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4.3% Way of Choices / Chapter 51: Copper Needles

Chapter 51: Copper Needles

Chen Changsheng gazed at Xuanyuan Po in front of him. After a moment's thought, he said, "Try metamorphosing your right arm."

Xuanyuan Po had never held the slightest hope that Chen Changsheng could cure his injuries. After sitting on the floor for such a long time, he had begun to lose his patience. Upon hearing that Chen Changsheng wanted him to metamorphose his already-crippled right arm, his complexion turned very unsightly. He looked at Chen Changsheng like he wanted to swallow him up.

"Did you not hear what Teacher said?" Luoluo asked.

Xuanyuan Po's demeanor instantly took a turn as he obediently began to attempt metamorphosis.

Although his right arm was crippled, back in his tribe, he had already cultivated to the level where he could casually metamorphose. His right arm began to visibly change, incessantly swelling and bursting through his clothes. Countless black hairs began to sprout from his arm, as tough as an iron brush.

Chen Changsheng reached out to grip his wrist, feeling his powerful pulse, sensing the clearly twisted meridians, sensing those tangled clumps of true essence. He very seriously sensed, analyzed, and simultaneously compared what he saw to the records in the Daoist Canon.

Time gradually passed. Seeing his solemn expression, Xuanyuan Po suddenly felt a little hope and thus grew nervous.

After a long time, Chen Changsheng released his hand.

Luoluo asked, "Teacher, how is it?"

Chen Changsheng did not reply to her question. From the needle box that he had previously requested her to retrieve from the house, he took out a copper needle and very casually stabbed it down.

This copper needle was the thickest one in the box and its primary use was to help with the circulation of blood. Now, however, it was being used by him for another purpose.

The needle's surface gleamed with a cold light, its point extremely sharp, but after metamorphosis, the skin of Xuanyuan Po's arm was incredibly tough. Normal weapons would find it impossible to break and so logically speaking, it was impossible for the needle to enter. But unimaginably, the needle pinched between his two fingers easily stabbed in.

"What do you feel?" he asked as he looked into Xuanyuan Po's eyes.

Xuanyuan Po was a little perplexed. After feeling for a few moments, he replied, "Somewhat…numb?"

Chen Changsheng's finger lightly rubbed the end of the needle, and then he asked again, "What about now?"

"It aches somewhat." Xuanyuan Po's expression became excited.

No matter if it ached or was numb, any feeling was very good. Even if it was pain? Anything was better than the rock that was his right arm in these days after he was injured!

Xuanyuan Po stared at Chen Changsheng, his lips trembling, his shock and admiration at their peak.

Although it was just a small change, this youth had really managed to do what the teachers of Star Seizer Academy or even the imperial physicians could not!

Seeing the look on his face, Luoluo gave two grunts of satisfaction.

She had never doubted Chen Changsheng's ability. She firmly believed that he was only hiding himself and his abilities away for some sort of special reason.

The countless matters that had occurred in these days where she went from the Hundred Herb Garden to the Orthodox Academy were all proof of her view.

At present, even members of her own race, such as Guardian Jin and Guardian Li, were almost convinced by her.

...

...

"Dispersing that true essence and repairing your meridians is not a one-day affair."

Chen Changsheng put away his needle box and turned to Luoluo, saying, "It might require a very long time. I don't advise him to leave the capital and return to his tribe."

Luoluo replied, "We all obey Teacher."

Chen Changsheng turned to Xuanyuan Po and said, "Just stay in the Orthodox Academy—there's still a lot of empty space."

The Orthodox Academy was very large, but at present, it only had him and Luoluo as students. It was truly too spacious and desolate, so one more person wouldn't count for anything.

Xuanyuan Po was still amidst shock and elation, and when he thought about his discourteous attitude towards Chen Changsheng, he also felt somewhat uneasy. Upon hearing Chen Changsheng's words, his face turned red and he tightly shut his mouth, unwilling to speak, too embarrassed to accept this act of charity.

