Hu Cheng cast a glance at the indifferent Hao Ming, who had been watching the entire brawl with an almost bored calm.
"Hey, kid. Come here."
Hao Ming rose and walked over, stopping beside the battered group.
"Well?" Hu Cheng pointed his thumb at them. "What do you think of your future teammates?"
Hao Ming swept his gaze over them—slow, steady, without the slightest hesitation—and uttered a single word.
"Weak."
There was no arrogance in his voice. No pride. Not even the slightest hint of mockery.
He was simply stating a fact.
All six students immediately stirred, momentarily forgetting the pain wracking their exhausted bodies.
"Hey! And who the hell are you supposed to be?!" Hui Mi was the first to snap, shooting Hao Ming a piercing glare. "I've never seen you at the Academy before. I can't even sense a trace of Spirit Power from you!"
Sheng Ming was slightly embarrassed by the harshness of his tone and lowered her gaze, staring at her own knees.
Xiao Yu had long since grown accustomed to being mocked. People teased him so often that it barely bothered him anymore. He remained lying where he was, wearing the same weary smile as before, as though the conversation had nothing to do with him.
Jin Luo, who had already been forced to drag himself out of his blissful sleep for the sake of sparring, didn't even have the energy to react. Mustering a response was simply beyond him at the moment.
Qin Ye's eyelashes trembled almost imperceptibly, but she remained just as composed as ever.
"Ra-ra-ra!" Hu Cheng burst into laughter, but the sound quickly faded, replaced by curiosity. He looked at Hao Ming a little more carefully than before.
"And why do you think that?"
Hao Ming was silent for a second—not because he was searching for gentler words, but because he himself didn't quite understand why he was being asked to explain it in the first place.
He had simply watched the fight, and one word had naturally formed in his mind:
Weak.
Explaining something so obvious seemed almost as strange to him as explaining why water was wet.
"You called us weaklings, and now you can't even think of an explanation?" Hui Mi sneered. "Cat got your tongue?"
Hao Ming ignored him completely.
He looked over all six of them once more, as though making one final check to ensure he hadn't been mistaken.
"I don't know what there is to explain. They're simply weak. That's a fact."
He paused for a moment, searching for a simpler comparison.
"It's like asking me why people eat. The answer is because they're hungry. That's enough. It's the same with them being weak."
A brief silence descended.
No one seemed to know how to respond to such cold, almost childlike logic. Not because it was impossible to refute, but because arguing with it felt like arguing with a child.
Even Hui Mi was momentarily at a loss. He had clearly expected a different answer, only to receive something he simply had no way of arguing against.
Zhou Shengyang, who had remained silent until now, finally turned his head slightly and looked at Hao Ming.
"You. Fight me."
His voice was even, without anger or hesitation, as though there had never been any other possible outcome.
If Hao Ming defeated him, Zhou Shengyang would have no choice but to accept his words.
But until then, his pride would not allow him to do so.
Hui Mi immediately perked up, seemingly forgetting his own exhaustion.
"Oh? Now that's more like it. Since you're so 'strong,' show us what you can do. You're fighting me too."
Hu Cheng shifted his gaze between the two of them and folded his arms across his chest.
That familiar, excited grin returned to his face.
This time, however, he made no attempt to interfere, seemingly content to watch the situation unfold on its own.
"Hoh," he drawled. "Not a bad idea."
Hao Ming silently looked at Zhou Shengyang first, then Hui Mi.
There was neither excitement nor irritation in his eyes—only calm, almost indifferent assessment, as though he were weighing not the threat they posed, but whether the fight was worth the effort.
"You can barely move in your current condition," he remarked. "You still want to fight?"
Zhou Shengyang and Hui Mi opened their mouths at the same time to answer.
But Hu Cheng clapped his hands.
An invisible force instantly clamped both of their jaws shut, preventing either of them from making a sound.
"Well, well. This is getting interesting."
Hu Cheng grinned with satisfaction as the two wordlessly protested.
"Fine. Tomorrow at eight, we'll have a sparring match. Hui Mi and Zhou Shengyang versus Hao Ming. No objections accepted."
He swept his gaze across the entire exhausted group, and for a brief moment, something firmer surfaced beneath his usual lighthearted, almost playful tone.
"Tomorrow's first lesson promises to be interesting. Now—everyone go to sleep."
The command was delivered brightly and casually, but no one present mistook its true nature.
It was not a suggestion.
Everyone silently nodded.
Hao Ming simply stared at Zhou Shengyang and Hui Mi, his expression remaining as calm and unreadable as ever.
Why do they want to fight? They'll die.
He had only recently returned to the human world, yet he still could not understand their logic—or what law governed it.
Hao Ming shook his head, turned around, and left first.
When he returned to the house, he sat down on the sofa.
Almost immediately, a dull, oppressive pain began to build in his temples.
What's happening to me?
His mind felt as though it were boiling from within.
Throughout all his years in the Rocky Mountains, he had never experienced anything like this. His body and mind had learned to endure every kind of pain, but this was different.
Fragments of various scenes flashed before his eyes—strange, yet painfully familiar.
A little boy was crying in the arms of a man whose face was blurred, as though washed away by water.
