"Oi, oi. What the hell is this." Zeldris, or number 4, as he's called now, looks at the pit of vipers that he's hovering above.
Zeldris's grueling training has started and it's been a week since.
Initially it wasn't anything special. Just some lessons about the body, the mind, meditation, body structure and combat. All the while being accompanied by physical training.
Very quickly the training became harder. When you lost focus when meditating, you would get smacked. The physical training brought you to the brink of death every day and you had to stay in uncomfortable positions for a long time.
This was still not that difficult for Zeldris though.
However it got even harder a few days in. Becoming a bit difficult.
And now, a few days after that, it is becoming insane.
"No strength comes without sacrifice." Master Hong looks at his red eyed disciple sternly. As if saying: "If you don't get in position, I'll kill you myself".
Zeldris is expressionless. No, his expression is beyond cold.
He stares at this contraption in front of him.
There are many poles sticking out from the ground, inside a steep pit. Reaching to the height of about 5 meters.
The floor inside the hole is covered with venomous snakes. It looks like a festival of death in there...
Zeldris has to balance himself on those poles. Or fall, break his bones and get bit by venomous snakes. With the risk of death being very high in that case.
Killing his emotions and thoughts, Zeldris jumps on the poles. Balancing himself for dear life.
His feet have only a small area to stand upon. About the size of the lid of a pickle jar.
Failure is not an option here. No matter how hard it is.
The first 10 minutes are a constant struggle between life and death. But Zeldris quickly adapts.
Even though his feet are hurting, he manages to stabilise himself well. Showing that he has no problem succeeding in this training.
However he sees a sharp spearhead abruptly appear in front of him.
"Ugh!" Barely avoiding it, he jumps to another pole with haste. Shaking and flailing around, trying to balance himself. Succeeding soon enough.
Just as he gets comfortable again, the spear attacks him once more.
Hong is literally attacking him with a tool of war. It would be enough to get struck by a stick, for him to fall down and die. But for some reason Hong seems to think this is still too safe. And has brought out a real spear to use in training.
"!@#%&#@! I'll kill you!!!" While dodging the spear and jumping around, Zeldris screams in rage.
"If you have enough time to speak, it seems I can go faster." Master Hong starts attacking him even more ferociously. Teaching this disciple who's boss.
....
....
The evening.
With the daily training having ended, Master Hong's disciples proceeded to the next part of the day. Which was doing different tasks around the courtyard.
Each of his disciples have tasks allocated based on a schedule. For Zeldris, today is the day he has to care for the courtyard's livestock.
"Here piggy, piggy." Zeldris is attempting to lead a stray pig to it's nest. But the thing is being unexpectedly stubborn.
Zeldris is quickly becoming annoyed. With his high sense of pride, this task is incredibly demeaning.
"Gah! You cunt, just move!!!" Exhausting his short patience, he reverts back to his thug behaviour and kicks the pig in the ass.
"Oink!" The pig turns around and attacks Zeldris in rage. Ready for war...
He quickly dodges it and jumps on a fence.
"You dare attack? I'll kill you!" Zeldris takes out a dagger and lunges at the swine.
"Oink! Oink!" The pig is shocked, looking at Zeldris with wide eyes. It then jumps back and runs away. To the place it's supposed to be.
Seeing the pig do as it's told, Zeldris still can't calm down. He heaves. His shoulders moving up and down.
"You think just because you did as told, now you are pardoned? I'll tear you apart!" Zeldris proceeds to chase the pig, dagger in hand. Running after it like a psycho.
One of Master Hong's other disciples who happenes to be passing, sees this go down. He drops the basket of laundry with a shocked expression and yells. "Hey! What are you doing?!"
Not paying any attention to him, Zeldris continues trying to kill the pig. He's not just playing around as well, he's actually attempting to slice it's throat and murder it.
The disciple runs after him with haste. Reaching Zeldris very quickly. Then grabbing him by the shoulders and performing a takedown. Pinning Zeldris on the ground.
"Get off me you fucker! I'll kill you too!!!" Zeldris screams, completely enraged. His red eyes almost seem to be on fire, as he's about to explode in anger.
The disciple expertly disarms Zeldris and keeps him pinned down. "Calm down! What's gotten into you?"
