17 Bullying

"I am Dean Wilkes. My cultivation is Qi Condensation 5 and my hobby is studying."

The whole atmosphere of the class turned solemn.

A snicker escaped from a student in the corner but the teacher warned the man by giving a serious glare.

The class erupted into whispers as the influx of new characters in their class was pack full of interesting backgrounds.

Rose, an earnest beauty

Leonard, the mysterious cool guy

And then Dean, an unusually weak cultivator.

"Is he going to drag us down?"

"He said he likes studying so he might be a scholar."

"His insight may be useful, should we recruit him?"

Around the class was a sprout of interest and disdain towards Dean.

Others dreaded the possibility of having to group or partner with Dean if they are forced into any projects while richer families were interested on how intelligent Dean was.

A perspective held the thought that cultivation is supreme to everything else in the world while another was a perspective that held intelligence as a way for stabilizing their families situation.

Troubled by the outburst of gossiping, Dean sighed however had no regrets.

'Having a bunch of children provide some disorder is not to bad compared to losing my chance of exacting revenge'

Dean went through a process of deliberation by weighing the benefits.

He may offend some nobles however Dean expected there to be some prodigies that wouldn't be rash and aggressive for the smallest of grudges.

If he got suspended from the school like that young man suggested then Dean could be expelled if he got a serious punishment.

Given the chance, Dean could kill Christian before his punishment but then the thought of a squad full of hidden experts deterred Dean from making that choice.

Although some classmates may grieve over the fact they have a dead weight in their class, Dean would just ignore it.

With the new interest of his Magic Talent, Dean wanted to investigate into it more.

This was the main reason why he said "My hobby is studying."

Saying too much may leave loopholes while saying too less may arouse more interest similar to Leonard.

Dean didn't feel like he made a loss but instead a profit.

Because Dean was one of the last people to introduce themselves, the class started to become more restless.

By the time everyone finished introducing themselves the teacher allowed the students to talk amongst their groups.

This may have to due to the fact that the teacher did remind everyone to get along with their classmates even if this is their only class with them.

The reason Dean called his introduction a 'profit' was the gossip.

This allowed more information that he may had missed out for 4 years to be learnt within this instant.

"Rose is pretty hot, do you think I have a chance?"

"Hahaha, you actually thinks she would date you? I've heard she already has a boyfriend."

"..."

"Leonard Delton...I think I've heard of the family name Delton before"

"Really? My parents never taught me this in my clan, are you absolutely sure?"

"I...think so? Apparently their an old family with great heritage. Rich and prosperous they were one of the strongest families around but they suddenly became hidden."

"Pffh, if they were that great then I should've already learnt of this a long time ago."

Floating around the class were questions about Dean but in the end he ignored it because he already got what he wanted.

The teacher couldn't take the loud noise inside his class and yelled over them

"AHEM, our class was allowed to borrow the training grounds. Let this be a chance for you to learn from other classmates as well as befriend them at the same time."

There was a gasp of surprise from most of the students.

For some they wanted to prove themselves to be great in front of other students to feel some sort of superiority or maybe to earn praise for how strong they are.

Maybe impress the ladies, get noticed by nobles or even desire the respect of a teacher

There were numerous motives for these teenagers but it all stemmed from their young mind.

...

Ready to spar with one and another the students began to organize themselves with a partner.

These partners could range from friends that a student felt comfortable with or maybe a love interest a student wanted to impress or take advantage of.

While others were instead interested in their goals and what could lead them there.

A group of people gathered around Dean, asking him to spar with them.

Their intentions were obvious by how aggressive they acted and how respectful they were.

Those that contained interest for Dean seemed more humble and formal however not submissive nor overbearing.

The opposite was those that wanted fame. They acted extremely agitated but their eyes gleamed with anxiety, an obvious show of their insecurities that Dean sneered at.

If Dean picked a random person, this could offend a petty person that could affect his daily life.

Letting destiny choose for Dean, a fish caught the bait.

One of the students felt bottled with anxiety if they couldn't prove themselves and earn some sort of respect. This could have originated from the awkwardness of a teenager but whatever the reason was, Dean didn't care.

The student grabbed Dean and dragged him away by the hand while saying.

"Are you ready Dean?"

Taking a stance the young man flashed a playful smile to Dean.

Dean wasn't given a chance to prepare himself but he still remained clam since his real cultivation was Nascent Soul 2.

The playful smile bothered Dean as that suggested that the man is not aiming to beat Dean at all!

Instead he's using Dean as a punching bag in order to dhow off his greatness.

The fragility of a teen's obsession was...interesting to Dean.

Dean couldn't just have fighting ability exceeding Qi Condensation 5 meaning he had to take a beating.

To make it even more realistic Dean had to force his Qi to harm himself since the young man was too weak.

'I'm being bullied! I have to bully myself to make myself seem bullied!'

The idea was quite comical to Dean but the young man was enjoying his time.

He could feel a raw power inside of him just destroying a person before him. The sensation of flesh against his fist truly made him feel powerful.

Narcissistic thoughts continued to flow into the young man's mind, especially when he saw Dean cough blood and small bruises appeared on his arms.

Was he a sadist?

No

But he did enjoy being in the position of power. Elated by this the young man took it a little too far.

Composing himself, his attacks became weaker but Dean was in a state where it seemed a stronger attack would immediately knock him out.

Dean wasn't that stupid to completely injure himself.

Although the outcome of his injuries looked serious they were actually superficial.

The bruises were done by Dean forcing small blood vessels to burst and create that effect.

Internally he was coughing blood that he borrowed from the whole of his body.

The teacher didn't see this as hew as busy calming Leonard down for his heavy handed attacks, oblivious to Dean's beaten state.

With the fight reaching it's climax, a group had started to form.

People had already finished their spar and should have partnered with different partners or go for another round.

Instead they found it more interesting to observe this match.

Dean looked around to find that he was encircled by many youths and the young man in front of him appeared more cocky.

The crowd acted as a stimulant to the young man as he used more flamboyant attacks.

Dean received the attacks without a qualm but smelt blood.

It was this moment that Dean realized this scene was too familiar.

The numbers around him made Dean feel overwhelmed despite their obviously weak cultivation.

'This position. The smell. The powerlessness."

It felt as if Dean was living in the past and experiencing a nightmare again.

Dean thought he could pretend to be weak but in the end he just tricked himself.

He placed himself into a position that caused him to panic.

Struggling to stop feeling helpless Dean tried to calm himself.

A familiar feeling invaded Dean's mind that pacified his racing heart.

'I was once weak.'

'I couldn't do a thing and I was brought to the brink of despair'

'I could blame it on my feelings getting in my way but I obviously know what my problem was.'

'I was too weak!'

This simple thought continued to echo within Dean's mind until he started to feel a headache and wince at the shocking pain.

Meanwhile, the young man was creating hype by purposely insulting his opponent and finally deciding that this will be his last and final punch.