Volume 2, Chapter 17: The Triumvirate's Shadow
The Anito Academy always carried a special weight in the air. It wasn't just a school — it felt like a living museum where history itself breathed through every wall. Tall pillars stood covered in the ancient Baybayin markings that Lakan had perfected ten thousand years ago. The soft glow from those characters gave the entire place a quiet sense of order and strength. In one of the high offices inside the Central Pagoda, three important figures sat around a low table carved from petrified phoenix wood.
Mu En, the Dean, moved slowly as he poured tea into simple cups. His hands showed the calm precision that came from years of mastering the "La" (ᜎ) markings. Across from him sat Long Xiaoyao, the Grand Commander of the Shadow Sentinels. He was a big, solid man who looked like he had been carved from dark stone. His sharp eyes stayed fixed on a spirit pad showing the strange disturbance from the recent tournament.
"The energy felt wrong during the matches," Long Xiaoyao said, his deep voice rumbling like distant thunder. "Someone was quietly stealing the extra power that students released. It wasn't a normal drain. It felt empty… like something was sucking the life out of the stream of soul power."
"It's more than just a simple theft," a calm third voice added.
Ye Xishui, the Twilight Arbiter, stood near the large window. Her long hair, streaked with silver, caught the warm afternoon light. She had come a long way from the troubled woman in the old stories. Now she served as one of the Federation's top judges. Her Blood Soul Puppet martial soul was no longer a burden — it had become a precise tool she used to remove corruption wherever it appeared.
"The Hall of Execution has already marked the boy named Chen Feng," Ye Xishui continued, turning back to the others. "He moves like a shadow in the system. But what truly interests me is the other student — Huo Yuhao. He fixed the problem on Ring One by creating a loop I haven't seen since I was young. Who taught him something like that?"
Mu En smiled gently, his eyes showing quiet amusement. "There's a new professor. His name is Lakas. He can be a little strange at times, but his understanding of the markings is excellent."
"Lakas," Long Xiaoyao repeated, narrowing his eyes. "The name itself means Strength. Feels a bit too direct, doesn't it?"
Mu En took a slow sip of tea. "In this world, the simplest names sometimes carry the heaviest truths."
••••••••
Down in the training grounds, the mood was completely different — much more intense. Professor Zhou Yi stood in front of a group of talented students, her face locked in its usual strict expression. She held up a small, glowing pill that shimmered with soft light.
"Pay attention!" she said sharply. "Most of you treat your bodies like fragile treasures. That's wrong. Your body is a vessel. Right now, many of your vessels are still weak clay. If you try to push into x5 Overdrive without proper preparation, you won't become stronger — you'll end up as a mess on the ground."
She tossed the pill toward Huo Yuhao. He caught it carefully.
"Today we start training the Crystalline Vessel," Zhou Yi explained. "This is one of Lord Lakan's greatest gifts to ordinary people. It strengthens your bones and meridians so they can handle the higher levels of the Eight Directional Flow and Eight Gate Overdrive without breaking."
Yuhao stared at the pill in his palm. It felt warm and alive, pulsing gently like a small heartbeat.
"You're first, Yuhao," Zhou Yi ordered. "Swallow it and enter the Center Point Stillness right away. If your mind wanders, the medicine will just give you a bad stomach ache. If you stay focused, your bones will begin turning into Silver-Bone."
Yuhao swallowed the pill without hesitation.
A heavy, metallic warmth spread through his stomach and quickly moved into his bones. It felt like liquid metal slowly filling his skeleton.
'Focus,' he told himself. 'Don't let it scatter.'
'That's right, boy,' Electrolux's voice guided him calmly. 'Guide the energy into your marrow. Don't fight it — direct it.'
Beside him, Ma Xiaotao was going through the same process. Because of her phoenix bloodline, the refinement hit her harder. Her skin began showing a faint rainbow shimmer as she struggled to control the intense heat building inside her.
•••••••
Not far away in the sparring area, two senior students demonstrated advanced techniques.
Bei Bei moved with smooth, flowing grace, like a river current. As the top student of the Hall of Execution, he used the Gunting style perfectly — trapping and redirecting his opponent's attacks with precise scissor-like movements.
His opponent, Tang Ya, fought back fiercely. Her Blue Silver Grass vines whipped through the air, glowing with purifying "Pa" (ᜉ) markings that burned away darkness on contact.
"You're open, Bei Bei!" Tang Ya called out with a laugh as her vines lashed forward.
Bei Bei didn't retreat. He shifted his stance, and a faint metallic sound came from his bones — the sign of a strong Silver-Bone foundation. The vine struck his arm but simply slid off harmlessly.
