Chapter 42: Secret History Assessment
Autumn was growing thicker, with withered yellow leaves drifting down the mountainside, and the distant mountain scenery turning half green and half yellow.
Iona walked through the forest of dead leaves, the ground crunching under her feet with each step.
She arrived under a large banyan tree outside Jiaoshi City; this giant tree stood out prominently in the mountain forest.
After waiting for a while, another person entered the mountain forest, wearing a black cloak with their face covered by cloth.
Upon seeing Iona, the figure stopped, removed the cloth covering their face, revealing a somewhat aged countenance.
“Miss Iona.” He placed one hand on his shoulder and bowed.
“Mm.” The golden-haired girl turned around, nodding slightly, her expression betraying no joy or anger.
“These are the things you mentioned in your letter that needed preparing.” The other party set down the long wooden crate on their back onto the grassland of dead leaves.
Unfastening the lock, he opened the box, revealing two custom black steel longswords, a small bag of black stones, a velvet jewelry box, a row of blood-red potions, a yellowed book, and a small pouch of flower leaves sealed with a silk sachet.
“All the things are prepared.” After speaking, his sunken eye sockets lingered on the girl for a long time.
“What is it.” Iona looked up after checking the items.
“Miss, you should know that Lord Karen’s remaining things are few.”
Hearing this, Iona fell silent for a moment, then nodded.
“This is the last time I will deliver things to you, please forgive me.”
“I served two generations of Viscount Karen and once thought I would stay at the viscount’s mansion for life, but alas…” He shook his head slowly.
“Please forgive me for not being able to see you again in the future, and I wish you success in entering the secluded forest, where there is extraordinary knowledge and power inaccessible to ordinary nobles.”
“If you can achieve transformation there and stand out, restoring Viscount Karen’s mansion will not be difficult, though by then, I probably won’t be around to see it.”
“I have two grandsons; one is in a legion at an outpost fortress, the other studying in Grayleaf City. If you need them then, they will be your loyal allies.”
After saying this, the old man thought for a moment, but in the end said nothing, merely gazing at the golden-haired girl with weary, aged eyes.
“I understand.” Iona closed the box and picked it up.
She turned and walked toward the foot of the mountain, gradually receding into the distance, but paused midway and said something.
“Thank you, Butler Ethan.” Then her figure vanished around the bend in the forest.
……
Scholar Heide’s Residence, in the courtyard grassland.
Scholar Heide, with his white long beard, as usual lightly tapped the blackboard with the wooden club in his hand, on which today’s knowledge was written.
“It is now November; normally, the weather would have turned cold, but because we are in Xu Feng Season, autumn and summer are unusually long, so December will enter a brief winter, ending in January next year and transitioning to spring.”
“Such differences also bring variations in agriculture and trade activities; Xu Feng Season often has abundant grain at low prices, while Sinking Mist Season is the complete opposite.”
……
“Today’s lessons end here. Also, a reminder: next week there will be an assessment on secret history-related knowledge.” The old man raised a finger.
“The top three in the assessment will receive some prizes from me; of course, not as luxurious as Viscount Xue Feng’s, but they will be of considerable help to you all—please look forward to it.”
“Yes, Teacher.” The crowd replied with some anticipation, then dispersed.
They left the backyard of Scholar Heide’s Residence in twos and threes, discussing this assessment.
“This time it seems there’s no combat test, just a knowledge assessment.”
“Sigh, doesn’t that mean I have no chance at all.”
“No helping it; not every time does Lord Xue Feng come by. As a scholar, the teacher naturally values performance in knowledge and studies more.”
“A secret history assessment—doesn’t that mean Iona and Tiya will take first?”
“Probably; they’re evenly matched, though Tiya might be slightly stronger. I’ve seen her recently tutoring a few weaker students.”
“That wild kid Mike, and that big dummy Lei—can they really learn it?” someone guessed skeptically.
“Who knows, but I saw Tiya teaching very seriously. A few times passing by, I even wanted to listen in.”
“Sigh, your secret history class grades aren’t bad either, right? Why go for tutoring?”
“Can’t explain it to you; let’s just say beyond one mountain lies another taller peak.” The other shrugged helplessly.
“By the way, Miss Iona has been scarce lately; she often skips training and sometimes even Scholar Heide’s classes—who knows what she’s up to.”
The crowd discussed as their figures receded; next they would meet at the afternoon training ground.
……
“The assessment is coming up soon; are you all prepared?” Xilutiya sat on a wooden chair, looking at the few classmates before her receiving tutoring.
“Heh, I’m of course fine.” Mike scratched his head, feigning ease.
“I’ll do my best.” Karen nodded.
“What about Lei?” The maiden tilted her head, looking toward the man who towered over her.
“I, I’ll do well on the test.” Lei replied in a buzzing voice, lacking confidence.
Clearly the most robust in build among them, yet unexpectedly the most bashful in Xilutiya’s small class.
For this big dummy, Xilutiya couldn’t help but rub her forehead and shake her head.
Though the three had poor foundations, Mike and Karen weren’t dumb, just lacking prior good education; only ‘Lei’ made Xilutiya feel somewhat discouraged—he was truly hard to teach.
No helping it; even she couldn’t change a person’s talent and intellect, only do her best to help him keep up and not fall too far behind.
Additionally, for dull students like Lei, Xilutiya had summarized some experience.
Unlike normal students or genius students, for those too dim-witted, one cannot use conventional knowledge frameworks to teach; they can’t grasp such complex, vast structures, so the knowledge framework must be further simplified to lower the learning difficulty.
Such simplification naturally loses some original efficacy and is hard to build upon as a foundation for advanced courses, but compared to the originally incomprehensible fragmented framework, it is easier for dull students to accept, operate, and use to solve common problems.
A rudimentary knowledge framework system is better than nothing; this is a helpless trade-off.
“Alright, I believe you all want to prove yourselves and won’t slack on this assessment.” Xilutiya stood up.
“Let’s review today, and also… could you show me the results of your recent combat training?” Her words surprised them.
“Tiya wants to see us spar in combat training?” Lei rubbed his fists, eager to try.
“Of course.” Karen thought it the simplest thing, not even needing to be asked.
“Tiya, can you even understand it?” Mike, though feeling this maiden far superior in knowledge and often sensing his own inferiority in wisdom,
wondered if she truly understood combat or sword technique—probably never even held a sword.
“Is that what you’re thinking?”
The black-haired maiden lifted her teacup, taking a small sip; her calm expression instantly made Mike somewhat unsure.
Spending time lately with this black-haired, blue-eyed maiden had increasingly made him realize the sharp mind and insight beneath her seemingly ordinary appearance.
He rarely admired anyone: one was Brother Jieluo, the senior adventurer; the other this maiden who seemed his age but surpassed him vastly in experience and thinking.
“Something like that, but since Tiya asked, I’ll show you during sparring.” He turned his head away, avoiding that face and eyes that increasingly unsettled his heart.
