Chapter 736: Routine

Pei Ye accurately caught the man's movement and made a lightning-fast assessment of the situation. Although he was not the same person he used to be, there was no logic in using his first trump card on a blood feud and his second on a fellow academy student. If it were just a matter of sword technique, the two of them would certainly be fighting without regard for safety... Thinking of this, he hurriedly pressed down on the man's shoulder: "Brother Yan, Brother Yan, there is no need for this."

Yan Feiqing said calmly: "I will kill him."

Pei Ye pressed both hands onto his shoulders, trying to persuade him earnestly. Behind them, Yang Zhenbing walked over and carefully picked up the little cat on his shoulder.

Tan Tou said coldly: "It's fine, don't be afraid. He's just relying on being a few years older; he can't actually beat the two of us."

Pei Ye looked back, annoyed: "You go back first."

Yang Zhenbing turned and left, holding the cat.

"Leave the cat behind!"

Yan Feiqing calmly drew his sword: "I will kill him and help you snatch it back."

"Brother Yan, Brother Yan, actually, it's fine if he takes it."

"Pei Ye, you hold him off for two moves first, I'm going back to get my sword." Yang Zhenbing walked away with the cat, not looking back.

Pei Ye desperately held Yan Feiqing down and firmly locked Yang Zhenbing inside the room, even sealing the windows. There was really no need to determine the ranking of the Tang Three Swords here, especially since the entire courtyard might be covered in blood once the ranking was settled.

Having managed to smooth over this conflict with such effort, Pei Ye sighed deeply once again about his importance in this courtyard, wondering how these two had spent several months without him.

Of course, he didn't think about why the courtyard erupted into a fight the moment he returned.

For the sake of the harmony of the Tang Three Swords, Pei Ye didn't even bring the cat back, leaving it in Yang Zhenbing's room for the night. The next morning, when Pei Ye brushed his teeth and pushed open his door, he silently saw the little cat lazily stretching its neck on the bed, while Yang Zhenbing sat cross-legged on the floor, watching it quietly.

"... You didn't sleep all night?"

"Yeah."

"A single cat can't sleep on such a big bed anyway."

"I was afraid I might disturb it."

Pei Ye rolled his eyes and lifted the little cat by the scruff of its neck. The little cat looked at him with its emerald eyes, as if lost in thought.

"... What kind of look is that?"

"Comparison."

Pei Ye rubbed it into his arms: "If you dare to run off with someone else, I'll shave all your fur off."

Fortunately, Yan Feiqing was not in the same grade as them; only Pei Ye and Yang Zhenbing went to study together. The sky was just brightening, and the view was fresh. The two sat together and ate, tasting the Sword Academy's breakfast, which seemed to never change, after a long time. Yang Zhenbing was always early, so Pei Ye followed his schedule. When they finished eating and headed toward the study hall, there were not many people on the road yet.

Pei Ye had been away from the classroom for a long time. According to Yang Zhenbing, the sword theory lecture had now reached the Daoist section.

Pei Ye remembered that the "General Introduction to Six Dynasties Sword Arts" discussed it, and Miss Ming had also told him about it. There were several branches of Daoist swordsmanship.

But generally speaking, they all cultivated the Dao through the sword. Unlike other sword sects that wanted to reach the peak of "sword," they hoped to stand at the peak of the sword to touch the heavens. For thousands of years, ascending to immortality had been the eternal ideal of the Daoists.

Often, in terms of offense and defense, Daoist swordsmanship always seemed strange or even flawed. If a practitioner was just beginning to learn Daoist swordsmanship, they were never as sharp as other sword techniques during a fight, and thus often invited criticism of being "hollow" or "divorced from reality."

But if viewed from this perspective, one could understand the unique characteristics of Daoist swordsmanship. It was indeed one of the best sword techniques in the world for cultivating the body and pointing directly to the heights, but it was not a weapon for offense, but a method for cultivation.

