CHAPTER 37: FANG CHE'S BIGGEST PROBLEM

Fang Che was resistant to the idea of others emulating him. If they were capable of learning from him, they would naturally be able to do so, and if they weren't capable, they wouldn't be able to no matter how hard they tried.

However, he never took the initiative to teach anyone, including Mo Ganyun.

There were no favors owed between the two, and it was up to Mo Ganyun how much he was able to learn from Fang Che.

It was precisely because Mo Ganyun had realized this that he treated Fang Che to meals every day.

He felt like he was benefitting far more from sparring with Fang Che than what those meals were worth.

All of a sudden, a figure appeared before Fang Che not long after he left the cafeteria.

He had received a visit from Ding Jieran, who wore his usual cold expression as he asked, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine."

"You're not hurt?"

"No."

"Good."

Ding Jieran turned to depart.

"Why are you suddenly so concerned about my safety?" Fang Che asked.

A smile appeared on Ding Jieran's face, but it was very forced, as if he hadn't used those muscles in a very long time, and he replied, "You said we were friends, didn't you?"

"Of course," Fang Che replied with a smile.

However, Ding Jieran suddenly took a step back before lowering his head, and by the time he raised his head again, the smile had been wiped from his face as he said, "It's not a good idea to be friends with me."

"That's fine."

Fang Che took a step forward, only for Ding Jieran to take another step back.

He shook his head as he repeated, "It's not a good idea to be friends with me."

Fang Che faltered slightly upon hearing this.

Ding Jieran lowered his head, concealing his eyes behind his hair, then promptly departed.

A contemplative look appeared in Fang Che's eyes as he watched him depart.

It seemed that Ding Jieran was a little different from how he had imagined.

Mo Ganyun arrived by Fang Che's side before patting him on the shoulder. He was very rough around the edges and had completely failed to detect the complex emotions displayed by Ding Jieran.

"I didn't think someone like him would try to play hard to get!"

"That's not what he's doing," Fang Che said.

"Then what was that all about?"

"Perhaps I was wrong about him in the past."

"What?"

Mo Ganyun was feeling even more perplexed.

He had overheard the entire conversation between Fang Che and Ding Jieran, yet he had no idea what had just transpired.

A puzzled look appeared on his face as he scratched his head in self-doubt.

Am I lacking in the IQ department?

***

All of a sudden, Fang Che had become a very popular figure in the academy.

Many people were taking the initiative to greet him, including instructors and students from all year levels, and this was all because of Su Yue's supposed return.

Su Yue had traveled thousands of kilometers overnight with his master and uncle-master to protect Fang Che, and his parting words had cleared Fang Che's name, proving that he had never seized the Su Clan's estate through underhanded means, after all.

This was a moving story for everyone. Su Yue had dropped everything to return to his good friend's side and save his life, and he had left all the accolades to Fang Che as repayment for looking after the Su Clan's estate.

After that, he had departed without asking for any recognition or compensation.

This was truly a brotherly bond to be cherished!

In light of this, the negative impact on Fang Che's reputation brought about by his handling of the Su Clan was quietly fading away.

On top of that, everyone was going out of their way to make Fang Che feel welcome as they felt guilty for jumping to assumptions.

Of course, there were still some who doubted the authenticity of Fang Che's story, but those were only a small handful of diehard skeptics.

Fang Che could only scoff internally at their naivete. It seemed that a bunch of students with limited life experience really were easy to fool.

***

As expected of the four top instructors of White Cloud Warrior Academy, Li Changkong and his colleagues had arranged the class of a hundred students into a total of thirteen groups.

Among them were six students who were all first-rank Warrior Masters, possessed the same level of aptitude, used the primary weapon, and were roughly all comparable in terms of combat prowess.

However, after careful consideration, these six students had been split up into five different groups because some were right-handed, while some were left-handed. Some had greater aptitude for sword mastery, but had pursued the spear instead, and some were held back by unsuitable cultivation arts.

These were all factors that could only be identified by experienced instructors, and they were problems that even the students in question themselves and the seniors in their clans were oblivious to.

To put it simply, it had taken the instructors three days just to correct past mistakes.

They discovered that there were as many as sixty-eight out of a hundred students who had made incorrect fundamental cultivation art choices for one reason or another.

