Chapter 81: Return to Seven Stars Academy

Somehow I managed to climb back to the top of the cliff and drag myself forward. The winged demonic tiger was no longer around. Apparently it had left and returned to its lair to lick its wounds. However, I was sure that it now had my scent. In future, if I ever returned to this part of the Starry Forest again, it would definitely hunt me down and seek its vengeance.

Fine. I also looked forward to settling that grudge match once and for all. But right now I lacked the strength to fight against a Commander-ranked spirit beast. I had to attain Yellowed Lands or ideally Blackened Skies realm if I wanted to stand a chance of defeating such a formidable foe.

Pushing my glasses up my nose, I took a deep breath and observed my surroundings. There were no dangerous spirit beasts around, and even if there were, now that Tian Mo had restored my energy, I should be able to deal with anything Warrior-ranked or below.

Even so, I couldn't stop being cautious. I hurried forward, determined to press on and reunite with my allies. If I couldn't find them, then we would have to meet back in the academy. I hoped my friends weren't too worried…

*

As it turned out, I didn't have to worry much. Thanks to my restored energy and nimble footwork techniques, I was able to traverse the forest relatively effortlessly and catch up with the beleaguered and exhausted alliance of university students before they got too far.

"Shu Cong! You managed to escape the winged demonic tiger!"

There was a huge sense of relief in Xia Xing Yue's voice when she caught sight of me. I nodded as I landed on the ground next to their campsite and soaked in the warmth of their campfire. I had pushed myself to move even at night and my efforts had paid off. Moreover, I could see the fire from a distance, which motivated me to keep moving no matter how tired I felt.

"You lucky bastard!" Jian Hu threw a hand around me, almost strangling me. "You had us all so worried!"

"I'm glad you are all right." Si Nan breathed a sigh of relief. "We feared the worst."

"Not me! I always knew that you would be all right!" Mu Zi Xing smiled in delight. She studied me. "Let me check your condition and cast whatever healing techniques necessary."

"Nah, no need for that." I shook my head. "I managed to recover on my way back. You should rest. You look very pale."

"Mu Zi Xing has been driving herself way too hard." Si Nan took her hand gently but firmly, leading her back toward their tent. "I understand how you feel, Zi Xing, but you need to take better care of yourself."

"That's what you are for."

"I'm glad you have faith in me, but you're making my job difficult."

I watched the two of them bicker on their way back to the tent, and then I turned back to Xia Xing Yue, who looked as if she was on the verge of tears. However, she composed herself and maintained that icy cold façade.

"Thank you. If it weren't for you, I would have been killed by both the shadow leopard and the winged demonic tiger."

"You would have done the same for me had our positions been reversed."

"Hmm…I wonder about that." Xia Xing Yue let out a rare smile and turned away. "Not everyone is as noble as you."

"Anyway, I'll set up a defensive formation so that you don't need as many sentries. I'm sure everyone could use the rest."

"Thanks. I'll be counting on you." Xia Xing Yue hesitated for a moment. "Even though you're probably exhausted yourself…"

"Don't worry about me. I got lucky when fleeing the winged demonic tiger earlier and managed to restore my energy somehow."

"Leave the sentry duties to us!" Jian Hu placed a hand on my shoulder and grinned. "After you're done with the formation, go get some sleep. We owe you a lot."

His expression darkened and he looked away guiltily, clenching his shaking fists. Taking a deep breath, he ground out hatefully.

"We never imagined that we would have a traitor within our own midst. Someone who would endanger even the lives of his own comrades just to settle a persona vendetta."

"Cang Mu was never a good person to begin with," another Ten Thousand Swords University student said. "He was always harassing the female students…and there are rumors that he raped a few of them."

"I hope he gets what he deserves," a female Ten Thousand Swords University said with a huff. I couldn't help but chuckle.

"Um, Cang Mu and his gang got torn apart by the winged demonic tiger. They were unlucky enough to be in my path while I was escaping from it." I feigned sorrow. "None of them survived. Sorry, I wasn't able to save any of them."

"You shouldn't bother," Jian Hu growled fiercely. "They were the bastards who led the winged demonic tiger to our position in the first place! They deserve to be ripped to shreds!"

"Hah! Karma is a bitch!" Another of his schoolmates gloated.

I smiled as I listened to them, but I was already busily setting up the formation to generate a barrier that would protect us for the night.

It took us another day before we exited Starry Forest and returned to the city. Instead of returning directly to our respective academies, we went straight to the public trading center to submit our goods. Not only did we turn the thousand year old ginseng in, Xia Xing Yue and her fellow schoolmates also gave the ginseng and shadow leopard parts they had collected. Then, as she had promised, she split the rewards evenly among us, making sure we all received our share of credits.

She kept her word and gave me the largest share.

"You deserve it," she told me when I protested. "You did the most work, killing one shadow leopard and saving all of our lives when Cang Mu and his gang lured the winged demonic tiger to our position."

"What are you going to do about Cang Mu?" I asked.

"Report the truth," Xia Xing Yue replied simply. "There's no reason to lie. They deserted us in the middle of battle, put us in danger with that stunt with the winged demonic tiger, only to be massacred by the spirit beast they provoked. The academy will accept my explanation. All of my fellow Ten Thousand Swords University students will testify."

"Thank you."

"No, we should be the ones thanking you." Xia Xing Yue smiled. "I hope I'll get the chance to work with you again in future."

"Yeah, same here."

