Teacher Fang reached the village and was at Yufan's house with him and was about to turn and leave.
"Teacher Fang,"Yufan bowed down.
"Thank you for escorting me home,"he spoke, his voice filled with great gratitude.
"Yufan...Is that you?" a woman's voice echoed from inside the hut.
"Mom..It's me, don't worry I'll be coming in soon," Yufan responded.
"Next time be careful who you offend,Yufan. I'll see you at the Academy," Fang Lei spoke before turning to leave.
Thud!!
A loud noise echoed and Yufan quickly ran inside,"Mom... are you okay?" he spoke, helping her back to her bed.
"What happened,Yufan, why are you so badly injured?" she asked.
Nervously,Yufan replied, "It's nothing, mother. I ran into a strong beast today and I couldn't defeat it; thankfully Teacher Fang was there to save me."
His mother sighed,"I told you to stop taking risks for me; I'll heal in time. Just focus on your studies and cultivation; I just want you to live a long and happy life."
"Mom,you have no one to take care of you; ever since dad left, I became the man of the house, so let me take care of you. I won't let you die; let's live a happy and long life together," he retorted.
"Come here,my son," she called him into a warm, motherly hug.
"You know I love you,right?" she spoke and he nodded.
She continued,"How many spirit stones did you bring for me today?"
"I'm sorry,mom; today was a bad day for me," he replied.
Still in the embrace,her expression became serious. "Do you want me to die? Stop going to the academy, Yufan; I don't want you to die fighting those beasts, my son," she spoke.
"Mom...How will we survive if I stop?" he asked, his heart skipping a beat as if scared.
With her frail body,she pulled him away from the embrace and looked into his eyes, "People are horrible, Yufan; take from the weak, my son; rob them all."
"But mom.."he tried to retort.
"Are you weak,Yufan? Are you like your father?" she spoke.
"No...Mother."
Her eyes shot towards the door.
"Someone's watching us,"she thought.
"What was that feeling?"Teacher Fang asked himself. His breath hitched.
"She sensed me?Is she a hidden powerhouse?"
A cold prickle of unease ran down his spine.Deciding not to press his luck,
He silently summoned his sword and shot into the night sky,leaving the unsettling village behind.
Back in Valenor city,
"The Cultivation World has been full of disappointments for me;first I get a weak teacher, and my opportunity to start a fresh got ruined. Looks like everywhere I go I'll be hated," Omari sighed, eating a piece of bread he had just bought with one spirit stone.
"I can't even make a friend;guess I'm destined to be alone."
Before Omari could finish his thoughts,a heavily injured young man who looked at least three years older bumped into him. The young man's body was covered in bruises, blood running down his nose from his forehead. Omari got pushed back a few steps, and the young man fell.
Omari watched as the young man gritted his teeth getting up,and skidded on the ground, turning left into an alley and hiding inside an empty barrel on the corner there.
A man in black landed in front of Omari,coming from the top of a building.
"Hey,have you seen an injured kid run by here?" the man asked.
A memory flashed in Omari's mind;he remembered how he was chased by the hunters of his village.
Sigh!
"Yeah...he went straight; I think he's headed for the other gate to leave the city," Omari lied.
The man lifted his hand,signaling his other companions on the rooftops to move forward. They rushed forward, vanishing within a second as if they were never there.
With one quick look at the barrel the injured young man was hiding in,Omari turned and walked back to the Academy.
When he arrived,Teacher Fang was waiting for him in the courtyard where the senior students trained.
"Teacher Fang,"Omari bowed a bit in greeting, not putting as much enthusiasm into it as he used to.
Fang Lei nodded."I have to make this kid respect me; he has to see me as a father figure, that way he'll be easier to control," he thought.
He walked over to Omari and placed his hand on his shoulder.
"Omari,unlike me, you are very talented in cultivation. Reaching the Awakened stage at your age is a great feat. Allow this old man to teach you more and give you a little push in your cultivation journey."
