Rumors Spread

"You're quite confident, but don't end up not even touching the trophy." After reminding him, Yuezheng Qiong stretched. "You have a competition tomorrow, so I won't take you out tonight. Remember to get some rest."

Just as Si Ming was about to say goodbye, he suddenly remembered something and asked, "Sister Qiong, do you often pretend to be your sister?"

"It's not often, but I occasionally stand in for her. After all, she's the current patriarch of the Yuezheng Lineage, with many responsibilities and busy schedules, so sometimes she can't be in two places at once."

"Did you impersonate Teacher Yuezheng and give us a lesson, Sister Qiong?"

"Why are you suddenly asking about this? I did substitute for her once, but you didn't recognize me. I don't know whether to be proud of my acting skills or angry that you didn't recognize me," Yuezheng Qiong said, feigning displeasure.

Si Ming thought to himself, "Just as I thought. No wonder Yuezheng Yao's hand wasn't injured that day; the person who attended class that day wasn't actually her."

"We weren't familiar with each other back then, and Sister Qiong, your acting skills have been honed for over twenty years, so it's normal that I didn't recognize you. But I won't be like that anymore."

"I'm a little skeptical. Well, you'd better keep your eyes peeled. I'll find a chance to test you."

P. S.: I won't write about the battle at the medical university, because it's not a minor scene, but rather background. Although most of the content in this volume focuses on daily life, all the foreshadowing has been laid out. What follows is the extraordinary part.

Chapter 466 Rumors Take Flight

On the second day of the semi-finals, in the temporary rest room of the participating teams, Hu Jixian shared some information he had just confirmed.

"From yesterday afternoon to this morning, a rumor suddenly spread. Initially, it only circulated within our school, but thanks to the frantic efforts of some, now about a third of the audience has heard it. The rumor is that 'in order to ensure that Linked Mountains University secures both of the qualifying spots, the First Martial Arts Club deliberately lost to the Second Martial Arts Club.' Although experts who can discern the strength of the teams scoff at this, experts are always a minority; the vast majority are just curious onlookers. They won't believe it entirely, but they'll be skeptical. Once we defeat the Martial Arts Club, it will probably become 'conclusive evidence.'"

Ke Chajing's face changed instantly, and she said angrily, "It must have been that bitch Chu who did it. That girl knew she couldn't beat us in a direct fight, so she resorted to dirty tricks. Even if we won, it wouldn't be a satisfying victory. People will think we won because they threw the game."

Upon hearing this, Si Ming's eyes widened, and he said indignantly, "To actually use such underhanded methods as propaganda and public opinion, how shameless!"

Yu Shuying glanced at Si Ming with disdain, then said, "The other party's move is to minimize the negative impact of 'the eldest losing to the second eldest.' Perhaps less than half of the people will ultimately believe it, but having a rebuttal will allow them to defend themselves when this topic comes up, instead of becoming the object of public humiliation."

Murong Qing utterly disdainful of such tactics, frowning as she said, "No matter how good their propaganda sounds, true strength doesn't increase just because of boasting. Even if they pass the selection rounds, won't their true colors be revealed in the national competition? Won't these rumors be exposed sooner or later?"

Yu Shuying said, "You overestimate people's memory. Who can keep a rumor going for half a year? Even if people can remember it, it's already quite remarkable if a news story stays popular for half a month, let alone half a year. The Martial Arts Club's goal is simple: to weather the negative public opinion brought about by this defeat on home soil. Even if we expose our inferior strength to the Second Martial Arts Club in the national competition, not many people will care, because we are rivals in Linked Mountains City, but we are fellow townsmen in the national competition. We share the same fate, and we share the same fate."

Nie Wanzhi said angrily, "Isn't this just like them trying to take advantage of us? It's utterly shameless! Isn't there any way to thwart their scheme?"

Yu Shuying said, "Yes, if they lost to Glacier Martial Arts School, even the dumbest person wouldn't believe they deliberately threw the game to let us win."

If the Second Martial Arts Club had only narrowly defeated the Glacier Martial Arts School Martial Arts Club Second Martial Arts Club won a decisive 3-0 victory over the Glacier Martial Arts School Martial Arts Club, so there was no excuse for their loss. They had no "casual relationship" with the Glacier Martial Arts School, so there was no reason for them to throw the game.

Si Ming asked, "Which is stronger, the Glacier Martial Arts School or the Martial Arts Club?"

Hu Jixian said, "If we include the Wang brothers, the Martial Arts Club has a better chance of winning. If we remove the Wang brothers, the two sides are evenly matched, and either side could win or lose."

Hao Shuai proposed an enticing idea. "In other words, if we help the Glacier Martial Arts School, for example, by sending them some intelligence, it might play a crucial role."

Ke Chajing hesitated for a moment, but ultimately chose to refuse. "We can't do that. After all, we're from the same school. Although there's a conflict, it's just a personal grudge. We can't betray our fellow students because of this. They can be despicable, but we can't be shameless. Otherwise, wouldn't we become the same kind of people as that scoundrel Chu? Let's do everything uprightly and leave no room for criticism."

Since she said so, no one had any objections. Most importantly, this wouldn't affect their own interests. The Second Martial Arts Club's strength stood out among the four teams. They didn't have to worry about what others thought; on the contrary, they could decide others' fates. It was very difficult for the losers to show leniency, but it was much easier for the winners to do so.

Soon it was time for the competition to officially begin, and the organizers sent someone to notify the four participating teams to prepare for their appearance.

First up were Glacier Martial Arts School and Linked Mountains Medical and Martial University. Just as Hu Jixian commented, Glacier Martial Arts School's overall strength was about the same as the Martial Arts Club, so the final result was the same: a 3-1 victory.

