Food Fairy Lord

Chapter 789 The Illusionary Feast (Part Four)
The lecture on swordsmanship given by the Master of the Glazed Sword was indeed based on a pre-selected text, and it only took two quarters of an hour. When the clear, gentle voice stopped, many people felt a sense of loss.

Not only is the tone pleasing to the ear, but the explanation of swordsmanship is also smooth and effortless, which is simply captivating. The women's collection is so captivating that it almost makes many people feel like they have woken up from a dream.

After their initial bewilderment, they all looked at the figure beside the woman with inexplicable resentment. The young man was fiddling with the cat's ears, seemingly lost in thought.

It wasn't that he wasn't paying attention in class; in fact, this article was written by him over the past seven days, and the pain he endured was indescribable to outsiders.

After finishing his sword practice that day, Pei Ye chatted with the woman while chewing on a steamed bun. He explained, "Miss, I feel that my understanding of swordsmanship is still not clear."

Actually, after finishing his zither practice, he had been practicing swordsmanship with the woman for days, only to have his sword repeatedly disarmed and his throat touched. He felt somewhat discouraged and defeated by the strict Miss Ming, who was so strict from morning till night. He began to miss the days in Shaolong, when the woman was gentle and meticulous beside him, talking eloquently. He wanted to sit beside her again and listen to her talk about swordsmanship.

However, after thinking for a moment, the woman said that your sword theory was indeed at a bottleneck. How about this, since there happens to be a topic, you can write a treatise on swordsmanship.

Pei Ye said, "Huh?"
So after finishing sword practice each day, an extra hour was added for sword discussion.

It was only then that Pei Ye realized that "understanding" and "being able to write" are two completely different things. Understanding some principles in one's heart is one thing, but citing the principles of swordsmanship to prove them step by step is another.

Pei Ye had to painstakingly read through the sword manuals under the oil lamp, and then, under Miss Ming's calm gaze, he shyly wrote down his clumsy handwriting one by one.

In this matter, Pei Ye gained a strict but still devoted woman named Ming by his side. It's hard to say whether it was a joy or a sorrow. In any case, after revising the sword treatise several times and finally getting the woman's approval, he had thoroughly understood the article and was unwilling to look at it again.

In the end, the woman copied it again for him, signing it with the names "Pei Ye" and "Ming Qitian".

To be honest, this work did improve the boy's ability to read sword manuals by leaps and bounds, and gave him the perspective to examine other people's sword theories, but he really didn't want to listen to any more.

Ming Qitian stopped speaking, and everyone turned their gaze to the main seat in the north. However, the Crown Prince simply smiled and clapped his hands, without saying a word, as if he were merely an observer.

Ming Qitian asked, "Do any of you have any criticisms?"

Naturally, no one offered any criticism. Neither Zhao Wu'e nor Hongzhu used swords. Qi Ye and Nie Shangheng originally had some questions about this topic, but after hearing them, their doubts vanished.

In fact, several members of the He Bang (a prestigious academic ranking) at the banquet had come to see this woman who had completed her challenge to the world of swordsmanship. The height she had reached, as subtly revealed in her words, had already left everyone speechless.

But some people are not silent.

Zhu Gaoyang rose with a smile, drew his sword and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Young Swordsman. It has been half a year since we parted in the Northwest. I have made some progress and would like to ask for your guidance."

Zhao Wu'e looked up at him, and Luwei also gave him an admiring look.

Ming Qitian nodded: "I have some Dongting sword techniques, please correct me, Senior Brother Zhu."

Zhu Gaoyang is still some distance from the top five on the Crane List.

But ranking in the top five should not be a problem.

When he first entered the Duck Ranking, half of the capital city knew his name; when he became second on the Duck Ranking, many on the Crane Ranking could not compare to him; later, when he entered the Xuanmen and climbed to the bottom of the Crane Ranking, he was often mentioned alongside names like He Miao and Nie Shangheng.

He was upright and honest, never hiding his abilities, and didn't care how much his reputation exceeded his strength. He was confident that he would catch up one day.

Zhu Gaoyang drew his sword and went up on stage, giving Pei Ye, who was sitting in the audience, a look that said, "Look how good this is."

Pei Ye returned his gaze with a "take care of yourself" look.

