6 Fist Day at School

Things took a strange turn for a whole month. After his recovery, Yao had to be visited by more doctors all checking him for any problems with his physique or martial soul. Thankfully, much to his brother's glee there wasn't any problem on his end.

The only problem they had to deal with was the issue of Guang Yao's martial soul rank. Rank twenty as a kid was too eye catching and would leave him vulnerable to many ill intended eyes. Guang Biao although strong enough to command general respect in East Sea City, there were many far more powerful than him.

The eldest brother didn't like taking uncalculated risks.

Guang Biao ran through his resources and connections. Spending a lot of money and even going into the shady black market hidden from the eyes of the Sun Moon Federation. Millions of credits flew into the wind and it only stopped when the man finally discovered a special technique.

-----

Sitting on a park, surrounded by grass and a stone pavement right in front of his seat, Yao hummed a tune. Outside he gave off the aura of a happy little child with eerie eyes lost in his own world, however, the inside of his body and his mind underwent complex precise processes.

'This is strange…' Closing his eyes, Yao focused on the ethereal energy flowing inside of him called soul power. It was as if he could see somewhat into himself, see a somewhat gaseous energy circulating throughout his meridians.

The energy felt wonderful. It invigorated him and not only did it do that, it acted like a second limb. He could command the energy with a thought, make it circulate faster or clump up together and be more compressed.

For a bit, Yao fiddled with his soul power

A leaf from a tree coursed through the wind and floated in front of the child. Yao grabbed the leaf as a sudden idea popped up.

He started manipulating his soul power. Increasing his focus and commanding the ethereal gaseous like energy to leak out of his meridians and escape his body.

"Interesting." Yao mumbled. The moment his soul power exited his body it turned into a weak gust of wind the ruffled his clothes slightly. Immediately the boy's influence on the soul power diminished and his own soul power started dispersing into the air, joining the natural soul power existing within nature itself. "This is to be expected but for it to be still controllable…" The soul power mixing into the air recently escaping his body moved according to his whim. It was sluggish in its movements, nonetheless it obeyed Guang Yao.

Determined, Yao moved his soul power carefully and infused it into the leaf. The leaf stiffened and the boy flicked the leaf with his finger. The leaf didn't break, instead it resisted the force threatening to rip it apart.

Yao pulled the leaf on two ends harder and it resisted being torn apart. Only when the soul power he infused inside it ran out did it break.

Yao became fascinated with soul power. It was an energy that can be controlled and influence the world around it.

"I could probably develop a technique with this or weaponize it…"

His further thoughts on the matter soon vanished and he shrugged. He would deal with testing out his soul power later but for now he needed to do something first.

Closing his eyes again, the boy controlled his soul power again. But this time he didn't let any of it run away from his meridians. He dictated his soul power to compress and stay inside of him, not letting a single ounce waft out of his body and he made his soul power flow slower. Flowing in a spiral pattern as they filled his meridians.

The spiral motion soon propagated throughout his entire meridians. Gaining momentum, the soul power kept on spiraling as it sucked in the other soul power into the spiral as well. Compressing it to a higher degree and making sure none of it leaked out.

This eventually resulted in a feedback loop. Any soul power absorbed from the surroundings, upon entering Yao's body, will be assimilated by the spiral and contribute to the spiral moving more stably and making the gaseous state of his soul power start resembling a string.

It was a method Guang Biao had gotten his hands on through his connections. Although the exact origin of the nameless technique wasn't known, the technique did come from the records of Shrek Academy. Precisely from the methods pioneered by a teacher a few generations back who delved into the matter of soul power control.

Through a stroke of luck, Guang Biao knew someone from the inside who was willing enough to spare this bit of knowledge to him. At the humble cost of half a billion federation coins. It was a rare technique after all and if it wasn't for the person from Shrek needing some immediate funds for some auction then he wouldn't have even bothered mentioning it to an outsider.

Of course, those were details the eldest brother didn't tell anyone about even if the whole ordeal nearly emptied his savings.

