I barely remembered how I got back to my room. I came to with my tablet in hand, the library tab open on the Fist section of First Stage techniques. There were hundreds of fist techniques.
Adaptive Blow, Aether Knuckle, Anchor Fist, Arcane Gauntlet, Astral Breaker—and that was just the A’s, not even all of them…
Kate had mentioned Flowing Fist, so I started there.
The library had four techniques with that name. Or rather, it had four different versions—ranging from green to yellow rank.
The technique focused on fluid movements and flexible attacks. Qi formed a fist projection that traveled along non-linear trajectories. With enough skill, the user could adjust its flight path mid-air.
Another advantage—it had upgrades for the Second, Third, and Fourth Cultivation Stages, making it easier to advance the technique further. But from the Third Stage onward, it required two Roots—it added Water alongside Fist.
It looked impressive in the demonstration video, but… It wasn’t the technique I had seen in the garden.
What I saw had been dynamic and flexible—but without unnecessary flair. Flowing Fist looked almost like a dance, full of extra movements.
I wanted something more direct, something with a feel closer to boxing.
And the water aspect worried me.
My Water Root was at 16—not bad, considering it was my second-highest after Fist, tied with Earth.
Marlon had told me that growing an Earth Root at Black Lotus School would be hell since we didn’t have an Earth Garden. We didn’t have a Water Garden either… or Lightning…
I messaged Kate.
"Where’d you get Lightning from?"
If I remembered correctly, hers was over a hundred.
Her reply came almost instantly.
"Exchange year at Yellow Pine School. PICK SOMETHING SIMPLE!!! You’re not ready for advanced techniques! And don’t even THINK about buying anything without talking to me first!"
She almost saw right through me.
Not that I was dumb enough to buy something immediately.
I spent the rest of my free time browsing techniques until dinner—when the guys finally messaged me that they were heading to the cafeteria.
I tossed my tablet aside and went to meet them.
I arrived a little earlier than Denis and Marlon, giving me time to grab a tray from the machine and find us a seat away from the doors—where fewer cadets gathered. I counted the rows and noted the table number before messaging the guys.
The clatter of trays, the clang of utensils, and the hum of conversation all blended into the usual cafeteria background noise.
I focused on my interface, scrolling through the details of another technique—
"Yo, Jake!"
Denis dropped into the seat beside me, while Marlon took the one across.
"Lucky," Marlon nodded toward my tray.
"What?"
He gestured at my golden steak. I’d had it before. Didn’t like it though.
"You’re joking, right? That thing’s sweet," I said, then glanced at Denis’ tray. He had metallic rice—the one that tasted like stew. "I’d trade for that in a heartbeat," I said, pointing at the rice.
Denis set his plate down in front of me, then pointed at the soup Marlon had gotten and demanded:
"Hand it over!"
I played along and passed Kay my steak. In the end, we all got what we wanted and, without wasting time, dug in.
I waited until everyone had taken the edge off their hunger before bringing up my enlightenment.
Denis let out a jealous huff.
"You lucky bastard…" he drawled. "This isn’t fair—beat up some asshole, and suddenly you’re in a position of power. Go for a stroll—bam, +3 to your root! Meanwhile, I’m scrubbing floors and getting jack shit!"If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.
I smirked.
"Turns out mopping the floors in Flow Chambers wasn’t as rewarding as you hoped?"
Denis shot me a glare and pulled a face.
"‘A unique opportunity,’ my ass! I thought I’d at least be able to meditate a little, but the qi residue there is so weak it’s pathetic. The thinhorn in charge literally told me cultivating even a single unit there was impossible."
"Makes sense," Marlon chimed in. "Otherwise, someone would just camp there 24/7."
"I would camp there!" Denis declared. "I’d live there until I ascended to godhood."
"You still have a chance to grow," I reassured him.
"Yeah, yeah. But I need a new job… What do you think about the Garden?"
"I think they fine you for cultivating without permission."
Denis swallowed a curse and just gave me a slow, solemn nod instead.
I laughed, and after a second, he cracked up too.
Once we finished, Marlon spoke up.
"I picked a mentor."
"Oh?" Denis perked up. "Details!"
"A cadet reached out to me yesterday—Kate’s recommendation. I didn’t want to say anything before it was settled, but we talked today…"
Marlon gave a few firm nods. He seemed satisfied.
"He’s not one of Novak’s students, but I’m good with that. By the way, thanks for asking Kate for a recommendation. And tell her thanks from me."
"No problem, I will."
Denis let out a dramatic sigh and leaned back in his chair.
"Meanwhile, life keeps throwing me lemons!"
"Make lemonade," Marlon teased.
"I am! But it’s sour as hell!"
We laughed, threw a few more jokes around, then headed off to rest.
By the time I reached my room and sprawled out on my bed, I was already thinking about which technique to choose.
