Writer's Note: Well, time to start the first true arc. Like I said, this will encompass the senior year. The triplets are in their third year and will soon turn fifteen, the age sects and academies start recruiting. How many chapters will it be? I don't know. Thanks for reading.
Chapter 8: The Dark, the Divine, and the Spear
Two years had passed since the imperial guards made their visit. Two years passed for the three triplets to train and prepare for their sect or academy days. Each one walked a different path from the other. Each one became the stars of the academy and were both feared and respected. Due to those two years, each triplet was known by a moniker before they became third year students.
Guo Mei was known as the Dark Queen. Ever since that day, part of her personality died. She became cold and extremely dangerous. She wore darkness as her mantle, light twisting around her as if to avoid her. In sparring sessions, only Guo Lin and Guo Yang fought with her as she never held back. Her speed was extremely fast, even the Blue Heart String Phoenix no longer able to hold back in regards to speed. She had reached late Spirit Forming Stage and had already killed dozens of homeless people without anyone knowing. She had forgotten how to smile after one year of killing others to drain their soul and blood to keep the crimson eye in slumber. She also learned the Guo Clan's lightning element practitioner arts, making her combat prowess more destructive and even faster than before. No one sparred with her after being hit by her lightning. Only Guo Yang knew how powerful her lightning practitioner arts really was, sparring with her at night as she used her black lightning's true form.
Then, there was the second triplet: Guo Lin. He was known as the Divine King. After a little over a half year, he finally got his Yin Yang divine tattoo. His cultivation skyrocketed and is currently at the peak of the Spirit Forming stage, surpassing his elder sister. His control over the four elements had also reached a knew level, doing what others could not: element fusion. Even the imperial clan took note of this, elevating the status of the Guo Clan and sent an invitation for Guo Lin to enter the Royal Academy. In terms of power, he was the strongest of the triplets and always traveled with his manticore.
Finally, there was Guo Yang. Only one word described him: terrifying. He followed an extremely rare and dangerous path: poison cultivation. He controlled five snakes that were all at the peak of the Spirit Forming Stage and was the only triplet to reach the Element Adept Stage. They all guarded his room and the poisonous herbs, listening only to his commands. His eyes were still the color of gold sand, but his hair soon had strands of jade. He absorbed so much poison, his hair had changed color and made his spirit energy toxic by nature.
On the center of his forehead, a crescent moon appeared on his head made of spirit energy. It was the result of his Spirit Realm and how his light resembled the moon and its affect on the oceans instead of the sun and its burning light. Known only to him, he had the unique ability to control gravity and create invisible mirrors of moonlight to become invisible. Now, he could do something akin to a snake's camouflage.
His control over his three elements were nothing short of astonishing. He used element practitioner arts no one had ever seen before. Also, no one was able to figure out how and where he learned them, even more confused as they could not copy them completely and made inferior practitioner arts. He also became the undisputed spear master in Tang Arts School for Practitioners. No one could teach him the spear and no one could beat him in a match. To the public, he was known as the Spear Wraith due to his spear technique and the earth attribute movement skill known as the Snake Specter Art.
"Where is Guo Mei and Guo Yang?" Guo Feng asked as he appeared before his father with Guo Lin beside him, Guo Lin with a muscular build and handsome face.
"Guo Mei already left this morning to kill more of the homeless. My wife is supervising her and ensuring there are no witnesses. I saw Guo Yang head out back, after giving me this month's batch of poisonous herbs. He must be sleeping beneath the peach tree by the pond with his favorite snake, Red Death," Guo Jing answered.
Red Death was a red snake with orange diamond patterned scales along the side of its body. with affinity to fire and lightning. It looked like the smallest snake of the five, only seven inches long. However, it had tiny black wings on the sides of its head and could enlarge to its true size: a twenty two foot long, six foot thick snake. Surprisingly, its venom turned out to be more potent than the four poisonous snakes he had. It was called Red Death because it could breath fire that included an acidic affect, both burning and melting what its flames touched. Its venom from its fangs were even more toxic.
