Am I Not Losing?

Shi Bei Xing immediately entered the palace that day to meet Jiang Tao. Zhou Yi, having nothing to do that day, was leisurely enjoying small pastries in the Night Patrol Division when he was unexpectedly summoned to the palace.

The first thing he did upon his return was to amend Mu Xiang Li's security clearance, elevating it directly to the highest level.

Previously, the Night Patrol Division had just been established, and matters in the Royal City had not yet received full attention, so other tasks naturally had to be prioritized.

For instance, Mu Xiang Li's failed assassination of the Mu Family's Second Madam, his subsequent imprisonment, and his hazy role as a decoy in transporting a chest of stones, had never been thoroughly investigated.

Now, it was different. Any matter threatening Mu Xiang Li had to be thoroughly investigated.

According to Shi Bei Xing, the assassin who pursued Mu Xiang Li that day must have possessed the strength of the Fifth Layer of Qi Mansion, the Nether Heaven Realm, was skilled in archery, and likely had an injured thumb from drawing a bowstring.

In Xi Yu, not many martial artists could simultaneously meet these conditions, but "not many" didn't mean "easy to find."

"Brother Mu, you truly pose a difficult problem for me," Zhou Yi sighed softly, leaning back in his chair, feeling a headache coming on.

Mu Xiang Li, meanwhile, was receiving private instruction from Xu Wei, who taught him how to cultivate the Qi Mansion Realm.

Cultivating the Qi Mansion was similar to cultivating the physique. Physical cultivation involved stimulating muscles with loads, causing micro-damage to muscle fibers, accumulation of metabolic products, and a series of other physiological responses, through the principle of muscular adaptation. The body, to adapt to training, would stimulate self-healing of damaged muscle fibers while increasing strength.

The growth of qi had a similar effect. Only by continuously mobilizing Qi Mansion qi to a moderate load, stimulating the Qi Mansion and qi meridians, could qi grow. The speed and intensity of growth depended entirely on individual talent. Talent was forever the most unfair thing.

But Mu Xiang Li was different; besides his talent, he also had a "hack." In addition to daily cultivation, his previous actions at Guangju Pavilion had helped him determine that he could also gain "experience points" through "missions" to achieve the goal of advancing his realm.

The failure at Guangju Pavilion not only alerted Shen Hong Yue and her group but also made the spies lurking in Zhaoyang City significantly more cautious. Recently, he couldn't leave Longwu Academy, so after much thought, he couldn't find an opportunity to stir up trouble. Mu Xiang Li could only sigh and honestly use the simplest method to cultivate.

......

Xu Wei never expected that one day he would be disliked by his students.

Previously, when he was transferred from the Tiger Guard Army to Longwu Academy to teach a bunch of young children, he was initially unwilling. Now, he was teaching, and a bunch of young children disliked his lectures.

It was easy to go from simple to complex, but difficult to go from complex to simple. After listening to Mu Xiang Li's theoretical explanations, returning to the old man's boring lectures the next day was truly tedious.

Of course, everyone only dared to curse silently in their hearts; the lessons still had to be attended seriously. It was just that their moods were clearly visible on their faces, which Xu Wei clearly saw.

Xu Wei rolled his eyes inwardly, not blaming anyone, as even he himself wanted to hear Mu Xiang Li continue lecturing more.

The theory class was disliked, but the practical combat class was a different matter. When it came to practical combat, no one dared to dislike Xu Wei anymore.

Even though Xu Wei had suppressed his Qi Mansion Realm, none of those who stepped up to spar could withstand three of his moves.

All the flaws in everyone's techniques, all their bad habits in combat, were meticulously pinpointed by him. Everyone couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat. If they hadn't come to Longwu Academy to study, if Xu Wei hadn't pointed out their problems, they might have died without knowing why if they encountered external experts later.

Xu Wei's prestige in everyone's eyes once again became more awe-inspiring. Seeing the change in everyone's demeanor, Xu Wei was very satisfied; his prestige had finally been re-established.

