Jiao Shi"s brow furrowed when he heard that question. He turned to look at Tang Qi Hong"s worried expression.

Tang Qi Hong wasn"t alone. Lian Rou was beside her, and the two girls were surrounded by Ban Zhang, Zhu Jiao and Tong Xue.

"It"s been more than a week since Fei Wu has left the academy," Tong Xue informed Jiao Shi. "And he still isn"t back yet."

"I know."

Jiao Shi wasn"t sure how else to answer. He was aware of Fei Wu"s disappearance, probably more so than they were.

"Permission to go out and look for him!" Zhu Jiao demanded, raising his hand. Jiao Shi glanced at him, then shook his head.

"I"ll put in a word with the Imperial Guard and request for them to keep an eye out."

"Will they really accept your request?" Ban Zhang asked suspiciously. Jiao Shi had to admit that the cla.s.s representative had a point. The Imperial Guard had more important matters to tend to than searching for a single kid.

"Even so, it"s best to leave it to them. I won"t allow you to go to Chun Ling region. I warned Fei Wu about the dangers, about the presence of demonic sects, and he went ahead. I will not lose any more students."

"But Fei Wu went alone," Zhu Jiao protested. "If a whole group of us go together, it"ll be a lot safer!"

"Yeah!" Tang Qi Hong agreed. "Please, Teacher Jiao! Grant us permission to go look for Fei Wu! Otherwise it"ll be too late!"

I fear that it"s already too late, Jiao Shi thought, but he wisely didn"t say anything that would trigger his students into breaking the rules and searching for Fei Wu alone. It was better to keep them under his supervision and safe from danger. He had heard that the demonic sects had risen in activity recently, and would loathe to lose any of his students to them.

Sighing, he shook his head.

"Leave it to the adults. Even if you go, what good can you do against demonic sects? The Imperial Guard can handle it. They have the training and the experience."

"We have one s.e.xagenary of artificial qi!" Zhu Jiao argued stubbornly. "Most martial artists won"t be a match for us!"

Jiao Shi glared at him. "I think you overestimate what the quant.i.ty of your qi can do for you. It"s not about having more qi or not. Many of the demonic sect leaders and elders have been cultivating for decades and have just as much qi, if not more than you. Furthermore, they possess vast amounts of experience – something you lack severely. You"ll just get yourselves killed and the Imperial Guard will have to work hard to save you."

The students glanced at each other momentarily, not knowing how to respond. They knew that Jiao Shi was right, and couldn"t muster a retort or counter.

"I"ll update you guys when I receive news of Fei Wu. Until then, the only thing we can do is wait." Jiao Shi patted Zhu Jiao"s shoulder. "I"m just as worried as you are, trust me. But I know Fei Wu is a tough guy. He can take care of himself. He survived the abyss of Sen Lin Forest before, on his own. For a few months at that. If there"s anyone who can survive, it"ll be him."

Besides, I had plot armor, but unfortunately I wasn"t there to break the fourth wall in person.

Anyway, Jiao Shi truly believed what he said. He knew there was something unusual about Fei Wu, and that the supposedly one-star const.i.tution student had been creating one miracle after another. He knew intuitively that his fate wouldn"t end here.

"Now go back to your sects and train. One day we"ll be counting on you future martial artists to take on these missions to rescue young students and disciples from the monstrous clutches of these despicable demonic sects."

"Yes!"

That did the trick. The students all straightened up instinctively and complied. They turned around obediently and left, heading in the direction of wherever their respective sects were. As he watched them go, Jiao Shi breathed a sigh of relief.

I hope they won"t do anything too reckless or impulsive.

Even as he thought that, Jiao Shi admitted to himself that he couldn"t blame them. When he was their age, he was equally rash, rushing headlong into danger without listening to the advice of his seniors and teachers.

More than once he had gotten into trouble and barely survived. After those couple of times where he found himself right on the verge of danger, and saw how his parents were so worried, he vowed to never put them through such a traumatic experience again. He restrained himself and learned to maintain his calm and composure.

