’We will bypass the political treaties of the middle cycles for today,’ Shu Jiu said, his voice dropping into a chilling, hollow register that seemed to make the frost on the windows grow thicker.

’For your final lesson before you either leave these walls or advance to the courts, I must prepare you for the true horrors that wander in the Forest Of The Dead.’

The older man leaned over his podium, his eyes sweeping across the shivering students.

’I will tell you about the Half-Deads.’

The classroom became completely silent.

Even Damien, who had been lazily playing with a strand of his brown hair, slowed his movements, his brilliant sapphire eyes fixing onto the front podium with a rare, quiet curiosity.

Evan leaned slightly forward, his hands remaining steady inside his brownish leather gloves, though his crimson Qi flickered with a sudden, tense rhythm against the silver walls of his aperture.

Teacher Shu Jiu took off his iron spectacles, blowing a breath of warm air onto the lenses before wiping them with the hem of his sleeve.

His face looked incredibly ancient in the dim winter light.

’Many of you foolishly believe that monsters are born only from dark bloodlines, cursed paths, or forbidden cultivation experiments gone wrong,’ the teacher began, his voice echoing softly against the cold stone walls.

’But the most terrifying abominations in our history were born from the most fragile thing in the cosmos, human emotion. To understand the Half-Deads, you must understand the tragedy of the Third Court of the Iron Men Sect’s history.’

He tapped the leather-bound book on his desk.

’Nearly half a cycle ago, in the middle of the current 12th Cycle, there lived a Core Disciple of a premier sect. He was not a Vampire. He was a Iron Man, one of the magical species.’

’Like all other Iron Men, his body was forged to be as unyielding as a mountain fortress, his heart hardened against the temptations of the flesh.’

’Yet, during an unmonitored border excursion, he went to the Non-Magical Realm. And there, he fell in love with a mortal woman.’

A few students whispered in hushed, disapproving tones. Loving a Human, a Non magical person was considered a supreme sin.

’For thirteen whole years,’ Shu Jiu continued, his gaze drifting toward the snow falling outside the window.

’This Core Disciple abandoned his duties. Every single day, without fail, he secretly crossed the boundaries into the other realm just to see her. He watched her from the shadows of her mortal town. He watched her laughing, smiling, and sometimes crying. He became a ghost attached to her existence, entirely consumed by a passion his cultivation should have suppressed.’

Evan listened, a cold, analytical frown forming beneath his messy dark hair.

To abandon cultivation for thirteen years for a Human who would wrinkle and die in the blink of an eye was madness.

Beside him, Damien let out a tiny, barely audible scoff, a cynical smirk returning to his breathtaking features.

’One day, in the fourteenth year of his silent vigil, the woman reached her thirty-fifth year of life,’ Shu Jiu said, his voice dropping an octave.

’She was married to a Human man, a brute who did not appreciate her grace. When the husband discovered she had become pregnant, a violent rage consumed him. He screamed at her, striking her, and ultimately abandoned her in the dead of winter, leaving her broken and bleeding in the mud.’

’The Iron Man, watching from the darkness, was unable to endure the pain of his lover. In a fit of absolute, unbridled fury, he hunted the husband down and killed the man who had hurt her.’

The teacher paused, leaning both hands heavily on the wooden podium.

’In the ancient texts of Adam Gabriel, it is written that The chance of a Spectral or an Iron Man crying is less than a mortal killing an Immortal. Their tear ducts are literally petrified. Yet, the texts record that the Iron Man cried that day for the Human woman.’

’He wept so bitterly that his thick beard filled with tears, and his entire shirt became soaked through with the water from his eyes. It was a weeping that defied the very laws of cultivation.’

The classroom was gripped by a suffocating stillness.

No one spoke.

’But the tragedy did not end with his tears,’ Shu Jiu whispered, his eyes narrowing into cold slits.

’The Iron Man knew that if the woman realized her husband was dead, her heart would shatter completely. Human physical appearance can be easily copied by a blood worm, or an Iron Worm in the case of an Iron Man. Using his advanced cultivation, the Core Disciple activated a high-grade Iron Worm. He meticulously copied the physical appearance, the vocal frequencies, and even the shallow memories of the dead husband.’

Evan’s eyes widened slightly beneath his brow. He could already see the terrifying trajectory of the tale.

’He disguised himself perfectly and went to the woman’s cottage,’ the teacher said, his hands tightening on the podium.

’He knelt before her, playing the part of the repentant husband. He apologized to the woman, weeping falsely, and told her he was sorry, that he had simply not been ready for the responsibility, but that he would take care of her and the child from now on. He reached out with his bare hands, hands that had slaughtered her real husband just hours prior, and gently wiped the tears from her cheeks.’

’The woman was insanely happy,’ Shu Jiu murmured, a dark, ominous smile twisting his old lips.

’She truly believed her husband had undergone a change of heart. Blinded by her profound relief and love, she stepped forward. She put her hands firmly behind the waist of the disguised Iron Man... and she kissed him.’

Shu Jiu stopped speaking. He stood up straight, slowly closing the massive book with a deliberate, agonizing slowness.

Evan felt his pulse quicken.

The story had stopped right at the cliffhanger.

Beside him, Damien had completely stopped leaning back; his sapphire eyes were locked onto the teacher, his jawline taut.

’Teacher,’ a female student from the front row gasped, unable to bear the silence.

’What happened next? Did they live together?’

Shu Jiu looked at the class, his expression devoid of any warmth, reflecting the bleak winter outside.

’She kissed him,’ he repeated softly.

’But who knew that this singular act of Human Love, fused with the deceptive iron essence of a high stage Iron Man cultivator, would turn into a lethal, reality-shattering problem later on.’ 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

The heavy copper bell of the academy suddenly tolled outside, signaling the absolute end of the semester.

But not a single student moved to get up.