What if I don't want to ascend to immortality?

Chapter 35 Unemployed Youth Seeks Job

As the core city of the Dongding region, Dongding City can be considered one of only nine capital cities in the world.

Therefore, it is only natural that the best resources in the entire region are concentrated here.

The satellite city is only the size of a district of Dongding City. This behemoth in every sense of the word is like a giant tree on a map, extending countless roots to support the entire Dongding region while constantly drawing nutrients from all directions to grow increasingly lush branches and leaves.

If Dongding City accounts for 30% to 40% of the development resources for ordinary people, then everything related to spiritualists is even more concentrated in an extreme way.

There are seven Spirit Academy campuses in the entire Dongding region, which are officially designated training institutions for Spirit Masters.

All seven spirit academies are located in Dongding City, with the first, second, and third academies directly surrounding the three pillars of Dongding.

In terms of distance, the First Academy has the advantage of being the first to be established, and it is only separated from Dongding by an old street. However, that street is full of headquarters buildings of many spiritual energy research departments, and the density of protective spiritual arrays is the highest in the entire region. As a result, when looking at Dongding's main body from there, the barrier makes it seem as if you are looking through several layers of frosted glass.

So, although it is farther away, the old administration building of the Second Hospital has always been known as Guandinglou within a small circle due to its excellent location and height.

Dean Fang's office is on the top floor of the new administration building. Through the large, bright window behind her, one can see the massive, mountain-like silhouette of Dongding across the rooftop of the old building.

Even though it was inconvenient to use his divine sense to perceive, Han Jie's exceptional eyesight was enough for him to see the general outline.

It was a huge three-legged round cauldron, with each of the three spiritual academies facing one of the legs. The purpose of choosing the location was, of course, to find excellent spiritual veins extending from the legs of the cauldron.

Each of its legs is much taller than the multi-story buildings that guard it, and the massive body of the tripod almost reaches into the clouds.

It was probably due to the protective array that it was difficult to see the details on the cauldron directly, but Han Jie could clearly sense that the entire material of the cauldron had been transformed into spirit stones. It was hard to say exactly what level it was, but he could only infer from the faint light in the swirling clouds that the surface layer was at least spirit gold.

Han Jie hesitated for a moment, then released an extremely fine and condensed wisp of his divine sense, which shot towards the Eastern Cauldron at an incredibly fast speed.

In an instant, that divine thought was annihilated by the heavily protective spiritual array.

But that was enough for Han Jie to detect the spiritual patterns on the tripod legs on the side of the Second Hospital.

It was indeed a pattern that even he wasn't entirely familiar with. He could only guess from its direction and structure, based on his past experience, that it was related to an array.

It is very likely that these nine cauldrons together form a massive spirit array, powerful enough to influence the entire world.

Moreover, from that brief moment, Han Jie could confirm that, let alone 1,800 years ago, or even 1,800 years ago, or even just 18 minutes ago, that mountain-sized wonder was not something that could be created casually.

Given the average level of spiritual cultivation in this world, even if we gathered the power of the entire world to create these nine cauldrons, where would they get the ability to suppress evil spirits?
Wait a minute… Han Jie frowned, realizing he had overlooked another possibility.

What if the world only became spiritually depleted after the nine Demon-Suppressing Cauldrons were built?

The spiritual energy was absorbed and drained by the cauldrons scattered throughout the four seas, resulting in humanity not producing a single true powerhouse for thousands of years.

As the population increases rapidly, as long as the cause of evil lies in people's hearts, it can offset the effects of insufficient spiritual energy, allowing evil to gradually overwhelm humanity.

If we speculate in this way, the ordinary people of this world, who have lived around the Nine Tripods for many years, have handed over vast tracts of beautiful land and rivers, which may be the situation that the creators of the tripods hoped to see.

Could this so-called Demon-Suppressing Cauldron actually be the Spirit-Suppressing Cauldron?

Thinking about it this way, he felt even more that he had made the right decision.

Sure enough, investigating Dongding was still the reason that pleased him more. Otherwise, the thought of sitting here dealing with the questions of a hundred-year-old girl just to make it easier to guard Meng Qingtong... no, Wanmoyin, made him feel petty.

Fang Min sat behind his desk, staring blankly at the forms whose ink was still wet.

After a moment of stunned silence, she looked up and tentatively asked, "Han Jie, what Xiao Tong told me is different from what you said."

Han Jie withdrew his gaze and smiled, "Qing Tong is young, so it's understandable that she's childish. Dean Fang, do you perhaps think that your esteemed institution has some secret that you could share with me?"