Chen Changsheng turned to Luoluo and said, "You solve this."

Luoluo raised up the teaching stick and looked at Xuanyuan Po, commanding, "Say it yourself."

Xuanyuan Po did not speak. His meaning was, if my lady beats me to death, I still won't say it.

Luoluo was helpless, so she looked back at Chen Changsheng and asked, "Teacher, what should we do?"

Chen Changsheng advised Xuanyuan Po, "To refuse any sort of sympathy or assistance is at times not pride, but foolishness."

Xuanyuan Po was very distressed. Scratching his head, he answered, "I know, but I can't do it."

Chen Changsheng sighed and said no more.

Luoluo was rather angry and asked, "Why aren't you willing to stay?"

Xuanyuan Po awkwardly responded, "I'm not even a student of the Orthodox Academy."

Luoluo's eyes glowed as she said, "That's easy to fix."

"Ah?"

"We just need to make you a student of the Orthodox Academy."

"Ah?"

"There's no need for a test."

"Ah?"

"You just need to register."

Receiving Chen Changsheng's approval, Luoluo removed the Orthodox Academy's register from a drawer. She dipped a brush in ink and offered it to Xuanyuan Po.

Xuanyuan Po's mouth was agape. Holding the ink brush and staring at the two names on the register, he felt that this affair was far too lacking in solemnity.

Even if the Orthodox Academy was in decline, it was still one of the Six Ivies. He just needed to casually write his name and he would become a student?

He thought it over and in the end still chose to write his name down.

He wrote down his name, his stroke rather stiff and his way of holding the brush rather clumsy.

Luoluo said, "Congratulations to you for becoming the Orthodox Academy's third student."

Xuanyuan Po asked, "What are the academy's rules?"

"There are no academy rules."

Luoluo elaborated, "Teacher's words are the academy's rules. Whatever Teacher asks you to do, you do."

Confused, Xuanyuan Po asked, "There is no principal or teachers?"

"Teacher is the principal.

"Teacher is the teacher.

"Of course, Teacher is also a student.

"The three are in one body, so Teacher is the Orthodox Academy."

Luoluo did not believe in any way that her words were like the brainwashing sermons of the Orthodoxy's priests to the faithful because she truly did think this way.

Xuanyuan Po was somewhat at a loss, asking, "Then I will be learning from him?"

Luoluo was not willing for Chen Changsheng's time and energy to be used on other people, even if it was a young member of her race that she deeply admired, so she shook her head and said, "I will teach you."

Xuanyuan Po was very happy upon hearing that he needed to acknowledge her as teacher. He thought, once I send news back to the tribe, the entire tribe will definitely rejoice.

Luoluo continued, "Teacher is my teacher, so he is your grandteacher."

Xuanyuan Po was once more at a loss, thinking, I suddenly have a grandteacher?

Chen Changsheng was also quite at a loss, thinking, I suddenly have a granddisciple?

Luoluo said, "Pay respects to Teacher."

Xuanyuan Po was already convinced by Chen Changsheng and now with Luoluo's request, he prostrated himself on the floor without hesitation and knocked his head three times on the floor towards Chen Changsheng. He kowtowed with great strength, causing dust to fly out of the seams in the floorboards, the gentle lantern light transforming the dust into fragments of stars.

Chen Changsheng was speechless. He prostrated himself at the window towards the east, where the morning sun was just rising.

He truly did not expect that at the age of fourteen, he would become a grandteacher.

Master, do you know?

Senior Brother, it seems like our sect will truly open another branch in the Orthodox Academy.

Just as he was sighing with emotion, a sudden whoosh came from outside the window.

Tang Thirty-Six's face appeared at the window.

He looked at the prostrate Chen Changsheng and, somewhat startled, asked, "Just what wrong did you commit against me that you would actually prostrate yourself to me?"

Chen Changsheng looked at his pale face and asked in astonishment, "You're hurt?"


