Weeks have gone by since the incident in the Southern Academy, life inside the academy resumes as usual.
Birds are singing their sweet song, flowers bloom in efflorescence color, students walk pass, train and converse.
And of course…
BRUK
Nanming is getting tossed around by Wu Lixian again, this time towards a tree.
"Again!"
Wu Lixian shouts, even when Nanming entire form is crumbling and his inhibition scattering.
But Nanming refused to give up, he rose once more and concentrated on his inhibition. His Aura of blue flickers to life, Wu Lixian smiles at his resoluteness and delivers her next attack.
Her fist connects to his inhibition, the feeling of breeching him felt intensely hot, like punching a flame. But this pain won't deter her, the fist she delivered contact Nanming chest, and he was thrown into the same tree once more.
Even when her attack is nothing special, just a punch. It is enough to make Nanming cower in pain as held his chest close, feeling as if whatever was inside threatens to come out of his hole.
"Can you still stand?"
Wu Lixian ask as she stand tall above Nanming who lies on the ground.
"…I can"
Nanming stand once more, staggering as he did so. Wu Lixian smile and cock her fist, allowing Nanming to properly form an inhibition once more.
Nanming took a deep breath, assumed a horse stance and formed his inhibition. As his energy swirls in blue, drawing in air and blowing Wu Lixian black hair around.
Wu Lixian then delivered a strike…
BRUK
And Nanming was once again thrown away. His body hit the same tree so hard it broke and fell, but his body continued to travel in the air and soon hit one of the pillars around the courtyard.
"Oooff…"
Wu Lixian flinched, clearly unaware of the power she just unleashed. She immediately runs towards Nanming to make sure he was fine.
…
It's afternoon now, both Nanming and Wu Lixian rested in the center of the courtyard.
Nanming breath is heavy, even when his body healed to perfection the toll of being tossed around affected his mind one way or another. Wu Lixian admired his tenacity, but she ended up forcing him to stay put and rest.
It's also a good time to explain to him what he does wrong.
"You tried to put your Inhibition all around you right?"
Wu Lixian said, and Nanming nods.
"Don't do that next time…"
Wu Lixian said, drawing a stern voice from her mouth only for Nanming to tilt his head in confusion.
"But, I do that every time…"
Nanming then goes towards the outer rim of the Courtyard to fetch his sword, he then went back and unsheathe it in front of Wu Lixian, its blade shines under the orange light.
As he did that, he tried to unleash his inhibition into the sword, Wu Lixian was surprised for a moment but… Nothing happened.
"-?"
Nanming is confused, he shakes the sword and even hits his palm against its flat side to no avail, the inhibition simply failed to coat the sword.
"Are you trying to use corrosion? I'm sorry Nanming, but you aren't skilled enough yet"
Wu Lixian pat his head to prevent him from being discouraged, she assumes that Nanming read about Corrosion somewhere and is confident that he can unleash it.
But Corrosion is something no one can do unless they have an immense energy, masterful control of their inhibition and skill. And its biggest downside, if you use Corrosion, you cannot use Inhibition.
She can believe Nanming would someday be able to use corrosion, but not now.
"But I can do it sometimes ago"
Nanming protest, but Wu Lixian pulled on his cheek and shakes it around.
"Perhaps it's just a phenomenon similar to one, but rest assured, I'm sure you can do it one day"
Wu Lixian lips arch beautifully into a warm smile, causing Nanming to nods in disappointment.
…Disappointment? No matter, Nanming believes that he can use Corrosion, he did use it during the trial and long before.
…
Night comes, Dark Hours rushed in as ghastly voices wander the Academy. But Nanming sits alone in the courtyard with both book and sword beside him.
"Corrosion can be done when One coats their weapons in their own inhibition…"
The section about corrosion reads like that, Nanming then flipped the page towards the part where Inhibition was explained.
"Inhibition is a net of energy used to capture more energy be it from outside or inside"
Which means Inhibition is used both in cultivating to capture ambient energy into oneself and to inject it with energy to form a shield.
A basic everyone knew at heart, but this concept is foreign to Nanming. Perhaps there is a fundamental ignorance in his martial style, something that contradicts normal teaching.
But what?
Nanming unsheathe his sword, the grip feels foreign and familiar at the same time. And as he swings it
His slash was sluggish; it has no weight and often time deviates from where he wanted it to go. Why? He follows the book about swordsmanship, why is he becoming slower now that he fights like this?
