Night fell.Julius and Frederick were still in the school building. It had been several years since they had stayed in the school building for so long.The new students were excited. They could feel the importance the family head placed on this assessment.The seniors realized that this was because of Ruth.Originally, they were quite nervous, worried that the apprentices they had painstakingly nurtured would be snatched up by Ruth.Unexpectedly, most of them received a secret notification that night. They had to do everything they could to stop Ruth from taking in apprentices!This was easy!Taking advantage of the fact that she had become very unpopular in the afternoon, the seniors rushed over to curry favor with their potential apprentices.At the same time, they began “talking” about Ruth. They talked about her lack of punctuality and how she had a much sharper tongue than what the newbies had seen. In addition, her partner was a very jealous man and would not accept her
The young man looked a little familiar. He seemed to be Piers, the stupid one!“That’s Finnian’s brat. I shouldn’t choose him, right?” Ruth’s expression was serious and hesitant.Abel asked, “What if he chooses you?”Ruth laughed. “He’s not a masochist. How could he choose me after being humiliated…”“Ms. Ruth, I would like to ask for your guidance again.”The entire venue was silent as they looked at the people on stage as if they had seen a ghost.Ruth was just as shocked.She subconsciously sat up straight and pointed at herself with a blank expression. “You want to choose me?”The young man on stage blushed and looked at her expectantly. “Can I?”Ruth was speechless.It was possible, but…She turned her head and subconsciously looked at Finnian.As expected, Finnian’s pupils trembled like hers. It was as if he did not expect this. Following Finnian’s direction, Julius and Frederick were stunned and in disbelief.Julius especially, was glaring at the stage. He wished he
Screams rose and fell, and whistles sounded. Many audience members were even more excited than those who had passed this stage.Piers silently heaved a sigh of relief.He fell to the ground, suddenly feeling weak.That was the counterattack he had been thinking about all night. He had calculated that he would have a solid 80% chance of winning if he used this strategy.However, he was still worried about it.Ruth was crazy! She could easily whip out a new move and defeat him!“Then, Piers has succeeded. Piers, you can choose—”“Hold on!” A deep and dignified voice sounded.Everyone looked over. It was Julius.His expression was serious, and his voice was cold. “Ruth went easy on you. This challenge is invalid.”The entire place was silent. Everyone looked at him blankly.Julius rarely taught the students in person, and his words were very dignified. Apart from Frederick, he was the most authoritative voice in the Rivas family.If he said that Ruth was going easy, then she w
Piers looked at Ruth with admiration. He was sure that Ruth was protecting him.He pursed his lips and remained silent for a few seconds before apologizing sincerely. “I’m sorry, Madam Ruth. Mr. Julius is right. I shouldn’t have played dirty—”“Why are you calling me Madam Ruth? Call me Ms. Ruth!” Ruth interrupted him, afraid that he would blurt out some nonsense. “If you don’t use any dirty tricks, you won’t be able to withstand a single move from me. Capturing your opponent’s psychological weakness is also a part of your strength.”Piers’s eyes lit up as he stared at her blankly. “Can I acknowledge you as my teacher now?”Ruth smiled. “Of course!”As she spoke, she did not look at Julius, who was red-faced, but instead looked at Frederick. “Right, Grandpa? Help us make a decision and tell Mr. Julius not to be too strict with the kid!“Besides, Piers really wants to be MY apprentice. If I reject him, the institute will lose a promising talent!”Frederick was clearly on the same
Accepting a teacher and taking in an apprentice had to be a mutual decision.However, it was the Rivas family after all, where the decision-making power was more in favor of the older seniors.There was also a rule in the apprentice initiation ceremony: After the apprentice is accepted by a teacher, if the promising talent decided to become another teacher’s apprentice, the first teacher could challenge the new teacher. The winner would take the apprentice, and that apprentice would no longer have the right to choose.Over the years, the internal affairs of the training institute had been very peaceful. There were almost no cases of apprentices being snatched. Everyone had even gradually forgotten this rule.When Ruth said that they were going to fight for the apprentice, she was exploiting this rule. But she never expected that someone would attempt to snatch her apprentice.Piers panicked even more. He never expected Denver to pull such a move. If he was taken away by Denver, he
Denver paused for a moment and then laughed. “Why would I have such an exclusively designed weapon? Everyone knows that Mr. Julius loves you and the Rivas family’s heir is on good terms with you!”Without another word, Ruth took a few steps forward and tried to check what he was holding. Denver’s expression changed slightly, and he stumbled back two steps.Seeing the situation turning unfavorable, the referee instinctively stepped forward to intercept her. “Ruth—”“He used a hidden weapon first. I was trying to protect myself!” Ruth tried to explain.The referee was a senior member of the Rivas family. Although he wanted to side with Ruth, he saw with his own eyes that it was indeed Ruth who had used her hidden weapon.He was silent for a moment and glanced at Julius. After getting a nod, he said, “The competition is suspended. Regarding the hidden weapons, we still need to investigate this carefully later.”“Investigate what? Isn’t it obvious?” Denver was very displeased with th
The scene was utter chaos.The Rivas family was skilled in using poison, and it was very difficult to uncover their traces, even with modern medical practices.In situations like this, a poison doctor from the Rivas family was needed. While waiting for the doctor, Julius personally went forward to take a look. Then, without saying anything, he gestured for Ruth to leave with him.Abel glanced at Denver before he followed Ruth.After taking two steps, he stopped and turned to look at Piers. “Come along.”Piers subconsciously placed himself on the same side as Ruth. He had wanted to stay and observe the situation to see what would happen to Denver. But on second thought, he figured it might be more effective to help Ruth plead for leniency.Hence, he finally stood up and left with Abel. ......As soon as Abel and Piers walked into Julius’s study, they could hear him speak with suppressed anger.“What on earth were you thinking?! I’ve already said that your investigation has n
If Piers had been left alone at the stage, he would have been ostracized by his fellow students and the seniors. Even the most steadfast person could waver from this.However, bringing him along changed the situation. It allowed him to avoid the pressure of public opinion and brought him closer to Ruth’s side.“Mr. Julius, just call me Abel.” Abel did not clarify and only corrected him politely.Julius snorted, but answered his question, “There’s a small issue with the surveillance camera: It’s currently under repairs.”Abel narrowed his eyes. “What a coincidence.”Julius said nothing.Abel continued, “Do you need help? My company has competent staff who can handle such matters.”Julius said coldly, “So does my family. There’s no need for us to trouble you for such a small matter.”Abel was speechless. Julius still held a grudge against him.He was indeed angry, but since things had come to this point, it was useless to try and stop him. Julius might as well take the opportuni