“Well, look who has decided to join us.” Elder Win declared with a humorless smile, seated upon a large rock before thirty odd students all turning to stare his way.

“Our young friend who’s exotic heritage clearly failed to equip him with either a sense of time, or tact, or the common sense to ask for someone to wake him at a reasonable hour, has instead chosen to show after your free spiritual flow examinations, a service that normally costs you all how many credits?”

“Five for a basic purification examination up to fifty for an in-depth customized cycling instruction!” A younger student piped up, beaming at the indulgent smile Elder Win gave him.

“All true. And since all of you received a basic consultation, and our eccentric Ruidian here is clearly beyond the basic purification stage, his folly just cost him ten credits.”

Alex felt his cheeks blaze as the elder snorted.

“But perhaps this foolish boy thinks he has no need of basic lessons and a strong foundation, wishing to immediately jump into a wujen’s strengths, as if wishes were reality, and poppy dreams alone would get him anywhere without mastery of basic fundamentals!” Elder Win sighed, shaking his head. “Indeed, considering that any instructor worth his salt would insist on the most rigorous application of ideal cycling methods before daring to manifest spiritual energy in physical form, I suspect our young Ruidian friend will be in debt to our school for at least the full fifty credits before the day is through.” He chuckle ruefully. “And one thing he will quickly learn, that you will all quickly learn when completing assigned tasks, is that punctuality and prompt completion are everything. Now, does everyone recall the first lesson of the morning?”

The same young master radiating the smug confidence of a youth born to privilege, raised his hand once more, immediately called upon by Instructor Lin.

“The foolish student will quickly cease to be. The humble student learns from his own folly, and the wise student learns from the folly of others.”

“Correct!” The bemused elder cultivator gave an audible clap. “And how fortuitous it is that our young Ruidian friend has at least chosen to join us for the latter half of the day, where martial mastery and basic technique proficiency are to be judged!” He waved toward a collection of armor and weapon racks on display in the nearby pagoda serving at the moment as an open air armory which, Alex could tell by the tabards, shirts of mail, and in some cases, bronze hauberks worn by some, that the class had already made use of.

“Now as the intelligent cultivator prepares in advance, as you have, or is wise enough to always be prepared, I think it only right that our young friend accept your challenges just as he is.”

This declaration earned a dozen hungry smiles from students clearly eager to make a good impression on their master, and perhaps kick sand in the face of the one who dared to stick out, as well.

Alex couldn’t quite hold back a smirk, deciding that it was perhaps fitting, both as an object lesson and to put the arrogant student who dared to miss his first classes on his first day, in his place. Especially since Elder Win had made it very clear that lateness would not be tolerated, especially not during these first few days where they were all being tested before being assigned mentors and classes that they’d be training under for at least a semester.

If anything, Alex welcomed the wolf-like stares he now was being favored with. If he were honest with himself, all the smiles and understanding he had upon first arriving at Luishi had been a bit too much. This sudden tension, the weight of cold, calculating stares and fellow students now opponents radiating killing intent, THIS in his heart of hearts, was what he craved. What he needed.

What he lived for.

If only the first two youths whose gazes he met and smiles he mirrored hadn’t blanched and so quickly looked away, their padded staves previously held like warblades suddenly little more than walking canes as their eyes turned to newfound companions to whisper and joke and pay Alex absolutely no mind at all.

Fortunately… unfortunately? Most of the armed and armored students were still glaring his way, clearly with something to prove.

He quite deliberately didn’t meet their glares.

Instructor Win snorted. “So, who will meet the Ruidian in the sparring sands, and water the granite of obstinance with the loam of insight and humility?”

“I will claim that honor,” declared the baritone voice of perhaps the largest initiate among their number.

The man who met Alex’s gaze was the farthest thing from a newly awakened sixteen year old working on his first meridian. He was a powerfully built man with chiseled features and eyes that had clearly seen action, radiating the Strength and Vitality of a man who had achieved Bronze after years along his path. Alex could only imagine the man was here to further hone and refine his techniques, or perhaps correct flaws in his cultivation method or understanding of the Way, so he could break through to the next rank.

