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

Chapter 39 is here to celebrate!

Amidst the whispers, a girl slipped out of her seat and quickly moved to the empty seat next to Meng Qingtong. Her eyes gleamed as she hurriedly asked, "Is he someone you know? I saw him come with you this morning. Is he your boyfriend? If not, do you have a girlfriend now?"

Meng Qingtong blinked and stared blankly for a moment before realizing that her classmate was asking her a question.

“Uh, he’s not my boyfriend, and he doesn’t have a girlfriend either…” She turned to look at the girl, “That’s a teacher.”

"What's wrong with the teacher?" the girl asked in surprise. "An eighteen-year-old teacher, three years younger than me. If I catch up with him, I'll be holding a gold mine."

Go dream about holding your gold brick. Meng Qingtong rolled her eyes and waved her hand dismissively, "Let me have some peace and quiet, this is so annoying."

"He's really not your boyfriend, is he? If not, I'm going to have to step in."

Seeing the girl's excited expression, Meng Qingtong felt a tightness in her chest and began to consider whether to move to another seat closer to the back door. She also didn't want to answer the girl's pointless questions.

At this point, Han Jie finished his brief self-introduction and stepped down from the podium.

The trainee teacher was to sit in the last row to learn how to teach. He glanced at it and, as if it were only natural, walked straight to the corner where Meng Qingtong was.

His purpose was very clear. Since you said I could be a teacher and give special lessons to my favorite students, then here I am, and you are my favorite student.

Meng Qingtong could guess what he meant, and stared at him with a bitter face, her eyes full of reproach.

Han Jie knew she wasn't angry, so he raised an eyebrow and quickened his pace.

"Teacher Han, there are seats here."

"Teacher Han, it's clearer here."

"Teacher Han, please sit here."

Girls with empty seats nearby, especially those who were a bit bolder, started to speak up, their faces showing a mix of joking and serious expressions.

"Quiet down, class is about to begin." The teacher on the podium tried to maintain order, but to little avail; the room remained filled with quiet chatter.

The girl next to Meng Qingtong quickly picked up her handbag from the chair, straightened her back, puffed out her chest, tucked her chin in slightly, and showed off her most prized curves, intending to win with her weapon.

Han Jie only felt that she was in the way.

He tapped on the table and said politely, "Excuse me, could you two move aside? I prefer a window seat, thank you."

Meng Qingtong glanced at him sideways, moved forward, and made way for him.

The girl next to her tried to persuade her, saying in a sweet voice, "Teacher Han, it's windy by the window, sit here. I can tell you more about the class."

Han Jie seemed not to hear him. He slightly pushed his arm aside, turned his body to the side, and went to the innermost seat, sitting between the window and Meng Qingtong.

The students in the classroom who had been watching the commotion immediately focused their attention on Meng Qingtong, and many of them even showed expressions of sudden realization.

What's with all this sudden realization...? Meng Qingtong covered her face with one hand while rubbing her forehead, and quickly wrote a note with the other, pushing it to Han Jie. "Was this Dean Fang's idea? Why did he suddenly become a teacher? Teachers can't just skip classes like that, how are we going to run our commissions later?"

"It's an honorary position, so the teaching hours are relatively flexible." Han Jie didn't bother to elaborate, only whispering, "Don't worry, it won't interfere with important matters."

“You’re already on temporary assignment, so teaching is still a serious matter. Don’t you understand the principle that you have to be upright in your position?” Seeing that he had no intention of writing, Meng Qingtong had no choice but to take back the pen and speak in a low voice, barely audible.

"You should choose a classical culture class next semester," Han Jie said with a smile. "You're ignorant and spout nonsense."

"Where can I find this course? Can you offer it to me separately?"

Advanced spirit rune studies are not very effective in improving the combat power of spirit masters. It is a course that is more theoretical and research-oriented among the general courses. Apart from a small number of students like Meng Qingtong who are interested, most of them are just there to get credits.

The students weren't paying attention, so the teachers weren't motivated either. Everyone was just going through the motions, and no one paid any attention to the whispers that filled the classroom.

Han Jie's brows furrowed more and more as he listened. "Isn't your Second Hospital ranked first in Dongding District? Are all the teachers this bad?"

Meng Qingtong said softly, "Where would you find so many powerful spiritualists willing to give up big money to become teachers? The reason Teacher Liu is so highly regarded by the entire academy is because she is rare. Besides, theoretical courses are at the very bottom of the course hierarchy. If you sign a contract that only allows you to teach such courses, then I'll go see Dean Fang at noon."

“No need. I can choose my own courses.” Han Jie stared at the panoramic courseware on the podium, which was filled with spiritual energy, and pondered, “You’re progressing too slowly by learning like this.”

Thinking he was about to use some other method, Meng Qingtong quickly said, "You have to eat one bite at a time. You can't rush this. Knowledge has to be digested before it becomes your own. Otherwise, even if you force it on me, it will just be a lump of useless memories."

