Chapter 174: Unashamed Boldness

“This is the cafeteria, not a training ground. If you have any problems, go solve them outside!” As the two were about to fight, everyone grew anxious. Just as some were eager to watch the fight, a cold shout suddenly made them stop and look toward the source of the voice.
Turning around, they saw an old man in his fifties standing at the top of the stairs. His entire body was covered by a gray robe, his face somewhat gaunt. With his hands behind his back, he stood there silently, his expression icy, as if everyone owed him millions.
The appearance of this man immediately sparked discussions among the crowd, and upon closer listening, some words could be heard. Especially John’s shocked cries behind them made Rod realize who this old man was—the manager of the academy’s cafeteria! It seemed everyone was quite afraid of him.
“Three days from now, at Arena No. 1 in the academy’s fighting ground, I’ll be waiting for you here!” Seeing this man, Sean, who had been so confident before, showed a hint of distress and frustration. After some internal struggle, he glared at Rod, said those words, and quickly left.
Watching this, Rod was completely confused, not understanding what had happened. Everything seemed illusory, unreal—coming fast and going fast. What was this all about?
“Cough, cough… Captain, let’s hurry and leave too!” From the moment they saw the old man appear, John and the others had breathed a sigh of relief. Only after seeing Sean leave did they truly feel at ease. They stepped forward quickly, pulled Rod along, and spoke in hushed tones. They also glanced at the old man across from them and quickly lowered their heads, seemingly afraid.
The onlookers behind them also fell silent, with some audible sighs of disappointment.
“Rod, let’s go quickly!” On the other side, Linda rushed to his side and said urgently. Then, together with John, they helped Rod and prepared to head outside.

“Young man, don’t think just because you have a little strength you can do as you please. This world isn’t as simple as you imagine. Don’t wait until you suffer losses to regret it!” Under the pull of several people, Rod had no choice but to leave reluctantly. He thought, “Everything’s over now; the other party has already gone. Am I supposed to stay here waiting for dinner?” Yet, as he passed by the old man, a remark made him freeze in place and turn back.

At that moment, the old man was also looking at him. His eyes, which had seemed dull and lifeless before, now held a sharp gaze. At first glance, they resembled black holes—bottomless, making one feel as if they were in a dark universe, filled with an inexplicable sense of confusion.

“Captain, let’s go quickly!” John’s urgent voice pulled Rod out of his thoughts. Sweat had already appeared on his forehead. After giving the old man a deep glance, he turned and left in a hurry. His instincts told him that this old man was a terrifying figure. Just now, he had accidentally fallen under his control. If he were an enemy, the consequences would be unimaginable. This was the second time in his life he had felt such things—the first time was when he met those deans! Clearly, this old man possessed extremely powerful mental strength.

Watching Rod’s retreating figure, the old man’s serious expression vanished, replaced by a somewhat enigmatic smile. This sight shocked the students present. As older students, they knew exactly who this old man was—no one who had been in the academy for more than half a year could be unaware of him.

His fame in the academy might not be any less than that of the deans. As for his strength, no one knew for sure, but it was known to be immense, likely on par with or even greater than that of the deans.

As a cafeteria manager, he usually appeared ordinary, but beneath that ordinary appearance lay immense power. The cafeteria was a place where things often happened—like today, with countless similar incidents! It was because of past examples that everyone feared him, even Sean. Otherwise, why would Sean leave so easily?

Every time, no matter what happened in this cafeteria, as long as he showed up, no consequences would arise. From the beginning to now, countless such incidents had occurred. Sensible people wouldn’t cause trouble here, while those who weren’t would face one outcome—no matter who they were, they would be thrown out immediately. The worse the case, the more injuries they’d suffer. It is said that a few years ago, two top fighters from the academy had a dispute here—one was a rank-two imperial-level beginner, and the other was a rank-three imperial-level beginner. Even so, both of them were thrown out without any chance to fight back, leaving them badly injured. It’s easy to imagine that after that incident, the old man’s reputation spread rapidly throughout the entire academy, making him a truly mysterious and powerful figure.

