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Chapter 94: Z-Slash

And so the two of them bantered all the way to the north gate of Saint Gobban Academy.

Blushing again, Clara insisted on sharing a dragon horse with Instructor Ella and refused to ride into the academy gates with Ashura no matter what.

Instructor Ella watched the pair switching mounts with a gentle smile, yet Ashura felt a chill in it and quickly averted his eyes to the nearby academy gate.

He saw a blue figure and a red figure peeking from either side of the gate, but the moment they noticed his gaze they both turned and hurried back inside.

Ashura curled his lips into a faint smile, for it felt good to have people worry about him, and sharing the food-stall credits with them had clearly paid off.

Just as Ashura was basking in the feeling, Ella rode past him with Clara and casually said, “Stop staring, you can chat in the academy, it’ll be dark soon!”

Clara also threw him an exaggerated eye-roll, and Ashura scratched a sheepish grin before urging his horse through the gates with the others.

The moment he crossed the gate a sense of safety washed over him, and he suddenly missed his far-off home in the Olei Kingdom, so he looked toward its direction and silently swore to return to his family as soon as possible.

News of the freshman team being attacked by Beasts spread throughout the academy, for a training squad losing 7 dead and 29 seriously injured was rare in the school’s history.

Yet such accidents were unavoidable, and rumor said the death rate in the next grand exam would be even higher, leaving the freshmen uneasy.

When the students learned that Instructor Ella and Ashura, who had fallen from the cliff, had returned safely, the freshmen erupted as though they had won a great victory!

Back in the dorm Ashura was smothered in hugs by his three brothers; he could feel their genuine concern, and the fourth, Angelo, even had tears in his eyes.

Na Wei and several other classmates also came to the dorm to pay him a visit and express their sympathy.

Dormitory 138 was brightly lit as Ashura bragged to his few close friends about how valiant he had been against the Red-Lotus Serpent King, telling it as though he had personally knocked the Serpent King off the cliff.

The boys listened wide-eyed; few young trainees had ever encountered a tier-6 Beast in the Beast Forest, so the story sounded thrilling.

Of course he left out the part with Ella, claiming they just happened to meet at the bottom of the cliff; he already had enough rumors swirling around him and needed to keep a low profile if he wanted to survive at school.

The next day, when Ashura entered the classroom of Magic Class 13, he received an enthusiastic welcome.

During the Beast Forest training, Ashura had won favor with his cooking skills; previously he had been nearly invisible because he kept skipping class, but now everyone acknowledged his culinary talent.

His warning about the approaching Red-Lotus Serpents had also spared the trainees heavier casualties, and thanks to protection from the Warrior class, Magic Class 13 had suffered only minor injuries.

Most students felt grateful to Ashura, Kyle and a few other jealous types excepted.

Several female magic trainees now looked at Ashura differently; his final charge with the Twin Swords against the Red-Lotus Serpent King had left a deep impression, and the fact he had blinded one of the Serpent King’s eyes resonated on King’s Continent, where strength was everything.

Just as Ashura was starting to float on the praise, a soft little “hmph” reached his ears; he looked up at the proud, swan-like girl and sheepishly shuffled to his seat.

The silver-haired girl beside him did not look his way, yet the corner of her mouth lifted in a lovely arc.

While the trainees were still chattering about their brush with death, a graceful and noble figure entered the classroom!

The students greeted her with an even louder cheer, and Ella smiled and waved back at them.

The observant noticed that Instructor Ella looked more radiant than before and was wearing a new hairstyle, one reminiscent of married women in the Valencian Empire, which added another touch of elegance to her.

Ella casually glanced at Ashura, and when she caught his slightly lecherous, astonished stare she felt a small surge of pride.

But when her eyes fell on the silver-haired girl seated snugly beside him, a pang of sourness rose; she simply could not understand why girls liked this guy so much.

During their time in the Beast Forest she had clearly felt that the three outstanding girls who sold food with them treated Ashura differently from everyone else.

Those three girls were both beautiful and talented, and more importantly they were Ashura’s age, which left Ella with a slight sense of defeat and a secret resolve to hold on tight to this young boyfriend.

Clara seemed to sense the meaningful look from Instructor Ella; her fine brows knitted, she turned toward the love-struck Ashura, and angrily pinched the flesh at his waist again!

Ashura bared his teeth at the sting in his waist, baffled as to why this little princess was mad again; he turned to look at Clara, yet the girl stared straight ahead, ignoring him, though her slightly pouting lips made her anger clear.

Ashura suddenly felt he would rather fight the Red-Lotus Serpent King than guess a girl’s thoughts.

The thought of the Red-Lotus Serpent King made his heart race again; with one eye blinded its power had plummeted, so perhaps he could finish it off and dig out its beast core… a tier-6 core was a priceless treasure!

He also remembered that Grand Archmage Aiwei had promised him a Yellow-Tier Martial Technique, and the thought excited him; after all, the archmage had told him to collect it once he returned to the academy.

But Ashura’s survival instincts, sharpened by recent life-and-death trials, told him that Grand Archmage Aiwei was not exactly friendly toward him; the more he thought about it the more dangerous it felt… had the archmage seen through his more-than-friendly bond with his granddaughter?

A shiver ran down Ashura’s spine; a Grand Archage could cast forbidden-spell-level magic, and the more he pondered it, the less he dared claim that so-called reward.

Yet it was a Yellow-Tier Martial Technique; even after 2 years of hoarding Academy Points he still could not afford one, and a manual left by a Grand Archage would certainly be top grade.

The more he thought about it, the more unwilling he was to let it go.

While he was racking his brains on how to approach Grand Archmage Aiwei for the Yellow-Tier manual, Instructor Ella suddenly called from the podium, “Ashura, where was I just now? Pay attention!”

Ashura was momentarily stunned by the question, then his eyes on Instructor Ella grew brighter and he flashed a mischievous grin, which made Ella’s cheeks flush and left her flustered, secretly cursing, “You rascal!”

That afternoon in the lakeside grove, a pouting Ella tossed a Yellow-Tier Martial Technique to the starry-eyed Ashura, and he caught the manual at once.

On its cover were three bold characters… “Z-Slash”!

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