Fortunately, as Teacher Jiao predicted, I had finished learning everything I needed from it. Without any need for the manual, I proceeded to return it and all the other books I had borrowed to the library.

"!"

I hadn"t gotten very far when I sensed movement behind me. Ducking my head, I barely managed to dodge a kick from behind. Spinning around, I jumped to evade another kick, and then whirled away from a punch that breezed past the front of my nose. The fist missed me by a hair"s breadth, but the arm flicked toward my face, forcing me to retreat and bend my back. I kicked out, met resistance, but used the force to propel myself to a distance.

Who…!?

Straightening myself, I prepared myself for another a.s.sault. No doubt it must be one of those pesky seniors who believed that I was in possession of the Heaven and Earth Formula, and was going to threaten me over it again. Man, but I was sick of them. I hoped they weren"t from the high school section again, but even if they were, Teacher Jiao should be keeping an eye on me…

"…eh?"

My jaw dropped when I realized that my a.s.sailant was none other than Teacher Jiao himself. Glaring at him, I dropped into a defensive stance.

"What"s the big idea?" I demanded, raising my guard and preparing for another attack. Wasn"t Teacher Jiao supposed to watch out for me? Why was he…?

"Not bad, not bad…"

However, Teacher Jiao had lost all intention to attack. Cupping his chin, he nodded in approval as he studied my stance.

"You"ve truly mastered Shadow Steps, haven"t you? Like I said, you only needed five months in total to learn everything."

I relaxed a little, realizing that Teacher Jiao was merely testing me. Bowing my head, I cupped my hands in a respectful manner.

"Yeah. I have finished learning Shadow Steps."

"Very good. So I presume you"re on your way to return the manual?"

Teacher Jiao glanced at the library behind him, which was less than fifty meters away. I nodded without any hesitation.

"Yeah."

"Excellent. You"re ahead of schedule."

"About that…" I raised my hand. "I was going to look for you after this, Teacher Jiao. I wanted to consult you regarding what I am supposed to borrow next. Yesterday, I realized that I"m still restricted to level 1 techniques. Should I learn another level 1 technique, or is there a way for me to advance my status to level 2 access?"

"No, before that…I wish to teach you something else. So don"t borrow any new manual yet."

I felt a surge of excitement when I heard that. Was Teacher Jiao going to provide me resources or teach me something related to the Heaven and Earth Formula? So it was possible for me to restore that ancient martial art after all?

"To be honest, I wanted to start as soon as possible, but I have an appointment tonight." Teacher Jiao looked a little apologetic. "So we"ll start tomorrow instead."

"What are you going to teach me? The Heaven…"

Honk!

Before I could finish asking my question, someone rudely cut me off by pressing her car"s horn to divert Teacher Jiao"s attention away.

"Jiao Shi! Are you done?"

My jaw dropped when I saw Teacher Yi Liao driving toward us in a red, flashy convertible (that run on qi instead of fuel). She swerved to a stop on the main road next to the courtyard in front of the library, then pushed her sungla.s.ses down to glare at Teacher Jiao.

"Whoa!"

"Oh. You are that student…if I"m not mistaken, Student Fei Wu?"

Teacher Yi noticed that I was here as well, and she turned to me.

"Yeah, I was just giving him instructions for now," Teacher Jiao informed her. "Sorry to keep you waiting."

I could only gape at both of my teachers, my mind still unable to digest what was happening. Turning back to me, Teacher Jiao patted my shoulder.

"So remember, Fei Wu, don"t borrow any new manuals. Just patiently wait until tomorrow night, all right? I"ll see you in cla.s.s tomorrow then!"

I nodded dumbly as I watched him climb into the pa.s.senger seat of Teacher Yi"s convertible. No matter how I looked at it, the two of them seemed to be going out on a date tonight. I didn"t know they were a couple.

Teacher Yi waved at me one last time before zooming off. I could only stare numbly as my two teachers left the academy grounds, the convertible actually taking off and soaring high into the air a few dozen meters away from the barrier. By the time they reached the thick walls that guarded Wu Ling Academy, the convertible was high enough to crest even the tallest emplacement.

Then they were gone, just like that.

Shaking my head in disbelief, I turned back to the library to return the Shadow Steps manual and the rest of the books.

Maybe I"ll borrow some new books and encyclopedias while at it…

*

The next day, when cla.s.s ended, Teacher Jiao had the whole cla.s.s stay back. Usually, after the theoretical lessons ended at noon, the rest of the cla.s.s would disperse and leave, presumably to head to their sects for their practical martial arts training. But today, Teacher Jiao held them back.

