Chapter 357: The Second Duel (Part 1)

She was willful and mischievous, but the teacher didn't mind; he helped her resolve the pill poison in her body, taught her superior saber techniques, guided her cultivation—his kindness was as heavy as a mountain!

She had hoped to do something for the teacher and bring him fame, but who would have thought... she lost, harming his reputation...

Even so, he didn't give up; fearing she might get hurt, he rushed in to save her!

Teacher, thank you!

Teacher, it was Qing'er being reckless; please forgive me!

Teacher, I won't dare do it again...

Mu Xueqing clenched her fists.

The teacher before her, though young, stood like a great mountain, dispelling all confusion on her path forward.

It gave her even greater motivation to cultivate!

...

Zhao Ya on the opposite side was struggling with whether to bring down her sword when she saw a figure block Mu Xueqing.

It was a young man of twenty-four or twenty-five, with a slightly sallow complexion.

Swish!

By inertia, the long sword did not stop and came straight down.

The young man frowned, extended his hand, bent his middle finger, and flicked lightly.

Hum!

The moment his fingertip touched the blade, Zhao Ya felt a sharp pain in her tiger's mouth; the sword broke in two, flew out of her hand, and shot straight away.

Staggering back five steps,

Zhao Ya caught her breath and realized that the other party had no intention of attacking her; he had merely flicked the sword away, but the force was so strong that it shattered instantly.

Impressive!

Her pupils contracted.

Earlier, with her physique fully activated and sword aura sweeping, even she had difficulty controlling it, yet the other party broke it with a single finger without harming her at all—such insight and strength were astonishing, hard to believe without seeing it!

May I ask, senior, why did you stop our duel?

Though shocked, her face showed no panic; she clasped her fists with neither humility nor arrogance.

You two are... being reckless!

Zhang Xuan waved his arm, feeling utterly exasperated.

You two, if you want to spar, find someone else. Both of you are my students; I just used a pseudonym and disguised myself. Why must you go at each other like this?

One teaching swordsmanship, the other wanting to learn saber techniques—I thought you were up to something else, but I never imagined you'd be fighting here with such intensity.

Oh my!

Is this about winning honor for me?

You're here to embarrass me!

No wonder Mo Yu looked so strange and said she wanted to watch the fun—this really is... quite a show!

You must be Teacher Liu, I presume.

Guessing the young man's identity, Zhao Ya stepped forward, a determined look on her beautiful face: "Your student insulted my teacher. As a student, I duel her to uphold my teacher's name—open and aboveboard. Why do you call it reckless?"

Hmm?

Zhang Xuan was taken aback.

If he said "reckless" as Zhang Xuan, scolding his students was nothing, but as Teacher Liu, it meant belittling the other party.

In a student duel, you, a teacher, not only intervene but also call them reckless—isn't that just being unreasonable?

Why is it fine for your student to hit mine, but when my student hits yours, it's reckless?

Alright, let's end this here. You all go back!

He never expected that disguising himself would lead to being questioned by his own students; Zhang Xuan felt a headache coming on.

What a mess this turned out to be.

If only he had paid a little attention when the two girls were learning swordsmanship and saber techniques, he wouldn't have ended up being watched like a monkey by so many people!

Go back? On what grounds? Mu Xueqing lost the duel; she must apologize immediately for what she said earlier and admit that your Teacher Liu is inferior to our Teacher Zhang. Otherwise, even if we have to take this to the Teacher's Guild or the Master Teacher Hall, we won't back down!

With an angry roar, Zheng Yang jumped up and glared at Zhang Xuan.

He was genuinely furious.

When the student can't win, the teacher steps in... What do you mean by that?

Stopping the fight is one thing, but calling us reckless and saying it ends here... I've seen shameless people, but never this shameless.

A dignified teacher, can't accept losing?

Exactly, we agreed before the duel. Are you saying you can't afford to lose?

Lose is lose, win is win. Are you trying to renege?

Shameless!

Yuan Tao, Liu Yang, Wang Ying, and the others also stepped forward, all fuming.

I lost because my skills are lacking; it has nothing to do with my teacher!

Seeing her teacher being questioned, Mu Xueqing stepped forward.

She had wanted to win honor for her teacher, but instead put him in this awkward position. Gritting her teeth, she said, "If I must apologize, it's only on my behalf, not because my teacher is inferior to your Teacher Zhang!"

What do you mean... After all this talk, you still won't admit defeat? That's not what you said three days ago. What, now that you've lost, you won't own up?

Zheng Yang stared coldly.

Three days ago, you were quite arrogant, saying that Teacher Zhang couldn't compare to your Teacher Liu, and you agreed that the loser would admit it. Now you're changing your tune—do you think we're pushovers?

Apologize now, admit that your Teacher Liu is inferior to our Teacher Zhang, and we'll let this go. Otherwise, don't blame us for being rude!" Liu Yang also stepped forward.

I...