“Wonderful” Instructor Win commended with an approving dip of his head, before turning to lock gazes with Alex. “You are forbidden from using live steel. This is a lesson. Not a slaughter. You will use whatever blunt training weapon one of your fellow disciples chooses to toss you. For the new, unprepared guard sleeping as raiders strike has no time for planning or being picky. He must grab what he or she can find on hand, and can only pray he was wise enough to make friends with his fellow guardsmen, lest he be seen as nothing but another body between savvier guards and bandits who would see them dead.”

Instructor Win grinned at the class. “Of course, the fates may decree the silly boy before you meets his fate with nothing in his hands.”

Alex’s would-be opponent, wielding a blunted guandao which would still be devastating even with the edges carefully rolled back, grinned at that declaration.

“Of course, some of you might pity the foolish guard who slept through the warning bells and show kindness that might blossom to a loyal friendship that could one day pay off considerable dividends.” Win shrugged. “Or perhaps you think he’s hardly worth the effort, or you feel no mercy at all should be granted to new-bloods, slackers, and fools. Should the resources available be expended only on those who have already proven themselves worthy? I leave that choice up to you.”

Instructor Wingestured to the arena of sand cut in the lush turf that Alex had originally spotted jogging to the class’s new sight before the lip of the caldera, a few hundred yards from the entrance to the campus.

“Since most caravan battles and conflicts between cities happen on the high roads and the desert sands, that is where you’ll be fighting. If you gentlemen would enter the ring?”

Alex did his best to hold back ahissmile, already knowing firsthand how to brace and plant himself while sparring and fighting on the desert sands, all the more so after countless sparring sessions with Ya Ling, his Earth affinity and Desert Sense also helping him know just where to step.

The ex guard or soldier, whatever he was, snorted. “I see no one’s throwing you any sparring weapon at all. See what happens when you put on airs, Ruidian?”

Alex flicked a quick glance toward the assembled cultivators, the young master who had spoke before sneering his way. “If you’re so arrogant that you think your privileged status means you get to mock our ways and miss classes that the rest of us attend… then you’re in for a real surprise when you find that the rest of us don’t think you’re entitled to any special favors.”

Alex couldn’t help smirking at this. “Really? You speak for the whole class already? Wow, I take it you must come from a very influential family.”

The young man lifted his chin with a haughty sneer. “You may call me Tan Yi of the Duo Yi clan. We could effortlessly buy and sell your family’s commune a dozen times over, Ruidian. And unlike far too many, we don’t give your kind jobs that should be going to honest hardworking people who truly are one with the desert sands!”

Alex couldn’t quite hold back a chuckle, looking at his would-be opponent. “He says that at a school overseeing four rifts. Can you believe this guy?”

Alex’s would-be opponent sneered. “Lord Tan Yi is right. Our city doesn’t need your kind!”

“Lord Tan Yi, is it?” Alex said with a smirk, unable to hold back his grin when the boy flinched, certain truths immediately clicking into place. “So, our privileged young master has a loyal family retainer who just happened to think that the time to refine his own techniques was the very day that a Duo Yi scion was about to enter the academy. How very fortuitous!”

“Don’t you dare mock me, worm!” The youth screeched, his voice choosing that moment to crack, earning him countless surprised looks and not a few smirks as the atmosphere subtly changed.

Though Alex was still without a weapon, Tan Yi’s near success at claiming a good portion of the class as his coterie with Alex as the sacrificial lamb had just come to a grinding halt.

Elder Win gently cleared his throat, earning instant silence from all of them. “Well then, here we have it, one lone, friendless cultivator isolated from the rest, and the man who would put him in his place.” He sighed. “If either of you wish to back out of the match, the school entrance is that-away,” he said, pointing with his fingers, his meaning clear.

Alex sensed the fight about to begin before his eyes widened. Recalling one time before he had found himself in just such a situation, where what he thought would be an honorable touch-match turned out to be anything but, his humiliation and suffering serving as abject lessons to the class entire. So Alex forced himself to speak, refusing to be silenced, even by the Silver’s glare.

