The knock on the classroom door came like a gunshot in the silence.
Everyone jumped.
The teacher's voice followed, sharp with irritation.
"Why is it so loud in there? And why is half the school in the hallway?"
No one moved. The students just stared at the two strangers who didn't belong, one calm as a mountain lake, the other floating just above the ground like gravity was optional, violet triple pupils spinning slowly in each eye like cosmic storms.
The door creaked open.
A middle-aged man in a plain jacket stepped in, frowning. His eyes swept across the terrified faces, the students huddled near the walls, some pale as chalk, others still catching their breath from the crushing spiritual pressure moments ago.
Then his gaze landed on Zhenyu, floating lazily in the middle of the classroom like he owned the place.
The teacher blinked once. Twice.
"...What the.....?!"
The stranger with the triple pupils smiled faintly, the expression wrong somehow, too calm, too sharp. Like a blade pretending to be a handshake.
Before the teacher could demand answers, Haoran raised his hand.
Time stopped.
The second hand on the classroom clock froze mid-tick. The fluttering curtains stiffened in place. The students froze like statues, mouths half open, eyes wide, caught mid-breath. Even the teacher stood motionless, one hand still lifted toward the intruders.
Only Shen Hao could move.
He straightened slowly, eyes narrowing. "What did you just do?"
Haoran lowered his hand, his expression calm as always. "I suspended them. Just for a few minutes. They will remember nothing."
Zhenyu stretched in midair, the faint hum of power radiating from him making the air heavy. "You worry too much, brother. The fleeting ones forget. They always do."
Shen Hao's fists tightened slightly at the words the fleeting ones.
Zhenyu noticed. His triple pupils shifted toward Shen Hao like three spinning galaxies locking onto a single star. A faint smirk curved his lips.
"So you're the one." His voice was smooth, almost friendly, and yet the weight behind it made the hairs on Shen Hao's neck stand on end. "The little human who climbed to Demi-Conqueror Realm so quickly it made half the Outer Territories whisper."
Shen Hao didn't reply. He just met that strange, impossible gaze head-on.
Zhenyu chuckled softly. "Not afraid? Interesting."
"Enough." Haoran's voice cut through the air like a blade of ice. He turned to Shen Hao. "There are things you should understand. About us. About why we're here."
"Then talk," Shen Hao said simply.
Haoran reached into his robe and flicked a small jade vial toward him. Shen Hao caught it, feeling the faint pulse of Qi inside.
"Translator pill," Haoran explained. "Dissolves instantly in spiritual energy. Lets two beings who speak different tongues understand each other perfectly for a month. We used them before coming here. That's why your classmates understood our words earlier."
Shen Hao frowned. "So you came prepared."
"Unlike my brother," Haoran said dryly, casting Zhenyu a look.
Zhenyu grinned, unbothered. "What? I made an entrance. Your way is boring."
Haoran ignored him and continued, "Shen Hao… we came because your existence is no longer a secret. Reaching Demi-Conqueror Realm so quickly… the realms beyond Void Gate City will take notice."
Names followed in fragments. The Seven Outer Courts. The Astral Concord. The Primordial Seat. None of them made sense to Shen Hao yet, like pieces of a map drawn in smoke.
Zhenyu watched him with those impossible eyes. "He doesn't even know the Concord exists, does he? How… refreshing."
Haoran's tone sharpened. "And he doesn't need to. Not yet."
Zhenyu smirked, clearly enjoying himself. "You always spoil the fun."
Shen Hao's voice cut through their bickering. "Then tell me at least this, who exactly are you?"
Haoran inclined his head slightly. "You already know me. Haoran, Administrator of Void Gate City. I control, manage, keep order across the entire city."
He gestured lazily toward his brother. "And this is Zhenyu. My elder brother. Stronger than me. Less disciplined. Entirely too curious for his own good."
"Flattering," Zhenyu said, utterly unbothered.
Shen Hao's eyes narrowed slightly. "So you didn't come here to fight."
Haoran shook his head. "We came because Earth… was never supposed to have someone like you. A Demi-Conqueror in less than fifteen years? Even the great clans would kill for talent like that. And talent like yours always draws attention."
Zhenyu floated closer, his triple pupils glinting faintly. "I wanted to see the little planet myself. And the little monster it raised."
Shen Hao met his gaze evenly. "See enough yet?"
Zhenyu smiled faintly. "Not even close."
Haoran exhaled slowly, as if dealing with him was nothing new. "We will stay here for a short time. Quietly. At least… that was the plan."
"Plans change," Zhenyu said cheerfully, spinning slightly in midair like he weighed nothing.
Shen Hao's jaw tightened. He didn't like the way this man's power felt, endless, unhurried, like an ocean watching a single boat.
Mo Han's voice whispered inside his mind, low and steady. Be careful with this one, Shen Hao. Haoran you can trust. His brother… acts friendly. But men like him do nothing without reason.
Lingfeng added dryly, Triple pupils, endless power, and clearly insane. Just what we needed. A cosmic lunatic on vacation.
Shen Hao didn't reply. His eyes stayed on Zhenyu, waiting.
