NOVEL NEXT Chapter 53: Sunrise
Claude Rayforth walked towards the faculty building in order to meet the Second Elder and the Headmaster of Golden Avarice Academy.
"Junior brother Claude!" Looking over at Claude, who was walking towards the faculty building, Senior Beldon yelled out, "Hold on!"
"Senior Beldon!" Claude looked at his senior brother with a smile as he shouted out a greeting.
Senior Beldon walked to the spot where Clause stood, and following him were Ashley Winter and Esmond Carrington.
"Wait a minute! Junior brother Claude, you already broke through to the Sky Realm?" Senior Beldon, who had noticed that Claude's aura was a bit different than usual, was pleasantly surprised, as he looked at Claude with amazement in his eyes.
"What? You're kidding! Wasn't he at the seventh rank the last time I saw him? Wilfred, are you sure you aren't mistaken?" Senior Sister Ashley Winter covered her mouth in surprise, her tone unable to hide her astonishment. Esmond had a similar expression of shock and disbelief on his face as well.
"Of course it's true, I've checked his aura and spiritual energy thoroughly. There's no way I'm mistaken." Senior Beldon puffed out his chest and said firmly, "I told you before... junior brother Claude is a prodigy!"
"I can't believe it.. How on earth is such a growth rate possible?" Hearing this, Esmond could no longer hide his shock. Although he was already at the eight rank of the Sky Realm, it took him years to get there. This kind of growth was simply unheard of.
Senior Beldon looked at Claude profoundly, and smiled, "I have no answer to your question, Esmond. Even I didn't imagine that someone like junior brother Claude would appear in our academy. It seems that he's simply too special for us to understand."
"Senior's words are too much. I practice a lot, and this is simply a result of that," Claude let out a chuckle as he spoke. "But more importantly, why are the three of you here, seniors?"
"Why else? To meet with the Headmaster and the Second Elder of course!" Ashley looked on haughtily, replying with complete conviction. "General Ivan came to 'visit' all of us, and the academy didn't even try to stop him! I have to know whether or not what he said was true! I need an answer!"
Claude glanced over at both Esmond and Senior Beldon, who nodded their heads in response. Turning his head back to look at Ashley again, he said, "Well then, I guess we shouldn't waste any more time."
....
Meanwhile, at the top of the faculty building that was situated in the center of the Golden Avarice Academy, the Second Elder respectfully stood in front of the Headmaster with a lowered head.
"Headmaster, what are we going to do?" the Second Elder asked, his eyes flickering with a ghastly flowing light as he spoke.
"What can we do? The Royal Family now has a legitimate reason to monitor our academy, so we cannot do anything to stop them," the Headmaster responded in a low voice, sighing.
"But are we just going to let them have their way?" Second Elder's fists were both tightly clenched as he sighed, and one could clearly hear the rage and hatred hidden within his words. Inclining his head, he stared at the Headmaster, "Sir, if this keeps up, the Monarchy will soon be in a position to take over the academy from the inside. Are you fine with that? Are you fine with handing over your position to a puppet of the Monarchy?"
"Of course I don't wish for that to happen, Baron," the Headmaster replied with a bitter smile. Second Elder froze for a second, drew in a huge breath and bowed his head. "Forgive me. I overstepped my bounds. I let my emotions take a hold of me."
"It's alright, Baron. I know how you feel, but right now, we can't do anything but play along," The Headmaster replied.
"So you're just going to let the Royal Army do as they wish, Headmaster?" At this moment, a voice drifted over, causing both of them to incline their heads, only to see a few figures walking towards the Headmaster's office.
They were none other than Claude, Senior Beldon, Ashley and Esmond. The Headmaster raised his eyebrows and locked eyes with Claude, as he faintly inquired, "Are you the one who asked the question, young man?"
"Yes I did Headmaster!" Lowering his head, Claude replied respectfully.
"Claude, how can you speak to your Headmaster before showing your respects? The Headmaster is a highly-esteemed cultivator, who has contributed greatly to the growth of the Academy. He helped to stabilize and lay the foundation for the Golden Avarice Academy of the new era, and he is also my master. How can you act in such a disrespectful way?" Before the Headmaster could speak, the Second Elder looked at Claude and frowned.
