Everyone looked over.A tall and handsome man leaned over the railing. He was looking at Ruth gently.He took off his jacket. The aura around him was relaxed. It was as if he belonged here.Julius and Frederick had been staying upstairs. It looked like this man had been with them.Had Ruth told them the truth?Was she really going to have lunch with the head of the family?The seniors looked at Ruth and heaved a sigh of relief. There was no need for another argument.In contrast, the newcomers looked at Ruth with admiration and excitement.Ruth was indeed Julius’s favorite. No one could replace her.Ruth glanced up at the stairs, stared at Denver, and left.After she walked far away, the crowd started chattering.“Who said that she was bluffing? Mr. Julius really likes her! In the past three months, have you seen Mr. Julius eat with anyone?”“We haven’t even seen him eat at all!”“Why? Denver is so talented! How could she beat him?!”“That’s right! How is she so lucky?”
Then, Denver left with Hamish.After the two of them walked far away, the other disciples silently gathered around Piers. “Piers, it’s over now. You’ve offended Mr. Denver.”Piers sneered. “He’s narrow-minded and easily offended. I don’t care if I offend him!”As soon as he said this, his friends quickly went forward to shush him.“Don’t be crazy! Mr. Denver is highly respected here. How will you stay here if he starts finding trouble with you?”Piers pushed them away, snorted heavily, and turned to leave.He really did not plan to stay here much longer.Perhaps it was because Ruth had punched him hard, but the moment he saw Denver rashly accepting a disciple, he suddenly had a realization.He did not want to be accepted just because Ruth had gone easy on him. He would come here next year and take the assessment again.He also wanted to be Ruth’s apprentice.Ruth had no idea what was happening downstairs.When she saw Denver, she had some speculations. She had no evidence to
“Why haven’t I heard you mention this before? Also, why haven’t I seen your fifth apprentice before?” Ruth asked in surprise.Julius replied, “Before he became my apprentice, he didn’t come here much.”Ruth asked curiously, “Why?”Frederick took over the conversation and ended the topic. “Alright, this has nothing to do with him. You don’t have to care about him.”Ruth was incredulous.She was just curious!She did not continue asking.However, she wanted to ask directly if Denver was related to the clue that they had found out from Dulcie.However, when she thought of her main purpose for coming back, she was worried that they would misunderstand her again, so she did not say anything.She was distracted as she poked at her food.Julius treated Ruth like his own daughter. Back then, he had taught her everything and treated her with love and respect. Naturally, he knew what she was thinking.He sighed softly and took the initiative to clarify her doubts. He also brought up t
“Do you think you’re better than me?” Frederick suddenly asked.Julius’s arrogance immediately crumbled. “How can that be? I just want to look cool in front of Ruth. Can you not put me down?”Frederick was dissatisfied. “Do you have to step on me just because you want to look cool?”“But I didn’t step on you!”“How else would you put it?”The father and son quarreled at the slightest disagreement.The argument was especially childish.Ruth and Abel looked at each other helplessly, feeling that they could not say a thing.After the two finished arguing, Ruth explained that she had no intention of drawing boundaries with the Rivas family. Since she was back in Sommerset now, she wanted to contribute to the combat training academy.In other words, she was taking in a student.However, Frederick did not seem as happy as he was in the beginning to hear this.He evaded her questions. “You’ve already overseen the freshman assessment this time. Also, you’re about to prepare for your
Under Ruth’s puzzled gaze, Abel slowly took a sip of tea and elegantly put down the teacup.He turned to look at her. “Do you think you can get an apprentice?”Ruth was dumbfounded.“Students aren’t naturally talented as they were in the past. Everyone worked hard to get this opportunity. They’re not going to waste it on training under someone they don’t know.”Ruth’s excitement dimmed.Abel continued, “Besides, I don’t want you to take in an apprentice either.”Ruth was surprised. “Why?”“First of all, you don’t have the time and energy to teach them. Secondly…” he paused for a moment. “Forget it, there’s no second reason. You can find any excuse to stay here. It won’t be easy for them to chase you away.”Ruth looked at him grumpily and retorted, “What do you mean by that? Do you think I’m that stubborn to stay here with any random excuse?”Abel turned around and stared at her indifferently.Ruth stared back at him for a few seconds before finally giving in.“Okay, I can be
Ruth did not say anything.She gave it a few seconds of thought before sending Abel a reply.[Is it because I’m too direct? Are children that soft these days? My teacher used to scold me every single day!]Abel was in disbelief. [Did he call you stupid and berate you too?]Without batting an eye, Ruth shot him a reply. [Yep! He used to yell at me every single day! In fact, I’m just echoing everything he said to me back then! I was waiting for this day!]Abel was incredulous. Did Julius expect this would happen today?Had he anticipated that no one would want to be under her because of this?Julius was indeed a force to be reckoned with. He was brilliant.Although she said that, Ruth had obviously changed her strategy.She now tried her best to not be sarcastic and switched to being more encouraging.“Your kick just now was very precise. Although it didn’t achieve the desired effect, at least your goal was clear.”“Although you lost, you’re very sturdy! You actually withstood
The assessments continued.Some newbies were bragging about picking Ruth as their sparring partner and beating her. However, they were all talk.They had all seen how ruthless she was. She was terrifying.Abel leaned back in his chair. He tapped the armrest occasionally, analyzing Ruth’s strengths and weaknesses.If someone wanted to be her student, it was because they could see she was talented and dedicated. Her only drawback was that she spoke without thinking.However, this was an important trait to have. She was honest and forthright. She would treat her students sincerely and not be swayed by the words of others.Anyway, the most important thing that any potential student Ruth would take in had to be mentally strong and capable of withstanding her sharp tongue.“Sometimes accepting you’re weak is a part of becoming stronger. This is the most prestigious institution when it comes to combat training. If you give up now, it’s hard to say if you can join again next year.”H
Moreover, Ruth was the one who went easy on Piers. Why would it matter if she beat him again?Ruth had spent the entire afternoon trying to choose her words carefully. She was afraid that she would hurt the new students.However, it did not seem to be working. They were still looking at her with fear in their eyes.After the assessment ended, they quickly dispersed.They did not even dare to interact with the instructor beside them.Finnian and the other seniors looked at her and wanted to say something but hesitated. In the end, they could not help but tell her, “Ruth, why don’t you come again when you’re ready to take an apprentice?”Ruth was at a loss. “Huh? Can’t I continue to be here anyway?”The seniors were dumbfounded.She was obviously not trying to pick an apprentice from this batch! What was she doing?Moreover, this would affect their rapport with the new students!Originally, Finnian had booked a restaurant for tonight to welcome Ruth’s return.However, because