Great! I'm surrounded by villains!
Chapter 107 - 27: The Five Heroes of the Cloud Sea

Chapter 107: Chapter 27: The Five Heroes of the Cloud Sea

After the advanced class ended, the five students each had their thoughts.

Ning Ruyue was the most obvious among them. As Duan Mingyuan saw them off the mountain, she kept looking back every three steps, her gaze nearly glued to the teacher, her mind a whirlwind of thoughts.

In summary, she had to come up with a way to lure Teacher Mingyuan to the Imperial Court.

With Teacher Mingyuan’s skills, he would surely be able to change the current chaotic situation at the Court.

His majestic swordsmanship always reminded people of the youthful Prime Monarch, who didn’t need to rely on devices provided by the Extraterrestrials to prolong his life.

The thoughts of Su Qin, the eldest senior brother of the painting academy, were much simpler. After pondering, he asked, "Do you guys think we should form a group?"

"A group?"

"Something like the ’Cloud Sea Five Heroes’ or ’Cloud Sea Five Braves,’ for example."

The entrance ceremony of junior sister Tang Qianqian was less than ideal, but she brought many new things to the academy, and with her knack for socializing, she already had quite a few followers within the academy.

Junior sister Qianqian once mentioned that true tough characters always come with unique titles.

Three Great Generals, Four Emperors, Five Old Stars, Seven Eccentrics of the South...

Su Qin threw the topic to the eldest senior sister of the literature academy, saying, "Liu Xu, as the eldest senior sister of the literature academy, what do you think?"

The eldest senior sister of the literature academy was a gentle girl wearing glasses, with black hair as dark as a waterfall reaching her waist, fitting perfectly the image held by the students of Cloud Sea Academy of a tender senior sister. However, those who knew her were aware that this senior sister was no ordinary person when it came to reprimanding students. Without lifting a hand or uttering a curse, she could subject rule-breakers to more than an hour of ideological education.

According to the victims, the process was unbearable, like a haunting melody lingering for days on end.

Liu Xu was also among the only two out of the five who managed to maintain their composure.

This was a professional hazard of the literature academy.

Those who came from the literature academy were known to be talkative, a consensus formed over centuries. At first, those from the literature academy were only immersed in the study of ink and brush. Later, the management of the library and clerical work were also transferred to them; thus, in addition to calligraphy and inkwork, those from the literature academy were also excellent writers.

"Usually, titles are given by others. As far as I know, there have been no heroes who gave themselves titles," Liu Xu suggested, pushing up her glasses and highlighting the flaw in Su Qin’s idea. "Those who give themselves titles are most often regarded by the world as frauds and impostors, and they will be scorned by the public."

"How is this being a fraud or an impostor? I’m just thinking a bit further ahead than others," Su Qin asserted confidently, asking everyone, "What do you all think of Teacher Mingyuan’s abilities?"

"Very strong."

"I fear he may even surpass the academy head."

That sword which split the sky had left a deep impression in their minds, an event likely unforgettable for the rest of their lives.

"Exactly, which means we five are essentially Teacher Mingyuan’s direct disciples," Su Qin stated.

"You could think of it that way," Ning Ruyue nodded thoughtfully, but then felt as if she was at a loss.

She felt that aside from Yang Ping, the other "three heroes" didn’t truly recognize the teacher’s strength.

"Although Teacher Mingyuan only teaches at the academy, he is bound to be a dragon among men in the future. As his direct disciples, taking a title on credit isn’t too much, is it?" said Su Qin.

"Taking on credit? A title? Who did you learn this from?" Liu Xu knit her brows.

With a slight smile, Su Qin didn’t forget to praise Tang Qianqian, "Junior sister Qianqian has brought in many advanced ideas from outside, we in the painting academy have found a treasure."

You’ve found a ghost!

Liu Xu might not know other things, but she had heard about Tang Qianqian. Just last night, Qianqian and the students of the literature academy were involved in something called "script murder," gathering in the classroom in the middle of the night without sleeping, alarming several teachers who almost thought that an insider was plotting to overtake the Cloud Sea Academy.

"In any case, I don’t approve of such deceptive acts."

"Sister Liu Xu, there’s no need to be so inflexible in your thinking."

Ning Ruyue stepped forward at the right moment and said, "It’s not necessarily deception; this matter is manageable."

"How can it be managed?"

"We can settle on a title and then have the junior brothers and sisters help us spread it privately, can’t we?"

"Ruyue, how could even you..."

She was about to speak out, but Liu Xu swallowed her words back hard. Upon further thought, it seemed all too normal for such words to come from Ning Ruyue’s mouth.

The esteemed top student of the zither academy had spent more days in the Confinement Room thinking over her actions than the three of them combined.

Dean Su Yunru had always harbored both fondness and frustration towards Ning Ruyue.

Brilliant yet mischievously eccentric, that was Ning Ruyue in the eyes of the teachers.

Of course, ’mischievously eccentric’ was a somewhat euphemistic description.

"It must be done this way."

Ning Ruyue said, "Teacher Mingyuan is no ordinary man; if others knew of his abilities, the people seeking to become his disciples would probably line up all the way down to Qing Chi Peak."

She had suffered a great loss yesterday. She could have enjoyed the status of being the teacher’s sole leading disciple, but after being confined for a day, she woke up to find herself part of the ’Cloud Sea Quintet.’ Ning Ruyue realized that this situation could not be dragged on, or else in another day or two, they might find themselves dubbed the ’Twelve Star Constellations’ or the ’Twenty-Four Solar Terms.’

With this in mind, Ning Ruyue made the decision, "Let’s go with ’Cloud Sea Quintet’; it’s a decent name. As for how to spread it... Su Qin, isn’t Qianqian from the art academy working on that ’Murder Mystery Game’? Ask her to incorporate this title into it, and then it will become widely known."

Xu Yi, who was not acquainted with Tang Qianqian, worried, "But I’m not sure if Sister Qianqian will agree."

"If she doesn’t agree, we can offer sponsorship. I have some jewelry here. Later on, you can take it with you for Sister Qianqian."

Before Liu Xu’s very eyes, the three of them clinched a "business deal," and she felt the culture of the academy had seriously declined. Even the top students from each academy were leading the charge in corrupting the atmosphere.

All she could do was to turn to Yang Ping, the silent junior brother who had been monitoring the discussion, hoping this prominent junior would correct this unhealthy trend, "Yang Ping, junior brother, what do you think..."

"Over there."

While the others were discussing the group’s name, Yang Ping, who wasn’t interested in empty honors, was the only one who noticed the commotion down the mountain.

A group of people in uniform, armed with guns and clubs, were approaching the back of the mountain with formidable momentum.

"The academy’s Enforcement Team? Why have they come here?"

Of all people, Ning Ruyue was the most familiar with the name ’Enforcement Team.’ She reflexively hid behind a tree, peeking out with half her head.

As a regular in the Confinement Room, she had accumulated this bit of wisdom.

As the head of the academy, Dean Su Yunru naturally didn’t have the time to search all over after Ning Ruyue caused trouble, so whenever she encountered a problem, she would run, and by half a day later, the dean would have calmed down.

But later on, the dean caught on to Ning Ruyue’s ploy. Whenever her "beloved student" got into trouble, she would just send the Enforcement Team to catch her.

"It seems they’re not here for us."

Ning Ruyue observed for a moment and concluded, "They wouldn’t send so many to catch us."

Then, who else could be on the back mountain at this moment?

The group exchanged looks, all arriving at the answer at the same time.

Teacher Mingyuan.

The academy’s Enforcement Team was heading for Teacher Mingyuan!