13 Mink Street

The training base’s security personnel had likely been pulled from local Whip of Order squads, or else they had been stationed here after transferring out of the Whip of Order. A stern-eyed man in priest’s robes stepped forward from behind the instructor, who looked to be about to lose his mind. The man addressed everyone present, “I am the training base’s security captain. We now need to investigate, as this is an extremely serious security incident. My subordinates will be questioning you. Please cooperate with them.”

Murray said, “We refuse to cooperate with you, because we still have classes tomorrow. We need to rest now.”

“This is a safety incident!”

“And I say that this is your safety incident!”

“You...”

“It is difficult for me to imagine that in Teygan Region, right beneath the eyes of the Central Church, something so absurd and outrageous can actually happen. I hope you can complete your self-reflection and make some corrections as soon as possible. In addition, please also learn to pay the price for your own mistakes first.

“Let’s go. We’re going back to our rooms to rest.” Murray walked out of the lecture hall, all his squad members following him. The security captain seemed about to stop them, but in the end, did not.

Karon could only inwardly sigh. As expected of a squad of young masters.

Fine. Since someone had taken the lead, Karon could not direct his own people to accept this investigation either. He stood up and also led his people out of the lecture hall.

After reaching the floor where their rooms were located, Karon told his squad members, “Everyone, rest well. Don’t let the time change impact you for the coming classes.”

Ashley asked, “Captain, is something so serious really just going to be left at this?”

Karon smiled. “I am actually hoping that from now on, every day’s classes will be taught by a stand-in instructor.”

Hearing this, everyone laughed. The reason that none of them took this matter to heart was fundamentally because the night’s lesson had been very satisfying.

After entering the room, Vintral first poured Karon a glass of ice water and handed it over. “Captain, will you take a bath?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll go prepare the bathtub for you first.” Saying this, he went to the washroom and busied himself before Karon could even refuse.

A while later, Vintral walked back out of the washroom. “Captain, the water is running, but it will take a little while.”

“Mhmm. Thank you for the trouble.”

“It’s no trouble; I’m happy to do it. Oh right, Captain, who do you think Instructor Pierro is?”

“This hotel has defensive arrays, yet he easily took all of us out and then brought us back in just as easily, and he really did teach a class. I think he should be some high-ranking member of the church who suddenly took an interest in teaching us and acted on that whim.”

“Really?”

“Let’s see how things develop. If nothing major happens next and things continue as usual, then we can basically assume that this was done by some high-ranking figure.”

The doorbell then rang. Vintral went to open the door, and standing outside was a team of hotel service staff.

Vintral received two sets of illustrated booklets from them and then closed the door. “Captain, they’re illustrated booklets of those demonic beasts in the cave. The hotel staff delivered them.”

“Oh, then it probably was done by some high-ranking figure.”

***

After bathing, Karon went to sleep, though he woke up rather early. Looking at the time, it was only half past four in the morning. He turned on the bedside lamp and lay in bed reading.

At half past six, he heard Vintral coming downstairs. The man made his steps as soft as possible, but the proximity was too close, and Karon was still awake. If he failed to notice even that much, he really would have wasted all of the time he had spent in the Whip of Order.

Vintral’s voice could be heard in the living room as he called to order breakfast. After he hung up, Karon also walked out of the bedroom. “Go call them. I’m worried they might oversleep.”

After all, the time difference might affect them.

“Yes, Captain.”

After having breakfast, everyone gathered, though not in the lecture hall. Instead, they gathered on the beach outside of the hotel.

While going downstairs and walking to the beach, Karon noticed that there were no more security personnel than before. This further proved his guess regarding Instructor Pierro’s identity.

Furthermore, their next instructor was another old man. This gave Karon reason to suspect that if last night’s class had been taught by a forceful substitute, their original teacher for this class might well be resting at home at the moment. It was possible that these old men had all been sitting together drinking tea when the matter had been mentioned, and they had decided to meddle and have a bit of fun.

