Teacher Fang stepped forward, standing before the gathered students.
"You five are the most promising students in the academy."He let the words settle before continuing, "You have been chosen to train at one of the greatest sects in all of Eldara… the Celestial Gate Sect."
The students erupted into excited whispers, eyes bright with disbelief.
Omari remained still,but a small smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
"No need to run anymore.This is my way out; I can escape the king's wrath."
"Fang Lei," the visiting cultivator said calmly, "the journey back to the Celestial Gate Sect is long. I'll take my leave now."
His white robe shimmered with spiritual energy as he lifted his hand. A massive blue circular board flew out of his pouch and hovered beside him. With effortless grace, he stepped onto it, chin raised slightly, as though the entire academy was beneath his gaze.
He looked back at the five students.
"Get on.We depart now."
One by one, they climbed onto the board behind him, each step filled with nervous excitement.
The cultivator lifted two fingers and the board was covered with his spiritual energy.It floated and took off into the sky. The students almost lost their balance, with some lying down holding on to the edge of the board and some sitting down trying their best not to fall.
Before the board could go far,the cultivator waved his hand and a pouch flew down and Teacher Fang quickly caught it.
"Well done,Fang Lei. If you find more students for my Celestial Gate Sect, you know where to find me."
Omari saw the pouch with the corner of his eye,"What was that... I shouldn't read too much into it," he shook his head.
Teacher Fang looked on as the cultivator flew away,disappearing into the sky. He deeply sighed, then threw the pouch he got from the cultivator into the air a few times.
"At least something good came from this,"he murmured, walking away.
Meanwhile,in the city, two figures stepped through the entrance of the Golden Treasure Pavilion.
"Sister Lan, anything that catches your eye today, I'll buy it for you," the young man said, voice overflowing with devotion. "Your smile makes my whole day brighter."
The beautiful woman beside him didn't even look at him. "Why would I accept a gift from you? Why do you keep trying so hard? You're disgusting. A pervert obsessed with his own twin sister."
She walked ahead, face cold.
The young man hurried after her, undeterred. "Don't say such hurtful things, Sister. I just want to see you happy. That's my duty as your brother."
Upstairs, Cedric opened his eyes. "Looks like trouble just arrived," he murmured, rising from his seat.
"Welcome to the Golden Treasure Pavilion, how can I—"
The woman at the counter froze as the young man's expression darkened. A small scythe-shaped blade appeared in his hand with a flick of his finger.
"How dare you speak to Sister Lan without my permission?" he hissed, stepping toward her.
"Who dares."
A voice boomed across the room, followed by a golden wave of energy.
The brother froze mid-step, eyes snapping toward the stairs.
Cedric descended gracefully, his expression sharp, a faint golden glow in his eyes. "Brother, don't tell me you're looking down on my Golden Treasure Pavilion."
Lan grabbed her brother by the shoulder.
He brightened instantly. "Sister, are you finally—"
"Brother Han! Why must you always embarrass me?" she shouted, driving her fist into his stomach. He folded instantly, collapsing to the floor.
"I hate you," she snapped.
"I love you, Sister Lan…" he groaned.
Lan ignored him and turned to Cedric with a sweet, innocent smile. "Please forgive my brother. We aren't here to cause trouble. We actually need your help."
She stepped closer, black hair flowing, chest rising and falling softly as she approached. "The Majesty Lion. I'm sure you don't mind telling me who killed it, right, Brother Cedric?"
Cedric returned her smile. "I don't disclose customer information. I hope Sister understands."
"Yo, Brother Cedric, this sister will pay generously… so help me out, hmm?" She leaned closer, eyes glowing with charm.
Cedric slid an arm around her waist, leaning in with a confident smile.
"That is one thing I cannot help you with. But if Sister wants, this brother can assist you with other—"
He suddenly pushed her aside and bent, narrowly avoiding a blade aimed for his throat.
Han's eyes burned with rage. "How dare you touch my beautiful sister with your filthy hands!"
Ha ha ha ha!
Cedric laughed,"The Twin Emeralds, Han and Lan, the hater and the lover, truly a funny duo," he spoke.
"Since you know us,you should feel proud to die by my blade," Han spoke, ready to strike.
Han!!!
Lan the sister yelled,"I'll abandon you if you keep interrupting me when I'm speaking with someone."
