Shane Wang dropped onto the floor as the timer went off, sweating all over his body. His muscles felt like they were on fire, like they were about to explode at any moment.
He clenched his teeth and fists as he lay on the cold ground. "Damned b*stard," he grumbled. "If only Wayne Xia wasn't there to back him up, I would've kicked his puny little *ss! Then I wouldn't have been caught and punished to hold a plank for the whole night, d*mn it."
He rolled onto his back, feeling his muscles stiffen up.
His hand reached up to his neck and his mind flashed back to the horrifying moment he felt as if he were about to die. He flinched as remembered the terrifying, cold look on the boy's face. "D*mn..." he shuddered.
A knock sounded on the door. "Senior Brother," said a flat voice.
Shane Wang's eyes flew open.
Frantically, he forced himself off the refreshing coolness of the floor and cleared his throat, brushing down his clothes. He straightened up and headed for the door. There was absolutely no way he could act weak in front of Milan.
He opened the door and forced a grin as he greeted his junior sister. "Wassup, Junior Sister! Did you come to visit me so early in the morning because you were concerned about me?" he said cheekily.
Milan only blinked, giving him an apathetic look. She sniffed and turned away, careful to not let her robes touch the floor of this idiotic and disgusting man's property. "Please mind your behavior," she said flatly. "Elder Xia told me to tell you that from now on if you are caught sneaking out, you are banned from returning to the sect."
Shane scratched his head, puckering his lips. "Hehe, that's alright," he answered.
Milan's muscles twitched. Oh, how she wanted to beat him up so badly. "Senior Brother, I am warning you. We are both senior disciples in this sect. During these crude and harsh times, we must set a proper example for the juniors. There are very few of us now, we must work hard to hold out. Please don't take things for granted."
She turned and headed for the exit.
Shane's shoulders sagged. "Ugh...proper example? Psh. Might as well give up already," he muttered.
Milan whirled her head around, her dark eyes shooting daggers. "If you keep this up, I have no problem reporting you to the Grandmaster and have you kicked out right now," she warned. "I despise men like you, men without a backbone. I, for one, wouldn't address you as my Senior Brother if it weren't for the fact that you are older than me."
Shane felt his blood stop cold and the atmosphere around him dropped.
Des- she despises me..., he repeated fearfully in his mind. She doesn't like me...?
His fingers curled into tight fists at his sides, trembling.
I'll...show you. Who said I wasn't a man?
The image of the guy from yesterday flashed before his mind, causing him to flinch again. He gritted his teeth.
I'm much more of a man than that motherf*cker...
Milan turned a blind eye to his raging expression. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to the training grounds. The elder from Mystic Sky Sect along with Teacher Li has brought back two people in hopes to help us with 'that'. I hope you will be polite..."
Then she disappeared.
Shane inhaled, grinding his teeth in anger. He spun back into his room and changed his clothes. "Hmph. Two people...polite, my *ss. I'll show them whose boss around here."
_______________
"You want us to do what?" Elias asked as they entered the vast training field.
It was nothing like they've seen before. The ground beneath them seemed different, like it was alive, somehow. The open sky was above them and all sorts of weapons lined the walls around them. Training props sat all around the field, and the two masters were leading them straight to the center of everything.
"Eh, no worries," said Teacher Li. "We only want to get a glimpse of what you can do. Just a glimpse, for now, is fine."
Eryn glanced up at the bleachers around the training grounds. Some figures filled up some of the seats, and from their black and red clothes, she could tell they were disciples.
There weren't many on the bleachers, but she could feel many more curious eyes watching them from elsewhere.
"Where are the other people you had to join? The ones who agreed to help, like us?" Eryn asked as they walked through the grounds.
"We sent them off to defend the lower sects first," Elder Sima said. "A number of them are in the three-rank sects."
"Oh."
They stopped in front of a stone-like pillar. It didn't seem like anything special, but Teacher Li said, "Let's start with this one." He reached up and tapped on the pillar with his fingers. "Give it a punch."
Elias raised his eyebrows. "Give it a punch?"
Teacher Li nodded and smiled. "I know it may look like something ordinary, but this pillar is actually very sturdy. Many disciples come here daily to train their strength since no one seems to be able to destroy it."
'Hmph,' Drachnai suddenly said. 'It's indeed not an ordinary pillar. This pillar can absorb one's energy and bounce it back. I don't like annoying things like so, but it is useful to some people, I will not lie.'
'Haha...so can I break it?' Elias asked.
'Most definitely! Just strike true.'
Elias wrung his wrists. "So you just want me to punch it right? How much strength do I use? Just physical strength or do you want me to use spiritual power as well?"
Teacher Li raised an eyebrow, puzzled. "Er...both, I suppose?"
"Huh? Okay." Elias stepped forward and looked up at the gray pillar which looked at least ten feet tall.
Strike true, Drachnai had said.
Elias stretched his neck to the side and rolled his shoulders back, ready.
Elder Sima frowned. What was he doing-
Elias curled his fingers into a tight fist and struck the pillar with his one hand, his eyes flashing in the single second. He took a step back to see what would happen.
Suddenly, the ground beneath their feet started to shake, and cracks began forming on the pillar starting from where Elias had punched it. The lines that fractured the pillar ran through the pillar with sickening crunches that followed.
The two masters watched in sheer surprise as the cracks traveled all the way to the top and-
The whole thing burst, chunks of stone flying into the air and hitting the shaking ground dangerously. Elder Sima quickly threw up an energy shield as one huge portion came fallen down on them, and it deflected from the shield bounced away onto the floor.
Eryn held up her arm to shield her eyes from the debris. Sturdy? she wondered. How is it sturdy if Elias broke it in one punch?
The dust and debris settled down, and Elias glanced at the mess all around him.
Even the students watching from the bleachers were silent.
"Is that it?" Elias asked, feeling disappointed. "I thought you said it won't break, yet it broke in one punch."
Teacher Li was frozen in shock; his jaw dropped so low, it almost reached the ground.
Elder Sima only blinked.
What the hell is with this terrifying strength? No one should be able to break this Millenium Stone...it's withheld the strongest punches from the senior disciples for many decades!
Eryn glanced at the two elderly men. They seemed to be in shock, their eyes were bulging from their sockets and their mouths were agape as they stared down at the place where the pillar stood once before.
She released a breath. "Okay, that was the first, what's next?"