CRACK!
A leg whipped through the air and collided with the attacker's face mid-dash. The sound echoed across the courtyard. The attacker was launched clean off their feet, flying several ters and crashing against a tree trunk before going limp.
Victor blinked.
Standing where the attacker had once been was a girl dressed in the standard Academy combat skirt and jacket. A lollipop danced between her lips as her dark purple hair, tied up in a ssy ponytail glinted in the light.
"Hey handso," she said with a playful wink. "You're a pretty difficult guy to track down."
Victor's eyes widened. "Selene?"
She popped the lollipop from her mouth and smirked. "Took you long enough."
Victor let out a dry chuckle and walked over. "I haven't seen you since the entrance exam. Was starting to even wonder if you were in the Academy."
She tilted her head. "Well, you vanished. Thought you'd died or sothing. But then I heard about so guy getting labeled a pervert, and I said to myself... now that sounds like Victor."
Victor groaned. "Really?"
She grinned before dragging him by the wrist. "Co on. Let's find sowhere private to talk."
They walked across the edge of the courtyard and into the trees surrounding one of the Academy's lesser-used walking trails. Birds chirped in the high branches, and the air slled faintly of pine.
"So..." Selene said as she leaned against a tree while folding her arms. "Why were those guys after you? And don't say it's your charming personality."
Victor scratched the back of his head. "It's a bit of a ss. Rember Amara?"
Selene arched an eyebrow. "Summoner princess? Yeah your friend ntioned her."
He sighed. "We were close. I thought we had sothing. Back before we ca here, she kissed . Then... after we arrived, I kissed her back. It didn't go well."
Selene removed the lollipop from her mouth and stared at him. "Oh shit. You're the first-year pervert everyone's been whispering about?"
Victor groaned and nodded. "Pretty much. She reported it. I got a warning. Now people avoid like I'm a walking disease."
Selene clicked her tongue. "Tsk tsk. No wonder you've been ghosting . You blew off for her?"
He laughed awkwardly. "Yeah. I guess I was stupid."
She walked up to him and playfully caressed his cheek. "You know I would've never done that to you, right? I an, if I kiss soone, I don't go filing a complaint after."
Victor smiled wryly. "You're not exactly the average girl."
"Damn right." She turned away with her hands behind her back. "Still... you don't deserve what they're putting you through."
Victor nodded. "I've learned that the hard way."
The two continued walking through the Academy grounds, passing other students along the way. Victor couldn't help but notice the stares. People whispered, gasped, and so outright avoided the path. One student even muttered, "Careful, he might try sothing."
Selene heard it too. She spun and glared at them. "You little shits better keep walking."
They hurried away.
Victor chuckled. "Still as fiery as ever."
"You bet." She leaned in close and whispered, "You think I ca to this Academy just to sit around? Nah, babe. I'm here to stir things up. Don't be afraid to cause so waves."
Victor looked at her sideways. "Why do I feel like hanging around you again might be dangerous for my blood pressure?"
Selene winked. "Because it is."
Later, they visited one of the snack stalls near the East Wing. Selene bought a mango-flavored frozen pop and offered Victor a bite, which he awkwardly declined.
"So what now?" she asked.
Victor shrugged. "Focus on training. Keep a low profile. Wait for the storm to pass."
She gave him a deadpan look. "That's not the Victor I rember. You're the guy who mocks his enemies while beating them into the dirt. Or at least that's what your friend Danny said you used to be."
He looked up at the sky. "That guy took a few hits lately."
Selene stepped forward and flicked his forehead. "Then maybe it's ti he got back up."
Victor stared at her for a long mont. Then, a smirk crept back onto his lips.
"Maybe you're right."
They walked together under the orange dusk sky as the world around them montarily quietened.
...
...
(( Hours Later ))
Under the artificial moonlight in the academy, Victor laid underneath sheets with a soft blue glow emanating from beneath his helt.
Midnight had arrived, but in Ascendant Realms, it was still day ti.
