The Messenger of Death

It didn't take long for Al to reach the suite. After they stepped in, Al Laid Emma on a chair in the living room. And stood beside her.

"Will she be okay?" Drake asked.

"Yes, I could wake her up now. I was the one that knocked her out-" Al frowned.

He recalled that he heard something in him cracking when Emma hugged him. The last time that something cracked in him, it was his core that broke and that was because Alex foolishly absorbed energy from a green energy crystal.

Al quickly closed his eyes and proceeded to inspect his core. ['Nothing seems to be wrong with the outer part of my core.'] He then checked the inside.

When he did, the first thing that he saw was a crack. A crack on the barrier that he had to cross to make it to the second rank disaster realm. ['Wait, the energy that Emma was forcefully inserting into my body, it almost helped me breakthrough.'] Al revealed.

['What do you mean by that?'] Alex asked.

['The thing that cracked in us wasn't our core, but the barrier between the first rank and the second rank. Meaning that, if I had let her continue pouring QI into me, then we might have made a breakthrough to the next rank.'] Al elaborated.

['Woah.'] Alex uttered.

['The QI that she was pouring into me was as pure as the one from a green energy crystal, but it wasn't as savage as the one from an energy crystal. If we weren't in a dilemma, I would have been able to notice the difference.'] Al thought.

['Let me try and see if I'll be able to make a breakthrough.'] Al added.

"I'll be right back." He said and left for his room.

As soon as he stepped in, he sat in front of the door and folded his legs. He then proceeded to place his palms adjacent to his navel.

Al started to absorb the QI in his surroundings and used them to charge at the already cracked barrier in his core. He absorbed quite a lot in a very short time. When he felt like it was enough, he used the QI to charge at the barrier.

The QI that he had gathered collided with the barrier and it became a game of push and pull. The harder he charged at the barrier with the QI, the more QI that escapes from his body. When he pushed at the barrier, it pushed back with a force that was stronger than that of Al's. Because of that, QI was escaping from his body every time that the barrier pushed back.

"Ahh!" After a few minutes, Al wasn't able to keep on charging at the barrier anymore. Every QI that he gathered dispersed, including the one that was in his core initially.

Al was breathing heavily and sweating profusely. It almost felt like what he tried to do would be impossible to ever accomplish.

"What the hell?! There's already a crack on the barrier, but it didn't even budge when I tried to breakthrough…" He paused to catch his breath. Without any QI in his body now, it was a bit difficult for him not to fall asleep. He fell to the ground and laid there as he breathed heavily

-Fwoosh!

Al activated his bloodline ability and flames engulfed his body. This was the only way he could keep himself awake, with the assistant of the energy within his blood. The flames that engulfed his body evaporated the sweat on his cloth and skin.

Soon the fatigue that he was feeling started to subside.

"I think I shouldn't have knocked her out as quickly as you requested me to," Al muttered, referring to Alex. Alex was the one that urged him to knock her out.

['I never thought it would be this hard for us to make a breakthrough. Or is it because we don't know how to do this? I mean we only started cultivating some 3 months ago and we haven't been making breakthroughs the traditional way.'] Alex pointed out.

['That's true, we will make research later. Now, I need to replenish our lost QI.'] Al uttered as he sat down and started to cultivate.

***********

Just in front of the guest inn, many staff of the academy arrived there, including Argus. To many in the academy, Argus was the vice-principal, although officially they do not have a vice principal.

Officially, Argus is the right-hand man of the principal and whenever the principal was absent, he is the one that takes care of the academy.

"Mr. Argus, you are here." Vincent was the first person to greet Argus as soon as he arrived. He placed his hand in his palm and bowed.

Argus only nodded his head at him and went to greet Xiao En. "Young mistress, are you alright?" He asked. Argus wasn't scared of anyone listening in on his conversation with Xiao En, he knew that no one would dare to do that, and even if someone dared to do that, the steward was there to take care of that.

"I'm fine, and stop calling me that you old man." Xiao En replied.

