In this conversation with the principal, William understood that he could no longer be the principal's student.

Still, he didn't mind. If there was a method out there, he could certainly apply it and become stronger. What's more, he also had a wacky power, just like the bloodline power they didn't have. Ideas about the uses of his power were constantly swirling in his mind, but he had not yet found the time to put them into practice.

Finally, when the sun was up, he thought it was time and started walking towards the arena, putting his guitar in his dimensional bag.

Along the way, other students around him were gossiping, pointing at him. Since the majority respected his strength, he greeted with a sincere smile. In his mind, he had the prize of the competition.

He felt that this reward was too little. Of course, it was just for him. The other was considered a great reward for students who spent weeks on a task. He was so rich right now that he could provide a prize for the first hundred people in the competition.

'Nothing to do William, not everyone is as rich as you.' he thought.

By this time he had reached the arena. After entering through the same gate again, this time the arena greeted him directly. There were no seats or anything like that. Inside the arena, Leslie stood ready. He had a long sword in his hand. He stood in his place in the arena, like an executioner waiting for his victim.

Again, the same referee waited for William to walk onto the stage in the same manner. William glanced at the audience seats as he walked. In the section where the teachers were, he saw the cultivation building manager who looked at him in surprise and the crow-nosed teacher who was looking at him with killing intent. Even the principal had arrived before him. He was waiting for William with his eyes closed in the largest seat.

The moment William looked at the principal, the principal also opened his eyes. The two of them came face to face. The principal smiled slightly and nodded.

William came to his place in the arena, neither fast nor slow. Most of the teachers were sure that William would win. Because almost all of them had seen his defensive technique. It could be described as extremely solid and impenetrable. There was a sliver of hope in most of them. And that was Leslie's mastery of the light technique.

One hope was that he had a powerful technique that he hadn't demonstrated before.

After William exited the arena, the Referee nodded to the teacher. He implied that he was ready.

After that, the referee spoke before he said to start. “Leslie, you can opt-out if you want. Nobody is forcing you. I promise you will remain my friend.” William said these words hoarsely.

He didn't want everyone in the arena to hear his words because he was worried that Leslie's pride might be hurt.

Leslie, on the other hand, responded by shouting the opposite. “William, this is my final warning. If you surrender now, I will spare your life.” Said.

William shook his head helplessly. Then he spoke again in a low voice. "You can't say I didn't give it a shot." Said. He said that not by looking at Leslie, but by looking at the principal.

Later. "If that's your decision, there's nothing I can do." Said. Then the referee looked at the teacher again.

After getting the second approval from the referee teacher William, he looked at Leslie and saw her agreeing as well.

Then he raised both hands and shouted as he lowered them. "Start!"

Unlike usual, this time it was William who took the first action. He activated his body technique and started walking slowly towards Leslie. He didn't believe he could beat his body technique.

Leslie, on the other hand, threw herself at William, using the 'light fall' and self-standing lamp technique he used while fighting Samyrna. Leslie came quickly in front of him as William walked without worry. He swung his two-handed sword with all his might in a diagonal slashing motion.

“DINGGGGG!!” William was enchanted when he saw that the voice he hated to hear was coming from his own body this time.

On Leslie's side, the situation was more complicated. Despite the light magic that lightened himself, all the strength he had put into the attack was unable to inflict any damage. What's more, the backlash from William's chest had caused his thumb and forefinger to fall apart. Despite his attack, he still took damage himself.

He knew that William's defensive technique was very good. He had seen this in previous matches but believed that he could not always stand up to his sword. Moreover, the cost of such a technique would have to be high. How would he feel if he knew that William could use this technique for several days without getting tired?

Of course, he had to resort to the last resort at his disposal, as he did not know this and knew that no matter what he was doing at the moment, he would not be able to beat his defensive technique. He wanted to keep it as a trump card, but he had to beat William.

He quickly took a few steps back and frowned at William. Then he plunged his sword into the ground. Even though the ground was hard, he still managed to get a few inches in. This was enough for the sword to stand upright without it.

He quickly knelt beside his sword and began to mutter something. After a while, he started straining and sweating like a constipated man. It was obvious how much of a burden this technique had placed on him.

