"...Hah?" Brian had suspected something like this might happen if someone stronger than him noticed his cultivation. But what worried him wasn't the offer—it was the risk of being seen as a threat and eliminated.
The whole thing felt a little too sudden.
"What's the matter? Don't reject me right away. Think about your younger brother—he'll be studying here. What if he gets bullied?" Giovan said with a faint smile.
Wow… was that a threat? But I don't sense any malice from him. More like… he's cunning, Brian thought.
"Elder, how about giving me two days to think it over? I'll still be in the academy, helping my brother get used to the place," Brian replied. He neither accepted nor refused outright. While he wanted the backing of a strong supporter, he feared his secrets might be exposed.
I must have this genius… Giovan thought. A grandmaster at such a young age—just like my granddaughter. If she's to marry one day, it should be someone like Brian, hehe…
"Very well, you have two days. See over there?" Giovan pointed toward the mountains. "That's our guesthouse. Stay there."
Brian glanced at the building and sensed an unusually rich energy emanating from it.Is that really just a guesthouse? he wondered.
"Alright, elder. Let's go," Brian said to his companions.
When they entered the courtyard, they saw a large, elegant house. In the yard sat a breathtakingly beautiful young woman in meditation. Even Brian—who usually remained calm around beautiful women—was stunned.
The woman opened her eyes upon hearing footsteps."Who are you? What business do you have here?" she asked coldly. Her voice carried a chill that made Brian's followers shiver—but to him, it was different.
Whoa… her voice is so sweet… is this what they call the voice of an angel? he thought, staring blankly.
Noticing his gaze, the woman's expression darkened. She immediately drew her sword and attacked.
Brian snapped out of his daze and blocked her strike."Whoa, whoa, miss—why are you attacking me?" he asked, surprised. He could tell she was also at the grandmaster level—just like him.
After their brief clash, they both stepped back, each thinking the same thing: Who is this person? How can someone my age have the same level of cultivation?
Realizing their equal strength, the woman stopped attacking."Who are you?" she repeated, her tone still cold.
"I'm Brian Scoot. I'm here to bring my younger brother to enroll in the academy," Brian explained.
Brian Scoot? From the Scoot family? Even if they're powerful, they can't just waltz into my grandfather's private quarters… the woman thought.
Seeing her frown, Brian wondered, Is this place off-limits? Did that old man trick me into coming here because I didn't accept his offer right away?
"Do you realize that no matter how strong your family is, you can't just roam the academy as you please?" she said icily.
"Ah, this wasn't my idea. Elder Giovan said this was the academy's guesthouse," Brian explained quickly, not wanting the misunderstanding to deepen.
"Oh?" The woman's expression shifted slightly. Why would Grandfather send them here?
"…Fine. If Grandfather told you, then go inside and turn right," she said at last. She clearly didn't want to let him in, but with her grandfather's orders, she had no choice.
"Big sister, I've hit a bottleneck in my cultivation!" a girl's voice called from outside the gate.
Brian turned toward the voice and saw two beautiful young women approaching—faces he recognized instantly.Oh… aren't those Angel and Bella?
Angel and Bella, who had just entered the courtyard, spotted Brian and his group.
"You're here, sir?" Bella asked.
"Oh, you're the ones from Sue Forest? Are you students at this academy?" Brian asked in return.
Before Bella or Angel could answer, the young woman from earlier cut in.
"You two know them?" she asked with a slight frown.
"We do, sister. This is Sir Brian—the one we told you about, who helped us defeat the White Snake," Angel explained.
The young woman gave Brian a long look before saying, "I see… thank you for helping Angel and Bella."
"Oh, it was nothing. I just happened to be passing by," Brian replied with a smile.
"Alright then, I'll be going inside," the woman said coolly, then left.
As soon as she was gone, the atmosphere warmed considerably.
"Sorry about Sister Alexia's cold demeanor—she's actually warm-hearted and very kind once you get to know her," Angel said, glancing at Brian and his group.
"Haha, I see. By the way, what's her name?" Brian asked, while the others also seemed curious.
"She's Sister Alexia—Alexia Regil, the granddaughter of the academy's headmaster," Angel replied.
"Oh, right… but what brings you here? This is a restricted area—no one's allowed in without the headmaster's permission," Angel added.
"We came here because the elder at the registration area told us to. He said we should stay here," Brian explained.
"Elder Sin? Even though Elder Sin is a Gold-tier elder, he still doesn't have the authority to send people here," Angel said, frowning slightly.
Brian, not wanting her to misunderstand, clarified, "I don't think it was Elder Sin… the one who told us was Elder Giovan."
"The headmaster himself?" Angel looked confused—she knew Elder Sin was the one usually in charge of admissions.
Brian's group was equally puzzled—how did Brian know the name of the elder at registration wasn't Sin but Giovan?
"Brother, how do you even know the elder's name is Giovan?" Adre whispered in Brian's ear, suspicious that his brother might be making it up just to avoid trouble.
"Haha, that's a secret," Brian replied quietly.
Seeing no point in pressing further, Adre dropped the topic, though inwardly he couldn't help thinking his brother had become far stronger and more mysterious since nearly dying to a wild beast.
Angel and Bella still looked a bit puzzled, but they didn't think Brian was lying.
"Well, since it was the headmaster who sent you here, I'll take you to your rooms," Bella offered.
They stepped inside and found quite a number of rooms.
"What is this place? Why are there so many rooms?" Brian asked.
"This is the headmaster's residence. Every six months, the headmaster's family comes here to visit," Angel explained.
"Ohhh, I see. And what's your connection to the headmaster?" Brian asked.
"Angel and I have been friends since we were kids, and both our parents are friends with Sister Alexia's father," Bella answered.
"Oh, so your parents are close with Alexia's father—that's why you're so familiar with the headmaster's family?" Brian asked.
"That's right. Our families are usually invited to the semi-annual gatherings here," Angel confirmed.
"I see…"
"Hey Brian, are you a new student too?" Angel asked suddenly.
"Yeah, Brian, are you enrolling as well?" Bella chimed in.
"No, it's my younger brother who's enrolling. I'm just here to see him off," Brian said.
"Why not sign up yourself? If you did, you'd probably start right in Class 3," Angel said.
"Class 3?" Brian asked—he had no idea how the academy's teaching system worked.
"Oh, right! You're new here. The academy has a tier system: Classes 1–2 are for Spirit-level, Class 3 is for Master, and Classes 4–5 are for Grandmaster. Sister Xia is currently in Class 4 since she just reached Grandmaster level 1," Angel explained.