Reborn as the General's Useless Daughter-Chapter 318: The Tri-Academy Exchange Arc (Part-10)

Gerrad’s smile bloomed with rare brilliance. At this moment, Zora was undeniably the pride of the academy.

Even he, who had seen countless talents over the years, could not help but marvel. To possess such strength and composure at such a young age meant her future prospects were immeasurable. As long as she did not fall midway, her path ahead would be nothing short of dazzling.

Cindral and Malrick exchanged glances. In their eyes, Gerrad’s smile was somewhat grating, yet the results unfolding before them were impossible to ignore.

"Your academy is truly full of surprises," Cindral said with a faint smile. "Its students seem to develop in many directions."

Despite the polite words, a trace of disdain lingered in his heart.

To him, this kind of versatility looked impressive on the surface, but as a principal, he understood all too well the danger of divided focus.

Cultivation demanded time and unwavering dedication.

Dabbling in too many fields might not show drawbacks in the early stages, but as one progresses further, the gap would inevitably widen. In most cases, it was far from a wise choice.

Gerrad caught the underlying meaning in Cindral’s words. In truth, he had once held similar concerns. Yet after witnessing Zora’s growth with his own eyes, he realized how flawed those assumptions had been.

In this world, there truly existed geniuses who defied common sense.

Meanwhile;

After Reesa had largely recovered, Zora and the others gathered together.

The second round of the promotion was approaching, and this stage would be even more critical. Every detail needed careful consideration.

"When I first fought Caius, I lost completely because of his weapon’s inscription," Marcus said, frustration written plainly on his face. "In terms of raw strength, I’m not weaker than him, but that inscription was too powerful. Losing like that really doesn’t sit right with me."

If he had lost due to inferior cultivation, he could accept it. But being defeated because of an external advantage left him feeling deeply aggrieved.

"An inscription?" Alaric Von Seraph frowned slightly. "Then Caius must have bought one from Sapphire’s Exchange."

His own weapon also carried an inscription, though he had not activated its effect during the first round.

"You’re right," Raphael said with a soft snort. "Caius has always been wealthy. Buying an inscription from Sapphire’s Exchange isn’t surprising. What kind of effect does his inscription have?"

"It’s a flame-type inscription," Marcus replied gravely. "The lethality is extremely high. If you get caught by it even once, the burns are no joke. Anyone who faces him needs to be very careful."

Hearing this, Reesa frowned instinctively. "But when we were at Sapphire’s Exchange, I didn’t see any fire-attribute inscriptions."

The whip technique she inherited from the ruins was fire-attributed, so she had paid special attention to such inscriptions. That day, she had searched carefully but found none, which was why she had given up.

"Maybe it was put out later," Tiffany said with a frown. "That’s not impossible."

While the academy side was discussing strategies, Caius was doing the exact opposite.

Surrounded by the Spirit Warriors of Lunar Academy, he openly displayed his weapon, a smug grin spreading across his face. "Haha, I didn’t expect my inscription to be this powerful!" he said proudly. "I only thought of using it last night, but the effect completely exceeded my expectations."

His laughter rang out, filled with confidence, as the flame-patterned inscription on his weapon glimmered faintly under the light.

As Caius’s words fell, the attention of the Lunar Academy Spirit Warriors instantly shifted to him.

Earlier, they had been focused on their own matches and had not paid much attention to Caius’s battle. Only now did they realize that, at some unknown point, he had actually acquired an inscription.

"Caius, where did you get that inscription?" Ophelia asked with unconcealed curiosity.

None of them had managed to buy an inscription at Sapphire’s Exchange before.

Even when they returned the next day, the prices alone had been enough to make them back off, not to mention the realization that the third floor of Sapphire’s Exchange was more a place for the inscription masters’ discussions than an ordinary marketplace. The inscriptions on display were little more than symbolic offerings.

For her, the matter was even more frustrating. After losing her storage pouch, she simply no longer had the means to afford something like an inscription.

Seeing everyone’s curious expressions, the smile on Caius’s face grew increasingly smug.

"My elders picked it up for me at an auction before," he said casually. "I didn’t expect it to be this useful."

"An auction?" Ophelia’s eyes widened slightly. "Then it must have been an expensive inscription. Auctioned inscriptions are always sky-high in price."

Caius waved his hand dismissively. "Not really. It wasn’t a big deal. My elders bought three in total. They gave me one and passed the other two to my brothers."

