Qin Shuyue couldn't even begin to describe how shocked she was.
She had been Jin Huang's closest friend ever since classes started all those weeks ago. They spoke practically every day, and always sat next to each other, or paired up with one another, in all their classes.
Ever since that day that Jin Huang joined Hei Shisan's club, he had not spoken to her. When she asked him about it, he told that he was discussing important matters with Hei Shisan, but would not fully explain. His lack of transparency made her suspicious; his declaration left her speechless.
Throughout the Academy, no matter the year, students were all discussing Jin Huang in some way, shape or form. His recent attitude had caused a major upset, and become a topic that reached the ears of even those who had only heard mention of his name.
Jin Huang, the 'crazy first-year,' the 'hungry one.' He had made a name for himself as someone whose stomach- no- entire digestive system was far beyond ordinary. He was capable of ingesting absolutely insane amounts of vital energy-- amounts that would kill or badly injure anyone else.
That alone was freakish enough, and caused quite a number of the more gluttonous students to look up to him. To them, he was the kind of man they wanted to be when they grew up.
Well.
Most of them were older than he was...
However, after his self-proclamation of being the Fourteenth Unteachable Student, it became harder for them to look favorable upon him. Most of them assumed that it was the vital energy finally overloading his system after enough of it passed through his digestive tract.
"They do say never to meet your heroes," one of Jin Huang's former supporters said as he sighed, then inhaled some soup.
"Ai, senior brother. The Gluttonous One has fallen from grace, and it seems he's taken our dreams and aspirations with him. Another hero passes into legend." Said another student just before he spat some bones out onto his platter.
As for the other students of Class Four that also knew him, they were perplexed as well. They had spent the most time around Jin Huang, seeing his clumsy failures in class and his inability to properly learn what was being taught. They knew firsthand...
Just how incapable he actually was.
Although it could be said that he was, in fact, unteachable, the title granted by the academy went to students that were more unmanageable than inept. No one felt like Jin Huang truly fit the bill.
To further exacerbate the issue, he then went around acting pompous and proud and challenging everyone to a duel in two months time. His confidence, which his classmates knew was entirely baseless, had just risen to a sky-high level out of the blue.
Qin Shuyue gathered all the people she could get a hold of, sitting them down at Madame Cho's.
"That idiot's lost his mind," Li Qingyu scoffed with folded arms. "Perhaps the rumors are true, and he digested far too much vital energy."
Shen Wuyou shook his head, "Jin Huang wouldn't be affected by something like that. Think what you will about him, the fact of the matter is that he is not normal. Whatever he's doing, I think we just need to sit back and watch without getting involved."
"Hmph! Fuck not getting involved! He challenged me, so I'm going to kick his ass," Wu Shen stood abruptly, pushing his chair back.
"I don't even know why I'm here! Hmph!" Grumbling, he flourished his golden dragons and similarly golden hair, then stomped off without pushing his chair back in.
Rising gracefully, and silently, Dao Yuan pushed in his chair for him, ensuring it was straight.
"Jin Huang," she started, all eyes finding her, "he is something special. I believe that the Club Leader and him are up to something. Shen Wuyou might have an idea, given their... shared experience."
Hearing that, Qin Shuyue, Li Qingyu and Dao Yuan herself all turned to look at Shen Wuyou, who was rolling two dice around in his palm. He paused, his pale face somehow becoming even paler as he stared at Dao Yuan.
With hands raised in surrender, he laughingly said, "I don't know anything."
Qin Shuyue's eyes narrowed, Li Qingyu scoffed and stood up. "This won't get us anywhere. Let's just find him and have him explain himself."
Agreeing, the others stood as well.
"I haven't been able to reach him with normal communication, but he usually disappears and doesn't respond till he's home stuffing his face." Qin Shuyue said as she pushed her chair in.
Seeing this, Li Qingyu remembered to push in his own as well.
"We'll split up then," Shen Wuyou suggested. "Whoever finds him, send the others a message."
Dao Yuan nodded and was the first to leave, and so, they fanned out across the Academy.
At first, the search was orderly. Qin Shuyue took the eastern lecture halls, Li Qingyu checked the training grounds, Dao Yuan drifted through the library annexes like a silent wisp, and Shen Wuyou scoured the first-year residential areas.
