When Nicklaus opened his eyes, the first thing that hit him was his memories. The memories of how he was beaten up and humiliated. He did not even see the sun glaring in his eyes as tears of pain welled up in his eyes. Soon he broke into a sob then he burst out crying. The more he remembered how he lost everything he had the more he cried. It was hours when he finally calmed down. The next thing that hit him was that he was not in an egg.
He quickly checked his hands and face. He was human as far as he checked. He saw a window near him so he checked it. Yep, human. Also, his appearance had changed. Now he had red hair, green eyes, he was white instead of his brown colour and be looked like a twelve year old. The first thing he though was that he died and reincarnated again but then he saw a letter on the ground. He picked it up and read it.
'Nicklaus,
If you are reading this then it means you woke up just fine. I am a friend. I removed your soul from the egg and created this body for you. Where you are is a Universe so far away from the Author he could not even be bothered to come there even if he wanted to. I want you to kill him and you can consider all the favours I did you done. What favours? Well, when I built this body for you, I added in some features. First, I added a Titan's strength in your DNA. That means, you are as strong as a Titan in the same rank. You are in Qi gathering rank in this universe so you can pick up a load of a tonne.
'The next improvement is I gave you an Asura's talent in martial arts. Your unique eyes are gone so I made your brain into more tuned to martial arts. If you read one at see one, you might not recognize it immediately but it will freak people out after two to three tries. The third is a demon's talent. Demons grow faster than any other creature so I gave you one of the best talent even here in the abyss which I am sure coupled with your weird ability will make you terrifying. Know this, the Qi of this universe is the only energy that will make you have enough power to kill the Author. Good luck'
Nicklaus did not know what to think. He did not know who this person was but at least he hates the Author to give him quite the scary gifts. He inwardly thanked the man then decided to get out of the alley and see where he was. Once he did, he found himself staring at a man wearing a martial artist's robe.
"What were you doing behind there?" the man asked him.
"Uhmm, I was passed out and I woke up there," Nicklaus nodded. The man just scowled then looked at the robe's Nicklaus was wearing.
"White robes with green outlines, you are an outer sect disciple, huh? Get back to the sect and cultivate more. Maybe then you wouldn't be robbed behind an alley," the man sighed with displeasure. Nicklaus nodded then ran out. He saw some kids wearing robes like his so he followed behind them. They arrived at a huge gate guarded by two teenagers wearing brown robes with red outlines.
"Badges, let me see your badges," one of them said. Nicklaus searched on him and felt something on his hip. He removed it and saw a small metal slab with his name written on it.
"It appears this person might have prepared well for me," he said to himself as he showed the two his badge. They let him in and he followed the three kids uptown the residents. From their conversation, they did not have fixed rooms so one can just pick a bed and sleep in it. So Nicklaus got into the building and picked a bed from the far corner.
Using that place, he started gathering information of where he is. The sect was known as Dragon Gazing Sky, a weird name. The sect is one of the giants in the continent. Big families wanted to take their children to this sect. It was filled with spoilt young masters. One thing Nicklaus learnt from his experience is that he should not seek out trouble. He thought he was powerful because he became a god with three different energies but he was nothing in comparison to Tim and his siblings.
When it was night, he had enough information about this sect to make sure he never messed with anyone. He went to sleep after dinner which was a dried piece of bread and soup. In his dreams, he could still see the three siblings in front of him. He woke up, covered in sweat. That's when he saw a girl holding a painting brush just near his face. The two stared at each other for a few seconds before she broke away. She wiped the brush with a piece of cloth, put it in her pocket, walked to her bed, tucked herself in then he heard her whisper to herself.
"Sorry," she said. He knew he was not supposed to hear that, in fact even herself could not quite hear herself but he heard it as if he was next to her and she was speaking normally. With a shrug, he went back to sleep, almost.
In the morning, they all woke up and went to the training ground for morning exercises. Some ran, some did light exercises and most were training with the wooden swords. Even though Nicklaus lost his cultivation, he did not lose his insights. He went to the weapons rack and picked up a wooden sword. He felt as if his every cells were jubilant. He swang the sword for a few seconds before putting it down. It weighed nothing in his hand. He picked a two handed axe next and gave it a swing. One could say that it would have been quite unbalanced to swing it but due to his strength, he did not feel it. He looked at the sword and axe and he had already decided his two weapons this time.