“…the ancient owner of the skies. God of Light, grant me your sword…the sword of judgment!” yell. As he placed both hands on the hilt of the sword, the sword began to glow with a loud light. He radiated an aura of pure gold and dignity. William had a better understanding of how Leslie's family had managed to rule the kingdom for so many generations. This graceful, dignified, and gentle aura was easy to establish in the hearts of the people.

For the crowd watching the war, the excitement reached its peak. There were thousands of students who hoped Leslie could pass the defense that no one else had been able to pass before. Even the teachers were showing their hopes for this light technique with their excited eyes. Right now, they were all in a horse race, as if they were looking at an Arabian horse that was later opened.

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Leslie pulled the sword from the ground with both hands. William had purposely allowed Leslie to complete his technique. He wanted to see the power of such a costly technique. Otherwise, he would have killed Leslie a hundred times by now.

Likewise, Leslie was thrown at William. His crossed sword was moving toward the chest of William's shirt, which he had cut off earlier. William sensed danger from this sword this time, but he wouldn't even have come close to the dangers he had faced before.

“BA-DUMP!”

When the sword touched William's chest, something surprised him. It was the first time he had felt pain from a sword in the competition. He lowered his head and looked at his chest. Leslie's sword had cut in the same place again, but this time he had indeed 'Managed' to cut it. Of course, if that's called success.

The breathless crowd and teachers shook their heads in disappointment. William was too strong for Leslie.

When Leslie saw that this move was also unsuccessful, he immediately backed off. But he hit so hard that the two fingers of both hands were completely spread out. That's why he had to let go of the sword.

“ Dinggg !” The sword fell to the ground.

William was still staring at his chest. The sword had made a fine scratch on his chest. But that was enough to make him bleed. Even if it was just a drop, it did eventually bleed. He was extremely interested in an offensive technique that could pierce such a powerful defensive technique, even though it only cut through his very top skin.

He brought his finger to his chest and touched the drop of blood, which was a darker red color than usual. Then he looked at Leslie and spoke. “Was it all for a drop of blood?”

Leslie opened his eyes in shock. He could understand that this was the end of the road for him. Yet he could not surrender. As a prince, he wouldn't let go of his pride in this arena. Moreover, all of his brothers told him that he had to fight to the end. He could not fail his father's trust.

William then bent down and picked up Leslie's sword from the ground. It was a heavy, two-handed long sword, but its weight was not worth mentioning in front of William. He could even use it as a toothpick. As befits a prince, the wrist guard of the sword was adorned with precious jewels. It even had a large spirit stone under its hilt so that it could be used when needed. The color was pale Leslie had just gotten help from this soul stone. His strength was completely gone.

After examining the sword long enough, he spoke. “Unfortunately, it is insufficient for my sword technique.”

William looked back at Leslie. Leslie was fighting his inner demons right now. A voice inside him shouted 'Run' as William spoke or moved any of his muscles. Leslie insisted otherwise, making a great effort to keep his feet in place.

William spoke last and spoke, holding the sword in its center, its sharp part, albeit far away. "End of the road." Said.

Leslie's feet couldn't take it anymore with William's last sentence. He suddenly turned his whole body and wanted to run. He turned his back to William. William couldn't stop his hand now even if he wanted to, once he had lifted it after all. He hurled Leslie's sword like a javelin.

“BOOOM!” The sword entered Leslie's left kidney as he was trying to escape, and with the momentum he had, he nailed him to the arena wall. Even if William didn't use all his strength, the sword nearly pierced through Leslie with its hilt.

William felt sorry for him. He had thought that at least he would meet him attack face-to-face. It didn't feel good to hit someone in the back, but it was the opposite side, so he only felt sorry for a moment.

He then looked at the puzzled referee and nodded. The referee didn't know what to say for a moment. He had hoped from the very beginning that Leslie would surrender. He was a promising young man after all. But his dishonorable choice to flee and still not surrender deeply upset him. He got approval from William first, and then looked at the Director. When he got his approval, he came to the middle of the arena and shouted. “Winner, William!”