“I would know the terms and conditions of the match. What is and is not permitted? How far are we expected to go? If one yields, is the other obligated to stop?”

Elder Win raised his hand, Alex’s opponent immediately bowed and stepped back. Their instructor looked at Alex pityingly. “Truly, you do not know?”

“Not a clue.”

Win snorted. “Then best hope you can figure it out. Because if you had been here three hours ago, you would know. Fight!”

He roared the last, and Alex’s grinning opponent immediately charged, guandao raised high.

Quickness check made!

You have successfully summoned Enhanced Water Shield!

His opponent’s eyes widened in momentary surprise, before sneering and powering down with his cleaving strike, no doubt thinking to splash right through a disk of an element as fragile seeming as water.

So to say he was surprised when his weapon went cartwheeling through the air was an understatement, though his widened eyes squinched shut as Alex sprayed the equivalent of water and lemon juice into the man’s face with surprising force.

The guard stumbled back with a painful cry that immediately cut off when Alex’s fist shattered the man’s jaw.

Find Weakness skill check made!

You have struck your opponent’s chin in a moment of supreme vulnerability.

Your opponent has collapsed to the sands!

Quickness check made!

Before the class could react, Alex had already darted forward, claiming the warrior’s own very sharp and very real dagger, now being held against the man’s throat.

The groaning cultivator immediately stilled. Alex, thinking fast, did his best to embrace a role he hoped their mercurial mentor would appreciate.

“Captain! I’ve caught an intruder in the barracks! Should I kill him or bind him for questioning? I await your orders… sir!”

The guard was deathly still, disoriented groan replaced with the hiss of a man who knew death was a single mistake away.

Elder Win gazed hard at Alex for long moments as the student’s broke out into angry hisses and surprised murmurs.

“Did you see how fast that Ruidian Moved? Impossible!”

“Not for a speed cultivator, it isn’t.”

“But he’s a Ruidian!”

“He broke Guan’s Jaw with a single strike, and that man’s a Strength cultivator!”

“Did you see his shield? He can actually harness the elements! I thought only wujen could do that?”

“I hear that he tried to apply directly to the elites, but Instructor Lin declared him unworthy in front of everyone.”

“He doesn’t seem that unworthy right now...”

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Alex refused to let himself get distracted. All his focus on sensing his opponent gathering all his furious strength for what would no doubt be a desperate gambit to spring free of Alex and put him down with a single powerful…

“Don’t.” Alex spoke softly enough that he doubted anyone but his opponent heard. Yet the way the man stiffened, choking back a sob, made it clear that he could sense the killing intent behind Alex’s words.

“And what happens if you do? You really think a pathetic mixed-blood like yourself can break me?”

Alex calmly gazed down at the man sneering up at him. “Then I end this, here and now.”

Guan’s eyes widened. “You wouldn’t dare take my life, Ruidian!”

Alex said nothing, merely leveraging the pressure of his knife so that with a single twitch...

“You’re no innocent. The way you move… the way you dare to meet my gaze… You’ve killed before!”

Alex’s gaze hardened. “I’m counting to ten. If I’ve heard no word from my commander as to what he would have me do, and if my captive refuses to take a cultivator’s oath to do me no harm from this day forward, then I will consider myself well within my rights to end this here and now! One… Two...”

The entire class went dead silent, gazing at him with the horrified fascination people naturally took on when watching a train-wreck in slow motion.

Alex’s toothy smile met them all. “Three! Four!”

“I concede! I concede! My cultivator’s oath that I will never seek to harm you...”

“Directly or indirectly...” Alex coaxed…

“Directly or indirectly, from this day forward!”

Guan’s eyes widened, shocked by the words that had left his lips, dizzy and stumbling when Alex immediately sprang to his feet and yanked the larger man to his own wobbly feet before giving a half bow and presenting Guan’s dagger to him, hilt first. “A most exhilarating match, fellow disciple! I look forward to our next bout. But let’s make sure we have clear rules and boundaries established beforehand, shall he?”

