His first pot of gold

"Damn you, I'm going to kill you!" Daniel roared wildly. He had completely lost his mind and began attacking Han Shuo furiously, as though staking his life on it.

But Han Shuo was like a resilient little boat in a raging sea. He seemed liable to capsize at any moment, yet stubbornly remained unscathed.

By now, everyone fully acknowledged Han Shuo's speed at dodging. No one thought his earlier evasions had been due to luck anymore. Some who had worried about Han Shuo now wore relaxed smiles. Even Jeff stood with his arms folded, watching cheerfully.

Finally, Daniel ran out of stamina and stopped of his own accord, panting and sweating profusely. Glaring at Han Shuo, Daniel roared, "Kid, take a punch from me if you've got the guts! What good is only knowing how to dodge?"

Daniel had only been complaining in anger. Even he hadn't expected Han Shuo to take his punch. Yet, unexpectedly, Han Shuo stopped striking his various bodybuilding poses and calmly nodded at him, saying with a smile, "No problem."

At these words, everyone began sizing Han Shuo up again, many wearing puzzled expressions. Given Han Shuo's small, thin build, his speed and agility were understandable. But no one believed that a skinny Han Shuo who hadn't cultivated Battle Aura could match the obviously muscular Daniel in strength.

Even Daniel was stunned by Han Shuo's answer. Then he suddenly came to his senses and laughed wildly. "Good, good! You're asking for death, so don't blame me!"

His powerful physique and fierce strength had always been Daniel's pride, the foundation on which he earned his pay. Although discouraged at being inferior to Han Shuo in speed and agility, he could just about accept it. Now an opportunity to display his tremendous strength lay before him. Whether he could wipe away his recent humiliation depended on this blow, and Daniel naturally wouldn't let it pass.

Mustering all his strength, Daniel drove his right fist forward. Veins bulged along his entire arm as his speed and strength reached their peak, and he hurled a fierce punch at Han Shuo.

Han Shuo narrowed his eyes slightly. A vicious, cold gleam flickered in his pupils, making him seem chilling and ruthless, like a venomous snake lurking at the mouth of its hole, waiting for prey.

As Daniel's punch came hurtling toward his face, Han Shuo gathered Demonic Essence into his clenched right hand and abruptly punched out, sending his fist straight into Daniel's iron fist.

Crack!

After that sharp crack, Daniel suddenly let out a hideous scream like a pig being slaughtered. His entire right arm hung limp. His tightly clenched right fist had curled into the shape of a chicken's claw and trembled incessantly along with his arm.

The ruthlessness faded from Han Shuo's eyes, and a harmless smile returned to his face. He withdrew his right fist and shook his right arm slightly. Looking at his fist in surprise, he muttered, "Huh, I really did take it."

Despite seeing Han Shuo's frail physique, Daniel had still thrown that punch with all his strength. He hadn't merely intended to teach Han Shuo a lesson; he had clearly meant to kill him. The current Han Shuo was no longer a timid weakling who meekly accepted whatever came his way. Although he would play the fool, he naturally wouldn't show mercy to someone trying to kill him.

The bizarre result of their fists colliding thoroughly stunned the many knight students and human punching bags in the hall. A trace of fear had crept into the gazes of some of the commoner punching bags nearby. Those standing close to Han Shuo moved aside of their own accord, leaving him alone in the best spot.

The knight students were all extremely excited and began whispering among themselves. Some even suspected Han Shuo was one of the continent's rare Barbarians, or a half-Orc in human form.

Daniel was still howling in pain, his right arm trembling constantly. Everyone understood what that sharp crack had meant. They knew that after just one clash of fists, Daniel's right arm was probably ruined.

Jeff, the old attendant, looked at Daniel regretfully and gently consoled him. "Daniel, I'm very sorry this happened, but in your present condition, I'm afraid you're no longer fit to stay here."

Hearing Jeff's words, Daniel couldn't help shooting Han Shuo a couple of resentful looks before walking past him toward the hall's exit. Too many people had been crippled in vicious fights here, and certain rules had already developed. Daniel understood his own status and position. Moreover, he knew perfectly well that he was absolutely no match for Han Shuo, so he could only leave early.

Once Daniel had left, Jeff called out, "All right, all right! You may all continue your negotiations!"

As soon as Jeff finished speaking, the knight students flocked toward Han Shuo. Staring at him, they called out, "One gold coin!" "Two gold coins!" "Three gold coins!"

Normally, a commoner punching bag could be hired to train with the students for only around ten to fifty silver coins, depending on his strength. Powerful warriors generally cost between one and five gold coins, depending on their rank.

The two or three gold coins these people were offering now was a very high price. Although Han Shuo had just demonstrated his strength, he was not a warrior, after all. A reasonably powerful warrior could have used Battle Aura to kill Daniel outright in a clash of fists. Thus, two or three gold coins was already an unimaginably high price for a commoner punching bag.

When the first knight student offered one gold coin, Han Shuo had already been about to accept. But when an offer of two gold coins followed, Han Shuo immediately forced his mouth shut and began waiting for a higher price.

Although Han Shuo hadn't come for money, he understood that money was just as important in this world as it had been on Earth. If he could earn two gold coins, he naturally wouldn't settle for just one.

