for ten years already, but I've never paid much attention to the scenery outside. I can count on my fingers the number of times I've stepped out onto this balcony. I haven't even had many opportunities to stand here with you. That's quite regretful.”

“You wouldn't say such things for no reason. Is it......” Gu Qingluo said softly.

“You truly understand me,” Su Chen sighed. “Instructor has already set everything up for me. I'll be appointed as a Knowledge Executor in Clear River City. The necessary documents and seals have already been issued. Our days in the Hidden Dragon Institute...... are coming to an end.”