Deathblade Tomb!

  Swoosh!

  The quick blade in Fei Tong’s hand turned from swiftness to stillness, sending off eerie chillness. He also stopped in his footsteps, being as still as a mountain. It was as if he was a corpse that had crawled out from a tomb. “Interesting!”

  Tan Lu’s eyes lit up. He was burning with eagerness to see a blade art like this. Not only did he not feel wary, but he became even more excited instead.

  Tan Lu tapped his foot on the ground and pounced forth to attack.

  “F*ck!”

  Fei Tong cursed and swung his blade to block.

  Clank!

  The huge power caused such a great tremor that his arm turned numb. He was really reaping the fruit of his own action.

  Fei Tong’s ultimate technique was extremely deceptive. It was because his battle style was normally quick like a tempest or blazing flames. However, when he suddenly came into stillness, changing his style, the enemy would definitely take on a defensive stance. They’d be wary of his following attacks.

  At a time like this, Fei Tong would usually be able to immediately launch an attack and perform his ultimate move before the opponent did anything. He’d be able to defeat the opponent from there. However, this person whom he had defeated previously didn’t do things normally. Instead, he came pouncing over.

  As Fei Tong had taken on a defensive stance, he ended up being suppressed instead. He had really made a fool out of himself trying to be smart.

  “What happened? Why is this guy suddenly so strong?”

  “His level is still the same as it was a few days

  back!”

  “He seems to have changed his weapon.”

  “Even though he has changed it, he shouldn’t be showing such a great improvement.” The Myriad Daos Academy’s students were all baffled.

  They weren’t the only ones; even Zhang Qianlin was stunned. Wasn’t Tan Lu’s family-inherited ultimate art a spear art? Why did he end up being stronger after giving up on it and picking up the blade instead? Hearing the commotions around them, Fei Tong’s mind became even more chaotic. In addition to worrying that he’d lose and that Fang Wuji’s view of him might worsen as a result of that, he suddenly let out an explosive bellow. He bore with his injuries and charged on.

  Burning fire Cloud!

  Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

  His blade slashed out quickly, creating layers of after-images. They were like fiery clouds that permeated the sky on summer evenings, covering up the sky and the sun, engulfing the moon.

  Tan Lu was instantly rendered to be on the passive end, backing off consecutively.

  “Go for it, Brother Fei!” “Kill him!”

  “The Myriad Daos Academy is invincible!”

  When the students saw Fei Tong erupting, they immediately called out excitedly, cheering him on.

  “Alright!”

  Fang Wuan cheered. “Fei Tong has lost!”

  Even though Fang Wuji saw Tan Lu’s wounds, his tattered uniform, and his gushing-out blood, the former sighed.

  Another combat genius had appeared in the Central Province Academy.

  Fei Tong’s blade technique wasn’t bad, but he didn’t like the blade. He only picked it up because he was good at it. He treated it as a tool, while Tan Lu loved the blade in his hand. It was an ordinary short blade, one that cost only about 100 silver taels in a roadside blacksmith shop.

  “He’s too anxious. Sigh!”

  Zhang Qianlin felt very upset as he watched the battle. Fei Tong was too anxious about turning the tables around and had performed his ultimate move at the worst time possible. If Tan Lu were to grab hold of the opportunity, he could launch counterattacks. However, to think that he had been suppressed like the other time.

  “It can’t be that he’s going to lose again, right?”

  Li Bo’s group wore grim countenances. “Yes, this is the feeling!”

  Fei Tong regained his confidence. Suddenly, the short blade pierced out and slashed at Tan Lu’s right arm horizontally.

  Swoosh!

  A blade shadow flashed past.

  “This is bad!”

  Tan Lu’s countenance changed and he drew his hand back instinctively.

  Fei Tong felt assured at the sight of this. A hint of smile curled up on his lips.

  “I’ve won!”

  Fei Tong raised his leg and kicked at Tan Lu’s chest.

