THE SECOND LIFE OF THE WORLD'S STRONGEST

THE MOCKERY OF OUTER DISCIPLES

Caspian's foot touched the fiftieth step.

The formation screamed. His body screamed. Blood poured from his nose, his ears, the corners of his eyes. Every meridian in his body felt like it was being stretched to the breaking point.

I made it. Fifty steps.

He collapsed.

His knees hit the stone. His hands caught him. The energy of the formation pulsed around him—angry, testing, impressed.

And then, as suddenly as it had begun, the pressure stopped.

Caspian gasped. Air flooded his lungs. His vision cleared. He was kneeling on the fiftieth step, covered in sweat and blood, but he was there.

He had done it.

Behind him, the crowd of disciples stood in stunned silence.

"He actually made it."

"How? His meridians are blocked. He can't cultivate."

"Look at him. He's bleeding everywhere. He's going to die."

Caspian forced himself to his feet.

His legs shook. His arms trembled. But he was standing.

He turned to face the crowd—slowly, deliberately. His gaze swept over them. Lin Wei. The female Steward. Elders who had come to watch.

He said nothing.

He just smiled.

And then he walked down the stairs.

THE OUTER COURT

Caspian sat in the corner of the Outer Court, his back against the stone wall.

His body was still trembling. The pain from the climb hadn't faded—it had just become a dull, constant ache. His meridians were raw, stretched thin. But he could feel the change.

Twenty-three blockages broken. Yesterday I had one. Now I have twenty-three.

At this rate, I'll open all eight hundred in a month.

A month. And then I can start cultivating properly.

He closed his eyes. Reached inward. The Qi in his body was stronger now—still weak, still barely a trickle, but present. It moved through his newly-opened meridians like water through a narrow stream.

In my past life, I spent years trying to open these blockages. I failed because I didn't know how.

Now I know. The formation is the key. The more I climb, the more blockages break.

And the more blockages break, the stronger I become.

"You think you're special?"

Caspian opened his eyes.

Three disciples stood in front of him. They were older—nineteen, maybe twenty. Their robes were gray, but cleaner than his. Their postures were arrogant. They had cultivated longer. They had reached higher realms.

He knew them.

Wu Kang. Chen Feng. Zhao Rui.

In his past life, they had been the bullies of the Outer Sect. They had tormented him for three years. They had laughed when he failed. They had pushed him down. They had stolen his rations.

He had never fought back. He hadn't been strong enough.

And then he had left the Outer Sect. He had climbed the mountain. He had grown powerful.

And he had forgotten about them.

Until now.

"I asked you a question," Wu Kang said. He stepped closer. "Do you think you're special?"

Caspian looked up at him. Met his eyes.

"I think I'm ordinary," he said quietly. "I just work harder than most people."

Wu Kang laughed. It was ugly, mean.

"Work harder? You climbed fifty steps. You're a cripple. You can't cultivate. You'll never be anything. You're just a circus freak."

Caspian said nothing.

Chen Feng stepped forward. "You embarrassed us yesterday. Everyone was talking about the cripple who climbed the stairs. You made us look weak."

"I didn't do anything to you."

"Doesn't matter." Zhao Rui cracked his knuckles. "You need to be put in your place."

Caspian didn't move.

I could fight them. I could humiliate them. I know techniques that would destroy them without a single blow.

But then everyone would know.

Everyone would ask questions. The Elders would investigate. They would find out I know things I shouldn't.

I need to stay invisible. I need to stay weak—on the surface.

For now.

"Fight back," Wu Kang said. "I know you want to. I can see it in your eyes."

Caspian shook his head. "I'm not going to fight you."

"Then you're a coward."

"I'm not a coward. I'm just... not interested."

Wu Kang's face twisted.

And then he punched Caspian in the face.

THE BEATING

The blow landed hard. Caspian's head snapped to the side. His vision went white for a moment.

The pain was intense—but not worse than the Calamity. Not worse than breaking his meridians. Not worse than dying.

He could take it.

"Get up," Wu Kang said.

Caspian stayed on the ground.

Wu Kang kicked him in the ribs. Caspian curled into a ball. His body screamed in protest.

"Get up and fight me, coward."

No. I won't. I can't.

I need them to see me as weak. I need them to dismiss me. I need them to look away.

Because when I finally show them what I really am...

Another kick. This time to his stomach. He vomited.

When I finally show them, they won't be laughing anymore.

Wu Kang stood over him, breathing hard. Chen Feng and Zhao Rui watched, their faces hard.

"You're pathetic," Wu Kang said. "You're not even worth my time."

He spat on the ground next to Caspian's head.

Then he turned and walked away. Chen Feng and Zhao Rui followed.

The Outer Court was silent. The other disciples had seen everything. None of them had stepped in.

Caspian stayed on the ground, curled into a ball, breathing shallowly.

It's done. They've had their fun. They'll leave me alone now.

And I'll remember this. I'll remember every hit. Every insult. Every humiliation.

I'll remember it all.

And when the time comes, I won't forget.

He forced himself to sit up. His ribs ached. His face throbbed. Blood trickled from his split lip.

I look like a disaster.

Good. That's what they need to see.

