King of Assassins-Chapter 52: Know Yourself and Know Your Opponent

Silence made the atmosphere in the Sword Dojo quite awkward.

Wei Zhenzhen supported Jiang Xuejun, unsure of how to comfort her.

To be honest, she felt sorry for Jiang Xuejun, but Gao Xuan’s easy victory made her quite happy.

However, out of sisterly feelings, she couldn’t express her joy.

Jiang Xuejun, whose heart was in despair, didn’t care what Wei Zhenzhen was thinking.

It wasn’t that she couldn’t bear losing, but she couldn’t accept such a crushing defeat.

She had been instantly defeated twice in a row by Gao Xuan.

As Gao Xuan had said beforehand, the failure cast a huge shadow over her spirit.

The always competitive Jiang Xuejun looked dejected and despondent, making many people feel sorry for her.

An Hu also showed anger, as he had some fondness for Jiang Xuejun, even though she had no interest in him.

At this crucial moment, he felt he had to stand up for Jiang Xuejun.

Just as An Hu was about to get up to challenge Gao Xuan, Jiang Yuan held him down: "Don’t mess around."

An Hu was a bit unconvinced: "Are we just going to let this kid show off in the Sword Dojo?"

Jiang Yuan calmly said, "Challenging him in succession wouldn’t look good."

As Jiang Yuan spoke, he stood up and approached Gao Xuan, "Gao Xuan, I am the Head Coach Jiang Yuan of the Sword Dojo. Welcome to the Sword Dojo."

Gao Xuan nodded slightly, "Hello, Head Coach Jiang."

"Your talent in Swordsmanship is extremely high. Truly an outstanding Sword Dao genius. It was no injustice for Xuejun to lose."

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "In you, I see the hope of Mingjing University’s Sword Dao..."

Gao Xuan is a new student at the Sword Dao Academy, a very important identity.

In Jiang Yuan’s eyes, Gao Xuan was one of their own. His bout with Jiang Xuejun was just internal competition.

Although Jiang Xuejun had suffered a severe blow, for the proud and ambitious Jiang Xuejun, it was a good thing.

Jiang Xuejun’s path to growth had been too smooth, she had never experienced a real setback. The arrogance and toughness she showed were more a kind of ignorance rather than true confidence.

Only by standing up again after setbacks can one truly understand the meaning of resilience. Only then might there be achievements in the future.

In Jiang Yuan’s eyes, Gao Xuan was undoubtedly more valuable. No, it could be said he had boundless prospects.

In Gao Xuan, Jiang Yuan even saw the possibility for Mingjing University to dominate the Pegasus Star Sword Dao League!

Having coached all his life, Jiang Yuan’s greatest wish was to win the Pegasus Star University Sword Dao League. This time, he saw hope in Gao Xuan.

Just in the East Continent, there are nine universities of the same rank as Mingjing University. Mingjing University ranks towards the middle and lower among the ten universities.

Not to mention the three continents, each with top universities. In the East Continent’s intercontinental university exchanges, they have always been at a disadvantage.

Eighteen-year-old Gao Xuan, however, exhibited extraordinary Sword Dao talent.

Jiang Yuan wasn’t exaggerating a bit; his Swordsmanship was ordinary, and his Cultivation was just Level 7, but having spent his life in Sword Dao, he had honed a pair of eyes exceptionally good at judging people.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t be qualified to be the Head Coach for so many years.

In Jiang Yuan’s view, that one sword by Gao Xuan defeating Jiang Xuejun was truly astonishing.

Gao Xuan’s mindset, consciousness, footwork, body technique, Swordsmanship, and adaptability to changing circumstances could be called perfect.

Even if it were him going up, even if he could defeat Jiang Xuejun with one sword, he would certainly not be able to do it as perfectly as Gao Xuan.

Including the Source Power level Gao Xuan demonstrated, it actually solidly suppressed Jiang Xuejun. Even An Hu, famous for his abundant Source Power, was no match.

More importantly, Gao Xuan is only eighteen years old, with vast potential for growth in the future.

Gao Xuan’s humble background is actually advantageous for him and the school. Because Gao Xuan can only rely on him and the school.

Jiang Yuan stopped An Hu just to avoid An Hu embarrassing himself.

An Hu, after all, is a member of the An Family, with a powerful family influence. If Gao Xuan offended An Hu, it would be difficult for him to gain a foothold in the school in the future.

Gao Xuan was surely going to become the mainstay of the Sword Dojo, and he hoped that An Hu, Jiang Xuejun, and Gao Xuan could all get along harmoniously.

With this in mind, Jiang Yuan was very polite to Gao Xuan, sincerely offering praise and compliments.

Gao Xuan, having been reborn, wasn’t a child. One look at Jiang Yuan’s attitude and he knew what was going on.

Building a good relationship with Jiang Yuan was, of course, a good thing.

After all, he planned to follow Jiang Yuan’s lead. This old man, although somewhat utilitarian, seemed to have decent character.

The key is that the old man had an eye for talent, could see that he was a genius, and was willing to extend goodwill to him. This was very, very important.

Mingjing University is a large organization, with a tightly-knit system and clear hierarchies.

The large business groups controlled the lifeline of the school, as well as its power.

Students like him, with no roots or factions, were at the very bottom in the school.

This kind of wealthy heiress like Jiang Xuejun is the top tier among the students.

The gap between these tiers is actually very, very large.

