(Author: Hello! Shu has successfully entered the Black Lotus Academy. Now he has picked a class that will help him in his path to immortality. He learned about a class that taught about soul condensation: the method to strengthen one's own soul and spirit energy capacity. Now you'll learn more about the Immortal Realms as well. Also misspelled Arctic Emperor without the 'c' and currently editing. Man...Enjoy.)

-----------Chapter 5: Black Lotus Pagoda-------------------

"Essence of Souls: Intermediate Studies?" the official laughed, incredulous as Shu appeared in the office on the first floor of the library. "You know there's a prerequisite, right? You have to be at the fifth stage and at the second level of soul condensation, the proof that you have at least reached it."

"I am," Shu answered as he emitted his spirit force.

"Are you nuts! You might damage the books and scrolls!" the official yelled and quickly covered his mouth. "I get it. You are at the fifth stage. First year and at the fifth stage. We got ourselves a monster. Okay. You're approved. Your class is from 10a.m. to noon. Try not to be late."

"Oh, right. The time table is similar to Earth. Never really considered that due to my training. Never did follow a schedule," Shu thought as he received an official copy of his schedule.

"M-21. M-21. Ah, here it is. M-21," Shu smiled as he entered one of the more spacious buildings in the academy.

He entered the class room and found eleven other students in the room. Most of them were girls, but all the students were older than him by a year, at least. He decided to take a seat in the front and patiently waited for the class to start.

"Hmm? I don't remember seeing you? You in the wrong class, God Eater?" one of the students asked, politely, as he was the only one wearing a crimson jacket in the room.

"No. I am a first year at the fifth stage of the Spirit Shaman tier. My name is Shu. I come from the Lu Clan in the Yan Dynasty," Shu nodded as he stared at the other students.

"What? First year? How many are at the fifth stage, among first years?" one of the senior students asked.

"Just two others. One is a thug named Weiss. I don't know the other person's name, but people say she is a princess of some nation," Shu answered truthfully.

"Good morning, class. Welcome to Essence of the Soul: Intermediate Studies. We will be studying the nature of Mystic Stones in this class," a professor began when he walked into the room. "Hmm? What's a God Eater doing here? Hyperion don't use soul attacks."

"Hello, professor. Sorry to say, but they have weapons that do," Shu said and pulled out the two flying moon blades, the students admiring the purple flames on them. "The Hyperion humanoid I killed used this. Furthermore, Hyperion beasts have a certain howl that can stun people."

"May I?" the professor asked and Shu levitated the moon blades to him and watched him inspect the flames. "This! It's true. Somehow, the humanoid Hyperion have infused their spirit energy into these blades. I've never seen a Hyperion make such magical items. I don't seem to recall seeing you on campus before. Are you a first year?"

"Yes, professor," Shu answered as he put the blades back in his storage bag.

"I see. Well, welcome to Black Lotus Academy. Now, let's begin the lesson...." the professor said and two hours passed. "Okay then. See you tomorrow. Remember, Mystic Stones embody the soul of a Practitioner. Until next time."

"Hello, my name is Hinako Kaizuka. I am at the sixth stage of Spirit Shaman tier," a girl with dark brown hair green hairs smiled, her body already developing nicely to make guys stare at her once. "Is it true Hyperion beasts have a soul stunning attack through their howl?"

"I only saw one of them do it. It was my first time seeing one and there were too many to look at the finer details to differentiate them. Sorry," Shu nodded. "Um, do you know the way to the cafeteria? It's lunch time. Also, do the dorms provide food for magical beasts within the rooms?"

"Oh, I can show you to the cafeteria. As for the rooms, they are all enchanted from the fourth stage Spirit Shaman doors and up. This is because most people have a magical beast by then. Only they won't feel hunger or thirst. The mages haven't been able to convert mana into nutrients for the human body yet," Hinako smiled and Shu followed her to the cafeteria, some of their classmates also chatting with them as they headed there.