They really remind me of myself when I was their age…

Shaking his head with a bitter smile and wondering where all those youthful days went, Jiao Shi turned and headed back toward his office.

As he did so, one of the administrative staff suddenly ran up to him.

"Jiao Shi! There you are!"

"What"s the matter? Were you looking for me?"

The clerk, Shu Ji, nodded. "I"ve been looking all over for you!"

"Sorry, I was in cla.s.s. My lesson just ended, though. What do you need me for?"

"Well…not me exactly." Shi Ji nodded understandingly, aware of how busy the teachers were. "There"s a group of people looking for you. They claim that they know a student named Fei Wu. I looked at the records and saw that you"re his homeroom teacher, so…"

"I understand. I"ll go see them immediately." Jiao Shi didn"t wait for Shu Ji to finish her sentence. "Where are they?"

"Uh…they"re in the reception room." Shu Ji was taken aback by Jiao Shi"s sudden aggressiveness.

"Understood. I"ll be seeing them immediately." Without wasting any time, Jiao Shi headed to the reception room. He turned away from the staff room, proceeded down the corridor and swung around a corner. Fortunately, the reception room wasn"t too far away from the staff room – the teachers had to deal with visitors on a daily basis – and he reached there in a few minutes. Pushing the door open, he stepped inside the room.

A group of battered villagers were seated on the couch, exhausted. They were wearing nothing but rags. One of them looked like he was in terrible condition, bandaged heavily with blood leaking through the white gauze.

Jiao Shi stopped for a while, then turned around.

"Shu Ji!" he called out. "Get Yi Liao here!"

"Understood."

The clerk, who was following him, nodded and quickly spun away in the direction of the infirmary. As she briskly strode off, Jiao Shi turned back to the men and entered the room. He took a seat on the couch opposite them.

"I understand you were looking for Fei Wu?"

"No, that"s not right," one of the villagers corrected. He was an old man, ancient by most standards, and had an air of wisdom about him. "We"re here to ask you to rescue Fei Wu."

A chill ran down Jiao Shi"s spine, but he clamped it down. On the other hand, he felt some relief. That meant Fei Wu was still alive. Otherwise he would be beyond saving.

"What happened? Tell me in more detail."

The old man took a deep breath, and then began his story.

"We"re from Xiang Chun Village. About a week ago, we came under attack from a demonic sect. Fei Wu, who was staying with us for the night, remained to hold them back for as long as we could. He never returned."

"He"s not dead. One of the villagers saw the demonic martial artists take him away." The heavily injured guy turned to look at one of the women, who nodded.

"Please! You"ve to save him!"

Jiao Shi clenched his fists and exhaled, then he nodded. "I"ll talk to the princ.i.p.al about this, and put in a request for the Imperial Guard."

"Thank you!"

"Don"t thank me just yet." Jiao Shi wondered what Fei Wu"s relationship with these villagers were. He guessed that it was simple grat.i.tude. Then he recalled the report that Fei Wu submitted after his stint in the abyss of Sen Lin Forest.

Ah…so this is the village he ended up in, the one that saved him last year…

"After the attack, we spent a wee journeying here. Moving through the forest and trying to avoid getting caught by the demonic sect."

"It"s my fault," the heavily injured guy said miserably. "I was holding everyone back."

"Nonsense," the old man rebuked him. "We either escape together, or none of us get out at all. We"re not leaving you behind. Besides, an old man like me wouldn"t have been much faster anyway. Stop blaming yourself."

"…"

Jiao Shi glanced from one villager to another, and then stood up.

"I"ll contact the princ.i.p.al, and then I"ll have to trouble you guys with providing more details later. I hope you don"t mind waiting for a bit."

One of the villagers barked out in harsh laughter.

"Dude, we just spent a week running away in a forest filled with dangerous magical beasts, hunted by demonic martial artists. What makes you think we mind waiting for a bit in safety? As long as you don"t kick us back out into the h.e.l.l out there, we don"t care what you do."

