Chapter 356: 329 Re-inspection (Bonus chapter for Alliance Leader Xinkuan Tuichang Shuangshang Zhengchang)

Everyone's gaze snapped onto the two of them. Even Lan Xiuzhu was stunned, her thoughts racing. When she had handled intelligence work previously, she had collected comprehensive information on all the Instructors. Yet, she had no idea that Li Yijian's camp contained an acquaintance of Tang Zhao.

But she knew more than most, and at this moment, she understood—Tang Zhao was also a Talisman Sword Master. This was a matter between Talisman Sword Masters, outside the jurisdiction of the Imperial Court and the martial arts world. Her intelligence sources were limited, and she could not gather that much information.

Tang Zhao was taken aback for a moment. He scrutinized the man, realized he did not recognize him, and after confirming it multiple times, he could only ask, "You are..."

The young man's face showed a flash of disappointment, but he immediately continued, "You don't know me? That's right, during the Spring Talisman Assembly, I was just an unremarkable Talisman Sword Master, while you were the top performer of our assembly and accomplished earth-shattering deeds. It's no wonder you wouldn't notice a plain-looking person like me..."

As he spoke, he began to wallow in self-pity, his eyes nearly turning red.

Seeing him act this way, not only was Li Yijian—who was accustomed to this person's style—dumbfounded, but Tang Zhao also felt a bit embarrassed, as if he had wronged him. He said, "That... it was my oversight. Since we are fellow travelers of the Talisman Assembly, we ought to greet one another. May I ask your honorable name?"

The young man straightened his clothes and said, "As for me... I am Feng Nanming, from Hongyan Academy."

Tang Zhao realized, saying, "So you are a brilliant student from the Hongyan Academy in Youzhou. I have long admired it. I have always wanted to visit Hongyan Academy to borrow and read ancient texts, but I have never had the opportunity."

He actually did know of Hongyan Academy; it was an ancient academy in the northern Youzhou region. It could be traced back not only to the previous dynasty but even to the chaotic era before that, and could truly be called long-standing.

Of course, being ancient did not mean it was powerful. Hongyan Academy was now very much in decline. Because academies belonged to the Imperial Court's sphere of influence, and Youzhou was in a state of total chaos, the Imperial Court's influence had repeatedly waned, and they could no longer spare attention for a mere academy. Therefore, Hongyan Academy did not even rank among the second-tier forces in the Talisman Assembly, being only slightly better than the Zhuoyu Villa without Tang Zhao.

And as for the final result, their students certainly lived up to their ranking, steadily holding the line for the academy.

He had not expected this Feng Nanming to enter the New Sharp Battalion of the Yunzhou Central Army instead of returning to the academy after the Talisman Assembly.

A student from a Youzhou academy traveling thousands of miles to serve in the Yunzhou Army—what kind of spirit was this?

This was...

Hongyan Academy really was in a bad state.

It was not easy for students to find jobs.

Upon hearing that Tang Zhao recognized Hongyan Academy, Feng Nanming was so excited his face turned red. He said, "You must come. What difficulty is there in borrowing ancient texts? Hundreds of years of ancient books are everywhere in my academy..."

At this moment, Instructor An finally interjected, "You two know each other?"

Tang Zhao wanted to say they had met once, but Feng Nanming said, "We once studied together; we can be considered half-classmates."

Instructor An said to Li Yijian, "In that case, I believe this is inappropriate. They are connected by personal ties and should avoid suspicion. He cannot inspect the Art Tools of the Earth Inspection Division."

Before Li Yijian could speak, Feng Nanming suddenly said, "Who are you?"

Instructor An said coldly, "I am an Instructor of the Prison Suppression Division."

Feng Nanming said, "Incorrect. May I ask which Talisman Sword Master faction you belong to?"

Instructor An became even angrier and said, "I am not a Talisman Sword Master. I am a Sword Guest."

There was still some dispute over whether a Sword Guest or a Talisman Sword Master held higher status. In the secular sense, Sword Guests were naturally more powerful, but there were times when they had to beg for help from Talisman Sword Masters. Conversely, Talisman Sword Masters rarely begged Sword Guests for anything. However, in a one-on-one situation, no Talisman Sword Master would be foolish enough to provoke a Sword Guest.

Feng Nanming raised an eyebrow and said, "You, an outsider, are questioning the professional ethics of us Talisman Sword Masters? Is this a provocation? Hmm?"