The so-called rules were not a problem for them, because they wielded sufficient identity and status to bend the rules and smooth things over in passing.

Sure enough, the old man’s opening was practically a self-exposure. “I am your instructor for today. Yesterday, I heard from Pierro that this batch of young people is of very good quality. I hope you are not merely good at arrays.”

As he spoke, the old man raised his left foot, then stomped down hard.

Buzz! The entire section of the beach shook. Karon especially noticed that the sand beneath their feet had actually been compacted at that moment.

“You may call me Levin, or you may call me Instructor. Of course, I prefer that you call me... Deputy Commander!”

As soon as he finished speaking, a set of black Order armor appeared on the old man’s body. His aura was also fully released at this moment, and deep within his eyes an air of dignity and cold sternness could be seen.

Was he a deputy commander of a Knight Regiment? But judging by his age, he should already be retired.

“For Order!” Following Elder Levin’s low shout, Bart, Blanche, and Mars from Karon’s squad all raised their right fists and struck their chests. From Murray’s squad, two people made the same motion as well. Clearly, they were all people with Knight Regiment backgrounds.

The five shouted in unison, “We offer our loyalty!”

Levin nodded in great satisfaction and said, “Very good, not bad. You children from Knight Regiment backgrounds must always remember the glory borne by your ancestors. You must regard the First Knight Regiment as your goal for your final promotion!”

“Yes, Deputy Commander!”

“Yes, Deputy Commander!”

“You must let the others know, and more than that, let them see for themselves that our Church of Order’s Knight Regiments is where the true elites gather; the eternal defender of Order, and the undying spear in the hand of the God of Order!”

Karon could not help feeling rather speechless. As an instructor, are you really trying to stir up factional division here?

However, considering things further, this instructor was probably also acting on a whim and might not have had time to prepare a proper lesson. At least, he clearly had not properly prepared his opening remarks. Karon noticed that before the old man put on his armor, his expression had been somewhat tense. This proved that he was actually at a bit of a loss at the moment.

That was a normal person’s reaction when dealing with a scenario they had never encountered before. The other normal reaction that followed was for people to pull things into an area that they were familiar with.

For example, this instructor had simply pulled the rhythm towards the Knight Regiment setting that he was most accustomed to, and thus naturally ignored the feelings of the other students. Moreover, he did not seem inclined to correct himself or take care of everything comprehensively. He turned around directly and faced the sea.

The next moment, a wave of pressure was released from his body, and the seawater was split apart. He began walking forward, and everyone followed.

After last night’s experience, everyone worried that the seawater on both sides of them might lose its restraint and come crashing down on them at any time, and they were all prepared to deal with it. Fortunately, their current instructor was not as lively as their last one and did not seem to have any intention of delivering that kind of surprise and excitement.

A black building appeared before them. It was the one they had seen last night.

The building resembled a siheyuan-style courtyard. At each of the four corners was a sculpture of a monstrous beast, while above the courtyard was a blue barrier that blocked the seawater.[1]

Levin walked in, and everyone followed.

Karon did not compete with Murray and the others, allowing them to enter first. After Murray’s squad had just entered, the moment they had all stepped through the door, every last one of them fell to the ground.

Noticeably, there was a layer of green algae and water covering the ground. It seemed that this place was not visited often, so an extremely unpleasant smell floated up from the algae. At this time, everyone in Murray’s squad was almost entirely soaked in that water.

Karon immediately reminded his squad, “Mobilize spirituality within your bodies. There should be an increased gravity effect inside. Ashley, Mars, Blanche, walk along the sides and support yourselves against the walls.”

“Yes, Captain.”

Karon stepped inside. The moment he did, terrifying gravity pressed down upon him, and he dropped to one knee. Immediately following that, his body continued to lean forward despite his best efforts. He was about to land face-first on the floor tiles.

If it were only floor tiles, that would have been one thing, but washing his face with the water and algae on the ground was something Karon found unacceptable.