When it was midmorning, it was time for compulsory meditation for Qi Gathering disciples. They went into a lotus position and the whole place became quiet. Nicklaus had never meditated to get his previous strength for a good fight always helped him. He decided to give it a shot. He started inhaling and that's when he felt it, Qi rushing into his body. He felt it strengthening it in seconds. When he breathed out, the Qi was expelled. He took another breath in and the same happened. He went doing that until midday.
When he got up, he felt bones in his body popping. He had grown stronger from just meditating! Such a useful way! Of course,big any of the disciples in the sect knew of what happened to him they would want to skin him and check if he was an alien. Strengthening the body muscles and bones was only possible after an year of meditation, half an year if you mediated meticulously. The next was going to the work place assigned. Nicklaus did not have any workplace assigned so he went to the residents and laid on the bed. He came to notice that even as he was walking, his body was still absorbing and strengthening itself.
A little while latter, he fell asleep. His body underwent a change. In his body, a small beady like organ appeared in his navel area. The organ started storing in Qi as his body changed too. His muscles became compressed as invisible Qi veins spread in them and all over his body. Within the Qi vein was Quite which moved like sludge from the organ in the navel to every other part.
Nicklaus had just broken through to With Disciple low stage. The boy himself was having quite a beautiful sleep until he was woken up by someone throwing him down from the bed. The first thing he wanted to do was rip the person apart but he restrained himself and looked up. He saw three boys looking at him with malice.
"What are you doing here, brat?" one of them asked him.
"Sleeping,"Nicklaus answered. The three boys laughed before one of them hit him at the back of his head. Nicklaus came to know the boy was strong from that one slap but he was stronger physically.
"Your name is Nicklaus, right?" another boy asked him. Nicklaus was surprised at how they know his name but still nodded. "Goddess Rin was waiting for you for two hours at the lumber mill and had to do your work while you were here sleeping?" Nicklaus was stunned; who was the one who saved him that he would even go to the length of finding him work?
"Sorry, I had a rough night," he apologized.
"We are Goddess Tim's admirers and we are not happy with you. You made the delicate girl do all the work while you were asleep. That is an unacceptable. We are here to give her justice," the first boy said. As if they had agreed at the same time, they started throwing punches at him for half an hour before leaving. Nicklaus was fine but his birthday dignity wasn't. He felt like killing them but just restrained himself. When they were out, he just went to sleep once again. In the middle of the night when everyone was asleep, Nicklaus broke through once again and now he was in the middle stage of With Disciple, the same realm as the three boys.
In the morning, he woke up to the same routine but this time when he went to meditate, he felt he was a lot more powerful than before. He descent asked around of the stage he was and came to know he was now. Qi Disciple in the middle stage. Meaning, he broke through twice when he was asleep.
He did not dare meditate again for fearing just breezing through the system. When the two hours were done, he went to the Lumber site and saw a cute teenage girl waiting.
"You must be young martial brother Nicklaus. My name is Rin Saytil, I was supposed to show you around yesterday but you never showed. What happened?"
"Overslept," he answered. He almost laughed when he saw her surprised look.
"Uhm...Okay, you know how to do lumber, right?" she asked.
"Cut the best tree, bring it back here to be cut to timber," he answered.
"That's uhh, roughly what it entails. Good luck," she said and went to tree holding an axe. She removed the top part of her robe remaining in only a sports bra. Nicklaus could see her well toned muscles and her abs.
She reminded him of his disciple, Sophia. He just sighed in melancholy when he thought about her. As he saw her work, he came to know why those boys said to be her admirers. With each strike of herbaxe, sweat bathed her body coupled with her beauty, teenage hormones, her athletic figure and the sun, she was just what every teenage boy would hope to smash that night. Nicklaus knew he might get into trouble looking at her for a long time so he continued working.
