Chapter 374: Second Duel (Part 1)

She was headstrong and mischievous, but her teacher didn't mind. He helped her resolve the pill poison in her body, taught her advanced saber techniques, and guided her cultivation. His kindness was as vast as a mountain.

She had hoped to do something for her teacher, to enhance his reputation, but to her surprise, she lost, causing his reputation to suffer.

Even so, he didn't give up. Fearing she might get hurt, he rushed forward to save her.

"Teacher, thank you!"

"Teacher, it was Qing'er who was mischievous. Please forgive me!"

"Teacher, I won't dare to be like this again..."

Mu Xueqing clenched her delicate fists.

The teacher before her, though not old, was like a colossal mountain, dispelling all confusion from her path forward.

He gave her greater motivation for her cultivation!

Zhao Ya, on the opposite side, was contemplating whether or not to strike with her sword, when she saw a figure block Mu Xueqing.

It was a young man in his mid-twenties, with a slightly pale complexion.

Whoosh!

Driven by inertia, the longsword did not stop, striking straight down.

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

As his fingertip touched the sword, Zhao Ya immediately felt a sharp pain in the web of her hand. The longsword broke into two pieces, flew from her grasp, and soared straight away.

Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud!

After retreating two steps and steadying her breath, Zhao Ya realized the opponent had no intention of attacking her; he had merely flicked the longsword away. It was due to the immense power in the sword that it was instantly shattered.

"Amazing!"

Her pupils constricted.

Just now, with her full physique activated and her sword aura sweeping forth, even she had trouble controlling it. Yet the opponent broke it with a single finger, without harming her in the slightest. Such insight and strength were truly astonishing; it would be hard to believe if she hadn't seen it with her own eyes!

"May I ask, senior, why you interfered with our match?"

Although shocked, her face showed no trace of panic. She cupped her fist, maintaining a respectful yet unwavering demeanor.

"You two are truly... mischievous!"

Zhang Xuan sighed, shaking his arm in vexation.

"You two, even if you want to spar, pick someone else. You're both my students, and I merely used an alias and disguised myself. Is it really necessary to compete against each other and fight?"

"One teaching swordplay, the other learning saber techniques. What did I think they were doing? How could I not have imagined they'd come here to fight so intensely?"

Good heavens!

Is this to gain reputation for me?

Or to embarrass me instead!

No wonder Mo Yu had a strange expression, saying she wanted to watch the show. This damn... it really is quite a spectacle!

"You must be Teacher Liu, I presume!"

Having guessed the identity of the young man opposite her, Zhao Ya stepped forward, a resolute expression on her beautiful face. "Your student spoke disrespectfully of my teacher. As a student, challenging her to a match to defend my teacher's honor is perfectly legitimate. Why, then, does it become 'mischievous' when it comes from your mouth?"

"Hmm?"

Zhang Xuan was taken aback.

If he said "mischievous" in his identity as Zhang Xuan, scolding students would be nothing. But as Teacher Liu, it would be equivalent to looking down on the other party.

For a teacher to rush up and stop a match between students, and then call the other party "mischievous"—what is that if not being unreasonable and making trouble?

Why is it natural for your student to challenge mine, but if my student challenges yours, it's considered mischievous?

"Alright, let's end things here today. You all should go back!"

Zhang Xuan felt a headache coming on, never expecting his disguised identity to be questioned by his own students.

The whole misunderstanding was truly bewildering.

If he had just paid a little attention when the two girls were learning swordplay and saber techniques earlier, they wouldn't be surrounded by so many spectators, gawking at them like monkeys!

"Go back? Why should we go back? Mu Xueqing lost the match, so she must immediately apologize for what she said earlier and admit that your Teacher Liu is inferior to our Teacher Zhang. Otherwise, we won't back down, even if we have to take this matter to the Teachers' Guild or the Master Teacher Pavilion!"

Zheng Yang roared, jumping forward and glaring furiously at Zhang Xuan.

He was genuinely angry.

"Your student couldn't win, so the teacher rushes up... What do you mean by that?"

"Just stopping us would be one thing, but you also called us mischievous and said the matter ends here... I've seen shameless people, but never one this shameless."

"As a dignified teacher, do you intend to deny defeat?"

"Exactly! We agreed on this before the match. Are you afraid to lose?"

"A loss is a loss, a win is a win. Do you intend to go back on your word?"

"Shameless!"

Yuan Tao, Liu Yang, Wang Ying, and others also stepped forward, all seething with anger.

"If I lost, it's due to my own lack of skill, and it has nothing to do with my teacher!"

Seeing her teacher being questioned by the other party, Mu Xueqing took a step forward.

She had intended to win honor for her teacher but unexpectedly put him in such an awkward situation. Clenching her teeth, she declared, "If I am to apologize, it will only represent myself, not that my teacher is inferior to your Teacher Zhang!"

"What do you mean by that... After all this talk, you just don't want to admit defeat? You didn't say that three days ago. What, you can't win, so now you don't want to admit it?"

Zheng Yang stared at her coldly.

"Three days ago, you arrogantly claimed that even Teacher Zhang couldn't compare to your Teacher Liu, and agreed to admit defeat if you lost. Yet today you're going back on your word? Do you think we're easy to bully?"

"Apologize immediately and admit that your Teacher Liu is inferior to our Teacher Zhang, then this matter will end here. Otherwise, don't blame us for being impolite!" Liu Yang also stepped forward.