The applause in the crowd was like an apocalypse. Except for the first-aid teacher, no one cared about Leslie right now. This was especially the case for princes. They shook their heads in disappointment. They then talked to each other and quickly left the arena. William squinted after them. These men had never noticed. He could understand that the pressures Leslie faced were due to these 'big brothers'.

After the applause stopped for a while, the principal began to speak. Although he was speaking normally from his seat, his voice could be heard throughout the arena.

“First of all, congratulations to everyone. You fought bravely to prove yourself. From now on, the competition will be held at this time every year. Teacher Milo, you can distribute the prizes.” Said.

looked at Leslie, whom a teacher had taken down from the wall. There was a disappointment on his face too. After his first examination, the teacher looked at the Principal and shook his head. Leslie was not mortally wounded, so he would live. He then turned to William and nodded.

William accepted this and smiled modestly, lightly. He had no intention to kill from the start. Because he had paid for Leslie for two full armor sets. He hoped he would wise up.

Teacher Milo was the teacher who was the referee from the beginning. He immediately called him first in the competition. Strangely, it started from the Third. Because William, who was the first, was busy with first aid, while Leslie, who was the second, was busy with first aid.

“Third Samyrna, fourth Leylin… ”

Samyrna stepped onto the stage, smiling. When he came to William, he greeted him with a smile. William returned her smile in the same way. Samyrna was a very friendly girl. William could sense her innocence and sweetness.

Leylin also appeared in the arena a few seconds later. The swelling on his face had already subsided. But the absence of teeth in his mouth was evident from the outside. With a straight face, he too greeted William. After all, no one knew William anymore, and he even felt like he had gotten off when he saw Leslie nailed to the wall.

A bronze-level student brought ten-dimensional bags with a silver tray in his hand. Then Teacher Milo started handing out prizes. “Within your soul stones, you can look for yourself.” When William took his own, he saw that it contained a hundred soul stones. This was ten times more than it normally should have been. Again, it wasn't a high number, but it was for him. He looked at the principal and saw that he was shaking his head.

It was as if he was telling him to accept it as compensation.

After the awards were distributed, the principal went down to the arena for student selection. Everyone has been waiting for this moment. The majority felt that William would be chosen, after all, he was the strongest. But what surprised everyone was that the Principal had chosen Samyrna. He came before her and spoke. “Do you want to be my student?”

Samyrna bowed quickly to the principal. “The student greets the master!” said. Her cheeks were flushed. She had rehearsed this a thousand times, though she was surprised that someone like her, someone weaker than the first and second, might be selected. After all, dreaming was free. Seven people in the arena congratulated Samyrna. The Principal took out a seal from his dimensional bag and handed it to Samyrna. “You can come to me whenever you want. For now, rest.”

“Yes, master!” Samyrna bowed again. Meanwhile, the applause in the arena was like a tsunami. It wasn't over. The majority were disappointed that William wasn't elected, but Samyrna wasn't a bad alternative either. She had grown even bigger in the eyes of the men who dreamed of her. Now she was the most famous person after William in the academy.

Then the principal flew away quickly. The event came to an end with the departure of the principal. Everyone left slowly, especially the teachers. William didn't bother to turn to look at Leslie one last time.

He had to leave the academy as soon as possible. It would be a shame if the princes left before that.

He hurried to the academy stable and retrieved his horse that had been waiting for him for months. His ruby eyes missed him. After giving it a good caress, he took it and left the west gate. Since everything was in his dimensional bag, there was no need for him to be prepared. Several times he had thought about where to wait for them, and what came to mind was a valley he had crossed before. It couldn't be thought of like a valley it was just a naturally formed road between two canyons. It could be considered a natural strait separating the Academy and the Jade Wind Kingdom. This road, several kilometers long but extremely narrow, was the fastest and shortest way back to the capital.

Normally this place would be full of bandits, but when coming to the academy, the bandits would naturally choose to flee as the new entrants come with their bodyguards. It was a sensible move. Stealing from nobles was always more difficult.

William rode across the flat plains on his Ruby Horse humming the song he was constantly trying to compose.