"Sorry, but I"ve a bit of an announcement to make. Well, not me, actually…but the princ.i.p.al. It"s for all the first years."

"Eh…"

"How boring…"

There were grumbles and complaints amongst the cla.s.srooms, but n.o.body defied his instructions. Not even Qi Fu Ren and his cronies, despite the three of them lounging defiantly at the back of their cla.s.sroom. With a huff, Qi Fu Ren rose and left the cla.s.sroom while Hu Shuo and Ba Dao scurried in his wake. Ever since his crushing defeat to Zhu Jiao, he had remained in a foul mood.

"What do you think this is all about?" Tong Xue asked as Zhu Jiao, Ban Zhang and I followed him closely out of the cla.s.sroom.

"No idea," Ban Zhang replied. "But if it involves all the first years, then it must be something very major."

"Eh? What"s going on?"

Zhu Jiao looked perplexed. I shrugged, just as bewildered as him and Ban Zhang. Tong Xue looked like he might have a clue, but he refrained from saying anything.

"Well, I guess we"ll find out. Let"s go."

The two of us tailed Teacher Jiao. He guided us along the path, leading us out of the middle school campus bulilding and toward the academy square. Despite the buildings towering over us, there was no shade. The sun continued to relentlessly bear down on the compound.

A large majority of the first year cohort was already waiting there, having gathered there some time ago. The Princ.i.p.al of Wu Ling Academy was present, and was currently engaged in discussion with several of the other teachers. I noticed that he sent a surrept.i.tious glance in Zhu Jiao"s direction.

The movement was not lost on Teacher Jiao, who smiled wearily. He turned his head slightly to look at Zhu Jiao.

"I heard that you regained your talent and beat up Qi Fu Ren a couple of weeks ago."

"He was getting uppity and trying to bully me and Fei Wu," Zhu Jiao protested hotly. "I was only teaching him a lesson!"

Teacher Jiao chuckled. "Oh, no. don"t get me wrong. I"m not reprimanding you. I agree with you, actually. Qi Fu Ren"s behavior was getting out of hand, and he was becoming too arrogant for his own good. You"re not the only ones he has been bullying. I"m glad you managed to knock some sense into him. Besides, you challenged him to an official match, so you didn"t break any rules."

Zhu Jiao looked relieved, but Teacher Jiao continued.

"However, knowing Qi Fu Ren"s personality, I don"t think this will be over. He will stop hara.s.sing you for a while, but he"ll come back for revenge."

"Hah!" Zhu Jiao snorted. "If he"s still stupid enough to come bother us, then I"ll just have to kick his a.s.s again!"

"I"m more worried that Qi Fu Ren will resort to more…indirect methods," I muttered under my breath, maintaining an air of caution.

"Yeah. Fei Wu has a point." Teacher Jiao nodded. "Watch your backs, you two."

"Will do, Teacher Jiao."

"Speaking of which…where did you learn martial arts from?" Teacher Jiao asked Zhu Jiao. "I don"t think you"re in any sect, are you?"

"Uh…actually, well…I mean…"

"He is. But for reasons, he can"t tell us which sect he is from, or who his master is." I decided to help him. When Zhu Jiao stared at me in shock, I shrugged. "It"s a standard cliché in martial arts stories. The master will sometimes ask his disciple to keep everything a secret, at least until he"s ready or something."

"Ah! Yeah! That"s what it is!"

Zhu Jiao was gullible enough to accept my explanation at face value. Then again, I did have a point. Such clichés were pretty commonplace.

Teacher Jiao frowned, but he didn"t question further. He must have known that it was pointless because it was clear that Zhu Jiao wouldn"t give anything away.

"All right! Gather around!"

When Xiao Zhang saw that all of us had a.s.sembled, he shouted out in a loud voice. Teacher Jiao went off to the side and joined the other teachers, being discreet so that he wouldn"t divert the students" attention away from the princ.i.p.al. The teachers the princ.i.p.al was speaking to earlier had also retreated, staying away from the front so that he could deliver his speech undisturbed. After they left the stage, Xiao Zhang swept his friendly gaze over all the students.

I noticed him shooting a sly glance in my direction. He probably knew that I had completed Shadow Steps and was proceeding to the next stage in supposedly restoring Heaven and Earth Formula.

"It is time."

"…time?"

"Huh?"

"What is he talking about?"

After that dramatic line, the students all began staring at each other and murmuring amongst themselves, unsure of what had just happened. Xiao Zhang observed us smugly, like a proud parent surveying his children who just scored perfect marks.

