Chapter 3

The martial arts students at Tongyou Academy are trained according to a three-year system, divided into three stages.

New students entering Tongyou Academy are usually evenly distributed among the six outer dormitories.

After one year of training at the academy, about one-third of the students in these six dormitories, after stimulating their blood and qi, can stand at the threshold of extraordinary martial artists.

This one-third of outstanding students will be promoted to the inner dormitories for further training in the second year.

Another one-third of the inferior students, who struggle to make progress after stimulating their blood and qi, will be dismissed from Tongyou Academy at the end of the second year.

The remaining one-third of the students, although not reaching the late stage of the Blood Qi Realm, are still considered trainable and will continue to be trained in the outer dormitories for another year.

These students are called second-year outer dormitory students, or "repeaters" for short.

However, the standards for these "repeaters" to be promoted to the inner dormitories after the second academic year are different.

Because they have trained for an additional year compared to their peers, their standard for entering the inner dormitories is to advance to the first level of the Extraordinary Martial Arts Realm, the Wu Yuan Realm.

If they fail to meet this standard, they will also leave the academy at the end of the second academic year.

However, compared to those who are dismissed after the first academic year, students who leave the outer dormitories after the second academic year can claim to be graduates of Tongyou Academy.

For this reason, among the outer dormitory students, many second-year students who aspire to continue their studies work hard to train.

They aim to meet the standards for entering the inner dormitories, and out of a sense of dignity, they rarely compete with first-year students.

Therefore, sometimes the top student in the outer dormitories may not be the true best among the outer dormitory students, a situation that has occurred several times in the history of Tongyou Academy's outer dormitories.

After the incident of Mu Qingyu breaking off her engagement with Zhu Ying, the news of Zhu Ying challenging Shang Xia at the end of the academic year spread widely among the six outer dormitories of Tongyou Academy.

As one of the three main characters in this incident, Shang Xia was lying on a reclining chair under a tree, with a pot of fragrant tea on a wooden table beside him, looking quite relaxed and unaffected by external influences.

The door to the small courtyard opened, and Yan Qi's footsteps approached.

Shang Xia woke from his nap and asked, "Did you find out?"

Yan Qi's expression was somewhat serious, "Young Master, there's something strange about Zhu Ying!"

Shang Xia, not surprised, gestured for Yan Qi to sit down and poured him a cup of tea, "Tell me more!"

Yan Qi drank the hot tea in one gulp, "Zhu Ying is indeed the sole survivor of the Zhu family from the former Youzhou Five Surnames, but his talent is quite ordinary. Although he trained diligently after entering the outer dormitories two years ago, he only reached the middle stage of the Blood Qi Realm after a year, barely avoiding being dismissed."

Shang Xia listened calmly as Yan Qi continued.

"Even in his second year as a repeater, his training speed was not fast. By the end of last year, he had just entered the late stage of the Blood Qi Realm."

"But then things got interesting. After the winter break, in just one month, Zhu Ying broke through the barrier to the Extraordinary Realm and entered the Wu Yuan Realm."

Shang Xia finally showed some interest, "One month, from the late stage of the Blood Qi Realm to the Wu Yuan Realm, interesting!"

Yan Qi's expression was still serious, "Not only that, according to some students in Dormitory A, Zhu Ying had already mastered the Crimson Blood Palm by the end of March."

Shang Xia laughed, "One month to reach the Wu Yuan Realm, and less than two months to master the Crimson Blood Palm. It seems he was just wasting his time for a year and a half in the outer dormitories."

Yan Qi said, "As Liu Zhifei, the instructor of Dormitory A, put it, Zhu Ying is 'accumulating strength and then bursting forth'!"

"Ha ha!"

Shang Xia used these two words to express his thoughts.

Yan Qi added, "It's been about two months since he mastered the Crimson Blood Palm. He might have mastered another martial technique by now, which could be the reason he dares to challenge Young Master's position as the top student."

Shang Xia laughed, "Don't worry, I won't be careless."

Yan Qi chuckled, "Young Master is mighty, I was overthinking it."

Shang Xia glanced at him, "Uncle Qi, your flattery doesn't match your fierce appearance, it's too out of place!"

