Chapter 208: Ink
Translator: StarveCleric Editor: GaiaNove
The Hongtian Academy was bustling with people.
The Freshmen Tournament was about to begin.
Ten thousand students had been enrolled in the academy, and after half a month of study, it was time to check on the results of their training.
"Who do you think will be first place in the tournament this time?"
"I still think it"s the person who got number one during the entrance examinations. Right after enrolment, his cultivation reached Fighter 2-dan. A month has pa.s.sed since then, so he should be much stronger by now."
"The Freshmen Tournament isn"t just reliant on strength. Besides, even if he was strong before his enrolment, it doesn"t mean that he will still be strong now. I"ve heard that the few new students under Lu laos.h.i.+ who were going to partic.i.p.ate in the Teacher Evaluation have all reached Fighter 2-dan. Furthermore, they weren"t his direct disciples. It will be hard to tell whether he can beat them!"
"But that guy is a student of Lu laos.h.i.+ too, right? Seems like even if first place isn"t that guy, it should be someone under Lu laos.h.i.+"s tutelage."
"Of course! Of the top five hundred in the entrance examination, at least three hundred of them have come under Lu laos.h.i.+"s tutelage. Even if they don"t want to get first place, there must be someone that can match up to them first!"
"By the way, who do you think will win in the Teacher Evaluation? Zhang Xuan laos.h.i.+ or Lu laos.h.i.+?"
"Win? Are you stupid? Does that question even need to be asked? In what way is Zhang Xuan laos.h.i.+ qualified to compete against Lu laos.h.i.+? Even if the Education Bureau had intentionally suppressed him, causing his Teacher Qualification Examination results to be reflected wrong, his result in the past year wasn"t terrific either!"
"Th-that"s true!"
"See! To tell you the truth, I heard that the fellow intentionally provoked Lu laos.h.i.+ to make fame for himself. After causing his student"s cultivation to go berserk, he still dares to challenge Lu laos.h.i.+ to a Teacher Evaluation…. I really don"t know how a person"s skin can be so thick!"
…
"The news that I"ve heard is completely different from yours. I heard that Zhang Xuan laos.h.i.+ is a n.o.ble person, and has already reached Pixue realm. In order to uphold the academy"s prestige, he had been keeping mum about the matter, tolerating all of the insults by himself!"
"I"ve also heard that! Rumors have it that his student was afflicted with Innate Sealed Meridians, and he intentionally caused his student"s cultivation to go berserk so that he could surpa.s.s his limits."
"That person is Zhao Yanfeng. I"ve met him a few times. Not only did Zhang laos.h.i.+ help resolve his problem, he even helped him break through his cultivation. Right now, he"s already a Fighter 2-dan expert. Grateful to Zhang laos.h.i.+, he wanted to go under his tutelage once more. This event incurred Lu laos.h.i.+ wrath, resulting in Lu laos.h.i.+ challenging Zhang laos.h.i.+ to the Teacher Evaluation."
"Are you serious? Is that true?"
"It"s definitely true. I heard this info from a friend I"m familiar with."
…
All kinds of discussions and theories floated around the place. Some said that Zhang Xuan overestimated himself, while others said that he was forced to accept the challenge. At this point, it was hard to tell what the truth was anymore.
Due to Yao Han"s intentional spreading of the news of the Education Bureau, nearly everyone in the academy was aware of it now.
However, most of the students were still hesitant to believe it.
After all, Lu Xun"s reputation in the academy was simply too great. Even though Zhang Xuan had cleansed himself of the grief from scoring a zero in the Teacher Qualification Examination, it was hard for him to establish a towering image in the hearts of the students within such a short period of time.
However, Zhang Xuan wasn"t bothered by this matter at all.
In any case, tomorrow"s Teacher Evaluation would determine everything. Rather than wasting his time on this matter, he might as well focus on raising the strength of those students of his.
Soon he arrived at his cla.s.sroom.
"Zhang laos.h.i.+!"
Zhao Ya and the others were all present. Each of them were spirited and emitted a powerful aura.
"Not bad!"
Seeing the status of his students, Zhang Xuan nodded his head in satisfaction.
He was glad that he didn"t waste his efforts.
