Normally, as the rainy season moved in, the Lotus Academy would be full of rumors of what new students would be arriving with the new entrance ritual finishing up, but the current excitement had nothing to do with the new students.
"What are the betting pools like?"
"Are those new numbers on the odds?!"
"Has anyone gotten an accurate detail on that boy yet?!"
"Stop shoving, we will all get a chance to see soon!"
The myriad voices overlapped and often repeated as almost no one could hear in the cacophony of voices trying to shout over each other. The various halls and open areas were swamped with students as well as Elders running as fast as they could to get any required duties done for the day as an event was happening at noon none wanted to miss.
It had been just over a month since Crown Prince Ryu arrived suddenly to claim his bride, the clan Princess Cyntilla Fang. Some of the women were infatuated with a literal prince coming to sweep a girl off her feet, but a lot of the men voiced jealousy over how easy life is that a prince can just choose a bride and take her. There were some heated arguments that required an Elder to break up, but none of the concerned parties made a comment on it.
The demon population was unchanged. The Crown Prince Ryu was well known to them as a powerhouse in the Soul Realm with high potential to be so in the World Realm. Cyntilla was cold to many, but her attendants were more annoying to anyone that tried to come close to her than the woman herself. A few girls had gotten to work with her on missions for the Academy, but aside from hard working and silence, not much else was known.
There had been a rumor in the first year that an aether child male had pushed his interest on her to an annoying degree. He had gone out for a mission and never returned, but it had been shortly before he had challenged her lead attendant to a duel to begin wooing Cyntilla. All of the demons were accounted for during the time the man was gone, but it was far too coincidental for the students to just gloss over it.
Thus, when Crown Prince Ryu came and challenged Lind Frey, all of the Academy confirmed the other rumor from when the Demon Empire envoy was there last year. It had been rumored that something massive disrupted the Qi in the Core Student quarters like mad. People had seen a disheveled Demon Empire envoy and Cyntilla close behind her staring daggers.
A few wondered if Lind Frey and Cyntilla had become close in the Ruins but now 2 higher powers held them apart, but as no one could investigate it, it remained a rumor until this past month. If there was no issue, Cyntilla would be whisked off to become the new bride of Crown Prince Ryu as he was from the supreme power of this part of the continent.
Since Lind Frey had been challenged, it meant only one thing, Lind had her mark. Someone had found out what a demon mark meant and spread it around to those who did not. The love triangle fueled many things but the people who loved romance were barely able to pay attention to anything in the last month. The single men were split between pitying Lind Frey and others were taking joy in his misery.
Pyren was lounging in the highest class restaurant near the Academy. Royalty easily had access but as a student, he had to be prudent most of the time due to his father's strict rules of etiquette while in another power. Pyren's gray eyes were filled with amusement as he listened to the rumors on his way here.
Stalls were being set up quickly as time moved ever closer to noon. He wished he could watch that fool get clobbered by the Crown Prince, but Pyren had instead focused on this opportunity. His followers were all almost at peak Soul Realm thanks to the resources he gave them. Their quality was lacking but loyalty was more useful in the Academy.
The fine wine in his glass tasted quite good but a rumble of thunder drew his eyes up. As expected of the time of year, sudden storms were common but Pyren saw it as a sign. He smiled widely at the coming misery to so many that had no good protection. He could feel the pressure that it would be a massive storm today.
It would not affect the duel as the arena had formations to keep the audience dry, but as a cultivator could be in real battle in any weather, it was a good training for them thus duels were rarely canceled due to weather. A truly severe storm would call it off, but there were experts to measure them and thus far Pyren saw no signs of postponement or cancellation.
It was even possible the storm would only come after the duel, but Pyren would no doubt be enjoying his new prizes by then.
As if summoned by his thoughts, 2 beautiful women appeared on his floor. One was slightly taller than the other but both had dark hair and golden eyes. Their tanned skin was accentuated by the pale green dresses they wore. The flying bird on their right breast was very pleasing to the eye but Pyren frowned to see it.