"But sister,"Han tried to defend himself but to no avail; she quickly interrupted him.
"Just be quiet!"
He scoffed at Cedric,folding his hands and looking away.
"Brother,I really just want to negotiate with you; I'm sure we can reach an understanding," she asked again.
Cedric took a step forward.
"I'm sorry,but my Golden Treasure Pavilion can't help you with this situation."
Lan sighed,"This is the part I hate the most about my job," she murmured, a crowbar appearing in her hands.
Han instantly smiled,"Don't worry, sister; I'll catch this loser for you and slowly torture the information out of him for you."
In an instant,he blitzed, vanishing in a blur and appearing behind Cedric.
Cedric's golden bracelet instantly started glowing on and off with a golden color.When Han attacked, aiming his blade for Cedric's heart from the back, a golden shield materialized from the bracelet, blasting Han away into one of the shelves.
Lan crouched,ready to strike.
"Think carefully!!Does the kingdom really want to start a war with my Golden Treasure Pavilion?" Cedric's eyes glowed gold. "Do you want your Iron Crescent Kingdom razed to the ground."
A sweat appeared on Lan's forehead,"That energy, his father is the owner; I almost made a grave mistake," she thought.
"Since this brother doesn't want to tell us,out of respect to the Pavilion, we will drop this issue..." she said.
"Han,stop pretending... get up, let's go."
Han opened his eyes,"I was waiting for the right moment to step in and save you, sister, from danger," he spoke, getting up and running after his sister.
They went into the city to continue their investigation.
Meanwhile,Omari was standing on the board, one step forward and the other behind, using the opportunity to see what it feels like to ride a board, even though he imagined it as a sword.
"Senior brother,may I ask what the Celestial Gate Sect is like?" one of the students asked.
The cultivator's face turned serious with a look of disgust,"I'm not your senior brother; you're not worthy to call me that... From here on, I don't want to hear a single pip from any of you," he spoke, his voice cold, sending chills down the spines of the students.
"I'm getting dangerous vibes from this guy;maybe going to the Celestial Gate Sect was a bad idea," Omari thought.
He looked down to the ground from the board,"If I jump, will I survive though? This guy's cultivation is insane; I can feel it; it's the same as the prince but not as strong."
"I need to think about this whole situation."
Omari's mind raced,trying to piece together the events of the last few hours. Every instinct screamed that this was wrong. His eyes widened, remembering the pouch Teacher Fang received. "Could it be... he sold us?" Omari thought.
He continued,"It can't be, there's no way, me and Teacher Fang were starting to get along well, he wouldn't..."
"But what if he did?" doubt crept into his thoughts.
He clenched his fists,"I need to get out of here; this guy gives me the creeps. I'll deal with Teacher Fang later."
Omari took a deep breath, letting his shoulders slump and his knees buckle. Please work, he pleaded silently. Then, he let his eyes roll back and collapsed, tumbling from the edge of the flying board.
"He fell!"a student shrieked.
Panicked cries erupted behind him as the wind whipped past his ears.Omari dared to open his eyes, the ground rushing up to meet him. "He's not coming. It worked!"
A blur of motion materialized beside him.The cultivator was now falling alongside him, his expression one of cold amusement. Before Omari could react, the man casually backhanded him across the back of the head.
The world exploded into white-hot pain.Omari's body was sent into a violent, uncontrolled spin. His vision flickered, darkness creeping in at the edges as all strength left his limbs.
Through blurry eyes, he saw the cultivator vanish, only to reappear directly in his path a moment later. A strong hand grabbed the front of his robe, and the world dissolved into a nauseating rush of speed. The next thing he knew, he was being dumped onto the hard surface of the board, completely paralyzed, the cultivator's disdainful gaze the last thing he saw before unconsciousness took him.
The other students wanted to ask, but fear gripped them. They just swallowed hard, terror on their faces while they wondered what was waiting for them at the Celestial Gate Sect.
At the academy,Teacher Fang was walking towards the gate when he felt two strong cultivators approaching.
"Late-stage Soul Expansion,"he murmured, instantly turning around. He quickly got on his sword and flew away. Before he could get far, his sword shattered to dust and immense pressure slammed him down into the ground.
"I am so sorry,brother, I hope I didn't hurt you too much," Lan of the Twin Emeralds spoke, entering the academy with her brother following behind her.