‘If the four of us team up… maybe no one will be able to defeat us!!!’

  That thought flashed across Bhavesh’s mind. And he wasn’t wrong.

  He, Sharv, and Meera were Wildcard Participants, and Devansh; though not a wildcard, was far stronger than a normal kid. If the four joined hands, taking first place in the second trial would be as easy as snapping fingers.

  “I’m in! I think this is a really good suggestion.”

  Bhavesh was the first to agree. Now only Devansh and Meera were left.

  The two looked into each other’s eyes. They didn’t like each other’s personalities, and the idea of working together wasn’t pleasant to either of them. But they also knew how much advantage they would get if all four teamed up.

  “Fine, I agree.”

  “I’m in as well.”

  Devansh and Meera spoke almost at the same time.

  ***

  Time passed, and soon most of the children had formed groups of four. Only a few were still wandering alone without a group, but eventually even those would join someone.

  Nandini’s group was among the formed ones. Her group consisted of two boys and, including herself, two girls. Nandini hadn’t chosen them after much analysis or planning.

  “Humph! Even if I competed alone, I would still win easily. But… I need a group for this trial. Tch!”

  She was overly confident in herself; overconfident, even. But none of the others could say anything, because she really was strong.

  Though she looked delicate like a flower from the outside, her strength was undeniable.

  ‘Well, they’re not that bad anyway…’

  She looked behind her at her group members.

  The two boys had strong martial arts, at least above average. The girl was extremely good at silent attacks. If she launched a surprise assault, she could easily take down two normal girls her age by herself.

  ‘Whatever. As long as I’m with them, nothing will go wrong.’

  ***

  Elsewhere, Adarsh and Vishesh’s group was also complete. Vishesh had found two boys whom he believed were capable and suitable for their team.

  While Vishesh was busy talking with the two, Adarsh was lost in thoughts.

  ‘What must Mother be doing right now…?’

  His mother was probably still at the Five Lotus Sword Manor. But for some reason, he kept thinking about her.

  Maybe because this was the first time he had come so far from her, all alone. His gaze lowered to his fingers. They still weren’t fully healed.

  Clench!

  He gritted his teeth. Whenever he looked at that hand, he was reminded of that boy; Sharv.

  And for some time, he had been getting a strange feeling that Sharv was somehow very close to him.

  But every time he thought deeper, he would always end up concluding the same thing; No. That boy can’t be him.

  ‘I wish Father and Uncle were alive…’

  He didn’t even properly remember what his father looked like. He had seen him only a few times in his childhood because the man was always sick and bedridden.

  But his uncle’s face, he remembered very clearly. He had spent a lot of time with him.

  ‘If only… if only that day hadn’t happened…’

  “Adarsh, why are you standing alone? Come here. Even talking is better than staying silent by yourself.”

  Vishesh called out to him.

  “Yeah, yeah. I’m coming…”

  ***

  “I think the time has come.”

  Sitting against a large rock, the Death Hall Master looked up at the sky.

  His upper clothing was removed, exposing his bare chest and torso, glowing under the sunlight.

  But that wasn’t what stood out.

  Across his body were countless scars so many that counting them would be impossible. Each one was an old wound, yet he could still feel the pain lingering within them.

  The Death Hall Master put his upper garment back on and then he exhaled deeply and stood up. He began walking back toward where he came from. Guards patrolling the area crossed paths with him.

  The moment they saw him, they bowed immediately. The Master didn’t pay them much attention and kept walking.

  After a bit more walking, he finally reached where all the children were gathered.

  Mummur!.. Mummur!..

  But the moment he arrived, he saw that the whole place was filled with noise and chaos.

  ‘I thought they’d be calm by now…’

  CLAP!!!

  He clapped loudly.

  The sound echoed through the forest and across the entire mountain.

  “Enough. Everyone, be silent.”

  Hearing his voice, all the children immediately quietened and stood i their respective groups of four.

  Death Hall Master swept his eyes across all of them. It was then...

  ‘…!!’

  His gaze fell on Sharv and stopped not just on Sharv, but on his entire group.

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  ‘So that’s why they were making so much noise…’

  Because Sharv’s group was, without a doubt, the strongest among them all. Even a normal person could tell at a glance which group was the most dangerous.

  Three Wildcard participants, and one abnormally strong boy whom no one would dare fight head-on.

