Chapter 145: Overturning the Scholar Residence
Qin Mu's heart stirred slightly. The Imperial Academy Doctor was meant to solve the problem of geniuses being difficult to teach according to their aptitude!
If Banshan Sacrificial Wine and the Young Ancestor could truly solve this problem, then when encountering the problem of Daoist disciples and Buddhist disciples blocking the gates again, there would be no need to borrow the power of the Heavenly Demon Cult.
This time, repelling the Daoist sect's Daozi and the Great Thunderclap Temple's Buddhist disciple relied entirely on the Heavenly Demon Cult's power. Qin Mu was the Heavenly Demon Cult's Young Cult Master, and Si Yunxiang was most likely Granny Si, who was the previous generation's Holy Maiden and the previous Cult Master's wife. The Imperial Academy could be said to have suffered a complete defeat.
Shen Wanyun listened to the two of them talking back and forth, feeling extremely uncomfortable. Every time he mustered up the courage to ask the doubts in his heart, he would hesitate and stop himself.
Finally, he couldn't help but ask: "Teacher Banshan, what do you mean by senior and junior brother?"
"Are you talking about that?"
Banshan Sacrificial Wine said casually: "He and I share the same master. He is my junior brother, so you should call him master's junior brother."
"Master's junior brother..."
Shen Wanyun fell silent. After a long while, he said: "If my cultivation and strength are higher than his, do I still need to call him master's junior brother?"
Banshan Sacrificial Wine laughed: "What are you thinking? You're no match for him. His skills are a notch above yours. Do you know what 'a notch above' means? It means he's a chopstick higher than you. 'A hair above' means a single strand of hair higher, and 'a notch above' is dozens of times that, understand? Moreover, not to mention you can't defeat him, even if you did defeat him, you'd still have to call him master's junior brother."
Shen Wanyun let out a muffled snort and muttered: "How would I know without fighting..."
"Don't fight. You'll lose."
Banshan Sacrificial Wine laughed: "His skills are on the level of Daozi and Buddhist disciples..."
Qin Mu tugged at his sleeve, and Banshan Sacrificial Wine quickly shut his mouth.
He was the Imperial Academy's famous loudmouth. He couldn't keep anything in his heart and would blurt out anything without thinking. Just now, he had revealed the location of the flaw in Qin Mu's technique, and now he had almost revealed that Qin Mu had defeated Lin Xuan Daozi.
Banshan Sacrificial Wine looked at Qin Mu, stood up, and said: "The Grand Sacrificial Wine asked me to stay by your side at all times, which also means having you follow me. But since you're my junior brother, don't call me teacher anymore. My teaching method is simple—we go out and train together. But I can't bring too many people when I go out. Too many people makes too big a target, and it's hard for me to take care of everyone. Last time I went out, I only brought Shen Wanyun. Since I must bring you this time, I can only bring one more scholar."
Shen Wanyun showed an expectant look.
Banshan Sacrificial Wine knew what he was thinking. He stood up and walked outside, shaking his head: "Not you this time. I need to select a few scholars with good aptitude and foundation, have them study while cultivating with me, and verify whether the Doctor position proposed by the Grand Sacrificial Wine is viable. These few will serve as candidates for Imperial Academy Doctors. Junior brother, go to the Tianlu Tower and choose a few scripture volumes to bring along. I'll teach you on the road."
He left the courtyard, presumably to find a few scholars with outstanding aptitude.
Qin Mu looked at Shen Wanyun and smiled: "Nephew Shen..."
Shen Wanyun's expression darkened. He stood up and said: "Until the day I lose to you in battle, I will not call you master's junior brother!" With that, he walked out of Qin Mu's courtyard.
Qin Mu didn't mind. He looked at the little fox and the green ox and said: "You two pack up your belongings. I'm going to the Tianlu Tower to choose a few divine abilities."
These two fellows were drunk, arguing about becoming sworn brothers. Who knows if they even heard what he said.
Qin Mu took his book token and walked out of the courtyard. A few laborers came over, planning to repair his courtyard and door.
He came outside the courtyard and walked toward the exit of the Scholar Residence. At this moment, he saw the doors of the courtyards in the Scholar Residence opening one by one. Scholars walked out from their rooms, standing in the middle of the road, facing him, all silent.
Qin Mu looked back and saw that the doors of the courtyards behind him had also opened. Scholars were also walking out from their respective courtyards, standing in the middle of the road.
Most of these scholars were people he had beaten before. Some had their sword cases standing upright at their feet, others had them strapped to their backs.
Besides them, there were a few he hadn't beaten, including Qin Yu, who had taken the great examination with him, and several other sons of major aristocratic families. Throughout the entire Scholar Residence, probably only Wei Yong, Si Yunxiang, and a few others—about five or six people—had not come out.
"Are we fighting again?"
Qin Mu laughed and walked forward. Behind him, a scholar sneered: "Abandoned one, don't you dare start from the end of the alley? Are you afraid?"
Qin Mu stopped and turned to look at the scholar who had spoken. He seemed to be the only one who had been beaten three times by him. The other scholars he had only beaten twice, but this one talked too much. Every time he called Qin Mu "abandoned one," Qin Mu would grab him and use his face to write characters, then plant him in the ground. That counted as beating him three times.
That scholar couldn't hide his excitement: "Abandoned one, your weakness has already been pointed out by Banshan Sacrificial Wine. This time, we'll make you lose from the end of the alley all the way to the head of the alley!"
Qin Mu turned around and said seriously: "Senior brother, what is your name? If I lose, I'd like to know who I lost to."
That scholar slowly broke into a smile: "Let me tell you, my surname is Yan, and my name is Qinghe."