Omari raised an eyebrow,confused, "What is he trying to do?" he thought.
"I'd hate to see a talent like yours get trapped in a small,shitty place like this," Fang Lei spoke.
Omari stopped stressing over why Fang Lei was trying so hard and focused on the opportunity in front of him.
He bowed,"Thank you, teacher; I won't disappoint you."
Fang Lei smiled a bit,then began.
"The first thing I'm going to teach you is killing intent.Killing intent is the manifestation of one's will or desire to kill. It is the energy released when someone truly wishes to take another's life. Strong people can instinctively sense when they are being targeted by such intent. What they feel is that oppressive killing will."
Omari was sitting down,listening intently, and Teacher Fang continued.
"Killing intent can be hidden when attacking.It can be felt and cultivated. Not everyone is able to cultivate it, but those who train it can use it to intimidate, paralyze, or warn their opponents even before a fight begins. When refined to a high level, killing intent can solidify into tangible energy, no longer just an invisible force. At that point, it may even grant its wielder unique abilities born from their murderous will."
Teacher Fang walked back and forth,explaining.
"Omari,you have the potential to cultivate killing intent. I don't know who you killed or wanted to kill, but someone your age shouldn't have that much killing intent. But consider it a blessing in disguise."
An image of his father popped up in Omari's mind,but he quickly shook it off.
Fang Lei continued,"If someone has their killing intent released all the time, it will be easy to pinpoint their location or what their next move is going to be. So I want you to learn to control it and use it to overwhelm your opponents. First, focus on your desire to kill. Focus that desire inside your mind and don't let it leak out. I want you to focus, suppress it, and once you do that, release it all at once aimed at your target. Overwhelm him, shock him, and while he's dazed, you strike."
Omari spent a few hours training with Fang Lei,and after a few hours of getting it wrong, they stopped.
"Keep practicing;we'll continue tomorrow," Fang Lei declared, heading to the building he lived in. Omari trained for a bit before heading to the library and continuing his studies and gaining more knowledge.
The next day,Yufan didn't come to the academy and Omari had stopped going to his classes and focused on his cultivation and books.
While everyone was in their classes,he was on the roof, circulating his spiritual energy throughout his body. After a while of that, he would start cultivating his killing intent. He continued for half the day, then later decided to stretch his limbs.
He went on a walk around the city.The names of grand shops like Golden Treasure Pavilion, Spirit Exchange Hall, Iron Soul Forge, and Spirit Herb Pavilion were the few among many that caught his eye.
A few hundred meters in front of Omari,a small homeless girl covered in dirt walked, begging everyone she saw for something to eat or just a single spirit stone. Her body was covered in bumps and pimples. She was wearing a dirty, brown, boyish robe that was ugly and covered in mud. Her hair was scruffy, sticky, stinky, and had some of it stuck together because of the mud.
"Please help me...I need some food."
"Please help me...Even just one spirit stone would help."
"Please...Please save me; I need something to eat," she begged.
"Eww,you diseased rat," a man pushed her to the ground.
He continued,"I can't believe she touched me... I'm gonna be sick... I'm going to need a long bath... go die in a ditch, you disgusting thing," he spoke, his voice full of disdain, his eyes looking deep into hers, hate and disgust emanating from them.
That's when he saw her,a small, filthy girl, a living embodiment of the weakness he despised. He watched her get up and continue begging everyone she saw for anything to eat or just a single spirit stone.
"Pathetic,"he spoke.
He walked forward,ignoring her, minding his own business. While walking, her hand landed on him, stopping him in his tracks.
"Please help me;I need something to eat... Please help."
Omari looked down on her with disgust,"Born in the cultivation world and this is how you chose to live your life... Begging?" he spoke, shocking her.
Her eyes widened in fear.She was at least a year younger than him. He slapped her hand away, pushing her weak body to the ground. His eyes glowed green and he pulled his dagger out.
"You pathetic thing,let me end your suffering," he spoke, swinging his dagger down.
