Pei Ye stared. "What preparation would that take? A win is a win, a loss is a loss. Isn't it the process that matters?"
"...You don't know?" Wang Shousi asked, puzzled.
"Know what?" Pei Ye was even more puzzled.
"Someone's coming to watch the Sword Talents' first game of Sword Chess after they enter the academy."
The memory suddenly surfaced. Pei Ye recalled Xu Chuo mentioning it too, and grew still more curious. "Who?"
"Cui Zhaoye!" Wang Shousi clapped him on the shoulder. "That Sword Review prodigy who's all the rage these days came both of the past two years. Apparently this year will be no exception."
"...'Fine jade is appraised before the blade begins to carve; to forge a treasured sword, first recognize divine iron'?"
Wang Shousi looked surprised. "Brother Pei, so you're well read in Sword Reviews too?"
"I've heard a little here and there." Pei Ye smiled, then frowned. "But can she just enter the Sword Cultivation Academy whenever she likes?"
"...All she has to do is ask." Wang Shousi rolled his eyes, feeling that Brother Pei still had little understanding of what that name meant. "There are many swordsmen in the world, and even more people who watch and appreciate swordsmanship, but very few who review it. Even among the Sword Review Masters, Cui Zhaoye ranks among the best. And in terms of influence alone, almost no one has matched her in recent years."
"Why?"
"A legitimate daughter of the Cui Clan, as noble as a princess; only sixteen, with a penetrating eye for swordsmanship; beautiful, with countless admirers; incisive Sword Reviews, in a style all her own. In short, among the Sword Review-ers still active in the Divine Capital, Cui Zhaoye has to rank first. And that's before mentioning the dedicated Sword Review column she