Claude's previous performances and his way with words had impressed the Second Elder, but his efforts seemed to crumble here.
"Forgive me master! I realize that it was disrespectful, but I felt like I had to express the words in my heart!" Claude turned to the Second Elder and spoke earnestly. Despite the reaction from the Second Elder, calmness firmly remained on Claude's face.
"It's all right, Baron," By his side, the Headmaster said. He had a favorable impression of this young man. "I know how you are feeling, young man. Trust me, I feel the same way. We all do. But the monarchy has issued a royal decree, and this time, they have a legitimate reason to enter our academy. Right now, we have no choice but to agree to their demands."
"But this is ridiculous, Headmaster! Doesn't this mean the Royal Army can do whatever they want inside the academy? We can't let them have their way!" Hearing the Headmaster's words, Ashley Winteri's face immediately darkened.
"Of course, I wouldn't let them do whatever they want. But we can't just oppose them either.. not when they have legitimate reasons for their actions!" the Headmaster spoke in a heavy tone. "However, this doesn't mean that they have won. The academies wouldn't have antagonized the monarchy if they were afraid of a counterattack. In fact, this disruption of peace that the Royal Army brought with them may just be the catalyst that forces the students and the citizens to open their eyes to the authoritarian rule of the Royal Family."
"But still…" Esmond clenched his fist tightly. He understood the Headmaster's words, but he just couldn't accept it.
The Second Elder shook his head and sent a consoling gaze to Esmond. "Do not worry my disciples… I'll make sure that the Royal Guards do not overstep their bounds and interfere with your business. They may be part of the Monarchy, but right now, they are in Golden Avarice Academy, and I'll make sure that they remember it!"
Although Esmond and the rest were strong, they were still young. Knowing this fact, the Second Elder put on a cheerful smile in an attempt to alleviate the heavy atmosphere. The Headmaster nodded his head.
"But.." Esmond couldn't finish his sentence, as a feeling of helplessness invaded his heart.
"We understand, master," Senior Beldon decided to lead and immediately answered with a lowered head, and the others, with a sigh, decided to follow suit.
"Good! You can leave now. Do not worry about the Royal Army and just focus on your cultivation. Worrying about the academy is my job, and I hope to keep it that way," the Headmaster said with a light smile on his face.
"Yes, Headmaster!" Claude and the rest hurriedly answered before bowing respectfully and slowly backing out of the room.
"Claude, wait!" All of a sudden, the Second Elder called out to Claude.
"Yes, master?" Claude jolted in surprise and lifted his head up, and Senior Beldon and the rest stopped walking and turned around with him.
"Claude, stay behind. The rest of you can leave!" The Headmaster spoke calmly. Senior Beldon looked curiously at Claude before nodding his head in response and left the room, followed by Ashley and Esmond.
"Second Elder, Headmaster.. For what reason have you asked me to stay behind?" Claude widened his eyes in astonishment.
"I heard from the Second Elder that you performed exceptionally well at the Prodigy Summit! Therefore I wanted to reward you for your hard work!" Upon seeing that the rest of the disciples had left the room, the Headmaster immediately dived straight to the point.
"What?" Claude was astounded.
"But I didn't achieve anything noteworthy to deserve any rewards! After all, I couldn't even get second place..."
"Young man, I reward people for their hard work. For someone who was still stuck in the Earth Realm, your achievements at the tournament was quite remarkable. And not to mention, you've already broken through to the Sky Realm, and it's only been a few days since the Prodigy Summit ended. I don't know about you, but see a talented man with great potential in front of me, Claude Rayforth," the Headmaster said calmly.
In the blink of an eye, the Headmaster took out a small wooden box from his sleeve, and passed the box over to Claude.
Surprised, Claude's attention was piqued.
"I heard from the Second Elder that you were fond of sword techniques. So I hope you'll like this one," The Headmaster chuckled. "It's called the Sunrise Sword Technique!"