Chapter 52: Somewhat Messy

The library's door was open but Tang Thirty-Six insisting on coming in through the window, perhaps because he was lazy or for some other reason. To his usual self, jumping through a window was assuredly a very simple task, but today, it was somewhat challenging. He sat on the floor, gasping somewhat painfully and even coughing a couple of times.

"You really are injured." Chen Changsheng crouched down by his side and made to take his pulse.

Tang Thirty-Six blocked his hand, saying, "There's nothing wrong with me, I'm just somewhat sleepy."

Chen Changsheng naturally knew that he wasn't speaking the truth, but it seemed that this fellow truly was very sleepy, leaning against the wall, closing his eyes, and falling asleep.

The barely warm morning light from the window fell upon Tang Thirty-Six's face, making it even paler.

Chen Changsheng shook his head. He took a thin blanket from the side room and lightly placed it over Tang Thirty-Six.

The sky gradually grew bright and the sun gradually moved. Luoluo brought Xuanyuan Po to the Hundred Herb Garden. As a member of her race, there were some things that needed to be communicated to him.

Tang Thirty-Six woke up. He turned to Chen Changsheng studiously reading on the floor and asked, "Why didn't you go last night?"

Chen Changsheng put down the book and asked, "Go where?"

"The Heavenly Dao Academy. Last night was the Ivy Festival's second night."

Tang Thirty-Six cast the thin blanket over him to the side, stood up, and yawned. His spirit much recovered, he continued, "On the first night, the Orthodox Academy stirred such a big storm, everyone was waiting for you last night."

Chen Changsheng answered, "I didn't want to go, so I didn't go."

Tang Thirty-Six looked at him and noted, "You truly are a strange person."

For a place like the Ivy Festival, to not go solely because one did not want to was truly a rather bizarre way of thinking to a normal person.

"In my view, you're even stranger."

Chen Changsheng recalled how when he had last gone to the Heavenly Dao Academy, this fellow had been bitterly cultivating, so he asked, "You prepared for so long for the Ivy Festival, but you never appeared on the first night of the Ivy Festival. Just what happened?"

Hearing this question, Tang Thirty-Six did not respond for a few moments. Finally, he said, "I don't like that little monster of the Temple Seminary."

Chen Changsheng asked, "And so?"

Tang Thirty-Six explained, "So I once made it known that if I had the opportunity, I would cripple him."

Chen Changsheng replied, "I know about that—Tianhai Ya'er mentioned it on that night."

Tang Thirty-Six's mood was rather poor. "Since he dared to appear at the Ivy Festival, I really was prepared to cripple him, but…but some people didn't dare let me cripple him, so they didn't let me participate last night and had me remain in my dorm."

Chen Changsheng fell silent, thinking, with this guy's personality, how could he change his mind because of the Heavenly Dao Academy's rules or the dignity of its teachers? By not letting him participate, the teachers of the Heavenly Dao Academy must have acted directly and locked him up.

He could understand the Heavenly Dao Academy's caution. Tianhai Ya'er's background was far too terrifying. Besides Luoluo's even more frightening background, it was truly difficult to find a means of coping with it. If Tang Thirty-Six really did cripple Tianhai Ya'er during the Ivy Festival, nobody knew what the final conclusion would be.

But he could understand even more Tang Thirty-Six's anger.

"What was the situation last night?" he asked as he looked at Tang Thirty-Six's slightly pale cheeks.

Tang Thirty-Six replied, "Last night was the martial test. The person who ended up getting first place was a young priest of the Li Palace Academy."

Chen Changsheng had not wanted Tang Thirty-Six to remain in that negative mood, so he had changed the subject. He truly wasn't much interested in the Ivy Festival, so he only gave an 'I see' to indicate that he understood.

Tang Thirty-Six slightly arched his brow and asked, "You're not going to ask?"

"Ask what?"

"Why that young priest from the Li Palace Academy got first place?"