  Tan Lu raised his hand to put up a block. “Haha, you made a wrong call the other time. Why……”

  Fei Tong laughed loudly and suddenly changed his move. He plunged down abruptly and then swept out his right leg, kicking fiercely toward Tan Lu’s ankle.

  Fei Tong had wanted to say, ‘why aren’t you able to remember your lesson?’ However, before he could say anything, his smile froze up. It then turned into horror.

  It was because the rate at which Tan Lu dipped down was faster. It had caught up to his short blade that had been dropping after he drew his hand back. At the instant the short blade landed on the ground, Tan Lu picked it up and slashed out.

  Swoosh!

  The short blade slashed the bottom of Fei Tong’s foot and blood splattered out. Two toes also parted from the foot.

  “Ahh!”

  Fei Tong let out an agonizing cry. It was so sharp that it was as if he had his butthole penetrated by a goblin. The pain was so intense that his movements changed. With a plop, he fell onto the ground.

  Bang!

  Dust was sent flying up, and the entire campsite was completely silent.

  The Myriad Daos Academy’s students were all stunned. Wasn’t Fei Tong winning? Why did he end up losing so horribly in the blink of an eye? Did something go wrong somewhere?

  “He actually won?”

  Li Bo was astonished. He couldn’t understand how Tan Lu had become so strong when only a few days had passed. He turned and looked toward Teacher Zhang, hoping to be able to get an answer from him.

  However, Zhang Qianlin was even more stunned than he was.

  To a teacher, the blow of not being able to tell how a student had grown was far too big.

  “He lost?”

  After being stunned for a short moment, Fang Wuan blew up into a rage and was about to start scolding. “Change your attitude!”

  Fang Wuji interrupted him in advance.

  Fei Tong’s scream came to a stop as a short blade stopped right in front of his forehead. His cold sweat broke out profusely, drenching his entire body.

  “Thank you for the match!”

  He didn’t have the arrogance of winning the fight nor the agitation from having defeated his opponent. After saying this line, Tan Lu turned to leave. He wasn’t even in the mood to take the bet he had just won.

  “How is this possible?”

  Fei Tong looked toward Fang Wuji with a baffled look.

  “It’s because you weren’t focused enough. You were thinking about too many things during the battle, while he was fully enjoying the battle. No, he was enjoying the joy of using the blade.”

  Fang Wuji pointed out. “And you. You started becoming lax after winning, not reflecting at all. On the other hand, he had clearly thought about how he should react should he encounter a similar situation!”

  Fang Wuji didn’t despise Fei Tong for his loss or that he had brought shame to their school. He said this while walking over, picking the toes up from the ground.

  A Myriad Daos Academy’s teacher who excelled in medical skills was already giving Fei Tong treatment.

  The spectating students looked toward Tan Lu and realized that he was still immersed in the battle. He clenched his short blade tightly and was gesticulating away.

  “Of course, the most important thing is that after he changed his weapon, he is able to unleash 300% of his potential.”

  Fang Wuan was very envious of such people. Even though plenty of people were skilled in many types of weapons, they didn’t love their weapons like their own limbs. However, this

  Tan Lu had developed a resonance with his weapon.

  This might sound too mystical and profound, but it was like how someone would lose their sleep after changing a bed. After all, the feel for things truly did exist. Zhang Qianlin’s lips twitched. He had thought of this as well, but it felt very unpleasant to let Fang Wuji say it before him. Of course, Zhang Qianlin wasn’t to be blamed for being slow to think of this. He knew that Tan Lu’s family-inherited ultimate art was a spear art. Thus, even a great teacher wouldn’t allow Tan Lu to change his weapon easily.

  It was because the words ‘family-inherited ultimate art’ represented too many things. They represented legacy, interests, and glory!

  “But who would have guessed that he could actually win? He even knew how to put on an act!”

