"Welcome to your new home away from home. Everybody find a seat while I get a few things ready for today."
The classroom was arranged in 7 rows of 5 desks. The classroom was big enough to fit all of those desks and still have some space in between each desk.
The boys wasted no time in trying to get the best seats in the classroom. Which were of course the ones closest to the teacher's desk.
An all-out war broke out in the classroom. Punches, kicks and shoves were being dished out left, right and centre.
"AHAHAHAHA YES! I got one!" Timo screamed in ecstasy as he sat down in one of the 5 seats in the first row.
"let's go. GGEZ!" Asher sat comfortably with his legs crossed and his arms folded in front of his chest in the middle seat of the five in the first row.
"Come on man. That's too easy!" Jude took the seat furthest to the left which was also the seat closest to the teacher's desk.
"Hehe easy peasy lemon squeezy." Jaxon smiled but his teeth were coated red from blood and the blood dripping from his nose made the sight quite comical. Jaxon got the seat between Jude and Asher.
*Wheeze* *Wheeze* *Wheeze* "Boys...I...did...it..." *Thump* DT passed out, his head slamming against the solid desk. His right eye was swollen, his nose was broken and a chunk of his hair was pulled out. DT managed to get a seat in between Asher and Timo.
"..."-girls
"..."-Vasari
"..."-Miss Covington
Once the first row of seats were filled the battle for the second row of seats began.
"So is this a normal occurrence or is this the first time?" Vasari asks Miss Covington who seemed to be reading something on a piece of jade.
"Huh? Oh...this is my first year teaching so I guess it's the first time." Miss Covington took a while to answer as she didn't expect anyone to ask a question at this time. She kept her eyes focused on the jade as she answered Vasari who nodded before walking to the back of the class and taking a seat in the middle of the back row.
The eyes of every girl shone like stars as they eyed the 2 vacant seats next to Vasari. Witney and Talia glanced at each other and as if reading each other's minds they dashed off simultaneously. Witney went right while Talia went left, each of them fighting off any competition that gunned for their seat.
The other girls did not fight for long once they realized who they were fighting against and could only curse their luck and look for another seat close by.
Once everybody found a seat, satisfied or not, Miss Covington stood up from her chair and walked to the front of the class.
"First, I am going to read the rules and I am not going to repeat myself so make notes if you have bad memory. There will be no fighting during school unless authorized by a teacher. The sect robes must always be worn unless stated otherwise. Those who are late to class will be given a strike. Getting 3 strikes results in resource reduction and 5 strikes results in 72 hours of community service. Cheating in any exam results in immediate expulsion from CloudHaven Sect. Rape and sexual abuse result in execution."
A few gulps could be heard coming from some students when they heard about expulsion and execution.
Miss Covington looked around the class and she was amused by the setup. The first 4 rows were filled with boys while the back 3 were filled with girls, except for the single boy in the middle back row who was on the receiving end of many sneaky glances.
Miss Covington smiled beautifully causing a few of the young men to set up camp where they sat.
"Now that we have those boring rules out of the way why don't we start our first lesson as a class? We will start with the general history of the CloudHaven Sect and what you will be doing for the next two years as CloudHaven School students."
The atmosphere in the classroom changed dramatically as solemnity replaced excitement for these up-and-coming cultivators. Which one of them did not consider themselves talented and to have made it into one of the most prestigious sects in the world which one of them did not have an ego twice the size of the sun?
Ego breeds competitiveness and they knew that competition is what moulds a cultivator to become the best, and to become the best against cultivators just as if not more talented than yourself, then any way to get ahead must be grasped. If that meant learning about the past which nobody cares about then so be it.
Miss Covington inwardly praised her new students when she noticed their serious expressions and some even taking out notepads from their storage rings or sect badges.
"The Cloud Haven Sect was founded by an incredibly powerful cultivator who went by the name Jacques Reynolds. Jacques Reynolds founded the sect over 50 000 years ago which makes our Cloud Haven Sect the youngest sect within the top 10 sects of the world. Jacques Reynolds with his high cultivation was able to lead the sect for 20 000 years before he gave it to his son and one of our current ancestors; Jumari Reynolds."
Suddenly a girl in the 6th row raised her hand to ask a question.
"You have a question?"
"Yes, teacher. Did sect founder Reynolds die from old age?"
"That's a good question." Miss Covington smiled before continuing to answer the question. "30 000 years ago a great war started that shook our entire quadrant of the galaxy. Founder Jacques Reynolds as well as other sect masters at the time were forced to participate in this war. Unfortunately, Jacques Reynolds was killed in battle but it was said that he took an opposing army general along with him to the afterlife earning great prestige for himself as well as our Cloud Haven Sect."
"Why were they going to war? Was it because of the demons?" Another student asked what was on the mind of most of the students. Demons were known as a barbaric species that hated any living species that was not a demon. Just as much as demons hated others, humans despised demons to the core so it would not be surprising if this massive war was fought between humans and demons.
"The war was actually against an empire that wanted to expand their territory and convert everyone to believe in what they believed in. 'What did they believe in?' Is what must be on your mind. They believed that their crown prince was a chosen one and that everyone should worship him as if he was a God. Obviously, nobody took them seriously at first, but once they started colonizing planet after planet and then proceed to colonise multiple solar systems everyone realised that they meant business and would not stop until their goal was completed.
Their army was large and powerful, fearless and domineering, disciplined and motivated. We had to call for help from neighbouring galaxies and even then the war lasted for over 100 years until we finally defeated their army, ending all of them.
That mighty army called themselves 'The chosen army' but everyone else knew them as something else...
