"Not bad!"
Eileen nodded heavily and continued, "That's why I say this is a golden opportunity for a meteoric rise. As long as the participating students have sufficient strength and can shine on the arena assessment, not only the powerful nobles within the empire, but even His Majesty the Emperor might extend an olive branch to you!"
"I see now! I understand!"
Upon hearing this, Link finally had an epiphany! No wonder Eileen emphasized the importance of the arena assessment at the Imperial Cultivation Academy; it turned out there was such a twist to it!
"Oh, by the way, before these three assessments, there will be a talent test. The higher-ups of the Imperial Cultivation Academy will use this to select outstanding talents from the numerous participants and nurture them vigorously."
At this moment, Eileen added another remark!
"Thank you, Miss Eileen, for clarifying this for me."
Link quickly expressed his gratitude again upon hearing this! After getting the answers he sought, a wave of drowsiness washed over him. Naturally lazy, the recent days of plundering and fighting had drained him of his last ounce of energy, and he was eager to enjoy a good sleep.
With this in mind, Link made a prompt decision, standing up to take his leave. "Miss Eileen, if there's nothing else here, we'll take our leave."
"Oh? Are you leaving already…" Eileen murmured. For some reason, as she looked at Link's nonchalant face, a strong sense of reluctance suddenly surged in her heart.
"Yes."
Link nodded, forcing a smile. "It's getting late, and Ron and I haven't found a place to stay yet. We need to hurry and find two vacant rooms before all the inns in the city are fully booked."
"Huh? Aren't you staying at the 'Rose Petal' Inn?"
"There's only one room left in this inn. With two grown men like Ron and me, it would be quite inconvenient to squeeze into one room. We might as well try our luck elsewhere!" Link replied honestly.
"But… the entrance assessment for the Imperial Cultivation Academy is the day after tomorrow. At this time, all the inns in the city must be filled with students coming from all over the country to participate in the assessment…"
Eileen furrowed her brows, suddenly her eyes lit up!
"Ah! I've got it!"
As if struck by a thought, Eileen quickly suggested, "The Selhi family previously booked several ordinary rooms in this inn all at once. They are occupied by my subordinates and servants. Link, if you don't mind, I can have them vacate a room for Ron."
"Really… is that okay?" Link asked, his face filled with surprise!
"Of course!" Eileen replied with a smile!
"Then thank you so much!"
Link hurriedly expressed his gratitude, not refusing the offer. After all, he had been busy for days and really didn't want to wander around the city at night!
"Hehe, you saved my life; what's it to me to give you a room?"
Eileen waved her hand casually and then instructed Robert, who was standing nearby, "Captain Robert, please arrange for a room to be vacated for Master Link's servant as soon as possible!"
"Understood, Miss!"
Robert replied and quickly turned to leave.
Before long, Robert returned and respectfully said to Eileen, "Miss, the room is ready. Master Link's servant can check in at any time."
"Thank you once again for your generosity, Miss Eileen."
Link said, performing a noble bow to Eileen, and continued, "It's getting late, so I won't disturb you any longer. Please rest early, Miss Eileen. Farewell."
As his words fell, Link and Ron, under Robert's guidance, turned to leave Eileen's room, leaving her behind, staring blankly at Link's retreating figure, lost in thought for quite a while, unsure of what she was pondering.
…
In the remaining two days, Link and Ron stayed at the "Rose Petal" Inn, becoming neighbors with Eileen.
At first, Link would come up with some flimsy excuses to sneak into Eileen's room for no reason.
As time went on, feeling that the moment was right, he stopped even bothering to find excuses, spending more than half of his day shamelessly lingering in her boudoir, under the pretense of exchanging life experiences, but in reality, he was taking the opportunity to flirt!
And Eileen, unable to fight him off or chase him away, had no choice but to let him be!
Unfortunately, happy times are always fleeting.
On the morning two days later, just as dawn broke, the entire capital city erupted in excitement!
The reason was simple: this day marked the commencement of the entrance assessment for the most powerful cultivation academy in the "Radiant Empire"—the Imperial Cultivation Academy!