"Now the cafeteria might be a little bit noisy. A lot of people start fights, but fighting is not allowed in the buildings. The only exception would be combat classes, the cafeteria, or the stadium, a dome shaped building which is the third tallest, but encompasses the most space in the academy. There are three cafeterias. One is reserved for white coat, another is reserved for the faculty, and this is the one for everyone else," Hinako said as she pushed open the doors. "Oh? They're pretty loud. Best to get your food quickly and eat somewhere else if you can't protect your food."

"How dare you! I, the Great Weiss, was supposed to be the first year representative in the main school council and form the first year student council. Give up the position and the white coat!" Weiss roared as he drew a large, two handed sword and pointed it at the princess he saw before."

"Hey, Shu, those the two fifth stage Spirit Shamans you mentioned? What a lively bunch," one of his senior classmates laughed while the others agreed.

"Why should I? The people voted for me. It's not my fault you lost. You had your thugs present a horrible first impression. People don't like that. I, Princess Cassandra, will not bow to a bully," the princess said as she drew her rapier. "Strength is not everything. Might is useless if you can't hit your opponent."

"Why aren't the senior students doing anything?" Shu asked.

"Well, people with higher stages of cultivation only care about their cultivation. If you don't unintentionally involve them, they just watch the lesser students fight as if they were entertainment. The weaker students are always the most lively," one of his classmates grinned. "I'm at the peak of the seventh stage myself. Most of us only care about tournaments we're eligible for and new spirit techniques and magical items. Let kids be kids. We can easily break every bone of their bodies. However, most of us don't stay at campus."

"Where do you guys go?" Shu asked.

"All the best academies allow their students to get real life experience in life-or-death situations. The students call it, The Hidden Valley of Dragons. See, the mountains to the north are full of magical beasts. The forests around them are too. However, students have heard rumors of an underground valley full of draconic magical beasts. The principal and the teachers all admit it exists but tell anyone who finds it, and makes it back alive, not to tell others of its location," Hinako answered, a sad expression on her face. "It's because most people die in the mountains already. The principal hinted that the entrance is in the depths of the mountain range, the mountains that are covered in snow. I went there with my brother once. He had his arm torn off by a frost dragon magical beast. We barely escaped as it turned toward some mages who used fire magic at it. The worst part was, we were only at the foot of those snowy mountains and didn't explore it at all."

"Is he alright?" Shu asked.

"Yeah. He's back at my clan. Luckily, one of my clan's elders specializes in the soul. He's using his spirit energy to regenerate his arm slowly. Before I came back, his arm fully regenerated. However, it will take some time before he gets used to it. He graduated anyway and wanted to see the hidden valley before he left," Hinako smiled as they got their lunch and sat down at a table.

They watched as the Weiss began attacking Cassandra. Shu looked over and saw one of his classmates begin betting with others at their table. The senior students really didn't care at all. The strong ate the weak and the weak suffer the strong. That was the life of Practitioners. He looked over and saw that mages held their fights differently. They hesitated and he overheard them saying the price of a mana stone wasn't worth it to beat his opponent.

"Oh, this magical beast meat is great," Shu smiled as he put large pieces of them in his mouth with his chopsticks.

"You eat a lot more meat than vegetables," Hinako cried, but she also had a lot of meat.

"It has spirit energy in them. Eating more magical beast meat will definitely enrich the body more than regular meat," Shu grinned, while the truth about his hunger due to his demonic genes was kept secret.

"Die!" Weiss roared and sent a large fireball at Cassandra who dodged it while it continued its path towards Hinako.

"Hmph," Hinako sighed and waved her hand, disintegrating the fireball as if it never existed.

"Fire element user huh?" Shu grinned as he saw flames flicker around her hands while she waved her hand to destroy the fireball.

"You're pretty observant," Hinako smiled while Weiss accidentally sent another fireball at them when Cassandra dodged the attack.

"Hey!" Shu roared as his lunch burned to ash as half of the fireball hit his back while the other spread.

"You're clothes are not even singed," Hinako gasped as she looked to see if he was okay.

"I know a pretty good technique," Shu said as he got up and started gathering spirit energy into his right hand.