The Spartans"
There was a minute of silence as everyone was digesting all this new information. Miss Covington did not give them too much time before she continued with the history of the Cloud Haven Sect.
"Ancestor Reynolds lead the sect bravely during his father's absence and although he was not as powerful as his late father he was a much better leader overall. He lead our sect which was considered a fledgling and minor sect to the outside world into a sect that was firmly placed into the top 20 sects of our world. It was not until Ancestor Reynolds passed the leadership position to his great great great grandson and our current sect leader Jin Reynolds that we broke into the top10 sects of our Noblia planet and a top3 sect on the Westernord Continent."
Miss Covington did nothing to mask the haughtiness of her tone since she had every reason to be proud to be part of such a powerful sect and be a teacher as well as an elder of the sect.
"Now that you know the general history of our sect it is time to move on to the next subject that I wanted to speak about."
35 pieces of paper appeared in the hands of Miss Covington before they levitated above her hands and moved quickly yet accurately towards the desks of all 35 students.
"On the paper I gave you is the schedule for the first three months. In the mornings we will be learning about cultivation, basic botany and magical beast identification. In the afternoons we will do more practical work such as sparring and other activities such as team versus team games, wilderness exploration and magical beast hunting."
A round of excited murmurs filled the classroom when the last few activities were mentioned. Studying and learning new things was fun and interesting in its own way but fighting, hunting and exploring is what cultivators lived for.
"So read over your schedule and plan your cultivation plans around that. Any questions?" Miss Covington already returned to her desk when she noticed a boy at the back of the classroom with his hand raised.
'My oh my he is a perfect specimen. Senna wasn't exaggerating about his looks at all.' Miss Covington thought as she eyed the impressive young man.
"Yes, the young man at the back, what is your name?"
"Vasari." He plainly stated
"Okay and what question do you want to ask Vasari?" Miss Covington crossed her legs one over the other and leaned back on her chair with her hand placed on her chin. She looked like a real seductress and the boys in the front row felt their hard work bearing fruit.
Unfazed by her seductive posture, Vasari asked the question he was waiting to ask since the previous night.
"Can you explain the Yin Yang Control stage to me?"
"Oh..." A little surprised by his question, Miss Covington took a second to come up with the best response possible. "The Yin Yang Control stage is simple and is exactly what the name of the stage entails. A cultivator must tap into their natural Yin and Yang energies and learn to control them, granting a cultivator more control over their body making them faster, stronger and more flexible.
The sect has areas that are useful for cultivators who are learning to control their Yin and Yang energies. The Summer Light field and the Dark Winter field are the perfect cultivation grounds to learn more about Yang and Yin respectfully."
"I see...Thank you." Vasari slightly nodded his head before turning to face Talia.
"Talia, can you read the schedule for me please?"
As if expecting him to ask, Talia quickly agreed and moved her desk closer to his and leaned towards him to close the distance even more.
Vasari's nostrils were flooded with the scent of vanilla with a hint of citrus. Talia could similarly smell the musky scent coming off of Vasari's body causing her to subconsciously lean a bit closer.
On the opposite side, not wanting to be left behind, Witney moved her desk closer to Vasari.
'Ah, girls are so competitive. I'll give Witney some attention later so she doesn't do anything impulsive' Vasari chuckled at his thoughts before he heard the soothing voice of Talia drift into his ears.
Miss Covington gave her students roughly 20 minutes to go over their schedule and form their plans before she moved on to her next lesson which was botany. She taught the class the basic structure of most plants and then moved on to some of the more common plants and how to identify them, what they are used for and how to properly remove the plants from the ground.
After botany class, it was time for the first lunch break of the year.
"Man oh man, Miss Covington is too hot."
"For real, did you see the way she looked at me earlier? I swear she wants me bro."
"Nobody wants your lanky ass, don't be delusional."
"DT is right man. Honestly speaking, only Vasari has a chance to capture the heart of the gorgeous Miss Covington."
"Tsk must be nice to be so handsome."
"Yep"
"For real"
"Must be nice."
Vasari could feel the ominous stares piercing his back as he walked through the school hallway with Witney and Talia walking on either side of him. He could only smile wryly at his situation and there was no doubt that people would view him as some type of playboy, not that he cared to begin with anyway.
At the end of the hallway was a double door that lead to the school cafeteria.
Vasari, Witney and Talia were the first students to enter the cafeteria and they wasted no time in grabbing a tray, some plates and utensils. Vasari followed the girls to a massive table which was decorated with an almost endless supply of food. From red meats to white meats, green veggies to exotic fruits, the table had it all. Witney and Talia felt it was too much and was struggling to decide what to dish up but they knew they had to hurry before the other students get here and the cafeteria gets crowded.
Vasari did not feel the same urgency as them and casually took whatever food was in front of him.
Just as Witney and Talia finished dishing their preferred food the doors to the cafeteria flung open.
"I'm hungry!! Give me food!" Timo burst through the open doorway and dashed like a berserker towards the buffet table picking up a tray and plate in the process.
The girls sighed in relief that they finished dishing up in time to avoid that crazed beast. They walked towards Vasari who was already seated at one of the many long tables set up for the students to eat at.
"Vasari, how did you know what food to dish?" Witney asked, she could not imagine how difficult it must be to constantly be blind and never know what is happening around you. It made Vasari seem more impressive when he did things that normal people could do and she liked that he was not afraid to ask for help when he needed it.
"My nose is pretty good so I chose the nicest-smelling foods." He answered so nonchalantly and simply that Witney and Talia couldn't help but giggle.
Witney and Talia took a seat on either side of Vasari and they enjoyed their first lunch in school together while the other 347 students fought over the remaining food on the buffet table.