Lu Bu's eyelids slowly parted as he awoke and sat up on his bed. He rolled his shoulders experimentally and hardly felt any pain and as he breathed deeply, could only feel partial bruising on his chest.
Satisfied that he had recovered from the Headmaster's attempt at killing him, he made his way to the bathroom, grabbing his trademark armor along the way. Once he had showered and changed the Demon exited his room, closing his door quietly as possible as to avoid waking his daughter, and made his way to the cafeteria to eat breakfast before meeting with Professor Ozpin at the arena portion of the school.
As he entered the ring, he noticed the Headmaster and Professor Goodwitch standing alongside a training dummy.
Ozpin nodded towards him with coffee mug in hand and smiled. "Master Lu Bu, good morning. I trust you slept well?"
"Where is my spear?" The Demon demanded, which earned a huff from Goodwitch as she beckoned towards Professors Port and Oobleck, who entered from the opposite side of the arena visibly struggling to carry the massive weapon.
Lu Bu met them halfway and seized the shaft, swinging it experimentally as the other two men left. "Our apologies if it seems off. There was no small amount of blood on it from the night before last."
"Other than the cleanliness, you changed nothing?" The Flying General inquired in a threatening tone.
"Absolutely not. No modifications are to be made to a Professor's weapon by anyone other than themselves. Beacon Academy Policy." Goodwitch chimed in.
"Good." He declared, slamming the butt of the halberd on the hard floor, creating a resounding clang. "Then let's get on with this."
"Very well." Ozpin nodded to Goodwitch, who then tapped a few buttons on her scroll. "For starters, we would like for you to fight without your weapon and test your hand-to-hand strength first." Lu Bu then leaned his weapon against the nearest wall before returning to the front of the dummy. "This is a replica target that will measure the amount of damage you inflict on it and what that blow would do to a student's aura level. As a test, please strike it lightly in the chest."
His fist was almost invisible as it hit the target square in the lungs. On her scroll tablet, Goodwitch showed her superior that the blow inflicted a hefty twenty-three percent. Ozpin then opened his mouth to ask Lu Bu to hit it lighter, but thought better of it. The man was a seven foot, two hundred-thirty pound, spear wielding killer who could cleave through bone, sinew and cartilage like it was paper so he'd doubt it if the general could hit it any lighter.
"Thank you. Now strike hard as possible once to the skull." A shout of rage followed the strike as Lu Bu hit the dummy with an open palm and the damage level more than doubled to forty-six percent.
Ozpin audibly breathed anxiously while Goodwitch showed him the results. "Now a kick to the stomach area please."
Another hit, another significant amount of damage, this one being a devastating sixty-one percent. Ozpin sighed. Just two strikes and the target would be out of aura and most likely crippled.
"Now if you would so kindly take your weapon and inflict a non-lethal blow on the target, Master Lu Bu."
He complied and slashed diagonally at the dummy's left leg, which while not fatal, still took out seventy percent of the hypothetical student's aura.
The Demon was then asked to strike with the handle of his weapon and the butt of the halberd hit it in the stomach, which took out a less significant but still surprising fifty-six percent.
"One final strike, Master Lu Bu." The one that would be able to literally measure his unaltered power. "A slash to the torso area with as much strength you can muster."
Lu Bu smirked to himself and gazed at the dummy for few seconds, imagining the faces of Dong Zhou, Cao Cao and Liu Bei on it. All of his worst enemies bringing the Demon's blood to a boiling rage as his blade descended on the training figure.
The audible sound that emanated from both the Demon and his weapon made both Goodwitch and Ozpin flinch, if only for a second. They stared for a second, Lu Bu's face twisting in anger with his eyes closed, appearing to control his anger until Goodwitch looked to her tablet and presented it to Ozpin.
