"Hu.."

I paused to catch my breath after finishing thirty kilometers. There was only a single week left before the fateful training practicum in Sen Lin Forest, and I had made good progress with my training. Or so I hoped.

Taking a swig of water from my bottle, I gasped for air and let out a sigh of relief. Wiping my perspiration and adjusting my glasses, I proceeded back to the dormitory. After all that workout, I couldn't wait to take a shower.

"Hmm?"

While I was heading back, I stopped when I spotted a familiar figure. Du Lang was standing on the track and staring into the distance, his silver eyes intense.

"Du Lang?"

"Hmm? Fei Wu?" Du Lang turned around when I called out. He glanced at my sweaty, breathless figure and red complexion, and nodded. "Training?"

"Yeah. You?"

Du Lang didn't look like he was strolling leisurely. Like me, he had a sheen of perspiration over his face, and a bottle in one hand. A towel was draped around his neck, absorbing some of his sweat, and his jersey was drenched.

"Yeah."

"I see. Taking a break?"

"Sort of." Du Lang shrugged, and then glanced into the distance. I followed his gaze and noticed that he was watching Bai Ning Xue.

The ice princess in our class was jogging with a group of girls – our female classmates who were in the White Tiger Sect with her. She was leading the run and shouting encouragements without slowing her pace.

"You've heard about it too, right?"

"Huh?"

I blinked in bewilderment when Du Lang suddenly spoke up again. He was still watching her intently, a slight smile ghosting across his lips. Du Lang didn't reply at first, instead taking a sip from his bottle.

"Bai Ning Xue is next in line to be the future vice-leader of the White Tiger Sect, right behind Lei Yong Chun in succession. The masters and elders in the sect have been grooming her."

"Well, of course," I snorted dismissively. "As expected of an extremely talented person with a Five Star Constitution."

I did hear of Lei Yong Chun, though. He was Bai Ning Xue's senior and the first in line to be the future leader of the White Tiger Sect, and he was rumored to also possess a Five Star Constitution. Bai Ning Xue was being raised to be his deputy and vice-leader. The White Tiger Sect girls in class often gossiped that there might be a hint of romance between the two, much to Zhu Jiao's chagrin. The poor guy. Lei Yong Chun was a formidable rival, indeed. The talented genius senior who was capable of doing anything. No wonder Zhu Jiao felt intimidated at the prospect of challenging him for Bai Ning Xue's hand.

".."

Du Lang remained silent. I glanced at him, and then recognized that soft, gentle gaze of his. It was the same gaze that all guys had whenever they admired Bai Ning Xue from afar.

"You..you've a crush on Bai Ning Xue?"

"Don't you?" Du Lang responded. I considered that for a moment, and then shook my head.

"Bai Ning Xue is most likely in love with Zhu Jiao."

Du Lang glanced at me sharply. "You don't know that for sure."

I didn't respond to that. It was not my job to persuade him to face reality, after all. Instead, I waved and began to move away.

To be honest, Du Lang wasn't that far off the mark. I did find Bai Ning Xue extremely attractive, but I wasn't deluded enough to think it was love. Perhaps it was my thirteen-year-old self from this timeline, combined with teenage hormones, that were exerting some sort of influence over my emotions, but in the end I was still mentally thirty years old. I retained enough of an adult mindset to be able to differentiate between lust and love, and prevent myself from overreacting over a thirteen-year-old girl. I wasn't a creepy bastard into pedophilia, after all.

But man, I didn't know that Du Lang was also interested in Bai Ning Xue. Now that I thought about it, probably 99%, if not all the guys had a crush on her in one way or another. Even a mentally thirty-year-old guy like me, and I probably had the most resistance to her charm. Not that I cared. As the months grew by and I regained my adult discipline, I found myself being more and more able to distance myself from her.

"Wait."

"?"

I turned back to Du Lang, taken aback when he called out to me. He forced himself to turn away from Bai Ning Xue and approach me.

"Do you mind if I ask you something?"

"As long as it doesn't involve romance.."

"No, not that." Du Lang sighed and rolled his eyes. "The library. I was wondering if you could recommend me a few manuals."

"Huh? Manuals?"

"You're an Experimentalist, aren't you?" Du Lang looked serious. "And I heard you've been learning skills stored in the academy's archives."

"I have, but not a lot. Only one or two. You're better off asking Teacher Jiao for advice."

"That's true." Du Lang nodded. "Thanks."

"Nah, I didn't do anything."