Fang Min leaned back in his chair, his eyes flickering. After a moment of contemplation, he shook his head with a hint of helplessness. “You’re right. Since that cave is just a place for you to cultivate in seclusion, let alone the Second Academy, I’m afraid you can’t find another person in the whole world who is qualified to be your student.”

"So, you agree?" Han Jie smiled with satisfaction, feeling a bit more favorably disposed towards this young dean.

He admires people who are efficient and decisive.

Fang Min immediately adopted a businesslike expression and said seriously, "Don't misunderstand, I'm just admitting that our college is indeed not qualified to guide you. But I don't understand, why did you come here... to apply for a teaching position?"

Han Jie frowned. "Am I not qualified to instruct your students?"

Fang Min quickly waved his hand, "That's not what I meant. I'm just curious why a senior expert like you, who is beyond my comprehension, would condescend to become a teacher. Although the teachers here are well paid, it's probably not enough to match a terrifying genius who can live for two thousand years."

Han Jie leaned back on the sofa, thinking to himself, "This is more trouble than I expected." He thought Fang Min knew his background and that he could easily get the job by simply revealing his identity. But after filling out several forms, even though he knew how to use a pen in this world, he still hadn't succeeded.

“There are many reasons. The most important one is that I want to observe Dongding up close.” After some consideration, he felt that lying was not his forte, so he decided to reveal part of the truth as an answer. “I’ve looked at the map. The First Hospital is closer, but my partner is at the Second Hospital. It’s easier for me to take care of her if I work here.”

Fang Min's expression subtly changed. "Partner, you mean Xiao Tong, right?"

"Yes."

"So, part of the reason you came to work at the Second Hospital is for Xiaotong." "Um...yes." Han Jie felt a little awkward, but still nodded.

Upon closer reflection, it seems that the reason of observing Dongding nearby is not so good. The entire inner ring road is built around Dongding. As long as the workplace is not outside the second ring road, it doesn't matter where you choose.

“Then, as Xiaotong’s guardian, I have to ask one more question: what is it for her?” Fang Min didn’t want to sound accusatory, so he added, “I watched that child grow up, so please understand my concern for her. No matter how long you’ve been in the cave, at least according to your own registration information, you’re an eighteen-year-old boy. I’m worried about her.”

“I understand.” Han Jie nodded. “I’m here because I’m also worried about her. It’s just that my worries are different from yours.”

"The constitution that attracts evil spirits is under control and not very harmful."

"That's because none of you understand how terrifying she is when she's out of control," Han Jie said calmly. "When that time comes, I'm afraid I'll be the only one in the world who can handle her."

Fang Min asked very seriously, "Can you tell me the details?"

“No. That’s Qing Tong’s private matter. If you want to know, go ask her yourself.” Han Jie found a righteous excuse, and his mood improved a bit. “So part of the reason I came here, or rather, the vast majority of the reason, is to protect Qing Tong. If something happens to her, it will have a huge impact on the world and on me.”

He didn't have the patience to keep dealing with this kind of questioning, so he conceded another step and said seriously, "If you can protect her nearby, things like salary are negotiable. You can give me whatever you want."

Fang Min pinched and rubbed his temples hard. "Don't rush. I know you don't mean any harm to Xiao Tong. After meeting her this time, I understand her previous suggestion even better. I think it's more suitable for you to enroll and take classes in the same department as her. That identity is easier for me to manage and easier to conceal your background. It will also reduce a lot of trouble when you go out with Xiao Tong to handle cases in the future."

“But I’m not interested,” Han Jie said calmly. “I’ve had a master before.”

Fang Min realized that the values ​​of spiritual practitioners today were very different from those of nearly two thousand years ago. Convincing them to become students of these teachers at the academy would indeed be quite difficult.

After all, the most outstanding teacher among them, Yagyu Yume, had just gone on annual leave to treat psychological trauma because of the person in front of her.

She had just retrieved the surveillance footage from the vicinity of the incident last night. The speed of the attack was still so fast that it was difficult to see clearly even in slow motion, and the power was so terrifying that even the elite of the spiritual system were slightly inferior to it.

She couldn't even tell what kind of spiritual magic Han Jie had used.

She had no choice but to abandon her original plan. "Alright, since you think being a teacher is a better choice, I respect your opinion. But this isn't a traditional sect, and it's not up to me to make all the decisions. The procedures for recruiting students are incomparable to hiring a teacher. I hope you can understand that."

Han Jie frowned slightly, thinking to himself that he had oversimplified the matter. He should have just discussed it with Qing Tong instead of trying to scare her.

