The grove of trees near noon was not hot; on the contrary, it was cool because of its lush foliage. Only the dappled sunlight filtering through the leaves indicated that the sun was high in the sky.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!
In the woods, a black figure moved in a zigzag pattern at incredible speed, disappearing in a flash like a living bolt of black lightning.
Snap!
Finally, the black figure came to a swift stop, revealing its true form: a black-haired boy of about fifteen years old, dressed in black training clothes.
This was none other than Ryan.
Just now, he was testing his maximum speed.
Although this grove of trees didn't have the same comprehensive speed-measuring equipment as the testing center, it was enough for Ryan to get a general feel for his actual speed.
His current feeling was: fast, very fast.
It felt as if his body had lost most of its weight. He felt light and airy, as if he could fly away with a light stomp of his foot.
Of course, Ryan knew that this was just an illusion.
He was still only a Blood Warrior Apprentice Upper Stage. Flying was naturally impossible for him.
The reason for this feeling was entirely due to the significant improvement in his physical fitness. His body had not yet fully adapted to the increase, thus creating the illusion of being as light as a swallow.
Once he truly adapted to this surge in physical ability, this feeling would disappear, but his speed would not decrease.
Instead, he would become even more agile due to having better control over his speed.
"What's left is strength!"
Thinking of this, Ryan couldn't help but look to one side, where there were three large stones.
These three stones were originally located here, and after Ryan discovered them, he used them as tools to roughly test his strength.
The lightest of the three weighed around 90 kilograms.
He was fairly certain of this because, during his previous assessment, his maximum strength had been measured at around 90 kilograms.
The stone in the middle weighed roughly 105 kilograms.
This was only an estimate based on its size compared with the smallest stone. Although it was certainly not completely accurate because of differences in density, Ryan didn't need the result to be that precise.
Not long ago, he had only recently become capable of lifting this stone.
The remaining stone, which was the heaviest, was one he had yet to successfully lift.
Based on its size, Ryan roughly estimated that it weighed around 115 kilograms.
Among the students in Class Six, Damian should have been capable of lifting it.
Yesterday, although Ryan had managed to hold his own against Damian, his physical condition had still been slightly inferior to Damian's.
Even with his superior saber technique, he had struggled to maintain the fight.
If it had continued for much longer, he might eventually have lost.
Without hesitation, Ryan walked straight to the largest stone.
His ten fingers gripped firmly beneath the lower part of the stone. With a sudden burst of strength from his legs and waist, he lifted upward.
Snap!
A sound like something being torn free from the soil rang out.
Then Ryan was seen supporting the massive stone with both hands, slowly rising until he finally came to a steady stop with the stone held near his chest.
The stone was so large that it nearly obscured his upper body.
Boom!
A few seconds later, Ryan released his grip.
The heavy stone crashed down with a dull thud.
Chirp, chirp!
A little further away, several brightly colored birds resting beneath the shade of the trees were startled by the noise and hurriedly flew deeper into the grove.
Ryan was very satisfied with the result.
His strength had increased significantly again.
Although this kind of rough test couldn't tell him the exact number, being able to lift the heaviest stone meant that his strength had already approached 115 kilograms.
He was getting closer and closer to Blood Warrior Apprentice Peak Stage.
Thinking of this, Ryan couldn't help but smile slightly.
Then another matter entered his mind.
The one-month cooldown of his copying ability had already ended.
In other words, he could now copy another talent.
Ryan had already made his decision regarding the kind of talent he wanted next.
For a Blood Warrior, cultivation talent determined how quickly one could improve and how far one might ultimately progress, while Martial Art Talent greatly affected one's actual combat ability.
Ryan used a saber.
Naturally, what he wanted now was a better Martial Art Talent.
In terms of Cultivation Talent, he already possessed Advanced Cultivation Talent, which was currently more than sufficient.
However, his Martial Art Talent was still only Primary.
Although Primary Martial Art Talent was not poor among ordinary academy students, it was clearly somewhat lacking compared with his Advanced Cultivation Talent.
Therefore, Ryan decided that his next copying opportunity should preferably be used on Martial Art Talent.
Originally, Aurelia's Martial Art Talent had been an excellent target.
Advanced Martial Art Talent.
Unfortunately, after Ryan copied Aurelia's Advanced Cultivation Talent, his copying ability had immediately entered its one-month cooldown.
While Aurelia had still been beside him, he had tried to copy her Advanced Martial Art Talent as well, but the attempt had failed.
That opportunity was already gone.
"Who should I look for?"
When Ryan thought about who to find to copy a better Martial Art Talent from, he was taken aback.
He wasn't sure about the students in the other years, but among the first-year students, there really weren't many people famous specifically for extraordinary saber technique.
Even Adrian Blackwood, who was ranked among the strongest students of the year, was mainly known for his rapid cultivation progress and powerful physical ability.
From what Ryan had seen, Adrian's saber technique was certainly good, but it had never appeared so exceptional that Ryan felt it was worth immediately using his precious monthly copying opportunity on him.
More importantly, Ryan had never gotten close enough to Adrian to properly inspect his talents.
"It seems I'll have to start with the other years."
Thinking of this, Ryan couldn't help but smile bitterly.
The original Ryan had been so focused on cultivation that he had paid little attention to anything outside his own training, so naturally he wouldn't know which students from the higher years possessed especially outstanding Martial Art Talent.
As for Ryan himself, although he wasn't quite as obsessed with training as the original owner of the body had been, he had also neglected to investigate this matter.
"I'll ask Elias when I run into him tomorrow!"
Shaking his head, Ryan walked toward the cafeteria.
It seemed he would have to wait until tomorrow, after asking Elias, before deciding on a possible target for his next copied talent.
Inside Victor's villa.
"Did he refuse?"
Victor glanced at Derek, a hint of coldness in his eyes as he toyed with two egg-sized metal balls in one hand.
"Yes, Young Master Victor. That Ryan is really ungrateful. It's a great opportunity for many people to work for you, and he actually refused."
Derek spoke with an "angry" expression, but inwardly he was overjoyed.
He was certain that, given Victor's personality, Victor would never let Ryan get away with refusing his invitation.
Sure enough, he heard Victor say,
"He doesn't know what's good for him, so be it. Since he dares to—"
Just then, an old man walked in.
The old man, dressed in an exquisitely made black suit, walked with a steady and powerful gait, showing no signs of old age or frailty.
He entered and respectfully addressed Victor.
"Young Master Victor."
His name was Edmund Vale.