Chapter Thirty-Two: Three Levels of Rank

  Your support is the greatest motivation for Xiaohuo's typing!

  In Robert's study.

  "Dad, the match this morning was unfair! Not even a bit fair! I found out that Lin Feng only won because he relied on his divine artifact!" As soon as she entered the door, Annie couldn't help but shout loudly. In her subjective consciousness, Lin Feng had already become the "fact" of winning by cheating.

  "What? Divine artifact?"

  Robert saw Anne's angry look and raised an eyebrow, scolding her: "Anne, you must remain calm in the face of things. That's what I taught you."

  "Dad, I'm so furious! That scoundrel won by cheating and now all the rumors outside are about your daughter being a loser. How can you tell me to calm down?"

  Annie was like she had found a vent, immediately talking incessantly: "At that time you were also present, can't you see with your ability that Lin Feng defeated me by relying on external forces? Moreover, I don't know why, he already knew the secret of your daughter! He actually saw that I was wearing an ugly mask! It's really strange! How did he discover it!!"

  "Annie, you should know that a true divine artifact is not something that ordinary humans like us can control."

  Robert didn't respond to the mask, his voice was very calm: "Even if it's a Sanctuary strong like me, I couldn't! Do you understand? Even if ordinary people like us get a real divine artifact, in our hands, at most it can only be used as an ornament! ...And besides, even if we have that kind of divine artifact, at least we need to reach the Sanctuary before we can control it."

  "But..."

  Annie seemed to want to continue quibbling, but Robert cut her off at once: "No ifs!... You said he cheated; I suppose you mean that strange energy of his?"

  "Right! That's it! How else could he have beaten me, if not with the help of that strange thing?"

  "Annie, my daughter."

  "Robert took a deep breath: 'I don't know how he saw through your secret, but I can see that from start to finish, he didn't use any external force.'"

  "But..."

  "Annie, listen to me," Robert's expression turned serious.

  "Alright, Father, I hope I can get a clear answer from you."

  "Hmm... Before your duel with Lin Feng, there was a rumor circulating in the academy about Lin Feng killing a 4th level warrior. I'm sure you've heard it too."

  Robert didn't give Annie a chance to speak, and continued in one breath: "I can confirm the authenticity of this matter, because at that time I was observing Lin Feng's battle from above, and I saw the whole process with my own eyes. Even the method he used to kill that level 4 warrior in the end, I saw it clearly."

  "What...what's that all about?" Annie's heart skipped a beat, her expression suddenly becoming extremely complex: "You're saying he really killed a 4th-level warrior?"

  "Yes, my daughter."

  Robert nodded thoughtfully: "I'm not entirely sure what kind of energy he has, but you should also understand that in this world, although the levels of warriors are divided into ten levels, in reality, there is only one true breakthrough point - the third level. The first level, from an ordinary person to a fourth-level warrior's standard, as long as they possess internal energy, they have already undergone a transformation, and you should also understand that there is a huge difference between warriors with internal energy and those without."

  Annie nodded and didn't continue speaking, she clearly understood that if she had used her Qi this morning, Lin Feng would probably not have been able to withstand even a few rounds under her hands, although Lin Feng's killing of a level 4 warrior was confirmed by her father as fact. But Annie believed that on the high platform of the arena, in that small place, Lin Feng would definitely lose to her!

  "The second stage is to break through from a 4th-level warrior to an 8th-level warrior, which is a great warrior! As long as you break through to the standard of a great warrior, the gray battle energy on your body will be transformed into white silver battle energy. This upgrade not only strengthens your overall strength but also allows your battle energy to undergo a qualitative transformation. However, apart from these two points, there is another most important point..."