"Not bad, Ya'er," Bei Bei replied with a calm smile, his fingers crackling with blue lightning. "But your markings are a little unstable. You're putting too much focus on the 'Pa' and not enough on the 'La' for balance."
Watching from the side, Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan were practicing their own styles.
Sanshi held his heavy shield firmly. "It's all about the grab, Nannan. If I can't catch the movement of energy, I can't redirect it properly."
Jiang Nannan didn't even glance at him. She kept practicing her fast Biakid kicks, each strike sending small ripples of rainbow light across the training dummy. Her Rainbow Skin technique was already reaching a high level.
"Less talking, Sanshi," she said coolly. "Your shield is strong, but your footwork is still slow. In a real fight, I would have already sent your vessel flying in three different directions."
Professor Lakas sat on a nearby bench, chewing on a piece of fresh sugar cane. He watched the students train with a mix of pride and quiet thoughtfulness.
'They're doing well,' he thought, spitting out a small piece of fiber. 'They're learning to turn their own bodies into something stronger. No more feeling weak or limited.'
He remembered his early days back on Earth — struggling at the gym, pushing too hard and ending up sore for days. That feeling of being trapped by his own body was exactly why he had created the Crystalline Vessel technique. He wanted his people to have a real foundation so they could reach for the stars if they wished.
But he also understood the risk. A strong vessel in the wrong hands could create dangerous problems.
Lakan's gaze drifted toward the distant forest. He could feel a cold, faint disturbance in the distance.
'Chen Feng is doing his own kind of training right now,' he thought. 'Let's see how far that path takes him.'
•••••••••
Deep underground in a damp cavern beneath the old ruins of Slaughter City, Chen Feng sat in darkness. The only light came from a small, flickering fire.
He wasn't using clean pills or careful meditation. He was using something much darker.
His obsidian-black hoe rested across his knees as his corrupted system fed him information.
[Knowledge Integration Complete.]
[Integrating: The Death Markings 'Kamatayan'.]
[Warning: Host's vessel is too weak for full merging. Suggestion: Absorb the stagnation from the surrounding area.]
"Do it," Chen Feng hissed.
He pressed his hand against the cold stone wall. The rock didn't crack — it turned grey and brittle instead. The lingering resentment of the old souls in this place began swirling around him, feeding him their cold, stagnant anger.
His body changed. His skin turned dull matte black, swallowing light instead of reflecting it. A numb, devouring power spread through his veins. It wasn't the clean stream of soul power others cultivated — it was something that consumed everything it touched.
"I see you, Lakan," Chen Feng whispered, his eyes now two empty pits of darkness. "Your shiny Crystalline Vessels look so perfect. I wonder how long they'll last before they start to rot."
He stood up, gripping his hoe that now looked more like a jagged scythe. A cold smile spread across his face.
"System. Find me a good test target. Someone who thinks they're a hero."
[Scanning… Target found: Senior Student Tang Ya. Location: Academy Forest Perimeter.]
Chen Feng's smile widened into something ugly. "Blue Silver Grass, huh? Let's see if it can survive in complete emptiness."
•••••••
Back at the academy, the sun was slowly setting. The sky had turned into beautiful shades of orange and purple.
Xian Lin'er, the High Architect, walked over to where Yuhao had just finished his meditation. She wore a heavy leather apron, her hands still dirty from working at the Phoenix Forge.
"You're the one who fixed that carriage axle the other day, right?" she asked in her rough but honest voice.
Yuhao looked up and nodded. "Yes, Dean."
"You have real talent for spirit forging," she said, handing him a small metal ring. "This isn't a weapon. It's a stabilizer. Wear it. It will help your Crystalline Vessel handle stronger Overdrive levels when the time comes."
"Thank you, Dean," Yuhao said sincerely as he slipped the ring onto his finger.
"Don't thank me too soon," Xian Lin'er grunted. "Yan Shaozhe will probably try to pull you into the Hall of Radiance. He believes the stream of soul power is everything. But remember this, boy — a river is useless without strong banks to hold it. Build your vessel properly first. The power will come naturally after that."
She turned and walked away, already shouting instructions at another group of students who were mishandling equipment.
Professor Lakas stood up from his bench. The evening breeze tugged at his lab coat as he looked toward the horizon.
He had given them all the tools they needed — the Eight Gate Overdrive, the Heart-Pulse Ignition, the Crystalline Vessel. Now it was up to them to use those tools wisely.
But he could feel it in the distance — a cold ripple spreading from the old ruins.
'The Universe Will never stops trying,' he thought with a small, knowing smile. 'But I believe in what I built here.'
Lakan whispered softly into the wind, "Good luck, Tang Ya. I hope your markings are strong enough."
End of Volume 2, Chapter 17