Chapter 472: The National Teaching Academy’s Big Event
“Of course it’s him.” Zhe Xiu looked at them like they were idiots.
Before entering the capital, he hadn’t yet broken through to the Penetrating Darkness realm. Even with the unique bloodline talents of the Wolf Clan, it was impossible for him to defeat a Star Gathering realm powerhouse.
He added, “But if I fought him now, I’d be confident.”
Tang Thirty-Six raised an eyebrow in surprise. “You’re confident you can beat him?”
Zhe Xiu replied, “No, I’m confident I can take him down with me.”
The room fell silent instantly. Tang Thirty-Six rubbed his temples, thinking that aside from himself, every single person in the National Teaching Academy was a lunatic. There was just no communicating with them.
Chen Changsheng suddenly looked at him and asked, “What exactly are you trying to do?”
Logically speaking, given Tang Thirty-Six’s temperament, no matter how arrogant he was, he wouldn’t have deliberately provoked a figure as formidable as the head of the Tianhai Clan at Cheng Lake Tower, escalating the situation so abruptly.
Tang Thirty-Six was quiet for a moment, then said, “We’ve analyzed what both sides want. The Pope might be trying to sharpen you like a blade. So why is the Tianhai Clan cooperating?”
“Because they want to build momentum… ultimately forcing me to face Xu Yourong head-on.”
“Do you want to fight Xu Yourong to the death?”
Chen Changsheng thought it over seriously and realized he had no reason, no justification whatsoever, to battle that girl he’d never even met. He shook his head.
“Then it’s settled.”
Tang Thirty-Six said, “What I’m doing now is making sure they can’t predict our response. Once this is handled, you can quietly focus on your studies and cultivation.”
“Can it really work?” Chen Changsheng asked him earnestly.
Tang Thirty-Six raised his sword-like brows and said, “Who am I?”
Chen Changsheng suddenly remembered Su Li by the hot spring in the Snow Ridge and felt this plan might not be all that reliable.
“But why would the other side suddenly intensify their pressure on the National Teaching Academy?”
A figure like the head of the Tianhai Clan certainly wouldn’t change a long-set strategy just because he couldn’t get lobster.
Tang Thirty-Six looked at him and grinned, a hint of mischief in his eyes.
“Obviously, your cheap father-in-law is starting to think highly of you. The Tianhai Clan is worried that Xu Yourong might actually take a liking to you—what would they do then?”
Chen Changsheng didn’t know how to respond, so he awkwardly changed the subject: “First, we need to solve the immediate problem—how to avoid being drowned by them.”
He’d said the same thing earlier at Cheng Lake Tower.
Back when the National Teaching Academy was in a tight spot, Tang Thirty-Six had returned from the Heavenly Book Mausoleum, holding a bowl of soy milk in one hand and a fried dough stick in the other. Standing at the academy’s gate, he’d declared with fierce determination that he would handle this, then viciously dunked the dough stick into the soy milk, saying he’d drown them. Now Chen Changsheng wanted to know—since the old tactic of “block water with earth, stop soldiers with soldiers” clearly wouldn’t work anymore—how did he plan to drown them this time?
If there was no good solution, he’d have to stop overthinking and go straight to the Li Palace to seek an audience with the Pope.
“Drowning—there are many ways.” Tang Thirty-Six said with confidence, “My next method is called ‘Drowning the Seven Armies.’”
“Drowning the Seven Armies?” Chen Changsheng was baffled.
Tang Thirty-Six suddenly remarked, “Earlier, I heard that the National Church cavalry arrested two more groups of out-of-town tourists trying to force their way into the National Teaching Academy to sightsee.”
Chen Changsheng thought, what does that have to do with what we’re discussing now?
Tang Thirty-Six continued, “That gave me an idea. Since so many people want to come in and look around, why don’t we just sell tickets? We could even make some money.”
Chen Changsheng and Xuanyuan Po still didn’t understand.
Tang Thirty-Six looked at them seriously and said, “What I’m trying to say is—the National Teaching Academy is huge… Just the few of us—don’t you ever feel lonely?”
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The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, a large crowd of onlookers had already gathered outside the National Teaching Academy.
Clearly, the fact that the National Church cavalry had arrested three groups of tourists trying to break into the academy the day before hadn’t dampened anyone’s spirits.
Moreover, what had happened at Cheng Lake Tower, followed by the fury of the Tianhai Clan head, had already spread throughout the entire capital. Everyone knew that just today, over forty cultivation experts would come to challenge the National Teaching Academy—considering that in the previous days, there had only been a few dozen matches total.
Who would want to miss such excitement?
The National Teaching Academy could, of course, stall like they had in the first couple of days. But times had changed. Today there were forty-some challenge letters, and tomorrow there might be even more. Snowflakes kept falling, snowballs kept rolling. When the snow on the ground piled up thicker and thicker, and the snowball rolled higher than the academy gate, what could those young people inside the National Teaching Academy do?
The flower vendor at the end of the alley had already arrived, and the breakfast stalls had claimed the best spots even earlier. People munched on steaming buns and refreshing cold noodles while eagerly discussing the matter. The air was thick with the smell of meat filling and shredded cucumber, so much so that the lovesick girls who adored Tang Thirty-Six had to hide their flowers in their arms, afraid the floral scent would be ruined.
The crowd gradually fell silent. Across the street, in front of a shaded awning, a large group of people had appeared. Some were old, some young; some tall, some short. They all stood in silence, clearly not ordinary onlookers. Dangerous auras radiated from them—these were true experts, all here to challenge the National Teaching Academy.
Seeing these dozens of experts the Tianhai Clan had summoned from various academies and even from different prefectures, many people couldn’t help but worry for the National Teaching Academy. How could they possibly fight them all? How could they ever finish?
Just then, the academy’s gate creaked open from the inside.
The street outside fell into dead silence. The atmosphere was strange. Even the lovestruck girls only gazed expectantly toward the gate, no longer shouting Tang Thirty-Six’s name or spouting crazy lines like “I must marry you” as they had in previous days.
The person who walked out of the National Teaching Academy wasn’t Tang Thirty-Six, nor Chen Changsheng—it was Priest Xin.
Priest Xin glanced at the crowd around him, especially at the experts far down the street. He shook his head, his expression complicated, though it was hard to tell if he was worried for the academy or something else.
He took a piece of paper from his chest, instructed a subordinate to carefully paste it on the wall beside the academy gate, then turned to face the crowd. Clearing his throat, he announced loudly, “Today, the National Teaching Academy will temporarily suspend accepting challenge applications.”
Flower Alley and the streets beyond fell utterly silent. The academy’s response was expected, but as everyone thought, they couldn’t stall indefinitely. The academy would have to come up with new measures. Logically, this Li Palace priest should have more to say—something big might be about to happen.
Sure enough, Priest Xin continued, “Today, the National Teaching Academy officially begins recruiting new students!”
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