Once Koji was properly dressed in his new clothes he waited for the elderly man to return but was met by a little girl with a bow on her back.
"Hey mister! You got any candy?"
The girl was clearly a soul guardian like him but she looked no younger than 12 years old.
Koji simply ignored the girl while she kept asking for candy until the old man returned with a mask in hand.
The mask itself was luxurious but just a plain white mask with two eye holes.
The girl looked at the old man then at Koji in confusion.
"Hey old man Zuang, what's the deal with him?"
Zuang however had a look of surprise directed at koji's sword.
'That's sword Ki! How is he able to use Sword Ki?! Is he secretly a veteran? No that can't be.'
Sword Ki, a soul technique of the highest difficulty to manage. It allows the soul guardians to freely control their weapons without having to touch them and even Zuang himself struggled to learn it and yet this once homeless man could do it?
Koji noticed the gaze from Zuang and took a step back before Zuang corrected himself and finally saw the little girl and greeted her with a bow which was surprising to koji.
"9th Squad leader Xia, what are you doing here?"
Koji immediately looked at the girl as he remembered hearing a radio broadcast talking about her.
Xia Tuan, the youngest ever to become a soul commander. Her reputation was well known so it was normal to show the proper respect for her position.
But Koji didnt care about her and just wanted to leave.
"I was heading to the gate to see the new soul guardian but I guess you found him first. Wait…"
Xia began circling around Koji while looking at his sword that was still hovering on koji's back.
"Old man Zuang… is that Sword Ki? Is this guy not the new soul guardian? Who is he?"
Zuang was about to speak until he realized he never learned the man's name.
"My name is Koji."
Zuang immediately looked at Xia with a confused look.
"He is the new soul guardian but… that's sword Ki. We need to report to the head master"
Xia smiled and began walking towards Koji which naturally made him back away until Koji was running with Xia Chasing him.
To both Xia and Zuang's surprise Xia couldn't keep up with Koji and instead was being left in the dust.
'What just happened?'
'What just happened?'
Koji didn't realize how fast he was running until he looked and saw he had reach the end of the river.
Koji then saw Hatasho float in front of his face with a message ingrained into the handle before it disappeared.
"'Teach them to be better and to be stronger then they thought possible.' What's that supposed to mean?"
Not only was he faster but his hand had healed from earlier.
Xia and Zuang finally caught up to Koji out of breath.
"You can use sword Ki and Cloud walker?! Who are you?"
Koji cocked his head in confusion while Xia regained her complexion from the running.
"The technique you just used was Cloud walking. It is a difficult technique to master but it enhances your speed."
Koji had no knowledge of soul techniques before he felt a dreadful presence.
Everyone instinctively armed their weapons and looked back up the river to see a cloud of smoke erupt.
The gate had been broken and monsters began crawling through.
Zuang immediately looked at Koji and said as Xia began running.
"The gate collapsed and monsters are coming you need to assist Xia. Hurry!"
Koji could faintly hear the cries of innocent people running for their lives before he started running and just like before he quickly passed Xia.
Once Koji had reached the gate he saw goblins running around the area and firmly wielded Hatasho but felt it was weightless.
It felt even lighter then a pencil which made killing goblins easy.
Xia soon joined the fight only to see it had already ended before she truly looked at the aftermath and saw the goblins drained of life as if a vampire sucked out their blood.
All the while Koji was still full of energy.
'Who are you?!'
Old man Zuang had flown to the battle on top of his sword using Sword Ki only to see Koji surrounded by goblin corpses.
"Seems you didn't need our assistance. Would you like to come with us to the Soul Guard Academy?"
Koji snapped his fingers to recall Hatasho and felt his stomach rumble.
"I'm a bit hungry but sure."
Zuang felt relieved that Koji was willing to follow them to the soul guard academy as he naturally thought Koji would refuse.
Soon a car drove by and Koji was hesitant to get in because if he had then he would be heading down a path of no return as a Soul Guardian.
With a heavy hand he opened the car door and sat down while Xia and Zuang kept asking koji questions.
"Did you receive any training from anyone? Do you have a secret mentor?"
"Do you have a girlfriend? Are you married? Any family?"
Koji like always just ignored their questions and instead looked out the window to see the school gate.
The Soul Guard Academy, one of five such places built to train Soul Guardians.
People from all over the world would come to one of these schools to learn but later learn that it's more like a boot camp.
As Koji observed the training fields he saw students fighting each other with their Hotoji's until the car came to a stop outside the main school buildings.
