Great! I'm surrounded by villains!
Chapter 145 - 65: On Swordsmanship

Chapter 145: Chapter 65: On Swordsmanship

Mr. Mingyuan seems particularly aggressive today.

Now that Duan Mingyuan had spoken, Jiuyue decided not to trip up the annoying old man secretly, she obediently moved behind Duan Mingyuan and activated learning mode.

In her view, Mr. Mingyuan was never the type who enjoyed articulate sparring, so when he gave the review of "a pile of shit," it was often not a personal attack, but an objective and fair assessment.

But the Swordsmanship Class teacher clearly did not accept it and looked at Duan Mingyuan as if fire would shoot from his eyes.

Just now, this person who sprang from who knows where had insulted him and his artwork, and this kind of attack from a "connoisseur" always hit him where it hurt the most.

Even more infuriating, this person even brought his own sideshow—Ying Tian, who was cradling a dummy, also woke up, and his loud laughter and shouts of encouragement made it all too clear to the old teacher.

"Finally, someone speaks the truth in my heart!"

Ying Tian loved to fan the flames and fully supported Duan Mingyuan’s speech, wanting to let Duan Mingyuan know that there were other spirits in the classroom that stood with him.

"Leave this classroom, you vulgar person is not welcome here!"

The old teacher growled fiercely, which was the only thing he could do at the moment.

His student’s status was so esteemed that even if they heckled or outright insulted him, he could only take it.

But one day, someone would understand his greatness, his hard work, and how precious it was to the world.

That day was coming soon, once the Second Prince ascended the throne...

"Teacher, why not let him continue?"

Ying Tian didn’t want Duan Mingyuan to leave; he hoped Duan Mingyuan would stoke the fire a bit more, and after the old man got angry, they could skip class for the next few days, "With your esteemed reputation, you can’t be eager to drive someone out just because of dissenting voices in the classroom; wouldn’t that be showing weakness?"

"No ivory comes out of a dog’s mouth; what high insights can this person have?"

The old teacher snorted, "What do you understand about the Sword Control Technique? By the look of you, you must never have even touched a sword. Each move and posture in the Sword Control Technique, the meaning behind every action, has all been studied and summarized by me!"

He knew that Ying Tian disagreed with him and deliberately used outsiders to anger him, but if they truly came to a contest, no one in the world could discuss swordsmanship with him, aside from the Prime Monarch.

As for Duan Mingyuan, he maintained a let-it-be attitude. If the old teacher did not wish for him to stay in the classroom, he would go elsewhere. He had only spoken out because he saw an old scholar embracing, metaphorically, a pile of shit, treating it as a standard, and couldn’t help but blurt that out.

But now he understood why such a person was their teacher; no wonder Ning Ruyue couldn’t grasp swordsmanship.

"If that’s the case, why among the many students, only the Second Prince has mastered the swordsmanship you taught?"

"It’s because the Second Prince is exceptionally talented and has shown diligence and willingness to study hard," said the old teacher, his pride apparent as he spoke of Ying Xin.

Everyone at the Imperial Court treated him as a young Prime Monarch, the legacy of a century had borne fruit, and all of it was driven by his own hands.

"But in my opinion, the talents of every student in this classroom are the same," said Duan Mingyuan, and his words had scientific backing.

The Herald of each generation of the Universe Company wasn’t naturally born but was the product of the Universe Company’s technology, with hardly any significant differences besides their personalities.

However, the old teacher laughed uproariously as if he had heard the funniest thing, "I can’t believe you’re foolish enough to deny the existence of talent. Then you tell me, why, with the same teaching, did the Elder Princess’s Sword Control Technique not match up to Ying Xin’s? Did she not tell you that the Prime Monarch had personally directed her swordsmanship, an honor that Ying Xin had never enjoyed? Despite receiving the Prime Monarch’s favor, she was easily surpassed by someone who came later; does that not illustrate the importance of talent to you?"

At these words, Ning Ruyue also lowered her head in embarrassment.

But her emotion was not directed at the Swordsmanship Class teacher, but rather a feeling of failing her father’s meticulous teaching.

"Because her personality is different from the Second Prince’s," Duan Mingyuan said.

