Daily life of a teacher in the martial arts department

"Nonsense! I've been prepared to perform this for a long time!" As the saying goes, "One is influenced by one's company," and Yu Xietian learned a lot from his two fathers, such as being stubborn...

"If you don't believe me, go ask Ying Qin Guan. I even had him practice with me a few times a few days ago!"

Everyone looked at Ying Qin Guan, who then glanced at Yu Xie Tian. The other man's pupils seemed to say, "Ying Qin Guan, save me." Ying Qin Guan had no choice but to nod.

Nocturne looked at Yu Xietian and asked curiously:

"So, Mr. Yu... what would you like to perform?"

【"call.."】

Yu Xietian took a deep breath, suppressing his unease, and calmly said:

Have you ever seen a performance where someone flips a cigarette butt in their mouth?

Chapter Fourteen: Can anyone else do it?!

...puzzling a cigarette butt in your mouth?

The group exchanged glances, their interest piqued.

This was a rather dangerous move, but Yu Xietian was, after all, a martial artist, and not so delicate. Ye Qu hesitated for a moment before agreeing. She was quick-witted and had already guessed that Yu Xietian hadn't brought a gift. Of course, not bringing a gift didn't matter; Ye Qu didn't care. But since he had already said he would perform, it would be very awkward if she didn't let him.

"In that case, Mr. Yu will give us a performance."

"No problem, no problem!" Yu Xietian said, taking out the half-pack of cigarettes and the almost empty lighter. He was actually a little nervous, afraid that he would make a mistake, and also afraid that the lighter would run out of fuel.

"Puffing cigarette butts in your mouth?" Iris said lazily. "Anyone can do that, as long as you smoke the cigarette down to the last bit, even an ordinary person can do it."

"Huh?!" Ying Qin Guan's lips curled into a sneer, and he said arrogantly, "Don't look down on me. Yu Xietian put the whole cigarette in there and smoked it down to the butt. There's no need for that!"

Ying! Qin! Guan!

You scoundrel, you schemed against me!

Yu Xietian's eyes were bloodshot with rage. He had originally intended to smoke the cigarette down to the butt... no, at least half of it. But Ying Qin Guan's words had completely blocked all his escape routes.

"What's so special about one whole one?" Before Yu Xietian could vent his negative emotions, Nephalem spoke up, saying casually, "I could do that too, but if it's three at once..."

"Five!" Ying Qin Guan interrupted Nephalem in a tone that suggested, "If foreigners heard this, they'd think we can't afford cigarettes." He crossed his arms and said arrogantly, "What three? That's not even enough to fill a tooth gap. Yu Xietian can fit five at once! I saw it all with my own eyes!"

fnndp!

No! I didn't! I can't do it!

Yu Xietian really wanted to shout it out loud, but seeing everyone's exclamation of "Wow!" and their expectant looks...

Please, man, there are some things you just can't say, even if it kills you.

I had no choice but to bite the bullet and go for it...

As Yu Xietian lit his cigarette, he glared resentfully at Ying Qin Guan. However, the other man seemed to misunderstand something, giving him a thumbs-up as if he had done something good and was saying "You're welcome."

A gentleman takes revenge even after three years; to not avenge a wrong is not the mark of a gentleman. Fortune changes every thirty years.

After muttering to himself, Yu Xietian pressed the lighter, but... no flame appeared.

【"Huh..."】

There seemed to be a little bit of oil left in the lighter, but Yu Xietian pressed it several times and no flame came out. The lighter... had reached the end of its life.

【"oh..?"】

Yu Xietian burst into laughter inwardly, then feigned regret and said, "What bad luck! The lighter just ran out of flame. Well then, it's no use—"

"iris--"

"Leave it to me."

Before Yu Xietian could finish speaking, Ying Qin Guan shouted and casually tossed the cigarette case to Iris, who had been drowsy. But when she heard that Yu Xietian was going to perform this, she suddenly perked up. With a simple syllable, without even needing to say a word, she cast the Flame Spell. Iris swept her fingers and lit five cigarettes.

