Ikado Badge

Ikado Badge

In the blink of an eye, a year had passed since Lorist began cultivating the Golden Water Art. He was now practicing the second form of Manifest Force: Flowing Years Like Water. The second and third forms of Manifest Force involved opening the Eight Extraordinary Meridians and joining them with the Twelve Regular Meridians to form a Greater Circulation, achieving smooth blood and Qi flow and harmonizing yin and yang.

Of the Eight Extraordinary Meridians, the Thoroughfare Vessel and Girdling Vessel had already been opened. As long as he spent a few more months opening the Yang Linking Vessel and Yin Linking Vessel, he could cultivate the third form of Manifest Force: Iron Horses Golden Spears. This was a level Lorist had never reached in his previous life. The inheritance left by his ancestors truly was impressive. The rapid progress of the Golden Water Art delighted Lorist greatly, and he completely forgot that he was cultivating with Battle Qi. For a time, Lorist was filled with anticipation for the future.

However, Lorist, immersed in cultivating the Golden Water Art, failed to notice the looks others gave him. He continued attending the academy, taking classes, studying, and teaching swordsmanship as usual. Even when the academy had assigned him a Battle Qi Enlightenment Class last year, he had completed the teaching task splendidly. All seventeen commoner students had awakened Battle Qi, shocking everyone.

In life, Lorist had gained his first romance since crossing over. Their similar circumstances and family backgrounds comforted their young hearts, and the two young lovers worked together toward their shared tomorrow and beautiful future.

Until that day, when Lorist met Fatty Shi, that money-grubber...

"Hey, hey, what kind of look is that, you damned fatty? What's wrong with me that you're staring at me like that?"

"I'm looking down on you. And I pity you too, you know..."

"What are you looking down on me for, you damned fatty? I'm living just fine. Do I need your pity?"

"Really? Living just fine? Little Locke, let me ask you this. How long has it been since you trained your Battle Qi?"

"Uh, well... it has been quite a while. But it's not my fault. My family's inherited Battle Qi is different from other types of Battle Qi. I don't have the later manuals, so even if I wanted to train, I couldn't."

"Then what are you going to do? Stay at Black Iron Three-Star and wait until the northern war settles down in a few years, then contact your family and get the manuals before continuing?"

Lorist spread his hands. "What else can I do? Life is decent enough right now, and I'm not in a rush. I'll just leave it at that."

"You, honestly, can't you put in a little effort?" Fatty Shi looked utterly heartbroken. "Didn't Instructor Krudd say last time that there was another way to deal with someone in your situation? Keep cultivating Black Iron rank Battle Qi and make the Battle Qi circulating in your blood denser and purer. Then undergo life-and-death training. At a critical moment, when your life is in danger, unleash all your potential. That way, you might break through to Silver Rank without changing the hexagram blood circulation method. Brother, you're already at the peak of Black Iron Three-Star. Just one small step, just a gentle push, and you could become a Silver Swordsman. You can't give up such an opportunity!"

"No, what are you plotting, you damned fatty? I'm living perfectly well, so why should I go through life-and-death training? Can't I just wait a few years? If I run into some high-level magical beast, I'll be done for, understand? Life-and-death training isn't something you can casually decide to try."

"Look at you. How long has it been? How did you lose all ambition already? You weren't like this before. Forget high-level magical beasts—even if there were five Silver Rank experts, you would have drawn your sword without hesitation. Besides, dealing with magical beasts is easier than dealing with people, right? We can go to the Mercenary Guild, ask around, and find a good training target. We could also take a few jobs along the way and earn some extra money."

Lorist shook his head firmly. "I don't have time for that now. After I finish my academy work, I still have to go back and help Wenna manage the business. I'm busy enough as it is."

Wenna was Lorist's pet name for his girlfriend.

Fatty Shi sighed dejectedly. "Tenderness is a hero's grave. You were the one who used to say that. Look at you now. Ever since you got together with Wenna, you haven't even left Molent City once. How can this go on? You're a man with a great future ahead of you, brother. You can't just muddle through life waiting to die."

"Heh, don't flatter me so much, you damned fatty. Honestly, I don't have any grand ambitions. Once I earn enough money, buying a large house on Mount Brin and living peacefully with Wenna for the rest of my life would be plenty happy for me." Lorist smiled.

Mount Brin was a small hill southwest of Molent City, near Hidden Gold Bay. Its scenery was beautiful and pleasant, and it was the area with the highest housing prices in Molent City. Ordinary wealthy families simply could not afford to live there.