Most clans were not super clans, and all of the young clansmen had to make do with whatever cultivation arts were available. As for whether those cultivation arts actually suited them...

Hence, for these students, they had only just truly embarked on their journeys as warriors.

Out of the remaining students, twenty-nine were using cultivation arts that were decently suited to them, while only two were using cultivation arts that were almost perfect for them, with those two being Mo Ganyun and Fu Chengyun.

The latter was a branch lineal descendant of the Fu Clan, a powerful clan in its own right.

That left Fang Che, who was the only one in the class using cultivation arts that were a flawless match for him!

The instructors had determined that the direction that he was taking was nothing short of perfect for him, and that he could simply continue to cultivate as he had done in the past.

This brought about another spate of envy from Mo Ganyun, further steeling his resolve to catch up to Fang Che someday.

With his mind made up, he sent a message back to his clan: "I've found a target that I have to surpass here, so I don't have to go to any other warrior academy. Everything can wait until after I've surpassed Fang Che!"

Fang Che could read Mo Ganyun like an open book.

"You're still too young, Little Mo," Fang Che preached, feigning a look of wisdom beyond his years. "There will always be someone better than you out there, and that's a lesson that you'll only be able to learn after enduring some hardships and going on some long journeys."

"What are you talking about?" Mo Ganyun asked in a dumbstruck manner.

"I am a target that you'll never be able to surpass for as long as you live," Fang Che declared in a meaningful and heartfelt manner as he clasped his hands behind his back.

"Piss off! I thought you had something profound or important to say, but you're just here to gloat!" Mo Ganyun scoffed.

Right at this moment, Li Changkong called out Fang Che's name.

Fang Che hurriedly made his way over to Li Changkong, and the two of them entered the latter's office together.

Bing Shangxue, Bao Feiyu, and Duan Zhongliu were already sitting inside.

"Take a seat," Li Changkong instructed as he pointed at a vacant chair.

"There are several things that we want to speak to you about today, the first of which is the matter of your lodging. You applied for external lodging the first day you came to the academy, is that right?"

"That's right. Is that a problem?"

"You've already made a lot of enemies during your brief stay at the academy thus far, including the Ximen Clan, the Divine Heavenly Church, and the Huo Clan. Hence, you have placed yourself in a great deal of peril, and that peril is further compounded by your decision to live outside of the academy. In light of this, we suggest you stay in your assigned dormitory room instead."

"I like living outside the academy."

Fang Che was naturally resistant to the idea. If anything, he was trying to use himself as bait to provoke the Divine Heavenly Church and the Huo Clan, so there was no way that he would move into a dormitory.

"You know what your decision entails, right?"

"I do."

The four instructors didn't speak any further on the matter.

Li Changkong was tempted to go to the academy affairs office and give that old man that approved Fang Che's external lodging application a beating.

On principle, the application shouldn't have been approved, but the old man's decision had been influenced by his negative impression of Fang Che after hearing stories of the Su Clan's fate.

Do you know how much trouble you've caused us, you old fart?! This is a prodigy the likes of which has rarely ever been seen in history! If he dies outside the academy...

"The second order of business concerns your cultivation. Your cultivation art is perfectly suited for you, so keep using it. We won't ask you what cultivation art you're using as that's a private matter, but we would like to discuss with you the topic of weapons. It's about time that you decided on the primary weapon that you're going to be using for the rest of your life."

The instructors heaved a collective sigh here as they gazed upon Fang Che with mixed emotions in their eyes.

"Your build, meridians, spirit sense, skeletal structure and bodily proportions are all ideal, so you'll for sure be able to reach lofty heights no matter which weapon you choose. However, one only has so much time and effort to give, so you have to make a choice. Unfortunately, we can't give you any advice on this matter."

The four of them had a combined several centuries of teaching experience, yet this was the first time they had encountered a situation like this.

They were unable to choose a perfect direction for Fang Che as every direction was perfect!

None of them were able to ascertain which one of those perfect directions would be most suited to Fang Che, and this was a problem that Fang Che had also been pondering for quite some time.

There were perfect cultivation methods for all weapons, but one could only have a single primary weapon.

What should I choose?