《RASGAD - Axed》 1 Prologue 1 : Gods Vessel In a certain room in a palace that seemed to be made of clouds and smoke, there were tons of people with wings made of light running around full of panic and distress. "Quick! Thy Lord God is soon to perish! We must bring him the new vessel!" While most of the people are trying to find this so called vessel, Lerian, a young angel, barged in the room while eating something. "Woah, what''s all the commotion about guys?" "Lerian! Where hast thou been?! No...I suppose it matters not. Quick, help us find the Lord God''s chosen vessel!" Even though Lerian was taken by surprise, he still nodded and placed his food on the table nearby to help with the search. "...Wait. Lerian, what did you just place on that table?" "This? It''s my ration, my friend. I didn''t get the chance to eat it because of an emergency expedition, so I am eating it now" "... Where did you get it?" "Huh? What do you mean where did I get it? Ofcourse, I got it from..." Lerian was about to point at one of the two large glass cabinets on the wall when he suddenly realized something. One of the cabinets has a huge tag labeled as "Expedition Food", the other cabinet, however, was what surprised him the most. It was labeled as "God''s Chosen Vessel, Please Do Not Touch.". Realizing this, Lerian started to sweat, and the light of his wings turn dimmer and dimmer. Everyone present couldn''t help but stare at him and the cabinet in silence, some of them already crying. "WHY DID YOU GUYS PUT IT THERE?!" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lerian was currently kneeling in front of a throne. On the throne, a human-shaped light was sitting. "Lord God, please... forgive my sin! I shall take my life and condemn myself to hell if Lord God orders me so... No, I shall do it even if Lord God does not order so!" As Lerian was about to pull his wings off, the man sitting on the throne waved its hands slowly. "Stand, my servant. It matters not as it is already done." "B-but.. Lord God, I-" "It is done.", suddenly, everyone present in the throne room felt a colossal pressure coming down upon them. They almost choked to death at the presence. Not one of them dared to move, afraid that they will perish if they do. "My servants, I can feel my light disappearing. The time for me to perish has come" The winged servants all carried a grave expression. Even though they can still feel the heavy pressure on them, they all kneeled on the floor and cried, even Lerian who was currently lying on the floor. "Lord God! Please, tell us what to do!" "Bring me the Soul Searcher!" Lerian, who was still lying on the floor, quickly disappeared. The other people that were late to react gritted their teeth. ''Tch. Boot licker'', one of the servants even had this thought. A few seconds later, a flash of light suddenly appeared and Lerian was once again kneeling on the floor, carrying what seems to be an orb made of glass. "Lord God, I dare not ask for forgiveness again, I only wish that you find a suitable vessel" The Lord God nodded as Lerian handed him the Soul Searcher. In the hands of the Lord God, the Soul Searcher lit up as if it was meant to blind mortals. Suddenly, the light scattered like a hundred billion fireflies lighting up the night. Everyone held their breath as the Lord God stood up from his throne and looked at the orbs of light floating around. A minute, an hour, a day, a week. The servants watched as their Lord God chooses a vessel, and for once, they can feel it. Their Lord God is dying. The light that once surrounded their Lord God has disappeared. In place of their Lord God, a frail old beautiful woman was standing. Seeing this, Lerian started to cry. ''This... this is all my fault. The Lord God is suffering because of me... what.. what do I do.. Lord God.. please... tell me what to do'' Then in a flash, Lerian''s eyes seemed to be full of resolution. "Lord God.. this life, I offer to you" Lerian suddenly summoned a ball of light from his hand. All the other servants saw this action and couldn''t help but be full of admiration, everyone of them closed their eyes and smiled. Even the Lord God, who was trying to find a new vessel looked in shock, but returned to her calm expression before anyone can notice. The ball of light in Lerian''s hand grew bigger and bigger until it resembled the sun. "Lord God! I offer my soul to you! Use this lowly one''s life to form your vessel!" The Lord God, who now resembled a beautiful female human, smiled and nodded. She closed her eyes and spread her arms wide. The ball of light, was quickly absorbed by her as if it was sucked into a vacuum. As the ball of light was almost gone, the Lord God opened her mouth. "Little Rian... Your life, I receive." Hearing this, Lerian couldn''t hold back his emotions any longer. Hearing his name being said by the Lord God after a million years again. He was full of joy and sadness, because he knows that this is the last time he can ever see his Lord God again. "Thank you, Senior Lu Yi-" Before Lerian can finish what he wanted to say, the light faded from his eyes and his wings disappeared. He was gone. Just like that, the oldest servant of Heaven has died in order for their Lord God to live. For a servant of God, is this not the most honorable thing in the world? "Everyone, prepare the assimilation! I have found a suitable vessel and wish to transfer immediately!", The Lord God commanded. "Yes! Whatever your Lord God demands!" 2 Prologue 02 : The Devils Choice ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ A few moments before the angel Lerian died, two silhouettes were standing on top of what seemed to be a mountain made of fire, the highest peak of Hell Mountain. "Cortana, it seems my time has come... can you feel it?" "Yes, Demon God" The man with longblack hair and two flaming horns growing on both his shoulders laughed at the reply. "Haha! So I guess it really is time" "Yes, Demon God" The beautiful woman replied the same thing she has been replying since their conversation started. "Are you... sad?" Hearing this question, the beautiful woman hesitated to answer, tears almost falling down on her face, but before they could fall... she closed her eyes. "Yes, Demon God" They continued on in silence for awhile until the beautiful woman asked the Demon God a question. "Have you chosen a vessel yet?" "No, of course not... I.. with everything that I have done.. I do not deserve a second chance." While saying this, the Demon God''s flames started to wither. "It''s time... I always knew you were the one that''s going to send me to my death, but not like this. Haha! I can''t imagine the faces of your people if they see us together!" The beautiful woman remained in silence and didn''t bother to answer the Demon God''s remarks. Knowing that he won''t get a reply from the beautiful woman, the Demon God just smiled and looked at the Horizon as his flames grew weaker and weaker. Feeling his life drifting away, the Demon God closed his eyes and decided to let his body drift to the bottom of the mountain. But before his body could even fall, he felt something warm hugging his body from behind. Warmer than the flames that once used to light up his life. Feeling this warmth, the Demon God''s eyes remained close and he smiled. They stayed like this for a minute before the Demon God opened his mouth. "...Cortana.." "....." "Goodbye, Hero of Freiden... take care of our people... and...I..." "...." "I love you" Hearing the Demon God''s feelings, Cortana couldn''t help but shout, "NO! You do not get to say that! After all of these years, the world needs to understand what you have done for them! These people owe you, not me! I am just a fake hero!" "..." "Please... this world needs you" "..." The Demon God can feel a hint of cold streaming down from his back. He knew what this feeling was but he couldn''t say anything. Cortana''s tears were falling down from her face. "How could you?! How could you just leave?!" "..." "I... I need you.." "..." "Please... please don''t leave me" As Cortana continued to cry, the warmth that filled her embraced suddenly disappeared. Just like that, the Demon God is gone. "Farewell, Demon Go-... Farewell, my love." 3 So, who does this body belong to? After the assimilation, the Lord God watched as her view changed into darkness. ''This! This vessel is really strong, I have never seen a Dantian this big.'' Darkness as far as the eyes can see, endless darkness. The Lord God was surprised to see the vast area that surrounds her. In her world, a person''s strength and innate talent is measured by his or her core, or in the Lord God''s case, the Dantian. The bigger and more vast the dantian is, the stronger the potential of the owner. And what the Lord God was seeing right now almost made her faint. This vessel''s dantian is even bigger than hers back when she was still living as an immortal in the cultivation world, way bigger. "This vessel... Lerian, this gift of yours... I will treasure it for eternity." The Lord God, as if full of pride and resolute shouted. "Let this vessel be named as Lerian!" "HAHAHAHAHAHA! She said Lerian.. Who the hell is Lerian?! HAHAHAHAHA" "Wha-" Suddenly, The Lord God was startled as she heard someone laughing in the darkness. ''What the... How long has he been here?! I couldn''t even sense him.. but more importantly'' "Who are you?! Show yourself!" "Hahaha! Show yourself, she says..." The man continued to laugh as he revealed himself from the darkness. It was a handsome tall man with long black hair and horns on both of his shoulders. ''This man, he is strong!'' Feeling pressure, the Lord God summoned blades of light, floating around her. "Are you stupid?! Do you want both of us to perish?! Withdraw your weapon now, woman!" "Answer me first! Who are you to intrude in my vessel?!" "Your vessel? I was here first." "..." The Lord God thought about it, if this stranger heard her saying those words, then that must mean that this stranger must have been here before her, or at the very least they both went into the vessel at the same time. "It doesn''t matter. This vessel belongs to me now! Vanish or I will be forced kill you!" Although the Lord God said this, she was actually hesitant to fight this man. She could feel that if they fight, even if she manages to win, the toll on her body would be so bad that she might perish along with this vessel. But for her, the most important thing is that she doesn''t let this man have this vessel. After all, this was gifted to her by one of her servants, her junior, Lerian. "Kill me? Do you think you have that kind of power?" "You dare?!" "Of course, I dare", the man smiled. Seeing his smug reply, the Lord God couldn''t help it, she waved her hand and the blades of light surrounding her suddenly vibrated and shot towards the position of the stranger. When the blades of light was almost at the front of the man''s nose, they disappeared. "Wha. What did you do?!" The Lord God was at a lost on what just happened, she didn''t even feel the stranger use any powers of some sort. "My turn." The man suddenly raised his hand and pointed above and summoned a huge ball of flame. Seeing this, the Lord God immediately put up her guard and summon a light barrier. ''T-this pressure!'' The Lord God gritted her teeth as she prepared herself for the coming attack. Right when she was ready, the huge ball of flame suddenly vanished into thin air. The Lord God was surprised but she didn''t let her guard down. ''What is he planning?'' "Relax. Did you see what just happened right now?" The Lord God didn''t reply and she just watched the man as he tried to explain. "I didn''t do anything to your attack, it just.. it was... absorbed, I guess?" "You guess?! Do you really think I will believe that?" "Eh? Who cares what you believe in. Anyway. None of our attacks will work here. I tried" The Lord God was about to say something when she realized that her shield of light already disappeared. Seeing this, the Lord God relaxed herself and sat down. "...It doesn''t matter, this vessel still belongs to me. I can''t waste my junior''s life just because of you. Leave before this vessel matures and fully matures into a live human" "A human... so we are inside a human''s core? Intruiging... very intruiging. Haha!" "Why are you always laughing, and why are you still here? Do you not understand the consequences if both of us remain here?" "Heh. I wish I could leave." The stranger whispered something, the Lord God couldn''t hear the stranger so she just chose to ignore him. Telling the stranger to leave again, before meditating and circulating the enormous ki on her meridians. Despite being told to leave, the Demon God also sat down and just watched as the Lord God was meditating. Minutes, hours, days - they stayed like this for a few days before the Lord God opened her mouth. "Hmph, do you truly not wish to leave this vessel?" "Woah, I thought you were dead?!" "Just answer my question, stranger." The man chuckled before he answered, "I can''t leave. I have been trying to do so before you even came." "What do you mean?" "I... we''re stuck here." "Impossible! You could just exit from one of the meridians if you want to!" "Meridians? What are you talking about? Anyway, I truly can''t leave. Believe me, I tried... someone... something else is here" Hearing this, the Lord God closed her eyes and tried to reach one of the closest meridian of the vessel with her will. When she did so, she immediately felt a heavy pressure. She felt someone looking at the very depths of her soul. The Lord God immediately retracted her will and opened her eyes. If she had a real body, she would be full of sweat right now and breathing heavily. ''What in the world was that?! Even in my millions of years as a god, that was the first time I felt that kind of pressure!'' "Woah, you''re one crazy woman, aren''t you? Even though I warned you that something else was here. In fact, it''s probably watching us right now. Brr, I get the chills just thinking about it" "What was that?!" "Heh, as if I''d know." "This... couldn''t be one of your tricks, stranger?!" "...Xanthus." "What?" "My name is Xanthus. Xanthus of Freiden." "I didn''t ask for your name, stranger" "Well, if we''re going to be stuck here until this vessel is born, we might as well know each other." The stranger reached out his hand to the Lord God. "Hmph, very well. I am the Lord God" "..." Xanthus paused for a moment, and suddenly laughed his lungs out. "HAHAHAHAHA!" "Wh-why the hell are you laughing?!" "Lo-lord God, she said! HAHAHAHA!" "You dare defile my title?!" "HAHAHA! A title! Very well, I am The Devil, Demon God Xanthus." Xanthus lifted his head up and said his title with pride. But deep within, a deep loneliness and disgust can be seen. This small hint of loneliness didn''t escape the Lord God''s eyes. ''The Devil, a path full of thorn and regret'' "This one''s name is Lu Ying Yun, Lu Ying Yun of... Xuezhou" "Xuezhou... East? I have conquered all of the eastern countries. How come I have never heard of someone as strong as you there?" "We are probably not from the same world, Xanthus of Freiden" "Hm, I suppose." Being as strong as they were. The notion of there being another world wasn''t that uncommon for them. Thus, Xanthus did not bother with her explanation anymore, so he just asked him what their next step was. "I do not know, Xanthus of Freiden. Perhaps we are meant to die with this vessel? Perhaps beings like us do not deserve a second chance." "..." "I just wished I wasn''t this unlucky. One of my friends sacrificed himself so I can find a suitable vessel and travel the six paths. But then you are here, just my luck" "A friend? I... am deeply sorry about that" Xanthus knew the burden of being a god, they were not allowed to have friends. To treat one as such must mean that Lu Ying Yun must truly cherish this "friend" of hers. "I... left someone in my world as well, Cortana." "Cortana? She seemed very nice" Suddenly, both of them were having a very normal conversation. They realized this at the same time and couldn''t help but chuckle. "I can not blame you for choosing this vessel, Xanthus of Freiden. It... is very strong" "Choose? I am afraid you have the wrong idea, oh Lord God" "Hmph, explain." "I am supposed to be cut off from the cycle of life. I didn''t want to be reincarnated" "..." "Instead, I was absorbed... by this treasured "vessel" of yours." "What?! Is that even possible?" "Can''t explain it myself, as I was about to disappear I could feel a black hole suddenly sucking me in.. at first I thought it was Cortana sucking me, if you know what I mean." "A black hole?" Lu Ying Yun totally disregarded the latter part of what Xanthus said. "Yes, it just sucked me right in... and before I know it, I was here. I tried to get out at first but I felt an extreme pain go through my body, didn''t want to try that again. And after a few moments, I suddenly heard someone shouting. And so here we are" Lu Ying Yun thought hard about what could have caused this, but she just couldn''t come to a conclusion. One thing is for sure though, whatever brought Xanthus here, the owner of the eyes that looked at her when she tried to look at the vessel''s meridians was definitely involved. "Could it be the mysterious master that are looking at us whenever we try to leave?" "No idea. This vessel of yours is mysterious for sure. In fact, I think you didn''t even choose this vessel, it chose you." "...Tha-" But before she could even reply, both of them heard a loud sound. A sudden pressure came down upon them causing them to kneel down. "Oooh boy, what is happening now?!" "S-shut up, I am trying to concentrate!" Suddenly, two large eyes appeared in front of them. "It''s here!" "Who are you?!" The large pair of eyes just continued to stare at them until it just closed and disappeared as fast as it came. And then once again, another pressure came upon them. This time, it accompanied a sound. "T-that noise.." "It... it can''t be?! It''s still too early! This vessel isn''t even ready yet! It hasn''t even been a week!" What they heard caused their spines to chill. It was... A heartbeat. 4 Hold my hand! "How could there be heartbeat?! This vessel is barely a week old!" Lu Ying Yun couldn''t believe with what was happening right now, out of all the weird things that have happened to her ever since she assimilated with the vessel. A beating heart from a vessel that was barely 5 days old from conception was impossible, even for beings like themselves. "It''s either the semen is incredibly strong, or the eggs have been planning for this a loong time", Xanthus replied, finding the time to joke around even when put under pressure. "W-What nonsense are you spouting again right now?!" "Hey, t-that''s the only possible explanation I can think of", Xanthus was starting to struggle. Both of them were trying their best to stay standing up to the enormous pressure dawning upon them. At this point, even talking to each other is taking a lot of toll on their souls. When Lu Ying Yun''s pride couldn''t take the pressure of being pushed down anymore, she shouted. "I, the Ruler of All that is Light, will not take this kneeling down!", Lu Ying Yun mustered up all of her strength and summoned a million blades of light. But as soon as she did so, she realized that she couldn''t control the blades. The millions of blades that she summoned started to point at the two of them. "W-what are you doing, Lu Ying Yun?!", Xanthus was alarmed at this turn of events. "It.. it''s not me! I can not control them anymore!", Lu Ying Yun started to panic as she tried to control the blades of light the she summoned. "O-oi, Quick! Retract your powers!" "GAAAAH!", Lu Ying Yun shouted before she successfully retained control of her blades for a split second, immediately retracting her powers back. The blades of light started grow weaker until there weren''t even a wisp of light left. "That was really close, Lord God. You were almost pushed from the cycle of reincarnation... I swear, even if you are from another world, why are you people from the East always so arrogant and want to be domineering?!", Xanthus scolded Lu Ying Yun. Although Xanthus doesn''t really mind dying as he was already satisfied with his life, dying like a porcupine is not the way he wants to go. It wasn''t fitting for the end of The Devil, after all. Or maybe it is? After awhile, Lu Ying Yun finally gathered her wits again and calmed down. "I''m sorry... it is just that, I can not take this kind of feeling. It feels like someone is toying with us... like we are nothing but a pair of children.", Lu Ying Yun regretted her actions and sighed. "Anyway, when do you think this pressure is going to stop?" "I-", before Xanthus can finished what he was going to say. A monotonous voice suddenly spoke. "Gathering of Souls Complete... Requirement: 2 SSS Souls.. Complete..." "W..Who are you?! Show yourself!", Even though Lu Ying Yun still can''t move properly because of the pressure, she shouted on top of her lungs. "Oh boy, I don''t like the sound of that..", Xanthus frowned as he felt that something dangerous was about to come. His thousand years of instinct that was honed in the battlefield is shaking, telling him to run away. "Gathering of Souls? 