Lightning crackled around his right hand and he pushed his hand at Weiss's direction, sending out a pulse of lightning. Weiss yelled in pain as he was pushed back by the force, the audience staring to see who did it. Shu became a trail of shadows and appeared next to Weiss in a flash. He lifted him up by the throat and slowly tightened his grip as the boy's legs dangled in the air. Shu tossed Weiss into the wall, punching him in the chest as Weiss slammed into it. Cracks formed on the wall as Weiss coughed blood. The crowd followed Weiss, with their eyes, as he fell to the ground. He twitched once before losing consciousness.

"What? He burned my food," Shu shrugged and returned to his seat, after getting more food, as others began talking about him. They knew the third person of the fifth stage among, first years, was a God Eater. However, they didn't expect him to beat Weiss so easily.

"I'm so glad this is like a buffet," Shu smiled.

"You didn't kill him, right?" Hinako asked. "It's not against academy rules, but you might get attacked by his family. Cutting a limb is also bad, but breaking bones is okay. The medics can heal that."

"He'll be alright. He just won't be eating any solid food for a while," Shu shrugged.

A month passed since the first day of instruction. Since then, Hinako and Shu had been learning about soul condensation. Shu had even attained the third level, shocking his classmates. His soul ocean had doubled and more stars could be seen in the night sky where his two spirit reactors shined a soft light like a moon. His three elemental affinities had turned into sharks. His spirit sense range was now a mile away.

Since the incident, Cassandra had established herself as on of the top ten beauties. However, Weiss had changed tactics. Instead of opposing her openly, he decided to bide his time. Everyday, he has people who dislike Cassandra to join him. Two factions had appeared and most of the senior students had begun betting whenever the two sides clashed. Most people also forgot about Shu. He had kept a low profile since then. He didn't mean to. He was just busy cultivating in his spare time.

"Figures you would be here. If you had a weakness, it would be your craving for magical beast meat," Hinako laughed as she sat across from him in the cafeteria. "How are your magical beasts now?"

"Bahamut is about eleven feet tall and twenty feet long," Shu grinned as he fed a piece of meat to the mini-sized dragon. "His flames can burn steel now. It's unfair really. He's already at the seventh stage while I am only in the middle of the fifth stage. Eating magical beast flesh to cultivate is cheating."

Hinako laughed and said, "How about the tiger? You named him yet?"

"I decided to name him Supaiku, for the spikes on his tail. He just started to form him and he's two feet tall and five feet long. So far, he hasn't been able to make himself smaller. I have to leave him in the room because of it, but he doesn't cry if he's alone anymore," Shu sighed. "Have you reached the third level of soul condensation yet?"

"No, I feel like I am at the bottleneck for it. I need some sort of insight. No! Don't tell me," she said as she saw him smirk.

"So, any news about the others? I don't really pay attention to what's going on in the academy," Shu said as he put a piece of meat in his mouth.

"Cassandra has been gathering some of the first years together. She still believes she can make peace with that Weiss guy," Hinako answered.

"Weiss? Who's he?" Shu asked.

"Don't you remember? He's the guy you strangled, threw against the wall, and nocked unconscious when you punched him so hard, he coughed blood," Hinako answered.

"Oh, that guy," Shu grinned. "So he's still trying to be the first year representative. Geez. How do you know this?"

"I hear some rumors while browsing the library for magical beast research," Hinako answered. "I also met your friends. They said they sat with you during the principal's address before the academic year started."

"Ah, Joey and them. Yeah. So the two factions are still at war? Don't they care about their cultivation anymore?" Shu asked.

"Some people just like positions of power more," Hinako answered. "I heard the professor say you are looking for a new technique to learn. I have to say, the three techniques you already know are way too unfair. Your water spirit technique even evolves as you do. I saw you turn one of the blade waves of water into ice as you slashed with your katana."

"Yeah. Since condensing my soul to the next level, I can freely manipulate water into ice without creating water first. I also have a lot more spirit energy now. It makes me wonder why other people don't condense their souls," Shu grinned.

