The small ranks between stages were as follows: First Step, Early, Mid, Late, and Peak.
Cain, who only recently learned his Innate spell, was still in the First Step, while the Headmaster was an Early Growth Stage cultivator on the brink of entering the Mid Stage.
Fighting against the Headmaster was like a death sentence, Cain was sure to be suppressed, and doubly so if the Headmaster had a decent Innate spell.
Even if it was only the growth stage, the Innate Spell brings out the power of all the harnessed souls in an efficient manner. This was why Cain used his Innate attack to kill the teachers, it expended minimal Spiritual Qi. Of course, he could put more spiritual qi in to make the attack stronger but the effects were negligible.
Before Cain could wave his finger, the Headmaster smiled and Spiritual Qi lit up in his body, awakening the tattoos he used to harness his souls. There were three, one in the chest, and the other two in his arms.
"Although I may look scholarly, I just love a good brawl!" The headmaster laughed madly as he came at Cain, his feet crushing the floorboards below him as he crossed the gap to Cain in an instant.
Taking a step back, Cain hastily swept his finger and a milky blue arch swept toward the Headmaster.
The Headmaster clicked his tongue and threw out a punch. The wire coating in sword energy was like a brittle stick, it was pulverized into pieces within seconds, only leaving behind a small red mark on the Headmaster's knuckle.
"Child's play! If you don't have anything else then die!"
Punches collided with the building, with not a care in the world what he touched. Cain was forced outside. With such strong opposition, he was forced back into a tree before he dodged and watched the tree become dust under the force of the Headmaster's fists.
'Damn it, what type of souls did he harness, their obvious ones with sheer power but I don't know what their weaknesses are....'
A quick and easy way to win a fight with a cultivator was to know what souls they harnessed and what those souls' weaknesses were. Most try to cover these souls' weaknesses with the other souls they gather, but there's always at least one weakness to bank on. In Cain's case, he only had a good offense, he had no defense whatsoever.
Oppositely, the headmaster was also focused on attack but his body was strong for both offense and defense.
'I have no choice.' Internally sighing, Cain removed an object from inside his clothes. It was Bloodletter, still draped in black wrappings.
What he was worried about wasn't that people would tie the sword to his identity, but that the sword was already a Tier 5 Artifact. It was a rare weapon and even some weaker Enlightenment Cultivators would want to get their hands on it.
The headmaster approached Cain, getting serious. "Oh? Going to start trying? Come at me!"
"With pleasure!" Cain shook Bloodletter, the black cloth unraveled to reveal a bloody one-edged sword with no hilt. Blood seemed to infinitely drip from its tip like it had just recently tasted blood.
Some artifacts could have such effects, but they were inconsequential other than showing the majesty of the weapon and revealing its worth.
"What a good weapon, give it here!" Rushing forward, the Headmaster collided with Bloodletter, his face growing grim as the blade seeped into his flesh and drank his blood.
He quickly disengaged and sent Cain away with a slap, rubbing his hand and locking eyes with his opponent.
"A sword cultivator I presume? How about this, I'll let this slide but you must become a teacher for my academy. Also, you must let me see that weapon! I promise I won't take it!"
Hearing the Headmaster's compromise, Cain became colder and brandished his weapon. This time, Bloodletter glowed, not with a blue light but with a red one.
'Slow End Sword Art, third move.'
Swiping downward, Cain moved like a tortoise, his blade radiating energy that was slowly building up.
The Headmaster watched the move in its entirety with interest before his heart dropped.
When the sword finished its motion, a red light moved through the air without resistance, halfway through the attack the red light disappeared.
This made the Headmaster alarmed. He prepared to charge in but the red light arrived out of nowhere. He only had enough time to raise his hands in defense as the energy sliced into his flesh and moved unhindered through his fingerbone.
By the time the light broke, the Headmaster had lost two fingers, with a third barely hanging on, dangling downward.
Cain didn't attack further, he waited for the headmaster to react, but all the man did was look at his fingers on the floor before staring at the dangling finger still attached to his hand. '
After what seemed like ages he finally laughed out loud, "Hahaha! Good one! I accept your counteroffer, I won't ask for your sword but still wish for you to teach here. You only have to do it for six months. How about it?"
Cain paused and thought the offer over. The headmaster seemed to be serious and what was the harm in losing a few fingers? They can be healed in a plethora of ways, his sister was the city lord after all! Cultivators were strange, battle-frenzied ones like the Headmaster don't hold grudges.
Cain silently nodded and the headmaster clasped his hands. "Good! Good!" Turning back, he saw the teachers in the building watching like a deer in headlights. Surprisingly, the Headmaster didn't look at them but Kang Wan.
He then shifted his eyes back to Cain to ask a question.
"Say, fellow cultivator. What will you do with this one? He's useless and the rules won't allow him to re-enroll."
"Just bring his fiancé and Fan Gen here. Please." Humble in his approach, Cain spoke with dignity.
His attitude made the Headmaster happy, leading him to order a few teachers to grab the students Cain named.
...
Fan Gen and Luo Meilin were brought to the courtyard outside of the administration building. It was still in ruins, being fixed by some teachers, but mostly mortal mixed-blood slaves.
Before them were Cain and Kang Wan.
"Kang Wan, I do not know what is going on but I will not marry you. My heart belongs to Fan Gen!" Luo Meilin spoke before anyone could get a word out, she didn't even bat an eye at Cain who was still holding Bloodletter and covered in filth.
Fan Gen on the other hand wasn't so stupid. He noticed how everyone looked at Cain with fear, and so he quickly bowed. "Senior, what is it that you need."
Luo Meilin turned surprised but it didn't last long. Her head was soon rolling on the floor, the slaves became fearful while the teachers just sighed. In most places, strength meant power and with power, you could act however you wish.
Cain was in no mood to work things out, Bloodletter dripping with the girl's blood. 'I must begin cultivating. Although I will have to teach, I can figure that out later, I can already feel my mind becoming foggy!"
Fan Gen was only still alive because he had bowed his head, but Cain made sure not to miss him either. Bloodletter moved with ferocity, sticking into Fan Gen's chest.
The once top student coughed out blood, only to see it get absorbed by the blade that pierced his heart. He died not a moment later, without a chance to beg.
The oddest thing about all of this was that Kang Wan didn't bat an eye at either of their deaths. Perhaps he knew this would happen, or perhaps he just didn't care.
"I have kept my promise and avenged you. Now leave." Cain didn't even look at Kang Wan as he began to walk away.
Kang Wan's heart shuttered, but his fear was soon extinguished by irrationality. "What? Leave? Sir you know I can't do that. Please let me into the school, you have to!" His voice grew more forceful with each step Cain took, "You promised to help me, you're not done. Let me back in, I demand it. This isn't over!"
Cain's feet were soaked in the blood of the Luo Meilin, his bloody footprints staining the tile walkway.
Behind him, Kang Wan was still yelling, but at some point during it all, his head fell off his neck and he joined the two other bodies in the courtyard. Cain didn't look back but entered the administration building to prepare and acquire a room to cultivate in.
Kang Wan in the end was a fool. He thought Cain restricted himself to morals and honoring a deal. He was sorely mistaken.