Persuasion

After Chen Chuan left, Cheng Zitong waited for a short while before someone came up to greet him, leading him inside the building. Upon entering the main hall, he saw an elderly woman with silver hair tied into a bun sitting on a nanmu chair opposite him, a female attendant standing behind her. She wore reading glasses and looked very kind. Her attire was an ochre-red satin traditional robe overlapping to the right, and beside her rested a dark, heavy ironwood cane topped with a natural burl. She looked remarkably vigorous, sitting upright with splendid vitality. Her facial features still hinted at her youthful grace and beauty. Watching Cheng Zitong walk in, she said in an unhurried voice, "Xiao Cheng, you haven't visited me in quite a while." Cheng Zitong replied, "Old Ma'am, haven't I been busy?" "Indeed, everyone is busy," Teacher Ni said. "Worrying over students isn't easy, is it?" Cheng Zitong answered, "It really isn't easy, but when a student is good, it saves a lot of worry. So I haven't found it too difficult." Teacher Ni remarked, "It seems this student satisfies you greatly. I must meet him later." Cheng Zitong said, "That's simple. Once the exam is over, I'll have him come meet you, Old Ma'am." Teacher Ni said slowly, "That might take a little while." Cheng Zitong seemed to catch the hidden meaning. He glanced outside a few times and said resignedly, "I say, Old Ma'am, what kind of play are you putting on here?" Teacher Ni patted the table and said, "Come, sit down here with me. Drink a cup of tea first and calm your mind." Cheng Zitong chuckled dryly, walked over, and sat down not far from her. Teacher Ni said with a gentle smile, "It's just some youngsters' business. Let them make their fuss. If they didn't make a fuss, they wouldn't be young anymore. Besides, Xiao Qiu is there. What do you have to worry about?" Cheng Zitong picked up the tea from the table and took a sip. Its flavor was crisp and refreshing, leaving a lingering fragrance between his teeth. He nodded and said, "Good tea." Then he looked up and added, "Actually, I'm not worried about anything either." Teacher Ni remarked, "It seems you have great confidence in your student." Cheng Zitong smiled. "By the way, where is your student, Old Ma'am? Shall I test him?" Teacher Ni inclined her head slightly. The female attendant behind her turned and walked out, returning after a moment with a short male student. The young man looked a bit nervous and bowed to Cheng Zitong, saying, "I'm Feng Xiaoqi. Hello, Teacher Cheng." Cheng Zitong recognized him. This was the student living in the dormitory right next to Chen Chuan's. A helpless expression crept across his face, and he remarked, "I say, Old Ma'am, you truly refuse to take even the slightest loss, don't you?" This was Chen Chuan's next-door neighbor. Even if they weren't close friends, they were still neighbors for the next three years. If Cheng Zitong had any thoughts of minor retaliation during the exam, souring that relationship would only cause trouble for his own student. This old woman had truly grown into a cunning fox with age, leaving him nowhere to vent his irritation. Teacher Ni said leisurely, "Has this old woman not suffered enough losses in her lifetime? What do you say, Xiao Cheng?" Cheng Zitong didn't dare pursue this topic any further, lest it lead back to his own old man. He hastily turned to Feng Xiaoqi and asked, "Young man, are you ready? If you are," he looked toward the old woman, "shall we start now?" Teacher Ni chuckled and said, "Then let us begin." *** Inside the hall, Chen Chuan looked ahead as a tall, handsome upperclassman walked toward him, extending a friendly hand. "Hello, Student Chen. Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Lu Fang, one of the vice presidents of the Fenxin Society. Oh, and I forgot to mention—Shu Han is also one of our members." Chen Chuan glanced at him, realizing what this was about, and shook his hand. Lu Fang smiled warmly, turned slightly, and said, "Let me introduce you. This is Di Zhongren, a second-year Class A student from the Joint-Locking Division." A young man with a crew cut, bronze skin, and an athletic build dressed in a student uniform stood up and nodded to him. Lu Fang pointed to a stocky, short youth. "This is Bi Yang, a second-year Class A student from the Grappling Division." The short youth gave Chen Chuan a shy smile. "And this is Jing He from the Sanshou Division, also a second-year Class A student." Chen Chuan looked over. This was a tall, lean student with a solemn expression, who cupped a fist in greeting. Lu Fang introduced them one by one. They came from various divisions, and aside from the first few introduced, the