"Why stop?" The elder raised his eyebrows, a smile playing on his lips. He extended a finger towards Aidan in the distance, adding, "This young man has already taken control of the situation, striking with precision. Notice how he targets the sides of the neck, never the back. He's aware that a strike to the side can knock someone out without causing fatal injury, intentionally avoiding more dangerous blows."
"Look at those fallen on the ground; which of them is seriously injured? None! Even if there were serious injuries, couldn't our healing ascenders handle such bruises and sprains?"
"But, this boy's arrogance is too much. Blocking the main gate, he clearly shows no regard for us guards. We might tolerate being ignored, but what will the castle think of us? Allowing a student to create such chaos without intervention could tarnish your reputation," a guard cautiously suggested, squinting his eyes.
"Hmph, it's your dignity that's offended by being disregarded by this youngster, isn't it?" The academy elder scoffed, his gaze sharp as a blade sweeping over the guards, who promptly lowered their heads, murmuring denials.
"What's so bad about a brawl? As long as it doesn't lead to fatalities, it can stimulate the students' competitive spirit and forge their will to fight. To ban such skirmishes would be to stifle their martial passion! Haven't there been fights in past cohorts, and frequent at that? It's just that they usually start in the latter half of the year when the young ones have grasped some combat skills and can't resist showing off, especially at an age prone to aggression. Why didn't you stop them then?" the academy elder questioned sharply.
"Perhaps because previous conflicts were one-on-one battles, rarely on this scale. But Aidan really knows how to stir things up!" the head guard responded.
"No, no, no," the elder shook his head, "It's because you didn't dare to intervene. After the latter half of the year, ascenders possess beyond-mortal combat power; what could your mortal bodies do to stop them? You wish to intervene now because you think Aidan has just begun his cultivation and lacks strength. And you feel disregarded, your dignity affronted. But remember, they are members of our ascenders, your masters! Even if they're young or weak, they're still your masters!"
The elder's tone suddenly grew stern.
"What are you, you are not ascender!!! You're given the position of guards and some benefits for your loyalty, but in essence, you're still servants. Just servants! How dare a servant meddle in the affairs of their masters?" The elder's face was as dark as storm clouds.
"It's not what I meant, not what I meant at all!"
"We dare not, we dare not!"
The guards were terrified, their faces ashen as they knelt on the ground, continuously kowtowing.
The elder snorted and pointed at the guard who had spoken of Aidan's disruptions: "You, for speaking out of turn against your master, are stripped of your leadership position."
After a pause, the elder addressed the others, "In half a month, we'll reassess and appoint a new leader."
The other guards' eyes sparkled, a surge of excitement filling their hearts.
"The head guard gets an extra half essence Gems each month!"
"To be the leader is to be above the rest. Aside from those ascenders, who else would dare disrespect me?"
"If I were to become the leader, imagine how glorious that would be..."
...
...
...
Aidan stood tall and imposing, facing three young girls who huddled together, their backs touching in a defensive posture.
"You...please stay away from us!!!" one of them stammered.
"We are girls; don't you have any decency as a man? You can't hit girls!" another exclaimed.
Tears welled up in the girls' eyes as they pleaded.
Aidan, unmoved by their tears, spotted an opening. His eyes flashed sharply as he surged forward, his palms swinging down hard, knocking out two of the girls without any hint of restraint.
The remaining girl, her fighting spirit shattered, collapsed to the ground on her knees, crying loudly and begging Aidan, "Please don't come any closer, Aidan, I beg you, spare me."
From his superior position, Aidan looked down at the girl with a voice cold and merciless, "One Essence Gems."
The girl, her body trembling, had an epiphany and hastily opened her purse. She took out three or four Essence Gems and held them out to Aidan, "Please don't hit me, take them all, take them all!"
Aidan's face remained expressionless as he slowly extended his hand, his index finger and thumb delicately pinching one Essence Gems from the girl's palm.
Her body shook uncontrollably, Aidan's hand – pale and slender, – appeared monstrous and terrifying to her. "I've said before, I only want one Essence Gems," Aidan paused, his tone indifferent, "You may go now."
The girl stared at Aidan for a long while before attempting to rise, but her limbs were too weak to support her.
Fear of Aidan filled her heart, rendering her powerless.
The elder, witnessing this scene, couldn't help but shake his head.
Seizing this opportunity to discern the students' combat talents was one of his objectives.
The girl collapsed on the ground, despite having 55 Ascension Sigils potential, her temperament made her suitable only for a logistical Gu Master role within the castle, engaged in production; the battlefield was out of the question for her.