Waving his gratitude away, something suddenly occurred to me. Scratching my head, I glanced at Du Lang inquisitively.

"Wait, why are you trying to learn techniques from the academy's archives? Aren't you already from the Silver Wolf Sect? I thought you are already learning Silver Wolf techniques from your masters. Why do you need..?"

"It's not that simple." Du Lang sighed. "The Silver Wolf Sect is not a traditionalist sect. we're a small sect, so we don't have that many resources to compete against the bigger sects. But.." he grinned wolfishly. "We're innovative, and willing to do whatever it takes to grow strong. Even if it means learning other martial arts and incorporating them into our own. That's how the Silver Wolf Sect has been operating for generations."

"Cool." Even as I nodded, I wondered, should you really be telling me, an outsider, all this?

"In fact, the Silver Wolf Sect was first created as a coalition of lone wolf martial artists who for some reason left their sects, were kicked out of their sects, or sole survivors of destroyed sects. So we already have a history of amalgamating all the various kinds of martial arts."

"Wow.." now that perked my interest. One of my research interests was history, and it never failed to amaze me how deep and fascinating history was, even if it was the history of a martial arts sect. "That's really cool!"

"We're not the only sect." Du Lang glanced around. This time, he had cast his gaze upon Tu Zi Yi, who was lingering at the back of the pack, trailing the female White Tiger Sect disciples by a mile or two. Ostensibly, the male White Tiger Sect disciples – Qi Fu Ren, Hu Shuo and Ba Dao – were nowhere to be seen.

I raised an eyebrow. "You mean.."

"The Lunar Rabbit Sect too..but while the Silver Wolf Sect is still pretty strong and can hold its own, the Lunar Rabbit Sect is pretty much at the bottom of all the sects. They have barely any resources to survive, and can't sustain their existence for much longer. The disciples from that sect have no choice but to rely on the school resources..to learn other techniques from the academy archives to compensate and shore up the weaknesses of the Lunar Rabbit techniques."

"That's not good." I gave Tu Zi Yi a sympathetic stare.

"Yeah, but they're far from the only diminishing sect on the verge of being eradicated. There are a lot of other smaller sects that are disappearing and being subsumed by the major sects. Worse, in order to gain access to academy archives and resources, sects such as the Lunar Rabbit Sect are forced to give up most, if not all of their techniques, and their techniques are then available for public access. Which means they can be learned by anybody, not just disciples.."

I listened, mesmerized. I didn't know about that, having been an Experimentalist ever since I was admitted to the academy. It seemed that many of the students in the smaller sects had a lot to deal with. Maybe I wasn't the unlucky one, after all..

"Well, go ask Teacher Jiao for advice. He always has great suggestions. He helped me out a lot."

"Will do."

I turned away and left Du Lang to brood on his own. Before I disappeared into the dormitory, I snuck one last peek at him.

He had returned to watching Bai Ning Xue.

*

"Ugh.."

"What's the matter?"

This time, I had just returned from sparring a battle puppet in the training facility when Zhu Jiao groaned. I had run into him right outside the dormitory.

"No, nothing. Just a tough day." Motioning vaguely, Zhu Jiao didn't elaborate. That was nothing new – he was keeping his word to his master by refusing to reveal anything about the Golden Kirin Sacred Arts. I knew better than to press him for details.

Speaking of which, I realized that Zhu Jiao hadn't been to the library in ages. Unlike Du Lang or Tu Zi Yi who supposedly had to rely on school resources and academy archives to experiment and combine martial arts to keep up with the competition, Zhu Jiao had only been learning from his master ever since he had met him. The only non-Golden Kirin Sacred Arts he learned was the Red Jade Swordsmanship, which he had returned long ago.

As if reading my thoughts, Zhu Jiao suddenly spoke up.

"I'm moving to the Traditionalists."

"Huh? What? What's this, all of a sudden?"

I turned to stare at him, perplexed.

"No, I mean..I'm officially in a sect and have a proper master and all.." A master that had never revealed himself to anybody. Only I knew the true nature of Zhu Jiao's master but I was keeping my silence. "I have no intention of learning any other martial arts. It's taking me almost everything I have just to keep up with learning my sect's martial arts."

"Lucky you," I muttered.

"Ha ha..I hope." The sarcasm was lost on Zhu Jiao, who merely chuckled and nodded. He reached up with his hand and stared at the heavens. "With this, I'll be able to catch up to Ning Xue..or even surpass her!"

