CHAPTER 348: CHAPTER 346: QIN LE YIN, I’M HERE TO SEEK COOPERATION WITH YOU

"The weather’s getting cold; it’s time to have Blue Flame undergo a gender transformation."

In the teachers’ dormitory, Le Yu was writing furiously, detailing in a letter to Qing Lan the benefits of having Blue Flame undergo a gender transformation. Such as creating a buzz for his "Unrivaled List" card game, rousing the people of Dongyang to unite against a common enemy, and so on...

It was just that Le Yu discovered the Statistical Department was adamantly refusing to issue a gender-swapped card for Blue Flame, so he had to swallow his pride and ask his wife for help.

Agh, the Statistical Department suddenly becomes particularly stubborn on such trivial matters. Clearly, Le Yu had written a letter arguing that if the next issue of the Unrivaled List released an epic card like "Battlefield Valkyrie Blue Flame" or "Defeated Commander Blue Flame," it would surely be a citywide bestseller, selling a hundred thousand copies with ease.

Then Raccoon Slave replied with a scribbled ’scram,’ making it appear particularly uncouth.

Since the Flame Tong department didn’t want to cash in on this, Le Yu could only persuade Qing Lan to make this rotten money. However, ever since Qing Lan took over the Youth Daily completely, she has acted like a Uchiha with a fully-developed Susanoo, deliberately going against Le Yu—for example, canceling the Youth Daily’s old "sexy character" covers.

This woman, does she think I want to look at these covers? Oh, I do want to see them, how could she not consider my feelings!

Moreover, Le Yu wasn’t just doing it for fun; this move was an application of the Zhuge Military Strategy.

Blue Flame would definitely see that the title of ’World’s Number One’ is just putting him on the fire to be grilled, this is one resinous gas for Blue Flame;

Then when he sees cards like "Chenfeng Blue Flame" or "Statistical Department Blue Flame," he would know that these are subtle jabs insinuating him to be a lackey of three different families, that’s two resinous gases for Blue Flame;

And finally, when he sees himself gender-swapped with bewitching allure, that’s three resinous gases for Blue Flame.

Even if it doesn’t enrage him to death, it should at least make him spit blood!

From a thousand miles away, striking at the heart—what could be a more delightful form of revenge than this?

"...So, I hope you can quickly assign an artist skilled in painting beauties to draw a cover of Blue Flame for the Youth Daily. I swear on the honor of the Jing Family ancestors, this is not a personal prank, but a justified and well-reasoned decision. I hope you won’t refuse, otherwise, I’ll be forced to plead with you."

Just after finishing the letter, Le Yu was about to take a shower when he suddenly heard someone knocking at the door.

He went over and braced the door with his foot, opening it slowly, leaving just a small gap—ever since that extraordinary night when he was consecutively attacked by Qian Yuya, Qin Yueshi, and Ming Shuiyun, he began to be mindful of his personal safety. A young man going out must not allow strangers to enter his room casually.

"Good evening, Teacher Qin."

Niruo, with his long black braided hair, stood outside the door, looking calm and leisurely. Le Yu glanced at his attire: "Didn’t bring your beloved wife or your mask?"

"Wife?"

"I mean your weapon... called the Prickly Cherry Longsword or something?"

"An interesting perspective," Niruo chuckled, "I may be a swordsman, but I won’t consider my sword as my wife. Who would consider a dead object as their lover?"

"Is that so? But I’ve heard that swordsmen often regard their swords as life-and-death partners. Isn’t there a saying ’Only as true as the sword, as true as the heart’, or ’Man and Sword as One, Unbeatable in the World’..."

"Combat Technique is the art of killing, swords and knives are tools for killing, it’s as simple as that," Niruo said. "What you mentioned are just fictional tales from novelists, those who haven’t killed many would only understand the iron fate of swords and knives."

"Swords and knives will rust, break, shatter; if you consider them as your lover, your life, wouldn’t their destruction be like losing a wife, losing half your life? Moreover, times are progressing. While the Prickly Cherry Longsword is great, better swords may appear in the future. Should I switch or not?"

"Tools like swords and knives just need regular maintenance. Developing unnecessary emotions would be like shackling yourself, making the sword your own doom."

