"Qianru!" Mei Lin cried. "Someone call the nurse!"
Students rose in panic, chattering anx fumbling for their phones.
Ms. Rong Xinyi rushed over, checking the girl's pulse. "She's overheating… heart rate unstable!" she muttered, trying to stay calm.
But before anyone could act further, Fang Chen rose from his seat.
"Move," he voiced with a tone of authority.
The teacher blinked. "Huan Chen, this isn't the time—"
"I said, move."
Something in his eyes made her step aside without realizing.
Fang Chen knelt beside the fainted girl with his fingers pressing gently on her wrist. His demeanor shifted entirely as though he was the lazy flirt. Now he was a man who had seen centuries, who had healed emperors and raised the dying.
He exhaled softly, letting a faint wisp of qi flow from his fingertips as he poked some parts of her body.
It was subtle... invisible to most...
A ripple of spiritual energy instantly spread warmth through the girl's body.
A few seconds passed.
Then, Qianru gasped and sat up abruptly while clutching her chest.
The room went dead silent.
"Wh-what… happened?" she stammered, looking dazed.
Fang Chen smiled faintly. "You forgot to breathe properly while panicking and your body seemed to have accumulated stress from prior days. I realigned your internal flow. You'll be fine now."
Everyone just… stared.
"Realigned her what?" Liu Tao muttered.
"Flow?" another whispered.
Ms. Rong Xinyi blinked rapidly, trying to process what just happened. "How did you… what did you do?"
"Medical arts," Fang Chen said casually, brushing imaginary dust from his sleeve. "A simple technique. You might call it… acupuncture without needles."
The entire class buzzed with confusion.
"Did he just bring her back to life?"
"No way."
"Was that… magic?"
"Fang Chen!" Huan Chen's voice rang in his head. "You used qi in public! People will notice!"
"Relax, boy," Fang Chen replied, rising slowly to his feet. "Mortals are blind. They see miracles and call them luck."
"Besides, it matters not."
---
After class, Fang Chen headed to Ms. Rong Xinyi's office to submit an assignment from the previous day.
Huan Chen begged him to because he didn't want to lose points.
She folded her arms and eyed him warily after receiving his submission. "What you did earlier today… how did you know what was wrong with her?"
Fang Chen leaned on her desk, smiling. "Experience. I've treated thousands in my lifetime."
She frowned. "You're seventeen."
"I've had a very long life."
Her brows furrowed. "Don't play games with me, Huan Chen. You're not supposed to perform stunts like that during a test. What if something went wrong?"
"Then she would've met her ancestors sooner," he said with a grin. "But worry not — I don't fail at saving maidens. Especially beautiful ones."
Ms. Rong Xinyi stiffened as her composure cracked for a moment. "T-That's not the point!"
"Then what is?" he questioned while taking a step closer. "That you're worried for me? How sweet."
"Worried?!" she sputtered, backing slightly against her desk. "I— I'm your teacher, not—"
"Then teach me," Fang Chen said softly with a low and teasing tone. "I've always enjoyed learning… from older women."
Her face turned crimson. "Out. Now!"
He smirked and bowed mockingly. "As you command, my dear instructor."
When he left, she exhaled shakily and pressed a hand to her chest.
"This boy…" she muttered to herself. "Why does he feel so… dangerous?"
---
Later that evening, Fang Chen walked home beneath the city's glowing lights, still grinning to himself.
"You're insane," Huan Chen muttered. "You flirted with a teacher! She's gonna report you!"
"Report me for what? Breathing too attractively?" Fang Chen chuckled. "I sense her resistance weakening. A few more days and she'll be dreaming of me."
"You're impossible."
"Indeed. That's why I'm immortal."
He looked up at the starless sky, feeling his qi growing stronger within.
"Nearly twenty percent recovered already," he murmured. "Soon, this mortal world will tremble once more before Fang Chen. Emperor Zhao Yun... I shall have my revenge. Your entire bloodline of females will be impregnated by me."
"Or you'll just end up in detention."
"Either way," Fang Chen said with a laugh, "it shall be entertaining."
...
...
(( Two Days Later ))
The sun had barely begun to dip beneath the horizon, casting long streaks of amber light across the busy streets of Pekking City.
The after-school rush filled the air with chatter, honking vehicles, and the occasional laughter of students escaping another day of academic torture.
Inside one of the city's largest theaters, Huan Chen sat alone in the corner seat, clutching a box of popcorn half his size. He was trying to enjoy his four hours of control.
A movie blared across the massive screen displaying explosions, screaming actors, a love story that made no sense.
However, none of it was peaceful. Not because of the movie, but because of him.
> "What kind of technique is this supposed to be?"
Fang Chen's voice echoed from within, dripping with mockery.
"They call that acting," Huan Chen whispered through gritted teeth, hoping the couple beside him wouldn't notice he was arguing with himself.
> "Acting? Ridiculous. The man took a sword to the chest and still has time to confess his love? If I had a disciple who tried that, I'd cut him in half myself for wasting energy."
"Please," Huan Chen muttered. "Can you just—let me enjoy the movie in peace?"
> "Peace?" Fang Chen scoffed. "You mortals are strange. A thousand illusions, none with purpose. In my era, you'd watch the stars and meditate on the Dao of flame instead of paying to watch—whatever this is."
Onscreen, a villain laughed maniacally as the hero swore vengeance. Fang Chen's tone turned almost approving.
> "Ah, that laugh. That's how a proper villain should sound. Almost reminds me of myself."
Huan Chen sighed and shoved popcorn into his mouth.
"You've been tormenting me for over a week. You should've stayed sealed in that void instead."
> "The void was paradise compared to this nonsense."
---
When the movie finally ended, Huan Chen stretched and yawned, relieved to have survived two hours of commentary from a millennia-old spirit who thought cinema was a cultivation trial. He shuffled out into the neon-lit streets, heading for the bus stop.
"Well, well, if it isn't the class clown himself," a familiar voice suddenly called out from the side.
Huan Chen froze mid-step while turning slowly to see a face he recognized.
Liu Tao stood a few feet away from the theatre's entrance, grinning like a hyena.
His arm was draped around a girl who definitely wasn't Mei Lin, the class monitor. Behind him stood two of his lackeys, both wearing smug grins that screamed trouble.
"Oh crap," Huan Chen muttered.
"Who's this clown?" the girl beside Liu Tao giggled.
"Just a worm I need to squash," Liu Tao voiced while letting go of her and stepping forward. "You've been flirting with my girl, huh? Acting all suave in front of Mei Lin. Embarassed me in front of the school."
Huan Chen raised his hands. "Look, Liu Tao, that wasn't me—it was, uh—"
"What? Your other personality?" Liu Tao mocked.
"Technically, yes," Fang Chen whispered from inside with an amused tone. "He's not entirely wrong."
"You're unbelievable," Huan Chen whispered back. "Now's not the time to joke."
> "I'm not joking. You did flirt with her. Magnificently, I might add. I even made her blush in front of him. You should be proud."
"I'm about to get my head bashed in!"
Liu Tao cracked his knuckles as a cruel smile spread across his face. "Lucky for me, today's special. I finally got my cultivation system."
The lackeys "ooohed" dramatically. Huan Chen's heart dropped.
"C-cultivation system? As in—government-issued?"
"That's right," Liu Tao said proudly. "Took me years to qualify, but I got one now. You know what that means, right?"
A faint blue glow lit his right hand as streams of qi spread along his veins. This was unmistakably the sign of a newly bonded system.
Even without experience, Huan Chen could tell this wasn't good.
"Now I get to test my first combat technique on you."