Volume 2, Chapter 16: Tournament and the Attempted Soul Power Robbery
The central plaza of Anito Academy had become something truly alive that day. What used to be an open courtyard for morning exercises was now transformed into a grand demonstration ground. Tiered balconies made of clear glass rose all around, filled with thousands of spectators — students, teachers, families, and even important guests from different parts of the Federation. Everyone held their spirit pads, eyes fixed on the glowing graphs and numbers floating in the air above the arena.
In the middle of the plaza hovered several large circular platforms known as Resonance Rings. These were not simple fighting stages. They were carefully crafted sensory plates, their surfaces covered in intricate Baybayin markings. Every time a student used a skill, the characters would light up brightly, sending real-time information into the air — how much soul power was used, how efficiently it moved, and how well the student controlled it. The entire plaza felt like one giant living classroom.
High up in the faculty viewing booth, Lakan sat in the body of Professor Lakas. He leaned back casually in his chair, wearing a fresh white lab coat that already had a small ink smudge on the collar. In his hands, he idly played with a small handheld resonance tuner, clicking its buttons without much thought.
"Quite the turnout today," a calm voice spoke beside him.
Only Lakan could see her. Sheng Ming, the Goddess of Life, had sent a gentle projection of herself. To everyone else, the seat next to him looked completely empty.
"People always enjoy a good show," Lakan replied with a small smile, his eyes slowly scanning the rings below. "Especially when you tell them they're watching the future of the world being shaped. But look at the data on Ring Four. There's a tiny dip in the surrounding energy. Very small, but steady."
Sheng Ming leaned forward slightly, her expression thoughtful. "It feels like a slow leak in a water pipe. Precise. Hidden. Someone is trying to take without being noticed."
Lakan's lips curved into a knowing grin. "That's our special guest. He's getting bolder."
Down below, the matches continued with excitement. On one of the rings, Ma Xiaotao moved like a living flame. Her orange-red phoenix fire burned brightly as she exchanged blows with a senior student from the Sun Moon side. The crowd cheered every time her flames surged.
But something was wrong.
Her fire, usually steady and powerful, began to flicker unevenly. It popped and sputtered like damp wood thrown into a campfire. Ma Xiaotao's face tightened. She could feel her soul power being pulled away in strange, unnatural ways.
At the edge of the ring, Huo Yuhao watched with sharp eyes. The All-Seeing Library inside his mind worked at full speed. In his special vision, he could see the beautiful golden Baybayin markings around Xiaotao being slowly covered by tiny black specks.
"The stream of soul power is breaking down," Yuhao whispered to himself. "It's not normal friction."
'It's not just friction, boy,' Electrolux's deep voice rumbled inside his head. 'It's a parasite. Look at the "Ka" syllable on her left wrist guard. Something is choking it.'
Yuhao saw the problem clearly. A jagged, dark influence was trying to overwrite the clean markings. It was slow-acting, sneaky, and very dangerous. It made Xiaotao's spirit tool pull more power than it needed, heating up her body from the inside.
"Professor!" Yuhao called toward the faculty booth.
In the booth, Professor Lakas simply waved a hand casually, his expression calm. He knew exactly what was happening, but he chose not to step in. He wanted to see if Yuhao could handle this kind of problem on his own.
Yuhao made his decision. He pulled out a small metallic stylus from his pocket — the kind students used for engraving markings. Ignoring the rules of the match, he stepped closer to the edge of the ring and began tracing stabilizing "Ba" (ᜊ) characters into the floorboards just outside the combat area, but still within the resonance field.
He wasn't trying to destroy the harmful influence. He was creating a better path for it — a honey trap that would redirect the dark energy into a harmless loop.
•••••••
On the other side of the plaza, Chen Feng sat among the spectators, his face hidden behind a simple resonance mask. Inside his mind, his corrupted system was active.
[Passive drain active.]
[Scythe of Decay hidden within the spatial folds of the Wilted Grass soul.]
[Current harvest: 0.5% soul power per minute from surrounding targets.]
Chen Feng smirked. He didn't need to fight directly. He just needed to stand there and let his tool quietly steal energy from everyone releasing skills around him.
But then he felt it — a sudden jolt.
The drain on Ma Xiaotao suddenly reversed. The dark influence he had sent toward her was being pulled into a spinning loop.
[Warning: Interference detected on Ring One.]
[Decaying Markings are being redirected.]
[Origin: Unknown Library frequency.]
