Sacred Heaven Empire ─ Imperial Academy

"Surrender Long Rong and I spare you of further humiliation" Kai Shen, one of the many core disciples of the Imperial Academy, said to the downed disciple in front of him.

Kai Shen had long blonde hair and eyes so green that they were like small emeralds, which coupled with his handsome face brought him quite the following, much to his private annoyance. There was so much a man can find being hounded by women good as they affect his work, in this case, his cultivation.

"I... won't... give... up," Long Rong said, his voice straining with each word that came out of his mouth. Different from Kai Shen, Long Rong was not as handsome; in fact, he was average to someone living in the Immortal Realm, whose mere ambiance enchanted the natural beauty of all those that were born and died in it. He had black hair and brown eyes and even could have been said to have a handsome face, but that was ruined by all the bruises and cuts that adorned it thanks to Kai Shen.

Now Kai Shen wasn't doing that on purpose but there was so much he could suppress himself as he was in Core Formation Realm and had just passed his Minor Fire Tribulation while Long Rong was not even on the Foundation Establishment Realm. Their 'fight' was so one-sided it was not even funny to the audience that had surrounded them.

"Look at him. What was Long Rong even thinking?"

"I think that was the problem, he wasn't thinking"

"Do you think he is going to die?"

"No, Brother Kai is not like that, but he will continue beating him down if he continues with this farce of a duel"

"Heh, I don't blame him for that"

Kai Shen ignored the bladder of the surrounding crowd of fellow disciples, but they were right. He would not kill Long Rong, but he would continue beating him down until he knocked some sense into that thick skull of his. Or when he fell unconscious either way works. 

But seeing Long Rong getting back up despite his wounds, he was feeling frustrated, even if a tiny part of him was impressed that the lower realm disciple could even get up after the beating he took. "Enough, Long Rong, you clearly can not defeat me. You never could with your current strength, so why are you doing this?"

Kai Shen did not know why Long Rong was doing this. This farce of a duel had come out of nowhere, especially so since neither of them was in the two arenas that the academy constructed for this exact reason. Thought Kai Shen didn't believe that the matter was bad enough for them to go to the Hell Arena as opposed to the Heaven Arena.

"You... took her," Long Rong whispered, but Kai Shen heard it thanks to his superior senses.

"Who?"

"You took... Liu Guai"

'What? No, seriously, what?!' Kai Shen thought with utter confusion as he stared at Long Rong. 'That makes no sense!'

For one, Kai Shen was not even interested in Liu Guai, even if he admitted she was a great beauty. Second, he believed that cheating on one's partner that loved and thought the world of them with another was amongst the worst crimes any being could do. And finally, third, she had only eyes for the Prince!

This was also the reason she had reached out to him because she wanted to enter the Ninth Prince's faction. Of course, there were many tests and background checks she had to go through, especially since she applied for a rather important position. All of which she passed with flying colors.

One of those background checks was to see if she was in any romantic relationship, which both she and the other agents of the Prince said that she didn't besides a childhood friend that she had more sibling relationships rather than a truly romantic one. It seems that, in reality, Long Rong had feelings for Lin Guai, which she either didn't know or didn't care about.

It was likely the first, though it could be the latter.

'What a disaster,' Kai Shen thought as everything became clear, and the situation revealed itself to be an immense case of miscommunication and emotions overruling any type of logic and common sense by Long Rong.

"Look, Long Rong, I do not know what you were thinking, but you were wrong, for you see Ling Guai-"

"DON'T YOU DARE USE HER NAME!" Long Rong shouted loud enough that Kai Shen was sure that it would rupture the ears of a person who didn't cultivate before charging once again at Kai Shen with all of his pitiful might.

But, unsurprisingly, all of Long Rong's attacks didn't hit the body of Kai Shen, no matter how much he attacked, or how fast he did so, Long Rong a mere Outer Disciple would never touch even the robes of Kai Shen who was a Core Disciple and had a wealth of experience against enemies that were in the Core Formation Realm. 

Kai Shen didn't enjoy this farce, and he had been trying to deescalate the situation since it had begun, he even tried to explain the exact situation that led to Long Rong's childhood friend joining the faction of the Ninth Prince, especially how she was never forced and came willingly into their faction. But the fool simply wouldn't listen to him and continued to attack despite knowing that he had no chance of winning against him, no matter how many times he got up.

