Disclaimer: As always, I own nothing.

Chapter 6: A tale of the times past.

As far as young Qiu Ruonxi was concerned, life was not always about death and destruction. As the daughter of a small courtroom official on a small kingdom, she had a comfortable childhood. Like all kids in her situation, she had expected to grow up among her peers in the capital, maybe marry an eminent scholar like her mother did, start a family and have a few kids.

However, fate was a cruel mistress for she completely destroyed any chance for her to have a normal life in one fell swoop.

She still remembered that day like it was yesterday. Her ten year old self was playing with her best friend in the backyard of her house when a loud noise sounded across the capital. Everything that happened afterwards was like a blur. She remembered her mother running towards her, taking her in her arms and hiding her inside the trunk of a carriage that belonged to some wandering traders.

Her mother's crying face as she was going back was still etched in her memories. Her ten year old self was completely bewildered and had no time to respond before the carriage set out from the capital.

She would later come to know that her homeland was wiped out by an invasion from the empire and her parents, who were devout to the kingdom had committed suicide to avoid being captured by the enemy. Her mother had gone as far as to set herself on fire to avoid being disgraced after death.

There was a limit to how much a ten year old could hide and so it didn't take much long before she was discovered by the merchants. Although they were ki d enough to drop her off in a nearby city outside of her kingdom, they made it clear that she wasn't welcome with them.

Thus started the darkest phase of her life. Life in the slum was hard enough for kids who had lived their entire life in there much less for a girl like her who had lived a life of luxury for all her life. However, somehow she managed to adapt to her new home.

She begged, scavenged and did small odd jobs to survive. Her beautiful face was completely smeared with dirt and grease in order to avoid being taken away by some pervert. Her life in this manner continued until on a fateful day, she found another home.

It was a day just like any other. She, now 12 years old was selling some chestnuts that she had picked up from the forest near the city in the Town Square when she saw a commotion.

"Did you hear? The Blood Lotus is looking for outer disciples from the city?" She heard a few men speaking amongst themselves.

"Apparently, they will take anyone in as long as they are young and talented."

This piqued her curiosity. Although she resided in the slum, the rumour vine in the slum was advanced enough for her to know what martial artists were. With nothing else to do, she too made her way to the part of the City where the recruitment was going on.

The entire place was crowded with people and she could see many of her acquaintance in the slum lining up for a chance. She too soon joined them and after standing in line for about three hours, it was her turn.

The test was extremely simple. She was asked to stand still in a small array. When she entered the array, she could feel some kind of weird energy flowing through her. After about ten seconds, she was asked to step out of the array and a beautiful looking young woman told her that she had passed.

This was the first step she took in finding her own place in the world.

The Blood Lotus clan, her new home was one of the thirteen major clans in the Golden Lion empire. It was quite a large clan that spanned over ten different hills with over ten thousand members and students.

On the way to the clan, she had obtained some information from her benefactor regarding why she was chosen.

"Senior sister, could you tell me why I was chosen? I don't see anyone else who passed so why me?"She asked.

"Well Ruonxi, the most important thing for a martial artist to have is the ability to accept qi. Although I don't know the complete details, yours is a special physique that is really suited for martial arts. My master might be able to tell us what exactly your physique is." The senior sister who was called Luo Yi had told her.

However, not all was well for her trials were only just starting.

"So this is the child you informed me of, the one with a different physique." She was currently standing in front of the elder council of the Clan. The one speaking was an old man who looked like he was in his nineties with a bald head and long white beard.

"We would be grateful if the master identify her physique for us. Even junior sister Yumeng was unable to identify it and she is the most knowledgeable among the elders about these matters." The master of senior sister Luo was the one who said this.

"I see. Well, let me try." The master spoke and soon Ruonxi could feel a foreign presence in her body. She tried not to fight it and after a while, it disappeared.

"Impossible! " The master exclaimed.

"What is it master?" One of the elders asked.

"It really is the Chaos Body! I never thought I would come across someone who had it in my lifetime." The master spoke to no one in particular.

"What is this Chaos Body that you speak of master? How come we haven't heard of it before?" An older looking woman, with long white hair and black eyes spoke. This was Elder Yumeng.

"I cannot blame you for not knowing it fir it is extremely rare for anyone to possess the Chaos Body. In fact the last known wielder died about 400 years ago before any of you were born."

"What is so special about this Chaos Body master?" Elder Yumeng asked.

"Well, the Chaos Body is the absolute best possible physique that a martial artist could possess. It increases the wielders aptitude for martial arts tenfold as compared to the next best one which is my Nine Star Immortal Body and makes breakthroughs far easier than what they would otherwise be." Everyone was shocked at this revelation.

"Wait! Something doesn't add up Master. If it is so powerful, how come we haven't heard of anyone who possess it?" One of the elders asked.

"Well, as the saying goes, heaven has a way to balance things out. Although the owners of the Chaos Body stands at the pinnacle of potential, they are also cursed with the worst luck imaginable. Not a single wielder in recorder history has lived past the age of twenty and they have always brought misfortune upon where they went." The master was solemn as he said this and his words shocked everyone of us. She was the one who was the most shocked for what he said was akin to sentencing her to death.