His expression suddenly turned cold and arrogant as he shouted, "If you question my ethics, then come and make a wager with me. I will inspect the Art Tools, and you can go find someone else to re-inspect them. If the results differ, I will pay you with my head. If they are the same, you cut off your head and give it to me. Do you dare?"

He was suddenly so impassioned and righteous; the gap between his styles before and after was astonishing.

Li Yijian spoke up, "There is no need to find someone else. I trust that Sword Master Feng is impartial. Instructor An, questioning the people in my camp is likely inappropriate. If it were not for the important matter at hand, I would make this wager with you myself, so what of it?"

Instructor An was furious, thinking: The three of them have all colluded together to deal with our Prison Suppression Division! No wonder so few of my students came; it turns out they were surrounded and suppressed by them.

Feng Nanming huffed, "Fine, for the sake of the Brigade Commander and Tang Xiansheng, I won't hold it against you. What exactly are we inspecting? Let me see."

Someone had already brought forward the three Art Tools, lined up in a row; they looked like three identical iron swords.

Feng Nanming only glanced at them once before revealing an expression that said, "Is this it?"

"Aren't these just the most ordinary One Yuan Heavy Art Tools? What is the problem?"

Li Yijian said, "It is precisely to ask the Sword Master to take a look and see if there is any trickery involved. Are they truly legal and compliant One Yuan Heavy Art Tools?"

Feng Nanming said, "Alright, seeing is believing. Since you insist on checking, I will check. Honestly, why come to me to make a fool of myself when you have Tang Xiansheng right here to consult?"

Instructor An said, "It is precisely because I fear your Tang Xiansheng is playing tricks."

Feng Nanming was furious and said, "Tang Xiansheng would play tricks? I'm afraid I wouldn't even play tricks if Tang Xiansheng were to do so. In that case, I might as well make another wager with you..."

Tang Zhao stopped him, saying, "Calm down. We are the bigger people and won't hold a grudge against a petty one; there is no need to be so intense."

Lan Xiuzhu smiled at Li Yijian, "Master Feng is truly worthy of being a military man; he has spirit."

Li Yijian kept a cold face, clearly not buying this flattery.

Feng Nanming said, "For the sake of Tang Xiansheng, let us inspect them openly and fairly. When we evaluate things for outsiders, we have a few conspicuous Art Tools. First is this—"

He took a Balance from his Art Tool bag.

"This is not for weighing mass, but for weighing Origin Power. The scale pan uses Origin Stones... I don't need to explain the principle to you; in any case, you just place an Origin Power weight on one side, and by seeing which side is higher, you know how much Origin Power is contained. It is used exactly like an ordinary scale."

Lan Xiuzhu clicked her tongue, "This is quite convenient. Simple and easy to understand, catering to us laymen. How come I have never seen it?"

Although different professions were like mountains between them, she had had quite a lot of contact with Talisman Sword Masters. Aside from the internal news of the Talisman Sword Master world being difficult to probe, she knew quite a bit about various Art Tools and Talisman Sword Masters, yet she had not known of such a good item.

Feng Nanming said, "This thing hasn't been out for long; it's a new product from White Jade Flourishing Shop. Things from White Jade Flourishing Shop are particularly simple and easy to understand, and very friendly to outsiders." He pointed to a logo on it, glanced at Tang Zhao, and smiled.

Lan Xiuzhu also glanced at Tang Zhao.

White Jade Flourishing Shop was a shop under Zhuoyu Villa; this was no secret. Lan Xiuzhu knew it, and Feng Nanming knew it as well.

It was precisely because he knew that Feng Nanming would go to White Jade Flourishing Shop to buy things; otherwise, why would a Talisman Sword Master go to buy things from someone else's shop? Being friendly to outsiders might not be an advantage among Talisman Sword Masters, as it didn't show off one's status.

On the other hand, although Lan Xiuzhu knew Tang Zhao's background, she had only investigated it temporarily for this exam and had not been to White Jade Flourishing Shop. After all, White Jade Flourishing Shop hadn't even opened a branch in Jichun City, and she had no time to travel far to the foot of Jiugao Mountain to buy things.

"So the style of White Jade Flourishing Shop is approachable?"

Feng Nanming said, "Exactly, just as Tang Xiansheng said in front of us. Are Art Tools really such inconvenient things? We must let everyone be able to use Art Tools."