Just to make sure it isn't a coincidence, Nanming decided to cut a falling leaf. Something he can do easily back then.
But now, the leaf was simply pushed up by the sword and falls once more, still intact.
"…"
Just to make sure, again, he tried to make a Corrosion. Something he practically did every time he unsheathed his sword with ease.
Now he needs to concentrate a lot more, his face muscle tightening and his vein pops out in deep concentration. His Aura flickers blue as he tried to coat the sword with his inhibition.
For a second, his sword flicker in violet, only for it to dimmed out and disperse.
Nanming sat down on the ground, labored breath caused his body to shudder as his entire body went numb.
Something was wrong with him, and he didn't know what.
.
.
.
In a secluded courtyard overgrown by vegetations, Wu Chen can be seen training with a Guan-dao that he obtained from getting first place.
It seems that this year tournament has a new prize for the winner of each Class and Semester, he heard Nanming got a very expensive book about poems.
Speaking of Nanming, ever since the fight with him, he realized the awesomeness of Spear. Long handle and sharp points, there is a reason why it was widely used in an army, it's a weapon of war.
However, there is a weakness to spear, if the enemy gets close enough the spear won't do anything and against a skilled martial artist, they can just dodge or block the thrust.
A weakness he hardly sees in Guan-dao, and it fits Wu Chen fighting style somewhat. Its heaviness requires ahead thinking to make sure the heavy blade hits.
The only weakness he has now is how to use it, Wu Chen didn't really know how to use a spear, even now he swings it more like a staff than a spear.
Heavy and bold swings push the air rather than cutting it, causing the blade to move slowly. Though Wu Chen likes this approach, he can use Wind Energy to enhance the wind created by the Guan-dao.
Wu Chen now prepared to swing the Guan-dao, at the same time he activates his inhibition to trap the air right in front of the Guan-dao.
As the wind gathers into a black smoke caused by his manifested Aura, when he swings the Guan-dao down it explodes the air into the front, the destruction it unleashed was devastating.
Mossy tiles of the courtyard were torn to pieces and flunked into the surrounding marker stone, and even then, the wind did not cease as it continued to rip through one of the towering stones.
"…Holy shit"
Wu Chen blurted out those uncouth words, totally at a loss at how powerful that attack was.
He immediately realized just how potent it is, he can gather the winds to surround him to cause an explosion around him, he can use the wind to propel him, and he can use it to accelerate his swings.
Such a versatile attack, akin to a Storm… No, the name Storm has been widely recognized as the Demon King, he needs a new name for the attack.
"…Black wind… Black blade…"
Black Blade Style, that's it! An evocative and simple name! Wu Chen is ecstatic about the discovery of a technique that suits him perfectly.
In fact, he is so happy that he spent the entire night doing it repeatedly until he collapsed from exhaustion.
.
.
.
"Wahhhh!!"
Gu Tian wakes up from her sleep, eyes still heavy yet it was pried open by the intense light from the sun outside. She rubbed her eyes and closed the window again while muttering an incomprehensible word.
"Gamn Wangung Hen, Ai tolt u to klos of the window… (Damn Namgoong Hien, I told you to close off the window)"
She then fell asleep again, snoring as she did so. Enjoying a nice sleep atop a nice springy mattress made from duck feathers.
That is until Namgoong Hien comes into the room to fetch something.
"Hmm? I thought I already opened the window"
She walks into the closed window and open it again once more, breathing in the fresh air that she hardly feels in the North since Death Energy was everywhere, she smiles lightly at the sweet dew that decorates her nose with a pleasant smell.
She then grabs a book and heads out once more.
"…Mmmmm"
Gu Tian growls, feeling her sleep has been interrupted once more by the daylight. She frowned when she saw that the window had been opened once more.
"Damn it… wait"
'Good morning, Gu Tian', a comical self-voice by Gu Tian mind when she realized that it was already day.
She immediately sprung up from her bed, but her blankets caught her feet and caused her to tumble down into the floor in hard thud.
"Owiee…"
She rubs her forehead, yet the pain didn't stop her to hurry along the bathroom. It was already empty, since all the students had already gone to class at this time and she was awfully late.
She strips as fast as possible and immerses herself into the bath itself for 3 seconds, applying a hard soap someone had left behind and drenching herself in the bath once more.