2 SSS Souls? Could that be us?!", Lu Ying Yun was at a lost and couldn''t help but analyze what the voice was saying. "Requirement: 1 SSSSS Soul... Failed.." "Another one?! Wait, could it be the owner of the eyes earlier?!", Lu Ying Yun has so many questions even though she knew no one was going to answer her questions. "You may be on to something here, Lu Ying Yun.", Xanthus couldn''t help but agree with what Lu Ying Yun said. After all, out of this huge vast core, the only things that have shown themselves so far were him, Lu Ying Yun, and the mysterious owner of the eye. "Requirement: 1 SSSSS Soul... Failed.." "Requirement: 1 SSSSS Soul... Failed.." "Reducing Y velocity of the Gravity to -50f" Both Lu Ying Yun and Xanthus can''t help but scream in pain as they finally lost all the strength in their knees, causing them to kneel down. Right now, they can''t even speak. "Requirement: 1 SSSSS Soul... Complete.." Finally, the heavy pressure that they felt started to disappear. But before they had the time to catch their breath. The voice started to speak again. "Starting the Absorption Phase... 0%" Finding himself being able to speak again, Xanthus shouted. "Lu Ying Yun! Release your power! Release it now!" But before Lu Ying Yun can even react to what Xanthus said. Both their bodies suddenly sunk onto what seems to be an invisible wall. They felt themselves slowly being sucked in. "W-what is this?! What Absorption Phase?? Don''t tell me!", Lu Ying Yun started to panic. The reason why Xanthus shouted at Lu Ying Yun and told her to release her powers was because he felt this feeling before. But alas, it was too late. "Yes. This... this is the same thing I felt when I died...", Xanthus sighed. "Absorption... 10%" "What?! No! This can''t be happening! I need to live!", Lu Ying Yun continued to struggle, tears almost falling from her face. "Absorption... 20%" "NOO! My friend sacrificed himself in order for me to be here!!", Lu Ying Yun was putting all of her strength in order to free herself. But like a quicksand that has claimed a million lives, her efforts were in vain. "Absorption... 30%" Unlike Lu Ying Yun, Xanthus held a calm expression. ''So... this is how it really ends for me..huh. Cortana, this is truly... farewell'' "Absorption... 50%" Xanthus closed his eyes and smiled, readily accepting his fate. He remembered the first time he met with with Cortana. A woman in a full-plated armor, brandishing a blade to her neck. Xanthus couldn''t help but chuckle as he remembers their memories together. "Absorption... 60%" "NOOOOOOO! I must live! Lerian!", Lu Ying Yun still continued to struggle, her voice almost cracking. Hearing this, Xanthus was about to say something to Lu Ying Yun... but stopped when he saw Lu Ying Yun''s expression. She was crying... a God that''s possibly a millions of years old is crying. Suddenly, Lu Ying Yun''s image and Cortana''s intertwined and merged in Xanthus'' mind. Without hesitation, he reached out his hand. "LU YING YUN, Quick! Grab my hand!" They didn''t know if there was a merit in doing so, but just like animals driven by instinct, both of them reached out their hands to each other. "Absorption... 70%" "GAAAAAAAHHHHH!", "HHHHOOOOOOOO!!!", both of them screamed their lungs out as they tried to pull themselves off. "Absorption... 80%" "GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!", "FFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!" "Absorption... 90%" "LEEERIIIAAANN!!", "COOORTAANNAA!!", Both of them couldn''t help but shout their reasons for wanting to live. Yes, Xanthus wanted to live... When he saw Lu Ying Yun''s tears, he couldn''t help but remember how Cortana cried for him.. even if the whole world wanted him dead, if Cortana wanted him to stay, living was worth it. "Absorption... 91%" "GAAAAAAAAAAAAH!", "HAAAAAAAAAA!" "Absorption... 92%" "Absorption... 93%" "..." Realizing that no matter what they do, they wouldn''t be able to escape anymore, Xanthus sighed and smiled. "Lu Ying Yun, thank you.", Xanthus closed his eyes. Lu Ying Yun, who was full of tears, didn''t reply. Instead, she just looked at Xanthus and nodded. "Absorption... 94%" "If the karma of fate allows it, let us meet again in the next life. Xanthus of Freiden!" And with that final statement, Lu Ying Yun closed her eyes as well. "Absorption... 95%" Lu Ying Yun couldn''t help but reminisce on her old memories when she was still in the cultivation world, how she grew stronger and become an immortal, when she met Lerian... and finally, her ascension to Godhood. "Absorption... 98%" Both of them were ready to accept their fate. They once again opened their eyes and stared at each other with a warm smile. "Absorption... 99%" "Absorption... 99.9%" And just like that, they were gone. Two beings that can destroy cities with a snap of a finger, disappeared from existence. "Absorption... 99.9%" Suddenly, the dark space distorted. A man came out from the darkness. If Lu Ying Yun and Xanthus were still here, they would be able to identify who this man was. He was the owner of the eyes that were looking at them earlier. The man walked towards to where Xanthus and Lu Ying Yun disappeared into. He reached his hands out to the darkness. He buried his hands as if wanting to pull something of the ground. He stayed like this for awhile before finally pulling his hand slowly. "Absorption... 99%" In his hand, were another pair of hands locked into each other. These hands undoubtedly belonged to Xanthus and Lu Ying Yun. "Absorption... 99%" The man suddenly smiled and revealed a small laugh before saying, "The Karma of Fate allows it". "Absorption... 99%" "Absorption... 99%" ".....ERROR : Can''t proceed" "Checking if power is sufficient at 99%" "...." "...." "Check complete. Analysis..." "99% is within acceptable range.." "....Passing power parameters to Player... 100%" "Trying to delete excess souls.. 0/3" "Trying to delete excess souls.. 0/3" "Skipping excess soul deletion.." "...Passing consciousness to Player..." "10%...40%...80%...97%...97%" "Can not proceed further because of excess souls." "..." "Control alloted to Player : 97%" "...Begin?" 5 Western Whore "Western whore! How dare you show yourself to me?!" In a tavern, A handsome man can be seen beating a woman that has white hair, most of the onlookers and bystanders were either sneering, laughing, or just blatantly ignoring the situation. "Y-young noble, p-please stop it.", the woman cried, begging for the young man to stop. The man who was beating the woman started to laugh while still continuing to beat her, not caring that the woman he was beating was already puking blood. "L..Li Zhao, p-please..", the woman said as she curls herself into a ball. "You dare say my name with your dirty mouth, whore?!", the man shouted in anger as he kicked the girl, this time with more force. His kick threw the woman 5 meters away until she hit one of the tables. The hot soup that was sitting on the table poured onto her white hair and soft white skin. "Gaaaa!", the woman shouted on top of her lungs, a huge amount of blood coming out from her mouth. Suddenly, she felt a strong "beat" on her stomach which caused her body to feel warm and comfortable. Finding that she regained strength, she summed up the courage to speak again. "Li Zhao, w-why?! I thought you said you love me?! We¡­ just the other night..", before the woman can finish her sentence, the man named Li Zhao interrupted her. "Nonsense! I don''t even know you!", Li Zhao sneered and laughed. "You''re just probably after my money? Aren''t you?" Hearing this, the people in the tavern looked at the woman with disdain. They all knew that Li Zhao was a teacher in the Taizhou academy and was one of the stronger teachers there, having a power level above 300, putting him at the 3rd stage of the Soul Pinnacle Realm in terms of Eastern standards. He was not the kind of man to settle down with a mortal woman, much less with a western mortal. "Tch, despicable woman¡­ how dare he use our Teacher Zhao''s kindness", one of the female mockingly said this, not caring if everyone heard her. Soon, everyone was slandering the woman as if she was not the victim in this situation. The woman who was still lying on the floor couldn''t help but grit her teeth. Her friends have told her that she shouldn''t be mingling with cultivators, as most of them treat mortals like specks of dirt. "Enough of this, guards! Take this dirty whore away!", Li Zhao raised his arms and called the guards that have been watching the situation until a while ago, not daring to intervene. "W-what? No, please! Young noble!", the woman pleaded Li Zhao once again. The guards immediately grabbed the woman and covered her mouth. The people in the tavern couldn''t help but laugh at the sight of the woman struggling. "Heh, serves her right.", the people watching the scenario once again gossiped. As the guards were about to escort the woman outside of the tavern, Li Zhao called the leader of the guards and gave him a bag of silvers. "¡­Kill her.", Li Zhao whispered into the ears of the guard. The guard was about to refuse before Li Zhao once again handed him a bag of silver, he hesitated for a second but then took the bag and nodded. Even though the guard wanted to refuse, he was afraid to incite the anger of this young noble, he knew how cultivators are quick to kill people they didn''t like. "Men! I will take it from here.", thus, the guard leader commanded his subordinates. --------------------------------------------- After leaving the tavern, the guard took the woman to a dark alley near the slums of the city. The woman, still gagged, was struggling with all her might. "Sshh.. Be quiet, woman!", the guard strongly slapped the woman, causing her to fall down. "Shit shit shit, what do I do? If I don''t kill her.. I am sure he''ll come after me.", the man was lost in thought, not noticing that he was talking out loud. Hearing this, the woman started to panic and tried to run away. "Y-you! Don''t!", without a second thought. The guard grabbed the sword that was hanging at his waist and swung it against the woman''s back. The woman fell down, squirming and crying on the ground, wanting to scream but the pain from her back stops her from doing so. "F-f*ck, this is your fault! Y-you shouldn''t have tried to run away! That''s right¡­ this is your fault.. hehe..hehehehe", the man revealed an ugly expression as he laughed. "Just go die in this corner, you shouldn''t have tried to swindle Teacher Zhao, bitch", the guard cackled as he left the woman alone in the dark alley. Cold and alone, the woman couldn''t help but cry. Maybe the guard was right, she knew better than to trust cultivators. In her mind, if ever she survives in this situation, she will not make the same mistake of falling in love with a cultivator again. But alas, the gods did not hear her wish as the cold wind curved through her body, taking along her last breath with it. A few moments later, her body suddenly shifted slightly as something seemed to have moved in her stomach. Suddenly, a very tiny sound can be heard. ''Unexpected Error : Player''s Parent is dying'' ''Ejecting Player from Parent¡­ Successful'' Blood suddenly flows from between the woman''s legs, clearly different from the blood that was coming from the woman''s back because of the sword wound. This blood felt like it was alive as it started to squirm on the spot. ''Processing Sequence 03 : Simulate Growth'' The puddle of blood bundled itself slowly into a ball before it took the shape of something organic. Head, body, and limbs can suddenly be seen forming from the puddle of blood. The thing grew until it somewhat already resembled a human baby. Suddenly, a beeping sound can be heard. "Warning : External factor "Excess Soul 02" trying to overwrite player''s sex" "Warning : External factor "Excess Soul 02" trying to overwrite player''s sex" "¡­." "Player''s sex is now equal to Male¡­ developing reproductive organs accordingly" "Output : Excess Soul 03 expresses anger" "Continuing Growth Simulation" "263 days¡­ Growth Simulation Complete" ----------------------------------- Where there were once a puddle of blood, a human baby took its place. The human baby was very small, at least smaller than average, he also has thin strands of white hair on his head, the same as his mother. One by one, the baby''s limbs started moving, his mouth motioning like it was chewing on something. The baby moved like this for a couple of seconds before finally opening his eyes. Swaying his head as if he was trying to find something, he stopped when his view settled down on the woman that was lying on her own blood. Seeing his mother, the baby opened his mouth. ''L¡­.lo¡­'' "L¡­love", the baby suddenly spoke, if others could see this scene they would surely run away. For some reason, the baby seemed to have associated the word "love" to a very warm feeling. Perhaps, he "heard" his mother while he was still in his mother''s womb. The baby tried to stand before falling flat on his butt, realizing that he can''t do so. He started to crawl towards his mother. With great struggle, he finally reached his mother. He stared at her face for a while as if examining her, after a while, tears suddenly fall down from his face as he hugged her. "¡­love", the baby spoke while tears were still falling down from his face, after awhile, he opened his mouth and yawned. Feeling sleepy, the baby decided to close his eyes. However, before he can do so, he heard a loud voice. "Yo, guys! Look at this!", a man wearing worn out clothes called his friends over. With the way they are dressed, they seem to be some low-level thugs belonging in the slums. "Yo, what the f*ck, a dead westerner" "Hehe, does it matter¡­ look at her, she looks good¡­hehe", one of the men wiped his mouth as he started to drool. The other two men smiled and couldn''t help but agree with their friend. Slowly, they started to advance and make their way to the dead woman. "Yo yo yo, what the f*ck, there''s a baby here", one of the men was startled as he realized that there was a baby hugging the woman. "Is that her baby? Yooo, f*ck. What kind of f*cked up motherf*cker kills a mother with a newborn baby?!", one of the thugs commented. Hearing this, the other two thug looked at their friend in disbelief, before they started laughing. "Kakakakaka, maybe you should try looking into the mirror. Anyway, let''s throw this baby to side.", the man drooled as he grabbed the baby. But to his surprise, he couldn''t seem to be able to throw the baby away from her mother. He struggled and decided to use both of his hands before he was able to throw the baby away. The baby flew and hit the cold hard wall. "Kekeke, now then¡­ Let the feast begin!", as the men were about to pull down their paints, they suddenly heard a small, squeeky voice. "Y¡­young noble¡­ p-p..please..st¡ªstop" As they heard this, a sudden chill went through their spine. They all look into the direction of where the sound came from, to their surprise, the baby that was thrown earlier is now standing up. "Y¡­young noble.. p-please stooop", the baby was looking at them with cold eyes. Seeing a baby, not even a year old, standing up and speaking, the men opened their mouth in disbelief. At first, the men were confused as to what they were seeing, but suddenly a huge pressure came down upon them. "Y¡­yo¡­guys? Are you seeing this?" "O-oi..W¡­what the f*ck is tha-" Before one the man could finish what he was going to say, his whole body exploded and turned into a mist of blood. "Stooop", the baby once again spoke. "R¡­Ruuuuun!" The remaining two men immediately started to run away without even caring and wondering about what happened to their friend. The baby looked at them for awhile with a curious face as they ran away. However, he quickly lost interest and shifted his eyes to his mother. He slowly walked towards his mother and once again hugged her. The baby opened his mouth but soon closed it again, seemingly trying to find the right words to say. After a few seconds, tears suddenly fall down from his face again. "M¡­.mother?", the baby spoke as he hugged his mother tightly. Soon after, he started to cry as loud as babies could cry. ---------------------------------------------- An old lady was walking through the streets of the slums while holding a basket full of left over bread. She was humming while walking and seemed to be in a very good mood. "Hm hm hm, I got a lot of left overs from the store. That old man should have no complaints anymore.", the old woman was speaking to herself as she walks. "WAAAAAAAAAAAH!", suddenly she hears a loud crying sound. Like instinct, she dropped her bread and started to run to the direction of the sound. When she reached a dark alley, she couldn''t help but reveal an ugly expression. "Ack, isn''t this the smell of blood?", it didn''t take too long before her question was answered. In front of her, a mother and a baby was in the middle of a river of blood. Seeing this, the old lady quickly ran towards the two and started checking their conditions. "Hm, no good. The mother is dead. What kind of heathens will do this?!", the old lady revealed an angry expression before calming down as she turned to look towards the baby. "Aw, hello there little one..Were you the one crying earlier? Here, come.. come to grandma", the old lady slowly and gently reached out her hand and tried to grab, but suddenly, the baby looked at her, seemingly full of killing intent. The old grandma quickly retracted her hand and sweat quickly fell down from her face. ''W..what?!'' ''For extruding this kind of pressure... what...", her surprise didn''t last long as she suddenly revealed a sad expression. Tears suddenly fall down from the old lady''s face as she once again reached out her hand. "It''s alright, I am not going to hurt you¡­ come to grandma" Hearing this, the baby looked at the grandma with a curious expression. Then, he looked at his mother¡­ then back to the grandma again. "It''s alright, this grandma will take care of you", said the old lady while still reaching her hands out to the baby. After a while, the baby let go of his mother and flew towards the old lady''s arms. Seeing this, the old lady was alarmed at first but stayed calm, afraid that she will startle the baby on her arms. "T¡­t..that''s right, this grandma will take care of you", the old lady continued to soothe the baby on her arms while she was sweating buckets. ''I.. I guess babies fly nowadays?'', with this thought, she left the dark alley and decided to report the body to the town guards before finally deciding to go home. ----------------------------------------------- In a tiny home slightly outside the city.. "Honey! I am home!", an old lady joyfully cheered as she went inside the house while carrying a baby. Suddenly, a loud sound can be heard. An old man can be seen running towards the old lady. "Finally, woman! What took you so long?! You better have brought some fo-", but before he could finish his sentence, he looked at the tiny thing on her wife''s arms. "¡­What is that? W-where''s our bread?", the old man hesitantly asked, seemingly afraid of the answer. The old woman stared at her husband for a while before finally revealing a strange smile. "I¡­I forgot", the old woman replied, slightly chuckling. "YOU FORGOT!?" "ssshhh, don''t shout. You''ll wake the baby" "AND WHY ARE YOU EVEN HOLDING A BABY?!" "Eeh, I picked it up?", the old lady looked at her husband with a slight smile. "Wh-what do you mean you picked it up?!", the old man continued to shout until saliva came out of his mouth. "Like I said, I picked it up and I decided that we will take care of him", the old woman was full of resolution, not wanting to be budged. "What do you mean we?! Tch! Anyway, send it to the guards!", the old man walked away angrily, deciding that arguing with his wife will lead nowhere. But before he could reach the door, "A-anyway¡­ do you have a name for it yet?", the old man said in a quiet voice. "Eeeeh? I thought we were going to surrender him to the guards?", the old woman jeered. "E..Do whatever you want!", the old man slammed the door as he went outside, full of anger. The old woman chuckled before pointing her attention to the baby in her arms. "Don''t mind grandpa, that man ate a bagpipe when we were still in the army. He isright though, you do need a name¡­ hmmm", the woman tilted her head and stared at the baby in front of her. "Hmm, since your mother was a westerner¡­ How about¡­", the woman was still lost in thought until he saw the white stands of hair growing on the baby''s head. "How about Viel? Do you like that? It means "Morning Star" in western language." Hearing this, the baby smiled and laughed. "Oh, you like that.. don''t you, little one?", the grandma made baby noises as she played with baby Viel. Suddenly, the baby''s mouth opened. "¡­Viel" "¡­." ''S..surely, babies can talk very young nowadays?'', the old lady was dazed. Her common-sense edging to the point of no return. The lady shook her head and tried recollect herself. However, when she was about to regain her composure- "O-oy, w-what the f*ck", the baby spoke again, imitating the thugs earlier. "¡­." And just like that, 4 years have passed. 