He stood slowly, holding his side. The other disciples watched him. Some looked away. Some stared, waiting for him to break.

He didn't break.

He limped across the courtyard, through the door, down the corridor. To his room. He pushed the door open. He sat on his mattress.

And he started laughing.

It wasn't a loud laugh. It was quiet, bitter, and broken.

They think they won. They think they put me in my place.

They don't know that I'm already growing stronger. Every day, I break another blockage. Every day, my Qi flows more freely.

In a month, I'll have more power than they'll ever dream of.

In a year, I'll surpass the Elders.

And in ten years, when the Calamity comes...

They won't be laughing then.

He touched his split lip. Winced.

But I can't grow fast enough if I'm hiding. I need resources. I need allies. I need people who believe in me.

And right now, I have none of those things.

He lay back on the mattress. Stared at the ceiling.

Tomorrow, I climb to a hundred steps.

And then I'll see what else I can break.

THE FEMALE STEWARD

In the shadows of the corridor, Juniper Creed watched.

She had seen everything.

She had seen the three disciples confront Caspian. She had seen them beat him. She had seen him stay on the ground, refuse to fight back.

But she had also seen something else.

After the beating, when Caspian stood up and limped away... she had seen his face.

He wasn't angry. He wasn't broken.

He was happy.

Who smiles after being beaten? Who walks away from a beating like they just won something?

She didn't understand it. She didn't like it.

But she was curious.

The cripple. Caspian Torrance. He climbed to fifty steps. He didn't fight back. And he smiled.

Something's wrong with him.

She made a decision.

I need to watch him. I need to see what he's really doing.

Because no one in the Outer Sect gives up that easily.

No one.

She turned and walked away, her footsteps silent on the stone floor.

THE NIGHT

Caspian lay on his mattress, unable to sleep.

The pain had faded to a dull ache, but his mind was still racing.

Juniper Creed. I saw her in the corridor. She was watching me.

In my past life, Juniper was nothing. A background character. She never mattered.

But she's Dorian Creed's daughter. And Dorian Creed is one of the most powerful Elders in the sect.

If I can get her on my side...

He shook his head.

No. I can't think like that. I can't start using people before I understand them.

That's what the old me would have done.

The new me is supposed to be different.

The new me is supposed to be human.

He sighed.

But I don't have time to be human. The Calamity comes in ten years. I have to be ready.

I have to be strong. I have to be smart. I have to be... more.

More than I was in my past life.

And if that means using people, then maybe I have to be willing to do it.

But not yet.

Not right now.

He closed his eyes.

Tomorrow. Tomorrow I'll figure it out.

Tomorrow, I'll climb to a hundred steps.

And then I'll see what the world gives me.

DAWN

Caspian woke before the sun.

His body still ached. His ribs were bruised. His lip was swollen.

But he felt good.

Two days. Two days of climbing, and I've already broken twenty-three blockages. That's more than I broke in three years of my past life.

Imagine what I'll do in a week. A month. A year.

He stood. His legs wobbled, but they held.

I need to train. I need to climb. I need to break more blockages.

But I also need to eat. I need to rest. I need to recover.

If I push too hard, I'll break myself.

And then I won't be able to face the Calamity.

He walked to the door. Opened it.

And found a tray of food on the ground.

Fresh bread. A bowl of soup. A cup of water.

He looked left. Looked right.

No one was there.

Who left this?

He knelt. Examined the tray. It wasn't poisoned. It was warm—freshly made.

Someone is watching me. Someone is helping me.

But who?

And why?

He picked up the tray. Brought it inside. Sat on his mattress.

Doesn't matter. I need the food. I can't grow strong on an empty stomach.

I'll accept it. And I'll find out who sent it.

One way or another.

He took a bite of the bread.

It was the best thing he'd ever tasted.

THE TRAINING GROUND

Caspian walked into the training ground at dawn.

The other disciples were already there. They stopped when they saw him. Whispers spread like wind through dry grass.

"It's him. The cripple."

"He climbed to fifty steps yesterday."

"But he didn't fight back. Wu Kang beat him up. He didn't do anything."

"He's not even worth watching."

Caspian ignored them.

He walked to the same corner he'd sat in yesterday. He sat down. Closed his eyes.

I don't need to fight them. I don't need to prove anything.

I just need to grow.

He reached inward. His Qi was still weak—but stronger than yesterday. The twenty-three blockages he'd broken were now open. Energy flowed through them.

But there are hundreds more. I need to break them all.

And I need to do it without anyone noticing.

He began to breathe.

The technique was simple—so simple that no one would notice it. Slow, deep breaths. Each breath pulled Qi through his meridians, stretching them, warming them.

In my past life, I learned this technique from a wandering cultivator. It's not powerful. It's not flashy.

But it works.

Every breath breaks one more blockage. Every breath makes me stronger.

In a month, I'll be ready.

In a month, I'll show them what I can do.

He opened his eyes.

The female Steward was standing in the shadows. Juniper Creed. Watching him again.

She's curious. She saw me get beaten. She saw me not fight back.

She wants to know why.

Fine. Let her watch. Let her wonder.

The truth is simpler than she thinks.

I'm just waiting for my moment.

He smiled—slight, almost imperceptible.

And then he closed his eyes and went back to work.