Wulan, who was holding eleven beast hearts, lined up at the end of the queue. There were only twenty people in front of him, way less than at the start of the exam. 

It was not easy to get into the best academy of Gore Sky City. Only elites who came from high ranking clans, could join this magnificent academy.

Luna had already been taken to the infirmary, but Wulan had her hearts as well, so she would be able to pass without a problem. Even if she didn’t have any, no academy wouldn’t want a genius like Luna.

A couple kids glared towards Wulan who was holding many hearts. They all had a dumbfounded expression, they were sure that Wulan would fail the exam. 

“Hehe, Luna must have helped that good-for-nothing.”

One of the kids spoke up in a volume that anyone in here could hear clearly. 

“Do you even need to say that? Of course, this trash could never get even one, how do you expect him to get eleven hearts!!” 

Another one spoke up, he spoke to the person beside him but he made a great effort to make sure that everyone could clearly hear his voice. Of course he was just trying to give voice to the uncomfortable feeling he had.

He could never accept defeat from the infamous trash of Gore City. Both of the kids who spoke up were sore losers who weren’t able to pass the exam, hence they targeted the weakest one to insult.

They were oblivious to Wulan’s energy and actual strength. Wulan reached the 3rd level of Novice, so people with a level below him couldn’t sense it.

Wulan didn’t pay attention to those two fools. His eyes didn’t show a single bit of anger or care. 

‘What petty people… oh?’

He felt another person glaring at him, however, it came from a different direction than the students.

Wulan shifted his body a bit and looked towards that direction. The person who was staring at him was Master Ninor, his face was still pale from the shock he received beforehand. 

The moment Wulan came out of the portal Master Ninor’s head was in a mess and so he didn’t notice it, but right now, Ninor could clearly sense that the energy in Wulan’s body had changed from the time he went into the other realm.

“How did I fail to notice that? His energy is now a third level, when he went in he was a second level, how could that be? As far as I know he only recently became a second level after seven long years, so how could he have broken through again? This just doesn't make sense, but I’m certain I’m not mistaken, that is really a stronger energy!”

Ninor checked again and again but there was no way he was mistaken.

“There are only two ways, he either broke through while being inside the other realm or he concealed his true power. But it is impossible for him to break through in such a time, not even considering that he took seven years for the second level, no person would be able to break through in less than a day!”

Ninor didn’t stop mumbling and kept lowering his voice while speaking:

“So he concealed his power, but why? Could it be that it is a scheme of some sort? He is a son of the Red Moxin clan after all, maybe the master of that clan is plotting something… If that’s the case I shouldn’t poke my nose into it too much! I hate to, but I should do as he said I have no choice.” 

Ninor was scornfully staring at Wulan from far, in his life, he had never been threatened. Yet a kid who could be hundred years younger than him, ordered him around and gave him not a chance to retort. 

However, if this was really an elaborate scheme from one of the clan-heads then he couldn’t do anything about it. 

Master Ninor looked away to avoid Wulan’s gaze, his expression changed from one filled with fury into one filled with fear and deep thought. He couldn’t provoke Wulan easily anymore, without knowing what was going on. 

Wulan smirked as he saw Ninor’s complicated expression.

‘Yes, yes. Think about it! Why am I suddenly a third level, how would it be possible, do I have a backer, think about all of that and notice that you don’t understand anything! That should make you refrain from any dumb actions “Master” Ninor.’ 

Wulan had intentionally showed Ninor that he was a third level to throw him off and keep him in check. 

‘Was it: “Humans are a lot more cautious and think about their actions twice if they don’t know things”? One of ‘Jessi's’ repeated sentences ? Well, she was obsessed with human behavior so she talked about that non-stop, knowing about the human psyche was a good way to rise faster if you wanted to control people.

At that time I hadn’t been interested in it because it wouldn’t help me become stronger, but knowing about the human psyche will probably come in handy from now on in this new life.’

While he thought about these things the queue got shorter and shorter until it was finally Wulan’s turn to submit the hearts. All the students before him raised cires of joy however, Wulan didn’t feel like doing that, he was more worried about Luna than about getting accepted into the academy. 

“These six hearts are from Luna of the Likorn clan who was sent to the infirmary earlier. The remaining five, please count them as mine.”

“Hmm” The teacher who was inspecting the results of the exam, narrowed his eyes, then he shrugged and said:

“Here is yours and Luna’s class number. Go check her in the infirmary and tell her that you guys need to be in your classes in one hour.”

The teacher handed Wulan two small papers that had the scent of fresh ink.

Wulan took the two papers from the man and after saying brief thanks he started walking towards the direction of the infirmary. But after just a few steps he was interrupted by a voice that came from the corner of the field where the ones who failed the exam stood.

