"What arrogance!" Rita listened to Fred with utter disdain.To her, Fred was nothing more than a casual practitioner. He was just a mere teacher in an ordinary warlord academy!He only had the audacity to ridicule her ambition to defeat him because he was a warlord now! "You're just being stubborn right now! With my talent, it won't be long before I surpass you and defeat you!"Rita huffed with pride. "Maybe you’re scared that I will surpass you, so you’ll cut corners when teaching me!""You’re overthinking it. Since I’ve decided to become your teacher, I’ll educate you well! You can rest assured about this!" Fred shrugged and smiled. He did not bother to explain further.After all, Fred had no intention of revealing his true strength to Rita.Rita felt relieved and asked, "Then what shall we learn in the first lesson?""Hmm, let me think!"Fred touched his chin. Then, he smiled and said, "Shall we learn how to run for the first lesson?""Run? What do you mean?" Rita asked
"You!!!"Rita was enraged when Fred gave her such orders. She was about to protest.However, Fred interrupted before she could speak. "Of course, you can choose to leave, and I’ll just get paid without working. That works for me too!""Dream on!"Rita retorted coldly as she struggled with her thoughts. In the end, she started to run.At first, Rita just dragged her feet. Her heart was full of contempt for Fred.However, her expression changed within a few steps!Clear and unmistakable footprints surrounded the entire training ground!Rita had arrived ahead of schedule and had checked the training ground. There were no such footprints earlier. Most importantly, these footprints looked fresh, as if someone had just created them.Apart from Fred and her, there was no one else here.Therefore..."Did he leave these footprints when he ran just now? Does that mean...he really ran a full lap? And it only took 17 seconds?"Surprised, Rita stared intently at the footprints under her
"17 seconds! 17 seconds! 17 seconds!!!"In the cafeteria…17 seconds. Rita murmured these words as she sliced the steak viciously with gritted teeth.There was no other reason for this!In that morning, no matter how hard she tried to run the 3 kilometers, she could not complete the lap within 170 seconds, let alone 17 seconds.In fact, she was miles away from the mark!4 minutes and 15 seconds was her best record!Rita thought about her personal performance as compared to Fred, who had not broken a sweat all morning. Her teeth itch with hatred."What's the matter? Venting your anger on a steak?"A young man walked by and saw Rita. He asked the question with a smile.Cain Perry.A graduate in the same batch as Rita, Cain originated from a warlord family and was a practitioner since childhood. Hence, he had a huge influence on their classmates!He was curious to see Rita's expression, so he stepped forward and asked."It’s that damned challenge given by that damned Fred! He
First place was not a problem?As soon as Fred said that, except for Crystal, everyone’s expressions darkened.The trial combat that was held every semester…To put it bluntly, it was a competition for the warlord academy’s students!What did it mean to take first place in this trial?The winner must be number one in terms of ability and strength to defeat all the other students!Was Fred saying that his student could beat all the other teachers’ students?How could they not be annoyed by such arrogant words? How could they not be angry?"Mr. Hoffman, are you joking? That doesn’t seem very funny, you know?""One must be self-aware! Some things cannot be said lightly.""Haha, I’ve refrained myself long enough. Mr. Hoffman, have you looked into the mirror?"All the teachers retorted coldly and began to attack Fred in an instant.However, Fred kept smoking and paid no attention at all.A teacher frowned immediately at Fred’s indifference. Massimo signaled to the teacher with
“You’re looking down on me!” Rita roared.“What? No!” Fred shook his head. “I’m just saying it as it is.”Fred walked over to the side, where he lit another cigarette before taking a long drag. Rita felt the urge to stomp over and argue, but she quickly gave up on that notion. She returned to the starting line and began running. She had run about four laps by now.Rita would record her time for each lap, but she still didn't achieve the result she wanted. After more than a dozen laps, she started feeling her energy drain. Even so, her time showed no changes. She felt like giving up when suddenly, she heard Fred’s voice ring out.“Quiet your breathing and focus. Let your heart, soul, and mind meld into one.” Despite not being loud, she could hear his voice echo in her mind and thunder in her heart.“What…?”Rita was exhausted when she heard Fred’s voice, and it stunned her. Before she could ask him what he meant, though, the man interrupted in a calm tone, “I’ll only say i
Rita's first thought was, 'Found me?' She shuddered when she heard that voice. Gone were the complaints she had for Fred’s torturous training.“I-It’s you?! But h-how…”The voice interrupted her impatiently, “You know why, Rita! Being the nightingale of the legendary physician family was your only chance! You failed. You should've returned regardless, and yet you ran away. Hmph! Did you honestly think we wouldn't be able to find you? Or your family?!”“Leave them alone!” Rita shouted.The man snickered and continued, “Pfft! Sure, I don’t see why not! As long as you listen to us, of course! Be a good girl and we'll leave your family alone, hmm? But if you run again… Hahaha! I can’t promise anything!”“A-Alright! Alright!” Rita nodded nervously.“Good,” The man said again. “I'll pick you up tomorrow night. Don't disappoint me.”The call ended with a click, and Rita fell backward onto the floor. Her body was weak and shaking with fear……“Your mind is a mess.”It was the same tr
