Jacob woke up on the roof, alone and chilly. He had brought a mattress over there, and he had put it against the door. No one could get to him without rousing him from his alert sleep. He was accustomed to sleeping little and always with an eye open.

Well, the first Realm doesn’t let you avoid your sleep needs, he thought while yawning and stretching.

After a minute like that, he recalled his conversation with Helena the night before and shook his head.

We don’t know what the Ancestral Bond can do to people. These kids can’t even vote, let alone take such a life-changing decision while being so uninformed.

Jacob realized his foolishness. Helena’s beauty had blinded him: his brain had stopped working as soon as she got in front of him.

He moved the mattress on the inside and climbed down the stairs. It was around 6:30 AM, and most people were still sleeping.

He saw many sleeping in the corridor and did his best to avoid waking them up. Jacob’s sensitive ears picked up some rustling around the corner, and he saw a small child toss and turn in his bed, clearly unable to sleep anymore.

I wouldn’t mind bringing this kid to eat something with me or just do some exercise, but if his parent wakes up without him, there will be some severe hysteria.

He went over to the cafeteria and got two chocolate bars. Jacob went back to the kid’s bed tossed one of the bars to him.

Seeing the kid scarf down the bar immediately after looking at it, he laughed.

You shouldn’t accept candy from a stranger, kid.

Walking to the school entrance, he found Juliet sitting right in front of the gate, cultivating.

Jacob could see her skin glowing with a slight reddish hue tinted with yellow. She had advanced in the Sacred Phoenix Body Transcension, and it showed. She had reached the 1st level of the technique, making her body somewhat resistant to fire, tougher, and way stronger than before.

“What are you doing here?” Jacob yawned.

“It’s my turn to guard the entrance. Helena and Frederick both had their turns already.”

Jacob nodded. He himself had taken the first watch in front of the school. But Jacob had not stayed put, and he had roamed back and forth, trying to scan the surrounding area. As a result, he had found more than a few Demonic Wolves and sneak killed them.

Thankfully, no other beasts as strong as the Hellspawn Chameleon had appeared. But, unfortunately, they barely managed to kill the one, and he wasn’t sure Helena would be that useful in actual combat.

“Do you want to spar a bit?” Jacob asked.

“You will get hurt,” Juliet said while getting up.

She didn’t say no.

They left the front gate to get in an alley close by. Of course, if anything came for the school, they would still spot it, but, at least, no one would see how strong Jacob was in that alley.

“So, how do you—”

Jacob punched Juliet sternum hard, using his Qi to reinforce his blow.

She had not expected the sudden attack and started coughing for the force of the blow. He had been so swift that not even the Ancestral Bond had managed to warn her.

“What the hell are you doing—”

Jacob kicked her knee with all the force he could muster, and she fell forward. Then, jumping behind her, before she could even realize what was happening, he laid his hand on her neck.

“You are dead,” Jacob stepped back with a grin and dusted off his clothes, already heading for the alley entrance.

“What the hell, Jacob?! What was that sh*t?!”

“Me winning?” he said innocently.

“You cheated!” Juliet was really mad. She had done MMA fighting and loved getting into scraps but had never found someone so shameless.

“Demonic Beasts cheat all the time. The trick is cheating more than them, not less. You are dead, miss. Don’t be a sore corpse, and come with me. We have something to plan for.”

“You are a bastard, Jacob! A fuc**ng bastard!”

Jacob tensed a bit, feeling the rage from the Ancestral Bond. Juliet really didn’t like to lose. He did not stop his stride and kept on walking calmly. That girl was like a beast. As soon as he showed a hint of fear or doubt, either in his posture or through the Ancestral Bond, she would pounce and beat him up.

“By the way,” Jacob said, changing the subject, “Helena came to me yesterday. She asked why I trusted you so much, and after discovering about the Ancestral Bond, she wanted me to share it with the others too. I decided not to do it since not even us two knew what it’s going to happen. Better to play it safe, right?” Jacob started a laugh that died as soon as he saw the look on Juliet’s face.

Right then, he felt a massive bout of enmity toward him, superior to the rage caused by their spar through their Ancestral Bond.

Oh sh*t, she probably feels very possessive about the bond. I mean, I would probably feel the same, somehow. While Helena told me about her idea, I thought about how it would ‘discount’ my bond with Juliet. Oh, this is going to be a tough nut to crack.

“Why tell her? She’s clearly a b*tch.”

Juliet refused to elaborate any further and turned on her heels, going back toward the school.

“Wait, Juliet, we have to strategize! We are going out to explore today! Wait! I’m sorry, wait!”

Jacob just realized what a massive mistake he had just made.