Volume One: In the Prime of Youth Chapter Fourteen: Dark Compatibility

The two of them arrived at a wide, open space. Standing at a distance from each other, Ke Zhen spoke with cheerful frankness, “You go ahead and attack first!”

Huo Ye curled his lips slightly. “Very well, but watch yourself.” With that, he took a deep breath, placing both hands on the hilt of his Demon-Slaying Blade, eyes tightly shut as if to block out his vision and instead sense every movement around him with his mind.

Ke Zhen, meanwhile, took a small silver flask from his storage box and drank a mouthful, appearing utterly unconcerned about when Huo Ye might strike.

No one knew when it happened, but suddenly, Huo Ye moved—his figure vanished.

Ke Zhen twisted aside, narrowly avoiding Huo Ye’s blade at the very last moment. The dark energy on the weapon’s edge transformed into a dragon's head that lunged toward the earth, dissipating into shadow the instant it touched the ground.

As the dragon head struck with a metallic clang, Ke Zhen let out a cold laugh, naming the technique: “Dragonbreaker Slash. Interesting.”

Huo Ye pressed forward, fierce and relentless. Though his first strike failed, he dropped low, crouching, then with a deft flick of his blade—Dragon Soars!

Ke Zhen dodged again, leaning back just enough so the blade missed his chin by half an inch—a near miss he treated with casual nonchalance. “Oh, you adapt quickly. But these are all basic moves from the textbooks, barely any real power to them. Don’t you have anything more advanced?”

“I do!” Huo Ye replied. Bracing himself, he stepped in, twisted his waist, and both blades swept out in a horizontal arc—Eddie Halls’ original technique: Thirteen Styles of the Blood Blade, First Form—Round Dance!

There are countless sword forms in the world, but they all boil down to a handful of actions: cleave, chop, slash, lift, stab, parry. Yet within these, myriad mysteries lie hidden—the flow of energy within the body, the angle of each strike, the transition between movements—all these transform the power of each technique.

Most supernatural arts are attribute-neutral—any ability user can employ them, though the results differ based on the user’s core element.

Huo Ye’s dark energy clung to his blades like ominous fog. Though the blades moved at blinding speed, it seemed as if time slowed around them. Ke Zhen, finally choosing not to dodge, withdrew his own weapon—a deep blue spear—from his storage box.

The spear caught both blades. The force behind them was astonishing, and Ke Zhen’s palm tingled from the impact. He laughed aloud. “Such strength!”

As Huo Ye pressed harder, he explained, “My unique ability: Subcellular Stem Cells. Every cell in my body contains at least two sub-cells, each a tenth the size of a normal cell. My muscle density is five times that of an ordinary ability user.”

He made no attempt to hide his power from Ke Zhen—after all, this man would be his future mentor. As Ke Zhen had said, only by fully understanding his student’s capabilities could he design an effective training regimen. Huo Ye’s task now was to display all his strength.

One of Huo Ye’s blades remained locked against the spear, but the other slid along its shaft, aiming for Ke Zhen’s abdomen. The longer weapon offered broader protection, but as the king of short weapons, the blade had its own nimble and unpredictable virtues.

Ke Zhen snorted, sweeping Huo Ye’s blade aside. The spear crashed to the ground, and immediately lightning burst forth, forcing Huo Ye back.

He righted himself in midair and landed steadily, thinking, “So your lightning is strong? Let me show you mine!”

The crackle of electricity was deafening. Black lightning surged in his chest, and as the gale howled, his coat whipped violently about him—a storm unleashed! This was the very technique Huo Ye had once used to grievously wound twenty calamities in just two seconds.

In the furious storm, Ke Zhen lost sight of Huo Ye, catching only fleeting afterimages in the flashes of lightning. His speed had doubled, at least. The thunderbolts sliced through space like invisible threads, impossible to track. Huo Ye circled Ke Zhen relentlessly, probing for an opening.

Ke Zhen deliberately exposed a weakness, inviting attack. Huo Ye obliged, both blades raised high as he struck downward. The energy on his swords shifted again—one blade icy, the other ablaze.