  Zhang Qianlin was pleasantly surprised. Tan Lu had ‘tossed away the blade’ and wore a horrified expression. That was definitely an act. (Ha, my judgment is really right. This student is worthy to be taken in as a disciple to nurture.)

  At the thought of this, Zhang Qianlin couldn’t be bothered to bicker with Fang Wuan anymore and turned to chase after Tan Lu. “Student Tan Lu?”

  “Student Tan Lu?”

  Fang Wuji called three times before Tan Lu turned back, looking perplexed.

  “What’s the matter? Are we still fighting?”

  The moment Tan Lu said that, the Myriad Daos Academy’s students immediately flared up. (Look at who you’re talking to. How can you be so arrogant?)

  Just as two outstanding students stood up and were about to challenge Tan Lu, Fang Wuji spoke up.

  “Student Tan Lu, this might be presumptuous of me, but have you acknowledged a teacher yet?”

  After Fang Wuji said that, the sound of people gasping rang out. (That can’t be. Has Teacher Fang taken a liking to this guy?) Zhang Qianlin felt anxious as well.

  “No!”

  Tan Lu shook his head.

  “Then Student Tan Lu, do you want to come to the Myriad Daos Academy?”

  Fang Wuji extended an invitation to him.

  Hearing this, the Myriad Daos Academy’s students heaved a sigh of relief while feeling envious at the same time. Thankfully, Teacher Fang was only planning to recruit him to their school and not under his wing.

  Zhang Qianlin was about to persuade Tan Lu when the latter rejected without any hesitation.

  “No!”

  Tan Lu thought of Sun Mo. (If I were to go to the Myriad Daos Academy, then how am I going to acknowledge Teacher Sun as my teacher? Should I tell him that I’ve won against Fei Tong?)

  (But would I seem unrestrained if I were to do that?)

  Ding! Favorable impression points from Tan Lu +100. Reverence (1,500/10,000).

  Tan Lu, who was facing a conflicting predicament, turned to leave once again.

  “Student Tan Lu, you’ve forgotten to take your spoils!”

  Li Bo caught up and reminded him.

  “It doesn’t matter!”

  Tan Lu’s family was rich and he didn’t lack such things. Right now, he was more concerned about how he could move Sun Mo and be his disciple.

  “Cough cough!”

  Zhang Qianlin coughed. It might seem lacking in class if he were to take the initiative to recruit a student. Therefore, he let out two loud coughs to remind Tan Lu.

  It was just that the other party didn’t show any reaction.

  “Cough cough!”

  Zhang Qianlin coughed even harder.

  “Teacher, are you feeling unwell?”

  Li Bo asked. Zhang Qianlin was a 1-star great teacher, and Li Bo didn’t dare to be too cold to him.

  “My throat hurts a little!” After saying that, Zhang Qianlin made up his mind to stop waiting. Otherwise, if these students were to share the news of Tan Lu having won against Fei Tong after returning to the campsite, a lot of teachers would be tempted to recruit Tan Lu.

  He wasn’t afraid of the newly employed teachers like Gu Xiuxun or even Xia Yuan, who was a 1-star great teacher. However, if Pei Yuanli or even Jin Mujie were to make a move, he wouldn’t have any chances.

  “This can’t do. I mustn’t lose this good seedling!”

  Zhang Qianlin hastened his steps and walked alongside Tan Lu. “Tan Lu, your performance earlier was excellent!”

  “Thank you for your compliment, Teacher!”

  Tan Lu smiled. (This feeling of being complimented feels very good. It’d be even better if the one complimenting me is Teacher Sun. Sigh, it’s a pity that he didn’t get to see me defeating Fei Tong!)

  “Tan Lu, what are you thinking about? Teacher is talking to you!”

  Li Bo poked Tan Lu’s arm. (Teacher Zhang is talking to you, why would you let your mind wander off?)

  “Huh? What did Teacher say?”

  Tan Lu asked.

