After the annual selection in the six major cities, the chosen Duelists would go to each city’s Yuan Shi Academy. There, respected elders would teach, and superior crystals and profound secret scrolls were available. If you walked down the street wearing the Academy’s sky-blue misty rain robe, not only would civil and military officials, but even royal family members would dismount to offer a few words of care and let you pass first.
Thus, whenever the Yuan Shi Academy opened its doors, Yong’an Street would be packed three layers deep. Whether nobles or commoners, everyone wanted to see what this year’s formidable figures looked like, to brag about later over drinks.
On such occasions, beauties were naturally essential for decoration. The women who had received the Phoenix Tail Flower would also appear on this day, veiled, to guide the newly selected Duelists and help them adapt to life at the Academy.
This process often led to romance. In previous years, most Duelists had taken their guide as a concubine, and for higher-status women, becoming the principal wife wasn’t unheard of. Hence, the Academy’s opening was jokingly called the Duelists’ Minor Imperial Examination.
Liang Xiuyuan and his friends had reserved the best spots in a teahouse early, not far from the Academy. Sitting on the second-floor terrace, they could see the busy young women.
Xu Tian Ji wore a lotus-red pleated skirt with gold embroidery, covered by a light gold ruyi cloud-patterned robe. She stood authoritatively on the side entrance steps, speaking to the other women below.
“Xiu Yun, walk on the left later to meet Luo Jiaoyang. He likes fair-skinned girls.”
“Liu Cai, go to the right. Chu He doesn’t know the way, so be patient with him.”
“Qie Yu, go guide Fan Yao. Yu Lan, deal with those old foxes from the Academy.”
She skillfully arranged everyone, then adjusted the vermilion hairpin in her hair and stood on tiptoe to look into the distance.
In the teahouse, Liang Xiuyuan saw her gaze and quickly stood up to wave at her.
“See that? Which woman of our time is as capable as her?” he boasted proudly. “She can handle such a grand occasion with ease. She’s more than qualified to be a principal wife.”
Shu Zhonglin nodded, “She’s not bad, but it’s an exaggeration to call it masterly control. These are just small matters.”
“What do you know? You can see the big picture in small things. She remains calm and composed at the Duelists’ Minor Imperial Examination, and for my sake, she doesn’t even plan to show her face. Such a loyal and virtuous woman must be an excellent match.” Liang Xiuyuan opened his fan with a flourish, nodding with satisfaction.
Yan Xiao watched for a while. The girl indeed hadn’t left a position for herself to come forward, but when she looked towards the teahouse, it didn’t seem like she was looking at Xiuyuan.
“By the way, where’s Bozai? He was here just now,” Yan Xiao asked Ming Yi.
Ming Yi and Matron Xun were having tea and snacks at a nearby table. She turned slightly, “It’s about time. My Lord has gone down.”
Although Ji Bozai had attended the Six Cities Conference before, this was his first time entering the Yuan Shi Academy. He had to go through the formalities below.
Yan Xiao nodded and turned back to listen to Liang Xiuyuan’s praises.
Matron Xun spoke softly while eating snacks, “Perhaps due to the selection, there’s been a strange trend in the city lately of women learning to duel.”
Ming Yi’s eyes brightened, “Isn’t that good?”
“What’s good about it? Yuan Power must be cultivated from childhood, accumulating for over a decade before showing initial results. Look at our Lord, how much hardship and suffering he endured to achieve his current level of cultivation, to be worthy of the title ‘Duelist.’ These women are different. They casually read a couple of books, attend a few classes, and dare to claim they have talent in Yuan Power.”
Matron Xun was very displeased, “Claiming they were held back by their birth is false; wanting to use this to socialize with high-ranking Duelists is the truth.”
As if in response to her words, the entrance of the Yuan Shi Academy suddenly became lively.
Ming Yi looked out from the window sill and saw Tian Ji, her eyes shining, leading a large group of young ladies directly towards Ji Bozai, who was standing on the steps.
“Duke Ji!” she stepped forward and curtsied.
Ji Bozai glanced at her, smiled elegantly, and then turned back to deal with the troublesome Luo Jiaoyang.
Tian Ji looked a bit disappointed but quickly rallied and spoke again, “My Lord doesn’t remember me? When you went to the Six Cities Conference before, we had a brief encounter.”
Ji Bozai looked at her again. Adhering to his principle of not disappointing any beauty, he smiled and asked, “May I ask your surname, Miss?”
She brightened immediately and answered, “I’m from the Xu family in the west of the city, the third daughter.”
The Xu family’s third daughter? Isn’t that the one Liang Xiuyuan fancies?
Ji Bozai raised an eyebrow, glancing at the teahouse where Liang Xiuyuan was. The gauze curtains were fluttering, making it hard to see clearly.
After some thought, since she was someone his friend was interested in, he shouldn’t embarrass her. So he nodded and said, “Miss Xu, it’s a pleasure.”
Tian Ji curtsied gracefully, “The pleasure is mine, Duke Ji. Allow me to guide you today.”
“Much obliged.”
Luo Jiaoyang, who had been discussing leadership matters with him, became annoyed seeing him still in the mood to flirt with a girl. “Not only are you incapable of winning people’s sincere admiration, but you’re also a womanizer? What a waste of that beauty in your household.”
Ji Bozai’s eyes narrowed slightly as he turned to look at him, “What did you say?”
“Am I wrong?” Luo Jiaoyang frowned, looking between him and Xu Tian Ji beside him. He spoke bluntly, “This girl likes you. I can see it. You’re not planning to play dumb, are you? Knowing her feelings and not rejecting her, if that’s not being a womanizer, what is? I’ve seen that girl from your household who sought medicine for you last time. Her heart and eyes were full of you, yet I heard she doesn’t even have a proper status.”
He shook his head, clicking his tongue, “You’ll face retribution for this.”
Ji Bozai sneered, about to speak, when Tian Ji suddenly stepped in front of him protectively, angrily shouting at Luo Jiaoyang, “I won’t allow you to speak to My Lord like that!”
Luo Jiaoyang was stunned, and people around them all turned to look.
This was at the entrance of the Yuan Shi Academy. No matter what, Luo Jiaoyang was a newly appointed Duelist, wearing the sky-blue misty rain robe. How dare a mere woman yell at him?
But Tian Ji did yell, and not only that, she glared at him fiercely, “Duke Ji is the leader appointed by the Grand Instructor. He’s the one who will bring glory to our Mu Xing City. If you care about the city’s people, you should respect him!”
After a moment of shock, Luo Jiaoyang reacted. He sneered, “Who does Ji Bozai think he is, to speak on behalf of all the citizens?”
“You!” Tian Ji was furious and instinctively raised her hand.
Luo Jiaoyang wasn’t about to indulge her temper. He immediately summoned his Yuan Power to block her, intending to tie her up and throw her aside.
However, as soon as he made a move, a streak of black Yuan Power leaped out like a snake from the opposite side, protecting Tian Ji.
“Wow! Black Yuan Power! Duke Ji’s Yuan Power is black!”
“They say the more powerful the Yuan Power, the purer its color. Such a deep black is truly rare in this world.”
“Who is that woman, to be protected by Duke Ji like this?”
The surrounding crowd began to discuss, and countless envious gazes were cast towards Tian Ji.