6 What it means to be domineering Near an isolated field of flowers a hundred kilometers away from Taizhou City, a little child with long white hair has his eyes closed. The child''s skin was as pure as snow and as smooth as porcelain, you can almost see your own reflection on it. The thing that stands out the most, however, was that when the child opened his eyes- his pupils were as dark as the night- almost as if it wanted to suck you in. The child looked very young; doesn''t even look like he reached 3 years old yet. The child was obviously Viel. Viel always liked being far away from the city. When he was a year old, even though his home was about 500 meters away from the city, he can hear the people there like they were almost infront of him. This caused him to find solace in places far away from the bustling city. Although he learned to control his hearing as time went on, Viel still had the habit of going to this place. Originally, this place was barren and only had blades of grass growing on it, but after Viel made this place his hideout, the most beautiful of flowers suddenly decided to grow here like they wanted to show Viel how beautiful they are. "VIEL! Where the hell did that brat went off to again?! VIEL!". Suddenly, he heard an old man shouting in his ears. Viel chuckled and covered his mouth like he was afraid someone would hear him laughing. He looked at the direction at where the sound came from, but no one was there. Only the flowers greeted him. Suddenly, sparks of electricity appeared from his feet until it covered his whole body. ''Soul 03: Walk of the Lightning God activated'', a voice suddenly popped up in his mind. "Thank you, Mr. Voice", Viel stopped chuckling as he replied to the monotonous that only he could hear, followed by a loud sound that sounded like thunder. Viel, who was currently just standing there, was no longer to be found on the field of flowers. Only the rustling of the field and small streaks of electricity can be seen. ------------------------------------------------- "Ancient''s titties, where could have that brat ran off to now?!" An old man was pulling a cart full of wood while shouting can be seen near a small house in a small village near Taizhou city. "Boo!", suddenly a child appeared out of nowhere behind the old man and startled him. The old man shouted and jumped 3 feet high in surprise, almost leaving his fake teeth in the process. "V-viel! You brat! Why do you always do that!", the old man reprimanded the child while his saliva rain down from his face. "Eew, grandpa Ling. Hehehe!". Viel covered his mouth and chuckled. ''Excess Soul 03 is bleeding from her nose'' "T-tch, this brat. Help me with unloading these woods instead of mocking me! I swear, I don''t know what your Grandma sees in you!", Grandpa Ling commanded. "Hehehe.", Viel continued to chuckle as he motioned his hand to the cart full of wood. ''Soul 02: Hell''s Gate'' Suddenly, 2 vortexes appeared out of nowhere. One on top of the cart full of wood, and one beside their house. The first vortex sucked the wood in and the other puked it out. Just like that, all the wood was unloaded from the cart. "Tch, at least you''re useful for something. You brat! ...H-Here, have some sweets from the city", the old man commended as he gave something to Viel, "Thank you, Grandpa Ling!", Viel bowed politely then revealed a smile and grabbed the candy, before running off to their house. When Grandpa Ling first saw Viel using his powers, he was afraid at first, thinking that Viel was a son of an immortal cultivator. He was afraid that someday, someone might knock on their door, claiming to be the parents of the child and forcefully take Viel away from them. But alas, 4 years have passed since they adopted him and no one still knocked on their door. After a while, he got used to the powers that Viel exhibits and just treated it as an everyday occurrence. ------------------------------------ "Grandma Ling! Grandma Ling! Look at what Grandpa gave me! Hehe!" Viel came running inside a room, brandishing and waving a bag of sweets. There, an old woman was sitting on the bed and reading something. The old woman was startled as she coughed vehemently. "V-viel! You need to stop surprising me, I am getting old, you know!", unlike Grandpa Ling, the old woman smiled as she scolded little Viel. After a while though, a hint of sadness can be seen on her face, however, it only lasted for a split second. She called Viel over and hugged her. "Anyway, how was your trip outside? I hope you didn''t go too far!", Grandma Ling squinted her eyes as she cutely question Viel. "No! I made sure not to cross the big ocean this time! Hehe!", Viel proudly lifted his chest up, while having traces of sugar in his mouth. His statement wasn''t an exaggeration. A year ago, the city of Taizhou celebrated the 3rd anniversary of the death of the evil monarch. The celebration was too loud that Viel could feel his ears ringing from the inside, when he couldn''t take it anymore, he ran and ran so fast until he didn''t realize that he was already floating on top of an ocean. "Good.. good", Grandma released a breath of relief. Viel and Grandma Ling continued to talk about mundane and silly things. After a while, Grandma Ling took something from beneath her pillow and gave it to Viel. "Viel, happy 4th birthday!" "F-for me?!", Viel was happy to receive another gift in just one day. But when he grabbed it and saw what it was, he couldn''t help but tilt his head. "Grandma Ling, what is this?". In his hand, was a slab of shining copper with a label on it, "Taizhou Academy". "That''s a token to take the examination for Taizhou Academy! Lots of scholars and top cultivators of famous sects have graduated from that school!", Grandma Ling clapped her hands as she explained to Viel. Originally, both Grandpa Ling and Grandma Ling were opposed to having Viel go to the academy, even though they don''t know much about the cultivation world, they know enough to realize that Viel was ultimately different than the rest of the cultivators. They were afraid that Viel would be isolated in the academy, and even more so because he was a westerner. But when they thought it through. Wouldn''t they be isolating Viel themselves if they do not allow him to mingle with other children? And why should Viel hide himself when the rest of the cultivators enjoy their royal treatment? Why should Viel be the one to cower in the shadows? Thus, they decided to let Viel take the exam in Taizhou Academy. "Eeehh, but couldn''t I just stay here with you and Grandpa? It''s noisy there in the city!", Viel cutely raised his face as he asked her Grandma. "No no, besides, there will be other children there. You can play with them!", Grandma Ling tapped her finger on Viel''s forehead. "Whaaaat!? I get to play with other people?!", Viel started to jump up and down the bed. "Yes, the children there will be as strong as you¡­ so we are not afraid that you will accidentally hurt someone there.", Grandma Ling replied with assurance, not knowing how wrong she was. Viel was about to celebrate in joy again but Grandma Ling suddenly coughed vehemently and loudly. "G-grandma Ling?", Viel asked with a worried face. "*cough* I-I''m alright, Grandma Ling is just too happy that she got tired.*cough*", Grandma Ling comforted Viel as she forcefully revealed a pleasant smile. "O¡­okay, I will go now so Grandma can rest!", Viel hurriedly jumped off of the bed and bowed towards her Grandma and thanked her again. As Viel was about to exit the room, he turned towards her Grandma. ''Soul 01: Eyes of Judgement'' Viel revealed a sad expression as he looked at her Grandma once more before he finally exited the room. ------------------------------------------ A few weeks after, in a large courtyard, hundreds of children can be seen forming a line. This courtyard is one of the training grounds for the students of Taizhou Academy. Currently, it is also the place the academy is using to hold their entrance examinations. Infront of the long line of children, a boy with white hair can be seen in front. He was wearing a joyful expression and was looking at the line of behind him. Viel was currently in front of the line because he was the very first one to arrive in the academy, thus occupying the front of the line. "Hello, my name is Viel! What''s yours?", Viel excitedly asked the girl behind her. "¡­.Diao Mei", the girl quietly responded to his question before looking into the other direction. Diao Mei was very beautiful, even though she was still very young, about 6 or 7, she exuded a graceful aura. "Hehehe, nice to meet you, Diao Mei. Are you excited to get in the academy? Do you want to play after the exams? Ooooh, I hope I pass. Are you confident in passing? I am a bit nervous, it''s the first time I am standing infront of a lot of people", Viel continued to bombard the girl with questions. But the girl, as if not hearing anything, just continued to stare at the other direction, completely ignoring Viel. "Lady Mei, is this westerner bothering you?!". Suddenly, a tall boy, about 8 or 9 years old confronted Viel. This boy was originally in the middle of the line, but he decided to step in when he saw a westerner was talking to her "Goddess". "Oh! Hello, my name is Viel! Nice to meet you!". Viel didn''t mind the arrogant tone of the boy. He reached out to shake his hands with the newly arrived party. But the boy just slapped his hand away. "Tch, so you were a boy? You westerners all look alike.", the tall boy sneered in disgust. Although Viel''s face was very beautiful and could be mistaken as a girl''s. Some Easterner''s have a deep-rooted hatred and disgust for westerners as the evil monarch came from their lands. "Anyway, don''t you dare talk to Lady Mei again!", the tall boy looked at Diao Mei for approval. But Diao Mei just looked at the side and ignored him. "See?! Lady Mei can''t even stand the sight of you! You should go to the end of the line, you white haired mongrel!", the boy continued to bicker and insult Viel. "Back of the line? But why?", suddenly a heavy pressure came upon the tall boy as he slightly backed away. "W-what do you mean why?! I already told you, Lady Mei is annoyed to see you standing infront of her!", although the tall boy was slightly flustered with the sudden pressure, he couldn''t back down as he was afraid to look like a sissy in front of his goddess. "O-oh...R-really?! Then, I shall go to the back of the line. Miss Diao Mei, sorry for annoying you". Just like that, the sudden pressure on the tall boy was gone. Viel bowed to Diao Mei and the tall boy, before innocently walking away to the back of the line. Everyone watching was totally surprised to see Viel actually going to the back of the line. They sneered at Viel, looking at him as if he was a pathetic weakling who didn''t even want to get into an argument. "W-what, he really did go? Ha..Haha! That''s right! Go to the back of the line! Your weak little ass belongs there, you filthy westerner!", the tall boy wiped his sweat off before he once again insulted Viel. Suddenly, Diao Mei, who was keeping quiet from the start, opened her mouth. "Brother Wei Song, that was unnecessary", Diao Mei spoke to the tall boy, before looking at Viel, who was currently walking his way to the back of the line. "Hehe, no need to thank me, Lady Mei. I just did what I thought was right, that westerner was sullying everyone''s mood. People like him don''t deserve to lead this line.", Wei Song was very proud of what he did, even claiming that he did for everyone. He tried to speak to Diao Mei for a while and get into her good graces, but decided to go back in the middle of the line, as Diao Mei was not interested in talking anymore. Everyone here knows who Diao Mei was, after all, the Diao family was a prestigious name. They have always produced top cultivators and were one of the leading families who defended their country when the minions of the evil monarch invaded their land. Viel who was now on the back of the line was completely oblivious that the other children were gossiping about him, secretly mocking him for being weak. Suddenly, the boy in front of him reached out his hand. "Hey, don''t worry about it. Wei Song has always been like that, being a leech of his family is all that he is good at, after all. My name is Xiao Pei. What''s yours?" The boy who has his hands stretched didn''t really have any special features, except that he has a long scar on the left part of his face, going from the brow to bottom of the chin. Hearing this, Viel was surprised at first before excitedly shaking Xiao Pei''s hand. "Woah, finally. Someone normal, hello. My name is Viel.". Viel was still vigorously shaking Xiao Pei''s hand as he adorned a wide smile. Finally meeting his first friend. "Eeh?! You''re a boy?!". Xiao Pei revealed a shocking expression. He couldn''t believe that the beautiful child in front of him. Although he saw the scene earlier, he couldn''t hear what they were talking about. "I suppose it doesn''t matter. Man, that Wei Song¡­ always so domineering. I can''t wait until I put his beautiful mug in place. Hehe, too bad huh? Just earlier, you were at the front and now you''re here with me, the latecomer". Xiao Pei said as he shrugged, lamenting the fact the he came late. Well, what''s important was that he was no longer the one who was at the end of the line. "Eeh, I don''t really mind being on the back. Afterall, my Grandma Ling said that I-", but before Viel could finish what he was going to say, he looked at the direction of the examination platform adjacent to their line. "Silence! The exam is about to start!". Suddenly, a loud voice can be heard as an old man suddenly appeared on top of the examination platform. "You are gathered here today not to bicker amongst yourselves, but to take your first step of being a cultivator! Probably, most of you will not even pass the first entrance examination, so there is no point in making friends. I am An Da, I will be your examiner today". Examiner An Da raised his hand as a huge slab of stone appeared beside him. "This is a Strength Revealing Stone from the West, as its name suggests, if you hit this stone it will display the corresponding strength that you put into it." As the old man said this, he hit the stone lightly and a number suddenly appeared infront of it. ''600'' Seeing this, all the children were startled and revealed faces of shock. "W-wah! 600! As expected of a teacher in the academy!", the children all shared the same exact thought, except for one who was wearing a confused face. "That''s right. The first test is a test of your physical strength. Even though most cultivators don''t rely on their physical strength, it is still important to train one''s body! If you can not even pass this simple test, then you have no right to enter the cultivation world! In order to pass this test, your strength needs to atleast be above 30!". As An Da said this, he pointed at Diao Mei, who was currently the one leading the long line of children. "You will start first!". Diao Mei hurriedly walked on to the stage. "Diao Mei greets teacher An Da!" Diao Mei politely greets An Da as she stood in front of him. An Da just smiles and nod before telling Diao Mei to proceed to the test. Diao Mei stood in front of the huge slab of stone. She switched to a fighting stance and readied to strike. She stayed like this for a while before releasing a fast jab with all her strength. ''66'' Diao Mei looked at her score before revealing a happy smile, after a few seconds, she returned to her usual calm expression. The other students revealed a shock expression, for children their age, a physical strength of 66 can be considered very high. "Very good! As expected of General Diao''s daughter!", he nodded and smiled at Diao Mei. "Next!" After Diao Mei, all the other students who passed only gained a normal score of around 35. Most of the students have already failed, scoring below 30. This pace continued until it was Wei Song''s turn. *Pang* ''53'' Seeing his score, Wei Song quickly revealed an arrogant smile as he looked towards the other students who went ahead him and scored below him. He also looked at Viel and sneered at him as if looking down on him. "Good, very good.". Examiner An Da was very satisfied to see another good offspring coming into the academy. However, after Wei Song, there weren''t any other exemplary student. Finally, it was Xiao Pei''s turn, the child who was at the back of the line before Viel took his place. ''58'' All the students were in shock to see another examiner score above 50, and it was even higher than Wei Song. Seeing this, Wei Song gritted his teeth and looked at the boy on the stage. Xiao Pei returned Wei Song''s glare with his own, revealing a mocking smile, as if saying that he has won. An Da was delighted to see 3 talented students enrolling in his academy this year, but his expression immediately turned in to a frown when he saw a small boy with long white hair going towards him. It was finally Viel''s turn. "Tch tch. Those who are late will always be last in life. If you keep up this attitude you will not achieve anything in life.". An Da lectured the little boy in front of him. Hearing this, the other students couldn''t help but chuckle and sneer at Viel, especially Wei Song, who was currently wearing a wicked smile. "Haha! That''s right! Westerners like you should just go back to the end of the line all the way to your country!", Wei Song couldn''t help but comment, garnering the attention and laughs of the other children. "That''s enough! The academy does not discriminate race! Little boy, you may begin!". An Da reprimanded Wei Song before urging Viel to start immediately. "I thank Grandpa An Da! ...But I do not mind being the last.", Viel replied politely to An Da. ''G-grandpa?!''