Frankly, Kai Shen was tired of this. He had better things to do than entertain an Outer Disciple made ramblings; so he lifted his left hand and formed a claw sign with his fingers. He would end this with one strike and then leave Long Rong to his self-inflicted misery. But just as he was about to hit the idiot charging at him with enough force behind to knock him out, he heard a voice.

"Enough"

The pressure given by that single word was enough to stop all of those that were watching and even those that were fighting each other. It was like an all-consuming force that devoured all bravery and will, leaving only fear and despair in its wake. The crowd of watchers immediately dispersed themselves, allowing the bearer of that aura to be known.

Standing there with a neutral expression was the Ninth Prince of the Sacred Heaven Empire. His white hair fluttered across the wind and his red eyes shined like two rubies, which also held an emotion that could be classified as exasperation at what he was seeing. The appearance of the prince sent a shockwave across the audience and particularly the fighters. His robes were purple expelling out to all in which cultivation realm the Ninth Prince was.

Kai Shen himself was dreading what could happen to him before he noticed someone else standing at the side of the Prince. A young woman who undoubtedly is said to be a true beauty. Her hair was the color of fire and her eyes were a deep amber, which, coupled with her features that couldn't possibly belong to someone from a commoner background, sparked a rumor that she was a bastard of the Bai Clan.

Kai Shen ignored her and immediately cupped his hands and bowed. "My Prince, I-"

The Prince lifted his hand, causing the words in his throat to shrivel and die. Then he spoke while looking at both him and Long Rong. "We shall discuss this matter in my residence. Liu Guai carry him, I am sure that he can not walk with those wounds on his body"

"Yes, my Prince," Liu Guai said with a deep bow before moving towards her childhood friend, who seemed to be in a state of shock from her presence. But as she moved closer to him, he seemed to recover, but just as Long Rong was about to say something, she knocked him out with a blow to the head, before lifting the unconscious cultivator from the ground using her Qi.

'How cruel,' Kai Shen thought as he looked at the scene, though he couldn't say that he didn't feel a small amount of satisfaction from seeing Long Rong laying ─ or rather ─ floating while out of the world of the awake.

Imperial Academy ─ Residence of The Ninth Prince

Feng Cai felt a headache coming as he looked at the unconscious body in front of him. He was sitting in a chair in one of the many rooms of his private mansion, away from any prying eyes and ears thanks to both his guards, and the various defensive formations that encircled the complete area of the mansion.

From each corner of the room was a Silver Tiger ready to spring into action. But Feng Cai's gaze was not on them, but on the other awake individuals. Kai Shen, one of his many underlings that was clearly terrified of the situation, and Liu Guai, one of his Shadows, or rather an apprentice Shadow.

The idea to create a power base had been inevitable, not only because as a member of the Royal Family he would have to play politics eventually, especially as he already reached his maturity and was now an official adult, the fact that his parents helped him in arranging all the paperwork he needed to make it at least functional only helped matters. But also, having a faction gains him a bit more protection against a potential disaster in the form of a Protagonist.

He divided his faction into four simple different organizations, each with its own methods of acting. The first was the Recruiters, and as their name says they were the ones that went around and recruited other cultivators to his power base, with full background checks, of course. The next was the Administrators that handled the economical matters because even inner sect cultivation factions have these as members' trade resources for spirit stones.

The third one was the military arm, or rather the dedicated one as everyone knew how to fight, they were just parts of my power base that were just really good at it and also the ones that had the responsibility of gaining Merit Points from checking in the various missions, not that other parts of my faction couldn't do it, it just that they are the ones that have it in bulk before trading them to the Admins which redistributed part of it while allowing them to keep a greater share. As Merit Points could be exchanged for Cultivation Manuals and various Resources, they were a key part of all cultivators that belonged to cultivation sects.

The final one was more complicated in its matters, they were his shadows, the ones that not only protected him from assassins but also searched for information to use against his enemies. They were the agents of his spy network that could also function as assassins if need be, Feng Cai hoped things would not devolve into a shadow war in the academy. But knowing in which world he lived now, he knew that the chances were higher than he would like.

The ones that become his shadows, suffer a rigorous screening of their background and overall abilities, to sniff out any potential spies sent by other factions in the first, and even then they must pass through a period of time before they gain access to the rest of the items available to his true shadows.

