Strength Beyond Compare

While we waited the headmaster just hummed a sad tune. His eyes fixated on the still water. Birds chirped as they flew past us in the sky. His humming was eerily haunting, the longer it went on the more uncomfortable I got. Finally, after what seemed like forever, a group of students showed u lugging large bags of herbs. They were grumbling at how Lucas was being unreasonable. They caught sight of the headmaster and silenced their complaints. Their eyes avoided mine, trying to avoid offending the person that the headmaster personally came out for. The headmaster stood wiping off the dust from his clothes and thanked the students. He gathered the rest of the herbs and began dumping the massive amount into the lake. The lake seemingly ate the herbs up, changing into a darker reddish-brown color. The smell of the herbs became extremely strong but pleasant. The headmaster put his hand over the water, uttered some words then the water started to glow gold. He then turned to me.

"Jason now you will need to wade to that stone in the middle of the lake that's just under the water. sit there and cultivate while absorbing the medicine. I will guard your process. no one shall bother you while I'm here." He said while pointing to the stone.

I nodded and bowed.

"I am honored to have such a guard. Thank you, sir." I replied.

I turned to the water and walked slowly into the warm waters. The immediate feeling of peace and comfort washed over me. I got to the stone and started breathing. The energy around me was immense, my body absorbing it like a sponge. I could feel my strength growing rapidly. Hours went by, my concentration focused on absorbing the energy. A light wind made the willow trees above the headmaster dance. He sat there just watching me. Every once in a while, he dumped more herbs into the lake muttering more words that I couldn't understand. I cultivated for a total of two days, golden beams bathing me in their light were the reward for my effort. On the last day of my special cultivation, A surge of energy hit me. I could feel my body rapidly changing as the energy washed over me, large grey clouds hovering over me. A single massive lightning bolt shot down and entered my body. The energy was immense. I could feel my cultivation skyrocketing. A large dark golden pillar of light shone on me as the clouds cleared. The headmaster looked at me with intrigue and smiled.

"Truly a monster amongst men. How do you feel child?" He asked stroking his beard.

I stood and stretched, my reflection almost startling me. What stared back was no longer the me I could recognize. Long white hair replaced my dark locks, my face was much more handsome, and my body was sculpted by the gods. I walked through the now clear water and up to the headmaster.

"I feel wonderful like I could take on an army," I said chuckling.

"At this point, you could do much, much more than that. You shot past my expectations of you. You managed to reach the Soul Transformation realm. You truly are a monster child. You must go see Vicky when you get a chance, she would love to try sparing with you since you are the only one even close to her now in cultivation. To think this academy would have such a genius like you Jason. We will do our best to help you get stronger. Do not allow other students to bother you." He said handing me a weird-looking token.

I looked at the heavy golden token. The words gifted are etched on the top of it. The headmaster smiled as he walked away waving me off. I began my walk back to the dorms. My body felt amazing, my hair billowing in the wind, but you know how naughty dogs are, barking when there was no need to.

"You finally show your face, Jason. How dare you make us wait for you!" A cocky teen stood before me.

I looked at the boy confused for a second.

"Who the hell are you?" I asked looking at him.

The young man almost fell on his face in shock at my question.

"I am Shen's brother; I have come for revenge!" He yelled jumping at me.

He swung his fist, everything felt extremely slow. I sidestepped and grabbed his wrist. I flipped him over my shoulder into the concrete. his body slammed into the ground with such force that it created a crater where he landed. Blood erupted from his mouth as he struggled to stand.

"Stay down kid, don't die for revenge. get stronger then come at me. till then don't recklessly lay down your life." I said forcing the youth to his knees.

He struggled against my hand for a few minutes before realizing that the effort was pointless. He glared at me with hatred.

" Look I understand your feelings, I once had them myself at one point. Here's the difference between us however, your brother chose to fight me. He made that decision on his own without any real reason behind it. Now I'm warning you don't make the same mistake as him. You are talented, so focus on getting stronger." I said releasing him.

He stared at me tears welling up in his eyes. I walked away leaving him to ponder the words I said to him. I had no wish to wipe out an entire generation of a family because of two people's mistakes. I felt better if the youth tried again, I would kill him. I gave him the chance to live. I walked to the dorms and saw Molly sitting in her usual spot.

"Hey Molly, how are you?" I asked smiling.

She looked at me and almost turned white. She stood up with such speed and circled me.

"What the hell now you are in the same realm as I am." She glared at me.

"The headmaster was shocked as well," I replied chuckling.

She looked at me with confusion before sighing. She just walked away muttering about how she now had to step up her cultivation. I chuckled and went up to my room. I was exhausted.