With our pockets bulging with cash (not literally – the credits were digital currency and we used our smartphone or debit cards to pay), my friends and I returned to Seven Stars Academy without any further incident.

From there, we spent the next few days resting. At least Si Nan and Mu Zi Xing did, but I was impatient to start training with my newly acquired Yin Yang Swordsmanship.

I did a cursory reading of the scroll at first, making sure that nothing was amiss. There might be a trap laid within the technique, some sort of method to control me, perhaps. I was taking no chances. After I ensured there were no tricks hidden within the technique, I began practicing it fervently, for it was my first official sword technique that I would be able to learn.

"Yin Yang Swordsmanship is divided into three essential moves. Yin Yang Amalgamation Strike. Heaven and Earth Strike. Then finally Heaven and Earth Reversal."

Pushing my glasses up my nose, I studied the text closely. Heaven and Earth Strike, in particular, claimed to be a move that was capable of slaying a hundred demons in a single swing of the sword. And Heaven and Earth Reversal was beyond that, the ultimate technique of Yin Yang Swordsmanship. In order to employ Heaven and Earth Reversal, I had to first master Heaven and Earth Strike. And in order to execute Heaven and Earth Strike, I had to first learn Yin Yang Amalgamation Strike.

That was going to be difficult.

After swinging my dragon sword for what seemed like the thousandth time that day, I watched as fiery yang qi clashed with frosty yin qi. However, I failed to integrate both opposing elements together and my attempts failed for the umpteenth time.

"Damn it."

The essence of Yin Yang Amalgamation Strike was, as its name implied, combining yin and yang elements together despite their opposing nature. Theoretically, by amalgamating yin and yang despite them being polar opposites (akin to combining fire and water), I should be able to produce a much more destructive force that exceeded anything that either element could produce on its own.

However, as I found to my cost, such a maneuver was easier said than done.

"Well, the only thing I can do now is keep trying," I muttered. Glancing at the darkening skies, I decided to retire for the day and attempt the technique again the next day.

*

Within the inner courtyard of Seven Stars University, there was a single campus building that was split into several sections. Within two of the rooms, blue and red qi swirled violently, taking the form of powerful maelstroms. The two doors opened simultaneously and their occupants stepped out into the night. Stretching, they basked in the cool nocturnal air, savoring their exposure to the outside world for the first time in months.

"Yo, so you've come out of isolation training too. But I was the first to step out."

"Hah! You're still as competitive as always. But I'm too lazy to argue with you. That's why I deliberately allowed you to step outside just one second before me, stinky brother!"

A single guy and a single girl stepped out of their respective rooms, observing the exterior. The guy wore a blue cloak over similarly hued clothing, while the girl was dressed in a thin red and white dress. Wisps of blue qi raged around the guy, almost like rain, while embers of red qi glowed brilliantly around the girl, almost like an inferno.

"Huh," the guy mused to himself as he stared at the courtyard. "I was expecting our little subordinates to come greet us, but it seems like these bastards beat them to it."

He cocked his head from side to side, easing the muscles in his neck. His blue aura intensified further.

"But this is a great opportunity for us to stretch and see for ourselves the fruits of our labor over the past few months!"

"Agreed!" the girl nodded, raising a hand to touch the guy's outstretched fist. She smirked as she swept her gaze across the Shadow Gang members gathered in front of the two of them. "Pang Bai Shan, where's your brother, Pang Hei Shan? Or have you taken over his position as the new leader of Shadow Gang? Seems like a lot of things have changed while we were in retreat."

The girl was Hong Wu the leader of the Red Faction, and she had broken through to the second stage of Yellowed Lands realm.

"If you didn't come looking for us, we would have gone looking for you anyway!" Lan Yu, the leader of the Blue Faction, had also broken through to the second level of Yellowed Lands realm. He was grinning malevolently. "It's time to settle matters between our gangs once and for all!"

"My brother is dead," Pang Bai Shan replied. Unlike Hong Wu and Lan Yu, who were ranked second and third on the Seven Stars List, he was ranked fifth. "He was stupid enough to have been killed by a newcomer."

He had finally reached the peak of Heaven realm in the past few months, surpassing his brother, but he didn't seem very happy about his achievement. Indeed, he was sullen.

"That's a surprise. You, on the other hand, have improved a lot during our retreat." Hong Yu nodded in acknowledgement. But Lan Yu scoffed.

"No matter how good you are, you are nothing more than a cultivator at the peak of Heaven realm. Did you really think you could challenge us?"

"You are right, I am certainly not your opponent," Pang Bai Shan conceded, raising a hand in what seemed like surrender. Then he smirked scornfully. "But I never said that your opponent is me."

Behind him, shadowy figures appeared, all of them dressed in cloaks and their facial features hidden beneath hoods.

"Heh. I don't recognize those people, Pang Bai Shan." Lan Yu snorted. "They don't look like the members from your Shadow Gang. Newcomers, perhaps? You have been aggressively recruiting while we were in retreat, it seems."

He chuckled.

"Not that it matters. No matter how many new members you've gotten into your Shadow Gang, we'll annihilate your entire faction."

"Stop talking nonsense," Hong Wu reprimanded her childhood friend, looking impatient. "Let's clean up the mess together."

The two faction leaders dashed forward, their qi flaring up all around them in violent blue and red vortexes. They collided with the new hooded members of the Shadow Gang before the entire area around them vanished in an enormous explosion.

That night, the courtyard simply ceased to exist, its grounds replaced by a molten crater.