He said the last with a wink as a trembling Guan desperately tried to resheathe his dagger without cutting himself, before Alex calmly did it for him, the guard still shaking with the after effects of adrenaline and how close he had come to peril.

Elder Win gazed at Alex for long moments, before erupting with laughter.

“Well done, Ruidian! And a brilliant lesson to you all! Be wise enough to learn from Guan’s bout, for I can promise you that our dear young master’s protector has learned a valuable lesson himself! Our Ruidian friend did indeed stumble among us for two days in a row as a clueless fool. But who is to say what dark cunning hides within a foolish mien? Could it be that our newest disciple chose to put everyone off their guard just so he could teach you all the most valuable lesson of the day?”

Win’s bemused smile turned hard and cold. “Only a fool takes their opponent for granted. All the more so when you know neither the stakes nor if your foe would fight you in earnest. When you engage in any combat outside of agreed upon sparring, you fight with discipline, focus, and every iota of savage fury that you can bring to bear! You fight as if your life depended upon it, because it most certainly does! And had our Ruidian friend truly wanted to make an example...”

He met Alex’s gaze and winked, before picking up a skull sized stone of hard granite and tossing it Alex’s way.

Wind Blade has been enhanced by Water and Steel!

You have Critically Struck Granite Rock.

Granite Rock has exploded!

You may now instantly manifest this technique with a skill check.

Wind Blade is now Rank 6!

“He could have ended the fight in the blink of an eye.”

The entire class was gazing with wide-eyed awe at the Wind Blade that Alex was now able to instinctively summon forth from his hand to a length of three feet, having honed the skill to a considerable degree the night before. For some reason it reminded Alex a bit of a sci-fi force saber, even if this one was a fusion of both Wind blade and Enhanced Water Strike, complete with bits of swirling Metal that could tear through things just as effortlessly as his water-covered hand had once plunged through steel. It was most definitely not Silver Swan, of course...but close enough. Able to chew halfway through a block of granite before the pressures within caused the stone to explode.

And had Alex not simultaneously resummoned a swirling disk of water… the stone fragments might have shredded his face as well.

Alex did his best to land on his metaphoric feet after initially stumbling so badly, and gave their mentor a low, deferential bow.

“This one hopes that his demonstration will be of use to his fellow disciples along The Way.”

Alex earned more than a few impressed nods, eyes alight not with contempt but rather admiration, even sensing from some a sudden an eager desire to strike a friendship with this strange yet interesting cultivator. And perhaps there was a flush to a few of the girls’ cheeks as they lowered their gazes. Which could have been desire, or shame that they hadn’t had the courage to present him with a training weapon equal to Guan’s own, and thus earned the warm regard of the true champion of their class.

Alex swallowed and quickly broke off his gaze, feeling a twisting surge in his gut as he often did when Spirit Qi gave him glimpses of thoughts, feelings, and lives that were not his own and frankly, none of his business. Even if it was the element that made Soul Sight possible in the first place.

“He cheated!” Hissed none other than Tan Yi. “That foul Ruidian cheated!”

Elder Win flashed a bemused smirk, but humored the youth with a question. “And how exactly did he ‘cheat,’ aspirant?”

“He used forbidden Ruidian techniques!” The frustrated youth’s eyes lit up with fierce satisfaction. “That’s it! He dared to use Ruidian powers on a noble’s house servant. Such acts are forbidden by Liushi’s accords with the desert clans. Ruidians are to only use their powers in the city while engaging in sanctioned pursuits like Rift-cleansing! So this Ruidian must be exiled immediately, his possessions forfeit to the aggrieved party!”

Alex snorted at the sheer absurdity of the statement. “Are you serious right now? I mean… really.”

“Dead serious, Ruidian scum!”

Alex couldn’t help but smirk at the venom in the youth’s voice. “I’m dreadfully sorry to disappoint, but I’m afraid there are at least three major errors with your chain of logic.”

