Unwilling

Nangong Li was a second-generation professor with nothing but a hollow title. This was the internet’s consensus.

Although he had achieved many startling feats at a young age, conducted insightful research into the Method, and even vied for the title of Movie King, no one believed he had reached that stage on his own. After all, he had a Movie King for a father.

Many described his loss in that title bout as a “narrow defeat,” but that was being too polite. It was a massacre. Their skill levels were comparable—in fact, his opponent’s mastery of the Method was slightly inferior to Nangong Li’s. Yet, Nangong Li was defeated with such ease it made his high cultivation level look like a castle in the air, a fortress built on shifting sands.

That humiliating performance seemed to confirm the rumors: he was a fraud who had relied on his father’s protection to get ahead. Overnight, his accomplishments were rebranded as evidence of his guilt. Since then, he had laid low, moving behind the scenes as a professor at Tianhua Academy. After all, no matter how “inflated” his combat prowess was, he only appeared weak when facing peers of the same rank. With his hollow but high-level mastery of the Method, he could still maintain a high-and-mighty status.

But from that night on, no one ever called him a genius again.

……

“So, how could a person like that ever teach you, Yuehua? Don’t let him trick you—he’s a violent maniac!”

In the girls’ dormitory, Ning Rou was carefully applying ointment to Xiao Yuehua’s cheek, her voice dripping with indignation. After the incident at the competition, she already had a terrible impression of this arrogant professor who had gone out of his way to make things difficult for her friend. Hearing that he had actually slapped her, she now viewed Nangong Li as the academy’s greatest villain.

“Slapping and humiliating a student on the very first day… I’m definitely reporting him to the Board of Directors!”

“But…” A flicker of hesitation crossed Xiao Yuehua’s face. “His method actually seemed… useful. My performance back then… the effect was much better.”

“It must have been a psychological effect!” Ning Rou set the cotton swab down huffily. “A scumbag like that couldn’t possibly want to help anyone. He’s gold on the outside but rotten within—you really can’t tell what kind of person he is just by looking at that face!”

“Is… is that so?”

Xiao Yuehua looked at Ning Rou with a complex expression. She knew her friend was just looking out for her, but that blunt assertion—It must have been a psychological effect—made her feel a twinge of visceral discomfort.

“I know, Yuehua!” Ning Rou suddenly grabbed her hand, her eyes lighting up. “Professor Lin Yu approached me a few days ago and asked if I wanted to be her mentorship student… Why don’t we go together?”

Ning Rou stared intently at Yuehua’s face. “Professor Lin Yu is a true legend. Her skill and character are beyond reproach. With her guidance, both of our strengths will definitely skyrocket!”

“I… I see…” Xiao Yuehua forced a smile. “But Professor Lin invited you. I’m not exactly on her radar…”

“It doesn’t matter!” Ning Rou failed to notice her friend’s strained expression and continued enthusiastically. “There were two other professors fighting over me back then. To convince me to stay, Professor Lin promised to grant me one reasonable request as a ‘master-disciple gift.’ I can just ask her to take you in, too!”

“…”

Xiao Yuehua remained silent for a moment before gently pushing her friend’s hand away. “Thank you for the kind offer…”

Amidst her friend’s ill-timed kindness, Xiao Yuehua felt her face go stiff. A wave of inexplicable nausea surged in her chest.

“Let’s forget about the report. I hit the Professor back, after all. As for everything else… I’ll think about it.”

Forcing herself to endure the discomfort, she declined the offer, stood up unnaturally, and walked toward the door. “I’m going out for some air.”

……

Accepting the gap between her talent and Ning Rou’s had happened three years ago. But realizing just how wide that gap truly was… that had happened only today.

Things that Xiao Yuehua couldn’t achieve even with her utmost effort were as natural as breathing for Ning Rou. The professor who gave her a zero gave Ning Rou a perfect score. She had practically gambled everything just to get a mentorship invitation from that bastard Nangong, yet Ning Rou had been swarmed and fought over by multiple professors the moment she stepped into the academy.

This staggering contrast was enough to leave Xiao Yuehua’s pride riddled with holes. But what finally shattered her self-esteem was Ning Rou’s “gentle” concern.

“Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it…”

“They weren’t wrong. I have no talent. But why?”

“Why is it only me? Why wouldn’t the world give me even a little bit? Why, why, why, why, why…”

Grit teeth. Dark expression. Xiao Yuehua walked down a secluded, freezing path in the academy. The cold wind snaked into her collar, trying to steal what little warmth she had left. She shivered and instinctively thought of fire… a stake…

She thought of the illusions she had manifested earlier today. Silently channeling the energy of the Method, she whispered:

“In the moment I wake from my dream…”

Crackle…

The scenery began to warp. The sound of burning firewood popped in the air. A platform. A cross. Raging flames.

However, there was no witch. No terrified crowd. This manifestation was not a single bit better than the one she had performed at the competition.

[It must have been a psychological effect.]

Ning Rou’s certain voice rang in her head. Xiao Yuehua’s eyes dimmed further. Her fists clenched.

A strange sense of resentment—a wave of indignation from an unknown source—surged in her heart. The flames, the platform, and the cross began to grow more solid. The clothes on her body began to shimmer and warp.

But she didn’t notice. In her mind, the voice of that detestable Professor Nangong suddenly echoed:

[You have talent. At least, you have more talent than I do.]

……

The first mentorship lesson was over, but Jiang Li didn’t feel particularly confident. He sat in his office, replaying his performance.

“Thinking back, my ‘Emotional Performance’ theory was pretty much perfect. Combined with the authority of my professor status, it’s easy to make people believe it. Nothing should go wrong.”

“The only problem is that I seem to have overestimated Xiao Yuehua’s trust in me… or rather, she doesn’t trust me at all. After I provoked her rage, I almost couldn’t calm her down.”

The thought gave him a lingering sense of fear. He had no experience, and Xiao Yuehua’s sudden arrival had forced his hand. The “mentorship” was a desperate improvisation, and his “Emotional Method” was just a shot in the dark.

If she hadn’t calmed down and had reported him instead, he wouldn’t just lose the mission—he’d lose his identity in this world.

Fortunately, as a heroine, Xiao Yuehua was exceptional. She had calmed down quickly and finished the script. Her sudden leap in performance quality, of course, hadn’t come from his made-up theories. It came from the A-rank talent he had luckily drawn.

[Innate Talent: Amplification (A) [Upgradable]:] Consumes energy to enhance allied skills below A-rank.

Jiang Li sighed with relief. If he hadn’t been “cheating” with his talent, a hollow shell of a professor like him wouldn’t have the nerve to teach anyone. He couldn’t exactly rely on a bunch of improvised emotional nonsense to actually produce results, could he?