"Anyone else?" Xu Wei looked around, noticed Mu Xiang Li hadn't stepped up, and waved his hand: "You, come up."

"Ah." Mu Xiang Li swung his saber and stepped onto the martial stage.

Xu Wei stood still, treating him like everyone else, letting him make the first move. Mu Xiang Li was not polite, swinging his saber to attack.

Xu Wei smiled faintly, intending to let Mu Xiang Li understand the difference between theory and practice.

"A flaw!" He spotted a flaw in Mu Xiang Li's technique, shouted loudly, and counterattacked.

Red light appeared, and Mu Xiang Li, having adapted to this, immediately retracted his move and slipped into the area not covered by the red light.

"Oh?" Xu Wei was stunned. He recalled how Mu Xiang Li and the bodyguard A Bao, who was beside Jiang Ning, had previously sparred with suppressed realms, advancing and retreating. Mu Xiang Li gaining an advantage of half a move was not surprising.

Xu Wei immediately changed his move. Before he could say anything, Mu Xiang Li suddenly muttered, "A flaw?"

Muttering to himself, Mu Xiang Li's movements were not slow in the slightest, as if he had finally caught the opponent's attack range and had to deliver a few more saber strikes. He dodged forward, passed through the gap in Xu Wei's sword qi, and brought his saber down.

Xu Wei was astonished. He could only retract his move and dodge first, then counterattack. While dodging, his mind was still pondering the image of Mu Xiang Li flawlessly passing through his sword qi. Could such a tiny gap be considered a flaw? This young fellow was too audacious!

Shi Bei Xing once said that he took him as a disciple because of this young fellow's discerning eye. Now, trying it out, it was indeed terrifying.

Seeing Mu Xiang Li attack again, Xu Wei smiled faintly. Even if his discerning eye was good, there were still many flaws in his techniques.

"A flaw!" Xu Wei directly attacked Mu Xiang Li's flaw.

This time, it was Mu Xiang Li's turn to be forced to retract his move and dodge. When Xu Wei attacked again, Mu Xiang Li said, "A flaw!"

Xu Wei: "......"

This time, Xu Wei felt like cursing. He hadn't expected his technique to be dodged again.

The two went back and forth on the training ground, as if engaged in a tactical battle, leaving the surrounding students dumbfounded.

Everyone knew that Xu Wei had suppressed his Qi Mansion Realm, but they had also experienced the disparity in fundamental knowledge and experience between the two.

They were defeated in one or two moves, while Mu Xiang Li was only slightly at a disadvantage, seemingly advancing and retreating continuously. This dealt a considerable blow to many.

But thinking back to yesterday's theory class, everyone's minds found a little balance. There were always some people who were simply out of reach.

Besides the shock, everyone found the "a flaw" exchange between the two somewhat humorous, secretly wondering if Instructor Xu was internally injured from anger.

Of course, apart from those other emotions, everyone observed very sincerely, especially whenever the two said "a flaw," they also tried to discern where the flaw lay.

"So, that's also a flaw."

"I can't believe this move, two streams of sword qi in the middle can be penetrated."

"Heavens, this saber strike, the saber qi condensed into a saber aura. If it were me, I could only continuously retreat, but Instructor Xu could detect that this saber strike was like a whirlwind, sharp on the outside but hollow within. Seizing the opportunity to stick close would, on the contrary, put the opponent in a difficult position."

"Mu Xiang Li is also very exaggerated. Instructor Xu's sword, its sword qi hidden in three segments, looks like it's only three chi long, then suddenly rushes forward three chi, then another three chi. If it were me, I wouldn't have anticipated it at all and would have been struck down long ago. How did he see through it?"

Everyone watched with relish. Mu Xiang Li fought with both excitement and tension. Xu Wei's mood was the most complex, feeling a bit like he had to see it through.

He couldn't raise his realm to suppress Mu Xiang Li. He clearly saw a hundred flaws in this young fellow, but every time he caught one of his flaws, the young fellow would see through it in advance and dodge.

"Will I not lose?" Xu Wei suddenly had this thought, then immediately dismissed it. How could that be?