After hearing about the potential benefits that they could earn through the academy, the gathered students were naturally very excited.

"As Class 1-S will remain empty until the first Elite Selection, barring certain exceptions, we will start with Class 1-A, the noble class. Can these students please step forward...Akamatsu Ken-"

One by one, the students called out left the crowd of their peers, most of them bearing a relatively smug look on their faces. Although this class of theirs seemed to be forced into being, they were happy with the situation. After all, their classmates would have the same status as them and could thus be considered their equals.

"...and lastly, Kousen Nanase. Class 1-A, your class will be taught by Teacher Midorima. Now for Class 1-B..."

Dean Kaminaga gestured towards the green-haired man who raised his one hand half-heartedly. The faces of most of the students of the newly-formed Class 1-A turned ugly at this. They were nobility! Their families were prestigious existences known for the strength of their bloodlines and the wealth at their disposal, yet their teacher was to be this sloppy-looking man. This was unacceptable! As if reading their minds, when one of them was about to raise his hand to query this, an icy killing intent washed over the group as the severe glare of Teacher Kurokawa landed on them. With her presence looming over them, the sorting continued without incident.

"...lastly, Suzuki Kira."

Kira, who was listening attentively, walked confidently to the front, joining the group standing in front of the stage, eager to find out who her teacher would be.

"Class 1-C, you will be taught by Teacher Kurokawa."

Kira took a breath. She wasn't sure how to react. This stern-looking teacher was definitely a formidable existence. Her killing intent alone was something she hadn't felt even from her Uncle Tetsuya when his anger was at its peak. As to her teaching ability, that remained to be seen. However, if Kira was being honest, she would have preferred to be taught by Teacher Hanami or Teacher Yama.

At that moment, both those teachers were looking towards Kira apologetically.

'Sorry, but this is another trial that you have to endure.'

When the sorting of the last class, Class 1-D, was done, Dean Kaminaga gave his last words to them.

"Each of you will start off with 100 prestige points. While this number may seem like a lot, you will soon realise the true value of these points. Best of luck and work hard!"

Without further ceremony, each teacher led his- or her class from the Hall as Dean Kaminaga waved them off, his smiling expression restored. He knew full well the type of challenges these children would have to face and could only wish for their innate potential to shine through.

As Kira followed the rest of her classmates, an intangible pressure interrupted her thoughts. When she looked up ahead, all she saw was the slim back of Teacher Kurokawa, her blond hair shining in the morning sun. But why was it so cold?

Soon, Kira realised that the distance between Teacher Kurokawa and the rest of the class was growing larger and larger. Immediately she picked up her pace and strived to stay as close to her teacher as possible. With every step closer she got, the pressure increased even further.

‘It’s not impossible for this to be some kind of test but…how many of us have actually realised it? I mean, we haven’t even had our first class yet.’

Taking a look around her, the nearest classmate was actually the tanned girl who was her roommate. She was about a metre behind Kira dressed in the same green uniform as the rest of them, looking very uncomfortable in it, while clenching her teeth and letting out an audible, low growl. It seemed that she felt the same pressure and was refusing to let it get the better of her.

When they eventually arrived at their classroom, conveniently labelled 1-C according to the board above the entrance, Kira was already sweating while focusing on calming her turbulent Twin Energies. However, instead of proceeding inside, Teacher Kurokawa turned around abruptly.

“Halt!”

Everyone froze right where they were standing, partly because no one dared to incur the wrath of this teacher and partly due to the thin layer of frost freezing their feet to the ground.

“Some of you really are pathetic. The seven of you at the back, put your numbered tiles on the ground and leave. If you can’t withstand this little bit of pressure, you don’t deserve to be here.”

The seven in question looked at each other with incredulous faces. Clearly they hadn’t expected to be tested within the first few minutes and had chosen spots at the back which were the most comfortable and didn’t experience any of Teacher Kurokawa’s pressure at all.