Jiao Shi was silent for a moment, and then he nodded. The villagers must have been through a lot. Pushing the door open, he bowed his head one last time before departing for the princ.i.p.al"s office.

A student being abducted. I"m sure Princ.i.p.al Xiao won"t stand for this…especially since the other party is the demonic sect.

Having heard of rumors regarding Xiao Zhang"s partic.i.p.ation in the last war, Jiao Shi shuddered to think how he would react to one of his students being taken by the demonic sects he loathed so much and dedicated his life to exterminate.

He actually felt sorry for the demonic sect who had inadvertently incurred the wrath of the legendary Wise Saint, Xiao Zhang.

*

Bam!

I woke up in a jolt when someone threw me into the ground. Grunting in pain, I tried to get up, only to find myself wrapped inside darkness. Panicking for a second, I fought for a moment, trying to tear myself free, but I wasn"t able to.

Then I realized I was being coc.o.o.ned in some sort of fabric. A…body bag or something?

That"s right. Qi Fu Ren told Ba Yun to put me in a body bag. That b.a.s.t.a.r.d…

Taking a deep breath, I focused some qi into my hands. Using a basic form of Ghost Shadow Sword, I cut my way out of the body bag and emerged back into the open.

Wham!

"Gah!"

I doubled over as someone hit me the moment I tasted freedom, clutching my midriff and dropping to my knees.

"Who gave you permission to get out?" Qi Fu Ren sneered as he looked down on me. He kicked me again, sending me sprawling on the ground.

"Now, now," another of the demonic martial artists drawled. "It is fine, isn"t it? We"re already back in base, after all."

Back in base?

Trying to crawl back to my feet, I took a good look at our surroundings. I was half-expecting a cave, but this was the modern period, so demonic sects and bandits wouldn"t hide in a cave. Instead, it looked like an abandoned building. A warehouse, judging from the look of the large rooms and vast, empty s.p.a.ces.

"This has nothing to do with you, An Dou," Qi Fu Ren replied frostily.

"How scary," An Dou laughed, and then his gaze sharpened. I could feel the tension in the air thicken as he brought his impressive amount of qi down on Qi Fu Ren intimidatingly. "Don"t get too ahead of yourself, newbie."

Qi Fu Ren said nothing, but he didn"t cower either. As expected of someone who had absorbed three s.e.xagenaries of qi.

"Get up," An Do told me and hauled me up roughly. When I staggered to my feet, he punched me in the solar plexus, causing me to throw up blood. "I told you to get up!"

"Gah…kah…"

I swayed unsteadily on my feet, but gritted my teeth and forced myself to straighten up. Qi Fu Ren sneered.

"Hand him over. Senior Ba Yun and I are going to…"

"Silence, newbie."

A new voice rang out and everyone turned toward the owner. A large, hooded figure proceeded down the dilapidated corridor, and instantly everyone bowed their heads respectfully in his presence. He stopped, glaring at us with that crimson eyes of his. The lower part of his face was concealed behind a mask, which hissed as he breathed through it.

Apparently someone had wounded his face or windpipe and now he needed a breathing mask to a.s.sist his respiration.

"Down, boy!"

Ba Yun slapped me across the back, sending me sprawling across the ground when I merely stood there, stunned by the events that were unfolding. While I hacked and coughed, the masked man looked at me coldly.

"What"s this?"

"A prisoner we brought back." Qi Fu Ren"s tone was respectful and slightly tinged with fear, something that was unusual. I had never heard such reverence in his voice before. I wondered if this was the man who taught him the qi absorption technique. He certainly was radiating quite the powerful aura. "We plan to…interrogate him, seeing that he"s a student of Wu Ling Academy. With your permission, of course, Master Tuo Ta La."

The man merely nodded.

"Thank you, Master!"

"But before you do, bring him."

"…eh?"

"I said, bring him." The man named Tuo Ta La spoke in an icy tone that literally froze the corridor and coated the walls and floor in ice. "Did you not hear me, Qi Fu Ren?"

