The morning air clung crisp against the mountainside, sunlight spilling like silk over jagged cliffs and narrow paths. Ling Ziyang walked beside Shen Liangyu, grinning from ear to ear. His eyes were locked onto Liangyu's face, gaze unbroken, as if he were studying a relic come to life.
After several exchanged glances, Liangyu finally snapped, "Can you not look at me like that?"
"Are you real?" Ziyang asked, voice half-whisper, half-wonder.
Liangyu recoiled slightly. "Real? What in the heavens are you talking about? You appeared out of nowhere, yelled like a lunatic, and now you're smiling like you found some ancient treasure. Are you real?"
Ziyang reached over and gave Liangyu a quick poke. "You feel real enough." He chuckled. "So, where are we headed?"
Liangyu shot him a sidelong glance. "Tianlan Academy. Entrance exams."
"A new academic year! How exciting." Ziyang swung his arms as he walked, eyes darting across the landscape.
Liangyu frowned. "Don't get ahead of yourself. Tianlan doesn't let in just anyone. The exams are brutal. Only the brightest minds or the most skilled cultivators make it past the first trial."
Ziyang nodded, then tilted his head thoughtfully. "You seem like the scholarly type. You must be more on the intellectual side, right?"
Liangyu narrowed his eyes. "Was that a compliment or an insult?"
"Definitely a compliment, bro. You look smart. Like, 'carry-the-nation's-future-on-your-back' smart."
Liangyu smirked, adjusting the collar of his robe with deliberate grace. "Naturally. I carry myself with refinement."
They walked for quite a while, the cliffside path flattening into wide flagstone roads. The horizon shifted, and Tianlan Academy finally rose into view, vast stone walls stretching like a mountain range, ancient sigils etched along their surface, glowing faintly with warding light.
Ziyang stopped in his tracks. "Woah."
"Quite a sight, isn't it?" Liangyu said. "This isn't just an academy, it's a fortress. The outer barrier is reinforced with spells, the grounds inside house cultivation fields, exam towers, artifact vaults. And at its heart stands Tianlan Tower,one thousand floors high."
"A thousand!? That's like... WAY taller than even the Burj Khalifa!"
[837 more floors to be precise.]
"Ugh, ofcourse I knew that. But who even specifies a number when in shock? Don't be annoying."
"The what? Why are you so weird?", Liangyu asked.
"Eh, never mind." Ziyang waved it off.
At the main gate, two guards stood armored in polished scale-mail, faces stern. One of them stepped forward and barked, "Name."
Liangyu answered first, his voice calm. "Shen Liangyu, of the Shen Family."
"So that's your name," Ziyang followed. "Ling Ziyang, Ling Family."
The guard gestured. "Hand."
Ziyang hesitated, then extended his palm. Cold steel nicked his finger, drawing a single drop of blood. He flinched. "Ow! What the hell?"
The blood dripped onto a silver sigil, which glowed with white light. The guard nodded. "Proceed."
Ziyang glanced at Liangyu, who arched an eyebrow.
"They're testing for demonic blood," Liangyu said. "A basic safety measure. Maybe you'd know that if you actually paid attention in high school."
The gates creaked open with the groan of ancient metal. Inside lay a massive courtyard filled with students in colorful robes, clustered in murmuring groups. Some practiced martial forms, others discussed formations or spirit beasts. Ziyang felt the pressure of it all. The anticipation, the heat in the air, the raw promise of potential. His chest tightened, but not with nerves. He was alive.
He threw an arm around Liangyu's shoulder. "Look alive, Liangyu. We've got a whole lotta youth ahead of us."
Ziyang's stomach growled loud enough to turn a few heads. He pointed toward a row of food stalls along the far right. "But first, some breakfast!"
They approached the stalls, the scent of seared meat and steamed buns thick in the air. Liangyu selected a modest portion with clean, precise movements. Ziyang, on the other hand, piled a little of everything onto his tray, moving with the hunger of a man reborn.
"Delicious!" he cried between mouthfuls, eyes wide, cheeks stuffed. "Heavenly! Absolutely divine!"
Liangyu had just lifted his chopsticks when a voice called out behind him. "Liangyu!"
He turned. Standing there was Mei Lian, poised in a sea-blue robe, hair pinned with silver needles. His grip on the chopsticks faltered.
"Oh! Mei!" His voice cracked. "You- uh- you look fantastic! I mean, of course you do! Ready for the exams?"
She smiled. "All set. Figured I'd run into you here."
Liangyu nodded too fast. "Me too! I mean, I figured you'd be here. Naturally. You always were… thorough."
Just then, Ziyang popped his head between them. "Damn. Jade beauty alert."
Mei's smile vanished. She raised an eyebrow at Ziyang. "Excuse me?"
Ziyang bowed quickly, mouth still half-full. "A compliment, madam. No disrespect. I'm just really excited today."
"And you are?"
"Ling Ziyang. Liangyu's best friend."
Liangyu scoffed. "I've never met this man before in my life."
"Childhood friends, actually."
"I didn't even know his name until ten minutes ago."
"He used to suck on my fingers when we were babies."
Liangyu turned slowly. "That's-"
"-how close we are."
"-absolutely vile."
Mei tilted her head. "Our high school's top scorer had a best friend? Doubtful."
With a polite nod to Liangyu, she walked off to join a nearby group.
Liangyu stared at his food. Ziyang went back to chewing, unfazed.
Then a shadow loomed. A thick finger jabbed forward and flicked Liangyu's plate off the table. Food splattered across the dirt.
"Well, well, look who it is," came a voice, breath wheezing through an oversized nose. "Didn't expect to see you here."
Liangyu sighed without turning. "Ugh. Wenhao."
"Just kidding," Wenhao barked, laughing. "I definitely expected to see you here!"
His cronies burst into forced laughter behind him.
[S-Rank idiot detected.]
"Figured", Ziyang said as he watched the scene like theater, picking grains of rice from his plate.
Liangyu said, "What do you want, Wenhao?"
"Want? Better ask what I don't want. Like you in this academy." Wenhao stepped closer, boots grinding the dirt. "You really think you belong here? You'll never reach our family's level. You know how this world works. You're wasting your breath."
Liangyu met his gaze, voice low. "That's why I'm here. To change that exact order."
Wenhao sneered. "Save your speeches. Here's your last chance. Walk out that gate, now. Don't humiliate yourself. You think you're smart? There's always a bigger fish."
Ziyang brushed the crumbs off his hands and stood. "You gonna let him talk to you like that?"
"Don't. Stay out of this," Liangyu said quickly.
He raised his hand to strike Liangyu.
Ziyang caught his wrist.
Gasps echoed around them.
"You dare tou-"
Slap.
The sound cracked through the air. Liangyu's eyes widened.
Then another slap. And another.
Ziyang held Wenhao's wrist in an iron grip, slapping him rhythmically like beating dust off a rug. The minions rushed in. Ziyang sidestepped one, elbowed the other, all while continuing the assault. Wenhao's nose flared. His feet stumbled.
Finally, Ziyang released him.
Wenhao dropped to his knees, face red and wet. "Stop! Stop!"
Dozens of students had gathered. Silence in the air.
A member of the Zhao family, publicly humiliated.
He looked up, dazed. "Who… even are you?"
Ziyang tilted his head, a faint smile on his lips. "Bigger fish."