“Please, Teacher Kurokawa, allow us to have another chance. We hadn’t expected to be tested already, otherwise we would have done our utmost to pass it.”

One particularly eloquent speaker gathered his courage and spoke up with what seemed to be a very reasonable argument. However…

“Tell me, when you’re risking your life, do you think your enemy is going to give you another opportunity to kill him?”

Everyone’s gazes were locked on to Teacher Kurokawa at this point. Of course, what she said was true but…

“If you betray your lover, do you think they will give you another chance? If you break a friend’s trust, do you think they will ever truly trust you again? Life isn’t fair, nor is it generous. It is your responsibility not to mess up the first time. Looking for the easy way out is not the attitude anyone who became truly strong had. Now get out of my sight.”

The seven lowered their heads and left their tiles on the ground before turning around and leaving in complete silence, their feet having been defrosted along with everyone else’s.

“Now then, those of you that are left, whether through keen awareness or luck, you’ve proven that you at least have earned the right to enter my classroom. Whether you can stay in it, or in this Academy, will depend on you. Now enter in single file and fill the rows in that order. Do not attempt to conceal your true position, I’ve already memorised it.”

Teacher Kurokawa declared before entering the classroom herself.

Kira, who was at the front, looked in through the doorway. Before her was a classroom that was far different to what she’d expected. Instead of desks and chairs, the entire décor of the room was extremely similar to that of a dojo. After bowing and removing her shoes, she took her place on the far right of the room nearest to the front, sitting in seiza with the entrance behind her.

Teacher Kurokawa smiled secretly as she saw this.

‘Good, at least the top student of this class for now knows proper manners.’

However, her frostiness returned the next moment as the very next student to enter carelessly walked across the room before sitting cross-legged next to Kira.

While all the students of the Bladeworks Academy were extremely skilled with their respective weapons, that didn’t necessarily mean that they were familiar with the etiquette related to a dojo.

“Second girl, come over here.”

Teacher Kurokawa’s icy aura began to permeate the room. The tanned roommate of Kira’s couldn’t help but shiver.

“All of you, pay close attention. I don’t know where each of you came from and I don't care but there are ways that things are done, manners and customs that need to be followed, such as how to enter a dojo-like space. First girl, what is your name?”

“Suzuki Kira, Teacher.”

“Kira, please demonstrate again how to properly enter a dojo.”

Kira obliged, fully aware that all eyes were on her, thinking that this was a waste of time and was eager to begin the lesson. After everyone had entered correctly and was seated, a brave soul raised his hand.

“Yes?”

“Teacher, what is the point of entering a dojo like that?”

The temperature of classroom dropped another few degrees. Teacher Kurokawa then took a breath and the temperature rose again.

“It seems that you all really are ignorant. But I suppose that’s to be expected considering your backgrounds. Respect, discipline and acknowledgement of our ancestors, that’s why we follow these rituals. The first two are self-explanatory but the third one may not be. By ancestors, I don’t mean your blood lineage, rather I’m referring to the ancestry of your martial abilities. The techniques you’ve learned from your teachers were learned from their teachers and so on. The foundations of most fighting styles were figured out long ago. It is only that certain martial arts schools chose to focus on certain aspects but we all have ancestors who were genius enough to create the techniques that we use today.”

A hand was raised into the air at this point.

“Teacher, are you referring to the Original Skill Creators?”

Teacher Kurokawa blinked twice as she looked at the one who had asked the question. Naturally, it was Kira. As someone who’d learned under Tetsuya for some time, she’d learned some history about the origins of Weapon Skills.

“It seems one of us isn’t as ignorant as the rest. Those who developed actual weapon techniques were indeed important as the base of how we fought originally, but they were completely overshadowed by the Original Skill Creators. The teachings of those who developed weapon techniques are only relevant to cultivators at Core rank and below at best. The Original Skill Creators were the true geniuses. They understood the Twin Energies and Soul Paths in ways that we cannot begin to understand today. It could be said that they possessed the knowledge and power required to shape the universe itself through their bodies.”

