Father, Calm Down

Mei rushed out of my room as soon as she heard that my supposed father had arrived. Before she left, she told me to wait for the attire that I must wear before meeting the Patriarch. Though, I don't see anything wrong with the ones I have.

Without her in the room, I asked the system to show me my status once again. The bar that was labeled as 'Plot Armor' was now forty percent. I was sure that it was filled halfway at fifty the last time I saw it.

Fuck, what does it even mean? Do I now have a higher chance of getting fucked in the ass? This stupid-ass system just told me that the bar would help me survive in this world. No shit, it's called 'Plot Armor' for goodness' sake. As if I didn't think of that when I saw the label. Is there even a plot? Is this world even based on a novel? I asked the stupid system these questions and the fucker replied with another question mark. The only thing I could think of as the reason why my plot armor lowered was because of my recent encounter with my asshole brother.

You know what? I bet there isn't any plot. The assholes who made my previous life a pointless tragedy must've made this 'Plot Armor' bar to play with me, to give them another form of entertainment. These Gods must truly be the biggest assholes in existence.

When Mei returned, she was carrying a similar attire to the one I was wearing. The only difference was that it was white with the pink flower logo around the chest more detailed. I noticed her nervous expression as she handed it to me.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

Apparently, my last encounter with my dear father and patriarch of the Mount Hua sect ended with me storming out of the room because some of the elders bad-mouthed my birth mother. I guess I will never understand the real Bruce since as I've said, I was parentless. No need for sympathy. I always think of it in a positive light – that I am invincible when it comes to 'yo momma' jokes.

This information made me more nervous about meeting the patriarch. Nonetheless, It was something that I needed to do no matter how much I did not want to. 

After putting on the attire, I was guided by the extra-looking dude to the fanciest structure in the sect. One look from afar and I could already tell that it was where the patriarch resides or at least the main building of the place. 

I gulped as I stood still at the entrance. It was like being called to the principal's office when all you were was a great student even though you needed to work part-time at night. The first thought that would run to your mind would be a question about what you did wrong. Nervous to my core, I could already imagine their eyes staring at me the moment I went inside. 

The patriarch sat at the center with creepy old dudes sitting beside him on a platform raised by a few steps of stairs. It goes without saying that those guys must be the sect elders. Their chairs were all fancy, but the one in the middle was extravagant. I could immediately tell that the patriarch was truly Bruce's father since his appearance was very similar, like peas in a pod. 

Below were two parallel lines of younger people facing each other seated on the floor with their legs crossed. If I guessed it correctly, the assholes must be the core disciples. But since they all look young and around my age, they must be the core disciples of the new generation.

At the sides were other disciples, instructors, and some others sitting on chairs and in front of rectangular wooden tables. Since I was still nervous, I rushed to the vacant seat near my dear brother, Hou Wen.

I swear everyone's attention was towards me when I sat down, including the ones who didn't care earlier. Even Hou Wen has a smirk on his face. That was when I realized that I should've asked Mei whether I was a core disciple or not. I assumed I was one since the patriarch is my dear father. Fuck, am I not even an inner disciple but an outer one?

"You dare not to greet the patriarch and us elders?" 

It was a relief that I wasn't called out because I wasn't a core disciple. But how could I forget the greeting, no, wait, how could I have known? This stupid system should've taught me the ways of this place. Now, I am more anxious. Felt like I could shit my pants. I stood up stressed, it had been long since I was called off for not doing something. The other disciples were chuckling when I took a long time to remember and decide how to greet them.

"This brat–" said the same elder. But, I clasped my closed left hand and bowed before he could say anything else.

"I greet the patriarch and the elders!"

The patriarch still has a stern expression, "Sit," he replied.

Of course, I immediately obliged. I didn't want to still have all of their attention. Then, the servants entered the place. They set wooden tables in front of everyone and served delicious-looking meals.

Guess what? It was a freaking celebration. I mean who wouldn't guess it? Just looking at the patriarch's and the elders' expressions, one could immediately tell that they were ready to party. A boomer party if you will. Well, I also didn't know how "normal ones" actually go since I've never been into one.

