Mammon's Cave

Mammon's Cave

"Fine. We also want to see what kind of instructor he truly is."

The three students immediately stood up and marched out of the dining hall. After asking around, they quickly located Arthur's classroom and barged in without knocking.

"Are you Professor Sterling?"

Upon entering, they saw a young man leaning comfortably in a chair, a faint, contented smile on his face. He certainly didn't look like a distinguished instructor. At the very least, he lacked the imposing aura of a capable one. For a moment, there was no response.

Noticing the new arrivals, Arthur reluctantly pulled his consciousness out of the Library of Heaven's Path. He glanced at them and lazily replied, "Yes, that's me."

"We heard you just defeated Professor Vance in a Guidance Competition. Supposedly, your advice helped his student improve by 100%," Renuka said, her voice dripping with skepticism.

As Arthur nodded, confirming the rumor, she challenged him: "Then guide me. I want to see if you can increase my power by 100% as well.""I don't have free time," Arthur replied dismissively, waving a hand to shoo her away.

Instructors had their pride. They weren't performing monkeys who danced whenever a random spectator demanded a trick. Why should he waste his breath giving free guidance to a stranger bursting into his room with that kind of attitude? *I'm not your servant,* Arthur thought, annoyed.

"No free time? Weren't you just sitting here doing absolutely nothing? You were literally just sitting there smiling at the wall!" Renuka snapped. She was convinced Arthur was simply trying to dodge her challenge. She had boasted to her friends that she would expose this fraud, and now he was trying to brush her off? Absolutely not.

"I am currently recruiting disciples. I don't have the time to entertain the whims of an arrogant, spoiled child," Arthur stated calmly.

"You—!" Renuka shrieked, her face turning red.

She was the daughter of the Mayor! Wherever she went, people fawned over her and sang her praises. Not only was this nobody refusing her, but he was calling her arrogant to her face! So what if he was an instructor? No one spoke to her like that!

Gritting her teeth, she demanded, "Sir, what exactly do I need to do for you to provide me with guidance?"

Arthur looked at her flatly. "Acknowledge me as your master."

Renuka stared at him as if he had grown a second head. "Fine. I... I am willing to acknowledge you as my master. But... but if your guidance is garbage, I will expose you to the entire academy!"

"Renuka!"

"Renuka, what are you doing?! If you take him as your master, you won't be able to study under Professor Sterling!"

Her two friends panicked, shouting in an attempt to stop her.

Hearing her friends, Renuka hesitated. According to academy rules, a student could only serve one master at a time. To become another instructor's disciple, she would first have to formally withdraw from Arthur's class—a process that left a massive stain on a student's record. A top-tier instructor like Professor Sterling would almost certainly refuse to accept a student with a withdrawal mark.

Sensing her hesitation, Arthur mocked, "Why did you stop? Lost your nerve? Then hurry up and leave. Stop blocking my door. I have real students to recruit."

Fired up by his taunt, Renuka spat back, "Who says I lost my nerve?! I acknowledge you as my master! Accept my enrollment!"

Arthur leaned back, trying to shoo her away again. "Your attitude is terrible. You are arrogant and impulsive. I don't want you as a student."

He wanted quiet, obedient disciples like Elara, who would follow his instructions without a fuss. Renuka was combative, argumentative, and constantly looking for faults. A student like that would be nothing but a headache.

"You...!"

Renuka thought that after practically begging, he would instantly accept her to save face. Instead, he was outright rejecting her! Her fury hit the ceiling.

She had come here to expose his lies. If she left now, she would look like the fool who ran away. Perhaps he's intentionally trying to drive me away so I can't expose him!* She would never let that happen. Fine. I'll swallow my pride for now, but the moment you slip up, I'll tear your reputation to shreds in front of the whole school.

Forcing herself to calm down, she pasted on a painfully fake smile. "Sir, please do not be angry. I admit my fault. I apologize. I sincerely wish to be your student. Please, accept me."

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Very well. I am willing to accept you, but you must pass a test. You need to clean this entire classroom. I don't want to see a single speck of dust. Then, scrub the washroom. And mop the floors. If I am satisfied with your work, I will accept you."

"What did you just say?!" Renuka exploded.

She was the Mayor's daughter! She had an army of servants at home. She had never lifted a finger to clean anything in her life! And this fraud was telling her to scrub floors? Clean toilets?! Had he completely lost his mind?!

"If you can't handle such a trivial task, the door is right there," Arthur said coolly. "I have no use for a lazy, pampered princess."

*Ha! You think you can play games with me? You're a hundred years too young to beat me at this game.*

"Who are you calling lazy?!" Renuka shrieked. "I'll clean it right now!" She snatched a broom from the corner and furiously began sweeping.

"Renuka, just drop it. Let's leave."

"I think he's just deliberately making things difficult for you because he genuinely doesn't know how to teach..."

Her friends watched in horror as the Mayor's daughter angrily swept the floor. They tried desperately to pull her away.

"Wait for me outside!" Renuka snapped, glaring at them. "I am going to expose every single one of his lies today. I have never lost a battle, and I won't start now!"

"Renuka..."

They knew how stubborn she was. Once she set her mind to something, not even a team of horses could drag her away. After a moment of panicked thought, they came up with a plan.