“Then why is Skill Creation considered a lost art?”

“Some say it is because the Skill Creators became corrupted by their power and didn’t want others to learn their secrets. Others say that they kept the knowledge hidden because it would be too dangerous in the wrong hands. Whatever the truth is, scrolls on the subject are extremely rare and may not even contain the correct information, truly making it a lost art.”

“Teacher, am I correct in thinking that, surely, with its influence and resources, our Academy has some of these scrolls?”

The voice that spoke up this time wasn’t Kira. Rather, it came from somewhere in the middle of the seated students, from a frail-looking, bespectacled boy with short, dark-blue hair. His voice was clear, every syllable well-enunciated and was spoken in a moderate yet authoritative tone. To the ears of these commoner students, this was the speech pattern of a noble!

“Whether or not the Academy has any of these scrolls is none of my business. However, if we were to have any, then they would be located in the Elite Class Library and would require prestige points simply to read them.”

For someone who apparently didn’t know whether the scrolls existed, Teacher Kurokawa gave a surprising amount of information.

‘Such an obvious incentive to get us to aim for the Elite Class. I wonder what other benefits there are.’

"Thank you, teacher."

The bespectacled boy relied politely.

"Boy, what's your name?"

"Mizuno Kiyoshi, Teacher."

"A good name, you may sit at the end of the front row. Being able to identify the right questions and have the courage to ask them is also a form of strength."

"Teacher, I am undeserving. My talent is ordinary. I am simply a seeker of knowledge."

"Nonsense. If I cannot see the potential in my own students, I've failed as a teacher."

Kira blinked.

'What about those seven you just got rid of? Surely some of them had greater potential than others here.'

However, she kept her mouth shut. Despite her current position as first in class, she believed that Teacher Kurokawa would still expel her in a heartbeat.

"Alright, enough explaining about pointless things. For me to fulfil my role as your teacher, I need to know more about you. I didn't bother to read up anything on any of you. I believe that seeing is believing."

A soft blue light shone from her earring and small scroll appeared in her hand.

"You'll be going up in pairs based on your current position and you'll fight each other right here, each putting seventy-five prestige points on the line. Afterwards, you'll present your names and weapon specialities for me to write down. Let's begin. Suzuki Kira and the second girl."

Jaws dropped when Teacher Kurokawa mentioned the number of points they would be betting. While this was clearly an incentive to take the fight seriously, this was three-quarters of their total points right now! As they were still new to the academy, who knew how easy it would be to lose those last twenty-five points? No, would they even last through this morning’s class?

"Teacher, are there any training weapons here for us to spar with?"

Teacher Kurokawa glared at the offender who shrank back instinctively under her frosty glare.

'So basically, along with whatever injuries we receive, whoever loses risks getting expelled within the first week, no, maybe even the first day, depending on how easy it is to gain and lose these prestige points. Also, with how the pairs are being selected, these matches are probably going to be close.'

Kira thought as she rose and walked to the empty centre of the room together with the other girl before turning around to face her. Her tanned roommate was clearly from a poor background, as were most of them, and kept her shortsword and peculiar baton on her waist, held in place by her uniform's specially-designed belt. Meanwhile, Kira had the luxury of using a Storage Crystal.

Kira fisted her palm as she bowed towards her opponent, showing her usual courtesy. As her eyes dropped, her senses screamed a warning and she hurriedly pushed herself backward, bringing out her twin-dragon katana from her Storage Crystal and drawing it in one smooth motion.

CLANG!

The sound of metal on metal rang out as Kira raised her head, her eyes filling with disdain.

'Doesn't this girl have any respect?'

Her katana collided with the tanned girl's strange baton, which ran along her arm, but neither of them appeared to be able to overpower the other.