She then quickly wears her robe without even drying herself properly, using her Flame Wheel to produce a small heat to dry her hair and sprint towards her class. Thankfully, she isn't late.
…3 hours later
On the back of some tree near Gu Tian class, a pair of boys huddled together discussing some sensitive topic.
"I'm telling you! This is a serious violation if we get caught!"
One of the boys said, looking cautiously left and right, this bunch of boys are 16 years old Fourth Semester students.
"Can't help it, you said you wanted a girlfriend, right?"
The other said, smirking mischievously as he jabs his cautious friend in the shoulder.
"I mean… Yeah but, these are kids you damn fuck…"
The cautious boy said in a low voice, flinching when he heard a distant footstep.
But his friend just chuckled, amused by his acute nervousness.
"Its fine, if you don't want to date anyone then just observe them… Like that one!"
He quickly hid behind a bush, observing a lone girl walking. She has lustrous long black hair and a blue eye. Her skin is pale white, exactly to her taste and she seems like that lonely type of girl, which makes her an easy prey for some quickie.
"The fuck? No, I'm out of here, nuh uh"
The cautious one quickly runs away, leaving the lecherous man by himself, looking at his fleeting form with pity, to pass such opportunity is foolish, at least in his debauched mind.
He then straightened his hair and tidied his hanfu before he walks with confidence towards her.
To go forward with his lowly and utterly pathetic actions.
…
Gu Tian just finished her class and got out late because she is sleeping during the period, finding that some of her friends has gone away first so she walks alone across the garden of the class to grab some fruit in the Forest of Darkness and perhaps messing with Wu Chen.
"Hello little girl"
Suddenly a foxlike voice calls out to her, Gu Tian looks around and finds that a boy is approaching her.
'Not this again'
She clicks her tongue before he could say anything, the boy has this beautiful blonde hair styled to reveal most of his attractive face, yet it hides what was necessary, making him look soft and approachable.
He smiles in these tantalizing smiles of a hot man you see in erotic picture book, and it clearly suits him.
But Gu Tian didn't care, she was about to flee but the boy grabbed her arm in an instant.
"Oops, why are you running? You're so beautiful why don't we walk together and conve—"
"Leave me alone"
Gu Tian said, her face of neutrality suffocates the boy who can't help but to scoff in awkwardness.
"Hmm, but why don't you give me a chance? Who knows, perhaps I can change your mind and…"
She suddenly grabs her cheeks and forces her mouth open, shoving some kind of substance inside her before she can even react.
His lips then twist into a cruel enjoyment; his eyes widen in ecstasy as he already imagines what kind of pleasure she can—
BWOOSH
But Gu Tian activates her Flame Wheel foundation, cloaking her form in a mix of green and red as the boy recoiled back from the sheer heat of her Aura, his face etched with bewilderment and surprise.
"W-what?"
"Tell me how you want to die…"
Gu Tian then emerges from her Aura, face so fierce it could kill. She is not messing around.
The boy immediately bowed, and apologized
"My apology! I was rude and stupid and didn't realize that you are a strong martial artist! Please forgive me!"
He said, but deep down, his heart is pounding with excitement upon realizing that this girl is tough.
After all, seeing such a strong woman being reduced to groveling mut is a warped form of happiness for him.
'Just wait for that drug to take effect, then you'll be my plaything'
"Blissful End right? The poison you just gave me isn't effective against me…"
After all, his father used to feed her a lot of aphrodisiac so that she could never be drugged. A part of her resent that restless night where her stomach becomes so hot its unbearable, but today, that hellish night paid off.
The boy makes a restless voice; his entire face and stomach fall as he realizes that this girl is something else.
Gu Tian advanced her step and cracked her fist, causing the boy to stumble and kick the dirt with his feet to get away from her.
"No, wait! Stop! I'm sorry… I-Im sorry!"
Now he is groveling, but there is no way Gu Tian won't punish this creep. She loads her fist in fiery fury and is about to deliver a strike, that is until a sword sinks into his head.
Gu Tian was shocked, the sight of the blade smoothly piercing his head and the blood pouring out from his open and still eyes, yet he is still conscious despite the injury.
"Fool who break the academy rules shall not be spared, Jun Bei, you had accumulated 300 points for infiltrating another Semester sections without any pass nor permission"
A figure wearing a red hanfu suddenly appeared, he was Gu Tian teacher Boyun. Normally a gentle and soft teacher, now he sinks his sword so easily to 'punish' a student.
