CHAPTER 309: CHAPTER 307: MAKE RADIANCE GREAT AGAIN

A single stone stirs up a thousand waves, that’s all it takes.

The intense spiritual power of the students, who were in heated discussion, instantly focused the sunlight in the Grand Martial Arts Arena so powerfully that it shot to the sky, a golden pillar reaching the heavens, as if they were collectively leveling up.

However, at this moment, Leyu wasn’t looking at them. Instead, he turned his head to glance at the teachers beside him. Most of the teachers were face-struck with shock, except for a few expressionless individuals, though they might have been facially paralyzed. There was only one handsome man with an ink-black long braid, carrying a black box on his back, who was also observing the surroundings.

In the instant their eyes met, the braided man gently struck his left chest, saluting Leyu, with a faint, elusive smile hanging at the corner of his mouth.

Leyu was very familiar with that kind of smile.

It was exactly the same as Lan Yan’s.

It stemmed from an unbreakable self-confidence.

He was the sword sheath, and very likely Ming Shuangli’s.

Leyu turned his head to observe Ming Shuangli on the podium. The Ice Blood Physique suppressed those useless emotions of surprise within him. His understanding of the situation in Yanjing and the experiences from recent scuffles quickly made him comprehend what Ming Shuangli’s true purpose was.

Anyone who knew about the Sword Seeker Competition would surely be astonished at why Ming Shuangli would reveal her identity so openly. At first, Leyu also believed that the competition for the sword must occur in the shadows—after all, it was the selection ceremony for the new emperor; how could it be disturbed by the public?

But on second thought, does the Sword Seeker Competition really require hidden identities?

For the Sword Seeker contestants, their identities were almost out in the open, with everyone knowing each other well. Therefore, the losses from exposure were nearly nil, without increasing risk. Furthermore, Ming Shuangli didn’t directly mention she was participating in the Sword Seeker Competition; she merely pointed out her identity as a candidate for the new emperor.

Conversely, the benefits of revealing her identity were immeasurable.

Most evidently is Ming Shuangli, who placed herself under the spotlight, thus gaining almost around-the-clock protection. The students would surely approach her with various intentions—for becoming a prospective member of the Cabinet, for striving to be a future Grand General, for being a carefree courtier living an idle life, or even aspiring to be the illustrious future Duke Huiyao.

Even though it’s not written in the rules, Leyu knew from the moment he saw the old principal, Cha Huan, that there was a hidden rule in the Sword Seeker Competition—not to harm other innocent students.

Even after knowing Cha Huan for just a few minutes, Leyu could see his distinct personality: extremely arrogant. Such a person would not communicate if action could be taken; anyone who defied him would first receive a pummeling, regardless of whether he cared for the students. If any sword sheaths dared to undermine his authority or disrespect him, it would inevitably bring about deadly retaliation from the Platinum Tower.

Now, with all the students focusing on Ming Shuangli, it’s akin to locking her health; it’s very difficult to find an opportunity to cut her health bar.

Moreover, Leyu also sensed the girl’s ambition.

The current seven Sword Seekers were almost all direct descendants at the fringes of the Imperial Family. In their past ten-plus years of life, they wouldn’t have considered becoming emperor, so they couldn’t have been prepared for it. No people, no power, and even the rights of succession were passed to them only because the most qualified heirs perished.

Even if the now most arrogant Ming Shuangli succeeded in gaining the throne, she would merely be a puppet emperor for twenty years and would obediently become a battery powering the Holy Sword to clear the way for a bright future.

Some might be willing, but clearly not Ming Shuangli.

She needed to build her team.

Leyu didn’t know of Ming Shuangli’s background, but recalling her luxurious mansion, it seems slightly better than an average Yanjing family. But even so, imperial ministers wouldn’t take orders from a mere young girl. They even dared to lend some minor assistance in the assassination case of the late emperor; trying to fool a new empress would be an easy feat for them.

Therefore, she must find loyal subordinates from the start. In the entire Huiyao, where could be better than the Royal Academy in Yanjing for recruiting?—The Royal Academy itself was meant to be a morally corrupt factory for cultivating tools for the emperor!

Instead of recruiting new classmates after becoming emperor, why not take advantage of this Sword Seeker Competition period to headhunt those useful, potential, and visually pleasing tools directly from the vast pool that is the Imperial Academy?

’Building a team, gathering focus, showcasing oneself, lumping all troubles together makes it much simpler to handle...and she would gain the initiative in this game as soon as she entered.’ Leyu couldn’t help but think: ’If I were her sword sheath, it would be much easier...’

Originally, Leyu thought a Sword Seeker’s role in this game was insignificant, just a leg pendant to balance the sword sheaths. But Ming Shuangli has shattered his perception—it’s uncertain who actually is the pendant to whom!

"Hmph!"

Principal Cha Huan stomped heavily, and the lingering radiance instantly vanished, bringing silence once again to the Grand Martial Arts Arena.

"Your excitement brings me immense joy." Ming Shuangli said, holding her chest: "To be honest, I had already prepared myself for complete silence, even ready to face boos from you all. I didn’t expect you to be excited as if I had just announced a marriage proposal, one open to both men and women."

Students burst into laughter.

"I thought you had already despaired of Huiyao."

The Martial Arts Arena returned to silence.

