Wu Youren felt a bit puzzled by this news. Could an instructor at Red Pine really still be unaware of his true identity?
Previously, many instructors had been kept in the dark, as a hostage from a foreign kingdom entering the martial academy was a relatively sensitive matter.
Once word got out, it could trigger a series of uncontrollable incidents.
However, after his trip to Suotu Town, he had even drawn the attention of the Intelligence Bureau.
His four companions might still be safe from scrutiny, but news of his identity... ought to have spread quite widely by now.
After all, even Rossi, who had not yet been hired onto the martial academy's staff, had found out who he was.
And so, frowning in thought, he asked, "Why sponsor me?"
The other female martial artist from Liang chuckled and chimed in, "Isn't it a good thing that someone's offering you money?"
The female martial artist from Jin, however, said, "I heard an instructor thinks your potential is quite good."
Could that even count for anything? Wu Youren shook his head. "Thank you, but I still have a long way to go. Better not to disappoint you."
"There are no hard conditions," the Jin martial artist stated candidly. "Once you become a knight, it'll be enough if you can look out for me a bit."
Some sponsorships truly came with strings attached, like the viscount's daughter.
Yet with someone like her, or Holar—the subordinate of Count Shengming—it wasn't impossible for them to invest heavily in someone without strict preconditions.
Wu Youren still shook his head. "The pressure would be too great, and I'm not used to letting people down."
At the end of the day, he remained wary of this kind of upfront investment from complete strangers.
Even if she had no ulterior motives, and even though he wouldn't mind pulling a fast one on a stranger, having a fellow Jin native on the other end made things rather awkward.
The Jin martial artist shook her head dismissively. "Ah, it's nothing more than taking a gamble and accepting the loss if it fails."
The Liang martial artist paused in thought before speaking up. "Instructor Kelly mentioned that you've been to Suotu?"
"Tsk." Wu Youren clicked his tongue. Well, so that was what this was about.
"I did go, but that was quite a while ago."
In the martial academy these days, one barely heard any news about Suotu Town anymore.
There was no bad news, but there was no good news either. The undertones were truly worth pondering.
"Alright, don't keep us waiting," the Liang martial artist urged. "Instructor Kelly... doesn't have the best temper."
No matter how bad her temper was, could it be worse than the knight inspecting academy discipline? Wu Youren found that hard to believe.
That knight had come knocking on his door on purpose, yet had backed off the moment he heard the words "Life-and-Death Knot." This instructor probably wouldn't be any more difficult to deal with.
He pondered the matter. He had already caught someone's attention; dodging constantly wouldn't solve anything.
Once things escalated, his identity would only become known to more people, leaving him increasingly on the back foot.
Taking the initiative to resolve it and nipping the trouble in the bud was the proper course of action.
He managed to squeeze out a smile and nodded slightly. "Alright, when should I go pay my respects to the instructor?"
"Right now," the two female martial artists said in unison, adding that the instructor was waiting in the lecture courtyard.
The martial academy had over a hundred lecture courtyards, which served as concentrated office areas for the instructors, each made up of a cluster of small training grounds.
Every instructor had their own area for teaching small classes.
The three students arrived at a small training ground. In the shade of the trees at the edge, a woman of about forty was examining a saber.
She had plain features and a somewhat aloof expression. With her brows slightly furrowed, her entire attention was fixed on the weapon.
Not daring to make a sound, the three could only stand a short distance away, watching quietly.
The woman caressed the blade as she pondered something.
Only when a leaf drifted down did she look up, glance at the trio, let out a grunt, and return to examining the saber.
"That's a custom weapon the instructor just had made," the Liang martial artist whispered under her breath. "She's probably considering how to nurture it."
Once one reached the knight realm, the weapons used were generally exclusive to them.
Not only were the weight and styling tailored to the individual, but to ensure greater offensive and defensive potency, targeted nurturing was required.
It was somewhat similar to immortal cultivators refining magic treasures.
After another ten minutes or so, she finally sheathed the saber and looked toward the three of them.
Then she spoke expressionlessly, "You are Wu Youren? Hmm, quite good-looking. You've been to Suotu Town?"
*Good-looking...* A bad feeling rose in Wu Youren's heart, but he still cupped his hands and spoke courteously.
"Greetings, Instructor. I went with Knight Rossi. Not long after arriving, we left."
"I want the details." The woman's face remained blank, but a faint trace of aura seeped out.
"Instructor, people from the Intelligence Bureau were present at the time," Wu Youren replied respectfully. "What I know is truly very little."
"Using the Intelligence Bureau to pressure me?" Instructor Kelly scoffed dismissively. "Do you know what I used to do?"
"Reporting to Instructor, I truly do not know."
"Then you don't need to know." Instructor Kelly curled her lip. "Forget it, it's inconvenient to question you now with the two of them here."
Hearing this, both female martial artists promptly asked to be excused.
"No need," the female instructor said, glancing at Wu Youren. "I heard you grow good vegetables. I'll drop by tonight to pick some up."
She said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Since she intended to waive his tuition, what was taking a few vegetables?
Yet this also showed that among the mid-to-high circles of Great Liang, vegetables were indeed fine goods worthy of presentation.
At night... a female instructor? Wu Youren nodded without batting an eye. "Then I will trouble you, Instructor."
It was eighty percent likely nothing good, but as before, was he in any position to object?
However, if she truly tried to do anything out of line, he wouldn't be entirely powerless to resist.
With the arrival of summer, the days grew longer. When Wu Youren returned after finishing dinner, dusk had not yet fallen.
In front of his quarters, a figure was already waiting for him. Surprisingly... it was Cynthia again.
Seeing her, Wu Youren felt somewhat weary of it all, so he went straight around to the back of the house.
He picked two wolf peaches that had already turned red. Munching on one himself, he casually tossed the other to her. "What is it?"
Cynthia caught the wolf peach, examined it, and slipped it into her jacket pocket.
The corners of her mouth curled up uncontrollably. "Nothing much. Just wanted to ask—do you plan on leaving the martial academy anytime soon?"
"Recently?" Wu Youren looked at her thoughtfully and slowly shook his head. "No!"
"I heard that you... have been to Suotu?" This was the second person to ask him that today.
Cynthia was clearly eager to try. "There are quite a few Guizu there, and the martial academy has put up a number of internal missions for instructors."
"Instructor Keli has a few student quotas in hand and is looking for people familiar with the situation."
There were over a thousand knight-level instructors in the martial academy, but with the situation in Suotu currently unclear, four or five instructors typically had to travel together.
Or have a chief instructor leading the team for greater safety.
Students who went with them would strictly be doing the menial labor, running errands back and forth. On the bright side, their safety would be reasonably assured.
Under such circumstances, the people instructors were willing to take along were their own disciples; outsiders rarely got such an opportunity.
Ultimately, regardless of whether it was dangerous or not, the missions were currently posted only within the instructors' internal system, clearly showing they didn't want outsiders benefiting from them.
The female knight stated that the Mirage Sea League had some connections with Keli and could bring him along.
Chapter 36