I Shall Steal The Heavens 124 Chapter 123: Back To The Presen

That was the first question Bai Ning Xue asked me when I returned to the academy grounds after that meeting with Lighting Tiger…I mean Lei Yong Chun.

I resisted the urge to tell her that it was none of her business and instead smiled politely. Gesturing toward the direction of the forest outside Wu Ling Academy, I dropped my head and shook it in feigned disappointment.

"I tried to pursue Lei Yong Chun along with the rest, but…I failed. He managed to get away."

Bai Ning Xue's expression softened. "That isn't your job. You don't have to worry about it. Leave First Senior to Teacher Jiao and the rest."

"Yeah." I glanced back at where I came from. Even though Lei Yong Chun was the enemy, I couldn't help but be thoroughly impressed. The guy single-handedly fought off Teacher Jiao, the other teachers and a group of men in suits and sungla.s.ses (again, I have no idea why the h.e.l.l they were wearing shades in the middle of the night) while badly injured, and he still managed to elude their capture. If he hadn't beaten me up, I might even have asked him to teach me martial arts. Even now, I grudgingly admired him.

He's going to be one h.e.l.l of an enemy, I thought. He might have named me and Bai Ning Xue threats, but he was quite the monster himelf. I wondered if he could defeat the teachers if he wasn't injured.

As expected of the one the White Tiger Sect heralds as their next leader, huh…?

"By the way…"

"??"

I turned to Bai Ning Xue, who was slowly getting to her feet. She had been taking care of her friends, detailing several of the men in suits to help bring them to the infirmary. Refusing all a.s.sistance until all the other student council members were safe and receiving treatment, she was essentially the only one left.

"What were those skills? I don't remember you being this strong. And First Senior said something about the Heaven and Earth Formula?"

"I thought you knew I was an Experimentalist trying to restore the Heaven and Earth Formula?" I riposted, recalling what she told her first senior.

"Yeah, that's right, but…even then, how did you reach such an advanced stage? You spent two years a.s.similating qi, unable to use martial arts, didn't you? And suddenly, you're much stronger than all the other students, including the student council members."

"You overestimate me," I replied with a dry laugh. "I'm not stronger than any of the student council members."

"Do you really expect me to believe that?" Bai Ning Xue snapped. "After what I saw happen earlier? You fought on par with First Senior, who defeated all the student council members in less than five minutes!"

"If you call getting my a.s.s kicked fighting on par, maybe." I shrugged. "Furthermore, he was injured by your Heaven's Void, Lightning Style. If he had been at peak condition, he probably would have finished me off in a second."

That was the truth, and also why I didn't step out to intervene until so late in the game. Having witnessed his ferocity and power firsthand, I was aware that any attempts on my part to intercede would end in instant disaster. I would get knocked out like Zhu Jiao and the rest.

On the other hand, after Bai Ning Xue unexpectedly landed that attack and badly injured Lei Yong Chun, I saw an opportunity. With a strike directly at his heart, even someone as strong as Lei Yong Chun would weaken a little. That was more than enough for me to somehow make a difference, no matter how slight. And I never thought I would win. As I said earlier, my only intention was to buy as much time as possible.

After all, I had contacted Teacher Jiao the moment I saw Lei Yong Chun fighting the student council members. I didn't think he would be up, checking his email at the time of the night, but fortunately he had already been notified earlier by the student council members (being requested by Princ.i.p.al Xiao Zhang to stay on alert for this night, at least), and his instant response was for me to standby and hide. Apparently he didn't think I would make much of a difference if I joined the student council members and would just end up as an unnecessary casualty.

"…"

Bai Ning Xue studied me for a moment, as if she didn't believe me. Then she sighed and lowered her head, realizing that there was no point arguing with me.

"Thank you."

"Huh?"

I was taken aback by her abrupt expression of grat.i.tude. This was the Ice Princess we were talking about here. Where did that come from?

"No matter the reasons behind your motive, you still saved my life. I will definitely repay this someday."

"Motives?" I repeated incredulously. Outrage welled up inside me. "Come on, lady. I have no other motives than to help you. Do you think I want to put you in my debt or want something in return or something?"

"Forgive me, that's not what I meant." Bai Ning Xue raised her head to look at me with her glacial eyes. "I mean, whatever motives you possess for hiding your strength until now."

"I wasn't exactly hiding my strength. I just didn't have a chance to show it off until now." Sarcasm dripped from my words.