"As for Aidan…" The elder stroked his chin, eyes narrowing with a glint of interest. He found Aidan intriguing, not only for his combat skills but also for his sense of measure. Demanding just one essence Gems didn't cross the line in his view. However, had Aidan demanded two, that would have been excessive, prompting his intervention.
The academy's subsidy was originally three essence Gemss. Losing one to extortion was bearable, but two would negate the purpose of the subsidy altogether. It might as well be given directly to Aidan.
Soon, the last group of students arrived, including just six individuals, one of whom was Aidan's twin brother, Ewan, another one was isolde.
"Brother, how could you do this?!" Ewan was shocked, unable to believe what he was seeing. "You've gone too far, attacking our peers and extorting their essence Gemss right at the entrance!" He urged, "I advise you to apologize to the elder proactively. This isn't a minor issue; you could be expelled!"
Aidan smiled. "You make a good point."
Ewan breathed a sigh of relief, glad his brother seemed reasonable and open to persuasion.
But then he heard Aidan continue, "One essence Gems each."
"What?" Ewan's mouth dropped open in surprise. "Even from me?"
"My dear brother, of course, you don't have to pay," Aidan's tone was gentle. "But then you'll end up like them."
Aidan gestured towards the youths on the ground, either unconscious or groaning in pain.
Ewan had no way but to hand over the Gems.
"Sparing not even his own brother!"
"Aidan's gone mad, too brutal…"
"We can't beat him. It's wise not to confront a stronger foe head-on; let's just pay and get past this for now."
"Right, just give the essence Gems. It's only one, and we'll report this to our instructors afterward; he'll get what's coming to him."
With the precedent set, the remaining boys reluctantly submitted to Aidan's extortion, their eyes filled with resentment as they handed over their essence Gems.
Isolde, witnessing the unfolding scene, approached Aidan with a demeanor marked by calmness and a gentle resolve. In her hand, she held her own essence Gemss, a tangible symbol of her hard work and dedication within the academy. Despite the tension in the air, her voice remained soft yet firm, resonating with sincerity.
"Aidan, I understand times can be challenging, and we all need resources to further our cultivation," she began, her eyes meeting his without fear. "Here, take my essence Gemss."
She extended her hand, offering her collected Gemss to him, an act of kindness amidst the prevailing atmosphere of coercion and fear. Her gesture was not one of submission but of compassion, seeking to bridge the gap with understanding rather than exacerbating conflict.
"And if you find yourself in need in the future, please come to me instead of resorting to taking from others," Isolde continued, her tone imbued with a warmth that seemed to cut through the chill of the moment. "There's always a way to resolve our needs without resorting to actions that hurt our fellow ascenders."
Her words, laden with empathy, sought to reach the heart of Aidan, to remind him of the community they were all part of, a community that thrived on mutual support and understanding, not on the exploitation of one another. Isolde's offer was a testament to her belief in the inherent goodness within each individual, a belief strong enough to stand in the face of adversity with a gesture of peace.
Aidan observed Isolde with an interest that was both piqued and appreciative. Leveraging his extensive life experience spanning 500 years before his rebirth, he was far from the clueless protagonists found in many online novels, who remain oblivious even as affections practically fall into their laps. He immediately sensed something exceptional in Isolde's approach towards him, a distinction that intrigued him greatly.
In his mind, Aidan marveled at the situation. In his previous life, the kind and beautiful Isolde had been the secret crush of many peers, Aidan himself included. Yet, he couldn't recall such an interaction ever taking place before. "Was Isolde's affection for me different in my past life as well?" he pondered silently.
The curiosity stirred within him was not just about the differences in Isolde's behavior but also about the myriad of possibilities that his rebirth had unveiled. The world around him seemed both familiar and newly enigmatic, filled with potential interactions and relationships that had not been explored in his previous life.
The truth was that Isolde had indeed been deeply captivated by Aidan's poetry in his previous life. However, after it was discovered that Aidan possessed only 33 Ascension Sigils, his initial aura of genius faded. He became despondent, losing the luster that set him apart, and gradually blending into the crowd, indistinguishable from any other. In the months that followed, he was marginalized by his brother and aunt and uncle, eventually being forced to leave the castle with a merchant caravan to wander the wildlands. Isolde's interest in Aidan was thus confined to the brilliance of his past talents and the poetry he left behind, rather than the person he had become.
Unlike in his previous life, despite still having only 33 Ascension Sigils upon being reborn, Aidan's actions continued to defy expectations and capture attention. This sustained intrigue transformed Isolde's appreciation for his poetry into a deeper curiosity about him as an individual. It illustrates a poignant truth: attraction often gravitates towards those who exhibit strength or unique qualities, regardless of the nature of their achievements.
