“Who’s that?”
With a holler, Kaunitz still managed to turn his body whilst in the air, fiercely smashing his tender fist towards the figure.
The other party chuckled and returned the punch straight on. Kaunitz only felt overwhelming strength piercing through his fist into his body, the domineering strength sending him flying.
Bang! With a loud sound, Kaunitz flew over twenty metres away. Half kneeling on the ground, he felt his right arm numb and aching. His vital energy and blood thrashed about in his body, making him unable to exert any strength for quite some time.
He raised his head to take a look, and stared in disbelief at the burly man who had driven him back.
“Robert?”
That burly man laughed, already turning to squeeze through the gates. His height was over 2.5 metres, and his four limbs were strong and thick, much like the supporting pillars of bridges.
There were many big Warriors on the grounds, but standing beside him they looked like little kids.
Wherever this burly man passed by, it was as if a wild boar thrashed through a ploughed field, the crowd being the wheat, easily crushed and pushed aside. With just a few steps, he was the first to dash out of the grounds.
“Hahahaha, the Prefectural Champion this time around can only be me, Robert Abel!”
With a fanatical laughter, he dashed out like a tornado.
“Robert Abel?”
“How is that possible? Isn’t he the leader of the Tyrant Fist Dojo?”
“Hasn’t he already undergone the first transition?”
“This fellow…” Kaunitz gritted his teeth. Eldest Martial Brother Ogden came up to him from the back and asked in concern, “Young Master Kaunitz, are you alright?”
With a cold snort, Kaunitz dashed out once again without bothering to reply. Fury had been ignited in his heart, and without showing any mercy, he advanced like a crazed elephant. Wherever he passed by, the others would be thrown off their feet.
‘Damn it. This fellow Robert… Has he disbanded the Tyrant Fist Dojo?’ Kaunitz thought to himself. ‘If he were to disband the school and go under the Empire’s protection, even if he’s already undergone the first job transition he would still be qualified to participate in the Prefectural Selection.’
Kaunitz was aware that the Tyrant Fist Dojo was merely a third rated school which only passed down the route for the first job transition. As the leader of the school, Robert was merely a level 13 or 14 who had gone through the first job transition.
Usually, he would not give a hoot to such a Warrior with the Knight status. Even if he could not win against the other party, he would be able to fully suppress him with just his background alone.
But they were now in the Prefectural Selection. It was almost impossible to only depend on his own abilities to win over the other party and claim first place.
For a Warrior like Robert who had undergone the first job transition, the goal was the Regional Selection after the Prefectural Selection, namely the path towards the second job transition.
With Robert’s sudden appearance, the atmosphere in the grounds turned increasingly heavy.
Following Kaunitz’s dash out of the grounds, three other figures consecutively knocked off the people around them and dashed out as well. Tens of people who were at the front cried out as they were grabbed, pushed or sent flying by these three.
The three were one lady and two guys respectively. They also had blonde hair and blue eyes, with similar attitudes to that of Kaunitz.
The lady had a pale face, as if her skin had never seen the sunlight, and her figure was slender and light, similar to the legendary spirits. She closed in on Kaunitz with just a few steps.
As for the two guys behind her, one of them had bronze skin, black hair and was dressed in animal hide, much like a wild man who had come running out of the mountains.
The other one was dressed in a full white suit and wore a spotlessly clean mantle, without a speck of dust. His gaze carried a tinge of despise when he looked at the rest of the people before him.
Amidst the mad rush of the four, a large amount of energy smashed hard into the ground, allowing them to tear through the air like missiles as they chased after Robert.
The lady gave a cold laugh and said, “Haha, seems like the Prefectural Selection this time around will be a competition between our four families and Robert.”
Kaunitz did not pay heed to her words but continued to adjust the rhythm of his breath and muscles, trying to save his physical strength. He was very familiar with this lady and the two guys.
Other than The School of Sword Arts and Kirst Royal Academy, there were four other academies who were on par with Tresia Academy. Together, they were known as the Seven Pearl Academies.
The three people before him were representatives from the other three academies.
The lady who had just spoken was Fei Yang Knights Academy’s representative, Barbara.
The wild man with bronze skin was Shadow Moon Academy’s representative, Boris.
Meanwhile, the other guy dressed in white was Ferdinand, a representative of Kirst Aristocrat Academy, a school which had been set up through the collaborative efforts of Kirst’s aristocrats.
With their spurt, they reached the exterior of the city in the blink of an eye, falling into second place right after Robert, as they left the rest of the Warriors far behind.
A cool smile broke out on Barbara’s pale face when she saw that the three guys were all focusing on the run and that they had ignored her. She continued, “The latest news is that Robert is already at the first transition, level 15. Ignoring his level of comprehension and looking just at attributes and skills alone, he is definitely above us. If we wish to compete to get first and become the Prefectural Champion, it is impossible for us to do it alone.”
Shadow Moon Academy’s wild man Boris said, “You want to join forces? How do I know if I can place my trust in someone from Fei Yang Knights Academy?”
“Haha.” Barbara smiled and said, “Wild man, at least we settle the competition amongst ourselves after dealing with Robert.”
“The Prefectural Selection is broken down into three stages which respectively test one’s physical strength, one’s skills, and the potential of one’s comprehension.
“But other than the first stage where everyone is examined altogether, the other two stages are related to the area of training in which one specializes.”
There were countless Warriors in the Empire, but when the Empire held the selections, it divided the different factions into five groups.
These were the Sword and Saber, Staff and Rod, Bow and Arrow, Bare-handed and Miscellaneous.
Fei Yang Knights Academy’s Barbara further said, “Our academy specializes in archery. Wild man, you specialise in tackling, combat, fist techniques and wrestling, right?”
She looked towards Ferdinand, dressed in white, and continued, “Kirst Aristocrat Academy specializes in the spear arts, right?” The spear arts was, of course, went under the category of Staff and Rod.
“As for Kaunitz, you’ll of course go for sword arts.
“Therefore, other than the physical strength in the first stage, we do not have any conflict of interest in the other two stages. So long as we join efforts in order to win against Robert, we will be able to reach the top four.
“As for who will be the first in the Prefectural Selection, this will rely on our respective abilities.”
Shadow Moon Academy’s Boris was not happy with this, and said, “Robert specializes in the Tyrant Fist. Wouldn’t it mean that I’d have to compete with him in the other two stages?”
“Hahahaha.” Barbara let out a long laugh and said, “You can only blame it on your bad luck. Although we cannot kill in the Prefectural Selection, if the four of us were to join efforts, it would not be difficult to delay Robert.”
Battling was prohibited during the Prefectural Selection, but just as in the case of the collisions and squeezing during the run, so long as there were no injuries, no one would show too much concern about it.
“Do it.” Kaunitz said calmly.
The other two exchanged glances and also nodded in agreement.
But while they were discussing, a loud thumping sound drummed crazily in their hearts. A ferocious strength repeatedly tapped against the surface, making the three of them feel as if the surface was trembling.
“Who’s that?”
The four of them turned their heads at the same time and saw a figure dashing towards them, leaving a trail of afterimages behind him. The speed he was moving at was as if he had brought along a hurricane, sending dust and rocks flying. In just an instant, he closed the gap of tens of metres between them and overtook the four. He only left behind blurred shadows, making them unable to react in time, even if they would have wanted to stop him.
Kaunitz stared with his eyes wide open at the person who was turning into a small dot in just an instant. In a low voice he said, “Fang Xingjian?”
The four of them immediately shouted, “After him!”