"His final year in school is the most important and he is sleeping in on the first day?" Guo Feng asked.
"Guo Yang is the most mysterious of his siblings. From his poison cultivation method, to his element practitioner arts and spear techniques; no one can even fathom how he learned them all," Guo Jing sighed. "It is only the first day. Why come here with Guo Lin?"
"There have been many developments over the past week. It seems that the structure of the school has changed. I don't know why, but rumors have spread that three of the emperor's clansmen will be attending the school. One is rumored to be the favorite niece while another is one of his two sons with the Yin Yang divine tattoo. Rumor has it another of his children is in attendance, the child that became the fourth offspring to have a Yin Yang divine tattoo and is currently enrolled under an alias. Many powerful clans have recently moved to the city to get their children to attend the school," Guo Feng answered.
"How do my favorite grandchildren, the only ones of the main branch, come into this?" Guo Jing asked.
"It is said those three and my three children will be six of thirty children under a retired captain of the imperial guards! There are now three hundred students per year, thirty per class. Almost all the new students are transfers. It seems this year, our Guo Clan must be more alert as others will try to get close to the emperor's children and see Guo Lin, Guo Mei, and Guo Yang as a threat. Some clans are also envious of us and might target them," Guo Feng answered. "By getting close to them, I mean the potential to fall in love with each other and form marital ties with the imperial clan."
"Love?" Guo Yang repeated as he entered the room with Red Death on his shoulder. "One shouldn't even think about love with such weak cultivation. Without power, someone will just take your love away."
"I heard the emperor's niece are both pretty though," Guo Lin said, his face turning red.
"Don't you get it? You're being set up to marry into the imperial clan. It seems they are not so confident you will accept the invitation to the Royal Academy in a year's time," Guo Yang answered, Guo Jing nodding in agreement.
"In any event, Guo Mei will have to feed on the souls of the mice you breed to feed your snakes," Guo Feng said, Guo Yang shrugged as mice did have amazing reproduction rates. A few dozen a month was no loss at all.
"There is also going to be a tournament. It seems the city governor would like to use this as an opportunity to win some favors with the imperial clan. No doubt, the first years are banned as their cultivations are too low. You must be careful of the other third years as they have more experience and knowledge on practitioner arts," Guo Feng continued as he faced his sons. "Guo Yang, this is also a good opportunity for you as representatives of various sects and academies will be watching. Guo Lin already got accepted, so you and Guo Mei will have to place as high as you can. The results of this tournament also ranks the students overall. If you face the emperor's son and niece, try not to injure them or concede."
"I refuse. If they are weaker than me, then it would be in their best interest not to fight me. Me? Forfeit? Never," Guo Yang said.
"Alright, enough. Yang'er gets the message. You two better head out now. You will see Guo Mei there by the time you arrive," Guo Jing said, Guo Yang shrugging as he donned his school jacket with a three headed gold dragon crest and the number of his class, Class 3-B, above.
"We're off!" Guo Lin said and created a giant sword of rock which he and Guo Yang rode as he made it fly to the school. His manticore had developed giant bat wings and flew behind them. Guo Lin and Guo Yang were only in the air, flying because of Guo Lin's wind attribute and not their own power.
"It seems this year will be noisy," Guo Yang said, Guo Lin looking ahead to see a giant crowd before the gates of the academy. Transfers could not enter the school until after the entrance ceremony for first year and transfer students. This was the new rule to prevent the school from being thrown in chaos as people try to meet the imperial clansmen and try to discover the identity of the supposed second child of the emperor who also attended.
The crowd stared as the two brothers arrived before the gate. They had to move aside as the guards roared at them and stared at the two boys. Some cried out as they identified one of them due to a manticore magical beast that landed beside the blonde boy. They had all known the identity of Guo Lin due to his Yin Yang divine tattoo and highly gifted talent of four element attributes. He even had the unique ability to fuse his elements to create a more powerful element practitioner art outside the normal seven.
