《The Journey of The Three Immortals》 Prologue - The Three Disciples This is my first time writing, I hope you guys will be lenient with me! >_< -------------------------------- In the pouring rain,lies a huge mansion in a deadly forest.The mansion had a look of antiquity and was enormous,with thorny vines that ran up the walls of the mansion,and a beautiful backgarden which was unfortunately drenched in the ongoing rain.It was so huge, that if it were dubbed as a castle,no one would disagree. Inside one of the mansion''s room,were two figures sitting next to the windowsill. "KA-POW!" A loud shout resounded through the mansion,the culprit had kicked the large wooden door open,her leg-up and hands on hips posture looking radical. Followed by noise the was the sound of breaking ceramic,specifically a teacup.The contents of the cup spewn onto the victim who was shocked by the perpertrator. "Sister Eva,can you hold back the excitement?We are trying to discuss something here." A young man appearing in his twenties with delicate knitted eyebrows sounded,noticibly irritated with his sister''s rudeness.He knew she purposely did it to distract them,as it was a daily occurance. The young man had a refined and handsome face acompanied with raven-black hair,purple eyes that had a mysterious glimmer of wisdom, and he had a tall and lithe figure,clothed in a black turtle-neck shirt and blue jeans. "I agree with Celio,your annoyance is distracting....and messy." The person next to Celio spoke with a cold voice, she was displeased with the daily routine she had to put up with Eva,always breaking the door and creating a disturbance,continuously bringing up new plans for her weird kinks,this time though was different.The young woman was Eli,she was holding a white napkin,trying to wipe the dripping tea on the table.She wore a white nightgown with lacing,with long black hair with cold icy eyes complementing her white-porcelain skin,she truly looked like an ice queen. A wide grin formed on the culprit,her joyful expression showed she had no remorse for the action.Eva had just gotten back from training in the woods,apparent on her wet clothes that was sticking to her skin.Fortunately,she wore black this evening.She walked towards the table where her siblings sat,leaving a trail of wet,muddy footprints and pulled a free chair next to her brother, and leaned against the chair with both her legs on the table. "Bah!You guys are boring fuckers as usual,I just came here to tell you guys that the portal is ready to go." As Eva spoke,she took the cup from the table and downed the tea in one go. "Wow bro,I can''t believe you drink this crappy thing everyday." Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Eva was a tall lady,approximately 6.5 ft in height,and had long white hair with part of her bangs pulled back,with powerful orange eyes.Her thick high-arched eyebrows lifted up,her tone in a criticizing manner.If not for her rude character,she would have appeared as a powerful female knight. "You just have no appreciation for such things," Celio refuted while swaying his head side to side and continued,shifting away from his sister in disgust, "If the preparations are ready,then we have to get ready for departure." Celio answered with indifference,but inside his heart, he was very excited.The three siblings were getting ready to depart to another world where modern technology were non-existent,this is so that they could experience the adventure of living in a fantasy place.The true purpose of them going was to gather materials necessary for their "soul weapons". Soul weapons were important to immortals,they had powerful abilities that depends on the user''s capabilities and soul,and increased their strength by fifty times and lifespan by one hundred and fifty years,their current strength,if an average immortal that had no soul weapon could be compared to a pond,then one with a soul weapon could be compared to a river! Unbeknownst to each of the three,they were all snickering inside,wanting to beat each other to a pulp. Even though they were blood-sworn siblings and called immortals,they could still die and had a little more than average strength than a normal cultivator,its just that their lifespan was longer.The fact that they wanted to kill each other was worse,despite their masters best efforts,the incident that occured fifteen years ago,seperated them even more.Father Scar had no choice,but to isolate each of the disciples due to the growing tension and killing intent between themselves.The reason why they have not killed each other, was because they did want to upset Father Scar. Although the three of them appeared to be hard and cold and not the type of fun people,they were actually quite enthusiatic about the trip,their bodies shivered with excitement as they thought of all the thrill they had read in books and novels during those 20 years of hard training under the three masters. Who did not want to experience life as a powerful general,the wisest sage or the deadliest assassin? They yearned to be as strong as their fathers,who could conquer cities,crush mountains and create a kingdom with magic. Eli,suddenly had a thought,and flashed a devious smile. "Celio,Eva." The two turn their heads towards her,with a questioning look. "Do you want to have a bet?" Prologue 2-Meeting The Master "Oh? What are we betting on?" Celio asked,giving a wry smile. "Well,the one who is able to win a fight with each other,gets the loser''s soul weapon." answering with a light and cheerful tone,Eli linked both her hands together,seemingly innocent,if not for the malicious intent behind her words. Eva and Celio took a sharp breath,suddenly the atmostphere in the room turned dark and heavy. "Sister Eli,we know the contempt we have for each other,but are you really that willing to fight with me?" Celio glared at Eli,giving away a soul weapon was the same as throwing away your organs,if you lose one,you can never get it back,his sister was really arrogant! Bam! Eva''s fist slammed down on the poor table,splitting the table into half. "You really want to get ***** you dogshit?!" This girl was really intending to bet on such a thing?!? Peh! Forget the shame and embarrassment. Both Celio and Eva stood up,glaring at Eli and refusing to back down from her ''threat''. "Calm down,if you guys can not handle such a simple challenge,then go ahead and refuse." The ice queen snorted and turned her eyes away from the duo. She knew she could not win against the ''muscleheaded sister'' and the ''cowardly actor'' in a battle.She would be instantly crushed.However, if she obtained one of their soul weapons,she would be able overpower both of them! This cold-hearted bitch,first proposing such a ridiculous bet and then provoking when they call out on it?Shes practically asking for it! "Fine! I accept your bet." Eva declared,she could not let this woman hold her head high anymore.In the past,Eva would always lose in a verbal compeition,even if she was winning in physical battles,Eli would always act like a spoiled brat and run to Father Scar,calling her a bully who picks on her. Motherf*cker,don''t try to deceive father with your poor acting! curving her lips upwards,Eli sneered in her heart.Luckily she had a rash and stupid sister,otherwise she wouldn''t be able to have a chance of getting her soul weapon. In fact,Eli had researched the world they were planning to go to,finding out all the secret places of valuable strengthing techniques and suitable places for sneak attacks.She would definitely get her hands on that soul weapon! Celio was not like Eva,even though he despised both of them,he did not dare pick a fight with either.Eva excelled at brute force and strength,she was not kidding when she said she once killed a ten-foot Queen spider with a kitchen knife. If Eva was a powerful lion,then Eli was a deadly snake! She was trained as an assassin,highly skilled with poison and sneak attacks,if he was not careful,he would not have noticed he had died in a second. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. "Good,if that is all,then let us leave to meet father and the masters." Eli slowly stood up from her seat,followed by Celio and Eva who tossed away her teacup. ---------------------------- "Lord Aidan,The young masters have arrived in the main hall." A female guard leaned down to whisper to the man lying down on the couch.But instead of a reply came loud snoring. "ZZZzzzz...." "Please do not pretend to sleep,milord." "Shit,you caught me? Hahaha...." The slobby man slowly got up,awkwardly scratching his head.His appearance was that of a man in his thirties,with messy black hair that curled upwards at the end,his golden eyes blurry.Currently he was half-naked with just his white underpants. "It is quite obvious,milord." The guard gently smiled and took three steps back. Giving her an apologetic look,Aidan Sliver drowsily stood up,towering over the female guard.He got dressed in a simple fur robe,the overall look gave the man an elegant look although he was dressed simple. The guard sighed.How could such a man be this beautiful? It was such a pity he reeked of alcohol and was a slob. The two of them began to head towards the main hall,where the three disciples will begin their briefing. --------- "Why the fuck isn''t he here yet?" (Eva) "Language,Eva." (Celio) "Shut up pretty boy." (Eva) "Prettier than you?" (Celio) "Why you!C''mere you little-" (Eva) "Quiet!" (Eli) The room became silent when suddenly the door swung open. "You kiddos bantering again?" Aidan glanced at the three and yawned.He never stopped their arguements,In truth,he rather enjoyed the drama. "No,we were-" (Celio) "Meh, whatever..I don''t really care." Aiden interrupted and made another yawn. "....." Why must their master be so frustrating? "Anyways,now is time for your briefing,Listen carefully," Aiden made a brief pause,making sure the three of them were listening. "You three will be going to the Azura continent." Prologue 3-Tricked and Departed " " "Huh?!" " " The three all said in unison,shocked. "What?" Aidan responded,as if it was natural. The trio looked at each other,this was different from what they heard! They had never heard of a Azura continent,were they not going to the Martial Plains? Out of the three, Eli was the most panicked. She had researched and planned the routes she was to get the strengthening techniques, beat her siblings, then devour their soul weapons! Now that it is like this, all her plans were wasted. "But Master Scar, Master Cyan and the guards told us...." Trying to reason with Aidan,Eli called out.... Aiyah, the majority said that they would be going to this place,so why.... Wait, don''t tell me...! Eli with widened eyes took a sharp glance at the guards neatly positioned in a row next the pillar. Some of the guards received her glance and in return, half of them gave apologetic looks and the others happy smirks. The guards could be considered as the disciple''s seniors, as they have taken the mission before and succeeded in their soul weapon gathering. "Yep, I told them to dupe you three." Aidan revealed, giving a ''hehe'' expression. "!!!" Right now, the three disciples had the expression of ''jaws dropping to the floor'', looking at this comical scene, Aidan was on the verge of laughter. Holding back his laughter, he lectured while looking at Eli, "Tsk tsk,Holding an advantage over your siblings is cheating, y''know." Eli bit down on her lower lip as she heard his statement. So he knew! Before Eva could ask what he meant, Aidan cutted in, "Your transfer will be into the body of a mortal, and therefore on you will begin your mission. The power you have will be greatly restricted in the beginning, while gradually growing as time goes by." Aiden continued his explanation while the trio were growing increasingly pale. Totally different from what they heard!! What they had gathered the last week was that in the mission,they would be in their current state, not in the body of a mortal. "While in the Azura continent, beware of the monsters and humans, there are some humans that have the strength equal to the guards here." As Aidan said that, he was serious. Although it would be fun to see them suffer, he did not want to see them fatally hurt. If they were.... Aidan thought of the torture Cyan and Scar would do,gulping down his saliva. Definitely can not allow! "To prevent getting your ass beaten, you need to train and improve your skills even further than what we have taught you in the last twenty years." Swiping his hand in a left motion,a large blue portal appeared on the ground,in front of the three. The swirling vortex looked intimidating as it threatened to swallow anything whole. The three instinctively took steps back. "Before you depart, I have something for you." Aidan reached into his fur robe''s left sleeve, and took out three wooden sticks. "If you need our help, break one of them.Out of one to five rating, i might come to help." He tossed the sticks to each of them, each of which impressively caught. Since there were only three sticks, that meant that they could only do it thrice. This was a big help, since there would be moments they would encounter dangerous figures chasing them, calling upon the masters would insta-kill the enemies or give them pointers. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. "If you guys can''t finish the mission, don''t even think of coming back. Quite a amount of guards failed to complete and ended up staying in the place." Aidan yawned again, nonchalantly giving out another shocker. This was another thing they did not expect, some of the guards did not come back, they assumed it was because they failed in the mission and died, who knew that the masters was not so kind. "Oh,I also have one last thing to tell you." Suddenly, luminous yellow chains appeared and wrapped around the trio, resulting in the trio being bundled up like a haystack, tightly squeezed together. "?!" (Eli) "Ngh!" (Celio) "Fuck!" (Eva) The three shouted out in suprise, and looked over to where Aidan was standing, only to find he was gone. "You guys will be transferred into the same body." The source of the voice came behind them, The final blow came from Aidan. Preparing so long for this moment, eavesdropping from the guards, listening to the adventures and experience from them, only to be deceived by this asshole of a master! "But Master...." Celio was very displeased with this, if they had to be transferred to the same body,won''t that mean they have to work together? The siblings were like oil and water, appalled by another, wanting to win each other over in everything, their fathers attentions, battles and fights... How ever could they have teamwork? "That is why I decided on this." Aidan gave a wry smile,his eyebrows knitted, "You guys need to deepen your relationship." The masters were concerned, they did not want the disciples to hate each other, they loved the three of them very much and thought of them as their children. "Together? With these bitches? Hell no!" Eva struggled, looking at these two''s faces already made her want to spit. Her struggling only made the chains tighter. "Lesson #4562 or something.....when faced with unexpected outcomes,prepare for the worst." Eva grinded her teeth,Eli biting her lip and Celio crying on the inside. You just came up with that, you ass! lifting up his right leg,he kicked the bundled up disciples into the portal. Eva screaming as the others cursed in their hearts,slowing getting softer. "Fuck youuuu old man~!" "Haha, Good luck working together, kiddos." Aidan laughed and waved off his children as they fell down the portal. The portal slowly closed,leaving no trace of the trio. "Milord,your eyes are watering." "Tears of joy,I assure you." Aidan replied to the guard, using his finger to wipe the corner of his eyes. The tall man turned around,walking at a leisure pace, his guards tread behind him. "Are you worried, milord?" "Perhaps." He stopped walking. "I just hope they come back safe." -------------------------------- What do you think of Aidan? He is so far my favorite, Eva being my second. Chapter 1- The soul dimension Celio''s Pov ''Ugh...'' (Celio) My eyes twitched open, only to reveal a blurry vision. ''Where is this place?'' I wanted to voice out,my head still groggy and hammered from the aftermath. I stumbled and my legs struggling to get up in a more comfortable position. As my eyes adjusted to the light, what was before my eyes was a white space. Squinting my eyes, I found two black figures lying on the ground as well. Ah, I suggest its those two.... Sitting in a cross-legged position, I kneaded the area between my eyebrows as I tried to recall what had happened. We were going to get ready for the mission,went to meet Master Sliver, and then he told...us.... ''.....'' (Celio) Well, Master is cunning and crafty, I should have expected him to pull a stunt like that. Recollecting my memories, I gave a deep sigh. Master Sliver and Master Cyan are both tricky people, one time they tricked us into going into the forest to collect herbs, but instead we were almost eaten by a Fire claw Tiger... I was disrupted by my train of thoughts as I heard groaning from the two pompous womps beside me. ----------------------------------------------- Eva pov "Ughh..Fucking damn it!" (Eva) ''What the hell, my whole body aches like a bitch..'' Rapidly blinking my eyelids,i tried to stretch and massage my arm muscles to lessen the pain. "How are you feeling, sisters?" (Celio) " *snort* Never felt better." (Eli) "Feeling like new-born bambi with fucking crushed legs." (Eva) I instinctively replied, then realizing the owner of the voice. Turning around to scan my surroundings, my eyes stopped towards the sarcastic fucker. Great. Remembering the ''asshole of a master'' and his words, I turned again to see my worst nightmare become true. Just.Fucking.Great. "That ****** * *** **..." ----------- After a few minutes.... ".....Phony son of a b*tch!" (Eva) Panting heavily after mustering every curse word I knew at Master Sliver, I slowly sat back down and linked my arms together. Hmph, so what if we are stuck together, I''ll just take control of the body! "Are you done with your sulking?" (Celio) "Haven''t you died from all that swearing?" (Eli) ....I swear, I am going to die of anger before this mission ends because of these two pests. Ignoring their ''questions'', I focused on the place we were in. The wide space of white and brightness just made me squint even more. It appears to be a soul dimension. The soul dimension is a space available to immortals only, where items are stored and kept. It can also be used for cultivation and training, although it is not advised as the body will be left vulnerable. The size of the space depends on the user''s soul level, Since i am at 7 star soul rank along with these two fuckers, the size is tripled and thus undoubtedly huge, but not endless. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. "A soul dimension huh..Celio,have you found the body we were going to possess?" (Eva) "Yes, and I don''t think you''re going to like it." (Celio) Celio gave a bitter smile, not wanting to me go into another rampage. Although Celio and I despise each other, he was more tolerable than Eli. "....Tell me." (Eva) Sucking in a deep breath, I braced myself for whatever bad news he was going to tell me. "The body is an infant." (Celio) "............" (Eva) "............" (Celio) "Well that isn''t so bad." (Eva) "?" (Celio) If our host was an infant, that meant that I can spend more time cultivating Qi, starting from a young age is much better than at 8 years old. "If we start out as an babe, we could have more time learning about the world and locating the materials for our weapons. Although we''d have to train the body slowly from the start, this is far more effective than in our current forms." (Eva) Explaining to Celio, I started to cool down from my rage at the old fart, maybe he wasn''t so bad afterall. "....That''s true In a sense..." (Celio) I gave a triumph snort before the twerp had to shit talk again. "It greatly suprises me that sister Eva can actually think." (Celio) "I''m going to rip your guts out you bastard." (Eva) I spat while pouncing on the shitface, only to get kicked in the stomach by Eli. "We don''t have time for a dog fight." (Eli) Eli gave a cold sneer as she looked down on me, god I wanna rip her face off...! "First, why don''t we see the brat we are going to control?" (Eli) Turning away,she vanished in a blink of an eye. Wait,since when did she start acting like a leader? Not wanting to let Eli take the first advantage, Celio and I followed suit. Chapter 2-The Revelation Hello,I hope you guys are enjoying the story, I will try my hardest to make the story interesting. So if you have any tips, please do share! ------------------------------------------------ The room emitted a rustic feel and was very sparse, the furniture in the room was simple, a wooden table with a chair next to the window and a small mirror on top of a counter. The room also gave out a fragrance of sandalwood. In the middle of the room, was a wooden crib with an infant laid inside. The child was very cute, it''s chubby cheeks were soft and supple and on its head was a tuft of sliky black hair. The child slept peacefully inside the crib, above it were three floating and transparent figures. Each of them had different levels of disdainful expressions. Scratching her chin as she evaluated the child, one of the figures exclaimed, "That is one ugly fat maggot." (Eva) Eli just narrowed her eyes and sneered icily, "It looks more worse than a naked mole rat." (Eli) "....." (Celio) Not wanting to give comment, Celio stayed silent. The door creaked open to reveal an old man with a long white beard, followed by a large crowd of people walked in just as the trio were judging the baby. "Was this the child you spoke of?" The old man spoke as he observed the child laid motionless in the crib. "Yes Master Feng, Young master is strange,he never cries and his temperature keeps changing when we examine him. Once hot, then the next hour his body is cold..Do you think he is possessed by an evil spirit?" The female servant behind the old man bowed and explained the situation quickly,her voice turning fearful as she spoke the last sentence. "Feng? What kind of pussy name is that?" (Eva) "Shut up.You''re distracting me with your low intelligence." (Eli) "Suck my dick!" (Eva) "You don''t even have on-" (Celio) The conversation was interrupted by a loud slam and a shout coming from the wooden door,which was unfortunately broken into many pieces by the impact. "Nonsense! How dare a mere servant speak of my child this way!" The booming voice came from a tall man, which quickly shut the servant girl up. The man appeared to be around 20 to 23 years old and adorned with a handsome but menacing face. He wore a long blue traditional Chinese robe with a jade hairpin on his head,letting down a long black ponytail that reached his waist. His eyes accompanied by his fierce gaze,gave an oppressive feeling, making anyone who would dare stare at his face bow their heads. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. "Calm down Master Huo Jin, we will not know his condition until I check." (Master Feng) Master Feng spoke, he did not want Master Huo Jin to throw a fuss, if he did, the poor servant girl will end up lying 6 feet underground the next day. Master Feng was a medical doctor, he was one of the best in the whole Azura continent, having him here, meant that Huo Jin was no small figure as well. "Hmph!" (Huo Jin) Master Huo Jin gave a ''harumph'' and went over to the crib to see the child laying inside, his expression starting to turn mellow. Master Feng reached into the crib, gently taking in the small infant''s hand into his large hands, and checked his pulse. "Hm?!" (Master Feng) "W-What is it Master Feng?!" (Huo Jin) Huo Jin had a face of panic when Master Feng uttered suddenly. Master Feng then proceeded to check the child''s neck,chest and forehead...and announced with an elated cry. "This child..has high elemental affinities!" (Master Feng) The room suddenly had loud gasps and whispering, while Huo Jin was rendered speechless. "Holy shit, we are possessing a main wuxia protagonist?" (Eva) "Does that mean we have to change our names?" (Celio) "How about b¨¨nd¨¤n for you?" (Eva) "Shush already!" (Eli) The trio abruptly kept quiet, the old man was about to say something else as well. "But his soul is unstable, it may evaporate and die off if his body condition does not improve." (Master Feng) Another shocker came out of Master Feng''s mouth, His diagnosis was exactly letting one''s hope up and then die. The room was filled with noise, but right now the most concerning subject was Huo Jin, he looked as if he was on the verge of collasping. ------------- Notes: b¨¨nd¨¤n means idiot in chinese. Chapter 3- Saving The Host "U-Unstable?" (Huo Jin) Huo Jin finally managed to stutter a word after recovering from Master Feng''s words. "I am sorry, but with the soul fluctuating like this, it is too dangerous to try and stabilize it." (Master Feng) Master Feng gave an apologetic look, Huo Jin had just lost his wife who died from giving birth, and now he was going lose his son. Truly tragic! "Is there any chance of him getting better?" (Huo Jin) Huo Jin was desperate, he did not want to lose his son, he had made a promise with his wife to take care of him.He definitely wants to uplive that promise, but now..... His heart was breaking from the news of his son dying. "I will check his condition tomorrow morning to see if there is any improvement." (Master Feng) ".....Many thanks, Master Feng." (Huo Jin) Master Feng then proceeded to leave the room, alongside his servants, leaving only Huo Jin to solemnly weep for his son in the room. "The maggot is dying? Must be because of us." (Eva) "Do we save it or let it go?" (Celio) The two were contemplating whether or not they should save the child, while Eli held her chin, putting together her thoughts. "...No, if we save it, we won''t be able to complete the task." (Eli) "Yeah, but what if this is another trial from the old fart?" (Eva) "Considering Master Sliver''s attitude and what he would do in this situation.... He wouldn''t really care." (Celio) "Great! We let the maggot die and it flies off to Nirvana or Heaven to live a better life while we take over the body, something like that." (Eva) "You''d think Heaven would want it? It''s hideous." (Eli) "But then again, Master Sliver always does the opposite of what he says." (Celio) "......" (Eva & Eli) ''So what the fuck should we do?'' The trio discussed until their scalps became numb, while suddenly noticing Huo Jin praying for his son. "Heavens,Huo Yi, my son, please save him! I will give anything for his life." (Huo Jin) The trio listened silently while Huo Jin wept and coaxed his child. "Wait, now that I look closer,this man... is not bad-looking!" (Eva) "....I actually agree once." (Eli) "......" (Celio) If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Celio was left speechless, here they were looking at a sad scene of a father crying for his son''s life, and his sisters hormones were acting? Shaking his head, Celio did not know whether to laugh or cry! "For the sake of this ''handsome'' man, shall we save the child?" (Celio) Celio suggested, saving the child might give them a 50% chance of getting the first material for the soul weapon. So it was either win or lose. "Let''s do it." (Eli) Eli grinned,Bashing her fists together. ''Hold on, let''s wait until he leaves the room." (Eva) The man got up,giving his son a sad smile and called to his guards. "Lin xiao, Tang Yu, report to me if anything happens to my son." (Huo Jin) "Yes sir." (Lin xiao & Tang yu) "Son, I have to go to work, okay? Heavens, please take care of my child." (Huo Jin) Huo Jin walked briskly out of the door, leaving silent footsteps so as to not awake Huo Yi. The two guards stood next to the door, looking vigilant. "Shit, they''re not leaving." (Eva) "Plan B, someone has to substitute the baby''s body, while we restore his soul." (Celio) "My soul rank is at the peak, there will be more success if I do it. So one of you fucks have to do it instead." (Eva) Eva immediately shot down the role, who the hell wanted to lie down on the bed for months? Celio and Eli stared at each other, suprisingly coming to a conclusion. "I will do it, I have more patience than the two of you." (Eli) "Then it''s settled." (Celio) Celio and Eva took action and grabbed the soul of the child,returning to the soul dimension disappearing with a flash, whilst Eli immediately dove in to take control of the body. ''Ugh!'' Eli''s muscles felt as if they were about to tear, along with the cramped and numb feeling in the body, was this how being a baby felt like? ''Haah...haah..'' taking deep breathes, she forced herself to adjust to the pain. ''3 months...only 3 months..'' She chanted inside her head, hoping to distract herself from the cramping sensation. However, sooner or later, she would have to realize that it was not 3 months, but 7 months. --------------- Poor Eli XD Chapter 4- A happy outcome "W-Wha....What in the world..?" (Master Feng) Master Feng''s hands trembled as he checked the child''s pulse over and over again, only to be dumbfounded. He had clearly checked yesterday and confirmed that the baby was going to die the next day. He only dismissed himself quickly because he did not want to face Master Huo Jin''s wrath. But today..... The baby was making ''uguh'' sounds, his face and lips were not as pale and cold as before, having pinkish cheeks and lips. The baby''s current state would make anyone think that nothing was wrong with the child in the first place, If not for the incident yesterday, nobody would believe the child''s life was hanging on by a thread for the past thrriee days. "Master Feng, is my baby boy fine?" (Huo Jin) Huo Jin was standing near the wooden table, his hands behind his back. If not for the fact his palms were filled with sweat and him secretly fiddling his fingers, his appearance would make people think he was indifferent about his child''s upcoming death. "Fine?He is more than fine! His soul is not wavering in the slightest,I do not know what is the cause of this pheonomenon..... If you told me the Heavens took pity on you and saved him, I would believe it!" (Master Feng) rubbing his temples, Master Feng paced up and down the room, currently in a state of astonishment. Huo Jin looked up with suprise, his nervousness and anxiety rapidly turned into joy and excitement. "What if I told you that the Heavens really-" (Huo Jin) His statement was cut short by the loud crying of the infant who was waving his stubby arms around in the air. With a jolting buttock, Huo rushed over,forcefully pushing aside the old man who was stumbling backwards. "What''s wrong with him?!" (Huo Jin) "...I believe he is hungry." (Master Feng) "Oh." (Huo Jin) Huo Jin reached into the crib,picking up the baby and very gently embraced him in his arms, being extremely careful as to not hurt him. "Please bring him his food." (Huo Jin) "Yes sir." (female servant) The servant girl briskly walked out, heading towards the kitchen. The servants knew that persuading Master Huo Jin to let them feed Young Master instead would be useless, He was just that overprotective of his son. "Since the child is alright now, I will be taking my leave now." (Master Feng) Still dumbfounded from this unexpected outcome, Master Feng, dazed and confused, went out of the room while muttering an unknown language. Huo Jin who was still in cloud nine, did not take notice of Master Feng''s leave, and thought silently while he prayed. ''Thank the Heavens for saving my son, for giving him a chance, This subject is forever grateful!'' Huo Jin eyes started watering, his arms unknowingly gripped tighter. However, His son''s recovery was not the Heaven''s responsibility, but three devious devils whom wanted to take advantage of him. If Huo Jin were to discover this, he would definitely vomit blood. ------------------------------ -5 months later- In the white space, were two figures with eyes closed sitting cross-legged, sweat dripping down their faces with their eyebrows knitted together. In front of them, was a small blue sphere of light, it looked as if draining semi-transparent smoke from the figures. Suddenly, a burst of light emmited from the sphere, then dissapitating into thin-air,leaving a light blue sphere wavering up and down. The two figures then opened their eyes, their straightened backs slowly relaxed. Seemingly exhausted, the two persons let out a row of quick pants. "......F-finally done!" (Eva) "....Whew." (Celio) Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Eva let her back fall on the floor, and her four limbs laid spread out meanwhile Celio simply placed his right hand behind him to support his upper body and used his other hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead. 5 months, they had finally done it. The baby''s soul originally was just a tiny speck of light, threatening to die off as it flickered. Because of the soul''s condition, the procedure took longer and thus the two were drained of their energy. If they were as strong as their masters, the tempering would only take less than 10 minutes, that was the huge gap between their power and their masters. "...Shall we go see if sister Eli is doing well?" (Celio) "Yeah,hehe, can''t wait to see the bitch''s tearful face." (Eva) Celio carefully and skillfully handled the soul, placing it in his hand and teleported outside the soul dimension along with Eva. ----------------------------------------------------------- -Outside the soul dimension- "Yo bitch! How are you-..." (Eva) "Whats wrong,sis-...ter.." (Celio) "Huo yi~!You are so cute! Heres another spoon for you,Say ah~" The two were at loss for words. Currently, Eli (The baby) was being cuddled by the handsome man and spoon fed. The man was making weird hand gestures with the spoon, poking at Eli''s mouth, while having a funny kissy face and making ''muack'' ''muack'', noises.Looking at Eli,the phrase ''if looks could kill'' was suitable right now.Eli''s head shot towards the duo, staring at them with wide bloodshot eyes, practically sending them the message, ''Get.Here.Right.Now''. Eva couldn''t hold it any longer. "HAHahHAAHAAAHAHAH!" (Eva) ".......Pfttt!" (Celio) Eva exploded with laughter, holding her stomach and rolling on the ground, while Celio looked over his shoulder,hiding his face. No good! This is too hilarious! After 5 minutes of laughing like a madman,Eva finally recovered, but coughing violently. Celio ultimately helped out after he recollected his poker face, replacing the soul of the child with Eli. "Are you ok, Sister?" (Celio) Celio tried to maintain a poker face, preventing his lips from curving upwards as he looked at Eli''s haggarded state. With dreadful black bags under her eyes, and slumping body which seemed as if it could fall down at any moment, she truly looked pitiful. Just what kind of torture did she go through? "I am going to kill you guys." (Eli) Eli spoke in a deadpan and terrifying voice. "Hack,Oh my god,cough! I can''t-" (Eva) Eva''s laughing fit was cut short after Eli delivered a huge punch to her gut. She then clung to her stomach, coughing even more. "I suddenly feel the last 5 months of torture was relieved." (Eli) "....." (Celio) Eli then straightened up her collar and gave a glorious smile. Looking at Eva''s pathetic state,Celio was thankful to not be as unfortunate as Eva. "Wait a minute, will the baby freak out if he saw his dad?" (Celio) Celio realized after he came to his senses, afraid that the baby will suddenly cry out after looking at his dad''s...''friendly'' face. "Do not worry, I watched in Animal planet, A baby animal will get attached to the first thing they see." (Eva) Eva stood up and reassured Celio, remarkably recovering fast. "...Tsk, you should just shut up and die." (Eli) "Yeah I''ll ''die''....dye your fucking face red with your blood you bloody cumslut!" (Eva) The two began fighting and tumbling around,scratching each other while Huo Jin was happily feeding his child more food. Celio sighed, maybe he should have just stayed at home. Character Illustration Eli Celio Eva The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ___________________ I gave up drawing the Celio and Eli because,laziness. OTL Took me sometime to draw Eva haha , Who is your favorite so far? Chapter 5- 4 years later Inside the Huo household''s pavillion, Amongst the lush bushes and stone pathways, a child laid quietly in wait behind a sturdy and thick tree, making small ''hehe'' giggles. Huo Yi was currently playing hide and seek with his two favorite playmates. Upon closer inspection, the child looked thin and fragile like a glass vase, with rosy white skin and medium-short black hair with cute bangs to complement his sparkling pink eyes. He was wearing a white collar shirt inside his black-cloth jacket along with black pants and brown shoes,dirtied with some soil. In terms of appearance, he would be described as an adorable angel. "Young master Huo, where are you?" ( Lin xiao) A man in completely black clothing called out to Huo yi.Lin xiao was one of the guards responsible for protecting Huo yi, He was a 7th rank Qi warrior who was infamous in the household for being unapproachable and cold. However, looking at this scene would make others think twice. Lin xiao walked over to the tree, pretending to still look around and call for Huo yi, stopping in front of the tree where Huo yi was hiding at. Seeing this chance, Huo yi released his arms that were clinging onto the tree trunk, and grabbed onto Lin xiao who turned and skillfully caught him with two arms. "I got you!" (Huo yi) "....You got me." (Lin xiao) Lin xiao looked at Huo yi with softened eyes and a small smile. The young master was the only person besides Master Huo Jin and Tang yu who treated him like a real person and did not judge him because of his hair color. In the Azura continent, the majority of the people had black hair and grey eye color. The people with different hair or eye colors were treated differently, referred to as ''Qi practitioners''. they were treated like gods, as the color indicated their affinity with the elements. Although, there were some Qi practioners who abused their power on normal people and other weaker practioners, causing growing fear and contempt between the two.Thus, the servants dared not to interact and have informal conversations towards Lin xiao unlike Huo yi and Tang yu. Huo yi grinned brightly, holding onto lin xiao''s sleeve as Lin xiao put Huo yi down, pointing and leading him to the room. "Now that I won the game, can Uncle Lin teach me how to gather Qi now?" (Huo yi) Huo yi was curious about this Qi thing, he would always eavesdrop during family meetings, the household and his father would always talk about it whenever they were talking about it. Even Lin xiao and Tang yu who were suppose to keep quiet about the subject towards him, were unable to keep it in due to Huo yi''s constant questioning. "....Maybe in another 3 years." (Lin xiao) "Ehh,why can''t we do it now?" (Huo yi) "Your body is still not mature enough to handle the Qi, in 3 years you might have a chance. But if you must insist on starting now..." Lin xiao bended down to whisper in Huo yi''s ear and said in a low voice, "Your stomach might explode." (Lin xiao) "...Really?" (Huo yi) Huo yi stared at Lin xiao with wide eyes. Stomach might explode?! Aiyah, he may never be able to eat ever again if it did! Becoming pale at the thought, Huo yi shook his head and quickly ran away to find his father. Lin xiao watched him totter away, making sure he did not fall. Standing in the middle of the pavillion, Lin xiao sighed and thought to himself. The young master was only 4 years old,wanting to start practising Qi now would only harm his body. Most kids would start at 7, where their body is most suitable for starting their cultivation. In addition to his young age, Huo yi was unable to learn Qi techniques due to his weak and frail physique. Other children at his age were chubby and healthy, but Huo yi had a slightly poor heart condition and was thin and sickly. Thus his father prevented him from running around too much. Qi was for practioners who fought with their physique,using body strengthening techniques and eating cultivation pills to speed up or enchance their Qi cultivation. Practising Qi would only result in Huo yi becoming a vegetable, or even worse, dead. Luckily, Huo yi had a high Ki affinity, so he would be able to become a powerful Ki magician perhaps, just not a Qi warrior. Finishing his comtemplation, Lin xiao turned his heel and headed towards the main hall to follow his young master. --------------------------------------------- -Inside the main hall- "Huo jin, you should start making plans for Huo yi''s future. He is already 4 years old and still has not gone outside the house. Children his age should start making friends and allies." A man with a worried expression glanced towards Huo jin. He was Li chen, and was Huo jin''s best friend. The two men were 47 this year, both were exceptionally prestigious Qi practioners. While Huo Jin adopted a fierce and manly look, Li chen was the opposite. He had androgynous features, with long and light blue hair tied into a knot, and a elegant robe adorning his lithe body. He was the only one who dared to use informal tone with Huo jin, using the excuse that speaking in a formal tone with his good friend felt strange and funny. "Stop nagging at me you cold-bastard. I know that isolating him here won''t keep him safe any longer." (Huo jin) The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Huo jin was irritated, yet he knew his friend was right. The fact that his son had a poor condition would enable rivals and enemies to act against him. He understood that he could not hide it anymore from the other households. "Aiyah, this is because you keep beating up people during the younger days, now that it has come to this, you can only reap what you sow." (Li chen) Making a ''tut, tut'' sound, Li chen gave a disapproving head nod. "Are you implying that this is my fault?! Who is the one who keeps cheating and stealing others stuff? Thanks to you, they had to seek me out instead!" (Huo jin) Huo jin stood up from his chair, slamming his hands down on the table and creating a loud ''Bam!'' sound. Li chen just shrugged his shoulders and turned his head away from Huo jin, only then noticing Huo