29 Season 1 Episode 29: Having A Drink

Claude was the last of the five juniors who had been selected by the second elder to participate in the Prodigy summit. The other four juniors nodded in greeting when they saw Claude looking at them.

Wilfred Beldon, who was standing in front of them, also smiled at him. Claude nodded his head in response.

"This opportunity to compete with martial artists of different factions is going to be a very important experience to you all. One that will help you in the future. Thus, you must all focus!" The Second Elder eyed the juniors as he spoke. 

"There's one more thing to note. All of you represent the Flying Sword Faction, so you must not disgrace our name! Understand?"

"Yes, Master!"  

The Second Elder laughed heartily and said, "This is the first time in many years that my Flying Sword Faction gets to participate in the Prodigy Summit. Please do not go easy on your opponents! Train as hard as you can until then!"

After a few minutes, the students departed from his residence, and Claude immediately started walking back to his place. 

"Claude, wait up!" A voice called out Claude's name, causing him to turn around. A young man walked up to him with a smile on his face as he spoke, "Hey there! My name is Hugh Kenton. I'm one of the juniors who's been selected to participate in the Prodigy Summit. I thought I'd introduce myself now that we're in the same faction."

"It's nice to meet you, Senior Hugh. I look forward to working together with you all in the near future," Claude smiled and gave the usual etiquette. 

After all, Hugh was the senior in this case, even though he didn't look much older than him. 

"Ah, that's what I wanted to talk about!" Hugh smiled brightly as he spoke, and Claude's head was turned slightly to the side, as if quizzically.

"You see, since we've all been picked to participate in the Prodigy Summit, and you're still new here, I was thinking of hanging around a bit, just us five juniors, to get to know each other," Hugh said, as he pointed at the rest of the juniors, who were standing just a few metres away. "How about it? Want to join?" 

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Although it was already evening and the sun had set, the streets of Dawsbury City were lit up as bright as day, with huge lanterns placed in all directions. Despite the time, the streets were still bustling with activities. Most commoners would choose this timing to gather in inns, talk about the past, discuss the current heroes of their time, and enjoy drinking to their heart's content. Wasn't this a simple kind of joy, as well?

At this moment, Claude and the rest were sitting inside a pub called 'Red Lion', while drinking their beer. Despite the small outer appearance of the pub, it was completely different inside, filled to the brim with people. It was certainly popular.

"Claude, congratulations on winning the inner disciples contest, becoming an inner disciple, and joining the Flying Sword Faction!" Hugh toasted to Claude, and as the voice of Hugh Kenton faded, the rest of the juniors all raised their cups as well, respectfully drinking a toast to him.

"I took so long to become an inner disciple,  there's nothing worthy of congratulations." Claude smiled as he glanced at Hugh, trying to read his facial expressions. He wanted to know whether he had any ulterior motives for inviting Claude, but in the end, he came to the realization that there weren't any. He was genuinely trying to be friends with him.

'I keep forgetting that they're still young,' Claude let out a heavy sigh as he drank his cup of beer. He forgot the fact that not everyone has a shrewd and twisted mind. No matter how powerful or talented these students can be, in the end they're still inexperienced when it comes to the real world.

"Ha ha ha! You haven't drank enough, Claude! Here, drink this!" Miller Baldwin, one of the juniors,waved his hands as he picked up another glass of beer and stuffed it into Claude's hand. He was an honest, straightforward youth who didn't like exchanging pleasantries.

Claude did not decline and immediately took a big, unceremonious gulp.

"Great!" Hugh said as he downed an entire bottle of beer and smiled.

After finishing the beer, Claude leaned back, relaxed, and let the others handle the conversation. 

"Personally, I think we have a shot at beating the Dark Chariot and Black Pearl Faction," Missy Newman, a young girl with long blue hair said with a proud look on her face.

"I don't know about that," Nash Orman, who had an unenthusiastic expression on his face since the moment he stepped foot in the pub shook his head after hearing what Missy said. "The Dark Chariot faction does have Dayton Palmer on their side."

"Who's Dayton Palmer?" Claude asked, causing everyone's gazes to turn to him.

"You seriously don't know who Dayton Palmer is?" There was a look of surprise in Missy's eyes as she asked, and Claude shook his head.

He only had the memories of the previous owner, and even he had no clue as to who Dayton Palmer was.

"Well, I guess it's understandable, considering you were only an outer disciple all this time," Hugh said as he took another sip of his beer. "As you already know, the Clawferry Prefecture has three major cities; Dawsbury, Orefield and Vercester. All three of these cities have respective academies as well. Orefield has the Trinity Academy, while Vercester has the Silver Moon Academy."

"Among the three academies, Silver Moon has never reached the same level as the other two. That is, until Dayton Palmer came. Dayton Palmer is single handedly keeping the Silver Moon Academy afloat. A genius in cultivation, Dayton has already reached the fifth rank of sky realm, and he just turned seventeen this year."

Hugh shook his head as he smiled bitterly. "We don't have any chance at beating such a monster. Let's just stick to second place."

The rest of the juniors nodded their heads, while Claude couldn't help but narrow his eyes involuntarily. 

"Fifth rank of the Sky Realm? Interesting…"