One day later, on the Xianzhou Luofu, in the back garden of Palace of Astrum.
" March 7th, today is the day of the second exam. This time, I am the examiner, testing your ability to [use unconventional tactics to defeat your opponent]."
Today's examiner is Yunli, Yanqing is responsible for supervising from the side.
Grandpa once said, "A sword has no fixed form. In this vast world, there is a sword everywhere, and sword techniques are everywhere."
"To master the skill of defeating your enemy in a short time, you need to learn a [unique skill]."
"Hmph, speaking of 'special skills,' I've already prepared a fiery strong tea."
On March 7th, the key props were brought out ahead of time and shown to Yanqing and the other person.
"Hey? That 'Fiery Strong Tea' in Aurum Alley?"
"That's right. I once saw a fantasy play where the hero, after drinking a strong, fiery tea, swayed and staggered, yet still managed to defeat his father's killer with his unsteady, drunken swordsmanship."
As he spoke, March 7th gestured, his gait remarkably resembling that of a drunken swordsman.
"That's a good example. Do you know how to use the Drunken Sword?"
"... Um, I don't know how. Can't I learn just by drinking this Fiery Strong Tea?" March 7th asked innocently.
" Miss March 7th, illusions and reality are different..."
No sooner had he finished speaking than Yanqing saw March 7th seemingly possessed, effortlessly executing a set of drunken swordplay.
Yanqing, Yunli:...
" March 7th, you're really something?!"
"Ah?"
March 7th paused, looking at the cup of 'Fiery Strong Tea'. Could she really be a martial arts genius, one in a million?
It wasn't until she picked up the 'Flaming Strong Tea' and examined it again that she realized she had picked up the wrong cup; it seemed to be the special milk tea that Ye Yan had given her.
"These are some really strange skills, but to be able to use them so naturally in swordplay is enough to call them Miss March 7th's own unique techniques."
The only person on the entire Xianzhou who could possibly confuse Fiery Strong Tea with Ye Yan's Milk Tea is probably March 7th.
"I initially thought that Miss March 7th's travels around, encouraged by Yunli, were a waste of time, but it seems it wasn't entirely a waste."
"Hehehe~ Thank you for your guidance, both of you junior masters. So, I passed the exam smoothly, right?"
"Without a doubt, you passed."
"Yay! It's a pity Assistant Xing isn't here, otherwise I would have asked her to praise me."
March 7th said with a hint of regret that she felt the two teaching assistants, Ye Yan and Xing, were doing something shady behind her back.
"The general told me before that when I was learning swordsmanship, I shouldn't be picky about my teachers. This includes not only the Cloud Knights instructors, but also various traveling performers, foreign friends..."
"To be honest, Yanqing once had a sword swallowed by Miss Guinaifen; that's a skill that can't be learned through sword practice."
"Now, how much of a chance does March 7th feel she has of winning?"
"Three points, four points?"
With a deeper understanding of swordsmanship, March 7th estimated that not only the great heroes in the illusion play, but also the omnipotent Teacher Ye Yan would hide his strength before the battle.
"Well... after all, those who say they'll win usually end up losing," Yunli said.
"Ah, that's the wisdom of experience."
"Judging from the exam just now, you still need some time to truly master the material. But you've already done a fantastic job! I'll treat you all to milk tea today!"
"Yay! Let's go—to Teacher Ye Yan's milk tea shop!"
At the same time, the Divination Commission
"Good afternoon Mr. Ye Yan ~ Hmm? Why are you and Xing here?"
Qingque pushed open the shop door, paused for a moment, and then immediately realized what was going on. "... Are you two here to see the Lord Diviner at the Divination Commission?"
"No," Xing shook her head, "Of course we're here to find you."
"Looking for me? Hey, let's get this straight, casual chatting is fine, but if it's work-related..."
"No way."
"Hehe~ Mr. Ye Yan understands me." Qingque smiled as she accepted the milk tea, then, as if remembering something, guessed:
"Wait a minute, you guys didn't come to Divination Commission just to leisurely sip on Star Taro Boba while watching the corporate slaves diligently work, did you? And then casually take a picture and post it online, saying this is 'the daily scenery of Xianzhou Luofu '..."
"You have quite the imagination, but we're here at the Divination Commission Library to find the ultimate sword manual."
"Looking for the sword manual?"
Xing then recounted in detail the challenge he had with the troublemakers from the company on March 7th.
