Enemies Meet

Before the competition began, Ryan sat restlessly with his chin in his hand, staring at the arena in the center of the square.

Just as he was about to drift off, he noticed Leah walking toward him with two other beautiful young women.

Individually, neither of these two girls stood out, but together, their differences were clear. One had waist-length hair, calm and graceful, exuding a quiet elegance. The other had short, ear-length hair, with delicate features and a playful, cute demeanor.

They appeared to be a few years apart in age.

Leah approached and waved, "Come on, Ryan, let me introduce you."

She pointed to the long-haired girl and said, "This is Anna, my classmate and also my best friend."

Ryan quickly stood up and nodded in greeting, "Hello, I'm Ryan, Leah's brother."

Anna smiled gently, "Hello, your sister often talks about you."

After the introductions, Leah gestured to the short-haired girl, "This is Anna's younger sister, Annie."

Ryan looked at Annie and felt she seemed somewhat familiar, but he couldn't place where he'd seen her before. Just as he was about to speak, the short-haired girl spoke up first.

"Long time no see! You've definitely grown taller and look a lot stronger than before."

Leah noticed Ryan scratching his head awkwardly and realized he had no memory of Annie. Just as she was about to explain, Annie cut in again.

"You ungrateful little second-generation rich kid! After all the help I gave you, you forgot about me?" Annie playfully kicked Ryan's knee.

Anna quickly pulled Annie back, "How can you be so rude?"

Annie lifted her chin defiantly and gave Ryan a dismissive "Hmph!"

Ryan stood frozen, utterly confused. He couldn't understand how two people from the same family could have such different personalities.

The situation grew a bit awkward, but Leah stepped in to smooth things over. "Ryan, don't blame Annie for saying you're ungrateful. When you were fighting Alan and the others at the back mountain of the academy, it was Annie who informed me."

Ryan suddenly remembered. The short-haired girl who had stopped him from going to the back mountain was indeed Annie. No wonder she looked familiar.

He quickly greeted her, "Oh, it's you! Long time no see!"

Annie gave him a sideways glance and huffed, "Tch."

Ryan ignored Annie's cold reaction and continued, "You've gotten much prettier since then. You're really growing into a fine young woman. I didn't even recognize you at first without Leah's reminder."

Leah, seeing Ryan's smooth talk, couldn't help but be surprised. She thought, "What has he been through at the tavern all these years? This is the same guy who used to talk so bluntly?"

She had no idea that Ryan, having spent so much time with Silver Moon, a woman whose temper was unpredictable and who had lived for who knows how long, had learned a thing or two about handling women. Compared to someone like Annie, who was still a bit naive, it was easy for him to charm her.

"Oh, so you haven't improved much in other areas, but it seems like you're still a natural when it comes to flirting with girls," Annie teased, but immediately regretted it when she saw Anna glaring at her. Her face turned red up to her neck.

Despite her embarrassment, Annie couldn't help but feel pleased with Ryan's compliment.

The atmosphere turned awkward again, and Leah sighed. She quickly changed the topic, "Look, the competition is about to start."

Everyone stopped talking and turned their attention to the arena in the center of the square.

At this moment, the academy's instructor, Gunter, stood at the center of the arena.

He stepped forward and said, "On behalf of Norton Academy, I welcome you all to our annual exhibition tournament. I hereby declare the competition officially begin."

Gunter's opening speech was as straightforward as always. Even though he used his elemental abilities to project his voice, Ryan didn't find it uncomfortable at all.

Just then, three figures appeared from the aisle on Ryan's right. One was an elderly woman in her fifties, accompanied by a tall and a chubby young man. As they walked closer, Ryan immediately recognized the chubby one—it was Alan.

Alan, too, recognized Ryan, his gaze filled with deep resentment. Ever since their last encounter at Blade's Edge Cliff, where Ryan had severely beaten him, many people had mocked Alan, saying he was worse than a useless fool.

That memory had become a shadow he couldn't erase. Over the past three years, he had trained hard, just waiting for a chance to avenge himself on Ryan. But even though he was braver now, he dared not cause trouble at House Stark.

Seeing Ryan again, it was as if fate had delivered an enemy back into his path—his jealousy and hatred burning even more intensely.

Ryan, however, paid no mind to Alan's hostile gaze. He had no reason to care about someone like Alan anymore.

As Ryan and Alan locked eyes, Annie spoke first, calling out to the woman with them, "Teacher."

The woman gave Annie a small nod, her eyes then scanning over Anna, Leah, and the others. When she noticed Ryan standing next to Leah, her gaze lingered a moment longer than usual.