"Your training has been progressing well. I"ve been speaking to each of your respective masters and teachers, and they are impressed with the rate at which you are improving and learning martial arts. As such, I believe that all of you are ready!"

"Ready for what?"

Tong Xue couldn"t help but ask. Xiao Zhang merely chuckled. I swear, he was purposely withholding the answer to artificially create tension and increase the dramatic mood of the atmosphere.

"A month from now, as practical training, all of you will be sent to the Sen Lin Forest."

It seemed like he was right in being dramatic. There was a low murmur as the students began whispering to each other.

"By that point, it would be six months since you have entered the academy." Xiao Zhang was nodding indulgently, not at all offended by the noise his announcement had generated. "I believe it would be a good time as any to test your newly learned skills and see how far you"ve progressed. After all, learning martial arts is pointless if you don"t have any real combat experience. Consider it a sort of school tradition necessary for all of you to grow into fine warriors."

Despite his grand-sounding speech, there was unease and anxiety rankling the ranks of the student. Several of the girls were pale with fright.

"Isn"t that dangerous?"

"I don"t know if we"re ready…"

"No way! I don"t want to!"

"So scary!"

Xiao Zhang must have heard the terrified musings, for he smiled and a.s.sured the students.

"Don"t worry, we"ve prepared all the necessary equipment, weapons and items for the journey, such as food, water and armor. Even though all of you have impressed me and your masters in training, you should not let your guard down. The monsters in the wild are completely different from the automaton puppets you"ve been training against in the academy."

I recalled my sparring against a level 3 training dummy the night before. While I was no longer getting instantly destroyed in one shot like a few months ago, I still had yet to beat a level 3 battle puppet. On the bright side, it wasn"t as if I lost either. Unfortunately, there was nothing to be proud about when all I did was run away or evade every attack the level 3 puppet threw at me.

There was only so much I could do with evasion. In the end, I still needed to deliver a finishing blow if I wanted to defeat my opponent.

"So be careful, all of you. Don"t underestimate the monsters in the wild. Sen Lin Forest is a very dangerous place, so stay on alert and don"t be reckless."

Qi Fu Ren coughed, but his hacking sounded suspiciously like laughter. The b.a.s.t.a.r.d obviously didn"t think too highly of the monsters in the forest.

"You have one month to prepare yourselves. Review whatever you"ve been taught, procure whatever equipment or weapons you think is necessary, consult your masters for advice regarding the practical training. Speaking of which, your masters should already know about this, and every single one of them have approved of this. Especially since this trip has been a yearly tradition for ages. You"ll find that they"re actually pretty eager to see the fruits of your training."

Xiao Zhang favored the milling and muttering first year students with a smile, but most of them still seemed somewhat afraid and nervous.

"All right, that"s it! Disperse!"

With a clap of his hands, Xiao Zhang issued the order. Then he turned away with great flair and self-importantly descended from the stage.

After he left, the majority of the first year cohort immediately exploded with excitement, all of them gathering around to chat enthusiastically.

"We"re finally going to Sen Lin Forest next month!"

"At last! I thought we would never be sent there!"

"I can"t wait!"

"I wonder what sort of treasures will be waiting inside…"

"Eh?! Isn"t it dangerous? I"m still kind of worried, you know…"

"Don"t worry! I"ll protect you!"

Listening to the dialogue from the rest of cla.s.s, I could only slink away in dejection. Zhu Jiao noticed my sullen mood, for he quickly caught up to me.

"Don"t worry. I"ll keep an eye on you, so you won"t be in any real danger."

That"s not necessary. I can take care of myself!

At least that was what I wanted to snap, but I knew Zhu Jiao only meant well. Not wanting to waste his good intentions, I just nodded.

"Thank you."

Despite forcing a smile on my face, I could only feel that the future was looking bleak.

"Ah, you are Zhu Jiao, aren"t you?"

Xiao Zhang suddenly appeared. Both of us stepped back, startled by his sudden intrusion. The sage smiled.

"Do you mind? I want to have a word with you."

"Sure."

Zhu Jiao waited. Xiao Zhang raised an eyebrow at me.

"Alone, if you don"t mind."

I wasn"t stupid enough to know what he was trying to imply. Then again, it wasn"t proper for me to eavesdrop on a private conversation, so I backed down and distanced myself.

"I heard that you"ve regained your talent. That was quite an impressive display a week ago. I"ve even seen the recording. Impressive. Can"t say I"m surprised, because I know you are originally a Five Star Const.i.tution candidate. Congratulations on getting your talent back."

Oh, so that was what this was about. News of Zhu Jiao kicking Qi Fu Ren"s a.s.s had reached even the ears of the princ.i.p.al of Wu Ling, and he wanted to find out more.