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"The other must be the Spear Wraith," the crowd murmured as they also knew Guo Yang. Guo Yang was the sole supplier of poisonous herbs to the Alchemist Association in the Tang City branch of the nationwide organization. He also specialized in poison cultivation, the absolute terror of all practitioners as fighting them was always life threatening.
Most of all, he was known to element practitioner arts no one had ever seen before. People who tried to follow and spy on him would be poisoned to death by the red snake magical beast that always accompanied him. Not even the Alchemist Association created a cure for the poison as it always disappeared before they could examine the bodies.
"So those are the two father asked us to investigate," a boy in a giant gold carriage surrounded by guards noted. The crowd was centered around them but stayed twenty feet away as the guards killed anyone who went closer than twenty feet without warning. There was no doubt that the son and niece of the emperor were inside.
"That boy is Guo Lin? He does seem strong, but his...little...brother is more powerful," a girl noted, pausing as Guo Yang was taller than Guo Lin. "Guo Yang was his name, right? Uncle said we had to discover where he learned his techniques and pay respects to his master."
"That Guo Yang is rumored to be extremely cunning, people claiming it to be on the level of devils. We won't be able to discover the truth, but someone else will," the boy said. "I hope both of them are strong enough to spar with me. I have to surpass older brother and sister."
"Respects to the seniors," second year students said, revering them as most third years were only at the initial stage of Spirit Forming. Only the children of rich and powerful clans could fight them by depending on magical treasures as Guo Lin and Guo Yang had none besides the sword and spear they received after their awakening ritual.
"Big sis!" Guo Lin cried as he and Guo Yang entered the classroom, the manitcore shrinking to the size of an adult cat as it entered through the window as it followed its master's scent.
"You two saw the crowd?" Guo Mei asked, the light twisting aroundher before she noticed and withdrew her spirit energy inside herself.
"Don't be so down, sister. You need to smile. I can't be the only normal triplet," Guo Lin grinned.
"So says the only practitioner, in history, to be able to fuse an element by himself," Guo Mei said. "I'll start smiling if I ever beat you and Yang in a duel."
"Or until you see a guy and remember you're a girl," Guo Lin muttered, a few students in earshot laughing silently as they greeted him. Guo Lin was not arrogant despite his superior talent and was the most approachable.
"You!" Guo Mei started but Guo Yang appeared before her in a flash.
"You should calm down," Guo Yang said as he caught her wrist, Guo Mei paling as she felt him drain her spirit energy. The loss too much, her legs wobbled and she fell to her knees, Guo Yang looking down at her. He let go of her wrist and she stayed slumped on the ground, unable to gather any strength.
"I really hate that water practitioner art: the Coiling Spirit Drain Art. You literally grab the opponent and drain all the spirit energy from the blood of the target," Guo Lin said.
"It'd be worse if it was a snake. After doing this, the prey would not have the strength to resist and have its organs and bones crushed to a suitable size for swallowing," Guo Lin shrugged. "Not all practitioner arts have to hurt people. There is always something scarier and far more suitable for different situations. Do not limit your self to palm and fist techniques. Well, I'm the only one who can as I know my own practitioner arts."
"Ugh. She got heavier," Guo Lin grunted as he carried her to a nearby seat, Guo Mei glaring at him with rage.
"Alright, settle down!" a voice roared as a man in his late twenties entered the room. "My name is Guan Hai, a retired imperial guard captain of His Majesty, Emperor Shen Wukong. The transfer students of Class 3-B will be coming shortly, ten of them to be precise. The twenty of you are in my class due to my personal request of only teaching the best this school has to offer."
"Teacher, what cultivation level are you at? Is it true imperial guards are at the Earth Mortal Stage?" a boy asked, his name being Sun Yi. He was the boy with glasses in Guo Yang's first year class.
