《Resurgent Paths》


 Prologue

    London, 1703


    A chill swept through the capital streets, but the incoming winter wasn¡¯t harsh enough to  force the local commoners into their homes. Even at this late hour men wondered the streets, some with their heads down walking with purpose, while others drunkenly sang and proclaimed their prowess for all to hear. All this combined made it the perfect time to move if you weren¡¯t looking to attract attention. Slipping into a crowd of people leaving a tavern at closing, one man had his hood raised. The arms wrapped around his hunched body made it clear he was feeling the cold, and he was easily dismissed as another elderly fool trying to avoid a nagging wife at home. If one was motivated to follow him, they would have been shocked when instead of stumbling into the slums like so many others at this time of night, he instead made his way for the inner city. Even stranger, he did not head for one of the gates, but instead the man walked straight up to the wall itself. It had been 15 years since the British forces had sacked the island of Tianhui, and yet the secrets they had uncovered were still hoarded by the noble classes. The common classes would whisper tales, but even those that had seen the acts in person did not really understand them. Therefore even if someone was watching, they wouldn¡¯t have been prepared for the elderly man to bend his knee and leap over the wall as if it were a minor obstacle. They would have been even less prepared to see him suddenly stand up straight upon landing, his hood falling back revealing the face of a seemingly young man.


    Wei Shen was not enjoying his time in London. It had taken a year just to make it this far. Far longer than he found acceptable really. For a nation that seemed to feel international borders were just suggestions, they definitely guarded theirs well. Wei eventually had to allow himself to be captured as a slave, brought over the borders in a cage of all things. Of course the fact that when the ship finally reached the capital its crew were all dead, and his fellow slaves freed and long gone would have to go down as a mystery. It had taken him a further 2 weeks to get to the capital from there, now he was done wasting time. As he ran through the streets he tried to remember everything his source had told him. Wei had been lost after the fall of his people. As the youngest of the 9 elders, he had never really enjoyed the day to day life since ascending to the highest realm. Sitting around governing was a supremely boring existence. So he had naturally jumped at the opportunity to track and destroy a spirit beast which escaped from their island. Never in even his most terrible nightmares would he have imagined returning to find everyone he knew dead, his culture erased for no purpose other than mankind¡¯s greed. Over a decade of aimless wondering later, and it was only a fortunate coincidence when he stumbled onto those same forces. That they had been in the process of attacking a small village on the main continent only annoyed him more. Thrilled for the chance to vent some anger, Wei had jumped straight in. The entire front line of their force was wiped out with his initial attack, with many more injured to forced to step back just to survive. That was when he got his second big shock, when from the back of their army came a man on the path. He was low levelled, laughably outmatched really, but the very fact he could cultivate at all was alarming. Wei had destroyed the mans army, then interrogated the arrogant fool. His prisoner was only too happy to pronounce himself a noble in the British empire, and it took only a day to learn everything relevent. That was when Wei began his current mission. Hidden in their capital, in a building open only to the so called nobles, were many of the secrets stolen from his people. The noble had been insistent, only the royals had anything taken, and they distributed it out to the noble families when translated and understood. His peoples secrets may have been out, shared amongst the invaders, but he knew 15 years was nothing in the life of a cultivator. Without an experienced teacher, even the most talented would only be touching the peak initiate realm now. If he could destroy or take back what was stolen, they would be forced to find their own paths forward. Wei smiled to himself as he hurried through the posh noble district, darting from shadow to shadow.  His speed as an elder made this largely unnecessary, but it was never too late for training. Finally he came within sight of the giant mansion his source assured him was the royal families research base for all things cultivation. Using a fraction of his strength, Wei cast out his senses through both the earth and air elements. Both concurred with a total of 40 guards patrolling the building. That didn¡¯t include any that might be inside. He felt no mana from any of them, meaning none of the guards were cultivators, and probably had no idea what they were actually guarding. He did feel mana from inside the building, but it was distorted, either by artefacts or something on the wall itself. He supposed both were possible depending on what had been stolen. Rather than make his presence known, he used speed alone to dispatch the guards. Even working in pairs they could do nothing as he shot around the grounds. Sadly their weapons were no better than scrap. Wei had always favoured a pole arm, but so far the British he thought carried either poorly maintained swords and small metal contraptions that worked like powerful bows. He no idea how they had managed to kill his fellow elders, but assumed they must have something more powerful in reserve. That or they just got exceedingly lucky. He had examined their bodies, so knew it wasn¡¯t the bows at least. When the final guards fell, Wei approached the building itself and scanned again. As before, he got simply an echo. It was concerning but not enough to stop him. If he wanted to he could simply blow up the building now. But that wouldn¡¯t tell him what they took, or give him a good idea of what to expect from them in the coming centuries. Opening the door a fraction he cast a small gust of wind inside. Two guards. Reversing his gust, he instead pulled all the air out the room, creating a vacuum. He couldn¡¯t see, but he knew what the panic would look like on the mortals faces. Waiting another 30 seconds after he heard the second thud hit the floor, he let go of his control. Even if they weren¡¯t dead, it would take time before they could muster any defence. Stepping into the room Wei was surprised to see one of them had made it a few feet towards the exit. That one was also still alive. Bending down he retrieved the blade strapped to the fallen mans waist, and ended his misery. The other guard had fallen from the lack of air, forcing Wei to step over his body to leave what he assumed was a security checkpoint. Now he was inside he let his senses run free, scanning the environment constantly. What he found surprised him massively. The building rooms were full of cultivators, at least a hundred of them. Most were in the novice realm, barely worth counting, but there were a good dozen in the initiate. All of whom were clustered together in a room below him. A basement? Wei scanned the building again, then stopped to plan. Any cultivator in the initiate realm would have at the bare minimum opened their hand and foot meridians. They may have more, but 4 would be required just to cultivate enough mana to evolve their bodies within this time frame. Interestingly he couldn¡¯t sense any elemental affinities in them. They were there, he was sure of it, but whatever was blocking him from the outside was now preventing him from reading the men in the basement. The novices upstairs were an open book to him, not that it mattered. It was interesting to see how many of them were cultivating fire mana. Was that a natural affinity of their people, or just a limitation of their understanding? Coming back into the moment, he decided on his plan. Reaching through the ground, he send out his mana. A giant wall of earth, infused with both fire and air properties, shot out the ground around the building, blocking any escape. The complicated element mix would meant it would need either three cultivators working together to remove it, or one who had command of all at once. Given even he had taken nearly two centuries to reach the realm of master, the second option was definitely off the table, and he doubted these fools had the experience to even try the first solution. Not in the time it would take him to deal with the people downstairs.


    ¡°Now then. Let us see how they greet an Elder.¡±


    Wei smiled to himself. He had always been considered the least serious of the elders, one more likely to teach the children games than mediation. He had no idea what to do with his life now, but knew that he couldn¡¯t allow these people to use his peoples secrets to conquer other nations. The very fact they had risen so many to the second realm was alarming enough. If left unchecked. He shuddered and pushed through the next door, finding himself in a large hall. There were huge staircases on either side of him, each heading up. Not seeing a way down, Wei released dozens of small air currents, looking for the way to the basement. As he followed after them, he kept an eye on the cultivators upstairs. If he had to guess, they were all asleep. Was this a school? Jogging lightly down the stairs, he was greeted with large ornate doors. Clearly these people weren¡¯t saving money on the little things. Through the doors he sensed two more guards. Rather than take a careful approach, now he knew they couldn¡¯t escape, he simply opened the door.


    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.¡°How did you get in here?¡±


    While one of the guards was shouting out, the other man, to his credit, reacted immediately. He was a novice level cultivator, and rushed straight for Wei at what he assumed must have been the mans top speed. Not wanting to waste the opportunity to practise, Wei called up his fire mana and launched a small amount towards the man who shouted. The man charging he simply caught by the throat, crushing it in the same action. As he dropped the body to the floor he turned his focus to the now burning man. He was a fire cultivator, not surprisingly, so while the burst was too strong for him to stop he had at least managed to avoid feeling the worst effects. That was where his good luck ended. Using the sword he had stolen from upstairs, Wei removed the mans head in a swift move. He commanded the flames to extinguish, promising them a chance to shine later. Right now he didn¡¯t want to risk anything being damaged before he could see it for himself. He knew the cultivators were now aware of his presence, the screaming man on fire had seen to that, but he wasn¡¯t particularly worried. Opening the final doors, he found it was a kind of conference room. There was a huge wooden table, littered with objects and books. Around it stood 14 men, the cultivators he had sensed.


    ¡°How dare you. This building is property of the Royal family, you will hang for your actions today.¡± Declared the man at the table head, an elderly looking individual in an obscene looking outfit of green and yellow. Wei himself still wore a beer soaked cloak, stolen from one of the slavers, but even so felt he was the best dressed in the room. Running his eyes around them, making sure each of them made eye contact with him, Wei spoke.


    ¡°This one has come with an opportunity. A, test. If you will.¡± The smile he offered was feral, and he enjoyed the flash of fear he sensed from each of them ¡°There are 14 thieves in this room. Whichever of you kills the others first will be granted a boon.¡±


    ¡°How dare you. We are all masters of the Royal arts. How dare a mere peasant make demands of us.¡±


    He felt several of the men pulling mana. It was rough, untrained. Like trying to reroute a river with just a spoon. He could have ended their efforts with less than a thought, if he channelled for even a moment then none of these men had the understanding to preserve even the slightest bit for themselves.


    ¡°I see. This one will ignore the insult of thieves calling themselves masters. Children should not be blamed for failing to understand the world around them. However, this one needs to know how many have been started on the path?¡±


    A variety of abilities activated, throwing different elements his way. They were tediously slow, and a basic air shield blocked any from damaging his outfit.


    ¡°So be it. As Elder I shall help educate you why sticky fingers can often be, burned.¡±


    Wei moved. To observers it was like he flickered, he was there and then he wasn¡¯t. All of a sudden he reappeared, standing against one of the side walls. Seconds later all the men on that side of the table fell to the floor.


    ¡°Now, I believe my demonstration was sufficient. My test, and the offered boon, are still on the table.¡± He didn¡¯t ask, his point was made.


    The men suddenly turned on each other. To Wei, it was laughable. The kind of display he was used to seeing from small children in their first tournaments. Martial prowess had long been the backbone of cultivation. In addition to training young bodies to handle the excess energy and power the arts installed, it also provided an excellent way to vent excess energy and encourage competition for the lower realms. Asking children to embark on a lifetime of quiet meditation was not a reasonable request. Clearly whomever had been teaching these fools had misunderstood and thought the various martial forms were necessary for elemental control. It was a fundamental misunderstanding, and one that would always limit them from true mastery. Wei smiled, the basis of an idea forming in his head. As the battle continued, more and more of the men were falling, until only the colourful man from the head of the table remained.