"Personality? Haha, what a ridiculous notion! Are you saying that the transmission of the Sword Control Technique also depends on one’s personality?" the old teacher mocked.

"Have you not realized it yet?"

Duan Mingyuan seldom frowned in academic discussions. He was willing to consider the old teacher as a knowledgeable professor, but the other was foolish as if he had bought a degree. After a lifetime of researching the Sword Control Technique, claiming to understand every detail, he still could not perceive the issue right before his eyes, "You have completely reversed the logical order. It’s not that the Second Prince became a young Prime Monarch because he mastered the Sword Control Technique, but because his personality resembled that of the young Prime Monarch, that he was able to learn your stuff."

"Obsession!" Jiuyue suddenly understood; even she could now see clearly, "Just like the students in the academy!"

Before, she had compared the academy’s legacy to playing chess in a foul basket, deteriorating generation after generation, but she hadn’t expected Mr. Mingyuan to see through the essence behind the phenomenon.

"Your theory, only the Second Prince could learn it."

Teaching by rote had transformed the Sword Control Technique into a set of rigid actions, which was then forcefully instilled into every student.

But the old teacher was merely a "Swordsmanship Class" instructor; he ultimately could not change the nature of his students.

"Evidence... how are you going to prove it!"

The old teacher asked, but his tone was no longer as commanding as before.

"Ning Ruyue, go get your guqin."

"... The guqin?"

Although she did not understand why Duan Mingyuan said so, Ning Ruyue still obediently did as she was told.

The onlookers who loved a good spectacle didn’t mind adding fuel to the fire, spreading the dispute between Duan Mingyuan and the "Swordsmanship Class" teacher. The crowd outside the classroom grew larger, including servants who had once received the Elder Princess’s favor and many more from all sorts of powers within the Imperial Court.

The news of the Elder Princess’s return to the Imperial Court and her defeat of the Second Prince spread quickly.

This left them indecisive, this previously clear power struggle for the throne suddenly became complicated and unclear.

Ning Ruyue made her way through the crowd back into the classroom and set up her guqin.

The old teacher stopped his mocking and just stood from a distance, watching coldly as a bystander.

The Elder Princess hadn’t even brought her sword, yet she wanted to contest in swordsmanship during this class.

How absurd.

He wanted to see just what more absurd things would occur.

"Do you still remember what I told you in the first class of the advanced course?"

"Sword Intent is a reflection of one’s state of mind..."

Ning Ruyue murmured to herself, thoughtful.

Mr. Mingyuan had said that one must harbor the resolve to cut through all things in the world, but this sounded very abstract, and she lacked the bearing of Mr. Mingyuan.

As she looked at the strings of her guqin, a sudden realization dawned on her.

So that was it, that was it!

No wonder Mr. Mingyuan had asked her to bring the guqin!

Ning Ruyue closed her eyes, her black hair cascading down. All the miscellaneous noises of the world were shut out, her fingers plucked the strings, playing the tune she was most familiar with.

Dean Su had told her since a young age that the guqin can cultivate sentiments and also help her glimpse into her true heart.

Sword Intent is a reflection of one’s state of mind; this was what Mr. Mingyuan truly wished to convey to her.

The melodious tune echoed within the classroom; despite being a tune gentle to its extreme, the teacher’s heart pounded violently.

The bystanders noticed the anomaly even earlier.

Ning Ruyue had not brought the sword granted by the Prime Monarch, nor had she danced with a sword in this classroom, yet where the melody of the guqin reached, Sword Intent was everywhere.

This was...

A Sword Intent completely unlike anything he knew!

There was no overt killing intent, but rather like a gentle breeze caressing the face.

The next moment, amid a chorus of gasps, all the mannequins in the classroom broke apart on cue; Ying Tian, who was holding a mannequin, caught off guard, crashed heavily to the floor.

He was just as astonished as the people outside the classroom.

When had the Elder Princess drawn her sword?

With the guqin music as her sword, it was something they had never heard of, nor had it ever been recorded as a technique.

When the piece ended, the people were as if struck by a Binding Spell, standing dumbfounded in place.

In a certain moment, it seemed he saw her, saw the Elder Princess’s Sword Intent passing by them.

This was...

A Domain even the Prime Monarch had never touched upon.