Chapter 5: The Young Lady

"Have you heard? Teacher Cao Xiong just had a contest with Teacher Zhang Xuan, who ranks last in the academy!"

"A contest between them? Isn't Teacher Zhang Xuan just waiting to lose?"

"Not at all—Teacher Zhang Xuan won! He casually instructed a student and actually increased their strength by a hundred percent!"

"A hundred percent increase? From a single instruction? Even Teacher Lu Xun couldn't do that! Is it true?"

"Many people saw it; how could it be false?"

…

In the cafeteria, many who had witnessed the contest were discussing it excitedly.

"A single instruction, a hundred percent increase in strength?" Zhao Ya wrinkled her delicate nose, full of disdain. "That guy must have gotten lucky!"

Zhao Ya was the daughter of the city lord of White Jade City, the third-largest city in the Tianxuan Kingdom. She had received a good education since childhood, and her main purpose in coming to Hongtian Academy was to become Lu Xun's disciple.

Before she could even seek him out, she heard everyone saying he was inferior to Teacher Lu Xun—of course she didn't believe it.

"Lucky? I don't think it's luck. That's a hundred percent increase! Luck alone probably couldn't do that!" A student sitting not far from her couldn't help but retort.

"Not luck? Don't think I don't know about this Teacher Zhang Xuan. He scored zero on the last teacher assessment and was almost fired! What ability could someone like that have? If you don't believe me, I'll go expose him right now!"

Zhao Ya had always been impatient. Hearing someone praise the teacher ranked last, she immediately couldn't hold back.

"Alright! We'd also like to see if this teacher is all talk!"

Two other students immediately stood up.

The three left the cafeteria, asked around, quickly found Zhang Xuan's classroom, and pushed the door open.

"Are you Teacher Zhang Xuan?"

Entering the classroom, they saw a young man sitting in the main seat, wearing a foolish smile. No matter how you looked at him, he didn't seem like a capable teacher—in fact, he seemed a bit off.

"I am."

Seeing students enter, Zhang Xuan stopped observing the Heavenly Path Library and looked up.

"I heard you just beat Teacher Cao Xiong and instructed a student, giving him a hundred percent increase in strength?" Zhao Ya said with a look of disbelief. "Alright, take a look at me too. See if your instruction can double my strength!"

"Not interested."

Zhang Xuan waved his hand.

A teacher has dignity; it's not a game. You want to watch, you watch; you want instruction, I instruct.

Besides, what kind of attitude is that? I don't owe you anything.

"Not interested? Aren't you free right now?" Zhao Ya could clearly see his dismissiveness and gritted her teeth.

She had just told her friends she would expose him; if she left without doing anything, she would be the one embarrassed.

"I'm recruiting students. I don't have time to fool around with an ignorant little girl." Zhang Xuan said calmly.

"You..." Zhao Ya was so angry her beautiful eyes rolled.

She was the city lord's daughter, extremely beautiful, and wherever she went, she was admired. This guy not only rejected her but also called her ignorant—how infuriating!

Even if he was a teacher, it was unforgivable!

"What will it take for you to instruct me?" Zhao Ya bit her jade-like teeth and said.

"Become my disciple." Zhang Xuan said calmly, looking at her with a strange expression.

Seeing him look at her like she was an idiot, Zhao Ya staggered in anger. "Fine, I'll become your disciple. But... if you give me wrong instructions, I'll expose your tricks, believe me!"

"Zhao Ya!"

"No, once you become his disciple, you can't become Teacher Lu Xun's disciple anymore..."

Her two friends, hearing her agree directly, were almost scared senseless and quickly tried to dissuade her.

Hearing her friends'劝阻, Zhao Ya hesitated.

She knew the academy's rules: if you become someone's disciple and want to switch to another teacher, you must drop the course. Once you do that, the other teacher usually won't accept you, especially a popular teacher like Lu Xun.

"Scared? If you're scared, get out. Don't waste my time doing business... recruiting new students." Zhang Xuan waved his hand.

"Who said I'm scared?"

Still hesitating, Zhao Ya exploded at Zhang Xuan's words. She raised her delicate eyebrows. "I'll become your disciple right now! Confirm the identity!"

"Your attitude is too poor. Even if you want to become my disciple, I don't want to accept you." Zhang Xuan waved his hand.

When recruiting students, of course you want obedient ones. He liked someone like Wang Ying earlier. This one, from the moment she arrived, was like she'd eaten gunpowder. Even if he needed students, he didn't want her.

"You..."

She had gritted her teeth to become his disciple, and he still wouldn't accept her. Zhao Ya was furious.

But she had come specifically to expose him. If she got angry and left now, wouldn't that be playing into his hands?