"If I"m not mistaken, you"re not in a sect yet. If you"d like, I can speak to one of the major sects and request for one of the masters to begin teaching you in the next one month before…"

"I am grateful for the offer, but I already have a master." Zhu Jiao bowed respectfully as he declined. Xiao Zhang blinked, his eyebrows rising.

"What? Who?"

"I"m afraid that I"ve promised my master to keep his ident.i.ty a secret."

"Ah…I see…if that"s the case, then…"

Xiao Zhang sighed, as if ruing over a wasted opportunity. But he continued to smile and placed an encouraging hand on Zhu Jiao"s shoulder.

"Regardless, I would like you to know that we"re always here to help. If you need anything, anything at all – resources, martial arts manuals, spirit pills, medicine, money, or whatever – do not hesitate to let me know. We"ll do everything within our power to help you."

That was a complete change in att.i.tude. Before, the Xiao Zhang treated us as if we didn"t exist. Now that Zhu Jiao had regained his talent, he was desperately licking the Golden Kirin Sect disciple"s boots and get into his good books.

Zhu Jiao, unfortunately, wasn"t smart enough to realize that and he nodded.

"Sure. Thank you."

Xiao Zhang beamed, and shook his head while stroking his long, white beard.

"You younglings continue to surprise me. I had thought you were lost causes after being revealed as One Star Const.i.tution cultivators, but one has turned out to be the only clue to the lost Heaven and Earth Formula, and the other has miraculously recovered his talent. The heavens can be really fickle, huh?"

The only one fickle was you. And didn"t you say you weren"t surprised? Now you were expressing your astonishment! Make up your mind, you hypocritical old geezer!

"Fei Wu."

Fortunately, I didn"t have to listen too long to their conversation. Teacher Jiao was beckoning for me to go over. I quickly complied.

"About tonight…"

I swallowed and nodded, adjusting my gla.s.ses that had slipped down my nose from the excitement earlier.

"…is it regarding the Heaven and Earth Formula?"

Teacher Jiao looked as if he was caught off guard. "The Heaven and Earth Formula? Oh, no…ah, I mean, it"s somewhat related, but…"

I frowned, puzzled. "I thought you were going to teach me something tonight, or advise me on the next manual."

"Yes, I was just about to talk about that…" then Teacher Jiao"s eyes lightened up in realization. "Oh, I see. You thought I was going to help you with the restoration of the Heaven and Earth Formula?"

"Um…you"re not?"

Teacher Jiao sighed as he rubbed his forehead. "Well, I wish to…but unfortunately I can"t." he glanced at Xiao Zhang, and seeing that the latter was still speaking to Zhu Jiao a distance away, dropped his voice into a whisper. "Did you realistically think that this academy will be able to help you restore a lost martial art when we don"t even have a single clue about any of its techniques?"

"…I knew it was too good to be true."

Even though I had always suspected it deep down, Teacher Jiao"s confirmation that the whole thing was a farce brought my whole world crashing down upon me. Even though I knew it was highly unlikely, I had clung to that slight sliver of hope. Now, Teacher Jiao had crushed that last shred of hope with the truth and doomed me to an oblivion of obscurity.

I really was doomed to be a mob character forever.

"Nonetheless, I"m still a.s.signed to help you, and I"ll definitely a.s.sist you in your training." Teacher Jiao glanced at Xiao Zhang again, then continued whispering. "The reason why I insisted on being your mentor is because the other teachers would merely foist unrealistic expectations upon you, then leave you to your own devices to learn a technique that"s impossible to recover, and then throw responsibility upon you when you fail." He straightened up. "Of course I hope that you"ll succeed, but realistically speaking, it"ll be near impossible unless you"ve been lying all along and somehow received a manual or the teachings from the Absolute One."

I stared at Teacher Jiao, thunderstruck. "What do I do?"

"That"s why I"m helping you. don"t worry." Teacher Jiao patted me on my shoulder. "First, we"ll have to prepare for the training journey to Sen Lin Forest. I have a month to ensure that you"ll be ready for it."

I gulped and nodded. "I"ll do my best."

Sen Lin Forest.

This was a ma.s.sive forest that covered a large area in the Middle Continent. It stretched for hundreds of miles, and predictably the deeper you venture into the heart of the forest, the stronger the monsters you would encounter. Despite the ma.s.sive threat and immense dangers, it was still an extremely popular place for martial artists and mercenaries, because of the treasure and mystical herbs located within. Additionally, it also served as an excellent training ground for recruits – which was why we were being sent there.

