Chapter 105 Barging In
In a large manor, brightly lit with dazzling lights, up to a hundred servants were darting around, changing the dishes and cutlery.
Occasionally, there would be piercing laughters in the dining hall, sounds of glasses toasting, and of people digging into food and drinks.
Another servant once again brought up a large serving of steak and entered the dining hall. The whole dining hall was lit up by a thousand candles, casting a light as bright as day. The enormous dining table, over ten meters long, was placed in the middle of the dining hall.
Over ten guests sat along the table, sounds of chatter and laughter resounding non-stop.
A man with silver-colored short hair who looked like a small hill sat quietly at the table. His hands were put together, supporting his chin, revealing an inviting smile, and quietly looking towards the rest of the people who were heartily digging into the food and drinks.
The silver-haired man's appearance was very ordinary. If one had to say whether there was anything special about it, it could only be that it looked very clean. No, his entire look was very clean, as clean as a piece of white paper.
Regardless if it was his face, his neck, his hands, or any other parts of his body, they were all as clean as mountain spring water.
Just then, another series of laughter broke out. A strong and burly man stood up, wine glass raised, and looking towards the silver-haired man he said, "Let us toast to our leader, the mighty Hamil, celebrating our victory in the inter-class competition!"
"To the mighty Hamil!"
"To the mighty Hamil!"
The more than ten men and ladies at the dining table all stood up, raising the wine glasses towards the silver-haired Hamil. The latter smiled and stood up, wine glass raised, toasting, "To our tomorrow!"
"To our tomorrow!"
"Cheers!"
Everyone shouted out, and emptied their glasses.
These people were the celebrating victors of the inter-class competition, Class 248. Currently there were eight students in Class 248 who were still learning in the academy. Other than those eight Knights, their respective partners and family members were also present.
Another red-browed burly man laughed out loud. The man's skin was extremely tanned, and he had a muscular physique. However, the most eye-catching thing was his pair of brows, which looked like burning flames.
As he laughed out loud, he said, "Hehe, it's like I've finally got to throw it up after the past few days. What of that Windstorm Sword Hero? It had only been a month since he had transitioned, and the whole academy ended up treating him like some treasure, giving him the best. To ensure that his supply of ferocious beasts was sufficient, they even deducted from our share. What nonsense. Isn't he wasted now?"
Another person spoke up, saying, "To hell with being wasted! I'm disappointed to have lost the chance to spar against him and to win against him fair and square. No matter how strong he was, would it really be possible for him to win against all of us by himself? Moreover, boss is here too."
"Of course he would be unable to win against us all, but a Windstorm Sword Hero is truly strong. Have you actually seen a sixteen year old who can transcend the speed of sound before?" a lean young man said.
"Douglas, do you really like going against me that much?" the red-browed burly man asked with anger.
The lean young man by the name of Douglas replied, "Did I say anything wrong? A sixteen year old with supersonic speed. Even if he can't win against us now, it’s very likely that he'd be able to surpass us in a few years’ time. Such talent is worthy of our admiration."
"Admiration my foot!" the red-browed burly man laughed out maniacally, "He has now been crippled by those mad dogs from the association. No matter how talented he is, what use is that?"
It was obvious that regardless if it was the Governor Devitt, or the association's management, their whereabouts were all top secret. Most of the people in the academy were not aware of the turnaround in the events of the past two days.
A lady wearing a leather suit frowned and said, "Actually, it's truly a pity. If it's a genius like Fang Xingjian, I wouldn't mind making friends with him. But I'd never thought that that even a genius like him would be done in by that bunch of mad dogs."
When he heard the words of the lady dressed in leather, a young man with sea-blue-colored hair, casual and elegant, like a dignified young master argued, annoyed, "So what if he's a sixteen year old with supersonic speed? So long as there's boss's Killing technique, it's useless regardless of how fast he is.
"Moreover, transcending the speed of sound is only something valuable during the phase of the first transition. When everyone moves on to the second transition, with their agility attributes breaking through 100 points, coupled with some speed enhancing specialities and techniques, which Conferred Knight would be unable to transcend the speed of sound easily?"
