The Blood King

" This ability spans across two stages; The heaven and earth stage and the universal harmony stage." She said.

" It first appears in the later levels of the heaven and earth stage and grows throughout the universal harmony stage." She explained

" At the heaven and earth stage, you absorb the qi of heaven and earth. At a certain point after pa.s.sing through the levels, you will be able to control certain elements, like wind, for example." She said.

" But, splitting mountains or parting rivers would still be impossible at that point." She said.

" Then why bother..." Someone mumbled.

" Then, let me ask you." Miss n.o.ble said.

" Y-Yes?" The youth"s back straightened.

" How would you feel about being able to change the weather as you please?" She questioned.

" How would it feel to rain lightning down on your worst enemy?"

" Or bury an entire city into the earth?" Miss n.o.ble asked in succession.

" But didn"t you just say that-" The youth questioned.
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" As with everything else, becoming proficient at controlling elements takes practice. Even if you reached the heaven and earth stage, the ability will not be G.o.dly as soon as it awakens, you need to practice with it." Miss n.o.ble explained.

" This is not something the seed of knowledge can influence, either. Don"t a.s.sume there will be shortcuts in life." She said.

" I"m not going to say much about the universal harmony stage since it"s basically the same as with the heaven and earth stage." She said.

" Simply, meditation is used to help you harmonize with the world; Plants, animals, people."

" You become more in-tuned with life itself, enabling you to be able to command difficult elements easier. Understand?" She asked.

"..." The youth nodded silently.

"...This is the last ability I will explain for now." Miss n.o.ble said.

"..." The cla.s.s sat silently, some excited students even held their breaths unconsciously.

" Imagine...being able to command any kind of physical object with just a thought." She said.

"..." The room was still silent, but this silence carried with it a deflated, disappointed air.

" This ability awakens at the Void level and grows stronger as you pa.s.s through the levels."

" While, in some people, it awakens around the later levels of the universal harmony stage. Not like any of you are even close to that level anyway." She mumbled the last sentence.

"..." Groans of discontent sounded.

" What is with this lineup? What is the point of such..." Ugh" abilities?" Someone thought.

" Even if you try to make these things sound interesting, I can"t help it if the ability in question doesn"t interest me anymore..." Another youth thought.

" Again, it is a seemingly simple ability, but as you continue to learn here, you will naturally begin to appreciate it"s value." Miss n.o.ble said.

" Imagine being able to control any material down to even the particles it is made up of. Later you will understand this ability"s significance." She said.

"...Again. Another question answered." Levi thought.

" I"m guessing that ability to control materials is what the old man was talking about when he said to "break down the material without destroying it"." He thought.

" That would also explain why he said I wouldn"t be able to do it since I"m not at the level at which that ability awakens." He thought.

" At that time, I probably just sc.r.a.ped off the surface, causing some of the cold Qi inside to escape a little." He thought.

" At this point, I will probably never awaken that ability..." Levi thought.

" But I wonder..." He mumbled aloud.

" Will I find out anything relating to Primordial cultivation?" His heartbeat quickened at the thought.

" But enough about cultivation for now. You are all part of this Inscription Department now, and while knowing about cultivation is important, you won"t really find a use for that knowledge. Aside from a few exceptions." Miss n.o.ble said slowly.

" Oh, yeah..."

" I was so caught up in the discussion about cultivation abilities that I forgot what I will be learning here!"

" Sigh...Why did I not get into the cultivation department? I mean, I should be glad that they even allowed me into the inscription department with my talent, but... Sigh..."

The youths thought.

"...Now, since we have discussed for this long, I will take you all to the other place where you will spend the most time in, aside from this room." Miss n.o.ble said.

"Every day for a fixed amount of time, cla.s.s will be held. I will teach you about inscription and...stuff." She said.

" But while you can choose not to go to this place when you don"t want to, cla.s.ses are mandatory. If you miss them, you will be punished." She said.

"...Uhm, punishment...what kind of punishment?" Someone asked.

" Depends on the severity of the offense." Miss n.o.ble said.

"...Then, missing a day of cla.s.s?" They asked.

" flogging." Miss n.o.ble said simply.

" Then what about fighting?" Someone asked.

" You will be strung up by your legs while multiple people lash you with clubs." Miss n.o.ble said.

" Wha..." The youths were speechless.

" But I thought teachers couldn"t hit us..." Someone questioned.

" That is not hitting, it"s disciplining. Or if you wanted to interpret it another way, yes, we are hitting you, but for a good, positive reason, which is to discipline." Miss n.o.ble said.

" Isn"t it still just hitting in the end...?" Someone mumbled.

" Furthermore, there is still the loophole of having a non-teacher whoop you." Miss n.o.ble said.

"..." The youths" jaws dropped in astonishment.

Was this how a sect drunk on respect operated? They all wanted to cry but had no tears.

Puft!

Miss n.o.ble ignited her mental energy.

Multiple lines snaked across the room, on the ground, the walls and the ceiling, forming a large pattern.

The room shook as semi-visible walls of light s.h.i.+ned from the glowing lines of the pattern.