Han Jie snorted and crossed his arms, saying, "I'll teach the next class."

"Huh?" Meng Qingtong looked at him and realized he was serious, so she immediately swallowed her words of persuasion.

She was a little apprehensive. Being highly skilled didn't equate to being a good teacher. Teacher Liu's teaching abilities were the result of over a year of hard work, getting up early and working late. She was worried that Han Jie might rashly go up and embarrass himself.

Of course, Han Jie seemed to do well in everything except for the Wind and Thunder Wing, but when she saw the girls around her secretly casting long, lingering glances at her, she felt that it wasn't so great to be on the podium so early in the morning to shine.

Regardless, she always wanted to encourage and support her partner's goals. So, during the break between classes, she pulled out Han Jie's old electronic notes and outlined a rough plan for the two prerequisite courses in spirit runes: beginner and intermediate.

Han Jie glanced at it briefly and said, "Okay, I'll prepare carefully and teach you tonight. You've been learning this lesson wrong from the very beginning. You can't reach the end by going down the wrong path."

Seeing that many girls had already gathered around with their textbooks and made excuses to ask questions, Meng Qingtong had no choice but to shut up for the time being and only hummed in agreement.

Unexpectedly, Han Jie had no intention of actually fulfilling the polite words he had said during his self-introduction. He casually grabbed Meng Qingtong's textbook, spread it out on the table between the two of them, and said in a serious tone, "Think about the deductions here again. Are there really only two possibilities?"

Meng Qingtong already knew the material in the textbook by heart, but since she needed to play along and deal with the girls who were surrounding her, she had no choice but to turn her head to look.

Fortunately, she was quite willing to act as a shield.

Several girls' faces fell, and they gave up in the face of difficulty.

The remaining few, however, still gathered around, clearly determined to try and strike up a conversation even during the fifteen-minute break between classes.

Meng Qingtong sighed inwardly, not expecting to attract such a charming woman.

"Don't get distracted, take another look."

She paused, carefully examined the question, and then said with some seriousness, "Teacher Han, based on the rules and theorems summarized in the textbook, I think the missing part... really only has these two possibilities. The direction here is very simple; the result is already given, it can only be a straight line, so it's just a choice between two options: which side the slight angle tilts in?" Han Jie said solemnly, "That's why I said you've been learning this lesson wrong from the very beginning. What are spirit patterns?"

A petite girl next to her eagerly answered, "Spirit patterns are the patterns left when spiritual energy repeatedly permeates a specific material."

Han Jie looked at Meng Qingtong, and waited until her expression became serious before taking out a piece of paper and spreading it on the table. He said, "Spirit patterns are just traces of spiritual energy. Any slight fluctuation of spiritual energy will leave a trace on anything it comes into contact with. However, most of them are undetectable or disappear very quickly. The spirit patterns you know are just those that happen to remain."

“Birds fly under the clouds, casting shadows on the ground, fleeting by. How can future generations accurately trace their paths?” he said, pointing his finger like a sword and drawing a line on the paper. A faint glow appeared, leaving a trace. “Such a smudge, it is a straight line.”

He made another stroke, this time his fingertip circling upwards in a large, uphill arc, but he used even more spiritual power. The fluorescence that flashed on the paper was exactly the same as the previous one. "Such a saturation, it is also a straight line."

He drew another line with his fingertip, this time constructing a rather complex spiritual array in the air with his spiritual power. However, it was completely lateral, and the intensity of the segments was just right. The fluorescence that it emitted on the paper was exactly the same as before. "See it? It's still the same straight line."

This manipulation of spiritual power was astonishing, not to mention that his spiritual power was so pure and refined that it could trigger a spiritual pattern reaction on ordinary white paper. The students who chose this course were all about to graduate and had some experience. Their expressions immediately became interesting, and their attention was finally shifted away from Han Jie's face.

"Creating spirit patterns to present part of the original spirit techniques is an unprecedented creation, yet you descendants are so conservative, which is truly disappointing." Han Jie pointed to the white paper. "Calculating the effect based on the existing patterns is no different from tracking a shadow. You deduce two possibilities from a question and then think that this set of spirit patterns can only be used in these two ways. Isn't that losing sight of the bigger picture?"

Meng Qingtong frowned, lost in thought.

Han Jie glanced at the stunned teacher on the podium and said calmly, "One kind of spiritual technique can produce hundreds of patterns. We only need to select the useful ones. Why insist on stubbornly working backward from those fixed results? Isn't that putting the cart before the horse?"

A girl mustered her courage and raised her hand, whispering, "But forming a spirit stone requires many repeated soakings. If we observe every single texture, won't it take too long?"

