"Fifth star student rank?!" Li Wei gasped as she stepped back. It's only been two years! It usually takes someone until they are ten years old to get that strong!" her wide eye rested on Hong Zhao for a moment before looking down to the floor. "Does that mean you will leave us behind?" She didn't look back up. Her happiness for seeing him was replaced with sadness for potentially losing him.
"I need to get stronger." Hong Zhao said honestly. "If the only way to do that is to go to this academy, then I might just have to." his voice was apologetic, yet his resolve was firm. "I do intend to leave and join with the Yuan Academy, as soon as there is another opening."
Li Wei brushed a tear from her eye and turned towards the stairway. "You might want to talk with my father about how to get in." her voice quivered slightly and she ran up the stairs.
Hong Zhao never intended to hurt Li Wei. He wished he could stay, but he knew he had to gain strength as fast as he could. Staying at the student level for any extended amount of time was not a good idea. If he did, he might allow someone with a malevolent heart to surpass him. Eventually he will need all the strength he could attain in order to come back to this village and help.
Though Elder Yuang Ji was an honorable man, he could see his health fading slightly when last they met. His hair was the color of snow, and Hong Zhao knew he most likely only had a few years left. After he passed, Li Wen had a shot to become the village elder, but if Yuang Yi were to challenge Li Wen when he had the strength to, he was sure that Li Wen would fall. Hong Zhao would not allow this. Not after everything they had done for him over the past few years. To turn his back on them would be to invite a serpent to his bed. He was sure if he didn't pay them back, they might become sour with him.
As Hong Zhao climbed the steps, he could only pay heed to the many thoughts roaming around in his head. He could turn his back on the Li family and run for Yuan and never look back, or he could help the Li siblings attain the fifth star student rank before leaving. If he were honest, he probably could.
Before reaching the last step before the double doors, Hong Zhao checked his ring. Sending a mental projection into it, he again landed in the familiar room. After he opened the fifth star student door, a note was on the table. Instead of dozens of items as he was expecting, he instead saw hundreds stacked neatly against the wall. So many pills and fruits, he couldn't count them all.
"I'm proud of you." Was all the note said.
Regaining control of his body, he took the final step into Li Wen's office. As he opened the door, he could see Li Wen begin to form a sentence. Before he could, Hong Zhao went to his desk and put his hands on it. When he lifted them, piles of fruit and pills were replaced.
Li Wen's eyes went wide as he recognized many of the fruits and pills. "These are..."
"I'd like Li Wei and Li Wuhan to accompany me to the academy." Hong Zhao said simply. "Do you think this will be enough to make that happen?"
Li Wen stared at the young boy with a shocked expression. "This entire pile is worth more than my estate alone." He said simply. "This is just too much of a gift for us to accept."
"Then take it off your table and throw it in the trash." Hong Zhao said simply as he opened the door again and let himself out. He made it clear that he would not take it all back. After such a show of wealth, he hoped that Li Wen would stay as friendly as he had been. If not, He might have to take this moment to run.
As he climbed down the stairs, he saw Li Wei at the second floor landing. Without stopping, his eyes fell upon her. "Get your brother and go upstairs." His back to her as he descended the steps to the front door, she still was close enough to hear. "You will be going with me to the academy. Come to my courthouse the moment you hit fifth star student rank."
Hong Zhao left the main family estate and headed to the market. He was tired of being cooped up in the courtyard, and he didn't care much for the forest anymore. Without even so much as a thought to summon him, Shadow appeared next to him.
Hong Zhao let his hand rest on the head of the shadow panther as they walked through the village. He was not the only one to grow in strength in two years. Shadow had been given every other 'beast core' as Hong Zhao had read in one of the books Huang Ji gave him. Because of this, Shadow had made it to the seventh star student rank. He supposed he could trust his friend to stay by his side after all. Not only did his rank increase, but his build and height. The shadow panther was now large enough for him to ride if he so chose to.
As they walked the street, Hong Zhao decided to go to a booth that sold something sweet to cool his temper. Since he was only seven years old, beer was off the table for him. He checked the storage ring that Li Wen had given him two years ago when he had first come to Rantori Village. When he opened the ring, he counted fifty gold and seventy silver. It was much more than his original one gold and eleven silver he had gotten from the bandits .
Hong Zhao put one silver up on the sales booth and took a small bag of sweets, then went to a small fountain to sit down. Shadow decided he wanted to take a bath while he relaxed. He didn't stop the gigantic kitten from jumping in the fountain, much to the passersby amusement. This was the first time in two years he had actually stepped outside. He didn't want to cause any trouble for Huang Ji because of his idiot grandson.