" W-W-W-W-W-hat is happening?!" The tiny, timid girl stuttered as she held her head, tucking it down between her shoulders.

" Humph! How noisy." Sweeping her black hair over her shoulder, the girl"s hairpin s.h.i.+ned as she said.

"..." Levi sat, silent, but vigilant. He saw that, while the room was panic-stricken, the delicate-looking boy before him sat silently, in his own world.

"...Wait, I can"t be this calm!" He thought as he put on a fearful expression.

" I suggest that all of you stand." Miss n.o.ble said.

" ?!" Light exploded in the room, so much so that it felt fluffy to the touch.

...

In a dark s.p.a.ce.

A weird vibrating noise echoed as glowing lines appeared on every surface in the s.p.a.ce.

" Oaf!"

Crack!

Puff!

Multiple landing sounds echoed.

" Where are we?!" A girl shouted.

" D-Di-Did we...Did we...DID WE JUST!!" A boy repeated, but couldn"t finish his sentence.

" Did we what? And when are you planning to get off of me? How did you even land on top of me? We sit a desk across from each other. Did you plan this? Do you want to die? Ah?" The girl with the hairpin spoke successively.

" You shouldn"t sit on girls, they"re very delicate." The youth with washed-out brown hair picked up the boy by the back of his collar.

" Oh! Unless you got permission. Sorry if I interrupted anything?" He let the boy go.

" Ugh! I"m going to kill both of you!" The hairpin girl said as she flicked her wrists.

Two straight, long daggers flew from her sleeves and into her grasp.

Her arm blurred as it snaked towards the youth"s neck, but someone was faster.

"... Miss Victoria valentine, even if you must joke, this is simply too much. You will receive your punishment after this explanation." Miss n.o.ble said as the tip of her green pointer stopped the dagger"s advance.

"..." The youth now sitting just beside her looked at the dagger pale-faced.

" You came to this sect in an attempt to separate yourself from the "Valentine" name and the meaning it holds, the fear it strikes in the hearts of people." Miss n.o.ble said.

" For you, I think that jokes about murder would be in bad taste. You have to learn again from the beginning what is considered acceptable and what isn"t." She said.

" Tsk! I get it, ok? Don"t you understand what privacy means?" The girl, Victoria, flicked her wrists, sending the daggers back up her sleeves. She stood with an unhappy expression.

The youth shakily stood, all the while staring pale-faced.

" What are you looking at?" Victoria shot him a glance, causing him to shrink back into the now distanced crowd.

" Valentine! I knew I heard that name before...!" Someone whispered.

" Yeah! As a child, my mother would tell me that if I didn"t behave, the valentine clan"s a.s.sa.s.sins would come and kill us!" Another one said.

" She is from that clan! No wonder she is so fierce." Someone said.

" I even heard that they have an entire island to themselves! And that anyone who goes there for anything other than "business", is killed and dumped into the ocean!" A girl whispered to someone.

" Tsk." Victoria"s expression darkened as she stood silently, within the group of people surrounding her from a distance.

" Quiet." Miss n.o.ble said.

"..." All of the murmurings died down swiftly.

" Do I need to punish all of you too? Do you need the words " mutual respect" carved into your foreheads before you remember them?" She asked.

These comments sent s.h.i.+vers down the spines of the youths, causing them to shut up immediately.

"..." It was only after they became silent that they started to observe their surroundings.

Orbs of light lined the ceiling, lighting the large room, but cold, gloomy darkness still lingered.

Beside them was a door.

On their other side, circular patterns were carved into the stone floor in rows.

Before these rows, was a short rectangular pillar, with a fist-sized hole close to the top.

" First of all, you will all put your hands inside of the pillar and activate the inscription inside of it." Miss n.o.ble said.

The youths complied, and one after the other placed their hands inside of the hole before activating the inscription.

They then sat on the carved circular patterns as instructed.

" You should have noticed the black patterns on your wrists?" Miss n.o.ble asked.

Some rubbed their wrists, while others admired the pattern"s design.

" This pattern will allow you to enter the infinite world, " Fragment Forrest", where you can practice daily." She said.

" Those with contracted beasts will need to bring them to get " keys" inscribed if you want them to be able to enter with you." She said.

" Inside, you will be able to practice making inscriptions. You will gain experience in creating inscriptions while surviving in a perilous environment." She said.

" In this infinite world, there are also memory fragments with certain little survival tricks and parts of inscription blueprints." Miss n.o.ble explained.

" Questions?" She asked.

" What is an infinite world?"

" Will we die?"

" Are we going to be sent to the wilderness?"

The youths questioned simultaneously.

" Although it is called an infinite world, in reality, it"s just a s.p.a.ce altered to realistically mimic the world." Miss n.o.ble said.

" You will not die inside because it is not real...although, who could say it wasn"t possible." She mumbled the last line.

" And as I said, the fragment Forrest is a false environment for you to train in. You will be able to access it from this room, so you will not be sent to the wilderness." She said.

" A s.p.a.ce?" Levi thought as he recalled something.

" Old gray also has a place somewhere...come to think of it, he also teleported us into it from the little tailor"s workshop." He thought.