"If it's not a finished product, why does it need to be so stable and long-lasting?" Han Jie picked up the piece of white paper and said disdainfully, "With proper energy manipulation, the spiritual patterns on this paper can last for several hours... hours. Is it possible that with current technology, we're not yet able to draw a conclusion?"

With a crash, the teacher rushed out of the classroom, accidentally knocking the thermos on the table to the ground, but didn't bother to pick it up.

Meng Qingtong looked at Han Jie and whispered, "This method of harnessing power isn't easy to learn, is it? You... are you really willing to teach us?"

"It's not some secret that's never been passed down," Han Jie said with a smile. "Since I've chosen to be a teacher, I naturally have to offer something to live up to Dean Fang's appreciation."

Meng Qingtong pursed her lips. She tried her best to remind herself not to be so presumptuous, but she still felt deep down that Han Jie had come specifically to teach her, and that he had gone so far as to teach the other students in the class as well.

When the break ended, the students returned to their seats, but the teacher did not come back.

Most people were whispering, and the focus of their discussion was naturally the new teacher, Ms. Han.

Meng Qingtong stared blankly, seemingly lost in thought.

Seven or eight minutes later, the teacher ran into the door, waved and shouted, "Teacher Han, come here for a moment, Dean Fang is looking for you."

Han Jie was too lazy to move, and simply replied, "Tell Dean Fang that since I'm here, I will not hold back and will teach everyone everything."

The teacher thought for a moment, then turned and ran out again. After a few steps, he came back and said directly, "Teacher Han, you can teach this class. You can teach however you want, but wait for me. I'll talk to Dean Fang and be right back. Wait for me, I want to listen too!"

Meng Qingtong whispered, "Why?"

Han Jie laughed and said, "I'll listen to you. This isn't about coming out of seclusion to contribute to the world."

She took out her phone to check the time, then suddenly packed her bag, stood up, and said loudly, "I have to go now, Teacher Han. See you later."

The other girl next to her had already returned to her original seat, not wanting to make a fool of herself. Meng Qingtong disappeared without any hindrance, vanishing through the back door of the classroom in a flash.

Han Jie was stunned.

What's going on? Why did it suddenly run away?
Just as he was about to chase after him, his phone buzzed and he received a message.

"Teacher Han, please give the lesson to everyone first. Then give me extra help tonight to catch up on what I've missed."

He frowned and replied, "What's the emergency?"

"You'll find out when you get home at noon. Pay attention in class, don't skip your first day at work."

Han Jie was somewhat frustrated that the disciple he really wanted to teach had run away.

But since things have come to this, I still have to go up to the podium.

In any case, when it comes to the study of spirit runes, no one, whether in past or present life, could be more proficient than him. Going up and teaching him would be a good deed.

Unexpectedly, when that teacher returned, he was followed by seven or eight other teachers, as well as the vice dean, Gu Shuangjin.

Eager to get back and see what was going on with Meng Qingtong, Han Jie waved his hand to disperse the holographic teaching plan of spiritual energy generated by the instrument, turned around and used the blackboard as an example to get straight to the point, starting with how to mobilize spiritual energy to leave a long-lasting mark on different materials.

For someone who can conjure a body out of spiritual energy, teaching this level of skill is no more difficult than a Go master teaching someone how to capture stones.

Meng Qingtong's second class in the morning was an advanced lesson on the first level of Spirit Array.

However, she used her free student privileges to skip the leave, only submitting a fake leave slip in the system.

Han Jie had no interest in wasting his breath and left the matter to the person in charge. After dealing with Dean Fang's warm greetings, who had come all this way, he hurriedly left the Second Hospital and headed home.

His telepathic call was rejected, and he hesitated. Was Qing Tong really angry?
But as soon as he entered the house, he felt relieved.

Meng Qingtong was busy in the kitchen, her hands covered in flour and her face smeared with white powder. The meat filling in the bowl emitted an enticing aroma, and on the sorghum stalk mat next to her, there were already many wrapped dumplings.

“When I was a child, I lived in an orphanage, and we could only eat dumplings during major holidays like Chinese New Year. So, when something really good happens, I want to eat dumplings. I think it has a sense of ritual.” She smiled and looked up at Han Jie. “Congratulations on your first day at work! I’m making dumplings to celebrate. I’ve prepared four kinds of fillings: chives, cabbage, fennel, and green beans. Which one do you like? I’ll make a lot.”

"Is this something to celebrate?" Han Jie couldn't help but return to his most familiar spot and stand still, smiling.

Meng Qingtong flicked a clump of flour onto his face, grinning mischievously, "Of course, you don't know yet, do you? Teachers from the Second Hospital can buy apartments in nearby residential areas at internal prices. Isn't that great news? Tell me, what kind of filling do you want?"

Looking into her bright eyes, Han Jie gave an honest answer.

"all good."

At lunch that day, Han Jie found a lucky coin in a dumpling with the words "All is well" written on it.

(End of this chapter)