"Although nothing is set in stone, we can only hope that you will not fall victim to the same curse as your predecessors did. If you wish to walk away from the path of a martial artist, you are free to do so." The master had directly addressed her.

"I wish to become a martial artist." She said.

"Even with the risks involved?"

"As Master said, nothing is set in stone and it is not like anyone will miss me if I were to die. I am aware that many martial artists fall in battle each day and my death, if it ever happens can be treated as one such unfortunate case." It was a lonely thought for a twelve year old but it was not as if she was wrong.

"If that is your wish, then I will not stop you." Thus, the meeting had come to an end.

Contrary to her fears, life in the clan was not that hard for her. Of course she had no real bond in the clan as everyone feared being close to her and attracting misfortune but she was never in any unreasonable accidents.

She was unable to join others in the clan on missions as everyone who accompanied her ended up dead one way or another so she was prohibited from leaving the clan compound which helped in preventing any accidents.

Of course, it was a lonely life but at least it was better than always being in the verge of starvation. Her growth rate broke all past records and in her third year she was already as strong as some of the elders.

The clan made extra sure that her existence was not leaked to the outside world to prevent other clans from attacking them. However, everything went to hell in the fourth year she was there.

Whe she was 16, a massive war broke out between two of the thirteen major clans and soon the others joined in. The Blood Lotus which was allied with some of the combatants was forced to join in as well which pulled the entire continent into war.

It all started when a guy named Luo Aotian destroyed a middle level sect called The Nightmare Palace which was allied with The Red Dragon Clan which was one of the 13 major clans. Normally it would have been overlooked as might made right in Murim but the problem stemmed from the fact that Luo Aotian was in a physical relationship with the daughter of the Clan head of the Holy Kingdom, another one of the 13 major clans.

This fact sparked a lot of tension between the two clans which broke past the point of repair when Luo Aotian killed the delegation sent over by the Red Dragons for negotiations.

Like sharks who smelled blood, the other clans were quick to jump in and it turned into an all out slugfest.

Under normal circumstances, the war would have ended in a few months since the Holy Kingdom and it's allies were quite outclassed in terms of strength. However, Luo Aotian was a wildcard and his conncetions with prominent figures outside the continent came in handy for them. Although she wanted to join the battle, the elders strictly forbade her from doing so before going out to fight themselves.

In just over an year after the war had started, the Blood Lotus was on it's last legs. The Master and all the Elders were dead, half the entire inner disciples were gone and the outer disciples were too weak to fight. She had personally joined the battlefield since there weren't many left capable of doing so. Luo Aotian and allies were marching to victory.

Then he took charge and everything changed.

The first time she met him, her master was when she was fourteen. They both had entered the sect at the same time period. In just two years, he had made a reputation for himself in the sect with his weird name and a cent percent success rate. Hikigaya Hachiman was a weird name to say the least.

She met him while he was going to the office of the Master while she was returning from there. She was unfamiliar with him as he was unfamiliar with her so they didn't speak to each other. She never really paid any attention to him afterwards.

The next time she ever met him in person was during his coronation as the new clan head four years later. By the process of elimination, he was the senior most nember left in the clan which made him the head. To be honest, everyone had lost hope in surviving and so the affair was done in a quiet manner.

After the ceremony was over, she remember sitting atop a nearby hill when the conversation that would change her forever happened.

"Why are you sitting here alone?"

She was a little startled when her new clan head approached her out of nowhere.

"Just leave me alone."

"Can't do that. Now that I am the Head, I need to look after every member as much as I can." He said.

"Even if I tell you my problems, it's not like you can do anything about it." She was a bit snarky with that response.

"Even so, sometimes just letting out all the bottles up emotions can be good for you. Just tell me what is bothering you and maybe i can help."

Under normal circumstances, she would have scoffed at the idea but the constant death and destruction grated on her nerves a little too much. She actually ended up telling him everything from her past and about her physique and how it was an unlucky one. He sat there and listened.

"I see. That must have been quite a lit to go through." After she had finshed her take, he said.

"Come here." He said before pulling her into a hug and for the first time since she was a child, she felt safe. Something broke in ger as she cried her heart out, drenching his clothes in the process.

"You know what Ruonxi?, be my disciple." After she had calmed down, he said this to her.

"Didn't you hear what I just said?!"

"I did. But I can help you. I will give you a free lesson now Ruonxi, fate becomes meaningless in front of strength. If you are strong enough, you will be able to live with your head held high under any circumstances."

She would go on to learn what he meant in the next few days.

Her new master had single handedly pushed back Luo Aotian's entire army and caused so much damage that they had to retreat, giving everyone a much needed breathing room.

At the same time, ahe had officially became his disciple and under the tutelage of her new master, her strength started soaring to unimaginable heights. Even if she was a genius, there were limits to how much she could accomplish on her own.

It was not like the misfortune surrounding her disappeared either. Many accidents happened during their training but her master was completely nonchalant about it. This led her to a shocking discovery.

Her master was too strong.