"The Li Palace Academy…that student is basically learning from the Pope, so what's extraordinary about getting first place?"

Tang Thirty-Six pointed at himself and declared, "If a person can defeat me, how can they not be extraordinary?"

Chen Changsheng thought to himself, this guy is still narcissistic as usual, and helplessly asked, "Fine, then…why?"

Satisfied, Tang Thirty-Six replied, "Because I did not participate."

This time Chen Changsheng truly was rather shocked. Confused, he repeated, "Why?"

"Zhuang Huanyu and those other guys on the Proclamation of Azure Sky didn't participate either. It was probably because they wanted to boast about their status and also to prepare for the third night. On the other hand, I didn't participate because the academy still did not allow me to participate and had me stay in the dorm."

Tang Thirty-Six's complexion was rather unpleasant.

Chen Changsheng found it impossible to understand. If speaking about not letting Tang Thirty-Six face Tianhai Ya'er in a match on the first night, this action of the Heavenly Dao Academy, although rather excessive, was still one taken out of caution. But on the second night, it was completely without grounds. Was the Heavenly Dao Academy afraid that Tang Thirty-Six would turn against it?

"Why?"

"Because I wanted to challenge Zhuang Huanyu."

The library was silent as a grave.

Upon confirming that he had not heard wrongly, Chen Changsheng felt even surer that Tang Thirty-Six was a strange person, or perhaps an interesting one.

He actually wanted to challenge the senior brother of his own academy, and it was the senior who represented the entire academy.

Chen Changsheng thought to himself, if I were a teacher of the Heavenly Dao Academy, I also wouldn't agree.

And the Ivy Festival also probably doesn't have such a rule.

"Why?"

"Because I don't like the look of him."

"This reason…"

"What about this reason?"

"Too formidable."

Chen Changsheng had nothing to say. He knew that Tang Thirty-Six assuredly had deeper reasons for challenging Zhuang Huanyu, but since this fellow wasn't willing to say, he couldn't do anything.

"I used half the night to break through the academy's restriction and rushed over to the meeting place, but at that point, the Ivy Festival was already over."

Tang Thirty-Six thought of this encounter last night in silence for a few moments, then said, "I found the atmosphere and smell of the academy to be rather unbearable and didn't want to stick around anymore, but because I'm not too familiar with the capital and didn't know where to go, I came to find you."

Chen Changsheng affirmed that when he had forcefully broken through the restrictions laid down by the teachers of the Heavenly Dao Academy, he had been injured.

The Heavenly Dao Academy was dignified and solemn, but it was not at all ideal for Tang Thirty-Six.

Although the capital was vast, he had found no place he could go.

In the darkness before dawn, he had aimlessly wandered the streets before realizing that he knew Chen Changsheng.

Chen Changsheng walked to him, folded the blanket, and then sat beside him. Leaning against the wall below the window, he said nothing.

They didn't look at each other, didn't speak, but Tang Thirty-Six knew what he was thinking.

"Don't sympathize with me, and don't you dare pity me…after all, I'm a genius of the Proclamation of Azure Sky."

"Being a genius doesn't mean you don't need sympathy."

"But you don't have the right to sympathize with me. In the entire capital, you also only know me."

Tang Thirty-Six teased. When he thought about this fact, he felt happy for some reason.

Just then, Luoluo and Xuanyuan Po walked in through the library's main entrance.

Xuanyuan Po held a lunchbox in his hand that was somewhat larger than usual.

Luoluo walked up to Chen Changsheng and said, "Teacher, it's time to eat lunch."

Chen Changsheng glanced at Tang Thirty-Six and spread out his arms, indicating that this was not on purpose.

Tang Thirty-Six had always felt that Chen Changsheng's personality flaws were more serious than his, but in these two months, he had not made a single friend in the Heavenly Dao Academy while this guy had acquainted himself with two other people, and one of them was a really pretty girl. This fact dealt him a heavy blow.