Since Leah's battle with Yarr at Blade's Edge Cliff, she had naturally become the acknowledged top student at Norton Academy, with many teachers taking a particular interest in her. When the older woman noticed the unfamiliar face of Ryan, curiosity was piqued.

Ryan noticed her gaze and wasn't about to back down. From the way she was addressed as "teacher" by Annie, and how Alan followed her around somewhat obediently, he quickly deduced that this woman was likely the strict teacher who had been adamant about kicking him out of the academy—Gu Wenzhu.

Gu Wenzhu, noticing the unfriendly look Ryan gave her, snorted heavily before heading directly to the center of the arena.

Annie, confused by Ryan's apparent animosity, leaned in and whispered, "Hey, Second Young Master, why do I feel like you hate the teacher more than Alan does? You two must have never met, right?"

Only Leah knew the real reason for Ryan and Gu Wenzhu's bad blood. Just as Leah was about to intervene and steer the conversation elsewhere, Ryan loudly responded, "What? I don't even know her. I just have a natural distaste for old, ugly women."

Ryan intentionally raised his voice, ensuring that his words were clearly heard by Gu Wenzhu.

Gu Wenzhu paused for a moment but didn't turn around, glancing at Alan as if to ask for something.

Leah, sighing beside him, murmured, "Ugh, no praise goes unpunished. This kid's ability to get under people's skin never seems to improve."

However, Leah wasn't angry. At her current level of strength, she no longer feared Gu Wenzhu. After all, her Snow Condenses spear was even causing the academy's principal to hesitate—let alone Gu Wenzhu.

As Leah was lost in thought, Annie explained to Ryan, "Our 'pampered class' is made up of rich kids. The families of those old fogeys want to see if the academy has really made anything of us, so we'll be part of the tournament this year. Alan and the other boy are our class representatives. They're heading up to the stage now."

Moments later, Gu Wenzhu, Alan, and a tall young man arrived at the center of the stage.

Gu Wenzhu slowly spoke, "Hello, everyone. I am Gu Wenzhu, a teacher at Norton Academy. As many of you know, three years ago, we created a class with the worst talent, which was jokingly called the pampered class. To respond to requests from the community, this year, the pampered class will also take part in the tournament. The goal is to show everyone how much they've grown in the last three years and prove that Norton Academy can educate every student, no matter their background."

At this point, she purposefully looked in Ryan's direction and continued, "Of course, if they happen to encounter the 'waste' from the House Stark, we might be helpless."

A burst of laughter rippled through the crowd, with people remembering the infamous name from three years ago, "Ryan."

Many whispered, "Yeah, forget about Norton Academy— even an Emperor-level expert would be unable to teach someone from the House Stark. If that kid could even practice, pigs would fly."

Everyone in the crowd scoffed, and the mocking words flooded Ryan's ears.

However, sitting in the front row, the academy's principal, Annis, furrowed her brows in displeasure. As a teacher, openly mocking a young student was clearly inappropriate, but since this was one of her own academy's instructors, she didn't know how to reprimand her directly.

Leah, infuriated by Gu Wenzhu's public insult of Ryan, took a deep breath and whispered in his ear, "Ryan, don't get angry. Before we leave, I'll definitely help you deal with this old hag."

Ryan remained expressionless and shook his head. "It's fine. She can't do anything to me."

His calm demeanor surprised Leah.

Of course, Ryan was merely putting on an act. At that moment, he was seething with anger and itching to leap onto the stage to tear that old woman apart.

After a moment of thought, Ryan said, "Sis, I need to use the restroom. Wait for me here. I'll be back soon."

Leah immediately insisted on accompanying him, but Ryan, unwilling to let her follow, pulled her aside. He quickly disguised himself, changing his appearance into that of a rough, rural teenager—dark skin, messy hair, wearing a shabby shirt and shorts with straw sandals. The only thing that remained striking about him were his well-toned muscles.

Leah looked at him, enraged, and shouted, "Who are you? Give me back my Ryan!"

Seeing Leah about to explode, Ryan grinned and explained, "Sis, it's me, Ryan."

"You...?" Leah stared in disbelief at the disheveled boy before her.

Ryan, noticing her continued doubt, went on, "Come on, if I didn't have some skills, how could I have made a promise to protect you at the academy gates?"

Hearing this, Leah finally seemed to believe him, albeit reluctantly. "Then... what's this?"

Ryan knew that Leah had a million questions, but now wasn't the time to explain.

"Sis, it's a long story. Let me vent my frustration first, and then I'll explain everything when we're home."

Before Leah could respond, Ryan strode toward the center of the arena, leaving Leah stunned, her mouth agape in shock as she stood frozen in place.