He immediately tensed his ten fingers. In an instant, ten Chains of Order appeared on both sides of his body. Using them as support, Karon forcibly pried his back straight, and then silently exerted a bit of effort to slowly stand up.

Levin walked over to Karon. “A very deep well of spirituality.”

As he spoke, Levin reached out and lightly patted Karon’s chest, as if casually giving encouragement, yet to Karon’s personal perception, it felt as though someone had taken a massive hammer and smashed it against his chest several times.

Because of this, the spiritual power within his body instantly fell into chaos. The ten Chains of Order on both of his sides faded, and he was about to fall again.

Yet ten new Chains of Order suddenly appeared on both sides of Karon’s body, once again helping him to maintain his balance beneath the terrifying gravity.

Levin looked at Karon with a bit of surprise. He had clearly just disrupted the young man’s spirituality, yet he had forcibly activated his Arts again. Because Levin did not know that this young man had two other stores of spirituality; one was his eyes, and the other was his heart.

“Your stores and application of spirituality truly surprise me. Pity, I can tell that your body is perfectly ordinary in quality. How good would it be if you could divert some of that energy into adjusting your body?”

Karon really wanted to tell him: Do you know how much effort I spent to adjust that original sickly body into what you now evaluate as “ordinary”?

At this moment, Karon saw Levin raise his hand again, patting toward his shoulder. Again?!

Pat. Pat. With two light pats on the shoulder, Karon simply felt the gravity pressing on his body strengthen yet again. His spirituality was completely suppressed within his body, and the ten Chains of Order on both sides dissipated yet again.

“I am trying to tell you that spirituality is indeed the foundation of everything we do, but your body remains your root. If a bottle is not sturdy, then no matter how much water you pour in, it will still leak.”

Karon leaned forward. However, just as he was about to fall into the algae and water, ten new Chains of Order appeared, yet again supporting his body and prying him upright.

Levin frowned and fell silent. After a while, he smiled and said, “All right. Since you possess such a deep foundation of spirituality, it seems you do not need to spend too much effort on your body either.”

After saying this, he walked around Karon.

Clearly, while Karon had been left somewhat speechless by the old man, Levin was even more taken aback by Karon’s reaction.

It was like the old man had broken one tree branch, only to then have Karon break a whole bundle of branches. The young man’s “lack of cooperation” made Levin’s one-track lesson preparation almost impossible to continue.

He walked over to Vintral. He and Karon were the only two young people still standing in the courtyard. However, Vintral’s body had already enlarged, and even so, creaking sounds and friction rang out from his body. Clearly, he was enduring with great difficulty.

There were several moments when he wanted to fall, but when he saw that his captain was still standing, he gritted his teeth and continued holding on.

“You show promise.” Levin seemed to have noticed Vintral’s physical condition. “Good material for the Knight Regiment. You could serve as a shield bearer. Do you all see? A true powerhouse needs not only talent, but this kind of tenacity as well! For example, this one here. I can tell he has been corru—”

As he spoke, Levin patted Vintral’s chest. This time, he truly admired the young man, and thus did not exert any power at all. The problem was that Vintral had already witnessed the instructor’s actions towards his own captain, and had also seen what kind of power lay beneath this instructor’s seemingly easygoing actions. Even the captain had nearly fallen twice, let alone Vintral himself.

Thus, Levin’s small gesture, which truly carried no force at all and was meant solely to praise the young man, Vintral instantly lost his breath. With a bang, he fell to the ground.

Levin: “...”

After remaining stuck for a very long time, Levin still could not organize any words. Alone, he walked to the center of the courtyard and stood there, his back to everyone.

At this moment, Murray also managed to stand up with great difficulty. Beside him, one of his subordinates also shakily rose.

Their physical condition had been good from the beginning, so after adapting to the increased gravity, they finally managed to climb up.