"Nonetheless, you saved me. I owe you."

"No, you don't."

"Yes, I do."

"No you don't."

"I most certainly do."

I sighed, giving up, when an idea suddenly came into my head. Then I smiled and stared at her before nodding.

"All right, then I'lll have to ask you a favor."

Bai Ning Xue regarded me suspiciously, despite all the words she uttered earlier. Just how two-faced can she get?

"What is it? If it's something within my ability, I'll do everything within my power to help you, but I won't do anything unscrupulous…"

"Why do you think I'll ask you to do something unscrupulous?" I demanded, irritated. Bai Ning Xue hesitated, and lowered her head in embarra.s.sment.

I had no idea at that time, but Zhu Jiao would later tell me the sort of shameless requests that Gu Chun Song often made of her, which usually involved her body or some sort of physical contact. The guy was an unsaveable creepy stalker.

And here I was, thinking that I was bad and socially awkward. Well, given that I actually had friends and had no problem socializing, I wasn't that bad.

Anyway, I snorted.

"The only request I have is that you keep what you saw regarding me tonight a secret. Don't tell your friends or the student council members that I was present tonight. Don't tell them that I tried to fight your first senior. That's all I ask of you. We cool?"

"…that's it?"

Bai Ning Xue stared at me in disbelief. She then glanced at the staff still milling around, and returning after their failed pursuit.

"Even if I agree to this, wouldn't the teachers and staff know about this? They saw you fighting against First Senior."

"They only saw the last part of battle, where I got stomped by his Heavenly Tiger Thunder Crash," I replied. "They didn't actually see me use my Heavenly Draconic Meteor Swordsmanship or Heaven and Earth Formula against him."

"…"

Bai Ning Xue continued to look at me for a few more seconds before she finally took a deep breath and held up her hands.

"Fine. I promise not to tell anyone about this." she raised her head and glared at me. "I don't know why you're so adamant on keeping this a secret, but wouldn't it benefit you more to reveal your true power and climb the rankings?"

"That's what the tournament is for, isn't it?"

Bai Ning Xue fell silent, suddenly understanding. She then nodded, more color in her expression.

"I understand. I won't say anything then. I'll look forward to your performance."

There was nothing to look forward to. I had no intention of using Heavenly Flow and Earthly Steps during the tournament. Heaven and Earth Formula wasn't much of a combat technique in the first place. It was a cultivation technique to boost my growth and enhance my qi, but that wasn't something that I would tell Bai Ning Xue.

Besides, it would be unfair to use Heaven and Earth Formula on people from my generation. It was known as the strongest cultivation-type martial art. I would end up bullying them (though I didn't expect that I would end up losing to Zhu Jiao even though I still used it in the end – goes to show how overpowered protagonists were).

"By the way, do you know what your first senior's goals are?" I asked Bai Ning Xue. She pondered for a moment, and then shook her head.

"I have no idea what he's thinking. I don't know if he's telling the truth about the Martial Arts Alliance and their desire to destroy Wu Ling Academy, but no matter what, I have no intention of allowing him to succeed!"

"Aye," I agreed, though I couldn't help but think back to what happened a few minutes ago, before Lei Yong Chun and I went our separate ways.

"I've decided," Lei Yong Chun had told me. "I won't kill you."

"Why, thank you," I had replied sarcastically. I'm so grateful."

He had ignored me and continued on as if I hadn't said anything.

"In the years to come, you'll become a valuable a.s.set. It doesn't seem like you're that loyal to Wu Ling Academy, and you're probably aware of Xiao Zhang only wanting to make use of you to restore your martial art and steal it from you."

I wasn't surprised, having heard the conversation between Xiao Zhang and Teacher Jiao a couple of years ago. When he saw my lack of astonishment or reaction, Lei Yong Chun smiled triumphantly.

"As I thought. Unlike my cute junior, Ning Xue, you have no desire to protect Wu Ling Academy."

"That doesn't mean I won't protect my friends if you attack them in Wu Ling Academy," I had responded with a steely expression. Lei Yong Chun had laughed at that.

"Don't worry. As you've seen, I've no intention of harming them. Permanently, anyway. My true enemy is Xiao Zhang and the system of the academy. As long as I stop him from becoming a G.o.d, and destroy the technology that produces artificial qi, I'll be happy."

He then paused and his smile grew sinister.

"However, I can't say the same about the Martial Arts Alliance."

A chill of premonition ran down my spine.

