Time was against them, weeks became days, days became hours, hours became minutes and minutes became mere seconds. The Soul-Hunter Exam was just around the corner and there was still so much left to cover.
As a result, the soul training exercise was extended into the weekends, giving them no breaks at all.
The fourteen students enrolled in class B assembled in the courtyard of the academy. They each had three days to perfect their respective techniques and today was the deadline.
"You've all been allowed more than enough time to work on the two core stages and also your ultimate techniques. You'll be accessed on that soon enough, but before that."
"WEE!" A man shouted from the sky, the word bursting forth like a cannon shot.
"What was that?" one of them whispered, glancing at the others, their laughter abruptly cut off by a booming voice that echoed through the air. They looked up, eyes wide with disbelief, their smiles frozen on their faces.
As the man plummeted from the sky, his laughter echoed through the air, a wild, joyous sound that seemed to defy gravity itself. His arms stretched wide, embracing the rush of wind that whipped around him. Sunlight glinted off his beaming face, illuminating the pure exhilaration in his eyes.
As he landed, he raised his thumbs and pointed it towards the students. "I have arrived!" He said with a bright smile, the rays of the sun reflecting off his white teeth.
"N-No way!" One of the students stuttered.
"It's the A-rank Soul-Hunter! Shun Li!" Lucy exclaimed, her facial expression hinting the excitement that she tried to contain within her.
Shun Li — a 35 year old middle aged man who was branded as one of the strongest Soul-Hunters out there in the whole kingdom. What was so unique about him? The fact that he was a commoner who surpassed even S-rank Soul-Hunters as an A-rank Soul-Hunter. However, there were those who didn't value his efforts due to his status.
"Damn it, there was absolutely no need for your dramatic entrance Shun Li." Shota said, his icy gaze fixated on Shun Li.
"Shota, you are as straightforward as ever." He replied, chuckling loudly as he placed his hand over Shota's shoulder.
Most of the students were left astonished, all except the five transmigrated students whose reasoning was clouded with confusion. What was so special about him?
"Shota Sensei, why is Shun Li here?" Lucy asked, her voice filled with excitement as they all wanted to know.
"Shun Li is helping out with the next phase of preparing you for the Soul-Hunter Exam, combat training. From here, he'll be in your care." Done with his business for the day, he left the courtyard leaving behind a note of warning.
"Try not to do anything that'll endanger their lives Li."
"HAHAHA, you're as pragmatic as ever!" He laughed out loudly, leaving the students puzzled at his behavior.
"Is this the behavior of the Soul-Hunter we all adore?" They whispered amongst each other, questioning what they've heard about him from the actual reality.
"Listen Up!" He exclaimed, his behavior changing unexpectedly. The warm smile and cheerful laugh he exhibited all vanished without a trace, leaving only an expression fueled by acute seriousness and focus.
"Combat is the core of the human race, from generations to generations it has been adapted into our lifestyles, it bred wars, caused chaos and destruction, and it plunged humanity to the brink of destruction. Does that makes it lose it's true meaning?"
Posing a thought-provoking question, a heavy stillness settled over the students. They exchanged bewildered glances, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
A smug grin formed on his face as his eyes lit up like a blazing fire.
"It does not! The flames of combat does not lose it's true meaning because us the successors carry on it's will. However, abusing such styles can have disastrous effects."
With a deep breath, he turned his back around, his sights facing ahead as the tone of his voice deepened.
"Come at me at once."
"Huh?"
His sudden request for them to go at him all at once left them puzzled.
"Use your techniques and your ultimate technique if you feel like it's necessary to defeat me, that's the only condition to pass this exercise."
A heavy silence descended, punctuated only by gasps of disbelief.
The students exchanged stunned looks, eyes wide and mouths agape.
"Tsk." Sado grunted, with his father assuming the position of the right hand of the king Kuraikyo Empire, he was one of those who viewed commoners as nothing but low lives irrespective of age.
'Fight him with our ultimate techniques? He dares look down on me?' He thought.
