Sweat on the Training Ground

In the study, Yelu stood beside Haide, listening to his assessment of the current batch of students. "Yelu, you've spent nearly a month with everyone now. Who do you think will take the top three spots in next month's assessment?" Scholar Haide asked, leaning back against his chair. "In my view..." He pondered for a moment. "First, Iona's strength is far beyond the others. She should be a lock for first place." "Among the other students, Suolin and Baron are both quite strong in both secret history and combat. They're likely to take second and third in the overall score." "As for the remaining students, though they have some strengths, they only shine in a single area. For instance, Lei and Kailun are relatively strong in combat, but fall far behind in secret history." "Miss Tiya is remarkably sharp in secret history, but falls much too short in combat. Kemiya is decent at secret history, but unfortunately her advantage isn't obvious, and in combat she's only slightly better than Miss Tiya." "Is that so?" Scholar Haide gave an enigmatic smile. "This... please enlighten me, Teacher," Yelu bowed respectfully. "I won't give you the answer ahead of time, but this time, you might have misjudged." "No matter. Anyone else likely would have misjudged too. After all, that child keeps too low a profile." Yelu did not know which student Scholar Haide was referring to, so he could only review the names in his mind again and again, searching for possibilities. *Tuosi? He's also the son of a noble, and Viscount Xuefeng's nephew besides. Could he be a dark horse? No, with his flamboyant personality, he would never keep a low profile.* *Walaini? Even less likely. That girl is practically Iona's lapdog now, having inherited none of Knight Laiwen's physique or martial skill.* *Mick? His fighting technique is entirely crude and unorthodox. The instructor has been forcing him to correct it lately, and he trains late every single day. Could it be him? But his marks in secret history really leave much to be desired, unless he improves elsewhere to gain bonus points.* *Miss Tiya is very knowledgeable and clever, but she's been frail since childhood. I've never seen her hold a sword, so she probably doesn't know how to fight at all.* After mulling over a few thoughts, Yelu decided to cross the bespectacled girl off his list. *None of the others are likely either—they're either too foolish or utterly mediocre.* *In that case, Mick is the most likely to have been overlooked. He really has been striving hard to catch up lately, and he's always the most active when it comes to daily training,* Yelu evaluated inwardly. ... A week passed, leaving only three days until the assessment. On the training ground, the slant-eyed youth swung his iron sword with all his might, beads of sweat dripping from his body and sinking into the dust of the ground. Finishing another repetition of the swordsmanship taught by the instructor, his movements were already exceptionally proficient, taking shape as muscle memory. *Basic Swordsmanship Lv. 3*—that was roughly his current level. Wiping away the sweat with a towel, he walked to the well, hauled up a bucket of well water, and dumped it over himself to dissipate the heat, letting out a satisfied roar. "Hey, Mick, training again today?" A towering figure walked over. His name was Lei, the tallest among all the students, standing roughly 1.9 meters tall and weighing over two hundred jin. "How about sparring with me today?" Lei swung the great hammer in his hands, visibly itching for a bout. Even wrapped in several layers of soft cloth, a blow from that hammer could cause indescribable internal injuries, which was why none of the other students were willing to spar with him. "Whew, sure, but let me catch my breath first." Mick took a deep breath, steadying himself. "All right, I'll wait for you." Lei scratched his head with an earnest grin, and the two walked over to sit in a corner of the training ground. ... On the other side of the grounds, Baron was sparring with another noble student, practicing the swordsmanship they had newly learned. Within a few exchanges, Baron easily defeated his opponent. "Instructor Boke might always wear a sour scowl, but the swordsmanship he teaches is truly practical." Sheathing his sword, he offered his critique in a rather elegant posture. Baron was not lacking in talent to begin with, and under the rigorous training of recent days, his strength had improved markedly. Even Suolin occasionally lost to him now. "Looks like second place is yours this time, Baron," the other noble student remarked teasingly. "Second place..." Baron nodded slightly. "As the result closest to Miss Iona, it should make her see me in a new light." His pursuit of Iona was something everyone already knew about. "Most definitely. You're the rightful heir to a baron, after all. Although Iona had a prominent status in the past, right now she's..." The student shook his head. Nobility had its own internal tiers. Highest in status were typically the eldest legitimate sons who stood to inherit titles, followed by the younger sons of high nobility, and only then those with noble blood who could not inherit any title. "Forget it, let's not dwell on that. I heard Suolin has been practicing a special ability lately. Have you heard anything?" Baron asked directly. "I wouldn't know. You'd have to ask the commoner students." Noble and commoner students rarely interacted, separated by an invisible barrier. "Suolin's father is a Second-Order - Blood Law warrior. His father must have taught it to him." "Still, Suolin hasn't condensed a first-order attribute yet, so the abilities he can cultivate are quite limited." "The Blood Law attribute..." Baron pondered, then shook his head. "Aside from the Breathing Method, I won't cultivate any abilities of the Blood Law attribute. It doesn't align with my family's heritage." He was going to become a knight in the future; he couldn't afford to stray from the path. "Unfortunately, most abilities of the Castle attribute require condensing the First-Order - Castle attribute before they can be learned." *Is there really no other way?* Baron thought to himself. He had no desire to lose to Suolin. He was a noble, after all. Losing to a commoner in the assessment would be utter mortification—especially in an assessment drawing so much attention, where the results would instantly spread through Burnt Stone City's aristocratic circles. Not only would it disgrace his family, but if Iona saw it, wouldn't that be... At that thought, irritation flared within Baron. *No, I have to go back and ask my father to see if he can find a way for me. I'm his heir. If I lose face, he loses face too.* ... Once rested, Mick and Lei moved to one side of the training ground, each taking up his weapon. "Here I come, Mick!" Lei swung his great hammer downward, whipping up a whistling rush of wind. *A hammer like that...* Mick took one look and leaped back rapidly, opening the distance to evade the attack. "Don't run!" Lei hefted his great hammer again and followed up. Fortunately, his footwork was not swift, allowing Mick to continually dodge. However, dodging endlessly would not win the bout. Mick fixed his gaze on his opponent's movements, seeking an opening. When Lei swung the great hammer once more, Mick abruptly lunged forward, thrusting the sword straight at Lei's waist and abdomen. The specially made wooden sword drove into the training leather armor on Lei's body, making him clutch his midsection and crouch in pain before tumbling backward onto the ground. "Ow! Again!" Lei rubbed his belly and climbed back to his feet. "Heh, sure," Mick said with a grin. A sense of mutual respect ran between them. Both hailed from commoner backgrounds, both started from humble beginnings, and both trained with everything they had, which naturally drew them closer. The two sparred back and forth across the training ground again and again until the sun dipped in the west and dusk settled in. ... "That's enough for today," the sweat-soaked Mick said as he rinsed himself with water, speaking to Lei, who was doing the same beside him. "Yeah." With that, the two walked off the training ground in unspoken unison. Once again, they were the last to leave. Gazing at the dark red sunset clouds burning along the horizon, Mick felt a quiet surge of emotion. *Perhaps living like this forever wouldn't be bad either.*