We were commemorating the return of the patriarch from a successful meeting with the martial alliance. Yeah, who gives a fuck. After knowing what the event was, my mind just flew somewhere else. I realized that I should just ask the stupid system for questions I still have while pretending to listen.

Most of the questions I asked were answered by telling me that I don't have access to such information or giving me a shitty explanation a five-year-old could've given a better answer.

After the yapping that felt like an eternity, all the core disciples stood up for some reason and bowed to the patriarch and elders. I copied them. Then, one of the core disciples stood in front of the old men, bowed, and took out his sword.

He began showcasing the moves he learned from the sect. The Five Petal Sword technique of the Plum Blossom sword. If my understanding is correct, it was the basic technique in the sect. The foundation to which all other techniques were derived. Everyone in the sect has to master it and it takes a very long time. Then, after showing all the moves, he bowed and the next one took his place. It was the same set of moves once again. I was bored to my core and wanted to leave the place after the fourth disciple. 

The sixth one was a beautiful girl. A cliche that I now love. She has long straight black hair freely swaying with her every move. Her eyes are as dark as her hair, and has a great body. Although I am truly seventeen, knowing that she might be around my age made me hesitate to appreciate her figure.

Once she successfully showcased the same moves, the greatest boomer elder from before spoke, "Didn't you learn what's next? Show it to everyone," he said.

With a bow, "Understood, grandfather," the girl replied. She then raised her sword and closed her eyes. I saw plum blossom petals appear around her, I could also smell their faint scent. It was beautiful. The girl opened her eyes in a swift and thrust her wooden sword. But, the plum blossoms disappeared. I could tell a look of terror when I saw one, and it was plastered on the girl's face as she looked at her grandfather.

"Pathetic," the old boomer stood up and embarrassed the girl in front of everyone. Telling her stuff like how disappointed he was, that her father was capable of doing whatever that was when he was younger, and all that boomer shit.

Some of the idiotic disciples were smiling, feeding off of the embarrassment their fellow trainee was experiencing. The assholes, I bet none of them could even do a portion of what she showed. I could tell that the girl was just holding off her tears, afraid that if her boomer grandfather saw a single drop, he would be more angered and continue embarrassing her. Being in such a situation isn't foreign to me, and I sympathize and feel bad for her. Although, I guess once you experience it more than enough times, you get high resistance with the shitty words and could just laugh it off after. I sure as hell did.

Seeing that none of the other boomers tried to calm the girl's grandfather, it must've been a recurring theme. Even my lovely patriarch of a father remained silent and just allowed it to continue.

"Try it again, you won't leave there until you succeed!" The old man said.

The girl blinked her eyes a couple of times, she gulped and continued doing the same move. Her second attempt was another failure. The third was the same. And the fourth. Each attempt made her grow more embarrassed and afraid. I could see her hands shaking. With the embarrassment and fear piling up, it was becoming more apparent that she wouldn't succeed.

I am not a simp or a knight in shining armor. But, I had the urge to butt in and tell the old boomer that it was enough. Can't they see that she was so afraid of every failure that she failed earlier than her previous attempts? These bastards are just sadist motherfuckers bullying a girl who couldn't talk back. And it has been too long, I'm sure she wouldn't be able to do it even if we were to stay till midnight, at least not until that loud boomer stops shouting at her. Even I would be distracted and would want to cover that old man's mouth with lots of tape.

Although I wanted to help her, I knew that it would put me on bad terms with that elder and maybe the others as well. And as many shitty novels show, that wouldn't be good for me, at least not until I could smack the shit out of them. Still, I was done with the noise, and my head wandered off as I stared forward. It was like when I was in high school and a shitty teacher was pissed about something trivial, taking his anger towards all his students. Who even wants to listen to their bullshits? I guess I should have, because without knowing it, I muttered the words, "Daddy chill," loud enough for everyone in the room to hear.