Chapter 483: The Unexpected Transfer Student
Tang Thirty-Six lowered his gaze and couldn't help but laugh, asking, "Then how are your hands still so white?"
The young student replied, "I figured it out later. I tucked my hands into my sleeves, so they couldn't see the sun, and naturally they returned to their original color."
Tang Thirty-Six looked him over, sensing the faint aura emanating from him, and said with slight surprise, "Not bad, you've actually reached the middle stage of Penetrating Profundity."
The young student said politely, "Thank you for the compliment. It's only average."
Tang Thirty-Six said, "No need to be modest. Though you're still a little behind me, it's still pretty good."
The young student was momentarily stunned. Although he had interacted with Tang Thirty-Six many times during the Grand Examination and at the Heavenly Book Mausoleum, he still found it a bit hard to adapt. After thinking it over, he said, "You were lucky."
Tang Thirty-Six sneered, "When I left the Heavenly Book Mausoleum, I was solidly at the upper stage of Penetrating Profundity. You only reached the middle stage a month later than me. What does that have to do with luck?"
The young student thought again and said, "You have a point. I am indeed inferior to you."
This young student, who spoke and acted with extreme precision, even appearing somewhat dull and wooden, yet carried an air of refined nobility, was Su Moyu, the most promising student of the Divinity Palace Affiliated Academy in recent years.
Back then, Su Moyu had questioned Chen Changsheng on the Divine Path of the Divinity Palace. But when he realized his doubts were unfounded, he quickly acknowledged his mistake and offered a sincere apology. During the Grand Examination, he had even traveled alongside the National Academy's people for a considerable time. His talent was indeed outstanding, but due to the luck of the draw, he hadn't advanced very far. Later, when everyone entered the Heavenly Book Mausoleum to observe the steles and comprehend the Dao, Chen Changsheng and others left one after another. A month ago, even Tang Thirty-Six and Gou Hanshi and the other Li Mountain disciples had departed. Only Su Moyu, for some unknown reason, remained in the Heavenly Book Mausoleum to continue observing the steles. When Chen Changsheng and the others learned of this, they even worried that this somewhat pedantic and dull fellow might truly be captivated by the Heavenly Book Steles, never wanting to leave the mausoleum, and become a Stele Attendant.
Tang Thirty-Six looked at Su Moyu and asked, "Are you sure you want to fight this match?"
Su Moyu glanced at Ye Xingqing and said, "This match should be mine to fight."
Tang Thirty-Six didn't catch the hidden meaning in those words.
Like the already deceased Zhuang Huanyu, Su Moyu was one of the most outstanding students from the six Ivy Academies and a famous figure in the capital. It was only in the past year that Chen Changsheng and the National Academy had stolen some of his limelight. But many capital residents still recognized him. As word spread, the crowd buzzed with discussion, both surprised and puzzled, wondering when he had become a student of the National Academy.
Ye Xingqing heard these murmurs, and for some reason, his expression turned somewhat unpleasant. He looked at Su Moyu hesitantly and asked, "You... aren't you a student of the Divinity Palace Affiliated Academy?"
Tang Thirty-Six didn't notice that he was using a respectful form of address for Su Moyu. He said, "Oh, he already registered in advance to join the National Academy."
Then he looked at Su Moyu and asked, "Do you have confidence?"
This question wasn't unnecessary. After all, Ye Xingqing was no ordinary servant; he was a servant trained by two masters of the Eight Directions Wind and Rain.
Su Moyu had chosen to leave the Heavenly Book Mausoleum, so he must have achieved an absolute improvement in both realm and strength compared to before. But he still might not be a match for this man.
Tang Thirty-Six had originally planned to fight himself, not only because he thought only the Wenshui Tang family could stand up to the Bie family, but also for this reason.
Su Moyu seemed to think of something and didn't respond.
Tang Thirty-Six thought it over and said, "Although he is a servant of the Bie family, his cultivation method doesn't follow the path of those two great figures. Instead, it follows the Putian Star River Flow."
Su Moyu was surprised, apparently learning this for the first time.
Ye Xingqing, having had his cultivation method exposed, didn't seem too concerned. He just looked at Su Moyu, appearing somewhat uneasy.
"The Putian Star River Flow follows a path of cunning and ruthlessness. The day before yesterday, after the Teaching Pivot Office sent over the materials, Chen Changsheng studied them and drafted several plans."
Tang Thirty-Six pointed to Chu Wenbin, who had already retreated to the stone steps, and said, "This plan was for him to use, but he could only hold out for a while. Since you're the one fighting, you should be able to win."
Having said this, without waiting for Su Moyu to respond, he directly laid out all the plans Chen Changsheng had prepared.
The area in front of the National Academy fell silent, with only his voice audible.
If words were swords, then what he was saying now were the swords Chen Changsheng had prepared for Ye Xingqing.
Just like the previous two matches.
The capital residents who had come to watch naturally couldn't understand.
But the Divinity Palace priests and the experts challenging the National Academy grew increasingly silent as they listened.
Ye Xingqing's face gradually turned pale.
The swords of Chen Changsheng hidden within Tang Thirty-Six's words directly exposed the characteristics of his cultivation method and precisely pinpointed his weaknesses.
And now, countless people had heard these words.
Swords didn't need to be numerous, just sharp enough. Chen Changsheng's plans were also simple, as long as they were effective.
It didn't take long for Tang Thirty-Six to finish.