A flash of silver in the corner of her eye forced Kira to break the deadlock, pushing back to create some distance while sliding her sheath into her belt, just as a sweeping blade was about to cut open her gut. The air whistled as the blade of the tanned girl's shortsword passed her.

'Her movements are overdone but there's a surprising amount of power behind them. Is she actually fighting seriously?'

Kira couldn't help but wonder as she took a breath. The other girl, however, didn't leave it at that and continued to press her assault. Kira, remaining calm, carefully received her blows, minimising her use of energy as she tried to figure out her opponent.

"Stop moving around so much, dammit."

The tanned girl's eyes were slowly reddening and her movements became wilder with every unsuccessful attack. Despite this, Kira couldn't find any obvious openings, or rather, every opening she found would lead to them both taking a serious blow.

'Is this girl insane? This style of self-sacrifice is just too reckless. I'm amazed she's lived this long.'

Kira was no stranger to self-sacrificial attacks, having used one herself to secure her revenge against the one responsible for the destruction of her Takanashi clan. This situation was different, though. This was a simple class sparring match but every attack of this tanned girl was as if she was putting her life on the line!

"I said...stop MOVING!"

The tanned girl's voice rose a pitch and the fury in her tone was obvious. It was then that Kira finally obliged, taking up a stance with her katana held across her body to parry the incoming attack. Her pupils flashed gold for an instant.

'Rejection.'

When the tanned girl's shortsword made contact, she was immediately blasted off her feet and sent tumbling away a few metres. However, she recovered quickly, using the momentum to instantly rise to her feet again before letting out an almost feral roar.

"RAAAARGH!"

With that roar came surge of aura that briefly stunned Kira and actually caused her blood to run cold for a moment. She no longer felt as if she were facing a human, but rather a Soul Beast that was looming over her. The wild girl herself began to show changes as well. Surrounding her arms were luminous glows that began to fill the room. Around her right arm, which held the strange baton, were droplets of red that let off an eerie light, while around her left arm, which held the shortsword, were wisps of blue that danced merrily through the air.

'Why would she go this far and, more importantly, what...is that Skill?'

Kira was dumbstruck by both the wild girl's auras and appearance but this didn’t stop her from functioning properly as a fighter. Her body was already cycling Quintessence as she moved forwards, slashing at the air.

'Wind Rending: Gale.'

The wild girl's eyes never left Kira as she ignored the high-speed energy blade heading straight towards her and leapt forwards.

"Hyah!"

With a yell, she swung out her right arm in swatting motion and, with a flash of red light, actually shattered the Wind Rending, to Kira's utter disbelief. As she neared Kira, her left arm lashed out from above, the shortsword fully extended with flickers of blue running along it. To Kira, it no longer seemed like a mere blade, but the razor-sharp talon of a beast, capable of slicing through steel.

Kira didn't freeze in spite of the impending danger or shock of having her Skill destroyed. Her years of combat experience wouldn't allow her to. Instead, her response was the one which had the greatest chance of saving her life. She raised her sheath above her with one hand, golden light flashing across her pupils.

'Takanashi Style: One Leaf Splits the Wind.'

A surge of power flowed through her arm and down the sheath, reinforcing them against the incoming attack. At the same time, she launched her own counterattack with her free hand, aiming exactly for the other girl's neck.

"That's enough."

A gust of freezing wind swept through the classroom, halting the two girls in their tracks. Make no mistake, neither of them had the time to stop their attacks. However, could the power of a teacher of the Bladeworks Academy really not be enough to stop a pair of Core-ranked students that were, at most, fourteen years old? Of course not.

Kira felt completely numb as if her limbs were frozen solid. Only her eyes were able to look around and observe the situation. She saw that her opponent was similarly frozen and the layers of frost on their bodies were at least half a centimetre thick.