He had sent his men with appropriate attire to acknowledge their new place in life as his concubines. Why were they still in the colors of Clan Zephyr? His frown only deepened as he saw a high ranking member of the disciplinary hall followed them. Pyren did not understand what was going on.
"Greetings Prince Pyren. It is an honor to meet you once again." The older one, Cassandra, seemed remarkably calm addressing him, but the younger one was smiling weirdly. Leah Zephyr was right in front of him but Pyren realized he could no longer sense her cultivation. What was going on?
"Core Student Pyren, I am afraid you will have to come with me." The lanky fellow behind them was at the peak of the Soul Realm just like Pyren, but his dark robes were of far higher quality than any other students'.
"What business does the honorable Disciplinary Hall have with me?" Pyren kept his words polite but his gray eyes were filling with rage. How dare this low born interfere? What did the sisters think they could do with this ploy? Plans for revenge were already forming in his mind when he was suddenly suppressed by 2 powerful auras.
Pyren had been around World Realms all of his life, thus he knew that even though one could break through to the next major realm, the quality could vary wildly. Standing before him were 2 very high quality World Realms. Both sisters' aura was solidly in the Sand Tier but that was all he could perceive from his peak Soul Realm.
They were both Inner Students, how had they surpassed him?!
"Core Student Pyren. You are aware of the rules regarding students that break through to the World Realm?" Pyren felt the blood drain from his face as he was still pressured by the 2 women. What had those fools done?!
"Yes, I am aware, but I have clearly not done anything." Pyren was no longer plotting revenge, he was only praying to the spirits that those idiots kept their mouths shut. So long as they were loyal, this incident could be explained away.
"Then you know why I am here. In front of 3 Elders, many students, and the Zephyr Clan leader who had come to collect his daughters as a surprise, known associates of yours attempted to kidnap these 2 seniors while espousing that your will could not be ignored." All hope died in Pyren's heart. He had energized them when he sent them off and normally his master would protect them from anything in the Inner Student ward.
"I must thank you, Prince Pyren. My father was wondering how to deal with your unwanted advances. So unwanted that your own father reached out to apologize for being too enthusiastic and hot blooded youth." Cassandra seemed to truly enjoy watching Pyren squirm but the true final blow came from a new voice.
"I was quite surprised to learn one of our honored guests could be so overbearing in my Lotus Academy." A broad shouldered man had come up behind the group and dead silence filled the room. This place was currently full of the scions of the rich and powerful with some of their parents, they all recognized the amethyst hair and bright blue eyes.
"Your Highness." All in the restaurant knelt, save Pyren who had simply lost all feeling in his body. It had to be a nightmare. It all had to be a nightmare!
"All, please continue enjoying your food. Sisters, I will attend to this…person…myself." Crown Prince Etrigan allowed his Iron Tier aura to sweep the room so there would be no trouble. More than a few customers smiled wide at Pyren's misery as he was dragged away by the Disciplinary Hall member without resistance.
"Thank you, your highness." Both women bowed in gratitude but Etrigan was enamored with both of their bearing and had orders from his father to learn what could have allowed both girls to break through at once.
"I look forward to the banquet after the duel. I hope you will join me and my sisters." Both girls' eyes widened as Pyren finally felt the last nail close his coffin with those words. He blacked out before ever reaching the stairs.
****
"Elder Sister Tyr has made it clear she does not like this, Lind." Qing stood by Lind as he sorted his bags and storage ring. The rules were clear about no external artifacts or World Realm weapons for obvious reasons, but bound weapons were fine as they were tied to the holder. Pills and formations were not allowed either in this particular duel.
"We talked it out several times but this has to come to an end. I only need an answer to a question before we fight." Lind was taking the opportunity of the duel to speak with a man he could normally never reach. Crown Prince Ryu had agreed to Lind's odd request, in fact he also had something to ask.