“Not feeling well, huh?” Fred narrowed his eyes and jumped, then disappeared with a gust of wind.In an opening in the outskirts of Sea City, the sky above was pitch-black, save for the bright moon hanging above. Rita was the only person visible in the place, and she walked lifelessly with her luggage in her hand. Her beautiful eyes were staring off into the distance in front as if she was waiting for someone.Yet, if one were to look into them, one would see not excited anticipation but rather despair. It was like she was waiting for death to take her life.After walking quite a distance, a black figure finally appeared before her.Rita shuddered when she saw the man.“What’s this? Scared of me?” The black-robed man sneered at Rita’s frightful expression. “You can run, just like you did before. And I’ll finally have a reason to go back and have some fun with your family, hmm? I’m sure they’ll love me and the games we’ll play, wouldn’t you agree?”“No!” Rita shouted. “I’m here,
“F-Fred?! What… what are you doing here?”Rita was baffled and stunned to see Fred appear before his eyes. He was the last person she expected to see. However, after some thought, she came to understand why. They were in the middle of nowhere and quite the distance from Sea City. There was no way Fred was here out of pure coincidence.It was most likely that Fred realized something was off with her today and decided to follow her.“You’re… surprisingly kind, you know?”Rita smiled, her eyes slightly teary at the realization that Fred cared about her. Still, she immediately pushed him away. “Go back to the academy! I… Only I can deal with this, and I don’t think I can study at the academy anymore.”“Tell me. As your teacher, I can help you,” Fred said calmly.‘Help me?’ Rita thought with a wry smile, not believing him at all.“You can’t help me.”She thought that Fred was some extremely powerful warlord when she first met him at the legendary physician family. However, aft
Marciella walking away did not bode well with the giant snake. Marciella was its food! How could it accept that its food had escaped?Marciella had not moved far yet. She reluctantly looked back at Fred.She did not know how Fred would handle the River God. She could only hope Fred would be okay!When Fred saw that she had left, he geared up, rubbing his palms in glee. He had an eager look on his face, which confused the giant snake.It was the snake’s first time meeting a man like Fred!How strange indeed!At this time!Suddenly, Fred said with hostility etched on his face, "Hey, Big Snake, what are you going to do now?"The snake's attention was entirely focused on him, which seemed off to Fred."What I’m going to do?"The giant snake fixated its eyes on Fred. It felt that it could handle a human like Fred easily.“I’m going to kill you with one bite! How dare you look down on me like this!"The giant snake rushed toward Fred fiercely at a speed so fast that no one could
Fred was annoyed by the giant snake's arrogant tone. Fred squinted his eyes at the snake and asked in confusion, "Why are you making that face?"“Huh?"The giant snake was shocked. He thought that Fred would submit to him, but to his surprise, Fred was not shaken at all.The snake was about to lose his temper.“Dirty snake, haven't I made myself clear enough? I think you are probably sleep-talking if you want me to hand over my people to you..." Fred said impatiently.At this moment…Feeling that it was being ridiculed, the snake said suddenly, "You punk, this is the first time anyone spoke to me this way. What is your name?"“Me?"Fred was stunned subconsciously, not knowing what the snake wanted. Suddenly, he understood.“Did you want to know my name so you can remember me, bow down before me, and become my follower? Sure, I’ll give you that chance!"He was adding fuel to the fire. The giant snake almost spat out blood in anger!"What? You want me to follow an immature bei
Huh!?Putting aside Marciella, even Fred could not hide his shock as a giant snake appeared from under the water!A giant snake!How could it be!?Fred's eyes widened at the sheer size of the snake. "A Giant Snake… Is this the so-called River God?"Moreover, the size was humongous. The snake must be at least ten stories high!What a huge snake!Fred finally understood why he felt a powerful force under the water!There was a sharp glint in the giant snake’s eyes! That was the blinking light from time to time!"Who comes here? Are you from the village? Who do you plan to sacrifice to me this time?" As soon as the giant snake spoke, Fred realized that this was not the first time it had done this.The snake seemed familiar with the ritual process. Obviously, the villagers had witnessed this giant snake before. This was the meeting between the two sides! Fred felt uncomfortable at this. As for the giant snake, it felt bemused when it saw Fred. The snake had never seen Fred befo