Of course, regarding the sword itself, after achieving profound attainments, the advantages of Daoist sword practitioners in mind-swords and heart-swords would also manifest. In terms of understanding the world, the Daoists were clearly in the lead.

Pei Ye sat down next to Yang Zhenbing in the study hall. At this moment, he knew why this young sword demon came early; he first reviewed everything taught last time and then read the content of the current sword lecture in advance.

Perhaps because he had been bribed with the little cat for a night, he was not annoyed by Pei Ye's endless questions.

Halfway through the Mao hour, the sword teacher walked into the classroom, and the sword students followed one after another. Most were familiar faces; some looked like they had just practiced sword in the morning, some were clearly just out of bed, and some still had oil on their lips.

"I'm talking about you, Zhu Shishi!"

The girl, who was walking past the seat without looking sideways, stopped abruptly and stared at him blankly, still holding a chicken foot in her hand.

Pei Ye narrowed his eyes and stared at her. After a moment, the girl hesitated and, somewhat reluctantly, handed the chicken foot toward his mouth.

"Class is about to start, and you're still eating!"

Pei Ye bit off a piece of chicken skin, but Zhu Shishi stuffed it into his mouth and didn't want the rest at all. As if she hadn't heard, she took a new one out of her bag and continued to gnaw on it by herself.

At this time, Ning Shuhong walked over from the back and looked somewhat pleasantly surprised to see the youth with the chicken foot in his mouth: "Young Hero Pei, long time no see!"

"True Disciple Ning, long time no see. I've missed all my friends quite a bit."

"Flattery." Ning Shuhong laughed, then looked at the youth with some complexity: "Young Hero Pei, I haven't seen you since the Zhu Que Gate sword gamble last year. Brother Wang said if there was no news of you, he would break off relations with you."

"Intimidation."

"Haha." Ning Shuhong was going to the back row, but at this moment, she took Zhu Shishi and sat down beside Pei Ye: "I can't see Young Hero Pei practicing sword either, yet you keep getting stronger... Do you know how shocked I was when I saw you defeat Li Zhi with one sword... It's a pity that I didn't see you for several months afterward. I was almost getting used to not seeing you in the academy."

"I will be here until the Feather Scale Trial." Pei Ye felt somewhat embarrassed, then explained earnestly: "I just wasn't practicing sword at the Sword Academy, not that I wasn't practicing."

"Yes, yes."

After a moment, Wang Shousi walked into the study hall. Seeing Pei Ye, he was indeed pleasantly surprised again, affectionately grabbing his shoulder, with no intention of breaking off relations at all, and in their conversation, he very much wanted Pei Ye to attend the sword gathering with him.

"If the two of us walk together, my status will definitely increase, Brother Pei."

"But I find it embarrassing." Pei Ye didn't want to pay attention to his sycophantic behavior.

Gradually, the study hall was full, and indeed many people noticed this new figure beside Yang Zhenbing.

To the people in the Sword Academy, Pei Ye was actually both familiar and strange. Everyone knew his name and face; when he entered the academy, it was on the personal recommendation of Ming Qitian, which made many people remember him at the time.

But after remembering him, there was no follow-up. Since then, he had never been present at any sword trials, big or small. Suddenly, they heard he killed a master at West Pool with Yan Feiqing, and then news came from outside that he had participated in the Zhu Que sword gamble. Now that the various swords were gathering in the Divine Capital, it was the time for heroes to compete, yet he had disappeared for several months without showing his face once. It seemed he had been active on the Eight Waters outside the Divine Capital.

They didn't expect him to suddenly appear in the study hall today.

Had he done something big again? Was the Sword Academy the last to know?

Or was this swordsman, who had the most fame in the Divine Capital last autumn and winter, finally going to enter the arena?

Pei Ye naturally didn't think that much. These days, his heart and body were all tied to Li Xizhou. Whether he was in the deep palace or the wilderness, he only had sporadic news about the situation in the Divine Capital. He was completely in the dark; let alone the situation, he didn't even know how many sword sects were in the capital now.