Out of annoyance, he plunged forward at Shun Li engulfing his right hand with a golden aura. "You asked for this! Don't be sorry!"
Belonging to the Zen Soul-Type, Sado gained the abilities to create an astral projection of his body. His right hand was surrounded by a large golden fist which he aimed at the back of their instructor.
"Astral Fist!"
Shun Li remained standing with his back to the approaching fist of Sado. As the punch surged toward him, he pivoted smoothly on his heel, a fluid motion that transformed his position in an instant. His body rotated, and in a single, graceful movement, he extended his right arm to meet the incoming force.
With precise timing, he redirected the punch towards the ground, using Sado's momentum against him. With his [Astral Fist] containing enough energy to knock down a bear, it generated a shockwave which knocked Sado off his feet.
However, Shun Li was unfazed by the level of power the [Astral Fist] was at currently. In a fluid motion, Shun Li rotated his body, extending his right leg into Sado's stomach and launched him several meters backwards into the ground.
A heavy silence ensued, punctuated with gasps of disbelief and wide eyes. Shun Li effortlessly took down a B-rank Soul-User.
"Next." He said, assuming a normal stance, placing his left hand behind his back and extending his right forearm forward.
The heavy silence became increasingly disturbing to Shun Li, they were hesitant to attack after witnessing the swift reaction time of the combat specialist.
No one could muster the courage to face him, no one except for three individuals. Daichi, Mizuko and finally Rentaro.
Being his disciple, Daichi was more than happy to test out all Shun Li had taught him and this was the perfect opportunity. Mizuko also harbored the feeling of testing out his new abilities and Rentaro was eager to know how strong he had gotten after levelling up.
Rentaro stepped forward, glancing down the path that Shun Li stood in.
'This is a perfect opportunity to test how strong I've become, but I shouldn't reveal too much yet.' He thought.
"Let's go." Daichi muttered, dashing forward at their instructor along with Rentaro and unexpectedly, Mizuko.
As they approached him swiftly, Mizuko struck first, throwing a swift right cross at Shun Li. With a yawn, Shun Li effortlessly caught his punch, using his momentum and redirecting his whole body towards the two that approached him.
With a swift jump over Mizuko, Daichi launches the first strike, a swift jab aimed at Shun's midsection. Shun responded with effortless agility, sidestepping the blow and countering with a quick palm strike that grazes Daichi's shoulder. The contact sends Daichi off balance for just a moment, but he regains his composure, pivoting to deliver a roundhouse kick.
Anticipating this, Shun Li crouched to his feet, ducking low and sweeping Daichi's leg.
"Tsk." In response, Daichi leaped backwards over the sweep. The moment he did so, Rentaro appeared directly in front of Shun Li with a considerate speed.
"What!?" He stuttered, behind him Mizuko also appeared. Simultaneously, Mizuko and Rentaro built up their respective Soul-Energy in their hands.
"Shadow Construct: Rotating Sphere!"
"Electric Burst!"
In Mizuko's hand, a dark ball of energy swelled up in his palm, increasing in size as he infused more energy and in Rentaro's hand, a blue ball of energy was built up in his palm. It wasn't as potent as the ball of energy he used against Muramasa since his intention wasn't to kill.
A smile stretched across his face, he never expected that they would be able to corner him, or so they thought.
"That's right! Resilience, perseverance! That's when youth burns most crimson! However, my youth is far from burning out."
Without warning Shun Li's leg muscles coiled like springs as he launched himself into the air. With a fluid grace, he arced above the ground, his feet barely grazing the dirt below.
In one swift, powerful movement, he reached out, snatching the wrists of the two boys who had ambushed him—one from the front, the other from behind.
"What!?" Their surprised faces flashed in the split second before he twisted his upper body, using their momentum against them and throwing them sideways.
As the boys landed on the ground, their respective techniques blew a hole in the ground, Mizuko's hole much larger than Rentaro's. As Shun Li landed safely on his feet, he sighed softly as he gazed upon the two boys with a soft grin.
'Hmph, these boys really are something else.' He thought.