    ¡°As expected. What is your name thief?¡±


    The man was panting, trying to draw recover his breath. ¡°Frederick Lord of Sussex.¡± He said that like Wei should have known.


    ¡°Well Frederick, congratulations are in order. Your country seems to like its slavery, so you should know what I meant when I say you now belong to me.¡± He watched as the mans eyes widened ¡°Or would the thief prefer to join his fellow disciples in rejecting my offered boon?¡± He watched as the man nodded, clearly not happy. ¡°Now tell me. Is this the only location your fellow thieves have stored cultivation texts and resources?¡±


    The man looked around and then turned back ¡°There may be some in the royal palace, but this is the only building where people can be taught. By Royal decree none of the texts can leave this room, its why we have a second set of guards.¡±


    Wei nodded and looked around. ¡°That is good. As a middle tier of the initial realm would you consider yourself one of your nations strongest cultivators?¡±


    ¡°I was chosen to head the academy here, so yes.¡±


    ¡°Good. You may choose 5 books, and 5 books only to come with us. These will be your teaching aids. You will be teaching a lot more people going forward, so choose wisely.¡±


    The man panicked, and rushed to the shelves pulling off book after book. While he did so, Wei looked around himself. Most of what was here he recognised. They had clearly managed to raid one of the lower schools on the island. He stopped when he saw a small metal disc. Pulling it off he smiled and slipped it into his cloak. That would be useful for his plan. He made another circle of the room, stopping to read every so often. None of it was new of course, but it was nice to be reminded of the earlier paths on occasion.


    ¡°I have chosen.¡±


    Wei spun and saw the man clutching 5 books to his chest. He held out his hand and waited the several seconds for the mans inner demons to force him to comply. When he had them, Wei walked over to the table and looked at the choices. There was a guide to martial forms, a guide to the body and meridians, a journal of a man who had documented his own cultivation, from day one through to forming his well. Finally were two different cultivation guides. Both were lesser forms, used until a child had opened enough meridians to try something more advanced. That was fine. Wei didn¡¯t want them getting too powerful after all. Still, he turned and walked to the shelves. It took several minutes but he eventually found what he wanted. It was crude, outdated really. Technically a medical text, it would at least give a basic understanding of a cultivators body.


    ¡°Acceptable choices, but you will take this one as well. Now hold still.¡±


    He walked up to the man and with a tiny amount of fire mana, burnt a patch on the back of his neck. Central enough that he could never see it himself. ¡°That mark is linked to my own mana. If you attempt to escape. If you attempt to betray me, I can kill you without even needing to hunt you down.¡± It was no such thing, but Wei was enjoying himself. ¡°Now wait outside this room, I have things to attend to.¡±


    The man, who had gone pale as a sheet, rushed out, quick to follow orders. When he was alone, Wei scanned the room. It was a terrible thing he was about to do, killing the very last records of his people. It was terrible, but needed. These people would use his heritage to conquer the world if left unchecked. He couldn¡¯t turn back time, but he could slow them down. Give others a chance to catch up. With a sigh, Wei pulled on his fire mana, releasing it into the air surrounding him. Thousands of lines shot out, enough to hit each book individually. When he was confident he had done his job, Wei walked to the door and unleashed a wave of earth mana, sealing it behind him. The fire would burn until there was nothing left to feed it, which based on the amount of mana he had used, would be a very long time. Feeling generous, Wei left the students alone. Without teachers or resources, they would be no better than blind children stumbling in the dark. Heading back through the entryway, Wei waved a hand, letting the wall he had built reform, a doorway opening to let him out. He would leave it there, a lesson to those that needed it not to risk following him. Wei felt a little excited. He almost couldn¡¯t wait to see how this worked out.


    ¡°Come Frederick Lord of Sussex. It is time for us to locate your next students.¡±

 Chapter 1

    The sun was yet to rise when Allen slammed the wooden door shut on his small home. The fact it was the last time he would be doing so for several years, at least, had him smiling even as he rammed his shoulder into the frame, holding the panels in place until the lock clicked in. Nobody had ever accused him or his father of being competent carpenters. In fact they were both better suited to destroying things than making them. The older man could enchant things pretty well, but only items he brought. Otherwise things had a tendency to be, well, dangerous. The door was just one of many little faults the home had, but that just meant it had character. At least that was what he told people when they visited. In truth it was only the excitement he felt about the day to come which stopped him shouting out the usual string of curse words. Eventually, after a lot more effort than was really acceptable, the key clicked round and he slumped forward.


    ¡°Son¡±


    Leaping into the air, Allen¡¯s knee didn¡¯t quite bend enough on landing, leaving him flat on his face. The completely undisguised chuckles coming from behind him only made the embarrassment worse.


    ¡°Really dad? Couldn¡¯t you have waited a few more seconds for me to turn around?¡± he complained, slowly climbing to his feet.


    ¡°Have to? No.¡±


    Allen sighed. There was no winning with his father. Older than sin, and yet somehow about as mature as a three year old in a soft play area. How did you stop an immortal that dedicated their spare time to pranking you?


    ¡°And you wonder why I¡¯m keen to get away.¡± Allen grumbled as he started walking down the path from his small home.


    ¡°I merely question your choice of destination, not the journey itself.¡±


    Allen groaned ¡°I explained why. This at least gives me cover, so I can live in society. I don¡¯t want to live with you and mum all my life.¡±


    He nodded ¡°Which is why I allow it. Now I came to remove your block, unless you are happy with your current status?¡±


    Allen instantly smiled. The disagreement about attending the royal academy had been going on for months with no end in sight before three years ago, when Allen turned thirteen. His mother had suggested this compromise. A forced block on his cultivation, keeping him at the lower initiate realm until he actually left for the academy. It meant that Allen¡¯s cultivation had been heavily restricted these last three years, but his foundations were so much stronger than even his fathers had been at the same stage.


    ¡°Thank you father. I will work to make you proud of me¡±


    Shen snorted ¡°You are too like your mother. Hold still¡±


    There was no movement, no sign he did anything at all. But suddenly Allen felt like he could breath for the first time in years. His mana, condensed and cultivated in all three dantian¡¯s surged out, overflowing into his body.


    ¡°You will need to ascend tonight, but that will be simple with your current progress.¡± Shen paused, already half turned away ¡°Be careful son. And do not hesitate if you need help.¡±


    Without another word the most powerful man in the world disappeared. To somebody that did not know, it would look like teleporting. In truth his natural speeds were just so much higher than even Allens at the initiate level, that they could not track his movements. A simple fact of cultivation was that each stage put you even further beyond the limits of the previous realm. It would take a team of apprentices to deal with a single adept, but an army of grandmasters would struggle against a lone elder. The fact there were no living grandmasters, or even masters, meant Shen¡¯s natural abilities were almost godlike in the current world. Not that anyone knew about him to think that.


    ¡°Man that feels better¡±


    Allen had been silent for several minutes after the block was removed, dealing with the sudden surge of concentrated mana making its way around his body and pathways. His body had wanted to ascend immediately, and it took time for him to regain control, forcing it back down into his dantians. Three years of cultivation without expansion had them barely holding on, and he knew that while he would be stronger for it, the concentration of mana now would mean he could rocket through the ranks if he was willing to sacrifice strength. By the time he finally had control, his father was long gone. Now settled, Allen restarted his walk, casually strolling over the cobbled path towards the main farm house. This land was their families, and while Allen had attended school for years in the nearby village, officially they were not part of it. When his father had returned the first Lord of Sussex to his home centuries earlier, this land had been gifted to him. None could take it unless the defeated Shen or his descendent in single combat. While they had been before Allen¡¯s time, Fredericks heirs had apparently tried twice. Each time putting up stakes for the deal which meant that in addition to owning a large portion of land with a thriving farm, the Wei family were also exempt from all taxes within the territory, and had permission for his mother to run her small bakery in the village of Woodchappel. Of course to spite them, there were no roads that ran anywhere near the Wei family lands, and the only way on or off was to cross overgrown grass lands and fields that the council refused to cut down. Petty but given the whole family were cultivators, it did not prove much of an obstacle. It also provided a level of security for the farm itself. Two hundred years on the same land, and the farm was now a cultivators paradise. Even the milk from their cows was rich in mana, the animals having eaten nothing but infused food for generations. Animals born from their herds were almost almost spirit beasts of the first tier, and a couple had ascended into the second. It was as he was saying goodbye to one of these animals, a cow his mother had named Florence in a joke that only made sense to her, that a voice woke him from his thoughts.


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.¡°Oh very nice. I spend 18 years raising him and he says goodbye to the pigs before his own mother.¡±


    Allen smiled ¡°But of course, the pigs offer more intelligent conversation.¡± He ducked as the hand went to slap his head.


    ¡°Don¡¯t think I won¡¯t come to that school and put you over my knee boy. Bet you¡¯ll make a lot of friends after that.¡±


    Allen smiled ¡°Thankfully my kind mother would never embarrass me like that.¡±


    She wrapped him in a hug ¡°You might be right. I¡¯ll just get your father to do it for me.¡±


    Emma Wei was a tiny woman. Barely 160cm tall with a thin body and face that seemed to be constantly smiling. She was originally from House Lincoln, a small territory to the north, but met my father when she fled south during a territory dispute in the 1850¡¯s. The two of them bonded over a shared dislike of nobles, and a love of practical jokes and general immaturity. They got married and after over a 150 years of training, she was now the most powerful cultivator England, or indeed Europe, had ever produced. All of that meant that despite her head barely reaching Allen¡¯s chest, even her hugs held enough strength to crush him if she wasn¡¯t careful.


    ¡°Will you reach Master while I am gone mother?¡± He asked, knowing she was close.


    ¡°If your father is correct, then yes. I need to stay ahead of my upstart son now don¡¯t I?¡±


    She pulled him in for another hug


    ¡°You will be careful okay? Call if you need help. Your father looked and its not that secure, we can get you out fairly quickly if needed.¡±


    Allen snorted ¡°I¡¯m sure its very secure mother, just not against him.¡±


    ¡°Well thats true. I did marry well.¡± She laughed and stepped back away ¡°Remember, keep our secrets but protect yourself first. Avoid the nobles, unless you are prepared to kill them. Finally, find a nice girl. I want grand babies.¡± She burst out laughing as her sons face paled. ¡°Oh that was too easy.¡±


    The two spoke for a while longer, the conversation mainly cantering around their village and whatever gossip his mother had over heard. There was no huge farewell party, just a family enjoying the time they spent together with full faith that a four year absence was nothing in the life of a cultivator.