"I thought you already surpassed her," I mumbled under my breath.

"Nah, no way." Zhu Jiao shook his head dismissively. "Ning Xue is far too strong and talented for me to surpass..for now, anyway."

At least he was confident of changing his fate eventually..

"Besides, isn't Teacher Jiao teaching you stuff?"

"No, not really."

After showing me the footwork techniques three weeks ago, Teacher Jiao hadn't taught me any new techniques or offered any concrete guidance. I was left to my own devices and had to figure out how to execute and practice the footwork techniques by myself. A pretty daunting task, if I would be honest, but I wasn't going to give up.

"I've been practicing the stuff that's available in the archives, but I don't know if I'll make it in time for next week."

"Oh, right..next week is the trip to Sen Lin Forest, isn't it?"

Zhu Jiao nodded thoughtfully. A smile split his lips as excitement grew in his eyes and he clenched his fists.

"I can't wait!"

"I'm sure you can't," I responded dryly and stepped into the dormitory lobby. The moment I entered the vast, golden-tinted room, someone called out to us.

"Zhu Jiao! Fei Wu!"

Tong Xue hurried over. Apparently he had been doing some research and talking with several other first year students while we were training. Unlike me, Tong Xue wasn't worried about his combat capabilities. I didn't know if the Smart Shadow Sect was a Traditionalist sect or if it was forced to fuse martial arts to survive like the Experimentalist sects, but I was certain that it wasn't a sect that focused on fighting.

"Have you heard?"

"Heard about what?" I asked, puzzled. Tong Xue grinned as he ran to a stop in front of us and held up a tablet.

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"The training session in Sen Lin Forest next week..I've some great news for you guys!"

"Oh?" Ban Zhang descended the stairs at that moment and just happened to overhear our conversation. He hurried over. "What sort of news?"

"If we do well in the training session, we'll be rich!"

"Rich?" Zhu Jiao blurted out with a frown. "What do you mean, rich?"

"You know that monster cores can be traded or sold, right?"

Turning his tablet around, Tong Xue called up a holographic screen that displayed the various kind of monster cores. Without the monstrous bodies that housed them, the cores resembled shiny orbs or jewelries. In a sense, they were pretty much precious stones, containing a huge amount of qi that could be harnessed for pretty much everything.

"The teachers have announced that they'll allow us to collect monster cores from the magical beasts that we defeat, and we can do whatever we want with them! Sell them for money, make spirit pills with them, and forge weapons with them..anything!"

"Oh? That's awesome!"

"I see. That is indeed great news."

Tong Xue noticed my lack of response, for he turned to stare at me questioningly. I sighed and decided to elaborate.

"Most students will probably sell off the monster cores for money, and then use that money to buy spirit pills or weapons."

"Eh? Why?"

Zhu Jiao gaped at me, uncomprehending. I scowled, wondering how he could miss out on such an obvious point.

"Because most of us don't possess the knowledge to concoct spirit pills or forge weapons?"

"Ah..that's right." Zhu Jiao looked sheepish when he realized that I was right. "I completely forgot about that."

"What, did you learn how to concoct spirit pills from your master?" I asked him. I wouldn't be surprised if he did. "Did he also happen to teach you an essence flame technique that would help you in brewing those pills?"

"Huh?! What the hell are you talking about?! Of course not! I only learn.." Realizing that he was just about to give himself away, Zhu Jiao hurriedly cut himself off. "..combat techniques. I never learned how to brew potions or smith weapons."

"Neither have I," Ban Zhang added wearily. "The Black Tortoise Sect specializes in defensive techniques."

"Oh, you seem quite informed." Tong Xue looked at me, impressed. I shrugged.

"I read up on a lot of stuff about the academy. Knowledge is power, after all."

"Can't deny that." Tong Xue chuckled. "But did you know that some of the higher level techniques in the academy archives can only be purchased through money?"

Now that was something I didn't know. Furthermore, I was relieved that Tong Xue didn't call them contribution points, or I would be raging and cursing a certain wuxia novel that portrayed a Gary Stu protagonist with a smug face that I wanted to punch every time I read the manhua. A story that made no sense whatsoever, and where every character that existed within was either the protagonist faction or the anti-protagonist faction, the latter being filled with one-dimensional antagonists who exist solely to attack and attempt to kill the protagonist over the most absurd and stupid reasons. All just so the protagonist could wipe the floor with them one-sidedly and show off how ridiculously overpowered he was.

