1 Li Yang.

The Third Lecture Hall of the Deepsea King sect was packed with people as the disciples of varying ages awaited the arrival of their teacher, Ting Miu. Some of the students were acting rather restlessly, tapping the long wooden table that followed along with the half circle-shaped seating areas, their gazes constantly moving between the door at the left of the room and the blackboard and desk where Ting Miu would stand while giving the lesson.

Their restlessness was quickly alleviated when the door at the left of the room was opened, a graceful woman stepping into the lecture hall. Ting Miu had a tall and curvaceous figure, her enticing bottom and waist swaying with each step. Dark orange hair cascaded down her head, a few curly strands hanging down the left side of her face and slightly obscuring one of her alluring brown eyes. The tight-fitting green robe she wore gave the male students just what they had been waiting for, some of them involuntarily swallowing their saliva.

Ting Miu wasn't just an enticing beauty, she was also one of the sect's only 10 Core Disciples, meaning that she had enough strength to easily wipe out the over 1000 Inner Disciples that had packed themselves into the lecture hall. Ting Miu stopped in front of the blackboard and placed a few books on the desk next to it, not even bothering to open any of them before she started to wave her finger, faintly glowing words starting to appear on the blackboard as she spoke to the disciples.

"Today I'll be talking about some of the more common uses of the law of fire and some of the mutated or enhanced versions of the element itself, pay close attention and you might just know enough to survive a due..."

Ting Miu suddenly stopped talking as her gaze swept over the disciples within the lecture hall, her slightly narrowed eyes roaming across every seat within the room. She remained silent for a few seconds before opening her mouth again, asking a question to the entire room.

"Where's Li Yang?"

Her question caused the expressions of some of the people in the room to turn helpless, others turning bitter at the fact that she had noticed the absence of a man so quickly. Some people weren't quite sure if they should tell the truth, but the number of people willing to throw Li Yang to the hounds for entertainment was far greater, someone quickly calling out to Ting Miu.

"Miss, I saw Brother Yang resting under the cherry tree by Great Carp Cliff just minutes before the lesson. I called out to him to remind him that you were coming, but he only waved his hand and sent me on my way, not even bothering to open his eyes."

Ting Miu's thin eyebrows ticked up when the young male disciple gave her the answer she had honestly expected, the corners of her mouth twitching slightly. She let out a soft curse under her breath but then quickly collected herself and started ascending the central staircase that split the half circle-shaped seating area, beckoning for the disciples to follow her as she headed for the door at the end of the room.

"That haunted little brat... Alright, come with me you lot, we're changing the lesson into seeing just how much damage a human body can take before it shuts down, wouldn't want you guys to not know your limits."

The students could only follow Ting Miu out of the lecture hall, some of them snickering amongst each other that Li Yang was about to get more than just the normal earful.

As the person in question, the 14-year-old Li Yang was completely unaware of what was coming for him, he was still sitting casually on the ground while leaning against the sturdy tree behind him. The tree was located right at the edge of Great Carp Cliff, the southeastern edge of the island where his sect was located. This meant that he could gaze upon the vast ocean that surrounded them while leaning against the tree, a few other islands just barely visible in the distance.

With the sun hanging high in the sky and reflecting off of the water, it made for a rather spectacular sight. But Li Yang wasn't actually looking at the sight, he had his eyes closed while lightly chewing a thin branch from the cherry tree, his icy-blue hair neatly combed and slicked back, only a few errant strands hanging down over his face.

When he closed his eyes, it wasn't actually darkness that he saw but rather a pair of pitch-black eyes. The eyes were filled with a terrifying sense of death and destruction, but they looked so soft and gentle, a tinge of sorrow and care floating within them. Drifting voices also reached Li Yang's ears but they were so indistinct and blurry that he could only make out a few words here or there. Only by focusing all his attention on the words could he manage to make out longer sentences, but doing so placed a great strain on his mind and quickly left him exhausted.

