I Just Found An Elder

I must have looked like a beggar.

Because, One disciple hesitated before whispering, "Did Senior Brother get beaten up last night?"

"Maybe he got caught peeking at the female disciples."

I snapped my head up. "I heard that!" The hall went silent. Then, Lin Ruoyan casually walked in, saw me struggling to move, and smirked.

"Ah, I see the Supreme Lord has made it to breakfast. How's your body holding up?"

I glared at her. "Like I was tossed into a furnace, rolled down a mountain, and then trampled by a herd of spirit beasts."

She sat across from me, completely unbothered. "Good! That means it's working."

I squinted. "Are you trying to make me stronger, or just enjoying my suffering?"

She smiled, taking a bite of her bun. "Yes." I picked up my chopsticks with the determination of a man who refused to be humiliated any longer. My hand shook violently.

A simple goal: pick up the bun.

The challenge: my muscles refused to cooperate.

The result? The bun slipped from my chopsticks, rolled off the table, and landed perfectly at Lin Ruoyan's feet.

She picked it up, blew on it like it was a precious treasure, and took a bite. "Thanks for the extra bun."

I stared at her in disbelief. This woman!. This demon!. This walking nightmare!.

I was going to get stronger. Not just for revenge against my betrayers. Not just to reclaim my power.

But to one day slap a bun out of Lin Ruoyan's smug hand. I stared at my stolen breakfast, jaw clenched, eyes twitching.

Lin Ruoyan chewed dramatically, eyes gleaming with amusement. "You know, you should thank me."

"For what?" I hissed.

She pointed at my trembling hands. "This is training. If you can't even hold chopsticks properly, how do you expect to wield a sword?" …This demon woman...!!!

The disciples around us were trying very hard not to laugh.

One finally broke. "Senior Brother… would you like me to feed you?" Laughter erupted.

I took a deep breath, calming the urge to flip the entire table over. No. I was a Supreme Lord, former Supreme Lord. I had faced gods, demons, and celestial tribulations.

I would not be defeated by breakfast. Ignoring my shaking arms, I reached for another bun.

One. Simple. Goal.

I clenched my chopsticks, locked onto my target, and then the bun vanished. I blinked. Lin Ruoyan had taken it.

She smirked. "Too slow." I nearly blacked out from sheer rage. Another disciple offered me their bowl of porridge out of pity. I would have refused, but my stomach growled in betrayal.

I took the bowl. I had never felt such shame.

Lin Ruoyan sighed, resting her chin on her hand. "You should hurry up and recover. The Sect Master wants to see you." I froze mid-bite.

The Sect Leader? Why? Was it because I beat up a disciple? No...surely not. I had only shattered a few bones.…Okay, maybe more than a few.

I swallowed hard. "What does he want, now? more public bathroom, wash or what?"

Lin Ruoyan shrugged. "Maybe to test your strength. Maybe to punish you. Maybe he's just bored." My stomach sank.

I had only just recovered from nearly dying. And now, the Sect Master wanted a meeting?

One thing was certain, I was going to need more porridge. I sat cross-legged outside the Sect Leader's hall, trying to convince myself that I was not about to die.

"He's not going to kill me," I muttered under my breath. "He's a respectable leader, a wise cultivator, a...." The door creaked open.

A disciple peeked out, pale as death. "The Sect Leader will see you now." I did not move.

The disciple gulped. "Please don't make me drag you in. Last time I tried to touch a senior, he broke my arm." I stared at him. And He stared at me. A long, awkward silence followed between us.

Then I sighed and stood up, brushing off my robes. "Fine. Let's get this over with."

Inside the Sect Master's Hall

The hall was massive, lined with golden lanterns and walls filled with ancient calligraphy. At the center sat Sect Leader Mo Tian, a man whose presence alone could crush mountains.

He was sipping tea, looking completely at peace more than before. That was a bad sign. Calm people were always the most dangerous.

"Disciple Long Fei Jian," he said, voice smooth as silk. "You've caused quite a bit of trouble."

I bowed respectfully. "Sect Leader, I—"

"You beat up an elder."

"…Yes."

"You sent one of my students to the infirmary."

"…Also yes."

"You shattered half his ribs."

"In my defense, he insulted my ancestors."

Sect Master Mo Tian took another sip of tea. "That is unfortunate."

I swallowed hard. Was he about to kill me? Exile me? Make me wash dishes for eternity?

Then, to my shock, he smiled.

"Good," he said.

I blinked. "…What?"

He leaned forward, eyes gleaming. "That student is an idiot." I choked.

Mo Tian continued, sipping his tea. "He has no discipline. No humility. He needed a good beating." Was this… a test?

I nodded carefully. "I'm glad I could… help with that?"

Mo Tian chuckled. "However, you are a new disciple. A weak, fragile one at that. Beating an elder, his son, an outer disciple, and now a senior student, is not normal. Tell me, Long Fei Jian, who are you really?" Silence.

My back tensed.This man was too sharp.

He was testing me. I straightened my posture and met his gaze. "I am merely a disciple who wishes to grow stronger."

Mo Tian raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?" A long silence. Then, he smirked.

"Very well," he said. "Then you won't mind the next test."

I felt a chill. "…Next test?"

He stood, stretching. "Yes. If you're strong enough to beat my an outer student and an elder's son, then you're strong enough to spar with an elder." I stared.

He clapped his hands. "Elder Zhao, please come in." The doors slammed open.

A towering, muscle-bound elder stomped in, veins bulging, eyes burning with the rage of a thousand suns. It was the elder I beat up.

He cracked his knuckles. And I took a deep breath. I was about to die!. I took a slow step back. Then another...

The elder, Elder Zhao, was a giant of a man, his muscles barely contained by his robe. Why did I not take noticed of it before now...!His face was still bruised from our last encounter, and the veins on his forehead looked like they were about to explode.

Sect Master Mo Tian looked amused. "You seemed to have some skill when you beat him last time. Let's see if that was just luck."

Luck? LUCK?! That wasn't luck! That was pure, unfiltered rage after waking up in a weakling's body!

Elder Zhao cracked his knuckles, the sound echoing through the hall like thunderclaps of doom.

"I will make you regret being born," he said.

I swallowed hard. "Sect Leader, wouldn't a smaller test suffice? Like, perhaps… running errands? Sweeping the courtyard? Maybe writing an essay about the virtues of patience?" God! Why isn't the sect's master where to rescue me like before...?

Sect Master Mo Tian ignored me. "Begin."

Elder Zhao grinned before charging at me.

Step One: Avoid Death

I dodged to the left, barely missing a fist that shattered the floorboards where I had just been standing. The shockwave sent me flying, but I twisted mid-air and landed on the ground, only to see another fist coming straight for my face....

God! This is definitely hell...