The Scheming Zhao Deyun

"No way, am I seeing this right? One move and he's done for?"

"You guys don't get it—Qiu Zhenghua definitely got careless and didn't dodge, plus he was celebrating too early, not realizing Xu Zhiming was just playing weak to lure him in."

"Wind Thunder Fist at the sixth layer, that's way too strong. No wonder the authorities give special treatment for reaching that level."

"I'm kinda looking forward to next month's Three Cities Joint Examination. Wonder if Xu Zhiming can squeeze into the top three of our city."

"What Three Cities Joint Examination? It's the Five Cities Joint Examination now. Used to be the top ten from each city could participate, now it's the top five."

"Holy crap, where did two extra cities suddenly come from?"

"What else? The rewards are too good, so other cities want a piece of the pie."

"Qiu Zhenghua's screwed now—not only did he lose the Training Room, he got beaten this badly too."

Huang Long held a cigarette between the index and middle fingers of his right hand.

Just now, he thought the two would tangle for a while longer, so he lit one up.

Ready to see how solid Xu Zhiming's spear fundamentals were.

He'd only taken two puffs when the fight ended.

He hadn't seen anything.

All he saw was two words.

A stomp.

He took a deep drag, burning through most of the cigarette in a few breaths.

"Phew..."

Huang Yilong thought back to the personality Xu Zhiming had shown before, and his decisiveness.

He was very satisfied.

A spear user had to charge forward without looking back.

If someone was already in your face going all out and you didn't teach them a lesson, you'd be a coward.

"He's definitely trained in Heavenly Thunder Fist, and his Vitality Quality is pretty high—at least above 1.9."

"With around thirty points of Vitality, being able to crush a genius with fifty points—this kid's definitely a Heavenly Pride."

Huang Yilong thought it over and figured he could still teach Xu Zhiming for a while as a martial arts instructor.

A Heavenly Pride-level powerhouse's growth speed was beyond ordinary imagination.

He turned his head and glanced at the Monster Beast Essence Blood on his shoulder.

"Monster Beast Essence Blood—perfect chance to see how much grit this kid has."

Huang Yilong's face was full of delight, both nostrils puffing out smoke like chimneys.

"Training a Heavenly Pride—when I tell this story later, won't a bunch of old war buddies be jealous?"

Huang Yilong grinned wide and headed toward the principal's office at Yunshui Second High School.

At the very least, he had to give Zhao Deyun a heads-up.

Yunshui Second High School.

Principal's office.

Three people sat together, arguing about something.

"I disagree. Sure, the Education Law says Wind Thunder Fist at the sixth layer qualifies for a private Training Room, but who knows if he can even break through the twenty-point barrier?"

"If he can't cross that twenty-point threshold, he's just a bit better than a genius—the Vitality gap with Qiu Zhenghua is way too big."

"Principal Zhao, the Education Law also says students should earn their resources through their own strength."

"If you insist on giving our Zhenghua's Training Room to Xu Zhiming, I suggest letting them spar."

"Whoever wins gets the Training Room rights."

Zhao Deyun listened to the two beside him and felt a headache coming on.

He knew there'd be resistance, but he didn't expect this much.

The promises he'd made to Xu Zhiming before—aside from the monthly resources being doable—the Training Room still hadn't been settled after several days.

He hadn't even gotten the Training Room key yet.

One Dean, one Vice Principal—both were close to the Qiu Family.

But their reasoning was still somewhat reasonable, and he couldn't find a good argument to counter it.

"If Xu Zhiming had forty points of Vitality, these two wouldn't have a word to say."

Zhao Deyun sighed inwardly.

He knew it was impossible, unless Xu Zhiming immediately broke through to Level 10 with twenty points of Vitality.

If Xu Zhiming chose to do that, then recruiting him to Yunshui Second High School would be pointless.

What he wanted was for Xu Zhiming to try breaking through the twenty-point Vitality barrier.

If he could break through to twenty-one points of blood energy—even just twenty-one—it would count as his contribution to Great Xia.