. An Da revealed a weird expression as a little boy called him An Da. Although he was growing on his years, he was still fairly young for a cultivator, 120 years old. "What do you mean, little boy?". An Da couldn''t help but ask, making sure to emphasize the word "little". Viel stood in front of the huge slab of stone and slowly reached out his hand. "Because Grandma Ling taught me¡­". Viel smiled as he flicked his finger. Suddenly, a loud noise can be heard as everyone stood in their place and stopped talking to each other. Some children even forgot how to breathe. Wei Song, who was currently talking to the other children near him and was currently in the process of mocking Viel, started to redden in shame. Xiao Pei revealed a sweat before finally whistling in admiration. Diao Mei, who has been quiet throughout the whole test, had her mouth opened in shock. She couldn''t believe at what she is seeing right now. ''67'' "¡­to be kind and give way to people weaker than me" 7 What it means to be domineering 2 "6-67?! That can''t be right?!", all the children were clamoring; they couldn''t believe the result that they were seeing right now. Wei Song was red in shame as he was telling his new found friends that Viel was most likely to fail miserably, not even scoring 10 points. But alas, his face was slapped by the hands of Buddha. "H-he definitely cheated! That stone is broken!". Wei Song complained while glaring at Viel. "Are you saying this prestigious academy that has stood for thousands of years, is being cheated by a little boy?". An Da''s voice suddenly went deeper. Even though he wasn''t releasing any kind of pressure, the students could feel the air around them harden, like it was trying to suffocate them. Wei Song couldn''t help but look down in disgrace as he was scolded by the examiner. However, An Da was first and foremost a teacher. He knew that some of these kids will start to doubt themselves if this continues on. So he couldn''t help but encourage his students not to lose hope. "You have to remember that the young one here is from the west. They are known to be physically stronger than us, as most of their techniques utilizes every fiber of their muscles. So it is no surprise that even though this little boy is smaller and cuter than most of you, he will hold more strength." When An Da said that, the other children couldn''t help but come into realization and they once again started to brighten up. However, there was one child who had her eyebrows knot as she didn''t believe with the examiner''s explanation, Diao Mei. "Ha! That''s right! You westerners are only good at using your bodies!". Wei Song couldn''t help but to return to his usual arrogant liveliness. "That''s enough! Even though I said that, it doesn''t change the fact the he is physically stronger than most of you! Do not slack!". An Da quickly glared at the little buffoon that doesn''t stop on yapping. "We move on to the next test, all those who did not pass may leave now!". As he said this, the faces of the people who did not score above 30 showed signs of disappointment, majority of them crying as they leave towards the exit. ''This kid¡­ there is something wrong about him''. An Da thought while seeing Viel happily hopping back towards the end of the line. "Wow! That was really something! You just went like swoosh and then you scored the highest! We showed that arrogant Wei brat his place!". Xiao Pei couldn''t help but be in admiration! ''Lucky, I think I hit the jackpot befriending this one.'' "Hehe. Really? Were you surprised, Mister Pei?". Viel chuckled as he covered his mouth, seemingly surrounded by a pink aura. ''Excess Soul 03''s nose starts to bleed'' ''T-this aura?! Why is this boy so cute?!'' Xiao Pei and everyone listening around them blushed. Even An Da who was about to start the next test covered his nose for some reason. Wei Song, on the other hand, couldn''t explain what he was feeling right now. "E-enough! We will now begin the second test!". An Da waves his hand as he urged the children to stay quiet. With this, everyone once again put their attention on the stage as they anticipated what comes next. "Hehe. I am excited, I wonder what kind of game we will be doing next.". Viel''s eyes sparkled as he waited for the examiner to reveal what the next test is. Yes, for him, this might as well be considered as a game. Viel always liked to play games and to surprise and startle his Grandma and Grandpa Ling, he was always excited to see what kind of faces people will make when they are startled. "A¡­a game?". Xiao Pei couldn''t help but form beads of sweat on his face. Suddenly, the big slab of stone on the stage was gone. The children waited for a while to see what will replace the stone, but nothing appeared. "The second test is fairly simple. You just have to stay standing as I release my will upon you. Those who can not suppress my will and kneel down in 30 seconds will fail the test. You do not need to move from your spot as I will release it equally at the same time amongst you. Be careful, the pressure will get stronger as every second goes by." "Are you children ready?!" "This student is ready!" With this, everybody bowed and readied their stance. Some of them having an excited expression, while most have worried faces. The examiner nodded. Suddenly, a heavy pressure came upon the children. A few of the children fainted immediately, while some kneeled. Seeing this, the examiner couldn''t help but exclaim and shake his head. He was disappointed that with just the lightest pressure, some of the children already gave up. He continued to increase the pressure while scanning the rest of the children. "20 seconds left!" He noticed that a girl, who didn''t have an exemplary score during the strength test earlier, still had a very relaxed face. This child had pure black hair, and although it wasn''t very noticeable, it seems the child was also a westerner. An Da nodded in approval as he saw new talents enrolling in the academy. "10 seconds left!" Diao Mei also still had a relaxed face as she had her eyes closed. Wei Song was smiling, although some beads of sweat can be seen forming on his face. Xiao Pei had a very ugly expression as he struggled to remain standing. An Da continued to scan the talented students from the Strength Test earlier. He was very proud at what he is seeing right now, but he couldn''t help but widen his eyes as he saw the last person standing on the line. What he saw was a little boy, looking confused and staring at the other children, as if he had no idea as to what was happening right now. ''T-this little boy?! Very formidable!''. Although An Da was very surprised at first, he became excited at the thought that a one in a thousand genius was going to attend in Taizhou academy. He wanted to test this little boy further, and he did do just that. He made sure to exert more pressure on Viel, seeing as it was still of no effect, he decided to double the pressure¡­ then triple¡­ then quadruple. Beads of sweat started to form on An Da''s face as he continued to apply more and more pressure on Viel. ''T-this monster! Hahaha!''. An Da''s face distorted in excitement. Perhaps because he was so excited, he couldn''t help but sneeze, accidentally losing control of the pressure he is releasing on Viel. ''Oh! Oh no! The little boy!''. An Da couldn''t help but worry, putting too much pressure on someone will make the receiving person braindead. He hurriedly tried to retract his will, afraid the the academy will lose a very talented student. ''Excess Soul 02 expresses annoyance'' Suddenly, An Da felt a sharp pain on his chest as he noticed that Viel was looking at him. Viel''s deep dark eyes seemed to contain a hint of malice, it was very deep that An Da could almost feel that he was being sucked in. Where did the innocent and cute child go? It was as if the little boy in front of him was a totally different person. "..." "Hehe, Grandpa An Da, your face is very funny" An Da felt the pain on his chest stop as soon as he heard the little boy laugh at him. ''C-could I just be imagining things?''. An Da thought as beads of sweat formed on his face. "Grandpa?". Viel continued to innocently look at him. "I-it''s nothing! T-the second test is over! 30 seconds have passed!". As soon as he said this, the pressure on the children stopped. They all exclaimed a breath of relief as the heavy pressure started to dissipate. "EEEH?! The test is over!? Eeeh, what happened¡­". Viel sulked as he lost his chance to startle anyone, not realizing that the old man in front of him almost died in shock because of him. When Xiao Pei heard what Viel said again, he couldn''t help but sigh. "¡­I guess I didn''t train enough". ''No! Don''t just accept it!'' Just like that, some of the children near Viel were about to cry blood as they start their fall from common sense. 8 I want to go home The other children that passed the test with all their efforts were starting to rethink their careers, some even thought that they should just help their parents with the family business. The examiner just told them that Viel held advantage with his physical strength because he is a westerner, so they already forgot the result to the first test. But what about this? Are westerners also that strong-willed to not even feel the pressure of the examiner? An Da, who was about to open his mouth to once again come up with an excuse to encourage the other children, decided to just close his mouth. What if the little boy shows extraordinary results in the next test again? He realized that what he''ll be doing will only destroy the children''s perception of themselves if he speaks. "V-viel. You''re not some son of a famous cultivator, are you?". Xiao Pei couldn''t help but ask Viel. "Eehh, I suppose you can say that?". Viel thought for a second before replying. "W-what?! Really? What''re they like? Are they as famous as the Hero Of Freiden?!". Xiao Pei exclaimed. Hearing the Hero of Freiden being discussed, some of the children turned their head to listen in on the discussion. The little girl with jet black hair that did well in the second exam was also amongst them. "Eehh?! Hero of Freiden, what''s that? No¡­ my Grandma Ling is famous amongst the other Grandmas for her plant cultivation. Hehe. One time, when all the other Grandmas thought that the plant that Grandma was taking care of was going to die, she took care of it and then when tomorrow came, the plant was lively again.". Viel proudly boasted of her Grandma Ling while beating his chest, smoke almost coming out of his little nose. The other children couldn''t help but put their palms on their faces. They knew that Viel was probably the youngest amongst them, maybe only 3 or 4 so his childishness and naivete could be excused, but this child in front of them was a monster who could score the highest on the Strength Test with just a flick of his finger. They couldn''t help but question what they have been doing with their 6-10 years of existence. "*cough* That''s enough, children. Reaching this stage means that ALL OF YOU are already deserving and have a chance to become a famous cultivator in the future, maybe you can even become an immortal." Hearing this, the children just let out a wry smile. Their previous liveliness could no longer be seen. Diao Mei was still currently staring at Viel like she was thinking of something. Viel, as if feeling that Diao Mei was staring at her, smiled at Diao Mei''s direction and waved. Diao Mei couldn''t help but redden and look away, pretending to be annoyed. "Enough talking! I swear, you guys just love to bicker amongst yourselves in between tests. We shall start the final test, once you have passed this. You are officially a student of Taizhou academy, you may not have noticed; some of our academy''s Elders from various sects have been watching you right at the very start of the test. If you are lucky and have done your best, there''s a chance that one of them might choose you, and once you graduate, you will be invited to their sect to become an outer disciple!" The children were ecstatic when they heard this. They once again gathered their wits and was back to their earlier liveliness. This was their chance to become someone in life and maybe even become an immortal in the future. They were children, they do not truly know the hardships and cruelty of being a cultivator, they were just following on their idols'' footstep, not knowing the journey of every footprint. "We will start the final test!". Hearing this, the children''s eyes were full of resolution, already forgetting the fact that they were amongst a monster called Viel. Unlike the rest of the children, Viel''s eyes didn''t really contain that much excitement; he was just here to make friends and play, after all. "The final test will be a test of skill! Show me the mastery of your strongest technique!". As An Da said this, he went into a fighting stance and shouted. "Six Palms of The Dirty Turtle!". An Da changed his stance simultaneously, every stance ending with him releasing his palms to the air. With each strike of his palm, the air in front of him seem to harden, like it was making a shield of air. Each shield harder than the previous one. He released his palms for a total of 6 times before he stopped. The children revealed hints of admiration. Viel even clapped his hands and laughed. "Haha, Grandpa An Da is very funny¡­ d-dirty turtle he said" An Da reddened but didn''t respond any further, he knew he would just embarrass himself if he argued with a child. "I-it''s your turn now. Diao Mei!". He pointed at Diao Mei who was currently deliberating on what technique she should show. ''..It has to be that!''. When she reached a conclusion, she bowed to An Da and came onto the stage. She released a heavy breath from her mouth as she readied her stance. "Lightning Saber of the Thunder Phoenix!". Diao Mei raised her hand as streaks of electricity were released from her shoulders until it settled in to her palms. The streaks of lightning wriggled until they formed into a spear. Streaks of lightning can still be seen trying to come out of the spear, when she saw this, she couldn''t help but be disappointed. She has been practicing this technique ever since she was born, but even now she still couldn''t fully control it yet. She sighed as she released the spear of lightning to the nearby boulder. When the spear hit the huge rock, it tore of a big portion the size of an adult male until the lightning spear fully dissipated and lost its strength. An Da couldn''t help but exclaim in admiration. "Very good! Although you are very young, you have succeeded in mastering Lightning Saber of the Thunder Phoenix up to this point. You will surely bring this school a lot of merit in the future!". "Yes, Teacher An Da!". Diao Mei nodded as she returned to her spot. With what An Da said, it was a sure thing that Diao Mei have already passed the exam and is now eligible to become a student of Taizhou Academy. After Diao Mei, although not reaching her level, the students who went next could be said to be very talented and are sure to pass the examination. Wei Song and the girl with jet black hair stood out as they performed a technique of the same element, fire. Wei Song''s technique focused more on the sudden release of power. He hugged the huge piece of boulder and shouted. "Explosion!". Wei Song''s body lights up as a sudden burst of flame came out from his body and tore of a huge chunk of debris from the boulder. The damage was almost as big as his ego. He panted heavily after he released his powers as he slowly walked back to his position. The girl with jet black hair was the opposite. "Dance of The Burning Fairy". The girl gracefully moved as if she was dancing, smoke coming out from her body. At first, it might seem that she was just dancing, but when she touched the boulder, the part where her palm landed melted. Her body accumulated enough heat to scrape off and melt a part of the boulder. After her performance, Viel clapped and cheered loudly as if he just watched someone dance in a concert. Seeing this, the girl with jet black hair smiled and bowed towards Viel. Xiao Pei''s technique was simple but effective. "Talon of the Shadow Rooster¡­". He whispered as he disappeared from his position. All the other students were at a lost as they suddenly saw Xiao Pei disappear from his spot. Only Viel and An Da turned their head and looked at the direction of the boulder. The boulder''s surface suddenly revealed signs of being scraped. The marks almost looked like it was scratched by a huge eagle. Xiao Pei suddenly appeared again from his spot after a split second. Everyone was amazed when they realized that the boulder suddenly revealed signs of being attacked. Viel once again clapped and revealed a thumbs up expression. "Woohoo! That''s my bestfriend up there!". Viel shouted and cheered. Xiao Pei couldn''t help but let out an awkward smile. He hasn''t even known Viel for a day but he was already being labeled as his best friend. He just waved his hand like a celebrity before he returned to his position. Finally, it was Viel''s turn again. Everyone stood in anticipation as he walked in to the stage. --------------------------- In the shadows of the examination courtyard, 5 elders were discussing about the test currently being held. "General Diao''s grand daughter is exemplary as expected. It''s just a shame¡­ She already belongs to the Lightning Phoenix sect.". One of the shadows sighed. "Hmhm, that other kid''s technique was also very good. His speed was very exemplary and most of the students are probably slower than him.". The other elder praised Xiao Pei. "Yes yes, but for me, the one with the arrogant attitude stands above all. I will invite him in my sect if he performs well in the academy." "The girl with jet black hair was very elegant. Her execution is the best amongst the student we have seen so far." The Elders were discussing the most talented examinees they have seen. Out of all the discussions, not once did they mention the one that stands out the most out of all the children, Viel. They were trying to divert the other Elder''s attention to the other exemplary students. Perhaps by doing so, the other Elders will lost interest in Viel and they can snatch him up all for themselves. One of the female Elder even started to salivate as soon as he remembered Viel''s cuteness. Their discussion only died down as soon as they saw Viel coming up to the stage. ----------------------------- Viel stood on the stage, everyone was anticipating what kind of technique this monster will do now. What they didn''t know was that Viel was currently in the process of being bombarded by a voice deep in his mind. Viel has his eyes closed and was currently frowning, the voice in his mind doesn''t seem to have any plan on stopping. ''Excess Soul 02 recommends using Devil''s Armageddon'' ''Excess Soul 03 recommends using Heaven''s Blight'' ''Excess Soul 01 recommends using Hammer of Karmic Judgment'' The voice in Viel''s mind continues to talk, repeating the same words over and over again. "M-mr. Voice, p-please stop. I can''t concentrate". Although Viel wanted nothing but to surprise the people watching him, the techniques that the Voice was recommending was not something he should use. Viel had a feeling that if he uses even one of those techniques, Grandma Ling might get mad at him and not give him any gifts anymore. Suddenly, a sudden burst of inspiration came upon him as he looked at Diao Mei. "You, Miss Mei!". Viel shouted. Diao Mei was startled, not knowing why the biggest weirdo in the group was currently pointing at him. Her face revealed signs of panic and she couldn''t help but exclaim. "Y-y-y-yes?!". "Watch me!". Diao Mei blushed as the little boy on the stage was currently eyeing him out of all the other children. But her expression turned into shock when she heard what came out of Viel''s mouth next. "T-that?!". "Lightning Saber of the Thunder Phoenix.". Viel exclaimed as bursts of electricity was summoned from his shoulder. The electricity wiggled as it went into Viel''s palm. "Miss Mei, this technique of yours is called Lightning Saber of the Thunder Phoenix¡­ but why did you form a spear?". As Viel said this, the electricity in his palm formed into a saber. "¡­". Everyone there couldn''t help but look at Diao Mei. Some of the children revealing hints of pity. ''Poor her, being targeted by this monster''. Diao Mei couldn''t help but question herself. ''C-could it really be just that simple?!''