Winter passed, and spring came.
There was only a week left before Ulada Magic Academy began its new term.
Jonathan and Abraham packed their bags and set out.
Over the past few months, Jonathan had continued training diligently and cultivating his battle aura. He still hadn't broken through to become a fourth-level warrior, but he was close to the peak of the third level.
It would take them five or six days to reach Black Phoenix City. If they came across a town, they would stay there for the night. If not, they didn't mind sleeping outdoors.
With a seventh-level warrior along, at least they had nothing to worry about when it came to safety.
Several days later, as they walked along the main road to Black Phoenix City, a carriage passed them, then suddenly stopped.
The curtain was pulled aside, and a head poked out.
"Ford."
Jonathan was quite surprised.
"Jonathan, we really are fated to meet. We were in line together for the test, and now we've run into each other on the way to the magic academy. I thought we wouldn't see each other again until we got there."
After hearing this, Jonathan smiled faintly.
"Come on up. It's just me and my father in the carriage, and we're going the same way anyway."
Ford's father showed his face too, smiling broadly. "You must be Jonathan, the one Ford told me about—the one with talent so extraordinary it's almost monstrous. Since fate has brought us together, why not travel with us?"
Jonathan glanced at Abraham. "Since we've run into them, we might as well go together," Abraham said.
The two of them climbed into the carriage. It wasn't very large, but it could still fit five or six people.
As soon as they got in, Ford excitedly chatted away.
With his father there, Jonathan couldn't act as cool and indifferent as he had before, only responding now and then.
In truth, they were no more than a day away from Black Phoenix City. If they hurried, they could get there in less than half a day.
"Thank goodness we got here before dark. I heard it's not very safe around Black Phoenix City." Ford's father let out a sigh of relief. "Jonathan's father, tomorrow's the first day of term at Ulada Magic Academy. Let's find a hotel and stay the night."
"Just call me Abraham."
After traveling together all this way, and with their sons about to become classmates, Abraham didn't feel he could refuse outright.
Black Phoenix City lived up to its reputation as a kingdom's capital. It was bustling with activity, with businesses of every kind, and even its roads were much wider than those in Black Flame City.
The Dark Church even had a branch in Black Phoenix City.
That night, they stayed at the Land Grand Hotel.
They had booked twin suites.
Not long after they checked in, Abraham said, "Jonathan, come with me. Let's go meet the person in charge of the Saber Organization in Black Phoenix City."
"We just got here, and they've already come looking for us? How come I didn't notice?"
Abraham smiled. "They're old hands. With your current abilities, it wouldn't be easy to spot them."
"See the man pulling a rickshaw to the left of the hotel entrance? He's a contact for the Saber Organization."
Now that Abraham had pointed him out, Jonathan remembered that the man had seemed a little odd. "People come and go, but he doesn't approach anyone or try to drum up business. He was making it a bit too obvious."
"Ha. What good is it to say that after the fact? Come on."
The two left the hotel. Abraham walked up to the man and asked, "How much for a ride?"
The man lifted his straw hat and looked at him. "That depends on where you're going."
"I was sent by some old friends. Take the two of us around for a bit first."
A sharp glint flashed in the man's eyes before he broke into a smile. "Sure thing. Please, have a seat."
The rickshaw carried them this way and that before finally turning into an alley and stopping in a quiet spot.
The man went up to the door, knocked, and exchanged a passphrase. Only then did the gate open.
"You're Abraham and Jonathan, right? Lord Xue Yan is waiting inside."
The person who opened the door was a young man of short stature with a shrewd-looking face.
The rickshaw puller left. With the young man leading the way, the two of them entered the residence.
Along the way, the young man looked Jonathan over several times.
They arrived at a hall, where a middle-aged man in a black robe sat in the main seat, leisurely sipping tea.
Jonathan looked toward him. The moment their eyes met, he felt a force like a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood bearing down on him.
Yet his expression didn't change in the slightest. He walked into the hall with Abraham, calm and unhurried.
"Not bad. For the Old Instructor to specifically ask me to come here, you must have some skill."
"Jonathan, nine years old, with superlative affinity for the Earth Element and Dark Element, and spiritual power sixty-four times that of someone your age. Is that right?"
Jonathan nodded. "Are you the one the Saber Organization sent to guide me?"
"If the Old Instructor hadn't personally asked me, I wouldn't have made the trip. Your magical talent is astonishing, but the only thing I can teach you is the art of assassination."
"Come on, if you can make me leave my seat, I'll teach you. Otherwise, even if it's the Old Instructor's order, I won't obey!"
Jonathan frowned. The man was clearly an expert. For Cesar to personally ask for him, he had to be at least an eighth-level warrior. More likely, he was a ninth-level warrior, perhaps even at the peak of the ninth level.
"I can tell you're an important person. Even if you don't move, your battle aura alone would keep me from getting anywhere near you."
"Heh. You're not qualified to make me bully someone younger than me. Have you even become a warrior yet? If not, I won't use my battle aura at all."
"This kid only became a third-level warrior a few years ago."
The young man standing to the side gaped in shock. Even Xue Yan's eyes flickered with surprise.
"Jonathan, don't be disrespectful in front of Lord Xue Yan."
Though he was scolding Jonathan, the faint smile at the corners of his mouth made it clear he was thinking, My kid's impressive, isn't he?
"A third-level warrior at nine—no, at eight. With your talent, you might even break through to the seventh level by sixteen or seventeen. That's exceedingly rare on the continent."
Xue Yan paused. "I'll limit my battle aura to that of a third-level warrior."
"I want to see what you can do to make me move."
Even among warriors of the same level, experience, skill, and how well they wielded their battle aura could make their strength worlds apart.
The best could easily fight above their level; the mediocre truly blended into the crowd, even among their peers.
Xue Yan thought he had the advantage.
But Jonathan wasn't really a nine-year-old boy. In the blink of an eye, he had already thought of a solution.
"Pfft."
He chuckled. "Lord Xue Yan, are you really sure you want to make that bet?"
"A promise is a promise!"
"If you can't do it, I'll return to Saber Headquarters and send someone else."
"Since Lord Xue Yan put it that way, then..."
Jonathan turned to the young man beside him and politely asked, "May I ask your name?"
"No need to be so formal. Just call me Cross."
"Mr. Cross, could you take me to Lord Xue Yan's room?"
"What do you want to go to Lord Xue Yan's room for?"
Jonathan grinned, showing his pearly white baby teeth. "Naturally, to take some of Lord Xue Yan's personal belongings and destroy them right in front of him."
He felt no qualms at all as he said this.
And he was very eager to see whether a top assassin had anything he cared about.
"Of course, if he gets up to stop me, then I definitely won't succeed."
Xue Yan: "???"
Cross froze. Even Abraham, who thought he knew Jonathan inside and out, was utterly stunned.
Who would even think of that, let alone come up with it in an instant?
Was this really the son he had raised, the one who had been rigorously trained since childhood and had hardly ever interacted with outsiders?
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