But if there is one thing that Feng Cai cultivated in all of them was one thing and one thing only, loyalty, Feng Cai was incredibly generous to all of them, helping with both their cultivation needs as well as their material ones (as long as there were in reason of course), heck even treated with more gentleness than other young masters did, even as he never allowed the relationship between him and the members of his faction to go beyond the professional (or at least he hoped he didn't, his fan club was already cringe-worthy enough), all in all, it had a noticeable effect on them.

With his efforts to appear both as reasonable and just as well as kind, the seeds of loyalty had been planted in them. He wasn't sure that they would lay down their lives for him, a concept that seemed alien to him as he doesn't think that he can inspire someone to that point, they would at least think twice before betraying.

But nothing of that mattered now, what mattered was the headache that was currently snoring in Feng Cai's floor.

"Wake him up"

{POV Switch}

Long Rong felt a sharp pain in his head like someone had just dropped a brick on him, opening his eyes he groaned as he felt the pain all around his body. He definitely had broken something or many somethings, what had happened to him.

And then he remembered. The Duel. Liu Guai, he must save Liu Guai-!

"Stop"

With just that word, all manner of distress in Long Rong gave away to a sense of fear, the same fear that an animal faces when it encounters a predator. Lifting his head he found the source of the word that caused him such fear as to paralyze him. Sitting upon what could only be described as a magnificent throne was the Ninth Prince of the empire and the only child of the Heavenly Empress, Feng Cai.

Looking around he was startled by the wealth present, including the presence of several members of the second royal legion. Their appearance made Long Rong feel a shiver in his spine like he was about to face his execution if he made anything wrong. He tried to get up to properly greet the prince, but his injuries made it so that he could not, instead, he remained on his knees and hands before the royal who merely lifted an eyebrow at his actions.

"You do not need to rise," The Prince said with a voice of a monarch.

"Thank you, my prince" Long Rong said, grateful that the prince was not like his more arrogant brothers, who would have undoubtedly forced him to rise to make a proper greeting despite his injuries.

"Now, you may be wondering why are here aren't you?" The Prince asked, and he gave a simple nod even as his throat felt dry. "That is because a misunderstanding has happened between you and my subordinates"

Long Rong didn't even need to ask how these subordinates were, especially so since he saw from the corner of his vision the two persons that brought with them conflicting feelings to his heart.

One of them was Kai Shen, the man that had used his power as a member of the Ninth Prince's faction to force Liu Guai into his faction so he could have her for himself. And the other was Liu Guai herself, who held the same stone expression that he knew of since childhood, the expression that he never could quite read, but at the same time, it filled him with relief that she was still the same as she was when he last saw her.

Or at least he hoped so.

"You think that somehow, Kai Shen had forced Liu Guai to join us, may I ask how you exactly came to this conclusion?" The Prince asked.

"I... I... well" Long Rong tried to explain himself, but now that the rage and hate had abated he couldn't find a reason to explain what he had done, in fact, Long Rong thought his previous actions were completely idiotic ones made without thinking on the consequence of his actions. "I... was blinded by hate and anger my prince, and didn't think about the consequences of my actions"

"Indeed you didn't," The Prince said, his tone making him flinch. "Tell me this did you think of speaking with Liu Guai, to certain the situation, or did you simply charge in against your perceived enemy?"

"I did not speak with her my prince" Long Rong answered, wondering how he didn't do that, he had been so angry.

"I see then, then perhaps it is time, for you to learn the truth," The Prince said, before looking at Liu Guai. "Liu Guai, you must say this to me with your full sincerity, do you understand me?"

"Yes, my prince" Liu Guai said, and if the situation had not been so grim, Long Rong would have been very happy to hear the sound of her beautiful voice. Even as he heard something in her voice that was never present there in all of their talks but he couldn't think what it was.

"Were you, in any way, shape, or form, forced to enter my faction by any of my subordinates?"

"No, my prince it was my own decision"

As she said that Long Rong felt his entire world crashing down. It simply couldn't be!

"There you go, was it that hard?" The Prince asked him, and Long Rong felt shame in his very soul. "I will not explain to you the consequences of your actions, because I think that you can at least grasp them, can't you?"

He could, oh ancestors he could.

"Whatever happens now in your life, know that it was your actions that brought them to you, Liu Guai takes your friend to his home, then return to your duties" The Prince ordered, and Long Rong felt the one that he held his heart roughly lift him despite his protests.