Though he said it lightly, no one present was fooled.

Everyone knew exactly what kind of background the House Jackal had. When Caius said "not expensive," it only meant that the price was insignificant to him.

In reality, inscriptions were treasures in their own right. An inscription powerful enough to enhance combat so noticeably was bound to be worth a fortune.

Sensing the envy and complicated emotions around him, Caius’s smile deepened.

In truth, even he had not expected this result. His elders had indeed not thought much of the inscription when they handed it to him. Originally, he had planned to buy one at Sapphire’s Exchange himself, but the prices there had been far too steep, forcing him to give up.

Last night, knowing he would be participating in the exchange today, he decided to use this old inscription. Even if the effect was mediocre, he thought, it might still give him a slight edge.

What he hadn’t expected was that it would give him far more than that.

Without the support of this inscription, defeating Marcus would never have been so easy. In that moment, Caius finally understood just how terrifying an advantage an inscription could be.

Ignar’s gaze lingered on the crimson patterns etched into Caius’s weapon. The amplification effect was obvious. When two Spirit Warriors were close in strength, such an inscription could directly decide the outcome of the battle.

The role of an inscription master was indeed formidable.

On the other side, Marcus’s brows were tightly drawn together, his displeasure plain to see. "That guy is really showing off," he muttered. Of all things, he hated people who flaunted their advantages.

Caius caught the look in Marcus’s eyes and, rather than restraining himself, raised his weapon even higher, his expression brimming with arrogance.

"Too bad for you," he said with a laugh. "You can only blame yourself for not having an inscription. If you could afford one, the outcome might’ve been different."

He saw nothing shameful in winning through inscriptions. To him, wealth was also a form of strength.

After all, every so-called genius was nurtured through resources. A Spirit Warrior who could not even afford a decent weapon had no right to dream of standing at the peak.

Seeing Caius’s petty smugness, Marcus felt genuine anger for the first time. He had never met someone so shameless.

Yet, no matter how unwilling he was to admit it, Caius’s words were not entirely wrong. The reason he had lost was, in part, because his financial resources simply could not compare. In a contest where strength was close, wealth itself became a decisive advantage.

If he possessed the same background as Caius, this outcome might have been completely different. Unfortunately, that was nothing more than an unreachable fantasy.

"Master," Black suddenly said, his dark eyes flashing with doubt, "why does that inscription feel so familiar to me?"

Before Zora could respond, White’s eyes lit up.

"Master! Isn’t that exactly the same inscription you drew before?"

When the owner had been refining inscriptions in the past, White had watched closely. The pattern on Caius’s weapon was identical to what it remembered.

Zora paused slightly, then shook her head with a faint smile. "It should just be a coincidence."

She had auctioned only three inscriptions, and that had been in Heavenly City. Moon City was far away. The chances of one of those inscriptions appearing here were incredibly slim.

"But Master," White insisted, "the six-pointed star pattern is exactly the same as yours!"

Even the little white lion noticed it. During the time Zora had been drawing inscriptions, it had stared at that six-pointed star countless times.

"Having the same six-pointed star doesn’t mean it’s something I drew," Zora replied calmly. "That pattern is a structural node used in many inscriptions. The final effect can still be completely different."

"I don’t think so," Black said seriously. "I’ll bet you a full meal that inscription was drawn by you."

Seeing Black speak with such certainty, a trace of surprise appeared in Zora’s eyes. After spending so much time together, she knew his temperament well. If he wasn’t confident, he would never make such a claim.

Her gaze slowly shifted toward Caius in the distance. After a brief pause, she spoke, her voice clear.

"Caius, your inscription seems quite remarkable. May I take a look at it?"

As her words fell, the surrounding crowd turned to her in surprise. This request was completely out of character for Zora.

Reesa and the others exchanged confused looks. Since when did Zora take an interest in anything related to Caius? By all accounts, she found him extremely unpleasant.

Marcus narrowed his eyes in thought. Back in Sapphire’s Exchange, Zora had already demonstrated a deep understanding of inscriptions. Could it be that she wanted to study Caius’s inscription and devise a countermeasure?

In his heart, Zora never acted without purpose. If she suddenly made such a request, there had to be a deeper meaning behind it.

"Caius, do you think Zora is up to something?"

Ophelia asked softly, her expression tinged with unease.