Outside the competition arena, many students had already realized that Catherine was running out of steam and was on the brink of defeat.
Some lamented, "If it weren't for the fact that the steel warhorse was severely injured by Charles, Catherine would have had a much greater chance of winning!"
"Indeed, who would have thought that Charles's target would be the steel warhorse? That strike was exceptionally powerful, and it completely incapacitated the warhorse!"
"I have to say, Charles is undoubtedly the strongest new student of this session—a level three Beast Master who has defeated all his opponents, even taking down a level four Beast Master!"
"Genius is genius, we can only look up in admiration!"
Three minutes passed, and Catherine's reactions had slowed.
Meanwhile, Charles maintained his speed, his figure like a wraith. After a swift lunge, the black gold long knife pierced through Catherine's defenses, successfully defeating her!
"The match is over! I hereby announce that the ultimate winner of this competition is Charles!" the referee proclaimed immediately. S~eaʀᴄh the nôvel_Fire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
Many people in attendance erupted into cheers, they were all fans of Charles, supporting him for his talent and strength.
Some, however, showed signs of displeasure on their faces, as they supported Catherine and were naturally a bit unhappy.
Yet at that moment, Catherine displayed no hint of disappointment. She recognized Charles's strength, and she knew he had not yet unleashed his most powerful strike, otherwise, she would have been defeated much earlier.
While the outcome of the match was important, Catherine found greater enjoyment in the process. The experience of battling allowed her to identify her shortcomings, enabling her to learn and improve her skills.
As the final victor, Charles felt somewhat helpless. Just as he exited the competition arena, a crowd quickly gathered around him, bombarding him with questions:
"Charles, with your level three Beast Master abilities, you've become the strongest new student. Do you have any special techniques?"
"Charles, can I get your autograph?"
"You're so cool! You're my idol!"
Charles didn't say a word in response. He felt a bit uncomfortable and unaccustomed to being the center of attention like this.
Fortunately, the referee quickly came over to restore order, promptly ushering the crowd away.
Relieved, Charles hadn't even turned to leave when the referee approached him again, somewhat shyly saying, "Charles, um, my daughter is also a fan of yours. Could you please give me an autograph?"
With a sigh of resignation, Charles quickly signed the name and, without lingering, headed back to his dorm.
The class competition had concluded, and the list of the fifteen students in Class A was announced. Many names were familiar to Charles, like Camilla, Zachary, and Kayden.
He recognized all of them, and of course, Catherine was also in Class A.
As for Jace and Sadie, they ended up in Class B, as their strengths were still a bit lacking.
Looking at the list on his phone along with the message to gather at seven in the morning, Charles couldn't help but think about Sadie. The past couple of days had indeed been busy for her, leaving no time for integrating multiple attribute energies.
Originally, Charles had planned for Sadie to summon a mystical beast to bestow him with the blessing of light, allowing him to better attempt the fusion of multiple attribute energies and improve his proficiency.
"I'll try again when I have the time. If I'm asking for her help, I can't go empty-handed. I'll bring her some miracle drug as a gift." Charles decided. He felt a bit tired, as his fight with Catherine had drained quite a bit of his energy.
Charles lay down on his bed and rested quietly for a while.
In Genosha, at the Lsengard lord's mansion,
Matthew stared at the message displayed on his phone, feeling as though he had been struck by lightning. He stood there dazed, opening his mouth several times before finally saying,
"An eighteen-year-old high-level blacksmith and high-level alchemist? This Charles is such a genius?"
Thoughts of his daughter Grace's interactions with Charles flooded Matthew's mind.
Regret filled Matthew's thoughts as he instinctively said, "What am I going to do? Charles is bound to become a master-level alchemist and blacksmith. If he holds a grudge against the Garcia family because of Grace, that would be disastrous!"
Someone had a different perspective and reminded him, "My Lord, that human contract cannot be undone. If Miss Grace defeats Charles, then no matter how unwilling Charles is, he will have to obey her."
Matthew suddenly realized that if Grace truly defeated Charles, they would gain a genius alchemist and genius blacksmith as a servant!
For the Garcia family, this would be a rare opportunity for rise over a hundred years!
If things progressed well, it might even be possible to leave Lsengard and compete with the top families in Genosha Calivia!
Matthew no longer hesitated and began to arrange everything, directing all the family's resources toward Grace to ensure that his daughter could successfully defeat Charles in two years!
At the same time,
Raj and Lily received news about Charles.
"Daughter, this is unbelievable! Charles has talent in both alchemy and blacksmithing?" Raj turned to ask, noticing that his daughter Lily was staring blankly at a photo of Charles on her phone, lost in thought.