A normal man would be overwhelmed with joy as he stood at the doors to such a prestigious school but not Koji as there was nothing but hate in his eyes.
'I will get my revenge I swear on it'
Zuang immediately began praying some cologne onto Koji as it was undeniable that he had an odour on him. Koji was surprised to find the smell had disappeared and instead smelled like fresh strawberries.
"Let's go meet the headmaster and get you a dorm."
Koji immediately hesitated upon hearing this but thankfully Zuang put these worries to bed.
"I'll personally request you join my squadron and I'll assign you a room to have to yourself."
Koji gave a slight nod before he followed Zuang to a large office that looked more like someone's personal living space.
The most noticeable thing was that everything was pink with a few red skulls here and there.
"What is it? I'm busy with my work."
Zuang bowed and tapped koji's arm to do the same before the headmaster turned to see them.
The headmaster herself surprised Koji as she was wearing a teddy bear onesie while she held a few documents in hand.
She was quite the beauty with features to sweep several men off their feet but Koji wasn't interested in starting a relationship with anyone.
"Oh it's you Zuang. Who is this? A new Guardian?"
Koji wanted to puke at the thought of others calling him a soul guardian.
"His name is Koji and I would like to personally request he be placed in my squadron."
Although koji's face was hidden by the
Mask his neck and arms were visible and it wasn't hard to tell that Koji looked like he hadn't eaten in weeks so naturally the headmaster was sceptical.
"Oh Zuang I thought you could tell the difference between a con artist and a real Soul guardian."
Zuangs expression turned serious while Koji was very much tempted to just leave after the madam's comment.
"Madam Bo, he can use Sword Ki and the Cloud Walker technique. He is very much real and if you don't believe me then ask 9th squad leader Xia as she was there as well."
Madam Bo's expression turned from a jokingly amused smile to a curious looked before she stood up.
"Koji was it? If you can use sword Ki then show me your Hotoji."
Koji then waved his hand and had Hatasho circle around the room before returning to koji's back.
Madam Bo's eyes widened before tossing Zuang a key.
"Lead him to his new room and come back to debrief me. Master Koji I welcome you to the Wakana Dragon Temple."
Koji tilted his head while Zuang explained.
"You have a masterful sense and control of Sword Ki which most soul guardians spend decades to master so it's only right to call you a Master."
Koji humbly bowed ever so slightly to Madam Bo before Zuang guided him to his room while he notice he was attracting unwanted stares in his direction.
But all Koji felt were stares of hungry predators looking for their next meal and nothing more.
Finally Koji and Zuang had reached a door and opened it to find it being just like a college dorm room but with a single bed and a small kitchen.
But once again Koji's hunger was screaming out but Zuang placed a phone on the counter.
"You must be starving so use this to order whatever you want to eat. Don't worry as the school can't charge students money or anything else."
Koji began ordering food on the phone before he opened the bathroom and saw his look in the mirror after he removed his mask.
"We also offer haircuts and other services such as that. Don't hesitate to ask for something."
Koji however closed the door but soon opened it slightly as Zuang was about to leave.
"Thank you."
Zuang smiled as he left Koji to take a long and hot shower before shaving off his beard but kept his long hair and tied it into a ponytail.
Meanwhile Zuang and Xia both finished talking to Madam Bo about Koji.
Madam Bo was lost for words to say the least.
"A fresh from the rift guardian some how manages to use two of our most difficult and complex techniques like child's play? Is there anything else I need to know?"
Xia shook her head while Zuang stayed silent which caught Madam Bo's attention.
"Zuang? Is there something your not telling us?"
Zuang shook his head and explained in more detail of how he first met Koji.
"No Madam Bo I just think we should handle the situation with the utmost care as he infact hates and despises Soul guardians."
This came to shock both Madam Bo and Xia.
"This boy said he had everything taken from him by Soul guardians. He has been alone with no one else to help him so I can only imagine the emotional stress that has been plaguing the poor boy."
Madam Bo and Xia were silent before suddenly the whole building shook as if an earthquake had struck.
"What's happening?! Are we under attack?!"
Zuang unfortunately had a bad feeling and ran out of the room to go and see Koji's door wide open and was about to enter before a young boy came flying out and crashed into the wall.
Koji however was in his room with nothing but a towel around his waist while two other boys were unconscious at Koji's feet.
Koji then dragged the two boys out of his room before slamming the door shut which made Zuang jump a little before looking at the three unconscious boys.
'This is going to be a nightmare to handle'