Chapter Sixty-Nine

Arnin was in a state of panic as his vision slowly blackened. He didn't want to unseal his powers in order to stop the purge that was occuring inside his body, however he felt that if things progressed too far, he would need to completely unseal everything and turn back into his Demon Lord form.

'This isn't going too well.' Arnin felt bitter. On the surface, his body could be considered as unconscious, however, Arnin could see everything that was happening inside of his body. A large amount of his orb threads were missing, and even his organs were in a severe condition.

'Sh*t! What the heck do I do? I am not awake, so things are even more dangerous!' Arnin would have been able to handle the situation better if he was still conscious, however he was not. He wasn't able to move his body around and wasn't even able to find a way to heal himself. Right now, if he wanted to do something, he would have to depend on what was inside of his body.

Arnin looked through everything and tried to see if he could find any solutions. Right now, the only things inside of him that were in optimal condition were the elemental seeds, his orb (not orb threads), the saber, and his Demon Lord powers.

Although his orb threads were damaged and he was in a lower realm than usual, it still wasn't anything life threatening at the moment. Although there was a chance of him dying if the essence continued to seep out of his body, that would not happen right away. The most important things to deal with currently were his physical injuries, however he just couldn't figure out how. He needed something that would repair his organs and allow his blood to replenish back to the normal amount. Right now, he was bleeding internally, and had lost quite a bit of blood.

Normally if this were to happen to him, he would be able to use pills, or other special items in order to save himself, however he currently had no way to get to them. Another problem was that if he did decide to awaken his Demon Lord powers, then there was a large chance of him dying. His body was currently too injured to endure anything like that.

Arnin knew that this was most likely one of the gravest moments of his life. Although he had been injured more severely, and had literally been to death's door many times, he had his full power back then. He was able to hold himself longer and slowly heal, however right now that was impossible. Things were extremely bleak.

'What should I do!?' Arnin was still extremely confused. He had never been placed in a situation where he was physically injured and had no way to help himself. Plus, he was also losing his powers slowly. He had nothing he could do to help himself.

As Arnin was in this state, his new seed began to tremble. 'What the hell is happening now?!' Arnin began to get a little agitated when he saw the new seed begin to react. 'Is this seed going to continuing attacking me since I am in this condition?' Arnin cursed the seed inwardly.

However just as Arnin was cursing the seed, something strange began to occur. The two tiny seeds that revolved around the tip of the main seed began to shine in a black and white light. The lights traveled everywhere around his body, however Arnin wasn't able to notice any changes. After a while, the black and white light had traveled all around his body and had even left some of their light in a few places. One could see a jumble of black and white light masking his injured organs, and also surrounding any other part of his body that was injured.

Arnin assumed that this black and white light would start to heal him, however that wasn't the case. Nothing was happening. They just surrounding his injured areas, not doing anything.

After a few minute passed, Arnin saw another light appear, however this time the light was purple. It was the glow of Samsara. As if breaking through a dam, the light rushed out the seed and went throughout his whole body. Any place that had the black and white began to glow brighter.

'T-this…'

Outside the door, Kosok was still waiting, however he was feeling a little worried now. Although one could not feel exactly what was going on inside of the room, people could tell if the surrounding energy was changing or being absorbed. This would show if someone was cultivating or not.

As he was standing right in front of Arnin's room, he could tell that there was no change to the room's essence. There was a large change before, however for the last hour or so, everything was silent. This very silence worried Kosok greatly.

He didn't have great feelings for Arnin, however he didn't find him to be annoying either. In fact, he found the latter to be interesting, and even wanted to ask him some questions. Some were related to the elemental seed that Arnin was able to produce, while the others were related to the reaction Spiras had towards their duel.

He wasn't able to understand the reason, however a gut feeling told him that Arnin knew something.

Kosok had liked Spiras since the day he saw her, however since she was a teacher and he was a student, a romantic relationship was considered inappropriate. Because he didn't want to ruin his beloved teacher's reputation, he never said much, but he always felt that Spiras might not hate him either. At least he hoped that she felt something more for him than just the feeling a teacher would have for a student.

