Shameless

Seeing the instructor's demeanor change so drastically, the young girl was stunned. Bewildered, she accepted Arthur's token, which bore his unique instructor's insignia. Before she could even process what was happening or decide whether to agree, Arthur suddenly grabbed her hand and made a tiny prick with a small dagger. A single drop of blood fell onto the token, and...

*Ching!*

A faint spark ignited.

"Ah..." The girl gasped, utterly completely off guard.

*"Didn't he just say he needed to test me?"* she thought wildly. *"Didn't he say he cared nothing for fame or money? Then why did he do that so fast? And why did he have a dagger already drawn and ready?!"*

Once the blood pact was sealed, Arthur let out a long, silent sigh of relief. "From this moment forth, you are my disciple!"

Instantly slipping back into his grandmaster persona, he asked in a solemn tone, "What is your name?"

"Sir, my name is Elara."

Realizing the contract was bound and she couldn't back out now, Elara simply nodded in resignation.

"Take your token," Arthur instructed, waving her off dismissively. "Show it to the quartermaster to receive your bedding and textbooks. And don't forget to arrange your dormitory. Your training begins tomorrow. Meet me back here in the morning."

"Yes, sir!" Elara bowed respectfully and hurried out of the classroom.

"I actually got one!" Once he was certain she was gone, Arthur slumped back in his chair, a massive grin spreading across his face.

That was exhausting. If he hadn't spent years reading every trope-filled web novel on the internet, he would have never been able to bluff his way into convincing even one student to join his class.

But now, with at least one student enrolled, he wouldn't be fired. One crisis averted. Arthur took a deep breath, feeling an immense weight lift from his chest. The next second, a profound sense of peace washed over his soul. The lingering fear and despair of the original Arthur—the overwhelming dread of failing to recruit a student—slowly dissolved from his mind.

"Rest in peace, buddy," Arthur muttered softly. "I'm in control now. I'll take good care of your body, and I'll live a comfortable life for the both of us."

The original Arthur had taken his own life out of sheer humiliation and despair over his utter failure as a teacher. Even in death, his regrets had lingered. But now, with a student officially enrolled, that final regret vanished. As it faded, Arthur felt himself gain complete and perfect synchronization with his new body.

Feeling suddenly energized, Arthur thought, *"Why not try to recruit a few more?"* But just as the thought crossed his mind, a violent tremor shook his consciousness, followed by the deep, resonant tolling of ancient bells echoing in his mind.

*"The Heavens and the Earth are ruthless... all living things are but beasts of burden."

*"The Sun sets, the Moon hides... strange omens appear in the boundless sky."

Cryptic, ancient proverbs echoed through the void. Arthur felt a surge of excitement. Then, the grand image of a magnificent palace materialized in his mind's eye. Above its towering doors, words burned in brilliant, ethereal light:

**The Library of Heaven's Path!**

He pushed the grand doors open and stepped inside. Endless rows of towering bookshelves stretched into infinity. There were books on every conceivable subject, millions of them. Looking down the aisles, it was impossible to tell where the library began or where it ended.

"Is this my transmigration cheat? A library? I got a *library*? Ugh! I was a librarian in my past life! Does the universe really want me to be a librarian in this life too?"

"Other protagonists get ancient spirits, high-tech AI systems, or overpowered magical artifacts! And I get... books? Just a library? What am I supposed to do with this?" Arthur felt the world spin, practically ready to faint from disappointment.

"A library? For what? It's not like when people are shooting fireballs and swinging swords at me, I'm going to throw hardcovers at their heads!"

"Well... I should at least see what kind of books are in here." Sighing heavily, Arthur walked deeper into the endless aisles.

Driven by a mix of frustration and curiosity, he reached out to pull a book from the nearest shelf. He needed to figure out why this library was given to him. But instead of grabbing a solid spine, his hand passed right through it. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't touch a single book.

"Is this a joke? Is this some kind of twisted illusion? You give me a library, but I can't take a book, and I can't read anything? What is the point of this?!"

Arthur was entirely lost. What was he supposed to do? What was he supposed to say? He wanted to cry, but the tears wouldn't come.

After wandering around for a while, Arthur realized that all the books in the library were mere phantoms—like the reflection of the moon on a lake's surface. He could see them clearly, but touching or grasping them was impossible.

Realizing there was absolutely nothing he could do, he lost interest. With a mental shift, his consciousness withdrew from the library and returned to the real world.

"It's lunchtime. After I eat, I'll figure out how to con... I mean, recruit one or two more students."

He glanced out the window. It looked to be around noon. Out of the eighteen students who had passed his door this morning, he had only managed to secure one. His success rate was abysmal. Proceeding like this through the afternoon wouldn't cut it. He needed more students, no matter what. He was from a modern, advanced world! If he couldn't outsmart these ancient-minded folks, how could he ever hold his head high?

Stretching his arms, he left the classroom and headed toward the academy's dining hall.

Much like the cafeterias in his past life, this combat academy's dining hall was massive—large enough to comfortably seat ten thousand people at once. Having successfully recruited a student, Arthur was in high spirits. He bought himself a sweet treat to celebrate and found a quiet corner to sit. The food was surprisingly good.

