“It’s said that Anna Sutton is the daughter of Commander-in-Chief Charles Sutton, and the second in line to inherit the Federation in the future!”

“She’s powerful and beautiful—if only I could get a kiss from her…”

“Unless you have a death wish!”

……

At this moment, I had already walked around and respectfully said to the teacher in the shirt, “Teacher, the training swords for Training Ground No. 8 have been delivered.”

The teacher turned to glance at me and smiled, “Please help unload them, thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

I lowered my head and began unloading, but just then, accompanied by the soft sound of footsteps, a figure walked up in front of me, her feet clad in the exquisite leather boots exclusive to female students of Wanling Academy.

“You… lift your head.”

Her voice sounded familiar.

I looked up, and instantly, an incredibly beautiful face came into view. It was a face I knew well—yes, she was the girl who performed my awakening ceremony in the sanctuary of Silverleaf City eight days ago, the legendary Valkyrie Sarah Sutton? No, this was her niece, Anna Sutton! She must have thought it was fun to swap identities with Sarah Sutton and helped me awaken.

In that instant, a nameless anger rose in my heart. What she treated as a game had already thrown my life into chaos.

Anna Sutton looked at me, seemingly angry as well. Her delicate, doll-like face showed a hint of anger, her elegant brows tightly knit, as if she was struggling internally. After several seconds, she sighed, as if forgiving herself, and said, “You… I heard you later burned your meridians and destroyed your cultivation. Is that true?”

“Yeah.” I nodded, then added, “But it has nothing to do with you. It was my own decision.”

“That incident was my fault. I’m sorry…”

She pressed her red lips together, her starry, deep eyes staring straight at me, but her voice remained very calm: “I didn’t expect things to turn out that way… I thought the awakening ceremony was just a simple potion catalyst. I really didn’t expect it would ruin your cultivation…”

“You don’t need to apologize. I already said it wasn’t your fault.”

I glanced at her, pretending to be magnanimous. In truth, who could really refuse such a sincere apology from a stunning beauty?

“That day I… you… you really shouldn’t have looked at me like that!”

She seemed to want to say something, and soon her face flushed red. She must have recalled the scene from that day when her clothes were burned away by the evil fire and we faced each other naked. Flames swirled around her palm, and the spiritual power within her seemed almost out of control.

I felt a bit uneasy. The best strategy was to make a tactical retreat, so I asked, “Do you… need anything else?”

But Anna Sutton suddenly threw a training sword in front of me, her starry eyes staring at me proudly, and said forcefully, “We both made mistakes. I’ve already apologized for mine. Now it’s your turn. I challenge you—to settle the grievances between us with a duel. Do you accept?”

……

I was slightly stunned. She didn’t really want to challenge me; it was because I had seen her naked, and she still felt uncomfortable. Since she couldn’t let it go, she could only try to convince herself with a challenge!

I looked at the iron sword on the ground, then looked up at her, only to see Anna Sutton slowly open her palm. Spiritual power gathered into a delicate, fiery red longsword. The corners of her mouth lifted slightly: “Just one fight. After it’s over, our debts are settled. Do you agree?”

Her tone didn’t seem to allow me any choice—I had to agree.

Red Dragon’s Wrath · Feiyan—this was a famous weapon known throughout Wanling Academy. How could I fight Feiyan with this iron sword?

That would be suicide!

A wise man doesn’t fight a losing battle, but admitting defeat was out of the question.

If I didn’t want to get beaten up and still wanted to save face, I needed something else—

Wisdom!

Chapter 5: Fame Spreads

That teacher remained silent, seemingly unwilling or perhaps afraid to intervene.

This world is just too dark!

Almost all the students stared wide-eyed, watching as if it were a show. Only one girl, as beautiful as Anna Sutton with long ash-brown hair, stepped forward and tried to persuade her: “Little Anna, let it go… it’s all in the past.”

“Yvonne, stay out of this. If I don’t do this, I’ll never get over it…”

Anna Sutton’s tone was gentle but resolute. The Feiyan in her hand was already spitting scorching flames, and this Feiyan was an extra-long sword, about 1.3 meters. Even in the hands of a petite girl like Anna Sutton, it looked overwhelmingly imposing.

I stayed silent for nearly half a minute. It seemed no one was going to support me, so I said, “Anna Sutton, according to Article 9 of the Wanling Academy regulations, higher-level students are not allowed to challenge lower-level students. What’s your cultivation? At least Tianchong Realm, right? And me… my cultivation is zero. You’re not qualified to challenge me.”

After saying that, I felt relieved. Good thing I was clever enough to read the Wanling Academy regulations carved on the wall while I was moving the swords.

“I know.”

Anna Sutton narrowed her beautiful eyes and smiled: “Don’t worry, I never intended to use even a bit of spiritual power. We’ll duel fairly—just skills, no spiritual power. How about it? I heard you’re the most outstanding swordsman in Silverleaf City. I’d like to see for myself.”