Chapter 40: Luo's Ambush

Bing Zhiyan still hadn't been officially scheduled for classes, as the courses became increasingly difficult and the cycles longer. However, he wasn't idle every day. He would attend classes here and there, practice martial arts and magic, or learn in art, architecture, and equipment crafting classes.

Many students like Bing Zhiyan, who hadn't completed their cycles, applied for promotion exams. The academy wouldn't let these people be idle. Allowing them to study freely and designating them to attend major courses was the best approach. So during the day, Bing Zhiyan was a free spirit in the academy, and when he returned to the dormitory, all the cleaning work was assigned to him.

Time passed, and it was already late August.

At 8:30 PM, students were playing ball under the magic stones on the playground, practicing magic in the garden, or dueling in the arena. Everywhere was filled with the figures of students and teachers, and laughter echoed everywhere. Bing Zhiyan came out of the World Bank, looking at the slip in his hand.

The World Bank was a joint bank formed by various merchant alliances, just like the major guilds, spread across the world. Not only could money be stored here, but important items could also be kept in rented safes. A large academy like Kulandtin naturally had a World Bank.

Putting the slip in his pocket, Bing Zhiyan really didn't know what to do. It was too early to sleep, and he couldn't fall asleep. He didn't know what to do for fun, so he wandered aimlessly. As he walked, he suddenly noticed a crowd gathered in an open area, bustling and noisy. Since he had nothing to do, he went over to see what was happening. Before he even reached the crowd, he heard Vain's roar and curses.

Luo pointed at a classmate of about the same age and shouted angrily, "Hiber, what do you mean? We agreed not to hurt anyone during the duel this afternoon. Why did you injure my friend!"

At that moment, Vain was holding his left side, and from his pained expression, it was clear that he had been seriously injured under his clothes.

The black-eyed Hiber didn't seem to care, sneering, "I said it was an accident. Who told him to be so weak? Ha, it's normal for the weak to get hurt."

Vain couldn't stand it when someone said he was weak. His veins bulged with anger, and he swung his fist, shouting, "Bastard, who said I'm weak? If you have the guts, let's have another match. I'll beat you to the ground! I'll make you crawl! Come on, scared, are you? Watch how I deal with you!"

Luo quickly held back the nearly irrational Vain, afraid that he would aggravate his wound by moving around.

"Hey, what a low-class barbarian, probably a wild man from the primitive forest, just barking like a dog," Hiber said with a haughty air. "We, the noble gentlemen, won't stoop to your level. Yes, just like a dog barking, a dog barking."

"You...!" Luo's eyes were bloodshot with anger, his tightly clenched fists trembling. "Apologize to my friend!"

Hiber laughed as if he had heard something very funny. "Why should I apologize to him? It seems your friend insulted me first. I was just retaliating. Besides, I'm a noble knight. Why should I apologize to a low and vulgar weakling? My friend, you're also a noble knight. You should maintain the dignity of a knight. Why are you standing up for a dog like him..."

Luo couldn't hold back his anger and finally punched him in the face.

"He's fighting."

"They're fighting."

"Wow, the main event is starting."

The crowd around them whispered and chattered.

Hiber felt a salty taste in his mouth, spitting out a mouthful of saliva mixed with blood. "You bastard, how dare you hit me!" Hiber was furious. "I gave you some face because you're an old student, and you dare to hit me! I, Hiber, challenge you in the name of a knight. Do you dare accept?"

Luo gritted his teeth. "That's just what I wanted. I'll beat you to a pulp! See you in the arena."

The crowd cheered and followed them to the arena.

Bing Zhiyan also followed behind, worried about Luo. The man called Hiber was the one he had met outside the Grape Leaf Restaurant on the day of his exam, sitting on a chair in the garden. He was someone selected from another academy to enter Kulandtin, and he had mentioned dragons.

At the arena, they chose an empty field. The students on the adjacent fields, seeing such a large crowd, stopped their matches and gathered around. The two of them put on the armor provided by the arena, picked up their weapons, and entered the center of the field.

Before the duel even started, the crowd was already shouting and cheering, but it wasn't clear which side they were supporting.

Vain watched Luo nervously, having fought Hiber before and knowing his strength. He thought, "Luo, come on, this guy... this guy is definitely your match. Be careful!"

Hiber, wearing light chainmail, swung his heavy knight's lance, which weighed several dozen pounds, with ease. "Peg Luo, it's not too late to surrender and apologize now. It will be too late later."

"Shut up, Luo won't lose! Come on, Luo!" Vain roared.

Luo was relatively calm and collected. Hiber was in the same class as him, and he had a good idea of his strength. This was definitely a tough opponent. "S... Selt!"

In the corner of his eye, he saw Dolores K. Selt of the five major families: "The third-place entrant, hailed as the genius of this year, one of the three princes of the capital. What is he doing here? Ah! Bimoye and Ursula are here too!"

Bimoye and Ursula pushed through the crowd and asked Selt, "What's going on? It's just a duel, what's so interesting?"

"That guy challenged me," Selt said, looking at the center of the field.

"Which one?" Ursula looked at the two people in the center. "You mean that guy who thinks he's a noble but is actually the son of a nouveau riche?"

"No."

Ursula's gaze immediately turned to the other person. "Who is he? I haven't heard of him among the imperial nobles."

Selt said calmly, "He's not a noble, just a knight."

"Oh, I see."

Hiber also noticed the three princes of the capital and the three geniuses of the academy. He thought, "Even the five major families are here. It seems they've found out about the Spine Dragon and are starting to pay attention to me. It won't be long before my name will be known throughout the academy and the capital. Then there won't be three geniuses, but four. Hahaha..."

"Come on, fight, fight, start already!" The crowd around the field was still noisy and clamoring.

"Hehe." Hiber laughed smugly. "Let everyone here witness how the new star of the empire, Hiber, will... uh..."

While he was talking, Luo threw his lance at him, launching a lightning-fast attack.

Hiber was startled, dodging the flying lance to the side. Just as he was about to curse him for a cheap shot, a blur appeared before his eyes, and a fist struck his face.

Ursula covered her forehead. "Is this Hiber an idiot? New star of the empire? How disgusting."

Luo's attack didn't stop. As his right fist hit the opponent, his left hand grabbed the tail of the flying lance. Hiber, who was knocked back, had his foot stepped on and couldn't retreat. Luo then smashed his right elbow into Hiber's face, knocking him to the ground.

"Great!" The crowd outside erupted in cheers and applause. This series of connected moves was indeed impressive, each strike calculated to hit the opponent's vital points.

Vain jumped up in excitement. "That was amazing, great job, Luo!"

Luo, holding his lance, stepped back and said, "You lost."

Hiber hurriedly got up from the ground, holding his face injured by the armor, and shouted, "Nonsense! You ambushed me. The duel hasn't officially started. If you have the guts, do it again."

The crowd booed.

Selt said, "Is this guy an idiot? How did Kulandtin admit someone like this?"

"I don't know. I heard he was selected from a local area," Ursula said with a disdainful laugh.

Hiber didn't seem embarrassed or flustered at all. He called out confidently, "Why are you all making noise? I said it's a formal duel. How can you ambush me before it starts? Don't you all want to see a fair duel? Watch how I deal with this guy. Hmph, I won't lose to him. I have a secret weapon!"

"This guy is really beyond help," Ursula sighed.

The crowd, thinking there would be more entertainment, naturally had no objections and clamored for a fair rematch.

Hiber shouted angrily, "Did you hear that, you despicable guy? You should accept my challenge fairly. Otherwise, you and your friend are scum, dog trash!"