Chapter 137: Elected Captain

“Dean!” Seeing the two arrive, Rod said with a bitter smile. It seemed he had caused quite a stir this time, and he wasn’t sure what consequences it might have.
“Hmm, not bad. It looks like you’ve recovered well. This time, it’s given that little guy Viski a taste of hardship. Rest well—now you’re a celebrity in our academy. You might face quite a few troubles in the days to come! Kiro, you and the others help keep an eye on him. Oh, and this is the symbol of our academy’s students. Keep it; from now on, you’re a first-year student at Holy Light Academy! Also, once your injuries are almost healed, come to our place. We have matters to discuss and would like to introduce you to some people. The Continental Combat Tournament is about to start!”
Nodding slightly, Kro looked satisfied with Rod’s recovery and gave instructions. Thinking about how the people in the academy had spread word about this guy rapidly, and considering the events of recent days, they surely knew what was going on. All they could do now was minimize the impact. They tried not to get Rod involved in these matters before the tournament—everything could wait.
Control was out of the question. After all, even the empire had been alarmed this time, sending people to negotiate directly with those old men, hoping to gain control of Knight Rod, this rising star.
The conversation ended in a warm atmosphere. With a great war approaching, Kro and Sinrich naturally didn’t have time to stay longer, so they left quickly, leaving only those few in the room again.
With nothing to do and no need for others to take care of him, Rod politely declined their offers and asked them to leave first. After that battle, he had very little combat energy left. What he needed most now was cultivation rather than rest. He knew his own body best—such injuries weren’t serious. Once his combat energy recovered and his extraordinary healing ability took effect, he believed he would be able to restore his health soon.
As he began cultivating, the combat energy nourished every inch of his skin and every cell, rapidly healing the wounds from battle. The lingering pain from his own transformations wasn’t as severe this time, and recovery was fast. He didn’t know how long he cultivated until he felt his energy was saturated, at which point he stopped.

“Xuanyuan, what exactly caused that change?” Thinking about his own transformation this time and the last one, Rod couldn’t help but feel puzzled. What was going on? Why did such things happen? Xuanyuan hadn’t explained it last time, so he began to ask him again.

“I already told you. The last change was due to the awakening of your bloodline. It’s normal that this change isn’t as severe as the last one. Otherwise, it would be the same every time, wouldn’t it? It’s like a bottle of soda—when it’s filled with gas, the first time you open it, the explosion is particularly intense. But once it settles down, opening it again is much easier to control and less violent. Of course, in terms of power, it’s naturally not as strong as the first time. Don’t worry about it. You’ll understand it gradually on your own. Telling you now won’t help!” Sure enough, Xuanyuan’s lazy reply came after a moment. Although he knew it might be this answer, he still felt a bit disappointed.

Well, since he refused to explain, it didn’t matter. He believed he could figure it out eventually.

……

Over the next three days, Rod spent time in his room. Aside from meeting Kiro and the others who brought meals at set times every day, he practiced alone the rest of the time. Under such conditions, his body recovered quite quickly. In just three days, he was basically back to full strength. Now, if he encountered a battle, he could at least exert the power of the ninth level. Rod was quite satisfied with this; his enhanced physical strength brought him joy.

Today was also the day to leave the medical room. Early on, Kiro and the others arrived at his room. After packing up his things, he looked at the place where he had spent six days and sighed slightly. If possible, he really didn’t want to come back here!

“Alright, you’ve finally recovered, you freak. Come on, let’s go see the dean. By the way, I need to tell you one thing—many people have been looking for you these past few days. I and Anderson kept them away. It was quite troublesome. Be careful and try to avoid contacting those people as much as possible!”

Seeing Rod, who seemed full of energy, Kiro sighed helplessly. This guy’s astonishing recovery ability was truly remarkable once again. Thinking about all the people he had stopped these past few days, he felt a bit emotional. It seemed this kid had quite an appeal.

“Many people looking for me?” Rod asked, puzzled. He didn’t seem to know many people in the imperial capital. Who were these people the guy was talking about? Why were they looking for him? He was utterly confused.

