Reborn as the General's Useless Daughter-Chapter 315: The Tri-Academy Exchange Arc (Part-7)

For some reason, that composed assurance made Cindral feel a faint, creeping unease.

What Cindral wanted was simple and ruthless: to crush the academy’s remaining strength in full view of everyone and prove that his own decision had been absolutely correct.

In his eyes, the academy’s stubborn adherence to old ideals was nothing but a relic of the past, a road that could only lead to decline and eventual extinction.

Yet the performance of the academy’s students today had already exceeded his expectations. It was no wonder Wilheim had so readily agreed to advance the academy exchange. Clearly, the academy had come prepared.

Not far away, Malrick, vice principal of Lunar Academy, sat beside Hector. Among all the principals and vice principals present, his expression was the ugliest of all.

He had been full of confidence in this exchange. He never imagined that it was only the first round of promotion and that he would already feel such pressure.

Thunderclap Academy taking first place was a foregone conclusion. That much was beyond doubt. But if the academy were to step over Lunar Academy and rank above them, it would be an unbearable humiliation.

"Vice Principal Malrick," Gerrad said slowly, his tone light yet edged with meaning, "the student your academy sent out seems to be... somewhat lacking in strength."

The calmness in his voice made Malrick’s face darken instantly.

Gerrad had never liked Malrick. Both were vice principals, yet Malrick behaved more like Thunderclap Academy’s loyal hound, allowing all authority to slip into Thunderclap Academy’s hands.

In Gerrad’s eyes, a Spirit Warrior’s most important quality was backbone. If even a vice principal lacked that, what kind of students could such a person possibly raise?

What disgusted him even more was that Malrick seemed to take pleasure in spreading rumors unfavorable to the Imperial academy, afraid that the world might not look down on them enough.

Gerrad had always been indifferent to fame and fortune and preferred harmony over conflict. But Malrick was an exception. This kind of person truly offended his sensibilities.

Malrick shot him a gloomy look and replied coldly, "Ophelia performed poorly today because she was injured before the exchange began. Her injuries have not yet fully healed."

Naturally, he would not allow Gerrad to pin the blame of ’insufficient strength’ on Lunar Academy. Without hesitation, he produced what he thought was a perfectly reasonable excuse.

Hector nodded slowly, feigning realization. "So that’s the reason. No wonder the outcome was as it was."

Gerrad shook his head lightly, a faint, unmistakable sarcasm lacing his words. "To come to an academy exchange already injured... that’s far too careless. I guess there were no better options for Lunar Academy."

For years, Lunar Academy had relied on Thunderclap Academy’s influence to mock and suppress the academy, causing its enrollment to dwindle year after year. They had even gone so far as to send instructors to countries near the academy to poach promising Spirit Warriors, deliberately undermining its foundations.

Such behavior had long disgusted both Gerrad and Wilheim. What was worse, just before the exchange began, they had discovered suspicious movements by Lunar Academy’s people in Heavenly City.

All signs pointed to the same conclusion. Lunar Academy had been playing dirty tricks behind the scenes for years. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Originally, Gerrad and Wilheim had intended to ignore it. But now that matters had escalated to this point and all pretense had been torn away, Gerrad saw no reason to hold back.

If he had to swallow this kind of disgust time and again, then what was the point? At the very least, he would make Malrick taste it as well.

Malrick clearly hadn’t expected Gerrad to shed his former mildness so openly. For a moment, he was left speechless, unable to find a proper retort.

Malrick could not possibly say that Ophelia’s injuries had been inflicted earlier by Zora herself.

If he did, wouldn’t that be admitting defeat twice over and handing the academy an excuse on a silver platter?

That would be nothing short of self-inflicted humiliation.

So in the end, Malrick could only swallow the resentment boiling in his chest. In truth, Ophelia’s performance today had been far too disappointing. No matter how he tried to defend it, there was simply no way to make it look good.

Just as that thought settled, a thunderous boom exploded across the arena.

A scorching wave of heat spread outward, rippling through the air. Drusilla’s body was blasted straight off the stage, crashing heavily onto the ground with a dull thud.

Gasps erupted from the crowd.

Although many people already sensed that Reesa’s martial art was anything but ordinary, no one expected its power to be this overwhelming.

Moments ago, Drusilla had been evenly matched with Reesa. Now, she had no room to resist at all and was sent flying in a single blow.

Raphael’s lips curved into a satisfied smile. "Is this the inheritance Reesa obtained from the ruins?"

They had heard long ago that Reesa had gained a powerful legacy within the ruins. Seeing this move now, its terrifying might was undeniable.

Zora nodded lightly. "It should be."

From the way Reesa executed the technique, Zora could tell she had a firm grasp of it.

However, this martial art consumed an enormous amount of energy. For Reesa, using it at her current cultivation level was extremely taxing.

The higher the grade of a martial art, the more frightening its power, but also the greater the burden on the user. If one’s strength was insufficient and the technique was forced, it could easily result in severe backlash or internal injury.

