"Katherine Lincoln probably took a pretty hard fall, didn’t he?"

Everyone immediately followed his line of thought—a person weighing about 130 jin, kicked more than a meter into the air, flying seven or eight meters away, then crashing heavily onto a marble arena... the consequences of that... everyone couldn’t help but shiver together...

William Lincoln walked over to Katherine Lincoln with a calm expression, gently kicked him a few times, and seeing no response, figured he’d already been knocked out by the impact when he hit the ground. He then picked up his own sword that he’d thrown and said to the dazed referee, "Alright, please declare the result."

"Oh, oh, oh." The referee, who had seen his share of big scenes, snapped back to his senses, coughed, and then announced, "Katherine Lincoln is unconscious. Charles Lincoln is the winner."

The atmosphere was a bit strange. Everyone looked at each other, not knowing what to say about what had just happened. Normally, William Lincoln, as a level-three swordsman, had challenged and defeated a level-four swordsman, which should have earned him cheers. But the way he won left everyone momentarily stunned...

A swordsman—isn’t it supposed to be about exchanging dazzling sword techniques? How come this guy just threw his sword away, didn’t even wait for the other to use any sword skills, and took him down with close combat? Is this even considered a swordsman’s way?

It was Carrie Lincoln and Lincoln who reacted first, laughing heartily as they ran onto the stage, grabbing William Lincoln in a big hug. Carrie Lincoln laughed, "Nice one, Charlie, you actually know how to play tricks now. Not bad, not bad! You took down a level-four swordsman—impressive, really impressive."

William Lincoln frowned slightly. Being hugged by a guy like this, even if it was out of happiness, made him feel uncomfortable all over. If the other person were an enemy with ill intentions, at this distance, he’d have no way to resist a sneak attack and would be killed instantly.

"Heh, a level-four swordsman isn’t all that. Let’s see if that guy dares to act arrogant again." Lincoln immediately straightened up.

"If it were a level-four swordsman who was truly prepared, I definitely wouldn’t be a match. Alright, there’s nothing to brag about here. Let’s go." After saying this, William Lincoln pushed Carrie Lincoln away and, not caring whether the two of them stayed to show off, stepped off the stage and headed toward the dormitory.

The instigator of all this, Jane Lincoln, only snapped out of the shock of her boyfriend’s defeat when William Lincoln was about to leave, and immediately shouted, "Cheating! Referee, he cheated! He actually launched a sneak attack—so despicable! Someone with such character should be expelled from the academy!"

William Lincoln shook his head but didn’t stop walking. Stooping to argue with someone like that would be beneath him.

"Stop right there! I’m telling you, the referee sees everything clearly. Your despicable actions will definitely be punished!"

"Despicable? Heh, if winning with close combat skills is called despicable, then what do you call a level-four swordsman challenging a level-three swordsman?" Carrie Lincoln sneered back.

The referee said coolly, "Before the match, neither side set any rule against using close combat skills. And if Katherine Lincoln had been prepared, instead of trying to finish it with a flashy move, he wouldn’t have been defeated before even getting to use his sword skills. He was just too careless and underestimated his opponent." Then he added, "You’d better take your boyfriend to the infirmary. Those hits just now probably injured his muscles and bones." With that, he stepped off the stage and disappeared into the crowd.

Every referee at the academy had a high reputation, otherwise they wouldn’t be entrusted with the role of ensuring fairness and justice. Their strength was at least level six or seven. Someone like Jane Lincoln couldn’t afford to offend such an expert. So she could only glare hatefully at William Lincoln, "Damn it, a level-three swordsman dares to be so arrogant. Hmph, Grace Lincoln will definitely avenge me. Just wait and see." With that, she ignored the still-unconscious Katherine Lincoln and headed straight for the A-2 dormitory.

Volume One, Chapter Six: Quiet Cultivation

"Charlie, we really owe you this time. If it weren’t for you, the two of us wouldn’t be able to hold our heads up at the academy anymore." On the way to the dorm, Carrie Lincoln walked along, sharing his thoughts.

"Try to stay out of trouble from now on. Focus on your training and work hard to improve your strength—that’s the right path."

"Yes, yes, we’ll definitely train hard." Carrie Lincoln replied repeatedly, but after a moment, he added, "But if we don’t get rid of the trouble completely, I’m afraid we won’t be able to train in peace anyway."

"Grace Lincoln?"

"Yeah."

"She won’t come after you."

"Why not?"

"Idiot," Lincoln spoke up, "Didn’t you see where Charlie aimed when he attacked Katherine Lincoln just now? If that ice-cold beauty Grace Lincoln comes to challenge Charlie too, heh heh..." As he finished, he winked teasingly at William Lincoln, looking like he knew exactly what was going on.

Carrie Lincoln thought for a moment, then suddenly understood, and couldn’t help but laugh as well, "Wow, Charlie, you’re really devious, leaving yourself such a backup plan. No wonder you say Grace Lincoln won’t come after us for revenge. Haha, now I almost hope she does challenge us. When that happens... heh heh..."