Disembodied voices and eyes, these two things had followed Li Yang ever since he was born, they would reach him every time he closed his eyes. It was like he was haunted by something, and a great number of the sect-members did indeed believe that Li Yang was haunted by something, either that or he was hallucinating and had been delusional since birth.

Li Yang's closed eyes suddenly shot open, his crimson pupils flashing with a faint light as he threw himself forward and rolled away from the tree. Just as he moved, the bark of the tree trembled and grew, forming a small hammer that struck the empty air where his head should have been. Li Yang hopped up after rolling away, spinning around and grinning at Ting Miu and the disciples behind her.

"Senior Sister Miu, did you miss me so much that you came running just to see me? But that feels a touch too violent to be a greeting, I would have much preferred it if you sprung into my embrace, maybe shed a few tears to tug at my heartstrings."

Li Yang hastily jumped to the side after he spoke, just barely dodging a few strands of grass that had suddenly grown and were trying to coil around his legs. He continued to jump and dodge around as the grass all around him reached for him, his grin shifting into an expression that was partly embarrassed and partly aggrieved, his hands covering his chest as if he was a shy young girl.

"Come on now, Senior Sister, you're making me feel unloved here. Didn't we just recently share a lovely date through the market, you even did all those things to me after we finally reached a private place. Am I just a toy that you can play with and then discard, is that what's going on here?"

Ting Miu nearly burst into a violent coughing fit when she heard Li Yang's shameless statement, a statement that was intentionally misguiding and twisting actual events. But before she could curse at him, one of the male disciples, the one that had pointed out where Li Yang was, exploded forth while pointing at Li Yang, his face dyed crimson as his youthful hormones drowned out all his sense of reason.

"Hold your tongue, Li Yang! How dare you spout such lies about Teacher Miu, how dare you try to stain her name like that!"

The expressions of Ting Miu and some of the onlookers twisted slightly as the male youth burst forth with rage. This was exactly what Li Yang had been waiting for, a fact that those who knew him a bit better were well aware of. And just like they expected, Li Yang didn't miss a beat as he changed his target from Ting Miu to the male youth.

"Oh, are you jealous, Hong Kiu? Well, Senior Sister is extremely gorgeous so I can see why you would get jealous like that. Are you perhaps hoping that defending her like this will make her praise and thank you? Maybe she'll even give you a nice kiss on the forehead so that you can go and rub one out while the memory is still fresh? Do you want to rub the place she kissed while you do it? Oh, I know! You plan on rubbing the place she kissed and then use that hand to touch yourself, really masturbate yourself into a stupor! It's a bit depraved, but hey, whatever get's you going."

The outstretched finger of Hong Kiu trembled fiercely as Li Yang kept talking, each word digging into him and dyeing his face redded and redder. And when Li Yang so grandly spoke about Hong Kiu's 'plans', even wearing an understanding expression, he finally blew up.

"Sh... Shut up!"

Hong Kiu charged forward like an enraged bull with his arms outstretched to grab onto Li Yang. But Li Yang simply grinned at him and continued to hop around to dodge Ting Miu's attempts at grabbing him by controlling the grass. Only when Hong Kiu got close did Li Yang change his movements, one of his fingers flicking once.

Hong Kiu suddenly lowered his entire body when Li Yang flicked his finger, it was as if he was suddenly carrying a heavy burden on his shoulders. Li Yang took this chance and kicked off one of the enlarged strands of grass, which slowed down so much when his foot approached it that it couldn't coil around him.

He jumped onto Hong Kiu's head, spinning his own body around so that he was riding on Hong Kiu's shoulders, pressing his own thighs strongly against the side of Hong Kiu's face. He then grabbed onto Hong Kiu's black hair and tugged it strongly to the left, his large body involuntarily turning to the left while Li Yang cheered him on.

"Go forth, Steed Kiu, to victory!"

