"It was my own skill that fell short."
Dai Yueheng shook his head with easy grace. As he looked at the sword marks left in the center of the arena, his heart still couldn't help pounding.
Although losing to an opponent a whole level below him was embarrassing, Dai Yueheng knew that if Mu Guiyun hadn't held back, that giant sword wouldn't have simply been planted in the arena.
Seeing this, the referee immediately announced the result: "The final winner of the Inter-grade Challenge Tournament is Grade 2 Class 1, Mu Guiyun!"
As soon as the referee's voice fell, a wave of enthusiastic cheers erupted from the stands.
Just then, Yan Shaozhe appeared in the center of the arena, with Xian Lin'er and the others following close behind.
Yan Shaozhe first gave Dai Yueheng a faint nod, then turned to Mu Guiyun and said with a smile, "Gui Yun, congratulations! You've become the youngest Inter-grade Challenge Tournament champion in our academy's history!"
"Come by my office later!"
Yan Shaozhe stroked his beard, already hatching a little scheme in his mind.
The moment Yan Shaozhe finished speaking, Xian Lin'er grew wary.
From what she knew of Yan Shaozhe, whenever the old geezer stroked his beard, he was sure to be up to no good!
At that thought, Xian Lin'er elbowed Yan Shaozhe aside and leaned toward Mu Guiyun, speaking softly. "Gui Yun, come by my place later. I just got my hands on a new batch of good stuff!"
Good stuff?!
Mu Guiyun's eyes lit up at once. The good stuff Xian Lin'er mentioned was most likely the rare metals he desperately needed!
Yan Shaozhe rubbed his side where she'd elbowed him, looking displeased.
He was the dean of the Spirit Department, after all. How could she just elbow him in front of everyone? In front of so many people, no less!
But when he remembered the mistake he'd made in his youth, Yan Shaozhe immediately lost his temper with Xian Lin'er.
As for Mu Guiyun's Soul Rings, the deans tacitly agreed not to ask about them.
Not long after Mu Guiyun left the arena, Tang Ya came rushing over from the distance, beaming.
"Mu Guiyun! Over here!"
Tang Ya leaped at him, throwing herself straight into his arms.
As he wrapped an arm around Tang Ya's slender waist, Mu Guiyun instinctively glanced at Jiang Nannan, who stood not far away.
Taking in the distinctive pair of rabbit ears on her head, Mu Guiyun immediately put two and two together.
He patted Tang Ya's pert little bottom and asked in confusion, "Xiao Ya, is this your friend?"
"Mmm~"
Feeling the unexpected touch, Tang Ya gave Mu Guiyun a coy, flirtatious glance. Then she slipped out of his arms, blushing as she sidled up to Jiang Nannan and said sweetly, "Here she is, the new friend I wanted to introduce you to. This is Jiang Nannan, the unanimously recognized campus belle of the third year!"
"What do you think? Pretty, right?"
After saying that, Tang Ya gave him a playful wink.
So it really was her, the future number-one beauty in the outer courtyard!
Unlike Tang Ya's mischievous, lively nature, a faint melancholy always lingered between Jiang Nannan's brows.
Unlike Ling Luochеn, who kept everyone at arm's length, Jiang Nannan had a way of stirring the desire to protect her.
Maybe it was the influence of her Martial Soul, but Mu Guiyun was ready to declare Jiang Nannan's long, straight legs, clad in white stockings, the best of all!
Golden hair, rabbit ears, long legs... Damn!
"Hello, I'm Mu Guiyun!"
"I'm Jiang Nannan..."
Although Jiang Nannan was stunned by Mu Guiyun's striking looks, she was in no mood to admire him. Her mind was entirely occupied with her mother's illness.
"Nannan's family is having a bit of a hard time, so don't take it personally, Gui Yun!"
Tang Ya smiled apologetically and hurriedly looped Mu Guiyun's arm in hers before explaining, "Nannan's mother has a strange, serious illness. They've tried all kinds of treatments, but nothing has helped."
Mu Guiyun nodded. Jiang Nannan's mother suffered from a congenital, stubborn illness. Even healing-type Soul Masters could do nothing for her; only the Xuanming Sect's Black Tortoise Divine Pill could cure it completely.
In the original story, Jiang Nannan eventually ran out of options and had to sell herself to the Xuanming Sect.
That hadn't happened yet, but it was probably not far off.
"Oh, right, this is for you!"
Tang Ya seemed to remember something and took out a money pouch.
It was the pouch Mu Guiyun had lent Tang Ya for her bet. Judging by its weight, she'd added quite a bit more money to it.
After taking the pouch, Mu Guiyun turned to Jiang Nannan and asked gently, "Senior, did you ask the academy for help?"
Jiang Nannan came from a commoner family and had a spotless background. On top of that, she was exceptionally talented. By rights, someone like her should have been exactly the sort of student Shrek Academy would do everything to recruit.
"I took a leave of absence last year, and the academy sent Teacher Su to my home, but..."
Her expression darkened before she could finish. By now, she had no options left.
The Teacher Su Jiang Nannan mentioned was Su Molin, the Soul Saint from the original story who possessed the Tree of Life Martial Soul.
If even he couldn't help, there was no need to mention other healing-type Soul Masters. It wasn't as if the academy could really ask Elder Zhuang to step in, could it?
That seemed unlikely.
"What about the Black Tortoise Divine Pill?"
Mu Guiyun's words made Jiang Nannan pause, a faint flicker of confusion passing through her eyes.
Seeing this, Mu Guiyun made up his mind.
In the original story, the Xuanming Sect had taken notice of Jiang Nannan as soon as she awakened her Martial Soul. With innate ninth-level Soul Power and her outstanding looks, she was a perfect fit for the sect's requirements for awakening.
The Xuanming Sect had naturally approached her, offering to guarantee her admission to Shrek Academy if she agreed to help Xu Sanshi awaken his Martial Soul in the future. As expected, she refused.
But a few years later, Jiang Nannan's mother's illness flared up. Jiang Nannan searched every apothecary in the city, but her mother's condition didn't improve in the slightest.
Only after she'd run out of options did Jiang Nannan learn from a physician that the Xuanming Sect's Black Tortoise Divine Pill could cure her mother's illness...
Mu Guiyun had always felt something was off about this. The Black Tortoise Divine Pill was the Xuanming Sect's secret medicine and had never circulated on the mainland. How had an ordinary physician even heard of it?
Seeing the confusion on Jiang Nannan's face, Mu Guiyun concluded that she didn't yet know the Black Tortoise Divine Pill existed.
"The Black Tortoise Divine Pill? What's that?"
Tang Ya tilted her head, puzzled. "Can it cure Auntie's illness?"
Mu Guiyun nodded. "In theory, the Black Tortoise Divine Pill can cure every difficult illness on the mainland."
Hearing this, Tang Ya's heart leaped with joy, and the same old saying slipped from her lips once again. "Really? That's wonderful!"
Jiang Nannan also looked excited.
But Mu Guiyun's next words doused their hopes like a bucket of cold water. "Don't get too excited. It's exclusive to the Xuanming Sect and extremely precious. Gold Soul Coins can't buy it!"
"Ah? How can that be?"
Tang Ya lowered her head in disappointment, then softly reassured Jiang Nannan. "Nannan, don't worry. We'll find a way!"
Mu Guiyun glanced around. He had a feeling that people from the Xuanming Sect were watching Jiang Nannan from the shadows, too.
"Looks like it's time for the teacher to make an appearance again!"
A plan slowly took shape in Mu Guiyun's mind.