This went on for three years now. Rin had become an Inner disciple an year ago but she never stopped coming to the Lumber site. She would continue felling trees and when Nicklaus asked her why, she said she was practising. Nicklaus just let it slide. What he never knew was what a hunk he had become. He was now fifteen years old and already he had a body to make athletes sigh in dispair.
His hair was long and as he worked he would turn it into a ponytail. He was now six foot sharp and he had regained back his mythical Ten pack. Every muscles was compressed just perfectly. It is said one never knows how tall he is until he is measured. He had been doing the job shirtless because he just felt it was nice and he had been hearing a lot of giggles lately. He was now a middle rank Qi Master, more than enough to qualify him to be an Inner disciple. But Nicklaus never entered any sect competitions so none of them knew how strong he was and this is him holding back.
"Goodnight, Sister Rin," Nicklaus greeted the sweat covered girl. She nodded at him as she continued chopping wood. Nicklaus tied together the two trees she cut then dragged them to the mill effortlessly. He picked the two altogether and put them on top of the stack.
"I'm done for today," Rin said from behind.
"See you tomorrow, sister Rin," Nicklaus said without turning around as he fastened the logs. If he would have, he would see she was quite red in annoyance. She made a funny face at him then walked away.
Once Nicklaus was done with the fastening, he wore his shirt back and went to the dining hall. In the way, many girls greeted at him flirteously but he just returned the greetings normally. He took his food and ate in silence then going back to the residents. He was the only one of his age sleeping here for the others had taken residence elsewhere with their own money. He had no money on him and even if he had he would not throw it away when he can have free lodging here. He made sure he would not breakthrough in his sleep as usual and fell asleep.
The next morning, he was informed that he would be one of the people incharge of recruitment this year. The previous years he had been quite reluctant but this year they had not given him a choice. He dressed in the new robes they gave him which were rather tight fitting showing his body outline. When he asked for a new robe, the girls there almost brought the roof down with the way they shouted no. So, he wore the robe and was now being ogled by almost all the girls that were there for recruitment. He almost felt like he was been pimped out.
"Hey, you flowerboy, I want to fight you for the crime of you being hotter than me," a fatty shouted from the crowd.
"Sorry, are you talking to me?"
"Who else on the stage is a flowerboy?" the fatty asked. Nicklaus was stunned then shook his head.
"I'm not here to fight nor am I a good fighter. You could probably knock me out with your stench or fat," Nicklaus apologized. The fatty fumed as the girls laughed, at him, out loud.
"If you are a man, I dare you to accept the challenge," the fatty shouted.
"I know I am a man because I can see mine. But you, between your overgrown breast and the small drum you are this morning, can your little fatty be seeing?" Nicklaus mocked him. The fatty started a fight with him because he was jealous. Nicklaus decided to give him hell. The fatty was seething with anger.
"You know, I retract my sentence. That's no small drum, that must be a small moon and your belt is the equator keeping it from bursting out," he said. This time, everyone but the fatty burst out laughing. "Kid, your mother must be so disappointed in you she probably wish she married a pig instead." More laughter and the fatty was now bright red. Nicklaus waited to hear what he was going to say but surprisingly, he was not the one who talked first. A boy next to him did.
"Did the sect lack female role models they decided to send a flowerboy here?" He asked and the boys laughed out loud.
"At least I have an ass the girls can look at, chicken bone," Nicklaus answered and was stunned when the girls cheered at him.
"I'll let you know I have a beautiful wife waiting for me," the boy said in defense.
"What, is she blind?" Nicklaus threw a comeback. The boy was now enraged.
"She is not and she is the one who brought up the engagement!"
"AHH, brain damage. Careful, she might think your little brother is attacking her when you go in bed," Nicklaus said, causing a roar of laughter and blushing from the girls to descend.
"Shut up. She is a cute and intelligent girl," the boy shouted, regretting helping the fatty.
"Mmmhh, keep convincing yourself, boy," Nicklaus said before another boy decided to crush him completely.
"She's the daughter of the Sect Master," someone said. Silence descended the place as if a god just descended! Nicklaus knew he done fucked up. But decided to play it cool.