If Zora’s judgment was correct, Reesa’s technique belonged to the lower tier of the Mystic grade. Its special characteristics, however, made it far stronger than ordinary techniques of the same level, which was why most people mistook it for a mid-tier Mystic-grade martial art.

In truth, if Reesa’s cultivation had been any weaker, it would not have been Drusilla lying unconscious on the ground right now, but Reesa herself.

Drusilla collapsed into a dead faint, while Reesa staggered slightly, breathing heavily. That single strike had drained nearly all of her strength.

"Reesa wins!" the referee announced without hesitation.

A radiant smile spread across Reesa’s face. She had done it. She had finally won.

Zora quickly stepped onto the stage and fed Reesa a recovery potion. Her energy depletion was severe, and with another round ahead, she needed to restore her mana as quickly as possible.

"Zora, I won!" Reesa clenched her fist excitedly, her eyes shining.

Zora smiled and gave her a thumbs-up. "You were amazing. Because of you, we completely suppressed Lunar Academy."

Raphael and the others burst into laughter as well, all raising their thumbs in approval.

"Reesa, that was incredible!"

"A clean, decisive win!"

The atmosphere among the academy’s group was jubilant.

In the first round alone, they had secured four advancing spots.

Thunderclap Academy had advanced three participants, plus Zion Blackstar, who had entered the finals directly, giving them four in total.

The Imperial Academy had also advanced four.

Lunar Academy, however, had only managed three.

It was a clear, undeniable slap in the face.

And soon, the referee delivered the final results of the first round to Cindral. After glancing through the list, Cindral rose from his seat and announced the outcome in a clear, steady voice.

"In the first round of promotion, the Spirit Warriors advancing from Thunderclap Academy are Ragnor Blackstar, Cecily Blackstar, and Niklaus.

From Lunar Academy, those advancing are Ignar Dragovic, Caius, and Godric.

From the Imperial Academy, those advancing are Zora, Alaric Von Seraph, Raphael, and Reesa."

As the results were read out, cheers instantly erupted from the direction of Imperial Academy. Regardless of what came next, they had already stolen the spotlight in this first round.

"I really didn’t expect Imperial Academy to be this strong. Four people advancing... we were completely wrong about them."

"Damn it! I bet on Lunar Academy to win. Now, Lunar Academy only advanced three people. They’re arrogant every day, but this is embarrassing!"

"If I’d known this would happen, I would’ve bet on Imperial Academy. Their odds were the highest!"

Before the exchange had even begun, someone had set up betting stalls. In the eyes of most people, Thunderclap Academy was the undisputed first place, so the real betting war had been between Lunar Academy and Imperial Academy.

Lunar Academy had odds of one to one. Imperial Academy’s odds were a staggering one to ten.

That alone showed how little faith people had placed in Imperial Academy. Despite the tempting odds, almost everyone had chosen Lunar Academy. Very few had dared to bet on Imperial Academy.

Now, watching Lunar Academy be firmly suppressed by Imperial Academy, the regret in those gamblers’ hearts was almost tangible.

If betting were still allowed, they would have rushed to switch sides without hesitation.

Because of this, Lunar Academy instantly became the target of countless complaints and curses.

Ophelia and the others looked utterly miserable. They had arrived brimming with confidence, yet in the end, only three of them advanced. Not only was that the smallest number among the three academies, but it also meant their chances of final victory had dropped sharply.

Wystan and Jorvan’s faces were darker than thunderclouds. Earlier, they had been unbearably arrogant toward Sebastian. Now, they could barely bring themselves to meet his gaze. The shame was unbearable.

"Your performance today was absolutely awful!" Wystan snapped, glaring at the students behind him.

He had poured his heart into preparing for this exchange, hoping his students would shine brilliantly. Instead, they had been thoroughly suppressed.

Ophelia lowered her head, her face burning. Among all the participants, she had undoubtedly performed the worst. She could almost feel the instructors’ gazes piercing into her back, as if they wanted to swallow her whole.

Nearby, Drusilla was still unconscious. Reesa’s final strike had been far too fierce. Even after being given medicine, she would not be waking up anytime soon.

"Teacher, we’ll definitely do our best in the next round!" Caius said firmly, clenching his fist.

The humiliation they were suffering now, he would personally reclaim from the hands of the Imperial Academy in the next battle.

Ophelia looked at Caius with gratitude. His words had unknowingly pulled her out of her suffocating embarrassment.

In the past, she had never thought much of Caius and even considered letting him pursue her. Now, however, she suddenly felt that he seemed far more dependable than before.

"Teacher, the current results don’t represent the final outcome," Godric then said calmly. "Reesa has already exhausted most of her strength. In the next round of promotion, she won’t be able to perform well."

Hearing the words of Caius and Godric, the expressions on Wystan and Jorvan’s faces eased slightly. They were both well aware of this situation.