Holy Orchid Institute

A few hours later Hao stood in his room and took in what would be his home for the foreseeable future, at least until he had found out all he wanted to peruse.

His room was nothing too special, being furnished with a bed, a desk, a closet and a small bathroom. The institute even had its own cafeteria, free of charge for all those enrolled.

After meeting with the headmaster of the holy Orchid institute and receiving both some clothes and his stipend from a servant Hao had been shown to his room without any further preamble. Directness he could most certainly appreciate. He never had much respect for ass kissing people anyway.

As it was approaching the evening already, Hao decided to head out of the building and find himself a nice and peaceful place where he could cultivate a little and relief some of the tension that had built up in his muscles.

After storing his things in his closet and putting on a simple grey shirt without sleeves under a white kimono and simple grey pants, Hao did exactly that.

Closing the door behind him, Hao headed down the corridor that housed a plethora of other rooms for those students that had arrived two days ago, who had had their first lessons today.

While passing by a few students that mingled with each other or where on their way to do whatever it is that they wanted to do in their free time, Hao was impressed at the architectural style the institute was built with.

To his eyes it seemed as though Glory City put a lot of effort into raising the next generation to keep Glory City alive. It was something Hao could respect, the dedication and will to keep going, no matter how dire the situation may seem.

Passing a group of giggling girls, Hao finally stepped outside into the warm and comfortable evening air.

A few minutes of walking Hao finally found himself a spot he liked and sat down to begin stretching his stiff muscles before he would begin with his cultivation.

Working his way up from his toes to his head, Hao didn't rush through the exercises but took his time, all the while marvelling at the scenery before him. The holy Orchid institute was surrounded by a lot of trees, green fields of grass that were from time to time interrupted by either a pond filled with sea roses or rivers, gurgling in happiness.

Nature's beauty always brought a smile to Hao's face, no matter where he was. After all, even the most miniscule plants possessed a spirit given to them by the great spirit and thus drenched everything on the planet's surface in thick life.

After his stretching exercises were completed and Hao felt comfortably warmed up he removed his shoes, kimono and shirt, now barefoot and in nothing but his grey pants, knowing that he would drench his clothes and taking them off so he would prevent him having to wash said clothes prematurely.

Taking in three quick and three long breaths, Hao found his middle ground and after a few centring breaths began to move. Quickly the world faded away, only his body and soul remaining, synchronized with each other as they moved as one under the light of the sinking sun like a man dancing with nature herself.

Twirling and twisting in motions learned millennia ago, Hao fought with and against himself like he had always done, the only real struggle he had ever really had had to fight through being his own demons. And even now, millennia after the boy Asaha Doji had killed for the first time and in the process slain his first friend Ohachiyo, gaining his Reishi as consequence, and from there on out embarked on the path of the shaman, and not long after founded the prominent Asakura family under the name and prestige of Onmyodo master Asakura Hao, Asaha Doji was still struggling with his inner demons. Like a curse he could not shake off.

But this time Hao had been shown his errors, after seeing his own flawed self reflected in the absolute truth that is the great spirit, and only a day ago been given the chance to become what he was always meant to be.

His arrogance, greed for more, his callousness, his hatred for the humans, all of these things Hao was now bitterly aware of and knew that, if he ever wanted to truly become a worthy king, he would have to accept those flaws of himself and let them go.

With another exhale, Hao slowed down his movements, his mind following his body soon after until only emptiness filled his very being.

Now standing, with the last rays of the sinking sun warming his glistening body, Hao smiled a true smile, happy with his situation and everything around him being serene.

Once his calm mind returned to the present again though his ears picked up whispering that grew in volume the more he focused on it until returned fully into the here and now, suddenly aware that he had gathered an audience of gawking children, watching him going through his form with an expertise only a master of the Onmyodo was capable of, which naturally attracted those that knew not what a long path they still had to go.

"Incredible…"

"Who the hell is that guy?!"

"He looks just as old as we are…"

"Do you think he is a member of the three major families?"

"He must be. How else could he move so proficiently?!"

"Do you think he has a girlfriend?"

Sighing in irritation, his peaceful moment broken apart, Hao gathered his clothes and began to walk back towards the dormitories. It didn't take him long until he reached his room and closed the door behind him, already contemplating ditching Glory City and returning into nature, no matter the knowledge his curious mind was craving, but he discarded that notion soon afterwards. He could endure this for a while longer until he had everything he wanted, after which nothing would hold him here any longer.

Thus, Hao put the matter to rest, took a nice long shower and afterwards slipped under the warm covers of his bed.

Tomorrow would be a long day, filled with the hunt for knowledge like he had been doing so in the old days, and with these thoughts filling his mind finally drifted into sleep.

"City lord Ye Zong! I did not expect you to come personally to my office, please sir, take a seat!" An old man with a short white beard said while standing behind his desk in an office filled with scrolls and books of various kinds, while motioning for Ye Zong to take a seat in the chair before his desk.

"Thank you vice-principal for your kindness. Is the principal still in seclusion? He has been gone for rather long already. It doesn't promise anything good at his age to be secluded for so long with any major progression in his cultivation…" Ye Zong said while grimacing slightly at potentially loosing another major force belonging to Glory City.

"Indeed, city lord. Though it saddens me to review this, the principal came to me before going into secluded meditation to inform me of an unwell feeling he's had. I believe that be a premonition his soul tried to communicate to his body in order to tell him that his time has finally come. If that is indeed the case we truly have lost a great man.

I have decided to wait another month before I will open his chamber to check on him. It is the least I can do, to give the man another chance." The vice-principal Ye Sheng said with a sad look on his face at most certainly loosing a companion he had had for such a long time now, no matter how unwilling he was to admit such a fact.

"I see. Do what you must Ye Sheng, I trust your judgement on the matter. You knew the principal better than any I know of so I will entrust this matter to you." Ye Zong spoke with a heavy tone while he kept his face blank, not betraying anything to the outside world.

"Thank you, city lord. Now, onto less serious matters. What exactly are you here for? Can I help you with anything academical perhaps?" Ye Sheng asked while his old passion once again brought some light into his formerly sad eyes when talking about academia.

"No, nothing of the sort. My visit pertains a young man that arrived here earlier today with a permission paper by me, named Hao. I would like for you to observe the boy from a distance if you could.

Though, I do not think he is a danger to Glory City and simply seeks knowledge, I have learned to be cautious of people I know little about." Ye Zong said while his fingers tipped on his armrests while he thought of the boy he had met earlier today.

"I see. I will do what I can, city lord. Is there anything I should be aware of though before I take on this task?" Ye Sheng asked the city lord who nodded, thankful for his attentive listener.

"Yes. Hao is, for a lack of a better word, an unknown with a soul force I have never witnessed before. Even lord Ye Mo's soul would be like a candle in the wind before his, of this I have no doubt. Do not, under any circumstances, antagonize the boy. He could turn out to be an enemy we could not afford to have.

On this matter, I know how children are, especially those born into privilege, so I would ask of you to defuse explosive situations before they can get out of hand. Would you do this for me?" Ye Zong asked, not surprised to see the gobsmacked look on Ye Sheng's face after hearing that not even lord Ye Mo, the only legend rank of Glory city, would be able to withstand Hao's soul force.

"Of course city lord, I will do what I can on the matter." Ye Sheng replied earnestly. After all the youths of Glory city were his responsibility to begin with to shield and educate them until they could defend themselves properly.

"Thank you, vice-principal. Now, onto a lighter topic. How is my daughter doing?" Ye Zong asked with a grin on his face only a father could sport when talking about his little girl.