Chapter 44 The Big Competition Between the Five Academies —The Storm Brews
“Many thanks for your advice, elder. I understand now,” replied Ding Hao with a nod.
“You, very despicable person, have been speaking badly about me behind my back again,” the female voice, which had been silent for a long while, said. She would not give in, and immediately issued her rebuke upon hearing the male voice talking about her.
“Obviously I said that in your face. How could I speak behind your back?” The male voice replied as he laughed loudly and proudly.
“...” The female voice was silent.
“...” Ding Hao was speechless.
“Why don’t we do it like this? Kid, in future, you address me as Sword Master, and the crazy woman as Saber Master, to avoid mixing things up when we talk next time. We will also know who you’re speaking to in this manner...” the male voice said.
“Damn you! I’m still in my prime. Saber Master sounds too old for me. Call me Saber Fairy instead, wahahaha...”
“Saber Fairy? I spit on that thought. You’re a crazy woman, yet you dare to address yourself as a fairy?”
“I like it, what are you going to do about that? After all, it’s better than you calling yourself ‘Despicable Master’, isn’t it? (Note: The mandarin words Despicable and Sword sound similar) Haha, Despicable Master. You’re indeed despicable enough!”
“Damn you, are you itching for a fight, crazy bitch?” The Sword Master exclaimed. He had been completely driven mad at this point.
The Saber Master laughed heartily and replied. “I’m not going to be as despicable as you!”
“...” Ding Hao did not know what to say.
...
It was on the second day.
Ding Hao followed his usual routine of going to the canteen for breakfast with Zhang Fan.
The teenage hunter was frowning.
He had been practicing the Taixuan Sword-seeking Scripture for two nights and one day, but still had made no progress; he could not even sense any inkling of his Qi. Moreover, his ranking had fallen to the bottom of all 400 disciples of the Eastern Academy of green shirts.
Zhang Fan began to pick himself up only after receiving Ding Hao’s consolation and encouragement.
“Good morning, senior brother Ding!”
“Hope you’re well, senior brother Ding!”
There was a continuous stream of disciples from the Eastern Academy of green shirts greeting Ding Hao warmly as he made his way to the canteen. About 50 to 60 disciples had already gathered by his side even before he arrived, and they all sought his advice on the issues they encountered during their own kung fu training.
Ding Hao wore a slight grin on his face and did not keep any secrets; he answered all their questions patiently and poured out all of his knowledge in reply.
Someone had already prepared breakfast for him when he arrived at the canteen. Nearly 100 disciples surrounded Ding Hao as they ate and sought advice from each other. Everyone exchanged insight gleamed during training, and the atmosphere was very enthusiastic on both fronts.
This scene caused some people to feel admiration and jealousy toward Ding Hao.
“To think that this Ding Hao had managed to gather so many disciples by his side within a short period of a few days! It’s really formidable thinking and strategy on his part!”
The youth with razor-sharp eyebrows and a hooked nose shaped like an eagle’s beak frowned as he said to the few companions by his side. He was sitting at the other end of the canteen.
He was known as Ji Xin and he was one of the first 10 seeds amongst the candidates of the Eastern Academy of green shirts.
Ji Xin’s strength was not to be taken lightly. He was even ranked before Ding Hao, at 83rd place, in the nominal roll from the entrance examination. Moreover, he had been a two-apertured Martial Disciple in the cultivation of his Qi. It was said that he had a huge influence—he came from a big family at the foot of the mountain which possessed a strong foundation in the region and had vast wealth. He did not lack followers by his side.
“Humph. Even though Ding Hao’s sword craft is amazing, he just had that. In terms of mastery of Qi, he’s much weaker than you, senior brother Ji. He can’t keep acting arrogant for many more days, and when that time comes, those that gather by his side because they’ve received a little benefit from him will leave sooner or later.”
Another disciple close to Ji Xin said, laughing coldly.
“That’s right. One has to rely on one’s own strength to eventually pass the examination and remain in the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect. What’s the use of winning over those useless fools? Don’t worry, senior brother Ji. Compared to you, Ding Hao is more inferior by far!”
Yet another disciple beside Ji Xin said while laughing.
Ji Xin’s expression became slightly more pleasant only after hearing their comments.
...