I wondered if my mastery of Shadow Steps would help me survive the forest. Even though I had learned nothing more than two kicks, I was good at evasive techniques. I also learned basic qi cultivation and breathing methods, but that was it. I had no idea how to convert my qi into elemental forces like Qi Fu Ren. Fortunately, I knew how to transform my qi into raw physical prowess like Zhu Jiao, for I had been relying on my qi to subtly increase my stamina whenever I went running or did my hundred pushups and hundred sit-ups. Admittedly, I had succeeded in converting my qi into brute force and smashed rocks during my training after several hundred failed experiments.

It wasn"t just pure strength. I also learned how to convert qi into speed, which allowed me to run faster. Hence I could run up to fifty kilometers a day. If we were talking in terms of having a solid foundation, I was sure I wouldn"t lose to anyone.

That was why I was as eager as everyone to go into the forest. Not only that, I was looking forward to collecting monster cores from monsters from the wilderness. Defeating a monster would allow one to retrieve its core and use it for a variety of things, from using them as ingredients in strength-enhancement potions or selling them for a great amount of cash. Since merchants had to rely on martial artists to fight and gather such valuable and flexible monster cores, they were willing to pay a high price for them. Moreover, modern society relied on many of these monster cores to power their technology. Cars like Teacher Yi"s convertible, electric lights, air conditioning and heaters, computers and tablets – all of these run off monster cores, burning the qi contained within them in place of fuels.

The monster cores of a monster was something like their dantian, where they acc.u.mulated and collected natural essence and store the converted form as qi within their core. The larger and better quality their core, the more powerful the monster would be. But my interest were in these cores because they were often used as ingredients for spirit pills and medicine for strengthening – as stated earlier, or also for enhancing equipment, armaments, armor and weapons. By using a monster core as the core of your weapon, you could imbue it with the monster"s power, thus amplifying the weapon"s strength, toughness, sharpness or speed.

I remembered reading about powerful monsters with high quality demonic cores being able to use attacks or possess abilities very similar to that of humans" martial arts techniques. If this was a fantasy game or story, it would be easy to say that such strong monsters were capable of "magic". Unfortunately, this timeline, despite being pseudo-fantasy and using martial arts techniques that were indistinguishable from magic, didn"t use the term magic. Politics and all that, I guess. Anyway, the reason why I recalled that was because I needed to be extremely careful when encountering such monsters, especially since I had only learned a mere level 1 Shadow Steps technique.

But if I can leech of the cla.s.s and claim a monster core or two for myself, I might be able to concoct some spirit medicine that will improve my Star Const.i.tution, or strengthen my qi, so that I will be on par with the rest!

Obviously that was doping, and relying on steroids or drugs to artificially enhance one"s body was not good, but at this point I was pretty desperate. I would eat a b.l.o.o.d.y monster core raw if that would help me grow stronger. I had been driven to such a corner that I was resorting to such barbaric measures. In terms of practicality and realism, I would most likely use the monster cores to forge a spirit weapon that might help me close the gap between myself and my cla.s.smates. Or perhaps I might discover that my talent lay not in martial arts but in Spirit Engraving, and I would become a blacksmith who forged weapons for my cla.s.s.

I couldn"t help but imagine look on Qi Fu Ren"s face if he realized that he would be relying on me to build a weapon for him…oh, boy. That would be hilarious.

"h.e.l.lo? Student Fei Wu? Are you paying attention?"

I realized that Teacher Jiao was talking to me. Wiping off the idiotic grin off my face, I cleared my throat and put on a serious expression.

"Yeah. I understand…I will do my best in the practical training one month from now."

"Not that," Teacher Jiao sighed. "Do you think you"re ready for it?"

There was something about his tone that had me all worried. I swallowed nervously and hesitated for a moment before shaking my head.

"I…guess not?"

That was the right answer.

"Don"t worry. I know how hard you"ve worked in the past five months," Teacher Jiao a.s.sured me. "In fact, for a One Star Const.i.tution pract.i.tioner, you"ve done an impressive job." He winked. "If you ask me, all those measurements and Star Const.i.tutions are bulls.h.i.t."

"That still doesn"t change my situation." My shoulders drooped as I considered my options. They all seemed pretty bleak right now.

"That"s where I come in." Teacher Jiao slapped my shoulder. "Have you forgotten? I"m going to teach you something tonight. Something that will be even better than any level 2 technique you can borrow from the library."

"…eh?"

I stared at Teacher Jiao, not daring to believe…not daring to hope that this was my lucky break.

"Follow me. I"m going to show you something that will be very helpful for you when you follow everyone to the forest next month…"