Pandamonium and chaos broke out instantly when the emperor's practice session began.
"Sage! Will you help me?"
"Veronica, I learned it. Want to help?"
The second that Kaze taught a man his technique, they immediately flew over to his two most ardent supporters, Veronica and Sage, who didn't witness the fourth influx.
The two grinned at each other and Kaze.
They both got the strongest boosts from his actions, now there was a line of men making them stronger and increasing their popularity.
The men had never been more elated because they got to cycle through and meet women.
Due to the two-to-one ratio and lack of supply, even the geeks Kaze chose for their intelligence were surrounded by beautiful, popular women chosen for their looks.
Since they had their pick and were in a dream position, they avoided the Kaze haters who were stewing in the corner.
Not only did they want to interact with beautiful, popular women, but they were afraid of pissing off Kaze and losing their dream privilege.
So even the hypocrites who awkwardly accepted the technique were avoided.
They were branded taboo in an instant.
Worse—
"Hey, Ray, can you help me?" A woman asked a male in the Kaze Kills College Students faction.
"Lenny, can you help me?" Another asked.
A group of women flooded the two male Kaze haters, who accepted the technique instantly. They turned to the ardent members with grim, hypocritical smiles.
"Sorry, Sally, Regina. If we're here, we should learn, right?" Ray said while getting up.
"If we don't, the women can't learn. There's not enough men to help." Lenny said meekly, "We don't want to leave females out."
—the two men in the Kaze Kills College Students Faction who instantly turned traitor.
Every man in the area instantly became loyal to Kaze without distinction and didn't plan to give up the strange and profound privileges bestowed upon them.
"Rein, can you help me!?" A man asked.
"Pick me!"
"I'd really appreciate if you chose me."
An icy chill crawled down Rein's spine when men flocked to her.
"Um... yeah, sure. I'll help all of you for two minutes each." Rein replied hesitantly.
If she turned them down, she'd be labeled a power-grubber and would get branded and isolated like the people in the Kaze Kills College Student Faction.
If she didn't become his rational puppet, she'd end up in a worse position than Sally and Regina!
Kaze gave her a profound opportunity for growth, showed her the benefits, and gave her an out to prevent meeting the fate of his punishment.
It was a brutal example of the carrot and the stick with horrifying consequences for not chasing the carrot.
The Kaze Kills College Students watched in horror as their ranks diminished, and their popularity moved from slightly positive to taboo and isolated instantly.
Now there were only nine, and Kaze gave powerful incentives to people to avoid them completely for the next six days.
Not only would they lag in strength, but they'd soon become lonely and depressed if they didn't change their tune dramatically.
Breaking free of their situation didn't require acceptance—it required enthusiastic support.
It was brutal.
Rein stared at Kaze with a profound gaze as she helped another man.
Kaze ripped out his enemies' vocal cords, made the men loyal allies, and charmed the women simultaneously.
He promoted his false narrative of why he was keeping them in the basement and traumatized every man and woman into trusting him with dramatic demonstrations.
Lastly, he found a way to strengthen his puppets and turn his enemies, her and Lily, into his puppets.
The emperor did all of that in a matter of one lecture.
She didn't know what he was hiding but was convinced he wasn't there to hurt them and would release them.
However, one look at Linus, the emperor's [sacrifice] passed out on the floor, told her that he wasn't a good person and was terrifyingly capable.
For that reason, she wisely chose not to make an enemy of Kaze.
The emperor watched his subjects running around, asking others for help. The minute a man learned the technique from Sage or Veronica, women flooded them.
However, there were long lines, so the women turned to the men in the downtime.
No one wanted to be left out. So the more people that joined, the more enthusiastic and frantic women became to interact with men.
All of the women blessed the stars that Kaze sent women knocking on their door without them doing anything. They instantly shifted their tune.
As expected, the women in the Kaze Kills College Students group were extremely awkward about accepting the technique, asking people for help, and being hypocrites.
So after accepting it, they still ended up sitting alone as the other people avoided them without a single glance.
Even Ray and Lenny avoided them, justifying their actions behind an argument that the women didn't [ask] for their help.
