The two of us went to the cafeteria together and sat down in an inconspicuous corner. Although I kept feeling that people were pointing and whispering about me, I still quickly finished a single serving of dinner. By the time I was done eating, Ryan Scott had barely started, staring at me in shock: “You... when did you get such a big appetite?”

“I don’t know either, it’s been like this ever since my abilities were destroyed.”

“Here, use my card, eat on me. There’s still some money left on it.”

“That’s too much, I’d feel bad.”

“We’re brothers, why bother with such formalities? Go get more food.”

“Okay.”

So, Ryan Scott treated me, and I ended up eating four servings of dinner, and I was only about seventy or eighty percent full.

……

Night fell. There were no evening classes at Wanling Academy, so I wandered around the campus with Ryan Scott, getting familiar with everything around us.

In the twilight, there were still people practicing on the training grounds. For spirit cultivators, cultivating the spirit was certainly important, but training the body was also crucial. No expert ever grew without countless rounds of hard practice.

“Xiao Qian, didn’t you say you had no talent? How did you get into Wanling Academy?” Walking along the academy’s corridor, I couldn’t help but ask.

Ryan Scott smiled: “Look, there’s still a bit of spiritual light above my head. I can’t really say what my talent is, but let’s just say I have one. My dad also donated half a million to the academy, so I managed to sneak in. Besides, I feel like after awakening, I’ve become much clearer-headed, maybe even smarter, so I named my talent ‘Wit’.”

“That works?”

“Of course! Money makes the world go round!”

As he spoke, Ryan Scott continued, “Ethan, if you’re still hungry, I’ll go out and buy you something to eat. Anyway... even though my living expenses aren’t much, as long as I, Ryan Scott, have a bite to eat, you’ll have a bite too.”

“Thank you, I’m not hungry for now.”

Saying I wasn’t hungry was a lie. In fact, the moment I finished eating, I already felt a bit hungry again... Who knows what’s happened to my body, I’ve actually turned into a bottomless pit!

Just then, not far away, two students were pointing at us. One of them whispered, “Isn’t that the candidate who beat Anna Sutton during the day?”

“Yeah, that’s him, I recognize him.”

……

Ryan Scott was stunned: “Ethan, so the candidate who beat Anna Sutton during the day was you?”

I didn’t hide it: “Yeah, Anna Sutton challenged me. She’s the Valkyrie who performed my awakening ceremony, you should know her too, right?”

“Yeah, I recognized her a few days ago. I heard that day she was just in a playful mood, so she begged her aunt Sarah Sutton to swap clothes with her, which led to that farce in the sanctuary. Although I always felt there was something between you and her... But Ethan, how did you beat Anna Sutton? She got a perfect score in both the written and practical exams for Wanling Academy. They say even the examiner who sparred with her in the trial was injured by Evelyn’s sword wind. Everyone says Anna Sutton is so strong she’s like a beautiful freak, and Ethan, you’re even freakier than a freak!”

“Am I?”

I smiled slightly: “Actually, Anna Sutton is a pretty good person. She’s noble but quite sensible... just a little bit hot-tempered.”

“That’s for sure. How many pretty girls have a good temper? They’re all spoiled by those bastards...”

“Yeah, that’s true...”

The two of us walked down the corridor, talking like seasoned veterans about women, but honestly... we both knew the truth.

……

The next day, before dawn, I heard Ryan Scott’s voice outside: “Ethan, something big happened, you made the front page of the school paper!”

“The school paper?”

After a night of sword-grinding, I had just woken up, still groggy, when Ryan Scott slapped a newspaper onto my face. I took it off and, sure enough, the headline was striking: Sword-Grinding Office Candidate Ethan Baker Defeats Top Freshman Anna Sutton!

There was even a blurry photo on it. Who knows when it was taken—Wanling Academy’s school paper system is really something, even using rare and advanced things like cameras.

Ryan Scott said gleefully, “Ethan, you’re famous now!”

I was speechless: “What’s there to be happy about? This is called being set up for a fall. Just wait, I’m going to have a lot of trouble coming my way.”

“Oh...”

Ryan Scott pondered for a moment, then patted me on the shoulder and said with a smile, “It’s fine, we brothers will face trouble together!”

“I’d better handle it myself. What’s your rank among the freshmen? Are you going to help me with my troubles?”

“Well...” Ryan Scott scratched the back of his head, embarrassed: “1273rd... Ahem, even though there are only 1274 freshmen this year...”

Me: “...”

No wonder I couldn’t find this guy’s name on the freshman ranking list!

Chapter 6: Tianchong Meridian

In the blink of an eye, another day passed. That day, neither Ryan Scott nor Lucy Hughes came by again, so I could only eat just enough to get by at each meal. By the middle of the night, I was so hungry I was almost curled up like a shrimp.

After finishing the last batch of iron swords, I took one and practiced with it in the Sword-Grinding Office’s courtyard, slashing and moving again and again to train my body.

When I got tired, I sat down to rest on a wooden stump in the courtyard.