"Would you look who we have here." A familiar voice yelled out for the marketplace to hear. "Here I was just walking home when who do I see? A familiar commoner!" Huang Yi seemed to materialize out of nowhere. "It's been so long, I thought you might have left with your tail between your legs." He laughed with no one in particular.
Hong Zhao could see that Huang Yi had reached the fourth star student rank just by looking at him. "Walking home with the same friend that's been sitting outside the Li family estates for the past two years?" Hong Zhao chuckled lightly. "You really can't stand an insult from your grandfather, can you." His eyes narrowed in obvious challenge. He was thinking of how this would go in his head. Either he acted respectful and was nicely kicked outside the village gates, or he stood up for himself in front of all the people who feared him and took his chances with their opinions. The latter was the obvious choice. He was no ones bitch.
"Well yeah, my friend Xiao Xe is friends with Li Wuhan. He's there every day to see how much he's grown and to ask for cultivation tips. We all know how much of a genius he is after all." Huang Yi's eyes went dark for a moment. Hong Zhao could almost taste the unbridled hate within the nine year-old's eyes.
"All of this hatred, just because your grandfather gave me a complement." Hong Zhao shook his head. "Maybe that should speak more to your character than to your ego. Maybe if you spent the past two years focusing on your cultivation instead of on hatred of nothing but yourself, we wouldn't be in this mess right now. Don't you think?"
"What mess?" Huang Yi looked around and raised his hands in question. "The only mess I'm going to see is your body splattered on the fountain after I'm done with you!" He activated a movement ability and charged towards Hong Zhao. The latter stood still for a moment, his vortex thrust having been activated since he walked out of the estate.
"You poor fool." Hong Zhao said with dead eyes. He then disappeared before Huang Yi was able to strike. Before he had time to look around, a hand came up and slapped him in the face. "You are a fool, Huang Yi. A weak pathetic fool."
Huang Yi's face turned from a shade of red to near purple in anger. "What the hell did you just call me?!" He screamed into Hong Zhao's face. "Do you realize who you are talking to?" His voice reverberated through the entire market.
Hong Zhao slapped Huang Yi harder, sending him sprawling back to the fountain. Before he had a chance to regain his footing, a big black paw reached around and grabbed him by the middle. Shadow then hugged Huang Yi in the water of the fountain. As water splashed onto his head, he saw looks of pity from his friends. He saw people start to walk away. His hatred towards this young boy was at a breaking point.
"The reason you are in this fountain right now is no fault of mine." Hong Zhao simply stated as he sat at the edge of the fountain and looked down on Huang Yi. "The reason you are there is because of your life decisions. You have decided that the best way to gain strength is by flaunting your grandfather's title to everyone you meet. Your friends are only friends with the Village Elder's Grandson, not with you. Do you even see them here anymore?"
Huang Yi looked around for any support, yet his friends had long since abandoned him. He looked like a fool! "I will make you pay for this!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. "I am the grandson of Lord Huang Ji! I will have your head for this!"
"I don't think you will." A tired voice sounded from the distance. Hong Zhao didn't even need to turn around to notice that it was the village elder, coming to see what all of the commotion was about. "I think it's about time to end this, don't you?"
"Yeah," Hong Zhao nodded to Shadow. The panther let go of Huang Yi. The moment he was free, the village elder's grandson jumped up and tried to grab for Hong Zhao, a time honored move which had always resulted in someone being kicked out. "Elder, you have proof of what just happened!" He took Hong Zhao's robes in his hand. "You must exile him! For the good of your name!"
"I do have to exile someone today, but sadly it is not young master Zhao." The village elder spoke softly while he went to his grandson. With one smooth motion, he took the storage ring which had the family crest off of Huang Yi's hand and put it in his own. "You are hereby exiled from the village."
"Me?" Huang Yi was shocked. "You would exile your own blood?"
"Yes." The elder said simply. "Look around you, boy." He waved a hand at the market. "Where are the people?" Every stall was empty. The street had not one person traveling. "Is this truly Hong Zhao's fault?"
Huang Yi looked at Hong Zhao with pure rage. "He should be the one to go, not me you old asshole! I'm your successor! You will die, and I will take your place. Just as it's been for as long as I've known!"
"The land will go to Li Wen after I'm gone." Huang Ji interrupted his grandson's tantrum. "He has shown himself to be an honorable man, and I have already drawn up the contract. You will have no inheritance! Now leave my village!" With his command, guards came and took the disgraced grandson and brought him outside the gate.