Chapter 485: The National Teaching Academy Enters a New Era

"You actually haven't forgotten about that..." Chen Changsheng said, quite astonished.

"That couple are both figures among the Eight Directions Winds. Who wouldn't be interested in their affairs? Actually, I even suspect whether Wujiong Bi might have had an affair with Siyuan Daoren back in the Li Palace's attached courtyard back then. Otherwise, why would she send her own biological son to charge into battle for Siyuan Daoren? And why is Bie Yanghong so vigilant, having Su Moyu enter the National Teaching Academy to hold the line?" Tang Thirty-Six walked toward the lakeside, continuing, "But then again, Bie Tianxin, that idiot, is Wujiong Bi's biological son, but it's not necessarily certain he's Bie Yanghong's biological son. What do you think—could he be Siyuan Daoren's offspring? Sigh, what a pity. But this matter involves private affairs, so it can't be spread around—especially don't let Su Moyu hear about it. After all, it's his own uncle; how awkward would that be?"

He looked to his side and found no one there.

Chen Changsheng had left at some unknown time and was now over by the grass on the other side of the wall.

Tang Thirty-Six looked at him in confusion and asked, "What are you doing?"

Chen Changsheng didn't even turn his head, just waved his hand and said, "I'm going to check if the food is ready."

...
...

The three matches that had started at dawn all ended very quickly, so lunchtime came early. After eating, there was still time to nap for a bit. Waiting until the sun had shifted a distance from its zenith and the oppressive heat had slightly eased, the gates of the National Teaching Academy finally opened again.

Tang Thirty-Six was still leading the group. The new students of the National Teaching Academy stood on the stone steps behind him, their faces filled with a mix of excitement and unease.

As expected, the first new student from the National Teaching Academy to fight lost. Just as the opponent's sword tip was about to fall, Tang Thirty-Six's voice rang out very promptly: "That's enough."

The second match was lost. The third match was lost too. In the following several bouts, the National Teaching Academy lost very decisively. The usually lively arena now had a somewhat oppressive atmosphere, with only the voices of Tang Thirty-Six and those new students audible.

"That's about enough, huh."

"I said, you're pushing it a bit!"

"I said, why don't you listen?"

These were Tang Thirty-Six's words, directed at those who had come to challenge the National Teaching Academy.

The words spoken by the National Teaching Academy's new students were much simpler, basically no more than five characters.

"I concede."

Only when they walked back to the front of the National Teaching Academy's gate and shook off the tension and unfamiliarity from the previous fight did they start talking more, standing on the stone steps and discussing animatedly with their classmates.

"Was there a problem with that sword strike I just used?"

"Didn't the Dean say last night that your opponent's weakness lies in speed? So your sword should have been faster."

"I was as fast as I could be."

"That means your Plum Blossom Three Variations isn't practiced enough yet."

"The Dean said last night there was another sword technique that could counter this person. What was it again?"

"Fisherman's Song Three Refrains. That's a powerful sword technique from the Li Mountain Sword Sect. I heard even Liang Banhu couldn't master it; it's Gou Hanshi's signature move. With our current cultivation level, there's no way we can learn it."

...
...

The new students of the National Teaching Academy were all talking at once, showing absolutely no sign of defeat. The consecutive losses didn't seem to have affected their mood at all.

That servant from the Bie family was actually right: swords and blades have no eyes. Especially in matches with such a huge gap in strength, no matter how sharp Tang Thirty-Six's judgment was or how timely his shouts were, some accidents were still unavoidable. But that really couldn't be blamed on the experts who came to challenge the National Teaching Academy; it was mostly due to the new students being too nervous.

As dusk began to fall, the National Teaching Academy had already lost over a dozen matches. Six new students were injured, two of them quite seriously. However, these students had no complaints whatsoever, nor did they bring up Tang Thirty-Six's earlier promise that they wouldn't be affected. Instead, they felt grateful. Because they knew better than anyone how much progress they had made—receiving guidance from Chen Changsheng and having such a rare opportunity for real combat against experts. Just their horizons alone had broadened immeasurably compared to before they entered the academy.

The National Teaching Academy matches, which had caused quite a stir in the capital and brought much excitement to the common people, had finally entered a new phase today.

The National Teaching Academy began to lose, but no one thought they were the losers, because those representing the academy were all new students recruited just a few days ago.

Of course, there were no victors either.

The new students' spirits were high, and Tang Thirty-Six was basically satisfied with the current situation. But watching such perfunctory battles, the common people who had come for the excitement found it terribly boring, so dull they felt stifled. Some even started to get drowsy and yawn.

The most frustrated were still those experts from the Tianhai family and the various Ivy Academy factions. They found themselves completely reduced to sparring partners. A few who had genuinely slipped up and accidentally injured the new students, remembering the threat Tang Thirty-Six had made that morning, even felt somewhat uneasy. Only when they saw that Tang Thirty-Six's expression remained normal did they relax, force a bitter smile, and retreat.

...
...

As dusk deepened, the gates of the National Teaching Academy closed. Most of the clergy from the Li Palace returned to their halls, leaving only the night watchmen and a squad of National Teaching cavalry. The citizens of the capital went home dejectedly to prepare dinner. Under the awning, the managers of the four major gambling houses stared at today's betting totals with tightly furrowed brows. The experts who had challenged the National Teaching Academy felt the most inexplicably irritable.

After dinner, the teachers and students of the National Teaching Academy began their debriefing while also preparing for the next day's matches.

When everything was done, Chen Changsheng and the others returned to the Bie Garden.

Xuan Yuan Po had spent the entire day following the head chef from Cheng Hu Lou. In his view, the lively commotion inside the woks in the kitchen, and the methods of handling ingredients he had never even heard of, were far more important than the excitement outside the academy gate. It wasn't until the debriefing just now that he learned what had happened in the matches outside. Somewhat puzzled, he asked, "If just conceding can solve the problem, why bother recruiting so many new students? We could just concede directly."

Tang Thirty-Six said, "I can tell you've always had a problem with the academy recruiting new students. Why?"

Xuan Yuan Po replied, "Just look at lunch and dinner today. Such good food, and they ate it all up."

"See, this is exactly why I did what I did," Tang Thirty-Six said, looking at him. "Because you can afford to lose face like that, but I can't."

Xuan Yuan Po didn't quite understand at first. He thought about it for a moment before realizing this way of speaking was called a double entendre.

"I'm someone aiming for fifty-eight consecutive wins," Tang Thirty-Six concluded. "How could I let it end here?"

Chen Changsheng glanced at him, knowing that things definitely weren't that simple.