Swearing, Qi Fu Ren stumbled through the academy courtyard. Both of his arms were still bandaged tightly, and he wasn"t able to use either, not this soon after Teacher Yi Liao reattached them. He would need to wait for them to heal further, for the severed nerves to reconnect and heal completely, for the freshly mended muscles and tendons to strengthen, and the recently repaired bones to harden and recover.

Until then, he couldn"t even use his arms for the most basic of things, never mind practice martial arts.

"Not only that, he dared to cripple the qi vessels in my arms! That b.a.s.t.a.r.d!"

Qi Fu Ren cursed me. Of course, I wasn"t aware of his insults at that time because I was away, but I had to incorporate this scene into the narrative chronologically in order for the whole story to make sense. Just a.s.sume it"s the protagonist"s privilege. As usual.

"And now I"m expelled from the White Tiger Sect! f.u.c.king b.a.s.t.a.r.d…!"

"Don"t worry, boss…"

"No matter where you go, we"ll follow you."

Hu Shuo and Ba Dao trailed him closely, as loyal as ever. With their boss expelled from the sect, they left as well, faithfully following him to the end.

Qi Fu Ren hesitated for a moment, and then said a word that was extremely rare for someone like him.

"Thank you."

"No problem, boss."

"We"re always at your back!"

Shutting his eyes, Qi Fu Ren turned away. While he appreciated his lackeys" company, he wished they would be a bit more useful. Nonetheless, as long as they didn"t abandon him, he couldn"t give up on all hope yet. Rage swelled in him and he gnashed his teeth in fury.

"I swear, I"ll have my revenge."

"Well, we can try to beat that Fei Wu up for you."

"If we work together…"

"Are you idiots?!" Qi Fu Ren sighed and shook his head at their sheer stupidity. "Neither of you are a match for that trash, even if you go against him together. And with my arms hurt and my qi vessels severed like this, it"ll take me a year or so to recover. d.a.m.n it! I can"t wait that long! I"ll never be able to catch up!"

He fell silent as he considered his options, and found that more despair awaited him.

"d.a.m.n it…and now that I"m kicked out of the White Tiger Sect, I won"t be able to learn new techniques, obtain new spirit pills or martial arts resources…what the f.u.c.k do I do?"

"Don"t give up, boss!"

"I"m sure we"ll find something!"

"Shut up, you two!" Qi Fu Ren roared, his anger overtaking his rationality for the moment. "You"re both useless! Everyone is useless! Ugh!"

Bellowing, Qi Fu Ren unleashed an explosive blast of electric qi from his body, scorching his surroundings and causing the air around him to tingle with static. Both Hu Shuo and Ba Dao were forced to retreat, unable to withstand his fury.

"B…boss…calm down…"

"Sorry for being useless…"

"I told you to shut up, didn"t I?" Qi Fu Ren snarled. The duo fell silent and timidly retreated. Qi Fu Ren gulped down huge breaths of air, his eyes and nostrils flaring as he glared around him, lightning continuing to spark and dance off his body.

After he calmed down, he slowly turned to face his two flunkies.

"Sorry. I lost my head for a bit."

"It"s okay, boss!"

"We understand!"

No, Qi Fu Ren thought bitterly. Neither of you understand the pain I"m going through at the moment. You both have always been useless trash, how would you understand the humiliation and frustration to losing to trash? How would you understand the pain of once being at the top, only to fall into the abyss of despair and disgrace like this? No, neither of you would ever understand what I"m going through. n.o.body!

Howling in his heart, Qi Fu Ren turned away and stomped back toward his dormitory. In any case, he was in no shape to do anything right now. He could only wait to recover for a bit before he tried finding ways to take revenge.

*

And just like that, a week pa.s.sed. Qi Fu Ren managed to get rid of the bandages. He no longer needed them, and could move his arms somewhat normally now, employ them in things as simple as picking things up or writing.

However…

"Ugh…ah!"

