My mood was still ruined from the events of yesterday as I entered the classroom A1. The rumors about a new student were louder than ever; apparently, he was an exchange student from the Xing Dynasty. This piqued my interest as it promised an intriguing new opponent; I just hoped he was strong enough to give me a proper fight. The bell rang, signaling the start of the homeroom period, as Mr. Yamoshida walked in with a familiar young man. Damnit all, why did it have to be him? I lamented as the same black haired youth from yesterday walked in.
"Quiet down, everyone! We have a new student joining our class. Please introduce yourself," he said while motioning for the youth to get on with it.
The young man stepped forward with a kind smile on his face as he spoke to the entire class. "Hello, everyone. My name is Wu Qi. It is an honor to meet you all, and I hope we can all become good friends." The sincerity in his voice only pissed me off further. Who did this bastard think he was?
His eyes crossed over to me for a split second as he gave a wicked grin. It was gone as quickly as it came, but cold sweat poured down my back. Something was not right with this guy. The only empty seat in the class was by the window next to Liane, who was the class prefect and the most stuck-up person I had ever met. I know that I'm arrogant, but she was on a whole different level; she was the type of person who judged everyone while pretending to be nice. Maybe it was just me, because no one seemed to share my opinion on her. It pissed me off that this guy just had to be in my class in my final year, after everything I had built to label myself as the best, this guy would ruin it all. I already knew he was stronger than me, and now everyone else would know it as well.
Homeroom went by quickly, and so did the arithmetic class. Now everyone got dressed for P.E. It was usually the class I saw forward to the most, but today I dreaded the experience. There was a tradition in our school that the newcomer would have to spar against the class's strongest, and with that being me, there was no way to avoid it. It was his first day, and he was already so popular in the eyes of his fellow students. His kind and humble demeanor made it easy to make friends. I was grinding my teeth at the thought, but Miss Viviene, our P.E. teacher, snapped me out of it as she told me to get in the ring along with Wu.
"You all know the rules, so I won't waste your time." She spoke in her usual no-nonsense manner before saying. "Fight!"
Without even wasting a second, I dashed towards him, my body operating at full power as I threw a roundhouse kick to his liver. He barely moved, only twisting his body to the side, making me miss completely. His eyes portrayed his boredom when they crossed mine.
"Come now, little Zee, is that the best you can do?" His voice was barely a whisper, but the words infuriated me to no end.
No wonder this bastard looked so familiar. He used to be a close friend of Malach, how could I have forgotten? My speed almost doubled as my power was amplified by my fury; no one was allowed to call me that, not ever again. My eyes narrowed as I threw a jab, faking it, I went for the uppercut. My fist only caught the hem of his shirt as he avoided it easily. I heard the surprised whispers of my class at his display, realizing as everything slipped from underneath me. His leg swept me, making me fall on my ass in a humiliating manner, marking the end of our duel. Wu, with a considerate smile on his face, extended a hand to me, but I slapped it out of the way. Had he not humiliated me enough? Now that I remembered him, a few things clicked into place. Just as I was in Malach's shadow, so too was he in Wu's shadow. Ironic, isn't it, how the world turns full circle. I remembered that he was nowhere near as cruel as my brother dearest, but he detested anyone who thought they were strong and reveled in breaking that delusion. My heart started racing as the realization hit.
Getting up from the ground, I saw Malach's specter laughing at me. He mouthed something, but my focus had already drifted to the crowd of students surrounding Wu, praising him for his skill. My blood ran cold as he shot me a condescending look before returning to his usual carefree expression.
"Wow! Wu that was incredible. I have never seen anybody defeat Zeon so effortlessly."
One of the girls said to him as I passed by.
"Oh, you flatter me. It was nothing that impressive." He said, waving her off, trying to remain humble.
"Strong and humble too, you really are a surprise, Wu," Laine said while fluttering her eyelids.
I tried to drown out the noise while they continued to speak; people like him really pissed me off. They pretend to be some good guy; meanwhile, they are just doing it for their own amusement. I knew I was arrogant; I never tried to hide it. Yet Wu was the type of person who pretended otherwise; he truly was a snake. I could not even mention this otherwise, I would look like a sore loser. I already lost enough face for one day, so I just bit my tongue and stayed quiet. The rest of the school day flew by in a daze. When the school day finally ended, I was the first to leave the campus, completely forgetting about my extracurricular activities, like my position on the student council. It's not that I forgot, I just did not give a damn, they can replace me for all I care. I already got everything I needed from them, so there was no point in remaining. As soon as I got home, I immediately changed into more comfortable clothes before going out in the garden for some meditation. I needed to open my third gate already; I have put it off long enough.