"Most people don't have the talent. Some people dropped out our class, remember. Now there's only me, you, and the guy at the seventh stage. His name's Brian Walkers. Remember him?" Hinako asked.

"Yeah. He's the guy who said that the senior students often betted on who would win between the fights of the first years," Shu nodded. "Do you know any spirit techniques that have to do with the ice element. Been meaning to learn one."

"The Black Lotus Pagoda should have some. However, you need to withstand the formation's spirit force while you are there. The higher the floor, the more powerful the spirit techniques. However, the best aspect about the pagoda is the formation array actually helps your cultivation due to the immense density of spirit energy there. It is in the basement of the pagoda," Hinako answered. "However, some of the more powerful techniques are forbidden as they can hurt one's cultivation. Some people can't withstand it and actually die while trying to learn the techniques. It has about twenty one stories. The higher you go, the more powerful the technique. However, if it proves too powerful, either you don't get any insight to practice it at all or you die."

"Oh, good. There might be some that could prove interesting. I'll head there then. Come, Bahamut," Shu said as the dragon landed on his head. "Thanks. I'm gonna go find a new technique. See you later."

Shu quickly left the cafeteria and headed to the large pagoda. He froze in his tracks as he spread his spirit senses. He detected over a hundred demons within the pagoda. He knew because their Spirit Pulse was a demonic red, like his. However, thanks to Spook, a part of which used to be the crimson ring, his Spirit Pulse looked golden in color. Shu took out a book on the demonic languages. He didn't want to be found out that he was a demon and had asked for a book from the Overseer in case he met one and wanted to converse with it. He could already talk the languages as he was of the highest tiers of demonic lineages, but the book would serve as a cover.

"What are you doing in human lands?" Shu asked one of the demons that looked like cross between a monkey and a bat eight feet tall.

"You know my language?" the demon gasped. "We were sealed here, by the one you humans call The Black Lotus Immortal. He tamed us and took control of our souls with some kind of ritual. We guard this pagoda until it no longer exists. The only way to be free is if someone tames us. The Black Lotus Immortal has allowed it, but no one survives the pact. The only other way is if a demon of nobility orders us. Their rules are absolute among demon kind. Sadly, they don't exist in the Mortal Realm."

"I have the soul of one in my body. The Snow Emperor Pearl the Great Ancestor gave me!" Shu thought. "To think the demon race had such a thing. No wonder the Great Ancestor was forced to flee. If he gave me one so nonchalantly, he must have killed a lot of them."

"Explain about the demon nobility," Shu ordered, seeing that the demon was forced to answer him due to it being tamed.

"There are many noble, ancient races. However, demon nobility refers to Demon Emperors. I don't know much about the ranking, but every demon knows the top three ranks among demons in the Immortal Realms. The rank of Demon King refers to a demon who owns an entire planet in the Immortal Realms. A Demon Emperor refers to one who rules an entire galaxy. The highest beings are the Demon Gods. Their might is eternal. They literally cannot be defied or hurt by anyone," the demon answered, awe in its voice. "According to demon lore, the Immortal Realms number seven and are as boundless as the universe, as if every planet was absorbed into one eternally big planet. However, a Demon King is nothing as some cities have little populations or have weaker life forms. Humans go by Immortal King, Immortal Emperor, and Immortal Sovereign. Magical Beasts....I don't know."

"Is it possible to visit each realm? What are the differences?" Shu asked.

"The name of the realm usually depicts the environment. It is possible to visit each one, but you have to return to the Mortal Realm first. I heard the way back is so dangerous, you have to at least be a Demon King to succeed. Something about killing the guardians of the Mortal Realm to prove your worth. It is best to be a Demon King. Not one in name, but the actual cultivation. There are many false Demon Kings who claim to be real as they rule a minor city. I hear there is an Immortal Gate. You must be at the Spirit Master tier to enter, but I suggest waiting for the Spirit Sage tier. Going at a lower tier is asking for death," the demon warned.

"I see. Thank you," Shu nodded and entered the pagoda.