Maybe this guy just wanted to drive her away so his lies wouldn't be exposed.

I won't let you have your way!

"Hmph, I'll apologize for now. Once I expose your true face, I'll teach you a lesson!"

Thinking this, Zhao Ya suppressed her anger, smiled slightly, and showed her white teeth. "Teacher, please don't blame me. I was rude. I sincerely wish to become your disciple. Please accept me!"

"That's more like it." Seeing her change in attitude, Zhang Xuan nodded. "If you want to become my disciple, clean this room until there's not a speck of dust. Also, clean the bathroom outside and scrub the toilet. If I inspect and am satisfied, I'll accept you as my student."

"Don't go too far..."

Zhao Ya was exasperated.

Who was she? The city lord's daughter, a young lady of a noble house. Since childhood, she had never lifted a finger for chores. This guy wanted her to clean? And... clean the bathroom? Scrub the toilet?

Are you crazy?

"If you can't even do such simple work, then leave. I don't want lazy, useless people in my school." Zhang Xuan waved his hand.

Heh, little girl, trying to play games with me? You're still too green!

"Who said I'm useless? I'll clean right now, I'll scrub!" Zhao Ya gritted her teeth, turned around, grabbed a broom and mop, and started tidying the room.

"Zhao Ya, maybe we should just forget it..."

"I think he might really have no ability; he's deliberately making things difficult for you..."

Her two friends, seeing the city lord's daughter actually cleaning, were startled and quickly tried to stop her.

"You two wait outside. I, Zhao Ya, have never suffered a loss in all my life. Today, I'm going to see this through!" Zhao Ya raised her eyebrows.

"This..."

The two friends knew Zhao Ya's temper. Seeing they couldn't dissuade her, they exchanged glances, unsure what to do.

"Let's inform Steward Yao. Isn't he still here? If the steward finds out that a teacher who scored last on the assessment is making the young lady scrub toilets, he'll definitely step in to stop it!"

After a moment of thought, one friend came up with an idea.

Given Zhao Ya's status, although there was no danger in coming to the academy, she was still accompanied by a special escort—Steward Yao, who should not have left yet.

"Alright, let's go find him!"

The two agreed without hesitation and turned to leave the academy.

Zhao Ya, the young lady, had a stubborn temper. Though she had never done rough work and was a bit clumsy at first, she soon got the hang of it. Before long, the room inside and out was spotless, and even the bathroom outside was cleaned immaculately.

"Not bad." Zhang Xuan nodded in satisfaction.

"Now, will you accept me as your student and instruct me in cultivation?"

After finishing the work, Zhao Ya's teeth ground audibly, and her jade-like face twisted, as if she could barely stop herself from hitting the man in front of her.

"Alright, verify your identity."

As if not seeing her murderous glare, Zhang Xuan casually tossed out a jade token.

Taking a deep breath, Zhao Ya dripped blood onto it to bind it, confirming her identity.

"Teacher Zhang, I am now your student. Can you give me some instruction?"

Seeing her goal achieved and about to expose this petty man's true face, Zhao Ya suppressed her excitement and said.

"First, perform a martial technique so I can see your foundation." Zhang Xuan waved his hand.

"Yes."

Zhao Ya didn't waste words. She clasped her hands and began to throw punches.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

The wind howled, and her strength was formidable. As a woman, she was quicker and more powerful in both strength and technique than Wang Ying, clearly showing she had put in effort.

As Zhang Xuan watched her perform martial arts, his mind connected to the Heavenly Path Library. Sure enough, the library trembled slightly, and a book fell down.

On the cover were the words "Zhao Ya."

"Zhao Ya, daughter of the city lord of White Jade City, Martial Artist First Layer: Breath Condensation Realm Peak."

"Cultivation Technique: White Jade Maiden Art."

…

"Defects: Twenty-seven locations. First, impulsive and irritable personality, which contradicts the smooth and gentle nature of the White Jade Art, preventing her from unleashing her full strength. Second..."

The book, like the one before, recorded the errors and flaws in Zhao Ya's cultivation.

As he read, Zhang Xuan's expression turned strange.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Before long, Zhao Ya finished her set of punches. She clenched her fists, turned, and struck the stone wall used for measuring strength in the classroom!

With a crisp sound, a number appeared on it.

110!

"Not bad, not bad!" Zhang Xuan nodded involuntarily.

Without even entering the academy's systematic study, she could deliver such force with a single punch. This Zhao Ya was indeed the city lord's daughter, extraordinary in strength.

"Alright, now instruct me."

After finishing the martial technique, neither flushed nor out of breath, Zhao Ya looked over.