"Y…yes, of course, Master!"

I had never seen Qi Fu Ren this scared before. For Tuo Ta La to intimidate to this extent, that guy must be one h.e.l.l of a demonic martial artist. Heads and shoulders above even Ba Yun, who completely dominated me in a duel earlier.

"Get up!" Ba Yun bodily hauled me to my feet. "You"re in the presence of Tuo Ta La, the sect vice leader of the Chinese Parasol Tree Sect (Wu Tong Shu Sect). Show some respect, you trash."

I never asked to be brought to his presence in the first place…

I was half-dragged to a ma.s.sive chamber on the first level of the warehouse and unceremoniously dumped on the floor. While I struggled to get up and recover, I was mesmerized by the sheer number of demonic sect members that filled the vast, cavernous s.p.a.ce of the warehouse. There had to be hundreds of them.

Most of them were dressed in black or white cloaks, with hoods obscuring most of their features. Less than half of them wore masks, no doubt trying to conceal their ident.i.ties from the authorities who pursued them for their crimes. The remaining half had realized the futility of hiding and left their faces visible under their thick hoods.

At the front of the milling crowd was a slight platform, which resembled a throne or a podium. There was no one seated in the throne, but Tou Ta La was standing by its side, turning to address the crowd.

"Members of the Chinese Parasol Tree Sect," he boomed. Everyone fell silent and turned to face him as he raised his hands to draw their attention toward him. "I am glad to see that you"re all well and healthy today."

There was a buzz among the crowd and they all bowed their heads as one to pay their respects to their vice leader.

"So how was the haul? I trust that you"ve managed to feast upon the unenlightened and ignorant who continue to slave away in service of that rotting corpse of an empire?"

"We do have a good haul this time," Ba Yun informed him. "We raided a few villages and brought back a few dozen men and women. The leader will be able to absorb the qi from them to cultivate his Dark Night Shadow Emperor Formula."

The leader…that was right. Tou Ta La was merely the vice-leader.

Then who"s the leader?

It seemed that he wasn"t present, and remained in seclusion. Glancing at the empty throne, I couldn"t help but wonder who he was. Not that I wanted to see him personally. I would rather avoid being seen by such a cruel guy.

"I also notice that you have an interesting find. Bring him here."

"Ah…okay."

Qi Fu Ren was about to protest, but Ba Yun cheerfully complied. Grabbing me by the scruff of my neck, he casually tossed me atop the podium. I slammed into the ground and skidded, coughing and heaving from the brutal violence.

"Kuh…"

While I caught my breath, I was suddenly aware of Tuo Ta La leaning closely to examine me, his crimson eyes studying me intensely.

"!"

I instinctively scrambled back and took a defensive stance. Tuo Ta La scrutinized me a bit further, and then raised his head to look at Ba Yun.

"Hmm, this boy has similar qi and elemental affinity to yours, Ba Yun. Both of you seem to practice shadow techniques."

"Hmph, don"t group me with such trash."

While Ba Yun seemed offended by the comparison, I remained silent, understanding something instantly.

He must be referring to my Shadow Steps and Ghost Shadow Sword techniques! Come to think of it, they are based off the shadow element…

Then Ba Yun"s moves from earlier…they weren"t just mere footwork techniques like mine. They must have been shadow techniques!

"Oh? I thought you brought this boy back alive so that you can absorb his qi. Given how you both have the same elemental affinity and type of qi, as well as similar techniques, you should be able to absorb his qi fairly quickly."

"Ha ha ha! Don"t even joke about that! Why would I want his pitiful qi?" Ba Yun laughed. "Besides, I"m not the one who wanted to bring him back here. Qi Fu Ren was the one who requested that."

"I see." Tuo Ta La turned his gaze toward Qi Fu Ren, who lowered his head and cupped his hands respectfully.

"As I said, Master Tuo Ta La, I plan to interrogate this trash for details regarding Wu Ling Academy. He"s a student from there."