"You came to Divination Commission looking for books, and I'm Divination Commission them here—what a coincidence! It's like they delivered themselves to our doorstep... no, we're practically the best working partners in the entire galaxy!"
Is that what you're focusing on?
"Xing, do you like working here?" Ye Yan turned and asked.
"Oh dear~ How could I let guests work! Mr. Ye Yan and Xing are obviously on a clandestine trip, experiencing life in secret~"
Qingque quickly waved her hand, afraid they would turn around and leave, and changed the subject. "Alas~ it's a pity Miss March 7th isn't here, otherwise we could have a table full of [ Imperial Jade ]."
She lowered her head. Why couldn't this " Eternity " split itself into two? Perfect, there was one missing.
"Let's get down to business. Although Scott will apologize, is he truly remorseful?"
Xing thought for a while and had already accepted that March 7th was the winner of the bet. With so many buffs already stacked up, unless Scott had an even more outrageous helper.
"He's probably just accepting his loss—whether it's apologizing or imitating a pig, he's probably not doing it willingly," Xing gave her answer.
"Although I'm not really keen on joining in the fun, I can still offer my opinion for Miss March 7th, who wasn't there."
" Qingque, would you like to hear a story?" Ye Yan suddenly asked.
"Hmm? There's a backstory?"
Then, Qingque listened with great interest as Ye Yan recounted the whole story of the Scott incident.
When he finished speaking, Xing noticed that Qingque seemed to have some anger on her face.
"I've changed my mind. If loving your job is a disease, then this Scott should be in the intensive care unit!"
Qingque angrily drank her milk tea, completely forgetting about organizing the library. "It's one thing to just like it, but to come out and harm society like this is unacceptable!"
Do you have any suggestions?
Qingque raised her head. " Scott must apologize to an ordinary person like me. Come on, you two, let's go meet him!"
"Huh? But March 7th hasn't come back yet, and it's not time for him to return..."
Xing scratched his head; finding the peerless sword manual was no longer important.
It seems that Qingque is convinced that Scott is someone who "excessively enjoys causing trouble for others at work," but she doesn't seem to know swordsmanship... Could it be that she's using persuasion?
" Mr. Ye Yan, thank you for your help."
The scene shifts to Aurum Alley.
Scott submitted the application for the "Martial Arts Exchange Activity" to the Earth-Balance Commission, and thoughtfully chose the Aurum Alley as the venue for the fight, all in order to avenge his previous defeat!
I never expected that my rival would come knocking on my door just three days later. They really overestimated themselves...
"Look, isn't this our heroine, March 7th... Wait, who are the three of you?"
"Mr. Scott, before you officially begin your fight, I need to have a few words with you."
"Huh?!" Scott drawled, "Do all of you from the Xianzhou really like to show up uninvited?"
"It's alright if you don't know me." Qingque snapped her fingers. "Xing, let me introduce you."
"This is President Qing, the famous diviner from the Divination Commission, the founder of the Imperial Jade Group, and nicknamed ' God of Imperial Jade '!"
"That's a bit of an exaggeration. My main job is as the head of the Divination Commission."
"Just a diviner from the Divination Commission, what's so great about that? I'm a specialist at the Interastral Peace Corporation!"
Scott crossed his arms and first compared his hands with Qingque's.
"Just tell me, do you have more subordinates than me, or have you earned more Credits? What makes you so special?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Qingque launched her counterattack:
"To be honest, you're not young, but you still have the mentality of Little Bai just starting out in the workforce—you spend almost all your time on work, calling it 'a love for your job'."
"... Shut Up!"
"I suspect you enjoy identifying as a comedian, spouting nonsense everywhere, all to feign objectivity so you can act as if it's none of your business at any time."
" Shut Up! How could you possibly understand me! Don't act like you know everything at such a young age!"
"Wow, that's amazing! This is the first time I've seen Scott get so angry after just two sentences."
Xing and Ye Yan acted as bystanders, wondering if this was truly an innocent little sparrow.
"This is the little sparrow in its battle form."
Ye Yan sipped his milk tea leisurely, casting an appreciative glance at Qingque.
With just two short sentences, Scott was successfully brought to his senses. Alarm bells were ringing in his mind. This Xianzhou native really had some skills. He couldn't let her trick him any further!
"Anyway, today isn't the day for a duel, so I'll have a proper debate with you!"