rest were all Class B students, spanning both the second and third years. Once Lu Fang finished the introductions, Chen Chuan said to him, "I have met all the seniors. May I ask when my monthly exam can begin?" "There's no rush for the monthly exam. Before that..." Lu Fang said earnestly, "Student Chen, could we ask you to spare a moment to hear us out?" Chen Chuan looked at them and nodded. "Please go ahead, Senior Lu." Lu Fang said, "Student Chen, you have been enrolled for over a month now. You mastered breathing techniques very early on, and with your natural talent, you may have already grasped an advanced breathing technique. That means the next step is cultivating jin. May I venture to ask which jin technique you have chosen?" Chen Chuan did not hide it and answered candidly, "Zhouyuan Jin." There was nothing secret about it. A jin technique was merely a training method, a tool; how it was applied depended entirely on the individual. Furthermore, these choices were registered with the school, so anyone who truly wanted to find out could easily do so. "Zhouyuan Jin? What kind of jin is that?" Many had never even heard of it and began whispering among themselves. Upon hearing this, Assistant Qiu cast a few surprised glances at Chen Chuan. After all, most of the student group were upperclassmen, and a few had indeed heard of it. They quickly explained it to the others. At first, the listeners were somewhat incredulous, but after confirming it repeatedly, their gazes toward Chen Chuan turned completely bewildered, and many felt a pang of indignation on his behalf. One student stepped forward, filled with righteous outrage. "Junior Chen, why did you choose that? Did your advising instructor make you pick it? Don't worry about that—you can switch instructors after a month! If you can't find a suitable one, we can introduce ours to you. I'm certain you will be able to learn real ability!" Another said painedly, "That's right, Junior! How could you choose such a practically useless jin technique? You're giving up on yourself!" Chen Chuan looked at them and said, "How I choose is my own business. I don't need anyone teaching me what to do, and I hope you seniors can respect my decision. Furthermore, Teacher Cheng is my advising instructor. I do not wish to hear any baseless accusations against him from your mouths, or there will be no need for this conversation to continue." Lu Fang raised a hand, signaling everyone not to get agitated and letting him speak. He looked at Chen Chuan and said, "Student Chen, I actually understand your mindset. You might be very confident, believing that even with the worst jin technique, you can still develop formidable skills. "It makes sense. Before you even entered Wuyi, you took down Zhong Wu entirely on your own. That must have given you confidence. If I were in your shoes, I would have thought the same. But opponents encountered in an exam are different from those in the real world. You should understand that. If you truly don't..." He sighed and continued, "Although we'd rather not do this, we will do our best today to help you understand. We aren't targeting you. We just want you to realize that here at Wuyi, relying on a single person or a single manual simply doesn't work. You need a proper jin technique, and you also need more support. This is a conclusion we reached through painful lessons in the past. "Don't think we are being alarmist, and don't think we are looking for trouble. A student like you, with this kind of specialty and raw talent, will attract enemies even if you don't choose a top-tier jin technique. When the time comes, you won't be able to withstand all the open and hidden schemes aimed at you on your own." His tone grew deeply solemn. "You want to train in peace and stability? I'm telling you, that's impossible. From the moment you set foot in Wuyi, countless eyes have been watching you. If you don't make a choice, someone will force you to make one. If you choose nothing, you will achieve nothing. Every single one of us here went through the exact same thing. No one is an exception." Chen Chuan spoke up then. "Senior Lu, are you finished?" Lu Fang was slightly startled. He looked back at the crowd behind him before nodding. "I'm finished." Chen Chuan looked at him and said slowly, "Senior Lu, the lesson you claim can help me understand—I'd very much like to experience it." As he spoke, he began unbuttoning his outer coat, continuing as he unfastened it, "Only, I don't think you're going to persuade me." With that, he cast the removed coat far aside, his gaze sweeping across everyone present. "Then according to the rules of this exam, I'll be the one persuading all of you instead."