  Zhang Qianlin gave it some thought and felt that these students hadn’t experienced the ways of the world. They might not understand his hints. Therefore he went straight to the point.

  “Tan Lu, I admire you. Do you want to be my personal disciple?”

  Zhang Qianlin set up an amicable smile, paying attention to Tan Lu’s eyes.

  Chapter 242 Teacher Sun, Please Take Me In As Your Disciple!

  Li Bo and the others immediately revealed envious expressions. This was a recruitment by a 1-star great teacher. From today onward, Tan Lu’s prospects would be smooth.

  “One mustn’t give up no matter how dire the circumstances they are in!”

  Li Bo felt emotional.

  A few days ago, Tan Lu had lost to Fei Tong, and his ankle had even sustained a serious comminuted fracture. Everyone had felt that it was all over for him and that he was going to lead a mediocre life. However, he didn’t give up and had climbed back so quickly.

  Tan Lu seemed stunned as he looked toward Zhang Qianlin.

  “Your performance was excellent, especially your display of will when facing such adversity. I admire it a lot.” Zhang Qianlin praised. Given such traits, Tan Lu would definitely achieve great things in the future. “Teacher Zhang, you’re over-complimenting me!” Tan Lu smiled in self-mockery. (I don’t really have a strong will. After I lost the other day, I felt that the whole world was going to come crumbling down. If it wasn’t for Teacher Sun straightening out my thoughts and giving me guidance, I’d probably still be laying in bed and waiting to rot.) At the thought of this, his gratitude toward Sun Mo grew even more. Ding!

  Favorable impression points from Tan Lu +100. Reverence(1,600/10,000). Zhang Qianlin stopped saying anything but smiled, waiting for Tan Lu to acknowledge him as his teacher. After all, he was a 1-star great teacher and it’d be beneath him to take too much initiative to recruit a student.

  Tan Lu pursed his lips and hesitated a little. As he didn’t say anything, the atmosphere turned a little quiet and awkward. “Tan Lu, what are you thinking about? Don’t be a fool! There aren’t many chances like this!”

  Li Bo secretly tugged at Tan Lu’s sleeve, reminding him softly.

  (It’s one thing to reject the recruitment by a senior teacher, but Zhang Qianlin is a 1-star great teacher. His father is also the Central Province Academy’s vice-headmaster. If you are to acknowledge him as your teacher, your future would be bright.) Tan Lu understood this as well. However, Sun Mo’s figure continued to stay in his mind. The scene of Sun Mo sitting by the campfire and giving him guidance was still strong.

  Tan Lu took a deep breath and bowed toward Zhang Qianlin.

  (It’s a done deal!)

  Zhang Qianlin felt very happy and wanted to help Tan Lu up. However, at this moment, what Tan Lu said caused him to freeze on the spot.

  “Teacher Zhang, I’m thankful to you for thinking highly of me, but I’m very sorry, I already have a teacher that I look up to and admire.”

  Tan Lu rejected.

  Li Bo and the others were planning to clap and congratulate Tan Lu when they heard what he said. It was as if the sightseeing vehicle they were on had gone through an emergency brake. Not only were they thrown off the vehicle, but the wheels had almost crushed them as well.

  “I didn’t hear wrongly, did I?”

  “Tan Lu is really ambitious!”

  “It’s understandable!”

  The students muttered amongst themselves. If they were the ones showing such a great performance, they’d also have the wishful thinking to get under the wings of a 3-star great teacher and be their personal disciple.

  Zhang Qianlin’s countenance turned bad. To think that a genius like him had been rejected? This was really atrocious. However, as there were other students watching, he couldn’t possibly put on a black face. He wanted to just walk away, but after recalling Tan Lu’s exciting battle earlier, he really felt admiration toward this student. Therefore, he tried to persuade him again. “Tan Lu, you’re thinking of studying under a 3 or 4-star great teacher, right? To be blunt, there is no lack of geniuses under those great teachers. Even if you can successfully acknowledge them as your teacher, the resources and support you receive will be limited. However, things are different for me. I’ll put in great effort into nurturing you.” It was impossible for a great teacher to only have one personal disciple. Even if all of their disciples were geniuses, there’d still be differences amongst them.