Upon hearing that Ming Qitian was going to host a banquet, Zhu Gaoyang came to inquire about Pei Ye's situation and asked for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Pei Ye knew that he had always wanted to test his skills against Miss Ming, so when he was in Feng Huai, he asked the boy if he thought the gap between the two was not that big. After receiving a negative answer, he concluded that the boy did not understand swordsmanship.

Although his cultivation is now limited, his swordsmanship has actually improved after this ordeal. Zhu Gaoyang really wants to show the young man the level of the number one swordsman of the Dongting Sword Clan.

For everyone present, this was a highly anticipated opening. Yun Lang and the leading figure of Dongting in this era were demonstrating their swordsmanship. Who could look away?
The swords they were playing were called "River God". After three breaths, Zhu Gaoyang's sword was defeated.

Then he picked up the sword and, with polite manners, demonstrated the entire sword technique with the woman.

He walked off the field with his head held high, but he didn't meet the boy's gaze that had followed him all the way.

Since the Crown Prince remained silent and quietly observed, the sword platform was completely handed over to the woman after Zhu Gaoyang left.

Just like a sword-fighting contest in the capital, Ming Qitian stood in the center with his sword on his back, answering questions from the crowd. Sometimes, when he encountered an interesting question, he would even invite the person on stage to try it out.

Pei Ye watched from below, and every time he saw a woman discussing swordsmanship, he felt inexplicably calm. Then, his gaze unconsciously shifted, and he saw the woman in the main seat resting her chin on her hand, looking at him.

Pei Ye opened [Zhiyi]: "Is there something you need?"

Li Xizhou turned his gaze back: "Ming Qitian's explanation of swordsmanship is quite interesting."

"You can understand it."

"I can understand some parts."

“Miss Ming is also very knowledgeable, citing a wide range of sources. You might actually be able to discuss sword principles with her.”

"Then could you invite her for me? We can talk after the banquet."

"what?"

"Can't you?"

Pei Ye turned to look at the woman, but saw that she was not looking at him, but was still looking at the stage.

Pei Ye inexplicably recalled some unpleasant memories, but after thinking about it, he realized it was a different matter, so he said, "Okay."

Pei Ye was talking to the woman when Ming Qitian, who was on the field, had already sheathed his sword and fallen silent.

Cui Zhaoye's voice rang out from the building entrance, holding a scroll of paper high in his hand. He smiled and said, "Greetings to Your Highness the Crown Prince, and best wishes to all the heroes. News came a quarter of an hour ago that the April Ranks of Cranes and Ducks at the Immortal Terrace have been published, and I have already retrieved them for you all."

"Thank you, Zhaoye—please fetch the cloth for everyone." Li Xizhou gestured, and the lady behind him stepped forward to fetch it, and everyone turned to look at him.

The lady came up to the sword platform. She neither read it aloud nor copied it. She simply held the scroll high.

Then a crane flew down from upstairs and carried away the scroll.

A moment later, a vast, light, celestial silk curtain slowly descended from the top.

On the left is the Crane List, and on the right is the Duck List; countless names begin to appear from top to bottom.

Everyone looked up.

The top ten on the Crane List remained unchanged.

[Xuya] Wang Jiuqiao;

[Shaochun] Li Shenyi;

【Gushe】【Liuli Master】Ming Qitian;

[Knife Demon] and Red Pearl;

【Tianyi】【Taohuizhu】Du Lilou;

[If] Qi visited;
……

However, the rankings have changed somewhat.

The first six are: [Tianmu]; [Shanying] Luwei; [Huangyunxian] Heyaoyao; [Tianlinyi] Lizhi; [Baihai] Qiusi; [Gongzi] Qunfei.

The order remained unchanged, only Li Zhi's title of "Heir Apparent of the Dynasty" was removed, which was naturally related to the selection of the imperial envoy the day before.

But things changed starting from the seventh.

It wasn't a matter of someone rising or falling a few places, but rather a name appearing out of nowhere and being pushed from seventh to eighth place by Yun Langmei Jianxi.

【螭剑儿】Pei Ye.

Continuing down, it remains [You] Chen Quan, while [Huo Zhong Wen Xin] Yan Fei Qing has reached the tenth position.

(End of this chapter)