Ally sat down on the bed by the side of the room and watched in anticipation, her cleanse had taken only two minutes at most so she was expecting Deno's not to take any longer.
Martin carefully inspected Deno, this cleanse would be dangerous for such a toddler as he had thick amounts of impurities within himself.
Martin would have to assist and heal Deno during the process otherwise Deno would end up crippled. There was a 90 percent chance that Deno would die from the extraction but with Martin there it would be a mere 30 percent.
Although he could wait for Deno to get older and then proceed with the cleanse, Deno's impurities were so thick that there wouldn't have been a difference if not it would have increased, the same possibility of death either way.
In addition, something inside of him whispered that Deno could handle it.
He sat Deno upright and unwrapped the blankets around his body. The cold air instantly gave Deno goosebumps as he slightly shivered, being in those warm blankets for so long was comforting but he felt restricted and helpless. A feeling that he was familiar with but something that he didn't want to experience any longer.
He was finally free after first arriving in this world.
Martin placed his arms on Deno's back and prepared to begin the procedure, gazing from Deno's back to his front, he noticed that he was already in the lotus position.
'What a fast learner...'
Martin thought in surprise.
Once again, a white hue enveloped Martin's hands then surrounded Deno's back and then his body.
Ally bit her lip wondering how her little brother would handle all that pain at once.
---
'Careful Alexander, this will be an extreme deal of pressure and pain, so I advise you to prepare yourself for it.'
Adriana once again warned Deno.
Deno paused, how much had he suffered already in this life?
This would be nothing.
Adriana continued relentlessly making sure he understood, if he didn't then he would lose his chance at cultivation and they would both be trapped in a useless paralyzed body (if they even survived at all)
'The impurities from each part of your body will travel towards your dantain and build up inside it, this part is nowhere near as painful as the second part. Once I tell you that you are ready to release it, do not dawdle and push all of it out. You will feel as if thousands of needles are squeezed through your body. If you pass out... You die. It doesn't help that you're entire existence shouldn't be possible the Supreme Dao may act erratically to eliminate you.'
Alexander internally nodded, he understood perfectly. Don't give in to the pain and follow her instructions. But he couldn't help but frown.
His ego had been bruised. Did she really think he would pass out, was this much necessary?
Suddenly a white hue surrounded his body.
Deno felt his body tense up as he tightened his eyes.
He felt Martin's hands lift off his back and he took control of the steering wheel.
'The cultivator assisted you immensely by providing you with an enormous boost but this will only make it more painful so don't give in.'
Suddenly Deno's body began to tear apart from the inside, pain sheeted through him and his lungs began to sear, even still he did not budge.
Deno sat motionless in the lotus position, not portraying a hint of discomfort or making a sound, as if nothing was happening.
Ally looked at Martin in curiosity. Martin had begun the cleanse, yet it seemed as if nothing was happening.
When Ally reached Martins's face, she saw his mouth agape and his eyes bulging being left absolutely speechless.
Seeing his reaction, Ally immediately understood that something unusual was occurring.
---
Martin looked on, he was speechless not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
'How was a child enduring this much pain that even he would think twice about experiencing? He already knew how to proceed and is now effectively removing impurities at a faster pace than even Ally.'
Deno remained silent, containing any pain as if it was just a minor stubbed toe.
'Was this the special part of him that Nicholas told him about, the boy's endless resilience or did this boy merely have brain damage to not even budge at all in that endless amount of pain? Could the boy already be dead? No, impossible, otherwise how could the impurities be moving? How long could Deno keep it in for though? He was bound to erupt in an ear-piercing screech any second now.'
Martin's face slowly relaxed and he understood that Elder Nicholas wouldn't pick useless disciples. This was clear by the presence of Ally.
Ten seconds passed, then twenty, then thirty, and then an entire minute had passed but still, silence prevailed in the house.
By now Martin's face had paled and realised what was happening. This child was a monster. No, a demon.
Ally glared at Deno in admiration, what she had deeply struggled with, Deno had pushed aside like fodder. When that pain seared through her body she felt as if she were on the verge of passing out but now she felt embarrassed that she had struggled so much.
If her junior brother had such persistence, she would too.
---
Adriana was amazed, she knew that he would handle it fine but to think that he wouldn't even make a hinge of noise.
'Was he this petty?'
She hadn't even needed to read his mind already knowing that her warnings were the cause of his severely bruised ego and because of her, Alexander didn't even make a noise.
He was truly impressive for a human and she could definitely acknowledge that.
Slowly all the impurities formed within his dantian and the pain immediately tripled.
Deno's eyes slammed open in shock, the sudden rush of pain took him by surprise but all he did in response was bit his lip.
'Release it now!'
'Right!'
Hearing Adriana's voice within him he released all the impurities within his body, it was long, the seconds felt like hours but eventually the pain began to subside, flowing back like a tide along a shore.
"Haaah, Haaah."
Heavily panting, blood began to trickle down his lip as he turned his head towards Martin.
Martin felt numb, he had gotten so lost that he forgot to even assist Deno in the cleanse. He walked up to Deno and lifted him up, even the agonizing stench couldn't keep the amazement off his face.
"Excellent job Deno..."
Looking at the infant, The boy's jet-black hair and deep dark eyes gave him a terrifying look, as terrifying as an infant could get. Martin felt lost, all this mental prowess and yet Deno didn't have any potential within his dantian. What a shame...
Deno would be lucky to get to the 3rd rank in his lifetime even including his immense mental will.
