Destiny in Cinders

"Nian Quan!" Someone called out to him right as he was about to meditate and even wanted to shake him by his shoulder.

Nian Quan furrowed his brow and blocked the hand from touching him. Having one's meditation disturbed wasn't a big deal for cultivators on their level; it only led to a bit of discomfort. Even so, it was incredibly rude to do so.

He opened his eyes and turned to look at the person who seemed surprised that Nian Quan managed to block his hand.

"Not bad. To think that a bookworm like you managed to pick up a few moves!" the person said with a hint of laughter. It was Hong Li, number two in their cohort. He was there with his minions.

Hong Li had quite the large, adult build for a lowerclassman in middle school. He gave Nian Quan a teasing look and spoke with the tone of someone giving an order. "Listen up! You shall use your selection privilege to pick me as your opponent!"

Nian Quan's brows twitched. He really wanted to laugh at that suggestion. Hong Li was someone from a large cultivator clan in the city that once produced a Purple Mansion sage. At present, their clan still had living members of the Foundation Realm. His elder brother attended Ninedepths First Middle School, while Hong Li only qualified for Third. Even then, his clan's education allowed him to dominate most students in their school from typical backgrounds.

The middle school ranks weren't just for showing off. The top ten middle schools in Deepnight City were merit based and the top students of each school gained a spot to attend the four dao academies. Hong Li had come to Third Middle School for one of those spots, but Nian Quan's presence got in the way of his plans.

Third Middle School had quite a few spots, ten in total. Hong Li would be able to get his placement either way, but he wasn't happy that he wasn't number one. What he couldn't stand even more was the humiliation of being inferior to a student from a peasant background.

Hong Li wanted to defeat Nian Quan in the martial evaluation. While literary evaluations were important in Deepnight City, these fields didn't matter that much until one reached the Foundation Building Realm. At the end of the day, practical combat was core to cultivation. As long as Hong Li could defeat Nian Quan, he would gain a good reputation and evaluation despite scoring lower than him in the literary evaluations. He would also live up to the name of his clan.

"What if I say no?" Nian Quan stood up but was a whole head shorter than Hong Li. He looked far more refined and softer in comparison. Occasionally, people mistook him for a woman.

Nian Quan was facing Hong Li and his group of followers alone, but he wasn't the least bit intimidated. "You have the same privilege as I do. You can pick me as your opponent."

"Someone like you, expects me to challenge you?" Hong Li had a disdainful look on his face as he raised his head higher. "Don't blame me for not showing you any grace, Nian Quan. If you challenge me, I'll let you lose with your dignity intact. At the very least, I'll spare this pretty face of yours. But if I have to be the one to issue the challenge, you'll end up with a few broken bones at least. Do you really think you're someone worthy of me issuing a challenge?"

Nian Quan squinted, his eyes glowing like crystals. Had it been a few months ago, he would've taken a step back, nay, he wouldn't even have stood out, gotten four merits and scored at the top of their cohort. He would have only done well enough compared to the rest, occupying the eighth or ninth rank to qualify for the scholarship without brushing up against the top students.

He hadn't been powerful enough to face off against Hong Li, who was at the Tide Essence Stage and had learned many spells and a good body refinement technique. There was nothing Nian Quan could've done against him.

But after he ascertained that Hong Li hadn't made any significant breakthroughs, Nian Quan calmly shook his head. "You have no authority to order me to do anything."

"I do!" Hong Li laughed at being talked back to. He cracked his fingers when he gripped his fists; they sounded like ribs snapping. "Don't think that your pretty looks and meager talent will be able to change anything. Injuries are expected in martial evaluations. If you don't want to end up bedridden for half a month, you better do as I say."

"I will await your challenge," Nian Quan said calmly. "That is, only if you're serious about fighting me."

"You little!" Hong Li's rage surged when he saw how unshakeable Nian Quan was. He was about to mouth off some cliched one-liners, but he thought better of it. Gritting his teeth, he snapped, "Just you wait! I will beat you up until you cry out for your mother! Oh, wait! I forgot that you don't have a mother no more! Hahahaha!"

The minions joined in the laughter and mockery.

"Boohoo! A pitiful orphan without a mom and dad!"

Nian Quan didn't seem the least bit affected by it. As far as he was concerned, this kind of mockery from Hong Li and his minions was weak at best. The street kids from the ghetto had insults with far more of a bite. He had heard enough insults and hushed whispers that he could write a whole encyclopedia about them.

At the end of the day, Nian Quan was still a young man. Even though he wasn't truly angered by the mockery, it did strengthen his determination. He sighed and said, "Hong Li, be ready for a trip to the doctor's. Don't worry. Our inconsequential quarrel doesn't have to result in anyone's death."

"What do you mean by that?!" Hong Li lost his train of thought. It took him a while to make out what Nian Quan implied and that tipped him over the edge. "You little son of a bitch!"

