Speaker A
He'll drag them all to hell. Then a voice calls for Yaori to wake up, and his eyes snap open under a clear sky. A teacher leans over him, asking if he's okay, but he's certain he should be dead. Sitting against a brick wall, he looks at the unfamiliar people gathered around him and briefly wonders whether this strange place actually is hell. One student mocks the Yaori family's fragile young master for collapsing in the middle of an exam, while another points out that he's already been kicked out of the family. Nearby, a girl dismisses him as trash and asks Hokuba if he'll break another record. During the test, judging by Hokuba's smug answer, he considers that a foregone conclusion. As the teacher resumes the fitness test, unfamiliar memories suddenly flood into Hiroto's mind. This isn't the Ruyo continent. He's apparently reincarnated into another man who shares his name, Yaori Hiroto. His host's blocked meridians left him frail and shunned by the prestigious Yaori clan, which exiled him after his parents died. Getting to his feet, Hiroto struggles to accept that he's truly landed in another world where, according to these memories, people don't even know how to cultivate. The energy called spirit qi exists around them, though it isn't something they can simply extract and use. People on the Ruyo continent learn to absorb it from the air. Here, Hiroto senses only a faint supply, but he's already gathering that energy between his hands. He knows how to absorb it efficiently, storing it inside and repeatedly cultivating to strengthen even this frail body. His gaze sharpens as he puts that knowledge into practice, reclaiming the very foundation of what makes him a cultivator. The first stage clears his blocked meridians completely, and he notices he's even grown taller. Once he regains his former strength at the 11th stage, he intends to return to the Ruyo continent and take revenge on the comrades who betrayed him. For now, though, he's only at stage one. That comeback will have to happen one step at a time. The fitness test offers a convenient way to measure what this newly strengthened body can do. As he approaches the group, a long-haired student questions whether he's really recovered, but Hiroto simply confirms that it's a 100-meter dash and announces he's taking part. The others laugh. Hokuba, the school record holder with a Sports University recommendation practically secured, is running next. Hokuba calls Hiroto a loser with no pride, while the girl beside him eagerly joins in. Hiroto knows he's only at the first stage, but a cultivator's physical potential is already far beyond an ordinary person's. He doesn't look particularly worried. The long-haired student insists everyone else backed out because they were too scared to face Hokuba. That warning doesn't stop Hiroto from taking his place beside him at the starting line where both runners crouch and wait for the signal. Hokuba wears the same confident grin, apparently expecting this to go exactly his way. The starting pistol cracks, and he bursts down the track while Hiroto stays right where he is. With a small smile, Hiroto quietly counts one, then two as the spectators laugh that he's frozen up and call him worthless. At three, he decides he's given Hokuba enough of a head start and finally launches himself down the track. The laughter turns into stunned disbelief. Hiroto recalls how the first cultivators on the Ruyo continent shattered everything people thought they knew about human ability. Even the teacher can only stare as he blazes past Hokuba, demonstrating speed that an ordinary body simply can't match. Reaching the finish, Hiroto slows right before the tapes, still considering the enormous gap between them. He starts counting again while Hokuba desperately runs toward him, letting a second moment pass as the spectators watch with their mouths hanging open. To Hiroto, cultivation represents an entirely different level of physical development, and Hokuba still hasn't caught up. Only after counting to three does he break the tape. Between both pauses, he's handed Hokuba six seconds. The teacher checks her stopwatch. 9.98 seconds, a new record that includes all the time he spent waiting. Hokuba drops to his hands and knees, sweating and staring in disbelief. As far as he's concerned, that's impossible. Hiroto studies his hand, fully aware that this strength is nowhere near what he once possessed. But the body's potential impresses him. Beating Hokuba is just the beginning. He intends to rise again. His former title as the Ruyo continent's strongest cultivator hadn't come from nowhere. Fifty years of training had allowed him to surpass countless powerful rivals and reach the 11th stage at 65 years old. Yet, even that strength hadn't protected him after the victory over the demon lord's army from the trusted companions who turned on him like a pack of wolves. Back in the present, Hiroto considers using special medicines to regain the 11th stage as quickly as possible. Checking prices on his phone, however, introduces a less glamorous obstacle. The previous owner's money won't come anywhere close to covering these ingredients. He could make talismans and sell them to raise the funds. Except his balance is only a thousand yen. That won't even cover materials for low-grade talismans. If he's serious about revenge, he needs to find some way to earn money. While he's working through that problem at the restroom sinks, Hokuba appears behind him, bringing several other students along. Apparently, the race hasn't settled anything for them. Alongside track captain Hokuba stands boxing captain Osakiharu. Hokuba announces they're collecting this month's protection fee early. Hiroto searches the body's memories and recognizes them as the students who regularly extorted his host, including just last week. When their so-called protection involved leaving him on the floor, uneasy about Hiroto's change today, Hokuba leaves him to Haru, who dismisses the job as easy. Haru pulls back his fist, declaring, "One punch will do." The old Hiroto would simply have endured it. This Hiroto has no intention of taking it. Haru's punch looks slow enough to dodge with ease, and the counter lands squarely on the boxing captain's jaw, sending him flying. Against a cultivator, even the school's best boxer is still an ordinary person. Before the others can recover, Hiroto pivots toward the long-haired student and drives a kick into him, knocking him against the wall. Hokuba and the remaining boy recoil, wondering whether this can really be the Yaori they know. Standing over their fallen friend, Hiroto asks a very simple question. Are they scared? Hokuba answers by charging alongside the boy in the orange hoodie, both raising their fists. But Hiroto catches their hands and holds the two attackers in place without budging. As he tightens his grip, their knees buckle and both start yelling for him to let go. Hiroto calmly tells them there's no need to rush. They can take their time with this. The threats turn into apologies as they admit they were wrong and beg him to stop until he finally shoves them away, se...
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