Yan Qi touched his steel-like beard, "Young Master, Liu Zhifei, the instructor of Dormitory A, is from the Liu family. It's said that Zhu Ying's entry into Tongyou Academy was arranged by the Liu family. Do you think the Liu family is behind Zhu Ying?"

Shang Xia suddenly remembered Zhu Ying's crazy appearance the day before, shook his head, and said, "It's too obvious. There might be some opportunistic manipulation, but the Liu family isn't that shallow to directly incite or plot against me."

Yan Qi nodded and fell silent.

Shang Xia's thoughts wandered.

Confirmed, a waste of talent plus a broken engagement, a classic trope.

I wonder if Zhu Ying's sudden rise is due to a golden finger or a grandfather in his mind?

I've only been in this world for a day, and I've already seen two people who seem to have the protagonist's aura.

Unfortunately, I'm standing on the opposite side of both, just like the classic stepping stone that doesn't last past the first ten chapters in various tropes!

Thinking of the protagonist's aura, Shang Xia asked, "What about Dou Zhong, did you find out anything?"

Yan Qi dismissed it, "He's just a simple guy, from an ordinary family, with late-stage Blood Qi cultivation. His performance in the outer dormitories is considered above average. If there's any strength, it's that his instructor thinks he has some perseverance and is very disciplined. Such people are not uncommon in the outer dormitories. Young Master doesn't need to focus on such a person."

Disciplined and persevering, such people will definitely rise if they don't die. Perhaps all he lacks is an opportunity.

Shang Xia instructed, "Keep an eye on him, and pay attention to his plans."

Yan Qi, though puzzled by Shang Xia's interest in the simple guy, followed the order.

"What about Mu Qingyu? What is she doing?"

Shang Xia's tone was noticeably harsher when mentioning her.

Shang Xia is not a fool, nor is he driven by lust.

Regardless of whether it was intentional or not, Shang Xia had taken the bullet for her this time.

As a party involved, she didn't explain or show up afterward. If not for the awkward situation at the time and the fact that Mu Qingyu is just a teenager, Shang Xia would have suspected her motives.

"She's in seclusion, possibly about to break through to the Wu Yuan Realm."

Yan Qi was waiting outside the door that day and wasn't present, and those who were there intentionally kept it a secret, so Yan Qi didn't know the specific details.

"Do you know the reason for her breaking the engagement?"

After the engagement was broken, Zhu Ying fell into a semi-crazed state and immediately directed his anger at Shang Xia, so Shang Xia still doesn't know the true reason for Mu Qingyu's decision.

In fact, most people outside believe that Mu Qingyu broke the engagement because she was infatuated with Shang Xia.

Yan Qi gave him a strange look, "So far, it seems there are no external factors, just that Miss Mu doesn't want to be bound by a marriage contract."

Yan Qi's expression didn't escape Shang Xia's notice, and he said irritably, "Her affairs have nothing to do with me!"

...

On the first day of the sixth month of the Divine Martial Year 843, after the year-end evaluation of the outer dormitories at Tongyou Academy, the students would usually have a two-month break.

However, this time, due to the challenge from a second-year student in Dormitory A to the top student Shang Xia, the news spread widely in the academy, and everyone was eagerly awaiting the battle.

"How are you feeling? Are you confident?"

Sun Haiwei, the instructor of Dormitory C, had been looking at Shang Xia unfavorably for the past few days but, as his most promising disciple, couldn't bear to criticize him harshly.

Shang Xia smiled, "Teacher, you should ask Zhu Ying that."

Sun Haiwei frowned, "Don't be careless. Zhu Ying is a second-year student, with an extra year of training."

"And you rushed out of seclusion three days ago after failing to break through to the Wu Ji Realm, which might have affected your strength... I should have stopped you."

Shang Xia could hear the concern in her words and smiled, "Teacher, don't worry, I have a plan."

Sun Haiwei looked at him deeply and suddenly said, "The academy's top officials are not here these days, so be careful!"

After Sun Haiwei left, Shang Xia was lost in thought.

At that moment, a loud voice from the outer dormitory training hall caught his attention: "Top student Shang Xia of the outer dormitories, today a student from Dormitory A, Zhu Ying, challenges you. Will you accept the challenge?"