"Brother Pei, it's a real pity you weren't in the capital during these days. You don't know how much excitement you missed. That sword you used outside Zhu Que Gate at the time, if you could have displayed it a few times in these two months, you would have gained so much fame."

"Is that so? I really couldn't get away these days; I was busy with several important matters." Pei Ye sighed lightly.

"What important matter in the Divine Capital is more important than the Feather Scale Trial? Don't tell me you went to busy yourself with the Qilin Blood Test?" Wang Shousi bowed toward the north.

"..." The matter involved secrets, so Pei Ye didn't speak, only asking: "Brother Wang, since you have been in the Divine Capital these days, have you heard if the Ming Ming Jianzhu has arrived in the Divine Capital?"

Wang Shousi paused, remembering the background of the person in front of him: "The Glazed Ming Ming Jianzhu arrived at Mount Hua a few days ago. Then, you know there are many sword sects in the capital now, so many people went up the mountain to pay their respects. Then I heard the Ming Ming Jianzhu left on her own after asking about the sword, and her whereabouts were unknown afterward."

"Ah, okay." Pei Ye received news from the woman at the beginning of the third month and thought she had already arrived in the Divine Capital.

The sword lecture was still a comfortable atmosphere. Pei Ye listened steadily for a session. At the end of the class, he looked back and asked Ning Shuhong: "True Disciple Ning, why haven't I seen Yiner?"

"Will Young Hero Pei be there for the sword performance in the afternoon? If you are, you will see her." Ning Shuhong packed up her sword books but fell silent for a moment.

"I will, why?"

"Sister Yiner has been practicing sword diligently these past few days, just for this afternoon's sword performance."

"Isn't diligence a good thing?"

Ning Shuhong snorted coldly: "Young Hero Pei wasn't in the academy, so you don't know. Since there are more and more sword sects in the capital, many have come to the Sword Academy to visit. Some are fine for the sake of exchanging sword arts, but some are overbearing, targeting the fact that the Changan Sword Academy has always been the signboard of the Divine Capital's sword world, wanting to suppress the local snakes to gain fame."

Pei Ye was surprised: "We have so many sword students in our academy, can't we beat them?"

He thought that sword sects like Yunlang and Dongting wouldn't do this.

Ning Shuhong was even more annoyed: "That's what I'm saying. If we really fought with real swords and guns, who would be afraid of whom? If we lose, it's just that our skills are not as good. But first, the sword students in the academy are scattered. Except for the current grade, the previous grades don't participate, and some aren't even in the academy."

Pei Ye moved his body.

"Oh, Young Hero Pei, I'm not talking about you—and the current grade sword students aren't of one mind either. Lu Xiu, Han Xiuben, and others aren't willing to confront the strong sects. That's fine, we and Brother Chu aren't afraid of them... but they deliberately target us with tricks!"

"How do they target us?"

"They figured out the situation in the Sword Academy long ago. They clearly know Yan Feiqing won't make a move, and True Disciple Yang already fought a round in the past two months and won't make a move either. They also keep an eye on Brother Chu's whereabouts, picking a time to come... What's even more infuriating is that they always come up with strange names to restrict us!"

Ning Shuhong leaned against the wall with her arms crossed, and Wang Shousi laughed beside her.

Pei Ye was curious: "What names?"

"Things like 'Northwest Swordsman', 'Spirit and Clumsy Realms', 'Under Twenty Years Old'." Ning Shuhong's heroic eyes narrowed: "Young Hero Pei, what's wrong with being over twenty? Are they not the younger generation of swordsmen?"

Pei Ye couldn't help but laugh, hurriedly scolding along: "Truly shameless!"

He added: "Then what does this have to do with Yiner?"