"I must commend the both of you. Your enthusiasm isn't something I usually see in first-years. That said, you both made glaring mistakes. Second girl, I have no problems with how you fight and your style puts enormous pressure on your opponent, but you have no regard for your own life. Keep fighting with that mindset and you may not live to see the end of the year. As for you, Kira, you can't expect your opponents to hold the same standards of etiquette that you do. Also, you wasted time stalling instead of trying to win the fight. As you've just experienced, there are some cultivators who get stronger as a fight drags on. Against these kinds of opponents, you cannot afford to spend time attempting to judge their strength as you'll never get an accurate read until it's too late. That is all. Return to your seats."

Having literally cooled off, the wild girl wasn't necessarily more amicable. Rather, she seemed to retreat inside herself while retaining a hostile expression.

"Teacher, who was the winner of their fight?"

Kira abruptly turned her head around as the voice of Kiyoshi rang out. She'd almost forgotten that their battle was a type of test that would put them at a severe prestige point disadvantage if they lost.

"Neither. It was a draw. Kira, what you couldn't have seen was the second girl's attack coming from your blind spot. It may not have killed you as your counterattack would have killed her, but you would certainly have been crippled. Now, you two, introductions."

Kira shivered. She thought that she'd been careful but it turned out that she'd nearly died on her first day!

"Suzuki Kira. Core rank, fifth stage. Katana cultivator. It's a pleasure."

"Sora, shortsword and tonfa. Are we done here?"

Between Kira's bow and Sora's curt introduction, it could be seen that they were from different worlds. Within this commoner class, Sora's behaviour was something most of them had grown up around, while Kira and the blue-haired boy, Kiyoshi, definitely seemed as if they didn't belong.

"Return to your seats. Next pair, forward."

Teacher Kurokawa didn't insist on better etiquette for the introductions. She understood the type of people she was dealing with. Raising these children to live up to their potential was her job and bad manners didn't necessarily mean bad attitudes. She'd taught enough students to know that work ethic was something that would shine brighter than anything else.

When the sparring sessions were finished, there were a number of despondent faces who were wondering how they would be able to stay in the Academy with their meagre number of points as Teacher Kurokawa had personally seen that the points were transferred so there was no way out of it. With everyone back in their seats, she spoke again.

"That was very fruitful. You should all know each other a bit better now. I, for one, am extremely pleased with this class. All of you have a certain level of potential, some more than others, but I guarantee that each and every one of you will reach at least Soul Projector rank at an age where you can still enjoy it. Whether you can break through the next boundary is up to you."

Everyone got excited at the thought of this. Soul Projectors were the most well-known rank of cultivators on the continent due to being a high rank with the distinct ability of being able to manifest their Soul Spirits. Part of this recognition was due to the fact that people who managed to surpass this rank were far too few.

However, a Soul Projector wasn't something that everyone could become. Depending on a person's inherent potential, they would reach a point where their cultivation speed would slow considerably. About 95% of all cultivators would never reach the Soul Projector rank. Bloodlines were a large factor in this but, rarely, there would be children born into unknown bloodlines possessing potential that far exceeded any of their ancestors.

For these children of common birth who didn't belong to any of the big clans or sects, this was amazing news. The reason why those Nobles regarded themselves so highly was because of their bloodlines. They were born into families with a history of having high inherent potential which was used to further propel their families into positions of power and influence.

'This truly is the Bladeworks Academy. The level here is definitely something unmatched by any normal cultivator academy.'

Kira thought to herself. Teacher Kurokawa, however, wasn't done.

"I don't know why you're getting so happy. All I said was that you all have the potential. This just means that you have an opportunity that most people don't. Whether you can realise that potential has to do with only one thing..."

The whole of class 1-C fell silent and listened attentively.

"...your own hard work."

Kira hadn't expected anything less. After all, when had she not had to work hard for everything she'd gained? This wasn't the noble class, however, and although some of them couldn't be sure how hard they would have to work, they nodded eagerly, excitement filling their eyes and hearts.