The reason why Jiang Xuejun has such malice towards him is largely due to the contempt that the higher class has for the lower class.

Wei Zhenzhen is actually the same.

Gao Xuan knows very well that her crazy affection towards him stems from extreme self-centeredness, a strong possessiveness, which is why she acts so extreme.

This kind of emotion from Wei Zhenzhen cannot be called love.

The campus is full of competition, and if you want to avoid trouble and stand your ground, finding a backer is still very necessary. Wei Zhenzhen obviously cannot be that backer.

Gaining Jiang Yuan’s approval means his future in school will be much smoother.

Gao Xuan and Jiang Yuan, one sincere, the other intentional, soon hit it off immediately.

Jiang Xuejun, feeling neglected, was even more upset. She turned her head and walked away.

Wei Zhenzhen hesitated and glanced at Gao Xuan, but ultimately felt uneasy about Jiang Xuejun, so she made a gesture to Gao Xuan indicating they’d be in touch, then quickly followed Jiang Xuejun.

Jiang Xuejun was in a really bad mood and did not pay attention to Wei Zhenzhen. She just sat on the locker room seat, feeling empty, wronged, sad, and disappointed, with a complex mix of emotions.

Although she usually appeared mature and experienced, she was only nineteen, just one year older than Wei Zhenzhen.

The sudden defeat was really hard for her to bear. She even felt a bit of resentment towards Wei Zhenzhen; if it wasn’t for Wei Zhenzhen’s stubbornness, she wouldn’t have ended up like this.

Jiang Xuejun was well aware that she stood out too much in school and didn’t know how many people were jealous of her.

This defeat, those people would inevitably jump at the chance to step on her hard.

Thinking about the vicious ridicule she was about to face, Jiang Xuejun felt even worse.

Although Wei Zhenzhen was willful, she could tell that Jiang Xuejun didn’t look well, so she cautiously sat beside her and didn’t dare to make a sound.

After a long while, the locker room door was pushed open, and Jiang Yuan walked in with big steps.

Jiang Yuan went straight to Jiang Xuejun and asked solemnly, "Have you figured it out yet?"

Jiang Xuejun was a bit confused; she didn’t understand what Jiang Yuan meant. She thought for a moment and said, "I was too impulsive, that’s why I suffered such a defeat."

"Gao Xuan’s swordsmanship is far superior to yours. You lost fairly."

Jiang Yuan calmly said, "The key is for you to be brave enough to face failure. Do you understand?"

Jiang Xuejun had heard such truths numerous times, like failure is the mother of success, the more setbacks, the more courageous, and never give up. She thought these were all clichéd and that everyone knew these principles and there was no need to emphasize them repeatedly.

But when it was her turn to experience failure, she realized knowing the principle is one thing, being able to do it is another.

She just couldn’t face her failure calmly, nor did she have the spirit of becoming more courageous through setbacks.

Jiang Xuejun didn’t know what to say; she felt she wasn’t as strong as she imagined, the real her was quite incompetent and weak.

Jiang Xuejun lowered her head, too dejected to speak.

Jiang Yuan sighed; the taste of failure was so intense that hardly anyone could bear it.

Especially for a swordsman, facing the sword edge directly, all power, courage, and wisdom are poured into it.

Therefore, the failure for a swordsman is scarier, harder to endure.

Jiang Yuan handed Jiang Xuejun her usual longsword, "Child, no one can help you with such a thing. The only thing you can rely on is your own sword."

Jiang Yuan patted Jiang Xuejun on the shoulder, then turned and left.

Jiang Xuejun held the sword, not knowing what she was thinking, and remained silent.

After Jiang Yuan left, An Hu came in, and looking at Jiang Xuejun’s fragile and pitiful appearance made him feel uncomfortable.

An Hu told Jiang Xuejun, "Don’t worry, Xuejun, I’ll help you vent this anger."

He sneered and said, "A wild boy coming from the mountains dares to be so brazen in Mingjing City. He really has the guts of a leopard!"

Wei Zhenzhen heard something was off, but seeing An Hu’s arrogant demeanor, she didn’t dare to speak up. However, she felt disdain in her heart, thinking, look at your ugly self, wanting to cause trouble for Brother Gao Xuan, but don’t you look in the mirror!

Jiang Xuejun also didn’t say anything. An Hu hesitated for a moment and then turned to leave first.

Wei Zhenzhen waited there until it was dark, and her stomach started to growl. She couldn’t stand it anymore and said, "Sister Jun, shall we eat first?"

Seeing that Jiang Xuejun didn’t respond, Wei Zhenzhen added, "Let’s have some sweet chocolate cake; whenever I’m upset, I eat a big slice and immediately feel better."

Jiang Xuejun, who was holding the sword, suddenly chuckled, and Wei Zhenzhen was overjoyed, "Sister Jun, you’re smiling. You’re fine now, right?"

Jiang Xuejun slowly stood up and said calmly, "I’ve figured it out."

"That’s right, victory and defeat are commonplace for soldiers."

Wei Zhenzhen comforted her and then curiously asked, "Sister Jun, what have you figured out?"

Jiang Xuejun said, "I’ve figured out something Gao Xuan said: Know yourself and know your enemy."

"Hmm, what does that mean?" Wei Zhenzhen was a little puzzled.

Jiang Xuejun seriously said, "Zhenzhen, you don’t mind if I become Gao Xuan’s girlfriend, do you?"