"Boy, you decided to come to sect and just announce you are engaged to the number one beauty? Are you asking for death?" Nicklaus asked.
"You are just scared," the boy said victoriously but was surprised when Nicklaus laughed out loud.
"Almost every Core Disciple youngman is looking for her hand in marriage and they are all Qi Grandmasters. They will break you with just their henchmen before they even get to you. So, as a brother and someone who cares for your life, I will make all your tests so hard you will decide not to enter the sect voluntarily," Nicklaus said with a righteous tone.
"You are just shameless," the fatty shouted.
"As for you, fatty, since you want to be a martial artist then it is my duty as a senior brother to make sure you lose some weight so that you can practise without hindrance. So, you are to do two times the hardworking he does," Nicklaus said as he pointed to the boy that helped him. On his face was a chilling smile. He knew the boy was an MC and from what he knows about MCs was that they always do their best when it comes to a challenge of their ego. Basically, he just screwed the fatty.
The first test was a fitness test. Each of them were to run for four kilometres and back. The boy had to run eight kilometres and back. The fatty almost died when he came to know he would run thirty kilometres in total! When the race started, the boy and the fatty ran together. Using the image crystals planted to monitor the competition, Nicklaus saw the boy helping the fatty to the sixteen kilometres then they came back. He just smiled wickedly.
"How many kilometres did you run, boy?" Nicklaus asked the boy.
"Sixteen."
"Let me rephrase that. How many kilometres did you run as you helped him?" he asked. Some of the disciples on stage with him just smiled when they got what he wanted.
"Thirty two kilometres," the boy said as he felt something ominous.
"I said the fatty will run two times the effort you did. You ran thirty two kilometres so he has to run sixty four kilometres. If you decide to help him it's just gonna keep multiplying," Nicklaus said. The fatty almost lost all his fat in fright.
"You can't do that!" the boys shouted in injustice.
"Can I do that?" Nicklaus asked one of his fellow disciples and he nodded. "Apparently I can so go on now, chop chop."
"This is bullying," the boy said. Nicklaus jumped off the stage and went to them.
"This is not bullying, kid. This is just the start of your long life. You think everything will become fine and dandy because you joined this sect? No, your terrible life will have began. You will fight for resources with your fellow disciples, some will want to kill you because of your treasures. You will suffer assassinations as time proves you are a genius and if you offend s strong cultivator, he will destroy your life. So you complaining that this is bullying just shows how immature you are and clearly not ready to be a cultivator. So go home and preach your justice there for once you become one of us, the only justice there is is becoming strong to bullshit justice," Nicklaus told the boy then turned to the fatty.
"As for you, dumpling, if your father gives you a hard time at home work it out. Don't desecrate our sect with your pathetic mess. If you want to be a martial artist you have to show the part. You just look like you are a whole barrel of fat. Go home and come back more presentable," Nicklaus growled at him then walked back to the others. There was silence all over before he finally spoke.
"Time for the second trial. Most of you are in Qi Gathering. This trial will show us how much dedicated you are to becoming successful. You are to hold in your breath for half an hour," Nicklaus said. The fatty suddenly moved. He thought he was going home but he saw him go to the track and started running. Everyone was looking at him in surprise.
"I will show you, I am serious about becoming a cultivator. I will prove it to you by completing this challenges," Nicklaus heard him shout.
"Pride killed many a cultivator when one has too much of it," he said before turning to the rest. "Begin."
To say Nicklaus was not impressed by the fatty would be an understatement. The boy held his breath for two hours, finally fainting when the clock his zero. The rest of the trials he did them with two times the difficulty of the other boy. Others had taken this a challenge and did their best to compete which led to the boy becoming even more hardworking and the final person who felt as if he was been tortured felt the full weight of it times two. By the end of the day, the fatty was unconscious or probably dead and the sect had gained three quarters of the attendance there.
"You are surprisingly quite resourceful," someone told Nicklaus.
"Not my first time giving motivational trash talk," Nicklaus answered and from there never spoke again as he sadly about remembered his disciples. He was glad he had prepared for any scenario so if they are not stupid they will have become quite powerful when he went back, especially Felix.
"Stay safe," he said under his breath