Harrison strategically held an assembly to commend Rocky and Ramon in public. He also announced
the pending transfer of the current Security Hall leader to the Sword Spirit Sect, where he would serve
in a critical position, but it likewise indicated that the Security Hall would have no leader in the
meantime. Traditionally, the city's governor would appoint someone to the position as soon as possible,
but a lot had changed in recent years. Many talents had appeared in the Sword Spirit City, so a fair
competition was organized, and whoever won in the contest would be the one to take the position. In
other words, whoever was the strongest would become their leader. The requirements for participating
in the competition were very simple. Firstly, the candidates must be at the King Realm and had
surpassed the primary stage of the Spiritual Infant. Secondly, they should have a current position
inferior to that of the hall leader, which implied that anyone who had the appropriate levels could
participate in the competition.
Although there was no limit in terms of the participants' strength, those who surpassed the middle
stage of the Spiritual Infant among the warriors at the King Realm were highly unlikely to participate in
the competition. That was because there were only dozens of warriors at the King Realm in the whole
Sword Spirit City, and most of them were at the primary stage of the Spiritual Infant. Therefore, there
were not a lot of warriors at the middle stage of the Spiritual Infant. Besides, those who had already
reached such a realm tended to join the Sword Spirit Sect instead to receive further cultivation. Thus,
even though there were no explicit rules about their levels, the competition for the leading position
naturally attracted those warriors that were almost at the same level.
Soon after Harrison announced it, the news caused a stir and spread all over the Sword Spirit City like
wildfire.
Typically, the Security Hall was not a place to make fortune in the Sword Spirit City. Yet, it was a place
where it was relatively easy to make contributions and get rewards, and most people could easily get a
chance to improve their strength there. The fact was backed by history, as one of the three former
leaders of the Security Hall became an elder of the Sword Spirit Sect, and the other two held prominent
positions within the group, winning respect and recognition from their senior leaders. Consequently, the
Security Hall gained the reputation of being a shortcut where people could climb through the ranks in
the Sword Spirit City quickly.
That was to say, once an individual became the leader of the Security Hall, that person could also enter
the core of the Sword Spirit City, which was the Sword Spirit Sect. And countless spirit warriors
dreamed of achieving that someday!
Meanwhile, Rocky went about as if nothing special had happened. He had achieved something
exemplary and received praise for it in public, but he had long grown accustomed to it.
However, as soon as he got out of the beast farm early that morning, he saw Tessa rushing towards
him. Tessa was an outstanding disciple of their generation. Plus, she had just merged with a martial
spirit. In fact, her strength had significantly improved in recent weeks, and she had become the key
training disciple of the Sword Spirit Sect. Two days ago, Timothy had asked her to go to the Sword
Spirit Sect, where she could directly receive guidance from him.
"I didn't know you were back,"
Rocky greeted her with surprise.
"I just arrived, but that's not important. I heard you got yourself in trouble when you went on a mission
with Ramon, and you almost couldn't come back alive. Were the rumors accurate?"
Tessa asked at once, sounding far too excited as she stared at Rocky with interest.
"It wasn't that bad! I just had a small accident, and there was hardly any danger involved," replied
Rocky.
He shrugged indifferently as if to show that it wasn't a big deal at all.
"Liar! I heard that your mission was to sneak into the Purple Demonic Zone and explore the Robber
Regiment's stronghold. The members of the Robber Regiment are infamous for being violent and cruel
robbers who can kill people without batting an eyelash. I also overheard that you were besieged at that
time,"
Tessa answered dubiously.
"What? No! I don't think they are as violent and cruel as people say!" disagreed Rocky.
He thought to himself, 'Not only is she not as evil as I expected, but her figure is much better than
yours.'
"If you receive such a dangerous task next time, tell me, okay? I will talk to my father about this later,"
Tessa instructed him as a worried expression flashed across her face.
Rocky couldn't help but shake his head fervently.
"No. I'm a member of the Security Hall, so if there's a mission that needs to be done, I can't watch idly
by," he retorted.
"Fine! I'll ask my father to give you a job somewhere else, so you can quit working in the Security Hall,"
insisted Tessa stubbornly.
"Don't bother.
I'm going to compete for the position of the Security Hall leader anyway." Rocky disagreed with her
suggestion again, his eyes narrowed sternly.
"What?!" His words stunned Tessa for a moment, making her think twice about insisting on Rocky's
resignation from the Security Hall.
After all, participating in the contest meant that he had a chance to be promoted to a higher position. It
would be great if Rocky became the Security Hall's leader.
