Zhang San, please behave yourself!
Chapter 729 - 669: The Real Purpose of the Polo Match

Chapter 729: Chapter 669: The Real Purpose of the Polo Match

It was seven days later when Zhang San and the others returned to the Capital.

Because this time, Zhang San had experienced the Sea Tribulation, which unexpectedly took a full seven days.

But it wasn’t without gains.

Now, not only were all three of Zhang San’s Wheels of Qi in the state of "Holding the Origin and Preserving Unity,"

but more importantly, as Zhang San expanded the Red Gold Wheel Sea and refined the sea water within it, significantly enhancing his Qi quantity, he also seized the opportunity to discover that he could release some of the power from the Sea Tribulation he experienced at the same time in all three Wheels of Qi. By using the released power of the Sea Tribulation to temper his bones, he could rapidly enhance their strength.

He had already completed the Body Refinement for all 720 Qi Acupoints.

But later, preoccupied with the great battle on Longyun Path, he never got the chance to continue enhancing his bones. However, this Triple Layer Sea Tribulation directly increased the progress of his bone refinement by ten percent.

This was an unexpected delight.

Even now, Zhang San felt that with just a wooden blade in hand, he could deliver a Slash Attack not weaker than his past self when using the Horizontal Blade to release the Blade Intent.

And upon just returning to the Capital, Li Moxian naturally had to immediately enter the Imperial Palace to report to Emperor Kaihuang.

Zhang San, to avoid helping Big Sister write up the mission report for this trip to the Wang Family, falsely claimed he had affairs to attend to at the Imperial College and made his escape.

But what he never anticipated was that when he arrived at the Imperial College, there really was an issue.

It turns out that ever since the time he kindly celebrated Grand Preceptor’s birthday, the Grand Preceptor, possibly due to old age, fell ill once again.

And this time, the illness seemed quite grave, with no signs of improvement up to now.

Even the Imperial Physicians from the Imperial Palace had visited and in the end, they had prescribed some medicine, reminding Ren Buqun’s cat-eared ladies that medication must not be skipped.

And now, the polo match organized by the students of the Imperial College was imminent.

Originally, when Ren Buqun approved it, he also expressed his intention to attend.

After all, as an activity of the Imperial College, it wouldn’t look good not to send a representative from the college.

But with the Grand Preceptor sick, the only person available to go was Zhang San.

Although Preceptor Situ was keen on going, he hesitated, thinking that if Zhang San returned and found out he had gone, he might literally skin him alive.

Zhang San still remembered Han Baiwen’s warning, telling him that something about this matter was off.

Although he still hasn’t figured out what exactly is wrong, he chose to trust Han Baiwen.

So, Zhang San went early in the morning to look for Preceptor Situ, asking him to represent the Imperial College and take the Grand Preceptor’s place at the polo match.

Zhang San himself decided to accompany the students as a teacher.

It was said that this polo match, being a friendly competition purely for practicing skills, was not confined to students. If teachers were interested, they could also join in.

Even some officials and nobles from Daxing City would participate if they found it amusing.

At least up to that point, Zhang San still saw nothing wrong with the polo match.

But unexpectedly, just as Zhang San was leading the students out of the Imperial College to the polo field owned by the Han Family outside the city, he happened to encounter Wang Ziteng, who wore an unhappy expression.

"This guy’s made a fortune, why isn’t he happy about it?"

Wang Ziteng glanced at Zhang San and said in a low voice, "My mentor has left."

"When did you take on a mentor? How did you manage to cause his death so quickly?"

Although Wang Ziteng knew Zhang San was joking with him, he still looked annoyed because he felt a bit worried about his mentor’s departure.

"It was Zhang Datui from the Town Demon Office."

"You managed to win him over?"

"Hmm... I was more or less forced to become his disciple. But my strength has indeed improved a lot recently. It’s just that my master said he had to deal with something on Longyou Road, so he left first. Even though I’ve never actually called him ’Master’ aloud, he took me in as his disciple because he felt I was suited to his legacy and has taught me everything he knows, without holding anything back. I’m quite moved by that."

Zhang San naturally knew that Wang Ziteng was also a person who valued friendship and loyalty, which was why he had become sworn brothers with him.

"Don’t worry, once I’ve handled things in the Capital, I’ll find an excuse to take you on a trip to Longyou Road."

Wang Ziteng asked curiously, "Brother San, why are you taking so many students out right now?"

"We’re going to the Han Family’s polo ground to play polo. The Imperial College has booked it for the day. Come and watch with us. Speaking of which, do you understand polo?"

"I don’t really understand it, but I’ve seen them play before. Basically, you use that long stick to shoot that thing into a goal."

"What’s that thing? Can you be more specific?"

"The ball, but the ball has a professional name that I can’t remember."

Zhang San grinned. He had thought that Wang Ziteng, at least as a member of the Wang Family who grew up in luxury, would know something about it; but it seemed he only knew the bits he had eaten and seen.

When the group arrived at the polo ground, people were already competing on the field.

And Preceptor Situ, representing the Imperial College, sat in the main seat, laughing and chatting merrily with many of the Capital’s elite as he watched the polo match below.

At that moment, Preceptor Situ desperately hoped that the Grand Preceptor Ren Buqun would remain ill, that Zhang San would stay out of affairs, allowing him to indulge in the thrill of being the actual leader every day.

However, after Zhang San and Wang Ziteng sat down to watch for a while, Zhang San still didn’t understand the rules of polo.

It seemed to be two teams of riders, using their mallets to hit the ball while on horseback, and whoever got the ball into the opponent’s "goal" scored.

The teams were divided into red and blue, and even though Zhang San didn’t recognize everyone in the red team, they were constantly scoring.

The blue team, on the other hand, was already a step behind in horsemanship, and even further behind in hitting the ball.

Even Zhang San, an outsider, shook his head repeatedly after watching.

At this moment, Zhang San turned his head and noticed Wen Bi; he gestured for Wen Bi to come sit with them.

After Wen Bi came over, he asked in a low voice, "Teacher, what can I do for you?"

Wen Bi always felt that he was suitable for intelligence work; ever since he joined the Imperial College, it seemed that the teacher always sought him out to gather information.

"How are these two teams divided? I see they are not split up by class."

"The red team is made up of offspring from noble families. The blue team is composed of students from humble backgrounds. That’s what they said at the beginning of the match, and then everyone formed teams freely. This is already the fourth match."

As Wen Bi’s voice grew softer and considering the current situation on the field, Zhang San finally understood what was really happening.

Zhang San had not understood what Han Baiwen had warned him to be careful about, but now, he finally grasped the true purpose of this polo match.

Polo, as a sport greatly favored by the nobility of the Great Sui, naturally had many enthusiasts among the common people.

But unlike the wealthy nobles who didn’t need to worry about income and expenses and could indulge in leisure every day, ordinary people could only invest limited time and energy in this sport.

Just the act of horse riding itself was enough to limit most polo enthusiasts to merely standing outside the polo ground, only able to look on from afar.

And now, the offspring of the noble families, within the Imperial College, called for such a match.

In the name of friendly competition, for the purpose of making friends.

But the result was to lay bare the helplessness of the students from humble backgrounds in the polo field, trampling their dignity as if it were nothing more than mud and straw.

In that moment, Wang Ziteng could feel the faint murderous aura emanating from Zhang San.

"They really do think highly of themselves, don’t they?"

"Moreover, there’s one other thing..."