Regardless of whether it was Zhao Ya, Zheng Yang, w.a.n.g Ying, Liu Yang, or Yuan Tao, each of them had improved significantly. They were completely different from how they were half a month ago.
Not only this, even the students who had just listened in on the lessons—w.a.n.g Tao, w.a.n.g Yan, and Zhao Yanfeng—had also improved significantly.
Even though Zhang Xuan didn"t conduct many lessons, every word in his lecture pointed straight toward the essence of cultivation. Learning under him helped them further comprehend cultivation as a topic, and naturally, this helped them raise their cultivation faster.
"What is that?"
After praising them, just when Zhang Xuan was about to start meeting them one by one, Zhang Xuan suddenly caught sight of something in the corner of the room.
There were a few pots placed by the side and the contents inside them were all pitch-black. Perplexed, Zhang Xuan asked them.
He clearly remembered not seeing such an object in the cla.s.sroom before.
"Zhang laos.h.i.+, it is ink," w.a.n.g Ying"s face flushed as she said softly.
"Ink?" Zhang Xuan was confused. "Why would there be a pot of ink in the cla.s.sroom?"
What he taught was cultivation, not culture. There was no need for him or the students to paint beautiful ink paintings or write elegant calligraphy, so there was no reason for these objects to be in the cla.s.sroom.
"That…"
Upon hearing his question, the several students fell into a silence of awkwardness.
"What"s wrong? Could there be a reason behind this? Yuan Tao, speak!"
Seeing the bizarre expressions on everyone"s faces, Zhang Xuan"s eyebrows shot up.
"I…"
Yuan Tao didn"t expect Zhang laos.h.i.+ to single him out and his face immediately scrunched up as though he had eaten a bitter gourd. After a moment of hesitation, he said, "It"s like that. Due to the awakening of Zhao Ya xiaojie"s Pure Yin Body, she has become even more beautiful. As such, many students wish to court her…."
"Court?"
Only then did Zhang Xuan realize the change in Zhao Ya"s appearance from the awakening of the Pure Yin Body. Regardless of whether it was her looks or her nature, she seemed completely different from before. Compared to the domineering young mistress in the past, she was now an elegant young lady.
In terms of appearance, she was superior even to Shen Bi Ru. It was no wonder that other students started to admire and approach her.
"So if someone comes to find her… what is the purpose of the ink?" Zhang Xuan was even more perplexed.
Even if Zhao Ya became prettier and other men came to pester her, it would suffice to chase them away. In the academy, it was unlikely for them to go too far.
Besides, the strength of his students had risen greatly. If someone tried to hara.s.s Zhao Ya, they would likely leave with a swollen face.
By no means were Zheng Yang, Liu Yang, and Yuan Tao people who would allow others to climb over their head. It was impossible for them to watch obediently as others tried to poach Zhao Ya over to their sides.
"This… We have chased away all of the students, but…" Yuan Tao scratched his head as he laughed awkwardly. "But recently, three perverted old men had been loitering around the cla.s.sroom. Based on their movements, we wouldn"t be able to defeat them. So we prepared some ink to pour on them! It"s rumored that ink can vanquish l.u.s.t, and after they had been splashed by this ink, those three perverted old men should feel embarra.s.sed to continue loitering here…"
"Perverted old men?" Zhang Xuan was perplexed. "Are you sure that they aren"t teachers of the academy?"
"I"m sure that they aren"t. I know all of the teachers in the school, but there aren"t any teachers with appearances like theirs. Just by looking at their leering faces, I"m sure that they are up to no good!" The one who spoke this time was Zheng Yang. "I kept seeing them hiding in the corner in the past few days, pointing to Zhao Ya and w.a.n.g Ying, discussing them. Sometimes, they even nodded their heads while smiling. I am sure that they are up to no good."
"Pointing to Zhao Ya and w.a.n.g Ying and discussing them? When did such shameless fellows appear in the academy?"
From the confidence in his student"s tone, Zhang Xuan didn"t think that he was lying. His forehead wrinkled.
For old men to be peeping on and discussing sixteen, seventeen-year-old girls…. They were indeed lecherous.
"Alright!"
