Chapter 358: The Second Duel (Part 2)

Hearing this, Zhao Ya and the others exchanged glances, a hint of hesitation in their eyes.

Though they had not known Master Zhang for long, they were well aware that he disliked trouble.

If he found out that they had come to the Tianwu Academy to cause a scene and nearly come to blows with a teacher, he would likely be displeased.

But if they left just like that, how could they swallow their anger?

"Master Mo, you are a renowned teacher. Please judge for us: in the earlier match, if he hadn't interfered, Mu Xueqing would have undoubtedly lost. Not only did she refuse to admit defeat, but she even called it a draw..."

Zheng Yang was furious as he opened his mouth.

"Alright, Teacher Liu is a teacher after all, so let's save him some face. As for Teacher Zhang, I'll explain things to him—he won't get angry or blame you!"

Seeing him rambling on, afraid that if he continued it would be even harder to wrap things up, Mo Yu quickly sent a voice transmission.

"Then I'll leave it to you, Teacher Mo!"

Zheng Yang wanted to keep talking, but was interrupted by Zhao Ya.

"Mm!" Mo Yu nodded.

Turning to look at Zhang Xuan, Zhao Ya spoke: "Teacher Liu, I call you 'teacher' out of respect for the Tianwu Academy. Since you say today is a draw, then a draw it is! But... Mu Xueqing, three days from now, I will still challenge you. Do you dare to accept?"

"How dare I not!" Mu Xueqing gritted her teeth.

"Good. I hope that in the competition three days from now, Teacher Liu won't interfere again. And I hope that if you lose, you won't refuse to admit it!"

Flicking her sleeves, Zhao Ya clasped her fists at Mo Yu: "Teacher Mo, I take my leave!"

Having said this, she cast a cold glance at Zhang Xuan and turned to walk out with the others.

"Uh..."

Having rushed over to stop them, not only did he fail, but he also ended up provoking a third match, and worst of all... being resented by his own student. Zhang Xuan rubbed his forehead, looking utterly miserable.

What kind of mess is this!

This is one hell of a bullet to take!

"Why didn't you warn me earlier..." Full of frustration, he turned to look at Mo Yu.

"I..." Mo Yu's face reddened.

She had thought the two students were just fooling around, nothing serious, and hadn't expected the atmosphere to become so awkward...

Just as she was at a loss for how to respond, a flash of inspiration struck, and she sent a telepathic message: "Actually, this is good. With competition, both groups of your students will work hard to cultivate. Look... Zhao Ya and Mu Xueqing are improving so quickly..."

She said this only to escape the awkwardness, but when Zhang Xuan heard it, he was taken aback.

Sure enough, with competition between them, they both trained desperately and made great progress.

Although the sword techniques and blade techniques I taught were simplified versions more suitable for them, mastering them completely and comprehending the sword intent and blade intent would normally take at least ten days to half a month. Yet in just over two days, they had both accomplished it... This shows how hard they worked.

And most importantly, after this competition, Mu Xueqing's trust in him increased rapidly.

"Alright, that's it... Don't ever let slip my identity!"

After hesitating for a moment, he had no choice but to say no more.

The die was cast; things had already come to this. Saying more was useless. It wasn't like he could go around proclaiming that Liu Cheng was Zhang Xuan and that they were fellow disciples.

If he really said that, the Two-Star Master Teacher assessment probably wouldn't need to continue; it would be as good as ruined.

"Teacher, I'm sorry..."

Mu Xueqing came over, her face full of shame.

Zhang Xuan shook his head, about to console her, when the crowd was pushed aside and an old man rushed over: "Where is the senior who just displayed blade intent? Please accept me as your student. I am Bai Xin. My understanding of the blade is already profound, and I will not disgrace my teacher's reputation..."

Zhang Xuan and Mu Xueqing were speechless.

Mo Yu was speechless.

Everyone was speechless.

...

"Damn it! Damn it!"

Walking back to the mansion, Zheng Yang and the others had faces ashen and grim.

Thinking of that detestable Teacher Liu's smug expression, they felt a blaze of anger.

"Zhao Ya, why did you stop me? To be honest, if you hadn't held me back, I would have applied for the Teacher Battle Platform!"

Zheng Yang snorted.

"Teacher Battle Platform? This Teacher Liu pointed a finger and broke my longsword. His timing was exquisite, and his insight is probably no less than Teacher Zhang's. Even if he suppresses his cultivation, we are no match for him!"

Zhao Ya shook her head.

"Even if we're no match, so what? He's clearly bullying us! Protecting his own student and refusing to admit defeat—this is the first time I've seen such a shameless teacher. Even if we can't win, we won't let him off easy!" Zheng Yang gritted his teeth.

"Zheng Yang is right. If only I were stronger, I'd teach him a good lesson and make him pay!"

Yuan Tao fanned the flames, not minding the trouble.

"Alright, this Teacher Liu may be shameless, but he does have skill. If it weren't for my strong physique and the sword techniques Grandmaster taught me, I would have lost for sure. Our priority now is not to curse here but to find ways to improve our strength. Otherwise, if we lose three days from now, we'll be the ones embarrassed!"

Zhao Ya interrupted their discussion.

"That's true..." The few of them nodded.

In that situation just now, a duel was inevitable; otherwise, the other party would surely think they were easy to bully, and Teacher Zhang's reputation would be dismissed.

But in just three days, that Mu Xueqing had grown to the point where Zhao Ya could barely defeat her, which showed that this Teacher Liu's ability was indeed terrifying.