Qin Mu said solemnly: "I wish to be the first to lose to Senior Brother Yan. Please don't hesitate to teach me."
Yan Qinghe was overjoyed and laughed: "Although you come from the barbaric wilderness, you do know how to conduct yourself properly. Very well, I won't make you lose too badly. Draw your sword!"
Boom!
Qin Mu lifted his foot and took a single step. His powerful body actually compressed the air in front of him into a wall made of air. The next instant, the air wall exploded. Qin Mu's fist almost struck out in the same motion, breaking through the air and sending a perfectly round ring of white air scattering in all directions.
"Why aren't you drawing your sword..."
Yan Qinghe couldn't bother with using qi to control his sword. He hurriedly raised both arms to block the punch with his forearms. He had no time to use qi to control his sword now. If he tried to draw his flying sword at this moment, he would probably be beaten to death by the punch before the sword even left its sheath!
Whoosh—
The sound of a heavy object breaking through the air came. The scholars behind Yan Qinghe's back changed expression drastically and hurriedly dodged aside. They saw Yan Qinghe's figure flying backward past Qin Mu, arriving at the end of the alley in an instant!
At the end of the alley, Wei Yong was just about to open his door when suddenly a black shadow flashed past, followed by a loud bang. A person was plastered in a spread-eagle position against the wall at the end of the alley right in front of him, his body deeply embedded in the wall. The wall around his body had caved in considerably, and the broken stones were covered in spiderweb-like cracks.
Wei Yong was startled. He quickly poked his head out to look, caught a glimpse of the scene in the Scholar Residence alley, and grinned from ear to ear: "Fellow senior brothers, don't misunderstand. I didn't see anything, and I won't tell anyone anything!"
He was just about to retreat into his room when suddenly a figure appeared behind him. Wei Yong quickly turned around and saw Banshan Sacrificial Wine standing behind him.
"Don't say anything."
Banshan Sacrificial Wine whispered: "Let him fight."
Wei Yong was puzzled and asked: "Sacrificial Wine, what are you planning to do?"
Banshan Sacrificial Wine glanced at him and said: "I plan to select a few scholars from the Scholar Residence who are worth teaching and personally pass on divine abilities and techniques to them."
Wei Yong still didn't understand. Banshan Sacrificial Wine said smugly: "I just deliberately acted like a big mouth and revealed Scholar Qin's shoulder weakness, provoking these scholars and letting them know where Qin's weakness is. Once they know the weakness, they'll definitely attack Scholar Qin, and Scholar Qin will defeat them. That way, I can see how strong these scholars really are. Those who can only take one or two moves definitely won't do. They should at least be able to take three to five moves from Scholar Qin to be worthy of my personal instruction."
Wei Yong praised: "What a great idea! Sacrificial Wine is truly clever. By the way, Sacrificial Wine, what about me..."
Banshan Sacrificial Wine looked him up and down and said: "How many moves can you take from Scholar Qin?"
Wei Yong's head ached: "I have to go out and exchange a few moves with Scholar Qin too?"
Banshan Sacrificial Wine showed a kind smile.
Wei Yong's scalp went numb.
Bang.
A loud noise came from outside. Another scholar had been slapped into the ground by Qin Mu, shattering dozens of green bricks!
Those laborers who were repairing Qin Mu's door and wall were also startled, all frowning with worry. An old laborer said slowly: "Young masters, keep the noise down a bit. Don't make us repair things every single day."
Qin Mu bowed and said: "Sorry for the trouble, everyone."
He stepped forward toward the exit of the alley. Passing by a scholar, that scholar's eye twitched but he didn't move.
He continued forward. Another scholar was just about to raise his hand and draw his sword when—boom!—a loud crash. That scholar was directly slapped into the ground by Qin Mu, leaving only his head sticking out.
"Keep the damage small!" That old laborer couldn't help but shout.
Qin Mu quickly turned around, carefully apologized, and then continued walking out.
Another scholar couldn't resist attacking. A series of twanging sounds rang out continuously, like bowstrings vibrating. That scholar's figure flew up and hung on the wall. The sharp wind from Qin Mu's finger flicks blasted several holes in the wall.
That old laborer was about to get angry when Qin Mu quickly turned around and apologized again.
Whoosh—
A scholar flew up into midair, flailing his arms and legs as he fell, landing headfirst on the rooftop with half his body stuck inside the house.
Boom! Another tremor came. Another scholar was slammed into the wall by Qin Mu's charge. Seeing this, those laborers all sighed and stopped telling them to keep it down.
"I'm coming!"
Qin Mu suddenly felt a fierce wind at his back. He quickly turned around and saw sword lights like roaming dragons coming straight at him—dozens of them flying up and down, circling around him.
"Roaming Sword Style?"
Qin Mu was surprised. There really weren't many scholars who could cultivate the Roaming Sword Style to this level. And to incorporate dragon intent into the sword with such deep attainment—this should be Qin Yu.
Qin Mu pressed his fingers together, using primordial qi as a sword. His fingers danced, executing the Thrusting Sword Style, Lifting Sword Style, Cloud Sword Style, Wiping Sword Style, and other basic sword forms, cutting down the dragon-like sword lights one by one. The light of those roaming dragons scattered, turning into swords that embedded themselves in the wall, humming and vibrating.
Qin Yu had already emptied his entire sword case, showing a look of panic. His body moved like a dragon as he tried to retreat, but Qin Mu flicked his fingers repeatedly. Five sharp explosions rang out—flicking fingers like thunder—and Qin Yu was sent flying.
"Not bad strength. I'd like to see the sword arts of that young dragon." Qin Mu praised, saying to Qin Yu.
Those laborers who were repairing the wall saw Qin Mu's sword technique and all cheered, praising: "Young master has the bearing of a grandmaster!"