Chapter 48: The Enrollment Storm (Part 2)
As expected of the heir of the Wen Shui Tang family, Tang Thirty-Six's words indeed had a powerful ability to sway hearts and minds. The area in front of the National Teaching Academy grew much quieter, and many people began to seriously ponder the terms written on the enrollment notice.
The only one who was dissatisfied was, of course, Xuan Yuan Po. He listened with great displeasure. What did he mean by "no talent, nothing to offer"? And "shame"? Shame on your grandpa! But he understood why Tang Thirty-Six was using him as an example, so he had no choice but to endure it forcefully. Even though his breathing grew much heavier, under Tang Thirty-Six's signal, he was even forced to stand up, raise his thick right arm, force a simple-minded smile, and wave at the crowd around him.
Applause rose from the crowd.
Tang Thirty-Six was very satisfied with the effect of his promotion and pressed on, saying, "Just now, I mentioned Her Highness Luo Luo..."
His voice suddenly rose in pitch as he continued, "That's right! If you enter the National Teaching Academy, the eight-hundred-mile Red River sealed land, the supreme young lady of the demon domain, the jewel in the palms of two saints, Her Highness Bai Di Luo Heng, the princess, will be your classmate!"
"And also, the designated heir of His Holiness the Pope, the youngest Dean in history of the National Teaching Academy, Chen Changsheng, will provide you all with enthusiastic guidance."
After saying this, he gestured for Chen Changsheng to stand up and wave to the crowd.
Chen Changsheng found it utterly embarrassing. He turned his head to look at the notice on the wall beside the academy gate, appearing very serious, as if the red paper and black characters concealed some great secret to defy fate and change his destiny.
Tang Thirty-Six didn't care. He looked at the crowd and continued, "By now, you should all understand that in all of the capital—no, in the entire human world, including Huaiyuan and Li Mountain Front Academy—there is no place with deeper background or stronger backing than our National Teaching Academy. And most importantly, if you pass the exam to enter the National Teaching Academy, you will also have a very remarkable classmate."
The enthusiastic citizen from the very beginning chose this perfect moment to ask, "Who is it?"
Tang Thirty-Six's eyes lit up slightly. He thought to himself that later he would have to find a way to locate this person through the steward of Tianxiang Workshop and grant him a small fortune.
His eyes gleamed. Under the blazing sunlight, even he himself seemed to shine. Whether it was the Wen Shui sword, the gold bracelet, or the jade pendant, they all sparkled brilliantly before the crowd.
He let out three hearty laughs and said, "Sorry, but that would be me."
"Perhaps some young friends from distant lands don't know who I am. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Tang Thirty-Six."
At this point, he glanced at Chen Changsheng and continued, "I'm not the thirty-sixth in my family. When I first entered the Azure Cloud Ranking at fifteen, I was ranked thirty-sixth."
Hearing these words, those country children who truly didn't know his identity couldn't help but be amazed. They thought, "Fifteen years old and already on the Azure Cloud Ranking? The National Teaching Academy truly hides dragons and crouching tigers."
"Don't be too surprised. Please look behind me again." Tang Thirty-Six pointed at Chen Changsheng and said, "Our Dean Chen won't turn sixteen for another three months. To be precise, when he was fifteen, he was already at the Tongyou Upper Realm. He was never on the Azure Cloud Ranking because by the time he was qualified to be on it, the Azure Cloud Ranking was no longer worthy of him."
By now, Chen Changsheng was already a famous figure across the continent. Even the most remote prefectures and counties were spreading his stories. But hearing this introduction, the young students in the crowd still felt deeply shaken. The looks they cast at the National Teaching Academy enrollment notice grew fervent, and some of those burning gazes fell directly on him.
Chen Changsheng could no longer avoid it. He reluctantly stood up and bowed to the crowd on all sides, earning a round of enthusiastic cheers.
"Speaking of the Azure Cloud Ranking, I just remembered I didn't finish. Right now, lying in the National Teaching Academy, there is another future classmate of yours."
Tang Thirty-Six said loudly, "His name is Wo Fu Zhe Xiu."
As soon as these words were spoken, another uproar erupted in the crowd.
Chen Changsheng's fame was something that had emerged only this year, but the legendary story of the wolf tribe youth single-handedly fighting the demons on the snowy plains had been circulating in the human world for years.
Xu Yourong had once been the top of the Azure Cloud Ranking, and Zhe Xiu had always been below her. For any young man or woman dedicated to learning or the Dao, how could they not know his name?
Tang Thirty-Six continued, "Still on the Azure Cloud Ranking, the only one who could ever surpass Zhe Xiu was Xu Yourong. But as you should know, Xu Yourong is our little Dean Chen's..."
Chen Changsheng couldn't hold back any longer and glared at him.
Tang Thirty-Six only then realized he had gotten carried away and quickly skipped over that part, saying, "The sun is a bit strong today. I forgot where I was. Wasn't I just talking about myself?"
A chorus of boos rose from the crowd, along with a young girl's displeased murmur.
Tang Thirty-Six composed himself and said calmly and seriously, "The reason I say that if you all pass the exam to enter the National Teaching Academy, the most important thing is to have a classmate like me—in other words, why the National Teaching Academy excels because of me—is not because I'm that strong. In terms of strength and realm, I'm certainly no match for freaks like Chen Changsheng and Zhe Xiu. But... I come from the Wen Shui Tang family. I can be the firmest supporter on your path of study."
He pointed at the notice on the academy gate and said, "For example, we don't charge tuition and even provide a stipend. Of course, this is only for this year's batch. No chance after that."
A young student frowned and asked, "You don't charge money and even give money? Aren't you just buying students?"
"Not buying, but winning over." Tang Thirty-Six's expression remained calm as he smiled and said, "Anyone who successfully completes marrow cleansing and enters the academy will have room and board covered, plus a monthly silver allowance of five taels. For those at the Sitting Meditation Initial Realm, it's fifty taels a month. Every time you break through a realm, the monthly silver doubles. If you've already achieved Tongyou, in addition to the monthly silver, you'll also receive ten crystal stones to aid your cultivation."
The National Teaching Academy's enrollment notice only mentioned that there would be stipends and no tuition, but it didn't specify amounts. Hearing Tang Thirty-Six's detailed explanation now, the crowd fell into dead silence. Even the experts from the Tianhai family in the distance were somewhat taken aback. As for the stewards of the three major workshops under the awning, they looked at the Tianxiang Workshop steward with expressions of utter astonishment, thinking, "Does your young master's family in Wen Shui know he's throwing money around like this?"
Tang Thirty-Six was very satisfied with the crowd's reaction and continued, "As for the food issue, don't worry. Cheng Hu Lou... is now our National Teaching Academy's cafeteria."
Hearing this, the young students from other prefectures were fine, but the capital's residents, especially some food connoisseurs, nearly fainted.
Cheng Hu Lou was the most famous and expensive restaurant in the capital. Was it really... going to close? And become the National Teaching Academy's cafeteria?
Xuan Yuan Po was very pleased and decided to forgive some of Tang Thirty-Six's earlier behavior.
But many people looked at Tang Thirty-Six as if he were their mortal enemy.
Tang Thirty-Six looked at those people and asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"
Someone couldn't help but say, "This is too outrageous. Is this how you run an academy?"
Tang Thirty-Six replied seriously, "I'm quite wealthy. Haven't you all come to terms with that fact yet?"
(Thanks to a certain prototype character for providing input, though in the end I still didn't adopt it... See you all tomorrow.)
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