"Gaaah! You fucker. Get the fuck off me and die!!!" Zeldris screams and struggles like a maniac. He seems to have gone completely crazy.
The sheer amount of rage shocks the disciple on top of him. Zeldris looks like a demon. He has never seen anything like it.
Thankfully the disciple is stronger than him...
This continues for about 15 whole minutes, until Zeldris finally gets tired and calms down.
Contrary to before, Zeldris is now eerily silent.
"Have you calmed down?" The disciple on top of him asks. Earning no response from Zeldris.
He carefully, yet swiftly gets off of him. Staring at his newest disciple brother.
Zeldris slowly gets up. His face completely blank, while lost in thought. 'What was that? I have never been so enraged in my entire life...' He ponders seriously, at how he could lose control to this degree.
"We haven't properly talked. I am number One. The first disciple of Master Hong." The disciple, One, speaks. Prompting Zeldris to turn to him.
"Hmm." He just nods.
"It's best you don't cause a scene like that anymore. If Master Hong catches you, I have no idea what he'll do to you." He advises.
"Hmm." Zeldris nods.
"Do you still want to kill me? Or has that passed with you calming down." One comments with a slight grin.
Zeldris only now truly looks at him. One is a boy, close to height with himself. He has black hair and black eyes, with immaculate white skin. One's facial features are very boyish and cute. He looks like someone older ladies would love to baby.
Though contrary to his sweet looks, his strength is much greater than Zeldris thought.
"Thanks for stopping me. I lost myself in rage for some reason." Zeldris comments. Feeling strange at having a child calm him down.
"No worries. As my disciple brother, we're bound to become a family. And as the head of the family, I must take care of my younger brother." One says with a smile.
Zeldris looks at him with a blank expression. "I think you are mistaken..."
"Heh. You're welcome to contest me. But with your current power, you have no chance." One smirks. Openly challenging him.
"Enjoy your pride for now. In about a year, you'll be kneeling at my feet." Zeldris maliciously grins at him. Feeling a sense of foreign aggression.
"My younger brother is very confident. I like that. Just be sure to show it through action, not words." One speaks with a smile.
With the gentle smile One currently has on and his caring looks, a horde of older females would squeal out of sugar. He is truly an angel.
'Why does this kid look so cute and angelic? Compared to the other two disciples, who have hardened, bristly expressions. One is an easygoing and carefree child...' Zeldris thinks to himself.
"I'll get back to my duties now." Zeldris states with an indifferent expression and turns around. Walking back to the livestock.
One smiles, looking at the retreating back of Four. Then continues with his own duties.
Alongside the recent incident, Zeldris's opinion of the pigs has gone down. He now slightly despises those pink bastards. Much preferring the chicken. So the treatment between the livestock is much different.
While he kicks the pigs around, the chickens are being looked after with care. He even spends some time playing with the chickens.
Whether this is something natural, or Zeldris is deliberately trying to show the pigs their place, by having them be jealous of the chickens. Who knows...
....
....
Time passed. Master Hong continued his brutal training of his disciples.
Being in the sect for some time, Zeldris learned about it more indepthly. Collecting bits and pieces of information from day to day.
The Wudan sect he's apart of, is like a mix of a gang and a school.
They accept disciples for time to time, then train these disciples. Who eventually end up either joining the sect actively, or joining it passively. Which means going back to wherever they came from and being ready to respond to the sects call in need. Or choosing the third option, which is completely leaving the sect. However the third option is rarely chosen...
The kids admitted into the sect are all cream of the crop. The most talented and from the most influential families around the world. Every child in this place is special in some way.
Heeding these facts, Zeldris thought that everyone is being instructed the same way as him. Meaning in a small group and under one instructor.
However this is incorrect. All disciples operate based on a outer-, inner- and core disciple principle. With the latter being the most important and the former the least.
Outer disciples attend general lessons and have to pursue instructors to teach them. The have almost no importance, needing to fight for every lesson and cultivation resource.
Inner disciples recieve training from someone fixed and in a small group. But neither of them are as well taken care of as the core disciples.
Zeldris is an inner disciple. They live in small groups, in separated courtyards, under an instructor. This instructor takes care of all their training and teaching.
The next level is core disciple. Where the disciples have their own individual courtyard and learn under one elite master. Who could even be one of the sects elders or the sect master himself.