As time passed, the others gradually stood up as well. The physically weaker ones were supported by others, or supported themselves by grabbing onto railings and walls. In any case, they all managed to eventually get up.

At that moment, Levin, who had been facing away from everyone and wasting class time, finally clapped his hands, turned around, and said, “We in the Knight Regiments need...”

He then removed the gravity enhancement. The force that had been bearing down on everyone disappeared in an instant. Only Karon was able to maintain his balance with the Chains of Order that were connected to both sides of his body. Everyone else collectively lost balance yet again and fell to the ground, falling backwards.

“Stand up, all of you! The creed of the Knight Regiments is that even if you die, you must fall forward!”

Everyone finally managed to regain their balance. Other than Karon, everyone’s robes had been dyed green, and very evenly on both sides.

At this point, even those with Knight Regiment backgrounds, Bart included, could not help privately questioning their current instructor’s teaching ability. Who taught a class like this?

The collective sense of distrust from the students caused Deputy Commander Levin to grow even more agitated, beyond his previous restlessness.

He simply waved a hand and dispersed the armor on his body, saying, “I believe the most effective form of instruction is combat. Standing before you now is a retired former deputy commander of a Knight Regiment. In other words, you will have an outstanding sparring partner.

“We have the whole day here. There are twelve of you, but I believe that over the course of the day, I can spar with each of you three times. I will teach you through action why close combat holds an unshakable place in real battle.

“So, are you pleased? Are you excited?”

Everyone fell silent. Was this his decision because he could not keep teaching, and therefore had decided to personally step down and fight his students? Was one beating not enough, so he wanted everyone to take turns being beaten three times?

That was not how an instructor was supposed to be!

Levin gave a dry cough. Realizing that he had left out an important detail, he quickly added, “To better draw out the effects of real combat, I will limit my strength to the same level as your own realm. Those of you from the Knight Regiment should know that the regiments have their own set of ranks that correspond to the outside realms. We simply call them First Rank, Second Rank, Third Rank, Fourth Rank, and so on. I will use power at your own rank to defeat you, so that you can experience for yourselves what it feels like to be knocked down by an equal level of strength. That way, you will be better able to respond in real combat in the future. You all have your credentials with you, yes? Come up and show me your credentials. I will limit my strength according to your realm. Hahaha, this is a precious opportunity you could not buy outside no matter how much you paid. Who’s first?”

No one voluntarily shouted, “I’ll go!” not even the five Knight Regiment descendants in the two squads, because everyone was very suspicious of their instructor’s current emotional state.

Seeing the silence, Levin moved his lips, swallowed, then reached out and pointed at Karon, asking, “What’s your name?”

“iInstructor, my name is Karon. Karon Silva.”

“Very good. Karon will go first!”

Karon: “...”

This was absolutely retaliation, all because he was the only person present whose clothes were still clean. Karon felt that this instructor was desperately eager to dirty him up as well, just so he would look more like part of the group.

Karon very much wanted to remind him that he could not do this. It was far too obvious, but there was no helping it. His name had already been called, so he could only step forward.

Karon walked up to Levin, who crossed his arms and asked, “Take out your credentials.”

“Instructor, there is something I need to report to you first.”

“No nonsense. Take out your credentials!”

“Instructor, I need—”

“Take it out!”

Karon took out his credentials and opened it, but Levin did not even look at it. Instead, he smiled at the others and ordered, “Declare your realm aloud!”

“Instructor, there is something I need to—”

“No more nonsense. I know what you want. A promise from me, yes? Don’t worry, you’ll have it. Listen carefully. None of you need to worry. I absolutely will not break the rules or cheat during this process. I will only use the strength rank corresponding to the realm listed on your credentials. I swear it on my family name! Now, are you satisfied? State the realm listed on your credentials. Hurry!”

“Divine Servant.”

Levin: “...”

1. A siheyuan is a traditional Chinese courtyard house, with buildings enclosed on all four sides around a central courtyard. ☜