In the blink of an eye, a year had passed since
Of the Eight Extraordinary Meridians, the Thoroughfare Vessel and the Belt Vessel had already been opened. With just a few more months of effort to open the Yang Linking Vessel and the Yin Linking Vessel, he would be able to cultivate the third form of Bright Force: Iron Steed and Golden Spear — a level he had never reached in his previous life. The ancestral inheritance really was powerful. The speed at which the Gold Water Technique advanced delighted Lorist greatly, and he completely forgot that he was using
However, immersed as he was in cultivating the Gold Water Technique, Lorist failed to notice the way others looked at him. He continued attending the academy as usual, sitting in on classes, and teaching swordsmanship. He had even taken on a Combat Force introductory class for commoner students the previous year and completed the teaching task splendidly — all seventeen commoner students had awakened their Combat Force, which shocked everyone.
In his personal life, Lorist had also gained his first romance since transmigrating. Their similar circumstances and backgrounds drew their two young hearts together for mutual comfort, and the two young lovers worked hard side by side for a shared tomorrow and a beautiful future.
Until that day, when Lorist ran into that money-grubbing fatty Shi…
"Hey, hey, I say, you dead fatty, what's with that look? What's wrong with me that you're staring at me like that?"
"I'm looking down on you, feeling sorry for you, get it?"
"Dead fatty, what are you looking down on for? I'm living just fine — why would I need your pity?"
"Oh, really? Living just fine? Little Rock, let me ask you — how long has it been since you practiced your Combat Force?"
"Uh, well, it has been a while. But that's not my fault. The Combat Force inherited from my family is different from all the others, and I don't have the lower-tier manuals. Even if I wanted to practice, there's nothing to practice with."
"So what are you going to do? Just stay stuck at Iron Three-star? Then wait a few years until the war in the north dies down and you can contact the family to get the manuals?"
Lorist shrugged. "What else can I do? Life is going well enough. I'm in no rush. It is what it is."
"Come on, can't you put in a little more effort?" Fatty was genuinely pained. "Didn't Instructor Krude say last time that there's another method to solve a situation like yours? You keep cultivating Iron-rank Combat Force, making the Combat Force circulating in your blood more condensed and pure, then go on a life-and-death trial. At the critical moment when your life is in danger, you unleash all your potential, and there's a very good chance you can break through to the Silver rank without changing the hexagonal star circulation method. Brother, you're at the peak of Iron Three-star right now — just one small step, one gentle push, and you could become a Silver Swordsman! You can't just let an opportunity like this slip by!"
"No way, dead fatty, what kind of scheme are you cooking up? I'm living perfectly well — why would I go risk my life? Can't I just wait a few years? If I ran into some high-tier magical beast, I'd be done for, you know. This life-and-death trial thing isn't something you can just casually decide to attempt."
"Look at you, look at you — it's only been this long, and you've lost all ambition? You weren't like this before. Forget high-tier magical beasts, you would have drawn your sword without hesitation against five Silver-rank experts. Besides, dealing with magical beasts is easier than dealing with people, right? We could go check out the Mercenary Guild, see if we can find a good trial target. We could even pick up a few jobs along the way to earn some extra cash."
Lorist shook his head firmly. "I don't have the time right now. After I finish up at the academy, I have to go back and help Wenna manage the business. I'm swamped."
Wenna was the nickname of Lorist's girlfriend.
"Heh, dead fatty, don't prop me up so high. Honestly, I don't have any grand ambitions. Once I've saved up some money, I'll buy a big house on Bulling Hill, settle down with Wenna, and live a peaceful life. That's happiness enough," Lorist said with a laugh.
Bulling Hill was a small ridge southwest of Morant City, near Hidden Gold Bay. With its beautiful scenery and pleasant landscapes, it was the most expensive real estate in Morant City — the average wealthy family truly couldn't afford it.
Fatty Shi shook his head. "The houses on Bulling Hill cost tens of thousands. You'd be better off spending a few thousand gold coins to buy a four-story building in the south district. More rooms, you can rent them out for a steady long-term income. What's so great about getting blasted by sea wind every day up on that hill?"