"Do you have any objections?" Rocky asked with a teasing smile.
"Well..." Tessa bit her lip and then hesitantly continued, "If you want to compete, of course, I won't
object. But you have to promise me that you won't do anything dangerous in the future."
"I'm afraid I can't do that. I can only say that I will try my best not to get involved in dangerous matters,"
answered Rocky.
Frankly, it was absolutely impossible for him to avoid dangerous situations, considering his
adventurous character.
"No, you have to promise me, or I will..." Tessa willfully uttered, stomping her feet lightly.
"Or you will what?" Rocky teased as he revealed a playful smirk at her.
"I will marry you!" she abruptly blurted out, and a furious blush covered her whole face reaching down
to her neck. For the past two days since Tessa left the Sword Spirit City, she found that she couldn't
help missing Rocky every second of the day, and it made her realize that she might have fallen in love
with him. It wasn't easy to express her love, as she was still young and innocent, but she didn't like to
hide anything from others as well. Therefore, she expressed her affection for him in her own way.
Rocky was stunned at first, but he soon understood what she was trying to say.
He immediately replied, "I'm sorry, but I only see you as my sister. You understand what I mean, right?"
Tessa hated the somewhat regretful expression on Rocky's face and snapped, "I know that already!"
Rocky was taken aback.
"You do?"
"I've never seen you look at me with any improper desire. You always take care of me like an older
brother, and even though I don't have a brother, I know this feeling of being looked after.
Even so, I still like you. At the very least, I like the feeling of being with you," Tessa revealed frankly.
"It seems that you are quite smart, huh? I'm glad I don't need to worry about you,"
Rocky muttered as he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Can I treat you as my brother from now on?" The question took Rocky by surprise, while Tessa waited
for his answer expectantly.
"I guess that would be all right, but you can't let your father know this! If he found out, who knows what
unimaginable consequences I'd have to bear?" Rocky nodded with a smile.
"Don't worry. My father is very fond of me, and he might even favor you as my brother. He would have
said something about our relationship otherwise!"
Tessa had not forgotten about the fact that she was engaged. It was heart-breaking, but it seemed that
she couldn't be with Rocky no matter how much she wanted to.
"Why? Is it because of your engagement with Miguel?" Rocky's eyes narrowed suspiciously at her
words.
"Never mind. It has nothing to do with you anyway." She frowned unhappily, as she didn't want to talk
about her engagement at all.
Meanwhile, Rocky decided to let her be and changed the topic. "I'm afraid I can't teach you the
Mysterious Beast Transformation Skill for the next few days.
Instead, from today on, we will carry out a secret special training with someone," Rocky revealed,
grinning excitedly. "What kind of special training? And with who?" Tessa asked curiously.
"Of course, I will receive the training along with Ramon. Let's talk while walking!" Rocky said with a
bright smile as he walked on.
Behind him, Tessa scrabbled to follow him immediately.
"It looks like you are getting along well with Ramon now. When you first entered the Sword Spirit City,
he was quite disgusted with you!" Tessa made a face as she looked back into the past.
"Well, Ramon may be a bit obstinate sometimes, but he has a good character and is loyal to the Sword
Spirit City. It's better to befriend him since we need to have a good working relationship anyway," he
remarked.
"You are the only one who says such good things about him. Many spirit warriors in the Sword Spirit
City don't like him because he is as stubborn as a mule,"
Tessa noted, pouting her lips in a small frown.
"You can say that to him in person," answered Rocky teasingly.
"Forget it. I'd better not provoke him. Anyway, are you going on this special training because of the
competition for the position of the Security Hall's leader?" Tessa asked.
"That's right. By the way, there's one thing you don't know. Ramon has recently broken through to the
King Realm. But no one knows about it except for me, and now, you," Rocky told her quietly.
"Really? That's great! I'm very happy for him," Tessa uttered, looking delighted at the news.
"However, the warriors at the King Realm who are competing to be the Security Hall's leader must be
relatively senior in the Sword Spirit City. Both their strength and experience must be very rich, so the
competition will undoubtedly be incredibly fierce. Ramon and I have just broken through to the King
Realm not long ago, and we are surely weaker compared to them. That is why we need to do this
special training. If we don't, we will definitely lose," said Rocky modestly.
But the truth was that he was already in the middle stage of the Spiritual Infant. Now that he had the
Scarlet Heaven Jade to strengthen his cultivation, the other competitors would probably be no match
for him unless they were at the premium stage of the Spiritual Infant.
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