Chapter 39 Enrolment

Fang Xingjian ignored the astonishment of those present as he was short on time, and so was not able to care about such things concerning his reputation.

Therefore, he continued to act as if nothing had happened. He went into the canteen, collected the milk, salad and black bread from the kitchen helper and started eating. These were considered quite a spread for him now.

It had also been a long time since Kyle had eaten at the canteen. He collected a set of food and sat in front of Fang Xingjian. Seeing how the other party was engrossed in his food, he smiled and said,”Say… when you have practiced in the school previously, you’ve held back, haven’t you?”

Fang Xingjian did not even raise his head and replied, “Yes.”

Kyle continued to ask, “Then can you tell me what level your Grizzly Bear Sword Technique is at now?”

After this issue, everyone would definitely gradually learn the truth, and Fang Xingjian had no intention of hiding it. He answered straightforwardly, “Level 15. I’ve perfected it.”

Pssst. Kyle took in a sharp breath of cold air. What was the concept of someone having reached level 15 in the Grizzly Bear Sword Technique? This was a genius amongst geniuses, and in the Empire, only one would appear in decades or even centuries. He had never expected to encounter such a person.

Kyle said, “It’s no wonder. With your talent, the Regional Selection would be no problem for you. However, you must still be careful during the National Selection.”

Fang Xingjian had not that even thought that with the talent he had displayed, Kyle would still warn him to be careful during the National Selection. He asked in surprise, “Is the National Selection so tough?”

Kyle shook his head and replied bitterly, “Do you know how many people in the Empire have been training without a sense of day or night? Thousands of people enters the Prefectural Selection and ten of them are chosen to be Knights; about one to two hundred Knights enters the Regional Selection, and the top ten are chosen again.

“And even if those who pa.s.sed the Regional Selection are not comparable to you, the difference wouldn’t be too big.

“There are even old monsters who have been training for decades or centuries, freaks whose talent are no weaker than yours, and aristocrats from reputable backgrounds with access to resources that are hundreds or thousands of times more than yours.

Putting these people together to compete for the top ten spots, how intense do you think the compet.i.tion would be? Moreover, the National Selection is held only once every three years, but only the top ten are selected. There are many strong people who are left behind to compete in the next National Selection.”

Kyle sighed and said, “That is the stage which belongs to the people at the pinnacle of each generation.”

Fang Xingjian nodded and finished the last bit of his bread, before he raised his head and said, “I’ll be attending Kirst Royal Knight Academy and will probably not be able to continue helping out with the matters in The School of Sword Arts.”

What rubbish are you talking about? After going there, how could you still bother yourself with the insignificant work here?” Kyle grinned and said, “I had thought of pulling you to join The School of Sword Arts, but never thought that you would suddenly soar up into the skies, progressing even faster than I’d imagined.”

Fang Xingjian said seriously, “No matter what, you are the one who brought me true enlightenment on my path of swordsmans.h.i.+p. I’m very thankful.”

“Why are you being so serious?” Kyle made nothing of it and said, “You paid the money, I teach you stuff, it’s just so simple. Hehe, do you know that I accept tens of students each year, but there are less than five who still come back to visit me?”

“That’s true.” Fang Xingjian said, “Then I’ll be taking my leave.”

“Don’t forget to report at the academy tomorrow.”

Kyle looked at Fang Xingjian’s departing back view, inclined his head and thought to himself, ‘I keep getting the feeling that something’s off about this guy’s character.’

Half an hour later, another member of staff from the Royal Academy came to The School of Sword Arts to look for Kyle.

…

Kirst Royal Academy, archives.

Huang Lin looked at the record in his hands and a hint of a smile broke out on his face. Written on the record was all sorts of information related to Fang Xingjian, all the way from half a year ago. Even the period where he was recovering from his injuries in the fis.h.i.+ng village was recorded.