Then Fatty Shi said to Lorist with a serious expression, "But honestly, brother, you really should put in some effort. Break through to Silver rank as soon as possible. It'll stop people from gossiping. I'm saying this for your own good."
Lorist looked at him suspiciously. "What now? Is there something I don't know about?"
"Sigh, brother, you and Wenna are thick as thieves. You rush off early every time, so you probably don't know that the Silver-rank instructors at the academy have been banding together lately. They're demanding that the academy dismiss you from your position as swordsmanship instructor. They say your Combat Force is only Iron-level, so you're not qualified to serve at
Lorist's hair stood on end instantly: "What the hell? Since when does my Iron-rank strength have anything to do with them? What right do they have to fire me? When it comes to swordsmanship, even if they're Silver-rank, which one of them is a match for me?"
"Brother, think about it from their perspective. You teach commoner students that everyone else shuns. It's a miracle they're any good, and it only highlights their own incompetence. Silver-rank instructors who can't even compare to an Iron-rank instructor like you — how can they stand that? They're determined to kick you out of Dawn Academy no matter what."
"If all the Silver-rank instructors at the academy band together like this, the academy might not be able to withstand the pressure and could end up dismissing you."
"The best way to deal with this right now is for you to break through to Silver-rank as soon as possible, brother. Once you become a Silver Swordsman, no one will have anything to say. That's why I suggested you try a life-and-death trial." Fatty Shi gazed at Lorist with earnest concern.
Lorist smiled bitterly and shook his head. He couldn't tell the worried fatty that he was cultivating the Gold Water Technique from his previous life, and that the blood circulation forming his hexagram was now like a giant funnel — it couldn't hold any Combat Force at all, which all leaked away into his meridians. There was no way to explain this. "It's very difficult. My family's Combat Force is quite different from the usual kind. Without the follow-up manuals, it's nearly impossible to break through. Even a life-and-death trial wouldn't help, I suspect. Last time I showed you the areas where my blood circulation forms the hexagram, you said you'd never even heard of those parts of the body. So I can't guarantee when I'll be able to advance to Silver-rank."
"Then there's only one option that can guarantee the academy won't be able to fire you. Brother, do you know about the Gold Instructor Badge at our academy?"
"The Gold Instructor Badge? Of course — Instructor Krude wears one, doesn't he? And Instructor Villeddo from the knight training department, Instructor Vansen who teaches horsemanship, and Instructor Lobov from alchemy — they all have one, right? Doesn't every instructor with Combat Force at Gold-rank or above receive a Gold Instructor Badge?"
"Er, that's not the one I mean. Our academy has a different kind of badge — the Gold Swordsmanship Instructor Badge. Over a hundred years ago, a student at Silver one-star rank challenged Silver two-star and above instructors at the academy and won thirty consecutive matches, becoming famous far and wide. The academy hired him as a swordsmanship instructor and even forged a Gold Swordsmanship Instructor Badge for him. But that student later participated in the Silver River Campaign and killed three Gold-rank imperial knights in the Raid on Lede Town before falling in battle with grievous wounds. To commemorate him, the academy deliberately preserved that Gold Swordsmanship Instructor Badge and established a rule: anyone who can achieve thirty consecutive victories in cross-rank challenges — even a one-star difference counts as cross-rank — will receive the Gold Swordsmanship Instructor Badge and enjoy the full benefits of a Gold instructor. However, if someone challenges the badge holder and wins, the holder automatically loses the right to wear the Gold Badge and forfeits the position of Gold instructor."
Fatty Shi explained further to Lorist: "That Gold Swordsmanship Instructor Badge has been kept in the academy's Hall of Honor this whole time. In over a hundred years, no one has been able to replicate that student's feat of thirty consecutive cross-rank victories, so the badge has nearly been forgotten. If you don't want to get kicked out of the academy, brother, you could try going for this Gold Badge. I think thirty consecutive cross-rank victories shouldn't be too difficult for you."
"There's really such a perk?" Lorist cracked his knuckles eagerly. "I'm going to get that Gold Badge, no question. Fatty, what was that student's name? Winning thirty matches in a row is quite impressive."