I stopped at a terrace close to the koi pond and sat down in lotus position with my hands held together forming a circle to complete the circuit. Focusing on my internal world, I saw the three dantians in my lower, middle, and upper body. I saw the chi flow through them, creating a field around my inner body. I saw as they passively collected the surrounding chi, refining it before storing it in the center of my chest. In this place, my core will eventually be formed. I saw the twelve gates that assisted in the collection and purification of chi; there were only two of the twelve open. Forming a whirlwind of energy that passively absorbed the atmospheric chi. The rest were like a closed dam, grey and lacking in both life and energy. Focusing on my next gate, I created tiny needles of my own chi and started piercing the dam very carefully. One wrong mistake and I could damage my gate, limiting both my talent and my future potential. It was a very stressful procedure, but I remained calm, and sweat dripped from my brow as my concentration reached its peak.
I had made seven tiny holes within the gate and was now pouring in small amounts of chi. Bit by bit, I added more. At some point, my interference was no longer needed as the gate started sucking in chi like a vortex, breaking down the dam walls in the process. Just like that, I had opened another of my gates; it would take a few days before it would stabilize. Opening the gates did not directly increase my power; instead, it allowed me to accumulate more energy faster. And after opening all of my gates, I could finally begin to form my core and set foot on the path of cultivation. There were natural treasures that could speed up the process, but I did not have the money required to buy them, so I had to make do with the slow and careful approach.
I was completely soaked in sweat, and I felt sluggish. I really need to go take a nice warm bath and maybe add a little bit of bath salts to it. My lips curled into a smile as I walked back to my manor, entering the door, my mood was instantly spoiled when I saw Elijah standing there with a guest clearly waiting for me. The guest was a man I knew all too well. He was a short man with a pot belly; his balding hair was slicked back with so much product that it shone in the light. Seeing me, he rubbed his sweaty palms together, a smirk on his lips. Gods, I was not in the mood for this bastard.
"I have already told you, Liam, I am not interested in selling my manor." My voice was devoid of respect, making it clear how little I thought of this minor noble. He completely ignored my tone as he spoke with his usual slimy tone.
"Come now, Zeon, is that any way to talk to a friend?" He asked with a stupid grin on his face.
"The day I become friends with you, Liam, is the day I take my own life. Something that will never happen." My tone was harsher than necessary, but I was too tired to care.
"You wound me, Zeon." He said with false offense. "But seriously, are you even in a position to refuse me? From what I heard, things are not going too well with the Whither businesses. I am only trying to help." The mock concern in his voice was grating on my nerves.
"That is my business and my business alone. Do not stick your nose where it does not belong, Baron." I spoke his title with a sneer; this little ignoramus has been a thorn in my side for years now, and I was finally growing sick of it. He was not even a gifted one, just another fucking excuse of a nobleman who thought himself great.
"What is with all this hostility? I only came to talk. Besides, before too long, you will have wished that you had accepted my offer." This time, it was his turn to sneer.
"What are you talking about?" My confusion was building.
"Oh, you didn't know? There has been a shift in leadership, and they have decided that nobles who can not pull their own weight will be disbanded, and their properties given to more… worthy recipients." A look of smug satisfaction crossed his face. "As per the Aristocratic code of conduct, all noble families are required to have at least one active member in the military due to the war. And if I remember correctly, you, as a member of the higher Aristocracy, should have already been shipped to the frontlines, Duke." This time, it was his turn to sneer when speaking my title. The sheer disrespect in which he spoke was the straw that broke the camel's back. My aura unleashed to its fullest, suppressing the baron where he stood. Sweat started pouring out of his pores. His skin paled, and he started shaking.
"Mind your tongue, Baron, or I will cut it out and feed it to my hounds." The fury in my veins was reflected in my aura as it drowned out all his confidence. "Take this as your final warning. If I ever see you on my lands again, I will have you put down like the pig you are."
The baron was so afraid that he quickly scrambled out of my manor and left in the car that he came.
"Are you sure that was wise, young master?" Elijah asked.
"At this point, my old friend, does it even matter?" I felt defeated, and that was not even the start of my troubles.
Liam was correct in saying that my family business had been on a downward trend ever since the death of my parents. Maybe it was time that I finally stop fooling around at school and take up the responsibility of rebuilding my family and bloodline. I sighed before turning to Elijah.
"Call the school, tell them that my time there is finished." My words clearly shocked him, but he kept himself composed. "Tomorrow we are heading to our businesses; it is time we sorted them out."
With that, I left him to make the arrangements as I went and took my well-deserved bath. Tomorrow is going to be a very busy day.