Yet, when he was dueling Arnin, she never tried to help him. He knew that Arnin's attack would hurt him greatly, and also knew that Spiras was aware of this fact, but her not doing anything other than speaking once really hurt him.

It was alright if she didn't like him, but to just stand and watch him get hurt was a blow to him. This was the reason he was waiting for Arnin. He wanted to know why something like that happened. He felt that there must be a hidden reason that he didn't know about. Plus, he was hoping that there was a hidden meaning, so then he would be able to feel less hurt, albeit slightly.

'What the heck is taking him so long. It's already morning and people have headed to class. This is taking way too long. Is he even cultivating in there?' Thinking about this, Kosok decided to go to the tenth-floor information desk and find out what was happening.

Kosok quickly headed towards the information desk and found that Spiras had been replaced by another teacher. This time, it was a man who looked around the age of thirty. He had long hazel hair and white eyes. These eyes of his looked extremely weird as there was no pupil visible, but people around the same status as Kosok knew that the teacher in front of him had this condition because of a certain cultivation manual he used. It was simply a side effect of it.

"Teacher Drem, how are you?" Kosok quickly asked. The teacher in front of him, although he looked young, was extremely strong, even among the Moth teacher group. Plus, he was considered a huge talent during his own generation. This alone was enough for him to receive great respect.

Drem turned his head and looked at Kosok with his eerie eyes. For some unknown reason, Kosok felt a chill run down his back, and couldn't help but feel himself become extremely pale. Not only that, but he felt somewhat nauseous.

"So, it is student Kosok. What can I do for you?" Drem smiled towards Kosok who felt everything turn back to normal. The latter couldn't help but shudder when he remembered his previous state, however he kept a smile on the surface in order to hide his horror.

He quickly walked closer, clasped his hands towards Drem, and slightly bowed. The other man nodded his head, waiting for Kosok to speak. "Teacher, I was wondering if you can look into a specific room for me. I want to know whether the person is cultivating or not. If he is not, then I would like to enter the room." Kosok spoke with a smile.

The teacher lifted his eyebrow, but he still nodded his head. "Alright, please tell me which room you wish to look into." This was basic information that one was permitted to ask for. They were allowed to know whether the person was cultivating or not. Of course, there wasn't a way to see what the person was cultivating and how, unless they were inside.

"The room is in that corner and is the Life and Death field essence room." Koskok explained. Drem nodded his head and began to look through a booklet for the room. He found it and passed the book towards Kosok.

"As you can see, the person inside is not cultivating, however the room is not free for dueling. This means that the person inside is either asleep, resting, or injured." Drem spoke with a monotone voice.

No one knew how, but the rooms in the essence tower were able to determine what condition the person was in, however, there were only three different conditions that could truly occur. The first was the cultivating state, where entry was not allowed no matter what. If someone did enter at this time, then the rule breaker would be punished.

The second condition was when one was done cultivating and would be able to leave at any time. This would allow anyone to enter in order to duel.

The last condition was similar to the second, however it was a little special. This would be when the person was exhausted from cultivation and would need some rest before continuing, or if they were injured and were unable to continue for a while. During this moment, one could enter the room, however dueling was prohibited. This was only to check on the person inside, in order to make sure that they were still breathing.

The third condition was fairly normal in the Tower. People would often feel tired, or get injured quite a bit, so many would not enter the room even if this condition was listed.

"Injured? Teacher, do you think that the person inside might be injured?" Kosok didn't really care much for Arnin's health, and he just wanted some information from Arnin. If the latter was injured and in no condition to speak, then that would be detrimental towards his cause.

Drem rubbed his chin and pondered slightly. "I am not quite sure. As you should know, the rooms only tell us these three conditions. It is impossible to know what is really happening inside without actually entering the room." He spoke while shaking his head. "Why are you so worried? Is the person inside someone you know?"

"Yes, Teacher. It is a friend of mine. He has been inside the room since last night and I couldn't feel any changes from the room for the past hour. I am just worried that he might be injured." Kosok sighed a little.