They were bitter beyond belief and snuck hateful glances at the emperor frequently.
Naturally, Kaze stoked the flames of their hatred. However, he would never turn his enemies into allies unless needed.
Instead, he shattered their political spines, removing their ability to speak out and destroying their influence base.
Soon they'd fall silent, plot against him, or change their tune. However, he wanted them to do that to destroy them once and for all.
If people courted death, he was justified in breaking their spirits just as he had with Linus.
However, his smile turned into a frown momentarily. There was only one problem—the training.
Soon, Jake would be in the room dealing with the people, and he wasn't skilled in dealing with people.
Worse, Evalyn couldn't come into the area and deal with the people as planned; she was far too unstable. It saddened him immensely.
As a result, he couldn't oversee the situation forever unless he wanted to deprive Jake of an opportunity to go and learn.
So put back on a charming smile and walked toward a certain person.
"Hello, Em-per-or." Veronica smacked when he approached.
"Greetings, Veronica Mith-ra Stone." Kaze smacked with a charming smile, "Will you walk with me for a moment? I have a question that I wish to ask you."
Veronica laugh-scoffed and followed him. Everyone watched them walk away, curious about the situation.
The students could see they were chatting in the open without body language. It didn't look like a serious conversation.
"You said Jake was coming tomorrow, right? That hasn't changed from some freaky issue in the outside world?"
The emperor gave her a slight smile. "But of course. He'll be here tomorrow and will help out with your cultivation training."
"I see. So he is your right-hand man. That wasn't an exaggeration." Veronica chuckled in disbelief.
"It's unbelievable; you've been grooming him from the start when he just thought you were his friend. Your ego is immeasurable."
"Are you complaining?" Kaze smiled, "Besides, contrary to everyone's expectations, I was downplaying my achievements. Don't you think my ego is a bit justified?"
Veronica scoffed and then chuckled again. "Yeah, I guess. Doesn't mean you have to be a tool."
"It comes with the territory." He asserted with a slight smile.
"I hate that smile of yours." She chuckled, "So I'll be glad when Jake shows up."
"I'm sure he'll be happy to show up too." Kaze chuckled, "He's been asking to see you more than you have. I find that charming."
The woman blushed, and she turned away. "What's that smile for? Did you think that I was just running around trying to please you?"
"I knew your interest in Jake was genuine; I wouldn't traumatize my trusted aid with a blatant falsehood." Kaze replied with a mocking smile.
"Such an action would harm his confidence by implying that women wouldn't sleep with him unless I incentivized them to.
I only incentivized you to take the initiative in helping him. Not to prostitute yourself for power."
Veronica frowned in annoyance and turned away. She was glad he wasn't using her or questioning her loyalty, but he was far too blunt about it.
"Now that we're on the subject, I will bestow power upon you for taking the initiative, as promised." He chuckled.
"I'd also like to incentivize you to help him again. Surely you already plan to do that as well, yes?"
Veronica's mood shifted to the negative instantly, and she dry-swallowed nervously. "As you say, I do plan to help Jake.
However, I have a feeling that the word [help] has a horrifying ask tied to it."
Kaze gave her a mocking smile. "Horrifying is an intense term for something so frivolous. However, it isn't pleasant."
"Let's hear it, Kaze." She replied dryly.
Kaze explained his ask before saying goodbye to her, ending the class, and walking out the front door to infiltrate his students.
Veronica watched his back with a bitter smile. She was conflicted about his [ask] and didn't look forward to it.
It was beneficial to everyone and wasn't malicious by any stretch, but it wasn't pleasant in the slightest. She didn't look forward to it whatsoever.
...
Once leaving, Kaze met up with the students at the amphitheater, as mentioned the day before.
The members had spent the last day learning the earth-grade cultivation technique and meeting each other. Everyone was in high spirits.
When he walked onto the stage, everyone quieted down momentarily.
"You've done well." Kaze smiled, "Who wants to have a party to celebrate the birth of Immortal Skye and your entrance to it?"
After a split second of stunned silence, the area erupted into chaotic cheers and whistles.