The older brother only smiled back, unreadable as the void itself.
Then, he slammed his fingers together and the time resumed, but it was rewinded a couple of seconds.
The classroom door slammed open.
Everyone turned.
A middle-aged teacher strode in, brows furrowed, clutching a stack of papers like a weapon. "What," he demanded, "is going on here?!"
His eyes swept the room, at the terrified students pressed against the back wall, the desks scattered from earlier chaos, at Zhenyu still hovering three feet above the floor like gravity was a suggestion.
The teacher blinked twice… then lit up like someone solving a riddle.
"Ohhh," he said slowly, nodding to himself. "I get it now."
The students stared at him like he'd lost his mind.
"You're magicians!" He slapped one hand against his thigh, beaming. "Flying tricks, special effects, illusion magic! That explains the lights and the floating and the whole alien theme you've got going on here!"
Silence.
Utter, stunned silence.
Even Zhenyu tilted his head, triple pupils glinting faintly. "Ma…gician?"
Shen Hao reacted fast. "Yes! Exactly!" He waved both hands toward the teacher with what he hoped was an innocent smile. "We're just… uh… practicing for a performance later. Street magic show. Very normal."
Zhenyu's gaze cut toward him sharply, voice low. "Do you expect me to..o.."
"Play along," Shen Hao hissed through clenched teeth. "Please."
Haoran pinched the bridge of his nose like a man too tired to argue.
Zhenyu blinked once… then nodded stiffly, clearly confused by the human concept of acting. "Yes," he said flatly, each word sounding heavier than iron. "We… are magicians."
The teacher clapped enthusiastically. "Fantastic dedication! And the alien cosplay, wow! The glowing eyes, the flying… this is the most realistic sci-fi performance I've ever seen!"
One student in the back muttered, "Realistic? I thought I was going to die."
Another whispered, "Maybe we did die, and this is the afterlife."
The teacher ignored them, pointing dramatically toward the hallway. "But! School rules are school rules. No performances during class hours! Out! All of you!"
Shen Hao nodded quickly, already moving. "Understood, sir. We'll leave immediately."
The teacher raised a finger like he'd just remembered something. "And tell your friend, the one with the triple contact lenses, amazing work. The glow effect is Oscar-worthy!"
Zhenyu stared at him blankly.
Shen Hao shoved him toward the door before he could vaporize the man out of pure annoyance.
The Memory Wipe
They were halfway into the hall when Zhenyu flicked his wrist lazily.
A silent wave of spiritual power pulsed through the classroom like a ripple in water.
The terrified students blinked. Confusion softened into calm blankness.
Fear drained from their faces as Zhenyu rewrote everything with surgical precision.
In their memories, there had been no flying strangers. No crushing spiritual pressure. No glowing alien eyes.
Only Shen Hao, misbehaving loudly with his "weird magician friends," getting himself kicked out for disrupting class.
Now they remembered the teacher shouting specifically at him, jabbing a finger toward the door while yelling something about discipline and respect.
"Man," one student whispered to another, "what was Shen Hao even doing?"
"No idea," came the reply. "He barely talks. Then today he gets thrown out? Guy's a mystery."
Even the teacher now frowned at Shen Hao like he'd been trouble since birth.
"And stay out," the man barked for good measure. "Until you learn some manners!"
Shen Hao just nodded stiffly, knowing full well none of this was real.
This guy, he thought darkly, glancing at Zhenyu, is terrifying.
Walking Down the Street
Ten minutes later, the three of them moved side by side along the main road outside the school.
Shen Hao had finally, finally, convinced Zhenyu to stop hovering two feet above the pavement.
"You're on Earth," Shen Hao muttered, dragging him back down for the fourth time. "People here have never seen cultivators. Or aliens. Or whatever you are. Walk. Like. A. Human."
"I dislike walking," Zhenyu said flatly. "It's inefficient."
"Do it anyway," Haoran ordered, voice like stone.
Zhenyu grumbled something about primitive planets but obeyed, long coat swaying around his legs as he walked like someone imitating humanity for the first time.
Pedestrians slowed as the trio passed.
Zhenyu's glowing triple pupils, Haoran's unearthly calm, Shen Hao's own unreadable expression, they looked less like students and more like actors from some big-budget sci-fi epic strolling through downtown on break.
"Whoa," someone muttered nearby, phone half-raised. "That cosplay looks amazing."
"Yeah," another agreed. "Movie-level effects. The glowing eyes? Insane detail."
Shen Hao forced a laugh through clenched teeth. "Yep! Big cosplay event today. Alien Magicians of the Galaxy. Live performance tonight."
"Ohhh," a man said, nodding in admiration. "Explains the robes. The whole alien vibe. Very cool."
"Best costumes I've ever seen," someone else added.
"Cosplay," Zhenyu repeated under his breath like the word was slowly becoming an insult.
"Smile and wave," Shen Hao hissed.
Zhenyu smiled stiffly at a passing child. The kid gasped in delight. "So cool!"
By the time they reached the end of the block, half the neighborhood was convinced some kind of sci-fi convention was happening nearby.
Shen Hao dragged one hand down his face.
This was his life now.