  Robert stared intently at Annie, pausing for a moment before continuing: "That's when you advance to become a Great Warrior, you'll gradually develop a sense of the elemental properties around you. These elements are different from magical elements and can change the attributes of your Qi. For example, your Uncle Bart's white silver Qi has the property of 'Condensed Explosion', while your Uncle Danny's white silver Qi has the property of 'Acceleration'. Everyone's senses will be different, and when you reach the level of a Great Warrior, the competition between strengths will no longer just depend on the strength of your Qi and physical body, but more on these properties. As for the third level, that's the Sacred Realm, but it's still quite far from you, so I won't say much about it... Can you understand what I'm saying?"

  "Father, Father...... What are you saying?" Annie's eyebrows were knitted together, her eyes full of shocked expression, apparently, she had already guessed something from Robert's words!

  Robert nodded heavily: "Not bad, Lin Feng's strange energy is like the aura of a great warrior, but he obviously hasn't cultivated his aura yet. As for why he can comprehend this strange ability, I couldn't understand it at first either. However, after calming down and thinking carefully, I gradually figured out the answer... Annie, do you want to know why?"

  "For what? Why...?" Annie felt her mouth dry, as if the strong confidence accumulated over the past decade was completely destroyed by her own father's words at this moment!

  She only felt that Lin Feng had already stood at a position that was still unattainable for her, and it wouldn't take long for him to break through to the level of a Great Warrior! At the same time, Annie's curiosity about why Lin Feng could comprehend the special characteristics that only a Great Warrior would possess before he even had any fighting energy grew stronger!

  If I had realized it earlier too...

  Thinking of this, Annie's heart once again floated up with confidence!

  But Robert's next words completely destroyed Annie's newly established confidence again: "Because he is still a magician."

  "A... mage?" Annie muttered to herself, her face changing in an instant: "He... he's still a mage? Then why would he come to our academy as a warrior? The status of mages is above that of nobles..."

  "I don't know why either, but according to the information I've gathered... Lin Feng seems to have had some conflict with the Magic Guild. Maybe that's why he chose to become a warrior."

  Robert shook his head uncertainly, but then changed his tone: "You also know that mages have a special sense of the elements, or maybe he's also because of the mage's special sense, so he can understand the characteristics of the great warrior earlier."

  "Then... Father, 'Sacred Fruit'..." A glimmer of hope suddenly floated up in Annie's eyes.

  "'Sacred Fruit' was given to your brother long ago, alas, my daughter, if you were born a few years earlier, the precious Sacred Fruit wouldn't have been wasted on your brother." Robert suddenly sighed: "That Talman guy, he doesn't even want to be a noble magician!!!"

  When it comes to Talman, Robert looks very worried.

  Annie heard this and suddenly lowered her head, turning around to comfort Robert: "Father, I know, don't worry about brother's affairs anymore."

  "Alas... alright!"

  Robert let out a long sigh, stroking Annie's head and said indulgently: "My daughter, through this incident with Lin Feng, you must fully recognize your own inadequacies. Don't become arrogant just because the outside world gives you the title of 'genius'. This incident should give you motivation, not pressure! I hope to see you use this as encouragement to work even harder than when you were younger, rather than becoming idle and complacent after getting the reputation of a genius. And I especially don't want to see you sink into mediocrity because of this. Do you understand?"

  "I... understand."

  Annie bit her lip, though she had agreed with Robert, a despondent expression still floated on her face.

  Robert saw it in his eyes and understood that wanting to change his daughter wasn't something that could be done overnight. He sighed, then slowly said: "Alright, Annie, you can go back now. Remember my words, practice diligently! With your talent, one day you'll reach the realm of the Saints!"

  ……

  After Annie walked out of Robert's room, Robert let out a deep sigh, and his face was filled with contemplation. Even his eyebrows were furrowed together. After a long while, he murmured to himself: "Lin Feng... whether Annie can continue living on in the future depends on whether the inspiration you bring her is useful or not."

  ……

  But at the same time, when Annie was filled with melancholy and loss of soul, there was another person who was even more melancholic and lost than her... And this person's heart was now filled with sinister and desperate anger!!!

  This is Regi, who was just expelled from Paul's Academy...