The technique didn't have a name so Yao called it Essence Concealment. In the eyes of the outside world he was a soul master, but the exact level would be unknown unless he were to overexert himself and show all his spirit rings. And those spirit rings could be concealed too.

Most of the problems the boy had to deal with resolved themselves through the efforts of his brothers and by utilizing the concealment technique. He had no spirit ring yet but that will be solved soon.

The only thing Yao dreaded as of now was the up and coming hell he would enter. A pocket watch appeared on his palm, its hands telling that the time as of now was 7:30 AM.

"Thirty minutes until stupidity…" Yao unsummoned his martial soul and walked out of the part.

He was an adult. Not some child and going through elementary again surrounded by six year olds wasn't a thing he looked forward to. It may even be a massive test against his patience but he hoped things would go smoothly.

"On the bright side I get a mecha of my own."

If there was one more thing he grew fascinated at in this new world, it was mechas.

Gigantic robots capable of mass destruction. Walking titans of steel that command power and respect wherever they went.

Motherfucking science fiction robots. In a world where magic technically exists in the form of martial souls and soul power.

Yao's eyes twinkled. He then stared at a silver ring fitted on his left hand. The ring seemed plain although its value numbered in the millions.

It was a storage ring. A ring that could store four cubic meters of space inside.

And inside were his new phone, some emergency food, books and Little Iron.

Yao rubbed his ring and a white glow shone near his feet. A robot the mix between a turtle and a wolf laid still until its eyes flickered to life and it started wagging its flamethrower tail.

Yao petted the turtle and they made their way to an academy.

The academy situated a few dozen blocks near the spirit pagoda had its name written out in blue somewhere on a building near the academy gates. The words East Sea Academy stood out to the rest of the city.

From what Yao could recall, the academy offered three years of Elementary, three more years of Intermediate and four years Advanced education. The equivalent of Earth's elementary, high school and college but much shorter and specialized.

Gazing at the gate, Yao entered with a shrug.

'Its not the best academy out there but it would do.'

The boy could skip grades but that would draw the eyes of the federation too early on. Guang Biao cut a deal with the boy after a series of haggling and debates.

Yao gets his mecha and he gets special privileges at the school. Basically, he would receive some sort of accelerated education in this school. On the morning he would receive the normal classes just like his fellow six year olds. But in the afternoon he would learn about mechas and simplified things only students at the advanced education would suffer through.

All at the cost of finishing intermediate education on the academy. And then he would go to Shrek where it was apparently safe to shine his talents.

The school grounds were still somewhat sparse when it came to students. It was only twenty minutes before eight after all and this was the first day of school for many students as well.

Yao reached a four story building spanning for a few hundred meters in width and length. The dorms usually were shared but his was an exception.

Part of Guang Yao really wondered how much of a pull Guang Biao had in East Sea City.

He was influential to a high degree.

Yao locked the room, inspected the surroundings and just sighed before laying on his bed. Little iron jumped into the bed too and the bed started sinking on itself.

Staring at his pet-robot thing. Guang Yao started having doubts about this whole ordeal he underwent.

"I don't get it Little Iron." The child started rambling. The wolf turtle tilted its head to the side but listened intently. "Shrek Academy is an academy that grew to prominence thanks to that man twenty thousand years ago. Its an academy known for accepting only monsters. They value talent a lot and would protect their students very well."

"I can enter that academy now. But why did my elder brother prevent me from doing so?"

Yao didn't really get how his eldest brother did things. The man had a practical and cautious mindset.

The school's requirement was to have soul power greater than or equal to twenty before twelve years of age. Yao was already half of that age and he already passed the requirement.

Yao wandered back into the past. Towards the end of their drawn out debate.

----

"I want you to grow to your full potential Yao. Shrek is a good place to grow. Legends sprout from that academy and I know you would reach great heights if they nurture you."

"That's the case eldest brother. Why not send me there already? To the best academy in the world?"