He tugged on Hong Kiu's hair until he had turned around and was facing the cherry tree, one of his hands letting go of Hong Kiu's hair and heavily slapping his lower back to push him forward thanks to the pain. Once Hong Kiu took several steps forward, Li Yang completely let go of his hair and placed both hands on top of Hong Kiu's head.

He pushed off of his head and pulled back his legs, placing them against the back of Hong Kiu's shoulders and kicking him at the cherry tree while launching himself into a backflip. He spun twice in the air before landing gracefully on his feet, casting his gaze into Hong Kiu's direction.

But sadly, he didn't collide head-first with the tree like Li Yang hoped. The grass around Hong Kiu instantly grew taller than his body and formed a cage that stopped him from crashing into the tree. And while he was stopped, the now slightly colder voice of Ting Miu rang out.

"Enough! Li Yang, stop twisting events to goad people, I just asked you to help me pick out a present for my little brother and then gave you a few pointers for your training. Now stop playing around just to get a rise out of people, otherwise, you cannot blame me if I report things to your father. And Hong Kiu, don't fall for your opponents taunts so easily, losing yourself in rage is the quickest way to lose the battle."

Li Yang's grin faltered slightly when Ting Miu threatened him with his father, the corners of his mouth twitching softly. He raised both arms in defeat and started walking over, helplessly shaking his head as he walked past Hong Kiu and took up position behind Ting Miu.

"Ah, what a cruel mistress you are, not only are you playing with my innocence but you are also turning to threats after just a bit of teasing, you're breaking my heart, darling."

Ting Miu's eyebrows trembled slightly and she cut into Li Yang with a sharp glare, making sure that he remained silent while she released Hong Kiu, who joined up with the other disciples with his head lowered in shame. Li Yang didn't even look at Hong Kiu, leaning closer to one of the female disciples that was closer to him and was casting glances at him, giving her a quick wink and a charming grin.

"Don't worry, Fairy Sister Luoluo, Demoness Miu may have played with me like a cheap toy that can just be thrown away, but she made sure to leave my chastity and purity mostly intact. So don't worry, I still have plenty of chastity that I can share with you in private."

The young girl blushed deeply when Li Yang winked at her and teased her. He was handsome, charming, funny, had a strong backing, and was filled with boundless confidence, all of which was able to easily make up for the fact that he didn't seem to have much cultivation at all. Li Yang was just about to keep teasing the girl when his throat suddenly rolled and he crouched down, a sharp slap missing the back of his head and sliding along his scalp. Li Yang quickly turned to look at Ting Miu, showing her a bitter expression.

"Please don't be like that, Senior Sister Miu. You just threw me away yet get jealous when I move on? Are you not satisfied with how much you've already played with me? Or could it be that my sweet taste has actually captivated you? Are you just acting like you are right now because you don't know how to show it properly? What was it they called it, tsundere?"

The expression of several of the men around Li Yang suddenly twisted and twitched, some looking like they were going to give in to their hormones as Hong Kiu had. But when they noticed Li Yang glance at them out of the corner of his eyes and saw the gleeful light in his eyes they all chose to hold themselves back.

That gleeful light hid a strong pride and arrogance, a confidence that he could play with all the men here even if they did end up giving in to their hormones and came at him. But while Li Yang was glancing at the men, Ting Miu's other hand came down upon his head, this time much faster than any of her previous moves.

She had clearly given up on going easy on him and actually moved to hit him, her fist knocking down on his head and nearly causing him to bite down on his tongue. Li Yang crouched down even further and started to rub the top of his head, muttering incomprehensible curses as he did his best to rub away the pain.

Ting Miu stood over him and glared at him, Li Yang waving an arm as if he was waving the white flag of surrender, his other hand moving across his mouth as if he was sealing it shut. Seeing that Li Yang was finally going to be quiet for once, Ting Miu waved her arm and led the disciples back to the lecture hall so that they could finally get the actual lesson underway.