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nThe student tried to talk to Shang some more, but Shang only gave short and concise answers.

nLuckily, the awkwardness was alleviated as another three students arrived.

nThe student quickly fell into a conversation with the other three, who then also said thanks to Shang for his sacrifice.

nShang felt quite awkward right now.

nNow that all the students were present, Shang could also feel the average Battle-Strength of these students.

nIn Shang’s opinion, they were quite powerful.

nIf this were inside the trial, these four would probably count as “powerful Initial General Stage warriors”, excluding their procedure.

nEven more, from what Shang had heard from these students, one of them didn’t even have a warrior’s body.

nThis was groundbreaking news!

nThis meant that the procedure could now be applied to a much greater range of warriors.

nNo wonder Duke Whirlwind and the Dean wanted to go public with the procedure. If they got the go-ahead from King Skythunder, they could roll out the procedure on a massive scale.

nBy listening to the students, Shang also learned that the passive regeneration was also present in them, but to a weaker degree. While Shang would need about 30 seconds to fully heal his body without any Mana, they needed around 90 seconds.

nA couple of minutes later, the last two people arrived.

n“Dean, Duke Whirlwind,” teacher Loran said from in front of the gate to the last two people.

n“Loran, it’s been a while since I’ve seen you. How have things been?” Duke Whirlwind asked with a polite smile.

n“Everything is going very well. Thank you for asking, Duke Whirlwind,” teacher Loran said with a polite bow.

nJust like Vice-Dean Soran, Duke Whirlwind exchanged a couple of polite words with teacher Loran.

nOnly when the followers had a good impression of their leader would things go smoothly during a rule.

nDuke Whirlwind knew that, which was why he never acted like someone didn’t deserve to talk to him due to his status.

nEven when some random Soldier Stage warrior had appeared in his garden, he had still taken the time to talk to him on a basically equal field, which showed that this was how Duke Whirlwind genuinely felt and that it wasn’t just an act.

nDuke Whirlwind could have killed Shang back then without any consequences, and no one would have even known.

nThe Dean, on the other hand, didn’t talk a lot with anyone. He always only said as much as necessary.

nThe gates of the academy opened, and the five students stepped out.

n“Greetings to the Dean and Duke Whirlwind,” the students said, except for Shang.

nShang only nodded in greeting.

nThe Dean introduced the other four students to Duke Whirlwind, who gave them some small compliments.

nThe students felt honored beyond belief when they heard the Duke personally compliment them. Even more, the Duke didn’t just say empty words, but he perfectly highlighted the things these students were really good in.

nThe Duke hadn’t been present during the other procedures, and today was the first time he saw the other four students.

nOf course, the Dean completely skipped Shang’s introduction.

nThe Dean only said as much as he needed, and the Duke didn’t need an introduction to Shang.

nAfter the introductions were finished, Duke Whirlwind gestured to the north. “Alright, enough small talk. We have a long day ahead of us, and I want to be back before night hits.”

nThe Dean passed by the students and stopped behind them.

nThese students were important for the future of all warriors, and the Dean wouldn’t take any chances, which was why he was guarding the rear while Duke Whirlwind took the front.

n“Little friend Shang, I want someone to talk to during the boring journey. Would you mind coming forward and accompanying me?” the Duke said with a smile.

nShang only nodded and stopped just a bit behind the Duke.

nThe other students looked with a bit of shock at Shang.

nThey didn’t know much about Shang, which was why they had no idea that Shang was this close to the Duke.

nThe Duke saw that everyone was ready to depart and nodded.

nThen, he spoke a couple of unfamiliar words, which meant that he was casting a Spell.

nShang knew a lot about Spells, but he had no idea what this Spell would do.

nIt was probably far too advanced for him.

nAfter the Duke was done, a green barrier made of Wind Mana appeared around the five students.

n“This Spell is called Blessing of the Wind,” Duke Whirlwind said. “It has a minor protective effect, and it helps you all move faster. Don’t be surprised when you suddenly move several times faster than normal when you start running. Your speed should now be equal to Initial Commander Stage warriors.”

nThe students nodded in wonder.

nThey had never heard of this kind of Spell.

n“Let’s go,” the Duke said.

nAnd then, he lightly stepped forward, but that light step already made him accelerate to quite a fast speed.

nThe other students followed, and a couple of them nearly stumbled.

nThey had moved far too fast for their liking.

nLuckily, basically all warriors had superb coordination abilities when it came to their bodies.

nAbout a minute later, they left the city through the main gates, which had been opened early due to the Duke’s orders.

nAs everyone ran down the long road, Shang looked to the side.

nHe was moving so fast!

n‘That’s probably around 200 kph, and if I wanted, I could probably become even faster,’ Shang thought.

n“Shang, I found a Peak Adept that just looked at you with quite a lot of interest,” Duke Whirlwind said from in front of Shang.

nShang’s eyes narrowed.

nSure enough, the next Cleaner had already been sent.

n“You seem to have some problems,” Duke Whirlwind said.

n“It’s not a problem,” Shang answered.

n“You know,” Duke Whirlwind said, “I was thinking about what I should give you for your excellent service in my new territory. Just giving you some ore doesn’t seem to be enough as a repayment.”

n“Want me to take care of this problem? You won’t owe me anything, and you won’t get more involved in my political faction.”

n“It’s just a little repayment.”

nShang didn’t immediately answer.

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