“How about this, William, you don’t need to compete tomorrow. Give your spot to your David Bennett. Although David Bennett’s bloodline test only reached ‘Class C’, at least he’s managed to awaken his bloodline and enter the first level of the ‘Pulse Realm’.” As soon as he entered the room, Charles Bennett said with a gloomy face.

“Dad, I’m only thirteen, I don’t meet the age requirement for the competition. Let my brother go instead—even if he gets kicked off the stage, at least he’ll gain some martial arts experience and be better prepared for the next attempt at awakening his bloodline.” David Bennett shook his head vigorously.

Actually, William Bennett knew his younger brother was giving way to him. The clan didn’t have any age restriction for the disciple ranking selection; as long as you entered the Pulse Realm, you could participate. The younger you were, the greater your talent for bloodline awakening.

“I’ll go tomorrow!” William Bennett unexpectedly insisted, which made the old man Charles Bennett pause in surprise. After all, last year during the clan selection, William Bennett kept pushing for David Bennett to go instead. He hadn’t expected him to refuse this time. This was rather unusual.

“You’ve thought it through? The result, sigh…” Charles Bennett sighed, looking frustrated.

“I’ve thought it through, don’t worry. I am your son, Charles Bennett.” William Bennett was surprisingly calm and composed, which made Charles Bennett pause again.

In previous years, his son would always seem anxious and restless before the competition, naturally due to a lack of confidence. Could it be that the boy had decided to just give up, so he didn’t care anymore? A trace of sadness flashed through Charles Bennett’s heart.

“All right, you are my son, Charles Bennett. Even if you lose, lose with style!” Charles Bennett slammed his fist on the table.

Chapter 003: Thrown Out

“Second brother, there’s no reason to waste these herbs. Let’s go take a medicinal bath.” Younger brother David Bennett cheerfully gathered up the herbs that Samuel Bennett had left behind.

“Throw them out, they’re too ‘dirty’.” William Bennett said sternly, with a snort.

“Dirty?” David Bennett was stunned for a moment, then waved his hands and tossed all the herbs outside. He muttered, “Almost got themselves dirty.”

Charles Bennett nodded secretly, feeling that his son seemed to have changed somehow.

The next morning, the training grounds at the Ye residence were bustling, with over a thousand members of the Ye clan already gathered.

“I heard there are over a hundred disciples challenging for promotion to the various ranks this time. The competition is fierce.” James Bennett said with a smile.

“Yeah, that loser William Bennett actually refused to give his spot to Edward Bennett. Can you believe there’s someone so stupid in this world?” Richard Bennett joked.

“That’s right. Instead of getting beaten up for the sake of pride, it’d be better to trade for a bowl of Wolf King essence blood. Makes more sense. Charles Bennett must have lost his mind, playing the fool along with his son.” James Bennett sneered, then paused, turning his head to look. “Huh, that loser actually showed up.”

“William Bennett, are you aiming for the Bronze rank or the Iron rank in this promotion challenge?” his old rival Henry Bennett teased.

“Bronze is better. That way I’ll be in the same tier as brother Thomas Bennett and sister Grace—how cool is that? When the clan lines up for the ceremony, all the Bronze disciples are presented. That’s the face of the family.” James Bennett gloated.

“Forget Bronze, just go for Wood rank first.” William Bennett said calmly.

“Pah! You? And you think you can make it to Wood rank? Trash!” James Bennett spat on the ground, looking contemptuous.

“Who are you calling trash? Your mouth stinks.” William Bennett replied coolly, nearly making James Bennett blow his top.

“Fine, Ye loser, I’m going for Wood rank too. See you on the stage.” James Bennett threatened.

“As long as I’m here, a loser like you will never make it to Wood rank. Because I, Edward Bennett, am going to challenge this loser. He will never become a true disciple of the Ye family. He will always be a loser, always be despised, always live at the very bottom of this world.” Edward Bennett sneered arrogantly as he approached, repeating his point four times, showing just how much he hated William Bennett.

At his shout, everyone’s attention turned their way.

“Sigh, now that Edward Bennett has his sights set on him, even if William Bennett has brute strength, it’s useless.” someone sighed, because in the past, there had been people whose bloodline test was zero but who managed to defeat Pulse Realm bloodline users with sheer physical strength.

Such people usually had outstanding talent in body training. Since they had no bloodline energy, there was no blood qi generated in their bodies. So, they could only rely on their bodies and brute force to win. Of course, such cases were extremely rare—less than one in a million, a kind of mutation.

“Brute strength? He’s not that great. Otherwise, he would have advanced to Wood rank long ago.” another elder said.

“True. I heard that these past few years William Bennett has never been able to awaken his bloodline. Charles Bennett even considered focusing on body training, spending a fortune on special body training techniques for his son. But it doesn’t seem to have worked. He’s failed three times to become a Wood rank disciple.” a chubby-faced elder sighed.

“If William Bennett fails to become a Wood rank disciple this time, there’ll be a good show. Charles Bennett will become the target of attack for all the elders who want to join the promotion committee.

Samuel Bennett has already made harsh statements, saying he’ll challenge Charles Bennett. And most of the elders on the council are wavering, meaning it all depends on whether William Bennett can become a Wood rank disciple.”