Wu Shen, who had stormed off earlier, was not included in the plan, though that did little to stop him from loudly declaring that he would, "Find Jin Huang first and beat him bloody."
An hour passed. Then two. No Jin Huang.
Qin Shuyue checked places she knew he'd be. The cheap snack stalls near the auxiliary classrooms that he would visit just to sniff the aromas. The quiet stairwells where he hid during breaks. Even the outer balconies overlooking the void, where he sometimes stared into space while chewing on something from his spatial ring.
Nothing.
Li Qingyu returned from the training fields irritated and dusty.
Shen Wuyou came back last, rubbing his temples. "He's not in any of the residential areas either."
Dao Yuan said nothing at first. She simply turned her gaze toward the inner ring of the Academy, where the spatial arteries converged invisibly beneath the cloudy layers.
"The Void-Crossing Array," she said softly.
They all paused.
"Why would he be there?" Qin Shuyue asked, though even as the words left her mouth, a sinking feeling settled in her chest.
Shen Wuyou grimaced. "Because that's where you go when you're leaving and, if it's one thing I know about Jin Huang, he doesn't need more reason than a good scent to just up and leave."
They didn't waste any more time.
The Void-Crossing Array sat at the heart of the Academy like a living thing.
A vast circular mosaic spread across the floor, its intricate patterns formed from countless interlocking tiles of starstone, voidglass, and materials Qin Shuyue couldn't even name.
Array lines and runes were embedded directly into the design, layered so densely that looking at them for too long made her eyes ache. The entire formation thrummed with power-- a deep, steady pulse that resonated through bone and spirit alike.
It wasn't drawing qi from a spirit vein.
It was drawing it from the universe itself.
The array was one with the Academy, an irreplaceable masterpiece of array formation mastery. A single misstep here could strand someone between worlds, or worse—scatter them across the void like cosmic dust.
At the edge of the mosaic stood a staff member in flowing robes, posture relaxed and eyes tired. In his hands floated an illusory star chart, constellations slowly shifting as lines of light traced routes through empty space.
Qin Shuyue stepped forward. "Excuse me, Sir. Have you seen a first-year named Jin Huang?"
The staff member didn't look up immediately. He adjusted one glowing line on the chart, watched it settle, and only then spared them a glance.
"Jin Huang?" he repeated. "Ah. Yes. Him and Hei Shisan were difficult to miss."
"Hei Shisan?" Shen Wuyou seemed surprised.
The name landed like a thunderclap.
Shen Wuyou sucked in a sharp breath. Dao Yuan's eyes narrowed, interest sparking like starlight. Li Qingyu swore under his breath.
Qin Shuyue's heart clenched. "Where are they?"
"Gone," the man said calmly.
Li Qingyu scowled. "Gone where?"
Mr. Yuanshi flicked his wrist, and the star chart zoomed outward, highlighting a distant point beyond the Academy's local sector. "On a mission. Filed properly, I might add. Once they activate the positioning bead, I'll see them on the chart. Sure are taking their time, though."
The group of first-years exchanged looks.
"A mission?" Qin Shuyue echoed. "He's a first-year and he's barely-"
"Barely teachable?" Mr. Yuanshi finished mildly. "So I've heard. Hei Shisan called him Number Fourteen."
He gestured to the still-thrumming mosaic. "They departed less than a quarter-hour ago. If you were hoping to stop them, you're too late."
Qin Shuyue stared at the Void-Crossing Array, at the fading afterglow of spatial distortion still lingering above the runes.
Jin Huang hadn't just been avoiding them.
He'd already stepped beyond the Academy's reach.
"That idiot," she whispered. "What is he thinking?"
Shen Wuyou came up beside her, "Don't worry. If Shisan's with him, they'll be fine."
Li Qingyu made a noncommittal sound, "We shall see."
Dao Yuan went up to Mr. Yuanshi and asked, "What was the risk-level of the mission they accepted?"
Mr. Yuanshi thought for a second before saying, "It was red, I believe. Nothing Hei Shisan can't handle, what with him being a fifth-year student in the Dao Integration realm and all. Your friend 'Number Fourteen' will be fine."
The others sighed, but were more or less relieved to know where Jin Huang was. On the other hand, Dao Yuan stared up into the starry expanse, and beyond it into the distant void.
Her eyes narrowed.