yi peeking behind the door frame. "Greetings Father and Uncle Li. Father, is Uncle Li is here to visit us?" (Huo yi) Huo yi rushed in and gave a deep bow to greet Li chen, before turning towards his father. "Eh? Ah, ahem. Yes, your uncle Li came to visit me so that we could discuss some things." (Huo jin) Realizing his son was here, Huo jin''s anger quickly dissipated. He swiftly straightened up and gave a loud cough to hide his embarrassment. "Little Huo yi, how are you ne? Come, Uncle Li has something for you." (Li chen) Li chen favored Huo yi, Huo yi was an adorable and polite child. Whenever he came to visit the Huo house, he always spoiled Huo yi with expensive treats and sweets. Li chen made Huo yi spread open his hands and gave him a small pouch filled with candy. "Thank you Uncle Li." (Huo yi) Huo yi gave another deep bow, before noticing his reason for finding father. "Father,Uncle Li, Uncle Lin said if I practice Qi, my stomach will explode. Is it true?" (Huo yi) "......." (Huo jin) "......." (Li chen) "...Huo yi, although thats not true, your body will in fact get hurt." (Huo jin) Huo Jin responded after a brief moment of silence. He then heard footsteps heading towards the main hall''s direction, revealing Lin xiao who was standing near the doorway. Before Huo yi could say anything, Huo Jin interrupted him. "Now,now, it''s nearly time for sleep. Huo yi, you should get changed and ready to sleep." (Huo Jin) "But father-" (Huo yi) "Huo yi, I will talk to you tomorrow, okay? I need to discuss with Li chen for awhile." (Huo jin) Seeing that his father did not want to delve into the matter, Huo yi responded with a disappointed nod. "Good boy, Lin xiao, help Huo yi to get ready for bed." (Huo jin) "Understood, Master Huo jin." (Lin xiao) Lin xiao reached out for Huo yi''s small hand, leading the child to his quarters. "Shouldn''t you treat him more nicely? He''s just a kid." (Li chen) Li chen focused on Huo jin, who was looking very down. "..." (Huo jin) Huo jin did not reply, reaching out to his tea cup. He then noticed it had gone cold. ------------------------------------------------- -Huo yi''s room- " Uncle Lin, why won''t father talk to me about the Qi thingy?" (Huo yi) Sitting on the side of the bed as Lin xiao took off his shoes, Huo yi blurted out. "Sigh, young master... It is because you are unable to to practise Qi." (Lin xiao) Kneeling down in front of Huo yi, Lin xiao was unable to hold his tongue. "Why not?" (Huo yi) Huo yi questioned with a frown. If father and the others could do it, why not him? "Because you are weak." (Lin xiao) "Then I will get stronger!" (Huo yi) "You can, but just not right now." (Lin xiao) Lin xiao reassured Huo yi, using his hand on his knee to support himself to stand up. Heading towards the door, suddenly stopping in front. "...Young master, this may be disrespectful of me, but could you tell me your reason for wanting to be strong?" (Lin xiao) "...Eh?" (Huo yi) Huo yi was startled awake from his depressing thoughts, the reason why he wants to be strong? "...to protect Father, Uncle Li... Uncle Tang and you." (Huo yi) "...!" (Lin xiao) Huo yi had replied in a such a small voice, If Lin xiao was not a Diamond stage Qi practioner, he would not have been able to pick up what Huo yi had said. "...Good night, Young master." (Lin xiao) Quickly turning away to conceal his flustered face, Lin xiao left briskly and closed the door. With the room silent and no one else in the room except himself, Huo yi grabbed his blanket and slipped himself into a comfortable sleeping position, and was slowly drifting off to dreamland. All of a sudden, 3 large floating figures appeared above him, flinching him awake. "Hey maggot." One of the figures spoke, a threatening and blood-curdling female voice sounded through his ears. The hand from the figure grabbed his mouth, preventing him from screaming for his father. ___________________________________________ Sorry for the delay guys! I was busy with school >_< Here''s a longer chapter than usual. Chapter 6- Meeting a Heavenly Being "Mmmf...Mhf!" (Huo yi) "Shut up!" (Eva) Tightening her grip, Eva hissed at the crying child who was struggling to get her hand off his mouth. "You''re scaring him, sister. Let me do it." (Celio) "....Tsk!" (Eva) Releasing her hand, Eva went over to a nearby chair, and sat down with an annoyed face, staring at Huo yi. "W-Who are you?" (Huo yi) Huo yi tried to put on a brave act as his high-pitch voice wavered,while caressing his cheeks. But his trembling body betrayed him. The strength of this barbarian woman was no joke, his mouth was already aching. "We are... your guardians." (Celio) Celio announced in dignified voice, with no hesitation in his sentence. "....Eh?" (Huo yi) Huo yi looked at Celio''s poker face. He was joking...right? Eva and Eli couldn''t help but to let out a sudden ''snort'', No good, must keep a straight face. Thankfully, all of Huo yi''s attention was on Celio. "Yes, we were sent here by the heavens to protect and guide you the ways to get stronger." (Celio) Celio kept a blank expression and went on with his act. Celio had to trick Huo yi into giving him his trust, so that he would be more comfortable with lending Celio his body. If not for his perfect acting skills, his act and efforts would be worth dogshit. "Really? You were sent by the heavens? Ah, were you the ones father told me about?" (Huo yi) Huo yi scrambled up from his bed, suprised by their origins. Sent from the heavens, they must be the ones who saved him when he was still a few days old. "...Indeed, we heard your father''s plea and saved you at your time of crisis." (Celio) "Wahh..." (Huo yi) Huo yi''s eyes glittered with amazement. Seemingly forgotten that Eva had almost ''killed'' him. He then observed the floating man upon him. The man was faintly glowing and semi-transparent like his accomplices, he had a handsome,gentle and refined appearance, his gestures and voice had the ability to make one gain trust in him. He seemed like a person who you could depend on. Score! Celio did a fist pump in his head. Judging by Huo yi''s lack of fear and disbelief, he had partially gained Huo yi''s trust. Now he had to deepen that trust in due time. He made a mental note to thank Master Cyan for teaching him his acting skills. Seeing this, Eva and Eli were stunned, then their expressions turned furious. Shit! They thought their brother was going to make Huo yi believe in all three of them. However, Celio''s show had directed all his belief in him. Who knew the timid and cowardly character of a brother they thought of is a scheming devil as well? Celio had a higher advantage than them now, no wonder he said he would handle the first meeting. Clicking their tongues, they then went into deep thought, hatching plans. "Wait, are you going to teach me how to gather Qi?" (Huo yi) Huo yi had also heard that they going to teach him how to get stronger, his hope grew bigger as Celio gave him a gentle smile. "Even better. Come, take my hand and I will bring you to where your training will be held." (Celio) "But it''s night-time!" (Huo yi) "It is fine, where we will be will not be far away from here at all." (Celio) Hesitating, Huo yi was unsure whether the stranger was really serious about teaching him. Having three strangers suddenly appear in your room without making a single noise with unexpected intentions, perhaps they were actually very strong, stronger than his father maybe....Or unless they plan to... No, other than the scary woman at the chair, they seem to have no motives to hurt him. Plus the fact that the man said that he will teach something more stronger than Qi... Huo yi took Celio''s hand, he was determined to get stronger. Upon seeing this, Celio gave an insidious smirk unknown to Huo yi. The three figures then disappeared in a flash, leaving Huo yi''s body to fall into unconciousness. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ---------------------------------------------------------------- -Soul dimension- Huo yi and the other 3 figures materialized in a open white space. Slowly opening his eyes, Huo yi used a hand to shield himself from the sudden blinding light. "Where...are we?" (Huo yi) "We are inside your soul dimension, this is where we guardians reside in, as well as where you will start training." (Celio) "Woow...It''s really bright!" (Huo yi) Celio let go of Huo yi''s hand so that he could explore the room. While Huo yi was feeling the ground and jumping around, the three glanced at each other and whispered in a low volume so that their conversation could not reach Huo yi''s ears. "Seriously bro? Guardians?" (Eva) "This is stupid." (Eli) "You don''t have the right to talk, your idea was more radical. Beating a kid to submission? Ridiculous. My plan worked, so as long as it succeeded, your comments are invalid." (Celio) Celio refuted in a harsh sneer. He was getting more agitated with his sisters. They were always so stubborn and intolerable ever since the incident. ''This is why we can''t agree on anything.'' He sighed. Noticing Huo yi headed towards them, the three of them quickly put on a ''all smiles'' expression. "Mister, are you going to teach me now?" (Huo yi) Huo yi was amazed at the room, It was very spacious and clear and the floor felt like hard marble tiles. He was very glad that the three did not put him into a bag immediately. Although the figures were clearly very powerful, Out of the three he felt most comfortable with was Celio. While the other two had a fierce or cold aura, Celio had a radiating and calm feeling. "Not yet, we need time to prepare your lessons." (Celio) Celio looked at Huo yi and put on a solemn expression, so that he could give the impression of him being sorry for Huo yi. "How long?" (Huo yi) Huo yi stared at Celio with big eyes, hopeful for a better response than what his Uncle Lin had said. "Three days." (Celio) "Then I can wait!" (Huo yi) Huo yi was delighted, 3 days was much better than 3 years. Huo yi then suddenly let out a yawn, indicating he was tired. No matter how energetic his brain was, his 4 years old body could not keep up. "I guess it is time for your sleep." (Celio) Celio lifted up Huo yi with both his hands, the both of them reappearing in Huo yi''s room. He then laid down Huo yi on the bed, tucking him under the thin slik blanket. "Mister, how did you do that?" (Huo yi) "Don''t worry about it, I will teach you when you begin training." (Celio) Huo yi silently nodded his head and closed his eyes. But was jolted awake by Celio''s sudden ''Ah'', exclaimation. "Another thing I need to tell you, if you want to learn from me." (Celio) Huo yi looked at him, nervous to hear what he has to say about his conditions. "Keep this a secret, do not tell anyone about us, even if it''s your father. The moment you do, we will have to... Well, do ''unpleasant'' things, and I think you would not like it." (Celio) Hearing his condition and thinking about what the ''unpleasant'' things meant, Huo yi knew that it was not good to oppose heavenly beings. Keeping that in mind, he resolutely nodded. Celio gave a angelic smile after seeing his confirmation, and vanished in a flash, returning to the soul dimension. __________________ Poor Huo yi, getting deceived by the three demons. XD Chapter 7 - Wanting to go outside " "Good morning young master." " (Female servants) "Morning~!" (Huo yi) The two female servants bowed and greeted Huo yi, who was currently dashing down the wooden hallway. Huo yi was rushing in a hurry towards the main hall to meet his father. "Hah, Wait up young master!" (Tang yu) "..." (Lin xiao) Followed behind Huo yi, was two men clothed in black who were running after him. The two female servants saw this comical scene, and quietly giggled. They whispered in hushed tones and gossiped like a pair of housewives. "Aiya, the young master is so cute! Totally different from master Huo jin ah." (Female servant 1) "But Master is so pitiful, His poor wife left after giving birth to young master, only to almost lose his son! Luckily the Heavens were merciful and took pity on him." (Female servant 2) While the two were chattering away, Eva and Eli were secretly listening to their private conversation while they were touring around the house. "No wonder she left, her kid looked fucked up!" (Eva) Eva laughed with a ''Haha'' bellow. Aiya, she ran away to hide her shame? During the 4 years in this world, the three had already adjusted to this world''s language. In their initial world, the three only knew english. Luckily, due to the massive amounts of chinese novels Celio read, they understood that this world spoke Chinese. At first it was difficult since it was a foreign language, fortunately Eva had a chinese dictionary app on her phone. "She died, you idiot." (Eli) "Oh." (Eva) Eva scratched her head to conceal her blush. How would she know she died ah? The bitch said she left. "Haah, I expect no less from a brainless fool." (Eli) Eli sighed while she kneaded her temples. She wondered why in the first place she was with Eva. "What the f*ck did you say you little bitch? I''ll have you know that I-" (Eva) Before Eva could finish her comeback, Eli had already fled to Huo yi. "Hey!" (Eva) Eva followed suit and went after her. -------------------------------------------------------------- "Father, father!" (Huo yi) Panting heavily, Huo yi went into the room and tackled his father''s hard belly. Suprised, Huo jin was about to greet him when he realised Huo yi''s face was flushed and was out of breath. "Huo yi, I told you not to run!" (Huo jin) Huo jin scolded his son sternly, but his last few words softened from worrying from his son. "Father, is it true that I can go out the house?" (Huo yi) Catching his breath, Huo yi looked at his father with expectant eyes. He was extremely excited to go out and see outside the household. Whenever he tried to peek outside by trying to climb the stone wall in the back garden, his guards would always stop him before he could even reach the wall. Speaking of the devil, the two guards finally stumbled into the room. Tang yu was obviously half-dead, while Lin xiao only took a couple of short breathes. The duo were thinking the same thing at the moment,the young master was as fast as a cockroach. Every corner they tried to get him, he manages to slip past under their arms and legs. Even the fast Lin xiao had trouble catching him. They were 7th ranked warriors, and yet a child with no Qi could outrun them? It seems they are getting old. "...Who told you this?" (Huo jin) "Uncle Li." (Huo yi) Curses, that bastard! Li chen would always tell Huo yi the opposite of what he says. ''Don''t run ah'', to ''run somemore, you will get more healthier!''. He must have met Huo yi when he was playing in the back garden. Damn that dog, he will never let him stay overnight again! Gritting his teeth, Huo jin differed and tried to explain to Huo yi. "Huo yi, Li chen was just talking nonsense. You aren''t allowed to go out yet." (Huo jin) "...But..." (Huo yi) "It''s too dangerous for you to go out now." (Huo jin) Huo jin knew he was disappointing his son again, but he had to harden his heart. He really did not want to take any chances. "I...." (Huo yi) Huo yi didn''t want to make his father angry, so he had to agree to his father. However, ''Little yi, let me ask this.'' Eh? Huo yi glanced around the room with his head down low. Was that... the heavenly being''s voice? ''Little yi, do you want to go outside badly?'' (Celio) It was him! Wait, could father see him? Huo yi did not know what to do to respond, and he did not want to alert his father. He gave a slight nod. ''Then allow me to take over your body for awhile, okay?'' (Celio) Huo yi once again did not understand what he meant, but he gave another nod anyways. ''Thank you, I will explain to you fully when it is finally night-time.'' (Celio) Celio then dove into Huo yi''s body, transferring Huo yi''s soul into the soul dimension. "...Huo yi?" (Huo jin) Huo jin looked at Huo yi with a worried expression. Huo yi was standing still and had his head down for a long time now. Lin xiao and Tang yu also looked at their young master. Strange.... "...Hic..." " " "...!!!" " " Huo jin,Lin xiao and Tang yu stared with shock. He was crying?! Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. "Fa-... Hic-... ther... Am I a bad son?" (Huo yi) Oh my god! Huo jin stood in shocked silence. Lin xiao and Tang yu also stared with their mouths making wide ''O''s and eyes. Huo yi had never cried or disagreed with Huo jin like this before. He would invariably accept his father''s wishes when it came to the idea of going outside or doing something that was dangerous in Huo jin''s book. "O-Of course not son!" (Huo jin) Huo jin finally found his words, rushing towards Huo yi to comfort him. Yet the action only made Huo yi cry louder. "Hic! Huo yi is a bad child! That''s why father doesn''t want Huo yi to go out!" (Huo yi) Sobbing even louder, Huo yi bawled his eyes out. He used his long sleeve to wipe away the continuous tears flowing out from his eyes. "No,no! Father just wants you to be safe! Huo yi, don''t worry. I will let you go outside soon." (Huo jin) Huo jin honestly did not know what to do. This was the first time Huo yi was unusually upset with him. He quickly used words to coax him to calm down. "But father had rejected it two times..." (Huo yi) Huo yi cried out. "Thats-" (Huo jin) "I know father has suffered a lot because of me! People have spoke ill of Father and Mother. I have also heard that I have a weak body. Being unable to follow in your footsteps, and having to bear such a disgraceful son. Father I, your child, has been a burden to you!" (Huo yi) Bowing his head down low, he exclaimed. The adults in the room took a sharp breathe. Heavens, Huo yi was acting strange. How could a 4 year old speak so fluent? "...Two days... I will let you go outside.." (Huo jin) Huo jin finally muttered out after thinking through for a moment. "However, You must have Lin xiao and Tang yu accompany you when you go." (Huo jin) Huo jin looked at his son who still had his head down. Observing him, Huo jin suddenly caught a glimpse of Huo yi''s mouth forming a smirk. He shuddered. He had a bad premonition. "Thank you Father, Huo yi is forever grateful!" (Huo yi) Huo yi looked up with a bright smile, cupping his hands together and bowed.no trace of unhappiness could be detected on his face. It was as if he had never cried at all. Huo jin was shocked, the bad feeling he had was no longer there. He looked at Huo yi and then the room to find the uneasy feeling he felt just now. Nothing. Was he imagining things? Maybe he was just being paranoid again. "Father, I shall take my leave now, I will not disturb you anymore." (Huo yi) "Wait." (Huo jin) Huo yi was about to turn around, when Huo jin spoke. "Who taught you to speak so... Maturely?" (Huo jin) Huo jin, Lin xiao and Tang yu stared at Huo yi''s blinking innocent eyes. "... Uncle Li did. I actually learned from hearing him talk." (Huo yi) Huo yi gave a ''hehe'' and scratched his cheek. "...You may go now." (Huo jin) Huo jin dismissed Huo yi along with the two guards, leaving himself in the room to think. Huo jin pondered. This was the first time Huo yi had an outburst. Was he too strict with him not going outside? But it was for his own safety...Perhaps it was too cruel to let him stay inside for so long. And Huo yi had learned to speak fluently from Li chen? That rascal! Always taking his spot light from Huo yi. Huo jin had to admit, because he was preoccupied with Huo yi''s safety, he neglected his own son instead. Compared to himself, Li chen is a much better father figure to Huo yi. Huo jin sighed, looking out the window. Aah, the one who is really a burden was himself. ---------------------- Huo yi aimlessly wandered in the garden, his mind occupied. The two men, Lin xiao and Tang yu watched him closely, they were unable to grasp what Huo yi was thinking about. Celio was reminiscing the scene before,his face revealing a frown as he recalled his mistake. How could he have known how 4 year olds talk like? When he was 4, his mind had already been drilled in to speak like- . Celio frowned. Scratch that, he did not want to remember that. Enough of the past, Huo jin had already fallen into his two day plan to go outside. Maybe now he could learn how 4 year olds talk. Of course, his real purpose was to teach Huo yi magic during the two days, even if he can not get the concept, he should start preparing his body tonight. While they were at it, they should explore outside too. The three siblings did not have a good depiction of the outside view of the area. Was it a town? A capital? They did not know. During the past 3 days, Celio and his sisters could not stray far away from Huo yi''s body, else it would be an instant-kill for their souls. At most they could travel was 10 meters. "Uncle Lin and Uncle Tang, I''m going to take a nap." (Huo yi) Lin xiao and Tang yu frowned with uncertainty, but they let Huo yi go alone anyways. Celio headed towards Huo yi''s room after getting rid of Lin xiao and Tang yu, closing the door shut. ______________________________________ Sorry for the long update, I was busy with school work XD Heres a new chapter! Also, I will remove the name brackets the next chapter, since it is quite