Saying this, Niruo pondered for a moment before adding, "Come to think of it, I haven’t not killed those sword-obsessed warriors—perhaps they are the ’Forgotten Sword and Me’ swordsmen you mentioned. They could run amok relying on their beloved sword for a while, but when their sword is destroyed, they are eternally lost."

"You’ve shattered my beautiful fantasy of swordsmen," Le Yu said. "In my mind, swordsmen are the pristine and elegant kings of the battlefield."

"A sword is merely a tool for slicing flesh, tearing out organs, and fracturing bones. After you kill a few people, your sword is dirtier than yourself, possibly even stained with feces and urine. What’s beautiful about it? If there’s a pristine and elegant king of the battlefield, I believe Gunman suits that title more," Niruo said. "After talking so long about swords and knives, aren’t you going to let me in?"

"First, tell me what’s the matter," Le Yu said. "Can’t you find me during the day? Do you have to come to a man’s room alone at such an ambiguous time?"

Niruo was silent for a moment and then said, "Eye of Omniscience, collaborative cheating."

Le Yu thought for a moment, then opened the door to let him in, "Speak quickly, then leave fast."

"Straightforward." Niruo wasn’t bothered by Le Yu’s attitude. From his previous direct request to spar with Le Yu, it was clear he was also a straightforward, hardcore guy.

"Qin Le Yin, I’ve come to seek your cooperation."

"I propose that we work together against outsiders, ensuring that Shuangli Palace and Shuiyun Palace secure their ranks in the Eye of Omniscience examination. What do you think?"

Le Yu was somewhat puzzled: "How do we cooperate against outsiders?"

"The Eye of Omniscience isn’t a performance-based exam but a ranking one," Niruo said. "In other words, no matter how poorly you perform, as long as your rank is high, you can still obtain rewards."

"And there are two ways to cheat—improving your scores or worsening others’ scores."

Le Yu instantly understood: "So, we can deal with other outside cheats, making sure they can’t cheat?"

"Exactly," Niruo said. "You don’t need to tell me how you plan to cheat, and I won’t disclose Shuangli Palace’s cheating strategy. We’ll just need to form an alliance, clear out all outside cheating assistants nearby, and ensure our own cheating channels remain open. As for who can get first place in the Eye of Omniscience, we’ll leave that to our abilities."

Le Yu thought for a moment and realized this plan didn’t harm his side. Niruo’s combat strength was well-known, more importantly, the plan had an unspoken implication Niruo didn’t mention—if you don’t cooperate with me, then I’ll find someone else to partner with, and we’ll go against you in the exam.

The Eye of Omniscience is a zero-sum game; refusing to cooperate would mean increasing the difficulty.

After considering it, Le Yu realized he had no choice and nodded, "Alright, it’s a deal."

"Straightforward." Niruo turned to leave. "Then I won’t disturb your rest any longer."

Watching Niruo leave so decisively, Le Yu also breathed a sigh of relief.

He had no interest in being misunderstood by Zhu Yan again. Last time, being mistaken for fooling around with a female student was embarrassing enough. If he were misunderstood to be involved with a male teacher this time...

As he pondered the details of the Eye of Omniscience, Le Yu started preparing his clothes for a bath.

Just at that moment, someone knocked on the door again.

Le Yu blinked, feeling something strange, a sense of déjà vu.

But this time, there was no one hiding in his room, so he confidently opened the door to see which troublemaker was bothering the handsome male teacher late at night.

"Who?"

"Me."

A teenager greeted nervously at the door, "It’s me, the scabbard for Ming Dailan’s sword, let me in."

"Explain why you’re here first," Le Yu asked. "You think my place is a public restroom, just come and go as you please?"

The teenager panicked, "Here to discuss the Eye of Omniscience. Let me in quickly, I hear footsteps in the stairwell!"

Le Yu made a clicking sound with his tongue but let him in considering he wasn’t armed.

"Speak quickly, then leave fast."

"Alright!" The teenager quickly closed the door, "You’re planning to participate in the Eye of Omniscience exam, and cheat on it too, right? We’re the same."

"But this exam is rank-based, just having high scores won’t suffice; you must ensure others’ scores aren’t higher than yours. In other words, as long as you make others’ scores worse, our Palace Master’s rank goes higher."

Le Yu vaguely realized something, "So your point is..."

The teenager said, "Qin Le Yin, I’m here to seek your cooperation."