The little girl started dropping tears.
"Anyone,help... please," she cried, closing her eyes.
But just as the tip of the knife was about to sink into the flesh,it stopped.
A hand had caught his wrist.
The force wasn't violent,yet it was unyielding, like iron wrapped in silk. Omari's arm quivered, muscles straining, but the dagger refused to move another inch.
The little girl stirred,her lashes fluttered and she opened her eyes slowly, the world swimming into focus. At first, all she saw was gold.
Standing between her and death was a young man unlike any other.His hair, long and flowing like molten sunlight, spilled down his back, almost touching the ground.
It shimmered with every faint breeze,catching light as though the sun itself refused to let go of him. His eyes were a piercing gold, not dull or earthly, but radiant, like polished amber that seemed to glow from within.
He wore a robe the color of dawn,deep, luminous gold trimmed with white embroidery that traced elegant, ancient patterns along the sleeves and chest.
An invisible pressure descended on Omari,so heavy it felt difficult to breathe. Sweat beaded on his brow as primal fear gripped his heart.
The handsome young man's grip on his wrist was like an unbreakable vice of steel;he could feel the delicate bones grinding together, a hair's breadth from shattering into dust. His leg started shaking, but his expression stayed serious, trying not to seem afraid.
"Prince!My prince! Sheng Wei!!!!"
A voice echoed,freezing everyone who heard that name in place.
The young man holding Omari's hand shook his head,"Elder, I'm right here."
The elder vanished and appeared behind Sheng Wei.
"Wait,that's Prince Sheng Wei!!"
"The one loved by the Gods,born to rule."
"He's so handsome,"a girl declared, followed by many more girls admiring the prince.
"It is said the day he was born,the clouds turned white and gold in the middle of the night and it rained golden waters that brought out many blessings and healing effects."
"It's truly him,the Son of Heaven, admired and loved by many."
"A prince born to save the world,born to rule and lead us to eternal life."
The little girl couldn't stop staring at the handsome young man saving her.The prince looked down with a bright smile, "Are you ok?" he asked.
Tears started flowing down her eyes and she hugged his leg,"Thank you... thank you..." she thanked him, sobbing.
"You little...How dare you.." before he could finish.
Elder!!
The prince's voice echoed,stopping the elder in his tracks.
The prince then focused his attention towards Omari.
"Why were you trying to kill her?"he said, his voice elegant, strong, and impactful. Omari could feel his heart being shook by the prince's voice. He tried pulling his hand away, but the prince's grip was too strong.
After a little struggle,the prince then let go of his arm and he took a few steps back, almost falling over.
"Why is he trying to kill a little girl?"
"Thank god the Prince was here."
"Such an innocent girl."
"She was just asking for help;there's no need to treat her like that."
The people's voices echoed.
"This guy,he's strong, a hundred times stronger than Teacher Fang, and that Elder beside him is even stronger. Prince Sheng Wei!!" Omari's eyes then snapped open in realization.
The storyteller's voice echoed in his mind,"A prince born beneath the favor of the stars, crowned by Heaven's hand, loved by the Gods." His pupils shook, his hands shaking.
People started talking.
"Who is that kid over there?How dare he argue with the prince?"
"He deserves death."
"He should kneel and apologize."
The voices rang in Omari's head;his anger started rising.
"I Hate This Guy!!"Omari declared in his mind. The thought was a poison in Omari's mind.
"Look at them all,fawning over him like he's a god. A few minutes ago, they were disgusted by that girl, but look at them now, acting like they didn't treat that girl horribly. They pretend to care all because their precious prince is here."
It was the same hypocrisy he saw in his village,the same quickness to judge and condemn. The green energy inside him pulsed in time with his rising fury.
Omari continued with his thoughts,"If he's born to save the world, then I'm definitely born to destroy it; I'll kill every single one of them."
"I was saving her from the pathetic life she's living,"Omari replied to the prince.