One hundred thirty-seven percent. A swift, fatal blow that would cut through a newcomer's aura and flesh without so much as a chance to react. With the augmentation of his semblance… Ozpin did the math in his head and the end result came out to possibly over six hundred percent or just maybe, even a nine hundred. No single strike on Remnant came close to rivalling Lu Bu's combat prowess, making Lu Lingqi's safety at the very top of his priority list, for if she was hurt and Lu Bu truly wasn't making idle threats earlier, Ozpin's skull would actually be atop the Demon's spear.
"Ummm… Thank you, Master Lu Bu." Ozpin said after recovering from witnessing how the man in front of him was rightfully named a Demon. "Ms. Goodwitch will teach you the intricacies of giving lessons to the students and what we would like them to learn upon graduating your class."
His anger suppressed, Lu Bu turned to the other adults and nodded. "Very well."
Then, as Goodwitch approached, she thought of something. "Master Lu Bu, do you have your scroll turned on?"
He produced the device from underneath his left arm plate and handed it to her. With a sigh of frustration, she turned it on and opened the application that measured a person's aura level. "Left arm please." She demanded with her hand out. Cautiously, he placed his forearm in her grasp as she bound the device face-up to the Flying General's armor and the screen flashed a picture of its bearer and the aura level rose to thirty percent before stopping.
Goodwitch waited for it to continue to rise, but it never did. "How are you feeling today? Any pain, exhaustion, hunger?" She inquired.
"Nothing." He growled back.
Then why is his aura only at thirty percent when it should be at a hundred? She shook her head and chalked it up to still recovering from his trial. "No matter, I want you to keep your scroll on your arm during classes so that we can monitor your aura level. As for what we want you to teach our students, we would like for you to teach the following." The blonde professor then gave him a schedule for the next semester.
Lingqi roused herself from bed at seven-thirty in the morning, showered and changed into her uniform for the day, grabbing her school supplies and compacted weapon on the way out towards her team's dorm.
Upon arriving, she knocked and her leader promptly answered with a smile. "Morning Lingqi, how'd you sleep?"
"I'm well Ruby, thank you." She entered and saw Blake already dressed and ready for the day, placing the last of her remaining supplies in her book bag, Weiss just beginning to awaken while Yang continued to sleep, an arm hanging off her bed as she snored lightly.
"So we got a new class schedule. It looks like your dad's class is right before lunch." The little reaper announced, handing a piece of paper with the day's lessons on it to the new addition to her team. She looked and sure enough, at eleven o' clock was 'Advanced Combat Tactics with Master Lu Bu'.
"It must be weird to participate in a class where your dad is the teacher." Blake declared from her position at her desk.
Lingqi merely shook her head as she folded up the piece of paper and placed it in her pocket. "No, I believe he will treat it like another one of our previous combat lessons. The only difference this time is that I won't be the only one learning."
"Still, your father seems full of himself if he thinks that we still need to learn how to fight after passing initiation." Weiss said, heading to the bathroom with her clothes underarm.
"And I suppose you'd know all about over-entitled fathers, wouldn't you?" Blake snapped.
The slam of the door was enough to wake Ruby's sister as she stretched before hopping down to the floor. The rest of the team then idly chatted away until everyone was ready before heading down for breakfast.
After the meal, the teams attended their first class before heading to their newest course located in the sparring arena. As the students filed in one by one, The Flying General drew quite a few gazes, standing tall at a little over seven feet tall, wielding his massive spear wearing an unimpressed look and his full combat garb.
As Lingqi sat next to her teammates, she could hear the whispers of her fellow students.
"Is that the new professor?" A boy with blue hair inquired.
A scoff was heard followed by; "He probably doesn't know anything. I bet he's all show." Lingqi wasn't angry by the comment, but rather had trouble stifling a laugh.
Father is going to have fun putting him in his place. She thought with a smirk, an expression that didn't go unnoticed by her leader.
"Excited to start, Lingqi?" Ruby asked.
The platinum-haired girl nodded. "I believe everyone will learn something today." She emphasised, glancing at Weiss at 'everyone.'