Lightning failed to flow to either of his arms, even as he attempted to cultivate. His severed qi vessels, though reconnected, hadn"t healed enough for him to direct the flow of his electric qi through them. As a result, he couldn"t execute Lightning Fist or Thunder Break, never mind his ultimate move, Lightning Flash.

And I still have yet to learn Lightning Blade! f.u.c.k!

Hollering in his heart, Qi Fu Ren punched the training dummy with all his might, only to regret it when his freshly healed arms shrieked in pain. He recoiled and then spun away, bitterly spitting at the training dummy.

"That"s enough for today. Terminate training session."

"Understood."

Speaking in a mechanical voice, the training dummy folded its metallic limbs upon itself and retreated into the hatch in the training room wall where it emerged earlier. Without sparing the battered machine a glance, Qi Fu Ren stomped out.

"How was your training session, boss?"

"Here, a drink."

Qi Fu Ren s.n.a.t.c.hed the bottle out of Ba Dao"s hands and then glared at the duo.

"While I appreciate you two hanging around, can"t you both do something more useful, like train or something? Don"t just watch me train! Improve yourselves, for Heaven"s sake! No wonder the both of you are so useless!"

"Sorry, boss…we"ll try."

"But we have no talent."

"No talent?" Qi Fu Ren scoffed. "Look at that trash, Fei Wu. He is only a One Star Const.i.tution cultivator, yet he got so strong, strong enough to rival a Four Star Const.i.tution cultivator. If he can do it, why can"t Two Star Const.i.tution cultivators like you do it?"

Even as Qi Fu Ren said that he realized how he was bitterly acknowledging my strength, and that p.i.s.sed him off. He clicked his tongue in annoyance, and shook his head.

"Hmph. That won"t be for long. Next time, it"ll be my turn to cripple you. No, I won"t just cripple you. I"ll end your sorry existence…I"ll definitely kill you, you f.u.c.king b.a.s.t.a.r.d…"

Mumbling senseless threats under his breath, Qi Fu Ren continued to stalk off. His two flunkies glanced at each other, then hurried after him.

As he stomped toward the dorm, pa.s.sing through the deserted courtyard, Qi Fu Ren continued to growl plat.i.tudes of senseless threats and promises of vengeance. Muttering an invective, he glared in the direction of the dormitory.

Then he suddenly turned and marched out of the academy. Proceeding straight for the walls of the academy, Qi Fu Ren sprang to life, leaping above it and landing on the outside in a single bound. Hu Shuo and Ba Dao scrambled to follow him, jumping up and down, but it took them several tries before they finally cleared the wall.

"Huff…huff…you"re as impressive as always, boss."

"Wait for us!"

The two underlings were sprawled on the ground, covered in perspiration and dirt, as they wheezed and panted heavily. They gasped for air, trying to recover from their earlier exertions, but Qi Fu Ren merely glared at them in disgust.

Useless trash…the both of them…can"t even clear the wall…

Without waiting, he spun around and stomped off. Even though his arms had been crippled, his legs were still in pretty good shape. I hadn"t injured his legs, after all. That was why Qi Fu Ren could still channel qi into his legs and jump high and far without any problems. He didn"t need to rely on his arms for walking, jumping or running.

"W…wait, boss!"

"Don"t leave us!"

Despite panting heavily, the two cronies forcibly picked themselves up and chased after their leader. Qi Fu Ren reluctantly slowed down so that they could catch up.

"Where are you going, boss?"

"Why did we leave the academy?"

"I need some fresh air," Qi Fu Ren replied, and then raised a hand as if reaching out for the heavens. "I need a change of pace. It"s pointless to train and practice with my arms in this state, but I can"t sit around and do nothing either."

"Why don"t you go to the library?" Hu Shuo suggested. Ba Dao nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeah, you might be able to find something useful. And since you"re level 5, you"ll be able to borrow and learn a few of those level 5 techniques!"