Mu Xueqing's face turned pale.

If she admitted it here, how would her Teacher Liu ever hold his head up in the academy?

Enough!

Seeing these little brats pressing him, his own teacher, Zhang Xuan felt even more exasperated: "Today's duel ends in a draw. All of you, go back!"

You're never this enthusiastic about other things.

Having my own students admit that I am inferior to myself...

What kind of nonsense is this!

A draw?

On what grounds is it a draw?

...

Hearing this, Zheng Yang and the others nearly exploded, and even Zhao Ya's face darkened.

I've seen shameless people, but never this shameless!

Clearly lost, not only refusing to honor the bet, but also having the nerve to call it a draw!

I thought this Teacher Liu was a genius teacher, but now it seems—genius my foot!

What kind of genius doesn't admit defeat?

What kind of genius puts on airs and speaks as a senior?

Do I even know who you are? Putting on a show, what a joke!

Absolutely shameless!

Zhao Ya didn't win, Mu Xueqing didn't lose. If it's not a draw, what is it? All of you, go back and stop making a scene here! Otherwise, I'll tell your teacher to give you a good scolding!" Zhang Xuan waved his hand.

He had no choice but to declare a draw.

If he said Zhao Ya won, that would mean his disguised identity, Liu Cheng, was inferior to Zhang Xuan, and when his identity was revealed later, he'd be mortified.

If he said Mu Xueqing won, that would mean Zhang Xuan was inferior to Teacher Liu...

Same result!

What a mess.

No matter what, he was the one getting hurt.

Rather than deal with all this trouble, it was better to just shoo these little brats away first.

You...

Never expected this Teacher Liu to be so shameless and brazen, refusing to admit defeat so openly; Zhao Ya and the others felt like their lungs would burst with anger.

...

Teacher Liu is in a tough spot now!

Dean Xie and the others couldn't help shaking their heads.

He shouldn't have shown up. Why get involved in a student quarrel as a teacher?" an elder snorted.

That's true, but if he hadn't intervened, Mu Xueqing would have been hurt. As a teacher, how could he stand by and watch his student get injured without stopping it?" Dean Xie said.

That's true...

Everyone nodded.

As teachers, they have the responsibility to teach and also the duty to protect their students from harm. Putting aside this Teacher Liu, if it were them, they couldn't bear to watch their student get hurt either.

Now the academy is in a difficult position. If we side with Teacher Liu, it will surely displease Teacher Zhang; if we side with Teacher Zhang, Teacher Liu will be unhappy. After all, he's not just an ordinary teacher but the president of the Physician Guild. If we do nothing and just watch, both sides will be angry. After all, we didn't stop their duel and even allowed it to happen...

Dean Xie rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache coming on.

Earlier, he had been excited, thinking that no matter which girl won, Tianwu Academy would gain fame and reap the benefits.

He never expected it to come to this.

Now the whole academy was at a loss.

If all else fails... Dean, why don't you invite Teacher Zhang and Teacher Liu to sit down and get to know each other? Both are geniuses; perhaps they'll appreciate each other's talents.

An elder offered a suggestion.

Dean Xie hesitated.

That would be good, but Teacher Zhang is currently taking the assessment for a two-star master teacher and isn't in the royal city. If he learns of the conflict and refuses to come, what then?" another elder said.

Inviting them to sit together could resolve the conflict, but we need to get the parties involved. Teacher Liu, as an academy teacher, would be easier.

But Teacher Zhang is a two-star master teacher. If he doesn't come, all our talk is useless.

Forget it, I'll have to swallow my pride and invite him. I'm a one-star master teacher; Teacher Zhang should at least give me some face.

After a moment's hesitation, Dean Xie shook his head and continued, "Also, prepare a few academy [VIP Tokens] for me. I want to give them to Teacher Zhang's students, so they can enter the academy anytime, read any books, or access any resources without hindrance."

Yes!

An elder nodded.

...

Princess Mo Yu, who had been waiting below the dueling platform to watch the fun, was completely dumbfounded.

She had thought that a duel between students of Zhang Xuan's different identities would be entertaining and interesting, but she never expected it to turn out like this.

Now Zhang Xuan was in an extremely awkward position.

No matter which side won, it would damage his reputation, leaving him in a dilemma.

I have to stop this...

With that thought, she pushed through the crowd and walked over.

Zhao Ya, Zheng Yang...

Teacher Mo!

Zhao Ya and the others, still seething with anger, recognized the princess. She had a semi-teacher relationship with their teacher, making her a fellow disciple.

They had met her at the Master Teacher Hall when their teacher was taking the master teacher assessment.

Why don't you... go back first? If Teacher Zhang finds out you're causing trouble here with people from Tianwu Academy, he'll surely be unhappy.

Mo Yu nodded and tried to persuade them.

If it weren't for her selfishness, Zhang Xuan would have known about this earlier, and things wouldn't have gotten so troublesome.