It was normal to talk to an opponent but Lind wanted a clear conversation, not something in the heat of battle. He also did not know how long he would last against a peak Soul Realm, but he agreed with others that it would not be long.
This moment was his only chance to ask what he needed to ask.
"Have you given up?" Qing's questions made Lind pause. He really looked at his thoughts and visualizations but confirmed he had indeed given up. A 1 to 2 tier difference could be compensated for with a price but a peak realm was different. Such cultivators were nearly touching the next major realm. It was also possible that the right inspiration or conditions could instantly cause the breakthrough.
It was known that Crown Prince Ryu had been at the peak of the Soul Realm for over 5 years. He was a prodigy in reaching the peak so quickly but it was not so easy to step from the Soul Realm to the World Realm.
"Thanks, Qing." Lind smiled at her and she returned the same. If he gave up before even trying, there was not much point in the duel let alone cultivation. Lind let his mind calm down and his elements stir.
His blending had not improved much save to mid tier 3 of Soul Arts. They were not true Soul Arts as he could not follow the exact techniques, but maybe it was time to look at the other idea he had been doing. Replication.
He let his mind wander back to the knowledge of Earth to see if anything could inspire him when thunder rumbled above their heads. A smile spread in Lind's mind as a very old television show popped into his mind.
It was a question every child everywhere in each generation asked their parents and he could see if it would work. He stood up and looked confident at Qing before the toll of bells told him it was time to go out.
"Good luck, Lind!" Qing hugged him and then sent him off. Lind really was glad of her company the last few months. He almost felt normal again after the near crushing isolation of his first year.
The roar of the crowd filled his ears as he left the tunnel leading to the dirt arena. A glance at the skies revealed boiling black clouds. A soft glow over the audience showed Lind the crowd would be dry when the storm broke, but the 2 competitors would not.
Across from Lind was a very handsome demon with red eyes. Unlike the other demons at the Academy, there was no loathing or arrogance in his eyes but simply supreme confidence. This man knew his strength and knew what he could do. Lind could not argue with that. Only the public knowledge alone made this man a clear choice to inherit the Darkmoor throne in the future.
"We finally meet, Lind Frey. I must say I have been impressed by what was reported to me and I have confirmed you are not the man in the rumors sent out by Trynith." Lind glanced at the audience but noticed they were too busy chatting. The agreement for the 2 of them to talk lead to a formation keeping it away from the crowd but they could still hear the masses
."I cannot say the same, your highness. I will keep this short as I am sure the crowd will be impatient." Lind bowed and rose with his greeting. Ryu did not bow to him but then he did not need to. "Will Cyntilla be allowed to choose her own fate?"
Crown Prince Ryu suddenly wove his Qi into the formations and the crowd silenced instantly as the referee moved forward. Lind smiled as he understood the Crown Prince's intention.
"I state here and now before my people in the Lotus Empire, clan Princess Cyntilla Fang will be allowed to choose her own fate regardless of the outcome of this duel." Everyone turned towards Lind who bowed respectfully to Ryu.
"That is all I needed to know, your highness." Lind then waited, but Ryu had yet to ask anything. The Crown Prince once more raised the formation to keep the crowd out, but Lind did not know why this time.
"The Zephyr Clan welcomed 2 new World Realms today. They have refused to explain how this was possible, but some investigation led to an incident where an isolated student intervened. Any comments on that matter?" Lind felt his blood freeze but his face stayed calm. He was glad they broke through. It would mean they graduated early and could no longer be bothered by Pyren.
"Nothing I can contribute, your highness." Lind saw Ryu frown but no further words came from him. The formation was taken down and Ryu nodded to the referee.
"The duel between Crown Prince Ryu of Darkmoor Kingdom and Core Student Lind Frey now begins!" A flare launched as the rain began to mist and thunder rumbled above their heads. The crowd roared in joy as the 2 combatants assumed their stances.