Shang looked at the grand gates for a while.
Then, he took a deep breath and walked towards them.
As Shang came closer, he saw someone sitting right beside the gate. It was a middle-aged man, probably in his forties.
What was he doing?
Sleeping.
He was sitting on a chair, and his entire body was just lazily splayed on the chair.
Was this the nightshift William was talking about?
Shang looked at the sleeping person for a while with a complex expression.
For some reason, this person didn't feel dangerous to him.
However, Shang was certain that he couldn't trust his perception in this case. After all, this person was guarding the gates alone.
Shang stopped a couple of meters away from the sleeping person with an awkward expression.
Should he wake him?
Well, he was supposed to be working.
"Excuse me," Shang said quietly.
pᴀɴdᴀ nᴏveʟ The person didn't react.
"Excuse me," Shang said again as he stepped closer.
The person still didn't react.
Shang looked around at the dark city. He didn't want to wake the sleeping residents, so he couldn't just shout.
Shang scratched his chin. That guy was probably a powerful warrior, and if Shang just stepped forward, the guy might be startled awake. Who knew what the guy would do when startled? The reflexes of a warrior were dangerous.
Then, Shang got an idea.
He stopped a couple of meters away.
Then, he slightly moved his sword before moving it back into its original place.
The person didn't react.
"Are you awake now?" Shang asked.
Shang saw the chest of the person expand as he took a deep breath. Then, he slowly sat up in his chair with a groan as he ruffled his hair.
"That was smart, boy," the man said with some annoyance.
"You were awake the entire time, right?" Shang asked.
The man sighed. "Yeah. Heard you since you walked closer. Simply didn't want to deal with you."
"Sorry, but it can't wait until tomorrow," Shang said.
The guard let out another annoyed sigh as he stood up. "Thanks to you, I'm fully awake now. Thanks a lot," he said sarcastically.
"I had to get your attention some way," Shang answered.
What was the man talking about?
Well, a seasoned warrior had a terrifying perception and terrifying reflexes. Someone talking to them or someone walking around might not wake them, but the silent sound of a moving weapon definitely would get their attention.
Their mind would immediately go into full alert as soon as they heard that silent and deadly sound.
"What do you want?" the man asked with annoyance.
"I want to join the academy," Shang said.
The man looked with annoyance at Shang. "There's still quite a few months until the next trials start."
"I want a special exam," Shang said.
"Got the gold?"
Shang took out his sack of gold and shook it a bit.
The man raised an eyebrow. "Okay," he said with a bit more interest.
SHING!
Suddenly, the man appeared right in front of Shang. Shang's hairs rose in an instant, and he pulled out his sword to block the sword coming for his head.
SWISH!
Shang's block missed as the sword pulled back before they could hit each other. At the same time, Shang jumped backward, fully alert.
"Are you crazy?!" both of them silently shouted in whispering voices simultaneously.
Silence.
"Do you have any idea how loud two clashing swords are?!" the man shouted in a whispery voice. "You would've woken the entire city."
"You were the one attacking me!" Shang shouted back with a whispery voice. "What was I supposed to do, just die?!"
"I was obviously only testing you!" the guy shouted back in a whispery voice. "If I really wanted to kill you, you wouldn't even notice me!"
"Don't you have a better way of testing me?!" Shang asked with a very annoyed voice.
"That's payback for doing the same thing to me!"
"I didn't attack you!"
"So? You still triggered my battle instinct!"
Shang took a deep breath to calm down.
"Alright, it's fine," Shang said. "So, are you happy with my reaction?"
The man had a slightly disappointed but also slightly interested expression on his face.
"Your reaction was extremely fast, and you immediately went for your weapon while evading. However, your way of moving your sword was weird, and it definitely needs work. It's like you've never seen a human swing a sword," the man said.
"I never had any form of training," Shang answered.
That surprised the man, and he looked at Shang with a very skeptical expression.
"That makes no sense," he said.
"But it's the truth," Shang answered.
"How?"
"How what?" Shang asked with annoyance. "You go ask. I answer."
The man's brows furrowed. "Alright. If you've never undergone training, how is your body already in the Peak Soldier Stage at your age?"
"Absorb a lot of Mana, jump from trees," Shang answered.
Silence.
Several seconds of silence.
"What?" the man asked.
