Ray had heard rumors before arriving at the academy. Victors receiving rewards after competitions. With a teacher as formidable as Alfred, the prize had to be impressive.

Hope bloomed.

Alfred led them into his office.

The room was pitifully small, barely ten square meters. A desk. A cupboard. A single chair.

"The trash I referred to includes both of you," Alfred said flatly.

Raziel Phoenix's last shred of hope died.

Alfred turned his gaze to Ray. "Your performance was acceptable. However, you did not fight with everything you had. That Silverfalls Vine of yours is a variant. Its tenacity is remarkable, but your soul power is weak and unsustainable. Against opponents with higher soul power, you will lose."

His eyes shifted to the hammers.

"And those hammers?"

Ray hesitated before answering honestly. "I learned forging before."

Alfred raised an eyebrow. "Forging? You're a Soul Master, yet you went to learn forging? A clumsy bird flies early, but you are a clumsy bird that chose the wrong forest. You wasted your time on something utterly pointless."

Ray lowered his head. His voice was quiet. "But everyone said my martial soul was trash. And my spirit soul isn't very good either…"

Alfred cut him off sharply. "So you decided to become a blacksmith? Ridiculous. Remember this well. You are my student. As long as I haven't declared you useless, you are to put all your effort into becoming a Soul Master."

Off to the side, Raziel Phoenix's lips twitched uncontrollably.

Didn't you just say I was useless?

For the first time, he found himself sympathizing with Ray. Of course, that sympathy only existed because he had technically won the match.

"Oh." Ray nodded obediently.

Of course, he had no intention of giving up forging. After everything he had achieved, abandoning it was impossible. As for his martial soul… cultivation was the only time he ever truly felt defeated.

Alfred turned his gaze to Raziel Phoenix. "What are you smirking about? You think you're superior to him? Is it amusing to hide your twin martial souls?"

Raziel Phoenix froze.

"You have rank eighteen soul power and twin martial souls," Alfred continued coldly. "Just because you were born with higher soul power, you think you have the right to be arrogant?"

Raziel Phoenix lifted his head, staring at Alfred in shock.

How does he know!?

"You still have a long road ahead of you," Alfred said. "Even those with twin martial souls can be trash. As an Agility System Battle Soul Master, what pride is there in being forced into a corner by someone with Silverfalls Vine?"

"I…" Raziel Phoenix's face flushed bright red. He couldn't refute a single word.

"Teacher, what are twin martial souls?" Ray asked curiously.

Alfred frowned. "How incompetent was your elementary academy teacher? Twin martial souls mean possessing two martial souls. The advantage is obvious. Those born with them usually have innate rank ten soul power, cultivate faster, and can acquire more soul rings."

He paused before continuing, "However, in the era of spirit souls, that advantage has diminished. Spiritual power limits how many spirit souls one can absorb. No one can sustain eighteen soul rings' worth of spirit souls. Unless you possess an extraordinary spiritual-type martial soul, like the Spirit Tower's founder, and even then, every spirit soul would need to be extremely powerful."

Ray glanced at Raziel Phoenix. Both were human, yet the gap between them felt painfully unfair.

Alfred suddenly asked, "Do you think his martial soul is good?"

Ray hesitated. Did that even need answering?

Alfred's lips curved slightly. "It isn't necessarily better than yours. His martial soul is a dagger, and his second one is also a dagger, just concealed. Daggers have an extremely short attack range. In modern mecha warfare, what do you think that amounts to? Agility System Battle Soul Masters are among the most restricted once they become Mecha Masters."

Raziel Phoenix stared in disbelief.

Is Ray his illegitimate son or something? Why does he keep stepping on me to boost his confidence?

Alfred ignored him completely. "Enough. Let's talk business."

Raziel Phoenix straightened instantly.

Rewards? Finally?

"Every year, the academy holds a grand tournament," Alfred said. "One for the intermediate division and one for the advanced division. The intermediate division has six grades, all participating. This is known as the Class Promotion Tournament."

"Class Promotion Tournament?" Ray echoed.

"The weakest class challenges first," Alfred explained. "Class five challenges class four. If the challenger wins, the class numbers switch. Win again, and you continue challenging higher classes. The most victorious class becomes class one of their grade. If they then defeat higher grades, additional rewards are granted."

Raziel Phoenix's eyes gleamed. "So we're the first challengers?"

"Correct," Alfred nodded. "You are currently the worst class of the entire intermediate division."

"No problem," Raziel Phoenix declared confidently. "Leave it to me. I'll fight them all and challenge straight up to sixth grade."

Alfred snorted coldly. "The minimum number of participants is two. Do you think twin martial souls make you invincible? Class one representatives are not lacking in geniuses. Compared to them, your talent is merely average."

Raziel Phoenix barely heard the latter half. His mind fixated on one thing. He slowly turned to Ray, eyes wide.

"Teacher… you're saying I have to compete with him?"

Alfred leaned back in his chair, suddenly exuding an air of casual authority. "If you have a better candidate, speak up."

"I…" Raziel Phoenix wanted to refuse. But when he recalled the pitiful performances of his classmates, his words died in his throat.

No matter how unwilling he felt, Ray had beaten him twice. And those mysterious golden scales were still a lingering nightmare.

"The tournament begins in one month," Alfred said. "From tomorrow onward, the two of you will undergo special training every night in addition to regular classes. I'll design your training plan."

"You will turn this class into first grade's class one."

Ray hesitated. "What if we can't?"

"Hehe." Alfred laughed.

He was handsome, but when he laughed, both boys froze. A chill crept up from their tailbones and sank deep into their spines.

After leaving the office, Ray felt his shoulders finally relax. A small smile appeared on his face. Being chosen as a representative… for a Soul Master, this was an honor.

Had he finally taken his first real step into this world?

Teacher Gilbert believed in him. Now, Teacher Alfred did as well.

"Hey." Raziel Phoenix called out coldly.

Ray turned. "What is it? We can fight again later. I'll also pay you back for the food."

Raziel Phoenix stared at him blankly.

This guy really loves money… unbelievable.

"That's not it," Raziel Phoenix said stiffly. "Just don't drag me down during the tournament."

Ray sighed lightly, then asked with genuine concern, "Does your face still hurt?"

The arrogant look on Raziel Phoenix's face stiffened instantly. His fists clenched at his sides, veins faintly popping.

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