Without a second thought, Jiang Lin began swinging his wooden sword once more.
After practicing every move of 【Basic Swordsmanship】 one more time, Jiang Lin turned to Anya.
"I'm ready."
Anya was taken aback.
So fast? The boost from leveling up shouldn't be small; is he just acting tough...?
Her doubts were quickly dispelled.
Although she had also suppressed her level to level 3, facing Jiang Lin now, the pressure she felt was more than just a little bit greater than before.
He can adapt to newly grown strength this quickly?!
And his swordsmanship is even sharper. It seems he really was holding back against me before...
Anya continued to meet Jiang Lin's attacks, feeling it become increasingly difficult.
A minute later.
Clack.
Jiang Lin found a flaw and flicked Anya's wooden sword away. It landed on the ground with a thud.
"I've learned much."
Anya was truly impressed.
She found it hard to understand how a genius with such talent in swordsmanship had remained completely unknown until now.
"Your swordsmanship is so strong, why have I never heard of your talent before?"
She asked bluntly.
Jiang Lin remained silent. The moment he expected had arrived.
If the system was going to keep exerting its influence, he would definitely need to find an excuse for his talent.
Finally, after a long silence, he replied,
"Perhaps all geniuses need time to settle."
Anya's brow furrowed slightly at his vague answer.
What did "geniuses need time to settle" mean?
Was he intentionally hiding his capabilities before?
But why bother?
Anya couldn't figure it out, so she asked again, "What do you mean? Why would you hide your talent?"
Jiang Lin didn't give a direct answer. Instead, he resumed the opening stance of Basic Swordsmanship.
No answer was the best answer.
The more he said, the more likely he was to slip up.
He couldn't think of a logical explanation anyway.
As for what they concluded, he would just let them guess for themselves...
Seeing Jiang Lin's silence, Anya could only retrieve her fallen wooden sword and begin sparring with him once more.
...
In the blink of an eye, class was over.
"If your breathing technique proficiency is high enough, it's not impossible to reach level 5 in the next two months,"
Anya said to Jiang Lin.
"I hope you can raise your level and successfully enter a Middle Magic Academy.
"If possible, I'd prefer to see you at Saint Brilliance Middle Magic Academy."
Hearing Anya say this, the surrounding male and female students nearly ground their molars to dust.
Dammit, Jiang Lin! To think he got the cold and distant Lady Anya to issue such a warm invitation!!
With his track record, it's a question whether he can even get into a Middle Magic Academy at all, let alone Saint Brilliance Middle Magic Academy!!
They thought sourly.
Of course, they didn't see the intense fighting spirit burning in Anya's golden eyes...
The so-called Saint Brilliance Middle Magic Academy was the best among the Middle Magic Academies under Qinghe County. Only the most elite students from various cities in Qinghe County were qualified to enter; its status was similar to a top-tier provincial high school from Jiang Lin's past life.
Furthermore, because there were no policy restrictions, they essentially only picked the absolute best students, ensuring no underperformers were ever admitted.
With Anya's talent, her entry into Saint Brilliance Middle Magic Academy was practically set in stone.
"Yeah, I'll do my best."
Jiang Lin nodded.
Just then, Zach—the silver-haired rank 2 student—stepped out from the crowd and extended an invitation to Jiang Lin.
"Your swordsmanship is very strong. Do you have time to spar with me later?"
As he spoke, he gave Jiang Lin a gentleman's salute, looking quite elegant.
Jiang Lin turned to look at him, remaining silent.
In the silence, Zach's brow twitched imperceptibly.
"I can pay you a fee."
At that moment, the system window that Jiang Lin had been staring at finally displayed text.
【Temporary Quest:】
【As a demon lord who commits all manner of evil, you usually package yourself carefully to maintain a good disguise. However, you have encountered a genius with powerful perception who has discovered your evil identity and initiated a battle to exorcise you. As a demon lord, you must naturally suppress them with thunderous methods.】
【Requirement: Defeat the opponent with thunderous methods.】
【Reward: Randomly copy a skill the opponent has mastered.】
Seeing the system finally offer a quest, Jiang Lin closed the interface with satisfaction.
"No problem. Since there's still time, let's have a match."
To the surprise of the onlookers, Jiang Lin raised the wooden sword he had been about to return.
"By the way, that'll be two silver coins."
Jiang Lin naturally knew Zach. They had been classmates in the elite class, though they weren't very close.
Seeing Jiang Lin become so proactive upon hearing about the reward, Zach fell silent for a moment.
Then, he pulled out two silver coins and tossed them toward Jiang Lin.
The silver coins traced a parabola through the air, spinning and reflecting the light.
Jiang Lin didn't reach out with his hand. Instead, he held his sword blade horizontally, catching the two silver coins perfectly before letting them slide into his pocket.
Seeing this display, Zach couldn't help but offer a silent praise.
To have trained his swordsmanship to the point where it's like an extension of his own arm... Haji-Jiang, you really shouldn't be underestimated.
Even though he could have done that move himself, he wouldn't have been able to make it look as smooth as Jiang Lin did.
However... two silver coins for one spar? Haji-Jiang, you're a real bandit...
If there weren't so many people here, he would have wanted to haggle before starting the match.
Then, he also suppressed his level to level 3.
He had challenged Jiang Lin not because he wanted to humiliate him, but simply because he was curious about Jiang Lin's strength.
As the foundation for all sword styles, he had naturally trained 【Basic Swordsmanship】 to a superlative level.
When sparring with Anya, they were usually at the same level. Since his profession was an assassin, he was always at a disadvantage in terms of strength and frontal combat. Therefore, his losses to Anya weren't because their swordsmanship gap was too large, but because of their professions.
At least, that’s what he believed.
Now that he had seen someone capable of crushing Anya in swordsmanship, he naturally wanted to try it for himself.
...
While Zach was thinking, Jiang Lin had already made his move.
He stepped forward, his wooden sword attacking a flaw with the momentum of a splitting bamboo.
Zach's reaction was also extremely fast. He dodged Jiang Lin's attack directly, while simultaneously turning his blade to strike back at Jiang Lin.
So fast!
Jiang Lin was surprised.
The opponent's profession was an assassin; at the same level, his reaction speed was indeed much faster than his own.
He gritted his teeth and retracted his sword, predicting the opponent's attack trajectory to barely dodge the strike.
The two then stood their ground, and Jiang Lin became more focused.
He had originally thought he could settle this quickly, but he hadn't expected the opponent to be so troublesome, and his combat style was completely different from Anya's.
It made sense. As the rank 2 student, the gap between him and rank 1 shouldn't be that massive.
And while Jiang Lin crushed him in terms of swordsmanship attainment, in a fight of this level, he currently possessed the technique but couldn't fully exert it.
His neural reflex speed wasn't enough, and his body couldn't keep up with his thoughts. He could always see the opponent's flaws, but he couldn't capture them with precision.
That was why in his match with Anya, he needed several exchanges to catch a significant opening before he could take her down.
As for Zach, he was glaring fiercely at Jiang Lin.
Watch closely, Little Lin. Today I'll show you that two silver coins aren't that easy to earn!
Rate on N.U.
