Chapter 128: Battle Roster Released

If anyone knew what he was thinking, they’d probably want to strangle him.

"Tired from showing off? What a joke!"

After Sun Qiang left, Zhang Xuan didn't linger at the mansion. He returned to his residence, by which time it was already completely dark. After class today, then the Pill Debate assessment, then searching for a residence, and all that showing off—he was utterly exhausted. He had originally intended to continue his research on content beyond the Aperture Opening realm, but as soon as he lay down, he fell asleep, only waking up when it was already broad daylight.

Upon returning to the classroom, he found that several students had already arrived. He looked at each of them in turn, nodding with satisfaction. His students seemed to understand the importance of the Freshman Competition, as they had been cultivating diligently. Though he had only been away for a single day, they had already made considerable progress.

He gave each student individual pointers and then explained some of their general questions. Just as he was about to dismiss the class, someone pushed the door open and entered.

"Teacher Zhang, Teacher Lu Xun wants to conduct a Teacher Assessment with you. This is the list of students he wishes to put forward for the competition!"

Previously, he had sent Zhu Hong with the challenge, but Zhu Hong was likely beaten badly by Yuan Tao and the others, so this time, a teacher came instead. The number of students taught by each teacher varies; a popular teacher like Lu Xun, for example, has hundreds of students. It would be unfair for all of them to compete against Zhang Xuan's smaller class. Therefore, for a Teacher Assessment, both teachers select a few representative students to participate in the competition. Zhang Xuan only had five students in total, so no selection was necessary on his part; the other side just needed to choose five to match them one-on-one.

"Alright!" Zhang Xuan took the list casually and glanced down at it, his expression immediately turning peculiar. He had expected that with so many excellent students, Lu Xun would select some of the highest-ranked from the entrance examination. To his surprise, apart from the last student, who was significantly behind Yuan Tao (primarily because Lu Xun didn't have a student of Yuan Tao's rank), the other four were all quite close in terms of their entrance exam rankings. The first student on the list was Zhu Hong, who had visited before. The others were all students whose rankings were quite similar to those of Wang Ying, Zheng Yang, and Liu Yang.

One could choose not to accept a Teacher Assessment. However, once accepted, the opposing teacher could field any of their students. Logically, it wouldn't be against the rules for Lu Xun to send five students from the top ten of the entrance examination, and Zhang Xuan had been preparing for such a scenario. He hadn't anticipated this unusual lineup, leaving him somewhat caught off guard.

"Hmm? Mo Xiao, isn't that fellow..."

He scanned the list, and a familiar name caught his eye. As he pondered it, Liu Yang's voice piped up. Liu Yang had also seen the list and already sensed that something was amiss.

"Teacher Zhang, while the rankings on this list are similar to ours, we wouldn't be able to defeat them in an actual fight. Something's odd..."

"Oh?" Zhang Xuan looked at him quizzically. "What have you noticed?"

"Look at this Bai Chao," Liu Yang explained. "My entrance exam rank was ninety-third, and his is ninetieth. We're not far apart, but this guy specializes in fist techniques, and his cultivation is a minor level higher than mine. In a one-on-one fight, I wouldn't even be able to last two rounds against him. The only reason our ranks are so similar is because his theoretical assessment score was terrible." Liu Yang then pointed to another name: "And Du Lei—his leg techniques are excellent. Wang Ying is ranked sixty-seventh, and he's sixty-ninth. While his rank appears lower, in reality, he's incredibly fast and ruthless in his attacks. Wang Ying definitely wouldn't be able to withstand him in a solo fight."

"I really can't beat him," Wang Ying admitted, a blush rising to her cheeks.

"Mo Xiao is my friend; I've never beaten him," Zheng Yang added. "But... didn't Mo Xiao become a student of Teacher Wang Chao? We both applied at the same time, and I didn't pass the assessment..."

"It's not just him," Liu Yang confirmed. "I clearly remember that Bai Chao became a student of Teacher Hong Xun at the start of the semester, and Du Lei became a student of Teacher Wu Hong."

"What's going on here?" Zhang Xuan couldn't help but look at the teacher who had delivered the list.

"Oh, Mo Xiao, Bai Chao, and Du Lei withdrew from their previous teachers' classes yesterday and have now become students of Teacher Lu," the teacher explained with a nod. "The list has been delivered, and my task is complete. Farewell!"

Without another word, the teacher turned and left.

"Became students of Teacher Lu?" Upon hearing this, Zhang Xuan immediately understood the situation. Honestly, Lu Xun was quite the schemer! Zhang Xuan had initially thought that Lu Xun sent students with similar rankings to his own out of a sense of fairness. In reality, Lu Xun had already done his homework, thoroughly researching Zhang Xuan's students. Zhu Hong was ranked fourth, and Zhao Ya seventh; their rankings weren't far apart. However, Zhang Xuan had previously witnessed Zhu Hong's true strength and knew that even two Zhao Yas couldn't defeat him unless he secretly pointed out Zhu Hong's vital spot.

Wang Ying had a leg injury, and the opponent had clearly investigated this. They sent Du Lei, who excelled in leg techniques and speed. With Wang Ying's leg already compromised, how could she possibly keep up with someone so fast? It was practically setting her up for a beating. Zheng Yang was skilled with the spear, so they sent Mo Xiao, who was even more proficient. Liu Yang had injured the meridians in his right hand while cultivating a martial art, so the opponent sent Bai Chao, who was ferocious with fist techniques. As for the student pitted against Yuan Tao, named Kong Jie, the name was unfamiliar, and he was ranked over three hundred. However, as soon as Liu Yang explained, Zhang Xuan immediately understood. This person wasn't skilled in martial arts or anything else, but their attack power was exceptionally strong, making them a berserker-type combatant. Pitting such a combatant against Yuan Tao, who specialized in defense, was absolutely the best choice.

Damn it! To outsiders, it appeared that Lu Xun, despite having many excellent students, chose to use a few with similar rankings to Zhang Xuan's, seemingly for fairness and justice. In reality, he had secretly sought out individuals specifically designed to counter each of Zhang Xuan's students. To achieve this, he had even gone so far as to poach students from other teachers. Under normal cultivation circumstances, while his students made progress, the opposing students would also improve. Defeating them in just half a month seemed almost impossible. After all, each of his five students had various issues that were difficult to resolve in such a short timeframe.

"Damn it, he's trying to use me as a stepping stone to climb!" Zhang Xuan's anger flared instantly.

In the past, if someone tried to humiliate him, while he might be annoyed, he wouldn't truly be enraged. After all, as an Earthling in his previous life, he was accustomed to facing setbacks and indignities daily; he had grown used to it. But now, the opponent wanted to trample over him to gain prominence, attract more attention, and build a greater reputation. That was entirely unacceptable.

"I'm not a mere stepping stone for you to climb on whenever you please, nor am I a sunflower seed for you to crack at your leisure!"

"I'll do it! Within ten days, I will definitely earn over twenty million to buy those herbs!" His fists clenched, Zhang Xuan's expression turned grim. Since his transmigration, this was the first time he had felt such intense anger. "You want to humiliate me? Fine, I can endure that. But you want to step on me to advance? Absolutely not!"

He had previously thought spending so much money on medicinal ingredients was a bit of a loss and had even considered how to get the students to pay him back. Now, it seemed, what loss? It wasn't just for his students; it was for himself as well.

"Lu Xun, just you wait. Enjoy your moment of triumph now, because you'll be weeping later."

Meanwhile, in his own classroom, Lu Xun sneezed. He rubbed his nose, wondering, "Who's thinking about me?"