(Rodova Military Academy, The Mess Hall)
By the end of Day 2 at the academy, Leo finally felt like he was beginning to get a handle on things.
He had secured a solid foothold among the students—forming a competitive alliance with Mu Shen and Su Yang, who now reserved him a seat at their corner table during dinner and ran beside him during the grueling morning sprints.
He had unwillingly acquired an annoying yet oddly useful companion in Mu Ryan, who clung to him like a shadow for no apparent reason—but at least she was good for helping him navigate social situations and tutoring him in studies.
And most importantly—he had established dominance.
After his brutal dismantling of Jiang Gu, word had spread fast. His name carried weight now, and no one in the class seemed particularly eager to test his limits.
Overall, everything was falling into place.
His personal goals were on track—except for his ongoing struggles with meditation—but that was a problem for another day.
For now, for the first time since stepping foot into Rodova Military Academy, Leo allowed himself to relax, loosening his shoulders, sinking into his seat, and actually enjoying a meal among his companions, as being no longer as worried about his memories as he was a couple days ago, he found his overly tense behaviour relaxing just a little.
However, unfortunately for him, lowering his guard during dinner was apparently a bad choice, as just when he least expected it, disaster struck.
*TAP* *TAP* *TAP*
The rhythmic footsteps of senior cadets echoed through the mess hall as they marched in, their uniforms dirtied with mud and blood, their boots leaving faint imprints of dust and grime across the polished floors.
The academic session had started a few days ago, however, this particular group of senior students looked like they had just arrived, as they entered with wide smiles and loud cheers, like a victorious troop returning home after a long mission.
They looked like they had just crawled out of hell itself— bloodied, battered, bruised, but still standing tall, as they carried themselves with the confidence of battle-hardened veterans.
"The Rodova Military Academy Interschool Circuit Team has returned from the SUMMER CAMP!"
The declaration sent a ripple through the hall.
Murmurs turned to whispers.
Whispers turned to cheers.
And then, like a wave cresting over the entire room, all hell broke loose as the second year students broke into wild cheers, while the first years joined in with excitement.
In Rodova Military Academy, the circuit team members were like the star athletes, who carried-on the pride of the institute, and they were treated as absolute superstars back home.
Almost immediately as they were back, potion bottles were opened and thrown over the team in joy, as the mess hall turned into a literal mess, as the expensive potion juices mixed with the dirt and grime off their bodies.
"YU SHEN! YU SHEN! YU SHEN!"
Slowly, the chant for Yu Shen erupted from the crowd, as standing at the centre of the group, Yu Shen pushed away everyone else around him, hogging all the spotlight as he raised his hands in the air with pride.
As a transcendent-level talent, and the Captain of the current Rodova Military Academy Interschool circuits team, he was the institute’s pride, and the current most popular student of all.
It was common knowledge that qualifying for the circuits as a first year student was next to impossible, however, Yu Shen somehow managed to do it last year, becoming the only first year from his batch to be on the circuits team.
A living legend amongst his batch, and an inspiration for all the new joinees this year.
"Alright, relax people, Yu Shen is here–" he said, grinning wildly, as he basked in the adoration, before proudly raising his fist in the air, which had the whole mess hall roaring for him even louder.
However, just as effortlessly as he raised their volume, he silenced them as well, as with a simple gesture of raising a single finger and bringing it to his lips, he silenced the entire crowd that had gathered.
"Shhh—" he said, as the crowd obeyed, turning absolutely silent.
Then—
With a smirk still playing on his lips, Yu Shen turned back to his team, shaking his head in amusement.
"I was happily training at the camp with my second-year boys—who have worked themselves to the bone this summer— worked hard to become worthy of representing this academy at circuits— worked hard to kick GENEVA’S ASS THIS TIME AROUND—" Yu Shen began, his voice dripping with pride as he gestured toward his teammates behind him.
"—When I suddenly heard some news."
His smirk widened.
"Not one, but two Monarch-level talents have joined our academy this year!"
A ripple of murmurs spread through the crowd.
Yu Shen let the tension build, then barked out a sharp, amused laugh.
"Hahaha! Isn’t that great, guys? Not just one—but TWO!"
He clapped, his enthusiasm contagious, prompting the gathered students to clap along with him.
"Come on, then! Tell me who they are!" Yu Shen’s eyes gleamed with interest. "Where are our superstars?"
A hush fell over the hall once again.
Then—
Su Yang moved first.
With his head held high, he stepped forward, his presence commanding attention.
He didn’t hesitate.
"First-year, Su Yang." He said, his voice filled with conviction.
"I’ll be joining your team." He declared boldly, as Yu Shen didn’t react immediately.
He kept clapping.
Never breaking rhythm.
Never letting Su Yang’s declaration shake his performance, as even his smile remained unchanged.
"That’s one," he mused, his voice carrying through the hall.
"And the second?" He asked, as all heads turned towards Leo.
A beat passed.
Then, Leo exhaled softly, as he stood.
He did not wish to get tangled with all this attention, but the crowd wasn’t giving him a choice and hence he was practically forced to play along.
However, unlike Su Yang, he didn’t announce himself.