 Chapter 2

    The train ride into the capital was, uncomfortable. Despite the fact Allen had left extremely early, every carriage was completely full of other potential students with suitcases and in many cases, parents. It had been over two hundred years since the testing became mandatory, and Allen didn¡¯t want to think about how hard it would have been before the invention of cars and trains. Considering there was only one academy in the entire country, tens of thousands of eighteen year olds were descending onto the capital on the same day. Only a very small percentage of them would be staying however. The testing was a huge public affair,  and it was the closest most people would ever come to the academy itself. That meant it attracted what his mother would called the crazies. The crowds of people who came out every year just to watch and cheer on what they thought of as their nations strength. The tube was even worse, with everyone going in the same direction. Most people could not afford, or make, their own storage items either. That meant the majority were dragging along suitcases and other bags, prepared for the unlikely event they would need to stay behind. Stepping out of the tube at King James station, Allen simply waited. He probably could have gotten out ahead of most of the crowd, none of them were moving with any great speed. But in truth there was no rush for any of them. Even after spending so long talking to his mother, Allen had still made it this far before 8am. That meant even if he entered the back of the queue now, he would still be one of the first tested when compared to the nation as a whole. Given the entire event was usually broadcast live on the news channels every year, Allen was well aware that people would continue to show up late into the evening. As the station finally started to quiet down, he started up the stairs, swiping his ID card on the way through. Reaching the street there was no need to look for directions, the mass of crowds all moving the same way made it fairly apparent where his destination was. While the King James station was closest, it was still a twenty minute walk to the academy square for most people. Not that Allen was most people. Only five minutes later he stepped into the back of a frankly ridiculous line. Ahead he could see people wearing actual sleep wear, implying they had physically camped outside in order to be near the front. He truly hoped those people got in, because otherwise there was no way it would be worth it. The entire square was full of excited chatter, with crowds gathered behind those cheap metal barriers which had been lined up all the way around. He could already see the flashing of cameras, as well as a few obvious TV reporters. The entire thing was insane. Strong cultivators were the ultimate celebrities, especially if they were loyal to your House or the royal family. The ones who were strong enough to join the royal House were almost always on the front page of newspapers, usually for something that normal people would consider embarrassing. Reporters therefore lined up every year in the vague hope they could catch a picture of the next Victoria Simms or Daniel Ward. They did the same thing at the monthly tournaments, and you would often see character pieces and interviews with students who would go on to be nothing more than guards and muscle for Lords around the country. Very few made it into the royal House, and aside from a couple of carefully selected spokes people, they did not do interviews. It was a completely different lifestyle to what Allen was used to, with hours of quiet meditation, disciplined martial arts practise and general hard work. Allen, and the thousands in front of him, stood for over an hour as the line got slowly longer and longer, with huge groups arriving every fifteen to twenty minutes. Finally as the clocks ticked over to nine, a man in ornate red and golden robes stepped up onto the giant platform in front of the river.


    ¡°Greetings and welcome to another year of testing. Gathered here today we have our countries newest adults, who have been given the opportunity to come to see if they are worthy of the training our royal academy can provide. Whether they have the talent or not, I am sure all of them will go on to serve my father and our kingdom loyally.¡±


    The man paused as a massive round of applause sounded out around the square. Allen wasn¡¯t actually sure he had said anything worth cheering yet, but made a token effort so as not to stand out.


    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.¡°When I step away, the academy team will begin the process of testing. For those that have been blessed with the talent, know that the academy will not be easy. You will work hard but if you are loyal and give your all, the King may raise you to the ranks of our cultivator elite.¡±


    Allen rolled his eyes as the man continued to waffle on. There was a lot of talk about winning the Kings favour, earning the right to be a cultivator. He knew it was mostly his fathers fault, but why people were allowed to believe only selected people could become a cultivator was beyond him. Even now he could see the tester, a tacky monster made of gold and covered in gems, mounted up on the stand behind the peacock talking. His father had built one out of wood when Allen was 8. An accident had caused him to damage his foot meridian and the device was built to hold his meridians open while his father cycled healing mana through his body. The fact a cheap healing aid was now the sole decider on if a person could become a cultivator or not was the kind of insanity Allen firmly believed could only come from his fathers brain.


    ¡°Now, let us begin this years testing.¡± Called out the peacock, waking Allen from his daydream. Apparently he had missed the entire speech. The man, who must have said his name but Allen hadn¡¯t heard it, disappeared from the stage to huge applause around the crowd. People were cheering, screaming out in celebration as the first girl, looking absolutely terrified, stumbled up onto the stage. Allen was too far away to hear, but he did watch as she clumsily pulled off her shoes and socks before stepping onto the frame. The entire golden device lit up, shining across the entire square. But then, nothing happened. The girl didn¡¯t react and only a small shake of his head from the staff member sitting by the side made it clear this girl didn¡¯t have a future within the academy walls. For all her nerves going into the test, she looked suddenly thrilled, practically skipping back over to her shoes and socks before carrying them off with her.


    ¡°Honour of the royal academy indeed.¡± Allen muttered under his breath as the next person made their way up onto the stage.


    Hours passed, and out of what must have been nearly a thousand students, so far only three had been found to have the talent, as it was called. Allen had never been so bored in his life. He briefly tried to make conversation with the people around him, except it was readily apparent they had nothing in common. The girl behind him was terrified, clinging to her mother who looked equally scared. He had barely gotten out a hello before she squeaked and turned her face away. The boy in front was far more interested in his phone and had responded with what essentially had been a dismissal. Having grown up on a farm Allan spent a lot of time around animals, nearly all of which had better manners. With socialising being a dead end, he had opted instead for simply watching the proceedings. Finally it was his turn, the rude phone addict having just been told he would be going home. Slipping off his shoes and socks, Allen pulled them into his storage ring and walked up to the tester. That set of numerous conversations in the audience, at least those that were paying attention, but he didn¡¯t have any intention of hiding the fact he came from cultivator parents. In fact he was going to lean on that quite heavily, as it gave him an excise to ignore any particularly bad lessons. The gold was not surprisingly cold against his bare skin, but he ignored it. Retracting all his own mana into his dantian¡¯s, Allen waited for the device to activate. As soon as he felt the foreign mana he let it seep into his hand meridians before funnelling out the stomach meridian. The mana from this tester was weak, coming from a novice level cultivator and cycled through the machine and countless people over and over again. Given how close Allen was to ascending a tier, the last thing he wanted was corrupted mana damaging his ascension. Gradually the device faded, and a man stepped forward and raised Allen¡¯s hand into the air. Like he had just won a prize fight. The crowd though loved it, whooping and cheering like they had for all the other cultivators. Allen gave them a genuine smile. For better or worse, he was now on his own path.

 Chapter 3

    Compared to the loud cheers and general glamour of the square, the next stage of Allen¡¯s new academy life was somewhat more, basic. He was shuffled off the stage and onto a small work boat. Aside from the small booth where the captain stood the entire thing was exposed to the elements with absolutely no effort made for comfort or even safety. The three people who had been passed ahead of him were already waiting, all looking various degrees of excited. Unlike before, Allen made no effort to socialise, instead pulling on his footwear and then taking time to study the academy building in the distance. Everyone knew the academy was on its own island. The story said that the royal family had raised it up themselves using earth mana, but his father told him that was stretching the truth. The island had always been there, but had been connected to the mainland before. The royal family had used their cultivators to sink the land around it and the large square that housed the testing, but that was all. Still impressive, especially given that the highest known cultivator was in the apprentice realm. It would have taken hundreds of cultivators working together to accomplish the task. The academy itself was a fortress, at least from the outside. It was heavily promoted as the most secure building in the world, with cultivators guarding the high mana infused walls at all times. A member of the royal House revealed years ago that every graduate  infused some of their own mana into the wall before leaving, meaning it was getting stronger every year. Looking at it now, Allen could believe that. The wall was a monster, easily twenty meters high with guards visible even from his distance. You could only get there by boat, and there was only one dock. To get from the dock to the wall you had to walk up a narrow incline that was completely visible to the walls. It was medieval at best, but he had to imagine incredibly effective. It made him think back to his mothers comments, and how his father had apparently already come and scouted the place out. Allen knew his father wouldn¡¯t lie about that, but still shuddered slightly at the idea of just how strong the man really was. He also briefly wished his first element could have been water. In a place like this it would certainly grant extra strength. It was nearly midday before the boat finally had enough people on it to make a trip over. As soon as the boat launched, people started talking for the first time. Excitement was clear in their tones as Allen just focussed ahead. As they approached the concentrations of mana became thicker and thicker, and it was obvious they had a gathering enchantment of fairly decent strength within the walls. Unbidden, a small smile formed on Allens face as he looked at his life ahead. WIth a decent array in place, there was a good chance his cultivation speed wouldn¡¯t suffer as much as he first feared. Especially if he used his own much smaller one to focus it around himself when cultivating. He just had to be careful to do so in secret. Twirling the ring on his left thumb, ensuring it wasn¡¯t activated, Allen breathed in and centred himself as the boat docked up against the academy island. As before, he waited to leave the boat until all the others had, stepping up behind the crowd and following up the long stone walkway. Guards were watching them the whole way, and even a cursory scan told him they were at most novice realm cultivators. Most however were barely on the path at all. Stepping into the large gates a large table was waiting in front of them with dozens of people standing around behind them.


    ¡°Have your ID card ready then follow instructions. line up, stay silent and hold all questions until tonight. The academy head will welcome you and provide all relevant information.¡± Called out a man standing to the side of the desk.


    As instructed, the forty or so teenagers shuffled into a line. To his surprise Allen was somewhere near the front, his position near the centre meant the queue formed around him. One by one, the new students were processed, their ID cards scanned in and then the student sent off to one of the many students standing around. Finally as Allen had his turn, a girl in a horrible yellow outfit, paired with a pair of large black combat boots stepped up to him.. He would have been tempted to shy away, if he hadn¡¯t seen the Sussex House crest on her shirt. Before he could introduce himself however, she spoke up


    ¡°Come on, lets get moving.¡± Without a word she walked passed him.


    Allen hurried to catch up, falling in a step behind her very quickly.


    ¡°The academy is split up into the Houses. Each House has their own facility within the walls, which is where you will spend the majority of your time. Do well and the House will invest in you attending one of the classes in the main building. Do poorly and you will be limited to what you can learn.¡±


    If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.She started talking as they walked down what could only be described as a street. On one side were numerous large stone walls, protecting giant manor houses. All of them had different House crests decorating them, signalling who was inside. He could see patrolling the walls, both the giant ones that protected the island, and the smaller ones guarding each Houses territory. On the right hand side, towards the centre of the island, were various much grander looking buildings, all spaced around the giant arena in the middle. Finally after walking what felt like half the island, they came to a wall with a familiar looking blue crest with a bird rising from flames.


    ¡°Home sweet home. Come on¡± the girl didn¡¯t pause, stepping through the gates with a head tip to the two people guarding it.