" That old man, does he have something to do with this sect? If not, this is a ridiculous coincidence..." He thought.

" Are there any more questions?" She asked.

" E-Excuse me, but, wwas...what happened earlier?... How did we...get into this s.p.a.ce?" The youth who just had his first brush with death asked.

"...Using a teleportation array." Miss n.o.ble said, a glint in her dull eyes.

"..." The youth"s jaw dropped in astonishment.

" Then...Then! Teleportation?! Teleportation can be done?! But, but! How? How much qi-No, how much energy does it take?! And what is an array?" the youth forgot his fear as he questioned excitedly. Before he realized what he was doing, he already stood before Miss n.o.ble with a flushed face.

"...An array is a cl.u.s.ter of inscriptions put together for one or more purposes. You will learn more about them down the line." Miss n.o.ble said.

" As for teleportation...it"s...not that difficult..." She said slowly as if conflicted.

" Ugh! It"s so obvious that she is just trying to arouse interest in those quick-to-get-bored, dimwitted brats! How nauseating." The demon saint sneered.

"..." Levi listened quietly, but an unrestrainable curiosity welled up inside him.

" Then...what about spatial rings, teacher? How do you make them?" He asked.

While it didn"t get as much attention as earlier, his question still attracted some unhappy moans and groans.

"...You can"t." Miss n.o.ble said.

"...Why?" Levi questioned.

" While both teleportation and spatial rings involve the warping of s.p.a.ce in some way, teleportation is undoubtedly easier...Keeping a separate s.p.a.ce inside an object..." She said.

" It is not even known if there are any spatial objects that still work, or if the idea was even once put into practice, and it will remain unknown for a long time." She said.

" But, if I am not mistaken, that desk the great elder carried with him also has a spatial aspect." Levi thought.

" For instance, if you found a spatial object like a spatial ring, would you reveal it to the world, much less donate it for research, knowing that it could be damaged or destroyed during the process?" She asked.

"..." Levi subconsciously grabbed the ring through his robes.

" Moreover, there is also the fear of someone of higher standing claiming it for themselves. Why would you risk losing such a treasure with so many uncertainties apparent?" She questioned.

" I will talk more about why creating a spatial object is difficult another time. We will be going back to the cla.s.sroom for now." She said.

" But aren"t we going into the fragment Forrest...?" Someone asked.

" If there is nothing else after you introduce yourselves, then you can come back." Miss n.o.ble said as she pointed to the door with her left hand.

The door was pushed open, causing the sound of stone rubbing together to ring out.

" WhThe cla.s.sroom?" Someone said, dumbfounded.

" Then...why did we teleport when a door was right here..." Someone said.

"...Respect." Miss n.o.ble towered over the youth.

" D-Did I say something I shouldn"t have...?" The youth asked.

"..." Miss n.o.ble silently walked on.

" Ahahahaha! Getting embarra.s.sed when her little scheme was almost uncovered, this woman is quite cute!" The demon saint laughed.

" How should I say...you have some strange tastes. And didn"t you call her nauseating just earlier?" Levi asked.

" Strange is better than no tastes at all! And that was then, this is now. Leave me alone!" The demon saint said.

" Ahh! No wonder! I knew there wasn"t a door here!" Someone shouted.

As everyone left the stone room and the door closed, the wall sealed as if it was just that. There was no trace of a door.

" You talking to me is surprising. I thought you were p.i.s.sed to silence?" Levi questioned.

" Don"t get me wrong, I am still unimaginably p.i.s.sed, but being silent will only be torture for me, who is locked in such a cold and dark place!" The demon saint said.

" Hmm." Levi hummed.

" To open the door, you need to activate the right inscription on that wall. They are reset after a while, so don"t expect it to be easy." Miss n.o.ble said.

" Hah..." A vein bulged on Levi"s cheek.

" The h.e.l.l is your problem now?" The demon saint asked.

" Nothing. A strong irritation suddenly appeared..." Levi said,

" Is it your time of the month every day? Why the constant mood swings? See, this is what happens when parents don"t teach their children properly, they end up..." The demon saint began spouting nonsense.

" Then, from this side to this one, from the back row forward, introduce yourselves. You can talk a little about your life before coming here if you want to." Miss n.o.ble said.

" If not, just your name is good enough." She said.

Levi was the first to introduce himself.

A while later was the boy who sat in front of him. His name was Harlo Stilnight, the supposed genius prince of a small kingdom. Known for his "arrogance".

Another 5 minutes or so and Victoria got up, said her name and sat back down. The room quieted eerily as she stood, while even the girl who sat at the desk beside her seemed to be trying to sit farther, which wasn"t possible since the desks were fixed in place.

She seemed accustomed to this kind of reaction since she just sat silently.

The muscular youth"s name was Axel. His background was that of a blessed child from a small village.

The timid girl"s name was Blair.

And finally, the scholarly youth who simplified the answer to the question introduced himself.

" My name is Silas. I hail from a humble family of scholars. Unfortunately, I have no interesting stories to tell. Apologies." He said.

With this, the introductions were concluded.