  The stronger ones would get more resources. This was how most great teachers would go about with the distribution.

  It wasn’t that they were biased, but that under the same amount of resources and support, the more ingenious disciples could obtain greater improvement and achievement. Therefore, they’d be given more resources.

  Of course, the greater the number of stars the great teacher had, the more distinguished their statuses and the stronger they were. The amount of resources they had to distribute would also be higher. Even the resources distributed to the weakest disciple would far surpass that of ordinary teachers.

  In the great teacher world, some great teachers abhorred such distribution methods. They felt that every teacher should view their students equally, giving them the same amount of guidance and resources. However, the results were far from satisfactory.

  There was one true principle in this world: only competition could spur improvement, while equivalent sharing would just wear down one’s drive to improve. A certain country in history had proven with facts that equivalent sharing couldn’t work. It was because laziness was a bad trait that everyone possessed. The great teachers felt that the most outstanding student could obtain the greatest amount of resources as a reward, and this would form a pyramid distribution system. Under such a fair competition system, every student would strive to work hard.

  However, no matter how the great teachers taught their students, the eventual goal would still be to let the students succeed.

  Tan Lu shook his head. To speak the truth, given his aptitude, it would be wishful thinking for him to get under the wings of a 3-star great teacher. However, he didn’t care for 1-star great teachers either. It was because he felt that with Sun Mo’s talent, it shouldn’t be a problem for him to rise and become a 3-star great teacher by the time he reached Zhang Qianlin’s age. Zhang Qianlin felt extremely upset, however, he couldn’t possibly show his true emotions in front of students. He said ‘work hard’ and then left quickly.

  “Damn, I must rise to 3-star as soon as possible!”

  Zhang Qianlin swore.

  After seeing Zhang Qianlin walking away, Li Bo put up a thumb. “You’re cool. You can even bear to refuse the recruitment by a 1-star great teacher!” “Who do you want as your teacher? Is it Teacher Jin?”

  A guy wrapped his arm around Tan Lu’s neck, trying to persuade him, “Don’t just look at the star level. The best one is a teacher who is the best suited for you.”

  “I understand!”

  Tan Lu had a lot of things on his mind.

  Li Bo and the group returned to the campsite and quickly shared the story of how Tan Lu had defeated Fei Tong. Since they had managed to apply pressure on the Myriad Daos Academy, their archenemy from the same city, they felt good about this. Moreover, they wanted to boost Tan Lu’s reputation, making his process of acknowledging a teacher smoother. They had been living together as teammates, and their relationship had gotten quite good. They’d naturally hope to see Tan Lu getting his wish fulfilled.

  Of course, everyone was smart to not say anything about Tan Lu’s refusal of Zhang Qianlin’s recruitment.

  The campsite wasn’t big and everyone heard of the story since Li Bo and the others had made such a fuss. Not only the students, but even the teachers as well. All of them seemed to be a little surprised as they looked toward Tan Lu.

  Tan Lu enjoyed the attention. All was thanks to Sun Mo’s guidance. “It’s about time. Go on!”

  Li Bo spurred him on.

  Tan Lu hesitated for a moment and then nodded.

  “Alright!” Tan Lu got up, took a few deep breaths, and then walked over to the camp belonging to Sun Mo’s small group. “Huh?”

  Li Bo was dumbfounded. He subconsciously turned his head and threw a glance in the direction of Jin Mujie’s tent. He then looked back toward Tan Lu. (Where are you going? Aren’t you heading in the wrong direction?) The other students from the same group all appeared stunned as well. (Did he want Teacher Jin as his teacher but try to get Teacher Sun to put in a good word for him?)

  “Teacher!”