    ¡°Is the yellow?¡± Allen started to ask, before seeing the answer for himself. Everyone around them was wearing the same hideous yellow combat trousers and jacket. ¡°Well that¡¯s not a good look.¡±


    ¡°Uniform colours depend on your rank within the House. Now come on.¡± The girl, who still hadn¡¯t given her name, said. As she marched through the large yard Allen looked around. There was one very large mansion type building at the very back, which had another wall protecting it guarded by people wearing green this time. Alongside one of the side walls, that seemed to be up against House Derby, was a long stone building that blended in with the wall itself. Only the fact the building was substantially smaller made the separation separate.


    ¡°Kyle I have a new one for you.¡± His guide said, gesturing to Allen as she shouted to the man standing against the stone building.


    The man, in the same hideous yellow outfit, stepped off the wall and looked Allen over. ¡°Alright, thanks Priya I¡¯ll take him from here so you can head on back.¡±


    Without a word to Allen, the girl spun and started to walk away


    ¡°Thanks for your help¡± he called after her, but she didn¡¯t even pause.


    ¡°Don¡¯t mind her, the more people she brings in the more points she earns, and she wants to do well this year. Come on.¡± The boy said, leading Allen into the building ¡°This is the Yellow barracks. Do you have your ID card, I¡¯ll get you scanned and set up.¡±


    Allen nodded, and pulled out his card again. The boy took it and instead of scanning, started typing the details into a tablet that he fished off a table. While he worked, Allen looked around. Clearly nobody had put much thought into comfort, as this smart room, which was clearly a reception area, had no decoration aside from the table and rows of racking. Two doors, one of either side, were the only gaps in the racks.


    ¡°Well good news, you¡¯re one of us. Here¡± he walked towards one side of the racking and pulled out a crate out that contained piles of yellow clothing. ¡°Grab a pair of boots your size and then follow me.¡±


    Doing as instructed, Allen found a show box labelled with his size and then turned to the new guide.


    ¡°In case you missed it, I''m Kyle Meadows. Currently I¡¯m class head for the Yellows so I¡¯ll be in charge of your training and pretty much everything else while you are in these walls. Today is a little mad, because people come in so slowly, but I¡¯ll give you the key points. That door¡± he pointed to the one that was now behind Allen ¡°leads to the Yellow training hall. In there you can work on your fitness, your combat skills, or if you earn enough to get a technique, even cultivate. Feel free to use it anytime. This door takes you to everything else.¡±


    Carrying the crate and boots, Allen followed after him through the narrow door, pausing slightly when he saw what awaited them. Rows of metal beds lined the walls, with another set back to back in the middle. Each had a single chest at the end of them, and he could see suitcases and other items stored underneath most. There was no effort for privacy or even to give people some alone time.


    ¡°Your crate has a number on it, which should match up with a bunk. Find it, get changed and then make yourself comfortable. Lunch is soon so head down to the far end where there¡¯s a cafeteria. Showers and bathrooms are through there¡± he pointed to another doorway against the back wall. ¡°Once you eat lunch today is largely your own until tonight¡¯s speech, but I¡¯ll get you for that. Either stick to your bunk, or head to the training room. Please don¡¯t go outside until the speech, but if you need anything come find me.¡± With that Kyle didn¡¯t stop, turning and heading back to the front desk.


    Allen just looked around, slightly amazed that he had found himself in a home less comfortable than the one he built himself as a fifteen year old.

 Chapter 4

    Lunch, as it turned out, was chicken soup. The far end of the Yellow building was made up into essentially a school canteen. Long wooden tables with benches lined up across the building, in front of a serving window and large kitchen. Allen was at least comforted by the fact the food was mildly mana infused, but there wasn¡¯t much in it. It was only because he had both his stomach and throat meridians open that he got anything from the meal at all. Given the fact the testing here only looked at the hands and feet, he wondered if people were getting anything from the meals at all. With nothing better to do, Allen found himself exploring the training hall. Cultivator grade treadmills and weight sets lined the walls, while the centre was set up for group exercise and combat. With nothing better to do, Allen ran for an hour then did three sets each on the different types of weight sets, all under the supervision of an older student clearly assigned to make sure none of new kids hurt themselves on the first day. Allen wasn¡¯t really used to weights, having largely used farm work and his martial arts to keep himself in shape over the years, which led to a few simple mistakes. Still he knew they would be important going forward, at least they would if he wanted to keep in shape. Following an ice cold shower, Allen returned to his bunk and laid back on his bed. He hadn¡¯t even bothered to unpack. Instead after changing into one set, he packed the rest of his new yellow clothing into the provided chest and grabbed just underwear and toiletries from his storage ring. the rest he left where he could get it if needed. As the day wore on more and more people arrived, most on their own but a couple in pairs. The largest group came near the end of the day and was a whole three girls, all of whom clearly knew each other by the way they were actually holding hands with nerves written all over their faces. Allen wasn¡¯t sure if it was a good or bad thing that the bunks were grouped together by year. That meant each of the boys next to him were just as new, and therefore completely unimpressed. It was also somewhat better that the men and women were on different sides of the room. It didn¡¯t do much for privacy, but it was a token effort at least. As much as the idea should sound like an eighteen year olds dream, all Allen could think of was his mothers reaction if she ever found out he did something wrong. That terrifying possibility alone meant he would be very careful where his eyes went.


    ¡°Alright fall in first years, time to go for a walk¡± came a familiar voice from the front. Priya, the girl who had guided him from the front entrance, was now standing at the doorway into dorms. ¡°Once the speech is done we can bring you back here for dinner.¡±


    If any of the new students were still excited, the boredom in her voice would have killed it off without mercy. She announced it in much the same way one would a replacement bus service on a long trip. Still Allen climbed onto his feet with everyone else and made his way to the door. The matching yellow uniforms making them look like extras from a children¡¯s TV show. With no order or structure, the group walked out the yard from House territory and made their way back through the same streets as earlier. With the sun now set, only the lights from the occasional territory entrance lit up the streets, meaning there was a lot of bumping and apologies within their crowd. Finally they were guided into the main arena, taking seats in a section right up near the very top.


    ¡°Alright just stay silent and try not to bring any attention our way. Let¡¯s get through the speech and then we will go over things back in the hall.¡± Priya said, still with the same bored tone.


    Their entire group was studying the arena. It was one of the most famous buildings in the country, but only former students were allowed inside. Even the camera operators that filmed the combat tournaments each month were low levelled cultivators in service to the royal House. Cultivation duels were the most popular sport  around the world, and the global television rights went for billions. A large part of that money went into making the arena as sophisticated as possible. Even their seats so high up gave good views of advertising boards around the sides of the fighting pit. Allen could see the large healers door, with several carts parked outside for transporting unconscious or dead contestants. Hanging in the air above them were giant screens which showed the ground down below them, just in case they couldn¡¯t see. All around the arena people were filing in, huge groups taking up their own areas while being careful to leave gaps between them and anyone else. Eventually a group in a familiar green uniform arrived before them, sitting much lower though. The yellow group had maybe eighty students, whereas the green were just shy of twenty. Allen was tempted to ask, but got the feeling he wouldn¡¯t like the answer, and Priya wouldn¡¯t like giving it to him. After a few seconds deliberation, he decided to hold it until they were back in the dorms. He did make a note however that theres wasn¡¯t the only section seemingly separated by colours. Or that the worst colours seemed to be the ones highest up. He honestly wasn¡¯t sure if his bright yellow was better or worse than the collection of oranges and purples he could see dotted around. Even in a world of cultivators, many of whom were eccentric due to their long lives and general power, it was hard to imagine any of these colours being popular with anyone.


    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.¡°Welcome first year students¡±


    There was suddenly a man standing in the middle of the arena. Allen hadn¡¯t seen him walk out, mainly because he had been playing fashion critic.


    ¡°You have all been blessed with the talent to study the royal arts here at his majesty¡¯s academy. Through the training you receive here, many of you will see your lifespans extended far beyond their mortal limits. You will learn to bend the elements to your whims, and most importantly you will learn how to strike down any that would threaten this country or its people.¡±


    The man paused for applause and cheers. Not feeling particularly at risk of being noticed, Allen didn¡¯t bother faking it. Instead he studied the man speaking. Even from here he could tell the speaker was more powerful than him, which meant he was almost certainly either a Lord, related to one, or a member of the royal House. Given his slightly pudgy frame, gray hair and horrendous dress robes, he was probably from the later. They did love their bright colours and outdated dress styles, plus they were the only ones who could get somebody up to the higher levels of cultivation through resources.


    ¡°Those of you who work hard will find the academy offers you resources to progress. We have had students finish their four years here at the fourth level, and we have equally had students leave after failing to ascend at all. His majesties blessings come for those who work for it.¡± The man continued, his  raspy voice revealing he must have been old when he started cultivation, as even the extended lifespan could not repair it. ¡°For every task you complete, you will earn contribution points. These can be redeemed in the library to access new techniques, or the alchemy labs to gain resources. Our stronger members may wish to invest in weapons or armour from the enchanters.¡±


    The man carried on speaking for a while, but Allen had stopped listening after the mention of contribution points. He now understood what Kyle had meant about earning points per people earlier. Being as discrete as he could, Allen cast out his senses to the front of their group, eventually finding Priya. Despite being a second year she was still a mortal. So either she hadn¡¯t made the same effort the previous year, or it took an insane amount of points to earn techniques. Either way she was clearly making a real effort now.


    ¡°Alright first years. Time to go.¡±


    Allen snapped to attention, suddenly realising the speech was finished and the majority of the arena had emptied out, he really needed to stop doing that. Rising to his feet, Allen followed behind their guide as she marched through the now pitch black streets. When they reached their territory, the familiar yellow uniform stood out as they guarded the entrance. It wasn¡¯t until they got into the dorm building itself that Priya turned and spoke to them.


    ¡°Things you need to know. Contribution points are everything, but you can lose them just as easily as earning them. Keep your head down and work hard. Breakfast starts at 5, and you need to be in the training hall by 7. Welcome to the academy.¡±


    She turned and walked away, leaving a class of people stunned into silence.

 Chapter 5

    With the rest of his class heading straight for their beds, Allen slipped into the training room. He could feel each of his dantians pulsing out, wanting to ascend, and given the time that would take, pulling an all nighter was inevitable. After stashing his new outfit in storage, he pulled on a pair of sweats that he wouldn¡¯t mind destroying. Rolling his neck, Allen found his centre, and begun. Mana poured out of his lower dantian, thicker than he had ever processed before. Extending his right arm out, he directed the mana to follow his movements, carefully cycling it through the meridian before steering it back long his arm. His palm stung as the meridian was burned away and then healed over and over again, the high concentration of mana tempering it up to a new level. Biting his lips to get through the pain, he pulled his arm up and round in an arch, directing the mana back through his channels until it reached waist, then he stepped forward, bending his knee into a lunge as the mana went down his right leg. Again the pain was enough to make a normal person pass out, but when he returned to standing the meridian was stronger and more capable than ever before. Slowly he worked through the various stances, tempering all seven meridians before returning the mana to his body dantian where it cycled over and over, pushing out the previous limits. Steeling his nerves, Allen started again, this time pushing the mana out of its natural channels and into his blood stream. The burning was intense and immediate, offering no reprieve like when he worked on the meridians. Veins and arteries were burned to ash before being immediately reformed, and it took intense will power to stay focussed. Again he worked through his entire body, burning away all of his organs as well as the blood, veins and arteries before finally returning the mana to his dantian. Allen wanted to collapse, his body breathing as heavily as if he had just run a marathon, but at no point did he let the mana stop moving.