Victor glanced at his Bloodline Integration after cultivating all day.
[Void Emperor Bloodline Integration: 49.9%]
His expression twisted slightly. It had barely moved over the last few days, even with consistent ditation and use of Bloodline Resonance Technique.
Even with all his growth, he was still sitting at Early Nascent Soul Realm, only 6% into the stage. The cultivation climb after Core Formation was nothing short of a mountain.
With a sigh, Victor pulled up his quest log. The glowing screens spread before him like ethereal banners of purpose.
He leaned back while letting a breath escape his lips.
Four months left. Ti was bleeding away.
Then he scrolled to another quest—the one bestowed to him by the Lord of Bluefla City.
Victor rubbed the back of his neck. The Hollow Verdant—an ancient spiritual sealing site rumored to be the gate to a dinsion of dark immortals.
This was a place he couldn't step into until his bloodline integration reached a certain progress. Elder Mo had been clear: "wait until 50% and then reach out to ."
"Still need that last damn 0.1%," he muttered.
Tarkos stood nearby with his arms folded. "You look constipated. What's the deal now?"
Victor rolled his eyes. "We're going hunting."
Tarkos raised a brow. "About ti."
"The ones who placed the bounty on . We're going after them. One by one. I need to use my bloodline more, and what's better than a little assassination therapy?"
"I like where this is going," Tarkos smirked.
They began packing supplies. Maps, spiritual pills, cloaks to shield their identities. Victor handed Tarkos a set of spirit-stabilizing talismans, while Tarkos offered him a vial of poison that apparently worked wonders on cultivators who relied on internal defense techniques.
Their destination: a city far east of Bluefla, buried in mist and mountainous shadows.
"Yinfrost City," Tarkos announced. "Capital of shadow trade, poison arts, and a haven for assassin guilds and serpent cults. It's practically Jade Serpent territory."
The journey would span weeks. No teleportation arrays covered this stretch of land. They would cross rogue cultivator zones, ungoverned wastelands, and spiritual beast territories.
"Alright then... let's go..." Victor stated.
...
...
Their first day of travel took them through the Obsidian Trail, a rough spiky ravine filled with thorny growths and misty crevices. Halfway through, a flock of razorwing falcons descended from above, drawn by Victor's qi signature.
Tarkos instantly vanished into shadow, slitting one falcon's throat mid-air with his bare fingers.
Victor drew his sword and activated Wind Arts before sending arcs of compressed air into the sky. Feathers and blood rained down. Within minutes, they were surrounded by twitching carcasses.
Victor looked at Tarkos. "We make a good team."
Tarkos grinned. "You try not to get killed, and I do the heavy lifting."
On the second day, they entered Reddust Flatlands. A crimson plain where the dust stuck to skin and made it harder to breathe. Here, rogue cultivators ruled. Late in the afternoon, three masked individuals in flowing crimson robes stepped into their path.
"Leave your valuables, or leave your lives," one of them declared.
Victor didn't hesitate. With a twist of his fingers, a gale burst forth and tore two of them off their feet.
The third attempted to lunge at Tarkos, only to be paralyzed mid-leap as Tarkos unleashed his cultivation realm.
"P-p-p...eak... Soul Transformation..."
"Rookies," Tarkos voiced with a cold tone before ripping the cultivator's head off his body.
By nightfall, the rogues were dead, and the Reddust Flatlands were behind them.
Victor sat by a fire, taking in warmth due to the low temperature of the surroundings.
His sword was coated in dry blood, and his qi reserves were running a little low. But he felt it—tiny sparks of change.
[Bloodline Integration: 49.92%]
"Almost there," he murmured.
Tarkos tossed him a flask. "Drink up. You'll need it."
But Victor knew he had to log out soon. He glanced up at the night sky.
"Two days in-ga. Ti to check in with the real world."
Just as he prepared to log out, a notification flickered before his eyes.
[Player Is In A State Of Travel... Avatar Will Not Dematerialize]
Victor blinked. "Wait... it won't despawn?"
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