Mike approached, greeting them, “Morning, Blackdragon, Libra.”
He looked at Blackdragon, “What happened to you? Why are you like this?”
Blackdragon feigned nonchalance. “Just sparring.” If Mike hadn’t seen him near tears earlier, The might have believed it!
Changing the subject, Mike asked, “What’s the plan for today?”
Libra quickly produced the training schedule. “Candy has a medical check-up, Sophie has a medical school lecture in the morning and battlefield first aid training in the afternoon…”
Although the five members of Star Class Three were classmates, their development paths were clearly different. Support classes like Sophie needed more theoretical knowledge before joining team exercises. Mike, Blackdragon, and Libra, the combat group, could be trained together.
“The three of us have training with Instructor Joseph today,” Libra said. “Instructor Joseph is quite capable. He’s hired two eighth-tier Lords to coach us.”
Shortly after, a young man appeared before them. Elegant and handsome, it was the powerful nine-star Lord, Joseph!
“Good morning, Instructor Joseph!”
Joseph smiled, nodding in satisfaction. “Morning. I heard you’ve been performing well these past few days. Lunch is on me! Barbecue!”
Mike was taken aback.
He’d eaten more than three barbecues himself! And the ingredients Joseph provided were always incredibly fresh. Something felt off.
Without further ado, Joseph got straight to the point. “Today’s training focuses on improving your control over your own power…”
Mike had already undergone this type of training. His instructor, a somewhat renowned figure named Calderon, had used a nine-body splitting technique, with his strongest avatar sparring with Mike numerous times.
That period was when Mike’s power control and combat skills improved the most. Even after Calderon’s departure, Mike continued to learn from that experience, honing his skills. It was because of this debt of gratitude that he hadn’t pressed Ace for the 5 million Lord merits he owed.
Ace’s debt was different from others’.
Mike had spent 1 million Lord merits crafting a genuine, top-tier SS-grade equipment for him!
In a way, Ace had to stay alive. Otherwise, who would Mike collect the 6 million Lord merits from?
After Calderon’s rigorous training and with the Eye of Truth’s assistance, Mike’s combat skills were impeccable, bordering on perfection.
Joseph’s training program was useless for him. However, while ineffective for Mike, it worked wonders for the other two!
During training, Blackdragon, who had previously been on the receiving end of most blows, suddenly erupted with black light from the residual dragon tattoos on his arms, his combat power surging! He’d actually broken through!
Perhaps it was the recent beatings, perhaps a mix of grief and indignation, perhaps… Whatever the reason, the combined factors pushed Blackdragon’s power control and talent utilization to new heights.
Instead of celebrating his breakthrough, Blackdragon immediately fixed his gaze on Libra. Libra quickly reassured him, “Bro, don’t worry, I’ll tell everyone *I* was the one who broke through!”
Relieved, Blackdragon finally relaxed. He couldn’t take it anymore. The constant beatings were not only physically taxing but also mentally exhausting!
Joseph, seeing his students achieve results, smiled faintly, inwardly beaming with pride. “Excellent,” he nodded. “Keep this up, and we might just stay in the Star Class by the end of the semester!”
Everyone was speechless.
Mike was thinking about reaching Star Class One to earn more credits.
Libra was focused on maintaining their position in Star Class Three.
And Joseph considered simply *staying* in the Star Class a success.
Apparently, he didn’t have much faith in them!
The day’s training soon ended. Mike, deliberately performing just above the passing grade in every exercise, maintained a consistent level of mediocrity. He passed, but only barely. Joseph wasn’t surprised by his performance.
“By the way, Libra, here’s some Truth Gold Coin subsidy. Distribute it to everyone,” Joseph said as he left, handing Libra a storage ring containing 50 million Truth Gold Coins. “There’s a temporary issue with the school’s credit system, so these extra subsidies are being issued in Truth Gold Coins.”
Mike was suspicious. *What a convenient system error!* Had someone snuck into the school’s server room in the middle of the night and swung a flail around?
50 million gold coins equaled 50 credits, 10 credits per person. Libra quickly distributed the coins, but Mike adamantly refused his share! Even through the storage ring, Broke would activate, turning the gold into copper.
“Libra, hold onto mine for me,” Mike whispered. “You might have heard, I have an instructor in Guardian Shadow…”
Libra nodded, confused. What did his instructor have to do with the money?
“My instructor *loves* Truth Gold Coins,” Mike explained. “If he sees them, his eyes will light up, and things could get messy!”
“There’s such a condition?!” Libra exclaimed.