"And be like that trash, Fei Wu?" Qi Fu Ren snarled. "Learn kicking and copy him? Are you intending to humiliate me further?"

Both lackeys fell silent, unsure of how to proceed. That certainly was not their intention. Qi Fu Ren knew that, but he couldn"t help taking his frustration out on them. He gritted his teeth and turned away.

"It"s pointless in any case. With my arms like this, it"s impossible for me to practice martial arts. d.a.m.n it, Fei Wu should be the one suffering like this, not me! He"s the trash and I"m the genius! How is it that our roles are reversed?"

He glared at the heavens and showed them his middle finger.

"Is this your idea of a joke, you f.u.c.king G.o.ds?!"

Hu Shuo and Ba Dao exchanged glances uncertainly, not sure what to make of their leader"s outburst. Then they hurried after him as he ventured through the streets.

"f.u.c.k this."

Qi Fu Ren suddenly blurted out, and then he took a turn into a game center, where many of the citizen"s residents sought entertainment. His lackeys followed him closely, trailing him until he stopped in front of an arcade.

It was an old fighting game. Qi Fu Ren gazed upon it, and then reached out with his hands to grab the joystick and controls.

"Er…boss, is that a good idea?"

"Don"t forget, your arms haven"t fully recovered yet."

Qi Fu Ren gave both of them a droll stare. "It"s only playing a game, not practicing martial arts. My arms have healed enough for something as simple as this. Coins."

At his order, Hu Shuo produced a coin. Qi Fu Ren s.n.a.t.c.hed it out of his grip and slotted it into the arcade. In an instant, the screen flashed to inform the player that he might begin anytime.

"I love fighting games when I was young, you know," Qi Fu Ren suddenly said as he began, his avatar on the screen launching a barrage of vicious uppercuts against the artificial intelligence controlled character.

"…boss?"

Ba Dao wasn"t sure how to react at the revelation.

"It probably is one of the reasons why I wanted to be a martial artist."

His fingers deftly flicking switches and ghosting across the panel, Qi Fu Ren had his on-screen avatar fire off a powerful energy blast that knocked out his opponent. The victory display flashed across the screen before melting away into round 2.

"Another coin."

Hu Shuo slotted it into the machine, and round 2 commenced. As with the first time, Qi Fu Ren effortlessly crushed the character on the screen with a few moves and the skillful deployment of the joystick.

"It just seemed so easy…and the power was so tempting. I enjoy the rush of fighting, the power of being able to wield qi and elemental forces, and the sensation of crushing my enemy with overwhelming strength."

So he became a bully? No wonder. Getting drunk on his power and being so self-a.s.sured of his superiority, Qi Fu Ren a.s.suaged his ego and sought to stave off his own insecurity by smashing people weaker than him to confirm his delusion that he was strong.

"More."

When round 2 ended, Qi Fu Ren demanded for another coin to proceed to the next round. Hu Shuo and Ba Dao continued to quietly supply him, watching patiently as Qi Fu Ren obliterated AI opponent after AI opponent, until both of them run out of coins.

"Coins," Qi Fu Ren snapped. Hu Shuo and Ba Dao exchanged timid glances, and then mustered their courage.

"Uh…boss, we"ve run out of coins."

"Sorry. We don"t have any more money."

"Useless b.a.s.t.a.r.ds," Qi Fu Ren hissed under his breath, and then he struck the arcade. Thankfully his arms were still only just reattached and he was unable to channel any qi into them, or he would have wrecked the machine.

"..."

The two cronies said nothing, and Qi Fu Ren rose from his seat. Seething, he stomped out of the arcade with a single sentence.

"Let"s go."

The two underlings followed him gratefully, almost relieved that he didn"t vent their anger on them. Despite his harsh words and verbal abuse, Qi Fu Ren had never struck either of them physically, so they weren"t that surprised.

"Boss, let"s go have dinner."

"Our treat. What would you like to eat?"

"Anything." Qi Fu Ren was in no mood to eat, but he wasn"t going to refuse the kind gesture from his cronies. They ended up heading to a noodle stand.

