Half a month later.
In a small grove of trees, Ryan slowly finished his cultivation.
Original Essence circulated through his body, continuously strengthening his physique.
During this period, with the support of his Advanced Cultivation Talent, his strength had continued to increase rapidly.
Ryan slowly opened his eyes and clenched his fist.
His strength had already risen considerably compared with the assessment half a month ago.
Blood Warrior Apprentice Upper Stage.
With his current strength, Ryan felt that it was time to settle an old grudge.
Derek Holt.
He couldn't let Derek keep buzzing around him and causing trouble indefinitely. In fact, the sooner he dealt with him, the better.
Derek himself was no longer much of a threat, but he could still find other ways to make trouble for Ryan.
Blood Warriors weren't invincible. Even someone far weaker could become dangerous if a Blood Warrior was caught off guard, let alone Ryan, who was still only a Blood Warrior Apprentice.
Therefore, in Ryan's mind, Derek had to go.
On his way back to the academy, murderous intent surged within Ryan several times, but he ultimately restrained himself.
As a student of Aegis Martial Academy, Derek's death would undoubtedly be investigated by the academy, and if Ryan's involvement were discovered, the punishment would be severe.
There had once been a case where the son of a wealthy family secretly murdered an ordinary student's son, only for the academy to eventually uncover the truth.
The culprit was crippled and expelled from the academy.
Clearly, Aegis Martial Academy took the protection of its students extremely seriously.
It made sense when he thought about it.
If talented students without powerful backgrounds could simply be killed by those from influential families, how could Aegis Martial Academy continue producing outstanding Blood Warriors?
That was also why, although the academy didn't prohibit students from settling conflicts in the arena, it had strict rules against causing death or permanent disability.
"Looks like I'll just have to endure it for now."
Ryan sighed inwardly and abandoned the idea of secretly killing Derek.
Although Aegis Martial Academy might never discover that he was responsible, Ryan wasn't willing to take such a risk.
His future prospects were far more valuable than Derek's life.
Moreover, Aegis Martial Academy couldn't protect Derek forever.
Once Derek graduated, his relationship with the academy would naturally weaken.
At that point, even if Ryan dealt with him, the academy would have far less reason to interfere.
"Still, I can't just let him get away with everything he's done."
Thinking about what Derek had done to the original owner of this body, Ryan's lips curled into a cold smile.
Although he couldn't kill Derek, he could certainly make his life difficult.
As for whether he possessed the ability to do so, Ryan wasn't worried.
Half a month ago, despite being physically weaker, he had defeated Derek through superior spear technique and careful use of his shield.
Now, his physical strength had improved considerably as well.
Ryan was fully confident that he could defeat Derek head-on.
After all, with the support of his Advanced Cultivation Talent, his strength had increased tremendously over the past half month.
Advanced Cultivation Talent was truly frightening.
Inside a small villa far more luxurious than an ordinary student dormitory, Victor Langford lay lazily in a recliner, looking arrogantly at the two teenagers standing before him.
One was Derek, a brown-haired boy with freckles across his face.
The other had a well-proportioned build and exceptionally fair skin.
Victor could clearly see the fawning expressions in their eyes, and he thoroughly enjoyed it.
After a moment, he looked toward the fair-skinned boy.
"You are Damian Reed?"
"Yes, Young Master Victor. I'm Damian Reed."
Hearing Victor address him, Damian quickly responded.
He had wanted to establish a relationship with Victor for a long time but had never found the opportunity.
So when Derek suddenly offered to introduce him, Damian had been overjoyed and followed him to Victor's villa without hesitation.
"I heard you're the strongest student in Class Six of the first year?"
Victor asked calmly.
"I don't know whether I can call myself the strongest, but during the last assessment, my strength and speed results were the best in Class Six."
Damian's voice carried unmistakable pride.
Although he didn't directly claim to be the strongest student in Class Six, his tone practically said it for him.
"Oh."
Victor nodded in satisfaction.
Being the top student in the class meant Damian was undoubtedly much stronger than Derek.
That was exactly what Victor needed.
"If you want to follow me, then you'd better show me that you're worth keeping around."
Victor gave Damian a meaningful look.
"I don't like Ryan. You know what to do."
Damian was momentarily taken aback, but he quickly understood.
"Certainly."
He wasn't stupid.
Victor clearly wanted him to deal with Ryan.
Damian felt neither goodwill nor particular hostility toward Ryan, but if dealing with him could earn Victor's favor, he was more than willing to oblige.
The next morning, at Training Ground No. 7, Class Six of the first year was preparing for its first lesson of the day.
"Get out of the way!"
Ryan was stretching when a shout suddenly came from behind him.
He frowned and turned around.
Standing there was a boy with unusually fair skin.
It was Damian Reed.
Ryan naturally recognized him.
Although Damian wasn't as famous as Adrian Blackwood, he was still quite well-known among the students of Class Six.
After all, his assessment results consistently ranked first in their class.
"The training ground is this large. Don't you know how to walk around?"