"His name was Revin Icardo. If he hadn't fallen on the battlefield fighting Gold-rank knights from the Krisen Empire while at Silver-rank, he might have become a Great Swordsman. Dying so young was truly a tragedy. The Gold Swordsmanship Instructor Badge at the academy is officially called the Icardo Badge." Fatty sighed with emotion over the young swordsmanship prodigy's fate.
"Alright, Fatty, let's talk strategy. Tell me — which Silver-rank instructors are involved in this little conspiracy, and who's ringleading it? Give me a list. I'll challenge them one by one." Lorist licked his lips like a leopard deliberating over which part of its prey to sink its teeth into.
Over the next ten-plus days, Dawn Academy was anything but quiet.
Lorist first issued open challenge letters to the Silver-rank instructors on Fatty Shi's list, but most of them didn't take it seriously at all — they treated it as a joke. Some Silver-rank instructors even tossed Lorist's challenge letters into the trash and laughed disdainfully: "Does he even deserve it?"
Since they wanted to play it that way, Lorist couldn't be blamed for being impolite. He barged into their classrooms while the Silver-rank instructors were in the middle of teaching, calling them out by name with all manner of mockery and humiliating slaps to the face. Several Silver-rank instructors, unable to bear the shame, drew their swords in fury, ready to teach this cocky young upstart a lesson about respect. And then... those highly respected Silver-rank instructors were soon shipped off to the infirmary.
Dawn Academy was like a hornet's nest that had been stirred. The students were having the time of their lives. It was a rare sight to see those aloof, dignified Silver-rank instructors beaten down and humiliated by an Iron-rank instructor. As Lorist went looking for his next challenge target, nearly a hundred students tagged along to watch the spectacle, and among them were no shortage of helpful informants tipping him off...
"Instructor Lorist, Instructor xx is over there — want to go challenge him?"
"Instructors xx and xx are together over there — hold them up, Instructor Lorist is on his way..."
"This way, hurry, Instructor Lorist..."
The commotion alarmed the entire academy. Dozens of Silver-rank instructors blocked Lorist's path along with the enormous crowd of gawking students behind him. They furiously demanded that the academy's administration take serious action over this sudden incident — about the man who had disrupted normal teaching order and sent seven of their colleagues to the infirmary.
Several Silver-rank instructors were especially venomous toward Lorist, shouting on the spot for him to get out immediately and that Dawn Academy didn't welcome the likes of him.
Instructor Krude and several Gold instructors arrived to investigate what had happened.
The Icardo Badge? What was that? Everyone looked at each other in confusion.
Fatty Shi, who had been maintaining order among the student crowd, stepped forward and delivered a rapid-fire explanation.
Only then did everyone realize that such a thing existed at the academy and that it was a long-standing tradition. This matter had to be decided by the upper echelons — Instructor Krude and the others had no authority to settle it. Once the report was sent up, they would just have to wait patiently for the result.
Luo Lisite was completely calm about it. There was no reason to blame him for the commotion — he had issued the public challenge after all. The silver-rank instructors simply hadn't taken it seriously, so showing up at their doors to challenge them and slap them in the face was perfectly justifiable.
There were plenty of sharp minds around. The students and gold-rank instructors who had pieced together what happened began casting sympathetic glances at the silver-rank instructors, scrutinizing each of the several dozen one by one until they grew fidgety and broke out in cold sweats.
The ruling came down quickly. It was Director Levins himself who delivered the verdict, in his own words: "I've got my eye on you, little Roque. Keep at it, and don't let the Icardo badge stay covered in dust forever."
However, he also cautioned Luo Lisite not to disrupt the teaching order — challenges should be conducted after class whenever possible, such as waiting outside the classroom until school let out and whatnot…
The silver-rank instructors were dumbfounded. Over a dozen of them suddenly felt under the weather — perhaps old injuries acting up, after all, time spares no one — and decided to take sick leave and head home to recuperate for a while. A few more who were on the challenge list reckoned that looking into teaching positions at other academies was a fine idea. The remaining silver-rank instructors, under the watchful eyes of the jeering students and the several gold-rank instructors including Krude, had no choice but to arrange the challenge schedule and order with Luo Lisite, then departed with ashen faces.