"I"ve already granted you permission for that." Tuo Ta La nodded.

"Thank you, Master!"

"But now that you"ve mentioned it…" Ba Yun was licking his lips and rubbing his hands gleefully. "I"ve never noticed that this brat"s qi and techniques were similar to mine. Once you"re done with him, Qi Fu Ren, give him to me. I want his qi."

"You can have it. But…" Qi Fu Ren grinned ominously. "Don"t forget what we agreed on. Besides, you"ll be the one handling the interrogation anyway. I hear your methods are the most…effective in all of Chinese Parasol Tree Sect."

"Ha ha ha! You flatter me too much, Junior! Leave it to me!" he then turned to Tuo Ta La. "Then I"ll be taking him."

"Wait. There"s something interesting about this brat." Tuo Ta La leaned closer. "I"ve noticed it ever since you"ve brought him here."

All of the high-ranking Chinese Parasol Tree Sect members exchanged bewildered glances, but none of them stopped Tuo Ta La from leaning closer again.

"Brat, what relationship do you have with the Heaven and Earth Sect?"

There was a shudder and the crowd began to murmur excitedly. The higher-ranking members, such as An Dou, Ba Yun and Qi Fu Ren looked startled.

"Heaven and Earth Sect?"

"Wasn"t the Heaven and Earth Sect destroyed long ago?"

"Surely you"re joking, Master Tuo Ta La!"

"No, I"m not. I recognize this qi. It"s been a long time ago, but I was there as a novice when the Heaven and Earth Sect fought the accursed Martial Arts Alliance. I"ll never forget their qi…this fearsome sensation…"

"If…if he really is from the Heaven and Earth Sect, wouldn"t we be in trouble?" An Dou asked anxiously. "What if they take revenge on us?"

"The Heaven and Earth Sect is no more," Ba Yun reminded him with a snort. "And if this brat belongs to the formerly prestigious Heaven and Earth Sect, it"s evidence of how far they have fallen. How pathetic."

"Besides, we have that alliance with Tian Sha Sect and the other demonic sects." Another one of the higher-ranking elders spoke up carefully. "I know Master Tian Sha Tian Zun views them as a rival, and would definitely help us if we"re ever attacked by the Heaven and Earth Sect. a.s.suming they miraculously revive somehow."

"…answer the question."

Tuo Ta La wasn"t interested in his subordinates" conjectures and speculation and devoted his attention toward me. I glared back defiantly.

"I have nothing to do with the Heaven and Earth Sect."

"I see. Then you"re useless."

"Gah!"

Tuo Ta La drove a hand through my gut, impaling me. I staggered and coughed, blood dripping from both my mouth and wound. Tuo Ta La then withdrew his bloodied hand and stepped over me as I toppled onto the floor, curling to a ball from the pain and clutching my vicious injury.

"…how disappointing."

Tuo Ta La studied the blood that was dripping from his fingers and licked it. A flicker ran through his crimson eyes and he shook his head in disgust.

"Whether this is the Heaven and Earth Sect"s divine Heaven and Earth Formula or not, it"s useless. If you really are a disciple of the Heaven and Earth Sect, then you must have failed to master it. Or you"re probably a failed experiment. Or a fake."

"He"s an Experimentalist from Wu Ling Academy," Qi Fu Ren spoke up. "That faction is known for trying to restore lost, ancient martial arts, and innovating new techniques. That might be why you felt something similar to Heaven and Earth Formula, Master."

Tuo Ta La nodded. "Either way, this trash is useless. If he really is a disciple of the Heaven and Earth Sect, then he"s nothing but a failed disgrace. If not, then he"s a frog who"s trying to taste the meat of the swan." He turned away. "You can do whatever you want with this pathetic loser."

"My pleasure."

Grinning, Ba Yun ensnared me by the scruff of my neck and dragged me away. Unable to resist, I could only slump down as I was being yanked along the podium, leaving a thick trail of blood across the rough warehouse flooring.