Genuine Fear

"They look like one of us on the outside." Master Zhang said as he stepped forward, as well. "But Wuying, here, will find the one with a different soul within them."

Mingyu and Jiang Yichen exchanged uneasy glances at each other, but they could do nothing, other than to stay rooted the the ground where they stood.

"Close all doors!" Lin Xiaoyan ordered.

"Yes my lord!" A set of mages responded in unison before doing as told, shutting all doors and escape routes in the Training center.

"Whoever tries to leave this building will be considered a spy and killed on the spot." Lin Xiaoyan threatened in a menacing tone, before he then turned to face Yan Ruyi, giving way for her to move towards the Raven statue "You may begin."

The large hall was bathed in silence as the people watched Yan Ruyi begin to move her hands above the statue, her palms emitting a subtle magenta glow.

She muttered a spell under her breath, and before everyone's eyes, something akin to a black mist began sipping out of the statue, increasing in mass by the second.

Once the mist was of a considerable amount, the mist gathered together and ascended, taking the form of a bird—a raven, to be precise.

The raven began to fly around the large hall, cackling loudly as it scanned the room with it's viciously red eyes.

Mingyu could feel a cold sweat run down his back, as his eyes followed the raven, praying in his heart, to the heavens and whichever gods that existed, for the raven to somehow not be able to detect him.

But to his dismay, it seemed the heavens had turned their backs on him. The raven's eyes landed in his direction, and the cackling sounds it was making, became much louder and bone-chilling.

With a subtle thud, the raven descended to the ground, causing the people to let out shocked and fearful gasps, moving away, as far as they could get from the terrifying bird.

The raven began taking slow steps, and everyone's eyes followed the direction which the raven was heading. 

It was where the three famous young masters were standing.

"Jiang Yichen. You must feign ignorance if I get caught, understand?" Mingyu whispered behind Jiang Yichen with a straight face, moving backwards to give some distance between himself and the three young masters.

Jiang Yichen's head turned, giving Mingyu a side eye. "What's with the sudden show of loyalty?" He asked, not being able to fully express his amusement due to the severity of the situation at hand.

"It's my duty." Mingyu simply said.

Jiang Yichen glanced back at the raven, which continued to take slow steps towards them, and without hesitation, he moved backwards as well, standing in a protective stance in front of Mingyu, while also holding his hand.

Mingyu retracted his hand, staring hard at Jiang Yichen's head, which was obstructing his view of the bird. "I don't want to become a laughing stock, once they find out that I sought refuge in the home of a member of Jinxing."

"Can you just shut up and stay put?" Jiang Yichen clicked his tongue in annoyance. They were in a serious situation, which could end up with Mingyu meeting his death, and all Mingyu could think about, was his damn reputation? 

"No one here will let that thing attack me." Jiang Yichen added.

The raven suddenly halted it's steps and began flapping it's wings instead. It flew up again, and with a loud cackle, it moved like a trajectory, towards Jiang Yichen.

On noticing this, Feng Zhenyu and Lin Xiaowei were quick to unsheathe their swords, immediately standing in front of their friend, to fend off the raven.

But to their surprise, the raven moved past them, and went straight for a young man who was standing at a little distance behind them.

The man quickly sidestepped the raven, and with the use of a sword, he slashed it, making the Raven disperse into a black mist, until it totally disappeared.

"He's a Transmigrator. Get him!" Lin Xiaoyan yelled, and his order was met with an immediate action from the skilled mages in the crowd.

They took out their swords and ran towards the Transmigrator, who also ran in a flash towards the exit of the Training center, bursting it open with a spell.

Mingyu and Jiang Yichen could only stand there, staring at each other in shock, not at all expecting the turn of events.

Recovering from their shock, they also ran out, joining the others to watch how things were going to play out.

The Transmigrator was already surrounded by a few Mages, and his skin had taken on a dark-bluish color, while his eyes shone red.

"Wuying has triggered his madness. Be careful!" Master Zhang spoke in worry of the mages that took it upon themselves to deal with the Transmigrator.

The Mages closed in on the Transmigrator, attacking without hesitation. 

The Transmigrator easily deflected their attacks with his sword, and when they least expected, he performed a spell trick which sent them flying a few meters away from him.

His eyes the focused on one of the Mages on the ground, and he leapt up from the ground, raising his sword above his head, intended to stab it into the Mage's chest.

But before he could land a hit, a burst of energy shot through the air, in his direction, hitting him mid-air, and brutally sending him crashing down to the hard ground.

When the Transmigrator eventually rose up to his feet, he saw the person that had sent the attack, standing not far from him, waiting for him to rise.

Feng Zhenyu flexed his twin blades, waiting for the Transmigrator to attack first… and he did.

The Transmigrator in his berserk state, charged towards Feng Zhenyu with his sword. Feng Zhenyu countered his attack with one of his swords, and then slashed his arm with the other.

The Transmigrator skidded back with a hiss, and before he could recover, Feng Zhenyu rose to the air, delivering a double kick, aimed at the Transmigrator's chest, making him fall to the ground once more.

This time, Feng Zhenyu didn't bother waiting for him to get up. He fueled one of his swords with his spiritual power, and without hesitation, he buried it in the Transmigrator's chest, twisting it, before pulling it back out.

Blue blood splattered out of the Transmigrator's mouth, and he laid lifeless on the ground.

But that wasn't all… his body suddenly began to make a loud sizzling sound, and his body slowly turned to rigid ice, akin to an ice-sculpture.

Gasps of surprise filled the air, at the sight of the Transmigrator who had been reduced to nothing more than a lifeless ice sculpture.

"I heard that Transmigrators who went berserk in the past, ended up getting crystallized when killed." Lin Xiaowei muttered in shock, "I guess it was true."

Jiang Yichen was standing beside Lin Xiaowei, so he heard what Lin Xiaowei said, causing him to look back at Mingyu, and what he saw, shocked him to his core.

He saw that Mingyu's eyes were fixed on the Transmigrator's icy form, and for the first time since he met Mingyu, he saw genuine fear being reflected in the other's eyes.