He then recalled the scene described to him by Vice Principal Zhuang of the Ivy Festival's first night.

"It was you that crippled Tianhai Ya'er?" he looked at Luoluo and asked.

To resist true essence with true essence and cripple the little monster of the Temple Seminary, even he would find such a feat difficult to pull off. This girl of the Orthodox Academy was naturally unusual, and that the Orthodox Academy was able to remain safe and sound after the matter was proof that this girl's background was even more unusual.

At present, many people were speculating on the Orthodox Academy's backing. Some people suspected Chen Changsheng's background, but Tang Thirty-Six was keenly aware that this fellow was a rustic youth from Xining Village, so the culprit could only be this girl.

So he had asked the question with a serious and solemn expression.

Luoluo ignored him. She walked to Chen Changsheng's side and crouched down. Opening the lunchbox, she wiped clean a pair of chopsticks and handed it to Chen Changsheng.

Seeing this scene, Tang Thirty-Six couldn't help but crease his forehead.

Somewhat embarrassed, Chen Changsheng offered the chopsticks to him while simultaneously introducing, "He is called Tang Thirty-Six."

"I know, Teacher," Luoluo responded.

Of course she was aware that Chen Changsheng knew Tang Thirty-Six. To be more precise, before her, he only knew Tang Thirty-Six.

Chen Changsheng thought to himself, Tang Thirty-Six is a young expert of the Proclamation of Azure Sky and Luoluo is no ordinary person. It's not surprising that she knows who he is.

Luoluo understood what he was thinking and said, "I know who he is, but I don't recognize him."

Chen Changsheng commented, "I thought that since you recognized Zhuang Huanyu, you would also recognize him."

Luoluo glanced at Tang Thirty-Six and explained, "Zhuang Huanyu's position was right beside mine, so it would be difficult for me to not recognize him. He…is a bit farther."

Chen Changsheng felt that he had heard similar words before, but he still didn't quite understand. Tang Thirty-Six also didn't understand, but he could hear the disdain in this girl's voice and couldn't help but get angry. Thus, he picked out the most expensive foods in the lunchbox and ate them, gobbling them up like a hurricane.

Luoluo was very displeased.

Xuanyuan Po sat on the side, obediently eating and not making a single sound.

After lunch, Tang Thirty-Six rudely snatched away the black tea that Luoluo offered Chen Changsheng and took two sips to rinse his mouth.

Luoluo glared at him and gave two cold laughs.

Very helpless, Chen Changsheng asked Tang Thirty-Six, "Then what do you plan to do next?"

"I absolutely have to participate in the third night. I don't believe that the academy will continue to treat me this way."

"Why are you so sure?"

"This time, four members of the Divine Kingdom's Seven Laws will be attending. Will Zhuang Huanyu alone be able to hold on?"

Puzzled, Chen Changsheng asked, "What?"

Tang Thirty-Six placed the black tea on the floor and said to him, "You don't know? The southern diplomatic mission this year arrived early in the capital."

Chen Changsheng recalled that so-called variable Priest Xin mentioned on that day and realized that it was about this. He curiously asked, "In the past, didn't they always come after the winter solstice? It's still so long until the Grand Examination; why did they come so early?"

Tang Thirty-Six answered, "At the very beginning, nobody understood, but now the entire continent knows."

Chen Changsheng asked, "What's the reason?"

Tang Thirty-Six declared, "The southern diplomatic mission plans to formally propose on the day of the Double Seventh Festival."

"Propose?" Chen Changsheng questioned.

Tang Thirty-Six explained, "Yes, Xu Yourong…will finally be married off."

Chen Changsheng froze and then fell silent for a long time.

Suddenly, he stood up and walked out of the library.

"Teacher, where are you going?" Luoluo asked.

Without turning his head, Chen Changsheng said, "The food was somewhat salty; I'm going to compose myself."

Today's food was somewhat salty.

His voice was somewhat faint.

His words were somewhat messy.

Because his mind was in a mess.


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