"The former emperor was assassinated in the Imperial Court, the Holy Sword has been suspended in the void until now; the edges of the realm are nearly independent, and the officials of each district harbor ill intentions; the Backlight Organization has flourished everywhere, with warlords popping up like mushrooms after rain. Amidst this dangerous autumn for Glorious, yet Yanjing remains a place of revelry and feasting, the fight over succession lasting a full two years—with a double-digit death toll from the Imperial Family, including relatives whom I had good relations with."

"I have studied at the Imperial Academy for three years, during which every debate competition of the four disciplines has revolved around national affairs and political situations. Your points in debate are sharp and fierce, your hearts to save the nation pure and passionate, you believe the Imperial Court clearly has better options, why have they chosen the worst path, I have seen it in my eyes, held it in my heart, and I myself am the second debater of the Nightmare debate team."

"Some of you may have limited perspective, indeed not as far-sighted as the Grand Scholar of the Cabinet, nor as thorough as the Ministers of the Six Departments."

"But some," Ming Shuangli spreads her hands: "Maybe you spoke correctly, but the Imperial Court chose wrongly, and could only choose wrongly."

"Corruption? Debauchery? Selfishness? The system? Decay?"

"What exactly has led this country to such a fall? How exactly to let this great nation of two thousand years of legacy shine anew? These are matters I’ve been contemplating since I knew I was becoming the new emperor candidate."

"I’m just an ordinary person... Well, maybe a bit prettier, a bit cuter, a bit more confident, but I’m still an ordinary person. I’m not content waiting twenty years in Yanjing, finally relying on the glory of the Holy Sword to suppress the world, making history enter a mundane cycle again—after all, I am afraid of death too, if I could be a revitalizing empress, why be a mediocre tool emperor?"

"The times have changed, this country has reached a point where change is needed, but I don’t know how to change it. I’m just an ordinary girl, before being the new emperor candidate I was still reading romance novels, seeing sweet segments would roll on the bed like a maggot, the only proper scientific thought was pondering how to blow up the Platinum Tower... Oh Cha Principal I’m joking, I don’t have the ability to blow up your tower anyway."

"We will study at the Imperial Academy for half a year, after that, the new emperor will ascend the throne, perhaps it will be me, perhaps another of my lovely sisters."

"But no matter what... the emperor needs companions."

"The meaning of the emperor lies in leading from the front, shielding companions from storms, acting as a flag guiding everyone towards a bright future... or perhaps to a dead end."

"In this half year, I hope you can answer those doubts in my heart, with lengthy narratives, or with a heart boiling with passion. I am saying these words not for myself—well maybe a bit—but for the future emperor, I make this plea to you."

"The emperor is the future of Glorious, you are the future itself."

"The other day I read a newspaper from the Outer District, and saw a very meaningful phrase: ’In a humble position, daring not to forget the worry for the country.’ Don’t refrain from speaking because of your plain standing, each mountain you respect was born of flesh, learned to speak with baby babble; no one is more than you, the current of the grains of sand, is the past of the mountain, your present, is the past of the future pillar."

"If you think Glorious is beyond saving, then find a new path; if you think Glorious still has the necessity to exist, then please fight for me, or rather, for the next emperor of Glorious."

"But regardless, don’t forget you are students of the Imperial Academy, you are the pride of Glorious, destined to rule the ebb and flow of this land. Please, with your own ways, strive for the future of this country."

"And there you have it, the speech of a twenty-two-year-old girl, who loves novels, loves drama, loves gunpowder, from an ordinary family in Yanjing, a third-year student."

Ming Shuangli bows to the students: "Finally, please allow me to use a phrase from a newspaper of the Outer District as a conclusion. Although the source of this phrase is from a peculiar anecdote, it seems very powerful, and I believe it can represent my thought and that of many others."

Ming Shuangli clenches her right fist, raising it high.

"Make Glorious Great Again!" she said loud and clear.

Like the last gear fitting into the machine’s internals, or the first domino falling, the students whose hearts have long been stirred by the speech unanimously raise their right hands, allowing this short but significant slogan to resound throughout the Royal Academy—

"Make Glorious Great Again!"

Le Yu: "..."

He wrote that peculiar anecdote intending it as a satire, how did it... well, being misunderstood is the fate of the expressor, he should have known.

"Oh yes." Ming Shuangli gently presses her hands down, everyone instantly calms down to listen: "My other sisters may not be as extroverted as me, but they are also very good people. In other words, we all have the potential to be worthy of the Holy Sword of Glorious."

"If the emperor is the Holy Sword, all of you are the sheath. Sword and sheath choose each other, the sword wants to pick a suitable and durable sheath, the sheath wants to follow a wise and heroic sword... Hmm?"

As Ming Shuangli scans the crowd, she notices Le Yu’s red hair faintly pause, then continues speaking nonchalantly: "Feel free to choose the sword you wish to follow, even if you choose wrongly, trust the new emperor won’t mind, at least I won’t mind—if others do, I can’t help it."

"Lacking information or having no choice often leads to wrong choices. But if given another chance to choose the sheath," she casts a sidelong glance at Le Yu: "Surely all can make the right choice."

Le Yu’s heart sank instantly.

He isn’t afraid of being recognized by Ming Shuangli, but clearly, Ming Shuangli’s words were directed at the sheath, and her speech was full of overtures.

What’s more important is...

Until now.

Junduo still hasn’t told him who his Sword Master is exactly.