"I..."

Mu Xueqing's face turned ashen.

If she admitted defeat here, how would her Teacher Liu ever hold his head high in the academy again?

"Enough!"

Seeing these little rascals being so aggressive towards him, their own teacher, Zhang Xuan felt even more vexed. "Let's call today's match a draw, and you all go back!"

He hadn't seen them put so much effort into anything else.

To make his own students admit that he was inferior to himself...

What kind of situation was this!

"A draw?"

"Why is it a draw?"

Hearing that only made things worse. Zheng Yang and the others were about to explode, and even Zhao Ya's face darkened.

They had seen shameless people, but never one so utterly shameless!

He clearly lost, and not only did he fail to honor the bet, but he also had the nerve to call it a draw!

They had originally thought Teacher Liu was an excellent instructor, even a genius. But now, it seemed like he was no genius at all!

What kind of genius refuses to admit defeat?

What kind of genius puts on airs and speaks as an elder here?

Do I know who you are? What are you pretending to be here for, what's the point of this act?

Utterly shameless!

"Zhao Ya didn't win, and Mu Xueqing didn't lose. If it's not a draw, then what is it? Go back, all of you, and stop causing trouble here! Otherwise, I'll report you to your teacher and have him properly discipline you!" Zhang Xuan waved his hand.

If he didn't declare it a draw, there was no other way.

If he said Zhao Ya won, it would mean that Liu Cheng, his disguised identity, was inferior to Zhang Xuan. When his identity was revealed later, wouldn't he be utterly humiliated?

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

The effect would be the same!

What a predicament.

No matter what, he was the one who would suffer.

Rather than dealing with such trouble, it was better to stop talking nonsense and first send these little rascals away.

"You..."

They never expected Teacher Liu to be so shameless and brazen, refusing to admit defeat and doing it so openly. Zhao Ya and the others felt like their lungs would burst from anger.

"Teacher Liu is in a bit of a pickle now!"

Principal Xie and the others couldn't help but shake their heads.

"He shouldn't have appeared at all. What business does a teacher have interfering in a fight between students?" an elder scoffed.

"That's true," Principal Xie said. "If he didn't intervene, Mu Xueqing would surely get hurt. As a teacher, he couldn't possibly stand by and watch a student get injured without stopping it, could he?"

"That's a point..."

Everyone nodded.

As teachers, they had the responsibility to instruct and the obligation to protect their students from harm. Forget about Teacher Liu; if it were them, they surely couldn't stand by and watch a student get injured.

"Now the academy is also in a difficult position," Principal Xie continued. "Helping Teacher Liu would definitely displease Teacher Zhang; helping Teacher Zhang would certainly displease Teacher Liu. In any case, he's no ordinary teacher; he's the President of the Physicians' Guild. If we don't intervene and just watch, both sides will surely be angry. After all, we didn't stop their match; instead, we let them proceed freely..."

Principal Xie rubbed his temples, feeling an immense headache.

Just moments ago, he had been excited, believing that no matter which girl won, Tianwu Academy would gain great renown and benefit from the situation.

He never imagined it would escalate to this point.

Now, the entire academy was at a loss.

"If things truly come to a standstill... Principal," an elder suggested, "you should step forward and invite Teacher Zhang and Teacher Liu to sit together and get acquainted. Since they are both geniuses, they might find common ground and come to admire each other!"

Principal Xie hesitated.

"That's a good idea," another elder said, "but Teacher Zhang is currently taking the examination to become a 2-star master teacher and isn't in the royal city. If he learns of the conflict and refuses to come, what then?"

Inviting them to sit together could resolve the conflict, but they first needed to get the parties involved to come. Teacher Liu, being an academy teacher, would be easier to persuade.

Teacher Zhang, however, was a 2-star master teacher; if he refused to come, all their words would be in vain.

"Forget it, I'll just have to shamelessly go and invite him myself," Principal Xie sighed. "I'm a 1-star master teacher; no matter what, Teacher Zhang should at least show me some respect!"

After a moment of hesitation, Principal Xie shook his head and continued, "Also, prepare a few Academy Guest Tokens for me. I will give them to Teacher Zhang's students. From now on, if they wish to come to the academy, they can enter at any time, and they should not be obstructed if they want to read any books or require any resources!"

"Yes, sir!"

An elder nodded.

Princess Mo Yu, who had originally been waiting below the combat stage to watch the show, was completely bewildered.

She had thought the match between Zhang Xuan's students, under different identities, would be very exciting and interesting. She never expected it to turn out like this.

This put Zhang Xuan in an incredibly awkward position.

No matter which side he declared victorious, his reputation would suffer, leaving him in a bind.

"I must stop this..."

With that thought, she couldn't help but push through the crowd and walk over.

"Zhao Ya, Zheng Yang..."

"Teacher Mo!"

Zhao Ya and the others were seething with anger, but upon seeing the princess, they immediately recognized her. Their teacher had treated her as a semi-disciple, making her an informal fellow student.

They had encountered her at the Master Teacher Pavilion when their teacher was taking his master teacher examination.

Nodding, Mo Yu began to persuade them, "How about... you all go back first! Teacher Zhang would surely be displeased if he knew you were causing a commotion here with people from Tianwu Academy!"

If it weren't for her personal motives, Zhang Xuan would have known about this earlier, and perhaps this trouble wouldn't have arisen.