Now that Teacher Zhang was away, if Zhao Ya lost the match three days later, no amount of talk would help!

"Since Teacher Zhang is not here, we can only beg the Grandmaster, hoping he can give guidance... In these few days, you must also train hard. If the other party refuses to admit defeat again, we might as well challenge the Master's Arena and turn things upside down!"

With a flick of her jade hand, Zhao Ya's eyes shone with a heroic spirit. The fact that she had come to pick a fight upon hearing others gossip that Lu Xun was inferior to Teacher Zhang showed she was not one to fear trouble.

If the other party was shameless once, that was one thing; twice, they couldn't blame them for not showing face!

In Tianxuan Kingdom, Teacher Lu Xun could fight; a mere Teacher Liu, at worst they could join forces and beat him up—no big deal!

"Good, I've been waiting for that..." Zheng Yang nodded and looked at Wang Ying, Yuan Tao, and the others: "What do you think? If this Teacher Liu remains so shameless, dare we make a big scene?"

"Why not? That Teacher Liu, let's take him on!" Yuan Tao roared.

"I won't back down either!" Liu Yang nodded.

"Count me in!" Wang Ying also had a determined look.

"Then it's settled..."

After discussing, they felt much better and strode toward the mansion. Just as they reached the courtyard gate, they saw two figures standing outside.

"Please go and announce us. I am said to be an old acquaintance from Red Lotus City, here to visit Physician Bai!" One of them, who looked like a steward, said to the guard.

"Yes!" Hearing it was an old acquaintance of Physician Bai, the guard hesitated for a moment, then went inside. Before long, Physician Bai followed behind and came out.

"Physician Bai, we meet again!"

Seeing Bai Chan, the two were excited, but Bai Chan looked confused: "Who are you two..."

"Huh?" Seeing he didn't recognize them, the two were puzzled. The steward-like man couldn't help saying: "Physician Bai, I am Steward Lu, and this is our master, the Great Medicine King. How could you..."

These two were none other than the Great Medicine King and Steward Lu from Red Lotus City.

After the Poison Hall incident was settled, the Great Medicine King, as a friend of the special envoy's 'grandmaster uncle,' received greater respect, and no one dared to feed him contract gu anymore.

Others didn't know who the special envoy's 'grandmaster uncle' was, but the Great Medicine King knew clearly—it was this Physician Bai Chan of Tianwu Royal City.

This time, coinciding with a medicinal herb trade fair in the royal city, he had brought Steward Lu along and took the opportunity to visit and build a good relationship.

As a celebrity in the royal city, and now having attached himself to the famous teacher Zhang Xuan, finding Bai Chan's residence was simple; they found it before long.

But... his face hadn't changed, so why didn't Physician Bai recognize them?

"Great Medicine King?"

Bai Chan shuddered.

The reason he had gained fame and status in the royal city was that Teacher Zhang had used his appearance to treat the Great Medicine King. He hadn't expected the man himself to show up.

"Great Medicine King, actually, it wasn't me who treated you back then, but... Teacher Zhang. The matter is like this..."

Not daring to hide anything, he recounted the whole story in detail.

"So it was Teacher Zhang... Where is he now? Could we have the honor of meeting him?" Hearing this, the Great Medicine King and Steward Lu were both startled, then asked.

The Great Medicine King, in particular, had personally seen Zhang Xuan change his appearance, so he believed it more readily.

"Teacher Zhang is taking the Two-Star Master Teacher exam and is not at the mansion..."

After explaining, Bai Chan was about to continue when he saw Zhao Ya and the others approaching. He quickly introduced them: "These are Teacher Zhang's outstanding students. If you two have any message for Teacher Zhang, you can tell them!"

"Teacher Zhang's students?" The Great Medicine King and Steward Lu quickly clasped their fists.

Teacher Zhang was the special envoy's grandmaster uncle, of extremely high seniority. Even though his students were young, the two dared not be negligent.

"Great Medicine King?"

After hearing the introduction, Zhao Ya and the others were all startled: "The Great Medicine King of Red Lotus City?"

On the way to Tianwu Royal City, they had heard Teacher Liu's detailed account and knew of this Great Medicine King's status and power.

They hadn't expected him to be so respectful toward their teacher.

"Teacher has gone out for training and will probably return in five or six days. If the Great Medicine King has any matters, you can tell us, and we'll inform him when he returns!"

Zhao Ya said.

"Oh, nothing important. I just happened to pass by Tianwu Royal City and came to pay a visit!"

Hearing that Zhang Xuan was away, the Great Medicine King was slightly disappointed: "Since Teacher Zhang is not here, we'll take our leave!"

"Wait a moment..."

Yuan Tao stepped forward, looking at him with great curiosity: "I heard... you have close ties with the Poison Hall. Do you have some poisons on hand?"

"This..." The Great Medicine King hadn't expected such a direct question. He gave an awkward smile: "I do have some."

"In that case, do you have something that can give a Tongxuan realm expert a hard time but not kill them? I'd like to buy some..."

Yuan Tao's eyes lit up.

"Give a Tongxuan realm expert a hard time but not kill them?"

The Great Medicine King didn't know what he wanted it for. After a moment's hesitation, he nodded: "I do have such a thing... If you want to use it, I'll give it to you; no need to trouble yourself. But be careful—this medicine is extremely potent. Even a Grandmaster who accidentally ingests it will suffer greatly!"

With that, he turned his wrist, and a jade bottle appeared in his palm.