Leroy had the highest score in the speed test, while Princess had the highest score in the damage output test. This was odd to those who didn't know the inside story.
Despite Leroy managing to defeat Princess, the test judged that Princess's divine ability was the most lethal move that any student was capable of.
This move had also worked on Leroy to a certain extent. He had been stunned for a while. If it were anyone else, their spirit would have been damaged.
The only reason why she couldn't defeat Leroy with her divine ability was because she couldn't use the divine ability in quick succession. She was still too weak, so Leroy could defeat her in a prolonged fight.
These four people and Arthur were the only ones in the S grade who managed to set a record and used it to gain access to the superior accommodations. The other five slots were taken by A-grade disciples.
These four S-grade disciples spent a month in the superior accommodation to grow stronger. Then they went to update their records so that they would be able to stay in their superior accommodations for another month.
They had to do that because their records had been broken after a month. The other five A-grade students also had to do this. Only Arthur didn't have to take the test again and set a new record.
Many people tried the fighting excellence test, but no one took it to break the record. They only did it to practice and hone their fighting skills.
Time passed slowly. During that time, Roar broke through and was sent to the green forest back at Agate City.
He was sent there to hunt and grow on his own. Rearing him was becoming too expensive for Arthur to bear. So he let Roar and his mother get together and help each other out.
His first book was successful, but it wasn't successful enough to take care of all of his needs, so he wrote more books. Any money he got was sent to his mother to pay for the expansion of his dojo.
Three and a half years went by like this. It had been four years since Arthur got admitted to the Blood Skull sect. He had also achieved a cultivation of the fourth transformation of the second mortal coil.
This meant that it was time for him to learn the Divine Lightning Armament. He was so excited to learn it that he rushed at full speed towards the lecture hall to meet Elder Storm Hawk.
He had informed Elder Stone Hawk of his breakthrough, and they had set an appointment, so she was waiting for him when he got to the lecture hall.
She looked the same as she did when he saw her more than three years ago. Her blue hair and blue eyes sparked with lightning while her face was impassive and cold.
She was sitting on a cushion and looking out the window as she always did. All in all, she appeared to be a bird trapped in a cage and longing to be free.
Arthur sat down on the cushion opposite her without making any noise. He sat down, patiently waiting for her to become ready to address him.
When she was done thinking about whatever she had on her mind, she sighed and said, "I thought I wouldn't see you for at least five years. I was hoping that it would take you six years to reach the fourth transformation. I was even willing to accept four years for you to reach the fourth transformation from the first."
"Either way, you shouldn't have learned the Divine Lightning Armament until the new batch of students entered the sect. But here we are, earlier than I expected."
She said, as if to convince herself, "Maybe this is a good thing. The earlier I teach you, the earlier I will be free from this responsibility."
"But then again, the earlier I teach you, the quicker I will be assigned to teach someone else. What's worse is that the personnel hall might think I am a good teacher and will want to take advantage of my talent for teaching."
Arthur assured her by saying, "I promise to tell anyone who asks that you are a bad teacher."
He was joking, but she took what he said seriously. She nodded and said, "Do that for me, and I'll owe you a favor."
The seriousness with which she said what she said stunned him for a while. But he could only nod in assent with a strange look on his face.
Finally, she was mentally prepared to get to the matter at hand. She started her lecture with a lesson.
"What is the most powerful tool you have at hand to attack people? Is it your spells or your weapon?"
He thought about the question and replied, "It is my bow."
She said, "So a weapon. That brings me to the next question. Can you break your weapon with your hand?"
He thought seriously about the question. He thought about if he was strong enough to break the golden armor. He doesn't think he is strong enough, so he replied, "I am not strong enough."
She nodded and asked, "Why do we use weapons? Take your gauntlet, for example. If you wear a gauntlet on your right hand and use it to hit your bare hand with full force, which arm will come out victorious in the collision?"
She demonstrated the question to him by slamming her two hands against each other as if clapping them.
She said, "You will use your full force in both hands. Which hand will win? Is it the one with the weapon or the one without the weapon?"
He replied without thinking, "It is the one with the weapon."
She nodded and said, "That is why we use a weapon. Weapons make us stronger."
"Now that we've settled that. Which do you think is better, a spell or a weapon?"