Fred was going to risk it all to open this girl's eyes!The force from the punch was extraordinary! As soon as the tree was hit by the seismic fist, it fell immediately and the whole tree split neatly in two!Marciella was dumbfounded!Although she knew how powerful Fred was, to witness his power was a different thing entirely!"Master Fred, your power is insane!"Marciella could not help but applaud.Fred seemed indifferent, as though he had no feeling at all about this."Is it? Why do you think so?"He looked so indifferent.For Ancient Martial Arts, things did not get any simpler than this!"You’re so strong. Anyway, I don’t doubt you anymore..." Marciella sighed, suddenly feeling very sad. "This is the reward of being educated. If we were more knowledgeable, we wouldn’t be so clueless.”"Haha, if you can't solve your issues, your descendants can work harder," Fred said with a wink.Marciella said, "Mr. Fred, I needed to ask you something! What if our luck was changed ju
What Fred said aroused her curiosity."What does it look like when you offer a sacrifice?"Fred knew he could not speak of this matter. Sure enough, Marciella felt a little downcast after Fred said the words. She did not know why Fred would say such a thing. Suddenly, Fred felt bad about it.He coughed and said, "Don't think too much about it... I just want to find a clue. Maybe we could find a solution. Why does it never rain in your village?""Huh?"Marciella's eyes, which were still a little dejected, suddenly realized what was important and asked hurriedly, "Mr. Fred, are you saying that the reason why it never rains in our village is because someone is behind it?"Although Fred was unwilling to admit it, he could not help but nod. "Yes, this is exactly what you thought!""For real?!"Marciella felt hopeful again when she heard this. She said hastily, "The thing you asked about is pretty simple. You can just check out that place!""That place?"Fred turned around to see w
Marciella found herself nodding in agreement with Fred's harsh assessment. "You're spot on," she said. "That woman is nothing but vile!"Seeing Marciella's reaction, a rare smile crossed Fred's face as he nodded back. "Glad you see it my way," he said.What caught Fred off guard was the villagers' reaction. One by one, their faces turned ashen with despair.It seemed to them that nothing could be worse than the predicament they were facing. The absence of the witch spelled doom for the village—it was like their last shred of hope had vanished. They had all put their faith in her to charm the River God into blessing them with rain, which would have brought some peace to their troubled lives. However, now their chances seemed to have dried up just like their fields. Fred stood there, his face a mask of serenity amidst the chaos.In the moments that followed, the village chief was a picture of despair, his only option was to send everyone home while he racked his brain for a backup pl
"What?"Fred did not even have time to blink before the witch suddenly made a move.It was like a bomb went off.Kaboom!Then, she was dead!Fred dusted off his hands, even surprising himself with his lack of tolerance for the witch.Now, though, he had a real headache. He had planned to clear the air with the witch and lay out the past so everyone would know the full picture.He thought that might just turn things around.The situation changed when she vanished, and Fred's plans were completely derailed. Then again, changing the villagers' minds was not going to be a walk in the park anyway. They were pretty set in their ways, thanks to all the stuff they had been fed.As such, just talking it out might not cut it. Heck, it could even mess with history!With the witch out of the equation, Fred figured he might as well try a different tactic. Maybe if he took out the guy in the cloak and worked his own magic to bring some rain, it could save a lot of hassle. The more he thoug
"No way!"The witch bristled with defiance. She could not accept that she was no match for Fred.As she noticed Fred's focus was locked on her, a sly idea popped up in her mind.Before she could act on it, though, she found herself pinned against the wall by Fred in a flash...Her face contorted in disbelief. She was pinned so tightly that she could not even move!The witch was completely overpowered, her heart racing with panic.How could he be so much stronger than her?Fred, on the other hand, seemed unfazed."What's going through your head? You don't seriously think you can take me on, do you?" Fred asked, his voice laced with skepticism.The witch felt utterly trapped, as if at any second, Fred might just finish her off."Look, I messed up, okay? Can we not do this? I'm old, just a pile of brittle bones—I can't take this kind of rough treatment!" the witch pleaded with Fred, trying a new tactic to get through to him.Fred was not falling for it. He looked at her with a
"Heh, I caught on to you a while back, you know. You've been tailing me, and I'm pretty sure you're here for me. Plus, you don't have the look of someone from our village. That means you are an outsider, and I'm your target, right? Listen, man, we don't have any beef with each other, so why are you sticking your nose where it doesn't belong?"The witch had sensed the raw power rolling off Fred, and it was enough to send shivers down her spine!At that moment, she knew that challenging Fred was not going to be a walk in the park! If she had spotted him earlier in the forest, it would not have been good news for her. For starters, she had no clue how many tricks Fred had up his sleeve, and if he took her down, she and her buddy would be toast.However, the witch was not about to let Fred take her out without a fight! She racked her brain and finally settled on one strategy!She would try to sweet-talk him, hoping Fred would fall for her words just like everyone else, and fall into he