"I'm so scared, you really frightened me. If you scare me again, I'll have to surrender."

"Yeah, yeah, why don't you just poison our food tonight? Wouldn't that be much easier?"

"Poison you? Are you even worthy?"

"We're not worthy? Then why did you come challenge us? Or is it that you, Katherine Lincoln, only dare to challenge people who aren't worthy? Wow, we've really seen it all today."

"You're dead." Katherine Lincoln viciously pointed at Lincoln and Carrie Lincoln, then turned and stormed off in anger.

After Katherine Lincoln left, a few friends from the neighboring dorm immediately came over, laughing: "Hey, you two are really gutsy, daring to provoke a level four swordsman."

"Haha, not really."

"I've never liked those guys from the A-block dorms. Just because they're level four swordsmen, they throw their weight around everywhere. In the cafeteria, they always have to eat first, and we never get to join any activities. Heh, seeing them get put in their place today was so satisfying. Carrie Lincoln, Lincoln, you two really stood up for us."

"You're too kind, the one who can really stand up for us hasn't even shown up yet."

"Right, right, I heard someone say your dorm has a level four swordsman now. Is that true?"

"Haha, that's a secret, a secret. Anyway, just wait for the show tomorrow."

"So it's true then. That's great! Bro, tomorrow we'll be counting on you to bring glory to our B-block dorm. When the time comes, all hundred-plus of us will be there to cheer you on."

"No problem, no problem." Lincoln wasn't confident at all. Whether William Lincoln could break through was still unknown. But at this point, the arrow was already on the string, and he could only play along.

After some friendly banter, the others from the dorms gradually dispersed, leaving the two of them outside in the cold wind, not daring to go in and disturb William Lincoln's cultivation.

Once everyone had left, Carrie Lincoln no longer had the bravado to mock the level four swordsman, and instead looked worried: "Lincoln, do you think Charlie can really break through to level four swordsman this time? What if he fails? Tomorrow..."

"He probably... won't fail, right..."

"I'm just saying, what if..."

"If you're asking me, who am I supposed to ask? I'm worried about it too. But with that woman pressing us so hard, could we really refuse? If we didn't agree, how could we keep going here? Now, all we can do is hope the heavens bless us and nothing goes wrong. Otherwise, we might as well just drop out, so we don't embarrass ourselves at the academy."

"Drop out!? If I go home, my dad will kill me. No, no, we absolutely can't drop out."

"Not drop out? Then what if Charlie doesn't break through to level four swordsman? Are we supposed to go up and fight?"

Thinking of the angry look on Katherine Lincoln's face as she left, Carrie Lincoln couldn't help but shiver inside...

But if they were forced to drop out and word got out, and his parents found out, the consequences he'd face...

Either way, it was a dead end. Carrie Lincoln gritted his teeth, his expression hardening: "If we have to go up, then we go up. At worst, we'll just get beaten up and lose some face. Anyway, if we lose, it's to a level four swordsman, it's not the end of the world."

"We'd better go burn some incense and pray that kid at least levels up, so we can get through this. After this lesson, it looks like we should keep a lower profile from now on."

"Yeah, that's all we can do."

Volume One, Chapter Four: The Duel

"Carrie Lincoln, quick, it's almost time for the duel..." Lincoln glanced at William Lincoln, who was still sitting in meditation, and swallowed hard.

"Don't rush, don't rush. That jerk said this afternoon, and it's not even two o'clock yet, so it's not technically afternoon."

"Two o'clock isn't afternoon..." Lincoln looked exhausted, with huge dark circles under his eyes. Clearly, he had worried all night and hadn't slept well.

"It's been almost twenty-four hours. Did Charlie go crazy? No food or water, sitting there for a whole day and night? That's too much. Aren't his legs numb?"

"Usually, it only takes an afternoon to level up. I think Charlie has been sitting so long, something special must be going on. Who knows, maybe he'll even pull off a double jump and reach level five swordsman in one go."

Double jumps have happened in the nation's history before. Although it seemed impossible for William Lincoln, it was still a glimmer of hope. Carrie Lincoln could only pray to the gods that William Lincoln's situation was really as Lincoln said.

At this moment, William Lincoln's cultivation had already entered the final stage.

Right now, he was no longer that super expert of the innate grand completion stage, and couldn't go days without food or water. Even if he wanted to keep cultivating, he had to find something to eat first, or else he'd become the first person in history to starve to death while in seclusion.

After a whole day of effort, in a state of deep meditation, he had finally completed the first step for a Qi Refiner on the path of cultivation—drawing Qi into the body!