The youth crossed his arms and glared. “We’ll see what the prince has to say about that, fool!”

Alex rolled his eyes. “While I’m sure that the ruling family is dying to get involved in a spat between a bent-out-of-shape ‘young master’ and a member of the race helping to stabilize this entire oasis, there’s a couple of points to consider. First and foremost, the basic right to self-defense. In case you missed the action, your lackey, arguably acting on your behalf, struck at me.”

“It was a sanctioned school match! You didn’t have to be there, you could have bowed out and left!” Tan Yi sneered.

“Yeah… I don’t think so. Anyway, when Guan swung his polearm for my skull, he sure as hell wasn’t curbing his blow.”

“So you nearly killed him with your Ruidian arts instead.”

Ales solemnly shook his had, summoning his shield once more. “I parried his blow, as everyone saw. And unless you’re going to insist that Ruidians lack even the right to defend themselves in a city populated by at least one powerful clan that clearly despises them, at which point I’ll be recommending that every Ruidian I come cross leave this corrupt city at once… then I’m afraid you got nothing.”

Several other disciples were frowning in thought, reviewing the fight. “He didn’t actually attack with that disc, did he?”

“Nope, he used it to counter Guan’s polearm. And why wasn’t he allowed a weapon again? Anyway, I think he knocked Guan out with a right hook.”

Tan Yi’s eyes lit in fierce recollection. “It wasn’t the shield… it was the stream of acid you shot at his eyes! That was no doubt a direct result of your Ruidian arts!”

Alex blinked, gazing at the increasingly irate youngster for long moments.

“You know you’re an idiot, right?”

“How dare you!”

Alex smirked, turning to Elder Win who was gazing at them all with the same half-smile one uses when looking at particularly stupid puppies. “Permission to demonstrate my technique with the young master? I promise that if there’s any Ruidian trickery I’ll be happy to leave the school just as soon as I cash out my credits.”

This earned a curious frown. “You’ve already earned credits?”

Alex nodded.

“How many?”

Alex winked. “I’ll be happy to share that number with you after class, if you like.”

Elder Win snorted, before turning to Tan Yi. “Well, aspirant? Would you like our Ruidian friend to show you his technique firsthand?”

The boy’s eyes widened. “But what if he maims or cripples me using advanced Ruidian arts?”

“Then he’ll be banned from the school, which is what you and your family are increasingly after, is that not so? Thus it will work out very much in your favor.”

The boy glowered for a moment, before steeling himself and entering the ring. Alex was impressed despite himself to see the boy actually had the strength to summon such a strong Flame Shield when he had clearly just broken through to Bronze. “You’re Ruidian tricks won’t work on me, fool!” Tan Yi then summoned a whip of sanguine flame.

Elder Win’s bemused countenance took on a frown of concern. “Aspirant Yi...”

“No. If this fool thinks he can mock this school, mock me… well, he’ll have to deal with the consequences personally!” Tan Yi’s youthful features took on a malevolent cast as he smiled, Qi Perception and Artificer recognizing a dozen Bronze tier enchantments suddenly springing to life on the youth’s cultivator’s robes as he boldly stepped forward.

“That’s right, Ruidian. You’re right where I want you to be! You’re going to pay for your crimes in the trial of bitter flame. And when you finally surrender to your baser impulses and cheat… we’ll be waiting for you the minute you’re kicked outside of the school!”

Alex burst out in surprised laughter. “Wow, you actually said all that aloud. In front of almost three dozen witnesses! Evil villain monologue much?”

Tan Yi gazed at Alex in surprised confusion before his cheeks blazed with awful heat as a handful of cultivators laughed under their breath, including the girl Alex had seen him looking at before.

“You think I’ll allow you to humiliate me? Die!” The boy roared, charging forward.

Finesse Check made!

Yan Tu’s lips stretched in a malevolent grin when he saw Alex fall before his brilliant whip of flame, only for his smirk became a frown as he looked down in slow motion at his smiling opponent and the leg even now snaking out, sliding through the sands… and catching Tan Yi’s own

Then suddenly Tan Yi was flying forward and down at the same time, his legs too tangled to correct such that he fell Fire Shield first into the sands, dispelling his own enchantment with a yelp.