"Renuka's personal bodyguard is waiting outside the campus! Let's go tell him! When he finds out this zero-mark fraud is making the Young Miss scrub toilets, he'll definitely intervene!"

"Let's go find him!" With that, her friends hurried away.

Renuka's stubbornness was typical of a pampered heiress. Despite never having done a chore in her life, she was determined to see this through purely out of spite. She aggressively cleaned the classroom and, miraculously, managed to make the washroom sparkle.

Arthur inspected the work and nodded approvingly. "Not bad at all."

"Are you satisfied now? Accept me as your student!" Renuka demanded, struggling to keep her volcanic anger in check. She genuinely wanted to punch him in the face but restrained herself with monumental effort.

Ignoring her murderous glare, Arthur said, "Hand over your ID."

He tossed her his instructor's token. She aggressively bit her finger, squeezing a drop of blood onto the metal surface.

Renuka's trap was finally set. Now, all she had to do was bait him into giving terrible advice, and she could expose his true face to the world. Suppressing a sinister grin, she adopted a falsely respectful tone. "I am now your student. Will you grant me your guidance?"

"Show me your combat forms so I can gauge your current level," Arthur commanded.

"Yes, sir."

Without another word, Renuka stepped back and sank into a martial stance.

*Hoh!

*Hoh!

*Hiyah!

The air in the room whipped into a frenzy. Her movements were incredibly stable, radiating intense, explosive power. Her aura felt even stronger than Elara's. It was immediately obvious that she had poured years of grueling effort into her training.

Arthur watched her intently, but his true focus was inward, deep within the Library of Heaven's Path. Just as he expected, a book materialized and fluttered into his hands.

Written on the cover was: *Renuka.

"Renuka. Daughter of the Mayor. Cultivation Level: Fighter 1-Dan."

"Technique: The Oceanic Dragon Arts."

"Flaws: 27."

"1. Highly prone to anger. This emotional state is entirely counterproductive to the technique. The Oceanic Dragon Arts require a tranquil, fluid mind to channel maximum destructive force during a strike."

"2. ..."

Just like before, the book systematically detailed her cultivation art, its origins, and every single flaw in her execution.

*BANG!

Moments later, Renuka completed her sequence. She coiled her power into her fist and launched a devastating strike against the reinforced wall. Numbers flashed across the display panel.

110!

Even Arthur was genuinely impressed. "Excellent!"

To possess over 100 kilograms of punching force before even officially beginning academy classes... she was truly a prodigy.

"Alright. Give me your guidance," Renuka challenged, not even slightly out of breath.

After all that manual labor and an intense display of martial arts, she was completely ready to tear this man's reputation apart. But how exactly?

An idea sparked in her mind. She subtly slipped a Record Crystal from her pocket and hid it inside her sleeve.

A Record Crystal was an expensive artifact capable of capturing audio and visual events in its immediate vicinity. She planned to record Arthur's garbage advice as irrefutable proof. Once it was recorded, he wouldn't be able to talk his way out of it.

Let's see you try to talk your way out of this one, you fraud. Comparing yourself to Professor Sterling? What a joke.

A victorious gleam flashed in her eyes. She practically had to bite her lip to keep from laughing out loud. Now, she just had to wait for him to spout some nonsensical advice.

Suddenly, she realized he was standing uncomfortably close to her.

"Ah—!"

Startled, Renuka instinctively stepped back. "What do you think you're doing?!" she snapped.

"Relax. I'm just conducting a physical examination," Arthur replied smoothly, keeping his hands behind his back. He slowly circled her, his eyes scanning her intensely. Finally, he stopped, standing barely fifteen inches away, and shook his head.

Renuka had no idea what kind of trick he was pulling. Then, Arthur spoke, his voice quiet but incredibly serious.

"You are sick."

Hearing those words, Renuka felt her blood pressure spike dangerously. Her vision nearly went black. Barely maintaining her sanity, she gritted her teeth. "You're sick! Your whole family is sick!"

*Is this guy actually insane?!

She felt like she was losing her mind. She had just performed a highly advanced, incredibly powerful martial sequence flawlessly. And instead of guiding her technique, this lunatic was telling her she had a disease!

"Why are you cursing at me?" Arthur asked, genuinely bewildered. Then, realizing she had misunderstood his phrasing, he chuckled. "I am simply stating a medical fact regarding your physical condition. I'm not insulting you."

Renuka's voice was sharp enough to cut glass. "I am perfectly healthy! You're the one who is sick in the head!"

She possessed the strength of a tiger! A single punch from her carried over 100 kilograms of force! She was absolutely certain she was the picture of perfect health.

"Let me finish," Arthur said, holding up a hand. "Tell me... do you not occasionally feel a sharp, piercing pain behind your ribs? Specifically... specifically on the night of a full moon, when there is a cool breeze? During those times, does a faint, unnatural red hue flash across your skin?" Arthur paused for a moment, as if checking the details. Then he continued, "...And no matter how hard you train during those episodes, an overwhelming sense of restlessness consumes you?"

"H-How... how did you know?"

Renuka had been completely prepared to mock whatever garbage advice he gave, but hearing those exact, deeply hidden symptoms spill from his lips... she was frozen in shock.

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