It's so hard being a hero!

"Then I won't stand on ceremony."

He took a deep breath, gripped his iron sword, and strode forward.

His speed wasn't slow, and his sword strikes were direct enough.

Sophia stood motionless as the sword came hurtling towards her.

Just as the sword tip was about to touch her shoulder, she slightly turned her body, letting the sword tip glide past her clothes.

The movement was so small it was almost imperceptible, but it just barely avoided the attack.

Kane was slightly taken aback, then quickly stopped his sword strike and swept it horizontally back.

Sophia took a half step back this time. The blade swept past her, creating a slight breeze, without even touching a single hair on her head.

Kane unleashed four consecutive sword strikes, each faster than the last, but Sofia, like a leaf fluttering in the wind, effortlessly dodged each one at the last moment, without even breaking a breath.

The onlookers became increasingly astonished.

"That was easy to hide from."

"Kane's attacks are clearly not slow, so why can't he touch her?"

At this point, Kane also began to panic.

He unleashed seven or eight sword strikes, but couldn't even touch the hem of his opponent's clothes; the difference in skill level was simply too great.

He gritted his teeth and decided to change his fighting style. He pushed off with his feet and accelerated suddenly, his iron sword slashing in an arc towards Sophia's left side.

Sofia did not dodge this time.

She raised the silver rapier in her hand, flicked it upwards gently, and precisely struck the blade of Kane near the hilt.

A perfectly timed force traveled along the blade, and Kane felt a jolt in his wrist, almost causing the iron sword to fly out of his hand.

He quickly gripped the hilt of his sword, but he was already pulled forward and staggered a step.

Taking advantage of his loss of balance, Sophia lightly tapped his back with the tip of her sword, then sheathed her sword and took a step back.

The movements were clean and efficient, without any unnecessary actions.

"You flatter me."

Sophia said with a smile.

Kane steadied himself, turned to look at the spot on his back where he had been struck, then looked up at Sophia's smiling face. He stared blankly for several seconds before letting out a wry smile and sheathing his iron sword.

"I lost."

He didn't feel ashamed at all; on the contrary, he felt somewhat relieved.

"You're incredibly strong! What level are you exactly?"

Sophia smiled but didn't answer directly; she simply sheathed her sword.

"It's just so-so."

Kane repeated it speechlessly.

"That's all? Then my skill level is even worse than that?"

The boys and girls watching immediately burst into laughter.

"Kane, you're no good. You can't even beat a little girl."

"This little girl is quite the hidden talent."

"Wow, so cool! Her sword strike just now was so elegant."

A girl with pigtails even came up to Sophia and looked at her with bright eyes.

"You're really amazing! What's your name? We might be classmates someday."

Sofia was surrounded and didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so she could only respond to each of them.

Derek, who had just spoken to her, stood in the crowd watching this scene. He silently chewed on his dry rations, feeling a mix of emotions: a twelve-year-old bronze-level fighter, good-looking, and so good at fighting.

In this world, is there no way for ordinary people to survive?

Sophia finally managed to squeeze out of the crowd, returned to the shade of the tree, sat down against the trunk, and let out a long sigh.

"Tsk tsk, being handsome, or rather, good-looking, is a sin."

However, just as Sophia had sheathed her sword and before she could leave, a slightly older boy walked out from the side.

"That Miss Sophia?"

Sophia turned her head and saw that the speaker was a boy of about seventeen or eighteen years old, wearing a dark blue light armor, with a large sword hanging at his waist. He had regular features and a confident and arrogant air between his brows.

"What?" Sophia asked in surprise.

The young man nodded and introduced himself.

“My name is Renault, and I come from the neighboring Kingdom of Skano. My family are hereditary knights.”

After he finished speaking, he bent down and gave a standard knightly salute, then looked her over with a keen interest.

"Your movements were beautiful just now, but just being able to dodge isn't enough. In a real fight, you can't just keep dodging, can you?"

He smiled and drew the greatsword from his waist.

"How about you give it a try with me? Don't worry, I'm not the kind of person who bullies the weak. I'll keep my strength down to about the same level as you."

Sophia looked at him and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

Well, another hothead blinded by beauty.

But she didn't show it on her face; she just smiled.

"Okay, let's give it a try."

The crowd cheered again.

Renault's eyes lit up, and he brandished his greatswords, assuming a standard starting stance.

His movements were much more composed than Kane's; his center of gravity was low, the tip of his knife was pointing forward, and his stance was very stable, clearly indicating that he had received proper training.

Sophia casually held her sword horizontally in front of her.

Seeing her casual demeanor, Renault suddenly pushed off with his foot and charged forward like a cheetah.

His attack was at least two levels faster than Kane's; his greatsword aimed straight for Sophia's left shoulder.

Sofia didn't flash this time.

She raised her sword and gently blocked it.

The greatsword struck the silver rapier, producing a crisp metallic clang.

Renault felt a force return from the sword, causing his wrist to tremble slightly.

Before he could change his move, Sophia's sword had already slid down his blade, the tip aimed straight for his wrist.

Renault's pupils contracted, and he quickly sheathed his sword and retreated.

The tip of the sword grazed his wrist guard, leaving a shallow scratch on the leather.

"Hehe, you reacted pretty quickly."

Sophia casually made a compliment.

Renault's expression became more serious than before. He gripped his greatsword tightly again, and his footwork became more agile.

"Then I'll get serious too, but don't blame me for taking advantage of your young age."

As soon as he finished speaking, he charged forward again, but this time he didn't go in a straight line. Instead, he took two steps to the side around Sophia, and his greatsword slashed diagonally from the side.

Sofia dodged to the side, and with a slight movement, the tip of her sword pointed forward, aiming at Renault's chest.

Renault quickly raised his sword to parry, but the tip of her sword suddenly changed direction halfway through, turning from a straight thrust into an upward flick, aiming straight for his chin.

Renault was startled and leaned back. The tip of the sword grazed his chin, severing a few strands of hair.

Chapter 77 The Assessment Begins

Sophia smiled slightly, took a step back, and sheathed her weapon.

Because she has already won.

Renault, on the other hand, looked completely incredulous.

"You flatter me."

Renault stood there, his hand holding the sword trembling slightly, his chest heaving, and a fine layer of sweat beading on his forehead.

He looked down at the few stray hairs that had been cut off his chin, then looked up at Sophia's calm and collected face. After a long silence, he sheathed his greatsword.

"You, you really came here to take the assessment, and you're not a senior student from the academy in disguise?"

Renault's voice carried a hint of frustration.

"I'm only twelve years old! If you don't believe me, you can follow me tomorrow."

Sophia shrugged.

Renault was speechless for a moment, and finally just sighed heavily, shook his head, and retreated back into the crowd.

A murmur of discussion arose behind him; some were surprised, some jeering, and others whispering among themselves about Sophia's background.

"Anyone else want to fight?"

Sophia glanced around.

But no one came up for half a day. Obviously, everyone had seen Sophia's skill level. Even a high-level swordsman couldn't beat her. If they went up, they would only be humiliating themselves.

Sophia waited a few seconds, and seeing that no one else stepped forward, she sheathed her sword and waved to the crowd.

"Alright, alright, you guys can play by yourselves."

After she finished speaking, she returned to the viewing area and sat down.

Derek was sitting cross-legged beside her, still eating his dry food, when he saw Sophia return and looked at her with a complicated expression.

"With your level of ability, you're trying to get into Tianxing Academy? You might as well become a teacher," Derek couldn't help but retort.

Sophia was amused by his words, shook her head, and didn't reply.