"Well, well. If it isn't Professor Sterling?"

While he was peacefully enjoying his meal, a voice interrupted him. He looked up to see a man staring down at him with a smirk. There was no warmth in his eyes, only a layer of mocking amusement.

"Professor Vance?" Arthur replied neutrally.

The man's full name was Richard Vance. He had joined the academy's teaching staff at the exact same time as the original Arthur. Vance had a nasty habit of constantly comparing himself to others, deriving immense pleasure from putting them down to elevate his own status.

The original Arthur couldn't handle the constant belittlement, which heavily contributed to his eventual suicide. This man had played a significant role in driving the original Arthur to his breaking point with his relentless bullying.

"Today is enrollment day. The new students are choosing their mentors. How is your recruitment going? Seeing you eating so happily, it must not be a complete disaster. Look here, these are the students who joined my class today. Twelve in total. I thought I'd treat them to a good meal before they head to the dorms."

Vance spoke with overwhelming arrogance, gesturing grandly to the twelve students trailing behind him.

There was no doubt about it—he had come over purely to show off and rub it in Arthur's face.

Arthur and Vance didn't have any deep-seated blood feud, but since they started at the same time, comparisons were inevitable. Vance frequently used Arthur as a stepping stone to boost his own ego and reputation.

The group of students following Vance looked around with eager, excited faces, clearly thrilled about starting their academy life.

"Listen closely, students. This is Professor Sterling. He is quite famous here at the academy. He holds the prestigious honor of being the very first instructor in history to score a zero in the Teacher Rankings. He has literally written himself into the academy's history books!"

Vance announced loudly to his students.

"A zero in the Annual Instructor Exams?"

"Oh! I heard about him on the way to the dining hall! Didn't one of his students suffer a qi deviation and end up nearly crippled?"

"I heard the same thing! When I arrived, several seniors warned me to avoid him at all costs. They said studying under him isn't just a waste of time; it's a guaranteed way to ruin your cultivation entirely."

"He doesn't look malicious... his face seems so harmless."

A loud murmur erupted throughout the dining hall as the students began to gossip.

The Annual Instructor Exams evaluated many criteria, one of the most important being the students' progress. As long as an instructor had students, they would earn at least *some* points. Scoring an absolute zero was indeed a historic, albeit humiliating, achievement.

"Are you quite finished?"

Despite the crowd of students staring at him, Arthur didn't flinch or look embarrassed.

*"The guy who scored a zero was the old Arthur. What does that have to do with me?"

While he wasn't genuinely angry, he found Vance's behavior incredibly distasteful. Stepping on others to make oneself look taller was a pathetic way to live.

He waved his hand dismissively. "Once you're done flapping your lips, please leave. Don't ruin my appetite."

Vance was utterly taken aback. He had expected Arthur to cower in shame the moment his new students heard about the zero score. Instead, Arthur was shooing him away like a pesky fly. Vance's face flushed with anger.

He puffed out his chest, adopting an air of righteous indignation. "You broke the academy's record by scoring a zero! Do you have absolutely no sense of shame?"

"Shame? Why should I be ashamed?" Arthur shot back casually. "You said it yourself—I broke a record! I'm a celebrity now. All the new students know my name before they even step foot in a classroom. But what about you? Who knows you?"

Arthur pointed his fork at the group of students. "How many points did *you* score? Do any of them know? Before you bribed them with a free lunch, did any of them even know your name? You're an instructor, yet you're a complete nobody to them. So what exactly are you so arrogant about? Why the superiority complex?"

"What...?"

Anyone else who scored a zero would be too humiliated to even lift their head, terrified of being mocked in public. But this guy... this guy was an entirely different breed! He was actually acting *proud* of his zero score, throwing it in Vance's face as if asking, *"Why didn't you score a zero, huh?"*

Vance was seething.

*He is utterly shameless!* After all, a zero is a zero! What is there to be happy about? What is there to be proud of?!

The students standing behind Vance exchanged bewildered glances. None of them knew how to react.

What about dignity? What about reputation?

This instructor... was thick-skinned beyond belief!

Shame? Embarrassment? What a joke! In the modern world Arthur came from, what wouldn't people do to get famous? People fabricated news, created garbage content, and degraded themselves on the internet just for a sliver of attention. They had no shame whatsoever. Scoring a zero on an exam was absolutely nothing compared to that.

Furious, Vance barked, "An instructor's primary duty is to teach! I won't waste my breath arguing with you. We'll talk when you actually manage to recruit a student. Then we'll see whose disciples are truly skilled in combat arts!"

With that, Vance spun on his heel, ready to storm off.

Just then, the sound of an approaching argument reached them—a man and a young girl.

"But... the instructor isn't bad. He was actually quite nice," a timid, familiar voice argued, though it was laced with hesitation.

"Young Miss, please listen to me!" an older man pleaded. "Before we left the estate, the Master specifically ordered me to take you to Professor Sterling's class! But you refused! You left me waiting outside! And out of all the incredible instructors here, you chose *that* teacher?!"

"But... what is the real reason behind it?"

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