‘Mysterious background?’ Huang Lin was indifferent to this. ‘But the world of the Empire is vast and His Majesty’s generosity is as vast as the mountains and seas, such that he would even take in demons from another dimension. While I’m not comparable to His Majesty, why would I not be willing to accept a genius with an unknown background?

‘To be able to bring the Grizzly Bear Sword Technique to level 15 in only half a year’s time, and it might be possible that level 15 is not his limit yet.’

An unfathomable smile hung on Huang Lin’s face. At the same time, he sealed up the record and switched it with a file he had prepared earlier which indicated a clean background.

The academy would collect the records of everyone who had pa.s.sed the Prefectural Selection each year and submit it to the Royal Knight a.s.sociation for their recording. If there was anything suspicious, weird, or if the a.s.sociation felt that something was off, the Empire’s higher management would order for a secret investigation to be conducted.

However, Huang Lin knew that should Fang Xingjian’s situation be reported, what awaited him would be the various aggressive and ferocious wide-opened mouths, as well as the greedy gazes. Coming from the point of one who valued talent, he chose to keep Fang Xingjian’s distinguished talents a secret for now.

‘To reach level 15 in half a year’s time, it really is too attention-attracting. How many Dong Fangling will there be in the world?’ Huang Lin thought to himself.

At that moment, a figure entered the archives and stopped before Huang Lin.

“Lord, the task is completed. I’ve given Kyle a reminder. He’s not likely to be too meddlesome.”

“Mmm, so long as the people in the Imperial Capital have not noticed anything, I’m still able to handle Kirst’s aristocrats.”

…

The next day, Fang Xingjian had his breakfast at The School of Sword Arts and reported at Kirst Royal Knight Academy. Although he was despised by the guards due to his clothes, after he reported his name, their gazes had turned into those of fawning.

“Lord Fang Xingjian, this will be the cla.s.sroom where you guys will be gathering at.” One of the guards obligingly brought Fang Xingjian into a cla.s.sroom.

Fang Xingjian gave a casual glance and discovered that he was the last one to arrive. The other nine Knights were already seated in the cla.s.sroom.

Coming from the aristocratic clans in the city, Kaunitz, Fei Yang Knight Academy’s Barbara, and Aristocrat Knight Academy’s Ferdinand were naturally seated together.

Behind them, tenth place Carter and eighth place Zhou Nan were like attendants.

Amongst the top ten places in the Prefectural Selection, those from the aristocratic clans had taken up five spots. This obviously showed the powers of the Empire’s aristocrats.

Shadow Moon Academy’s Boris sat alone in a corner. Other than Robert, he was the only one who had belonged to a faction which specialised in bare-handed martial arts. After all, the Empire’s major factions rarely sent their most outstanding inheritors to the Empire.

City Guards Inst.i.tution’s Jack and the unaffiliated Anthony were considered commoners who rose by their own efforts.

As for the previous head of Tyrant Fist Dojo, Robert, he was seated with both legs on the table. When he saw Fang Xingjian, he revealed his teeth to him, showing a challenging smile. It was obvious that he was extremely p.i.s.sed off that Fang Xingjian had clinched the Prefectural Champion this time around.

Seeing Fang Xingjian’s appearance, fire lit up in Kaunitz’s eyes, as if he wished to tear the other party into pieces.

The others’ gazes were all filled with curiosity and guard. Most of them had received the news that the other party could defeat Kaunitz in one blow and was someone with powers they should not be holding in contempt.

Jack from the City Guards Inst.i.tution laughed out and waved at Fang Xingjian. Fang Xingjian also naturally walked over and sat down.

Jack was a man about 30 years of age, with a full beard. He greeted Fang Xingjian pa.s.sionately after he had sat down, “You must be Fang Xingjian, right? My boss Hogan has mentioned your name quite a few times these past few days.

“My name is Jack, haha, after partic.i.p.ating in the Prefectural Selections for six consecutive years, I’ve finally got in.”

He then pointed at Anthony and said, “This is Anthony from Uranlis.”