The entire group of aspirants had gone dead silent.

Tan Yi took a shaking breath, determined to race forward and pound the living snot out of that smirking golden-haired bastard who wasn’t cowering at all but was right in front of him… looming over him, cheeks puffed up and what was….

You have successfully struck your target!

“Ahh!” The youth’s reformed whip faded to a flash of fire and he began desperately rubbing his eyes. “It burns! It burns!” He shrieked as the students burst into laughter.

Alex stepped back, arms casually at his side. “Does it? Strange. Because all I spat was water. Much like your lackey, though he took his spray much better than you’re taking your own medicine. So you see? No Ruidian powers at all. Just decent footwork and training. And in case it wasn’t already obvious...”

He solemnly lifted the hair off his forehead.

“He’s not a gem master. There’s no jewel upon his brow!” Hissed one of the students.

“So he’s mortal?” Querried another.

“Impossible. You saw how strong he is… he must really be a cultivator!”

“You spat in my eye!” Tan Yi howled, his voice breaking once more.

Alex shrugged. “You wanted to see firsthand the technique I used to best your associate. Now you have. Now since I’m not really into fighting children… I’m considering our match over.” He turned to meet Elder Win’s enigmatic gaze. “Sensei?”

The man snorted, shaking his head. “Foolish idealism aside, it never pays to take your eyes off an opponent who so clearly wants you...”

Qi Perception check: Success!

Draconic Resilience Reduces all damage from Heat & Flame by two full damage tiers.

You have successfully seized your opponent’s artifact!

The man’s eyes widened in surprise when Alex’s hand snaked out to parry the Fire Whip a snarling Tan Yi had unleashed at his back. Before being sent stumbling off balance when Alex caught the thin enchanted wire of the youth’s artifact and jerked it right out of his hand.

Alex didn’t bother hiding his smile or taking his eyes of a snorting Elder Win.

“Sensei?”

Win chuckled, dipping his head in bemused acknowledgment. “Let this be a lesson to all of you aspirants. It never pays to underestimate anyone as foolish as this boy. Because were he truly so stupid as to antagonize so many powers in a single day, he must be either supremely gifted, or already dead.”

“My spiritual treasure! Thief! That Ruidian stole my spiritual treasure!”

“Prize of war,” Alex said offhandedly, calmly walking out of the dueling ring, his prize quickly spooled up and placed in a pocket before being transferred to storage, more pleased than he wanted to admit when a dozen faces that had formerly been aloof or outright derisive were now smiling their congratulations or dispensing their praise.

Because even if this semi-idealistc oasis of decency, Cultivators were still ruthlessly pragmatic and respected strength above everything else. Real, or implied.

Conversely, with the submission of his strongest asset, display of his own pettiness and lack of acumen, and a cracking voice that belied any sense of familial weight, Tan Yi had managed to squander all of his political capital in less than a glass.

“You stole from me!”

Alex stopped, slowly turning around to smile at the furious-looking youth strutting right toward him, jutting out his hand.

“You stole my property, and you will return it now!”

Alex smirked. “What property did I steal, supplicant?”

The youth’s eyes tightened with fury. “The Fire Whip. Don’t pretend you don’t have it! And you will refer to me as Lord Tan Yi de Duo Li. Do you understand, Ruidian trash?”

Alex’s grin widened. “You mean the fire whip that some treacherous rat lashed at my back when I was busy speaking to our sensei? I wouldn’t dream of insulting you by declaring you the owner of such a poorly used artifact. Now silence, supplicant. Our sensei is speaking.”

Tan Yi’s dusky features blotched with fury, but Alex paid him no more visible mind, hands behind his back, miming the gestures of his peers when Elder Win cleared his throat just once, instantly getting all their attention.

Before Win’s words froze Alex to the quick.

“Now that we’ve all enjoyed watching the fox play with his food, best we get back to the lessons at hand.”