And yet, at the same time, that face seemed unnervingly clear.
The same boy—now in a park—was surrounded by three children his own age. They mocked and ridiculed him.
Then, seemingly out of nowhere, a girl appeared.
Her hair was the color of the sea, standing out with startling clarity amid the chaotic flood of images. Her features were delicate and deep, her eyes somehow both the color of the ocean and sapphire.
"Are you okay?" the girl asked.
The boy nodded, and the two went their separate ways.
The images changed without order.
A library.
The same girl again.
Then another girl—with hair as white as snow.
Hao Ming frowned and clutched his head.
He breathed slowly, trying to force the flashes under control.
Then, just as suddenly as it had appeared, all the pain vanished.
As though it had never existed.
The images disappeared just as abruptly.
"What... was that?"
On the outside, he remained perfectly calm. There was neither irritation nor anxiety on his face.
But inside, he wanted an answer.
The years he had spent in the Rocky Mountains had indeed affected the breadth of his knowledge, but he was not stupid.
He understood perfectly well that he remembered almost nothing of his life before the Rocky Mountains.
Only vague, blurry images remained in his memory.
And now, it seemed as though those lost memories were trying to reach him.
For the first time in a very long time, he asked himself a question.
"Who am I?"
He paused.
"Or... what am I?"
He sat there, staring at the empty ceiling.
His thoughts moved like waves—rising, falling, and leaving emptiness behind.
Morning came before he even realized it.
The clock struck exactly eight.
And, right on schedule, a loud, carefree laugh rang out from outside.
"Ra-ra-ra! Everyone out and line up! Today, you're having your first real lesson!"
Hao Ming rose from the sofa.
But suddenly, he froze.
For a brief moment, it felt as though his body had turned to lead, as if an entire mountain had suddenly settled onto his shoulders.
Yet the sensation disappeared the instant he noticed it.
He shook his head, dismissing it as another consequence of the headaches, and walked out the door.
Everyone was already standing in the courtyard.
Even Jin Luo.
Judging by his battered appearance and the fresh scratches across his face, he hadn't even left. He had simply fallen asleep right there on the spot.
Zhou Shengyang and Hui Mi simultaneously turned their gazes toward Hao Ming.
One's was as sharp as a blade.
The other's was as fierce as a lightning strike.
Both stared at him with undisguised challenge.
But Hao Ming wasn't frightened in the slightest.
In his eyes, they were no more threatening than two small animals—like rabbits.
Why did my words upset them so much?
He did not understand.
Weakness was simply a fact.
Why get angry at a fact?
By the same logic, he could admit that he himself was weak compared to Hu Cheng.
So what?
He walked over and joined the line.
The atmosphere seemed to grow awkward and tense the moment he arrived.
"Hey! How'd you sleep?" Xiao Yu asked in a friendly, carefree tone.
"I didn't sleep."
Xiao Yu nodded knowingly.
"Ah! So you were nervous after all! Makes sense. Hui Mi is considered one of the strongest students in the Academy, while Zhou Shengyang may be a loner, but everyone here respects him."
He paused.
"And, if we're being honest, they're a little afraid of him too."
Hao Ming didn't argue.
He simply nodded, although there had been several reasons for his sleepless night.
Hui Mi, standing several steps away, overheard the conversation and smirked.
"Ha! Don't worry. I'll only beat you up a little."
"Hui Mi, go easy on him," Sheng Ming said reproachfully before turning toward Hao Ming. "Don't take what he says to heart. And don't worry—if anything happens, I'll heal you!"
Sheng Ming had already let go of Hao Ming's comment from the previous day, so she genuinely intended to help him.
"Sheng Ming, don't defend him," Hui Mi replied, his voice gentle but carrying obvious irritation.
Zhou Shengyang did not take part in the conversation.
He simply stood slightly apart from the others, focused and composed.
Even if Hao Ming turned out to be weak, he had no intention of holding back.
Qin Ye, standing closer to the center of the formation, briefly glanced at Hao Ming.
There was neither hostility nor curiosity in her eyes.
It was closer to concern.
Not for him, however.
For the situation itself.
We have no idea what he might do... But Uncle Hu Cheng will stop him if necessary.
Although she was concerned, she was also genuinely curious about just how strong Hao Ming really was.
Jin Luo cracked his eyes open and looked at Hao Ming with interest.
Interesting... He's far too carefree and calm.
His carefree attitude might even rival mine.
"You know," Xiao Yu suddenly said quietly, leaning a little closer, "maybe your words yesterday weren't entirely wrong. Compared to Uncle Hu Cheng, we really are like fish facing a bear."
He scratched his head.
"But being that blunt and direct doesn't sit well with everyone."
Hao Ming turned his head and looked at him without much expression.
"Is that bad?"
Xiao Yu hesitated for a moment, seemingly caught off guard by the question.
"Well... no. It's just... people usually don't say things like that."
He scratched the back of his head.
"Usually, you'd put it a little more gently."
The conversation was cut short by a sharp clap of hands.
Hu Cheng stepped forward in front of the formation, looking over everyone with a satisfied smile.
"Alright! Everyone's here. Excellent."
He paused.
"Today, we begin the real work."