Moreover, according to his memory, Charles Lincoln was a noble from the Manlin Empire. Although he was a fallen noble, they had always clung bitterly to their noble honor. Noble honor... If he were to retreat without a fight and Charles Lincoln's father found out, just for the sake of that noble honor, he would definitely not escape a harsh scolding... Even though he didn't care whether his reputation was good or bad, for the sake of his own peaceful life and the living expenses provided by his family, he had no choice but to rack his brains and come up with a battle plan.

"Alright, fourth-level swordsman Katherine Lincoln, right? I'll handle this."

The two of them were both stunned when they heard this.

Carrie Lincoln even jumped up: "Damn, kid, you've already reached the level of a fourth-level swordsman? And you still have the mood to joke with us, making us worry for nothing. That's really not cool of you."

"I haven't reached the level of a fourth-level swordsman yet."

"You haven't?"

Lincoln was a bit exasperated: "Hey, hey, Charlie, are you messing with us or what? Have you advanced or not? This is a big deal for our future, so stop joking around."

"Battle energy strength doesn't mean everything. A third-level swordsman facing a fourth-level swordsman isn't necessarily without a chance of winning. Alright, let's go." After William Lincoln finished speaking, he ignored the other two and walked straight out the door.

Lincoln and Carrie Lincoln exchanged glances, both feeling a bit surprised.

"This kid..."

But at this point, it was already a case of grasping at straws. They had no choice but to quickly follow.

Volume One, Chapter Five: Utterly Defenseless

A battle between fourth-level swordsmen was not common in a mid-level academy. After all, even the most renowned mid-level academies in the country might not have more than fifty fourth-level swordsmen.

Given the current situation in the Ziyun Empire, reaching the fourth-level swordsman rank before the age of ten was already considered a genius. Even advancing to the fourth level before sixteen was a rare elite, someone worth cultivating who might one day reach the seventh level and become a pillar of the nation.

When William Lincoln, Carrie Lincoln, and Lincoln arrived at the dueling arena, they found that as many as seven or eight hundred students had already gathered, crowding the arena in several layers, leaving no room to move. The lively atmosphere was even more intense than the last time William Lincoln dueled with Grace Lincoln.

As the three arrived, the crowd immediately erupted in shouts, whether of surprise or mockery: "Here they come, here they come, the guys from dorm B-13 are here!"

"Make way, make way, the show is about to start, everyone make way."

"Hahahaha, everyone, enjoy the show! Watch how senior Katherine Lincoln teaches these reckless juniors a lesson."

"Just advanced to fourth-level swordsman and already daring to challenge senior Katherine Lincoln, who's been at the fourth level for years? They really don't know the meaning of death."

"Exactly, they should consider senior Katherine Lincoln's strength!"

...

Jane Lincoln listened to the students around her praising Katherine Lincoln, clinging tightly to his arm and looking around proudly, as if afraid others wouldn't know this was her boyfriend. As the three approached, she began to mock them without restraint. "Hmph, finally got the guts to crawl out of your turtle shell? I thought you were going to hide in your dorm until the duel time was over."

A tall student beside her immediately tried to please her: "Sis-in-law, you don't need to stoop to the level of these three losers. Once boss Katherine Lincoln makes his move, he'll beat them so badly they'll be looking for their teeth all over the ground, crying for their moms and dads."

Carrie Lincoln and Lincoln felt uneasy, shrinking their necks and not daring to retort. They glanced at the relaxed-looking William Lincoln, unsure whether he was confident about this fight.

Katherine Lincoln glanced at William Lincoln, the corners of his mouth lifting in disdain: "Hmph, so this is the so-called fourth-level swordsman from dorm B-13? Heh, a third-level swordsman actually dares to pretend to be a fourth-level swordsman and go around showing off? If you want to show off, that's your business, but I wouldn't normally bother with you. However, you've gone so far as to bully my Jane Lincoln, so today, there's no way you're walking out of this arena unscathed."

"Third-level swordsman!?"

The crowd was stunned by Katherine Lincoln's words. The news they heard was that there would be a duel between fourth-level swordsmen—how did it become a third-level swordsman now?

Many students with connections had already taken out detection tools from the elven magic world to probe William Lincoln's true strength. Although this was quite rude, with so many people present, they weren't afraid of being singled out.

Moments later, when the crowd learned the true strength of William Lincoln and his companions, the place erupted.

"What the hell, are these three idiots struck by lightning? A third-level swordsman actually dares to challenge the dignity of a fourth-level swordsman? That's the difference between beginner and intermediate! And they're challenging the famous senior Katherine Lincoln—isn't that just asking for death?"

"Exactly, with senior Katherine Lincoln's strength, dealing with this kid will take no time at all!"

"I thought we were going to see an exciting fourth-level versus fourth-level duel, but now it looks like it's just going to be a one-sided beatdown."