troublesome to write. Chapter 8 - Pain After shutting the door and checking the wooden windows, Celio sat on the center of the bed. He then scanned around the room. "Set Sound-Barrier dome, radius : 7 meters, Duration to thirteen hours." A transparent dome was put up as soon as Celio mouthed his sentence, preventing eavesdropping servants and passer-bys from hearing the noise emitted from the room. Celio''s ability ''Command'' could be counted as magic, except he had to be specific in his commands. After the barrier was set up, Celio pulled out Huo yi from the soul dimension, letting him take control once again. His translucent body then sat cross-legged in front of Huo yi''s slumped body, waiting for Huo yi to adjust to the transfer. ------------------------------------------------ (Huo yi''s POV) Huo yi''s eyelids fluttered open, slight dizziness from the soul transfer made his hand instinctively hold his head to keep steady. What entered his vision was Celio sitting in front of him, with a gentle smile. "Mister?" "You''re finally awake." Celio looked at Huo yi with a happy expression. "I saw what happened with father. Mister, how can you get him to agree so quickly?" Huo yi was amazed at this strange man''s acting. Father agreed to let him go outside when he threw a sudden tantrum, yet he himself obeyed his father''s wishes but could not go outside? Huo yi suddenly felt envious and sulky. "Sometimes, you have to take advantage of people to get what you want." Celio said to Huo yi with a nonchalant face. "But that is not the point now, today you will be learning how to control elemental magic." Huo yi small eyes became wide with delight, furiously tugging Celio''s finger with excitement. "Mis- I mean, teacher. What is elemental magic?" Celio looked at the tiny hand that was pulling his finger, and quickly pulled it out from Huo yi''s grasp. "Elemental magic is a form of energy used by magicians. They can utilize different elements as a form of magic. There consists of four main elements, Earth, Fire, Water and Air. These main elements have variations as well, sand and metal magic from earth, and lightning from fire. Today you will be learning the main ones." Whilst Celio explained, he snapped up his fingers and casted pyrokinesis, his other hand containing a levitating orb of circulating water. When Huo yi was just a baby, Celio remembered that an old man said Huo yi''s affinity was with elements. Now he had no idea how fantasy ''China'' conducted their teachings. Huo yi''s eyes focused on the dancing blue flame in Celio''s hand, fascinated. "How do you do that?!" Keen on learning, Huo yi straightened his back and tried lifting up his hand and snapping his fingers. "Calm down. First you need to sit cross-legged. Straighten your back and close your eyes." Huo yi obeyed Celio''s instructions. "Good. Now take deep breathes with your stomach and relax. Because this will hurt a little." Huo yi''s tightly closed eyes start to relax a little. Celio began to convert energy in his hands to form a glowing rainbow sphere. He suddenly shot out his palm, enabling the sphere to forcefully enter Huo yi''s tiny chest. "Aaaahhhh!" Huo yi screamed out in pain and shock. His body felt like it was in flames and large sharp needles piercing his eyes the moment the sphere penetrated him. He tried to open his eyes, only to find the pain in his eyes intensifying. His hands instantly clung to his heart and eyes, using his palm to press in the pain. Celio looked down at Huo yi with indifference. If he survives from the pain, good for him. But if he does''nt...then too bad. Celio left him screaming on the bed for the next five minutes, entering his soul dimension. -------------------------------------------------------- Inside the soul dimension, currently was Eva laying down on the floor and Eli sleeping with fluffy red pillows spread randomly. Eva was snacking on her favorite dried shredded cuttlefish while watching a comedy show on a thin and large television screen in front of her. Eli was resting on a black cozy couch a distance away from Eva. The two were resting inside after being bored for almost three years and three days, decorating the place only when they were sated with the look. Celio entered the dimension, heading straight for Eli''s direction and sneered. "It seems you are suffering from the backlash again, sister." "...Shut up." Eli was severely weakened after taking over Huo yi''s place when he was dying as an infant. Her soul was too mature for the body to handle, as a result she had no choice but to reduce her soul force. During the four years, her body halted and failed periodically. From her outcome, the three concluded that they could not take over the main host''s body for more than three days, maximum. Until he matured, the result might change. ''Hmph, should have let the brat die instead.'' Eli secretly cursed in her heart. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. "Seeing you now, isn''t your bet already invalid?" Celio continued to stir up Eli''s anger, his smile full of mockery. "I told you to shut up Celio! Besides, a spineless coward like you does''nt need to worry about a fight. Is''nt running away your speciality?" Eli returned his words with a hiss. Eva diverted her attention from the television to hear her siblings mutually destroy each other. "Running away from danger is much better than a worthless fake who can''t do anything but sit and cry." Celio''s mouth formed a malicious smirk. It would take much more than that to anger me, sister. Eli''s complexion turned ugly, staring at Celio with eyes full of hate. Her brother was cool-headed and calm. Her insults were unable to incite rage in him. The two''s locked gazes seperated with disgust. Celio was about to call out Eva to get her to do something, only to find the warm spot she was laying on empty. ___________________________________ Eva snuck out of the soul dimension, appearing in Huo yi''s room. She found Huo yi whimpering from the residue pain on the bed. "tsk tsk, Celio really does''nt have mercy. He did''nt even try to alleviate the pain." Clicking her tongue, she helped to put Huo yi in a more comfortable sitting up position and pressed on his back. She then slowly drew out her own spirit force, it slowly entered his body. Huo yi felt the pain in his body quickly lessening, his disarrayed breathes began to stabilize. With watery tears flowing from his eyes, his heavy eyelids opened hesitantly. He saw Eva looking down at him, with knitted eyebrows. "Maggot, you''d better thankful I saved your life again." "M-Miss..." Huo yi started crying, his already swollen eyes start to leak out tears. "Uuu... It hurts, It hurts. I don''t want to do it anymore...I don''t want pain!" Huo yi shook his head side to side, his high-pitched voice quivering. He held onto Eva''s skirt, grabbing the corner tightly. Even if this barbarian woman was scary, right now he needed the comfort and protection of someone. "S...Stop crying maggot!" Eva frowned deeply, her deep eyes squinting. "Maggots are''nt suppose to cry." ''Last time I ''played'' with them, they only made squishy sounds.'' Eva lifted up Huo yi by the collar, and placed him against the wooden bedframe. Just on cue, Celio appeared. He looked at Eva, then at Huo yi. When Huo yi noticed Celio on the other side of the bed, he started trembling like a leaf and tried to burrow his head into Eva''s stomach. "No, no no no! I don''t want to!" "What happened?" Celio''s blinking eyes made him seem innocent, this made Huo yi angry. "You hurt me! Uncle Lin! Uncle Tang!" He tried calling out to his guards, but no response was heard. ''Why aren''t they coming?!'' Huo yi bit his lips in fear. He glanced at Celio, whose gentle smile remained. Huo yi shuddered. "Calm down and listen." "No!" Huo yi yelled at Celio, digging further into Eva. Eva was just sitting on the bed, unsure of what to do. ''He seems to be upset, what do I do?'' Eva''s mouth formed a straight line. Her head lifted up slightly as she thought of an idea. ''I think Master Scar used to do this when I was vexed.'' Eva placed her hand on Huo yi''s head, and gently rubbed his soft hair. She found his tensed and shaking body easing up. Seeing this action, she tried to speak in a soothing voice. "Maggot, the pain you suffered helped to enchance your affinity with the elements. Now your body can handle hot flames and resist the cold. Don''t worry, there won''t be any more suffering like this." Celio saw the chance Eva played out, he added to her reassurance. "Sorry for that little yi, but if you didn''t absorb the elemental resistance skill, you won''t be able practise magic." Huo yi glanced at Celio with tearful eyes and gave a small nod. Even though it hurt real bad, he felt that the elemental magic thing was more important than the pain. Although in return, he lost some trust in Celio. "Shall we start?" Chapter 9 - Finally Outside During the past two days, Huo yi had learnt earth and water magic. He declined learning fire and air because of some scary suggestions from Celio. "If you learn fire magic, you can burn your enemies alive while they scream in horror as their skin and eyes melt." "Or if you learn air magic, you can suck the air out the opponents lungs, expand and burst their lungs as they bleed to death." Saying those frightening words with a smiling face would make anyone avoid Celio. For earth and water magic, he had experimented in the garden using the soil and the water from the pond because they had none in the soul dimension, also,they did not want to dirty the place. Unfortunately, they couldn''t do it in secret as his guards were like hawks. So Celio had no choice but to teach him while they were watching. This led to the guards rushing to Huo jin and telling him of his son performing magic at such a young age, resulting in Huo yi being ''hugged'' nearly to suffocation and pampered for the two day duration. Of course, Celio told Huo yi to tell them that he found a book about elemental magic while he was in the house library. After that, they did not bother him as they were afraid of disturbing his practice. Luckily for Celio, Huo yi was a fast learner, and in no time he learned earth and water manipulation. Magic consisted of imagination and Mana force in the body, the small rainbow sphere that Celio implanted into Huo yi gave him an immense amount of mana. Celio taught Huo yi how to use water and ice spells such as frostbite and icicle shot. Sadly, Huo yi''s small and weak body could not handle strenuous spells at his age. Today was the day where Huo yi was able to go outside, Huo jin being busy with work, regrettably could not go with Huo yi. The two guards followed behind Huo yi closely, as he stepped out the large wooden gate. "Young master, remember not to stray far away from us, okay?" Lin xiao held Huo yi by the hand, frowning with knitted eyebrows. "Relax brother Lin xiao, little yi is just nervous. After all, it is his first time." Tang yu stretched his arms behind his back. Tang yu was the polar opposite of Lin xiao. He had his hair tied up in a loose ponytail, had droopy yellow eyes and was more approachable as his talking skills were terrific. Their plan was to bring Huo yi around the capital to visit places and perhaps, make some friends. "Finally some freaking action." Eva yawned as she levitated above Huo yi, next to her was Celio and Eli. After being confined in the house for four years, certainly they were excited about seeing where they lived. Huo yi slightly glanced back at the floating figures, it seems that other than him, people could not interact and see them. So they really are heavenly beings! ---------------------------------------------------------- "Woah, what the fuck is that thing?" (Eva) "It seems to be a horse...with saber teeth." (Celio) "Ugh." (Eli) "Oh my god, did you see its ****? It''s fucking huge." (Eva) "Why are you looking at it''s ****? You gross ass bitch." (Eli) "Because it''s poking out! Duh! You think that people can NOT look at-" (Eva) Huo yi was very confused with their conversation, exactly what is a di- , His thinking was interrupted, thankfully, by Celio. "Little yi, tell your guards to take you to the weapon shop." Hearing Celio''s request, Huo yi tugged at Tang yu''s sleeve. Uncle Lin, Uncle Tang, can we go to a weapon shop?" Both the guards let out a breathe and looked at each other. I guess it wouldn''t hurt to go? They also had an interest to window shop for weapons. Why not? The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. "Welcome young sirs!" They entered the weapon shop, welcomed with a warm greeting from the shop uncle. Huo yi looked around the shop, he eyed each glimmering sword and weapons with glowing eyes. He dashed to each section, attracted like a kid who found new toys. Celio, Eva and Eli looked around, only to be disappointed. They heaved a sigh. Looks like Master Scar''s weapons are much more superior afterall. Well, at least they have to find something suitable for Huo yi to use. "Hey Celio, you''re a mage right? What do they use for weapons? Sticks?" Eva leaned down next to Lin xiao, who was looking at a beautiful black sword. "No, I don''t use anything but myself or the gun Master Scar gave me." Celio found sticks and wands to be useless, they only increased the accuracy and power of the user''s magic, nothing more. The gun which was given to him though, was much better. It uses magic as ammo,has high magic cast speed, purification, healing and could shoot out huge laser beams. The said gun shimmered in his holster, located at his left waist. It was sliver in color, with beautiful golden carvings. Eli looked at the shooting daggers, she was appalled at the quality of it. "Let''s just buy a magician wand. We have some light weapons for the brat to use in the storage if we need it." Eli turned to Huo yi and asked him to tell the shop owner to ask where the magician weapons were. Huo yi faced the Shop owner and knitted his eyebrows. He really felt shy about talking to another person other than familiar people in his house. He whispered to Tang yu to relay the message. "Shop owner, do you have any weapons for magicians?" "I do. Let me get some for you." The shop owner bend down to fish out several rectangle boxes. He opened one and showed a small sliver wand, containing a red crystal on the top of the wand. "This is the Fire Ki wand. I have other elemental wands down here. Usually students from the mage school that are first-rank Ki magicians use these wands." Huo yi was about to ask Tang yu a bunch of other questions, when Celio tapped Huo yi''s shoulder. "It seems that they only have specific elemental wands. you should get this wand since you have not learnt the fire element. You may get hurt if you do not use it." Fire was dangerous, the first time when Celio learned pyrokinesis went horribly wrong. He accidentally burned down the small garden which Master Violet tended to. Huo yi looked at Tang yu with large puppy eyes. Celio taught him the trick, saying he had natural talent in it and he should use it whenever you want something. Tang yu looked at Huo yi''s eyes, seemingly hitting a soft spot. The puppy eyes took effect. Tang yu initially wanted to reject the wand, but his young master was just too cute to say no to. Lin xiao and Tang yu went to the counter and placed their orders on the wooden table. They had apparently stocked up on short daggers and swords. "2500 spirit coins for the short daggers,wand and swords, young sirs." Tang yu fished into his sleeves, holding out a medium-sized brown pouch. He took out two sliver spirit cards which contain a thousand each, handing them over to the shop owner. "Please come again soon!" The shop owner bid them farewell, as the two tall figures with a tiny child went out of the door. ___________________ Uhm, if you guys have any advice to share, please do! Chapter 10 - In A Predicament Five years later... A young child of the age of nine, stood silently on the muddy walkway. Huo yi had grown up by a few centimetres, reaching 4.1 ft in height. His black silk hair had turned into a pale pinkish color due to the magic influence. They had to explain to Huo jin about the change of hair color. "An old man gave me a drink, when I drank it my hair became pink!" (Woah that rhymes.) That day, Huo jin quickly rushed to find the doctor, lecturing Huo yi about trusting strangers. He still retained his adorable and frail look though. In his left hand held a sliver rod with a red crystal, appearing worned out from multiple usage. Huo yi began to channel Fire Ki in his hand, flowing into the wand. He pointed the wand at one of the garden''s tree. "Fire blast!" A large fire ball the size of a boulder appeared, shooting towards the tree in light speed. ''BOOM!'' A loud explosion resonated through the capital, shocking many who heard the sudden explosion "Huff..Huff...I-I did it...!" Huo yi looked at the results of the fire blast. It had made a large hole in the garden wall, with the tree reduced to black charcoal and ashes. Although the blast was successful, Huo yi''s knees trembled and fell on the ground. His body was fatigued since he trained from the early morning until afternoon. Beside him, The three ''guardians'' were checking out Huo yi''s achievement. Not bad. He had made a lot of progress for the past five years, from a non-ranked Ki mage, he jumped to peak 2nd-ranked. If he continued at this rate, he could make another breakthrough in a few weeks. "Good job maggot." Eva patted Huo yi''s head. Ever since he cried that day, she started to rub Huo yi''s head whenever she feels like it. She does''nt know why, but it feels quite nice to comb through his soft and pink hair. Celio looked at Huo yi with an approving look. "Right now, I think your ability at handling the four elements is exceptionally good. Keep it up." Although practicing Qi would harm Huo yi''s soul, they still had Eva to take over if it came to a battle of strength when he ran out of Ki. She had body strengthing techniques, enabling a small kid to lift massive tons like a ant carrying an elephant. After resting for a while, Huo yi went to bathe to rinse off the sweat and mud off his body, leaving the...''garden''. Apparently by the state of it, the poor servants would have to clean up the garden again. ______________________________________ Afterwards, Huo yi headed to the main hall to meet his father, he seems to have something important to say. Entering the hall, he greeted his guards and his father. "Good afternoon father, uncle Lin and uncle Tang." "Ah,Huo yi you have arrived, come and sit down next to me." Huo jin was sitting down and eating some baked sweets from Li chen. Each of his side stood the two guards, Lin xiao and Tang yu. The two guards were relaxed for the past few years, they had seen Huo yi''s magic, witnessing his Ki made them feel that Huo yi was capable of protecting himself. Huo yi grabbed a wooden chair next to father, he sat down before grabbing a cookie from the table. "Uhm...Father, you wanted to tell me something?" "Yes Huo yi. In the next two days, there will a examination held at the Capital''s sect, Azure Dragon. It is the number one sect prestigious for their warriors and their acceptance of both nobility and commoners." Huo yi looked at his father with excitement, he never went to school before. His feelings about going to the Azure Dragon was both nervousness and anticipation. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. "But father, I''m not suited to be a warrior..." Huo yi thought about Huo jin''s last sentence, warrior? He can''t even cultivate Qi according to Eva. "The sect has a mage division that is not performing well, I am afraid. But with your talents, I am sure that will change." Huo jin smiled warmingly to his son. He had a great deal of pride in his son''s magic. Huo jin and Li chen used to attend that school as Qi warriors. He could confirm that the place was safe. "You will living in dorms there, rest assured, many of the teachers there are not biased towards nobility. But if anyone tries to bully you there... Tell me. I will obliterate them." Huo jin said the last few words firmly. Anyone who hurts a single hair on his son, will pay with their deaths! "Don''t worry father, I will not disappoint you!" Huo yi said with confidence. In truth, he was very afraid. What if they are mean and scary? "Little yi, we will protect while you''re there. So don''t be scared." Celio whispered to Huo yi. He was curious in how the children acted there. Were they like mindless robots like they were? Huo yi''s beating heart slowed down a little. That''s right, he has heavenly beings protecting him. And if he ever encounter a problem, they could give him instructions on what to do. Huo yi sat and chatted with his father for the rest of the day, happily talking about his progress In magic. _________________________________ Two days passed with Huo yi practising his wind magic, he had learned how to push and pull wind. He dumped the multiple red and yellow wands in the trash, as the crystals broke. He headed out to the school with Lin xiao and Tang yu, to take the examination. When they arrived at the sect gates, There was a thousand of people and children near his age gathering. The front gates were extravagant and massive, the two white pillars which supported the sign stood tall. The sect was extremely big, it could fit thousands of students. The three entered the school grounds, where there was long lines divided into the warrior division and the mage division. There was much more people in the warrior line than the mage one by a large margin, it really shows how famous the school is for their Qi students. Huo yi slowly walked towards the mage line with his head down low, Lin xiao and Tang yu standing back at where the parents stood at. He was not used to overly-crowded places. In addition, all the kids were taller than him! "Bronze-rank Water Ki, 56 spirit force. Next!" "Peak bronze-rank Fire Ki, 78 spirit force. Next!" The three floating figures heard the tester''s voice rang out. They then looked at the four doors behind them. Eh? Did this mean that every mage has a specific elemental Ki?...Shit. "Fuck! What do we do? We taught the maggot all the elements, now hes gonna be the center of attention." (Eva) "Blame Celio, He was the one who said he should learn all of it." (Eli) "..." (Celio) Celio rubbed his temples and sighed. How was he suppose to know that mages had specific elements? So much for low-profile. __________________________ Uh-oh! Looks like they are in trouble! Hey guys, I will be posting a poll so that you can decide which class Huo yi will take. Just a heads up though, the classes will lead to two types of romance, Straight or BL can take place. The three are very open-minded, so the trio are bisexuals. I will add this in the synopsis soon. Chapter 11 - Joining the Air Ki class Celio was thinking harder and harder, while the queue got shorter. "...Hm? Wait, I think Master Sliver taught me a spell for this sort of situation." An idea finally came to Celio''s mind. He looked around for a child whose Ki is not weak, but not powerful either. He spotted a noble whose affinity was perfect. Good, that will do the trick. He mumbled a sentence, a small jolt came from both Huo yi and the noble. The noble child was startled and looked around, what was that shock he felt? Zhou Wei xing felt a drop of sweat trickling down his neck... Haha, was it because he was nervous?That cannot be, He was Zhou Wei xing, fearless and superior! His two servants did not notice anything out of the ordinary as their young master rubbed his neck continuously. Huo yi also felt the jolt, although he was suprised, he knew it was from Celio.His hands began to get sweaty from the anxiety of waiting, It felt he was taking an imperial examination. Finally when the tester shouted out ''Next!'', it was his turn. He walked quickly towards the tester, with light steps and his hands rubbing on his shirt to get rid of the sweat, except the friction just made it even more worse. "Place your hand on the soul crystal." The tester spoke sharply with piercing eyes, what he saw was a timid young boy whose as frail as a vase. If he was not paying attention, he would mistaken Huo yi for a girl. He sighed, if you are weak and apprehensive, In this environment people would not hesitant to step on you. Huo yi placed his pale hand on the round transparent crystal. The crystal shone brightly, revealing a large cluster of yellow light which danced joyfully in the ball. "Hmm... Not bad. Peak sliver-rank Air Ki, 368 spirit force. Next!" Huo yi who was surprised at the announcement, silently walked away to the yellow door where the others who had Air Ki were in. Celio quickly disabled the spell, switching back the Ki to the noble child. He floated after Huo yi along with his sisters. Zhou Wei xing felt another jolt. What the hell? He was pulled back into reality when the tester called for him. "....Peak sliver-rank Air Ki, 368 spirit force. What a coincidence, the same power as that boy earlier. Next!" Zhou Wei xing looked at the tester with wide eyes. What boy? __________________________________________ ''That was a close one.'' thought Celio. Or maybe it will be awkward. Usually, siblings would complement each other when they do a feat, However... Eva and Eli just glanced around the room with uninterested expressions. The three would only speak to each other if Eva said something stupid or if they were forced to think together. Too bad they didn''t have a fourth neutral party in the group. Oh wait, Huo yi was there, but he was still a kid. Sigh. The three were open-minded, but Celio was the most out of the three. After the incident, he had tried his best to make it up with his sisters. Only to be rejected harshly. However, Celio was not the type to be intimidated and back down. They don''t want to accept his sincere apology? Then so be it. He had given up on trying to appease his very stubborn sisters. Perhaps he was immature about it, Celio face revealed a sad look. Huo yi tottered into the room with his usual small footsteps, gazing throughout the surroundings. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. "Big brother Ce, do you think I will be able to make friends?" Huo yi gazed at Celio with uneasiness. During the five years, Huo yi had began to call the guardians his big brother and sisters. Celio raised an eyebrow. "Of course, but make sure you make friends with the correct people. There are some who are not to be trusted and will betray you. You need a strong backing that you can rely on. Try making acquaintances with other nobles first." This was logical, Nobles had money and power supporting them. If you had trouble, they had the authority and power to protect you. "But how do I make friends?" Celio''s smile became a frown. How do you make friends? From his experience, he had a lot of fans and friends as he was an actor in the modern world. People wanted to familiarize themselves with him as he was a cool-headed and charismatic person. He was also approachable. Celio was about to answer, but Eva was first to answer. "Seduction." ..... Seduction your ass! He is a child! Celio hurriedly pushed Eva out of Huo yi''s sight. "Please don''t listen to this idiot. Ahem, Little yi, I think that you should just be yourself. Although your nature is...uh, a little timid. Some people may feel more inclined to defend you. Of course, if you need help with some horrible people, let us do the talking." "... I see!" Huo yi exclaimed. Be himself, huh? Huo yi headed towards the crowd of children were, in ''large'' prideful steps. "Ah, Little yi. Wait a moment." Celio quickly tapped Huo yi''s shoulder. The small child looked back at him. "Big brother, what is it?" "During your stay at the sect, you must always use air magic only. No fire, water or earth magic. Okay?" Huo yi shook his head. He kept it as his number one rule. The crowd led to a counter with an old lady behind it. So it was handing out the dorm rooms. Huo yi rushed in, a small figure trying to push into a field of giants. Eh, no good. Eli thought. "Huo yi. This way is much faster." Eli possessed Huo yi''s legs, using silent steps to get to the front. In a flash, Huo yi was already at the counter. The other students in front were surprised. When did this girl appear? "Uuu..woahh!" Huo yi gasped. That was...kind of awesome! Huo yi then tip-toed, his eye just above the counter top. "E-Excuse me, can I get my room card?" Huo yi mumbled loud enough for the woman to hear, She looked down and said coldly. "State your name little girl." "Eh..ah...Huo yi." Huo yi heard the girl part, even though he wanted to refute, the old lady was already turning her back to Huo yi as she searched the piles of paper. "You''re actually a boy? Apologies. Room 314. Here''s your room card. You will be staying with 4 roommates, you need to bring necessary belongings from your home the next day when you come back." The old woman said with surprise , she handed Huo yi the card and told him instructions for the next day. After that, Huo yi exited the building to join back with Lin xiao and Tang yu. ___________________________ Huo yi joined the Air class! Chapter 12 - Roommates ''Thump...Swish!" Huo yi pulled the string of his bag, tying a small knot to secure his belongings. Inside the bag were just small stuff he gathered randomly from his room, including some of his clothes and his hair brush. He honestly did not know what else to bring, In the soul dimension were dozens of stuff and possessions of his guardians that he could use. He slung the bag on his back and headed out to the gate where his father was at. Huo jin paced back and forth near the gate. From his facial expression, it seems that he was pissed. Tang yu and Lin xiao looked helplessly at their master. Sigh, what a worrywart. "Master, please behave yourself. You need to calm down or else young master would get scared." "Calm? I am completely calm. I am very, very calm." ''Hes not calm.'' was the conclusion of the guards. Huo jin stopped pacing about and thought to himself. ''Ah~!, Huo yi... Even though I told myself that this was necessary for his growth, Even when I thought I braced myself yesterday and put on such a trustful face, But then...!'' Huo jin grinded his teeth and had a look of undying frustration. He was still afraid of people hurting his child, if his child looked like him and was arrogant then that was fine,however... Huo yi was too cute! His adorable child was going to school with other unknown strangers who were likely to step on him based on his appearance. What if he gets bullied and beaten up? Huo jin''s internal rant halted when Huo yi raced to him. "Faaather~!" Huo yi ran and hugged Huo jin''s leg like a koala. He gave an mischievous smile. "Hehe,Is father here to see me off?" ...... Cute. Huo jin rubbed his son''s hair, and relaxed a bit. Maybe he should put more faith into his son. "Yes yes, father is here to send you off. Have you brought your clothes?" "Yep!" "How about your utensils? The sliver ware there might be unclean and you might get sick." "Uh-huh!" "Your pillow and blanket? The bed might be hard and cold at night and you may catch a cold..." "Uh...Father..." "What about-" "Father, I don''t want you to worry too much." Huo yi said before Huo jin could ask another question. "I know you are busy with work... Giving yourself a headache over me could damage your health." "Huo yi..." Huo jin looked at his son with doteful eyes. "That''s why, I will get more stronger so that father won''t have to worry anymore." Huo yi gave an angelic smile. Bam! Huo jin clutched his chest tightly, Hnggh...! Forget the headache, Huo yi could give anyone a heartache! After hugging and kissing his son, Huo jin was held back by the guards and reluctantly bid Huo yi goodbye. ___________________________________________ "...Where are we?" "...." Huo yi stood dumbfounded amongst the the large tall figures walking about in the sect. The place was huge. There were many sections and pathways that were spreaded out through the sect. Huo yi was getting anxious. Celio, Eva and Eli looked around, obviously lost. Damn their non-existant navigational skills! Did they get that from Master Scar? Celio sighed. Seems like they were going to have to ask for directions. The task looked easy enough, but with a place filled with arrogant and snotty nobles? It''s unlikely to end well. "Little yi, try looking for a senior who is approachable and ask him for directions." "...I''ll try my best..." Huo yi glanced around. A person who seemed approachable? He would need stilts to see their faces. Huo yi was unsure, so he picked out a young man who appears to be well-dressed, he went to him. "Uhm...Excuse me senior brother..." "Hm?" The young noble turned his head around, only to see... No one. "J-junior disciple greets Senior brother..." Huo yi said again, bowing his head. The young noble redirected his gaze again and looked down at Huo yi. The noble was with a group of other men, they followed his gaze. "Is there something you need?" "I-I need help with directions, and I was w-wondering if senior could help me?" Huo yi began stuttering with his words, the stares from five giants were intimidating! "Oh? Where does this junior need to go?" Huo yi told him of the dorm and where he should go. "The dorm building? Head left and then make a turn upfront. You should see a large building with the dorm sign." The man pointed to the direction with his fan. "Eh, ah-, this junior thanks senior brothers for guidance!" Huo yi bowed deeply twice, he then headed off towards the direction the man pointed towards. "What a cute and respectful junior." The man laughed, seeing Huo yi run off. "Indeed, It''s a shame that most of the nobility juniors are not like him, Brother Ye han." The man beside him gave out a ''toot,toot'' sound, they then resumed back to their conversation. _________________________________ Huo yi finally got to the dorm area, The area was split into two, the male and female section. The male section was much bigger than the female section, as there was a majority of males and lesser females in the sect. He walked to the front gate where then he gave his dorm card. The person behind the counter pointed to the building where his residential place was located at. Walking down the long hallway with mutiple wooden doors, he finally found his dorm room. "Creaaak-." He open the door, revealing a spacious room enough for four people to live in. The room was well-lighted and had a welcoming feeling different from the dark hallway, on both sides of the room were two beds each. The beds were simple but cozy, with white covers and a blanket, giving a feeling of wanting to dive into it. Alongside each bed were wooden cabinets, and a mirror. There was a small window right in the middle of the room, the scenery outside was refreshing. Huo yi glanced around the room, it seems that he was the first to arrive. He chose the bed nearest to the window, placing his bag on the floor. "Smells like old man''s fart and dusty shit, time for some room fragrance spray." Eva whipped out a light blue cylincone bottle, she sprayed it in every corner of the room while humming delightfully. The room''s fragrance became a fresh, crisp and relaxing scent. It had a tint of citrus to it. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Eli looked at the furniture around, she was appalled at how shabby it was. She took out some velvet pillows and placed it on Huo yi''s bed. She replaced the bed covers with a beautiful scarlet silk pattern. The blanket she put on was thick but cooling. But after seeing the unsymetrical beds, she decided to place ''lower quality'' but similar bed furniture on the others to complement the room. Now it was Celio''s turn, next to the window, he placed a round table and four chairs, covering the table with a square cloth. He then placed a vase full of pink roses. After redecorating, Huo yi looked at the guardians work and was visibly stunned. The shoddy place transformed into a five-star hotel room. Despite their hate for each other, they unknowningly work together well. "Damn commoner! Why are you in the same room as me?" "Shut up, do you think that being some noble''s kid gives you the right to order people around? Quit dreaming. I do not want to stay with some snotty spoiled noble too." "How dare you!" Two loud voices sounded outside Huo yi''s dorm room. Apparently an argument broke out between a noble and a commoner. Huo yi was afraid of loud sounds, he quickly dove under the blanket. The door slammed open, a boy who was around ten years old with an annoyed look plastered on his face walked in. The person behind him was furious at him. Huo yi contemplated whether he should get up and greet them, seemingly it was a bad timing. He made a decision to try to make friends with them. He slowly crawled out of the blanket and tidied his wrinkled clothing up. He then bowed towards the boy who walked in. "G-Good morning, senior brother. My name is Huo yi." The boy looked at Huo yi with suprised eyes. Judging from Huo yi''s clothes, he definitely was a noble. This is the first time he witnessed a noble being so polite to a commoner. The boy immediately decided that Huo yi was a good-mannered person. "Good morning, my name is Lu song. As fellow roommates, let''s get along peacefully." He bowed towards Huo yi as well. "Y-Yes!" Huo yi answered with delight at his words. His mouth formed a pleased arc. Lu song got a glimpse at Huo yi''s face, eh? A-A girl? Before he could open his mouth, The noble brat pushed Lu song aside. He then pointed his finger at Huo yi, making him flinch. "Fellow noble, my name is Zhou Wei xing! Son of Zhou Hua jin. Only nobles should be acquainted with each other instead of lowly commoners." Zhou Wei xing announced proudly, his face giving a smirk. Lu song rubbed his arm where Zhou Wei xing had pushed him, his mood got more irritated. Huo yi looked at the two''s appearance now that they were closer. Lu song had short brown hair that was freely loose, his eyes giving out a yellowish glimmer. His face was sharp and his body was lean. He was quite good-looking, despite his clothing worn out and dirty. On the contrary, Zhou Wei xing was clean and neat. His dark blue hair was held up in a knot by a jade hair pin. His orange eyes gave the feeling of confidence and arrogance, as if speaking to him as an equal was an honor. His clothes were expensive and he wore armour that royal guards could only dream about. "N-Nice to meet you both, Huo yi is grateful for good roommates. I hope we can be good friends in the future." Huo yi bowed again, he was trying to hide his sheepish smile. Lu song and Zhou Wei xing were surprised. Lu song thought that Huo yi would agree to Wei xing''s obnoxious greeting, but instead was indifferent to social ranking. Lu song realised the smell and the decor of the room, because he was distracted with Zhou Wei xing''s unpleasant behavior, he did not notice at first. "Huo yi, did you do this?" "Hm?" Zhou Wei xing noticed it as well, he looked around the room. Quite lavish. "Eh, ah...." Huo yi didn''t know how to reply, it was''nt his work. But he could''nt say it was theirs either. "Yes, I decorated the room for my fellow roommates. I hope it is up to your standards." Celio quickly added in, if Huo yi didn''t dare say fast enough, they would get suspicious. "I''m impressed, Your taste is quite good." Zhou Wei xing nodded. At first he was angry that someone got to pick the bed first, but after seeing the meek Huo yi, he changed his mind. Both Lu song and Zhou Wei xing were touched, Huo yi was a considerate person in spite of not knowing his roommates personally. They touched the bed and felt the smoothness of the pillow. How soft, and high quality! He must have spent a lot of money. Lu song picked the bed opposite of Huo yi''s, he propped his large bag against the bed frame. He then settled down on the bed. A commoner could never feel this type of bed in their life, except him. "Thank you for the bed, Huo yi. I am indebted to you." Lu song said with sincerity. "Ah, it''s no problem! I just did it because I wanted to." Huo yi gently smiled. His roommates were friendly people. Zhou Wei xing picked the bed next to Huo yi, he felt that the left side belonged to the nobles and the right to the commoners. "Brother Huo yi, your face really looks like a girl, and you act like one. Are you sure you are in the right dorm?" "..." How blunt! Lu song looked at him with shock. Are all snotty nobles this rude? Huo yi felt like crying inside. This was the seventh time. "Don''t worry, I am definitely a boy despite my looks..." Depressed, Huo yi curled up to a huddled position. He started to trace out circles on the blanket. "Damn noble, just because he looks like a girl does''nt mean you can bully him...!" Lu song gritted angrily at Zhou Wei xing. Somehow, Lu song words just made the arrow pierce even further into Huo yi. "Bully? I''ve done no such thing. Stop pushing the blame to me when you''re just some lowly commoner!" "Stop calling me a commoner, you shitty noble! Social ranking means nothing in this sect!" The two began to start fighting, ruffling each other up. Huo yi was just sitting with a awkward expression. Is this my fault? He then noticed something odd. Wasn''t there four beds in the room? Eva looked at the two who were fighting like cats and dogs. "I fucking ship it." _______________ Here''s a long chapter! Chapter 13 - First class, First day After their banter, Huo yi and Zhou Wei xing headed to the Air Ki class, seperating from Lu song who was in the Fire Ki class. Huo yi quietly walked along side Zhou Wei xing, afraid he might get lost again. "Bah, commoners should know their place. How dare that mere dirt talk back to me... Ne, Huo yi?" Zhou Wei xing spat out, his face was filled with scratches and bruises from their fight. "....Err..." Huo yi didn''t give comment. He does not want to get involved. But then Father said to make good friends with everyone, maybe his comment will help strengthen ties. "...I think that commoners are''nt to be taken lightly." "...Hah?" Zhou wei xing looked at him with narrowed eyes. "Ah, what I mean is- My teaches taught me that making friends with strong people, regardless of nobility, will be great assistance in the future. When you fought with brother Lu song, didn''t it end with a tie? That means he''s as strong as you are. If eventually you make an enemy out of him, won''t there be problems that will arise in the present?" Huo yi gave a reasonable explanation, In this place, his