  Their group was like gathering every top scorer of a University into a single team and leaving all the mediocre ones scattered randomly.

  “Hehe! Interesting. This trial is going to be fun.”

  The Death Hall Master muttered under his breath. Then, he addressed everyone:

  “You all have the seed with you, right? The one you found in the first trial?”

  ‘?!’

  Everyone’s eyes instantly went to their hands or their pockets, to the seed they had kept.

  None of them had thrown it away. After all, how could they easily discard something for which they had risked their lives?

  Death Hall Master continued:

  “In this trial, the winner will be the one who possesses two seeds. However... You can obtain the second seed only by killing a member of your own group.

  Only someone from your own group, no one else.”

  ‘!!!’

  “What?!”

  “Only from your own group…?”

  “This… this is madness!”

  All the children’s eyes widened in shock after hearing that rule.

  ‘haha… he really played with all of you… heh!’

  Sharv’s master spoke from inside the sacred thread.

  The Death Hall Master had forced them all to form groups with strong members, but now what?

  Now they had to fight their own teammates!

  ‘Fuck, no! No! No!!! This can’t be happening!’

  Bhavesh’s mind was in complete turmoil. His facial expression had turned extremely serious. He wasn’t the only one.

  ‘The... Fuck?!’

  ‘Why did I even agree to form a group with these three!!!’

  Meera and Devansh were equally stunned. Both of them were frozen with their eyes wide open.

  They have already formed a group with each other. And all of them are one of the strongest here.

  “There is no time limit in this trial. Whoever gets the second seed will pass, that’s all. Now then, the second trial begins.”

  The Death Hall Master said, then turned around to leave.

  ‘S-Shit! I—I need to do something! Somet…?!’

  Bhavesh was just trying to think when...

  Swish! Poke!

  “ARGHHHHH!!!!”

  Two fingers shot forward like lightning and stabbed straight into his eyes. Blood began pouring down his face in streams.

  “Ahh! Ahh! Let go of me!—My eyes! My eyes!!! Aghhhh!!!”

  Bhavesh screamed violently.

  He grabbed the unknown hand tightly, but the blood-soaked fingers didn’t withdraw from his sockets they remained buried deep.

  Those fingers belonged to Sharv.

  He had driven them straight into Bhavesh’s eyes.

  Hearing the screams, everyone turned to look. Even the Death Hall Master stopped walking and turned back toward Sharv and Bhavesh.

  Sharv didn’t care about the stares. He quickly grabbed Bhavesh’s whole face with his remaining fingers and then...

  SPLAT!

  He smashed Bhavesh’s head into the ground!

  ‘!!!’

  Meera and Devansh, who stood closest, instantly jumped several steps back in fear.

  ‘T-This…’

  ‘…this is so ruthless…’

  Fear flooded the minds of Meera, Devansh, and everyone else. Fear of Sharv of his decisiveness, of his brutality.

  Bhavesh’s skull was completely annihilated.

  His hair, teeth, bone fragments, bits of brain matter, and blood were smeared across Sharv’s hand. His dislocated jaw hung from Sharv’s fingers, a piece of flesh still attached to what used to be his skull.

  “Urgh!—blegh!!!”

  Someone vomited. The first to throw up at the sight was Vishesh.

  “Vishesh…”

  Adarsh whispered, shock and horror clearly visible in his own eyes.

  “Huff! Huff!”

  Vishesh panted hard, his breathing shaky and disordered. His eyes which were usually lively and warm when he talked, were now filled only with terror.

  He wasn’t the only one.

  Many of the other children could not endure the sight. Several more vomited; some froze completely from fear.

  Ignoring everyone, Sharv pulled his hand out from the pulped remains of Bhavesh’s head, reached into the boy’s pocket, and retrieved a seed.

  “Got it…”

  Sharv said, then threw Bhavesh’s corpse aside. Showing the seed toward the Death Hall Master, he spoke:

  “I killed one of my group member and took his seed. That should be enough for this trial, right?”

  The Death Hall Master was silent for a moment.

  His expression didn’t change at all he had seen far worse, endured far worse. But he somewhere felt that Sharv's actions were too... Rebellious.

  “Pass…”

  He said quietly, looking straight into Sharv’s eyes.

  Sharv also stared into his eyes without any fear. After a few seconds, he finally looked down and walked off.

  ‘Phew… you did the right thing by lowering your eyes at the end.’

