In the small pavilion in the heart of the lake, the dean was grabbing a bunch of fish feed and throwing it into the lake. Then, he looked at those fishes that swam up from the bottom of the water and gathered here before saying rather emotionally, "A razor-tongued kid."
Wei Xu was standing quietly by the side. Hearing the dean speak, he said softly, "That boy was really did quite well as a warden in Tianqing County over these years. He killed many demons and the common people there have had a peaceful life these few years."
The dean frowned when he heard the words Tianqing County, but his brows immediately eased up and he said with a smile, "Continue."
"That boy's identity was first investigated by the Heavenly Imperial Institution. Then, the Xie Family investigated it too and the palace also investigated it a few days ago. But, there's still no clue. He seems to be from one of those 'impoverished families'."
Wei Xu smiled and was not too surprised.
The dean smiled slightly and said, "It doesn't matter if he's from those impoverished families either. This boy has a meticulous mind, even if he's walking the hardest path of being a martial artist, he has already reached this stage at this age too. If not for that girl, then my last spot..."
Abruptly stopping, the dean looked at Wei Xu with utmost seriousness and said seriously, "You must never let your little junior sister know about this!"
Wei Xu nodded helplessly.
Only then, did the dean let out a sigh of relief and continue, "Forget it, since there's no fate, then it's gone."
Wei Xu said, "It's just that Little Junior Sister seems to be awakening an interest in the opposite sex at this young age. She might get somewhat involved with that boy."
The dean frowned and said, "A young girl likes a young boy, the young boy likes the young girl, who can stop this?"
Without waiting for Wei Xu to speak, the dean said with vicissitudes of emotion, "When I was at this age, who knows how many girls in the academy liked me. If even this sort of thing needs worrying, then do we have time to do other things?"
Wei Xu was taken aback. He hesitated for a moment before saying, "This student heard that teacher's temper was too explosive back then and wasn't liked by any girl. Hence, you've been all alone until now."
"Rubbish!"
The dean flew into a great rage, "You believe this sort of nonsense too?!"
Wei Xu was silent for a moment and said, "Tutor Li said it. This student believes."
The dean frowned and laughed from extreme fury, "Good, good, good! Wei Xu, you're really my fine student!"
Wei Xin could not seem to discern the dean's anger. He just asked, "Do I still have to teach Little Junior Sister today?"
"I'll teach you-"
……
……
There was silence at the lake. Tutor Ceng could not speak and those students were all the more so.
They were the academy's students, the best group of scholars in the world. They knew a lot of principles. They were naturally very skilled in reasoning things out too. But what happened today ultimately started from the words uncouth martial artist. They became the unreasonable party.
Since they were unreasonable, then no matter how well they could reason things out, it was useless too.
This Tutor Ceng's expression was livid. He thought about those words repeatedly, wanting to find a breakthrough point to refute the youth in front of him. Even if he could not turn the tables, he had to regain some face too.
But unfortunately, he thought for a long time and failed to find any aspects to refute this youth in front of him.
Hence, his expression became more and more ugly.
Tutor Ceng glanced at Huang Zhi, Huang Zhi's eyes were dim. The reason why he was currently like this was not because he got Tutor Ceng to come, nor was it because he failed to reverse the worsening situation. It was because he had been observing Xie Nandu since she walked to the courtyard entrance. But he discovered that even when she had arrived at the courtyard door and was paying attention to here, that young girl still did not look at him even once.
There was only that youth in black with a saber hanging in that young girl's eyes.
Chen Chao was not willing to pay attention to that Tutor Ceng who stood transfixed by the lake and he was also unwilling to wait for Huang Zhi's apology. He just turned around and walked towards that small courtyard.
Since Tutor Ceng had no words to refute him, then whether he apologized or asked him to leave the academy, none of it would be reasonable.
"Just a martial artist after all."
A voice suddenly sounded out by the lake. It was not Tutor Ceng, but Huang Zhi.
He spoke with vicissitudes of emotion, his voice flat.
It was unknown what he was thinking about at this moment. The pride that had previously scattered from his body had returned to his body anew at this moment.
The moment he said this, it struck a chord with many students by the lake.
Huang Zhi's complexion was a little pale, but he still opened his mouth at this time. Tutor Ceng took a look at him. There was some inexplicable emotion in his eyes too.
He understood what Huang Zhi meant. Although the academy had already become the unreasonable party today, they could not embarrass the academy like this. They had to regain some face from somewhere.
He thought for a long time before, trying to refute Chen Chao with something that he said. But, he did not find any loopholes.
Now that Huang Zhi opened his mouth, Tutor Ceng stopped talking.
What kind of place was the academy? It was a place to study, but in the end, it was a place of cultivation.
In the Great Liang Dynasty, the Heavenly Imperial Institution interacted with foreign cultivators. The Warden Office guarded Great Liang. The northern frontier army resisted demons. There were also so many major families and cultivation methods. They could all be said to be places to cultivate. But, none of these places could compare to an academy.