“Sir, how could that trash pass the exam but we weren’t able to? He teamed up with the genius Luna and probably did nothing! He let another person do it and didn’t pass the exam himself! How is he qualified?!”

The person who was talking was a cocky looking kid, who had an unusual hairstyle. Although he was in the failure section, he was not least bit embarrassed when insulting Wulan.

“Weren’t you the one who asked if we could team up with people? I abided by all rules and did exactly what the examiner asked us to do. You aren’t in a position to criticize me.”

Before the teacher could respond Wulan got ahead of him and talked back with a calm voice. Even though he was being accused he didn’t have the slightest bit of anger in his tone. 

Wulan was right, this youngster with the unusual hairstyle was called Wyknus, he was the one who asked if teaming was allowed. He was pretty famous because he was from the Likorn clan’s strongest branch family. The Likorn clan was the 3rd in the top five clans of the Gore city. 

The top five clans were ranked based on their power. The Black Poison clan was ranked 5th but still had a great influence around the city with its powerful Martial Poison. 

The Moxin Red clan was ranked 4th on the list, while the Likorn clan, which Luna’s father ruled, was ranked 3rd. 

{Ed: Moxin Red / Red Moxin} 

“So what if I did? We fought hard with the beasts and searched everywhere for the hearts but weren’t able to do it, even though we tried our hardest! And YOU, you just let yourself be carried by Luna while not even lifting a single finger! How is this fair?”

This was basically the saying ‘if I am gonna die, I am gonna take you with me’. He was not intending to pass anymore. Instead he was just trying to make a scene in order to get Wulan out of the passing list and earn some fame for himself.

“That’s right! How could that trash pass and we couldn’t? This is unfair!!” 

“I practiced for years just to pass this exam and that trash did it without doing anything. This is not logical!!”

“Teacher Shi, does this seem fair to you?!”

Many who failed and even some who passed follow Wyknus’s example and started to badmouth Wulan.

“Hmph” Wulan snorted, he was more concerned about Luna’s wellbeing  than these kids blabbering. Right now, in his eyes, they looked like toddlers whose rattle had been taken away.

{author: don’t mind me making jokes…. hehe -_-}

{Ed: Don’t mind me overwriting the joke... hehe -_-}

Wulan could argue with them all day but he wanted to solve this fast so he could hurry to Luna and the only way for it to be fast would be to...

“Wykn- or whatever your name was? Since you wanna show everyone that you should’ve been the one to pass, why don’t we fight to prove that I am trash and unworthy of passing? What do you say?”

The crowd fell silent, they were surprised by Wulan’s action. They thought that, at most, he would argue with Wyknus. None of them would have expected that the weak and reticent Wulan would actually challenge Wyknus to a fight!

Master Ninor was watching the whole event from the academy building. He was still contemplating over the matter concerning Wulan’s rise in strength and now that such a great opportunity to test Wulan came around, he couldn’t just let it slide. 

Right as the inspection teacher wanted to stop the fight, his sound transmission orb started to ring. And to his astonishment, the person who called him was the councilor for new students, Master Ninor. 

“Shi, don’t stop them. Instead make terms that if Wyknus can beat Wulan he will be able to pass.”

Sound-Transmission-Orbs were another effective and easy to use magic that could be activated through an object. As the names already states, there orbs could transmit sounds from one to the other, so they were used to talk with another person even if said person was in a different location. 

“B-but sir, this is a violation of the rules. We can’t have someone fail who has already passed.” Shi retorted while keeping his tone down like an obedient dog. 

“Don’t worry about the consequences. I will talk with the higher-ups if anything happens. Just do as I say.”

“I...o-okay sir!”

“Hahaha, what did this trash just say? Did he challenge me to a fight?”

Wyknus was a second level Magus Novice and was already getting closer to third level. He was the hope of the main branch family of the Likorn clan. He and Wulan only ran into each other a couple of times but like everyone else his eyes carried disdain for Wulan.

“Trash Wulan has challenged Wyknus to a fight! Where did he get that guts from or is he just stupid?”

“He thinks he is a big shot because he was a childhood friend of Luna. Wyknus, go, and straighten this trash who is obviously in need of a beating!”

This world was ruled by power, the strong would look down on the weak. All the students were shouting dreadful words towards Wulan, it always was like this for the weak. 

Nobody wanted to be targeted like Wulan, so no one dared to speak up for or encourage Wulan.

This was what had always happened to this body. And it was the same for many others in this toxic world, just because they were weak...

Wulan was a little annoyed by the fact that a couple of kids who couldn’t even kill a few second level beasts were swearing at him, the Monarch of all Martial Arts, the one who killed the Demon Monarch! In comparison, they weren’t even fit to be called ants however, Wulan didn’t let the least bit of this discontent show on his face. 