Good thing we were using Star Constitutions to measure our talent instead of Bone Frames..

"..what is this, a capitalist system?"

"Huh?"

Everyone stared at me. I shrugged.

"What the hell are you even talking about?" Tong Xue demanded, astonished by my raving. I stopped and took a deep breath.

"Sorry. Forgive my ranting. Anyway..you were saying about high-level techniques?"

"Yeah..right now, all the level 1 to 3 techniques are free, but many of the level 4 and 5 techniques are locked behind paywalls. There are rumors that there are even level 6 techniques, which cost exorbitant amounts of money, but if you learn them, you'll pretty much become invincible."

Somehow I doubted that. If such techniques really existed, the masters or academy staff would have learned them for themselves.

"But for now, this is the list of techniques that you can purchase."

Tong Xue tapped something, and a new window popped up. My eyes widened when I saw the long list.

"Mystic Scarlet Flame Technique..level 4, costs $4,000. Divine Earth Destruction Formula, level 5, $10,000. Holy..what's with all these prices?!"

"The more powerful they are, the more expensive they are." Tong Xue stated the obvious.

"Well, it really isn't relevant to us, though," Ban Zhang remarked dismissively. "We're Traditionalists, and we have our own sects' techniques to master." He peered at the list. "These do seem impressive, but from what my master told me, my sect's secret and ultimate techniques are not inferior to these."

Zhu Jiao was staring at them greedily, but he also shook his head reluctantly.

"Yeah, I've already devoted myself to learning my sect's martial arts."

"Well, there are a few of us who are Experimentalists." Tong Xue nodded at me, then turned to glance at the others, particularly Du Lang. "Some of the smaller sects are forced to dispatch their disciples to learn various martial arts from other sects or the archives in order to save or rebuild their sects, so.."

"I'll do my best," I muttered. Certainly, a lot of those techniques looked very appealing. I would have to save up for them. Then I frowned. "Wait, I can just buy these if I have the money? I don't need to reach a certain level or earn qualifications to buy them?"

"As far as I understand, yes," Tong Xue affirmed with a nod. "But whether you succeed in mastering a high-level technique or not is entirely up to you. Even if you spend all your savings on a level 5 Heavenly Mystic Water Formula, if you aren't able to learn it or if you're not compatible with the technique, you would have wasted all your money."

"I'm pretty sure you'll still be able to sell it off on eBay or something," I muttered. Certainly, that would incur several losses, but it was better than wasting all my money.

"I would rather spend my money on spirit pills and weapons than on techniques, especially since I can already get them from my sect," Ban Zhang declared disinterestedly.

"Well, you do have a point," Zhu Jiao agreed. "My master told me that the best way to accelerate my growth is to get good quality spirit pills as soon as possible."

"You guys.." I growled. "..don't realize that over-relying on spirit pills and medicine is basically doping, isn't it? Spirit pills are just fancy names to cover up the fact that they are in fact steroids and have side effects."

"What world do you live in?" Tong Xue scoffed. "Since when do spirit pills and qi medicine have side effects?"

"Yeah," Ban Zhang agreed. "That's why they're so expensive and valuable."

I stared at them, amazed. Spoken like true drug addicts defending their addiction. There was no hope for them.

"Oh, and one last thing," Tong Xue spoke up. This time he had lowered his voice into a conspiratorial whisper.

"What?" Zhu Jiao snapped impatiently, irritated with Tong Xue's dramatics.

"This is only a rumor..only a rumor, so take it with a pinch of salt. A very large pinch of salt. I don't know how true it is, but.."

We waited, unimpressed. Tong Xue sighed, and then shook his head. Withdrawing his tablet, he complained, "You guys are no fun."

"Well, if there's nothing else.."

Ban Zhang made to head back to his room, and Zhu Jiao and I were posed to follow. Tong Xue blanched and waved about frantically.

"Wait, wait! Don't you want to know?"

"It doesn't seem like you want to tell us, though?" I countered wearily.

"No, but this is really big news if it's true! It'll revolutionize the world of martial arts if there's even an ounce of truth in it!"

Now that caught my attention and I turned around. I didn't need to glance back to know that Ban Zhang and Zhu Jiao had paused to listen to Tong Xue as well.

Puffing his chest out, Tong Xue then leaned in and whispered to us.

"I heard that they've finally succeeded in creating the first batch of artificial qi. And they are planning on using the monster cores that we bring back from next week's training session to produce more."