Didn’t speak a word.
He simply walked forward, his steps slow, deliberate, measured.
As he approached Yu Shen, his gaze flickered—not just to the captain, but to the team behind him as well—
And the moment he looked into the eyes of those standing behind Yu Shen, he understood just how friendly this meeting was going to be.
Hostility.
He sensed crippling hostility as he looked into their eyes, as although it wasn’t obvious or openly expressed, it was clearly there in the eyes of all members present.
*Shiver*
Leo felt a shiver down his spine, as he looked at them as a group, as somehow he felt genuine danger to his life at that moment.
An unspoken warning radiated from the second-year circuit members standing behind Yu Shen, as unlike the others in the mess hall—who looked at Leo with awe, curiosity, or fear—these guys looked at him like he was an intruder.
Like he wasn’t supposed to be here.
Like he hadn’t earned his place.
And in that instant—Leo understood that they did not like him at all.
The sheer presence they exuded was suffocating and he senses traces of killing intent coming his way too.
These guys were not on the same level as the rest of the second years, as the pressure they exuded was not like any other student Leo had met here, but rather they seemed to carry the same weight, the same predatory sharpness—as a Professor, who had strength equivalent to the Lieutenant rank.
It was the gaze of men who had stood on real battlefields.
Who had bled and killed to survive.
And Leo could feel it in his bones that if he were to fight any of them in battle today, he would lose hands down and that it would not even be a close fight.
"Hahaha, a smart one–" Yu Shen chuckled, watching Leo’s reaction with evident amusement.
"You hope to join the team too?" He asked, tilting his head to the side, as he forcibly locked eyes with Leo.
"I’m assuming you’ve already had your first two Practical Combat classes." He noted, looking around for confirmation as some of the first years present in the mess hall nodded.
"What’s the score for the two of you?" Yu Shen asked, alternating his gaze between Leo and Su Yang for answers.
"18-2? 19-1?" He prompted
as "20-0" replied Leo.
"20-0? A perfect score! Bravo—" Yu Shen said, his eyes narrowing as he clapped louder, as if he were mockingly impressed.
"Well then, Mr. 20-0 Monarch-level talents…" Yu shen said, his tone shifting as the playful edge disappeared from his voice and so did the fake grin from his face.
At that moment, he finally decided to drop the act that he had been performing since the start, as he started to leak some of his true intentions.
His black irises bled into a deep, unnatural purple and a suffocating pressure crashed down upon the mess hall—
*Crackle*
The temperature dropped.
Frost bloomed across the floor.
As the warm mess hall suddenly turned frigid, as if cold tundra air had suddenly swept the entire room.
*Crash*
The weak-willed collapsed immediately.
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The pressure Yu Shen exuded was too unbearable for them, while even the stronger ones, those who could resist passing out, began to shiver as they couldn’t escape the deep, primal fear that clawed at their senses.
And at the center of it all—
Yu Shen smiled.
"[Bloodline Move: SUBDUE]" he mouthed softly, as at that instant both Leo and Su Yang froze in time.
Not from shock.
Not from fear.
But froze absolutely in time, as if their physical bodies had turned into an ice-sculpture that simply could not move.
’What the fuck? Why the fuck can’t I sense my body?’ Leo asked himself in alarm, as despite his mind screaming at him to move, his body simply refused to obey.
It was as if he had been ripped from reality.
Trapped in a dark, formless void—a place where he existed, but couldn’t act.
And in this paralyzed state, his senses heightened—
Allowing him to feel everything.
The ice-cold chill sinking into his bones.
The phantom sensation of chains coiling around his body.
The sheer power pressing down on his soul.
However, although he felt that way, his eyes and ears still saw everything happening around him in the real world, which told his brain that he was not in an actual phantom world, but still within the confines of reality itself, which created a weird jumble of senses in his head.
’What in the hell is happening to me? Is this Yu Shen’s true power?’ Leo wondered, however, before he could figure the answer to his question, Yu Shen moved.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
As he approached Leo without any hurry in the world.
"You want to join the circuit team? You think you have what it takes to go toe to toe with the best young fighters in the universe?" Yu Shen asked in disgust, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he raised a single finger— before dragging it lightly across Leo’s throat.
"Dead." He said, looking straight into Leo’s eyes, as at that moment, Leo truly felt like his breath had been caught in his throat.
The fear of death was a primal instinct.
And at that moment, Leo experienced it firsthand, as this was the closest he had ever felt to death in his entire life.
However, as if humiliating only him was not enough, Yu Shen then moved on to Su Yang, doing the same to him as he said "Dead" once again.
Only then—
Only after making his point to the both of them, did he finally release the pressure, allowing the duo to move, as the room returned to its normal temperature.
The mess hall breathed a collective sigh of relief, as Yu Shen’s fake smile returned once more.
"Welcome to Rodova Military Academy Rookies, Members from my team will face both of you this Sunday, just to show you the gap between Heaven and Earth.
Don’t worry about Major Hen. He’ll allow it—
See you in class," Yu Shen said, as he turned and left the mess hall, with the rest of the second year circuits team following behind him.