After a hearty meal, the trio left the noodle stand and proceeded toward Wu Ling Academy. By now, the day had darkened and twilight reigned over the heavens. The moon shone pitifully amidst a carpet of inky blackness, the normally bright stars veiled by a curtain of darkness.

Hu Shuo shuddered. "Let"s hurry back to the academy."

"Yeah," Ba Dao agreed. "I have a bad feeling for some reason."

Qi Fu Ren couldn"t help raising his eyebrow at them in exasperation. "And you call yourself guys? What are you afraid of?"

"Just a bad feeling, that"s all."

"Yeah…something"s not right."

Cowards, Qi Fu Ren scoffed and ignored them. He proceeded down the dark alleyway, taking a shortcut toward the academy. It wasn"t that he was being reckless, but he knew there was little in Martial City who could threaten a martial artist student from Wu Ling Academy.

He was being overly naïve, especially considering that Martial City was populated by martial artists, including those who had graduated from Wu Ling Academy and the other prestigious martial arts academies in the city, as well as martial artists from all over the world. But Qi Fu Ren was only a thirteen-year-old kid who still didn"t possess that much knowledge of the world. Yet.

"!"

He suddenly stopped, surprising both Hu Shuo and Ba Dao, who were brought to an abrupt halt. They glanced at each other before staring at their leader.

"What"s the matter, boss?"

"Why did you stop?"

"You two…didn"t you sense that?"

Even with his arms crippled, Qi Fu Ren was still a Four Star Const.i.tution cultivator with keen qi senses. He could feel his spine p.r.i.c.kle, could detect someone"s gaze upon him. Unlike him, Hu Shuo and Ba Dao weren"t as sensitive to the qi presence of other people, and they could only shook their heads and offer him a blank look.

Useless idiots…why am I carrying these two trash around?

Probably because they were the only one stupid enough to obey him and follow him unquestioningly, Qi Fu Ren later reflected. But for now, he was more concerned with the voyeur spying on him, and he turned to glare at the dude.

"You…who are you? Show yourself!"

"Ha ha ha! To think that you"ve managed to sense my presence. As expected of the former prodigy of the White Tiger Sect."

"Show yourself, you coward!" Qi Fu Ren yelled, lightning crackling around him in a show of intimidation.

"I wouldn"t do that if I were you. Your arms still haven"t healed fully, have they? And you"re not able to use your signature Lightning Punch or Lightning Flash."

"Who are you?" Qi Fu Ren demanded, a chill crawling down his spine. "Are you from Wu Ling Academy?"

"No, I"m not. I"m…an outsider."

Qi Fu Ren tensed, but the voice laughed.

"Don"t worry. Relax, I"ll show myself soon."

A hooded figure emerged from the darkness, his long, flowing cloak seeming to blend into the shadows upon which he stood on. Qi Fu Ren imagined that he was smiling, but the lower half of the man"s face was concealed by a dark mask. His eyes were obsidian, gleaming ominously as they settled upon Qi Fu Ren.

"What do you want?" Qi Fu Ren growled, suppressing the urge to gulp from fear. He could feel the deadly qi emanating from the hooded man and instantly knew that he was no match for this man, even if his arms weren"t injured and he was at full strength.

This man…he"s a high-level expert! Qi Fusion Stage…no, he might even be at the Pure Spirit Stage!

"What do I want? Shouldn"t it be what you want?" the man responded airily.

Qi Fu Ren hesitated for a second, and then he narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean by that?" he asked carefully.

"Exactly what I mean." The man extended a hand out. "What is it you desire, Qi Fu Ren? Revenge?"

This time Qi Fu Ren did swallow, the chill in his spine growing larger. He glared at the hooded man, his teeth clenched to stop them from chattering.

"Why do you know about that?"