He raised his fist and was about to deck Nian Quan, but his minions immediately noticed it and quickly stopped him. "Nonono! Brother Li, you can fight him later! The school doesn't allow non-sanctioned fights! Just wait a bit!"

Hong Li was so strong that normal people were helpless to hold him back. It took four of his minions to push him away from Nian Quan, who watched everything like it was a clown show.

"Just you wait!" Hong Li calmed down after being pulled aside. He smirked and turned to leave. He would make sure to beat that bookworm so hard until he lost all his teeth or he wouldn't be worthy of the surname "Hong!"

When it was time for the martial evaluation, word had spread all across school about the fight between the rivalry of Nian Quan and Hong Li, number one and number two of the school respectively.

There were ten platforms at the field. The martial evaluation began with the top ten students of each cohort who were allowed to pick their opponents. The fact that their fights would take place earlier than others' meant that students with some measure of self-respect would not pick opponents with whom they could wipe the floor.

It wasn't as if picking the weakest opponent wasn't allowed, but the goal of the fight wasn't to defeat the opponent. Rather, it was an evaluation, and the examiners wouldn't be able to see anything to evaluate if the fight was over too quickly and wouldn't award any merits as a consequence. That was why the best opponent to pick was one that could resist with some measure and even pose a bit of a threat, but one that a student could still confidently defeat.

In some sense, this also tested how well one could evaluate one's opponent, a crucial skill for the future. No matter how talented one was, one wouldn't amount to much if one kept carelessly antagonizing people who were much stronger.

The principal and the other teachers who weren't in charge of maintaining order throughout the evaluation watched the matches from the stage. Their attention was focused on the platform Nian Quan and Hong Li were on.

"What's the deal with that Hong clan kid?" The principal had a slender face and long, thin eyes like that of an avian. "Why does he have a problem with the commoner student? Also, Nian Quan wasn't much of a high achiever until recently, right?"

A teacher beside him said in a low voice, "There was an accident lately. Nian Quan's mother probably died during the cleanup operation at the black market. That was probably the spark that got him to work harder. There's no proof yet, but he's said to bear celestial spirit roots. He's a proper genius for sure."

"Oh?" The principal raised an eyebrow and said, "Has he shown any displeasure toward the Skywatch Bureau?"

"He probably isn't aware of their involvement. What would a kid like him know? He probably realized that he could only rely on his own hard work from then on since there would be no more support from family."

"Interesting. Then, keep an eye on him and don't let the Hong brat beat him up too badly. We always need geniuses that don't come from large clans, after all."

"Very well." But right before the teacher was about to notify his colleagues that watched that platform, something unexpected happened.

Hong Li waved his wooden staff and smirked. "Nian Quan, I will smash your skull and cripple you completely!"

Nian Quan wielded his wooden sword, his emotions not the least bit stirred. He merely watched Hong Li quietly.

The burly youth charged at him right away and used three spells, namely, Godspeed, Guard and Focus, before swinging the staff down at Nian Quan's shoulder!

During the late stages of the Qi Refinement Realm, cultivators still couldn't use psychic sense to manipulate spirit qi in the environment. As such, their spells were far weaker than their fists and legs, which was why most Qi Refinement cultivators learned a few martial techniques. There were few that actually trained fully in martial techniques, but most of them were at least capable of delivering powerful strikes.

The tip of Hong Li's staff tore through the air and generated the sound of thunder. The enhancement from his three spells and his major-clan upbringing meant that his strike packed quite a bit of power!

"Oh no!" A few students who were friendly with Nian Quan couldn't bear to watch. They could tell that the staff strike would break at least a few of Nian Quan's ribs.

However, the wooden sword made a sudden, loud whoosh. A stream of flowing qi essence manifested, causing the dormant practice instruments of the school to glow blue.

Nian Quan held the sword in his right hand and formed a sigil with his left, instantly casting Focus, Swiften and Sharpen on himself. His sword traced a semicircular arc in the air that intersected with the trajectory of Hong Li's staff, severing it without making a sound! The tip of the sword continued to arc toward Hong Li's forearm; the burly youth's smirk had yet to fade from his face.

First, there was the sound of the wooden staff falling to the ground, followed by the squishy thud of flesh. Hong Li looked at his severed forearm in disbelief before letting out an agonized howl.

Nian Quan exhaled as he sheathed the sword and stepped off the platform.

"Sword intent?!" Unlike the teachers who were in a hurry to contact the infirmary, the principal was agitated for a completely different reason. "He actually used sword intent!"

He completely ignored Hong Li's pitiful howls and stared at the emotionless Nian Quan with a look of delight. "Did our school just get a sword-immortal hopeful?!"

***

Meanwhile, An Jing, who had gotten used to how rapidly he broke through, managed to do so again by manifesting his sixth and seventh seals.