    ¡°Two. two more levels¡± he gasped out in between heavy breath, thick layers of sweat coating his body.


    Once more starting the movements, he began stretching, this time tensing his arm to keep it up as his bones were targeted. Most cultivators would never go to this level, instead stopping at the meridian stage. That was not their fault, as they didn¡¯t know better, but it was one of the reasons Allen would always be stronger than the average cultivator at the same realm. Where a normal cultivator could heal rapidly from a bullet wound, Allen would instead just see the round bounce off his skin. It would take a cultivator at the apprentice realm to even cut his skin after his current round of tempering, and even then they would likely dull a normal blade trying. Finally, after hours of intense pain and effort, the mana returned to dantian after the fourth cycle. Allen collapsed down onto one knee. His entire body was covered in a watery gel, red from his own blood.  Looking into his dantian he could see that it was now only a quarter full, and at least a third bigger than it had been at the start of the night. Sitting in silence for a few minutes, letting his adrenaline calm, he basked in his success before he was finally ready to move on.


    ¡°This stuff really is disgusting¡± Allen complained under his breath, flicking his hand so he had some exposed skin to wipe his eyes with.


    ¡°Well I hope you can clean it off the floor.¡± Came a familiar voice from the somewhere in front of him.


    Opening his eyes, Allen saw Priya watching him with hard eyes. ¡°Congratulations on reaching level one.¡± She said, stepping further into the room ¡°I¡¯m going to guess your parents taught you the technique, but why wait until now to use it?¡± She asked


    Buying a second to think by wiping more goo off his face Allen eventually replied ¡°Deal with my parents, I wouldn¡¯t progress until the academy. I¡¯m at the academy so.¡± He waved a hand, gesturing to his body.


    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.¡°Huh. Well okay. He a soldier?¡± She asked, her voice still flat. Her long black hair was clearly wet, glistening in what little light there was in the room at this hour.


    ¡°God no.¡± Allen replied ¡°Dad isn¡¯t really the military discipline type. He¡¯s independent.¡±


    She nodded ¡°Strong then. I won¡¯t rat you out for using the room, but make sure you clean it.¡± She walked back out, heading towards the dorms without another word.


    Allen thought for a minute, unsure why she would rat him out in the first place. He had been told the training rooms were free to use. Shaking his head, he dismissed it.  Priya seemed to be in a bad mood almost constantly, so her comment was probably due to that. For someone who was clearly working hard at the academy, she seemed to be hating every second of it. Standing up, he went into the bathroom and grabbed a load of paper towels, quickly wiping himself down and then the floor where he had left a pretty big mess. A quick, and extremely cold shower later, Allen returned to the training room for the next stage. His body and lower dantian were now at mid tier initiate, but that wasn¡¯t enough. He still had two dantians, spirit and mind to ascend before he could say he was a mid initiate. That would hours, which meant there was no time to rest. Dropping down to the lotus position, Allen emptied his mind and began the next stage. Spiritual cultivation was the area he struggled most, as it was difficult to visualise. As he began cycling his mana through the middle dantian, he let his spiritual aura out. Anyone who was close to him would feel his level of cultivation, but he was confident of not causing an issue with most people being asleep this late at night. As the mana cycled, he pushed out with his spirit, trying to extend its range.  After nearly an hour, he started to get faint resonance from the other yellow students who were maybe thirty or forty meters away from where he sat. None of them were cultivators yet, which was a little surprising, but he could still feel the faintest echo, an absence of mana just as visible as a cultivator would be. While there was no physical effort involved, by the time he brought the cycling to a end Allen¡¯s entire body was coated in sweat. The focus alone enough to raise his heart rate. But it worked, even without pushing he could sense the sleeping class. That was close enough that nobody would be able to sneak attack him, unless they were an apprentice or higher at least. And really if an apprentice tier wanted to hurt him, advanced warning wouldn¡¯t  exactly do anything to help anyway. With two of his three dantians ascended, Jacob did briefly consider calling it a night. Mind cultivation was best done while actually working his brain, testing the synapses as they were infused with mana. In the past he had played chess, completed puzzles or just recited times tables. Anything that taxed his brain would work, and the harder he had to work the better. The problem was he didn¡¯t really have anything prepared except for his phone. Pulling it out, he saw the battery was at a little under half full. Biting the bullet, he downloaded a word game and got comfortable. The game started off easy, but by level twenty he was starting to struggle. Level thirty and he was cursing at it as he realised it used the American dictionary, which is why he hadn¡¯t made any progress in a while. Three hours after he started he could hear movement coming from the other side of the building and began to return the mana to his dantian. Rising to his feet, Allen was more than a little thrilled with his progress. All his dantians were at least a third bigger than when he started, meaning he had a much greater mana capacity now. In addition his body, mind and spirit had all been tempered, leaving him in the ideal position for his eventual ascension to the apprentice realm and beyond. Heading for the showers once again, Allen found himself excited for the day ahead, hoping for a chance to show off his new strength.

 Chapter 6

    After yet another shower to clean off the sweat, and several minutes swearing about the apparent lack of boilers at the academy, Allen dressed himself in the provided uniform before heading to breakfast. A side effect of ascension, at least if you did it properly, was that it drained a significant amount of your stored mana. That meant that if nothing changed Allen would be relying on traditional energy to get through the day. That wasn¡¯t a good thing when he was coming off two days in a row with hardly any sleep. His cultivation technique was powerful enough for even an adept level cultivator, so he would have no problems refilling his mana again. But that would take time he didn¡¯t have before they were told to report to the training room. Helping himself to a bowl of rather bland looking oatmeal, Allen tucked in, enjoying even the sensation as the small amount of mana infused in the meal worked its way through his meridians and into his channels. The sensation was sort of like a shot of sugar when you were tired. Not good in the long term, but enough to hold you over for a while. Given it was his first proper day at the academy, Allen felt confident that as long as he could draw in mana, he would have time to properly cultivate mana properly at some point. Finishing off the plain breakfast, he returned the bowl to the kitchen area and made his way to his unused bed, activating his ring. The gathering array his father had enchanted into it immediately started pulling in mana towards him, all of which he drew in through his meridians and into his channels. Finally a student called out that it was time for them to move to training, so Allen twisted the ring again to stop the enchantment, and walked into the training room.  Maybe two hundred students, all in banana yellow, filled the room. Many were on the treadmills or weight lifting, while others were in groups working through what looked like martial arts. Right at the front were about a hundred faces he recognised from the previous night, all stood around facing the man he met on first arriving, Kyle. During their previous meeting Allen had thought the man appeared fairly approachable, but that was gone now. Instead he stood scowling like a small child told it was time to leave the playground. Gradually more and more of the older students filed in behind them before the entire class of yellows was standing in a group. Still Kyle didn¡¯t speak, just looking at the door way and tapping his foot. Finally, about five minutes after the last of the yellows had arrived, five people walked through into the training room. Four of them were wearing the green variant of his own uniform. The dark green shade, paired with the way they walked and carried themselves, gave a distinctive military feel. The black clad man at the front was the one who really caught Allen¡¯s interest though. A little over six foot and in decent shape, the man sneered at the class like he was better than them in a way his physical condition should not justify. His peak novice realm cultivation however was the highest Allen had sensed from any student so far, with Kyle¡¯s low novice the highest amongst the yellow class. Retracting his own spirit so it was tightly controlled, Allen made the decision to wait and see how this played out.


    ¡°Yellow class¡± the mans lips ticked up at the corners as he looked over them ¡°I am Christopher Hood. First son and heir to Viscount Timothy Hood. I trust you all enjoyed your first night here at the academy?¡± he smiled and looked around ¡°For those of you who wish to better yourselves, we are here to offer an opportunity. Your seniors in the green class are in need of allies as they train to strengthen our House guard. The earlier you sign up, the stronger you will be when your service begins upon graduation.¡±


    Allen frowned, but didn¡¯t speak up. He had read the paperwork very carefully, there was no obligation for mandatory service after the academy.


    ¡°There are many threats in the world, and the House needs young cultivators such as yourselves to serve, to keep your families and the other citizens safe. Resources are therefore naturally given to those who serve the House as a whole. All those who serve as guards are helped into the first level at least, meaning you will experience the extended lifespan of a cultivator. A few decades service is nothing when compared to the life you will get to live.¡± He waved his hand, gesturing to his green companions ¡°But that is nothing compared to the power you will wield. And so an example.¡±


    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.He did not say anything more, he didn¡¯t need to. This was clearly rehearsed. As soon as he finished that final word one of the men from the greens stepped forward, straight towards Kyle.


    ¡°Kyle Meadows, I challenge you to a duel. Stakes are all contribution points currently earned.¡± His smile was smug, and it was immediately obvious this was not the first time a duel like this had happened.


    Kyle didn¡¯t even speak, he just started walking to the centre of the room stretching out his arms and shoulder muscles. The older yellow students all looked resigned, while it was obvious the first years were just nervous, still shaken from the blowhards speech. The students spaced out, forming a large circle around the middle of the training area, leaving Kyle and the green class student in squaring off. The noble that seemed to be leading this little show stepped in as well, holding up his arm as if it was a wall between them. Instantly both students bowed to him, then faced back towards their opponent. Before Allen could question that madness, the fight was called and both students started a sort of bizarre dance. Taking advantage of everyone being distracted, Allen let the smallest amount of his spirit leak out, just so he could sense the two combatants. Immediately the fire mana both of them were calling on resonated. Kyle was in the low novice realm, but only barely. His mana was uncultivated, and felt thin. Barely a trickle responded as he called it up. The other man, the guard, wasn¡¯t much better. He did at least have some mana cultivated into each of his dantians, but obviously wasn¡¯t attuned with his element yet. That wasn¡¯t a huge surprise, as while his body dantian was at mid novice, his spirit and mind were both in the lower tier. After what felt like minutes, at least to Allen, both fighters unleashed their techniques. From Kyle a small fireball, the size of a table tennis ball and not quite solid, shot out. Unfortunately it met a much larger version, about the size of a full tennis ball, on the way. The smaller attack seemed to shatter on contact, whereas the larger one continued on, albeit at a slightly smaller size. Seeing the fireball coming his way, Kyle dove to the side, letting it sail over the crowed and into the stone walls at the front of the room. The guard was already waving his hands around again, clearly trying to funnel his mana. Kyle though simply charged him, running forward and tacking the larger man to the floor. Dismissing his attempt to create another fireball, the guard rolled with the tackle and then showed much greater strength to pin Kyle below him. The fight was ugly, more of a pub brawl than skilled exhibition, but there was no debate about the winner. The noble let it run further than was really required, Kyle taking a series of extra punches to the face as he was pinned and unable to defend.