It was at the same time.
It was in the first room of the first yard in the Eastern Academy of green shirts.
“What? Ding Hao, that lowly person, with a peasant’s background, is giving small favors in the canteen again to draw more people to himself?” said a teenager who was sitting cross-legged on a mat, training. He opened his eyes slightly and a cold ray flashed from the depths of his eyes. Then, the ray disappeared quickly.
The youth’s face was pretty. He was obviously male, but his eyebrows were so elegant that they looked like leaves from a willow tree. His eyes were long and narrow, and he squinted slightly out of habit. They were as feminine as a woman’s, and it made people feel that he was extremely shrewd and scheming.
He was known as Li Lan.
It was a name that seemed very feminine.
In reality, however, he was ranked first out of the top 10 seeds of the pool of candidates from the Eastern Academy of green shirts.
Li Lan was 35th in the nominal roll showing the results of the entrance examination, and his talent and aptitude were extremely shocking. Many elders of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect viewed of him as the number one expert of this batch of disciples from the Eastern Academy of green shirts. Since he had the privilege of residing in the first room of the first yard, naturally he carried himself as a unique individual.
It was said that Li Lan was the direct relative of one of the elders in the inner sanctum of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect who held real power; the influence he had was no small matter.
As to why Li Lan was assigned to the Eastern Academy of green shirts, whose combined strength of its candidates was the weakest amongst the five academies, was a question which perturbed those that knew his background. It was definitely not hard for him to be assigned to the Central Academy of white shirts, the strongest amongst the five academies, based on his strength and relationship with the said elder.
After he entered the Eastern Academy of green shirts, many disciples who had inside information gathered by Li Lan’s side of their own accord and were willing to pledge their loyalties to him.
At this moment, about five people were standing respectfully before Li Lan.
Two of them turned out to be from the top 10 seeds of the Eastern Academy, and they were Ge Yin and Zhang Tianlun. They were not weak, but before Li Lan, they looked subdued and did not even dare to breathe too loudly.
“Senior brother Li, shall the two of us teach this young chap a lesson? We’ll make him lose face in front of everyone so that he wouldn’t dare to give his insights to anyone ever again,” Ge Yin said in an attempt to suggest his plan.
“No need for that.” Li Lan replied and closed his eyes slowly again. Then, he shook his head. “It will only make the other disciples of the Eastern Academy to hate both of you. It’ll disrupt our plans.”
Ge Yin grew ashen-faced.
Li Lan focused on thinking of a solution before instructing. “Ding Hao is just but a small character; he’s merely a naive fool. Does he believe that he can win over others to do work for him just by doing small favors for them? He doesn’t know that strength is everything in the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect? Only the strong have the right to speak. By dividing his attention into such mundane activities, he must’ve slacked off his training. He’s trading for something that is less valuable. He’s not far-sighted enough and doesn’t have enough of the right spirit in him. He’s not worth our attention.”
“You’re right, senior brother.” Zhang Tianlun agreed.
“The most important thing to us now is the major competition of the five academies. Earlier on, I wanted you guys to find out about the strength of the candidates from other four academies. How did the intelligence gathering go?” asked Li Lan with his eyes shut.
“Among the five academies, the Central Academy of white shirts is the strongest. Out of the 10 seeded candidates, seven of them are sworn brothers and are known collectively as the Honorable Alliance of Seven. Their leader is called Li Muyun and his strength is unfathomable; we estimate that it’s above that of a triple-apertured martial arts practitioner. The other six are not weak as well and stand a chance of being among the first 20 positions out of the five academies. As for their exact strength, level, what techniques or battle tactics they are practicing, I’ve found out all about them in secret and put them down in this little book. Please have a look, senior brother Li.”
He then presented a small booklet with a blue cover page.
Li Lan received the booklet, opened it, and took a few glances at its contents before nodding in satisfaction. “You’ve done well. Very good. Go on, go investigate Li Muyun and gather more detailed intelligence of him.”
“Rest assured, senior brother Li. I’ll get to the bottom of it as soon as possible,” said Ge Yin as he nodded, overwhelmed by the positive response.
Seeing that his fellow disciple had been praised, Zhang Tianlun hurried to report on his own findings as well; he was not content to fall behind.