"That human had a powerful soul," the demon noted before it became as still as a statue as it returned to its duties to guard the pagoda.

"Whoa," Shu gasped as he entered the pagoda. The very center of the pagoda was completely empty to the top floor which was not empty space. Each floor had two sets of stairs, one on the right and left of the entrance. One stair went to the next floor up while the other was the next floor down. Each floor had eight statues between several long book cases. Each one held the image of a demon. The plaques below described the cultivation stage, race, and assured they would only activate if the pagoda were in danger. Above every stair case was a black sigh with large, gold letters.

Each sign stated, "Fighting is prohibited within the Black Lotus Pagoda. Violating the rule will result in dismemberment and the body will be devoured by the demons guarding the pagoda. No one will be spared."

"Best to behave here. Make sure not to even puff a single ember," Shu warned Bahamut, who nodded as it flew from atop his head to his right coat pocket.

"Whoa! It's Shu!" Joey cried as he appeared behind him with the others Shu met. "Long time no see, man. What class did you take?"

"Essence of Souls: Intermediate Studies. That's it. I spent the rest of my time cultivating in my room," Shu answered and saw a pin with a swan with a gold crown of feathers on its head. "What's with the pin?"

"We joined Cassandra's faction against Weiss. We couldn't handle his bullies ganging up on us when we were divided to go to class," Bella answered. "He's really persistent with his goal."

"You should join," Jiyeon advised. "Weiss's thugs don't mess with first years who wear the pin."

"Did you guys forget? Shu kicked that guy's ass on the first day of school," Joey laughed. "Weiss would make sure he wouldn't bother Shu. He couldn't even strike back or defend himself."

"Did you come here to cultivate in the formation array?" Mary and Max asked in unison.

"He cultivated in his room all this time," Kei answered.

"He probably came here for spirit techniques," Kai agreed after he saw Shu nod.

"I'm fine cultivating in my room. My body technique doesn't suite well with formation arrays. They cut you off from the world," Shu answered as his true Archon body technique cultivated the planet's life force and natural spirit energy.

"Oh. You must have picked one of those abnormal Archon body techniques. That sucks," Geo nodded. "I heard some Practitioners forever stay at the second stage if they can't get their hands on an Archon body technique. Most cultivate what they get their hands on, no matter the price. Good thing I'm a mage. We just absorb the mana from around us and continue increasing our mana capacity until we have enough to cast more powerful spells. That's when we can learn them, if we mastered weaker spells. Right, Daniel?"

"Yup. Some elements cost a lot more mana than others. Of course, wide area spells cost the most. That and summoning magic," Daniel agreed. "Kai, Jiyeon, Geo, and I came here to browse the spells available while the others cultivate. I've been here before. The east and northern parts of the floor are all Practitioner techniques. You should search from there. You saw the signs, right? They're not a lie. Most people came here during the first week. After seeing so many deaths, no one has dared to fight here. Arguments are allowed, but nothing else. No magic, no spirit techniques, or anything else. Only words with no power behind them. Whatever you do, don't let someone's words provoke you into attacking. Some smart people got rid of their enemies that way."

"Thanks for the tip. Later guys. Good luck against Weiss. If you need any help, just look for me," Shu nodded and started walking up to the next floor.

Shu began using his Phantasmal Sky technique, black shadows flowing from his body like strips of aura. Since reaching the third level of soul condensation, he had a better grasp of his techniques. Now he does not leave a trail of shadows behind him when he uses the skill. If he had enemies, they would no longer be able to rely on following the trail to find him. Shu skipped all the way to the twentieth floor as he stood in front of a large statue that barred his path. Several others were also there, two of them being Cassandra and Weiss.

"Why won't this statue move? Dammit, the most powerful techniques, besides the ones in the principal's personal library, are in there. Only staff members or students at the eight stage of Spirit Shaman stage can go in there. Them, and also those mages who can dual-cast two advanced grade magic," Weiss cursed.

"If you went in there, the first year students would be doomed," Cassandra laughed. "No one would be able to stop your tyrannical lust for power. You're lucky the seniors don't try to stop you."

