"Flowers are like life. The plum blossoms are proud to the core and their chrysanthemums are lofty and pure. They bloom when other flowers wilt. Therefore, the first impression you have of them is that they are extraordinary. However, the peony is different. Its blooming time is not unique. Many flowers bloom in the same period of time, but in this season when the flowers bloom, it is still able to stand out. This is a kind of temperament, a kind of fearlessness. The plum blossoms and chrysanthemums are unique, but if they can stand out among the masses, they are extraordinary in different ways, first among extraordinariness," said the middle-aged man.
The young man did not seem to understand what he was saying. He looked up at the peony flower outside the stone pavilion. It was beautiful, but after looking at it for a long time, he got used to it.
After some thought, the youth said, "I still like the cherry blossoms from our hometown. They aren’t that colorful, but they are still as beautiful. Furthermore, when they are at their most beautiful, they will wither. They won’t slowly wither like the flowers here which serves to remind me of heroes dying at their prime."
"The momentary brilliance is naturally the most beautiful. However, life is not just an instance. Cherry blossoms do not only bloom for a year," the middle-aged man said after drinking a cup of tea.
The young man quickly brewed another cup for the middle-aged man. After the middle-aged man drank it, he said, "The temperature of the tea today is still a little lacking."
"Teacher, we have been out for so long, and you always want me to make tea. When will you teach me the way of the sword?" The youth could not help but ask.
The middle-aged man smiled. "You’ve been with me for seventeen days since we set off. For you to endure asking until now, it’s clear that your father has brought you up rather differently."
"Please enlighten me." The youth bowed.
"My way of the sword is a little different from your family’s. It focuses on comprehending. I’ve already taught you for seventeen days, but you haven’t gained any insight yet. When you do figure something out, it will be time for me to teach you the moves involved," said the middle-aged man.
"You’ve taught me for seventeen days?" The youth was slightly taken aback. He looked at the middle-aged man with some doubt and said, "But in these seventeen days, we’ve been traveling. You either get me to do some chores or make tea. When did you teach me anything?"
"That’s why you haven’t figured it out yet." The middle-aged man smiled.
The young man was still a young man after all. The past seventeen days had seemingly ground away all his patience. He could not help but retort, "If I knew everything, Father wouldn’t have made me acknowledge you as my master. Please teach me."
As he spoke, the young man knelt before the middle-aged man.
The middle-aged man shook his head. "Your level of insight is still insufficient."
The youth was not convinced. He raised his head and said, "I’m twelve years old this year and have already advanced to Legendary. I once went to the East Heaven Academy to compete with the top ten geniuses in the way of the sword. No one in the entire East Heaven Academy was my match. If my level of insight isn’t sufficient, then who can meet the mark?"
"Sparring is ultimately only sparring. It doesn’t mean anything. Moreover, this world is very big. The East Heaven Academy is not equal to the entire world," said the middle-aged man indifferently.
The youth could not help but feel enraged when he realized that he was unable to move the middle-aged man no matter what he said. However, his teacher was too famous. He was disciplined from a young age to not go against his teacher excessively.
He had nowhere to vent his pent-up anger. Just as the youth was feeling upset, he suddenly thought of Zhou Wen on the other side of the stone pavilion. He stood up and walked in front of Zhou Wen. He bowed slightly and asked, "Are you a local here?"
"No, I study here," Zhou Wen answered.
The youth’s eyes lit up when he heard that. He sized up Zhou Wen and asked, "Which school are you from?"
"Sunset College," Zhou Wen casually replied when he saw that he was rather polite.
"I’ve heard of Sunset College. It’s a college that’s in the Federation’s top ten. It should be the best school here, right?" The youth’s eyes lit up.
"Probably," Zhou Wen said.
When the youth heard that, he turned to the middle-aged man and asked, "Teacher, Sunset College is one of the top ten academies in the Federation. It’s ranked higher than East Heaven Academy. They don’t know who I am, so they naturally won’t give in to me. If I can defeat the best student at Sunset College, will you be able to teach me the way of the sword?"
The middle-aged man merely smiled and did not speak. He picked up the teacup and took a sip.
Without any reply from his teacher, the youth bowed and said, "Then I’ll take it that Teacher has agreed."
With that said, the youth stood up and walked in front of Zhou Wen. He asked, "May I ask who is the strongest student at Sunset College?"
"Strongest?" Zhou Wen thought carefully before replying, "I guess the publicly recognized number one person should be the president of the student council, right?"
"What’s his name?" The youth asked.
"Wei Ge," Zhou Wen answered.
"Wei Ge?" The youth repeated it a few times before walking to the middle-aged man and bowing. "Teacher, I’ll go to Sunset College to challenge its strongest student. After I return victorious, you should be able to teach me the way of the sword, right?"
"There’s a student from Sunset College here. Why do you have to seek someone so far?" the middle-aged man glanced at Zhou Wen and said with a smile.
The youth said, "I want to defeat the strongest student of Sunset College, not an ordinary student."
"But in my opinion, he is stronger than you," the middle-aged man said.
The youth naturally refused to believe him. He looked at Zhou Wen and asked, "What’s your standard in Sunset College?"
"Very weak. It’s considered mediocre. You should go to Sunset College to find Wei Ge," Zhou Wen said. He wasn’t interested in dealing with the child.
The youth looked at the middle-aged man and said, "Teacher, it seems that you have misjudged this time."
The middle-aged man ignored the youth and looked at Zhou Wen with a smile. "My young friend, may I ask what rank you were in the last comprehensive test at Sunset College?"
"I barely ranked tenth," Zhou Wen answered.
The youth sized up Zhou Wen again when he heard that. After a while, he nodded and said, "Tenth place is indeed lacking. However, since Teacher has spoken, I’ll first defeat you before challenging the best, Wei Ge."
As he spoke, the youth made a strange hand gesture and said, "Please accept my challenge."
"Sorry, I don’t have time," Zhou Wen said as he played games. He was completely uninterested in the youth and had no interest in bullying children.
The youth couldn’t help but frown slightly. Zhou Wen’s attitude made him feel belittled.
"I’m Honn Shinsakura. Please enlighten me." The young man stood as though he was about to draw his saber and held the handle of the saber as if he was about to strike at any moment.
Zhou Wen had already rejected him, so there was no need for him to repeat himself. He ignored him and continued gaming.
A sliver of anger flashed in Honn Shinsakura’s eyes as he suddenly unsheathed his saber. The saber beam flashed and slashed at Zhou Wen like lightning.
Zhou Wen was still gaming. He didn’t even raise his eyelids as the saber beams slashed past him. Although it looked dangerous, it didn’t even hit his clothes.
The middle-aged man’s expression changed slightly. He stood up and said, "Shin, step back. He is not on the same level as you."