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- Later That Night, The Principal's Office -

"It's this way..." I murmured to the four girls trailing behind me.

The five of us were currently in the school's Administrative Campus, heading to Song Qian Long's office as instructed earlier. Right now, it was 8:50 PM, so we would be arriving a little bit early than the designated time.

"You are awfully familiar with this place..." Feng Mian mused.

"Well...I've been here a number of times before," I replied awkwardly, scratching my cheeks. "C'mon, up the stairs."

Soon enough, the five of us arrived before the massive white doors with an elegant gold design inscribed on it. This was the entrance that led to the principal's private quarters.

"Wow...it's beautiful," Yu An Yan remarked in awe.

"No kidding..." Feng Mian agreed.

"Woah...hey, hey, Big Brother Xuan Kai, look! This is gold! Real gold!" Qing Yue hopped closer to the door and began observing it at point blank range.

Yu An Xue also was attracted by the beauty of the design, and traced her fingertips along the edges. I was pretty confused at their extravagant reactions-

Ahh...that's right. This was the first time the girls were coming here. It was natural they would be amazed by the magnificence of this place. I was when I first came here led by Tang Jia Yi too.

As that realization dawned on me, I knocked on the door.

"Come in," said the familiar old voice of my godfather.

I pushed open the doors and walked inside, the four girls following soon after. The last to enter, Yu An Xue, closed the door behind her as an act of courtesy.

"Welcome to my office, members of The Chaotic Tranquility," Song Qian Long said with a kind smile. He sat facing us, resting his chin on his hands.

Tch...still using that name? I swear, if it wasn't for the girls being here, I would've gave him a scolding right here and now for acting all formal and shit. However...I had to keep our relationship a secret, so there was nothing I could do right now. But I'll remember this, old geezer...

"U-Um, t-thank you for the hospitality!" Feng Mian responded nervously. I could see why; Song Qian Long, despite me knowing his real personality, was in fact the strongest mage in all of Shenzhen. At our level, talking to him was akin to talking to a god. Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration...perhaps it was just because of him being my godfather, but I wasn't nervous when talking to him at all.

"Ahaha, no need to be so nervous," Song Qian Long chuckled lightly to ease the atmosphere. "Now then, I know I have already said this earlier, but first and foremost, congratulations once again for winning the tournament."

"Thank you," the four girls said in unison. I was the only one that said, 'thanks'. The four girls then glared at me as if I was some disrespectful punk. Geez...is talking to that old man really that big of a deal? Why are you all acting so polite?!

"Well then, since the time is already quite late, I do not wish to waste any more of your precious time here talking," Song Qian Long continued, and finally got onto the main point of today's meeting. "First off, student Yu An Xue."

"...Y-Yes!" Yu An Xue yelped in surprise at being called on first.

"Your have three elemental affinities - Ice, Water, and Space, correct?"

"Um...yes..."

Song Qian Long smiled. "Good. My information was right then."

He then opened his desk drawer and took out a long, elegantly designed box.

"Take this," he said, pushing the box to the edge of his desk and beckoning Yu An Xue over.

"What...is this...?" Yu An Xue asked curiously.

"Open it and you'll find out."

Yu An Xue looked dubious, but complied nonetheless. A clack could be heard, and the box opened with ease. Upon seeing what was inside, her eyes widened to the size of tomatoes.

"T-This is...no way..." she murmured to herself. Since she was facing away from us and her body was blocking most of our view, the rest of us had no way to tell what it was. And so, seeing her shocked reaction, our interests were all piqued.

"What is it, An Xue?" Yu An Yan asked.

However, Yu An Xue ignored her question, and merely stared blankly at Song Qian Long. "P-Principal Song, is this...the r-real thing?"

"Of course, young lady," Song Qian Long replied with a warm smile.

Hearing this, Yu An Xue seemed to have conflicted feelings. "T-There's no way...I can accept such a reward...it's far too precious!"

"You earned it yourself," Song Qian Long said without a hint of deceit. "Trust me, you deserve this at the very least."

By this point, the rest of us couldn't contain our curiosity any longer. "Yu An Yan, what is it that got you so surprised? C'mon, tell us," I said.

