Clifford arrived at the academy's gates, where the usual activities seemed to have resumed normally after all the time he had spent cultivating. Following his plan, Clifford began hunting whoever he found in his way to refill his dark force. Once done, he continued on his path to the underground levels. Descending the stairs, Clifford met his first obstacle.
"Who are you?" the guard asked, demanding that Clifford remove his hood and reveal his face, only to have his sight suddenly obscured by a large claw. Pressing his massive hand, Clifford crushed the guard's skull, killing him immediately before continuing on his path to the second level.
Arriving at the second set of stairs, Clifford found a large gate blocking his way. It seemed the gate needed a key to unlock it, which he had swallowed along with the elder's body. Taking his stance, Clifford clenched his fist and infused it with his Qi, preparing to strike the gate. The first impact sent noise echoing everywhere around him. Small cracks began to spread around the mark where he aimed, but it was still insignificant.
The sight didn't discourage him at all, knowing his Qi reserve was far from being consumed. Using more Qi, Clifford continued his relentless assault, causing the gate to slowly crumble before his might. By the time he was finished, he noticed that he was surrounded on both sides: two elders stood in front of the gate facing him, and a couple of instructors stood behind him, blocking any path to escape.
The instructors watched as the intruder burst forward, aiming for the elders. His path suddenly shifted from the one on the right to the one on the left, catching the elder off guard. Clifford's fist collided with the elder's face, shattering some of his teeth and sending his body flying a short distance. However, the elder quickly stabilized and rushed back at Clifford, who was attacking the second elder now.
Gripping his target's neck, Clifford lifted the man and slammed him down against the floor. Stomping down, Clifford infused his foot with Qi and used it to cripple the man's movement, intending to kill him while slowly torturing him. Sensing incoming danger, Clifford turned swiftly, dodging the spear attack from the elder he had attacked earlier.
Infusing his fist with about 25% of his Qi reserve and dark force, Clifford aimed for the elder's chest. Although the elder dodged quickly, his shoulder was hit by the attack. The violent energy mix carved a path from his shoulder to just above his stomach. Every part past this curve was obliterated, causing him to drown in agony as his blood soaked the floor.
"Who was the hooded man?" Holding the elder, Clifford interrogated him. Hearing the elder's answer enraged Clifford further, as the elder didn't recognize him at all.
"The one who gave you the element combination manual in return for getting rid of me," Clifford questioned further as he dug his hand into the elder's chest, stabbing his lungs through the hole in his body and causing him to scream in pain.
"Unexpectedly, you are still alive, haha!" Hearing Clifford's question, the elder laughed, realizing his actions had backfired after all this time.
"But guess what? I won't tell you!" Laughing loudly, the elder flipped his right finger at Clifford, refusing to answer. Unbeknownst to him, Clifford was just venting his anger.
"We will see about that." Freeing his hand from the elder's chest, Clifford caught the elder's remaining hand. Pressing roughly, the elder's bones started creaking as Clifford mixed some of his energies before injecting them into his arm.
The energy stream invaded the elder's body, slowly tearing his insides apart. Blood covered the elder's mouth while his eyes were bloodshot from the pain. The horrifying scene terrified the crippled elder and the instructors.
"Time to meet your friend," Clifford said, dropping the elder to the floor as his form shifted into that of a serpent. This time, the instructors ran in terror, abandoning the area since they couldn't do much if their elders couldn't. Witnessing his partner in crime getting swallowed alive, the crippled elder turned and started crawling in terror, attempting to flee for his life.
Finishing his meal, Clifford returned to his human form, then stood up and marched forward, making his way to the crawler. Hearing footsteps closing in, the elder looked behind to find Clifford too close, freezing him in place as fear consumed him.
"Are you in a hurry?" Clifford questioned the elder, gripping him by the hair and lifting him before smashing him against the wall. Small cracks spread through the wall as the elder's skull suffered fractures from the impact.
"Let me help you a little," Clifford whispered into the elder's ear. He then gripped the elder's head and ground it against the wall, making his way to the library and aiming for the knowledge stored inside. Shortly, Clifford reached his destination. Putting all his strength into his arm, he looked at the elder's face, now a mess of mashed meat with no skin remaining. Aiming at the door, Clifford smashed the elder's head against it with all the strength he could muster. The violent force pushed the door open as the elder's head exploded into a paste.
Kicking the elder's corpse to the side, Clifford entered the library. Small bookshelves holding a decent number of books came into view. Having no time, Clifford decided to steal everything in case he didn't emerge victorious from the battle. Once his spatial ring was full, Clifford left the room with a small pile of books, their number around fifty.
In the other room were cultivation supplies, which didn't interest him as much, but he decided to take all the spirit stones. Although he didn't need to use them like other cultivators, he could use them as currency later. Descending to the third floor, Clifford found another door made of a completely different material from the one he destroyed before, causing him to stop in his tracks.