“Okay, pay attention. Wulan and Wyknus, I don’t think that I could stop you from fighting so please be careful to not kill yourselves while you're at it and by the way, if Wyknus wins he will be considered as having passed the test and Wulan will be considered as having failed.”

“What?”

Everyone was surprised by this change of events. They all thought the teacher would disagree with this fight and stop them, but instead he agreed to the duel and even broke the rules of the exam by giving Wyknus a chance to pass the test after he already failed.

Of course, Wyknus was smiling happily now. He looked like a person who won already. However, if he could sense Wulan’s energy, he would’ve wet his pants by now. 

Wulan shifted his gaze to Shi and then looked behind him, towards the academy building. He already knew that Master Ninor interfered and arranged this duel to test his abilities, however, it didn’t change anything for him so he just went along with it.

‘Well, whatever. I should beat this kid quickly, I don’t wanna waste anymore of my time on this twerp or any of these toddlers.’ 

“3 - 2 - 1- Fight!” 

Even before Shi had given the final signal, Wyknus already jumped up from his spot and ran towards Wulan like a bull.

[Mana Manifestation: Trantless Claw]

He casted a highly straining Mana manipulation spell, it would drain his energy a lot but he would be able to make a very strong attack.

Wulan started to move forward as well, he did the exact movements  Wyknus did. 

[Mana Manifestation: Trantless Claw]

Wulan shouted the same spell name, he was basically copying Wyknus spell however he did it perfectly

“Huh? You trash, trying to copy my spell? Well, let’s just see which one is stronger, your fake or my original, haha!”

“Wulan could use the [Trantless Claw] too?”

“Copying a spell is a hard thing to do, so he probably practiced it a lot in order to be able to use it.”

The two of them clashed with each other. The hands of both of them now resembled the ones of a beast more than the ones of a human. Wulan’s claws were blue colored while Wyknus’s were orange. 

Of course their hands didn’t change, it was just that these claws were created and connected to their hands through Mana. It was way easier to manage a Mana Manifestation if it was done through a body part.

Wyknu’s formed a fist and struck at Wulan’s face, however it was forcefully stopped by Wulan’s palm.

“What?!”

The whole crowd exclaimed.

“This trash was able to block my attack?! What is going on?!!”

Wyknus mumbled, he was surprised by the fact Wulan could match his raw power. He thought he could finish him immediately but instead his attack got blocked and Wulan didn’t even move back a single step. 

“Trash! Aaahh! Let go!”

Because he felt pain, Wyknus tried to step back. However, the fist he swung at Wulan had not only been blocked but also gripped by him and that meant that the claws dug into Wyknus flesh. 

“You have claws, why are you attacking me with a fist? That is way easier to block.”

Wulan didn’t understand that attack, after all, it was just not a good move in a fight. If the claws came straight at him, he couldn’t just grab them, well, he could but it would be a whole lot harder. 

“I didn’t plan to kill you, but now you are dead!” 

Wyknus attacked Wulan with his other claws and aimed straight for his heart. He was obviously trying to kill him. 

Wulan utilized his second set of claws as well, he attacked the claws that came at him and they clashed against each other. Or rather, they didn’t really clash, Wulan used his own claws to push the ones coming at him away and misdirected them through that. 

The claws scratched his cheek however, Wulan’s claw also attacked Wyknus after his attack was misdirected. 

The two didn’t move, everybody held their breath and the only thing that moved was the blood flowing from Wulan’s cheek and the one from Wyknus chest.  

“Whaaaaa?!!”

Both of them didn’t bleed much, however, who was in the winning position was obvious. Wulan’s claw had stopped right in front of Wyknus heart. If he moved even a bit, this heart would be stabbed through and his life would end.

“Mister Shi, shouldn’t you announce the winner of the duel, I think Wyknus isn’t really comfortable with the current situation.”

“- - - Ah, yes! The winner of this duel is… Wulan…” 

“NO!”

Wyknus interrupted him, even though he still had a claw in his chest he was still unable to accept his defeat.

“You trash! You haven’t won this battle until you kill me! You are just trash, you aren’t qualified to defeat me! I will never acknowledge this disgrace! Kill me, no, you can’t right? I’m the young master of the strongest branch family of the Likorn clan so you can’t do anything against me, because you are just trash! Hehe, I hereby declare that there will be no consequences even if you kill me! But you are still unable to do it, right? Because you are a coward! You are a nothing! Nobody needs you! You should just die! You are nothing but TRASH!”

{author: shit, this guy wants to die….}

{Ed: Now, dear readers, you are able to make a decision;

Kill Wyknus or leave him alive 

Please comment what choice Wulan should make. You have one day.}

{author: please join our discord server…. : https://discord.gg/RFvwkYD :}

                                         To be continued.