URBAN VILLAIN SYSTEM

Tony finally walked out from the forest.

By the time Tony Clark finally walked back through the massive stone gates of the central district, the entire town was in a state of absolute, buzzing commotion.

The streets were completely packed with horses, carriages, and hundreds of excited young cultivators.

Most of the youngsters in the region were hurriedly running around, gathering their spiritual tokens and checking their travel gear as they prepared to make the long journey toward the Black Fire Academy for the grand entrance test.

The air was filled with the loud chatter of proud parents giving final advices and nervous teenagers practicing their basic spells. Tony navigated through the busy crowd with his slow, lazy steps, his dark hunting cloak draped loosely over his hardened shoulders as he headed straight toward the main plaza where the official academy transport was stationed.

Tony arrived late, his timing so close to the absolute deadline that the massive flying transport was already preparing to lift off into the skies. Standing near the edge of the boarding platform was his young servant lady, her face pale with anxiety as she scanned the ocean of people.

The moment her eyes locked onto Tony’s lean, perfectly toned frame, her worried expression completely vanished, and she finally let out a massive, joyful smile. She had been terrified that the greedy uncle or the Faith family had killed him in the woods, but seeing him alive and completely unharmed, she rushed forward to meet him.

She had already spent almost all her meager savings to purchase a standard travel ticket for him, and she quickly handed the glowing wooden token to the academy handler, helping Tony step onto the massive creature’s back just before the boarding ramp was pulled away.

The handler was a grumpy old man dressed in the faded gray robes of an academy helper. He looked at Tony’s travel token, then looked up at Tony’s face, immediately recognizing him as the famous, talentless orphan of the city. A mocking, condescending smirk played on the old man’s lips as he pointed a rough finger toward the absolute rear of the transport.

"Go all the way to the back, boy," the old man sneered loudly, not bothering to hide his absolute contempt. "The premium seats at the front are for the true talents of our realm. A perpetual failure like you can sit right at the very end of the tail where the wind blows the hardest."

Tony merely let out a soft, lazy chuckle, completely unbothered by the old man’s rude demeanor. He walked down the long, wooden deck built upon the creature’s shell, his posture full of his signature, shameless nonchalance as he made his way to the designated spot.

As he looked around at the hundreds of applicants sitting on the deck, a wry smile touched his lips. Among the massive crowd of new, energetic young faces, Tony was unmistakably one of the oldest ones present.

In the Eternal Sun Realm, most kids took the academy test between the ages of twelve and fifteen. For the original host of this body, this was officially his seventh time taking the entrance exam, and because of his age, it was also his absolute last opportunity to become an official disciple before the realm laws barred him forever.

Sitting majestically at the absolute head position of the giant flying creature was Lady Julie Faith. She was surrounded by a luxurious canopy and a group of flattering young nobles who were desperately trying to win her favor. Julie did not need to take the entrance test today; she was already an esteemed inner disciple of the Black Fire Academy and was simply returning to the campus after spending her annual holidays with her family.

As the shadow of Tony’s tall figure passed near the front deck, Julie casually tilted her chin upward, her violet eyes glancing at him for a brief, cold microsecond before she completely ignored his existence, turning back to converse with her wealthy peers as if he were nothing more than a passing speck of dust.

The moment the other young applicants noticed where Tony was forced to sit, the entire rear deck erupted into a wave of mocking laughter and cruel whispers. Many of the teenagers began to deliberately make loud jokes about him, making sure their voices carried over the sound of the wind.

"Look at that old artifact!" one young noble laughed, pointing his finger at Tony’s cloak.

"He has failed the test six times already, yet he still has the audacity to show his face on the transport! He must really enjoy being the laughingstock of the Black Fire Academy!"

Another girl chimed in with a cruel giggle, "He probably thinks that sitting near Lady Julie will somehow magically open his blocked meridians. What a pathetic, delusional cripple."

Tony completely ignored the insults, his calculating mind entirely refusing to waste any spiritual energy on a pack of short-sighted children. He looked to his left and noticed a poor but very nice-looking young lady sitting quietly near the edge of the railing.

She was completely isolated from the noisy crowd, her eyes filled with an absolute, serious focus as she held a small wooden board and a paintbrush, carefully painting the distant, jagged terrain of the disappearing mountain ranges.

"Excuse me, miss," Tony said smoothly, his deep baritone voice startling her slightly. "Could you spare a blank sheet of your sketch paper for a moment?"

The girl blinked in surprise, but seeing Tony’s relaxed, non-threatening expression, she nodded politely and tore a clean, rough sheet of paper from her bundle, handing it to him without a word. Tony took the paper, tore it into two neat, compact pieces, and quickly rolled them into tight plugs.

With a shameless, highly amused grin on his face, he stuffed the paper plugs directly into both his ears, completely blocking out the noisy, mocking laughter of the surrounding teenagers.

A moment later, the ground beneath them shook faintly as the massive flying turtle finally unleashed its ancient, wind-attribute core energy.

The colossal beast let out a deep, thunderous groan that vibrated through the wooden deck, its giant, scaled flippers beating against the heavy air as it slowly lifted its massive body off the stone platform.

Within seconds, the transport soared straight into the clouds, flying smoothly through the soft, crisp wind of the upper atmosphere as the busy town below shrunk into a tiny, insignificant dot on the horizon.

Tony leaned his back against the sturdy wooden guardrail at the end of the tail, his dark eyes staring out at the absolute majesty of the open sky.

For Tony, who had spent his entire previous life traveling in dark metallic war jets and dealing with brutal political warfare, it felt like an absolute, beautiful fairy tale to fly through the clouds upon the back of a living, mythical beast.

For the very first time since coming into this brutal new world, a feeling of total, unburdened satisfaction filled his chest, and he felt a profound certainty that he had made the absolute right choice to abandon his old cage and leap into this grand universe.

-Tq

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