However, Glacier Martial Arts School had clearly begun preparing for the third round of the competition, so they sent out teammates of average strength for the first two matches. Fortunately, they won one of the matches. Then, Captain Liang Fan fought in the third match, the Song "sisters" fought in the fourth match, and arranged for Mei Yan, who had the greatest exertion yesterday, to rest and recuperate.

They have already lost to the Second Martial Arts Club, and to get a ticket to the national competition, they must defeat the official Martial Arts Club. Therefore, they must be fully prepared and not let their main players get injured.

After the first game, the internal battle of Linked Mountains University immediately followed.

Influenced by Chu Gengyin's propaganda offensive, many discussions arose in the audience, such as "I heard the result of this match was already agreed upon in advance," "After all, they are teams from the same school, so they can't really go all out," and "Isn't this a foul?" These discussions continued to spread.

Let us fight each other with all our might, leaving no regrets.

When the two groups met, Chu Gengyin said this with an incredibly sunny smile, ignoring the discussions outside. Or rather, the louder the discussions, the brighter his smile became.

"No wonder Senior Sister Ke called him a bastard. I can't help but want to punch him so he can never laugh again." Nie Wanzhi was still furious.

Si Ming reassured her, "It's not worth breaking the rules for someone like this. Take it out on the official match instead. You'll be playing the first match today."

Nie Wanzhi said respectfully, "Don't worry, Instructor, watch me beat them until their heads are like pigs' heads."

As Si Ming continued to teach Nie Wanzhi martial arts, Nie Wanzhi's attitude towards him became more and more respectful. After all, even in this era where all martial arts manuals are publicly available, it is not an easy thing to hire a famous teacher to teach you step by step. Just like hiring a top tutor on Earth, a thousand yuan an hour is not expensive. Wealthy people who value the education of the next generation do not care about such a small amount of money.

Given the unique nature of martial arts, martial arts tutors hold a higher status than other tutors. Especially after reaching a certain level of skill, it's no longer a matter of money; it's that even if you have the money, you can't hire a true master to teach you. Martial arts masters are not short of money, and without connections, they wouldn't bother wasting their time teaching other people's children.

Nie Wanzhi was once a rich young lady, so she naturally understood the great price that was required to hire a master like Si Ming as a tutor. Therefore, she was extremely grateful. She originally planned to call him "Master", but Si Ming, as the successor of the Dinghu Sect, felt that it would be troublesome if his master Yan Jinghong misunderstood the title. So he forcibly corrected her to "Instructor".

While instructors and students also have a superior-subordinate teaching relationship, it is undoubtedly more distant than that between a master and apprentice, preventing misunderstandings.

As if to confirm the rumors, the Martial Arts Club did not send any of its main players, but a substitute. Chu Gengyin's intentions were obvious, or rather, he wanted others to guess in this direction.

"That bastard Chu, he definitely did it on purpose! Now we're really in deep trouble, there's no denying it," Ke Chajing said, gnashing her teeth as she looked towards the Martial Arts Club. "He was just talking about 'letting each other have no regrets,' and then he pulls this stunt right off the bat. Is he deliberately trying to provoke us? Why didn't the other members object and just let him do whatever he wanted?"

Yu Shuying said, "It's very simple. As long as he says it's a strategic abandonment, focusing on the third round and preserving the main fighting force, no one can say anything, especially the substitutes who are eager for a chance to play, so they won't object."

Ke Chajing said worriedly, "They wouldn't prevent the Wang brothers from fighting in the second match, would they? Although their character is questionable, their strength is undeniable."

"You don't need to worry about that. If you're going to put on an act, you have to go all the way. Even if you're intentionally admitting defeat, it would be too embarrassing to send out three substitutes. If the rumors become true, it would be troublesome if the organizers investigated. So, in one of the first three matches, they will definitely send out a top player to put on a spectacular fight and prove that they haven't violated the rules of the game. Besides, it seems to me that the president is going to give up on the Wang brothers." Yu Shuying said meaningfully.

As they were talking, the match on the stage began. The situation was quite clear: Nie Wanzhi had the upper hand from the very beginning and completely suppressed her opponent.

After four months of guidance from Si Ming, Nie Wanzhi had undergone a complete transformation. Not only had her Internal Cultivation been transformed, but she had also cultivated Chan Sun True Qi. Although the amount was small, equivalent to only level three Internal Cultivation, and she suffered from severe yin excess and yang deficiency, her cultivation had entered the right track.

Just as Si Ming guessed, the Yin-Yang dual-attribute Internal Cultivation, being the same supreme martial arts of the Glazed Temple, did not conflict. Instead, the Nie Wanzhi and Yang circulated endlessly, accelerating the cultivation of Internal Cultivation. Nie Wanzhi's cultivation level was growing at a rate that could be seen almost every day. The martial arts in the Chan Sun Martial Scripture also made up for her lack of a single set of moves.

In addition, Nie Wanzhi has also mastered the Golden Bell Cover, and can condense a layer of light golden energy shield on her body. Although it consumes a lot of energy, it is not as easy to control as True Qi. However, it can be used at critical moments, and it can resist the ultimate moves of martial artists of the same level. Moreover, she has an advantage that is not an advantage when using the Golden Bell Cover, which is that her petite size means that the area she needs to protect is much smaller than that of ordinary people, and the True Qi consumed in the same amount of time is naturally much less.

The improvement in Internal Cultivation, techniques, and qi shield significantly enhanced Nie Wanzhi's power. Compared to four months ago, she now had a good chance of winning even against two opponents. Therefore, she completely defeated her opponents with a crushing victory, and there were no unexpected events from beginning to end.