Too many people were stuck at twenty points of blood energy, unable to break through.

Their school's second place was also a genius.

Wind Thunder Fist at the sixth layer—he shouldn't disappoint, right?

With a cold snort, Zhao Deyun spoke icily.

"I'm acting according to the education law. Whatever you say is useless."

"Today, you must make Qiu Zhenghua hand over the Training Room key."

"If he won't give it... then I'll take it myself!"

Zhao Deyun's voice suddenly rose two notches to show his resolve.

The Vice Principal and the Dean of Academic Affairs exchanged a glance, a surge of anger rising in their hearts.

Wind Thunder Fist at the sixth layer—so what? Without enough resources, Xu Zhiming couldn't possibly catch up to Qiu Zhenghua in a short time.

"Principal, if Qiu Zhenghua ends up getting into a better university than Xu Zhiming, you'll bear the consequences yourself!"

The Vice Principal snorted coldly and gave the Dean of Academic Affairs a look.

"Principal, I've already allocated the resources for each class. Xu Zhiming's class has over a dozen people—there's no extra resources left."

"If you've promised any resources, please go find sponsors yourself, Principal."

With that.

The Dean of Academic Affairs ignored Principal Zhao Deyun's expression.

What he said was the truth—the resources had long been arranged.

"I understand."

Just as the Vice Principal and the Dean reached the door, a knock sounded.

"Zhao Deyun, are you in?"

Zhao Deyun vaguely felt the voice was familiar, like he'd heard it somewhere.

In Cloud Water City, there were few who dared call him by his full name like that.

Zhao Deyun remembered who it was.

Wasn't that person at Yunshui First High School? Coming to Second High to ask him for a favor?

Back then, he'd begged this person to come teach at Yunshui Second High School, and was refused.

"Come in."

Creak.

The door pushed open.

Huang Yilong glanced at the two men with a blank expression.

He'd been listening outside the door for a while.

Everywhere had cliques suppressing common-born Heavenly Prides.

"I watched a fight today. I heard those two students are called Qiu Zhenghua and Xu Zhiming."

"I think they're pretty good. I want to volunteer as a teacher for the one who won."

Zhao Deyun's eyes flickered.

If it were Qiu Zhenghua, he believed Huang Yilong wouldn't say that.

He'd heard from Zhang Wei that when Xu Zhiming first showed his talent, Huang Yilong had already mentioned him.

Because he was out hunting Demon Beasts before, he hadn't come back.

Seems he'd chased all the way to Second High.

Huang Yilong was a Spear Master, and Xu Zhiming also trained with the spear.

A flash of shock crossed Zhao Deyun's face, and he shot to his feet.

"It should be Qiu Zhenghua who won. His blood energy is quite a bit higher than Xu Zhiming's."

"With your skill as a Blade Master, you could certainly teach Qiu Zhenghua."

The Vice Principal and Dean of Academic Affairs beside him felt a shock in their hearts.

This one-armed man was a Blade Master?

Blade techniques and martial skills weren't the same.

Blade techniques, spear techniques—these arts were divided into Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, Master, and Grandmaster.

A Master-level blade technique—Cloud Water City didn't seem to have one.

The Vice Principal stopped walking.

"This friend, Yunshui Second High School loves talent the most."

"I know this student Qiu Zhenghua quite well—his blade talent is decent. If you teach him, he might just get into one of the top three universities."

"I stake my reputation on it: Qiu Zhenghua will not disappoint you."

Huang Yilong glanced at the Vice Principal.

"Didn't you hear me? I said I'd teach the one who wins."

A flicker of embarrassment crossed the Vice Principal's face, and he vaguely sensed something was off.

There was some irritation in his heart, but this man was a Blade Master—an eccentric temperament was understandable.

He patiently explained again.

"That's right—whether in martial skill level or blood energy, Qiu Zhenghua surpasses Xu Zhiming. How could he possibly lose?"

Off to the side, someone in the Dean of Academic Affairs' office sent him a message.

He opened his phone to look, his face full of shock.