The academy was not just a place of cultivation, it was also the holy land of the Confucianism lineage.
The dean was even a legendary figure.
Such an academy was compared to any sect in the foreign lands.
If the students who could get into the academy had the possibility of cultivating, they would naturally be able to step foot into cultivation and become a cultivator of the Confucianism lineage. Becoming a cultivator of the Confucianism lineage was naturally far better than being a martial artist.
Regardless of whether was it future prospects in cultivation or an official career in the Great Liang Dynasty.
Chen Chao indeed stopped his footsteps when he heard this.
He turned around and looked at Huang Zhi.
He was not in a hurry to speak.
His cultivation realm was naturally able to crush the many students present. In fact, the best in this generation of the academy might not be able to compete with him too. But if he were to still attack at this time, then he would become unreasonable even if he was justified too.
But the other party said this, how could he refute it?
Chen Chao thought about it.
Xie Nandu pondered too.
She furrowed her brows.
This Xie Family girl was about to walk out of the small courtyard and come to the lake, but she immediately heard Chen Chao's voice.
She stopped her footsteps.
"I'm indeed just an ordinary martial artist. I haven't read many books either, nor am I as knowledgeable as everyone. I only know how to kill demons deep in the mountains and protect civilians in these past few years. I'm naturally far worse compared to people like you all."
Chen Chao laughed at himself mockingly and said, "If there's a possibility, I'd like to study in the academy too."
Huang Zhi discerned his implied meaning.
He was saying: he could study in the academy, but could you all serve as the warden of a local area?
Huang Zhi sneered and said, "Do you think that the academy is a countryside school? You can come in and study whenever you want to?"
Chen Chao said softly, "How would one know if they have never tried it?"
"However, whether I enter the academy or not doesn't seem to be too important."
Chen Chao shook his head and looked at Huang Zhi as he said, "The place that you value might be utterly worthless in the eyes of others."
The moment this was said, those students by the lake also furrowed their brows at this moment. This place was the academy, they were all the academy's students. Who knew how much effort they had expended in order to enter the academy, how much thought they put in. But at this moment, someone was saying that this place was worthless.
How could they accept it?
Some students even looked at Chen Chao in anger. Although Chen Chao was not so straightforward, his implied meaning was like so. They were all smart people, how could they not hear it?
Huang Zhi was secretly overjoyed. Previously, he was still worried that the youth in front of him would be cautious with his words and that he would keep latching onto 'uncouth martial artist' to argue with him. But, he did not expect that he actually took the initiative to say this. He put himself on the opposite side of the academy's students all at once.
This way, regardless of today's outcome, this youth in front of him would not leave a good impression on the academy students.
Maybe... that girl would change her mind too.
Huang Zhi asked, "Is there a more important place in our Great Liang Dynasty?"
This was setting the tune with a beat of the gong - giving the final word.
If one were to really talk about the importance of this place and include all aspects, the academy was naturally a transcendent existence. Regardless of whether was it the Heavenly Imperial Institution or the Warden Office, they were unable to compare.
Chen Chao said, "Although the academy is important, you're insignificant."
Huang Zhi was stunned and his expression immediately turned rather ugly. He said unhappily, "No matter how insignificant, I'm afraid that my future prospects aren't necessarily worse than you."
Chen Chao was silent for a while and did not answer.
"Can't refute you. After all, the future has yet to happen, what can I say?"
Chen Chao shook his head and was not willing to say anymore. He turned around again as if to admit that he had lost.
A hint of delight flashed across Huang Zhi's eyes. He thought to himself that he ultimately helped the academy regain face with regard to today's incident.
Tutor Ceng's expression also became a little better. He looked at Huang Zhi and nodded slightly.
The students by the lake let out a sigh of relief.
Suddenly, there were some footstep sounds by the lake. A man walked over from a distance with swift steps and shouted from afar, "Warden Chen, the Heavenly Imperial Institution's chairman invites you!"
The students by the lake suddenly became energized.
"Kid who's surnamed Chen, you can't go! Follow Your Father to the Warden Office!"
Another voice sounded out. This time, it was an old acquaintance whom he had met before; that Commander Song of the Divine Capital's Left Guard.
The two met by the lake. Frowning at each other, they actually started pulling each other in an instant.
There were naturally people who knew Song Lian among the students by the lake. They got a shock.
When they took a closer look, they noticed that the person who spoke first was actually a vice-chairman of the Heavenly Imperial Institution, and they were even more shocked.
Why did the two come here at this time for?
Snatching people?
But why were they snatching people?
Before waiting for the students by the lake to figure it out, the sound of horse hooves sounded out again in the distance. Several horse carriages slowly came.
Those were all the horse carriages of the various major families in the Divine Capital.
Only after arriving in front of him, did someone smile slightly and say, "Warden Chen, the Divine Capital's Xie Family invites you!"
After that, several others expressed their intentions in the same way.
The lake was quiet again.
Huang Zhi's expression which had just become better turned ugly again at this moment.
