Way of the Knights

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Anne's arrow whistled towards the sandbag. It pierced through the air like a comet and left a trail of blue light.

Upon contact, the collision caused the pillar to briefly shake because of the intensity behind the shot.

Everyone's eyes were on the pendulum. It shot fast and instantly passed three gems and lit it up, which was equivalent to 3000 units of strength. It continuously went up until it reached the 5th gem which is already considered as a pass but it was still going up. It passed through the 6th gem and went halfway there before coming back down.

The whole stadium became silent, many people rubbed their eyes or pinched themselves to confirm if what they saw was real.

Carl coughed a bit before making the announcement. "Anne Fiore, 6500 units. Pass!"

It didn't took long before the they erupted into furious cheering which made the stadium shake. Anne's relatives were furiously waving their fans while loudly chanting her name.

"Holy crap! That was amazing!"

"6500 units of strength? How is that possible? If someone told me that this lady is already at the Soldier Realm, I would've totally bought it!"

"Kyah~! Husband! Husband! Did you see that!? Did you see that!? Annie is so fierce!" Emma grabbed Clyde by his collar and shook him back and forth.

"I know! I saw it too! Stop shaking me, I feel dizzy!" It took him a great effort to release himself from the grip of his wife.

When he finally calmed down, he saw his daughter walking back to her friends. What he just saw shocked him greatly. Even a Soldier Realm expert would be weary of that shot, not only was it fast, it was deadly too. He himself dabbled into archery during his youth so he knew his deduction was accurate.

Needless to say, he worries about her foundations were proven to be unnecessary, just from the way she condensed that arrow alone, Clyde could already tell that she didn't neglect her foundations at all.

He then saw Anne look towards their side, his wife turned crazy and sent flying kisses much to their embarassment, he shook his head gave her a smile. He used his energy and blended it on the air, he then said:

"You did well."

His words were sent as an energy transmission and even though he was far away, Anne was able to hear it. And these few words greatly warmed her heart.

***

"Wish me luck." Mark said while stepping forward.

"Bullshit! Just hit the thing as hard as you can, there's no luck needed for that!" Paul retorted while sending him away.

Mark shrugged and chuckled. He then took out his swords and went into a battle stance. Before he even condensed his energies, he heard Raven's voice.

"Do your best. He's watching."

A shiver ran through his spine as he heard those words. He didn't need to confirm it, if Raven says so then it's true. Mark wanted to search for the person on his mind but he knew that it's pointless.

Nevertheless, eagerness bloomed on his heart. He yearned for his father's approval for so long, now's the time to show him the fruits of his labor.

He held his sword tightly and condensed his energy. The swords flared with a glaring blue light, he then swiftly swung his sword horizontally and following up with a vertical one.

"Cross Cut." Mark uttered.

Two fin-like sword energies merged into one and swiftly arrived at the target. Fortunately, the sandbag was made out of exceptional materials or else it would've been pierced by Anne's arrow or quartered by Mark's attack.

The pillar shook once more and the pendulum shot up. Under the dumbfounded gazes of the crowd, it instantly passed through the 5th gem and kept going until it passed halfway through the 7th gem.

Carl smiled wryly as he announced the results: "Mark Anderson, 7500 units, Pass!"

"Tch. Didn't make it 'till the 8th mark." Mark was a bit dissatisfied.

Carl had the impulse to smack his head upon hearing this. 'This brat! I wasn't even near your strength when I was at your age! You're already very strong and your still complaining?' Of course, he wouldn't say such things aloud.

"Kyah~!" Mark instantly grimaced upon hearing this screech, he didn't need to turn around to find out who this was. "Good work baby! You're so manly unlike your father!"

"Mom...that diss was unnecessary." Mark whispered as he sneakily glanced at her.

Upon going back to the group, he had this urge to beat the crap out of Paul upon seeing his face.

"Kyah~! Baby Mark, super manly..." Paul jeered, Mark dashed and quickly locked Paul's head using arms. "Stop, I give..." he added while laughing.

"Alright, my turn guys." Ellen said, she bumped fists with Raven and stepped forward. She took out her sword and held it with both hands.

She assumed a stance and crowd went silent. With a silent glare, her energy flared and a glaring blue sheen covered her entire sword. The sword energy behaved like a pulsing flames, as Ellen supplied it with more energies, the fiercer this sword energy got.

Bradley glanced at her daughter with a face full of pride and appreciation. He already knew that she trained very hard to achieve her current state, he felt a little bit bad for not being able to assist her as much as he could that's why he's also thankful for her friends.

He watched as Ellen slashed forward with great might. The accumulated sword energy swiftly struck the sandbag and made the pendulum shot up.

"Ellen Redcrest, 8000 units, Pass!"

Even for Bradley, such a number was too exaggerated. He couldn't help but smile wryly while his wife was busy fangirling and waving the banner sher prepared earlier. He saw Ellen looking towards them so he raised two thumbs up which made her smile widely.

***

There was a room in the central stadium which is located high enough to overlook the arena. It was spacious and used by important people who didn't wish to expose their identity while enjoying the events below.

Inside this room, there are several people who are currently watching Promotional Tests with mixed emotions.

"This...this is just...I don't even know what to say." One of them commented as they watched.

"I know this is just the first tests, but from this alone they are already permitted to the Inner Branch." Another elder followed up with his own comment.

"This young lady surpassed your son's result Sir Leon." Someone jeered from the side.

The man named Leon glanced at the person who compared his son to Ellen, he snorted and said: "It's true, my boy can't compare to this young lady with brute strength. But I'm satisfied enough to see that he was able to reach this stage compared to some others' son who can't even do half of what my son could do."

His brutal words made that individual's expression go ugly. He wanted to refute his words but can't since as venomous Leon's words were, it was the truth, his son can't even get out of Skin Toughening Stage.

"Everyone shush! My boy's about to go!" Dean Ian waved his hands as he focused on Paul.

Everyone inside the room smiled wryly at his words, Ian could care less about their little dog fight, what he wanted know is the result of his unfilial son.

Under the crowds gaze, Paul walked in front of the Strength Measuring Pillar. He looked up and sighed, he knew that his old man is watching him right now since Raven informed him. Which also means, that the piercing glare that he felt earlier was coming from his as well.

Paul felt a bit conflicted but he knew that this wouldn't help him right now. So he instead cleared up his mind and took out a shield from his spatial right.

Everyone, including Ian was confused with his decision. Why did he bring out a shield instead of a weapon? But their thoughts were immediately silenced as soon as Paul condensed his energies.

The round shield was covered with a murky blue light, it gave of a feeling of heaviness as well as bluntness. When Paul opened his eyes, he raised his shield and bent his body. Ian's eyes widened as he thought: 'Is thinking of...'

But before he could even finish his though, Paul slammed the shield down to the tiled floor. The whole arena shook but impact was concentrated onto the pillar.

The pendulum shot up and swiftly passed through 5th gem. It continuously soared until it reached the 8th gem before going down.

Ian was incredibly surprised, not only him but everyone inside the room was also surprised.

"You raised a great child, Dean Ian." Someone inside the room praised after a while of silence.

On regular days, Ian would surely burst in uproarious laughter upon hearing these words but now, he can't even smile.. He only felt guilt and melancholy upon realizing that his boy reached greatness without needing his assistance.