Seeing the smirk on Ace’s face, the recruiter almost felt as though his dignity was being challenged. “Is something funny, brat?”

“A grown man has resorted to bullying an innocent child in an attempt to curry favour with an overgrown baby lizard…

Even you have to admit it’s pretty funny?” Ace lazily replied casually as he looked at the representative from the War God’s Academy.

As soon as Ace said that, the whole room became deathly silent. Even the children around him began to edge away.

Ace then felt a suffocating pressure envelop him. Looking up, he could see the fiery eyes of the giant warrior, but instead of backing down like most his age would in that scenario, Ace ignored the terrifying pressure and maintained eye contact.

“That’s enough, Brutus. Bullying children is no way for a grown man in his 60s who’s here representing one of the most prestigious academies in the continent to behave.” Peter, the Ernst Institute’s representative, said indifferently.

’60? He looks no older than 40 at most!’ Ace thought as he raised his brows, taken aback by that revelation.

Brutus coldly glanced at Peter, then back at Ace. “Wharton, when you crush this brat in the future, I only ask that you allow me to watch.”

“Yes, sir. You have my word.” Wharton said before turning to face Peter with a slight bow. “Thank you for your offer, but I believe the War-God’s academy would be the best place for me.”

Peter smiled warmly, not seeming to mind. “I understand. Both you and your brother are destined for greatness. I wish you all the best in your future endeavours.”

As he walked off the stage, Ace remained indifferent as Wharton arrogantly mouthed, “Dead meat.”

“You really have a knack for angering people, don’t you?” The young girl in front of him asked rhetorically.

“They’re the ones who went out of their way to provoke me.” Ace said lazily.

The silver-haired girl couldn’t help but look twice at Ace, not knowing how to reply, as that genuinely seemed to be the case.

Over the next hour, things seemed to settle as the exam continued. Over a hundred kids went up on stage, some of which even passed, but none managed to grab the attention of any recruiters in the same way as Wharton, but that was about to change as Killian was up next.

“Killian, age 8, peak rank one warrior.” The invigilator announced with a hint of admiration

Ace smiled when he heard that, as he knew Killian was bound to impress everyone with his talent.

On the other hand, Killian wasn’t paying any attention to his only friend. Instead, he was glaring daggers at Wharton.

“Anyone who can reach the second rank at ten or younger can be considered an elite talent. As long as nothing unforeseen happens, this Killian will definitely reach the second rank long before then.”

“The warrior academies will go wild trying to recruit him.”

“But why’s he glaring at Young Master Wharton like that?”

“Ooh right, you weren’t there when that dark-haired kid defeated Wharton, were you? He and this Killian boy appear to be good friends. I imagine he feels a fair bit of animosity towards him after what just happened.”

Killian looked like he wanted to jump off the stage and pummel Wharton where he stood. It wasn’t until he saw Ace shaking his head that he forced himself to calm down.

“Killian, was it?” The white-robed official asked, jolting Killian from his thoughts. “Next, I need you to step on the Overawe formation. Remember, the longer you last, the better your results.”

With a nod, Killian walked to the centre of the second formation. ‘Come on, Killian. You can do this, don’t let Ace down after everything he’s done for you.’

When the lights came on, Killian found the pressure easier to bear than he initially thought, but as time went on, it gradually became harder and harder to stand, but he refused to give in.

The longer he spent withstanding the pressure, the more shocked the crowd became.

“This kid… his spiritual essence has already surpassed Young Master Wharton’s.”

“It’s starting to approach Young Master Linley’s now.”

“Even if he only has an average affinity to one of the elements, I suspect the Ernst Institute will reach out as well.”

“I just realised something. Linley, Wharton, and now Killian. They all came from Wushan Town.”

“Don’t forget that Ace kid? Regardless of his talent as a mage, or his attitude problems, the fact remains that he managed to become a rank-two warrior at the age of eight. His talent as a warrior is second only to those with the bloodlines of the four supreme warriors.”

“What exactly are they feeding them over there at Wushan?”

Even Ace couldn’t help but grin, watching Killian’s performance. ‘If trauma’s a way of training, then no one can beat Kil. Every day for the last two years, he’s put his body through a near inhumane level of torture trying to keep up with me and then gets up and does it again the next day.’

Just in front of him, the silver-haired girl stared wide-eyed at Killian’s performance, refusing to even blink. What was going through her head, only she knew.

At some point, everyone forgot the time as they watched Killian persevere. He was sweating buckets, and his body was trembling, but he grit his teeth and persevered.

‘Just a bit more… Just a bit longer…’ Killian thought to himself as he desperately resisted the urge to collapse.

Eventually, the pressure got too much for him to handle, and he fell to his knees. Everyone immediately turned to the invigilator as if to tell him to hurry up and read the results.

The invigilator couldn’t hide his grin at this point, even if he wanted to. “Rare Spiritual Essence 41x times his peers!”

“Rare? Killian’s spiritual essence actually reached the levels of rare?”

“Incredible!”

“I wonder what his Affinities will be…”

“At this point, I’m pretty sure most academies will want him even if he only has a low-grade affinity.”

“Don’t forget his talent as a Warrior as well.”

Killian ignored the crowd’s reaction as he forced himself to his feet. When he finally shook off the spell’s effects, he looked to the back of the queue, where he saw Ace smiling with his thumbs up, bringing him no small amount of joy.