Thus, the rebirth had provided Aidan with an unexpected opportunity to redefine himself in the eyes of others, including Isolde. No longer was he solely defined by his past failures or the limitations implied by his Ascension Sigils. Instead, his capacity to stand out against adversity, coupled with his unyielding spirit and the remnants of his poetic talent, sparked a new form of interest among those who knew him, Isolde included.Having come to this understanding, Aidan offered a polite smile, his demeanor remaining cool and detached. "I only require one essence gem," he stated simply. The experiences of his previous five hundred years had seasoned Aidan, exposing him to the vicissitudes of life. Emotions and attachments had long been forsaken on his quest for immortality. For Aidan, only his goals and his path mattered; nothing could sway his heart anymore.
This resolve had been cemented over centuries of trials and introspection, a journey that taught him the harsh truth about the fleeting nature of human connections and the relentless pursuit of one's ambitions. In this rebirth, Aidan was more focused than ever, viewing each interaction, each encounter, not as an opportunity for emotional engagement but as a step toward achieving his greater purpose.
To Aidan, the complex web of human relationships was secondary to the clarity of his objectives. He had learned, sometimes painfully, that allowing emotions to dictate one's actions could lead to distraction and, ultimately, derailment from one's chosen path. This understanding shaped his interactions, making him a figure of intrigue but also of distance—a paradox that both attracted and repelled those around him.
In this moment with Isolde, as with all others, Aidan remained steadfast, his gaze fixed on the horizon of his ambitions, untempted by the prospect of revisiting past connections or forming new ones. His journey was solitary, defined by the singular pursuit of transcending the limitations of his existence, with each essence gem collected not just as a resource for cultivation but as a symbol of his unwavering commitment to the path he had chosen.
Isolde's expression did not falter into disappointment. Instead, she felt a deep sense of understanding towards Aidan. She had heard about the early loss of Aidan's parents and how he was taken in by his aunt and uncle. After turning 16, he chose to live independently, which likely indicated that his life under his relatives' care was far from kind. Furthermore, being identified with average talents must have compelled him to construct a facade of toughness, shielding himself from the pity or scorn of others. Isolde's thoughts drifted tenderly as she pondered over his circumstances.
Her mind then wandered to a poem written by Aidan, a piece that had resonated with her deeply. The verses spoke of resilience in the face of adversity, of finding strength within oneself amidst solitude. It painted a picture of a soul, weathered by trials, yet unwavering in its quest for something beyond the transient connections of the world.
'Bright star,
would I were steadfast as thou art.
Not in lone splendour hung aloft the night,
And watching, with eternal lids apart...'
This poem, in particular, had given Isolde a glimpse into the complexities of Aidan's inner world—a world that was perhaps filled with pain and struggle, yet also marked by an indomitable spirit. It was this realization that nurtured a sense of respect and a subtle bond towards him, beyond mere curiosity or the fleeting attractions that youth often mistake for deeper connections.
"Perhaps," Isolde thought to herself, "the true essence of strength lies in the ability to continue forward, to carve out a path for oneself against all odds. And maybe, just maybe, Aidan's journey is a testament to that kind of strength."
With a gentle sigh, she resolved to keep her offer standing, a silent support for Aidan's journey, irrespective of whether he would ever choose to lean on it or not. To Isolde, Aidan was not just another ascender within the academy; he was a fellow soul navigating the tumultuous path of life, deserving of understanding and respect for the battles he fought, visible and otherwise.
"Wait a moment." Just as they were about to leave, they were halted by Aidan's call.
"Aidan, you wouldn't go back on your word, would you?" Ewan tensed up immediately.
Aidan looked over the youths scattered on the ground and let out a soft sigh, "Do you really think I would stoop down and search their bodies one by one?"
The youths were momentarily taken aback, then understanding dawned on them. Their faces flushed red, and they hesitated, standing still in their spots.
Aidan watched them, narrowing his eyes. A chill flashed through his gaze, causing the six youths to feel a sudden unease, their scalps tingling with apprehension.
"Alright, Aidan, we get what you mean."
"I'll do this for you." Isolde took the first step.
Compelled by Aidan's formidable presence, others including Ewan also reluctantly bent down, gathering the essence Gems from the pouches of the fallen youths, taking one from each. They then pooled the Gems together, handing them over to Aidan.
He got a lot of Essence Gems again.
"Extortion and robbery, such evil endeavors, turn out to be the most lucrative," Aidan mused as he tucked the significantly heavier pouch into his chest, striding away confidently.
He left behind the youths sprawled on the ground, akin to a battlefield of fallen soldiers.
Looking at his back, Isolde sighed...