"That alone warrants a flagellation, but attempted sexual violation? Towards an underage too?"
His voice then contorts into intense malice as the entire garden was blanketed by his thick red Aura.
"Gu Tian, please avert your eyes and leaves. It will be very quick…"
Boyun then smiles, his soft and gentle face returned. Gu Tian nods quickly and leaves, her Aura subsides behind her.
Boyun face then turned fierce once more, hearing the scream of Jun Bei whose head is stuck in place due to the blade piercing him.
"Shut the fuck up you pedophilic piece of shit, I longed for punishing the likes of you. Sick psychopath whose worth is only in filling up the prisons cell with even more dead weight"
Boyun insults streamed out in a river of hate, longing for the chance to punish his kind since his sister was a victim of sexual assault once.
In fact, his entire reason for wanting to be the First Semester teacher is to find and punish this type of individual
The hate he felt towards him is immeasurable, and it is evident by how he did his next move.
Grabbing Jun Bei hair as he slowly slides a knife to slit his throat agonizingly, making sure he felt every bit of pain.
His muffled scream didn't bother him, Boyun just did what he needed to and exacted the hate he felt to those who violated his sister.
The past him is so helpless and powerless to stop the criminal agonizing him for years, and now, an outlet for that trapped suffocation exists.
Every.
Single.
One of them.
Should Die.
"The punishment for attempted Sexual Violence to the underage is death, you know it right? It's the rules etched in your guidebook you lowly swine!"
All the while he continued to taunt his painfully slow death, throwing insult to make sure he died an agonizing death. And when he returned to become a Ghost, Boyun will make sure that his apparitions will Die the second time.
That is the kind of Hate he felt, hating someone so fiercely that he not only wished for their death, but for their complete, and utter, eradication.
…
Gu Tian looked back at the sight; it was hidden but she could vaguely imagine what was happening. But she sneers instead of being scared. She had met so many of those creeps, and she drove them away one by one.
Finally seeing them get what they deserved almost instantly is a refreshing feeling for her.
And once again, this all happens because she is pretty and beautiful. Should she cut her hair to look more like a male? To avoid this kind of incident again in the future.
"Oh? Look who we have here~"
Then, a familiar male voice calls her out. Someone she deeply trusted and cared for; he is making an annoying face.
"What are you doing here? This is the female section…"
"Is it? Well, I'm not a creep so it doesn't matter"
"Well… I just met some creep back there so—"
"What…"
Wu Chen voice turned deep, his face frown in deep seething hate from out of nowhere. Gu Tian flinched at the sudden Honest Chen.
"N-Nevermind, I didn't say anyt—"
"Stop fucking around, answer me…"
Wu Chen grab both of her shoulder and demand a truthful answer from her
"…He's been dealt with, so don't worry"
Gu Tian heart flutters at his proximity, but also at the fact that he cares. Whenever she tried to tell her father or uncle about the many creeps back then, they just ignored her or told her to solve it herself.
The frustration of not being heard caused her to stop announcing her problem entirely and her expectations for others to help her.
"Are you alright?"
"-?"
At his words, Gu Tian grew even more astonished. Why did he care for her so much, Gu Liang too and Namgoong Hien.
Why is everyone so nice to her?
"Yeah, I'm somewhat used to it"
She smiles lightly, happy that someone is looking out for her. But Wu Chen mistook her smile and interpreted it differently
"That is not something to be proud of, next time, if another creep shows up… Tell me"
Wu Chen flicks her forehead and causes her to flinch.
"I'll make sure, that they regret living"
Wu Chen then leaves, perhaps he realized that he overstayed his welcome and retreats before any problems arrive for him.
But before he vanished near the tree line, he turned back once more towards Gu Tian and spoke.
"I know you're strong, but this is not something you can handle alone"
'you're strong…'
Those words mean something from him, being acknowledged by two of her most cherished people has done wonder to her tenacity lately.
But unlike Gu Liang, something about Chen makes her heart flutter.
'Are you alright?'
The words replayed in her mind, and before she knew it her body grew hot, her cheeks became hotter and her heart pounded rapidly. Not from the aphrodisiac but from something else.
"You dummy… You said some unnecessary words"
Something she cannot name is threatening to burst her heart out of her chest, so annoying.