Once the class had been filled, Lu Bu said nothing as he visually assessed the children before him. His eyes came across his daughter and he inwardly smirked. She's probably the only one remotely capable of fighting.
"How many of you believe you will learn something during this class? Please rise."
As expected, most of the students stood, including Lingqi.
"Thank you. Those who didn't, please step forth." As the remaining ones sat, the dozen or so students who Lu Bu immediately labelled 'deluded' stood by the railing of the arena.
"I'm surprised you haven't been cut down already."
"We survived initiation. We've proven we can fight. What else can you teach?" A brown-haired, mace-wielding boy snarled.
"Arm yourself and I'll show you." Lu Bu challenged, keeping his stoic expression.
"Grave mistake." Lingqi muttered.
The boy soon emerged from the locker room, weapon in hand and fully armored, and his as well as his teacher's aura level appeared on the monitor, showing Lu Bu at thirty percent while his opponent was at full.
Lu Bu shifted to his combat stance, left hand outstretched with the other grasping his blade. "Attack at will." He offered, which his opponent immediately took.
The boy rushed Lu Bu with a shout and put all of his might into a horizontal strike to the ribs but found the hit blocked by a sudden clash of steel on steel.
The boy looked up to see Lu Bu smirking, keeping the mace at bay with the shaft of his weapon.
"One free strike. That is all I will grant. Any other hits will be met with my full force." Without even struggling, the General shoved away the blunt tool with a single hand as his opponent backed up and mentally assessed the situation.
After feigning several charges, he rushed forth with mace overhead that was easily countered by his teacher's massive halberd.
Within a second, Lu Bu dragged his weapon down until the blade hooked onto his opponent's and tossed it away before seizing him by the skull with his free hand and literally throwing him into the wall across the way, a move that took out a remarkable sixty percent out of him and caused the observing student to stare in awe.
As the attacking student attempted to rise from his sitting position, Lu Bu turned to the rest of the children and slammed the butt of his spear on the hard concrete floor, silencing any conversation.
"I will ask again, who thinks they will learn something during my class?" the second the words left his mouth, the entirety of his class rose. He nodded as his eye caught something. A raised eyebrow from Lingqi, her gaze not at her father, but just to his side…
Without thinking, The Demon spun around and swung his blade, knocking away his attacker's mace once again and Lu Bu grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, brought him to eye level and whispered the words; "You have a warrior's spirit, but not his intellect. Next time you attack me without my knowledge, I will do much worse than what I've inflicted today." Lu Bu then slammed the boy into the floor, nearly cracking it as his aura fell to seventeen percent.
"Back to your seat." He ordered, his voice retaining its normal volume.
The rest of the class was spent making introductions, Lu Bu instructing his student to address him as 'General' rather than 'Professor' and learning the names of his pupils.
On the way to their next class, Lingqi was bombarded with questions from her teammates.
"Your father is really pushing the limits of what he can teach, you know that?!" Weiss shouted.
"Why did his aura start out at a third?" Blake added.
"Has he always been like this?" Ruby inquired.
"When can I fight him?" Yang asked.
One at a time, the Daughter of The Demon answered the questions aside from the black-clad girl's as the day continued and they attended regular classes.
The day came to a close and on the way back to her room, Lingqi met her father and joined him on the walk.
"Ah, Lingqi. How did you find today's lesson?"
"Pleasing, father. I rather enjoyed you demonstrating that no matter what someone thinks, they never stop learning, especially on the battlefield." She answered happily.
He chuckled back. "Yes, I hope to prevent all my students from making the same mistake I did."
Lingqi raised an eyebrow at the statement. "What mistake?"
"Overconfidence. Intelligence always seems to be the first to fall in any military with a large army or high strength. I cannot allow that to happen again." He then turned to his daughter. "Swear to me you will not do what I did. Never underestimate your enemy, Lingqi."
She quickly nodded back. "I swear."
Lu Bu breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you. Goodnight, my daughter."
"To you as well, father." She replied, stepping into her room.