. If the Elders in her sect can see this situation now, they will certainly beat Viel to death. Although it was called Lightning Saber of the Thunder Phoenix, the one who created the technique, their matriarch, always summoned a spear of lightning. To everyone''s surprise, Viel''s lightning saber was still wriggling, it didn''t stop until it was so concentrated it resembled a saber of light. There wasn''t even a speck of electricity leaking from the saber. Diao Mei''s jaw opened in shock. She was finally convinced that this was the right way and that she had been practicing this technique wrong all along. Diao Mei''s eyes shined as she concentrated hard on Viel, afraid that she will blink and miss even the tiniest of details. "Hehe. Are you surprised, Miss Mei? Now¡­ watch this!". Viel chuckled as he casually waved the saber on his hand. ------------------------- ''N-not good!'' A sudden premonition came upon examiner An Da as he dashed towards the other children. He quickly raised his palm and released a shield barrier, protecting the other children. Suddenly, all the children could see was a blinding light, followed by a loud howl of thunder. The other children felt the ground shake but they couldn''t see what was happening as the courtyard was currently filled with light. "W-what is happening?!" "I-I can''t see!!!" "M-m-mommy?!" The other students feared for their life, few of them already peeing their pants with the sudden turn of events. Slowly, the light started to dissipate. When the children opened their eyes, 5 new people were standing in front of them. Their arms spread wide as they had their backs against the children. They were the Elders who were discussing from the shadows earlier. "..T-this.. isn''t this too much?". One of the Elder couldn''t help but retort. "An Da¡­ are you hiring a new teacher?". The female Elder who salivated earlier asked An Da. The children were confused as to what was happening right now, who were these new people that appeared before them? But before they could ask, they were silenced by the scenery in front of them. The huge boulder was split open. But this wasn''t what shocked the other children, no. The courtyard, that was once pristine and clean, was now cut in half as a huge crevice was formed along the boulder''s position, the crevice continued through the courtyard and into the woods outside the city. It was a good thing that the academy was positioned in the corner of the city, if not, there may have been a ton of casualties. "O..oh no!". Viel tilted his head and covered his mouth, his eyes wide opened. All of the people present had their jaws opened wide in shock. What is happening in this world right now? Did an immortal walked by and decided to grace them with his presence? If not, where did this sudden crevice come from? Diao Mei''s eyes were full of admiration. She tried to remember everything before they were blinded by the bright light. ''S-so.. I can be this powerful if I fully master the technique?!'' Wei Song was currently embracing his head and cursing. The girl with jet black hair had her fists closed as she nodded. Xiao Pei¡­ Xiao Pei just wants to go home. "Who in the world is that kid?!". One of the elders exclaimed. "W-wait.. speaking of the kid..". Examiner An Da was the first one to recover as he turned to look at Viel. "Where the hell is he?!?!" ----------------------------------------------- "G-grandma.. Grandpa, I am home!" Viel shouted as he barged into his home. Yes, Viel was now back home. "Viel?! Why are you back so early? What about the exams?!" Grandma Ling said in a worry. "Eeeh, I failed. The others were really strong..hehe" Viel said as he knocked on his head with his tongue out, beads of sweat forming on his face. "What.. ha.. I guess city people are really different from us" Grandma Ling was so sure that Viel was strong, but perhaps since she wasn''t fully aware of what cultivators can truly do, and that she overestimated Viel''s powers. When she saw that Viel was revealing an uncomfortable expression, she immediately hugged him. "Aw, that''s alright, little Viel. There''s always next year, okay?" Grandma Ling said as she tried to comfort Viel. "Is there something you want? Grandma Ling will give it to you!" "¡­Anything?!" Viel revealed an excited expression. Grandma Ling nodded as she smiled at Viel. "¡­then¡­hehe¡­ ¡­can I have money to buy a new courtyard?" "¡­" "VIEEEEEEEEEELLL!!!!!!!!!!!!" 9 Harsh Reality "I- I told you, that''s not me!" "What are you saying?! We clearly remember your face! How many white haired children do you think there are in the city of Taizhou?!" There was currently a small boy and an old man arguing inside a small house. They have been going on about this argument for almost an hour now and have been repeating the same discussions ever since they started. Examiner An Da was currently arguing with Viel. After finding out where Viel lived, Examiner An Da and the female Elder, that was infatuated with Viel, decided to visit his home and ask him to come back to the academy with them. Their goal was to finally finish the necessary papers and officially enroll Viel in their academy. But alas, Viel has misunderstood their intentions and was afraid that they will make him pay for the damaged courtyard. "Eh? But I don''t live inside the city though. How many white haired children do you think there are outside the city of Taizhou?!" Viel retorted, once again very satisfied with his logic. "T-this child! Your house is still a part of Taizhou territory!" Examiner An Da didn''t know whether to laugh or cry. This little boy in front of him has been coming up with excuses ever since they started talking. The female Elder, who has been watching for a while now, smiled and started to speak. "Lil boy, but ain''t this your name? Viel? It is listed in the registrant''s form." The female Elder gently pointed and showed Viel his name on the piece of parchment that she was carrying. "V-viel?! T-that''s a funny name. My n-name isn''t Viel!" Viel looked away, beads of sweat starting to form on his forehead. "Eeeh, is that so? What is your name then?" The female Elder cutely asked as she tried to entertain Viel. Although she was called an Elder, she looked particularly young, like somewhere between 25-30. "M-my name?! Ahhh.. I-it''s¡­" Viel was looking around, trying to find the right words to say. After a while, his vision steadied as it settled in a flower that was on the corner of the room. "S-s-s..Seiren! My name is Seiren!" Viel puffed his chest, once again very satisfied with his answer. "Eeeh? Is that so?" The female Elder immediately turned to the direction Viel was looking to, and gently pointed at the flower. "You mean like the name of that flower?" "Y¡­y..yes! My Grandma likes flowers, so she named me after one!" "Eh? but I clearly heard your grandmother shouting your name earlier. I think she called you¡­ ahmm.. what was it? Viel?" The female Elder chuckled as she tried to pat Viel''s head. Viel immediately dodged to the right, not wanting to be touched. "T-that.. that''s my brother! Anyway, I am not who you''re looking for! I haven''t even seen Grandpa An Da before! I am not paying for that courtyard!" Viel pointed at An Da with panic. An Da was about to retort, but was immediately stopped by the female Elder. "Pay for the courtyard? Is that what you think we''re here for?" the female Elder curiously asked. "W-what? You''re not here f-for the¡­wait, what courtyard?! I don''t know anything about a courtyard." An Da and the Elder couldn''t help but place their palms on their face. "Examiner An Da and I are here to invite you to the academy to complete your enrollment." "W-what?!" "Yes. If you''re worried about the courtyard, then I, Xing Cai, will give you money to pay for the courtyard!" Elder Xing Cai waved her hard, immediately, bags of gold appeared out of thin air. Examiner An Da was scared of this sudden action. ''A-as expected of an Elder of the Nine Golden Pavillions. She acts fast if she wants something!'' Viel had his eyes wide open. He had never even seen a gold coin before, let alone this number. "R-really?! You will give me this money?!" Viel excitedly replied. Although he doesn''t truly know the true value of money yet, he knows enough that he can buy lots of candy with it. "Eh? But I thought you''re not who we are looking for? Isn''t your name Seiren? Where''s your brother, Viel?" Elder Xing Cai teased as she shook the bag on her hand. "That was a lie! I don''t have a brother! I am also called Viel, Viel Seiren!" Viel puffed his chest proudly. Both examiner An Da and Elder Xing Cai sighed. They knew that arguing anymore with this little boy in front of them would just lead to further headache. "Okay, I will give you this bag of gold and even pay for the courtyard¡­ as long as you promise to visit my sect, Nine Golden Pavillions, after you graduate from the academy. Do we have a deal?" Elder Xing Cai smiled, she almost drooled imagining Viel being a part of her sect and training under her guidance. She imagined the things they would do, like dressing him up and putting him into woman''s clothing. Examiner An Da couldn''t help but sigh again, this female Elder is certainly cunning. Elder Xing Cai was the first one to approach him when he was searching for Viel''s abode, saying that he would help An Da to find Viel. He knew that she had ulterior motives, but Xing Cai was one of the Elders of the 5 respected sects, he couldn''t just refuse her. "Y-yes! I promise, Miss Xing Cai!" Viel excitedly grabbed the bag of gold from the Elder and started to dance around like a bunny. Elder Xing Cai immediately covered her nose as she spouted a mantra, trying her best to restrain herself from just gobbling about the little boy in front of her. Examiner An Da feeling something was amiss, coughed and spoke immediately. "N-now that this issue is over, WE will talk to your guardians next in order to settle you down in the academy." An Da emphasized that both him and Elder Xing Cai should talk to Viel''s grandparents. He was afraid that if Elder Xing Cai remained any longer, she would commit a crime here and now. ----------- "I am very sorry about the actions of our Grandson!" Both Grandma and Grandpa Ling were currently kowtowing to their guest. "There''s no need for that. Your grandson is very talented. Can I ask where his parents are?" Elder Xing Cai asked, very curious as to what kind of parents would sprout such an offspring. Since both Grandparents didn''t exhibit any form of power of being a cultivator, Elder Xing Cai assumed that their daughter must have married a powerful cultivator from the west. "T-this¡­ her mother died from child birth, and his father died fighting in the war against the Demon God." Grandma Ling has practiced this line many times over. She knew that someday, someone will inquire about Viel''s origins. So she practiced a line she knew would sound convincing. "I-I see, I am sorry to hear that" Elder Xing Cai and examiner An Da have heard this story a thousand times. A child being orphaned because of the war was not uncommon during the war, thus, they didn''t pry any further. Examiner An Da was about to speak, but was once again cut by Elder Xing Cai. "Anyway, the academy has decided to accept Viel as a student. All of his fees will be paid by the Nine Golden Pavillion" Elder Xing Cai said with a smile, holding the hand of Grandma Ling. ''T-this! The academy has already decided to waive Viel''s student fees even before we decided to find him, this Elder is really cunning, wanting to court even the grandparents!'' Examiner An Da scratched his face lightly, he didn''t know why he was even needed here anymore. Why not just invite Viel in her sect in the first place and skip the academy all together? Examiner An Da was right, Elder Xing Cai can just immediately invite Viel in their sect. But although Elder Xing Cai was infatuated with Viel, she wasn''t stupid. She knew that it was impossible that Viel was this strong without having any external factors helping him. Viel spending the time in the academy can help her surmise and analyze where Viel''s strength is coming from. His strength was extraordinary, even compared with the top geniuses in her sect, she believed that no one can match up to Viel, specially at his age. "This humble mortal thanks the Elder!" Grandma Ling tried to cover her tears as she bowed the Elder Xing Cai. Grandma Ling was very happy to receive news that his Grandson would no longer have any troubles in the future, being a cultivator ensured that their grandson will not have problems with money in the future, not fully aware the dangers that come with it. Suddenly, Elder Xing Cai and examiner An Da felt a heavy pressure fall down upon them. ''T-this?!'' Elder Xing Cai hurriedly look towards the direction of where the pressure is coming from. "What did you do to Grandma?" There, Viel was currently looking at them with ill intent. His cute demeanor from earlier was totally gone. Elder Xing Cai couldn''t believe that this little boy could put pressure on her like that. Sure, she wasn''t really putting her guard up, but to release this kind of pressure against her can be considered impossible. "Viel! That''s very rude!" Grandma Ling immediately slapped Viel''s buttocks. "G-grandma!" Viel immediately cried as he touched his butt. Although he didn''t really pain anything, he knew that he did something wrong because Grandma Ling scolded him. "Grandma Ling is just too happy to receive good news, that''s why she cried! What did I tell you about staring at people like that?!" Grandma Ling continued to reprimand Viel for his actions. "..." The guests saw this as their time to exit. They both bid their farewells to the grandparents and Viel. Examiner An Da handing something to Viel before leaving, it was the token that proved Viel''s identity as an esteemed student of Taizhou academy. After they left, Grandma Ling scolded continued after a while. ---------- "An Da, what do you think?" Elder Xing Cai asked An Da with a serious expression. "Hm, the boy is truly not ordinary" "We know that already! Do you think that there''s some immortal running around behind the scenes?" "Hm, if there was, the academy should''ve already known. There''s also the possibility that Viel is truly just gifted by the High Heavens. Maybe they gifted him to us for finally defeating the Demon God." An Da theorized, convinced that there wasn''t an immortal behind Viel. "¡­I forgot that you Taizhou people were hardcore believers¡­ and also, we did not defeat The Devil, the Hero of Freiden did that alone" Xing Cai replied, clearly disappointed about something. Both them continued to discuss for a while before bidding their farewells. -------- Viel was standing in a hallway, walking back and forth, obviously thinking about something. If you see this scene in the modern day, you would probably see a young little boy nervous about walking in on his first class of kindergarten. But contrary as to what modern day people would believe, Viel was currently deeply thinking of how to surprise the people inside the classroom. Viel had been the very first person to arrive in the academy, but he decided not to go to class so he can cook up a surprise for his future classmates. But the harsh reality is, even if he just entered the class, those who remembered him from the entrance exam would probably pee themselves. Viel''s eyes glowed as he thought of something. ''Excess Soul 02: Form of The Beast'' Suddenly, flaming small horns grew on Viel''s shoulders. His already long white hair turned black and grew even longer and strands of fur can be seen forming on his face, claws appeared on his fingers and his teeth grew longer and sharper. Examining himself, Viel was very contended himself. Inhaling a deep breath, Viel barged into the classroom. "PREPARE YOURSELF MORTALS!" Viel shouted with his cute little voice. Maybe if he was older, this would have been very scary. But alas, his small frame and cute face didn''t really make much of a monster. The students, who were currently talking with each other, just stared at him, not knowing what to think of it. Most of the students in this classroom were the ones who scored the highest on the exam, this was after all, the elite class. Diao Mei, Wei Song, and the girl with the jet black hair was also here. Out of everyone, the only one that held a surprised expression was the girl with jet black hair. "¡­r-roar?" Viel tried to imitate a roaring beast, but he only looked like a kitten purring. The other students smiled and were jubilant, like when a child sees a cute stray kitten. Viel was disappointed with the outcome, so he retracted his powers and returned to his usual look. Bit by bit, the furs on his body went back in. The horns grew smaller and smaller until you can''t see them anymore. He was back to normal. When the students saw his original form, their eyes opened in shock. Some of them froze, and some even ran away out of the classroom. The whole class was in a state of panic. Seeing this, Viel was initially started, but realized that this was his chance to surprise them even further. He spread his arms wide and¡­ he laughed maniacally. "HAHAHAHAHA! RUN! RUN FOOLISH MORTALS!" Viel shouted, completely forgetting that he was no longer disguised as a monster. The other students started to panic even more, one of them even jumped from the window. Only a few of the students remained on their seats. Diao Mei''s eyes were shining, seemingly full of admiration. ''So, this is what having strength looks like!'' Wei Song remained seating because he already shat himself. The girl with jet black hair was also staring at Viel. Her eyes currently analyzing Viel from top to bottom. Aside from them, the whole classroom was in chaos. Children howling like monkeys and calling for their fathers and mothers, a small little boy laughing maniacally in front of the class, what is this if not chaos? In the doorway of the classroom, a boy with a huge scar on his face can be seen entering the room, this was Xiao Pei. When he noticed what was happening in the classroom, he stared blankly for a few seconds and¡­ closed the door and left. Xiao