The entrance of the National Academy remained utterly silent, even deathly still.
It was only after a long time that Su Moyu sighed, "I am inferior to him."
This was a heartfelt lament from him.
And it was also the thought of many people present.
"Feeling confident now?" Tang Thirty-Six asked.
Su Moyu gave him a strange look and said, "I said I'm inferior to Chen Changsheng. When did I ever say I lacked confidence in this battle?"
Tang Thirty-Six thought, then why didn't you respond to me earlier?
Actually, even if Su Moyu had said he was confident, Tang Thirty-Six would have found a way to reveal the plans Chen Changsheng had prepared last night.
People always thought that Chen Changsheng's ability to cultivate to such a realm at such a young age was mainly due to his National Church background and those lucky encounters, thus underestimating his talent for cultivation and his diligence.
He felt this was wrong. He believed Chen Changsheng's genius deserved everyone's praise and even reverence.
There was also another important reason: he really disliked Ye Xingqing as a person, so he wanted to expose his cultivation secrets and weaknesses in broad daylight.
"Then go fight," Tang Thirty-Six said to Su Moyu. "Beat him until even his young master can't recognize him."
...
...
The former genius of the Divinity Palace Affiliated Academy, after half a year of observing the steles and meditating in the Heavenly Book Mausoleum, Su Moyu had become quite powerful. Moreover, he had no psychological barriers to using Chen Changsheng's plan, and for some reason, Ye Xingqing's performance in the battle fell far short of expectations. This match ended with the former's victory, as expected.
As for whether Ye Xingqing was beaten until his young master couldn't recognize him, one would have to ask Bie Tianxin himself. According to Su Moyu, he probably couldn't be recognized.
The third match also ended quickly. Including the time spent talking, it wasn't very long. As the morning light faded and the scorching sun was about to rise, Tang Thirty-Six led Su Moyu and the dozens of new students back into the National Academy, leaving only the tightly closed courtyard gate for the unsatisfied crowd and the silent challengers.
Tang Thirty-Six's reason was simple: "A friend has returned from the Heavenly Book Mausoleum. We need to have a big meal and catch up first. As for trivial matters like the academy martial exhibition, we can continue after eating."
On the grassy shore of the lake, many students sat with books in hand, reading. Not far away, under a green tree, there were the most famous rose ice blocks from Cheng Lake Tower, available for the students to take freely.
Seeing this scene, Su Moyu was deeply moved and said, "This is simply too extravagant."
Tang Thirty-Six said, "You won't regret joining the National Academy."
In front of the grassy shore by the lake stood a wall that was clearly newly built. It was somewhat low and couldn't block the view inside, let alone the large banyan tree. It served only as a slight partition.
Beyond the low wall, the woods were denser and quieter, with few people.
Hidden among the green trees was a small building. Chen Changsheng was waiting in front of it. Seeing Su Moyu, he said, "You're here?"
"Mm." Su Moyu noticed his complexion and said, "You look very tired."
Chen Changsheng was indeed very tired. Over the past few days, he had been studying his opponents, finding their weaknesses, guiding and devising plans for the National Academy's new students. In essence, he had been constantly wielding his Wisdom Sword. Moreover, he was eager to re-enter the Zhou Garden and made many attempts every night. His spiritual sense had been severely depleted, and he was on the verge of collapse.
"Now you can tell us," Tang Thirty-Six said, looking at Su Moyu. "Why did you come to the National Academy?"
When they saw Su Moyu's name on the registration list that night, both he and Chen Changsheng were very surprised and somewhat worried.
Some students from the other Ivy Academies had also transferred here, but those were all students who weren't valued. Su Moyu was different. He had been the focus of the Divinity Palace Affiliated Academy's training for the past two years. Yet, after leaving the Heavenly Book Mausoleum, he came to the National Academy without even informing the Divinity Palace Affiliated Academy. Once this news got out, it would inevitably cause some trouble.
"I came to avoid trouble," Su Moyu said without any intention of hiding it. "The commotion you've stirred up in the capital is too big. Even in the Heavenly Book Mausoleum, I heard about it. If I returned to the Divinity Palace Affiliated Academy, the next arrangement waiting for me would definitely be to represent them in challenging you. I only like reading and cultivating, not doing these things."
Chen Changsheng and Tang Thirty-Six understood.
Siyuan Daoist was one of the six giants of the National Church, a representative figure of the church's new faction, and also the biggest backer of the Divinity Palace Affiliated Academy.
Bie Tianxin, who had already reached the middle stage of Star Gathering, insisted on challenging the National Academy despite the criticism, precisely because his parents had ties with Siyuan Daoist.
If Su Moyu returned to the Divinity Palace Affiliated Academy, he would definitely not be able to avoid such arrangements.
Tang Thirty-Six was still puzzled: "You don't like fighting, so why did you volunteer to represent the National Academy earlier?"
"Because he is from the Bie family," Su Moyu said.
Tang Thirty-Six said, "Just because he's from the Bie family, it's a bit tricky to handle, so I was originally hesitant."
"It's wrong to bully the weak and fear the strong," Su Moyu said to him seriously.
"Good point." Tang Thirty-Six found him more and more agreeable, even somewhat admirable.
Su Moyu said, "And I told you earlier, this match should be mine to fight."
Tang Thirty-Six remembered that he had indeed said that earlier. Thinking about it now, those words were indeed strange. What did he mean by "should be mine to fight"?
"Why?"
"Because Bie Tianxin is my cousin."