The knight students approached Han Shuo one after another, calling out different, steadily rising offers. But Han Shuo was only a commoner, not a remarkably powerful warrior, so most stopped bidding after offering two or three gold coins.

"Five gold coins!"

Han Shuo's patience finally won him a small fortune. A handsome intermediate knight with golden curls, who looked gentle and modest, offered a higher price than everyone else.

At his offer of five gold coins, many people stopped bidding and looked at him in surprise. One of them said, "Lawrence, even an intermediate warrior only costs five gold coins. This kid may have some ability, but he certainly isn't worth five gold coins. Aren't you offering a little too much?"

Lawrence smiled faintly and said mildly, "It is a little high, but we arrived a bit late. All the warriors have already been picked, so we don't have many options. We can only choose him."

Thinking it over after he said this, everyone agreed. After all, among the many human punching bags in the hall now, Han Shuo was probably the strongest. If the earlier warriors had still been here, perhaps Han Shuo wouldn't have been worth that price. But now he was the strongest one present, and these knight students had few options. Since everyone was eager to find a sparring partner, Han Shuo's price naturally rose.

"My remarkable friend, how about five gold coins?" Lawrence asked affably, smiling at Han Shuo.

Glancing around, Han Shuo found that no one was raising the price any further. He then assessed Lawrence's strength and saw that he was the strongest among these people, so he nodded in agreement. "Deal!"

"My name is Lawrence. Here are five gold coins. I hope you can help me with our training!" Lawrence walked over to Han Shuo, took five gold coins from an exquisite purse, and handed them to him.

Taking the five gold coins, Han Shuo felt a little excited. When Brian had been sold to the Babylon Academy of Magic and Martial Arts, the price had been just five gold coins. Now a single session as a sparring partner earned him five gold coins, enough to buy Brian's life. For someone in Han Shuo's position, five gold coins was an enormous sum, enough to purchase his freedom.

"My name is Brian. I look forward to your guidance." After putting the gold coins into his shabby purse, Han Shuo smiled politely at Lawrence, his source of wealth.

"Come with me. Let me see whether you're worth those five gold coins!" With that, Lawrence led the way out of the hall, and Han Shuo followed.

The Knight Academy's Trial Ground was largely similar to those at the magic academy, except that it had far fewer magical implements and some additional obstacles in the corners. Only Han Shuo and Lawrence were in this spacious Trial Ground. The floor was paved with rough, hard stone that felt solid underfoot.

After entering, Lawrence changed into a neat white training outfit and removed his sword, setting it aside. Only then did he regard Han Shuo with interest and say with a smile, "Those five gold coins won't be easy to earn. Are you ready?"

Han Shuo reflected that, tempered by Demonic Essence, his body's toughness and strength were already worlds apart from Brian's original physique. Moreover, the strange Demonic Essence seemed to possess a remarkable resistance to Battle Aura, so he wasn't afraid that Lawrence would use Battle Aura to completely wreck his body. There was nothing to prepare, either, so he simply nodded at Lawrence.

"Remember, you're a sparring partner. You can only dodge and block, not attack!" Lawrence seemed to realize that Han Shuo was a novice and gave him this instruction before starting. Once he saw that Han Shuo understood, he slowly walked toward him.

Just as Lawrence was about to reach Han Shuo, his speed abruptly increased. Like lightning, his empty left hand became a sharp sword drawn from its sheath. With all five fingers pressed together, he thrust his fingertips straight at Han Shuo's chest.

Because knights cultivated Battle Aura, once they activated it, neither their strength nor their speed could be matched by ordinary, sturdy commoners. Lawrence's thrust was more than ten times faster and more powerful than Daniel's earlier attacks.

Han Shuo's vision blurred, and Lawrence's arm was already at his chest. Startled, he immediately circulated his Demonic Essence at high speed, twisting his body sharply to dodge sideways.

With a ripping sound, Lawrence tore straight through the clothes over Han Shuo's chest. Han Shuo felt a chill against his chest, then saw the fluttering cloth and couldn't help feeling relieved that he had dodged in time.

Unfortunately, before he could finish feeling relieved, a tremendous force slammed into his lower abdomen. Han Shuo stumbled rapidly backward despite himself, finally landing on his backside on the hard stone. His guts felt as though they had knotted together, and the pain was excruciating.

He abruptly looked up and found that Lawrence's kicking leg was still suspended in the air, not yet withdrawn. Lawrence looked at him teasingly and said, "Brian, I held back this time and didn't follow up with another attack. I won't be so merciful next time."

Lawrence's kick had contained Battle Aura. However, although Lawrence had used Battle Aura to enhance his physical strength and attack, he had kept it contained rather than releasing it. He had only used it to increase his physical strength and the force of his attack, rather than driving Battle Aura directly into Han Shuo's body to damage it.

Precisely because of this, Han Shuo's Demonic Essence hadn't undergone any unusual change. This time, his body had borne the impact of that ferocious force directly, and his gradually strengthening physique was immediately injured.

Nodding, Han Shuo furrowed his brows and endured the pain in his lower abdomen as he stood up. He looked coldly at Lawrence and said, "I'll be more careful from now on. Again!"