"What do you mean by that?" I had demanded.

"Well…the Martial Arts Alliance won't stop at executing Xiao Zhang or the destruction of the technology. To them…the students of Wu Ling Academy, the beneficiaries who have received and benefited from artificial qi, are as much of a monstrous abomination as the wicked technology themselves. At least that's their reasoning, but obviously they fear the growth of the children in Wu Ling Academy, and how they'll surpa.s.s their martial arts in a few short years…they fear that you kids will take over the hegemony and rule over the martial arts world in a relatively short time, if they leave your growth and progress unchecked."

"In the end, all they care about is themselves," I had muttered darkly, having gotten tired of their hypocritical justifications and corruption.

"That's right." Lei Yong Chun was growing more and more satisfied with my responses. I realized that he was manipulating me, but I decided to just play along with it for now, and nodded with an outraged expression.

It was so fun leading people on and tricking them with my Oscar Award-winning performance.

"We have to stop them," I had declared with a straight face. Lei Yong Chun's grin then widened.

"Of course we do. That's why I'm going to let you live. I want you to continue keeping a low profile. And when the Martial Arts Alliance finally betrays us…you'll be a valuable ally in destroying those corrupted old fools and exposing their hypocrisy."

"I can't wait," I had remarked dryly.

"I'll be relying on you then."

That was the last thing Lei Yong Chun said before he waved and strode away. I had watched him disappear into the depths of the forest, but knowing that I didn't have the strength to stop him, turned around in the opposite direction and returned to the academy.

Why did I follow him in the first place? I wanted to confirm what he knew about the Heaven and Earth Formula. Initially, I had thought he might have learned something about it, and wanted some information that could help me with my cultivation and martial arts, but it seemed that he had "only" fought against martial artists from the Heaven and Earth Sect.

Nonetheless, he had provided me a vital piece of intelligence. Investigate the nine Spirit Engraved Pillars, huh?

The problem was that, there was a monstrous ent.i.ty living below the nine Spirit Engraved Pillars, sealed by mystical energies and arcane formations. There was no way I would approach the Spirit Engraved Pillars of my own volition, not while that thing continued to exist beneath it. Every time I was near it, it felt as if my very soul was in peril.

That thing wanted to consume my soul, devour my spirit and take over my body. I couldn't afford to carelessly wander near the Spirit Engraved Pillars, at least not without a ma.s.sive amount of preparation and spiritual defenses in place.

But with the new information Lei Yong Chun provided me, I couldn't help but wonder.

Does that demonic ent.i.ty sealed beneath the nine Spirit Engraved Pillars have anything to do with the Heaven and Earth Sect?

*

And with that, the flashback came to an end.

Obviously, during that monologue, I said nothing the entire time. I wasn't stupid enough to tell Bai Ning Xue that I had a secret exchange with Lei Yong Chun, nor did I tell them anything about Wu Ling Academy or the Martial Arts Alliance. Of course I didn't mention the nine Spirit Engraved Pillars and its possible link to the Heaven and Earth Sect.

Instead, I only glared at Bai Ning Xue accusingly. "You promised not to tell anyone."

Bai Ning Xue's eyes widened and she covered her mouth, but it was too late. The words had slipped out, and she had no way of taking them back. She could only lower her head in embarra.s.sment and apologize.

"I'm sorry. I spoke without thinking. That was my mistake. It appears that I owe you a favor once again."

"Honestly, you don't need to owe me anything."

"Uh, can someone please explain what you guys are talking about?" Tang Qi Hong asked. Zhu Jiao raised a hand.

"Hmm, is it that time when your First Senior attacked the academy, Ning Xue?"

"Yeah…"

"Hmm, I don't remember much of it, but I don't remember seeing Wu there. Granted, I was knocked out almost immediately."

"Well…" Bai Ning Xue sighed and quickly filled in the rest on what had transpired during the moments when the rest of the student council members were knocked out, with Zhu Jiao adding and filling in some gaps.

They were brief, and they didn't mention my meeting with Lei Yong Chun in the forest. Obviously – they weren't there and they had no knowledge of me catching up and speaking with Lei Yong Chun and learning all those predictable stuff. To be honest, just as Lei Yong Chun said, I wasn't shocked by any of these revelations. I had already antic.i.p.ated them.