Fatty Shi shook his head. "Houses on Mount Brin cost tens of thousands. You'd be better off spending a few thousand gold coins to buy a four-story building in the southern district. It would have plenty of rooms, and you could rent them out for a steady long-term income. Buying a place on the mountain just to get blown by sea winds every day isn't that great."

Then Fatty Shi turned serious and said to Lorist, "But honestly, brother, you really should make an effort. Break through to Silver Rank as soon as possible so people stop gossiping. I'm only saying this for your own good."

Lorist grew suspicious. "What now? Is there something I don't know?"

"Brother, you and Wenna are inseparable. You go home early whenever there's nothing to do, so you don't know that the Silver Rank instructors have been rallying together lately. They want the academy to dismiss you from your position as swordsmanship instructor. They think that with only Black Iron rank Battle Qi, you aren't qualified to work at Dawnlight Academy, the ninth-ranked prestigious academy in Galintea."

Lorist immediately bristled. "Damn it, what does my Black Iron rank strength have to do with them? Why should they dismiss me as an instructor? In terms of swordsmanship, even with Silver Rank strength, which one of them is my match?"

"A man without envy is a mediocrity," Fatty Shi said quietly. "They're jealous. At first, they could tolerate a Black Iron rank instructor having superior swordsmanship. But then you led a Battle Qi Enlightenment Class and made every student awaken Battle Qi, even those commoner students they all despised. That was a miracle, and it highlighted their incompetence. As Silver Rank instructors, they couldn't even compare to a Black Iron rank instructor like you. How could they bear that? They won't rest until they drive you out of Dawnlight Academy."

If all the Silver Rank instructors in the academy united, the academy might not be able to withstand the pressure and could eventually dismiss Lorist.

"The best way to deal with this is for you to break through Black Iron rank as soon as possible. Once you become a Silver Swordsman, no one will have anything to say. That's why I suggested you try life-and-death training." Fatty Shi looked at Lorist earnestly.

Lorist gave a bitter smile and shook his head. He could not tell the concerned Fatty Shi that he was cultivating the Golden Water Art from his previous life. Moreover, the blood circulation forming the hexagram was now like a giant funnel that simply could not retain Battle Qi. All of the Battle Qi had flowed into his meridians. There was no way to explain it. "It's difficult. My family's inherited Battle Qi differs greatly from other Battle Qi. Without the later manuals, it's hard to break through. Even life-and-death training probably wouldn't change that. I showed you before, and you said yourself that you had never even heard of the parts forming the hexagram blood circulation. So I can't guarantee when I'll be able to advance to Silver Rank."

"Then there's only one way left. It can guarantee that the academy won't be able to dismiss you. Brother, do you know about our academy's Gold Instructor Badge?"

"Gold Instructor Badge? Of course I do. Doesn't Instructor Krudd wear one? And Instructor Villedo from Knight Training, Instructor Wansen who teaches horsemanship, and Instructor Robov from alchemy—they all have them too, don't they? Any instructor with Gold rank Battle Qi strength has a Gold Instructor Badge, right?"

"Uh, I'm not talking about that kind. Our academy also has a Swordsmanship Gold Instructor Badge. More than a hundred years ago, a Silver One-star student challenged instructors at Silver Two-star rank and above, winning thirty consecutive matches. His name spread far and wide. The academy hired him as a swordsmanship instructor and forged a Swordsmanship Gold Instructor Badge for him. But later, that student took part in the Silver River War. During the surprise attack at Lide Town, he killed three Gold rank Imperial Knights in succession, but he was severely wounded and died. To commemorate him, the academy preserved that Swordsmanship Gold Instructor Badge and stipulated that anyone who could achieve thirty consecutive victories in cross-rank challenges—even a difference of one star counted as cross-rank—could receive the Swordsmanship Gold Instructor Badge and enjoy the treatment of a Gold Instructor. However, if they were challenged and lost, they would automatically lose the right to wear the Gold Badge and lose their position as a Gold Instructor."

Fatty Shi explained to Lorist, "That Swordsmanship Gold Instructor Badge has remained in the academy's Hall of Honor. In more than a hundred years, no one has managed the feat of thirty consecutive cross-rank victories like that student, so the Gold Badge has almost been forgotten. If you don't want to be driven out of the academy, you can try to see whether you can obtain it. I think thirty consecutive cross-rank victories shouldn't be too difficult for you."

