The night enveloped the Crimson Jackals' stronghold in darkness, with only the moon's veiled glow seeping through thick clouds. The demon sect's tower loomed over the landscape, its black and red wood walls and spires reaching like claws towards the sky. Inside the tower, in a chamber high above the ground, sat Ruan Xie upon his throne.
The room was shrouded in shadow, lit only by the faint glow of red candles. Ruan Xie's throne, an ominous seat carved from dark wood, was draped in black and crimson. His long, black hair fell like a dark waterfall over his shoulders. Small and thin thorny vine tattoos covered his skin, the indicator of a demon. The subtle, rhythmic drumming of his fingers on the throne's arm echoed through the room.
"♪♪ And as long as I got my suit and tie, I'ma leave it all on the floor tonight ♪♪" He sang to himself in a whisper, gambling on nobody watching him.
The heavy door creaked open, and Ruan Xie stopped singing, he switched from his bored pose to a more serious and intimidating one. a subordinate entered, bowing deeply. Dressed in the sect's dark robes, the man approached with quiet steps, head bowed in respect and fear.
"Master," the subordinate's voice wavered as he spoke. "I bring urgent news from the eastern provinces."
Ruan Xie's gaze, cold and penetrating, remained fixed on the subordinate. The guy almost wet himself. "There's always something going on in the eastern provinces, what now?" Ruan Xie's voice cut through the chill air, smooth and commanding.
Swallowing hard, the subordinate continued, "An S Grade has awakened in Lianhua. It's a girl, and her power is exceptional according to our spies." Ruan Xie looked out the window that was actually quite far from the throne, the moonlight piercing the dimly lit room, he nearly lost his train of thought. "that means that guy is in Lianhua." Ruan Xie subtly thought to himself.
"And the princess? Is there any hiccups in the plan that I should be concerned about?" The subordinate dared to lift his eyes briefly before dropping his gaze again. "Everything is going according to plan."
"Are our spies in Yunhua academy yet?" The subordinate nodded, trembling of course. "Good, you may leave"
With a quick nod, the subordinate backed away, exiting the chamber as quietly as he had entered. Ruan Xie remained alone in the dim light, "That masked guy in Ruan Xie's memories of the future, just who was he? And why was he close to Ling Tianshu?" questions he asked himself in the night. Questions that he would need to experience to learn the answer.
...
"This is the place right?" Zhang Jian stared from the gate, "Yunhua Academy, this is it." Zhang Feng replied. This was the place they needed to get admitted, it was far from the Lan Tians clutches and where they would least expect it.
"I'm sorry to inform you, but we don't take F Grades. Even though you meet all our criteria, it really pains me to say this. But we can only offer your brother a seat." Is what the headmaster told them, his head bowed to the floor. Even after a very long-winded process, which included a written exam and a martial arts duel- both of which the Zhang Brothers aced- it did not matter.
"I'm sorry, could you excuse me and my brother for a moment?" Zhang Feng replied, a sort of panicked look on his face. "Of course"
Zhang Feng and Zhang Jian left the room and discussed in the hallway. "Should we try another school?" Zhang Feng said, Zhang Jian paced the hallway back and forth "No, most of them will say the same as this one, I don't expect them to give me the courtesy of a examination like this one."
Zhang Feng did not know what to do, that seemed to be a reoccurring thing with him. Unable to take control of the situation, it frustrated him. "then what do we do?" Zhang Jian turned to him "What was the tuition fee?" They checked, it was 86 Yin yearly which was somewhat cheap considering how expensive cultivation was. "Brother Feng, please get admitted into this school, ill figure something out. Even if we find a school that would admit someone like me, we would not have the money anyway."
Zhang Feng's face scrunched with regret and stress, how was his brother even going to survive? So many questions passed through his head "But what about you Brother Jian?" Zhang Jian pinched his chin, contemplating his future. "I will figure something out, I can visit you at the end of every semester to prove I'm still alive and well."
In the end, Zhang Feng got admitted into Yunhua. He had to say his goodbyes to his brother that evening. "Be safe, stay out of trouble and come here whenever you need to. I will drop everything and help you." Tears almost shed from Zhang Feng's eyes. "Yeah, yeah, worry about your education and not me. I will be fine. You need to focus on your studies and cultivation." Zhang Jian tried to act nonchalant, but he was scared as well. They hugged and Zhang Jian left, waving back at his brother as he passed the gate.
When Zhang Jian passed through the woods, he started to plan his next move. "I have 13 Yin on me, no home, no education and no job." He began to panic, mind racing with fear. He didnt notice the golden haired Ling Tianshu walking in his direction.
Ling Tianshu stopped dead in her tracks "WHAT IS HE DOING HERE!!!???" she was screaming in her own head. Think of this like seeing a beautiful girl at the airport in a different country, then it turns out she's in your neighborhood when you get back. The pretty boy looked the same, except he wasn't smiling, it gave Ling Tianshu an unnatural feeling. He looked panicked, very panicked.
"How do I talk to him? do I say hello? What do I say after that?" She was now also panicking. Lost in his thoughts, Zhang Jian bumped into her shoulder by accident. Launched out of his train of thought, he turned around and quickly apologized. Raising his head after bowing, Zhang Jian recognized the girl.
"Wait.. You are Ling Tianshu right?" Zhang Jian struck out his open hand "My name is Zhang Jian. Its a pleasure to meet you." Ling Tianshu shook his hand "The pleasure is mine" She was screaming and jumping with joy on the inside. "What happened? you seem disturbed."
Zhang Jian explained to her the general aspects about his situation, leaving out the fact that he killed his father and was on the run from the Lan Tian clan. "..I see" Ling Tianshu said, twirling one part of her hair.
"well, you can tell me everything over tea right?" She suggested, her sentence was so fast you could barely make out what she said. "but that's basically the gist-" "Amazing! come with me, my house is this way." She grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him along with her.