After reading enough wuxia and xianxia novels, I was self-aware enough to know what was going to happen further down the line. The problem was how I could deal with it. And I wasn't cruel enough to dump the details of an ominous future on my friends. Firstly, they wouldn't believe me, and secondly, if they did believe me and started acting nervous and whatever around the Martial Arts Alliance, they would give themselves away.

Ignorance was bliss. I was the only one who needed to know about that, and I should be able to find a solution before long. The Martial Arts Alliance was way too big for a small group of students to do anything about it, but as the protagonist, I knew I would go through a series of fateful encounters and big events before eventually finding the power to do something about my situation. Another thing I had learned from wuxia and xianxia novels.

There was no use worrying about resistance against a large organization. Everything would fall into place soon enough.

"Why didn't you tell any of us?" Tang Qi Hong complained, turning back to me with her hands on her hips.

"Do you tell me every single detail of what happens in your life?" I responded. Tang Qi Hong stammered, taken aback.

"Uh…well…"

"But this isn't just a simple matter. It's pretty major!" Zhu Jiao was looking at me disapprovingly. He glanced at Bai Ning Xue, as if a little disappointed that she didn't confide in him. But he understood that I had sworn her to secrecy, so he didn't say anything.

"Why would he? Wu will have an advantage if he keeps his martial arts a secret. That's why he did it, especially when so close to the tournament."

Fortunately, Tong Xue was on my side.

"Even so, he could have told us," Zhu Jiao argued.

"Then what happens if you meet him in the tournament? Did Wu go and ask you for your martial arts before the final?"

Ban Zhang countered, and then Zhu Jiao faltered.

"Uh, well…"

"The main reason is because I wanted to maintain a low profile and I didn't think it was anything major enough to tell you. After all, I wasn't hurt badly, and you and the other student council members were recovering in the infirmary. Plus I was too busily training afterward that the entire incident slipped my mind. Sorry."

My reverse psychology actually worked. The moment I lowered my head and apologized, Zhu Jiao quickly waved his hands and apologized.

"Uh, no. sorry. It's my fault for being pushy. Of course you would have your own reasons."

"Thanks for understanding."

"Anyway, we shouldn't waste too much time standing around. Let's get back to our seats."

At Ban Zhang's reminded, I glanced at the clock. Sometime during our conversation, we had reached the cla.s.sroom and had gathered around Bai Ning Xue's desk to discuss the incident. The lesson was about to begin in a minute, so we hastily dispersed and returned to our desks.

*

With no other major events, and now that the tournament had ended, there wasn't much for me to say. We did what we could, training and cultivating as per our sect's instructions.

Having joined the Blood Blades, our training regimen had become a lot stricter. Elder Zhao sure didn't go easy on Tong Xue and me, mercilessly beating us up in each training session and drilling the techniques of the Nine Heavenly Armaments into our bodies. He wasn't satisfied with just teaching me the sword and Tong Xue the dagger. He also made sure we had secondary armament training, teaching me the finer uses of wielding a spear and a staff, while also coaching Tong Xue on using a normal sword but other than that, my cla.s.smate was let off from other stuff.

"That's not how you do it! Put more back into it!"

"Ugh…"

I struggled to swing the spear with more force, as Elder Zhao directed. He looked at me sternly, circling as I performed the movements he demonstrated earlier.

"Using a spear is different from using a sword! Keep that in mind!'

He then paused and shook his head.

"That said, even the way you use a sword is a mess! Did your primary master not teach you how to properly use a sword?!"

"I don't have a primary master," I reminded him. Or even if I did, Master did not teach me how to use a sword. He only taught me the most basic cultivation and breathing methods and the core principles of the other techniques, such as Heavenly Flow and Earthly Path and Heaven and Earth Strike. And I still had yet to fully grasp the latter. I had been making do by combining my Heavenly Draconic Meteor Strike with the basic principles to come up with Shadow Dragon Meteor Strike, but obviously it didn't come close to the original Heaven and Earth Strike. I was a long way from mastering that. "My sword skills are all self-learned."

"Did I give permission for you to talk back?!" Elder Zhao snapped as he smacked my head, almost sending me sprawling on the ground.

Well, dude, you asked. Then again, he would probably also smack me if I had stayed silent and not answer the question. That was probably the point of the training, so I decided not to retort, so that I could escape unnecessary pain.

Crawling to my feet, I picked up my spear against and spun it before slashing and swinging it. With more force this time, as per Elder Zhao's instructions.