"Well, since it is the third condition, we are allowed to go inside and check what is going on. Let me lead you in." Kosok's eyes brightened. This was exactly what he wanted.

"Thank you, Teacher." Kosok bowed again, while Drem gestured him to stop with a smile.

Soon they arrived beside the room, however something completely out of Kosok's expectations occurred. Drem, who was previously smiling, now had a grave face. Sweat appeared on his forehead as he looked extremely alert now. "Teacher?"

"Kosok, let me ask you a question. Who is the person inside? Tell me everything you know about him!" Seeing the grave expression on Drem's face, Kosok couldn't help but feel somewhat shocked and confused.

"Well, from what I know, his name is Arnin. When I dueled him, he was at Orb Birth - Heaven, however his age only seemed to be around five or six. This is already quite incredible, but that isn't all…" Kosok recounted all the things he knew about Arnin

Drem, who was listening intently, couldn't help but widen his eyes when he heard the different things about Arnin. He had never heard of such talent, and never even imagined it either. It was just too high. Almost all five and even six-year olds would be an Orb Birth - Earth, and even in rare cases, the highest one would at the peak of Orb Birth - Sky.

"What else is there?" Drem still couldn't believe what he was hearing, however his face became even more grave.

"Arnin, although only in Orb Birth - Heaven and extremely young, was able to create an elemental seed. Not only that, but the power of his seed was so strong that I was unable to do a single thing against it." Kosok spoke about Arnin's Flames of Neutrality with fear and awe. Those flames were just too strong and magnificent.

Drem almost tripped over himself. Everything he heard about Arnin already was unbelievable, however there something even more ridiculous? Elemental seed at Orb Birth - Heaven? And to add on to that, it was even stronger than the seed of an Elemental Formation - Sky realm cultivator? What the heck!

"Kosok, are you sure that you aren't making all of this up? This should not be possible, not even in the other four, or even the central section of the human continent. This talent, it is just too…" He didn't finish what he was saying, but Kosok already understood the latter's words. He felt shocked but understood him as well. Although it still might be possible for someone to find another person that achieved the same realm as Arnin at such a young age, it was impossible to find someone that could form an elemental seed at such a low realm. Plus, that seed was stronger than an Elemental Formation realm's cultivator.

"Teacher Drem, every word I spoke was the absolute truth. Even Teacher Spiras was there to witness all of this." Kosok spoke with great seriousness.

All of this shocked Drem greatly. He had very high talent as a kid and could be considered one of the stronger Moth teachers, however even during his time, Arnin would be considered a monstrous, or a demonlike talent.

People would have said that he was blessed by the heavens, or even descended from them. Such talent was just too amazing. Yet, all of this did not excite Drem, rather it caused his face to become extremely ugly.

"Kosok, if everything you said is true, then something major might have happened inside the room." Before Kosok could even ask anything, Drem quickly did a series of knocks, before rushing into the room.

Kosok followed, however when he entered the room, the sight frightened him.

The two sides which were evenly cut into life and death fields were not in any good state. The essence in the room was in great turmoil with grass growing and dying at the same time. Plus, craters were everywhere, and one could even see a small bit of multicolored flames burning away grass. In the middle of all the chaos was a bloody body.

The whole body was a mess. There were lacerations and burn marks all over it. The body was drenched, as if the person had been swimming in a pool of blood. One could even see small bits of of internal organs lying around his mouth, it was as if the person coughed out pieces of flesh. The sight was gruesome.

Kosok almost barfed at the sight, even with his high tolerance towards gore. Even Drem had a serious face. Both of them would have thought that Arnin was dead, if not for the slight rising and falling of his chest.

"T-Teacher, what happened!" Kosok couldn't help but ask while his face was ghastly pale. Right now, he had genuine worry for Arnin. The former was considered a very nice person who loved to see talents and newcomers rise. He was a person who many juniors adored because of his humility and kindness. Although he did just want to use Arnin for his own purposes before, right now, he truly wanted Arnin to stay alive.