"I…" Guang Biao seemed to freeze up. As if the words were stuck in his mouth. Emotions warred inside the man's heart and he gritted his teeth.

'Should I tell him?' Guang Biao wondered and quickly discarded such thoughts.

'I can't tell him…' Guang Biao relented and made a compromise. Three years of Elementary and three years of Intermediate academy in East Sea City before going onto Shrek.

In a way Yao got what he wanted. But he felt cheated out of something.

If only the boy wasn't so immersed in staying up all night studying. Then maybe in those late parts of the night he would notice both of his brothers secretly leaving home on foot.

----

Yao blinked. His eldest brother was really acting off and suspicious. Guang Biao usually took things calmly and logically. He wasn't one to draw decision from emotions but the way the eldest brother talked during their last discussion bothered him.

"Little iron. Little iron. " Yao petted his mechanical wolf turtle. "What could eldest brother know that I couldn't?" Yao questioned.

"Arf!" The wolf turtle barked. Yao shook his head and closed his eyes. Hugging the heavy metal creature.

He thought about it more then dropped the topic altogether. He had knowledge about a lot of things. However, they were only surface level knowledge.

Little iron, as if sensing its owner's confusion and conflicted thoughts, rubbed its head against the boy's cheek and hummed. Yao sighed and cuddled his pet.

People may laugh at him for feeling comforted by a machine. But Yao couldn't care less. Little iron could think and reciprocate emotions. It was a robot but it resembled a living animal instead.

A few minutes passed and Yao stored back Little Iron in the storage ring. He rubbed his ring and put on East Sea Academy's uniform. The uniform was just a white long-sleeved jacket lined with yellow colors on the edges. As long as a student wore the jacket, anything else worn underneath would count as part of the dress code.

Yao hummed a tune. He walked out of his personal dorm and made his way to the elementary section of the school. The elementary section composed of just one three layered building with five rooms each floor.

Behind the building which would serve as the student's classrooms, there was a grassy field a good few hundred square meters vast.

Students were just starting to appear in the school grounds. Yao cringed at the sight of lively kids running around and edging closer and closer to his general direction.

A grown adult going to school. Kids trying to be friends with him and talking about weird stuff he wouldn't be able to relate to. This new segment in his life was bound to be a very strange one. One he would like to pass as quickly as it could.

Stagnation greatly bothered Yao. If he wasn't doing anything aimed at improving himself or his assets then he felt quite unnerved. Learning kindergarten bullshit and societal norms in elementary felt like a massive waste when he could spend the time invested here in learning about other things instead.

Luckily he will learn about the advanced machinery things that fascinate him so much. That and he was going to get a mecha he could pilot and study further.

'The things I do for improvement.'

The boy soon entered one of the classrooms on the first floor of the building. He entered and stood in shock.

The room was a mess, a huge mess. Chairs and tables were thrown everywhere and some children were even crying, huddled. Their faces swollen.

"What the actual fuck." Befuddled, Yao observed everything. Among the disaster laid a chair in the middle. A kid sat there like some monarch. Black spiky hair and bright deep black eyes. He wore the school's blazer like long sleeved jacket though underneath were a set of cheap dull clothing.

The boy's eyes shot up, glaring at him. Guang Yao frowned.

"This isn't what I expected on the first day of school." Still lost in thought, Yao stood there like a dunce. The scene in front of him was so ridiculous it made him doubt reality.

East Sea Academy was a school known for its somewhat wonderful facilities, decent teachers and a peaceful atmosphere.

Yao rubbed his eyes. Was he still dreaming? Did he fell asleep while cuddling Little Iron on the dorm?

Unaware of the blue silver grass creeping across the ground using the children and messed up chairs as covers to not be seen, Yao blinked his eyes.

By the time Yao awoke from his thoughts. Grass already clung to his legs and restrained his limbs like chains.

'I can't move!' Yao grew alarmed. He struggled against the grass. He was able to break them but there was too many that wrapped around him like a spider webbing up a meal.

Yao's broken pupils focused on the sight of an incoming fist.

Bam!