I began regretting asking him to teach me how to use a spear. The idea had occurred to me during training, and I had requested Elder Zhao to show me how to use a spear. Remembering how I used one to kill the Ghost Bear all those years ago, I thought it might help me a little if I had some faint idea of how to actually wield it.

Besides, Lord Xue Ying used a spear as well, and he was a bada.s.s. And at least he didn't fall into the same Mary Sue trap (or at least the manhua version didn't) that all other wuxia and xianxia protagonists did, like *cough* Li Fu Chen *cough*.

So if there was one protagonist I would like to emulate, it would be Lord Xue Ying (the manhua version). As for the novel version, I had only read up to where he fought the Shadow Leopard or whatever in the forest. I should pick it up again when I had the time.

"Hey! Your thoughts are wandering! Concentrate!"

Another smack to my head, but I dodged it this time, and continued whirling my spear before slashing at the air. Elder Zhao nodded in approval when he saw my movements. At least he wasn't petty enough to resent me for ducking his physical punishment.

"I notice that you seem to have a strange technique that allows you to evade smoothly." He frowned as he studied my movements with the spear, probably trying to mask his irritation at my clumsy attempts at trying to wield it smoothly. "Why would you want to learn the spear? I think short swords suit your fighting style better."

"Oh, I just want to grasp the basics, just in case I need to use a spear."

"I would prefer if you concentrate on just the sword, but I guess it's better to know more fighting styles," Elder Zhao conceded. "Your swordsmanship might be better, but it's not that…competent. I guess you really did learn it all by yourself."

I tried not to flinch from the criticism. Wow, but that was a huge blow to my confidence. I didn't even know I had confidence in my swordsmanship in the first place, but it still stung to hear that I wasn't that competent even though I was aware of the harsh truth.

"I don't suppose you can teach me how to use Heavenly Draconic Meteor Swordsmanship properly," I grumbled. Elder Zhao shrugged.

"Nope. I haven't learned that one before, and it's rude to learn martial arts not belonging to your own sect."

Was he trying to say something about me?

"What sect did the Heavenly Draconic Meteor Swordsmanship belong to, anyway?" I asked, trying to mask my hurt.

"Heavenly Meteor Sect," Elder Zhao replied. "Destroyed years ago by the Martial Arts Alliance because they were spreading their influence far too aggressively. A pity…they used to be one of the most powerful orthodox martial arts sects, but their rate of growth and recruitment essentially turned them into a nation unto itself. Alarmed, the Martial Arts Alliance was forced to make its move."

The scowl on Elder Zhao's face told me what he thought of that. However, he swallowed his bitterness and continued.

"Many of the sects, fearing the size and power of the Heavenly Meteor Sect, united under the leadership of the Martial Arts Alliance and a.s.saulted the stronghold of the Heavenly Meteor Sect, laying siege to them for years. It took a decade or so, but they finally broke through when a few of the core elders betrayed the Heavenly Meteor Sect, having been promised by the Martial Arts Alliance to spare their lives and even allow them to found their own sects."

"What…?"

I gaped at Elder Zhao, and he slapped at my hand.

"Don't stop moving!"

I quickly resumed striking and parrying with my spear, trying to go through with the familiar movements. After making sure I wouldn't be slacking off, Elder Zhao continued.

"At that time, the Heavenly Meteor Sect was under the leadership of their sect leader, Tian Liu Xing. He was extremely powerful and charismatic, which accounted for the enormous growth rate and strength of his sect, and thousands flocked to follow him and learn under him."

I listened, feeling like there was something more to this so-called popular sect leader, and as I suspected, I already knew what was going to happen.

"However, many of the core elders began to get jealous of how he was dominating and ruling the sect by himself, and they began to desire power of their own. Furthermore, with the constant attacks from the Martial Arts Alliance, and the way the Heavenly Meteor Sect was making enemies of the world, they began to grow disillusioned with his decisions. Especially when he opened the doors to refugees whose sects have been destroyed by the Martial Arts Alliance on the grounds of suspicions of being demonic sects…"

Why did I feel like I had heard this before? Right…Lei Yong Chun said something similar. That the Martial Arts Alliance would attempt to destroy any sect independent from their rule, because they feared their power and influence.

Elder Zhao laughed. "The irony was that, after the Alliance of masters and sect leaders finally overwhelmed and defeated Tian Liu Xing through sheer numbers and attrition, the Martial Arts Alliance turned around and executed those core elders for treason."

"Going back on their words, huh?"