    ¡°You see the difference, while Meadows may be a cultivator in name, he does not have the resources even the lowest of our guard ranks are awarded. He came to the academy the son of an independant cultivator, ahead of his peers. But those that chose to serve quickly surpassed him.¡± The noble leapt back into his act. ¡°House Sussex welcomes all those who would join their guard, and will be accepting oaths today and every three months from this point forward. Just remember, waiting means you will forever be three months weaker than your peers.¡±


    It was a sales act, a dance routine clearly well practised, but it worked. Allen sat back and watched as many of his fellow classmates looked ready to step forward, but none were quite ready yet. The mention of an oath enough to install some fear.


    ¡°No? Perhaps we chose badly in our example. Meadows is still a cultivator after all. Let us show you what it means to remain a mortal within the academy walls. Wilson.¡±


    A small woman, tiny at maybe 5 foot even, stepped forward. The grin she wore was evil, and it was clear that what came next would not be pleasant.


    ¡°Priya Gill, I challenge you to a duel.¡±

 Chapter 7

    The entire room looked at Priya, who was glaring with pure undisguised hatred at the tiny blonde.


    ¡°Stakes are all current contribution points.¡± Wilson continued, stepping into the ring as two of the older yellows helped Kyle to the sides.


    To her credit, Priya held her head up as she walked into the ring to what was obviously a completely unfair fight. Wilson radiated confidence, and despite her attempt at bravado, Priya clearly knew she was beaten.


    ¡°Wilson is a level two cultivator, one of our fastest risers. She signed up exactly a year ago, in a meeting just like this one. Her friend here however, resisted. She does not wish to serve the guard, she believes it beneath her to protect the citizens of our House. Therefore she never received the type of resources Wilson does, and is still mortal after an entire year within the academy walls.¡±


    If Allen hadn¡¯t wanted to punch the noble before, he would now. The idiot was practically skipping at the thought of the coming fight, and Allen had to bite his lip to stop doing something that he knew would be stupid. Instead he locked his mana down tightly and grit his teeth, resolving to make it up to them later. As before, both fighters bowed to the noble before the fight started, but that was where the similarities ended. There was no effort to draw mana as Priya charged, swinging a punch that her opponent blocked as easily as breathing. She followed up with a raised knee, connecting with the smaller woman¡¯s stomach. Wilson just smirked, still happy to humour her opponent. More punches and kicks followed, with the blonde only interested in blocking any that went near her face. Otherwise she made a show of letting them hit her, demonstrating to those first years that might not already realise how much of an advantage even the lower realms of cultivation gave you over a mortal. Finally she had enough, catching Priya¡¯s attack, and spinning her so the entire class could see her exhausted face.


    ¡°Mortals, no matter how they try, will never match up to even the lowest of cultivators. We are chosen, superior. All of you have the potential to be more, you just need to reach out and take it. Our House is offering you the chance to be like gods, and all we ask is you help protect the weaker citizens.¡± Hood started speaking again, clearly not caring about being a neutral party any more ¡°Olivia, end it.¡±


    The final move was brutal, with barely any effort the much smaller woman pulled back, an audible crack echoing around the room as Priya¡¯s arms broke and she cried out. As if that was not cruel enough, she was shoved forward, smashing onto the floor face first.


    ¡°For those that do not wish to be left behind, you have one hour to report to the main dormitory. Bring your luggage, as once you give your oath you will be moved into the green barracks.¡±


    Christopher Hood did not wait after finishing his final speech, simply turning on his heel and marching out the room. With what was actually an impressive amount of coordination, the four green uniformed students fell in and marched out behind him, leaving a room in complete stunned silence. Ignoring the mass panic around him, Allen stepped into the circle and knelt next to a shivering Priya. She wasn¡¯t making a sound, just shaking, her body clearly in shock from the bones breaking. With a thought, Allen opened up his senses again, compassing the entire room, then immediately dropped them. In a room full of people studying to be cultivators, some of which that had been at the academy for four years, there was not a single person with earth mana. In fact there were only four people who had crossed into the novice realm at all, and they all used fire. Allen sighed and dropped to both knees, making sure he was balanced before leaning over the injured girl.


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.¡°Sorry but this will hurt¡±


    She didn¡¯t respond, he wasn¡¯t entirely sure she had actually heard him. Still it had polite to at least try. Leaning over he, being very careful not to apply any weight, Allen gently laid a hand on her arm and sent out a tiny amount of his own mana. All cultivators could heal, mana was at its core, life. And life would naturally help speed up natural healing of even a mortal. Certain elements were just, better, at certain aspects of healing. Got an infection, water mana was generally the best for anything blood or organ related, it flowed easily and didn¡¯t react badly with any aspect of the body. Fire mana was great for getting rid of anything that shouldn¡¯t be there, like a tumour or other infection, but it had to be partnered with another healer who could repair the burn damage afterwards. Earth was almost always used for bones, as it would invariably leave the bone stronger and more robust. His own air mana could heal, but it offered nothing to the process. Not unless the person happened to be chocking, but it was rare anyone paid a cultivator healer to deal with a small issue like that. Especially not at the prices they charged. A few seconds after he sent it out, he felt the mana reconnected, having formed a complete loop of the injured woman¡¯s body. Instantly he got a mental image of her injuries, as well as everything else. The bones were shattered, tiny pieces floating off leaving hardly anything left in place except muscle. It was no wonder she was in shock. With careful control, Allen started manipulating pieces back where they needed to go. It was far from perfect, the task a bit too much like a jigsaw puzzle to be completed quickly, but eventually he had had recovered all the tiny shards of bone from her left arm, and forced them back where her humerus was supposed to be. With incredible care he held them in place, then pulsed his mana through the bone itself, layering it time and time again until it was secure enough to stay in place. It was still weak, but was at least a bone, and in the right place. Confident that he had done all he could for the first arm, he shifted his attention to the other one. This was harder, as the extra time had allowed bone fragments to spread further away. Many of them were embedded into muscle or other layers of flesh, which meant he had to be more careful moving them. This was another area where he wished he had access to water mana. Where a healer with water abilities would have simply washed over the tissues and collected bone fragments, he was hateful to be a lot more careful. Using air mana like this was sort of like trying to pick up a football with a crane. Sure you could do it, but there was a lot of trial and error. By the time he finally had all the pieces collected, his dantians were almost entirely drained. With the last of the loose mana he had collected that morning, Allen pulsed it out, fusing the bone a half dozen times before he had nothing left to give. Collapsing back onto his feet, Allen felt his body wobbling. Opening his eyes he clamped his jaw to stop the sudden urge to vomit. Unable to stay upright with his head spinning from mana exhaustion, Allen toppled forward.

 Chapter 8

    Allen awoke far quicker than his body really wanted. Sadly he couldn¡¯t take the time to feel sorry for himself as he dove forward off the bed, dry heaving as his stomach revolted at the lack of sustenance.


    ¡°Here¡±


    Somebody shoved a bottle at him and he didn¡¯t hesitate. Not the safest option but right now his body just needed something and he couldn¡¯t think past the hunger. It was only as the sugary taste of an energy drink filled his throat he realised how bad that could have been. Not that he paused in drinking it. Squeezing the last remains out of the bottle, he dropped it then immediately activated his ring, drawing in as much mana as possible to the area. His body naturally pulled in a small amount even without conscious effort, and right now he needed all the mana he could get.


    ¡°Easy. You go to fast and you really will be sick.¡±


    Gathering his strength, Allen finally looked up and saw a battered face looking back at him. He must have shown some kind of reaction, because the face looked away


    ¡°Yeah its not pretty I know, but we don¡¯t all have the ability to heal.¡±


    Allen would have corrected him, but his stomach chose that moment to let out a loud rumble.


    ¡°Come on, you missed lunch but they did you something. We may not all be cultivators yet, but we do know mana exhaustion when we see it.¡±


    Kyle reached down and pulled the still struggling Allen up to his feet, the pair making their way down the rows of beds slowly. It was ironic considering the state of Kyle''s face that he was the one supporting his junior student, but in truth he was in far better shape right now. As soon as they reached the first table Allen dropped onto the bench, his face dropping to the wooden surface with him.


    ¡°Yeah. Okay. Give me a second.¡±


    Kyle returned a few minutes later with two of their classmates, each carrying a tray. Placing one down in  front of Allen they didn¡¯t speak, just wondering off straight back to the kitchen. Cautiously Allen started eating, spooning in small amounts of the chicken soup they had served him. Mana exhaustion had the unfortunate side effect of causing the body to act like it was starving, the brain simply wasn¡¯t smart enough to understand which energy it was out of so it hit the panic button on all of them. Therefore in situations like Allen¡¯s you had to slowly eat food on top of filling your mana reserves. His ring was taking care of the mana issue, so all he could do was slowly sip at the provided meal and wait until his body came out of starvation mode. The whole time Kyle sat next to him, eating as well but clearly waiting, it was an admirable amount of patience which seemed to expire the second Allen finished supping at his bowl.


    ¡°Thank you for healing Priya¡± he said, although his voice was tight and trailed off.


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome, however I sense a but¡± Allen replied, speaking for the first time now that his body had stopped trying to eat itself.


    ¡°How did you do it? You aren¡¯t a noble, and if you came from a family of healers you wouldn¡¯t be in this class.¡±


    Allen shrugged ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter.¡± He held up a hand to stop the argument ¡°It doesn¡¯t. I helped her because I could, but if its going to cause problems I won¡¯t do it again.¡±


    Normally that would be a good time to get up and walk away, however his body wasn¡¯t really up for that right now. It was also difficult to look cool when you had just passed out and still felt like it might happen again. Thankfully the small amounts of mana entering through each of his meridians were at least starting to refill his exhausted supplies. In the end he settled for leaning forward on the bench, crossing his arms so they supported him as casually as possible. It was a very good thing that his father wasn¡¯t here to mock him right now.