“It’s all because of your showoff behavior that day. Now many factions and families are eyeing you. I heard the empire is interested in you too and is trying hard to recruit you, hoping you’ll work for them and become a famous figure. Well, are you happy? Satisfied? Are you content now?” Alice said in a strange tone. This guy had become so arrogant now. Remembering how he was just a scoundrel when they first met, she felt a bit bitter, with a hint of jealousy—yes, jealousy of this rascal’s talent and strength.

At the same time, she felt complicated because her own family had also given her a task. Given her close relationship with Rod, her family wanted to recruit this rising star as well—after all, no one wanted to miss this opportunity. They even promised lots of benefits, to the point where she even felt a bit envious.

“Is that so? That’s pretty good, hahaha…” Hearing this, Rod was momentarily stunned before bursting into excited laughter. Though he had no intention of joining any organization, it felt good to be sought after by others.

“Stop being smug and let’s go!” She pulled Rod outside. The others really couldn’t stand his arrogant attitude.

Outside the medical room, they indeed saw many people surrounding them, hoping to talk to Rod alone, but Kiro stopped them in the name of the dean. They fled in a flustered state toward where the dean and the others lived.

After expending a lot of energy, they finally got rid of those annoying people and arrived at the small house. Panting heavily, they waited for Rod, the culprit, with the urge to tear him apart.

As for Rod, he was also frowning, finally understanding what it was like to be pursued—painful yet enjoyable. He sighed inwardly. Being famous was really tough. He now understood why those geniuses were so cold—they couldn’t show enthusiasm. Showing warmth amidst adoration would only lead to degeneration or wrong paths. Pretending to be cold was just a way to disguise themselves.

Entering the room, they indeed saw several deans there, along with over a dozen students! They weren’t surprised by their arrival. They nodded slightly and looked at Rod, saying, “Hmm, not bad. Faster than expected. Well, only you’re left. Now let’s talk about this matter.”

Anderson, Alice, and Roy, upon hearing this, left the room with slightly disappointed expressions to stand guard outside. They were well aware that such meetings were not for them to attend, nor could they participate in the discussions taking place inside.

Now, only twenty trainees and three deans remained in the room. Of course, Rod was one of them, standing next to Viski, feeling a bit awkward, while Viski’s expression toward Rod was filled with complexity.

“Alright, now that everyone is here, I’ll talk about this competition. As you all know, this competition holds extraordinary significance. Besides ranking teams and academies and assessing imperial capabilities as in previous competitions, it also has another important purpose: determining the command of the allied forces. I’ve already emphasized how crucial this is, so I believe you understand its seriousness. Therefore, we must win—there’s no room for failure!

Like usual, this competition is divided into three tiers, with two teams per tier—one reserve and one main team—and there will also be one-on-one matches. Each group needs to send two members, which I assume you’re all aware of!

You can probably see the grouping now. The four teams in the first and second tiers are selected by our Holy Light Academy, while the teams in the third tier are assigned by the empire.

Let me introduce the groupings. First, for the first tier, the first group, also the main competition group, is led by Captain Knight Rod!”

After announcing the first member, Kro looked satisfied at everyone’s reactions. As expected, almost everyone showed expressions of surprise and confusion.

Knight Rod, the young man who had only become famous in recent days, was now the captain. After their surprise, many realized that indeed, as a Silver Peak-level member, his strength placed him among the top three competitors in this tier—relative to Holy Light Academy. Moreover, his abilities were on par with Viski’s, showing just how formidable he was. It wasn’t entirely absurd for him to be the captain.

Rod himself was also surprised, but excitement followed the surprise. A captain title—he hadn’t expected to get one after all. Yet, this also meant an even heavier burden on his shoulders.

“Hmm, the team members are Viski, Oman, Kenny, and John! These five form the first group, responsible for the main competition. As for the reserve team members…”

After these announcements, the list for the first tier was revealed to everyone.

“Does anyone have any questions?” Looking at everyone’s expressions, Sinrich asked calmly.
“I do…” As expected, right away, two or three people voiced their opinions—one of them was a contestant from the second tier, and the other two were from the first tier.