guardians told him that more allies is much better than more enemies. "....Hmph, I guess you have a point." Zhou Wei xing snorted, Huo yi let out a relieved breath. He had somehow narrowly dodged an arrow. They finally reached their classroom, of course, Zhou wei xing being the haughty one, made a grand entrance. He slammed the door open attracting the gazes of his other classmates, and walked in with large strides. Huo yi who was behind him, tried to hide his face by looking downwards. So embarrassing! Zhou Wei xing looked at the seats, there were at least thirty students in here. He then grabbed Huo yi by the arm and dragged him to the middle row. "You two." Zhou Wei xing shot out a finger and pointed at the two students who were most likely commoners. The two of them started to get scared after seeing Zhou Wei xing. What the hell! Why is he in their class?! They let out a squeak as their back jolted. "...E-ek!" "Move." The two unfortunate victims quickly made way for Zhou Wei xing and Huo yi. As Huo yi passed by them, he whispered a small ''sorry..'' to them. He obediately followed Zhou Wei because he did not want to anger him. The two silently sat down on the wooden seats while the victims went to find another. Suddenly, the door was opened by a middle-aged woman. The middle-aged lecturer entered the room, with a slight smile on her. She looked like a gentle woman. The female lecturer then began her introduction and first lesson. "Good afternoon class, In the first lesson, we will learn the breathing technique. To learn other air magic such as wind blade and Aerial shot, the breathing technique is the basic requirement to learn them." She then raised her staff, collecting air Ki on the tip of the staff. A sphere of air circled on top of the staff. The students looked in amazement. It appears that this lecturer is quite a high level mage to know Aerial shot! "But teacher, don''t we already know how to breathe?" A student raised his hand with doubt in his voice. The female lecturer shook her head in disapproval. "The breathing technique is different from your normal breathing. You will find out what the difference is later. But first, this classroom is too small for such a huge class." The lecturer brought the students out to the training area, they then trailed after her where she stopped near a gigantic hole. She then lined up the students in 5 rows inside the dark place. "Alright students, firstly, get into your meditation position." All the students knew what a meditation pose is, except for Huo yi. They quickly crossed their legs and straightened up, Huo yi followed suit after seeing Zhou Wei xing doing it. "Good. I will explain what will happen here. Inside this hole, there will be a lack of air once I seal the place up. With thirty people in here, it will quickly deplete." Amongst the students, panic aroused. "T-Teacher! Please don''t joke with us, we do not want to die on the first day here!" One of the student''s voice shook with fear. "Hahaha, relax. As a teacher, my job is to keep students safe. You will not get hurt as long as you follow instructions carefully." The students began to relax after hearing the lecturer''s reassurance. "Good, let us start. The second step to the breathing technique, is to clear your mind. Thirdly, breathe in slowly with your stomach and not your lungs." Huo yi did as he was told, one, two, three. Breathe out. Repeating the steps, Zhou Wei xing did the same. "Now, focus on gathering Air ki with each breathe." Concentrating hard, The class began to collect the Air ki in the surroundings. The teacher then sealed off the hole with a large boulder. Because of the limited air space, the amount was divided into thirty small parts. "Redo the steps, and thus this is the breathing technique. This technique will help in certain situations, such as breathing under water, enclosed areas, and helps to increase your spirit force. Keep this up for the next two hours." Some of the students choked when she mentioned the last sentence, almost losing their focus. During the two hours, twelve students quitted at 30 minutes, while the rest stopped at 1 hour and a half. The lecturer looked disappointedly at the students who failed the 2 hour mark, she then looked at the two students who remained. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Huo yi and Zhou Wei xing were still at it, sweat dripping from their body as they levitated slightly. The female lecturer''s eyes went wide. "T-This is the second stage of the breathing technique!" She took a sharp breathe as she gasped. The second stage was more effective and powerful than the first, only Sliver ranked and higher Air Ki mages can achieve it. Her mouth curled up. It seems like she has some good students in this batch. "Alright boys, time to stop, it''s break time." She clapped, snapping Huo yi and Zhou Wei xing out of their trance-like state. They collasped on the ground, breathing hardly. The lecturer moved the boulder out of the way, letting light and fresh air enter the hole. To the students, it seemed like angels had came to pick them up and send them to heaven. "Class dismissed. Your next lesson will be tomorrow, so now you have the rest of the day to yourselves." The lecturer smiled happily. She went out of the hole, quickly dashing towards the main building. Huo yi slowly regained himself, his wobbly legs trying to stand up. Zhou Wei xing recovered faster than Huo yi, he helped Huo yi up by ''gently'' pulling his collar. "Brother Wei, you''re good at this technique." "Certainly, I am from the Zhou family afterall. You aren''t so bad yourself too, Huo yi." Huo yi gave out a ''hehe'' giggle, the two then headed towards the canteen area. ___________________________________ Huo yi and Zhou Wei xing sat together at a table after getting their food. Zhou Wei xing noticed Lu song walking over towards them, he had a girl beside him. "Ugh, two nasty commoners." Zhou wei xing sneered as he picked up a piece of duck meat using his chopsticks and belligerently chewed on it. "Hey Brother Huo yi, let me introduce you to a new friend I made during the lesson, Mei rong. Mei rong, this is Huo yi." "Hello Huo yi. I am Mei rong. Nice to meet you." Mei rong flashed a pleasant smile to Huo yi. "N-Nice to meet you, sister Mei rong." "Ahem-" "May we sit here with you?" Lu song mercilessly ignored Zhou Wei xing, whose temper was heating up. Huo yi frantically tried to restrain him from making a scene. "Yes yes, come sit down." Lu song grabbed a seat for Mei rong and himself. "So how was the first lesson for you boys? I heard the Air Ki class is quite difficult." Mei rong quickly started a conversation topic, she seemed interested in the Air Ki class. "It was good, brother Zhou Wei and I managed to maintain the breathing technique for two hours. Brother Zhou was very cool, he managed to recover much faster than the rest." Huo yi replied energetically, he wanted to coax Zhou Wei xing so that he could cool down. "...Hmph, It was nothing." Huo yi''s coaxing words worked, Zhou Wei xing''s ego was too big to not be affected. This made Lu song click his tongue. They continued their conversation until evening, where the three boys went back to their dorms to bathe and rest. Celio looked back at the newcomer girl, his eyebrows furrowed slightly. ''This girl...seems like trouble.'' ___________________________________ As they were done with their bath, the three went into their rooms to unpack their belongings and readied their beds. Huo yi was already tucking himself comfortably into the bed, rubbing his face into the pillow. "Hey Huo yi, I heard there will be a inter-sect tournament in three months. Want to join my team?" Lu song sat cross-legged on his bed, faintly bouncing on the soft mattress. The inter-sect tournament was a fighting contest between the warrior division and the mage division. It was split into the junior and senior compeition. Each team consists of five people each, where there will be a different theme for each of the final battles. "Sure! Can brother Zhou Wei join too?" Huo yi felt bad for Zhou Wei xing as he was left out, even though he was arrogant and obnoxious, he still had a good heart. "...Fine." Lu song didn''t like the noble, but since Zhou wei xing was strong, his doubts were cleared. "That''s right, having ME in your team would definitely allow an easy win." Zhou Wei immediately said after Lu song accepted him. You could almost see imaginary sparkles around him. Lu song felt as a vein pop out on his head, this shitty noble... Always getting on his nerves. "Hey guys... Don''t we have a fourth person in the our room?" Huo yi asked timidly. The sparks flying between the two were immense. "Oh, you mean that Long wei person. It appears that he is sick today, so he couldn''t come to school." Zhou Wei xing answered, he doesn''t look interested in the topic. He then let out a yawn. "Hmm, I''ll be going to sleep now. You''d better extinguish the candle before I give you a piece of my mind." Zhou Wei xing turned his body away, he quickly fell asleep. Lu song also felt sleepy, he bid Huo yi goodnight and went to dreamland as well. Huo yi then tucked himself again into the blanket, as his eyelids felt even more heavy, closing his eyes. The candles were then blown out by a mysterious female figure, who was snickering while the boys slept. "It looks like somebody has to get along more." Side chapter - Erica [ Warning, 18+, Guro, Gore, Necrophilia, cannibalism] Warning before you read this chapter, there is cannibalism, torture, gore, guro and necrophilia. Etc!! Definitely not for 18 and below or the faint-hearted. IMPORTANT!! ____________________________ "Hahaha ah~!? How preeeettyy~" Squish, squish.. "Ple-aase stoop.... I beg of yooou...." A young woman hung on the blood-stained wall, her face was filled to the brim with snot,blood and tears. She begged feverantly as her throat was sore from too much screaming. "Whaaaat? Erica doesn''t understaaaand yoou~!" The woman who called herself Erica, sang in a childlike tone. She placed her hand next to her ear, sarcastically trying to hear what the bloody woman said. The place where the woman was kept in, looked like a run-down slaughterhouse, full of torture devices. The iron maiden, the spanish donkey, most of the memorable devices were in the place. The hard floor was literally flooded with blood and squirming maggots. Sobbingly softly, the woman was broken. Her guts, intestines were spilled all over the floor, with flies laying eggs inside her empty cavity. Her arms and legs were dislocated in an odd angle, with multiple nails pinning them to the wall. "Ahhh, What beautiful teeth... Won''t you give Erica all of them~?" Erica placed her scalping knife down on the table next to her, using her bloody hand to grab the woman''s face. She forced open her mouth and jammed a metal object in her mouth, making the woman unable to close her mouth. She took a large pair of pilers, and started plucking out the teeth, one by one. "GYUAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.............!" Snap. Twist. The sensation of teeth being ripped out of your mouth. When Erica had trouble taking a tooth out, she used more force or started twisting or pulling. Often, she would pull the lower teeth downwards. Erica hummed as she plopped the teeth into a jar, full of brown and dirty teeth. "Thank you for your contribution~~!" "Hah....gah..." Blood spurted out of the holes where the teeth used to be, it started flow down her lips and jaw as saliva mixed in with it. "Ahh, now it''s time for your eye..." Erica switched the pliers with a sliver spoon. She placed the spoon on the woman''s cheek, the cold metal making her flinch. Slowly, she traced the spoon upwards to her eye, and pierced directly on her iris. "GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!" "Oops, Erica is quite careless~ Sowwwy!" Erica pulled back the spoon, trying to hit the area below the eyes, missing several times. Each time she missed the woman screamed with agony. Finally, she dug the eye out of the socket. She used a scissor to snip off the optic nerve, leaving a dangling flesh from the socket. Liquid and blood started pouring out of the socket, intensifying the whimpering of the woman. "Thanks for the meal~" Erica lifted the swinging eyeball, dropping it into her mouth. Gulp. She swallowed it whole. "Haah, Erica is tired now, and also quite horny~?" Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. The lunatic woman took a barbed rod, and placed it near the woman''s vagina. The rod had sharp spikes covering it, with dried blood rusted on the metal object. She shoved upwards it in one swift motion. "GYAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!" "Haha, your sounds are delectable..." She twirled the rod forcefully, making various motions. She then thrusted it up and downwards. The sound of flesh tearing and wet meat slapping the floor could be heard. ".....Hah....ah..." The now multilated woman, could only make low sniffles as her mind started to fade. Her body in a sorry state, the woman drifted off from blood loss and the pain. Her head dropped down. ".....Tch. How boring. It didn''t even last long." Erica looked at the head slumped over, indicating that she had died. She ripped out the nails from the limbs, making the dead body fall down on the wet and stinky floor. "Ah...! I almost forgot. My doggy is hungry too! Dooggy, here''s some food for you~!" "Ruff!" A large hunchback humanoid figure ran over. It''s once humanlike form reduced into a mindless dog creature.The thing was hideous, it was 2 meters naked and ran on all it''s fours. The eyes were stretched open to a unimaginable degree, Its corners of it''s mouth were pulled back by sharp metal wires, wrapping it''s mouth and neck together by hooks. A hairless mutt. "Goood doggy! Here''s some food for you while master goes to find more, okay?" The mutt turned it''s large face towards the carcass, taking it''s hips by it''s two hands. It started humping the corpse with it''s dick, ripping the body into two. Erica smiled after seeing her dog enjoying the meal, and left the scene. She exited the wooden house, gazing the sky under the house shelter. The place was in a desolate forest, it was perfect for a murderer to run loose. The trees were decorated with limbs hung up like butchered pigs, along with a small lake that was filled with the stench of rotting flesh. It was perfect. Erica''s lips curled. She took her giant scythe that was leaned against the wooden post. She headed towards the main roadway where most travelers took the path. "Hm?" She stopped. "...This smell..." She sniffed the air again, checking her doubt. "This familiar smell....Ah! It''s them! Aahahahahaah~!" Erica began to giggle uncontrollably. "The smell of my kin." Her head snapped turned towards the direction of the smell. Her eyes. Black. Pure. Black. Eyes. "Fuhu~? I''m coming for you, little siblings?" She began walking. _____________ Seriously, don''t read this if you can''t handle it. Summary for those who can''t read horrible stuff : A crazy and mental girl called Erica tortures a victim. After her victim dies, she left the corpse to her pet ''dog'', who is a mutation of a human who turned bonkers and into a dog. Erica heads outside to hunt for more unsuspecting victims, only to smell her kin nearby. She then takes off to hunt for them. Chapter 14 - Good morning New cover art, everybody! Also, please enjoy. ________________________________________ The sun shined through the small rectangular window, casting it''s light upon Lu song''s face. Lu song was quite annoyed at the bright light, He twisted his body to face away from the light. However, he felt something warm against his chest. At first, he thought his blanket, but after slightly opening his eyes, he noticed a head full of black hair and snoring under the blanket. His squinted eyes widened in a split second, laying down on the bed still dumbstruck. ''Eh?W-W-Who is this..?'' Was his first thought. Not daring to move an inch of his body, his eyes looked further down. The blanket was covering the intruder''s face. ''Oh. My. Heavens.'' Lu song''s face became horrified. He thought he was still dreaming. ''No way, no way... It can''t be...'' His hands trembled, slowly peeling away the blanket, revealing the number one person he really didn''t want to see. "Gyaaa--!!!" "Ahh---!!" A heaven startling shriek pierced the clouds and the sky, shocking everyone in the sect out of their deep slumber. The scream awoke Zhou Wei xing who was next to him, as he saw Lu song''s face, his scream joined together with Lu song''s. Both Lu song and Zhou Wei xing tumbled out of the bed, still in stunned states. They started to breathe disorderly , it felt like they were- "Stop narrating, it''s awkward." "Oof--!" Celio whacked Eva on the head, who was sitting on the bed next to Zhou Wei xing. "Oww.. I was just playing a prank on them, you doorknob licker." Eva stuck her tongue out at Celio, who looked with disapproval. Back to the two prank victims, their shock turned into anger and embarrassment. "Y-You...What were you doing in my bed!" "That''s my question, you damn weirdo!" Zhou Wei xing pointed his shaking finger at Lu song, who was red from head to toe. "Hm? What happened...?" Huo yi drowsily got up from his bed, woken up by their screaming. Eli who was sitting on the chair, explained to Huo yi. "Eva played a prank on them. Nothing to worry about." "Oh." Lu song looked at the position of the bed, realizing that the bed really wasn''t his, his face was in disbelief. "You shitty commoner, just because my bed is more comfortable, do you really need to intrude while I am sleeping?" Zhou Wei xing spat out, his skin was red as a tomato. Just thinking of someone like Lu song sleeping with him was body prickling. "Who would wan''t to sleep in your bed? I didn''t sneak or go near your bed at all! It must have been a mistake." "Mistake my ass, if it was then explain why you were in my bed!" "I--" The door slammed open, the dorm master entered the room. Behind him was a crowd of students who were listening in on the argument. "What''s all the commotion about?! Boys, you better have a good reason for screaming like that." The stern dorm master stomped his foot. "..." Do they have to say it?! ''My roommate slept in the same bed as me so I screamed.'' or ''I found myself wandering to my roommate''s bed while I was unconscious." No way in hell, that answer would make them a laughingstock. Not having an answer, they couldn''t respond. "Well?" Lu song and Zhou Wei xing were already sweating. Before they could open their mouth, Huo yi butted in. "Sir, it was a small mistake." "Oh?" The attention drew towards Huo yi, who was already tapping his feet towards the dorm master. "Uhm, what really happened was..." ''Don''t say it!!'' was written all over Lu song''s and Zhou Wei xing''s face. "Yesterday, brother Zhou Wei''s back was sore from doing the breathing technique, so brother Lu song tried to massage his back for him. But I think he hit a bad spot and he screamed. As I watched, brother Zhou Wei panicked and tried to move, pushing brother Lu song off the bed, hitting his front leg against the bed frame." Huo yi delivered a story, both believable and unbelievable. He had learnt it carefully from Celio, both on how to act and how to make excuses. ..... Silence. "Bah! Screaming so loudly because of a small wound. Be more careful next time, understand?" The dorm master snorted, closing the case, he shooed off the spectators, leaving the three boys in the room. "...Thanks, Huo yi. I guess." "...Yeah. Thank you..." "I-It was nothing." After a brief moment of silence, they started getting ready for the day, trying to act as if nothing happened. It was evident on their face though, they still had red blushes from their cheeks up to the tip of the ears. "Hahahahahaha! Oh man, Their fucking faces were hilarious! Good job maggot, your story fooled everybody! Gahahaha!" Eva laughed loudly, her hands were clutching her stomach. "Haah..." Both Celio and Eli sighed. Their sister was a riot. ______________________________________ Five days later... After eating breakfast, Huo yi and Zhou Wei xing quickly went to their class. They had to gather at the training field later on, since their lesson was first lectures, followed by breathing technique, and then finally, practical lessons. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. During the five days, Huo yi and Zhou Wei xing had already mastered the breathing technique, they could maintain it for at least 9 hours now. They also learned attack and defense spells, such as Aerial strike and Wind barrier. Sometimes after class, Huo yi and Zhou Wei xing would share their skills, making themselves the strongest of the class. They got to their seats, and chatted with other classmates for awhile. The female lecturer entered the classroom, attracting the attention of all her students with her voice. "Good morning students, I have something important to tell you. For the practical lesson next week, we will be having a inter-class mock battle with the Fire Ki class. So be prepared for it~" "The Fire Ki class? Aren''t they the strongest bunch?" "No way, we would lose!" Students began to chatter once the lecturer finished her words. It was a fact that the Fire Ki class had students who were able to defeat some of the Warrior division. A few of the senior Fire mages were already at imperial Ki rank, which was higher than gold. It won''t be easy to defeat them in the inter-sect tournament. Some of the Fire Ki juniors were already gaining fame in the sect. "Brother Zhou Wei, won''t this mean we get to spar with brother Lu song?" Huo yi excitedly asked. Zhou Wei xing looked at him, his mood got dark after hearing Lu song''s name. "Don''t mention that bastard, I don''t want to think of his face!" Zhou Wei slammed the desk with his fist, making everyone look at him. "Zhou Wei xing, what is the matter?" "Er... Nothing teacher." Hearing his confirmation, the lecturer began to talk about new spells and the types of air magic. Zhou Wei xing slid his hand back to his side, feeling embarrassed after his outburst. Huo yi patted his shoulder, trying to comfort him. Meanwhile, Lu song sneezed loudly in his class, making the flame held in his hand disperse. ____________________ During the evening, Huo yi headed towards the dorm, seemingly tired. Today''s practical was a sparring lesson between the class, since Zhou Wei xing had more experience in dodging, Huo yi couldn''t keep up. He decided to train with Celio in the soul dimension, thinking he could gain some experience in fighting against another mage. Celio looked at Huo yi, he seemed to understand the situation. "Alright, I will teach you." "Thank you, Big brother Ce!" Huo yi happily thanked Celio, who was busy placing the furniture inside to a corner. Eva and Eli sat at the side, wanting to observe the match. Once he placed everything aside, he walked to the opposite of Huo yi, stretching his neck a little. Huo yi adopted a readied position, closely watching every movement Celio made. "Whenever you are ready." "...Aerial shot!" Huo yi casted aerial shot, it headed straight towards Celio with fast speed. Celio side-stepped with a tap of his foot, easily dodging the attack. He mumbled a spell, boosting his speed. He shot forward to Huo yi, who was hurriedly placing a defensive barrier. "W-Wind shield!" "Too slow." Celio had already grabbed Huo yi''s shirt, throwing him towards Eva. "Gah!" Eva catched Huo yi by the collar with one hand, placing him on the floor. Huo yi was already seeing the stars circling his head. "...What a disappointment. It ended in five seconds flat." Eli snorted with an uninterested tone. "...Huo yi, do you know what you did wrong?" "...I was too slow?" "Not only that, you also lack the tactic to take down the opponent." Huo yi sat down next to Eva, listening intently to Celio''s words. Tactic? "Maggot, you can''t just use brawn without brains. At the start of the fight, you didn''t even use any defensive spells. What if there was a person or an assassin behind you? You would be defeated instantly." Eva added on to Celio''s critique, Eli also had something to say. "....Because you are a mage, you can''t fight head-on with an opponent. For example, Earth mages can manipulate the ground around you, if you aren''t careful, you might end up digging yourself a grave, literally." Huo yi looked at Eli with horrified eyes, he took down a mental note to not fight without precaution. Celio nodded with his sister''s wisdom. "Exactly, so during the whole week, I want you to fight against me and Eva, Eli will observe the fight. So that you will have the experience of fighting a warrior and a mage. Also, you must learn the techniques we are about to teach you." "...Okay." Huo yi agreed, Celio then rearranged the furniture back to their original places. "Say, why don''t we let maggot watch some anime? Their fight scenes are quite good." Eva jumped onto the couch, pulling her dried cuttlefish snack from under the cushion. "...That''s.... Not a bad idea, actually." "...." The four people comfortably positioned themselves, watching the television screen.They were on board with the idea of seeing fighting cartoons or anime. While most of the scenes they have watched already, Huo yi was amazed and also astounded at this heavenly device which shown live people fighting and beating each other up. Chapter 15 - The fated meeting In the Azura capital, rain was pouring down like cats and dogs, it has been going on for the past few days. Celio looked out the window, mesmerized by the sight and sound of the rain drops. Huo yi was currently sparring with Eva in the soul dimension. From the beginning of the training, Huo yi has made some progress, although not alot to be considered a pro. At most, he was an amateur. Lightly lifting up the tea cup to his lips, he sipped the hot liquid, warming his insides. Because of the rain, the training field could not be used. In these weather situations, students usually spend their time off going to the sect''s library or cultivate inside their dorms. For Huo yi''s dormmates, they went off to talk with other friends. Thus Celio was alone in his room now. He chose not to waste time cultivating the techniques from the lecturer, since he felt that her teaching methods were too slow. In reality, the sect''s teaching were actually quite fast paced, it''s just that students are expected to practice not only in their lesson time, but in their spare time as well. Right now, Huo yi''s body was wearing a simple white jacket embroidered with black, with blue satin shoes. His pink lips parted slightly open. Celio was bored. Very bored. He couldn''t go outside to wreck training dolls, or go to the main lobby to flirt with older ladies or men. He tapped his foot furiously on the floor. Celio was the type of person who can''t sit still for long, he pondered that he might as well visit the library to learn this continent''s history or interesting facts. He leisurely strolled to the library, passing glances at the greenery amongst the porch. He finally reached the library, heading towards the counter. He then switched from his impassive look to a naive and innocent facade. "Sir, Is there any interesting history or ki cultivation books I could read?" The librarian looked down, answering in a polite manner. "Young man, the history section is on the first floor on the far right, while the Ki cultivation books are on the second floor in the middle. There are name plates on the top corners of the shelf." Celio paused for awhile, before thanking him and troddling away. He first went to the history section, but found himself bored after skipping to the last few pages. He placed the large book back into the slot, heading towards the 2nd floor. Celio wanted to check out what kind of spells there were, knowing the mind and skill of the opponent is essentially an intangible asset to have while fighting. Besides gravity and light or dark spells he already knew, was there any other intriguing magic he could use as inspiration? Although, he could go to the warrior section to study theirs as well. Only one problem--, he was too short to see the books on the high shelves. He furrowed his brows, stupid pre-teen body. He could use telekinesis, but won''t books falling simultaneously be suspicious? .... Oh well, It won''t hurt to use it once. Additionally, it wasn''t going to kill anyone. He stretched out his hand, only suddenly noticing a man standing next to him. He was a bit suprised, a person who could hide his presence from him was not simple. It looks like this man is not what he seems to be. Acting oblivious, he called out to him softly, "Senior brother, may I have a look at the book you''re holding? It seems interesting." The young man in his fifteens looked down to see a young boy smiling warmly at him. "Little brother, I remember you. Are you also a fire mage?" Celio looked at the opposite party more closely. It seems to be the same person who helped Huo yi with directions when he got lost. His tall figure gave out a graceful yet powerful demeanor. With pheonix-like eyes and magnificent robes, this person was undoubtly an unrivaled beauty. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Celio sneered inside, a fire mage? "No, but I want to study fire magic as well!" Celio replied with determination in his eyes. The dazzling figure raised his eyebrow, amused. Although very identical, this boy was not the same one he met before. The pink eyes were now a radiant and mysterious ameythst color. It held a separate feeling deep down, containing a dark and grim past. Perhaps he was staying here for the exact same reason as he was? Having his interest aroused, he decided to observe this boy more... "Here you go." He passed the book to Celio. The small boy looked at the title of the book. Intermediate fire ki spells. "Thank you senior brother!" He chirped. The man called Ye han nodded with his mouth curled up, giving out a demonic charm to himself. Celio was about to walk away, before he stopped. He felt a bit mischievious. "But senior brother, there''s something I don''t understand..." "Hm? And what might that be?" Celio looked back at Ye han. From an innocent look, it turned into a pair of eyes. His lips converted into a jeering sneer, revealing some pearly white teeth. "Why would an celestial level expert look at something so insignificant to study?" A cold light flashed through Ye han''s eyes. However, Celio had already flee from the scene, disappearing without a trace. He didn''t give chase, instead he let him go off. Ye han''s mouth hooked upwards, his eyes giving a hunter''s gaze. Interesting...! Another high level expert like him was in the same sect? He chuckled softly, finding another person like him here, was it fate? ________________________ Celio had already ran off to the counter, quickly borrowing the books he wanted to read and fled the area, returning back to the dorm room. The reason why Celio could mock the expert, was because this sect was a vigilant place. Celio himself, was at imperial level, a stage below celestial. imperial experts are rare , you could easily count them on your fingers, but finding a celestial one who was infiltrating the sect, won''t it be a disaster if he lets loose? What''s more, he felt that this expert had a motive to be hiding in this sect. As long as he doesn''t reveal that he is a celestial expert, Huo yi is safe from him. But If worse comes to worse, he still had a chance to escape. He sat on the bed, neatly arranging the books he borrowed into a row. He took each book, flipping through each page. "Fire bomb, Flame step, whip.... Hm, no wonder the mages aren''t well-known for their strength. With these mediocre spells, how are they going to beat the warrior division?" Celio sighed. Did they not have large-area spells like ''hail storm'' or ''Hell fire''? Even they did not have gravity or time spells... It seems he has to use them secretly. Speaking of secret, there must be times where he has to change Huo yi''s appearance for certain events, such as making a sudden appearance to awe the audience, or making secret dealings with the auction places. The eye color was not a problem, the only thing he could change was the hair and the eye shape. Nothing more. Being an actor, he liked to make up characters to play. Nodding his head approvingly, he decided to implement some of his favorite character personality he acted in his movies. Sometimes, even the siblings had to have screen time, no? Put on Hiatus I''ll be taking a small break until I feel more motivated to continue the story. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. It will probably be for a week or two, sorry for the inconvenience. Chapter 16 - The match begins "Haah...Haa.." "C''mon maggot, don''t tell me that''s the best you can do." Huo yi struggled to get up as Eva taunted him with a challenging grin. During the days of training in the soul dimension, Huo yi''s speed and quick thinking improved immensely, he could now conjure more advanced spells with combos to counter some of Eva''s attacks. But he was still no match for a veteran warrior like Eva, so he had to rely on dirty tricks and through planning. "If you aren''t going to attack... Then I will!" Eva dashed with heavy footsteps towards Huo yi, she reached out her hand for Huo yi''s forehead. "Kuh!, Flame shield!" A large barrier made of hot flames engulfed Huo yi, unabling anyone to get close to him. Eva didn''t stop her body from moving, she casted heat resistance on her arm, violently grabbing Huo yi''s head and pulling him towards herself. "Ah!" "Got you!" The flames around Huo yi dispersed, leaving him in pain as Eva placed a headlock onto him. She started to increase the pressure, causing a sharp pain to occur in Huo yi''s skull. "Ugh! I-I give up!" Huo yi managed to breath out his surrender, making Eva release her grip on him. She bursted into a mighty laugh, having become an annoying pest that one would gladly want to punch. "Match over." Eli looked over at Huo yi and announced in a deadpan tone, yawning loudly. She was bored and was itching to go outside, Staying inside the soul dimension for weeks was tiring. Huo yi laid out on the floor, gasping heavily. Eli took a cold towel and mercilessly slapped it on his forehead. He couldn''t retaliate due to his fatigued body. "Maggot, tired already? Hur hur, If this was a real fight, your ass would be screwed beyond recognition." Eva chomped on her bag of potato chips, poking fun at Huo yi. Because of the boredom from not being able to have fun by herself, Huo yi was used as a ''stress reliever''. Although she did not go all out with her strength, it was enough to keep her entertained. Huo yi continued to lay still without saying a word. His ''body'' was battered and bruised all over, it ached all over as soon as he tries to get up. "...Y''know, relying only on magic is not a good thing. Once you run of magic whatever mana, you''re practically fucked. Meh, I guess that''s alright, since that would be my time to enter the stage. Hehehehe...." Rubbing her hands together, she snickered while patting Huo yi''s head. She then walked over to the couch to lay down. Obviously, Huo yi didn''t understand some of the words she meant, but he was certain that running of Ki was a bad thing. He slowly recovered from his fatigue, he leaned his head against the soft velvet pillow while remembering something. That''s right, tomorrow''s afternoon was suppose to be their inter-class match, he wondered whether he could win against any of them, especially Lu song. Since there was still spare time before morning, he planned to use that time to rest up and nap to gain energy. "Big sister Eva, can I go back to my body to sleep?" Huo yi looked over at Eva, who was already snoring away. "..." His already tired eyes then turned towards Eli, she was quietly sitting down in front of the television, with aloof eyes. She noticed Huo yi''s gaze, and scoffed harshly. "What." "...uhh..." Hesitating, Huo yi started to get nervous. He was not familiar with Eli, who was cold and distant to him. Eva and Celio were much more approachable, due to their somewhat friendly personalities. That''s why he never initiated any conversation with Eli before, so talking to her now was a bit nervewrecking. But now, he was really tired, and wanted to lay down on his bed where it was less bright than in the soul dimension. He quickly gathered up his courage before Eli got angry. "Big sister, could you please bring me back to my body?" "..." Eli snorted, she walked over to Huo yi, picked him up by the collar, and went outside the soul dimension with him. _____________________________ In the room, Celio was silently reading the books he picked up in the library. laying down on his belly, he flipped through the pages with one hand while the other supported his chin. It was raining heavily during the night, Lu song and Zhou Wei xing were already sleeping away as the raindrops pattered heavily against the window frames. Not wanting to alarm his roommates, Celio placed a dim lighted candle upon his bedtable to provide light for him. Celio noticed the two flashes beside him while he was reading the books in a lazy manner, he welcomed Huo yi with a laidback attitude. After Eli tossed Huo yi towards Celio, she went back to the soul dimension without saying another word. Huo yi dived headfirst into the mattress with a "Oomf!", questioning why Eli couldn''t be more gentle with her handling. "Little yi, are you going to sleep now? The rain is quite nice to look at, even though it''s night time." Celio whispered, he tilted his head a little to the side. He gathered up the books with telekinesis and placed them on the table, blowing out the candle in the process. "Uh-huh....*yawn*.... Big brother Ce, may I use my body now?" "Certainly." Celio''s ghostly figure emerged from Huo yi''s back, he then gently picked up Huo yi and placed him inside his own body. Just as he was about to leave, Huo yi tugged at his sleeve. "...What is it?" Celio gently asked. He was much more natural and kind to Huo yi than before. Maybe it was because of the little kid''s pure innocence that got him to be more forgiving. "....Could you rub my head till I fall asleep?" Huo yi asked with blinking eyes, how cute. Celio placed his slender hand on his head, using his thumb to brush his bangs back and forth. The comfort and feeling soon put Huo yi to sleep. He left Huo yi after making sure he was asleep, not noticing the unconscious boy with a small smile on his face. He entered the soul dimension, wanting to tell his siblings of the idea he came up with. He paused awhile, ''....Maybe there''s still hope for reconcilation.'' He took his time to walk towards the couch, gently knocking on Eva''s forehead. Eva''s eyelids fluttered open, a little suprised that Celio was not rough with waking her up. Sensing the solemn mood he had, she moved a little to make space for Celio. "What''s gotten into you? What happened to the bastard brother I knew?" Eva jokingly exclaimed, making Celio humorously roll his eyes. He sat down on the seat. "I have a proposal. Eli, come and listen too." Eli glanced over with disbelief. If it was the usual Celio, he would retort with a smart remark, but now he didn''t.... Pausing for a moment, she walked over to the couch, sitting next to Celio. Now that his sisters on each side were paying attention, Celio got straight to the point. He didn''t like to beat around the bush. "I was planning that we should have different personas when we take over Huo yi''s body for certain situations. I can change the hair color and some facial features, but nothing more than that. What do you think about it?" He took a piece of shredded cuttlefish from the small table in front, biting the top of the seafood snack. Hm, it''s quite tasty. "Yooo..., does this mean we get to be secret superheroes?" Eva said excitedly, the piece of fish dropped from her mouth. "I guess it is something similar to that. Yes, the personas will be used if we need to be undercover or for some other situations. I I brought my clothing for the same purpose before, but since I won''t be using it for only myself, I was thinking that we should use them for this idea. Since we are going to stay here for pretty long." Celio said with a little bit of helplessness in his expression, he was a little sad to part with some his clothes. Even though the clothes were expensive, he had enough trust in his siblings to know they won''t damage them badly. Eli''s interest was piqued, it had been a long time since she had freedom to walk around in a real body, so this was a great deal for her. However, she was still wary of Celio planning something. "Saying this out of the blue, do you have another plan in mind...?" Celio looked at her, with amusement in his eyes. He can''t blame her for getting suspicious, Their sibling relationship had yet to turn for the better. He chuckled, with sincere eyes looking at Eli. "I do, but it''s not what you think it is." Eli raised her brow, still not convinced. "For the past few decades, we loathed each other, didn''t want to interact with one another... because of the incident that was already resolved? Don''t you think that it''s a little immature?" He responded rheotorically. Both Eva and Eli frowned at Celio with hesitation, for him to say this after so many years... It truly shows that they were being selfish in their behaviour. "...I know that we can''t forgive each other for what we did to her... I am also not saying you should force yourselves to, but I was hopeful we could start by resolving our conflicts. Even if it takes a long time." Celio started to fiddle with his fingers. He would be lying if he said he was not pained inside. He was a little afraid of being rejected again by his sisters." After an awkward silence, Eva was the first one to sputter. "...Geez, and here I thought I was the only one who was not conceited." Scratching her neck, she turned her head away from Celio and Eli. From this sudden turn of development, how could the three of them not be suprised or stunned? "...Celio, thanks." She mumbled, making her cheeks pout with red. "..." Eli just kept silent, to Celio and Eva, this meant approval. Celio sighed, dealing with Eli was going to be more hard than Eva, but it''s a shocking change and improvement in attitude unlike before. Maybe getting stuck with your siblings for almost 10 years is enough to soften up. Well, he was more relieved that now he had a starting point. He walked over to the closet, opening a wadrobe full of simple but classical and nice dress suits. He had many and different assortments of clothing and robes, There were even some lady-like shoes and heels and wooden sandals. He looked back at the couch where his sisters were still sitting in deep thought. "What are you doing? Come on here and pick out some clothes. I''ll pamper you two for today." He beckoned them to come, attracting the two unsure ladies to go over. As expected of a big brother, he was still the courtly and soft-natured kind of person inside, despite having some ruthlessness to him. They started to silently pick out clothes, admiring Celio''s tastes. ___________________________________ Huo yi woke up refreshed, he let out a small yawn and stretched his arms. On the table next to him, was a ceramic cup with warm milk and honey, probably prepared by Celio. Huo yi took the cup and let the heat transfer to his hands, he then took a sip of the sweet milk. Delicious. Ever since he was five, Celio told Huo yi that his bones were too weak, so he needed to drink milk. Eva practically forced the drink onto him, but he didn''t mind because it was sweet. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Finishing the drink, he went and did the necessary washing up, and changed into new clothes. He looked into the bronze but clear mirror, Huo yi was clothed in a nice and smooth green jacket and pants, he fixed up his frizzly hair to straighten it to a fluffy feeling. Making sure he was neatly dressed, he went to wake up Lu song and Zhou Wei xing by patting their cheeks. "Brother Lu song, brother Zhou Wei, it''s time to wake up." "....Huo yi, it''s so early." Lu song squinted at Huo yi, a little annoyed at being woken up. Zhou Wei xing groaned simply and continued to sleep. "But you said to wake you up this early, we need to practice early for the match soon. See, a lot of our classmates are already up and walking." "Ok ok, let me get up first." Lu song struggled to motivate himself to stand after hearing Huo yi''s reminder. Huo yi scrambled to Zhou Wei xing, patting him on the hand. After a few attempts, he finally woke up. Soon, the three were dressed and ready, they packed their important belongings in their pouch, heading outside where they were suppose to assemble. "Say brother Lu song, are we going to fight you in the match later?" Huo yi was huddled in the middle, while Zhou Wei xing was at his left and Lu song at his right. "Yeah, I''m quite good at fighting you know? I am already at Sliver rank fire Ki." Lu song said quite proudly, although the reaction was quite weak. "You want to boast? All of us here are Sliver rank, you lowly commoner." Zhou Wei xing snorted, making Lu song frown. Just you wait bastard, later I''ll beat you so hard you won''t be able to walk! "Ummm... What is this Sliver ranking all about? Does this mean we are very powerful?" Huo yi asked, tilting his head slightly. Uwah, cute. Lu song patted his head, thinking his little action was abit adorable. "Well, it''s not that we are really that powerful, it''s just that we are much more stronger in Ki than the bronze rank. You see, bronze is where our Ki starts to form into our base soul. The level goes like this, Bronze, Sliver, Gold, where our breakthrough the spirit force is 100, Sliver is 500, then gold is 1000. Once our spirit force goes beyond 1000, we get to ascend to expert level." Lu song explained precisely, he didn''t miss out on a single detail. "The expert level then has different layers, such as having 1-10 ranks, then to grandmaster, imperial, and then the celestial level..." Lu song admiringly emphasized on the word ''celestial'', his tone showed great respect. "Wow, brother Lu song, how strong is the 1st to 10th ranks?" Huo yi looked at him with sparkling eyes, intrigued. Lu song gave a smirk, showing off as if he was at that those ranks. "If the first rank could smash boulders with a fist, then the 10th could stop an army of 1,000 to 2,000 men! Imagine the power of the celestial stage..." "Wooah.." Huo yi imagined with amazement in his expression, a whole scenario was already playing in his mind. Zhou Wei xing scoffed. "Don''t be misled by his talk, an 8th level expert is already as rare as a phoenix, having even a imperial or celestial level here is ridiculous." Lu song growled at Zhou Wei xing for interrupting his dream-talk. "Hmph, I bet a simple-minded person like you won''t be able to even reach gold rank." "What did you say?! Damn commoner, go and stay as a sliver rank for the rest of your life!" The two started bickering again, leaving Huo yi''s mind to wander. He then thought of asking the guardians which rank they were in. "Ne, Big brother Ce, since you''re a heavenly being, what stage are you in?" Huo yi asked Celio in his mind, speaking aloud would just make him seem crazy. "I am already at imperial rank." To Celio, it was nothing, but after hearing that, Huo yi brain stopped functioning for a minute. "Eva is at the 7th rank, and Eli is at the 6th." Without waiting for him to ask, Celio answered the next question for him. Huo yi''s mouth looked as if it was going to drop. "D-Does this mean you''re the strongest? So cool.... " "Haha, there''s still someone more stronger than me. But I am much more powerful than most of the experts in this continent." ''Although there''s a celestial expert right here.'' Celio thought secretly. Huo yi''s evaluation of the three increased greatly, the fact that these powerful beings were teaching him, won''t he become as strong as them too? "I''ll become a celestial stage expert too! The strongest of strongest!" Huo yi''s eyes sparkled with confidence. He lifted his head to see the corner of Celio''s mouth play into a smile. "Hm hm, all right my little celestial mage, let''s go before we are late for the match." Celio chuckled in response. He tapped the tip of Huo yi''s nose. Realizing that they might be late, Huo yi quickly pulled Lu song and Zhou Wei xing by the arm, dragging them out of their argument. They started running towards the fighting arena which was near the training area, arriving in a few minutes. On the arena''s stage were two groups of students gathered in a crowd. One could discern the classes of the students, as the fire mages had an air of superiority around them. Huo yi and Zhou Wei xing parted with Lu song to join their classes, with Huo yi cheering them both on of course. Celio and his sisters looked around the stage, suddenly noticing someone''s gaze onto them. In the spectator seats, there was some seniors observing their juniors for the fight, many of them were just around to pass the time. But right smack in the middle, there was a large assembly sitting and chatting while the junior classes got ready. The man was none other than the man Celio met in the library, Ye han. Or what is assumed to be his alias. His staring gaze bore right at Celio, even though there were others who were trying gain his attention. Celio made a wry smile, feeling a bit helpless. Obviously this Ye han person had a small grudge with his previous teasing. He didn''t put it into too much thought though, he believed that a small joke shouldn''t be able to agitate a person to cough out blood or kill someone. In addition, he could of kill him in the past few days but didn''t. He gave a little wink at Ye han, after confirming that he could see him as well as his sisters. This made the man raise his eyebrow slightly. "Celio, who is the hottie staring at you? Ah, there''s a lot of bitches around him. Oh my god, he''s a player!" Eva leaned in next to Celio and whispered, he gave a small shrug of the shoulders. "Just someone I met for a short while, don''t ponder too much over him." Of course Eva was someone who loses interest easily, they continued to observe the place before going back to Huo yi. Huo yi would be lying if he said he was not nervous. This was his first physical battle with other people his age, other than in his soul dimension where he fought with a 7th rank warrior who was barely using a speck of her strength, he was not sure how to battle with a fire mage. "Yo maggot, don''t get ya'' ass beat by these toddlers before I do." Eva grinned widely, her shark-like teeth glinting menacingly. Huo yi started to calm down his trembling legs, he fought with a 7th rank warrior and an imperial mage, so he should fare well, right? Speaking of Eva, a thought popped out in his mind. "Big sister, big brother Ce said that you''re a 7th rank, but why are you more stronger when you look more thinner than big sister Eli?" Both Eli and Eva eyes widened, was he saying that Eli was more...fatter? Eva couldn''t help but to let out a snort, followed by laughter as she tried to get away from Eli''s face that was getting more and more blacker with rage. "Oh boy, now you''ve done it little punk, she gon whack your ass." Eva muttered out, still choking from laughing. Huo yi paled after hearing her words, gulping down his saliva that was stuck at his throat. Eli looking as if she could snap at any moment, was about to exert pressure but was interrupted by the teachers. "Now now disciples, the first match will begin in a few minutes. The arrangement will go like this, one student from each class will volunteer to challenge first, the time limit for each fight will be ten minutes. No fatal magic, or serious wounding. And no cheating! Got it?" The female lecturer who was in charge of the Air Ki class spoke up. Chirping their response with a "yes~" the students stopped their small conversations. Eli suddenly stopped in her actions of beating Huo yi to a pulp, she slowly regained composure. Sigh, Celio looked with a little disappointment. His sisters were so easy to anger. "Brats, this is a competition, Put some spirit into your shouts! Understand!?" The loud domineering shout rang out from the Fire Ki teacher, he was more buff and looked like a warrior instead of a magician. His tough face was enough to scare children without his loud voice. "Y-Yes!!!" Afraid of the strict and scary-looking lecturer, the students shouted once again with more energy. "Alright, Who''s up first?!" There was heavy mumuring coming from the Air class, since they were a little overwhelmed by the murderous gazes from the Fire class, there were some eager ones who were already shouting to go first. "I will go first. Move." Amongst the crowd of Fire ki students, a proud and haughty boy strode over to the the teachers, obviously a noble. Some of the students were already scared, it''s only the first round and they have to go against some noble? They didn''t dare. The two reasons were that if they were to fight against powerful nobility, were that they were commonly more stronger than commoners. Two, Even if you win or lose, he would definitely put you on his blacklist. More so, most of the Fire class students were nobles while the Air class had more commoners. The students from the Air class stood back, reluctant to go forth. This put on some frowns from the teachers and the fire students. "Are you scared? Ha! I knew it, the Air class is just a bunch of chickens that only know how to flap their wings." The student who volunteered first put on a sly smirk, his comment was followed by his other classmates. "What a bunch of cowards." "Geez, this is a waste of time." "Hurry up and get on with it!" Even when the students remarked rudely, the teachers only put on a frown. This only made the Air class students more afraid. Just Huo yi was about to speak to them, Zhou Wei xing stepped forward. "I will go then." ___________________________________ Here''s a 3800 word chapter XD Also, I''m back from a short break, another chapter will come tomorrow soon. Enjoy! Chapter 17 - A crushing defeat "Brother Zhou Wei..." Huo yi called out in a hush tone, a bit worried if he could manage fighting against the other person. Zhou Wei xing looked at him with confident eyes, telling him not to worry. "Brother Huo yi, are you thinking that I''m not able to win against him? Who do you think I am, I am Zhou Wei xing! Peh! This guy isn''t even worth my spit. If I lose to him I won''t be called Zhou Wei xing anymore." He told Huo yi with such arrogance that not even he could refute. Feeling assured, Huo yi nodded and gave him a wry smile. Zhou Wei xing walked over calmly towards the stage, signalling the students to take the spectator seats and to prepare for the fight. Huo yi moved towards the seat closest to the stage so that he could observe the fight better, finding out that most of his classmates sat far away from him to the left side. A bit lonely and unsure of what''s going on, a shadow loomed over him. He flinched and let out a small shriek at the sudden appearance of Lu song. "Eek!...Oh,Brother Lu song... You scared me." Huo yi let out a breath of relief as Lu song chuckled at his cute reaction. He sat on the hard and sturdy seat next to Huo yi. "Hahaha, sorry about that. I was supposed to sit with my other classmates, but I refused since I really don''t like their attitude. A lot of them are nobles and they look down on commoners. Geez, I hate people like them.... By the way, it seems your classmates aren''t sitting close to you at all, they''re even sitting on the spot where it''s more difficult to see the match. What happened?" Lu song complained as he glanced around. There was no one else but Huo yi and the seniors in the center columns. Huo yi returned an small smile, he felt more better when Lu song joined him. It would be so awkward if he was the only one in the center. "I don''t know... " Huo yi answered to his question. It makes more sense that they would sit far away from the fire class. Before Huo yi could continue his sentence, Mei rong came over with a bunch of other classmates. They had unhappy looks on their faces. "Brother Lu song, why aren''t you sitting with the rest of the class? Come come, it''s more lively when you are with us." Mei rong pulled at Lu song''s arm, completely ignoring Huo yi''s existence. The people behind her looked in disdain, one girl spoke up in a disgusted voice. "Mei rong, let''s leave him be, if a commoner wants to hang around other commoners from that weak class then so be it." "Yeah, he obviously doesn''t want to sit with us. He preferred to go with this weakling than us." The group behind started complaining, not liking the idea of Mei rong dragging around a commoner with them. They tried to convince Mei rong to leave him as they started to turn back to where their seats were located at. The girl put on a pouty face, her hand still on his arm. "I''m not giving up on brother Lu song, hey, Hurry up and let''s go sit there before they get mad!" She started to pull harder, making Lu song more annoyed. This Mei rong girl... Up until now from last week, she has always been pestering him every second of the day, trying to cling onto his arm or getting him to play with her. Every time he refused she would start tearing up or cry. It seems that she was from an influential family, thus refusal was not an option. And if he agreed to her demands, well... Every time he came back he had cramps all over his body, making him dead tired. He had gotten really sick of her and tries to avoid her whenever an opportunity comes, sadly, it wasn''t the opportunity but the bothersome girl that had came every time. But he must retain a gentleman''s dignity. "Sorry Mei rong, I don''t want to stay in a group, and I promised to sit with Huo yi today to watch the match." Lu song put on a pitiful and a face that said, ''if you understand, please go away.'' He really thought that she perceived the intended meaning of his words. Unfortunately, denseness is a horrible trait to have. "It''s okay, I''ll just sit here with you. The others can just join us if they want to." Mei rong smiled, seemingly just noticed that Huo yi was here. She quickly sat down before Lu song could object and implanted firmly and closely next to him. At this moment, Huo yi, Lu song and the bunch of fire mages were stunned and rendered speechless. "Mei rong! Don''t sit with them, come with us now!" The girl who spoke with disgust before hissed. The others were already going furious, somehow they weren''t letting Mei rong go easily. Huo yi had the expression of wanting to cry. First he was not even noticed, then he was treated as a weak person, and finally there was going to be a fight here? Oi oi, the fight is on the stage, not here! He kept his mouth shut regardless, not wanting to create more conflict. "Su mei, I''m already settled on this matter. I. Am. Not. Moving!" Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Mei rong tightened her hands around Lu song''s arm, unyielding to let go like a vice grip. She didn''t notice the pain in Lu song''s eyes as he tried to get her off him. The girl called Su mei, blushed with embarrassment and anger. Being a spoilt child, she had never witness someone refuse her. You want to stay here? Fine, I''ll sit here too! Before she could place herself next to her friend, a cold male voice chilled towards the commotion behind. "Get lost, the clump of you are blocking the view." Apparently, it came from the senior next to Ye han, half his face blocked by a feathery fan. His eyes narrowed at the fire mages and at Su mei, sending chills down their spines. When he spoke, he had released some of his spirit aura towards the group, just enough to intimidate them. Since they were juniors, the whole group immediately backed off in fear, they didn''t want to sit near Huo yi along with the seniors anymore. They rushed back to the cluster of fire mages, including Su mei who just followed the bunch as she as fast as she could. Both Huo yi and Lu song did not feel the pressure since they were not the ones causing a commotion, but the level of denseness in Mei rong actually repelled against the sinister aura. The senior stationed next to Ye han frowned, but softened his face since the distraction was gone. Too bad for Lu song, his arm had an octopus stuck to it. Back to Zhou Wei xing, he was about a distance away from the arrogant boy, standing proudly and sizing each other up with criticizing eyes. In the center where the teachers could observe the match carefully, they stood outside the line which marked the stage. "The match will begin once both combatants are ready, give us the signal once you''re done." The air Ki teacher announced loudly for the spectators and the two students to hear. "Lowly dog, you aren''t suitable to be my opponent. You should just forfeit while you can." The Fire mage boy smirked with fierce eyes. At first, he was disappointed that his first opponent was not a commoner so that he could beat them up, but who would have known that the famous Zhou Wei xing from the Zhou household would be fighting against him? If he won, his image would increase like mad. "That''s correct, because the only opponent which you can fight with honor is trash. You should have went last where the residue are capable of being a trash''s rival." "You-...!" Didn''t expect this Zhou Wei xing to have a tongue of a snake. The bastard had an arrogant smug face plastered on his face, he even gives the ''What are you going to do huh?'' impression. Long zhaoyi started to heat up in anger. "My name is not ''you'', It is Zhou Wei xing of the Zhou family! Now hurry up and start the match, teachers!" Zhou Wei xing was growing impatient, it was already so long and yet the first match hasn''t began? He wants to hurry up and sit down as his feet were getting sore. "Alright, Zhou Wei xing against Long zhaoyi, Begin!" The Fire lecturer shook his hand, signalling the start of the match, both sides took out their wands and started mumbling their spells. "Air barrier." "Flame sphere!" Zhou Wei xing conjured a defense skill, while Long zhaoyi went all out offensive. The fireball blasted towards the shield but was unable to penetrate through the thick density of the barrier. "Damn it!" Long Zhaoyi clicked his tongue, quickly dashing to the side as Zhou Wei xing started to aim gusts of wind that could slice him up if he was not careful. He tried to cast out the spells to counterattack, but failed as Zhou Wei xing managed to block off his chances of attacking in the slightest. Seeing the quick and powerful attacks by Zhou Wei xing, some of the audience couldn''t help but let out a ''woow..'' in amazement. If Long zhaoyi went to the right, Zhou Wei xing would let out a barrage of air bullets. The left, he would begin placing air bombs if he weren''t careful. Try to attack, get interrupted or unable to hurt him because of his wind shield. For the next 5 minutes, the whole match was just Long zhaoyi being chased like a mouse by Zhou Wei xing who was attacking non-stop. The attacker did not even look exhausted, while Long zhaoyi was already panting heavily. The faces of the fire class students started to turn ugly and began cursing Long zhaoyi for losing face for the fire class, while the air class students were getting excited and more motivated to join in the match. "Beat that prick up and show him whose his daddy! Die you fucking vermin!" Eva leaned over the stone block and shouted out madly. Even if Zhou Wei xing could not hear, he could still feel the heat of the curses, making him go more wildly with his attacks. Eventually, Long zhaoyi forfeited with a crushing defeat, resulting in Zhou Wei xing''s win.