"Of course. I am a late Earth Mortal. In this whole planet, the number of Sky Mortals can be counted on two hands, only three of them publicly known to the peons of the cultivation world. One of the Sky Mortals is the matriarch of the empire and the empress dowager. She is the pillar of Song Dynasty. Just know that she exists and is the reason no other empire or nation dares attack our Pangu continent," the man said. "The day you reach the Earth Mortal Stage, your appearance is returned to your late twenties and your lifespan does not just extend. It will become indefinite."
"What will we be doing to prepare for the tournament? My dad told me about it," Guo Lin asked.
"You will all compete to determine the top eight students in this school. Besides the top three receiving an award, you will be the eight representatives against nine other schools for a nationwide tournament. Tang City is just one of ten with members of the imperial clan. However, only this school will have a child of His Majesty in attendance," Guan Hai said.
"What's the purpose of this? This has never happened before," Guo Yang asked.
"You are the one known as the Spear Wraith? Interesting. You are already at the third level of cultivation: the Element Adept Stage. Well, change is coming. The demons and devils are rising, invading human and magical beast lands. Our next generations of the Pangu continent must be strong enough to endure the coming war," Guan Hai answered. "In this world, strength is power absolute. Without power, you will die a dog's death should an expert seek you out. Weakness cannot be tolerated. Most of the other four classes will be occupied by transfer students who are at late Spirit Forming stage. No doubt, they seek to enter the prince's good graces. Let me warn you all now: he and the emperor's niece are also at the Element Adept Stage."
"I have to train harder. I have to be the best this year," Guo Lin said through his gritted teeth. "I can't keep losing to Yang."
"How amusing. It seems I can go a little harder this year," Guo Yang thought.
"Everybody rise to greet the new students," Guan Hai said, everyone standing and turning their heads to the door but Guo Yang who just yawned and stared at the clouds out the window. A boy and a girl walked in first, spreading their spirit energy to detect the cultivation of the students in the room. Only one blocked their spirit sense, the two turning their heads to see Guo Yang.
"They are at the Element Adept Stage. I could not block their spirit sense," Guo Li muttered, other students nodding in agreement as a giant snake appeared from the inside of collar of Guo Yang's jacket. It enlarged to a twenty two foot long, six foot thick snake and hissed at the two, red vapor seen inside its mouth.
"Easy now. We have to try not to accidentally kill others this year," Guo Yang said, the snake narrowing its eyes at the transfer students before landing on Guo Yang's desk in its tiny form.
"You must be the rumored Spear Wraith: Guo Yang. I have heard of you and that you cultivate using a poison practitioner method. I understand you are a master of the spear. We must exchange pointers sometime as I use dual swords," the boy said as the girl stared at Guo Lin. "Ah, and this must be the Divine King: Guo Lin. The only practitioner, in history, to fuse more than one element without needing another. My father is most interested in your future."
At this moment, Guo Mei recovered her spirit energy and lunged at Guo Yang. Guo Yang smirked and disappeared, appearing behind her with his hand grabbing the back of her head. She screamed as a cold energy burst from his hand. Guo Mei fell to the ground, cursing as she was so cold and shivered violently. His eyes narrowed as black energy permeated from her body. Before it could form what Guo Yang suspected, he kicked the side of her chest and slammed her to the wall.
"Control your blood lust. Is your training for naught?" Guo Yang asked as Guo Mei glared at him and realized what she did.
"What just happened?" Guan Hai asked, staring between both children.
"Her control is rather...unstable. It has affected her personality as well. Ask anyone. She has been like this for two years now," Guo Yang shrugged as he helped her up.
"Are you trying to reveal your Yin Yang divine tattoo? Grow up and keep your inferiority complex in check. Do you want to be imprisoned by the imperial clan?" Guo Yang said to through his spirit sense, an act akin to telepathy.
"So," Guo Lin began, breaking the silence. "Who are you guys?"
"I am Shen Xiao and this is my cousin, Shen Hua. As you might have guessed, my father is the emperor of the entire Pangu continent. Nice to meet you," the blonde haired boy smiled, the girl with orange hair nodding in turn.