    Kyle frowned, his bruised and swollen eyes narrowing slightly, but it wasn¡¯t like he could force Allen to reveal anything. As somebody who clearly had a decent level of training in cultivation and healing, he held all the power between them. ¡°So I¡¯m guessing you won¡¯t teach others?¡±


    Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.Allen sighed ¡°Right now there isn¡¯t anybody to teach. You can¡¯t work as a healer unless you have enough mana, and the few people here that have any at all are all fire cultivators.¡± Allen shrugged ¡°Fire has a lot of uses but healing isn¡¯t one of them.¡±


    ¡°But you would consider it?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this a school?¡± Allen asked, pointing out the obvious ¡°Why would I be the one teaching?¡±


    ¡°You saw what they are like¡± Kyle scowled ¡°You need points to buy access to classes, and every time we earn enough to get anywhere, a challenge comes and we have to start over.¡±


    Allen didn¡¯t reply right away, instead focusing on the various rings he was wearing. Finally he looked up at the battered class leader ¡°How did you get your technique if they restrict access like that?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s like Hood said, my mother is a second level cultivator, but independent. She earns money working private security for rich companies that don¡¯t have the talent to be cultivators themselves. I was at the first level when I arrived, but they challenge me weekly to prevent me getting stronger.¡± He looked down ¡°I doubt they would even let me sign up now if I wanted to.¡±


    ¡°So you plan to work with her?¡± Allen asked, trying to understand the man in front of him


    ¡°That was my plan yeah. But I¡¯m pretty weak. Four years here and I¡¯m exactly where I was at the start¡± he replied bitterly.


    ¡°Okay, so let me ask you this, why not teach the rest of your class your cultivation technique?¡±


    Kyle instantly shook his head ¡°That¡¯s against the academy rules. We aren¡¯t even supposed to learn techniques from our parents, my mum only got away with it because she brought permission from the royal House. When you buy a technique from the academy you swear an oath, never to teach another, never to turn against the royal family, and to always respond when called to arms defending our nation. There¡¯s some others stuff but those are the big ones. I had to take it even though my mother taught me.¡±


    Allen thought about that. It explained a lot, but at the same time was just plain stupid. ¡°What about crafts, things like healing?¡± He asked


    ¡°Same oath, thats why I was excited about you maybe being able to teach. You clearly didn¡¯t learn it here at the academy. Also no offence but you don¡¯t exactly look rich enough to have brought permission from the royal¡¯s, so I assumed it was a family technique?¡±


    The end was clearly a question, but Allen had no interest in answering. Instead he was focussing on the best thing for the yellow class, who very clearly needed help. He wasn¡¯t willing to teach them his own cultivation style, that really was a secret and he had sworn to his parents to not risk their family. Which left him a problem.


    ¡°I want to help¡± again he held up a hand as the class leader went to speak ¡°But there isn¡¯t much I can do. Sounds like as long as they are losing challenges there¡¯s no point me teaching them anything. What does the academy actually do if you don¡¯t have any points?¡±


    ¡°The House has to provide lodging and food, which we have. The Academy puts on the tournaments monthly, which all students have to enter. They then give prizes for each win, usually just contribution points.¡± He shrugged ¡°If you win the whole thing they give more but I don¡¯t think anyone from our House has ever won it before.¡±


    The beginnings of an idea started to form in Allens mind ¡°Combat training?¡± He didn¡¯t react to Kyles instant negative reply, as that was what he had expected.


    ¡°Okay bring the class together same time tomorrow morning. We can start there.¡± He didn¡¯t give the man a chance to argue again, mustering what strength he had left to push himself up and stagger back out the room. It was time to work on his own strength.

 Chapter 9

    Groaning with effort as he dropped into a lunge, Allen felt the rush as mana flooded into his pathways before slowly pulling back and resetting to his starting position. It was nearly three hours after he finished his discussion with Kyle, and he had spent nearly every minute of that time trying to refill his depleted mana reserves. Not wanting to deal with the general depression levels in the dorm, he had escaped to the House courtyard, enjoying the privacy that it offered with everyone but the Yellow class secluded behind the interior wall. Rotating at his hip so that both hands were down over his left foot, he once more pulled in as much mana as he possible could, holding the pose for several seconds. This technique wasn¡¯t actually required to draw in mana, but it did ensure he targeted each of his meridians. His father had long lectured on the importance of balance when it came to cultivation. This exercise was filling each of his meridians as he flowed from stance to stance, making sure there would be no long term effects of his brief mana depletion. Meridians, if properly opened and exercised, would always draw in ambient mana in small amounts. What Allen was doing now basically forced them to hold mana in place, stretching out the limits and strengthening them, before flooding his mana pathways when they could hold no more. To anyone watching he just looked like a crazy person doing a series of bizarre stretches. Only a cultivator with a trained spiritual dantian would be able to sense the mana rushing towards him, and they would need to have trained it to at least the apprentice realm in order to actually feel what he was doing with it. Anyone who tried to copy him really would be a crazy man doing a series of bizarre stretches. Finishing another rotation, Allen held his pose and looked inwards. All three of his dantian¡¯s were slightly over half full, but none of the mana had been properly cultivated yet. Coming to a decision, Allen eased out of his current stance and let his muscles relax. He didn¡¯t have his normal pills or powders, which meant even half filling his stores was pretty good in a single day. It was probably only possible thanks to his ring taking advantage of giant array housed in the academy itself. His ring was powerful, but its size naturally limited its range. The giant array built by the Royals brought excessive amounts of mana to the island, which he had then gratefully hoovered up for himself. Taking advantage of the break before he moved onto the next stage, Allen inspected the various rings he always wore. All of them were enchanted by his father, but the sigil designs and actual craftsmanship was done by experts from around the country. Each of them was, quite frankly, brilliant. Spacial storage, mana attraction, mana shield. They were one of the the main reasons Allen had wanted to attend the academy in the first place. To learn how these enchantments worked and maybe try some himself. Allen wasn¡¯t really sure what he wanted to do with his life, other than improve his cultivation and find a way to live in the wider world, not locked on a farm in isolation like his parents. His alchemy was passable, at least in terms of his fathers culture he would have been considered at the apprentice level, but that came largely from his mother. The bakery she ran specialised in mixing in alchemy powders which could give small mana boosts, improve strength and speed, or just boost energy. That coupled with the mixtures they knew had been a huge boost to helping boost his skill. The problem was did he really want to do that for his entire life? Dropping to the lotus position, Allen tried to stop worrying about the future and once more turned his focus inward. Mentally he gripped the new mana that he had collected over the last few hours and began to take control. Slowly he drew it out, cycling it round and round his pathways until all three dantians were drained and the mana was completely grouped together. A couple more cycles, and then he began, guiding it into his first dantian and then drawing out the first sigil before channelling it up to the second dantian and continuing the form. Each sigil would compress the mana slightly, but only if used in the proper sequence. Break the sequence and you had to start all over again. When you considered that with each compression the mana became slightly harder to hold under control, Allen was far from an expert. In fact his record was the third sigil of the second cycle, so eleventh in total. With each failure he had to resist the temptation to give up, his already tired body increasingly dripping with sweat. It was only his second day at the academy but he had already been forced to work harder than he had in years, mostly because of his ascension. If he hadn¡¯t ascended the night before, he probably wouldn¡¯t have been out of mana healing Priya. Not that he had any regrets about finally reaching mid Initiate. The simple fact was he was going to have to work a lot harder for a while just to maintain a usable amount of mana, and that wasn¡¯t factoring in things like martial competitions. In many ways it was slightly lucky that his class had so few actual mana users. At least this way he could focus them on physical conditioning and combat training for the first month or so, while cultivating to increase his own reserves. The academy was shaping up to be nothing like what he had expected, but there was no way he would admit defeat. Not when it had taken so much effort for his dad to let him attend in the first place. Failing again, this time on the seventh sigil, Allen brought proceedings to a close. Guiding the mana back to his dantians it was a point of pride how equally he divided it out. Where before each had been half full, they now sat at less than a quarter. But the mana was thicker, condensed down under his own spirit so that is resonated with his element. While there may be less, this mana was now his, and would respond accordingly. After standing up and stretching out muscles which had begun to fall asleep, Allen made his way back inside. The sun had set, and as he wondered through the dorm building it was to see a greatly reduced number off occupied bunks in his section. Evidently more of his fellow first years had opted to leave them behind than he had initially hoped. Not that he really cared. Allen had no connection to any of them and if they wanted to join people who acted like that then he had no real interest in changing that fact. Joining the queue, it was only minutes before he was being handed a tray with a plate of rice and what he assumed was some kind of  poultry, although it wasn¡¯t immediately obvious. Sitting down at the table he tucked in, cautiously trying the meat first. While he didn¡¯t know what animal it was, possibly a chicken, the tiny amounts of mana it released as he ate told him that the whatever it was hadn¡¯t even made it all the way to the first realm. Another thing that would need to be resolved if any of the yellow class were ever going to make it through the novice realm. Even the weakest crops at home would have given him a larger boost. The problem was that if the House were the ones in charge of providing food then there was no chance of getting better supplies anytime soon. Yellow class were very obviously bottom of the food chain. That meant he would either need to find a way of sourcing food supplies from outside the House, which was unlikely given their current location, or force the House to take them more seriously. Mentally he began making a list of tasks, from improving the food through to sourcing alchemy supplies. There was just too much to do if he wanted to make yellow class capable of standing on their own two feet. And If Allen was going to get anything out of his academy experience, he needed his class to be capable of standing alongside him.


    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

 Chapter 10

    Allen felt a little bad the following morning, but after going back and forth multiple times, he had eventually decided his plan was the best option. That was why he had left Kyle with instructions on what to do with the rest of his class and headed straight for the gate out of their territory. Given he had been at the academy for two days now but was yet to spend even a single minute in an actual lesson, he probably wasn¡¯t going to win a model student award anytime soon. Sadly his guide wasn¡¯t overly happy with the plan either.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand why we are wasting time like this.¡± Priya complained, marching alongside him through the island streets.


    ¡°And I told you, planning is never a waste of time.¡± He replied tightly, regretting asking for help.


    The noise she made was somewhere between a snort and hum, but it made very clear how little she thought of his statement. ¡°Theres no point planning if you don¡¯t have any points to spend.¡±


    Allen really couldn¡¯t be bothered to have this argument again. His plan was fairly simple, he needed to help make the rest of the class stronger. That was hard given the fact they lost duels frequently, meaning they were unlikely to have enough points to earn a cultivation technique anytime soon. Therefore he had decided to spend the morning on research. Once he knew how many points key things cost then he could start setting goals, but from what Kyle had told him the day before, it was unlikely any of them would be buying a technique anytime soon. That meant he would need to be creative. Which is why the alchemy stores were their first destination. There were any number of powders or pills that could help somebody reach the novice realm, as long as you understood what obstacles that individual faced. For example from his brief scan of her boy the day before, Allen was confident he could help Priya ascend with very little effort. Whether it was hard work or just luck, her pathways were very nearly formed. She just needed to increase the amount of mana she was bringing in and learn to harness it. Even without a technique she would then be a cultivator, and have the extra time to try and make more progress. Priya¡¯s obstacle was she only had a single meridian open, her left hand. That meant her natural mana replenishment was extremely low. Allen had narrowed down a short list of powders that would work for her but his first choice was a powder that would grow her pathways. It wasn¡¯t perfect, as it would probably take a few weeks to take effect, but it would give her a solid foundation for if she ever did become a real cultivator.