Shang Xia walked to the training hall and saw that it was already crowded with over a hundred outer dormitory students.

In the center of the training hall, Zhu Ying held a three-foot straight sword, staring directly at Shang Xia as he approached.

However, Shang Xia's gaze skipped over him and looked at the three instructors of Tongyou Academy.

Two of them were Liu Zhifei, the instructor of Dormitory A, and Sun Haiwei, the instructor of Dormitory C.

The third was a middle-aged man with a plain appearance and a calm expression, which surprised Shang Xia.

This man was not from the teaching department but from the academy's security department, and his position was roughly equivalent to that of a teaching instructor.

"Disciple greets the two instructors and Instructor Yuan."

Yuan Zilu waved his hand, "No need for formalities. I'm here just to oversee the match."

Then, Yuan Zilu looked at Shang Xia and said straightforwardly, "Today, a student from Dormitory A, Zhu Ying, challenges you. Will you accept the challenge?"

Shang Xia replied calmly, "Disciple accepts the challenge!"

"Good!"

Yuan Zilu acknowledged and then looked at Zhu Ying, "Are you sure you want to use a weapon?"

Zhu Ying sneered and held out his straight sword.

Yuan Zilu flicked the hilt and his expression changed, "A mid-grade weapon?"

As soon as he spoke, a wave of exclamations filled the training hall.

In the academy, even a low-grade weapon was rare, let alone a mid-grade weapon that Zhu Ying had just revealed.

"Is Zhu Ying from the Zhu family of the Youzhou Five Surnames?"

"No wonder, even if the Zhu family has declined, they still have such legacies!"

"Shang Xia is in trouble this time."

"Heh, have you forgotten how he won the top position in the first place..."

Yuan Zilu ignored the chatter and looked at Shang Xia, "What do you think?"

Shang Xia showed a hesitant expression, "Maybe we shouldn't use weapons?"

The training hall erupted in boos.

Zhu Ying mocked, "Shang Xia, when you used the ivory fan to win the top position, you were so arrogant. Now that your opponent has a weapon, you're backing down?"

Shang Xia showed a conflicted expression but, under the mocking gazes of the crowd, seemed to finally lose face and said, "Alright, then!"

He pulled out the ivory fan from his sleeve and handed it to Yuan Zilu.

"Low-grade weapon!"

Yuan Zilu glanced at it and then said, "Prepare to start!"

"Teacher, you haven't finished checking yet!"

Shang Xia smiled and handed over a jade pendant from his waist.

Yuan Zilu held the pendant, his eyes flashing with surprise, "A protective jade charm?"

In the center of the training hall, Zhu Ying, who had just mocked Shang Xia, now had a less confident smile.

"A fan and a charm, one offensive and one defensive, Zhu Ying doesn't have an advantage now."

"Even a low-grade weapon is rare!"

"Rich kid..."

The training hall was filled with envious and jealous comments, but then it fell silent again.

Shang Xia even unfastened a jade belt from his waist and handed it over.

Yuan Zilu's lips twitched as he pressed the jade buckle, and a sword hilt separated from the belt.

"Flexible Jade River, a mid-grade weapon!"

"Clank—"

The training hall was filled with the sound of teeth grinding.

Zhu Ying's face was now dark and gloomy.

Shang Xia clearly wasn't trying to hide or show off, or to make things difficult for Zhu Ying.

Besides the ivory fan, which was a well-known low-grade weapon, the jade belt and pendant he wore were everyday items.

No one expected these items to be weapons of higher quality than the ivory fan.

Shang Xia looked at Zhu Ying, spreading his hands innocently, "Zhu Ying, I told you, we shouldn't use weapons!"

Zhu Ying's expression was uncertain.

Yuan Zilu glanced at him, sighed, and said, "For a friendly match among dormitory students, no one should use weapons. Let's just fight hand-to-hand!"

Sun Haiwei frowned, looking displeased.

Shang Xia smiled and handed the fan, pendant, and flexible sword to Sun Haiwei for safekeeping.

Zhu Ying hesitated for a long time before finally handing his straight sword to Instructor Liu Zhifei.

The training hall erupted in boos again, but this time they were directed at Zhu Ying, who had just mocked Shang Xia.

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