Pei didn''t want to have anything to do with what was happening in the classroom right now. 10 Disappeared into thin air Taizhou Academy has always been known to be the top academy of the Eastern Continents, successfully integrating the Eastern and the Western arts of cultivation and ways of teaching. Its state of the art facilities that came from the Western continent prides itself in its accuracy to test their students'' and their staff''s potential. No longer relying on the Eastern''s old and confusing way of ranking one''s strength and now relies on numbers or as they call it now, Power Level. The academy''s prestige further escalated when the Hero Of Freiden from the West defeated the one they call the The Devil, the evil monarch and demon god who terrorized all the 4 Continents. Yes, Taizhou Academy is the best and Senior Professor Freitz Hamberg was proud to be a part of it. Although his name sounded Western, he was actually born and bred in the Eastern continent, but changed his name 70 years ago when he first laid eyes on the Hero of Freiden, from then on, he became a fan of westerners. Senior Professor Hamberg handles all the history classes in the Taizhou Academy and is also the one in charge of the Elite Class. Although Hamberg isn''t the strongest professor in the academy, he was the most suitable one to manage the Elite Class as he was versed in both Western and Eastern arts. He was the prime example of the phrase, "In teaching, power level is not important". Of course, he invented the phrase as well. Senior Professor Hamberg was on his way to the Elite Class as he suddenly heard the cries of children. ''This?! Who dares create trouble in the academy?!'', Hamberg quickened his footsteps as he got closer to the origin of the sound. ''Isn''t this the room for the Elite Class!?'' Afraid that something have happened to his students on the first day of the academy, Hamberg hurriedly opened the door. And lo and behold, the prestige of the Taizhou Academy. Children banging their heads on the desk, praying, crying, and calling for their mothers. When the children noticed Senior Professor Hamberg on the door, they all surrounded him and asked for his help. ''W-what is this madness?! What has happened here?!'', but before he could inquire he heard a loud but cute voice. "Haha! Foolish mortals, where will you ru-", the owner of the voice suddenly stopped when he made eye contact with Senior Professor Hamberg. -- Viel suddenly felt beads of sweat forming on his face when he realized that an old man was already standing on the door entrance, which was most likely their professor. ''O-oh no! Grandma Ling will kill me this time!'' Before Viel got to the academy in the morning, his Grandma Ling warned him not to disrespect his professors and always treat his classmates with kindness, surely, he already failed the latter. Suddenly, Viel thought of an idea and started walking towards the professor. Seeing this, the crying children surrounding the professor scurried away, full of fear. "Y-you, what''re you doing?!", the professor also backed away momentarily before standing his ground. When Viel was about half a meter away from the professor, he spread his arms and then... Hugged the professor and started to cry. ''Excess Soul 03 is weakining'' "Grandpa! Help us, please!", with tears and snot running down his face. Viel pointed on the direction of one of the students that remained seated throughout this ordeal. "It''s her fault!" The one being pointed at was one of the exemplary students during the entrance examination, the quiet girl with jet black hair. ''S-shameless!'', everyone roared in their mind. "N-no!", the suddenly quiet girl jumped in fright. "I-I-I...didn''t do anything!" "Enough! I know clearly who is at fault here!", all the students brightened up when they heard the professor say this. Viel who also heard this, looked up to the professor with teary eyes full of cuteness. "N-No one is! Now get back to your seats!" ''What?!'', all the students exclaimed but they knew they couldn''t do anything and just went back to their seats. At last, this whole ordeal is over and everyone returned to their seats. But they knew that as long as this little monster called Viel was in their classroom, they will no longer have a quiet and peaceful life in the academy. Their first class did not last long as Senior Professor Hamberg said that the official classes will start only tomorrow. The first day is usually for the students to get the hang of the school and its facilities. Although the class was over, no one stood up to leave and explore academy. "I am sorry!", Viel was currently kneeling in front of the black haired girl. This sudden action caused everyone to jump momentarily. "I didn''t mean to point at you, I promise! Please don''t tell Grandma Ling!", Viel''s voice was full of panic as he pleaded the black haired girl. "N-no, i-it''s alright, please stand up!", the black haired girl waved her hand. "Really?! Okay then!", Viel hurriedly stood up and patted his knees like nothing happened. ''This guy... is really shameless'', the black haired girl thought. "What''s your name, new friend? Mine is Viel!", Viel grabbed the black haired girl''s hand and shook it. "F-friend?!" "Yes! You are now my friend. My Granndpa Ling said I should quickly make girl friends so that I won''t have trouble marrying in the future and won''t be stuck with one option!", Viel proudly thumped his chest. If Grandma Ling were to hear this statement, Grandpa Ling will surely be on his way to the grave. "M-m-m-marry?!", the black haired girl covered her face in panic. A loud noise of a chair falling down can be heard as one of the female students that was listening closely stood up. ''T-this is it! My path to power!'', Diao Mei stared at Viel with conviction in her eyes. Viel noticed Diao Mei looking at him and couldn''t help but exclaim. "Ah! It''s you! Goddess Mei, you are in this class as well!", Viel waved his hands wildly as he greeted Diao Mei. Diao Mei bowed in response before leaving the classroom, ''I must report this to Grandfather immediately!''. As Diao Mei left, the other students also took this chance to leave the classroom so as to save them from this madness. Now only a few students are left in the classroom. Including Viel, the black haired girl, and Wei Song who people have probably forgotten about already. "M-my name is Cynthia.", the black haired girl inhaled before saying her name with pride. "Aha! I knew you were also a westerner!", Viel covered his face, only exposing his left eye as he praised himself for guessing right. ''Isn''t it obvious, besides my black hair, all my features are from the west'', Cynthia couldn''t help but chuckle lightly. "Now, Miss Cynthia, I must bid you farewell before she gets here!", as Viel said this he suddenly transformed into a thin light before he completely disappeared from his spot. "W-wait, what!?" But before Cynthia and the other students can gather their thoughts, a woman entered the classroom. "Little Viel, I heard from examiner An Da that you''re in this class, I brought you some candy", a woman that seems to be in her early 30s exclaimed as she searched the room. ''Well ain''t this weird. I''ve been guarding the door for quite a while now and I am sure little Viel hasn''t gone out yet'', the woman pondered for a while before asking the students if they have seen a small white haired boy. The students described the events that happened before the woman entered the room. ''T-teleportation!?'', the woman held her breath. At first, invisibility went into her mind but seeing as she couldn''t even feel any signs of distortion in the classroom, she disregarded this thought. ''T-this... if this is true. Then this is way out of my hands now, I should tell the Ancestor about Viel personally'' "Once you see the little boy again, tell him Elder Xing Cai from the Nine Golden Pavillion has some candies for him", after the woman said this, she immediately left the classroom. -------------------- In a grand room on the top floor of Taizhou Academy. Senior Professor Hamberg can be seen talking to an old bearded man. "Headmaster, with all due respect. As much as I am happy that we have a student like Viel in the academy. I am afraid this is too much trouble", Senior Professor Hamberg calmly gave his opinion. The Headmaster stood up from his chair and walked towards the nearest window, as if contemplating something. "We have no choice, Hamberg, if not Taizhou Academy, then who? The people from Longteng College?", The Headmaster said with pride. "B-but!" "No buts! We are Taizhou Academy, the number one in the Eastern continent, perhaps even the world! We will not reject our students just because they are a little bit different. And what if there''s an immortal behind the child? Who will be responsible if he or she gets angry and decides to wreak havoc in the academy because we expelled his protege? I might be able to defeat him, but how many casualties do you think there will be? A hundred thousand? A million?" "...." "That''s why there''s only one thing left for us to do", The Headmaster said as he put on a serious expression. "W-what is it, respected Headmaster!?", Beads of sweat started to form on Senior Professor Hamberg''s face as he awaited the Headmaster''s reply. "It is time...", the Headmaster''s expression turned even more serious as he looked on the horizon. "For me to retire!" "..." 11 124 Days Longteng College, Longteng Kingdom "Is this information correct?" A man dressed in full black can be seen kneeling in front of a beautiful mature woman with red long hair. "Yes, your Empress", the man in black replied with respect, but he suddenly felt a heavy pressure falling upon him. "Empress?" "I-i mean, H-headmistress Su Xue!" "As long as you know it, hmph. Anyway, are you sure this information is correct?" "It should be so, Headmistress Su. I have personally trained my disciply from Taizhou. If they are mistaken then I will take full responsibility!", the man in black said with conviction. Headmistress Su harrumphed and ordered the man in black to leave the room. ''Hm, could these records really be true? They seem impossible. A small child, about 4 years old, capable of these feats? Unbelievable.'' The Empress scanned the letter that was left on her table by the man in black. [Having a strength level of 67 with a flick of a finger, immeasurable will, able to cause huge damage to surroundings, can disappear in the blink of an eye, very playful, looks like a beautiful girl but is actually a boy] The Empress ignored the last parts of the letter. "These feats are unbelievable no matter how many times I see it, he should at least have a power level of 900. But if this is true, then the East might have our own ''Hero of Freiden''. It''s just too bad that he''s also a westerner, the only advantage is that he is very young and easily moldable... Our Longteng Kingdom must have this boy!" "Meng Ying!", the Empress waved her hand and a bald woman with a large chest suddenly appeared from the shadows. "I am here to receive your command, Empr- Headmistress!", Meng Ying clasped her hands as the sunlight glowed and reflected on her shiny bald head and her large bossom shook lightly. "Prepare me a flying mount. The faster the better, we shall go to Taizhou!" "H-headmistress? Is this the best course of action?", Meng Ying formed beads of swear on her head. "Hmph, are you questioning my judgement!?", the Empress knitted her eyebrows. "I-i dare not, Headmistress! I am just worried about your safety!" "My safety? Do you think that old man from the Academy can harm me!?" "N-not at all! Please forgive me!", Meng Ying hurriedly bowed down for forgiveness. She have been with the Empress for a hundred years now and is aware of the Empress'' temperament. Although the Empress isn''t like those people from the past who will kill your whole family just because you offended them in public, the Empress will still scold you until your ancestors wake up from their graves. "Hmph, as long as you know it! Now stand up and prepare us a mount, your head is blinding me!" "At once, Headmistress!", Meng Ying once again disappeared into the shadows. ----------- A tiny house outside the city of Taizhou. A white-haired boy suddenly appeared from a thin flash of light out of nowhere. "Grandma, I''m back! Grandma?" Viel noticed his grandmother sitting on the ground with her eyes closed. A litter of clothes surrounded her on the floor. He hurriedly rushed to his grandmother to see what she was up to. "G-grandma? What''re you doing here on the ground?", Viel asked, his voice full of concern. "V-viel! You surprised me!", Grandma Ling suddenly opened her eyes and coughed. "Hehe, what''re you doing on the ground, Grandma?", Viel asked curiously. "Grandma is just trying to feel what it''s like to sleep on the ground, here, you should try it as well." Grandma Ling beckoned Viel to also lie down on the ground. As Viel lied down beside her, she couldn''t resist the urge to hug him tight. "Hehe, Grandma! This isn''t really comfortable!", Viel laughed as he snuggled himself deeply in Grandma Ling''s arms. "You''re right, Viel. It''s not", Grandma Ling chuckled as she hugged Viel even tighter. They continued to laugh until Viel noticed the water running down on Grandma Ling''s face. "G-grandma? Why are you crying!?", Viel loosened his hug, afraid that Grandma Ling was being squished by tiny arms. "I-it''s nothing, Viel. The floor is just hard and is hurting my back.", Grandma Ling stood up as she patted her back and wiped her face full of tears. They picked up the clothes that were on the floor and Grandma Ling continued to hang the clothes outside. Viel was going to help but Grandma Ling refused, saying that he shouldn''t rely on his powers for everything, despite this, Viel still wanted to help but failed, as he couldn''t reach the clothes string. Viel watched as Grandma Ling hanged the clothes when suddenly thought of something. ''Excess Soul 01: Eyes of Judgment'' Hearing what the voice said, Viel once again hugged Grandma Ling. "Don''t worry, Grandma. You still have 124 days!" Grandma Ling couldn''t really understand what Viel said, so after pondering for a while she just set it aside and hugged him back. After finishing her chore, they returned inside the house and talked about Viel''s first day at school. Viel recounted how he gained another friend and how he surprised his classmates. Viel also said that he will try his best to find a lot of girl friends so that he can make Grandpa Ling proud. Suddenly, Grandpa Ling, who was in the city trying to sell firewood and animal skin, got shivers on his skin and felt that he shouldn''t go home tonight. ------ "Good morning class!" "Good morning, Professor Hamberg!" Senior Professor Hamberg nodded as he was satisfied that nothing happened in the Elite Class today. "Ahem, since all of us seem to be completed. I will now start my lecture.", Senior Professor scanned the room and saw that one of the student that was absent yesterday is now in class. "Hehe, Pei Pei, he''s talking about you", Viel whispered to the boy beside him. "P-Pei Pei!?", Xiao Pei couldn''t help but shout as he heard his new nickname. "QUIET!", Senior Professor Hamberg pointed at Xiao Pei as he released a heavy pressure. Xiao Pei couldn''t help but redden, embarrassed at being scolded in his first day at school. "Today, we will be talking about the brief history of the Eastern Continent and our country. The Eastern Continent is divided into 20 countries and as you should be aware by now, our country, Zhaina, is one of the super countries. This is mainly because our ancestors were strong and had the ability to adapt through the times! Our emperor from 10,000 years ago¡­." Senior Professor Hamberg continued the history lesson for hours, some of the students were beginning to fall asleep but this didn''t seem to bother the professor. "And just like that, the rivalry between Longteng College and Taizhou Academy continues to grow, but this also ushered our country to be the best! Any questions?", finally the long lecture is over. Professor Hamberg scanned his surroundings to see whether anyone raised their hand to ask a question. "Me! Me! Me!", Senior Professor Hamberg smiled as he heard a student enthusiastically wanting to learn. However, he gulped down when he saw a white-haired boy jumping and waving his hands in the air, this was Viel. "Y-yes, what is your question?" The students perked up as they realized that the little monster was the one that was asking the question. Diao Mei hurriedly opened her notebook as she intently waited for Viel to ask his question. Xiao Pei covered his face, almost knowing that whatever Viel was going to ask, it wasn''t anything good. "Is it true that you dyed your hair yellow to look like a westerner!?" "¡­W-what!?", Senior Professor Hamberg wiped the sweat on his face, completely stunned by the question. Suddenly, a loud outburst covered the quiet classroom. Almost all of the students couldn''t help but laugh hysterically from the question. Viel was surprised at first and didn''t know why everyone was laughing but after a while, he covered his mouth and also chuckled lightly. ''S-so cute!'', everyone in the classroom thought so. ''Excess Soul 03''s nose starts to bleed'' "Ahem, that is not relevant to our lesson today! If no one has any other questions, please get ready and go to the newly repaired courtyard for your next class. Your combat professor will meet you there.", Senior Professor Hamberg hurriedly exited the room with his face completely red. "Haha! You really are something, Viel!", Xiao Pei clapped his hands as he continued to laugh. "I-I don''t?¡­ Haha! Of course!", Viel was still confused as to what happened but he still proudly placed his hands beside his waist. Cynthia, who was also beside Viel, completely understood that Viel didn''t have any idea that what he asked was inappropriate and couldn''t help but reprimand him. "Viel, you shouldn''t be asking things that will hurt people!", Cynthia shook her fingers. "Eh, it should be alright.", Xiao Pei added. Cynthia continued to explain what Viel did wrong as the three of them left the classroom to go to their combat class. As all of them left the classroom, one student remained on her seat while holding a pen. "¡­V-very observant! As expected of someone who has power!", Diao Mei continued to stare at the air. -------- As the students arrived on the courtyard, they noticed that a handsome man with his arms behind his back was already waiting for them. When the handsome man noticed that everyone was already gathered in the courtyard, he looked arrogantly to each of them. "Hmph, Good afternoon, children", the handsome man harrumphed as he greeted the students. "Good Afternoon, Professor!", The students placed their right hand on their chest, doing the academy salute. The combat professor nodded as he introduced himself, "Good, that is the attitude you should all have. My name is Professor Li Zhao, I will be your combat professor for this semester!" 