"You only to come and greet me when there is an issue that I might have been involved with. The only reason that you are here, is because you heard that there was a commotion around the guest inn. If the commotion had taken place in another area, you wouldn't have moved from where you were." Xiao En complained.

"I am sorry young mistress, I didn't know that you wanted me to visit you." Argus apologized.

"I didn't want you to visit, Hmph, don't misinterpret my words… where did that old dog, grandfather of mine that always dodges me go to? Tell me, I will look for him on my own." Xiao En demanded.

A nervous smile crawled up Argus's lips after he heard that question. He couldn't tell Xiao En where the principal was, if not she will really go ahead and look for her grandfather.

"Young mistress, the principal has asked me not to tell you that if you asked. He said that you are not meant to leave your post here in the guest inn unless you agree to resume cultivating." Argus replied and turned to the steward.

"You know why she was placed here, please don't let her leave until she changes her mind." He said to the steward.

"Do not worry, her safety is my primary mission, and her staying here makes my job easier." The steward replied as he opened his eyes to look at Argus. Although he held back the effects that came along with him opening his eyes, Argus still felt uncomfortable under his gaze, but not as uncomfortable as he feels under Nana's glare.

"That's true. Thank you," Argus said.

'The young master really loves his daughter, sending someone this strong to watch over her while she's here. If only she knew that he loved her, she sees this place as a prison, and she's very hard to deal with, that's why I avoid her.' Argus thought to himself.

The steward turned and stared in a direction... "Another one arrives," And not long after he did that, Tsukishima appeared from that same direction that he had been staring at. He quickly made his way to where Xiao En was.

"Young Mistress," Tsukishima smiled as he greeted her. He was about to give her a bow.

"If your back, bends, I'll other him to break it for you and makes sure that remain like that for a few weeks. Hmph, none of you come to say hi to me, only when there's an issue." Xiao threatened as she complained.

Tsukishima chuckled. "Forgive me young mistress, but you are very hard to deal with, that's why me, Argus, and your grandfa-"

Argus cleared his throat, telling Tsukishima not to complete his statement.

"Finish what you were about to say, it's an order." Xiao En glared at him.

"That's we try not to disturb you with our presence." He changed the words that he initially planned on using.

Tsukishima was not one that knew how to speak nor did he know how to read the atmosphere sometimes, he could be described as someone that is partially dense.

After hearing what he said, Xiao En was starting to get furious. "You… you stupid man." She was about to turn and ask Argus where her grandfather was, but Argus had already started walking towards Vincent.

"Young mistress, I have to investigate what happened here so forgive me for not being able to accompany you for tea." Argus transmitted his words to her ears.

"You liar, using this as an excuse to avoid me, just wait till that old man gets back. I will strangle the two of you to death!!" She transmitted to Argus.

"Then I shall await your visit," Argus replied.

Xiao En turned and faced Tsukishima, he was standing in the same position, smiling at her. For some reasons that she knew nothing of, Tsukishima always smiled at her. She knows how he treats everyone else but he treats her differently.

Xiao didn't know much about why her parents sent people as insanely powerful as Tsukishima and the steward. All she knew was that, the steward was stronger than Tsukishima and that the steward was commanded by her mother to guard her while Tsukishima was ordered to guard her by her father.

"What are you still dong here Tsuki, scram!" She dismissed him. Hearing her call him Tsuki, made him feel nice. He had known Xiao En since the day that she was given birth to, and when she was young she used to call him big brother Tsuki.

Now that she was furious with him, she purposely left the big brother out to show her frustration at him.

"As you wish, princess." He was about to bow when he was stopped by her again.

"Don't think that I wouldn't ask him to break your back." She threatened again.

"My apologies princess."

"Don't call me princess you… you, you, cricket."

"Yes ma'am." Tsukishima settled with that as he chuckled. He started to make his way to where Argus and Vincent were. Although he wasn't concerned about what happened to other students, he wanted to know if there was a threat to the person that he was ordered to protect.

If not, he wouldn't care to investigate what happened here. That was the same reason why Argus was here…