Chapter 375: Second Duel (Part 2)

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

They hadn't been with Teacher Zhang for long, but they knew he always disliked trouble. If he knew they had caused a commotion at Tianwu Academy, even almost falling out with a teacher, he would probably be genuinely displeased.

But how could they just leave with the anger burning in their hearts unquenched?

"Teacher Mo, you are a master teacher, please judge for us," Zheng Yang said, fuming. "In that just-concluded match, if he hadn't intervened, Mu Xueqing would undoubtedly have lost. It would have been one thing if she lost and didn't admit it, but to actually claim it was a draw..."

"Alright, Teacher Liu is a teacher, no matter what, so let's save him some face," Mo Yu quickly transmitted, seeing him speak endlessly and fearing it would become even harder to resolve. "As for Teacher Zhang, I will explain for you; he won't be angry or blame you!"

"Then we'll trouble you, Teacher Mo!"

Zheng Yang wanted to continue, but Zhao Ya cut him off.

"Mhm!" Mo Yu nodded.

Turning to face Zhang Xuan, Zhao Ya spoke, "Teacher Liu, we call you 'teacher' out of respect for Tianwu Academy. Since you declared it a draw today, then a draw it is! However... Mu Xueqing, in three days, I will still challenge you. Do you dare to accept?"

"Why wouldn't I dare!" Mu Xueqing gritted her teeth.

"That's good. I hope that in the match three days from now, Teacher Liu will not intervene again; and I also hope that if you lose, you won't refuse to admit it again!"

With a flick of her sleeve, Zhao Ya cupped her fist towards Mo Yu. "Teacher Mo, farewell!"

After speaking, she gave Zhang Xuan a cold glance, then turned and led the others out.

"Uh..."

He had rushed over to stop them, yet not only had he failed, but he'd also caused them to arrange a third match. Most crucially... his own students now held a grudge against him. Zhang Xuan rubbed his temples, a wry expression on his face.

What kind of situation was this? He had truly taken an undeserved hit!

"Why didn't you warn me earlier..." Filled with frustration, he turned to Mo Yu.

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

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

Just as she was at a loss for how to reply, an idea struck her, and she transmitted, "Actually, this is good too. With competition, both sets of your students will strive hard in their cultivation. Look how quickly Zhao Ya and Mu Xueqing are improving..."

She said this merely to escape the awkwardness, but Zhang Xuan was momentarily stunned upon hearing it.

And indeed, with competition, both had cultivated desperately and made great progress. Although the sword and saber techniques he taught were simplified versions, more suitable for their cultivation, fully mastering them and comprehending sword intent and saber intent would have been difficult in less than ten to fifteen days. Yet, they had accomplished it in just over two days... which showed their diligence.

Furthermore, and most crucially... after this kind of match, Mu Xueqing's trust in him had rapidly increased.

"Alright, so be it... just make sure you don't reveal my identity!"

After a moment of hesitation, he decided not to say anything more.

The die was cast; things had already happened this way. Saying more would be useless. He couldn't possibly go around proclaiming that Liu Cheng was Zhang Xuan, and that they were fellow disciples, could he? If he really did that, the Two-Star Master Teacher examination would likely not need to continue; it would essentially be ruined.

"Teacher, I'm sorry..."

Mu Xueqing came forward, her face filled with shame.

Zhang Xuan shook his head, about to offer a word of comfort, when he saw the crowd instantly part. An old man rushed over, saying, "Where is the senior who just displayed saber intent? Please accept me as your student! I am Bai Xin, and I have a deep understanding of saber techniques; I will certainly not disgrace your name, Teacher..."

"..." Zhang Xuan and Mu Xueqing.

"..." Mo Yu.

"..." Everyone else.

"Damn it! Damn it!"

Walking back to their residence, Zheng Yang and the others all had ashen faces, looking terribly gloomy. Thinking of that detestable Teacher Liu's face, their anger burned.

"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 Stage!" Zheng Yang snorted.

"Teacher Battle Stage? That Teacher Liu, with a casual flick of his finger, shattered my longsword. His grasp of timing was superb, reaching the peak, and his eyesight was probably no weaker than Teacher Zhang's. Even if he suppressed his cultivation, we would absolutely not be his match!" Zhao Ya shook her head.

"So what if we're not his match? He's clearly bullying us! Protecting his student and refusing to admit defeat after a loss—it's the first time I've seen such a shameless teacher. Even if we can't win, we'll definitely make him look bad!" Zheng Yang gritted his teeth.

"Zheng Yang is right," Yuan Tao chimed in from the side, adding fuel to the fire. "It's just that my strength isn't enough. If I were stronger, I'd definitely teach him a good lesson and make him look bad!"

"Alright, although this Teacher Liu is shameless, he indeed has true ability. If my physique hadn't been strong this time, and Grandteacher hadn't imparted the sword technique, I would certainly have lost! The most urgent task now isn't to hurl insults here, but to find a way to improve our strength. Otherwise, if we lose in three days, we'll be the ones embarrassed!" Zhao Ya interrupted their discussion.

"That's true..." The others nodded.

Given the situation just now, a challenge was inevitable. Otherwise, the other party would surely think they were easy to bully and disrespect Teacher Zhang's reputation.

However, in just three short days, Mu Xueqing had improved to the point where Zhao Ya almost couldn't defeat her. This truly showed how formidable Teacher Liu's abilities were. Now that Teacher Zhang was absent, if Zhao Ya lost the match in three days, anything they said would be useless!

