"Descend." An authoritative voice commanded, his voice calm but steady.
Several figures dressed in black robes leaped down into the night sky, and landed gracefully on the ground. With a bow, they made a path for a tall young boy as he walked over to a throne-like chair. The boy sat down, and clasped his hands on his knees.
"Let's begin." He said.
"Yes," the middle-aged man replied, moving forward to obey. They took out a square box, and placed it on the ground, and the energy around and even several miles away began gushing into the box with a furious gale. Then with a loud screech, the box opened and white air rushed towards the young boy sitting calmly on the throne. Simon didn't resist the force. Instead, he closed his eyes and allowed the memories that'd been sealed in his mind to begin unlocking bit by bit.
Simon Wang— the Deathless Phoenix and the greatest monarch in the entire three skies—wasn't an ordinary figure. A thousand years ago, a terrible fight had occurred, and betrayed, he'd been wounded and forced to retreat into a poor and unknown village, assuming the identity of a useless son, in order to slowly regain his powers and return for revenge. No one, except his most trusted subordinates, knew of his real identity.
Soon, the ritual was over, and by that time, the pale yellow glow was rising from the East, indicating sunrise. Simon opened his eyes, rose from the throne and stretched his body lazily.
"You have all done well. I'll be giving you pointers now, and raise your strength." He said, looking down imposingly on the men.
"Yes, Sovereign!" Their bodies trembled in agitation.
…
When Simon returned to the village head's residence, he met a little party at the entrance, and with a frown, he went over. The sky was already bright at that point, and birds chirped in harmony.
"Simon, where have you been? We've been looking for you." Elder Kelvin spoke up, obviously relieved to see the young man who'd defeated his comrade yesterday. After the banquet, he'd searched for the boy in order to accept him as his student, but it seemed he'd vanished altogether.
Simon was about to respond when Clara spoke up. "You've sure grown complacent because you managed to clear the examination yesterday. But don't forget I imparted those techniques to you." Clara interrupted, with a hint of annoyance in her tone. When the elders had gathered them that morning, and Simon had been absent, she'd been happy, thinking he'd met with some mishap. Who'd have thought the elders would insist on waiting for the fool? She was already angry that the prince didn't manage to kill him, yet here he was, glowing and not even showing the slightest bit of remorse.
Simon ignored her, and clasped his fists towards the elders. "I apologize for my delay, but last night, I suddenly gained some insights towards my cultivation. As such, I decided to put it into practice." He'd already come up with an excuse on his way there.
Hearing his words, and noting his respectful attitude, the elders nodded.
"It's good that you're diligent about your cultivation. You'll surely achieve great things in the future." Elder Jacob smiled. Although, he'd been defeated and embarrassed yesterday, he didn't bear the slightest hatred towards Simon. Instead, he admired him. In this world, strength reigned supreme, and the fact that he possessed great strength, meant that he was hardworking.
Clara's expression soured. She was the one who should be in the spotlight, not her good-for-nothing brother. How dare he? With gritted teeth, she stepped forward. "Elders, I think there's something I should bring your attention to." She said meekly.
"Speak," Elder Kelvin ordered.
"My brother has never taken the physician examination, and is not an official physician. Won't it reflect badly if a person like him is admitted at the academy?" She asked, sending a discreet smile to Simon.
Simon was dumbfounded. He'd seen many callous people, but he'd never seen someone who'd be so happy to do her own brother in. What the hell? He wasn't bothered though. He was from the upper world, and there was nothing in this world that could faze him. But it was best to act low-profile.
Mm, low-profile was surely the way to go.
Elder Kelvin and Jacob exchanged baffled looks, and simultaneously, they glanced at the young man.
"Is that true?" They asked him.
Simon nodded. There was no need to hide the matter after all.
Elder Kelvin sighed. "Well, that won't be a problem. When we get to the academy, you can take the level one examination. If you clear it, you'll be granted your staff on the spot. But if you don't, we're afraid, we'll have no choice but to nullify your identity as a disciple." He explained.
Simon smiled to indicate that he understood. "That is okay."
"Since all is done, we should get going. We need to settle you all in before next two weeks." Elder Kelvin said, as he leaped on the massive beast they'd brought over. The four new disciples followed his lead. Elder Jacob shrouded them with his essence(Qi), so they wouldn't fall off.
As they beast finally moved out of sight, the village head turned to his son. "I saw you talking to Simon's sister last night. Were you trying to forge a relationship with her brother?" He asked with a smile.
Tristan frowned. "Forge a relationship? Why?" He was already angry when he saw Simon returning that morning, and wasn't in the best of moods.
"Then what were you doing?" His father burst out.
"I-I–" Tristan faltered. He couldn't possibly admit that he'd plotted to kill Simon after all. That could spell trouble for him. Instead, he tried to change the subject.
"Right, Father, when is the elder who treated you arriving? I'd like to become his student, or even his servant, in order to learn from him. I might be unable to enroll into the Sanctum of Physicians, but I'm sure with the expert's guidance, I'd be able to possess unparalleled strength soon." He'd been awed when he saw his father in good health. He'd seen how frail his father had been a few weeks ago. His illness had stumped even level two physicians, yet his father had claimed that the person had treated him in less than five minutes. If he could learn from such an expert, he'd become powerful, charming many ladies while he was at it. Thinking about made it made Tristan's eyes gleam in excitement.