"There's something this good?" Lorist rubbed his hands together. "That Gold Badge is definitely mine. Fatty, what was that student's name? Winning thirty straight matches was truly impressive."

"His name was Raven Ikado. If he hadn't died on the battlefield while facing the Krissen Empire's Golden Knights at Silver Rank, he might have become a Great Swordsman later. It was such a pity for him to die so young. The academy's Swordsmanship Gold Instructor Badge is officially called the Ikado Badge." Fatty Shi sighed over the fate of that young swordsmanship genius.

"Alright, Fatty, let's discuss what to do now. Tell me which Silver Rank instructors are gathering people together and who is leading them. Make me a list, and I'll challenge them one by one." Lorist licked his lips like a cheetah considering which part of its prey to bite first.

Over the next ten-odd days, Dawnlight Academy became exceptionally lively.

Lorist first sent public letters of challenge to the Silver Rank instructors on the list Fatty Shi had given him. However, most of the Silver Rank instructors did not take the matter seriously and instead treated it as a joke. Some even threw Lorist's letters of challenge into the trash and sneered, "Is he worthy?"

Since they refused the courtesy, Lorist saw no need to be polite. While those Silver Rank instructors were teaching, he barged into their classrooms, called them out by name, and mocked them mercilessly. Several Silver Rank instructors, unable to endure the humiliation, drew their swords in fury, intending to teach this ignorant young brat who did not know the immensity of heaven and earth or how to respect his seniors a lesson. Then... those supposedly respectable Silver Rank instructors were soon sent to the infirmary.

Dawnlight Academy was like a hornet's nest that had been stabbed. The students were overjoyed. It was rare to see those haughty, stern Silver Rank instructors beaten to the ground and humiliated by a Black Iron rank instructor. As Lorist continued searching for his next challenge target, nearly a hundred students followed behind him to watch the excitement, and there were even kind souls among them who provided information...

"Instructor Locke, Instructor XX is over there! Are you going to challenge him?"

"Instructor XX and Instructor XX are over there. Hold them there, Instructor Locke is coming right over..."

"This way, hurry, Instructor Locke..."

The commotion alarmed the entire academy. Several dozen Silver Rank instructors blocked Lorist and the huge crowd of students following him for the spectacle. Agitated, they demanded that the academy administration severely punish Lorist for this sudden incident, for disrupting the academy's normal teaching order, and for sending seven colleagues to the infirmary.

Several Silver Rank instructors loathed Lorist even more and shouted on the spot, "Get out immediately! Dawnlight Academy doesn't welcome you!"

Instructor Krudd and several Gold Instructors arrived to investigate what had happened.

Lorist said, "I want the Ikado Badge."

The Ikado Badge? What was that? Everyone looked at one another in confusion.

Fatty Shi, who had been maintaining order among the students, stepped forward and gave a rapid explanation.

Only then did everyone understand that such a thing existed in the academy and was even an old tradition. The matter had to be decided by the higher-ups; Instructor Krudd and the others could not make the decision themselves. Once it was reported, they simply had to wait patiently for the result.

Lorist was very calm. He could not be blamed for causing such a huge commotion. After all, he had sent public letters of challenge first. These Silver Rank instructors simply had not taken them seriously, so it was understandable that he had come to challenge and humiliate them in person.

There were many smart people. Once the students and Gold Instructors understood the reason behind the matter, they began looking at the Silver Rank instructors with sympathy. Their gazes made each of those several dozen Silver Rank instructors restless and drenched in cold sweat.

The decision came quickly. These were Headmaster Levens's exact words: "I'm optimistic about you, Little Locke. Keep working hard. Don't let the Ikado Badge remain covered in dust forever."

However, he also warned Lorist not to disrupt teaching order. Challenges should be held after class whenever possible, such as waiting outside the classroom until school was over...

The Silver Rank instructors were dumbfounded. More than a dozen of them suddenly felt unwell, perhaps because old injuries had flared up. After all, time spared no one. They decided to request leave and return home to recuperate for a while. Several other Silver Rank instructors on the challenge list thought it would be a good idea to look at other academies and see whether there were any instructor positions available. Under the witness of the jeering students and Instructor Krudd's group of Gold Instructors, the remaining Silver Rank instructors had no choice but to arrange the time and order of their challenges with Lorist before leaving with utterly defeated expressions.