"I don't know; however, I need to report this to someone higher. They might know what is happening. You go and get a medical team here as quickly as possible. Go!" Drem was also considered a good teacher who looked out for the students. Although he would allow injuries and ruthless tempering of the students, he didn't feel that they should die because of the tempering. The academy had a limit, and that was killing. Unnecessary deaths were things that the academy would not allow.

Kosok nodded his head as he quickly rushed out the room. As soon as he left, Drem also began to rush out, however he bumped into a familiar face.

"Teacher Xillar!" Xillar was older and more experienced than Drem. Plus, the latter looked up to Xillar slightly because of his passionate pursuit towards mark making, even though everyone knew that he was unable to achieve the step to become a Mark Master.

"What happened?" Xillar had a serious face when he saw the panicked Drem.

"Teacher Xillar, please come and look at this child. I found him extremely injured in this place, and it looks like he is about to die if he does not receive help." Drem spoke seriously.

Xillar quickly went into the room. He had been following Arnin for a while, and also felt that something was up. However, once he saw the condition of the boy, he couldn't help but feel as though he was electrocuted. Arnin's condition was extremely severe.

"W-what happened?!" Xillar couldn't help but raise his voice slightly. For some reason, he felt a slight pain seeing Arnin in such a condition. Although he knew that Arnin was meant to die, he still felt somewhat hurt seeing him like that.

The first time he saw Arnin, he wanted the child to do what he himself couldn't. He wanted Arnin to become a Mark Master and achieve his dream for him, but soon he was told to follow Arnin and watch him.

Although Arnin was excessive at times and he even found the boy to be somewhat frightening and evil, there was still a bit of pride that he had. He had discovered Arnin's talent in mark making, and even considered himself Arnin's mentor, whether the latter accepted it or not.

After the principal decided that Arnin should be killed, he felt like his heart had been cut into pieces. He had been watching Arnin ever since the latter entered the academy. Although he knew that Arnin was not going to be loyal to the academy, he never felt the latter to be a threat. He saw Arnin intently focus on his training, and even though Arnin did horrible things to Torne, Kurse, and some of the other students, he didn't truly mind such actions.

The real world was much more dangerous and wicked, if Arnin was already such a genius and possessed such ruthlessness, one could say that he was mentally ready for the real world.

"I don't know, he was like this when I came. A student told me that he was most likely in this state for at least an hour." Drem had serious look on his face. Although he was also extremely anxious, his reaction was more normal, while Xillar seemed to be a little more emotional.

"Teacher Drem, go and find me the medical staff. Get me a physician right away. It would be best if you could bring Teacher Zilu." Drem was shocked, however he just nodded his head.

After he left, Xillar couldn't help but sigh emotionally as he walked closer to the dying Arnin.

"W-what did you do? What were you doing in order to become like this?" Xillar couldn't help but whisper. He suddenly felt extremely confused. He had always liked Arnin, and considered the latter to be like a disciple, however he never tried to stop the principal from trying to kill him.

'Maybe the reason I helped you when you were in trouble was to make sure you weren't going to become an enemy.' Xillar was extremely confused. He couldn't understand his own feelings. He truly never wanted Arnin to become the enemy since they would be on opposite ends. His mission was just to observe him from afar, however he rushed to the scene to save Arnin many times, which made no sense to him either.

"Xillar!" Suddenly, a voice came from the entrance. The latter looked up with somewhat dull eyes. "Is he dead? Wait… no, he isn't." The person who came in was none other than Kelnorin.

"Teacher Kelnorin." Xillar's face went slightly pale. He felt somewhat worried, and even a little anxious now. He didn't know why, but he just didn't want Arnin to die.

"Since no one else is here, let us complete our mission and finish this kid off." Kelnorin's face was ruthless when he spoke, however every word that came out of his mouth caused Xillar's fist to clench tighter and tighter.

Kelnorin began to walk forward as a spiritual blade similar to Arnin's saber appeared in his hand. Right when he appeared next to Arnin, Xillar's face became ghastly pale.

"WAIT!"