With a cold snort, the old man glanced coldly at the onlookers and said, “Those who want to cause trouble, get out. Everyone else, go back and eat.” After saying that, he turned and left leisurely, leaving the students staring at each other in confusion.

……

“Huh… Captain, you really… It’s good he didn’t lose his temper, otherwise…” John looked at Rod with sympathy. It went without saying that Rod’s fate would have been even worse.

After hearing what John and the others had told him about his situation outside the cafeteria, Rod felt ashamed. It seemed this Holy Light Academy was indeed a place full of hidden talents—even someone in charge of the cafeteria was so strong. Such a person must be at least a saint-level expert. Someone like that would be a treasure anywhere—either enjoying wealth and honor, dominating a region, or gaining fame. Who would have thought it would be just someone in charge of the cafeteria?

“Rod, are you really going to accept the challenge in three days?” Linda asked worriedly. A life-or-death battle wasn’t something trivial, and since the opponent had already challenged him, running away was out of the question. Linda was worried that Rod, whose health had only just recovered, could withstand such a fight. Moreover, the opponent was Sean, ranked fifth on the list of the top ten experts, making everything even more complicated and troublesome.

“Captain… you… you really won’t go, right? If that happens…” John couldn’t help but ask, his eyes filled with concern. For a warrior to refuse another’s challenge was something despised by everyone.

“Go? What am I going to do there? Am I bored and think I have too much time? Let him go and fight if he wants to; I’m not in the mood to accompany him. If he says he wants to fight, I’ll fight—but that would be so humiliating. Besides, if I accepted every challenge thrown at me, I’d never get a chance to live. I might as well stay on the arena and be ready to fight at any time!”
With a disdainful eye roll, Rod simply said that. As John and Kenny had feared, Rod really didn’t take it seriously at all.
“But… Captain, don’t you know? Refusing a warrior’s challenge is considered an insult to them and is not allowed, unless your strength is far greater or far weaker than theirs. Both of you are Gold Rank warriors, and he’s issuing a life-or-death challenge in the name of his own warriors. Refusing like this will only earn you ridicule and contempt! Also, according to the Warriors’ Association’s rules, you’re supposed to voluntarily hand over your warrior medal as compensation for admitting defeat. Are you really going to do that?” Although he didn’t want Rod to fight Sean, John couldn’t help but speak anxiously after hearing Rod’s reply.
“Oh, is that so? I really didn’t know,” Rod replied thoughtfully, frowning slightly upon hearing John’s words.
With another eye roll, they finally understood. They wondered how the captain could be so clueless about such basic common sense. They all stared at Rod as if he were a monster.
“So what? I’m not going anyway. Can he eat me? I don’t have a warrior medal. Heh, sorry, I don’t even know what the Warriors’ Association looks like—I’ve never been there. Let them laugh and despise me if they want to. It doesn’t cost me an ounce of flesh. I still have plenty of things to deal with. With all these fools coming after me, how am I supposed to get on with my life?” Seeing Rod pondering, everyone thought he might change his mind and accept the challenge. But the words he spoke next almost made them collapse to the ground. They stared at him in disbelief, their eyes wide open.
The way he could justify what others would consider shameless behavior as something righteous really shocked them. It seemed true that those who had no shame were invincible. It was only at this moment that everyone truly saw Rod’s true nature and silently lamented having such a captain.

Even John and Kenny had started considering whether to buy a mask, as they might need it in three days. Wearing a mask would prevent others from recognizing them and saying they knew that shameless guy. It didn’t matter if he lost face; John and Kenny cared about their reputations. Everyone was lost in their own thoughts, but no one noticed that Linda’s eyes sparkled with interest. Although Rod’s answer was unexpected and dismissive, she pretended to be very interested, staring at him as if she had found a treasure. “Alright, enough about this. Let’s go quickly. I need to take Linda to the medical room; I have things to deal with this afternoon!” Rod interrupted the silence and urged them on. He still hadn’t gotten a glimpse of the changes in swordsmanship, which worried him. After spending the whole night studying, he had gained some insights and was eager to put them into practice. He didn’t want to waste time in silence.