As he spoke, his tone was brimming with disdain and slander towards the Windstorm Sword Hero. He seemed to detest the Windstorm Sword Hero extremely.
The lady wearing a leather suit smiled and said, "Hehe, Hylong, I know your girl's family is thinking of approaching Fang Xingjian. You're being moody here. No matter how bad a Windstorm Sword Hero is, it is still a strong and rare job. It is truly a great feat to transcend the speed of sound at the age of sixteen. If you're unconvinced, you can try it out for yourself."
This dignified-looking young man with sea-blue-colored hair was in a relationship with the instructor's (white-bearded examiner) daughter.
Hylong smiled coldly and said, "Hmph, so what if he transcended the speed of sound? Has there been a shortage of first transitioned Knights with exceptional talent? Those who can truly live on are the true geniuses. As for Fang Xingjian? He's already crippled. So what if he was a great genius before?
"Moreover, getting nervous and fainting just from just an interrogation... This is simply a joke. Such a weak-willed person, no matter how strong his talent is, is useless."
Saying that, he flashed a mysterious smile, asking, "And do you know who Fang Xingjian has offended?"
The red-browed burly man curiously asked, "Who? Could it be a certain important character from the Imperial Capital?"
"It's someone from the royal family!" Hylong took a big bite off a lamb leg, and continued, "Therefore, he's dead meat now. It'll be useless even if he were to wake up. The association can do him in once, so why couldn't they do it a second or third time?
"Hmph, a dead genius is only a dead man, no longer a genius."
Everyone's gazes immediately filled with clarity. Previously, they were curious how Fang Xingjian had offended someone from the Knight Association. But after hearing what Hylong said, they finally understood what had happened. If the opponent was from the royal family, then it would not be impossible to mobilize the Knight Association.
At that moment, in their hearts, Fang Xingjian had been sentenced to death.
Just as everyone was discussing endlessly about Fang Xingjian, the silver-haired Hamil, Class 248's leader, knocked on his glass and said, "Alright, Fang Xingjian is just a joke. You guys should just stop discussing about this outdated topic. I've got something to say."
Everyone immediately turned silent. The dining hall which had been bustling with activity and noise a moment earlier was immediately filled with silence. It went to show how much weight Hamil held in Class 248.
Hamil smiled. His face, as clean as mountain spring water, now let out a clashing sound akin to colliding metals, as if his whole body had been forged of metal.
"I've already mastered level 12 of Embodiment of the Gargantuan Mammoth.
"I plan to participate in next year's Regional Selection. One month later, I'll leave the academy and start the preparation for the search for the last few medicinal herbs required for the specialty, Platinum Sage Qi."
"Boss, you're going to leave?" the red-browed burly man shouted out. "But with your abilities now, there's already no room for you to progress should you continue to stay in the academy. Other than the senior instructors who have been in the first transition for decades, there's no one else who can be your opponent. However, the instructors' talents are at their limit, and have no hope for the Regional Selection. There's no point in you staying here. You should really be leaving."
The lady in the leather suit also smiled, "Boss, with your abilities, you'll definitely succeed in the Regional Selection next year. We offer you our congratulations in advance here."
"Haha, that's right, boss. After you've become a Conferred Knight, we'll also get to bask in your glory."
Just as everyone was raising their glasses for a toast, the door to the dining hall exploded with a loud boom, as if it had been blown away by a bomb, shattering into countless tiny pieces which shot out in all directions.
But all the eight Knights were experts at level 19 of the first transition. How could they possibly get hurt by such a small thing?
In an instant, numerous Reduced Force Fields surged forth. All the splinters gradually came to a stop midair, then slowly dropped down.
"There's no need to leave."
Fang Xingjian walked in, holding a sword. Lilia came bouncing behind him, looking at the scene and feeling both excited and worried.
Seeing that everyone's eyes were on him, Fang Xingjian nodded. "Very good, everyone’s present. You've hurt someone from my class. Of course, you'll need to pay it back a hundredfold over. All of you can just lay on the bed for a couple of months.
"As for the Regional Selection, there's no need for you to participate."