n

n

n

"The Corrupted Ones...

"

nHao Xuan's brow creased even more. His back straightened and as he sat up straight, listening attentively.

n

"Who are they? The corrupted ones?

"

n

"I don't know. I'm too young to know about things like that. Everything I know is from rumors and stories our parents used to tell us.

"

n

"What were they?

"

nWu Jin took a deep breath and recalled the memories from his childhood. These were the bedtime stories the elders in the Wu clan used to tell the kids to make them go to sleep.

n

"There exist people in our society that talk like us, walk like us, eat like us and sleep like us, but are in fact something entirely different. They come under the blanket of darkness and take all the naughty children away. They eat these children and replace them with hollow monsters.

"

n

"They are the true enemy of every sentient being and it is our duty to fight against them no matter the situation. Our ancestor, the legendary nine-tailed fox, left behind her legacy so we could continue the fight in her absence and stand on the righteous side....

"

nWu Jin went on to tell a number of different tales but they all had the same theme.

nThis 'corruption' was the villain while the Wu clan were deliverers of justice. They would fight against the corrupted ones every few centuries, uprooting their strongholds and laying waste to entire kingdoms that had been affected by it.

nThey didn't take any chances and killed everyone in the vicinity, so it was hard to call them

"heroes

" when they themselves killed the same amount of beings if not more.

nHao Xuan didn't take the story to heart as he knew the truth was twisted to fit every party's own point of view and beliefs.

nOne man's hero is another's villain.

n

"How were you planning to find out about the corrupted? How would you have known if one of them was, in fact, one of these...things.

"

n

"I was given a talisman for that. Was supposed to use it on the being in question and it would reveal their true form.

"

n

"Do you still have it?

"

n

"Yes.

"

n

"Can you get more?

"

n

"Not possible. Not only do I not know how to make them, but even if I asked for more they simply wouldn't give them out like that. From what I gathered, these talismans are made from the hides of other corrupted. And they are not easy to find, let alone use for parts.

"

n

"Also, even if I lie and tell them I found a base or something, they wouldn't let me handle a situation like that. One of my seniors would probably come down himself.

"

n

"Alright alright, I get it. Where are you now?

"

n

"Back at the academy.

"

nHao Xuan was somewhat taken aback with the answer. An academy? He thought he would have gone back to his clan.

n

"Which academy? Where is it located?

"

n

"The Academy of Sollertia. It's a few thousand kingdoms away from where you are right now.

"

nHao Xuan shot up from his seat,

"A-A few thousand KINGDOMS away?!?

"

n

"Yeah...

"

nHao Xuan was so shocked by Wu Jin's answer that he didn't even notice the change in his tone. It went from being slightly fearful and respectful to one of disdain and arrogance.

n

"How the hell did you get there so fast?

" Hao Xuan followed up with another question.

n

"I flew to the nearest Grade-1 kingdom and used their teleportation formation to get back here.

"

n

"Goddamn!

" The envy was quite apparent from Hao Xuan's tone. He didn't even have a flying mount let alone used a teleportation formation that big. The only other time was when he first came to the beast world.

nHis eyes shone with a new light as he completely forgot about the previous matter and started questioning Wu Jin.

n

"What type of academy is it?

"

n

"It's one of the three largest academies in the entire continent. It's also the closest one to you. The other two are too far for even teleportation formations. It focuses on teaching the more 'elegant' subjects. The ones that require a high intellect.

"

n

"Oh? Like what?

"

n

"Like the study of arts you know, be it literature, performance or visual, everything is taught here including things like music, modeling, theatre, calligraphy, sculpting, architecture, etc.

"

n

"...

"

nOnce again the answer was completely out of Hao Xuan's expectations.

n

"Aren't these for mortals? Why the hell would cultivators study things like that?

"

n

"Tch,

" Wu Jin sounded like he was expecting such an ignorant answer.

n

"We cultivators have extremely long lifespans. Do you really think in the thousands of years we live for, no one picks up any hobbies? And these aren't for mortals. Each of them has its own cultivation system attached to it. there are many seniors that use musical instruments in fights, either in direct combat or as a supplementary technique.

"

n

"They can directly attack with music, hypnotize men and beasts alike, control them however they want. Those that go for calligraphy can bring their creations to life to fight for them. Only an ignorant fool would think of them as mere

"mortal

" pastimes.

"

nHao Xuan nodded his head upon gaining some understanding of the matter at hand. He had never expected things like that to be true as well. It all just seemed so...surreal.

n

"Alright, what about modeling and theatre then? How the hell do you use them in combat?

"

n

"They 'can' be used in combat but mostly have other uses. Even cultivators find amusement in things like movies and other entertainment sources. Many of the bigger clans and corporations have spokespersons and representatives that are extremely famous. They use their fame to recruit cultivators and expand. It's a great tool for advertisement...

"

n

"What even....

"

nHao Xuan leaned back into his chair and let out a deep breath. Everything Wu Jin just said was...a bit too much to digest at once.

nIt did make sense when everything was explained like that, bit still. This was just too...real. He never expected anything like this to be true. It was so much like back on earth where there were idols and models working for companies with their own fan clubs.

nBut then.....why not?

n