  Sharv’s master said this, and Sharv asked in reply,

  - Huh? Why, Master?

  ‘Because he holds a position higher than yours. People who occupy higher positions always want those beneath them to remain scared, to stay within their limits, so they can keep them under control.’

  - Oh!

  ‘However… because you ruined that boy’s eyes at the very beginning and killed him in such a brutal way, ‘that’ man must have become serious about you. In the end, he glared at you sharply to remind you of your place. He's not harming you right now, because he has work with you, he wants something from you. When that need is over he would dispose of you. It was good that you lowered your gaze in the end.’

  Sharv didn't replied and kept listening.

  ‘...Times may change, but humans remain the same. No person wants rebellion from those who work under them or listen to them. And so, humans often rely on fear.’

  - Fear?

  ‘Yes, fear. Everyone uses it to control large groups of people; whether it’s a king, a minister, a soldier, a martial artist, or even a father in a family. Everywhere, someone in power holds others in fear, so that everything stays controlled and everyone remains united.’

  Sharv listened carefully.

  He possessed some knowledge, but more than knowledge, experience held true value in life, something Sharv lacked, but his master had in abundance.

  ‘This, kind of makes sense…’

  Sharv’s father’s image flashed through his mind. His father had also treated his family more like an organisation, a fucking system with strict rules and regulations.

  But Sharv quickly erased that image from his thoughts and continued to listen.

  ‘But… a human should never be kept in total fear. They should only be kept fearful up to a certain limit. Do you know why?’

  - Because of the possibility of rebellion?

  ‘Exactly! If you try to keep someone in too much fear, then naturally, that person will eventually rebel. And you are behaving like a rebel only, like a reckless rebel doing whatever he want without even thinking, what the one who is in more power and authority than you would think about your actions.’

  - ...

  ‘...This is my advice to you, if you want to live longer in this world. Learn when to bow and submit to authority. When needed, bow to those who have more power. Act as if you feel fear on the outside, while constantly scheming on the inside. And yon’t act recklessly like you did just now! Otherwise you will get us all killed without our goals getting fulfilled!’

  Sharv took a deep breath, exhaled.

  He thought about his earlier actions, what he had done in front of the Death Hall Master. Not only that, but he also remembered moments from his childhood. He recalled how reckless he had been most of the time.

  That recklessness had cost him many things in the past also, yet he had never tried to fix it. He had never tried to learn from his recklessness. Because during those days he used to deal with normal people, who had no internal energy, those who were not martial artist. Those guys were not powerful and did not had any authority.

  But now, after hearing his master’s words, he finally understood just how immature and foolish his actions had been till now.

  - I completely understand, Master. Thanks for you guidance. I won’t act recklessly again. But… I want to ask you something.

  ‘What?’

  - ‘Why should the person in power fear rebellion?’ I mean, if someone rebels, what danger does that pose to the one is powerful, the one who used fear in the first place?

  ‘Humph! You’re not understanding, disciple. Fear is a very tricky thing. At times it can serve you, and at other times it can destroy you. If a person rises up in rebellion without fearing fear itself; what will he be afraid of then? His life? His safety? His loved ones? Not at all! Because the one who conquers fear, who stops being afraid of fear, becomes impossible to control. And you know… there is no one more dangerous in this world than a person who feels no fear at all. I don't know if you feel fear or not, but I know one thing, that is; you are fucking weak! And so your every reckless action would cost you greatly, so stop being a reckless, crazy, and immature kid. And think more deeply before you act!’

  Sharv's Master's last words were harsh. However, Sharv felt as if a vast amount of knowledge and years of experience were pouring into his mind. For some time, he didn’t say anything.

  Sharv exhaled, and then slowly asked his master:

  - Master... do you feel fear?

  ‘You don’t need to know that…’

  That women said firmly, to which Sharv further asked,

  - Why not?

  ‘…’

  - What happened? Why aren’t you saying anything?

  ‘…’

  Sharv’s Master remained silent until...

  - So… that means master do feel fear.

  ‘When did I ever say that?!’

  - Just from your reaction, I can tell, Master.

  ‘…You ungrateful disciple! I’m giving you all this knowledge and you’re making fun of me?...’

  Sharv’s master glared at him, but Sharv didn’t say anything after that, though her voice still echoed in his mind.

  Sharv didn’t care; at first it felt strange to hear his master’s and Vijay’s voices in his head, but now it had become normal for him.

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