The statue moved as someone appeared from the stairs behind it. It was Brian Walkers, Shu's classmate. Brian was holding a book he found there and nodded at the statue as he waited for it to fully move out of the way. He gazed around the crowd and his eyes widened as he saw Shu. He waved at him and beckoned him to come closer.

"Hey, man. About time you came here. Geez, you should have picked up a few spirit techniques by now. Just relying on three is not good," Brian laughed.

"Three?" the crowd asked as they parted for Shu to pass.

"Fuck, It's him," Weiss cursed and quickly ordered his men out of the way as they saw the God Eater first year.

"That's the guy who stopped our fight and beat up Weiss," Cassandra noted.

"Hey, Brian. Did you reach the third level of soul condensation over the weekend? " Shu grinned as he passed through the crowd.

"Ha! You think I stopped there? I'll have you know, I reached the fourth level," Brian laughed.

"You asked the professor for a tip, didn't you," Shu asked.

"Well....for the fourth, maybe. It's my hard work that did the rest," Brian admitted with a nod as the statue barred the path behind him as he passed the front of the stairs. "Anyway, what are you doing up here? The statue won't let you up."

"Just watch," Shu grinned.

Shu looked at the statue, placed a palm on it, and said, "Awaken and move aside. I am no mere human."

The statue looked at him in surprise as it felt demonic spirit energy enter its body. The statue looked like a giant lion with images of stone fire around each paw, the hair of its tail actually flames instead. The stone covering broke and people covered their eyes as a red lion with an orange mane and green flames around its body roared. Everyone took a step back, in shock, as the former demon statue moved aside to let him pass. They noticed it no longer remained covered in stone.

"Did you speak the demonic language," Brian asked as he noticed the book in his hand. "Did it have some kind of command? Why did the stone break when you poured your spirit energy into it?"

"You're not the only one with secrets," Shu grinned. "Unless you'll tell me how to reach the fourth level?"

"Not happening," Brian smirked. "Okay, mysterious junior. Lucky bastard. You go in during your first year. Took me two years before I met one of the hidden requirements to go to the twenty first floor. However, most techniques might kill you. The rule for that floor states that you cannot go down if you have not grasped the technique. That way, if the technique kills you or injures you, the book or scroll stays there to prevent others from suffering the same fate. Not only that, you don't have to return it, like the other books and scrolls, when you master it. That means only you will know the technique. You and the principal anyway."

"How many techniques did you learn?" Shu asked.

"Three succeeded outright. One put me in a week long coma, but I learned the technique. The last four, besides the scroll in my hand, nearly killed me and weakened me for a few weeks. I'm a walking miracle among the seniors. I even got a nickname: Brian the Undeath. I think its a pun comparing me to a cockroach. Cuz they just don't die. You know, I'll make that my title when I reach the Spirit Sage level. The Undeath Immortal. Pretty sure no Spirit Sage has that title. HAHAHAHAHA!"

Shu chuckled and walked up the stairs. The lion demon bowed its head before sitting in front of the stairs again. Rumors spread around the people and they started talking about the hidden requirements Brian mentioned. Many began leaving the floor to talk with some seniors they knew. Hopefully, one was willing to tell them the details. Only Weiss and Cassandra lingered for a while with a few others at the fourth stage, among them were the other God Eater first year students. One of Weiss's thugs had superb memory and recited Shu's demonic words and poured his spirit energy into the lion. Angered, the lion suddenly pounced on him and bit off his head.

"Anyone hear what he said? Maybe he didn't recite that God Eater's words," one asked.

"No, he had perfect memory. None of us heard his words, but he did. He copied them to the letter. I'll have to bribe some of the seniors for a technique they learned from here. They should have kept the book," Weiss cursed and left the twentieth floor with his men.

"So this is the twenty first floor," Shu sighed with awe as he reached the top of the stairs. There were tons more shelves than the other floors and even the floor with the most books, the second floor. However, each one of them contained vastly superior techniques than the ones on the other floors.