12 Sweat and Tears WARNING : This chapter contains scenes that are not suitable to minors and senior citizens. Morning of the same day while Professor Hamberg was teaching the Elite Class, a dark skinned muscular man can be seen talking to a handsome man inside the professor''s lounge. The dark skinned muscular man was doing a punching routine, and the handsome man watches while he fixes and pulls back his beautiful hair. "Your execution of the Three Snake Fist seems to be improving, Professor Geralt", the handsome man, finally finished fixing his hair, commended the dark skinned man. "Still have a long way to go, Li Zhao. And what''s with the "Professor"? You seem to be addressing me just fine last night.", Geralt wiped his sweat before he reached out his hand, extending it to touch Li Zhao''s face. But before he could do so, Li Zhao slapped his hand away. "Mind your manners, Professor Geralt! Before I embed it to that little western brain of yours with my foot, western scum!", Li Zhao snarled as knitted his eyebrows. Geralt couldn''t help but raise his hands in defeat as he chuckled. Geralt first encountered Li Zhao when he applied to teach in the academy a year ago. After passing the Teacher Examination, he heard that there was someone in the school who hated and abhorred westerners so much that he bullies every westerner he meets. Furious, Geralt approached Li Zhao and challenged him to a Duel of Servitude. Whoever loses will have to serve the winner for 30 years or until the winner breaks the contract, the winner can ask anything he wants as long as it does not involve in the loser dying. Li Zhao accepted the challenge and ultimately won at the end and request that he meet Geralt later at night in his house. Geralt grunted, not knowing what fate awaits him that night. Will he be made into a punching bag for Li Zhao''s training? Or will he be turned into a chauffer? To Geralt''s surprise, what awaited him that night was not something he could''ve imagined. Geralt knocked on the door of Li Zhao''s house, he heard Li Zhao''s voice telling him that the door was open and the he could come in. Opening the door, he heard a moaning sound and the view that awaited him was something he did not expect. A western woman, brimming with sweat and tears, can be seen smiling as Li Zhao continues to penetrate the most precious part of a woman''s body. Before Geralt can say anything, Li Zhao asked him to strip. ''H-how dare you!?'', is what Geralt was thinking, but they were currently in a Servitude Contract so he did not have a choice but to obey, lest he suffer the punishment of the Gods. Geralt started to strip as Li Zhao stopped caring for the woman and approached him. When Geralt took of the last of his under garments, Li Zhao kneeled down in front of him and started to lick the stick. Geralt was froze feeling the wet feeling on his stick. At first, he thought that Li Zhao will ask him to do obscene things with the western woman. He was against this idea as he was not interested in women. Knowing that Li Zhao was personally the one who required his stick, he was hesitant at first but gave in in the end. Who knew, that the Li Zhao that everyone said was racist and rude to westerners, was actually a fan of them during the night. Their nightly activities continued until now, with or without a random western woman on the side. "I heard you will be teaching the Elite Class later this afternoon, Professor Li Zhao?", Geralt asked as he once again executed his martial technique. "What''s it to you?", Li Zhao snarled, still seemingly annoyed at Geralt''s teasing. "I heard that there''s a weird western boy enrolled in that class" Li Zhao clearly knew who Geralt was talking about. The Headmaster along with Examiner An Da, held a meeting with all of the professors that will be handling the Elite Class. Li Zhao was curious as to what the meeting was about as the Headmaster is rarely present during meetings. The Headmaster explained to them that there was a student enrolled in that class that should never be offended. "Hmph, no matter what that western boy''s background is. I will teach him to respect his seniors!" -- -- -- -- -- "My name is Professor Li Zhao, I will be your combat professor for this semester!" "Student greets Professor Li Zhao!" Li Zhao nodded as he continued to scan the students in front of him, trying to find the western boy that everyone was talking about. However, he couldn''t seem to find any more westerners other than the two girls. The older one was a black haired girl that seems to be around 8 years old, and the younger one had white hair and seems to be about 4 years old. ''Hmph. To not even dare be present during the first day of class, that western boy seems to think that the academy is a playground he can just come and go as he pleases'', Li Zhao knitted his eyebrows and shook his head. ''But¡­ the number of students seem to be correct''. "Where is the student called Viel?", Li Zhao asked the students. "Student greets Professor Li Zhao!" Li Zhao was stunned to see that the white haired child who he thought was a girl is actually a boy. Furthermore, the boy called Viel didn''t seem to be as amazing as the rumors told him to be. He recollected himself quickly so as not to look like a retard in front of his students. "I heard you were strong. But I would like everyone here to know there will always be people stronger than you. Come to the stage!", Li Zhao beckoned Viel as the jumped to one of the dueling platforms in the courtyard. All of the students exclaimed when they heard this, they had the first hand experience of seeing what this white haired boy was capable of and a commotion immediately broke down. "W-what!? A fight between a teacher and a student, who do you think will win!?" "W-well, Viel is a monster for sure. But I don''t think he will win, after all, Professor Li Zhao is older!" "I think so too. I also heard some great things about professor Li Zhao, they say professor Li Zhao is one of the youngest professors to be accepted in the Academy. His strength is almost on par with Examiner An Da and has a power level of 800! That''s the 4th stage of Nature Realm and almost half a step away from the Earth Realm!" "R-really!? I heard was just at Soul Pinnacle Realm 3 years ago? Then Viel really has no way of winning this!" "You guys are wrong! Viel will win this!", a girl''s shout can be heard amongst the bickering, the source of the voice, however, can''t be determined. "Enough! Whether or not Viel can defeat me is still not set in stone.", Li Zhao scolded the students but he couldn''t help but reveal an arrogant smile. Li Zhao was clearly pleased that the students are praising him. "Student Viel! What are you still waiting for!? Do you not know that our time is limited!?", Li Zhao shouted, completely asserting his dominance. To his surprise, Viel was just staring at him with a blank expression. "I told you Viel has no chance of winning, he is even too scared to move! L-look, i-is he crying!?", one of the students exclaimed. To everyone''s surprise, tears suddenly flowed down from Viel''s eyes. Seeing this, Li Zhao started to panic, thinking he went too far on the scolding. "S-student Viel, t-this is just a test! Look, I will not even use my hands! There is no need to cry!", Li Zhao placed his hands behind his back. The truth is, Li Zhao has no intention of hurting Viel, he was just going to dodge and play around with the child so as to set an example to others that there will always be people stronger than you, and maybe boast a little. After all, the Headmaster said that there is likely an immortal backing up Viel. An existence that does not dare offend. Li Zhao was about to say something else before he heard a tiny voice. "Professor¡­you sound very familiar" 13 Excess Soul 01 In a place filled with darkness, loud thunderous noises could be heard beating erratically. 3 people could be seen looking at what seems to be a mirror, with their faces full of curiosity. 2 of the people in the darkness were the Gods that were stuck in Viel''s dantian or core. These were Demon God Xanthus and the Lord God Lu Ying Yun. "O-oi, I almost died in shock there!", Xanthus said jokingly while covering his ears. "This is¡­ the sound of thunder!? What is this predicament we are currently in right now?", Lu Ying Yun glanced at Xanthus for a while before shaking her head in disappointment. She knew that this Demon God is stupid and will certainly not know what is going on with their situation right now. So, she looked at the man who would probably have an answer and once again asked the question. "Does thou have answers, Judge of Karma?", Lu Ying Yun asked the man with respect. The man didn''t really have any distinct features. He was not handsome, but he was not ugly either. He doesn''t look young, but he doesn''t look old either. The physical appearance of this Judge of Karma could be said to be the epitome of ordinary. And the more they look at him, the more ordinary he gets. It is as if their minds are telling them that this man is faceless. "None", the Judge of Karma said while wearing a smile on his face. "I-is thee sure?", Lu Ying Yun was flustered. No matter how many times she sees the Judge of Karma''s smile, she will always experience an uncomfortable feeling crawling down her skin. Especially when he says something negative with a smile on his face. "Yes, I am sure. But what I do know is that it has something to do with that man in front of us", the Judge of Karma pointed at the mirror with a smile on his face. "You mean our baby''s combat professor? He is but a puny human!", Lu Ying Yun mocked the man inside the mirror. "Oh shit, the creepy old man doesn''t have answers, we''re doomed!", Xanthus laughed hysterically as he placed his hand on Lu Ying Yun''s shoulder. Although one could not really discern the age of the Judge of Karma, Xanthus have called him a "creepy old man" ever since they came to discover that this seemingly ordinary looking man was the main entity that was responsible for whether you reincarnate or be forever erased from the Cycle of Life. He still remembered the first time the Judge of Karma introduced himself to them. -- -- -- 4 years ago, when Viel was just recently adopted by the Ling. "Greetings, God Souls." Xanthus and Lu Ying Yun could be seen groveling in front of a smiling man, as if they just woke up from a long slumber. Their breaths heavy and their looks pitiful. The last time that they were conscious, they remembered being sucked by the darkness and no matter how they tried to struggle, they couldn''t fight back. And yet here they are right now, "alive" and well. They redirected their confusion to the smiling man in front of them. Without a doubt, this man was the owner of the eyes that was looking at them whenever they try to use their powers. "Y-you, speak! Who art thou!?", Lu Ying Yun summoned a blade of light, and with every strength on her body, she pointed it to the smiling man. "Very well, I am the Judge of Karma. The one that judges if souls should be cut from the cycle of life or be reincarnated into one of the infinite number of worlds.", the smiling man replied without hesitation and pause. Hearing this, Xanthus shivered in fear, Lu Ying Yun even more so because she was the one who arrogantly pointed her weapon at the Judge of Karma. They could not confirm the authenticity of the smiling man''s words, but they do know that the man is strong, maybe even stronger than both of them combined. And seeing the situation they are in, there really is not any merit in lying. Lu Ying Yun immediately turned to Xanthus, as if asking him what they should do. However, when Xanthus noticed that Lu Ying Yun was looking at him, he slowly turned his head away. Xanthus clearly did not want to get involved any deeper in the situation. Lu Ying Yun twitched in anger, ''T-this devil! What was the "Lu Ying Yun, Hold my hand!" all about if he is just going to ignore me when I need him right now! How preposterous! The nerve! Imbecile!''. Before Lu Ying Yun could finish ridiculing and curse Xanthus in her mind with every bad things imaginable, the Judge of Karma spoke again. "Do you have any more questions, God Soul from World 352169?", Judge of Karma said smilingly. Noticing that the attention of the Judge of Karma was once again in her direction, Lu Ying Yun gulped and wiped away her sweat. After a long while of them just staring at each other, Lu Ying Yun finally calmed down and nodded. "What do you mean by God Soul?" "God souls, as the name suggests, are souls that have reached Godhood. Meaning, they were very powerful during their stay on the cycle of life. In this case, the both of you are God Souls, and may I say the strongest I have seen so far in my existence, and I know every soul there is in this universe" "Why have you brought us here, inside this baby''s core?", Xanthus, who was keeping quiet the whole time, suddenly asked a question with a serious expression. "That is because I needed help. Your souls are the only ones powerful enough to hear my voice inside this irregular¡­ thing", when the Judge of Karma said this, the smile on his face faded for a while. "W-what does thou mean!?" "Someone¡­ something that should not be in the Tower Of Souls slipped by our defenses" "What thing?" "I do not know", the Judge of Karma shook his head in dismay while still keeping his smile. "Then did you lie when you said that you knew every soul in the universe?", Xanthus knitted his eyebrows. "Yes, I do. God Soul from World 24512. But the one who trespassed the Tower of Souls is not a soul, it does not harbor life" "T-that¡­ then why is thee here in the first place?" "As the Judge of Karma, it is my duty to retain balance. So I followed the irregularity to this realm and to my surprise, it absorbed me. I tried to escape, I could not. I needed help, so I lured your souls here. For that I apologize" "If you really wanted to escape, then why did you always appear whenever we were trying to break through this core?" Hearing this question, the Judge of Karma suddenly burst out laughing. This obviously made Xanthus and Lu Ying Yun uncomfortable to their bones. "I was trying to help you. The heavy pressure the both of you felt was me injecting my mana or qi, into both of you." "I-see. Then do you have any idea how we will get out of here?" "None. And if I am right, we will never be able to get out¡­" "So we might as well make ourselves comfortable. Once again, I am the Judge of Karma. That is my name and I have no other", the Judge of Karma clapped his hand as he revealed an even wider smile. -- -- -- -- -- Present Day "Now, this is peculiar, peculiar indeed", the Judge of Karma placed his hand on his chin. "P-peculiar? Don''t you mean impossible!?" Inside Viel''s core, the rumbling sounds of thunder could still be heard, but this time, it was accompanied by a torrent of dropping water. "Yes, it is impossible as far as my knowledge goes, but I suppose this is why the phrase "There''s a storm brewing inside of me" was invented", the Judge of Karma nodded at himself. "No, it is not!", both Xanthus and Lu Ying Yun rebuked. "Well, there is one explanation I can think of..", the Judge of Karma once again placed his hand on his chin and seemed to be lost in thought. "Reveal thy thoughts, Judge of Karma" "I have seen the same thing happening a couple of times, to put simply, this happens whenever a world is created" "A world inside of a body!? Is that even possible!?", both Xanthus and Lu Ying Yun had the same thoughts. "No, I think we are beyond what is possible and what is not ever since we have been trapped in this bod-", before the Judge of Karma can finish his sentence, a monotonous voice sounded. ''Player is experiencing a new emotion'' ''Analyzing¡­50%'' ''Analysis complete!'' ''Player is currently experiencing "Rage"'' "Rage!? But why would he even feel that towards this weak ass combat professor!?", Xanthus grinded his teeth, his brows knitted in to the extremes. Viel''s emotion is clearly having an affect to him, after all, out of the three of them he was the most familiar with rage. "Indeed! Is this not the first time we have met this puny mortal named Li Zhao!?", Lu Ying Yun added. "The first time? No, it is not", the Judge of Karma shook his head. "I have felt him once when I was newly absorbed into this body" "Really? Then who could this puny mortal be to be receiving such hate from our baby!?" "If I am to be correct, it seems to be Viel''s biological father" "T-this-", before they could finish their thoughts, they suddenly heard Viel''s tiny voice. "Y¡­Young noble¡­ please don''t", cracks could be heard coming from every word that Viel says and without any warning, the view in the mirror shifted. It showed Li Zhao''s face being hit with a tiny hand. The tiny hand did not stop hitting Li Zhao, and no matter how much he struggled, he could not break free and his face started to bleed. "O-oh no! Baby Viel, please stop!", Lu Ying Yun rushed to the mirror and banged it with all her strength. "W-woah! Calm yourself, Lu Ying Yun!", Xanthus grabbed Lu Ying Yun''s hand to stop her from banging the mirror. "N-no! He should not take this puny mortal''s life! This will isolate him from the world even further!", Lu Ying Yun still continued to bang the mirror. "You should know this the most, Xanthus!" "T-this¡­ even so, you must calm yourself! Creepy old man, help me stop her!" "No, she is right. Let her be, nothing will happen anyway", the Judge of Karma just smiled at Xanthus'' plead for help. "Y-you! What the hell is happening to you, boy!?", Xanthus shouted at the mirror from the top of his lungs. -- -- -- -- Back in the courtyard "K-kyaa!", some of the female students were in shock. They could not have imagined that the handsome combat professor would be beaten to a pulp like this, with his cave almost caving in. It all happened so fast. "V-viel!? What are you doing!?", Cynthia shouted at Viel, but to her disappointment, Viel didn''t stop hitting the combat professor. "Y-young noble, p-please stop..", Viel kept hitting Combat Professor Li Zhao while saying the same words over and over again, his head almost shrinking down into the ground. "Y-young n-noble" ''This¡­ what is wrong with him!? He is clearly the one that should stop!'', Xiao Pei glanced at the situation worriedly. All of them wanted to stop Viel, but the question is, who would? They knew that this monster would most likely kill them if they tried to stop him. "I-I told you guys that this boy is crazy!", Wei Song, who has probably been forgotten by the whole class by now, shouted his claim. "S-shut up! T-this is the right of the strong!", Diao Mei debated Wei Song. Although she thought like this, she still put on a worried expression. "This is not the time to argue about that! We should find someone to stop Viel!", Cynthia quickly ran to ask for help but was stopped in her tracks when she noticed that a woman suddenly appeared on the dueling platform. It was the beautiful female elder from the Nine Golden Pavillions, Elder Xing Cai. "I think this is far enough, little boy", Elder Xing Cai waved her hand and a golden needle suddenly appeared, floating in mid-air. The needle flew towards Viel and hit him in his neck¡­. and Viel still continued to punch the combat professor. "W-what!? Little boy, stop!" Elder Xing Cai was suddenly enveloped in sweat, by all means, the golden needle should have put Viel unconscious. Elder Xing Cai quickly rushed and hugged Viel with all of her strength. "Sshh.. Little boy, it is alright now, please stop!", Elder Xing Cai tried to calm down Viel. She didn''t notice it before, but even though the anger on the boy''s face could clearly be seen, his face was also full of tears. After a while, Viel''s punches gradually slowed down. "P-p-please¡­ stop¡ª", and after saying the same words again for the last time, Viel finally fell unconscious. Elder Xing Cai let out a breath of relief. Most of the students were still processing what happened because everything happened so fast. But all of them shared the same thought... ''There will be repercussions'' 14 This Story is Over! In the courtyard, all of the children could be seen whispering and talking to each other. "Oh my goodness!" "That was so crazy! Everything happened so fast!", most of the students were exclaiming and talking to each other in a frenzy. Never in their very short life could they have imagined that something like this was possible. An up and coming professor on his way to the steps of popularity have been