Zhang Xuan also agreed with their opinions that the old men were up to no good and nodded his head. "You all should be on guard. Zhao Ya and w.a.n.g Ying, don"t go out by yourselves for the next few days. If you meet those three old men again, feel free to use the ink to splash them!"
Since they were able to get into the academy, they probably had esteemed ident.i.ties. It was already embarra.s.sing for them to be stalking young girls in public, and if they were to be splashed with ink, they should probably understand how shameful their actions were and leave of their own accord.
Of course, he would try to remain in the academy for the next two days. If the old men were to strike once more, he didn"t mind teaching them a lesson personally.
"Hooray for Zhang laos.h.i.+!"
"I"ve already said that Zhang laos.h.i.+ is an understanding person and he wouldn"t blame us for that…."
Upon hearing Zhang Xuan approving their actions, the students cheered happily.
"Mm, alright, let"s get down to business. Yuan Tao, follow me in first. I"ll take a look at how your cultivation is going."
The Teacher Evaluation was tomorrow. So Zhang Xuan needed a clear idea of the current strength of his students by today. At the same time, he could offer them some instruction. Perhaps, through this, they would improve a bit more before the duel with Lu Xun"s students.
Even if it was just a mild improvement, it might just be the determining factor in the battle.
The duo walked into the part.i.tioned room and Yuan Tao closed the door behind him. After which, Zhang Xuan gestured. "Show me your battle technique."
"Yes!" Yuan Tao nodded his head. His fist shot out, making the wind howl. The might behind his fist was astonis.h.i.+ng.
Even though his cultivation didn"t improve greatly, still in Fighter 1-dan Juxi realm intermediate stage, his strength was astounding. That punch of his had caused a sonic boom.
"This strength…"
Zhang Xuan was surprised.
His ability to produce a sonic boom with his fists meant that his strength and defensive ability had reached astonis.h.i.+ng levels. Even Fighter 3-dan Zhenqi realm cultivators might find it difficult to endure a punch with that power.
"As expected of the Emperor"s Bloodline. Even though only ten percent of it has been awakened, it is still able to induce such an incredible growth in strength and defense!"
The unique const.i.tutions were indeed extraordinary, befitting of their enormous reputations.
Even though Yuan Tao"s cultivation was still the lowest among his five students, his offensive and defensive abilities were extremely fearsome.
"Your cultivation still isn"t good enough. Whenever you cultivate and gather spiritual energy, you are too focused on the absorption of spiritual energy, thus failing to align your physical condition along with it. I will impart you with a cultivation method now. As long as you cultivate with it, it shouldn"t be difficult for you to reach Juxi realm advanced stage today," said Zhang Xuan, after taking a single look.
After the other party had executed his punching routine, a new book on Yuan Tao formed in his head. After reading through the contents within, Zhang Xuan gained a clear idea of the problems and flaws in Yuan Tao"s cultivation.
"Yes!" Yuan Tao hurriedly nodded his head and turned his attention to memorizing the cultivation method. It didn"t take him long before he remembered the entire formula.
"OK, call Zhao Ya in."
After instructing Yuan Tao on what he should do, Zhang Xuan waved him out.
Soon, Zhao Ya walked in.
The Pure Yin Body was indeed incredible. Upon its awakening, Zhao Ya exuded the disposition of a fairy from the upper realms who had descended onto the mortal world.
Not to mention, Zhao Ya was originally a beautiful maiden. With the augmentation from her const.i.tution, every single movement of hers exuded indescribable grace.
"Given her looks and nature, any male students matched against her will immediately admit his defeat upon seeing her smile."
The heavens were indeed unfair. Given Zhao Ya"s outer appearance, if her opponent was a male, he might not even try to lay his hands on her.
"Show me your battle technique!"
"Yes!" Zhao Ya nodded her head, clenched her fist, and punched out.
Huhuhu!
The sound of wind filled the entire room.
"Your strength…"
After a book was formed in the library, Zhang Xuan flipped it open and took a look. The next instant, his eyes widened in disbelief.
How… could this be possible?
Huala! Boom!
"What are you all doing?"
"The nerve!"
Just as Zhang Xuan was about to speak, he heard the sound of a pot shattering. After which, furious roars resounded.
"What"s going on?"
Frowning, Zhang Xuan immediately walked out of the room.