If it had been the original Ryan, he probably would have decided that avoiding trouble was better and simply stepped aside.
But the current Ryan was different.
He had no desire to show off unnecessarily, but neither would he allow himself to be bullied.
"Mm?"
Hearing Ryan's sarcastic response, Damian's expression immediately turned cold.
"You really think you have the right to act arrogantly in front of me just because you defeated Derek?"
A cold smile appeared on his face.
"It seems you won't understand who the strongest student in Class Six is until I teach you myself."
Ryan stared coldly at him.
From Damian's provocative tone, there was no doubt that he had deliberately come looking for trouble.
What Ryan didn't understand was why.
He had no grudge with Damian.
In fact, the two of them had barely interacted before.
Seeing Ryan's expression darken, Damian sneered.
Just as he was about to continue provoking him, someone suddenly shouted,
"Teacher Chaucer is here!"
Damian turned his head.
A square-faced middle-aged man dressed in academy combat gear was walking toward them, carrying a faint air of authority.
It was Chaucer Joyce, their class teacher.
"You're lucky."
Damian gave Ryan one last glance before brushing past him.
Dealing with Ryan wasn't difficult in his eyes.
There was no need to rush.
"What happened?"
After Damian walked away, Elias approached Ryan with a puzzled expression.
He had seen the confrontation from nearby.
"I don't know either."
Ryan shook his head.
Even he didn't understand why Damian seemed so hostile toward him.
"It felt like he was deliberately targeting me, but I've never offended him. We've barely even spoken before."
Elias thought for a moment before frowning.
"Be careful."
"Mm."
Ryan nodded.
Damian had consistently ranked first in Class Six.
That alone meant he couldn't be underestimated.
"Spear technique must be coordinated with footwork and shieldwork. The better the coordination between the three, the more effective they become in actual combat..."
The lesson proceeded normally.
Teacher Chaucer walked among the students of Class Six, occasionally giving advice on their spear techniques and correcting mistakes in their movements.
"Good."
When he reached Ryan, Chaucer couldn't help but nod approvingly.
Ryan's spear technique had already possessed a solid foundation, and after diligent practice combined with Aurelia's guidance, it had become increasingly skillful and powerful.
Every time he thrust his spear, the gleaming spearhead flashed sharply through the air.
Without a doubt, Ryan's spear technique had already surpassed that of most students in the class.
Not far away, Damian happened to witness Chaucer praising him.
His expression darkened.
Previously, Damian had been the student who most often received praise from Teacher Chaucer.
But ever since Ryan passed the assessment, the teacher's attention had increasingly shifted toward the former bottom-ranked student.
That was another reason Damian had accepted Victor's order to deal with Ryan without hesitation.
In fact, even Damian himself hadn't fully realized that Chaucer's changing attitude had already made him jealous of Ryan.
"Now, free sparring!"
After the students had practiced the Blazing Heaven Piercing Spear several times, Teacher Chaucer finally gave the next instruction.
Ryan immediately started walking toward Elias.
Elias had always been his usual sparring partner.
In the past, that had been because Elias was practically the only person willing to spar with him when everyone considered Ryan a failure.
Now, however, Elias actively insisted on continuing.
After sparring with Ryan over the past few days, Elias had noticed significant improvement in his own spear technique.
Having already experienced the benefits, he naturally wasn't willing to give up the opportunity to someone else.
Ryan didn't mind.
It made little difference to him who he sparred with.
And if sparring together helped Elias improve, Ryan was perfectly willing to continue helping him.
"How about we practice together?"
Ryan had only made it halfway toward Elias when someone suddenly stepped into his path.
A boy with unusually fair skin stood before him, a faint and unreadable smile in his eyes.
It was Damian.
"Spar with you?"
Ryan looked at him coldly.
There was no longer any doubt.
Damian had deliberately come looking for him.
If their earlier confrontation could somehow be dismissed as coincidence, this certainly couldn't.
"Sorry. He already has a sparring partner."
Elias hurried over and stood beside Ryan.
Damian turned toward him.
"Elias, how about giving me the chance to spar with Ryan today?"
His words sounded like a request, but his tone suggested that refusing wasn't really an option.
"Sorry. I'm used to sparring with Ryan. I wouldn't feel comfortable sparring with someone else."
Elias shook his head.
If anyone else had asked, he probably would have stepped aside.
They were all classmates, after all, and there would always be another opportunity.
But Damian was different.
Elias could clearly see the hostility Damian held toward Ryan.
Under those circumstances, how could he willingly hand Ryan over to him?
"You can't even agree to such a small request?"
Anger appeared in Damian's voice.
As the strongest student in Class Six, most of the students usually treated him with at least some degree of respect.
He hadn't expected Elias to reject such a simple request in front of everyone.
It made him feel as though he had lost face.
When Damian noticed several nearby students looking toward them, a cold glint flashed through his eyes.
Just as Elias was about to refuse again, Ryan suddenly spoke.
"Elias, since Damian wants to spar with me so badly, I'll spar with him today."