  Tan Lu went up to Sun Mo. After standing firmly, he left his hands on both sides of his hip and bowed respectfully, greeting Sun Mo.

  “I heard that you won against Fei Tong?”

  Li Ziqi had told Sun Mo about this the first instant she heard about it.

  “En!”

  Tan Lu appeared very calm on the surface but was unusually elated inside. (Very good. Teacher also knows how outstanding I am now.)

  “You’ve done well.”

  Sun Mo praised.

  “It’s all thanks to Teacher’s guidance!”

  Tan Lu wasn’t trying to flatter Sun Mo but had heartfelt admiration toward him. If it wasn’t for Sun Mo, he’d never have the courage to give up on his family-inherited spear art in his lifetime. No, he might not even dare to harbor the thought of it.

  “Tsk!”

  Tantai Yutang’s lips twitched. It seemed that they were going to have another martial brother today. “Have you eaten? Do you want to join us?” Sun Mo said, “The porridge that Baiwu makes is quite good!” Tan Lu hesitated for a moment and felt that if he continued to drag things on, Sun Mo might think that he wasn’t decisive. Therefore, Tan Lu dropped to his knees with a thud. “Teacher, please take me in as your disciple!” After saying that, Tan Lu dropped to his knees. Half of the Central Province Academy’s campsite fell silent.

  “I heard that Tan Lu has gone over to the Myriad Daos Academy’s campsite earlier and won against that Fei Tong!” “That must be fake news, right? Tan Lu was crushed in that duel the other day, and it has only been a few days since then. Even if his strength did surge explosively, how much could it possibly grow?” “Do you guys think that Teacher Sun will take him in?”

  The students talked amongst themselves, having curious gazes.

  “This…… this……”

  Li Bo was stunned. What was this?

  “Did he make a mistake?”

  “Wasn’t he planning to acknowledge Teacher Jin as his teacher?”

  “Why would it be Sun Mo? Is there a reason behind it? Wait a minute, it can’t be due to Teacher Sun’s guidance that he was able to defeat Fei Tong, could it?”

  The students in the same group as Tan Lu were all stunned as well. It was because this came as a bit of a surprise. While feeling envious, Du Xiao was also happy for Sun Mo. He could get another disciple now.

  “I’ll need to buck up as well!”

  Gao Ben cheered himself on. If this were to continue, he’d be thrown behind further and further away from Sun Mo.

  Zhang Qianlin stayed by himself on the campsite’s border. When he saw this scene, he was stunned. He then smashed the roasted meat in his hand onto the floor.

  “Damn it!”

  Zhang Qianlin was so angry that his countenance turned grim. If Tan Lu were to acknowledge Jin Mujie as his teacher, he’d be able to accept the outcome. But Sun Mo? Why him? Zhang Qianlin couldn’t understand this. “Teacher, without your guidance, I wouldn’t have been able to defeat Fei Tong. Teacher, I really wish to receive your teachings.’ Tan Lu’s voice was filled with respect. His forehead was stuck to the ground, and he maintained a kowtow posture.

  “Teacher is so amazing!”

  Lu Zhiruo broke into a smile, sharing Sun Mo’s pride.

  “This is bad!”

  Li Ziqi sneaked a glance at Sun Mo. She saw that he was hesitating and knew that things weren’t going to go well.

  “Tan Lu, get up first!”

  Sun Mo spoke up. He couldn’t possibly let the student continue to remain kneeling.

  “Teacher!”

  Tan Lu’s voice started to tremble. It was because he also had a bad premonition.

  “You’re very outstanding. Otherwise, it’d be impossible for you to improve tremendously within just a few days and defeat that student from the Myriad Daos Academy.” Sun Mo said solemnly, “What you’re feeling now is definitely agitation and excitement. Those will affect your judgment. You should consider this again seriously after you’ve calmed down.”

  “Teacher, I’ve thought through it. I want to study under your wing.” Tan Lu insisted.