"I know a lot of things," the hooded man replied with a dramatic spread of his hands. "I"m an enemy of the academy, after all. An enemy of the Martial Arts Alliance. And an enemy, especially, of the White Tiger Sect. I can give you a chance to seek revenge on the sect that expelled you, and on the girl who spurned you. Bai Ning Xue, was that her name? I"ll help you make her regret ever spurning you. You"ll become a man who can conquer her, who can dominate her and…persuade her to be your woman. How about that?"

Qi Fu Ren was at a loss for words, staring at the hooded man in wonder. He could feel temptation welling up within him, but he wasn"t sure if this was a trap. There was something just suspicious about this man, and even a thirteen-year-old like him wasn"t naïve enough to jump in and accept the offer without any hesitation.

"And you"ll even obtain the power to smash the guy who defeated you. Not just him, but him and his friends. I heard that you have a grudge against that guy Zhu Jiao…and this trash, Fei Wu, right? But you got crushed by the both of them…what if I grant you the power to utterly obliterate and destroy the both of them?"

The hooded man"s voice was soothing and seductive. That did the trick. Qi Fu Ren finally fell for it, his temptation overwhelming his rationality and caution.

"How?" he snarled. "With my arms crippled like this, how do I…?"

"Easy." The hooded man smiled. "I"ll teach you the most powerful martial arts technique ever. One that would overshadow anything the White Tiger Sect taught you. It would also speed up your healing process tremendously, as well as allow you to obtain a ma.s.sive amount of strength at an unprecedented rate. You"ll be able to strengthen yourself considerably in the shortest amount of time."

Qi Fu Ren listened intently, enraptured. However, neither of his flunkies shared his sentiments.

"B…boss, I"m not sure if we should be listening to this guy," Hu Shuo stammered fearfully, his face pale with fright.

"L…let"s get out of here," Ba Dao agreed, glancing nervously at the hooded man.

Fools, Qi Fu Ren thought snidely. Even if we wanted to leave, this man won"t allow us to. He"s merely toying with us. He can easily catch us if he wanted to…

Besides…

Qi Fu Ren clenched his fists tightly when he recalled his loss to me. To Zhu Jiao. His humiliation at Bai Ning Xue"s rejection. His disgrace at being expelled from the White Tiger Sect.

He made up his mind.

"Teach me," he told the hooded man. "Give me the power to take my revenge on all those who wronged me."

The hooded man"s face remained hidden under his mask, but Qi Fu Ren could clearly hear the smile in his voice.

"You won"t regret this decision."

*

Boom!

"Huff…huff…"

I dropped down onto the ground, perspiration streaming off my face in rivulets. Opposite me, the test dummy swiveled around, creaking ominously, and then finally shut down. The demonic red light flaring in its optical lens blinked out and vanished, replaced by a shadowed reflection of the arena.

"Level 5 Test, pa.s.sed!"

Teacher Cai announced the result. I rose from my knees unsteadily, doing my best not to fall over again. My legs were still trembling from the effort.

That was pretty close, I thought. The match was decided by a razor-thin hair"s breadth. One mistake and I would be the one lying on the ground, incapacitated. Even then, the decisive kick that I had delivered had caused my foot to take some damage, and I was limping toward the double gates. Taking a deep breath, I pushed the gates open.

"?!"

Blinking, I suddenly shuddered when I felt a chilling premonition sweep toward me.

What was that?

I couldn"t explain it, but suddenly I had a very bad feeling. The p.r.i.c.kling, frosty sensation swamped my chest, my instincts warning me that something was amiss, but I couldn"t put my finger on what was wrong, exactly.

The test dummy was now shakily returning to the other chamber, escorted by academy technicians. It wasn"t the source of the threat. I raised my eyes to the spectator window, but other than my friends who were waving and cheering encouragingly at me, I saw no one else.

So what was it that I just felt?

Unable to pinpoint the source of my premonition, I could only turn back and exit the arena.

Well, whatever it is, I"ll face it when it comes…

A pity, though, that I had no idea of the horrors that awaited me in the not-so-distant future.