I’m Dugu Bai, Headmaster of Azure Spirit Academy—one of the continent’s four great schools—and a top-tier expert of the Mortal Realm. Dashing and ever-youthful, I am.
This morning, I unexpectedly learned Lin Ming had returned. So I just used magic to hijack the campus broadcast, summoning my dear disciple to pay his respects to this old man. After my message, I mused: *Knowing his stubbornness, he won’t come unless I dangle a little incentive.*
"If Lin Ming hears this and doesn’t show up," I’d declared over the speakers, "I’ll fine you for tarnishing the Academy’s image with your ragged clothes earlier. Hmph! Refuse to pay? Task Hall will deduct it from your future mission rewards. HAHAHA! Lin Ming, get your ass here and kowtow to me!"
"Eh? Why’s it silent?" In the Headmaster’s office, a man in black robes stood pondering—the broadcast had cut off mid-spell. Waist-length white hair framed a face as youthful as a 26-year-old’s. This was Headmaster Dugu Bai: ancient soul, deceptively young shell.
"HEADMASTER!!!!!" A roar echoed from the hallway outside.
"Eh?! Shit! Red Sleeve’s here?! I—I need to bolt!" The shout snapped Dugu Bai from his confusion. His face paled.
Pacing frantically in his office, he muttered, "My sweet granddaughter! Why so fast?!"
*This window shall be my salvation!* Spotting the open window, Dugu Bai lunged toward it, readying his secret technique: the Leap of Faith.
**BOOM!** The office door exploded inward.
"Oh? And what might Headmaster be doing *now*?" Red Sleeve beamed at him, one foot already on the windowsill.
"Ahaha! I—I was merely admiring the campus view!" Dugu Bai turned stiffly, forcing a smile. A cold sweat broke out as he spotted the "#"-shaped vein throbbing on her forehead.
"Really? I just disabled the broadcast. Let’s *discuss* why." Red Sleeve advanced, smile unwavering.
"*That’s* why it cut out… Ehh? What does my dear granddaughter want?!" Dugu Bai’s mutter died as he saw her approach. His face twisted in dread.
*I’m Dugu Bai, Headmaster of Azure Spirit Academy. An unimaginable disaster has struck. I must survive.*
"AAAAHHHHH!!!" Moments later, a soul-rending scream tore from the office.
………………
The Headmaster of Azure Spirit Academy. My late father’s master. A peak powerhouse of Crescent Moon Continent. The one who pulled strings to get me into the Academy—yes, through the back door.
Three years ago, when I arrived in Azure Spirit City covered in wounds, he sensed my aura. He appeared before me instantly. And when he saw me… he wept.
This apex expert actually *cried*. He crushed me in a fierce embrace and declared, voice trembling with resolve: "When your Clan faced calamity, I was too far to help. But from this day forth—I, Dugu Bai, am your family. You, Lin Ming, will never walk alone."
As Lin Ming strode toward the Headmaster’s office, the memory surfaced. His lips quirked upward. His steps quickened.
"AAAAHHHHH!!!"
He halted outside the office door at the bloodcurdling shriek. After a silent pause, he murmured, "Hmm. I’ll wait a moment before entering."
Inside, the Headmaster’s screams mingled with **CRASH!** **SMASH!** **THUD!**
"NO! NOT THE FACE!"
***WHAM!***
"Don’t think the office wards will save you from my magic!"
***KABOOM!***
After three minutes of symphonic violence, the door creaked open.
"Lin Ming! You’re here. I’ve already… *disciplined* that troublemaker." Red Sleeve emerged, beaming after her catharsis.
"Sister Red Sleeve… is the Headmaster still breathing?" Lin Ming had sweated through three minutes of battle sounds. Familiar as it was, he still worried.
"Pfft. You know his strength. He’s probably just *playing dead*." She waved dismissively.
"Sigh. Freshman season’s chaotic enough. Now I must clean this up—don’t want new students getting *ideas*." Red Sleeve rubbed her temples. "I’m off, Lin Ming. Take care." She sighed and walked away.
"Bye." Lin Ming waved.
Red Sleeve waved back without turning.
Lin Ming slipped into the office. There, sprawled face-down on the floor, lay a soot-blackened figure *playing dead*.
"Eh? Where’s the Headmaster?" Lin Ming stepped over the prone body as if blind to it.
"*YOWCH!*" The figure yelped.
"Eh? What was that?" Lin Ming feigned confusion.
"*DAMN IT, LIN MING!*" The Headmaster sprang up, revealing a face swollen and bruised. He glared, teeth gritted.
"PFFFT—HAHAHAHA! Who’s this pig?!" Lin Ming doubled over laughing.
"You—*hiss*—that brat Red Sleeve hits *hard*," Dugu Bai grumbled, wincing as his smile tugged at fresh wounds.
"You could’ve fought back." Lin Ming stifled his laughter, though his lips still twitched.
"Fight back?! She’s my precious granddaughter! How could I lay a finger on her?" Dugu Bai sputtered.
Indeed—Red Sleeve, full name Dugu Red Sleeve, was his granddaughter. Hard to believe, yet true.
"*Ow*… my face! Must heal this!" Dugu Bai caressed his cheek tenderly, then swept a hand over it. The bruises vanished instantly—trivial for someone of his power. Red Sleeve landed blows only because she was his blood.
"Perfect. Still devastatingly handsome." He produced a mirror from nowhere, preening.
"Tch. Such a show-off. Still not as handsome as me," Lin Ming muttered under his breath.
"*WHAT?!* You dare say I’m less handsome than *you*?!" Dugu Bai’s ear twitched. He spun around, roaring. "Question my strength! Question my age! Even question my decency! But *never* question my beauty!"
"Your strength and age need no questioning. Your decency? I’ve never seen it. And beauty outranks *those*?!" Lin Ming shot back.
"*Hmph!* That’s because your cultivation is too shallow to perceive it!" Dugu Bai puffed his chest.
*……* Lin Ming’s eye twitched. *How did this shameless man become Headmaster? A miracle.*
"So," Lin Ming asked, clinging to a sliver of hope, "why did you summon me?"
"Why? Naturally…" Dugu Bai’s playful smirk vanished. He grinned wickedly. "*Naturally* for a mission!"
Lin Ming’s last hope shattered.