"Oh, and you stay Kai Shen, I will talk with you as well"

'Well' Long Rong thought with no small amount of satisfaction. 'At least I will not be the only one who is miserable today'

The Imperial Academy - The Outer Disciples Residences

They stayed silent all the way through, neither of them wanting to start a conversation with the other. Not after what happened. Long Rong himself felt like a coward as he didn't even dare to lift his head to look at his friend even though he felt he would only see hatred at least he would be brave.

But no he remained a coward, even as they stepped inside his home and he fell to the ground as Liu Guai stopped supporting his body. But as she started walking away, he finally gained some courage to speak.

"I... I am sorry-"

"Sorry!?" Liu Guai spoke, no, she roared at him, and Long Rong for the first time in his life saw another expression grace her face, and it was an expression that held murderous intent. "Do you even know what you could have cost me?!"

He knew Long Rong knew, as a member of the Ninth Prince's faction, Liu Guai would have access to both resources and techniques beyond what a common disciple would have. And Long Rong knew of the talent that his dear friend had in her, with those she could easily become someone of renown in the Imperial Academy.

"I know, the resources that they would have given to you-"

"Resources?" Liu Guai whispered, and Long Rong felt like he was about to die. "I don't care about resources or cultivation, the only thing I care about is to stand with him"

Long Rong didn't understand what she was saying until he remembered.

That change in her voice when the Ninth Prince called her.

He couldn't identify what it was but now he could.

"You are in love with the Ninth Prince"

"Yes, I am," Liu Guai said, with a smile that was only present in his dreams, and in those same dreams it was directed towards him.

It was the smile of someone in love.

Long Rong felt something break inside him

"Why? How?" Long Rong asked, how he didn't see that happening.

Liu Guai's expression changed like she was remembering something she didn't want to. "It was night and I had been cornered by some disciples who were stronger to me, and well, you can guess what they wanted"

Long Rong felt both horror and anger. "Did they?"

"No, they didn't" Liu Guai's words made Long Rong visibly relieved. "Because My Prince appeared, and defeated all of them before they could do anything to me. But even after that, he stayed with me saying that everything would be alright and that no one was going to hurt me anymore, and he was right those same disciples never appeared again"

"Was it because of that? That you fell in love with him?" Long Rong asked jealousy and gratitude fighting inside him.

"It helped I will admit, but no it wasn't only that, I observed him from afar as he went on his days, and when he saw someone in need he helped them, from spending time with a new disciple who had never even held the love of her family, to simply giving some instructions to the ones that needed it, was it really a surprise that he is so loved by the majority of the disciples?"

As she said that, Long Rong remembered how popular the Ninth Prince was, he never really cared but seeing his actions now, he could see how he had managed to acclaim that adoration.

"That's when I decided that I wanted to serve him, which is why I joined his faction, and as I served him, and continued to watch him, I knew that I had fallen in love, not because of his power or status, but because of his kindness," Liu Guai said, with a smile that Long Rong wished was his.

"A-are we still friends?" Long Rong asked, because if he couldn't be her lover then at least he could continue to be her friend.

But the way Liu Guai looked at him he felt apprehensive, but it was her next words that truly destroyed his world.

"I don't know"

With those words, she turned around and left. Leaving Long Rong so, painfully alone, it was then that he remembered the words of the Ninth Prince.

Whatever happens now in your life, know that it was your actions that brought them to you

He wanted so much to hate both those words and the one that spoke them, but he couldn't.

Because, in the end, he was right. Everything that would happen from now on, all the misery that he would face, was his own fault.

{POV Switch}

Liu Guai did not look back, not even a glance she just continued walking away from the one she once called friend.

She doesn't know if they can be friends again not after today, especially so since Long Rong's actions could have spelled disaster for her, she couldn't imagine leaving her Prince, the one that saved her from those savages, even as she knew of a fact that would torment her for the rest of her days.

That she would never be able to marry her Prince.

No, it would be another, and that hurt more than it should. Her Prince deserved to stand in the light, for all to give him the praises and acknowledgment he deserved. But it was okay, she would be his shadow and she would defend him against anything that dared to attack him.

That she swore upon all of her ancestors.

AlucardV

Hi everyone, sorry for the long wait, life has thrown me several downs but I can say that I have surpassed all of them, which means that I can finally start writing again!