The fist connected and it slammed against Yao's cheek. The restraints the grass had on him loosened and he flew. His back crashing against multiple chairs and tables he crushed until he collided against the far wall of the room.

Everything hurt. His face stung, his back felt horrible and Yao felt dizzy.

But his mind wasn't focusing on the present. It was relieving a memory from the past.

In his past life. Back when he was a kid. When his useless father threw him in an illegal fighting arena for children as if he was not his son and was just some street rat he picked up.

Every moment there was wrought with physical pain and emotional trauma. Every time he won he would be sent out to fight again next month. He had no choice but to fight and win lest he could be killed. Even if he survived his father made him wish he died after getting back home.

Even when he grew up and became a businessman, Yao grew to hate excessive physical pain and had paranoia about being forced to fight again without the skill to defend himself. So, he took to training and learning how to fight from professionals as a form of insurance.

'I never knew it would be this handy early on.' Yao snorted.

The pain of the mysterious child's punch brought Yao back to lucidity.

'Its been so long.' Yao picked himself up. Much to the other kid's surprise.

Adopting a fighting stance, Yao leg's tensed as his body swerved slightly to the side. Hands raised in front of his face, his eyes locked onto the kid and analyzed the surroundings. Soul power welled up inside him, circulating faster and granting a sense of heightened freedom to Yao.

Yao moved.

The floor underneath him cracked slightly and he turned into a blur.

In a few seconds Yao was already besides the black-haired youth and he threw a punch.

Reacting as fast as he could, the other boy blocked Yao's strike with and arm and sent a punch of his own.

Yao ducked, the swing of the other youth caused him to lean forwards a little and he spun on the ground, sweeping the kid off his feet, making them start falling face first.

"Fuck off." Yao uttered. His knee shot up and struck the child on his stomach. Sending him tumbling farther.

Yao didn't relent. He chased the kid and jumped him as fast as he could. He didn't care anymore how random everything was nor did he care the reasons why this whole fiasco started. Who started everything? Questions like that mattered not.

The only thing that mattered was he beat the shit of the brat who punched him first. He could sort out things later.

The reincarnated man followed a strict code. No one messes with him without any retaliation. And in the case of a school fight? Take a punch first.

Then beat the shit out of the assaulter under justified self-defense.

Good thing step one was already accomplished. All he had to do next was just to let loose.

Yao kicked a table, launching it at the boy intent on incapacitating him. The other boy coughed and wheezed, suffering from Yao's kick earlier but managed to roll away and spat on the ground. He seemed to seethe with rage, two murderous black eyes latched onto Yao and he felt threatened by it.

It was like he was being stared down at by a furious dragon. A beast in human skin.

'Curious.' Yao raised an eyebrow. There was something off about the kid.

Shshhsh! The song of swaying grass echoed in the room.

Blue silver grass sprouted from the cracks on the floor and erupted into a tidal wave of spring. They congealed together, wrapping around each strand as if they were rope and wound themselves around a few chairs and tables. Just like the tentacles of a squid.

Crack! Crack!

Yao's opponent cracked their knuckles.

Yao sucked in a deep breath. Soul power circulating madly and a pocket watch with a chain appeared in the air. It floated, suspended above his right hand with the chains floating, wrapping around him like a snake.

"I haven't truly tested out my martial soul yet. But it seems like I'd get to do it now." Excitement danced around the child's broken pupils.

Yao braced himself. A dozen tentacles of grass latching onto chairs and tables were bound to smash towards him soon. That and followed by the other child's rush.

"The two of you! Stop at this instant!"

Alas before the boy could mess with time, an intervention occurred.

Yao and the other boy froze as a heavy aura fell into the room. Multiple rings of light lit out outside and the pressure they generated bore down on them.

Adults entered the banged-up classroom and Yao sighed then sat down.

The kids weeping on the corners before their fight started had snuck out and called a few teachers over. A smart move coming from them.

'This is the best first day of school. Ever.' Yao grimaced.

This was going to be troublesome.