“Oh yes, there is,” Mike nodded vigorously, feigning heartache. “Keep this money for me. It’s just a small amount… not important!”
Libra accepted the money. “Mike, I’ll transfer 10 credits to you when the credit system is
fixed.”
*Libra, what a teammate!*
After training, everyone dispersed. On his way back, Libra walked briskly, hoping to avoid Orion Starwind. But sometimes, the more you fear something, the more likely it is to happen.
“Libra! Libra!” a voice called from behind.
Hearing Orion Starwind’s voice, Libra shuddered, a headache coming on. But he had a plan! He’d figured out how to handle this. He had to protect Blackdragon from another beating! Before Libra could speak, Orion Starwind continued, “Libra, you don’t have to hide it.” Orion Starwind, from Star Class One, patted his shoulder good-naturedly. “I already know Blackdragon broke through again during training today!”
*Blackdragon, I can explain… It wasn’t me this time!*
“How… how did you know?” Libra asked, surprised.
“Are you daft?” Orion Starwind said exasperatedly. “One of your training instructors today is my great-grandfather’s best friend. Did you forget?”
“Oh, right.” Libra suddenly understood. Perhaps this beating was Blackdragon’s destiny. Walking alongside Libra, Orion Starwind casually remarked, “I knew it. During our last two spars, I felt Blackdragon wasn’t going all out. He was definitely hiding something.” He continued, “It’s alright. Next time, I’ll hit him harder, try to force out his trump card!”
11
…
Back in his dorm, Mike didn’t waste any time. In a smooth, practiced sequence, he appeared outside the Forest of Truth in just 3 minutes and 26 seconds. To his surprise, an unexpected
guest was waiting for him.
“Foreskin?”
“Fourth Bro, there’s something…” Foreskin started, then hesitated.
Sensing his awkwardness, Mike asked, “Does it concern your boss?”
“Yes.”
“Alright, let’s talk while we walk.” Instead of heading into the Forest of Truth, Mike led Foreskin towards the abandoned summer camp. The camp was deserted, but the buildings remained. Mike, still masked, led Foreskin back to familiar ground.
“Looking at this brings me back. It feels like I was just at summer camp a week ago,” Mike remarked casually.
[Is it possible that you *were* at summer camp a week ago?] the Eye of Truth quipped.
Discussing Apollo directly in the Forest of Truth felt a bit too risky. In reality, distance meant nothing to Apollo. But the sense of security was important.
Feeling they were at a safe distance, Mike asked, “Tell me, what’s going on?”
“Well…” Foreskin began hesitantly, “My boss has no money in his Mystic Market account.
You know, he doesn’t need money.”
Mike nodded in agreement. For a Supreme Being, money was meaningless.
“But after my boss made a bet with Maxen a while ago, according to the terms, Maxen’s income started flowing into my boss’s account,” Foreskin explained nervously. “Today, my boss asked about the balance.”
This was no small matter! Even Mike recognized the gravity of the situation! Apollo asking about his balance, no matter how you looked at it, made him seem a bit more human. “How long until…?” Mike trailed off, unsure. According to Apollo, he had three months left until his final battle with the Supreme Demon God. If Apollo’s condition worsened before then, it would be disastrous.
Mike felt a growing urgency to find Ares. After much thought, he had a preliminary plan! First,
find Ares and heal his injuries, then address Apollo’s issue.
Ares’ injuries were physical. Apollo’s were… philosophical.
Neither of them dwelled on the issue.
After regaining his composure, Foreskin changed the subject. “Fourth Bro, I heard you’ve
dealt with Poseidon recently?”
“Yes,” Mike replied. “Is there a problem?”
Foreskin produced a list. “Some of these items are exclusive to Poseidon, not listed in the
Mystic Market. See if you have any.”
Mike scanned the list. He’d seen most of the items. “I might have a few,” he said vaguely. He
couldn’t exactly admit to bankrupting Poseidon and possessing most of his wealth. Was
Foreskin trying to buy materials from him?
“You guessed it,” Foreskin admitted. “The Mystic Market needs everything on this list. We
can offer up to twice the market price.”
“Absolutely not!” Mike declared righteously. “It must be fair and just! I won’t accept a penny more! But I do have a question.” He asked sincerely, “If your boss isn’t interested in money,
why did he create the Mystic Market?”
“That…” Foreskin hesitated. “I don’t know his initial intention.” He paused. “But… my boss
gave me only one task,” he said gravely, “to collect all things under heaven and store them
away.”