Knock… knock…
"Is anyone in this room?" said a voice behind the door.
I looked at the time—it was one in the morning. I walked to the door, annoyed. Whoever was knocking better have a good reason, or they'd find themselves burning alive in a parking lot.
"What do you want?" I said as I opened the door.
"Uh… I… I was sent here. They told me your room wasn't full… um… you're the only ones who aren't full."
"Ah, I see. Go on, come in. What's your name?" I asked.
"Degis. That's my name," said Degis.
Judging by his look and how beaten up he was, the bullying must've started on day one. But that wasn't my problem. Maybe, if he shows unshakable mental strength, I might help him, I thought as I went back to sleep.
The next morning, when I woke up, Degis was gone. Maybe he went to find his friends—if he has any.
Today was the first day of class, and we were starting right away with combat training.
When we arrived at the giant gym with Joseph, we were greeted by Professor Arlen, a Rank Five cultivator. She scanned us all coldly.
"Shut the hell up, you worthless punks. In my class, you shut your mouth and listen," said Professor Arlen.
"Your first lesson will be about improving your ability to take hits. This session will last two hours, and your goal is to withstand my attacks and steal my headband," she said.
"But professor, you're Rank Five!" someone in the room said.
"So what?" she replied, setting a timer on her watch.
"Let's begin. Two hours starts now."
She vanished from everyone's field of vision in a flash—and stayed out of sight for a full minute.
There were two hundred of us in the gym. After one minute, only one hundred were still standing. The rest were lying on the floor. I managed to catch a glimpse of her movements—she knocked them out with a single strike to the neck.
Even though I could track her with my eyes, I'd need to use ather just to get close to her, not to match her. If I had to fight her, I'd have a hard time winning, even with my ather.
The worst part? I don't think she's even using her full speed.
Joseph looked at me and said, "I'm definitely going to rip that headband off her. What about you?"
"I'm going all in—but without using ather or my flames. I'll rely on my skills," I replied.
"So you two have time to chat, huh?" she said, suddenly appearing behind us.
She aimed for the back of my neck, but I dodged. She had been twenty meters away and now was right behind us—I didn't even sense her coming.
Joseph attacked with his wooden sword. She dodged every strike. I appeared behind her to catch her off guard, but she sensed me and landed a spinning kick that sent me flying.
Then, using her arm like a blade, she slashed at Joseph. Despite being Rank Two, he was struggling to block her attacks—Arlen's strikes were brutal.
As he blocked yet another attack, Arlen smiled and said,
"You and your friend are the first ones to last this long against me. But it ends now—I'll finish you off."
Suddenly, her arm—locked with Joseph's sword—vanished. Joseph, still standing, started coughing up blood. He looked down at his body—he had taken multiple blows to his ribs and stomach. As he looked at Arlen, who smiled at him, he collapsed to the ground.
Seeing that, I wanted to get back into the fight. But the problem was, that kick wasn't just a normal spinning kick—she had hit me in the heart and liver too. I didn't even notice it at the time.
I had really underestimated cultivation. Someone a rank above you will always have an edge—one you can only reach by climbing to that same rank yourself.