Standing in front of Wu Zhangkong in a freshly repaired yet still mostly destroyed training field Tang Wulin ignored the stares of fear, envy, and all other negative emotions. Instead, he focused on his teacher's words.
He had left his teacher's training area early in the morning after a night of destroying candles and meditation while he had the chance to do so in such an energy rich area. Of course, he also memorized the spirit circuits that gathered the energy and relayed them to the Second Slayer.
"Today we will be continuing yesterday's battles. I don't care if you change partners or not. You have five minutes to start." Wu Zhangkong commanded them once again, barely glancing at Tang Wulin who stood peacefully while his classmates looked at him in fear.
Less than a minute later the first pair had stepped to the half fixed arena, the other half still destroyed. Staring at each other they waited for Wu Zhangkong to begin the match. After a few seconds of silence the match began, if it could even be called such.
The 'battle' was more like a slap fight. It was a problem with the elementary academies rather than a problem with the students themselves. The schools spent so much time teaching how to mediate and basic theory that students didn't know how to fight.
Normally Wu Zhangkong would scold them for this however it wasn't necessary this time. Because of the monster within their midst, they all understood that they were weak. Most of the group would give up but there were those who would learn from it and those would be the ones to succeed in the future.
'What emotion is on their faces?' Tang Wulin questioned himself. He recognized fear even if he never felt it himself as it was something he saw nearly every day in the past however he had not managed to understand envy.
In general, he understood when an emotion was negative or not as they were usually more pronounced however that did not mean he understood what emotion it was in specific amongst the dozens.
'It's back.' Wulin thought to himself, glancing behind him. Occasionally there would be a pulling sensation within him as though something was trying to lead him somewhere. Of course, he ignored it each time however it didn't mean he forgot about it.
The pulling sensation increased drastically since the first time he felt it when he met that girl yet it was obviously the same feeling. Something had happened to strengthen it but he couldn't tell what that may be.
He had looked into it using FUG resources however they had come up blank each and every time. Even the girl he had saved all those years didn't seem to exist after that day. No matter how many times he felt it, he could never follow it.
But it appeared that would change today.
Opening the locked gate a young girl that could only be called a beauty, a goddess even, appeared in front of him, long silver hair swaying elegantly behind her. Regal purple eyes locked onto his crimson irises, ignoring all people around her.
"Who are you?" Wu Zhangkong asked the beautiful child seriously, his golden eyes narrowed at the child who had suddenly approached. He could instinctively tell that she was talented, perhaps just below Tang Wulin or even at the same level.
"My name is Gu Yuena, I missed the admission date but I would like to join your class." The beautiful child spoke, her voice a mix of elegance and a dash of arrogance. Her voice transmitted the feeling that she believe people were below her.
"I'll admit you if you can beat my best student. Tang Wulin, come here!" Wu Zhangkong agreed easily. He had two reasons for this decision, the first of which was purely selfish. He wanted to teach her, to help her reach her peak just as he planned to do with Tang Wulin.
The second was more important at the moment. He could tell she was arrogant and disdainful of those around her and that may be a problem. Arrogance itself was not an issue, a certain degree was necessary, however excessive arrogance was sin.
For that reason, he planned to put her against Tang Wulin. A person would reveal their true colors in moments of danger or extreme stress, both of which she would be under when fighting Tang Wulin.
Then… there was a third part of him. In front of him were the two most talented people he had ever laid eyes upon, how could he not be interested in who would emerge victorious amongst them both?
"Understood." Tang Wulin replied with a nod. He had already learned how most of his classmates fought and for those he hadn't had the displeasure of watching, he already had a decent idea of their fighting style.
Tang Wulin had seen many people fight over his two lifetimes and he had taken note of certain tendencies they had. Things from breathing patterns to natural stances were all indications of skills, or lack thereof, and could be used to make an educated guess.
For that reason, he was much more interested in examining the girl in front of him. She was an unknown, a skilled one at that, and that meant he was obligated to test her danger rating, both toward himself and toward FUG.
Any being with talent such as herself needed to be examined and put into one of two boxes, a threat or an ally. Preferably he would make her any ally however he could tell that she wasn't one to serve under others meaning she was most likely a threat. However for some odd reason…
'Why is my chest warm?' He questioned himself. Rather than the gentle warmth he got occasionally from his parents or the Second and Third Slayers, this felt more… intense, primal even. It was hard to understand.
He had never felt it before and it felt… off. His body felt warm, much too warm. It was unnatural, unhealthy. He would need to examine his body later, it seems he had been afflicted with something again.
However, for now he had to prepare to fight.