subdued and pummeled by a 4 year old boy. He wasn''t just pummeled, he was obliterated. Some of the students were trying to poke combat professor Li Zhao to see if he was still alive, and surprisingly enough, he still was. Albeit struggling with every breath. Elder Xing Cai on the other hand, was contemplating whether to kill the combat professor and hide his body somewhere to avoid future problems. However, she put aside the thought when she remembered that she was still hugging the unconscious Viel in her arms. She patted the boy''s head before trying to place her qi inside the boy''s body to check whether he was alright. As she first injected her qi, she felt something wrong and was starting to think that this was a bad idea. But alas, it was too late, she proved herself right as she felt her whole consciousness drifting into the deep abyss which is Viel''s dantian. She felt herself suffocate, trying to claw her way out but could not feel anything within her grasp. It felt like she was falling, how far she will continue to fall, she did not know. Hours, days, weeks, months, years- She felt her whole existence being scattered in the deep abyss. But suddenly, she felt a cold touch on her shoulders and in the blink of an eye, her eyes started to see the light again. At first she was confused as to where she was at, but after a while, she started thinking clearly and realized that this was the place she was at before she entered the abyss and memories of the past events flooded her mind. It is as if they were memories long forgotten, but clearly, were not. The time she spent on the abyss was not even a split-second yet it felt like an eternity for her. Turning her head to see whose hand was holding her shoulders, she saw a little girl with black hair looking at her. "E-esteemed Elder, i-is Viel alright!?", Cynthia''s voice was cracking. Even though she has not been friends with Viel that long, she felt a weird connection with the boy so she was the most worried amongst all the people here. "T-that''s right, is m-my future powerful h-husband alright!?", Diao Mei hurriedly walked towards Cynthia and Elder Xing Cai. Cynthia frowned when she heard the word husband but was not able to inquire further because she heard a loud shout. "What has happened here!?" The Taizhou Academy Headmaster walked into the courtyard, following him were Examiner An Da, Senior Professor Hamberg, the dark-skinned man- Geralt, and a few other professors that have yet to be introduced to the class. "Elder Xing Cai? Why are you still in the academy''s grounds? The scouting for new students are over already!", The Headmaster curled his eyebrows when she saw Elder Xing Cai but soon furrowed when he saw that she was holding an unconscious white haired boy. "R-respected Headmaster, please calm down. I am sure there is an explan-", Examiner An Da was quick to stand between the Headmaster and the female Elder but before he could finish his sentence, Geralt suddenly shouted as he charged towards a spot on the dueling platform where some of the students were gathered. The students quickly dispersed when they saw a huge lump of black muscle rushing to their direction. "W- this¡­ Li Zhao!? What happened!?", Geralt quickly pulled Li Zhao''s face which was almost embedded and sunked into the floor. "W-who did this!?", Geralt glared at the nearest student he could find. The student, who couldn''t withstand the pressure that the dark-skinned man was emitting quickly confessed that it was Viel who attacked the combat professor and pummeled him into the ground with no chance to retaliate. Geralt couldn''t believe to what he heard. No, he refused to believe it. Even though the white haired boy was rumored to be a monster, defeating someone who was leaps older than you was impossible. "No! The boy did not do anything, I did it!", Elder Xing Cai quickly stood up while carrying Viel in her arms. "Is this true?", the Headmaster calmly asked the student who was questioned by the dark-skinned man. "N-no sir! T-t-t-the Elder only arrived w-when the combat professor was being pummeled to the ground, she was the one who stopped Viel!", the student was shaking as he recalled and explained the situation without lying once again. "It seems that is the situation, Elder Xing Cai", The Headmaster glanced at Xing Cai before looking at Viel again. As per the academy''s rules, punishment must be met! Harming each other in the academy with the intent to kill is not allowed, and with how combat professor Li Zhao is looking, Viel clearly had the intent to kill!" "I agree! Punish the boy!", one of the unknown professors shouted. After he started, most of the other professors also exclaimed and agreed with him. "W-wait a minute, respected Headmaster. W-what about the possibility that someone is backing up Viel?", Examiner An Da''s face was full of sweat. "It does not matter. Even if there is someone who is backing up Viel, the academy shall and will not tolerate anyone breaking the rules!", The Headmaster''s expression slightly revealed a grimace before once again wearing an aura of pride. "No! But the combat professor was clearly taunting and teasing Viel!", Diao Mei suddenly shouted. "T-that''s right, respected Headmaster! It was the combat professor who provoked him!", Cynthia backed up Diao Mei''s words. "T-this¡­", the Headmaster revealed a hint of hesitation. ''I really should have retired'' -- Outside of the academy, a beautiful red-haired woman can be seen examining the gates of the academy. "Tch. So this is Taizhou Academy? What''s with these gold gate, do they think they''re a bank or something?" "Hmph. I could crush these tiny walls with my bare hands, can they really protect their students like this?" "Why is the air here so humid? Are they trying to suffocate the students?" The woman with the red hair, Empress¡­ Headmaster Su Xue, was currently in the middle of ridiculing and cursing every inch of Taizhou Academy''s entrance. As she was thinking of more negative things to say about the academy, a man approached him. "B-beautiful Lady, I have brought you to the academy¡­ I was wondering about..", the man was fiddling with his hands in a repeating motion. Before he could finish his words, a bag was thrown in front of his face. "Hmph! I know the deal! Now get out of my face, mortal!", Headmaster Su Xue was clearly annoyed and tired of this man who he asked for help. "T-this¡­ is it really t-two thousand silvers?", the man was about to check the bag of coins before he felt a killing intent near him. He saw the beautiful red-haired woman looking at him with emotionless eyes. He gulped before forming a fist and bowing to the lady. He quickly ran away after thanking her. "Tch, even the mortals here in Taizhou are shameless! Truly shameless!", Headmaster Su Xue covered his nose as if she was passing by a pig sty. "Meng Ying!", Headmaster Su Xue waved her hands. "At your command, Em- Headmaster Su Xue!", a bald woman with big breasts suddenly appeared from Headmaster Su Xue''s shadow. "Find us a place to stay in this pig sty, the more expensive the better! This city is full of snot and pretentious retarded people!" "Yes, respected Headmaster!" "And after you do that, find the family of our spy in the academy. Give them 3 gold coins for the services of their son to Long-¡­ What is this weird aura!?", before Headmaster Su Xue could finish her orders, she felt a weird aura inside the academy. "This is.. in the academy!?" -- "Even if you are the Headmaster of Taizhou academy, this boy is now under the protection of the Nine Golden Pavillion!", Elder Xing Cai could be seen arguing with the Headmaster while still carrying Viel in her arms. Her aura rising drastically, some of the students'' legs were starting to shake. "T-this¡­ even so, the academy has to follow its rules, Elder Xing Cai!", the Headmaster stood his ground and released his aura as well, followed by the other professors at his back. Both parties were staring at each other intently, waiting for the other to move. But before they could do so, they heard an applause. "Oh my oh my, what is going on here?", a red-haired woman appeared from the entrance of the courtyard, clapping while walking towards to their direction. "E-empress Su Xue!?", the Taizhou Academy Headmaster retracted his aura when he saw who the red-haired lady was. Elder Xing Cai frowned, she clearly also knew who this woman was. "HEADMASTER! I am now a Headmaster!", Su Xue was clearly annoyed at the Taizhou Academy Headmaster. "I apologize, EMPRESS Su Xue, but you are in Taizhou Academy, and the only one that should be addressed as Headmaster here, is me", Even though the Taizhou Academy Headmaster''s tone still contained respect, he was clearly not giving Su Xue any face. "Y-you-!", but before Empress Su Xue could talk, the Headmaster interrupted her. "May I ask what is your highness doing here? Did your father, the respected High Emperor, send you to meet with our city lord?" Empress Su Xue was clearly annoyed at the Headmaster and wanted to beat his head off, but she knew that would not lead to anything good- Taizhou Academy was afterall, one of her father''s greatest asset. "No, I did not come here to talk with your mortal lord", Empress Su Xue retracted her annoyed expression. "I just came here to see what my rival school is up to¡­ but it turns out you are just bullying your own students". Empress Su Xue glanced at Viel before giving the Headmaster a mocking glance. "This is none of your concern!", the Headmaster quickly retaliated. "Oh? That is where you are wrong. As a fellow educator, I can not stand by idly while you people are bullying this fragile little boy", Su Xue once again glance at Viel. White hair, small, and looks like a girl- these features matched the data that was given to her by her spy. Clearly, this unconscious little boy was the one in the report. "T-that is¡­ No! He is our student and will be tried by our academy''s rules. And since there have been witnesses that this situation was instigated by the combat professor in the first place, only light punishment will be met upon the boy!" "Oh ho, is that so? Well, we''ll see what the boy thinks after he wakes up. Our academy has a lot more to offer than this academy of yours, after all", Empress Su Xue covered her mouth and chuckled. Elder Xing Cai, who was carrying Viel, furrowed her eyebrows. She was completely ignored with the whole exchange. In the corner of the platform, Li Zhao starts to wake up. The dark-skinned man, Geralt, helped him to stand up. "D-damn it. M-my face!", Li Zhao was furious when he touched his face, there were some parts that were placed clearly where they should not be. "T-that boy!", Li Zhao quickly scanned the area, trying to find the white haired boy who did this to him. "Calm down, Professor Li Zhao!", Geralt quickly advised Li Zhao. Li Zhao was going to rebuke before he realized that there were other people in the courtyard. "The verdict is as follows!", the Headmaster waved his hands. ''V-verdict!? Is the little boy going to be expelled!?'', Li Zhao thought. He was clearly happy that he was awake to see the little boy being expelled from the academy. "Li Zhao, who instigated the situation will be transferred to a lower class and will teach there!" After hearing this, Li Zhao couldn''t help but shout, "M-me!? But I was the one who was attacked!?". "Ah, combat professor Li Zhao, how good of you to join us. The verdict is final, we have witnesses backing up the claim that you are the one who provoked the student", the Headmaster acknowledged Li Zhao''s presence before continuing his verdict. "As for the elite student, Viel. Even though he was provoked, he should have kept a calm mind and assessed the situation first! A clouded mind can and will lead to death in battle!", the Headmaster looked at the other students that were present, clearly also lecturing them. "However, the student Viel did produce amazing results and showed prowess way beyond that of his peers and that is worthy of praise. I shall now state the student''s punishment!" Everyone held their breaths, waiting for the Headmaster''s verdict. "He shall be the one responsible for guarding the gate for a whole week! Listing those who have arrived after the bell and reporting only to me! That is all!", the Headmaster waved his hands as if saying that the verdict is over. "T-that.. isn''t that punishment too light!?", Li Zhao was clearly disappointed with the verdict. "Enough! That is my decision as the Headmaster. Empress Su Xue, if we may, let me offer you tea. Everyone else, you are free to go!" Empress Su Xue nodded and walked away with the Headmaster. Li Zhao, who was still angered by the verdict, took a glance at Viel before leaving with a dark expression on his face. The rest of the professors and students left one by one until only Elder Xing Cai, Viel, Cynthia, Diao Mei, and Xiao Pei remained on the courtyard. "R-respected Elder, is Viel going to be alright!?", Xiao Pei, who was keeping quiet the whole time, finally had the opportunity to talk. "He is alright now, I will bring him home to his grandparents", Elder Xing Cai smiled. "M-my future husband''s home!? Can we come with you!?", Diao Mei revealed excitement on her face. "Can I come too?", Cynthia furrowed her eyebrows at Diao Mei before asking the Elder as well. "T-this, of course, you children could all come with me", Elder Xing Cai was touched, even though Viel could be considered as an odd-ball, he was still surrounded by kind friends. "I-i-I will come along as well to protect all of you from this monster!", Wei Song, who was hiding behind the shadows suddenly appeared as the group was about to leave. Elder Xing Cai glanced at Wei Song and nodded before they all continued their short journey to Viel''s home. Can we come with you Wei song tags along -- "DAMN IT!", Li Zhao could be seen throwing a tantrum inside his quarters. "Li Zhao, calm down! Your wounds are still healing!", Geralt, who was with him, was trying to comfort Li Zhao. "Your wounds will heal!" "I swear, when I get my hands on that boy-", Li Zhao gritted his teeth as Geralt was wiping the blood that gushed through his face due to his outburst. "We can not do anything to the boy, he clearly holds a position at the academy and with the Headmaster, let this go. Just flip this from your book and be done with it", Geralt shook his head as he stated calmly. "Tch", Li Zhao was clearly annoyed at Geralt for stating the obvious. The room was quiet for a while until a sudden thought appeared from Li Zhao''s mind as he suddenly stood up. "Yes¡­ maybe we can''t do anything to the boy", Li Zhao revealed a wicked expression. The expression was even more accentuated by his wounded face. "Y-you!? What are you thinking!? I hope you are not thinking of doing anything to the boy! This story is over!", Geralt quickly grabbed Li Zhao''s hands tightly, as if he was not allowing Li Zhao to do anything that he will regret. "Me? To the boy? Oh no¡­ I won''t do anything..he..he", Li Zhao started to laugh maniacally. His pride was clearly hurt by the beating he received from the boy. He was a student, and most of all, the boy was a westerner! This should not be tolerated! "I won''t do anything... ...but someone else will" 16 Back to Normal ''01001101 01101001 01110011 01110011 01101001 01101111 01101110'' "W-what''re these... weird letters.. no.. numbers?" In a dark and vast space, Viel can be seen floating along with a bunch of green random characters. Viel could not recognize the characters themselves, but for some reason, he knew that these things were numbers. ''01001011 01101001 01101100 01101100'' "I... i''m scared.. G-grandma? Grandpa Ling!? Where am I?" ''01010000 01100001 01110010 01100101 01101110 01110100'' "M-more numbers.. what is happening.. Mr. Voice?" Viel was starting to panic even more when he realized that even Mr. Voice was not responding to him, the numbers around him just keep on flashing endlessly. Viel''s face starts to show a sad expression, his deep black eyes starting to moist. In just a few seconds, Viel started to sob loudly- calling for Grandpa and Grandma Ling. It went on for about a few minutes until Viel caught a glimpse of a white dot on the horizon. He wiped his face and he inhaled all the snot coming out from his nose as he concentrated his vision. Gathering up his courage, Viel started to fly towards the white dot. The white dot keeps getting bigger and bigger in his sight. Getting closer, Viel noticed that there was something moving inside the white light. Seeing this, he increased his speed until he was already in front of the "white dot". But now that he was in front of it, he realized it wasn''t a white dot at all, but more like a window. When Viel saw what was on the other side of the window, his eyes light up and he revealed a smile. On the other side, he could see the silhouette of what seems to be 3 people. "H-hello!?", Viel shouted as he knocked on the window. The three figures suddenly jumped in surprised as they looked into Viel''s direction. "B,B,b,b-baby Viel!?", one of the silhouettes flew towards the window until it was directly in front of the window. The owner of the silhouette revealed itself to be a beautiful woman. Viel was startled at first seeing the woman suddenly fly in front of him. But soon, tears fell down from his face as he was relieved that he was not alone. "H-hello? B-big sister, can you let me in.. p-please?", Viel said as he sniffed and wiped his tears. "O-ofcourse! I shall let you in right now! D-damnations! This window, ''tis not breaking! Xanthus, help me out!", the beautiful woman punched the window, but with no luck, the window remained intact. "Move aside, old lady!", suddenly a ball of fire shoot towards the window as a tall man with jet black hair raised his hand. But once again, the window remained intact. "X-xanthus! You infedil! What if that went through and hit baby Viel!? Thou shall pay for that!" Suddenly, the beautiful woman and the tall man with jet black hair started to fight. "A..hmmm. H-hello?", Viel didn''t know what to make of the situation, but his tears stopped because he found the scene in front of him to ne funny. "Now now, children. We have a guest", suddenly, the remaining silhouette clapped his hands and revealed himself. This man didn''t really have any redeeming features, one could say he was the epitome of what you would call "average". "Greetings, Young master Viel", the man smiled as he bowed. Seeing this, Viel also bowed in response instinctly. "H-hello? Where are we? H-how do you know my name? W-who are you people? Why are the big sister and big brother in the back fighting? ....c-can you let me in?", Viel was at a lost and didn''t know what to ask, so he asked it all. "Hmm, I wish I can answer all of your questions. Alas, we do not have the time, Young master Viel", as the man said this, Viel suddenly felt that something was pulling him away from the window. "W-what is this!? n-no!", Viel placed his hand on the window as if trying to grab it. "B-baby Viel!", the beautiful woman tried to reach for his hand, but the window acted as a barrier that seemed to be resolute in not letting the two hold hands. "It''s alright, young master Viel. You''re just waking up. See you soon again", the man with an average face said as he waved his hand goodbye. "B-baby Viel! Please take care of thyself! We.. we''re always here watching you! Always!", the beautiful woman said as her hand was still infront of the window, parallel to Viel''s hand. "Heh, if someone hurts you, don''t be afraid to kill them, brat", the man with jet black hair placed his fist on the window. "W-wait... who are you people!?", Viel shouted as he was finally pulled away from the mirror. His vision started to get dark until finally- "V-viel! Y-you''re finally awake!"