Chapter 87: A Comprehensive Guide to the Martial Path

The old man paid no attention to either of them. He tossed Hong Jingang an identity badge and said, “Get in already. Don’t keep the others waiting to register.”

Then he turned to the teachers of the martial arts academy and snapped, “What are you all standing there for? Keep testing! Do you all want to work overtime tonight?”

As soon as the teachers heard him, they immediately returned to their posts and resumed their work.

Xin Lang pulled over an older student and asked, “Senior Brother, what kind of man is that old fellow?”

This older student was only an ordinary martial artist, and he treated Xin Lang and Hong Jingang with immense reverence. “He’s the headmaster of our martial arts academy!”

“What? The headmaster?” Hong Jingang cried out.

“Why would the headmaster come here to handle registration?” Xin Lang asked in surprise.

“That’s the headmaster’s habit. Every year, the new students are registered by him personally,” the older student explained.

The old man continued carefully registering the qualified students, while Xin Lang, Qian Baidu, and Hong Jingang entered the martial arts academy together.

Although Hong Jingang had lost to Xin Lang, meeting such an opponent had only made him even more excited. What delighted him even more was that the headmaster himself had agreed to waive half of his academy fees.

Hong Jingang said, “Classmate Xin Lang, your layered motion force is amazing! I’m really looking forward to the other five forces you mentioned! Once I’ve cracked your layered motion force, I’m sure to ask for guidance on the five forces that follow!”

“Fine. There will be a chance,” Xin Lang said with a smile.

The martial arts academy was one of the Great Xia Dynasty’s two largest institutions for martial cultivation. It was built with great grandeur; if Xin Lang and the other two had not passed through a school gate earlier, they might even have thought they had entered some city.

“Damn,” Qian Baidu sighed. “This martial arts academy is huge! It’s almost as big as Nine Suns City!”

Although Xin Lang had lived in the capital for a long time before his rebirth, he had studied pharmacy, and this was his first time at the martial arts academy as well. He too was startled by its magnificent scale.

Inside the academy, many older students came and went, each and every one of them a martial artist!

“Gahaha... all martial artists! I won’t be lonely here anymore!” Hong Jingang said excitedly, his eyes shining.

Qian Baidu frowned. “Why are there so many martial artists?”

Xin Lang said, “Nearly half of all the gifted martial cultivation talents in the entire Great Xia Dynasty are gathered here. Of course there are many.”

“Huh! Why is his badge silver?” Hong Jingang exclaimed, pointing at an older student who had just passed by.

The three of them saw that the identity badge hanging at the older student’s waist was not bronze, but made entirely of silver.

“Damn, our special-admissions badges are bronze. What kind of student carries a silver badge? Don’t tell me he’s an even more special special-admissions student?” Hong Jingang cried.

“Look, there are more silver badges over there!” Qian Baidu shouted.

“Wow, so many super special-admissions students! What level of martial artist are they?” Hong Jingang asked in shock.

“They probably aren’t some sort of super special-admissions students,” Xin Lang said, pointing to a male student far away who was surrounded by many female students. “Look at him. His badge is gold.”

“Gold? Where? Damn it, I’m going to rob him. Let’s plunder the rich to help the poor first!”

As he spoke, Qian Baidu was about to rush over, but an older student with a silver badge hanging at his waist blocked him.

“You three are this year’s freshmen, aren’t you?”

“Who are you? Why are you stopping me?” Qian Baidu asked anxiously, fearing that the student carrying the gold badge might disappear from view.

This older student was short and lean, with a trademark smile perpetually fixed on his face. He smiled at Qian Baidu and said, “My name is Sun Shiwen. I stopped you for your own good! Once you read this Guide to the Martial Arts Academy, you’ll thank me.”

With that, Sun Shiwen produced three beautifully printed booklets from his person and handed one to each of Xin Lang’s group, smiling as he said, “Since we’re all classmates, I’ll sell them to you at a discount. Just two gold coins each!”

Xin Lang flipped through the booklet and saw that the author’s name printed inside was also Sun Shiwen. He smiled. “So writing books is so profitable now?”

Not long after entering the capital, Xin Lang had run into a fellow selling Notes on Flowers and Pleasure, and now that he had come to the martial arts academy, he had met another selling the Guide to the Martial Arts Academy.

“Well, not bad. Just making a living,” Sun Shiwen said, scratching his head with a slightly red face.

Hong Jingang took out two gold coins, tossed them to Sun Shiwen, then returned the Guide to the Martial Arts Academy in Xin Lang and Qian Baidu’s hands. “The three of us will buy one copy!”

“Heh...” Sun Shiwen smiled awkwardly. “I’m afraid that won’t do. My Guide to the Martial Arts Academy is sold as a complete set, in three volumes: upper, middle, and lower. The one you’re holding is the middle volume; without the upper and lower volumes, even if you sell it, it’ll be for nothing.”

“Uh...”

At the same time, the same two words surfaced in the minds of Xin Lang and the others: shrewd profiteer.

Xin Lang thought to himself that Old Fatty had finally met his match. Sun Shiwen’s business sense was absolutely no less than Old Fatty’s.

Xin Lang and Qian Baidu had no choice but to each take out another two gold coins and pay Sun Shiwen.

After collecting the money, Sun Shiwen said with a smile, “If you need anything in the future, whether food, clothing, lodging, or travel, you can come to me! Uh... more freshmen are coming in. I’m going to do a good deed, so I won’t keep you three company any longer.”

With that, Sun Shiwen headed toward the newly entered students.

After he left, the three of them opened the Guide to the Martial Arts Academy that Sun Shiwen had written and began reading it together.

The Guide to the Martial Arts Academy was not only beautifully printed, but also extremely detailed in content, recording everything clearly from the academy’s founding history to the famous figures of every generation.

Xin Lang and the others were not interested in the academy’s history or its notable figures. What they most wanted to know now was what the silver and gold badges represented.

P.S. Announcement: there will be an extra chapter at midnight tonight, and four more chapters tomorrow during the day, for a total of five updates. A small burst! Five updates would count as a huge outburst for others, but for Baicai it’s only a small burst. This week, everyone helped Baicai seize first place on the new-book chart, first place in the fantasy category chart, and second place on the overall points chart. If the word count were not already close to two hundred thousand, Baicai would definitely give you ten updates in return!

C!