"Since Teacher Zhang isn't here, we can only appeal to Grandteacher and hope he can provide guidance... You all must also cultivate diligently these next few days. If the other party refuses to admit defeat again, then we'll just challenge them to the Teacher Battle Stage and turn everything upside down!" With a flick of her delicate hand, Zhao Ya's eyes gleamed with a heroic spirit. When she had previously heard people discuss that Lu Xun was inferior to Teacher Zhang and immediately went to cause trouble, it was evident that she was not afraid of stirring up trouble.

It might be forgivable if the other party was shameless once, but twice? Then they wouldn't be blamed for showing no quarter! In Tianxuan Kingdom, Teacher Lu Xun was formidable. Teacher Liu was just one person; at worst, they'd team up and give him a good beating—it would be nothing!

"Good, I was waiting for you to say that..." Zheng Yang nodded and looked at Wang Ying, Yuan Tao, and the others. "What do you say? If this Teacher Liu is still so shameless, do you dare to blow this matter up?"

"Why wouldn't we dare? To hell with Teacher Liu!" Yuan Tao roared.

"I won't be afraid either!" Liu Yang nodded.

"Count me in!" Wang Ying's gaze was also firm.

"That's good, it's settled then..."

After they finished discussing, they felt much better and strode towards the residence. Just as they arrived at the courtyard gate, they saw two figures standing outside.

"Please trouble the two of you to report that I am an old acquaintance from Honglian City and have specially come to visit Physician Bai!" said one of the men, who looked like a steward, standing before the guards.

"Yes!" Hearing that he was an old acquaintance of Physician Bai's, the guard hesitated for a moment, then went inside. Not long after, Physician Bai followed him out.

"Physician Bai, we meet again!"

Seeing Bai Chan, the two men looked excited. Bai Chan, on the other hand, looked bewildered. "Who are the two of you...?"

"Huh?" Seeing that he didn't recognize them, the two found it strange. The man who looked like a steward couldn't help but say, "Physician Bai, I am Steward Lu, and this is our master, Grand Apothecary. How could you..."

These two were indeed Grand Apothecary and Steward Lu from Honglian City.

After the matter with the Poison Hall was settled, Grand Apothecary, as a friend of the special envoy's "Grand-Uncle Master," received even greater respect. No one dared to feed him a Contract Gu anymore. Others didn't know who the special envoy's "Grand-Uncle Master" was, but Grand Apothecary knew perfectly well: it was none other than Physician Bai Chan from Tianwu Royal City. This time, as there was a medicinal herbs trade in the Royal City, he brought Steward Lu along, seizing the opportunity to visit and foster good relations.

As a well-known figure in the Royal City, and now having associated himself with Master Teacher Zhang Xuan, it was quite simple to inquire about Bai Chan's residence. They found the place quickly.

However... their appearances hadn't changed, so why didn't Physician Bai recognize them?

"Grand Apothecary?"

Bai Chan trembled slightly. The reason he had become a respected figure in the Royal City was because Master Teacher Zhang had used his appearance to cure Grand Apothecary. He hadn't expected the man himself to actually show up.

"Grand Apothecary, actually, it wasn't me who cured you back then, but... Master Teacher Zhang. The situation was like this..." Not daring to conceal anything, he explained the matter in detail.

"So it was Master Teacher Zhang... May I know where he is now? Would it be convenient for us to pay him a visit?" Hearing this unexpected turn of events, Grand Apothecary and Steward Lu were both stunned, then asked. Grand Apothecary, in particular, having personally witnessed Zhang Xuan change his appearance, believed it even more quickly.

"Master Teacher Zhang is currently undergoing the Two-Star Master Teacher examination and is not at the residence..." After explaining, Bai Chan was about to continue speaking when he suddenly saw Zhao Ya and the others approaching. He quickly introduced them, "These are Master Teacher Zhang's esteemed disciples. If you two wish to leave any message for Master Teacher Zhang, you can tell them!"

"Master Teacher Zhang's students?" Grand Apothecary and Steward Lu quickly clasped their fists in greeting. Master Teacher Zhang was the special envoy's Grand-Uncle Master, holding an extremely high seniority. Even though his students were young, the two of them dared not slight them.

"Grand Apothecary?" Upon hearing the introduction, Zhao Ya and the others were all surprised. "The Grand Apothecary of Honglian City?" On their way to Tianwu Royal Kingdom, they had heard Teacher Liu's detailed introduction, knowing the status and power of this Grand Apothecary. They hadn't expected this person to be so respectful towards their teacher.

"Teacher has left the city for a trial and will likely return in about five or six days. May I ask, Grand Apothecary, if there's anything you wish to convey? You can tell us, and we will inform him when he returns!" Zhao Ya said.

"Oh, nothing in particular. We just happened to be passing through Tianwu Royal City and came to pay a visit!" Hearing that Zhang Xuan was not present, Grand Apothecary was slightly disappointed. "Since Master Teacher Zhang is not here, we shall take our leave!"

"Don't rush yet..." Yuan Tao quickly stepped forward, looking at him with a curious expression. "I heard... you have close ties with the Poison Hall. Do you happen to have any poisons on hand?"

"Well..." Grand Apothecary hadn't expected such a direct question and gave an awkward smile. "I do have some!"

"In that case, do you have any that can make a Transcendent Mortal realm expert suffer, but without taking their life? I'd like to buy some..." Yuan Tao's eyes lit up.

"Make a Transcendent Mortal realm expert suffer, but without taking their life?" Grand Apothecary didn't know what he wanted these for, but after a moment of hesitation, he nodded. "Indeed, I do... If you wish to use them, I'll give them to you; no need to trouble yourself! However, be careful, this substance is extremely potent. Even a Grandmaster realm expert would suffer greatly if they accidentally ingested it!"

After speaking, he flipped his wrist, and a jade bottle appeared in his palm.