Martial Dao: Peace by Force

Chapter 208: Chapter 158: Harvest! Invincible

Nearby, Sun Beixi’s mouth hung open.

He looked at Professor Song, then at Wan Ze, and then back at the Ancient Volume on the table, which looked like complete gibberish. His expression grew more and more bewildered.

’Wait a minute.’

’What just happened?’

The three of them had been together every day for the past few days. He was in charge of keeping them company—serving tea, pouring water, and running errands. He hadn’t slacked on a single task.

’But in the end, it turns out I’m the only dunce here?’

Sun Beixi opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but he didn’t know what.

Then, something happened that made him question his very existence.

As if testing a student, Professor Song would glance over at Wan Ze every time he encountered an obscure character.

And every time, Wan Ze would provide the answer. Sometimes he recognized it outright, other times he deduced it, but he always hit the nail on the head.

The two went back and forth, and their translation speed more than doubled compared to the previous days.

Sun Beixi tried to join in several times. He leaned in and stared at the symbols for ages until his vision blurred, but he couldn’t recognize a single one.

Finally, he just shut his mouth and sat obediently to the side, watching them with wide, expectant eyes.

...

Time passed quickly.

Outside the window, the angled sunlight flattened, and the sky gradually darkened.

Professor Song took off his reading glasses and rubbed his eyes. He let out a long sigh, leaned back in his chair, and stretched his stiff neck, his face etched with exhaustion.

”We’ve basically finished the translation. Just the last two pages left.”

He turned to Wan Ze, a complex look in his eyes. ”Wan Ze, are you sure you’ve never studied this field before?”

Wan Ze smiled. ”If I’ve learned anything, it’s all thanks to your notes. They’re far more advanced than any textbook.”

Professor Song shook his head. After a moment of silence, he suddenly asked, ”Wan Ze, are you interested in enrolling at the National University and majoring in my field?”

Sun Beixi’s eyes flew wide open.

”I’ll personally supervise you,” Professor Song said, his tone serious. ”A combined Master’s and Ph.D. program. Direct admission.”

Sun Beixi was dumbfounded.

’Holy crap, the National University?!’

’That’s one of the top universities in the entire East Sea Federation!’

’Being personally supervised by a giant in the field like Professor Song for a combined Master’s-Ph.D. program... what kind of once-in-a-lifetime opportunity is that!’

He couldn’t help but look at Wan Ze, his eyes screaming, ’What are you even hesitating for?!’

But Wan Ze just smiled. ”Let’s talk about it in a couple of years.”

Professor Song glanced at him but didn’t press the issue.

He hadn’t known Wan Ze for just a day or two; he knew the young man had his own plans.

Sun Beixi opened his mouth, wanting to ask, ’Is it too late for me to go back to university?’

But he swallowed the words before they could escape.

Professor Song picked up the stack of translated pages from the table, flipped through them, and handed them to Sun Beixi.

”Most of it can be read without any issues now. These few pages still have thirteen or fourteen obscure characters that need further deciphering... and the content on the last two pages is a bit more complex.”

Sun Beixi hurriedly took them. He looked down, and his face instantly fell. ”Holy crap, what is this?”

He actually recognized the words on the paper this time.

But strung together, the dense text gave him a headache just looking at it.

Wan Ze took the manuscript and glanced over it.

Professor Song explained from the side, ”Roughly translated, it says that long ago, there was an ancient kingdom in our region called ’Yanli’ which had contact with the Olmeck civilization. The Yanli Kingdom once sent an envoy to the Olmeck. To show their sincerity, the Olmeck sent a princess to Yanli for a political marriage.”

He paused and pointed to a few lines in the middle of the manuscript. ”It mentions here that this princess was a Martial Artist, and she left something behind in Yanli... the Holy Fire Order.”

Sun Beixi’s eyes lit up instantly. ”The Holy Fire Order? That sounds incredible.”

”Correct.” Professor Song continued to flip through the pages. ”Based on an analysis of the geographical descriptions in the text, the last known location of this ’Holy Fire Order’ is—”

”Right here in the Holy City.”

Sun Beixi froze for a second, then shot to his feet so abruptly he nearly knocked his chair over.

”It’s in the Holy City?!!!”

His voice cracked.

Professor Song glanced at him and nodded. ”And not just the Holy Fire Order. The text implies that during her decade or so in the Yanli Kingdom, the princess amassed a considerable fortune, which she likely left here as well.”

Sun Beixi stood frozen on the spot for several seconds.

Then he slapped himself on the forehead.

”’No wonder...’”

No wonder his uncle told him to return to the Holy City...

Sun Beixi finally understood.

His uncle hadn’t said anything specific, only telling him to return to the Holy City and get the text deciphered as quickly as possible.

’So that’s what this was all about!’

Taking a deep breath, Sun Beixi rubbed his hands together and whipped his head toward Professor Song and Wan Ze.

”Professor Song! Brother Wan! Master! We’re going to be rich! Uh... could you two do me a favor? Let’s look for it together! We’ll split whatever we find! For real, an even split!”

Professor Song waved his hand dismissively, his tone indifferent. ”I have no interest in treasure. If it were an Imperial Mausoleum, I might go take a look. But as for something like the Holy Fire Order, you can look for it yourselves.”

Sun Beixi froze, the excitement on his face faltering for a moment.

But he quickly recovered and immediately turned to Wan Ze.

”Master! What about you? Are you interested? The two of us, together! Seriously, if we find it, we’ll—”

Wan Ze looked at him and said, ”If we find anything, I get first pick.”

Sun Beixi nodded vigorously. ”Of course! You pick first, you pick first!”

”Anything related to Martial Skills,” Wan Ze continued, ”I need to look over all of it. The rest, you can do with as you please.”

Sun Beixi didn’t even have to think about it. ”No problem! Deal!”

He stuck out his hand, looking ready to seal the deal with a high-five on the spot.

Professor Song, who had been watching from the side, suddenly spoke up, throwing cold water on their excitement. ”Don’t get your hopes up just yet.”

Sun Beixi’s hand froze in mid-air.

Professor Song pointed to the last few lines of the manuscript. ”The most crucial location information is hidden within these few undeciphered, obscure characters. I’ll need to go back and borrow some specialized books to cross-reference them carefully. It will take two or three days at the very least.”