    ¡°How do class points work?¡± he asked, trying to distract the irritated woman away from things she could yell at him about.


    ¡°The academy keeps a leader board at the arena. The higher your class is ranked, the better tiered jobs its members can take. The higher tiered jobs all pay more points, which means you earn more points the following month as well.¡± She answered after a minute.


    ¡°So getting access to higher tiered jobs early means that you are always ahead.¡± Allen surmised, realising that this actually helped his plans. He only had to get the yellow class access to a higher tier of jobs and then he could step back and let them gain their own strength.


    Finally they reached the alchemy building. Unlike the glamours of the arena, or the stone walls of the outer wall where his and the other Houses were based, the alchemy building was rather, well, normal. A long two storey red brick which jutted out in places where they had obviously been forced to fit extensions. The only thing that made it stand out was the complete absence of windows, with small post box sized vents instead lining the walls. That gave the building a slight prison feel, although Allen assumed it was simply a health and safety matter. He knew from his own experience, practising alchemy tended to to invite explosions every now and again. Even the best alchemists could fail when forming pills, and some of them had a tendency to be loud on failure. He himself had suffered through that experience more than once. Locating the door, which was fairly easy given it was the only glass on the entire structure, Allen made his way inside to find a typical doctors office. White walls and laminate flooring, with a single reception desk alongside a guarded door. Both the guard and receptionist wore the famous blue robes of a royal House solider, paired with the blaring spirit of a novice realm cultivator that hadn¡¯t realised they weren¡¯t the biggest fish in the sea. Allen kept his own spirit completely locked down as he approached, not wanting to start a conflict where it wasn¡¯t needed. Approaching the tired looking guard sitting behind the reception desk, Allen waited until the man looked up.


    If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.¡°Do you sell ingredients here?¡±


    The man, who looked barely older than Allen himself, narrowed his eyes. He was clearly annoyed at being spoken to at all, but did still answer ¡°We do, but only when you hire a work room. All alchemy at the academy must take place here to prevent accidents.¡±


    Allen sighed but nodded ¡°How much to rent a room, and do you have a list of ingredients with prices?¡±


    The man pulled out a huge ring binder and handed it over ¡°Rooms are 100 points per hour, but you can waive that by taking a commission. If you just want practise thats a good way to do it. You do need to buy resources though.¡±


    Allen took the folder ¡°And where can I find commissions?¡±


    The receptionist guard just smiled, and then pointed to several large television screens mounted behind him. Each was flicking through screens like old school Ceefax, and now that he actually looked he could see the names of lists of ingrediants along with payment and a date which he assumed was a deadline.


    ¡°What happens if nobody takes the commission?¡± he asked, curious.


    ¡°We either give a refund, or one of our staff members will finish the job. Depends.¡±


    Allen nodded ¡°Can you take commissions in pairs?¡±


    The man frowned but didn¡¯t answer right away. Instead he looked over to the much older guard standing by the doorway.


    ¡°You can, but it means splitting the reward.¡±


    Allen nodded then looked at the screens once again. Most seemed to be for powders, and he saw some with truly ridiculous names. For example, the raging dragons might powder appeared to be the short strength enhancement powder. It gave a small boost to strength when taken, lasting maybe 15 minutes. The effects varied depending on the quality of powder and how strong the person taking it was, but even the very best outcome would fall well short of anything like a raging dragon. Allen had used it before when he had to carry equipment around the farm, and he doubted there were many dragons out ploughing fields right now. Looking over the various screens, he found a few he recognised.


    ¡°Priya come here.¡± He called. For some reason the woman had stayed back by the door. As she approached he looked back at the guard and asked for a pad of paper. Quickly he wrote down all the ingredients from recipes he had used before. Most of these could be found online, and he assumed the only reason anyone would put out a commission for them was laziness or a staggering lack of talent. Finally he had a huge list, with a lot of ingredients like first realm spirit blood appearing over and over again. Ignoring Priya as she came and stood next to him, Allen started flicking through the binder jotting down costs as he found them listed. Finally he looked up at Priya, pointing at the total ¡°So how would you like to learn some alchemy?¡±

 Chapter 11

    Before he could even start teaching Priya alchemy, Allen needed contribution points. It helped a little when he learned that each student started with 500, but that still left him over a thousand short for all the commissions he wanted to complete. He could have in theory just done them one at a time, but that increased the costs significantly, and he needed as much of the rewards as possible if he was going to buy the items he actually wanted in the first place. The powder he wanted to make would, if he did it properly, roughly double a persons mana intake for a short period of time. The problem was the powder tended to make the mana you gathered under its effects thinner and harder to cultivate. It was why he himself never used it. But for his fellow class mates, almost all of whom weren¡¯t able to cultivate in the first place, it would be a useful little tool. Paired with what he could teach them about directing mana in their bodies, Allen was hopeful that a few doses of the powder would be enough to force a few of them into the novice realm. That would give them the enhanced speed and strength needed to survive the other class¡¯s challenges. It wouldn¡¯t work for all of them, but once the class started actually earning the points they needed to survive, Allen could spend time on a more individual basis to get those ones through the barrier. Looking at Priya, he knew she would be one of the problem cases. The powder would work for her, but she wouldn¡¯t accept the cost. Turning into the  House courtyard, Allen went straight to the training hall, pleased when he saw how they were all working. Every single student was standing alone, facing towards a single student at the front of class who was guiding them through some form of martial art. It wasn¡¯t one Allen himself knew, but that didn¡¯t matter. Any kind of combat training would help these people. Making eye contact with Kyle, he nodded his head to the side, calling the older student over. For some reason his face was still completely swollen, and Allen couldn¡¯t resist asking why.


    ¡°I lost all my points, so I can¡¯t afford a healer.¡± The man said tightly.


    Allen frowned ¡°Do you not know mana cycling?¡± seeing the confused face looking back at him. Allen cast out his spirit and found the three other students he wanted. Pointing them out, he asked Kyle to grab them and join him in the dorms. They were an interesting group. In age order, there was Kyle, the class head and fire cultivator. Next was another fourth year, Jordon Sharp. Standing at least three or four inches taller than Allen, the man was made to look even more giant by the oversized afro he wore. Given that and the numerous earings he wore on each side, it was very apparent why this man had never signed on for the guard, some people just were not designed for military discipline. The sole third year was the smallest person there, standing at maybe a little over 5 foot with a thin frame, it was hard to believe he was a cultivator at all. If it wasn¡¯t for the low novice spirit Allen could sense, he would probably have sent the boy back to the other room. The first second year was an actual giant, in every sense of the word. Not only did Ross Mitchell tower over Allen in height, he was also substantially wider. It was only the mans height that stopped him looking fat, but the look worked. He would probably make a pretty good solider if he wanted to. That or a rugby player. The final cultivator from their class was their own female, Kerrie Hobbs was rake thin with shoulder length blonde hair and a face that hinted she might actually be pretty if she wasn¡¯t near starving. Rounding out their group was Priya, who simply refused to leave.


    ¡°Okay we five are the only cultivators in class right now. That means I need to make sure you know enough because you will be helping me teach the others once we get them into the first ascension. So, can any of you help Kyle here heal his face?¡± Allen gestured to the puffy and swollen class head, slightly enjoying the scowl. Nobody spoke up so he tried again ¡°Okay, how about this, can any of you help him to heal himself?¡±


    Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!For a brief second he thought an answer might be coming when Kerrie looked up for the first time, but if she did know the answer she never spoke up.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Allen pulled out his work knife and before anyone could stop him, slashed open the palm of his left hand. ¡°All of you have mana, which means you can do this.¡± Letting go of the mana he was holding back from his injured hand, he let it flow out. His higher realm maent this technique was carried out on its own for the most part, so he had ironically been using it in reverse just to keep the wound open. The gasps as his mana started to work, knitting flesh back together, were a clear sign they hadn¡¯t been expecting it to work. As soon as he finished he pointed at Priya


    ¡°What is cultivation?¡±


    The woman stammered, clearly not expecting me to call on her. It was only a little bit funny.


    ¡°Anyone else?¡±


    ¡°Power¡± Ross said immediately


    ¡°Magic?¡± offered Jordon, although he didn¡¯t sound as sure.


    ¡°Cultivation is the process of transcending mortality and becoming one with the universe.¡± Allen corrected ¡°Each time a cultivator ascends to a new realm, their body becomes less biological and more spiritual. That is why cultivators live longer. Its why they no longer get sick, and in the higher realms, why they no longer need to eat or sleep. It is also why a cultivator, even in the first realm, can heal rapidly form minor injuries. Your body is partly mana already, so healing itself is only natural. Now you are all fire cultivators, so the healing won¡¯t be quite as pleasant, but its still better than walking around looking like roadkill.¡± He gave Kyle another look, who took that as his chance to ask a question.


    ¡°How do we do it?¡±


    ¡°You just need to cycle your mana through the injured area, the mana will take care of any damage.¡± Allen offered simply. To him this was the easiest thing in the world.


    The others looked confused, but Kyle raised his hands to his face andheld them against his cheek. Curious, Allen opened up his spirit and tried to feel the other mans mana as he used it. Sure enough Kyle brought it up through his arm, channeling out his hand as he would do for healing another person. It wasn¡¯t perfect, but it did what he wanted, pushing out his hand into the bruised cheek. When he brought the hand down a few seconds later his face was still slightly bruised, but it was substantially better than it had been.


    ¡°You will get better with practise.¡± He knew that Kyle had only stopped because he was out of cultivated mana. Pushing him to do more now would just force him into mana starvation like Allen himself had been the day before.


    He saw the others itching to try, so just gave them a nod before carrying on speaking


    ¡°This is not how you heal another person. That is a lot more complicated, especially if the person who you are healing isnt a cultivator themselves. Only use this on yourselves unless you have proper training.¡± He stressed the last sentence hoping to get it across.


    ¡°What can happen?¡± Kerrie asked, quietly but for the first time she was actually making eye contact with him


    ¡°If you aren¡¯t careful then healing a mortal can actually kill them. Otherwise you can destroy somebodies cultivation or certainly set it back. Theres a reason not every cultivator offers healing services, and those that do often specialise in a certain things.¡± He cleared his throat ¡°Practice for a while. Kyle I needed to speak with you.¡±


    He gestured to the side and the two of them wondered over towards the far wall where they could talk. Allen immediately explained that he needed 1200 points, and why he wanted them. He didn¡¯t name the powder he wanted to make, only that enough of it would help most of their class break through.


    ¡°And you are sure about that?¡± Kyle asked, somewhat sceptical


    ¡°No. Its impossible to be certain, but all of them have the potential, otherwise they would not be here. The best option would be to start them actually cultivating with a technique, but if we can¡¯t do that.¡± Allen let the sentence hang.


    ¡°Okay. Leave it with me.¡±Kyle said, before jogging back out of the dorm room.