"Yes... Excellent job."
Even still, If Nicholas said there's something special about this boy, Martin wouldn't let up.
"Wow Deno! You're Incredible!"
Ally said rushing over to both of them and immediately stopping smelling an odour of death coming from Deno.
Martin's face scrunched up as his excellent nose caught a whiff of death.
"Incredibly disgusting."
Martin added in a humorous tone causing Ally to giggle while holding her tiny nose.
To Martin's shock, when he looked back at Deno, the boy seemed to understand what he said as he gave him a pissed-off look.
***
After one week...
Deno's Pov:
I looked up at the bookshelf, its mountain-like stature loomed over my tiny body. After being transported to this world, being experimented on and being taken in by some martial art society, I have never felt this bad and good.
How long had it been since I felt like this? In a young and flexible body instead of an arthritis-packed aching one.
Besides the fact that I was forced to urinate and excrete in diapers, the fact that I always felt sleepy and tired was, nice and peaceful. Relaxing.
After having my impurities removed, I spent time studying the human language with Adriana's memories.
I felt that I already had a good grasp of it already considering I was doing nothing other than learning it.
Sometimes I would attempt to train my feeble muscles with walking exercises but to no use.
My six-month-old body still wasn't moving.
All that time trapped in that laboratory took time away from essential time for my training.
Adriana had explained all the fundamentals of the martial dao, not that there was much to it anyway.
The person responsible for me, the buff dude, left all the heavy lifting to the six-year-old girl. She would feed me some mush and attempt to teach me to speak not that she was good at it herself.
I appreciated her kindness but a middle-aged man getting fed by a six-year-old and watched shitting in my diapers really wasn't what I'd call a good experience.
Adriana didn't even bother hiding her laughter as she burst into hysteria.
The little girl would see me turning beet red as she watched me and she politely turned her head when she realised I was 'doing my business'.
I made sure to repay her tenfold for her kindness in the future.
For now, studying the language and developing my muscles was the only thing I could do. Once I have the ability to comfortably walk I'll begin to gain back my muscle memory with the many martial arts I studied on Earth.
***
Four months had passed since Deno had arrived in the immortal realm, he spent most of his time in Martin's home only leaving for a breath of fresh air and heading straight back in.
He couldn't comprehend the purpose of the large burly man who would take care of him at the time's intention.
He wasn't related to him, did Martin want something from him or was it truly out of the kindness of his heart?
No, he must be gaining something from this.
Adriana had translated for him that he was called Martin and was a Master stage cultivator; from what Deno could tell, that was something of great magnitude.
Martin left him at home for extended periods of time and wouldn't arrive until extremely late at night for days on end, an infant in a room filled with weapons: spears, swords, bows, axes and scythes. Could Martin get any more foolish?
Ally, another one that would take care of him had left a while back and hadn't returned. He wasn't sure if she had died or she had simply moved on but in the end, he couldn't care less.
Deno hated isolation, being by himself for long periods of time with little to no noise to keep his mind from wandering off was excruciating.
When his mind drifted off, it would take him to parts of his mind where he wished he could forget.
It was agonizing and each time he broke out in a pool of sweat, luckily, Adriana would take care of him, they would discuss each other's pasts and what they had gone through even though she would be doing most of the talking.
Deno knew she already knew his past, but even still she was never nosy or hurtful towards him.
Deno really appreciated that, and Adriana could tell even though he would never outright state it.
She had seen his past and understood everything he was terrified of, even so, she had no idea how to assist him. Keeping his mind off it was the only thing she could do if she even slightly suggested facing it head she had no idea how he would react.
The days that Martin would come back and educate Deno on how to speak and write although very few were extremely efficient. He had felt as though he was making immense progress with Deno, as he had begun to speak more and more fluently with only a few lessons, although he knew Deno was a genius he never failed to impress him.
Deno was a genius and Martin knew it, but Ally also didn't let him down.
She had seemingly bypassed the 5th cultivation stage and achieved the 3rd.
Although it takes far longer to increase your rank, the higher you get, your life span dramatically increases along with it and so does your time to train.
Martin felt proud, he was responsible for two prodigies.
He had boasted for hours to his team about how quick Ally was rising up the ranks and how she was introduced by Nicholas.
"She'll reach the Master rank in no time..."
"She'll probably surpass all of us soon..."
The news about Ally had spread across the Pride Sect, some whispered that she was the daughter of Nicholas, others she was the reincarnation of a once powerful cultivator in ancient times.
They were all curious but more so about the other child Nicholas had brought.
Martin never spoke much of him even though he was asked relentlessly.
After a while of coming to teach Deno, he realised that the infant didn't even want to leave the house and only came outside for a breath of fresh air.
Martin would at times hide in the shadows and watch Deno, just to see what he would do.
And to his surprise, Deno was only really active when Martin was home, and when Martin wasn't home Deno would sit down and meditate as if he was talking to someone.
It was creepy but interesting, he would practise walking, waddling around the entire house for hours pushing his limits but the second martin would reveal himself, Deno would revert back to a normal infant.
One day, he watched Deno reaching for one of his books and beginning to read; Deno stared at the book for hours as if he was actually reading.
Martin wasn't really sure if he was sane anymore watching a year old that had never been taught to read actually read.
This went beyond just genius or prodigy, the rumours around Ally would fit better for Deno if the Pride sect knew what he knew.
And so the same routine of teaching continued for multiple years