As the two argued, another voice chimed in from the side. It was another knight. "Is that what we're here to listen to?"
He wore an expression of pure schadenfreude. "What was written on the package?"
One of Tianwu's knights snapped, "Piss off! What does this have to do with Liang Academy?"
Great Liang Martial Academy was the only high-tier martial academy in the country on equal footing with Tianjing Martial Academy.
"Our two academies ought to stay united, not fight among ourselves," the Liang Academy knight replied, still grinning cheekily. "I just want to hear some gossip!"
The relationship between the two high-tier martial academies was one of petty rivalry beneath broad cooperation; he was more than happy to watch this little sideshow unfold.
The Tianwu student ignored these interruptions. His face ash-gray with fury, he spoke word by word, "I said, this is a personal grudge!"
He did not forget to stress again, "It is also an indisputable fact that you disrupted order inside the Guizu domain, which could have caused severe consequences!"
"I don't have time to waste on your nonsense," Rossi said, waving a hand with impatient dismissal.
"Even your chief instructor let it slide. Who are you to raise a stink? Are you saying you disagree with Saixi's words?"
"Saixi?" a voice resonated from a distance. "Did he come too?"
The voice was deep and steady, carrying an aura of authority that clearly marked the speaker as another grand knight.
Saixi was known as Tianwu's foremost grand knight, his fame echoing throughout all of Liang.
His renown was an order of magnitude higher than even Instructor Xia'erzi of Marquis Tanyong's Estate.
"He didn't come," someone else answered—this time, one of the soldiers maintaining order in the military encampment.
They also loved a good commotion, and on matters of who had arrived and who hadn't, they were the most qualified to speak.
"What are you all dawdling for?" a dissatisfied knight called out, beginning to stir up trouble. "If anyone's not convinced, just start throwing punches!"
"No rush, no rush. I just want to know what was written on that package!"
"I won't fight in the military encampment," the Tianwu student stated proudly, unmoved by the surrounding noise.
He fixed his glare on Rossi and said slowly, "Since you think you're in the right, do you dare tell me who else was with you?"
By this point, Wu Youren, Namuzha, and Manna had heard the commotion and walked over.
Hearing those words, Manna could hold back no longer. "Red Pine's Manna—I'm one of them, and I've got the package right on me!"
At a moment like this, backing down was out of the question. Tianjing was a martial academy, but was Red Pine not one as well?
Between the two... the gap wasn't that insurmountable. "Do you want me to put it on display?"
The Tianwu student sneered, then gave a slow nod. "Oh, Red Pine... Are you even in the top three among the intermediate martial academies?"
At that, Manna's expression darkened. This had always been a sore spot for Red Pine.
Red Pine considered itself ranked third, but the other intermediate academies didn't see it that way.
The prevailing opinion was that they were "holding fourth while aiming for third," while a few academies even insisted they were "holding fifth while aiming for fourth"!
Just as she was about to argue, Wu Youren gave a quiet cough. *Big Sis, the moment you let someone else set the terms of debate, you've already lost.*
"I'm from Red Pine too," Wu Youren chimed in mildly. "Pardon my asking, but Marquis Pojun never attended any martial academy... How do you evaluate him?"
Marquis Pojun was celebrated as the greatest marquis in Liang's history. He had perished a century ago on an expedition, after which Liang's territory had shrunk dramatically.
It was common knowledge that in his youth, his family had arranged for him to enter Tianjing Martial Academy, only for Tianwu to reject him on grounds of unruly conduct.
"Marquis Pojun..." The student's expression shifted. That name was truly Tianwu's greatest sore spot. "His family circumstances—"
"Now you're shifting goalposts," Wu Youren cut in with a straight face. "You brought up academies, so I talked academies. Now you want to talk about family background?"
The student was utterly dumbfounded.
Fortunately, he had plenty of companions around. A short, stocky, middle-aged knight spoke up: "You're the one... ah, who isn't short on money?"
Inside the Guizu domain, that person had sensed two surprise attacks from outside before they hit, and he also knew who had thrown the very first ghost-destroying mine—the one during the daytime.
"Not short on money... me?" Wu Youren looked astonished. Since when was he rolling in cash without even knowing it?
"Can we focus on the main point?" Namuzha spoke up. "Out with it. What is your ultimate goal?"
He had borrowed this line of thinking from the Jin hostage. Back then, he hadn't thought much of it, but now he was putting it to good use.
No matter what you did, you always needed a concrete demand, didn't you?
The student was thrown off even more. He had just wanted to vent his anger—what other goal could he have?
The other party had put them through hell inside the Guizu domain, and later they had even lost a fortune in valuable supplies.
Those supplies hadn't belonged exclusively to Tianwu; everyone who participated in the venture stood to receive a cut, so all of them had taken a hit to their pockets!
The chief instructor leading the team had decided to drop the matter, but how could anyone stomach that without feeling a bitter lump in their chest?
When he discovered that the culprits hadn't died to their traps and had instead swaggered into the camp alive and well, how could he endure it?
He stiffened his neck. "The official business is settled, but personal grudges... let me tell you, this isn't over!"
Then he sneered, "Hmph, even a puny place like Red Pine thinks it can posture now?"
Since this couldn't be resolved amicably, he naturally went straight for their sore spot.
Yet when all was said and done, he was still young, and the topic he clung to was frankly a bit childish.
Not to mention, someone had already handed them the counterargument on a silver platter!
"Can anyone posture quite as hard as Tianwu?" Namuzha sneered.