Fang Min observed his expression and smiled, saying, "Of course, with your strength, even if I don't speak to the vice dean, it wouldn't be difficult for you to pass the assessment and get hired if you just demonstrate your unique techniques or something. But from what Xiao Tong said, you don't want too many people to know your background. That means you have to demonstrate just the right amount of excellence so that the spiritual masters who are reviewing you will acknowledge that you are an eighteen-year-old genius, one of the rarest in the world."

Han Jie said lazily, "As long as what we show are things that already exist in this world or things that are being researched, there shouldn't be a big problem, right?"

"You could say that. At the very least, it will make it easier for me to cover up your lies." Fang Min glanced at the computer screen and added, "So you'd better stop thinking about your original cave dwelling. One analytical method and two refining techniques are pretty much the limit for geniuses in this world. In fact, the Spirit Science Academy has already called to ask if Xiao Tong is interested in going there after graduation. They'll promote her to associate chief researcher as soon as she joins. If you stir up any more trouble, they'll probably come and poach her."

Han Jie sighed; one shortcut had been blocked.

"So, what kind of tests do teachers here mainly face? Combat?"

"Of course not. Nowadays, less than half of the graduates from the Second Academy choose to go to the front lines to face demons, and those who do go will receive special training from instructors. And if you don't plan to work in the Spirit Security System, combat experience with other spirit masters is almost meaningless. Now, there are less than ten martial arts teachers in the entire academy, so it's no longer a priority."

Fang Min opened a drawer, took out the official seal, and stamped it on the form Han Jie had filled out. While signing, he said, "The assessment content will depend on the specific position you intend to hold. Have you considered your theoretical focus, practical focus, and which department you will be responsible for?"

Not hearing Han Jie's reply, she looked up at his expression and said with a hint of helplessness, "Looks like you didn't think of that. In that case, you're really lucky. The first person you met after you came out was Xiao Tong, such a precocious and worrisome child."

"Yes," Han Jie said frankly, "I admit, this is my luck. So, I will also make Qing Tong feel that meeting me is her good fortune. So, for the theoretical aspects of the Spirit Talisman and Spirit Array systems, what assessments do I need to pass?"

Fang Min couldn't help but remind him, "Your secret technique is related to weapons. Are you sure you don't want to choose the spirit weapon type to make it easier to conceal?"

"I concealed my identity simply to avoid trouble and to prevent it from affecting my life and Qingtong's life too much," Han Jie said with a smile. "If I were to neglect my care for her just to conceal my identity, wouldn't that be putting the cart before the horse?"

Has Xiao Tong already become "Ben" in his heart? Fang Min was secretly taken aback, but he didn't show it on his face. He lowered his head and wrote down the directions, saying, "From what you're saying, if Xiao Tong goes out to run quests, you definitely won't be staying at the academy to work normally anymore, right?"

"Yes. For now, the role of partner takes precedence over everything else."

Fang Min sighed, "The academy has no precedent for independent teachers. According to your plan, the corresponding position cannot be a full-time teacher. You can only be assigned to a position such as a special consultant or visiting professor. Otherwise, you will be dismissed for absenteeism within two months."

"Any position is fine, as long as it's convenient. I don't care about the salary, even if it's low."

She smiled helplessly and said, "How could I dare to just give you money like that? Even if I only give you a few hundred yuan a month, and you don't mind, your partner will definitely come to my office and whine. Besides, the salary and bonuses for a guest speaker position are actually higher, but... the assessment you need to pass is exceptionally difficult. After all, these honorary positions are usually only given to those who have already achieved success and proven themselves. Are you sure you want to choose this path?"

"Confirmed." Han Jie had no interest in wasting any more time. "Make the arrangements as soon as possible."

Fang Min pressed his hand on the sensor panel and used his spiritual power to initiate a multi-person meeting on the computer. "As for the schedule... since it's just you, the written test and interview can be finished in half a day. But you haven't studied the contemporary spiritual arts theory system yet, have you? Should you go back and prepare for a few days?"

As the saying goes, every cloud has a silver lining. Han Jie is currently unable to unleash his full power in spiritual arts because of that huge lump in his sea of ​​consciousness, but with that lump there, most written tests in all walks of life in this world are no challenge for him.

"No need. Just start as soon as possible."

He leaned back on the sofa, squinting, already imagining the expression on Xiao Qingtong's face when he walked into the classroom and stood on the podium, whether she was daydreaming or secretly playing on her phone...

(End of this chapter)