"The winner is Ryo Tanaka!"
No one spoke.
Students just stared. A few parted their lips as if to say something—but no words came out. What they'd just seen defied logic. And they had front-row seats.
Would anyone even believe them? Unless Instructor Jiang Lu spoke personally, their parents might punish them for telling "jokes."
Jiang Lu's jaw clenched as he raised Ryo's arm.
One second on his back. The next? Blasting forward, inches from crushing a noble heir's throat. Talented… poor… and apparently insane.
The healer rushed over, tending to both.
Ryo exhaled slowly.
Did I just win? Against a clan heir?
And one of the most talented ones?
His father's training… all those painful, bitter drills…
They worked.
Then Ryo saw Peng Fu.
Holding his face.
What is he doing—oh. That's what.
"How could I lose to a peasant!!"
The crowd shifted. Uneasy.
The confident, laughing young master… now unraveling from one defeat?
Peng Fu clawed at his face, and the healer had to seize his wrists to stop him from injuring himself.
He glared at Ryo.
And Ryo recognized that look.
"If you want revenge in the next exam," Ryo said, voice steady, "I'll be there. I won't shy away."
He meant it to calm Peng Fu. Offer a thread of dignity.
But it only made Peng Fu's bloodshot eyes widen further.
Ryo stopped himself from saying more. He's beyond reason.
He turned and walked back to the spectator ring.
This time, those around him instinctively stepped away.
Ryo's gaze swept left—catching Liang We, the student he'd fought earlier. Liang looked away quickly.
Hmm. Is this what victory feels like? Is this why they react like Peng Fu when they lose?
Like they lost something important. This fear? This grudging respect?
Ryo's eye caught Tian Ye's for a brief moment—cool, unreadable—before he turned away and focused on the other matches.
The rest of the exam passed in a blur. Some failed. Some scraped by. A few excelled.
Only one received full marks: Lutiana Rafkat.
She didn't treat the fights like combat… but like teaching basic footwork to children.
I wonder how she'd compare to the noble clan disciples.
When it finally ended, Ryo let out a breath. He passed. Cleanly.
This was the best-case scenario—and he knew it.
He stepped out of the coliseum, passed through the minor academy gates, and moved toward the exit of clan grounds.
A shadow moved. Then a figure blocked his path.
Tian Ye.
Does she want to fight?
She stood with arms folded, eyes cool as ever.
"Be careful," she said. "Beating a prideful heir, as a peasant… is not as simple as you think."
Ryo blinked.
Why does it matter to her?
"I'm aware, Tian Ye. I'll tread carefully. Thank you."
She gave a curt nod and turned, walking away without another word.
Ryo watched her go for a moment. Then he stepped through the gate and boarded a carriage.
The streets rolled by.
His life…
was beginning to change.
Good or bad—he didn't know yet.