"Of course." Elder Zhao shrugged. "They fabricated accusations of those core elders practicing the demonic arts of the Heavenly Meteor Sect, put them on trial, and promptly executed them by beheading."

Goes to show that karma was a b.i.t.c.h. And hopefully the Martial Arts Alliance would receive theirs one day.

"Um, so…I shouldn't be learning the Heavenly Draconic Meteor Swordsmanship?" I asked, not sure what the morale of the story was supposed to be.

"It's been centuries, and I don't think the Martial Arts Alliance care. As long as you don't found an entire sect and break away from them to be independent, as long as you continue to swear your loyalty to the Alliance, they won't touch you. And besides, you're primarily an Experimentalist, so I don't care what you learn outside of the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect."

"…right."

I took a deep breath and continued twirling my spear.

"Besides, the basics of swordsmanship are all the same everywhere. Once you're familiar with the sword branch of the Nine Heavenly Armaments, you should be able to apply the core principles to your Heavenly Draconic Meteor Swordsmanship and other sword techniques. Only then would you be able to perfect your mastery of those other sword techniques."

Elder Zhao grinned.

"So don't worry, you're not wasting your time by learning either of them. If anything, you should have done it the other way around…learn the basics of the Nine Heavenly Armaments first, then move on to learn other swordsmanship."

"Yes, Elder Zhao."

I wiped the perspiration from my brow before continuing.

Elder Zhao watched me practice for a few moments before he sat down at a nearby table and sipped some tea. He drummed his fingers on the table, his gaze taking on a faraway look as he stared up at the heavens.

"We're going to need all of you kids to grow stronger."

"Huh?"

I stopped and stared at him, and when his gaze sharpened, I quickly resumed my training before he could throw his cup at my head.

Taking a deep breath, Elder Zhao sighed. His expression troubled, he narrowed his eyes as he spoke.

"Sect Leader has made his decision."

"What decision?" I demanded, but was careful to keep my tone polite and submissive. I needn't had bothered. Elder Zhao didn't seem to notice the barely concealed panic in my voice. He drank another sip of tea and set his cup on the table.

"The Martial Arts Alliance has been pressuring us for years to become part of them, to enter their fold. All this time, we've remained in a cooperative relationship, but we didn't exactly swear loyalty to the Alliance. That said, whenever they needed help, we sent a.s.sistance, especially with that war against the Heaven and Earth Sect and the demonic sects years ago. Back then, the Alliance was embroiled in wars, so they couldn't afford to antagonize us."

"And now that those wars have been over for years…" I began. Elder Zhao nodded ominously.

"They've begun to increase the pressure on us, badgering us to become part of the Alliance. We've always maintained our neutrality, doing business with whoever wants to buy our weapons and engaging in free trace, but if we join the Alliance, we have to pay them taxes and 'protection fees'. Not to mention, we'll be restricted in who we can trade with. Obviously the Martial Arts Alliance would only allow us to trade and sell our weapons with members within the Alliance. We wouldn't be able to do business with third parties, neutral sects and non-member sects."

His lip curled.

"The Alliance is making use of this to accuse us of doing businesses with the demonic sects, and are no doubt fabricating evidence to bring these charges against us."

…the f.u.c.k? Why?!

"Sect Leader is getting tired of all their bulls.h.i.t, and has decided to make his stand once and for all. Moreover, just recently, at the national conference for budgeting and other public matters, he also announced his support for Wu Ling Academy, and their plan to advance research with artificial qi. The royal government is on their side for now, but there are ripples throughout the Martial Arts Alliance. They don't agree with the Emperor's decision, and they have marked us as enemies for siding with Wu Ling Academy over them."

"That's not good." I gulped.

"Don't worry." Elder Zhao smiled at me rea.s.suringly. "Their hands are tied at the moment. With the royal family and government on our side, they shouldn't be able to make a move. No doubt they're scheming something in the shadows, but they can't just declare war on Wu Ling Academy or attack an orthodox sect…not if they don't want to incur the wrath of the imperial family. Even the Martial Arts Alliance isn't foolish enough to fight the Imperial Guard."

I was about to breathe a sigh of relief when Elder Zhao continued.

"But…there is no doubt that they're planning something…and we had best get ready to face them in combat eventually." He turned to me. "That's why I'll need you and the rest of the Blood Blades to grow stronger. If the Martial Arts Alliance truly intend to invade us, then our hopes of survival will rest upon you youngsters."