After finishing breakfast, Liens returned to the external training grounds, where Atel was already standing in the center of the open space, silently waiting for his arrival.

Seeing Liens, joy flashed in Atel's eyes, but her expression remained serious and stern, as if maintaining a battle stance.

Liens glanced at the students watching the commotion around them, paid them no mind, and after approaching Atel, he calmly said to her:

"Since Teacher Atel is already ready, there's no need to wait until class time... Let's begin."

Liens calmly gazed at Atel before him, and to show basic respect, he drew his longsword and assumed a defensive posture.

Seeing the stance Liens took, Atel knew he was letting her go first, so she nodded seriously and said, "Please enlighten me."

"Clang!"

"Bang!"

The longsword instantly left its sheath, and Atel dashed forward at a speed unfathomable to ordinary people, crossing several meters in an instant like a black shadow.

"Clang!"

"This speed, this strength... interesting."

Blocking Atel's slash with a horizontal sword, a hint of surprise appeared in Liens's eyes, but this did not affect his methodical defense against Atel's attacks.

"So fast!"

"Teacher Atel's speed is truly incredible; I feel like my eyes can't keep up with her sprint."

A student watching was shocked.

After learning that the new Sword Tendency teacher was going to challenge "Teacher Heier," he hadn't even eaten breakfast and had stayed at the external training grounds, waiting.

He thought to himself that he would finally get to see "Teacher Heier" make a move.

He never expected that the first one to shock him would be the new Sword Tendency teacher... that speed was simply beyond his understanding of a normal person.

"Holy moly, I didn't expect this new Teacher Atel to be so strong; I thought she was at most on par with Locke."

"I even thought about challenging her in class before; I almost made a fool of myself."

A yellow-haired guy said with a look of relief.

Ever since he easily defeated Locke, he had become more confident in his own strength, thinking that defeating a mere female would be simple with his abilities.

He even felt that with his current strength, passing the Knight Academy assessment was a sure thing, and besides "Teacher Heier," he was the strongest in the entire Knight Academy.

But upon seeing Atel's performance, he realized that his horizons were somewhat narrow.

With Atel's strength, he felt that if he went up against her, he would probably be instantly defeated by a single sword strike.

Last time it was "Teacher Heier," who looked like a youth; this time it was Atel, dressed as a female knight with prominent features.

He couldn't help but sigh at his good luck; he almost offended two formidable powerhouses he couldn't afford to provoke.

He felt this was fate's reminder to him—you can't judge a person by their appearance alone; those who seem weak in common perception might be incredibly deeply hidden.

"Clang, clang, clang..."

Swords constantly clashed, and aside from a few counterattacks, Liens was mostly in a defensive posture.

He was now doing what Lucrezia had done in the past, not actively attacking Atel but allowing her to fully display her Sword Style.

His occasional counterattacks were merely silent pointers.

Atel naturally understood Liens's intention, and after realizing that her attacks could not threaten Liens, she gradually let go of all her concerns and devoted herself wholeheartedly to the battle.

The longsword's attack positions were no longer just within the range of causing minor injuries but aimed directly at vital areas, such as the neck, heart, and so on.

The battle continued, and gradually, with a Sword Tendency difference of a higher level, Liens discerned what Atel's "Sword Style" was roughly like.

To put it simply, it was "direct."

Perhaps knowing that her own strength could not compare to that of tall men, Atel's "Sword Style" also followed that simple, direct approach, aiming straight for weaknesses.

Liens even speculated that their directions in the "Sword Tendency" stage were of similar types.

It was only after the "Sword Style" that there was a difference.

Because of the existence of the "Reality Instance," he chose "simplicity," absorbing a large amount of combat data to make his combat, or rather, his killing movements, simple and direct.

Atel, however, did not have his conditions, so she chose the latter phrase, "aiming straight for weaknesses"; her "directness" should actually include an additional "sense," which is "intuition."

Atel specialized her sixth sense, strengthening her physical instincts, allowing her to always deliver the best-feeling sword strike.

"This Sword Style is quite good."

Liens sighed in his heart, simultaneously raising Atel's importance by a notch.

Aside from anything else, this "Sword Style," formed based on one's own instincts rather than referencing elements, had great value for study and reference.

"That's enough."

Thinking this, Liens again obliquely blocked Atel's slash with his sword, then thrust his sword rapidly; seeing this, Atel immediately defended, holding her sword horizontally in front to block the direct thrust of his longsword. The M|V|LE&MPYR team worked hard on this chapter.

"Clang!"

The sword tip met the sword body, and then, before Atel could counterattack, a swift upward slash came to rest in front of her throat.

"Dong!"

A bell rang, signifying that class time had arrived.

Liens sheathed his sword and calmly said to the stunned Atel, "My apologies."

A trace of disappointment appeared on Atel's face; although she had long known that she was no match for Liens, no matter how mentally prepared she was, failure still wasn't something to be happy about.

However, this negative emotion did not linger in her heart for long; hearing Liens speak to her, she quickly recovered from the recent sword practice.

"Thank you, Teacher Heier, for your guidance."

Atel solemnly bowed to Liens in gratitude.

Soon after their exchange, she realized that there was a significant disparity in strength between herself and Liens.

This was not only in Sword Style but also in physical fitness.

This also made her realize that Liens was very likely an Extraordinary One, and it was precisely upon realizing this that she let go of all her reservations and truly displayed her Sword Style.

She knew that with her strength, it would be difficult to harm Liens.

And what truly made her sincerely thank Liens was that even though there was a significant disparity in strength between them, Liens was still very patiently guiding her.

"How about I choose Teacher Heier as tonight's side dish?"

"Although Teacher Heier's looks are ordinary, he's strong, has a good temperament, and as an Extraordinary One, his physical condition should be excellent."

"However, Teacher Heier seems to be close to Teacher Nimophila... it feels even more exciting."

As she appraised Liens before her, Atel's cheeks, already flushed from the intense exercise, deepened in color.

Liens, on the other hand, found it somewhat strange that the elemental particles entering Atel's body suddenly accelerated.

"Could the passion of battle also accelerate the transformation speed of the curse on her?"

Liens mused inwardly.

"Clap, clap, clap..."

As the two faced each other, enthusiastic applause erupted from the surrounding students who had been watching.

"That was amazing! Both Teacher Heier and Teacher Atel are too strong!"

"With their guidance, I feel even more confident about the Knight Academy assessment."

"Yes, yes!"

The students offered applause and words of praise to Liens and Atel.

Liens didn't mind the students' applause; after all, everyone in the Knight Academy basically assumed he was a strong person, so showing a bit of strength was quite normal.

On the contrary, if he had continued to pretend, as he did when first facing Locke, it would only increase the students' curiosity about his strength and the purpose of his hidden abilities.

"Teacher Atel, I will be teaching this morning's class. Do you want to go back and rest, or stay here?"

Liens asked Atel.

"Huh?"

Atel, whose fantasies were interrupted by Liens's voice, was stunned for a moment, then responded somewhat awkwardly, "Although I still want to listen to your guidance, I need some time to process your pointers... And I haven't eaten breakfast yet; I'm a bit hungry after the practice."

As if to cooperate with Atel's words, her stomach immediately rumbled.

"Grrr..."

Hearing this sound, Atel's face grew even more embarrassed; she quickly bid farewell to Liens and left the external training grounds.