Ke Zhen’s strength was not to be underestimated. He had mainly defended so far, wishing to gauge Huo Ye’s abilities. Though the maneuver startled him, his expression remained unchanged as he lifted his spear to parry both blades.

The ice blade, upon striking, instantly froze the blade and spear together, while the fire blade sent sparks flying at the point of contact.

Yet both ice and fire were as black as ink.

But it wasn’t over. Huo Ye kicked out. Ke Zhen prepared to defend, but Huo Ye’s leg vanished midair. Before Ke Zhen could react, a powerful force struck his back—Huo Ye’s kick had landed behind him, sending him sprawling face-first in the dirt.

“What the hell—what are you?” Ke Zhen swore. “Humans are only supposed to have one elemental attribute! You started with darkness, then wind and lightning, now both ice and fire, and then you use a space cut to kick me from behind!”

Huo Ye paused his assault and explained, “This is my ability, awakened at age twelve—Darkness Compatibility. It’s based on an old theory from a long-dead scientist. The idea is that calamities possess multiple attributes, but darkness is their fundamental one—it’s inherent to every calamity. So perhaps darkness is a vessel for other elements, meaning a darkness-type ability user could awaken other elements as well. The theory’s been around for fifty years, but I’m the only one who’s ever truly awakened it.”

“You’re a freak—worse than your father ever was!” Ke Zhen cursed.

“I wouldn’t dare claim that. Really, I only caught you off guard. I can tell you’re much stronger than I am,” Huo Ye replied with a hint of pride. Then he asked, “So, do we continue?”

Ke Zhen scratched his head. “No, that’s enough. I have the gist of your abilities now; the rest I’ll observe in detail later. I’ll draft a training plan for you in the next couple of days—and see if I can poach you from the education committee. Those pretentious types probably have their eyes on you too. My advice: keep your Darkness Compatibility hidden. It’s a trump card, and it will serve you well in the future.”

Huo Ye sheathed his twin blades, replying, “I know that without you telling me. I’ve kept this ability under wraps for years, and I don’t use it lightly. I’ll be off now—see you at the start of term.”

Ke Zhen was about to say his farewells, but called out, “Wait, there’s one more thing I forgot. There’s an entrance exam at Bancroft, and it’s coming up soon. It’ll be a surprise test. I’m warning you again—keep that Darkness Compatibility hidden. Don’t blow your cover just for a test.”

“A surprise? How does an exam surprise anyone?” Huo Ye asked, puzzled.

“I can’t say—I’m a teacher, after all. I can’t leak the test content, can I? Off you go, and do your best. The higher your score, the more jealous the others will be when I steal you away. Just picturing it makes me happy,” Ke Zhen waved him off.

Huo Ye wondered if Ke Zhen had some private feud with the other teachers—why else would he be so eager to spite them?

Turning to leave again, Huo Ye was halted by Ke Zhen’s voice, “Wait, one more thing.”

Huo Ye gritted his teeth—couldn’t he just say everything at once? Every time I try to leave, it’s ‘wait, wait.’ Are you Intel with all your ‘ding-ding-ding’?

Unaware of Huo Ye’s irritation, Ke Zhen asked, “Darkness, wind, lightning, ice, fire, space—that’s only six abilities. What about your holy light?”

A look of distress crossed Huo Ye’s face. “That’s my sore spot. I’m a darkness user—my holy light ability is… abysmal. I’m too embarrassed to use it.”

Ke Zhen stroked his chin, musing, “So even this cycle of mutual restraint appears within Darkness Compatibility…?”

———

Meanwhile, outside Bancroft’s forcefield, a vast horde of calamities had encircled the academy. They came from various races and wielded different powers, yet shared a single goal: to wipe away this stain polluting their kingdom, to feast upon the ability users within, and savor their agonized screams.

To the south of Bancroft, a man stood with a wicked smile playing about his lips. He sneered, “Heh, with most of the hunting squads and the strongest students lured away, all that’s left are fledglings yet to leave the nest. Brothers, let’s offer the lord our finest tribute—devour to your heart’s content!”

At his command, calamities surged from all sides to attack the forcefield—an overwhelming, oppressive tide.

The man leading them was a calamity in human form—an ultimate form, unmistakably an S-class menace.