"Sigh!" Raj quietly sighed.
He was aware of Lily's feelings for Charles. Initially, he just thought that the two of them probably wouldn't have a good outcome in the future.
It seemed clear now that Charles would only grow stronger and go further.
"Lily, don't feel too bad. Some people are just lucky to have experienced greatness. Charles is destined to become a true powerhouse." Raj said in comfort.
Lily shook her head and firmly replied, "Dad, I'm not sad. I'm happy for Charles."
"Really?" Raj looked into his daughter's bright eyes, feeling no sense of relief, instead, his heart grew heavier. He knew his daughter well, and it seemed she was about to make a significant decision.
In the next moment, Lily stated with unwavering determination, "Dad, I don't want to just stay in Lsengard and only watch Charles from afar. I want to work hard and become strong, just like Catherine, and always follow behind Charles."
"Lily..." Raj tried to speak several times but didn't know what to say. In the end, he could only nod silently.
Meanwhile, in the Miller family of Lsengard, Axel also received news about Charles, yet there was no change in his expression, as if he hadn't seen it at all.
Sitting across from him was a Level 6 Beast Master! Thomas's uncle, Winston!
Winston had just broken through from Level 5 to Level 6 Beast Master and had rushed from Genosha Calivia to Lsengard to investigate the disappearance of Kevin and Thomas.
"Killing for a life, paying back debts—these are just the natural laws of the world." Winston said, his narrow eyes fixed intently on the expression on Axel's face. He continued slowly,
"Axel, you are allied with Kevin, so you must have some evidence about Charles killing my relatives?"
"Honestly, there is none. Kevin, Thomas, and Sly all vanished into thin air, and there's not a trace of evidence at the scene!" Axel replied seriously, maintaining a calm demeanor.
Upon hearing this, Winston let out a cold sneer. "Hmph, it better be true. Otherwise, not a single one of you from the Miller family will escape!"
Axel quickly showed his weakness, pleading, " Lord Winston, how could I dare to deceive you? The wrath of a Level 6 Beast Master is something the Miller family cannot bear!"
Seeing that there were no useful leads, Winston did not linger and turned to leave the Miller family. He had made up his mind.
No matter what, Kevin and Sly had left Lsengard with Charles. In the end, only Charles returned safely, while the other two had vanished.
His nephew Thomas's death was also closely tied to Charles!
Better to kill wrongly than to let someone escape!
After Winston left, Axel could no longer maintain his composure.
His back was soaked with cold sweat, facing the pressure of a Level 6 Beast Master was not easy for him.
The key now was Charles. If anything happened to Charles and the news of the Miller family's betrayal of Thomas got out, the Miller family would be finished!
A Level 6 Beast Master seeking revenge would likely lead to the death of everyone in the Miller family!
That was the fury of the strong!
Now, Axel could only hope that Charles would be able to deal with Winston.
Without taking a moment to rest, Axel pulled out his spare phone and sent the information about Winston to Charles.
...
The vibration of the phone woke Charles from his slumber.
He picked up his phone and took a glance, instantly becoming alert, a hint of coldness flashing in his eyes!
He hadn't expected that Thomas's uncle had actually broken through to a Level 6 Beast Master.
This brought considerable pressure to Charles, a Level 6 Beast Master lurking in the shadows, ready to strike at any moment, was not a comfortable feeling.
If it were a Level 5 Beast Master, it would be different. Charles had the confidence to use his three-attribute technique, the [black gold knife glow], to defeat the opponent!
But now, with Thomas's uncle, Winston, being a Level 6 Beast Master, even if Charles unleashed his three-attribute [black gold knife glow], he might not be a match for Winston.
"Let the soldiers block the soldiers, let the water cover the earth. If I stay cautious during this time, there shouldn't be any problems." Charles murmured to himself.
Even if Winston was a Level 6 Beast Master, it was unlikely he would attack him within Cyber Academy. Besides, he was relatively safe in Calivia.
After all, Charles was currently the center of attention, a genius alchemist and a genius blacksmith, and he was the strongest new student in this cohort.
Winston wouldn't be foolish enough to make a move in the city, it was far more likely he would attempt an assassination outside!
Fortunately, the [Constellation] organization had been quite active lately, and Cyber Academy had already notified students to reduce their outings. Charles could also use this time to improve his Beast Master skills as much as possible.
Not to mention anything else, he at least needed to level up Mia, Max, and Mousie, especially Mia, who was the furthest behind.
Just as Charles was deep in thought, there suddenly came a knock on the door.