The second-rank swordsman squeezing his way inside immediately shot him a glare. “You really are ignorant, aren’t you? Do you know who’s in charge of registration inside? That’s the pride of our Ziyun Empire, the one known as nature’s favorite, Senior Emily! Even if you’re not here to sign up, just going in for a look is worth it for the eye candy.”

Carrie Lincoln and Lincoln exchanged a helpless, bitter smile.

At that moment, the second-rank swordsman who had just spoken suddenly turned around and stared intently up and down at the three of them.

Carrie Lincoln felt uncomfortable under the scrutiny. “What are you looking at? Never seen such a handsome guy before?”

Unexpectedly, the second-rank swordsman let out a shrill scream. “You’re the pervert trio from dorm B-13! Oh my god, the pervert trio, Carrie Lincoln? You’re the Chrysanthemum Prince Carrie Lincoln, oh god, help!” With that, he frantically squeezed away to the side. His pitiful scream was just like a virtuous woman being violated, enough to bring tears to the eyes of anyone who heard it.

The crowd, already in chaos, suddenly heard the swordsman’s cry and seemed to remember something. One after another, they started screaming and crazily pushed in all directions, as if a pack of wolves was chasing them and if they didn’t run fast enough, they’d lose their lives.

The previously packed crowd instantly scattered. Within a five-meter radius around William Lincoln and his two companions, not a single person remained. Everyone kept their distance, looking at the three as if they were prehistoric creatures, their gazes filled with all sorts of complicated emotions.

There was fear, contempt, disgust, and even a few people showed expressions of admiration...

“Chrysanthemum Prince!” Carrie Lincoln’s face turned ashen.

“It must be... it must be that bitch Jane Lincoln spreading rumors,” Lincoln said, clenching his fists tightly, his face extremely dark. He knew all too well what those words implied. If this nickname really got out, they’d never be able to clear their names, no matter what they did.

“Damn, that bitch is vicious, truly vicious. She’s clearly trying to ruin our reputations.”

William Lincoln’s face was also a bit grim. Although he didn’t care much about reputation, he was still human. If someone went too far, how could he just stand by and do nothing?

Just like with the matter of Mary Lincoln—since the other party wanted him dead, so what if she was the daughter of a national leader? He still charged in alone with his sword. If it hadn’t been for that inexplicable surge of true dragon energy at the end, Mary Lincoln and the others would probably have died on the spot.

William Lincoln took a slight breath, suppressing the anger rising in his heart, and said, “Let’s go sign up first.” With that, he strode forward, and everywhere he passed, the other students hurriedly made way, as if he were the plague and they were afraid of catching it.

They made their way forward without any obstacles and soon arrived inside the trial grounds.

It seemed there were experts maintaining order in the trial grounds, so things weren’t as out of control as outside. However, wherever they went, everyone—male or female—would step aside, afraid to have even the slightest association with the three of them.

“Are you two signing up?” William Lincoln asked.

“Sigh, with our reputation like this, even if we sign up and have decent qualifications, we’ll probably still be rejected for ‘moral corruption.’ If that’s the case, what’s the point in embarrassing ourselves further?” The blow from earlier had clearly left Carrie Lincoln a bit dejected.

“We’re not signing up. Charlie, dorm B-13, we’ll count on you to bring us some glory.”

William Lincoln nodded. These two were a bit pitiful, but in the end, they were just passersby in his life—not worth wasting too much time on.

Besides, they’d always been rather unruly at the academy and spoke without restraint, which was how they’d offended Jane Lincoln in the first place. Although Jane Lincoln spreading rumors to slander them was indeed excessive, it was also a case of reaping what they’d sown—no one else to blame.

The three had just arrived at the registration desk when a male student from Brilliant Academy in charge of registration immediately stood up, looking at them with a hint of hostility. “You guys are...?”

“Fourth-rank swordsman, Charles Lincoln, signing up.”

“Fourth-rank swordsman?” The male student was taken aback and looked William Lincoln up and down, not quite convinced. “Are you sure you’ve advanced to the fourth rank?”

It seemed that William Lincoln’s reputation was so great that even this student, who had only been at the academy for a day, knew of his exploits.

William Lincoln didn’t reply, but instead glanced at a detection stone the man had hidden under the table. This magical tool, which could be exchanged for just two honor merits, was now widely used across the continent and could detect the battle aura level of anyone below seventh-rank swordsman.

The male student, realizing his probing had been noticed, snorted. “So you finally have the strength of a fourth-rank swordsman.” He pointed to a door at the side. “Fourth-rank swordsman testing is in the next trial room. Once it’s confirmed, the academy will issue you a professional badge and admit you.”

William Lincoln nodded, about to respond, when the male student suddenly warned in a harsh tone, “Let me tell you, Brilliant Academy isn’t some small local school. When you see Senior Emily, you’d better behave yourself.”

William Lincoln frowned, paused for a moment, then continued toward the room the man had indicated.