Yu An Xue finally seemed to notice we still existed, and turned around to face us. Within her arms was the long box, and lying inside was a beautiful sky blue sword with its blade made of ice. It was emitting a cold aura, and I immediately could tell this wasn't just any ordinary sword, and not just by appearances either. It was definitely a Magic Artifact of some kind - and an exceptionally powerful one at that.

"Woah...it's so pretty," Qing Yue mused. The three girls apart from Yu An Xue had their eyes glued to the glamour of the sword, and were gazing at it in awe.

"This is...an Ice Element Magic Artifact," Yu An Xue explained.

So I was on the mark. "Huh...well, it appears to be a sword of some sorts, so I assume it's an offense-oriented artifact?"

"Yes...but it isn't just any sword..." Yu An Xue murmured quietly. So I was on the mark once again.

"I can feel a powerful aura emitting from this sword...but I've never heard of it before," Feng Mian pondered.

"That is...not surprising," Yu An Xue replied with a sigh. "This is one of the Six Divine Weapons...namely, the sword with control over water and ice - Frozen Fear."

...Now this, I wasn't on the mark. The Six Divine Weapons were ancient relics said to have been lost a long time ago, scattered around and sealed in various parts of the world due to their immense power. The story went like this...

Thousands of years ago, there was once a man named Zi Kang. He was an exceptional talent in everything he did - studies, sports, and of course, magic. It was said that he was born with 4 innate elements, and continued to awaken more from there. At the time of his death, he had a grand total of 16 Elements, as a Saint-Tier master.

Throughout his life, Zi Kang accomplished many great feats. One of them, and arguably the most famous, would later be known as the Collection of the Six Divine Weapons. It was said that Zi Kang was not only an expert in magic, but also in the forging of Magic Artifacts. And one day, using those polished skills and peerless talent of his, he created the most powerful artifact known to mankind at the time - one that contained the essence of six different elements, one that possessed the good qualities of six different types of weapons. This destructive artifact's name, however, was forever forgotten in the annals of history.

The reason for this was because of the numerous catastrophes this weapon brought about. It all started when Zi Kang first used this weapon in a fight. Although he had not wished to kill his enemy at the time, the weapon did it for him anyway. And from there on, slowly but surely, Zi Kang's mind was corrupted bit by bit. He slowly strayed from the righteous path of a mage, and turned to evil. The source of this was none other than the weapon, of course.

Eventually, all of the peak masters of the world at the time had to be gathered together to face Zi Kang and his acts of evil. Although he was brought down in the end, millions had already perished before this could be accomplished. The strange thing was, though its owner had already died, the cursed artifact remained unscathed. The remaining six masters who survived the battle all agreed destroying it would be for the best.

However, during the destruction process, they realized the artifact could not be fully destroyed, for whatever reason. Thus, they divided it into six parts instead, and each of the masters took one to guard with their life, all to prevent such a calamity from occuring once again. Somewhere along the lines of history, all information regarding the whereabouts of these six weapons were lost.

...Or so the story went. But if that was true...how was one of the Six Divine Weapons here right now? And according to the story, shouldn't it be cursed?

"By the way, if you kids are wondering about the legend regarding this weapon, worry not," Song Qian Long spoke up, as if reading my mind. "While it is true, when this weapon here was first uncovered after thousands of years, it was emitting a powerful malicious energy. However, with the technology and magic we have today, dispelling it was not too difficult. The weapon you are holding in your hands right now is nothing more than cold steel."

Yeah...an extremely powerful 'cold steel'.

I glanced at Song Qian Long suspiciously. "How did you get your hands on such an artifact in the first place?"

"...I'm afraid I cannot disclose the answer to that. However, rest easy. No problems will come your way regarding the weapon."

Hmph...acting all mysterious now? Well, whatever. As long as no trouble comes our way as a consequence of this...accepting this weapon should only bring advantages.

I turned to look at Yu An Xue, who was still eyeing the sword in her hands with awe. "Well, Yu An Xue? That sword is pretty compatible with you, considering your elemental affinities, right?"

"Yes..." she replied, placing the sword back in the box. "But...can I really accept such a precious...thing?"

I shrugged. "I don't see a problem with it. Besides, the principal said it himself, didn't he? No problems will be coming our way."

"That I did," Song Qian Long confirmed with a nod.

"Then....alright. I shall accept this weapon," Yu An Xue's gaze turned determined, and she shut the box tight. "Thank you...Principal Song."