"You spoke badly to Simon, offending him even, yet you want to learn from 'that expert?'" Qyler Zhu wondered how he'd raised such a foolish son, and clasped his forehead in embarrassment.
"Father, how does the matter of the expert concern that fool?" Tristan snickered. Thinking about that conceited fool made his blood boil.
Seeing that his son really had no clue, Qyler Zhu shook his head. "Do you have any idea who that expert is?"
Tristan pondered for a moment. "Considering how fast he treated you, if I'm not wrong, he could be a level three physician or even higher." His eyes glowed in admiration.
"He is not a level three physician," his father said.
"Then a level four?" Tristan's eyes widened.
"Neither. He is that fool whom you just spoke of…Simon Wang." His father revealed.
Tristan almost fell to the ground in shock. His teeth clattered against each other, and he couldn't help but recall what those men had told him last night.
'I'm coming for you,' written in red blood was delivered to him.
Could he really be that strong? But that couldn't be!
"Father, are you–"
Seeing his son's disoriented state, he frowned. "What did you do?"
"N-nothing." A shudder ran down his spine. If Simon was really the one who treated his father, and he revealed that he actually tried to kill such a person, his father might actually have him executed on the spot.
"I was such a fool," he whispered beneath his breath. He was doomed this time.
…
Flying on the large beast on the way to the Sanctum of Physicians, Simon had his eyes closed, carefully ruminating over his memories. He had to hurry up, there was no time.
"The academy is a tough place to be in, and you have to work hard for your resources. Although you're disciples at the moment, there are people stronger than you. Disciples are divided into two types: First disciples, and Blessed disciples. The strongest amongst the first disciples—which you all belong to— is at cultivator five realm." Elder Kelvin began explaining. Covered with his Qi, they could hear him clearly despite the roaring wind—due to the altitude of which they were flying.
"Cultivator five realm?" They all gasped. They were at cultivator one realm, and could truly be considered weak.
"If even the First disciples are that strong, how about the Blessed disciples?" Gabriel asked. The others turned their gazes to the elders. They also wanted to know.
"The weakest of them is at cultivator eight realm, while the strongest is at Helios Sparrow one realm." Elder Jacob revealed.
The new disciples' lips trembled.
Cultivation realms were divided into: Cultivation, Helios Sparrow, and Trembling Claws. Each realm had eight levels—one, two, three, and so forth. Being at cultivator one realm, they thought they were strong enough, but hearing that even the weakest of the Blessed disciples were super stronger than their village head, they couldn't help but shiver.
"You don't have to worry. If you cultivate diligently, you all would reach cultivator five realm in five-six years." Elder Kelvin smiled.
The elders continued telling them about the rules of the academy.
"As a first disciple, you have to study under a Blessed disciple. Once we get to the academy, that should be the first thing you all should do." Elder Jacob advised.
"We understand." The disciples nodded.
Their beast flew for a week. One morning, Elder Kelvin looked down.
"We are here." He announced.
Hearing his words, even Simon snapped out of his trance. As he'd been immersing himself in his memories, he hadn't heard a word that the elders had been telling the others for the past few days.
The disciples looked down to see a very large city four times the size of their own village. White smoke hovered above its surface, shrouding a bit of it from view. At the far end, they spotted a large tower-like buildings that almost stretched into the sky. A huge and wide wall rounded the buildings.
"That is the Sanctum of Physicians." Elder Kelvin pointed out. The beast flew over, and landed on the ground. Elder Jacob retracted his Qi, and leaped down. The others followed suit.
"Follow our lead. We will direct you to the students registry. Once you're done, you'll officially become disciples and students of the academy." Although they were already disciples in name, they still needed to go through the formalities, accept their identity badge, and claim their rooms too.
"Yes." The others said, following the elders as they moved through the crowd. They observed their surroundings. The place was sure beautiful. Everyone was either dressed in black or white robes. They soon stopped in front of a large building.
"Go in." Elder Jacob directed, and the two elders turned to leave. Now that the students were successfully in the academy, their work was done.
The disciples hurried in, and stopped in front of a wide room with a plaque hung on its entrance. 'Registry,' it read.
They saw three young men seated behind a table. They were dressed in black robes, and looked to be disciples too.
"What do you want?" One of them asked the four intruders, shaking them out of their daze. Clara stepped forward.
"We are new students. Elder Jacob and Elder Kelvin asked us to come here for our registration." She smiled sweetly. She was already used to leaving men in awe with her dazzling beauty. However, the men behind the desk looked at her with uninterest. Ignored, an annoyed look crossed her face.
"Come forward one after the other, and present your level one level physician staff." They said.
Soon, Simon was left. He walked forward. "That–"
"I don't actually have a physician staff. I'm not a physician yet." He smiled awkwardly. The elders had left in a hurry before he could remind them.
"You're not a physician yet? Then what are you doing here?" One of the black-robed disciples asked in bewilderment.
"I passed the examination. Alright, if it's a problem, I can become a physician right now." Simon offered. They just had to tell him to go about it. One of the disciples was about to reply, when a angry voice came from behind them.
"Do you think a physician examination is something so easy that an ignorant country bumpkin like you can pass? Saying you'd take the examination and become a physician right now, are you of your mind?!" A voice thundered, and everyone turned in the direction of the voice.