Before Yu Xietian could even react, the five cigarettes were already in front of him.

"Don't worry." Ying Qin Guan patted Yu Xietian's shoulder, his expression serious, and said, "How can we let all your hard work go to waste because of such a ridiculous reason as not having fire?"

Yu Xietian's expression gradually turned ferocious.

Ying Qin Guan, you bastard... are you a demon coming to claim my life?

I'll remember this grudge!

Damn it, I finally had a chance to escape...

Yu Xietian was inwardly furious, but he could only put on a fake smile and accept the five cigarettes.

Damn it, five sticks! A full five sticks! A normal person would be able to handle one stick, but now I have to deal with five sticks at the same time, and they're not just five short sticks that have burned out and are only short in size, but five whole sticks!

Yu Xietian almost gritted his teeth, but everyone at the table stopped eating and stared at him intently. Nefertari even tried to stir things up.

"Hurry up and get going! Don't waste time. This cigarette is already half burned. Are you even capable of doing this?!"

Of course I can't! Do you know how delicate the human mouth is?

Unless, of course, it involves secretly circulating internal energy...

However, the space inside the mouth is already so small that if you use your internal energy to protect it, the smoke will definitely puncture the internal energy barrier and be extinguished. In such a small space, you can't even see it, so there's no way to perform micro-management.

Damn it... I'll fight!

Yu Xietian knew he couldn't delay any longer, so he stuffed all five cigarettes into his mouth. With the powerful control a martial artist has over his body and the aid of a trace of internal energy, he first made all five cigarettes stand up, then slightly adjusted the angle, pressed the cigarette holder firmly against his lower lip with his tongue, and made the cigarettes slowly fall down. Finally, he closed his mouth.

"Not bad."

Everyone chimed in, but that wasn't the end of it. Yu Xietian still had to turn all five cigarettes back over intact before he was done.

Three seconds later, Yu Xietian opened his mouth, sweating profusely. It wasn't because he was burned, but because of the immense psychological pressure. The cigarette was so intact and so close to his mouth that he could easily burn himself. Fortunately, Yu Xietian had good basic skills and managed to flip all five cigarettes back without any serious injury.

This brilliant performance naturally won cheers from the crowd.

This immediately made Yu Xietian smug. He took off his cigarette, spread his hands, as if he wanted to show something to Ying Qin Guan and Nefertari, those two guys who loved to watch the show.

"How about it?!"

"Can anyone else do this?"

Ying Qin Guan said, "I think it's just so-so."

Nephalem nodded. "So-so."

Yu Xietian flew into a rage and said, "Then you should go and try it too."

"Don't joke around, that cigarette is covered in your saliva, it's disgusting."

"nausea."

"I still have cigarettes here... Damn it, are they all gone?"

"See, you're lucky, otherwise I could have swallowed ten of them in one go and crushed you instantly."

"Instant kill!"

Nocturne walked past the three people and came to Zhong Hongyu and Luo Shui, handing each of them a piece of cake.

Zhong Hongyu returned the greeting respectfully, while Luo Shui scratched the back of her head and laughed sheepishly, "Haha... I didn't bring a gift."

Yu Xietian, standing to the side, became alert. "There's still an unlucky guy who didn't bring a gift? You must be so embarrassed! The whole room is going to be awkward. I've been working so hard to avoid this happening to me..."

However, Nocturne simply smiled and nodded, saying that everyone should have fun, and then walked past her. No one paid any attention to what was happening there, and the atmosphere in the room remained unchanged.

Yu Xietian: "..."

That's it... that's it?

"So what exactly was I doing just now..." he sighed deeply.

Chapter Fifteen: Teacher Luo's Little Classroom

Before we knew it, it was mid-April, and the shadow of the mid-term assignment loomed over every Royal Academy student.

