"Good morning, Elder," a teenager greeted an elderly man who nodded back, sagely. The boy almost squealed in happiness but caught his tongue fast enough then ran off, embarrassed. The elderly man looked at the disappearing young man and shook his head in amusement.
"Morning, Elder Amos," this time, it was a young woman who had greeted him.
"Morning, Ms Dredd," he greeted back with the same smile from before.
"Are you going to the Hall?" she continued.
"Mmh, the Sect Master has called for an emergency meeting," he answered as he continued on.
"Is it serious?" she asked with a worried frown. The elderly man just chuckled in an unbothered way.
"I hope it's trouble, my old bones have been waiting for action since forever," he said, reassuring the young lady. She sighed in relief before going on initiating small talk.
After a while, they arrived at the Hall, a grand building that put to shame any other in all the peaks. The building itself was as big as a mountain, decorated with mouth watering expensive materials showing the grandeur of the entire sect. It served many purposes; as a meeting point for all the elders, residence for any important visitors, hosting all the forbidden techniques the sect has and living space for the Sect Master and his protector together with their disciples.
"This is where we part ways, Ms Dredd," Amos said with a somber voice.
"Yes, I wish you luck in your meeting," she said before walking off. Amos watched her leave before pushing the door aside and walking in.
"You're late, boy!" a booming voice said. The voice was so powerful avir was trembling due to the sound waves.
"I was held back doing important paper work, you know how it is," Dean chuckled as he continued to his seat, unbothered. In front of him sat sixteen people ranging from young to old, men and women. They were all scowling at him in displeasure but he was so used to this he was not even phased.
"Since we are all here, this meeting will now begin," the Sect Master said with finality. Everyone put their annoyance of Amos aside and went to business.
.....
Amos POV
'Well, this is boring,' I thought as I looked at my fellow Elders of the New Dawn Sect. This is a seat reserved for the most talented of individuals, hand picked by the previous elders to be their successor. They spend years teaching them everything they knew before either dying or just ascending. For me, I got lucky. I was the most under performing student of my master and this, was not chosen to go for a mock battle test. The rest were all wiped out and I was the remaining student of the peak.
Master declared me his successor on his death bed and since then, I have been the only person in the peak. I was despised, cursed on and even pressured to leave my peak for someone more deserving, but I was adamant. My reincarnation pride would not allow me to be taken advantage of. So, I persisted, rising in cultivation till I reached my peak.
Cultivation was strangely Xinxia in which there's Body Tempering, Foundation Establishment, Qi Gathering, Golden Pill Formation, Earth Realm, Sky Realm, Nascent Soul Formation, Soul Formation, Nirvana Realm and Mahayana Realm. Most elders beside myself are in the Soul Formation or the Nirvana Realm while the Sect Master and his Protector are in the Mahayana Realm. As for little ol me, I was supposed by their pupils, only wallowing in the Sky Realm. As a reincarnator, I was absolutely ashamed of my potential.
"Does the Sky Swallowing Peak have something to report?" the Sect Master coldly asked me.
"Besides how fatter the mice have become, I don't think so," I answered sarcastically. The room grew colder by a couple more degrees as eeryone glared at me. I could understand them, I was loafing on their amazing work and being shameless about it.
"Then let's come to the final matter," the Sect Master said, his eyes not leaving mine. "Due to the unproductiveness of the Sky Swallowing Peak for the last one hundred and thirty seven years, I have decided to disband it." My heart almost skipped a beat. Disbanding the peak would mean I would be cast out. It was dangerous out there with all the Xinxia like NPCs with Western names but Chinese like mentality. The peak kept me safe inside the sect, I can't afford to lose the sect's protection.
"Wait, wait a little bit, Sect Master, let's not make any rash decisions. I know my work has been unsatisfactory of late but you all know my potential. You are going to undo all the work my investors have done just because of an untalented junior? That's being heartless!" I spoke up as quickly as I could. I didn't even know what I was saying but I knew my safety depended on my ability to bullshit my way through this hurdle.
"Boy, you have been asked numerous times to abdicate the seat and give it to some else worthy but you have been head strong about it. This is the only way we can deal with your parasitic tendency," the Protector spoke up with a glean in his eyes.
'Shit, they are really going to kill me if I don't agrees! This is absolute horseshit! What happened to a civil conversation, eh? We're all long lived individuals, we can come to an agreement that doesn't involve violence. Besides, what's with that battle stance, sneeze my way and I would cease to exist, jeez!
I qielled the raging storm in me as I quickly came up with a way to ensure my safety. Various ideas raced in my mind and finally, I found one.
"Instead of abolishing and doing away with the peak after thousands of years of my predecessors' loyalty and hard work, why don't we do this. You provide me with a talented disciple and I will guide him to the best of my abilities till he or she is ready to take my seat," I suggested, my heart almost bursting out of my chest as I eyed the Protector. His battle readiness was definitely frightening and I couldn't even block a move of his!
"Yes, that would certainly do," the Sect Master nodded. "Your predecessors were compitent at their job, we can not let their hard work be undone due to yourself. This, I agree with this. Tomorrow, I will have chosen the disciple you will teach, only about governing the Peak, and then you will abdicate the seat to him and take your retirement with dignity. As a Sky Realm cultivator, you have a thousand and five hundred years of lifespan, you will use the remainder of it as a reserve combatant any time you are needed. Do you accept this terms?"
How could I say no to them? They were linient to me, though being a reserve combatant was worrying. I will pray to Buddha with all my might his pacifism will infect all the other sect's and dynasties, keeping me safe from battles till I die.
.....
The meeting ended and I was at my peak, depressed and hopefully not having ulcers due to stress. For the last century and a half, I have been living in blissful ignorance be ause I thought I would continue being safe but it appears I really need to start putting some elbow grease in my living condition.
"Why hasn't my golden finger arrived yet?" I lamented, almost in tears. Other reincarnators had their golden fingers earlier but I had to go for six hundred and thirty eight years without one! My aptitude was very poor and the only thing that made me reach Sky Realm was because I had the sect's resources. As an Elder, even one subpar as myself, I had more resources than the students. Using my predecessor's wealth and the sect's I had risen to the Sky Realm relatively fast, but I could feel an impregnable bottle neck coming up. Soon, I wouldn't even rise a sub realm due to my talent!
"Sigh, I really am the most miserable reincarnate alive!" I sighed, misery looming over me like a louse.
'Due to an unavoidable circumstance, your reincarnation gift was delayed for six centuries. The gift has been upgraded to EX Rank Absolute Skill, Fictional Mimicry. Good luck in your new life,' a soft voice suddenly spoke in my mind, making my mind and body go rigid in fear! Even at Sky Realm, getting into my head was an ardous work even for Mahayan Realm cultivators so any one able to do so was powerful beyond this realm. Before I could start panicking, I suddenly felt complete!
A shiver of relief ran down my body as I felt my whole self suddenly elevated to a new realm of happiness. From my cells to my Qi, everything was jubilant and expectant as I felt information and a power being etched into my soul.
"Fictional Mimicry, the ability to mimic completely any power, skill or abilities any fictional character possess," I said in shock. This golden finger was powerful, powerful enough to let me forgive and forget its lateness. After being shocked silly by its potential, I burst out laughing for I knew, my time to rise into prominence was nigh.