Three days passed by in the blink of an eye. Doran was seated crossed leg and bare-chested in his residential chamber, he held two red crystalline objects in both hands with his eyes tightly closed, of course, these were essence crystals. He had been in this position for four hours now, heavy drops of sweat could be seen flowing profusely down his entire body. Just then, his eyes jolted open, with an exasperated expression.

'Argh, Seems like I really can't get it right, did I make a wrong choice going for swords art? What's the use when I can't absorb essence crystals?' Doran was tossed to and fro in the realm of confusion. 'maybe… I should just give up, I'm still young, I can find better things to do with my life'

His heart ached up a bit, as he thought of the bet he had made with Ian Wrighte three days ago, losing the bet also meant losing his precious manual. Now, wasn't the time to care for face, all that mattered, was to find a way to retain the manual.

The Essence Energy Utilization Manual was a medium-grade training manual, Doran had always felt a special connection to it, he believed that the solution to his stagnant sword growth was hidden deep within it.

'If only I could unravel the profound mysteries' he would think.

It was a manual created by the patriarch, who was at the Xianji stage of swordsmanship. Doran indeed was lucky to have obtained it in a talent fair, but he always had a premonition to it was fate.

His eyes seethed with pure eagerness, he wasn't the type to give up easily, so why would he be discouraged at this moment? Right then, a thought flashed across his mind…

[Spirit Jade]

'Huh? Why am thinking... Is my sixth sense trying to tell me something?'

As weird as it sounded, Doran couldn't help but give it some thought. Right then, he suddenly remembered the scene in the forest, where he held the Spirit Jade. He could recall his distorting vision, like how it happened in the strange tomb. All the series of events that had played out, seemed like no ordinary coincidence.

'Spirit Jade… Right, that's it. But where do I find one?'

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Was it easy to find such a treasure? Even if he had a thousand merit points, that would still be far from enough to obtain a single piece of Spirit Jade. Doran couldn't help but think of a person who had tossed out this same treasure without batting an eye.

'Anya, she said she's a student here right? I have to find her…' Getting up for his position, he stretched out his hands and legs, which had now gotten numb from pained sensations. Time for lectures was approaching, He put on his clothes and left for the lecture hall.

…

Getting to the lecture hall, Doran marked his attendance record before entering. It was a large hall with a capacity of over a thousand. By the time he had arrived, the hall was already half-filled with students.

Students dressed in blue silk robes occupied the front row section of the hall, they were inner court and direct disciples. Inner court disciples were selected based on potential. To become an inner court disciple, one had to possess a very high sword talent, above their age expectation, one could also become an inner court disciple by reaching the top 200 in the rankings.

Doran sat among the outer court disciples at the back row of the hall. They were a bit noisy with their chattering, but he didn't pay much attention to it, as his mind was bulgingly occupied. He leaned his back against his seat with a blank expression, thinking of how chaotic his future might turn out to be. Just then, his mind was brought back to reality by an unexpected shout…

"Reymon…he's here!"

Everyone's attention seemed to have been caught in unison by the voice.

"Reymon Kensa? He's really here"

"Huh? Why is he here, Is there something important happening today?"

"Who is she?"

…

...

The hall was heated by the voices of the astounded outer court disciples.

Doran's eyes lit up as he stared with a bewildered expression. This wasn't because of Reymon Kensa, but because of the girl that accompanied him into the hall.

"Anya? What is she... She's an inner core disciple?" Doran wasn't sure, he only made an assumption because she wore a blue robe, just like the rest inner court disciples. Why is she with Reymon Kensa? was the next startling issue.

In the entire Florin Valley as a whole, who hadn't heard of Reymon Kensa? He was the Kensa family's young lord and the first son of Protector Delian Kensa. His family had a very rich and prestigious history including that, with the royal family of the Northern empire. The Kensas also owned several top businesses in Florin Valley.

Reymon, who is a direct disciple to the patriarch, was the first ranked student in Florin Valley Academy. He is known for his extraordinary talent, earning him the title of Genius Of A Thousand Years. He became the first on the rankings at the age of fifteen and had maintained his position for two years now, while also settings a record that every student of the Academy could only hope to reach in their dreams.

Reymon had been tipped as a potential candidate for the Crimson Empire's Immortal Academy. The Immortal Academy was a Saint-grade sect, that had produced numerous saint-grade characters in the past, just like the legendary Sword Saints Galdor. It was the ultimate dream of all students of Florin Valley Academy to make it into the Crimson Immortal sect, but for the past four hundred years, none had been able to make it into the sect, due to its tough tests and qualification requirements.

Despite his numerous achievements, Reymon wasn't much of an arrogant type, all he cared about was the pinnacle of Sword Dao. He would rather spend his time training, only associating with the top elites of the Academy. He was always in search of worthy rivals, which he found hard to find these days.

Thinking about all this, Doran couldn't help looking at Reymon Kensa with his eyes seething with profound respect.