Percy Smith
Running freely throughout the forest, Adam saw various deranged-looking animals. Some would constantly clash, butting heads like rams, while others would stare at each other angrily as if the other owed them money.
He didn't pick a fight with any of these animals, though, and kept running. First of all, the ones this close to the gate weren't very strong at all and wouldn't give Adam much of a tempering experience. One punch would kill them. And secondly, Adam was still extremely close to his fellow students.
Adam wanted to distance himself from them before he started fighting.
Thankfully, Sam, Otto, and Yan Xiaonan didn't bother hiding their path, and he could find a direction without any of them.
"The east should be desolate," Adam mumbled to himself. Then, without hesitation, he pressed his toes onto the ground harshly, running into the empty east of the forest.
While he sprinted, Adam also took the time to adjust the pressure on his weighted battlesuit.
Twisting the knob little by little, Adam slowly increased the pressure on his body.
750kg, 800kg, 825kg, Adam slowly increased his weight until he eventually reached 870 kg.
This weight was perfect. With 870 kg weighing him down, Adam felt a heavy strain from his long stride, but it wasn't to the point where he was completely immobile.
The forest was to train them and help temper their foundations, but their lives were the most important thing. It was paramount for Adam to exercise a mix of difficulty and safety.
Adam looked forward to the future with the system at his side now. Throwing away his life to an animal weaker than him while he underwent hellish training would make him feel eternal regret.
So, with the weighted battlesuit weighing him down, Adam sprinted throughout the forest, searching for an opponent.
—
Outside of the forest, Principal Smith returned to his office. Since the students would be in the forest for an entire week, he wouldn't stay on the perimeter of it, waiting the entire time. It would be a massive waste of time for him to do that.
When he entered the office, Principal Smith was thinking to himself, not really focusing on his surroundings, but the second he entered, his focus came back.
Relying on his instincts developed during his time in the military, he quickly sent a palm to his left, deflecting the punch flying at him.
Then, without even a slight pause, he sent out a kick at the head of his assailant, counterattacking.
His opponent easily dodged the kick and quickly backed up, so Principal Smith could finally see who dared ambush him.
The assailant was an adult man who looked to be about 30-35 years old. Owning a pair of bright, piercing eyes and nice jade-like skin, the attacker was strikingly handsome, especially with the perfect lighting he was in.
Principal Smith, of course, didn't swing this way. Instead of focusing on his sneak attacker's appearance, he was focused on the face itself. He recognized him.
"Percy?" Principal Smith recognized the man instantly, but was still confused about why he was there. But soon, his confusion turned into joy.
"Why the hell are you here? Weren't you at the Outer Arm near the Andromeda Galaxy?" Principal Smith asked with a smile.
The man who so sneakily attacked him in his own office, no less, was Percy Smith, his son and also Sam's father.
Like Principal Smith, Percy was also a military man, but unlike him, he was much more talented.
Adam knew that Principal Smith was in the realm above the Martial Master Realm, but due to his poor worldview, he didn't know what the realm was called, and he was never able to put a name to it. And Adam was right. Principal Smith was in this mysterious 5th cultivation realm, which was called the Martial Grandmaster Realm.
However, Principal Smith was merely at the 4th stage of this realm, and adding to his old age, his strength wasn't much higher than someone in the 2nd stage of the realm. Still, though, this strength was more than enough to run amok on Planet Eagle. But every good part of a story had the following bad part.
Martial Grandmasters could live upwards of 250 years, depending on various factors. Principal Smith, this year, was already nearing his 200s, though.
Cultivation required a strong body; to be strong, a body needed blood filled with vitality and power. Principal Smith no longer had that; without a costly piece of medicine, he would never advance again.
But Percy Smith was different.
He was the youngest of Principal Smith's children and was only 52 years old this year, but he was already in the Martial Grandmaster Realm! The 3rd stage, to be exact.
Because of his profound strength and his father's declining strength, he was able to exchange blows with the principal and get away scot-free.
Principal Smith loved this child and was extremely hopeful for his future. For this reason, he used all of his previous military contacts and made Percy cultivate so far away from home, in the Outer Arm of the Milky Way.
Percy was talented, but old now. He could no longer join a university and cultivate safely in a college. The only way martial artists could enjoy resources and training equipment comparable to universities without selling away their souls was through the military.
But for some reason, Percy was back in Eagle, deep in the Milky Way. Principal Smith felt happy seeing his son for the first time in a while, but also confused and concerned.
There had to be a reason why his son would be back. Principal Smith only hoped it wasn't a bad one.
Thankfully, the principal's worries were for naught.
"Don't worry, old man. Nothing bad happened. I just used up all the vacation days I had saved to return home." Percy said as he sat down on his father's couch.
Principal Smith's smile became even brighter as he sat beside his son, planning to catch up.
"Why did you choose to come back at this time?" Principal Smith asked, even though he already had a strong guess.
"Sam's college exams are coming up, of course." Percy answered, "I've already missed so much of her life. How can I miss the most important moment of her childhood?"
Percy was stationed almost a third of the way across the Milky Way, on the border of the Outer Arm of the Milky Way that bordered the Andromeda Galaxy.
The Andromeda Galaxy was about twice as big as the Milky Way and a great deal older. Moreover, unlike the Milky Way, there was more than one race in that galaxy.
Despite the myriad of races that inhabited the Andromeda Galaxy, there was only one dominant race.
The elves.
Thankfully, despite their ancient history and much stronger forces, the elves were known to be a gentler race, as the novels on pre-cultivation Earth portrayed them.
However, this didn't stop the Federation from creating a large border between the Milky Way and the Andromeda Galaxy. After all, even though they were the dominant race in their own galaxy and allies, it didn't mean that the Federation would lower its guard.
With an entire galaxy to defend and an uncountable population to protect, the Federation always had its guards up. Percy was one of those many soldiers who protected and guarded the border year-round, or rather was.
For now, he was back home.
"I also brought a large amount of cultivation resources that Sam could use during this time. The last time we talked, she told me that her Vitality Index score was already nearing 85. With the stuff that I brought her and the training regime I planned, bringing her score to the 90s is practically guaranteed. Even bringing it to 92 or 93 isn't out of the question!" Percy said with excitement.
Even though he was constantly away from home, that didn't mean he didn't love his daughter. If anything, it was because he loved his daughter so much that he was always away.
His grandfather was extremely strong, but he was always getting closer to death every day. And other than Principal Smith and Percy, no one in their Smith family had reached the Martial Grandmaster Realm.
The rest of his brothers and sisters were all in the Martial Master Realm at most, while some were still in the Martial Artist Realm.
So, while Percy would love to stay home and dote on his only child every day with his wife, fate wouldn't allow that. He needed to be strong in order to shield Sam from all the wind and rain.
That was why he was away a lot. Thankfully, Sam was an understanding child and didn't hate him for this. Percy wouldn't know how he would live with himself if his daughter hated him.
"That's good. It's great that you still have her in mind." Principal Smith smiled as he spoke.
"How could I not?" Percy snorted. "She's my only kid."
Principal Smith didn't reply to his son's anger but instead changed the topic.
"Sam isn't in the school, though, right now. Right now, she is in the small forest, training her foundation. I gave her and the other 3 students at the peak of the Body Refining Realm a weighted training suit. They'll be out in a week." Principal Smith said as he got up from the couch.
He went into a specific drawer behind his desk and pulled out a bottle of scotch.
"Enough about the kid. Quickly tell me about your time in the military."
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