Then my tablet flashed red.
Conflict in the block!
Well, this was new.
Along with the alert, my minimap started flashing red. A crimson mark blinked near the very edge of the display—the far end of the hallway.
Oh, shit. I’m in charge of discipline now!
I lunged for my locker, yanked on my gloves, grabbed my mace, and bolted into the corridor.
"What’s going on?" Denis rushed after me.
I picked up a solid pace, but by the time I reached the end of the hallway—next to the vending machine—four assistant curators were already on the scene.
Three of them were pressing down on a cadet about Denis’ size, while Dubois was jabbing a finger into another one’s chest.
I skidded to a stop—Denis nearly crashed into me from behind.
"I’m telling you, he started it!" the cadet Dubois was dealing with snapped.
"This asshole shoved me! I hit my head on the machine!" the bigger guy shot back.
It took two assistants bracing against his chest just to keep him from charging forward.
Dubois turned to me with a heavy look.
"Sullivan. Want to show us how it’s done?"
I slung my mace over my shoulder, pretending to think.
"Yeah, just let ‘em fight it out."
Everyone—both the assistant supervisors and the cadets—stared at me like I was insane.
"What?" I shrugged. "You wanna fight, don’t you?"
The two cadets exchanged uncertain glances.
"He shoved me," the big guy muttered, though with less fire this time.
"It was an accident! And I apologized!" the smaller one snapped, his temper flaring up again.
The argument was about to restart. I turned to the smaller cadet.
"You!" I barked. "Do you wanna deck him?"
Both cadets hesitated again.
Dubois looked like he was about to say something, but I shut him down with a glare.
Three seconds passed. No answer. I made my conclusion.
"So you do."
"No, I don’t!" the cadet blurted out.
"Then why didn’t you say so?" I asked him, then immediately turned to the bigger cadet. "And you?"
"Uhh… He… uh…"
"Yes or no?"
"This isn’t fair!" the big guy declared.
"You know what? You’re probably right," I agreed. "You hit your head, didn’t you? Let’s go."
"Go where?"
"To the infirmary. We’ll check your injury, and based on the results, we’ll issue your opponent a fine. Sound fair?"
The big cadet turned red.
"Uh… No…"
"No? Then maybe we should make him apologize," I said, pointing my mace at the smaller cadet. Then, with a thick layer of sarcasm, I added, "Though he did say he already apologized… Maybe it wasn’t sincere enough. Did you get on your knees?" I asked the smaller cadet.
Then I turned back to the big guy.
"Would that satisfy you? If he begged on his knees?"
"No, I don’t want to fight!" the big guy snapped.
"Then what the hell do you want?!" I barked at him. "What was this whole mess even for?!"
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the smaller cadet smirking and shot Dubois a look. My colleague noticed the cadet’s provocation and smacked him upside the head.
"You think this is funny?"
Neither of them had anything to say.
"Alright, so if this whole argument was pointless to begin with, how about we just call it a day?" I suggested.
The smaller cadet bolted instantly. The bigger one tried to leave with some dignity intact.
Dubois raised an eyebrow, then huffed out a small laugh.
"Not bad."
The other three assistant curators exchanged glances—one of them smirked, while Kowalski just rolled his eyes.
“This time, it all worked out. But next time, you’d better react faster. After this morning’s assembly, you should already know just how cunning Liang Shi can be. Best not to disappoint him.”
I nodded.
"Still, this wasn’t my shift." I said.
"We respond to all alerts while we’re in the block," Dubois said. "Keep that in mind for the future."
I decided it was best to just nod in silent agreement.
"Alright, while we’re here…" Dubois cast a brief glance at his colleagues. "I bought Fist Essence."
I tensed.
"Me too," Said added.
Lin raised his hand like an obedient schoolkid.
"Shit!" Kowalski cursed. "Forgot, man. Tomorrow morning?"
"I’ve got Flow Chamber at 10:45."
"Hold on," Rainer said, typing something into the group chat.
Kowalski: "Sun, did you grab Sullivan’s essence?"
No response.
Dubois took the lead again.
"Alright, I’ll give you mine now."
Said and Lin also volunteered, and within minutes, I was holding twelve thick, opaque metal vials. Each was labeled M1, with a miniature fist and the school emblem printed on it. The caps were plastic—but they didn’t twist off, and I wasn’t about to risk ripping one open just yet.
I needed to figure out how to take this stuff properly. I had a strong feeling that drinking it wasn’t the way.
I shot Kate a message.
She laughed. Said that, technically, you could drink it—but it was way better to get it injected intramuscularly at the infirmary.
While I was texting her, Kowalski and Sun worked out a plan.
Sun would swing by the store before heading home and pick up the remaining eight vials to settle the full debt.
I got the last batch when I was already getting ready for bed.
Sun Hao didn’t look too thrilled handing them over.