He was so strong that he could casually punch a high ranked immortal beast into oblivion. He had techniques that could burn down an entire city in seconds and his movement was incomprehensible even for her. Under his tutelage, she became the second most powerful being in the continent in just under an year and by now she had let herself go completely.

He had became the rock to which her emotions were anchored to and she didn't have to fear that he would disappear on her. Under their combined might, the tides of war turned and soon the enemies were put on the back foot. All of the cities that they had lost were taken back and many of the cities that belonged to Luo Aotian were taken from him.

The war should have ended after three years when their army destroyed the last vestiges of Luo Aotian's army but for some reason, he and his harem kept escaping from them. Every time he was cornered, he would escape somehow and get stronger in the process. By the fifth year, half the continent had united under the Blood Lotus while the remaining were under their control but Luo Aotian was still on the run.

After a little help from Master who had stopped participating after the second year, Luo Aotian was finally trapped and killed which brought her to her current situation.

She was shocked to hear that her beloved master was someone who came from another world and was going back to said world. By now, it was impossible for her to live without Master which she made known to him. He coaxed her by promising her that he would return periodically which she accepted after some thought.

Although she had wanted to go with him, there were things left for her to do here before she could leave. She had toead the clan in Master's absence until she could find a worthy replacement.

"Still thinking about him Mistress?" Yan Mengmeng was a spoil of war who was gifted to her by Master. The woman was Luo Aotian's childhood sweetheart who was the main reason behind the start of the war.

Although she was resentful over the death of her man, she wasn't stupid enough to not know the alternatives that awaited her if she pissed her off.

"I'm not going to deny it. I just want to be with him as soon as I can."

[Hachiman POV]

"Ne Hikki, is this how you do this problem?"

Spring break was near and that meant one thing for the populace of Soubu, exams.

As a merit based prestigious institution, Soubu was notorious for its year round ex

ams and the one just before spring break was particularly harsh.

Of course, it was not a problem for most of the top performers in the school including myself but not everyone was that good which led to our current situation, a study session.

Right now me and the gang were sitting in the public library and Yui was the one who asked the question. We were doing math problems. Well to be honest, they were doing math problems while I was simply watching over them.

"Seems like you are getting the hang of it. At least compared to the train wreck that you were before. Seriously Yui! How did you even get in Soubu?"

"That's mean!" Yui pouted.

"But he is telling the truth tho Yui. Your grades are not exactly the best."

"You too Saki? Why is everyone against me?" In the past month, Yui and Saki had formed a friendship. Although they weren't close enough to be considered best friends, they were still closer to each other. By the way, Zaimokuza was trying to keep himself from being caught in the crossfire so he was keeping quiet.

"Speaking of studies, how did your scholarship application go Saki?" Apparently, Kawasaki wanted to join an elite level University fir college but didn't want to burden her parents with the preparation required. She had consulted with me about taking a part-time job in a bar by using a fake id. In the end, I told her about how some cram schools provided scholarship for poorer students with good grades and worth ethic. She had applied for the same.

"Well, I got a mail from one of the centers asking me to come for an interview. We'll have to see if anything becomes of it."

"Just be honest about your motives. Your grades in Junior high is sufficient enough. They'll probably want to assess your family situation so just be open about that." I had made a few enquiries on my part about people who had gotten such scholarships in the past and not many of them had marks that was more than what Saki had gotten in Junior high.

"We'll see."

The rest of the week went by quickly and soon it was time for the exams. Honestly, it was not that hared and the general consensus around me agreed to the same. Even Yui, who had made the most ground in the past week seemed to agree. Soon, everything was over.

"Thankfully, the long drawn battle is over and Spring Break is upon us my friend." Zaimokuza heaved a sigh of relief. "Do you perhaps have any plans for travel?" He asked.

"Well, I am free for the most part although my parents were talking about visiting my grandparents during the spring break." I replied. I had hapf wanted to take a trip back to Murim but it was better to do it during the summer break which was in August as it was longer. It wasn't like I was needed in Murim. Ruonxi was more than good enough to look after the place."Well then, would you like to accompany me to Okinawa? One if my brethren living there has invited me to her beach house."

"I'll go. But we should ask the girls as well."

"There they are. What are you guys doing?" Yui made her appearance with Saki in tow.

"We were talking about how Zaimokuza was invited to Okinawa by a relative of his during this spring break. Are you guys free to join us?"

"I'm sorry Hikki but my parents and I are going on a trip to Hawaii."

"That's fine. How about you Saki?"

"I can't either. We have a family get together next month. I can't afford to miss that."

"Welp. I guess it's just you and me then."

And so, spring break began.

Hello guys. I know it's been a while but you guys should already know what happened. Anyways, my recovery is complete and i thank everyone who wished me well before.

Now onto the chapter, I know it's not as polished as the other ones but I can't seem to get into the groove of things. Hopefully I'll be back in the game in the next few chapters. So sorry for the short chapter.

Originally I wanted a bit more backstory for Ruonxi and Murim but I recognised that it would be better to add that after Hachiman goes there.

As for the poll which is now closed, unsurprisingly the harem won. There isn't going to be too many girls but the top poll options will all be there.

Nothing else, read, review and stay safe.