Chapter 548: Uncle Liu the Gatekeeper
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
When his grandfather came back that night, the first thing he said was, “Since you’re back, I can finally give you back your place as principal. I’m way too old to be doing this.” Gao Peng’s grandfather unceremoniously dumped his role as principal of Tiange Academy back to Gao Peng, and he wasn’t taking no for an answer.
“By the way, Grandpa, do we have any combatants in the group who were discharged due to injuries or some other reason that would like to be transferred from the frontlines? I would prefer it if they have a Lord or King-tier familiar with them,” asked Gao Peng.
His grandfather looked at him strangely. “Of course we do. You even know him.”
Gao Peng frowned. Do I know someone who fits that description? A name suddenly popped into his mind.
Uncle Liu! Liu Shaotang, who once lived next door!
“The only thing old Liu does these days is garden. He sometimes walks around the park a few times when he’s feeling bored. He even went ballroom dancing once.” Ji Hanwu shook his head. His friend sure was making the most of his life these days.
“What about his familiars?”
“Oh, he just lets them roam around the place,” said Ji Hanwu casually.
Gao Peng was speechless.
“He hunts for his own food in the wild. Every time his familiars are hurt, he takes them to the group’s infirmary to be treated. He doesn’t have to worry about training them. All of his familiars are quite smart and diligent.”
Gao Peng was stunned. I wish my familiars were just as smart and diligent, he thought.
After dinner, Gao Peng went over to Uncle Liu’s place, which wasn’t too far away. There were two trees standing in front of his house, a jujube tree and a parasol tree.
When Gao Peng entered the front yard, he could see Uncle Liu sitting on a reclining chair under the shade of an orange tree in the garden. A yellow light fell on his face from the paper windows on the front of his house that resembled the soft glow of evening sunlight.
“Is that you, Gao Peng?” asked Uncle Liu. He didn’t look too surprised to see Gao Peng. Waving at him, Uncle Liu said, “Have you eaten? I’ll cook something up for you if you haven’t.”
“I’ve already eaten, thanks.” As Gao Peng drew closer, he could see a huge shadow curled up beside Uncle Liu. A pair of blue eyes glinted from it and stared at Gao Peng intently.
“Hi, Softy,” said Gao Peng, smiling at the large black cat.
“Meow—” It mewled in acknowledgment. Uncle Liu smiled as he watched Gao Peng play with his cat. Then Gao Peng began kneading its soft, cottony face into various shapes.
“Meow!” Tired of being treated like Play-Doh, Softy pulled its face irritably out of Gao Peng’s hands. With a few light steps, it disappeared into the shadows nearby.
“Uncle, don’t you feel bored sometimes?” asked Gao Peng while smiling.
Giving Gao Peng a sideways look, Uncle Liu shook his head and chuckled. “If you’re trying to tell me something, just spill it.”
“We have a lot of cute little students attending our school, but the sad truth is that external forces threaten our school almost every day. I would like to invite you to work as the school’s gatekeeper. It’s not a demanding job; you could just let your familiars take shifts there. I could also build a small villa for you if you’re interested in living nearby.”
After giving it much thought, Uncle Liu said, “Fine. It’s not like I have anything better to do anyway. Watching over the young ones would probably do me some good.”
He fell silent as he summoned one his familiars to him. After a while, heavy breathing could be heard from the sky.
Gao Peng saw a huge black form slowly descend from the clouds. Boom! The ground shook, and Gao Peng could feel the black form’s hot breath on his ear.
“Long time no see,” said the Blood Eye Bearded Vulture.
Gao Peng blinked at it. “Wow, you’ve reached Epic grade. That’s impressive.”
The Blood Eye Bearded Vulture held its right wing across its chest and gave Gao Peng a bow. “It’s all thanks to you. There’s no need for courtesy among gentlemen like ourselves. If there’s anything I can help you with, I’m always at your disposal.”
Gao Peng took a closer look at the Blood Eye Bearded Vulture. If it had been wearing a suit and a bow tie right then, it would definitely have looked like a gentleman.
The Blood Eye Bearded Vulture hesitated for a moment before continuing, “Has Goldie come back? I haven’t seen him for quite some time now. I hear the Black Fog World doesn’t have a limit. I wonder how much Goldie has grown.”
From its tone, Gao Peng could tell that the Blood Eye Bearded Vulture also wanted to visit the Black Fog World for itself.
Uncle Liu, who had returned to his chair beneath the orange tree, interjected, “You damn bird, just because I didn’t let you go to the Black Fog World doesn’t mean you have to bring it up all the time.”
The Blood Eye Bearded Vulture fell silent before giving Uncle Liu a deep bow.
Its current level was Level 59, the highest level the planet could accommodate at that moment. However, Gao Peng sensed that the vulture’s body was bursting with power as if it contained an active volcano on the verge of erupting. Dangerous levels of power were coursing through its veins like boiling hot lava.
Even though there was a level limit in this world, this didn’t mean that a familiar would stop growing once it reached its limit. It would still continue to amass power bit by bit in its body. On the day said level limit was removed, this power would burst forth from its body like a geyser. Should the world’s level limiter be removed, the Blood Eye Beard Vulture would probably gain two or three levels in an instant.
Just like that, Uncle Liu’s appointment as the school’s gatekeeper was settled. The next day, Gao Peng returned to his school to resume his position as principal and make Uncle Liu’s appointment official.
Some of the staff members were aware of Uncle Liu’s identity. After Gao Peng announced his decision to the faculty, a couple of people went over to greet the new gatekeeper.
Some of those who didn’t know who Uncle Liu was soon learned of his history from those who did… Uncle Liu was the one who had watched over the principal’s rise to glory. Not only did he have a close relationship with the Southern Sky Group’s chairman, but his son also headed one of the group’s departments, not to mention the fact that he was a powerful King-tier trainer in his own right.
Upon learning who the old man was, everyone else in the school now knew better than to harass him. Even if Uncle Liu didn’t show up for work, they wouldn’t dare dock his pay.
Gao Peng was later informed of the results of Yuzhou’s high school championship. To nobody’s surprise, Tiange Academy had emerged victorious. At the start of the battle, the Tang Dynasty Mystic Snuff Bottle was able to sow discord in the opposing team with its smoke.
Taking advantage of the confusion, the Ironbone Sabretooth Tiger had leapt into the fray, disrupting the opposing team’s formation. Next, the Devil Vine Mountain Climbing Monster had held the opposing familiars in place with its vines, allowing the Steel-Winged Paladin and the tiger to take them down one by one.
Just like that, Tiange Academy’s team managed to secure victory almost effortlessly.