Chapter 27: Sweat On The Training Ground
In the study room, Yeluo stood beside Heide, listening to him describe the situation of this batch of students.
“Yeluo, you’ve been getting along with everyone for almost a month now. Who do you think will take the top three spots in next month’s assessment?” Scholar Heide leaned back in his chair and inquired.
“I think…” He pondered for a moment.
“First of all, Iona’s strength far surpasses the others, so she should be the established first place.”
“Among the other students, Suolin and Baron are both very strong in secret history studies and combat, so they are likely to take second and third in the overall score.”
“The remaining students have some advantages, but only excel in one area. For example, Lei and Karen are strong in combat, but much weaker in secret history.”
“Miss Tiya is very skilled in secret history studies, but too weak in combat. Komiya’s secret history is decent, but her advantage isn’t obvious, and she’s only a bit better than Miss Tiya in combat.”
“Is that so?” Scholar Heide revealed a meaningful smile.
“This… please teach me, teacher.” Yeluo bowed and asked for guidance.
“I won’t tell you the answer in advance, but this time you might have misjudged.”
“No matter, others would probably misjudge as well. After all, that child is too low-key.”
Yeluo didn’t know which student Scholar Heide was referring to, so he could only go through those names in his mind one by one, searching for possibilities.
Toss? He is also a noble’s son, and Viscount Xue Feng’s nephew. Could he be the dark horse? No, with his flamboyant personality, he absolutely wouldn’t be low-key.
Valenie? Even less likely. This guy is now Iona’s lackey, without inheriting Knight Leven’s physique and skills.
Mike? His combat techniques are all wild moves. During this time, he’s been forced by the instructor to correct them, training until very late every day. Could it be him? But his secret history class grades are really nothing to brag about, unless he improves in other areas and gets extra points.
Miss Tiya has good knowledge and is very smart, but unfortunately she’s been physically weak since childhood. She’s never been seen holding a sword, probably completely unable to fight. After several thoughts flashed through his mind, Yeluo decided to cross out that girl with glasses from the list.
The others don’t seem possible either; they’re either too foolish or very mediocre.
That said, Mike is most likely the one being overlooked. He has indeed been working hard to catch up lately, and he’s the most active in daily training, Yeluo evaluated inwardly.
……
Time came to a week later, with only three days left until the assessment.
Inside the training ground, the squinting boy swung his iron sword vigorously, sweat dripping like beads from his body, soaking into the dust on the ground.
After practicing the sword technique taught by the instructor once more, his actions had become exceptionally proficient, forming a kind of muscle memory.
‘Basic Sword Technique Lv.3’, that was his current approximate level.
After wiping off his sweat with a towel, he went to the well, lifted a bucket of well water and poured it over himself, dissipating the heat, and let out a comfortable roar.
“Hey, Mike, training again today?” A tall figure walked over. He was called ‘Lei’, the tallest among all the students, about 1.9 meters and over 200 pounds.
“How about sparring with me today?” Lei swung the big hammer in his hand itchingly.
Even wrapped in several layers of soft cloth, one hammer down would still cause indescribable internal injuries, so no other students wanted to spar with him.
“Hoo, alright, but I need to rest a bit.” Mike took a deep breath to adjust his state.
“Good, I’ll wait for you.” Lei scratched his head somewhat foolishly, and the two went to a corner of the training ground to sit.
……
On the other side, Baron was sparring with another noble student, practicing the newly learned sword technique.
After a few moves, Baron easily defeated his opponent.
“Although Instructor Burke always has a sour face, the sword technique he teaches is indeed very practical.” He sheathed his sword and struck a rather elegant pose while commenting.
Baron’s talent wasn’t bad to begin with, and under the strict training during this time, his strength had improved greatly. Even Suolin occasionally lost to him.
“Looks like you’ll take second place this time, Baron.” The other noble student joked.
“Second…” Baron nodded slightly.
“As the score closest to Miss Iona, it should make her change her view of you.” His pursuit of Iona was something everyone knew.
“Definitely. You’re the rightful baron heir. Iona may have had a prominent identity in the past, but now…” The student shook his head as he spoke.
There are also circles within the nobility. The highest status are usually the eldest legitimate sons who can inherit titles, followed by the second sons of great nobles, and then those with noble blood but unable to inherit titles.
“Forget it, no more on that. I heard Suolin has been practicing a special ability lately. Do you have any news?” Baron asked directly.
“I don’t know about that. You’d have to ask the commoner students.” Noble and commoner students rarely interacted, with an invisible barrier between them.
“Suolin’s father is a ‘Second Order – Blood Law’ warrior. It should be something his father taught him.”
“However, Suolin hasn’t yet condensed his ‘First Order’ nature, so the abilities he can practice are very limited.”
“Blood Law Nature…” Baron thought for a moment, then shook his head.
“Besides breathing techniques, I won’t practice Blood Law attribute abilities. It doesn’t match my family’s inheritance.” He was going to become a knight in the future and couldn’t go astray.
“Unfortunately, the abilities of the ‘Castle’ nature mostly require condensing the ‘First Order – Castle’ nature before they can be learned.” Is there no other way? Baron wondered.
He didn’t want to lose to Suolin. He was a noble, after all. Losing to a commoner in the assessment would be utterly humiliating, especially in this highly watched assessment. The results would spread immediately through Jiaoshi City’s noble circles, not only disgracing his family, but if Miss Iona saw it, then…
Thinking of this, Baron felt a surge of irritation.
No, I have to go back and ask Dad to see if he can think of something. I’m his heir; if I lose face, it’s his loss too.
……
After resting, Mike and Lei went to one side of the training ground, each taking their weapons.
“Here I come, Mike.” Lei swung his big hammer down, bringing a whooshing wind.
Such a big hammer… Mike glanced at it, quickly jumped away, pulling back distance to dodge the attack.
“Don’t run.” Lei swung the big hammer again to follow up. Fortunately, his footwork wasn’t fast, so Mike could always dodge.
But constantly dodging wouldn’t lead to victory. Mike stared intently at the opponent’s actions, trying to find a flaw.
When Lei swung the big hammer once more, he suddenly charged forward, thrusting the sword blade straight at the opponent’s waist and abdomen. The specially made wooden sword pressed into the training leather armor on Lei’s body, making him clutch his side in pain and squat down, finally sitting back on the ground.
“Ouch, again.” Lei rubbed it and got back up.
“Heh, not bad.” Mike laughed, and the two felt a bit of mutual admiration.
Because they were both from commoner backgrounds, both starting from a low point, both training hard, their relationship had gradually grown closer.
The two sparred back and forth on the training ground again and again until the sun set in the west and dusk approached.
……
“That’s it for today.” The sweaty Mike washed his body with water and said to Lei, who was doing the same beside him.
“Good.”
With that, the two tacitly walked out of the training ground. They were the last to leave again today.
Looking at the dark red clouds on the horizon, Mike felt a surge of emotion.
Perhaps, a life like this forever wouldn’t be bad.