Having been at the Royal Academy for a year, Ying Qin Guan had gradually become a seasoned veteran. During the last midterm commission, he had simply stayed in the Royal Academy, and he didn't plan to do anything this time either. Thinking about it that way, life was no different from usual.

Meanwhile, he overheard some rumors circulating. It seemed that word had spread about what the boss was planning, and the reputation of the World's Number One Martial Arts Tournament was gradually spreading. Presumably, some information had leaked out while the boss was busy cultivating relationships. It wasn't surprising that the descendants of many high-ranking officials and nobles within the Imperial Court knew about this. Once such news circulated, it was inevitable that it would reach the Seven Luminaries and then other cities.

These things have nothing to do with Ying Qin Pass for the time being. Compared to Nephalem, who has been secretly training intensively in the shadows, he has no interest in the World's Number One Martial Arts Tournament. If nothing unexpected happens, he probably won't participate. What he's thinking about right now is mainly about quitting gambling.

—By the way, this is the 374th time.

"Ying Qin Guan, oh Ying Qin Guan, how could you have fallen so low! Have you forgotten the plans you made when you started this new life? You can't go on like this anymore! You must repent and turn over a new leaf. Even a dove can abstain from poison, but I can't!"

After being thoroughly beaten all afternoon, Ying Qin Guan went to the cafeteria for a meal and secretly cheered himself up.

"The reason I couldn't quit before must have been due to my methods."

Ying Qin Guan ordered two servings of Orleans chicken leg rice bowls with 18 Eevee and began to ponder this question—why two servings? Because one serving wasn't enough. Why not Orleans? Because there are no Orleans in the other world.

"But how exactly can we do that?"

Ying Qin Guan had gained a wealth of experience from his past failures. But he still had no clue what to do next.

Just then, a cheerful voice interrupted his thoughts.

"You seem quite troubled, Teacher Ying."

Ying Qin Guan looked up and saw Luo Shui. She was holding a plate and sat down opposite Ying Qin Guan. She said with a mischievous smile, "Why don't you tell us so that the all-powerful Lady Luo Shui can hear us?"

"Judging from your expression, it seems you're complaining that you're not doing enough horse stance squats."

Ying Qin Guan threatened her, but Luo Shui was the type to not back down until she was faced with a desperate situation. Since it wasn't class time, she wasn't afraid of Ying Qin Guan's threat at all. Instead, she smiled arrogantly and said, "Do you think I, Luo Shui, am afraid?"

Ying Qin Guan secretly remembered this grudge and asked, "Where is Zhong Hongyu? Aren't you with her?"

"She went to handle the midterm assignment, which was quite difficult, so I wasn't assigned to the same task as her," Luo Shui explained simply, then asked, "By the way, Teacher Ying, you looked so worried just now. Were you pondering some difficult problem?"

"I guess so," Ying Qin Guan said after a moment's thought. "Actually, I've been thinking lately about whether I should continue some of my bad hobbies. Take playing cards, for example. Everyone knows I'm good at it. I have a reputation for perfect hand sequences without any foreshadowing. From Chaotic Province to the City of Truth, everyone knows me. Plus, with a tiny bit of luck, I always beat others to a pulp. So, I've been wondering, is this really a good thing? It's like a peerless master beating up a third-rate martial artist every day—what's with that expression on your face?"

"..." Luo Shui's expression was complicated. After a moment of deliberation, she spoke.

"Teacher Ying, is something missing? Like, 'I have a friend' or something? It's not really your problem, is it?"

Ying Qin Guan said expressionlessly, "This is my own problem."

"Is that so..." Luo Shui said with difficulty, "I completely understand..."

Seeing the other party's reaction, Ying Qin Guan nodded in satisfaction. Although the other party was unconvinced, it didn't matter. He never needed anyone to truly submit, as long as they didn't dare to resist.