Chapter 89: Murong Yueyin (Second Update, Seeking Votes)

The students of the Martial Arts Academy were divided into four ranks: bronze, silver, gold, and golden diamond. Bronze students held the lowest rank, while golden diamond students stood at the very top. Yet in the hundreds of years since the academy was founded, only three golden diamond students had ever been born.

Thus, among the academy’s current students, gold was the highest rank, and there were only fifty gold students in the entire Martial Arts Academy. In other words, the female student before Xin Lang ranked among the top fifty in the academy.

After Murong Yueyin was robbed of a jade pendant by Xin Lang on Azure Heaven Mountain, she had been curious about the identity of that mysterious “Martial Saint.” When she heard Qian Baidu call someone a “fatso” and the Fat Old Man curse back, she could not help but glance over her shoulder at Xin Lang and the others.

Though she had not seen their faces on Azure Heaven Mountain, she had observed them from behind the veil of her carriage curtains. With her sharp eyes, she had immediately recognized the resemblance between the three of them and the three bandits on Azure Heaven Mountain.

“Qiuyue, do those three look familiar to you?” Murong Yueyin asked softly to the maid beside her.

Xin Lang, noticing Murong Yueyin’s gaze, thought, This is bad. He could tell she was already beginning to suspect him.

He kicked both the Fat Old Man and Qian Baidu, who were still bickering, and said, “Let’s go. Time for breakfast!”

Watching the three of them walk away, the young maid Qiuyue frowned and said, “They seem to be freshmen, but I keep feeling as though I’ve seen them somewhere before.”

“Azure Heaven Mountain,” Murong Yueyin reminded her.

“Oh!” Qiuyue cried. “Those three bandit leaders from Azure Heaven Mountain! I remember that fat man’s build, and I even kicked him once!”

With Qiuyue’s confirmation, Murong Yueyin grew even more certain of her guess.

“Miss, those three are far too hateful! They robbed us of so much money. Once they leave the Martial Arts Academy, we must give them a proper lesson!” Qiuyue said, clenching her little fist.

Murong Yueyin replied, “Do not act rashly. Have you forgotten that one of them is a Martial Saint?”

Ah, yes, a Martial Saint...

At once, Qiuyue wilted.

Murong Yueyin had examined the wound on Xiahou Cheng’s chest before; it was unquestionably caused by the external release of vital energy from a Martial Saint. For that reason, she was certain Xin Lang was a Martial Saint.

“When did another Martial Saint appear in the Great Xia Dynasty? And so young, too. Could he be someone sent by another nation? But what purpose would he have in coming to the Martial Arts Academy? For its saint-tier martial arts? Still, with the status of a Martial Saint, he should not need to lower himself to becoming a student here...” The more Murong Yueyin thought about it, the more confused she became.

On the way to breakfast, Xin Lang and the others happened to run into Hong Jingang, the future Diamond Vajra War God of the Great Xia Dynasty. The four of them traveled together to the academy cafeteria to eat.

Only after arriving at the Martial Arts Academy’s cafeteria did Xin Lang understand why Li Xuanming had refused to exempt him from meal fees. The cafeteria here was unlike the one at the Radiant Sun Academy: at Radiant Sun Academy, every meal was standardized, but at the Martial Arts Academy, food had to be bought with cash on the spot. It was much like an outside tavern; as long as you had money, even delicacies from mountains and seas could be yours.

“Fatso, today happens to be the fifteenth. Before coming here, you said you’d treat us on the first and fifteenth. You haven’t forgotten, have you?” Qian Baidu rarely refrained from calling him “dead fatso,” just to save the price of breakfast.

The Fat Old Man said grandly, “Of course not. We’ll just grab a few buns for breakfast, and at noon I’ll treat everyone to a feast. Tonight, we’ll go to Orchid and Laurel Street for wine and women. The girls there will satisfy you for sure! You filthy old beast, tonight I’ll definitely put an end to your virgin life!”

He was talking with great relish when someone behind him suddenly cursed, “Shameless!”

The Fat Old Man was about to shout back at whoever dared insult him, but when he turned around, he instantly deflated. The one who had scolded him was none other than Ouyang Ranran.

“Miss Ranran, please let me explain...” he said, then hurried after her.

After quite a while, the Fat Old Man came back fuming.

“What’s wrong, fatso? Don’t tell me you’ve been dumped before even starting?” Qian Baidu teased on purpose.

“No! Ouyang Ranran disappeared into the crowd, and I couldn’t catch up!” the Fat Old Man said.

“Then what are you so angry about?” Qian Baidu asked again.

“Damn it, this Martial Arts Academy is too black-hearted! A bun that costs one copper coin outside, they charge me five here. If the price were uniform, that would be one thing, but those silver students might even get a discounted price!” the Fat Old Man complained.

“Forget it. Those are the academy’s rules. The higher the student’s rank, the more privileges they get. We should just go eat at a tavern outside the academy,” said Xin Lang.

“Let’s go! A few copper coins may not matter to us, but we can’t let this black-hearted Martial Arts Academy take advantage of us!” the Fat Old Man cried.

Being charged five copper coins for a bun that should cost one was indeed infuriating, so the four of them decided to eat breakfast outside the academy.

But when they reached the gate, the guards stopped them. The reason was that bronze students were not allowed to come and go as they pleased; only silver students and above could enter and leave freely, and silver students were granted only one day per month to do so.

“Damn it, this Martial Arts Academy isn’t just black-hearted, it’s shameless too!” Since he could not go in and out freely, the Fat Old Man could not visit Orchid and Laurel Street, and so he swore furiously.

The guard at the academy gate only laughed. “If you want to come and go as you please, then hurry up and advance to silver student rank, won’t that do it?”

The guard’s words made Xin Lang frown, because just moments earlier, the system had popped up a mission prompt: a five-diamond main quest requiring him to become a silver-ranked student within ten days. Reward for completion: five hundred experience points. Failure: the user will be erased.

“Damn it!” Xin Lang cursed, angry enough to burst out in obscenities. Setting aside the difficulty of the main quest itself, the punishment of being “erased” had already startled him badly.

“This punishment is way too harsh. It’s just like the Martial Arts Academy!” Xin Lang cursed inwardly.

He had wanted to obtain silver student status as quickly as possible, but he had never imagined it would be this fast.

To advance to silver student within ten days meant that Xin Lang would not only have to earn one hundred points within those ten days, but also defeat a silver student and seize that person’s silver identity.

Ten days meant at least ten points per day, which meant Xin Lang would need to challenge at least ten people every day and defeat them all.