"Because Sister Yiner has a proud bone and a chivalrous heart." Ning Shuhong's eyes turned cold again: "The ones who came these two days are from the Kunlun Yanri Palace. It's also a big sword sect among the middle twelve, and they are so shameless. They aren't afraid of Brother Chu, just eyeing that Yan and Yang won't make a move. Several arrogant fellows even released words about 'sweeping the Divine Capital Sword Academy'... A few days ago, they came to perform sword and injured Zhang Chao. Sister Yiner argued with them and set up a sword trial for today."

Pei Ye frowned: "So shameless."

"Hmph, they just entered the capital recently and want to gain fame in one fell swoop. The Kunlun Yanri Palace had one in the top fifty and one in the top twenty in the last Fu Ranking. They are clearly trying to push them with all their might." Ning Shuhong said, "This sect has always been overbearing. Before, they were far away, so I only heard sporadic rumors. Only after coming to the Divine Capital did I see it."

Pei Ye pondered for a while, tilted his head to look at Yang Zhenbing beside him, and questioned: "Why don't you make a move?"

Yang Zhenbing, who was devoted to research, looked up and glanced at him: "Weak."

"In the future, when I'm not here, if Yiner has any trouble, you make a move to help. Every time you help, let the little cat stay in your room for a night. Remember?"

Yang Zhenbing thought for a while: "Does this time count?"

"You don't need to make a move this time."

Yang Zhenbing was somewhat disappointed.

Several people ate lunch together. Wang Shousi's mouth didn't stop, chatting about trivial matters in the Divine Capital and the Sword Academy, giving Pei Ye some understanding; Zhu Shishi's mouth didn't stop either, and half the table of food went into her stomach.

The afternoon sword performance class was still in the sword field, but now that there were sword sects from outside the capital visiting, it saved the sword practitioners from practicing with each other. The Sword Academy itself was clearly very willing to see the sword students and the swordsmen from all over the world fight each other, even if the other side had some ulterior motives, they didn't give up eating for fear of choking.

But Pei Ye didn't rush over. He parted ways with the others at the fork and went to the practice sword field alone to find Jiang Yiner.

The sword field at noon was quieter than at midnight. Pei Ye listened to the sword sounds as he walked past one by one, and finally caught the familiar rhythm outside the "Bing-6" sword field.

Before the Zhu Que sword gamble, in order to seek the sword state, Jiang Yiner had accompanied him to practice sword many times in the Sword Academy. Pei Ye knew the girl's sword style very well.

But he didn't disturb her, just leaned against the door and waited. Sure enough, after more than a quarter of an hour, the sword sounds inside stopped, and the sound of packing up came. Before long, the door was pulled open from the inside, and the girl, clean as a young crane, walked out carrying a small bundle and holding a sword.

Seeing the youth at a glance, she froze in place.

"... Brother!!"

Pei Ye smiled: "So diligent."

The girl still had thin sweat on her forehead, somewhat embarrassed. She hurriedly checked her clothes and posture, and gave a serious salute: "Yiner greets Brother."

"No need to salute me, long time no see."

Jiang Yiner smiled: "Brother, you haven't had any news for a long time again... Is everything going smoothly?"

She remembered that when they parted last time, the youth had a worried look.

Pei Ye turned and headed toward the sword field. Jiang Yiner followed with small, quick steps. He smiled: "Smoothly, thank you for comforting me at that time."

Jiang Yiner said: "You can tell me anything that makes you unhappy, Brother."

Pei Ye didn't speak, quietly took out a crystal-clear and beautiful small pendant from his sleeve, carved in the shape of a little white cat, and handed it in front of her.

"..."

"Brought it for you. I remember you like to hang small jade pendants on your mask." Pei Ye smiled, "This kind of jade cannot be found in the human world. Pretty, right?" ===== CHAPTER 737 =====

"..."

"I brought this for you. I remember you like to hang small jade pendants on your mask." Pei Ye smiled. "You can't find this kind of jade in the mortal world. It's pretty, right?"