Tang Zhao suddenly had the urge to cover his face—he hadn't felt embarrassed when he said those words himself, but now he felt a bit flushed.

Several people began to look thoughtful. Here, Feng Nanming placed the Art Tool sword on the tray and then placed a round weight labeled "One Yuan" on it.

The two sides trembled slightly, and then they balanced.

"See that? Simple and easy to understand, a standard One Yuan Art Tool. It is no wonder it is Tang Xiansheng; the Art Tool is manufactured to a standard, and One Yuan Power is exactly One Yuan Power, precise beyond compare. If it were left to us to make, there would inevitably be a tiny bit of error."

Tang Zhao could only say repeatedly, "You flatter me, you flatter me."

In fact, there was already a conclusion here. After all, the students of the Prison Suppression Division saying they couldn't win in a clash of power was an insinuation that the Art Tool had a large bonus, not that the Art Tool had added some flashy Sword Art. Since the upper limit was a One Yuan Art Tool, that claim did not hold water.

Especially since this verification method was clear at a glance, even Instructor An had nothing to say.

At this moment, Li Yijian unhooked a circular ring hanging from his belt and placed it on one side of the Balance. The Balance suddenly sank.

Feng Nanming frowned, and Li Yijian said, "Help me measure it."

Feng Nanming snorted and tossed weights onto it; he first threw on a large one, discovered that this side was heavy, then switched to smaller ones, measured in a chaotic manner, and said, "This is a Seven Yuan one. Strange."

Traditionally, for the sake of convenience, Sword Masters generally prefer Art Tools to be in round numbers, such as One Yuan, Two Yuan, Five Yuan, or Ten Yuan; Seven Yuan is still quite rare, and most are custom-made.

Li Yijian smiled and said, "Exactly."

Now Instructor An had nothing to say, but he still stubbornly insisted, "Perhaps there is still something strange..."

Feng Nanming took a cylinder out of his sleeve and said, "If you want to test an Art Tool, I have a Kaleidoscope of Artificers here..."

Tang Zhao could not help but say, "This is the latest stock, it only hit the shelves a few days ago..."

Feng Nanming laughed, "I bought it just three days ago. I usually go once a month, and I sweep up any new stock, only buying Tang Xiansheng's own Liuyun Series. They are all cheap and good quality."

Tang Zhao could only concede; White Jade Brilliance had cheap goods, but the Liuyun Series he personally designed and developed were cutting-edge boutique items—how could they be considered "cheap"? Moreover, this Kaleidoscope was a trial version, and the price was especially expensive. One could only say that Sword Masters were indeed wealthy.

"Hold the Kaleidoscope and look at the Art Tool through it. Yes, aim it at the Rune Formula and look inside... what do you see?"

Instructor An held the Kaleidoscope, looked carefully, and was stunned for a long while before saying, "Look... look at my ass. It's completely blank."

Feng Nanming said, "Of course, without Sword Art, aren't you looking at your ass? Though it would be quite rare to actually be able to see an ass."

Instructor An became even more furious and said, "Are you all playing me for a fool?"

Li Yijian said, "Give it here for me to see."

He placed the white jade under the Kaleidoscope again and took a look.

This look actually lasted for a long time.

After a long while, he raised his eyes and said, "This Kaleidoscope is not wrong. It really can see Sword Art." He handed it back to Feng Nanming and then said to Tang Zhao, "A good Art Tool, truly not bad."

Instructor An glared at him and said, "Since you've said as much, what else is there for me to say?"

He was already somewhat regretful now, not because he regretted wronging Tang Zhao, but because he discovered that no one else was standing on his side, leaving him too passive; he regretted not considering the situation and launching an attack so easily.

As for right or wrong, that was no longer important.

Lan Xiuzhu said, "Are you going to retract your previous accusation? And then apologize?"

Instructor An snorted.

Li Yijian said calmly, "Since it is a matter between our own people, it should be resolved by our own people. The key is to see what Instructor Tang has to say."

Tang Zhao laughed, "I am not someone who forces a cow to drink if it doesn't want to; if an apology is unwilling, then forget it. But if you don't show anything, it will seem as if we haven't determined right from wrong. If you won't accept the beating, then naturally you must accept the penalty. Is there any way to administer a small punishment as a warning?"

Li Yijian said, "There actually is. I have a suggestion: why not have Instructor An go to the stables and beat the gong?"