"Yes, I've been in the wilderness. There was an Earth Fruit Hedgehog running around. I gave it food. It gave me its Earth Fruits. I eat one fruit, jump from a tree, nearly die, and regenerate."
Silence.
"What?" the man repeated.
"What what?! That's what happened!" Shang shouted back in a whispery voice.
"Stop spouting bullshit," the man said with a frown.
"Dude, I'm not bullshitting you!"
The man was taken aback suddenly.
"Dude?" he asked. "What's that? Is that an insult?"
"It's just a phrase. It's something like bro, man, or similar stuff, but that doesn't matter now. I didn't lie!" Shang answered.
The man released a silent hmph, deciding to postpone the topic for now.
"Fine, then what about your sword? How did you learn how to swing it?" he asked.
"I just moved it around in ways to deal as much damage as possible. I pushed the power, speed, and precision as far as possible. Additionally, I tried to make them flow into each other without a gap. Essentially, I'm trying to get rid of all the awkward transitions between strikes," Shang explained.
The man raised an eyebrow. "Alright, that would explain your weird movements. Show me your set."
"My what?" Shang asked.
"Your set. You know, a choreographed showcase of your Martial Art," the man said.
Shang blinked a couple of times. "I don't have that."
"What do you mean you don't have that?" the man asked with frustration. "Then, how are you training your swordsmanship?!"
"I just do a couple of the same swings. Then, I do some other swings. Then, I combine swings from time to time. I do all that until I'm tired."
As the man listened to Shang, he began to rub the side of his head in disbelief.
He looked exactly like a person that went into a house and saw the house in an incredible mess.
Shang could practically read the mind of the man.
'Where do I even begin to fix such a mess?'
These were probably his thoughts.
"Fine! Forget it," the man said after rubbing the bridge of his nose. "We'll deal with this tomorrow. I can't let you in since you're not a student yet, so you have to wait until tomorrow."
"Fine," Shang said as his posture relaxed. Talking with this man had frustrated him quite a bit.
The man sat down on his chair again.
Then, he saw Shang moving to the other side of the gate to sit down.
"What are you doing?" the man asked.
"Waiting for tomorrow," Shang said.
"Here?"
"Yes, why not?"
"You do know that there are inns around here, right?"
"It's late, and I don't want to wake them. Additionally, I'm used to sleeping outside."
Shang sat on the ground and leaned his back on the gatepost. Then, he took out his sword and put it beside him, nestling it in his arm.
At the same time, Shang put his coat over the front of his body.
The man scratched the side of his head awkwardly.
Then, he sighed.
Plonk!
Shang looked over, and he saw that a second chair had suddenly appeared out of thin air.
Shang looked in shock at the man. "You have a Sparren?" he asked.
"What?" the man asked. "No, I have a Space Ring."
"That's a Sparren," Shang answered.
The man looked with a weird expression at Shang. "No, it's just a Space Ring."
"Yes, but the Sparren is the gem on the Space Ring."
"Okay, but then why didn't you just call it a Space Ring? Did you want to impress me with your vocabulary?" the man asked with a snort.
"No, it was simply the first word that popped into my mind," Shang answered with annoyance.
"Who thinks of some sparring when looking at a Space Ring."
"Sparren."
"Sparren, whatever. Take the chair. I can't look at you sitting on the ground."
Shang looked at the chair with an awkward expression.
"No, thank you," he said.
"What?" the man asked.
"I said, no, thank you," Shang repeated.
"Why no?" the man asked.
"Because It's more comfortable on the floor."
"How is it more comfortable? Chairs are literally designed for humans to sit in," the man answered with annoyance.
"Well, I don't want it. I like the ground," Shang said back.
"Take it," the man said as he kicked the chair over.
"I don't want it," Shang said as he pushed the chair back again.
"Take it! I don't want to see you sitting on the ground," the man said with frustration, pushing the chair back to Shang.
"I don't want it!" Shang said as he pushed it back.
"I don't care if you don't want it! I don't want to see someone sitting on the ground beside me. It's embarrassing! You look like a beggar!"
"So? I don't care," Shang answered.
The man groaned. "Just do it for me, okay?"
"No, why would I? You attacked me earlier," Shang said with a sneer.
"That again!?" the man shouted in a whispery voice as he stood up.
"Yes, that again. I haven't heard you apologize."
"Why should I apologize? You woke me by pulling out your sword!"
"Yeah, because you were sleeping on the job!"
…
This wouldn't be a quiet night.