Despite having to lower himself to a level that he had long ago surpassed, Kai Lan found himself enjoying school. At first, he was only eager to learn about cultivation, but the more classes he took about the world as a whole, the more he grew intrigued by any knowledge there was on offer. The only thing he found himself to be terrible at was making friends.

By forcibly lowering his abilities in the eyes of others, Kai Lan became the cultivation genius who had struck out. Cultivating 3 years ahead of his peers, yet only reaching the second level of the Foundation Realm. He was considered an embarrassment, and parents who did not want him influencing their own children warned any potential friends away. Only Do Han and Ran Ran continued their friendship with him, but even they grew to have friends of their own.

Ever the disappointment to his father, Lu Wan Long found himself in the unique position of being the opposite of Kai Lan. Unlike Kai Lan who was praised at home but ridiculed at school, Lu Wan Long was praised at school, but ridiculed at home. This inevitably led to a confrontation between the two one afternoon about 8 months into their first year. In a class about Formation Theory, Kai Lan was caught sketching a 7-sided primary Formation when the class was supposed to be focusing on 3-sided Formations.

Wan Long, who sat behind Kai Lan, had reached over and snatched it off Kai Lan’s desk.

“Hey, give that back!” hissed Kai Lan.

The class turned around at the disturbance, the teacher pausing unhappily in his lecture.

“Kai Lan, I’ll not have you interrupting this class-”

“He stole my things!” Kai Lan swung a glare at the teacher, pointing over his shoulder at Wan Long.

Wan Long simply waved the piece of paper in the air, “Your things? A piece of paper isn’t worth that much, Kai Lan, and the Formation on it has nothing to do with what we’re learning. In what fantasy world do you live in where 7-sided Primaries exist?”

“They exist,” Kai Lan emphasised.

“Enough, both of you!” snapped the teacher who had stepped up alongside them, he took the drawing, then frowned down at both of them, “Both of you can stay after school to clean the classroom”.

“But-”

“Do not interrupt my class again or I will make it two nights of cleaning duty,” the teacher warned.

Both Wan Long and Kai Lan slumped back in their seats, defeated.

That evening, when the two boys were cleaning, Wan Long prodded Kai Lan once more, “Seriously, what kind of kid dreams up the fantasy of a seven-sided primary?”

“You can have up to a nine-sided primary, you’ve just got to have the ability to wield it,” said Kai Lan, “Shouldn’t you know that?”

Wan Long gritted his teeth, “The reason nobody does is because it’s so unstable”.

“If you draw it wrong, yeah,” Kai Lan said.

“Then draw one!” snapped Wan Long, throwing down his broom, “You’re so confident in all your Formation knowledge but I’ve never actually seen you use one. In fact, I’ve started to question if you can use any of your cultivation, you’re such a weakling, just like your disappointment of a father!”

Kai Lan frowned, sick of Wan Long’s constant jabs, and threw down the cloth he was using to wipe down the tables.

“Fine, you want to see a nine-sided primary Formation?” asked Kai Lan.

He took a deep breath, his eyes fluttering closed for a moment before they flashed open and Kai Lan thrust his palms down towards the ground.

From his feet, a glowing, ethereal Formation appeared, expanding as it spun around him to fill the floor of the classroom. The 9 secondaries each filled with the symbol of one of the elements, and the symbol beneath his feet was simple but clear. Sight.

Suddenly, the room around Wan Long became filled with the sight of the world’s energies. The colourful wisps of the Spiritual Plain that Kai Lan saw near constantly, now exposed for the other boy in all their wonder.

Wan Long looked around in shock and disbelief.

“This…this is…”

Suddenly, the wisps and the formation all faded at once, and Wan Long turned around to see Kai Lan fall towards the ground, blood leaking from his nose and the corner of his mouth. Wan Long’s eyes widened.

“Shan Kai Lan!”

Wan Long raced forward to Kai Lan, shaking him to try and keep him awake.

“Kai Lan? Kai Lan, wake up! Kai Lan? I swear I didn’t mean for you to get hurt! Kai Lan!”

Suddenly, the door burst open and Xia Fei moved quickly to where Wan Long was in tears beside an unconscious Kai Lan.

“Teacher Xia? I swear, I didn’t mean it! I didn’t want him to get hurt, I-”

“What happened?” asked Xia Fei.

“I said that a nine-sided primary in a Formation was a Fantasy, he insisted it wasn’t. So, I said that he was just making it up, he couldn’t even prove it, then he…”

Xia Fei gritted her teeth, “Stupid child”.

“I…I’m sorry”.

“Well, you’re not painted in the best light either in this situation, but I was referring to Kai Lan,” said Xia Fei.

Wan Long frowned as Xia Fei sat the boy up and sat behind him, summoning her golden core before placing her hands onto Kai Lan’s back. After a few seconds, Kai Lan coughed and took a deep breath, waking up groggily. He met Wan Long’s gaze first.

“Told you a nine-sided primary was possible,” Kai Lan managed

Xia Fei frowned, then pulled her hands back, banished her golden core, and wacked Kai Lan over the back of the head.

Kai Lan flinched and turned to look over his shoulder, “Teacher Xia? What was that for?”

“You summoned a nine-sided primary formation before you’ve reached the Profound Realm you stupid boy! You could have seriously injured your cultivation, as it is you’ll have to spend several days repairing the meridians that you ruptured in your foolish attempt to prove something,” Teacher Xia sighed in exhaustion, “Come on, we have to get home. Wan Long, if I hear you’ve spoken a word of this to anyone, I will make you disappear, understood?”

Wan Long shivered at the gaze Teacher Xia directed his way, and nodded, “Yes, Teacher Xia”.

“Go home, I’ll tell your teacher that you’ll complete your punishment once Kai Lan is better”.

Wan Long didn’t dare argue.