It wasn't that he wanted to stoke academy rivalry, but the other guy couldn't keep Red Pine's name out of his mouth—how could he stomach that? "You're the ones who even looked down on Marquis Pojun!"
"Enough," the Tianwu grand knight in the distance barked, unable to bear it any longer. Was this petty nonsense ever going to end?
"They asked what your ultimate goal is. Just state it plainly and be done with it!"
"I want compensation!" Seeing his senior speak up, the student dug his heels in. "One Guizu relic!"
Listening to this, Wu Youren couldn't help shaking his head. *The culture here in Great Liang... really doesn't know the meaning of subtlety, does it?*
"The nerve of you!" Namuzha snapped, incensed. "Back then, the seven of you fled with your tails between your legs. Are we supposed to give one to each of you?"
He hadn't really wanted to bring up their shameful retreat, given that they were from a high-tier academy.
But who didn't have a temper? He was a young man too!
"Watch your mouth, kid!" the Tianwu grand knight warned coldly, having learned something of the incident himself.
Among those who had fled in disgrace was his own fellow grand knight colleague.
He asked without expression, "Do you know that disaster comes from an unruly tongue?"
"Keep it down," Rossi cautioned Namuzha, then asked with a faint smirk, "Compensate you with a Guizu relic? Why should we give you a Guizu relic?"
"Because you extorted us—" the student blurted out without thinking.
"Out of my sight!" The Tianwu grand knight could take no more and cut his own student off directly.
*If you don't care about embarrassing yourself, I still care about losing face.*
He ignored the others entirely and locked his eyes onto Wu Youren. "Wasted on Red Pine!"
The apprentice ability master with spiritual powers was likely this youth, and the colleague's humiliating predicament had probably been due to his capabilities as well.
He hadn't actively probed him, but the mere fact that a lowly apprentice knight was present in this setting spoke volumes.
"Huh?" Wu Youren raised an eyebrow and looked back at him blankly. *Are you talking to me?*
"We study under Grand Instructor Hong Yan," Manna felt compelled to speak. "If you're interested, you can discuss it with my master."
"Hong Yan..." The Tianwu grand knight froze slightly, the corner of his mouth twitching.
Among the intermediate martial academies, there were few grand knights he treated with caution, but Hong Yan was certainly one of them.
He had already planned how he would make an issue of it if they tried to brush him off.
Yet thinking of that madwoman gave him a slight headache.
And to think this young woman was actually Hong Yan's disciple...
Right then, a knight nearby called out, "Grand Instructor Hong Da and Instructor Xia'erzi are currently inside the Guizu domain."
Marquis Tanyong's Estate might not necessarily intervene in this dispute, but since Hong Da had stepped in to help them earlier, they couldn't possibly sit by silently, could they?
The Tianwu grand knight remained silent, but internally he was cursing up a storm: *Damn it, that tight-lipped brute too!*
"I finally recognize you lot," a voice called from a distance at that exact moment.
Three people walked over, led by a sinister-looking grand knight.
His face was dark as a thundercloud. "Weren't you claiming to be from the New Army?"
To think he had genuinely believed the Count's estate's Anping Trading was in hot water over something murky in Suotu Town.
After leaving the Guizu domain, he had personally sought out Commander Jeff of the New Army to explain things.
In response, the commander had first looked bewildered, then asked with a knowing smirk: *How does Count Shengming view the New Army?*
Frightened out of his wits, he had turned on his heel and excused himself immediately. He was merely a subordinate of Count Shengming—how could he dare drag his master into that kind of political quagmire?
After walking away, the more he thought about it, the angrier he became. *Damn it, don't let me catch those swindlers!*
After navigating society for so many years, he had actually fallen for such a brazen trick—how could he swallow that?
Just now, hearing the conversation between the two sides, the voices had sounded increasingly familiar.
Crucially, this group also had an apprentice knight among them, and back in the Guizu domain, that little brat had been the most obnoxious of all!
Rossi stared blankly for a second before realizing who the newcomer was. A wry smile touched his face. *How did all our enemies end up in the same place?*
And of all times, Hong Da wasn't even here!
Manna, however, had none of his reservations. She answered bluntly, "We were afraid you'd rob us by force!"
It was only because she was a female warrior that she could say this so freely; male warriors found it somewhat humiliating to admit fear in public.
Hearing that, the grand knight's expression darkened even further. "I advise you to choose your words carefully!"
At these words, many of the watching warriors exchanged knowing smiles.
"Were we wrong to worry?" Manna countered directly. "You were the one who said that the weak deserve to be killed!"
However, this grand knight also knew how to stick to the crux of the matter. "Who told you to swindle and deceive in the first place?"
That weakness was an inherent sin was common consensus among the people of Liang; there was no need to dispute it.
Still, as a grand knight with so many onlookers present, he had to maintain some semblance of decorum and avoid appearing overly crude.
"Because we didn't have a grand knight," Manna stated without arguing further, merely laying out the facts. "We were targeted by a squad with a grand knight, so of course we were nervous!"
The sinister-looking grand knight let out a furious laugh. "Then why did you pretend to be the New Army?"
That was what infuriated him most; he had nearly brought trouble down upon the Count's head!
Being momentarily hoodwinked by a few juniors wasn't something he would normally dwell on.
In recent years, Count Shengming had focused primarily on commerce and took few unnecessary risks, and his subordinates naturally adhered to that prudent style.
Thinking of this, his temper flared up all over again. "Where are the people from the New Army? Is no one going to keep these impostors in check?"
Chapter 134