Days at Tianxia Hero Academy settled into a routine. Mornings were spent studying theory—law, ethics, and theory of Qi. Afternoons were packed to capacity with combat exercises, strategy games, and survival training. In two months' time, the initially-clumsy dorm life was second nature; the sixteen students of Class 1-C knew one another's eccentricities, habits, and flaws near to intimately.
Daiki's humming in the mornings was met with Fei Min's groggy ribbits. Zhang Wei's silence over breakfast clashed with Chen Hao's booming laughter. Mei Ling's constant fussing with plants filled the common room with greenery, which Guo Fen teased by letting her insects nest in them. Even Rui, aloof and razor-sharp, had carved a space for himself as the unspoken rival to nearly everyone.
But Instructor Mei never allowed them to grow complacent.
Three months after admission, she called the class into the main training grounds, joined by another figure—Instructor Liang.
Liang was taller, broad-shouldered, his Qi known for brute force amplification. Where Mei was sharp and surgical, Liang was raw power personified. Together, they radiated the suffocating pressure of experienced heroes.
Mei's voice carried its familiar icy edge:
"Today, you have your first combined instructor exercise. The instructions are simple: defeat both me and Instructor Liang. You have until sundown."
The students gasped in amazement. Sixteen to two should have been within reason, but against these two? It was like asking mice to catch tigers.
Chen Hao laughed awkwardly. "Both of you? That's absurd."
"In battle, mad is true," Liang snarled. "This is not just strength, but coordination. Aloneness is defeat."
"Or," Rui interjected, his grin undimmed, "if you are strong enough, no one is required."
His statement drew the usual mix of glares and eye-rolling. Xia Yun's electricity tingled faintly around her fingertips, irritation flashing. Lian's jaw locked.
Mei gave no attention to the tension. "Begin.".
The students scattered, each instinct pulling them in different directions. Rui surged forward first, his wind blades slicing through the open field toward Instructor Mei.
"Reckless," Mei muttered, her form blurring as she sidestepped with graceful precision. Rui's blades sliced air, carving grooves into the stone floor, but Mei moved like water, always just beyond reach.
"Stay still!" Rui barked, unleashing a flurry.
But Mei's comeback was vicious. A palm strike, loaded with exacting Qi, skimmed across Rui's chest. He stepped back, gasping, his sneer wavering for the first time.
Across the field, Chen Hao rallied other students. "Group up! She instructed us to act in concert, didn't she?!"
Zhang Wei dropped in alongside him, fists nestled in stone. "Then we charge as one."
Han Bo's smoke billowed out, blinding their way. Luo Yan's chains coiled into the fog, trying to pin Liang to the ground.
Instructor Liang was not Mei. He didn't dance around attacks; he bulldozed through them. His amplified Qi burst shattered the chains with a clashing crash, and his brute force dispersed the smoke like a storm breaking through clouds.
"Pathetic," Liang growled, his next punch causing shockwaves that knocked half the group to the ground.
Chen gritted his teeth, engaging his iron skin. He caught Liang's fist head-on, the metal-against-metal clang echoing through the air. "Tch—damn, he hits like a truck!"
However, the war bought enough time for Mei Ling and Guo Fen to prepare their ambush. Vines erupted from the earth, dense with Mei Ling's sorcery, while Guo Fen's swarming insects flew to deflect Liang's lines of vision.
Constrained for an instant, the giant was.
"Now!" Lian roared, diving on web strings. He shot multiple strings, anchoring the vines, restricting Liang's arms tightly. Zhang Wei arrived, fist igniting with earth Qi, thudding into Liang's ribcage.
The punch landed—Liang winced, stumbled half a step. A moment of hope.
Then his laughter shook out, low and horrid. "Better."
He stretched. The vines parted like rope, webs tore, and Zhang Wei was flipped back with a sloppy toss. The students regrouped, panting, realizing: this was not going to be easy.
Meanwhile, Xia Yun's lightning lashed across the battle zone, illuminating the chaos. She caught Lian's gaze as he swung back to shield.
"You're too cautious," she shouted, launching a bolt that broke the earth in front of Mei's toes. "We need to push harder."
Lian crouched down next to her, gasping. "Running in like Rui will get us squashed. We need precision. Strategy."
Her lightning faltered in irritation. "Strategy won't matter if we can't even get close to them."
"Then combine it," Lian shot back, firing webs to redirect her lightning arcs toward Mei. The electricity coursed along the sticky strands, spreading wider, forcing Mei to backstep.
Xia blinked—then smirked. "Not bad, Webster."
"Better than your aim," Lian retorted, though a faint grin tugged at his lips.
Their combined assault continued, webbing amplifying lightning's spread, each forcing Mei into tighter movements. For the first time, Mei's eyes narrowed with mild approval.
Somewhere else, Daiki fired sonic waves, knocking Mei off balance while Nara Kei superimposed illusion to conceal the class's movement. Zhou Ping did bursts of flames, Han Bo's smoke concealing vulnerable areas. Fei Min jumped high, landing his weight on a drone-like trap they had set for diversion.
Grain by grain, they learned. They weren't beating Mei and Liang yet, but their coordination was sharper. Every yell, every glance, every burst of Qi was falling into something more akin to teamwork.
Chen, dented iron arms but not defeated, bellowed out over the field. "Lian! Xia! Drive Mei in this direction!"
Lian swung forward, Xia's lightning cracking around him. Together, they herded Mei toward Chen's group. Zhang Wei's stone walls rose, boxing her in, while Luo Yan's chains surged once more.
For the first time, Mei's movement was hindered. Her cold eyes flicked across the class—and she unleashed a wave of Qi, knocking them back in a single sweep. But her lips twitched in what might have been the ghost of a smile.
"You're learning."
Hours went by. Rui, still refusing to play ball, darted in and out with ferocious assaults, every miss making his face pucker. He ignored Shen Qiu's warning, Tao Lin's attempts to encourage him, even Kira's desperate defending. His pride would not flex.
On the contrary, Lian and Xia's rhythm accelerated. Where her lightning was raw power, his webs added purpose to it. Where his danger sense signaled him of impending attacks, her quick reflexes claimed the openings. Chen adapted himself easily, his iron fists anchoring their push, laughter resounding even when bruises colored his skin.
As a unit, the class began moving as a whole body, sixteen wills merged into one desperate try.
The sun edged its way towards the horizon. Sweaty uniforms, Qi stores low, but nobody quit.
Finally, as fire filled the sky, Instructor Mei raised a hand. "Enough."
The battlefield froze.
"You didn't defeat us," she said to them. "But you grew. You learned to combine your abilities instead of fragmenting. That was the true test."
Liang nodded, folding his arms over his chest. "And some of you still think you can battle alone." His gaze snapped to Rui, whose scowl could cut steel.
Rui did not speak, but his fists tightened in anger.
Mei's gaze swept the class. "Your path as heroes shall not be walked alone. Remember today."
That night, exhaustion hung in the dorms, but so did pride.
Chen clapped Lian on the back, nearly sending him stumbling. "You, me, and Xia? Hell of a team out there, you three were!"
Slightly smiling, Xia pushed aside stray sparks from her hair. "Don't get too cocky. We're still far behind Rui's brute strength."
Lian glanced back at her, unyielding. "Maybe so. But trust is not something that can be overpowered by strength. It will never work."
For once, Xia's smirk melted into a sort of respect.
And in the background of the common room, Rui sat alone, with his fists balled up, replaying all his defeats.