Chen Feng's eyes widened behind the mask. "That kid again…"
He looked toward Ring One and saw Yuhao crouched down, carefully tracing new markings with his stylus. Anger flared inside him. Without thinking, he tapped his hidden black hoe against the ground, sending a stronger pulse of cold energy across the plaza.
The effect was immediate.
A strange ripple passed through the arena. Students' spirit tools suddenly glitched. A flying sword dropped out of the air. A defensive shield shattered into pieces. The glowing graphs in the sky turned chaotic, with jagged red lines spiking wildly.
The crowd gasped in shock.
"What's happening?" someone shouted.
Ma Xiaotao staggered on the ring. Her flames turned a sickly purple color. She clutched her chest, breathing hard. "It feels… so heavy…"
The harmful markings had jumped from her tool straight into her own soul circulation.
Yuhao didn't hesitate. He jumped onto the ring, ignoring the shouts of the referees, and grabbed Ma Xiaotao's wrist.
"Yuhao! Get out of here!" she gasped.
"Stay still," he said firmly.
With focused movements, he traced a complex "La" (ᜎ) marking directly onto her wrist guard. But this wasn't a normal engraving. He poured the power of the All-Seeing Library into it, creating a recursive loop that acted like a trap. The dark influence rushed toward the new marking, thinking it had found fresh power, only to get caught spinning faster and faster inside the loop.
With a sharp cracking sound, the black specks shattered and disappeared. Ma Xiaotao's flames exploded back into brilliant gold.
"I can breathe again," she said, relief clear in her voice.
Yuhao didn't stop there. He followed the thin black thread of energy with his eyes and pointed directly toward Ring Four.
"He's the one doing it!" Yuhao shouted. "The boy in the grey uniform!"
The Enforcers from the Hall of Execution moved immediately. Their leader, the same man who had caught Chen Feng stealing in the shop before, narrowed his eyes and started walking toward him.
Chen Feng panicked. He smashed a small escape crystal he had prepared, releasing a thick cloud of black smoke. When the smoke cleared, he was already gone.
The plaza fell into a stunned silence for a few moments, broken only by the low hum of the resonance rings slowly powering down.
Professor Lakas stood up and walked down to the ring where Yuhao and Ma Xiaotao stood. The crowd watched him closely.
"Well," Lakas said, looking at the slightly charred floor, "that was certainly more exciting than we planned."
He turned to Yuhao, his eyes twinkling behind his glasses. "Nice work with that La loop, kid. I don't remember teaching that particular trick in class."
"I found it in the archives, Professor," Yuhao answered, still catching his breath.
Lakas chuckled. "The archives, huh? Good place. Full of old knowledge… and a few tricky ghosts."
He raised his voice so the entire plaza could hear. "The demonstration is over! We had a small technical issue, but it has been resolved. Please check your spirit pads for the official report. And remember — the strength of any marking depends on the person who creates it."
As the spectators began leaving, Lakas leaned closer to Yuhao and spoke quietly.
"He's still out there," Lakan said, his voice losing the playful professor tone for a moment. "The boy with the hoe. He'll come back with something stronger next time."
"I'll be ready," Yuhao replied firmly.
"Good," Lakas said, patting his shoulder with a teasing smile. "Because next week we're going on that field trip I mentioned. When you're stronger, I'll show you exactly where those dark markings come from."
Yuhao's eyes lit up with determination. "Really, sir?"
"I'm a professor," Lakas winked. "I've got a hall pass."
••••••••••
Later that night
Lakan disconnected from the biological shell and opened his eyes on the Phoenix God Star. He sat up in his favorite beanbag chair, still feeling the faint phantom sensation of the stylus in his fingers.
Zhu Zhuqing was nearby, calmly sharpening one of her daggers. The rhythmic shick-shick sound filled the quiet room.
"You're smiling again," she observed.
"Was I?" Lakan laughed softly. "I guess I was. It's nice seeing the kids figure things out on their own. Makes all of this feel worth it."
He looked out through the crystalline windows at the vast sea of stars.
"But Chen Feng is getting desperate," he continued, his expression turning more serious. "He's starting to poke at the deeper workings of this world. If he keeps pushing, he might cause a collapse even I would have trouble cleaning up."
Zhu Zhuqing's eyes flashed with cold resolve. "Then we make sure Yuhao grows fast enough to stop him first."
Lakan nodded. "Yeah. But first… I really need to figure out how to get this burnt spirit-energy smell out of that lab coat. It's still lingering."
He leaned back with a tired but satisfied sigh. The quiet moments like this, watching the next generation learn and grow, made everything worth it.
End of Volume 2, Chapter 16