Chapter 2: The Useless Outer Disciples
870 Words
Pain.
A burning pain unlike anything Lin Tianyi had ever experienced.
It wasn't the agony of having his soul torn apart by the Heavenly Dao Formation.
Nor was it the pain of battling nine Sovereigns at once.
This pain came from weakness.
Every bone in his body felt brittle. His meridians were clogged, his dantian nearly empty, and every breath was labored.
Slowly, he opened his eyes.
The ceiling above him was little more than rotting wooden beams.
Rainwater dripped through several cracks, landing beside a straw mattress that could barely be called a bed.
"This..."
"...is where I woke up?"
Lin Tianyi frowned.
His divine sense instinctively spread outward.
Nothing happened.
His expression stiffened.
"My cultivation..."
Gone.
Not weakened.
Not sealed.
Gone.
Even his once-boundless spiritual sense had shrunk to a mere few feet around him.
For the first time in thousands of years...
He felt like an ordinary mortal.
Just then, a flood of unfamiliar memories surged into his mind.
"Ugh!"
He clutched his head as images flashed before his eyes.
---
A young boy.
Thin.
Timid.
Named...
Lin Chen.
An orphan from Blackstone City.
At the age of twelve, he was accepted into the Azure Cloud Sword Sect, believing he could change his fate.
Instead...
His nightmare began.
During the entrance examination, his spiritual root was judged as a Mortal Grade Root.
The lowest possible talent.
The elders lost all interest in him.
The disciples mocked him.
Even servants looked down on him.
For four years, he remained stuck at the Third Stage of Body Tempering.
The weakest disciple in the entire Outer Sect.
Then...
Three months ago...
His younger sister, Lin Xue, who remained in Blackstone City, was taken by force by the powerful Zhao Noble House.
When Lin Chen returned home to save her...
He was beaten nearly to death.
His father was crippled.
His mother died protecting her daughter.
His sister vanished without a trace.
Unable to challenge the Zhao House, Lin Chen returned to the sect in despair.
Yesterday...
Several outer disciples cornered him.
"Trash like you should know your place."
They beat him until his ribs shattered.
One final kick sent him tumbling down a cliff behind the sect.
His body survived.
His spirit did not.
---
The memories faded.
Silence filled the room.
Lin Tianyi slowly closed his eyes.
"So..."
"This child died carrying nothing but hatred."
He looked down at his trembling hands.
They were covered in scars.
Years of labor.
Years of abuse.
Years of humiliation.
A life that had never known kindness.
Lin Tianyi whispered softly,
"Your hatred..."
"I accept it."
"The karma between us ends today."
"I shall avenge your family."
"I shall find your sister."
"And everyone responsible..."
"...will disappear from this world."
As those words left his lips—
A warm sensation spread through his chest.
The lingering resentment within the body dissolved into countless specks of light.
For a brief moment...
Lin Tianyi saw the smiling face of a young boy.
"Thank you..."
The figure vanished.
Lin Tianyi opened his eyes once more.
The final trace of Lin Chen's soul had peacefully departed.
From this day forward...
Only one soul remained.
---
Creak.
The wooden door burst open.
Three young men strode inside without permission.
Their sect robes marked them as Outer Disciples.
The leader sneered.
"Well, well."
"The trash is still alive."
Another disciple laughed.
"I lost five spirit stones betting he'd die."
The third kicked over the only wooden stool in the room.
"What a waste."
Lin Tianyi calmly observed them.
Their cultivation...
Body Tempering Fifth Stage.
Weak.
In his previous life, a mere glance would have erased them from existence.
Now...
They were stronger than he was.
The leader crossed his arms.
"Lin Chen."
"You owe Senior Brother Wang twenty spirit stones."
"When are you paying?"
Lin Tianyi searched his memories.
Ah.
Senior Brother Wang.
A local tyrant who forced weaker disciples to borrow spirit stones at outrageous interest.
The original Lin Chen had borrowed ten stones to buy medicine for his dying mother.
The debt had somehow become twenty.
Then fifty.
Then one hundred.
Classic extortion.
Lin Tianyi smiled faintly.
"Tell him..."
"I'll pay."
The three exchanged surprised looks.
"Oh?"
The leader grinned.
"You've finally learned your lesson?"
Lin Tianyi nodded.
"Yes."
"I'll pay."
"With interest."
The three laughed so hard they nearly doubled over.
"Hahaha!"
"Did you hear that?"
"The cripple thinks he can threaten Senior Brother Wang!"
The leader stepped forward until their faces were inches apart.
"Trash."
"Remember."
"People like you exist only to kneel."
He reached out to shove Lin Tianyi's shoulder.
Before his hand could touch—
Smack!
Lin Tianyi's fingers shot forward like a striking viper.
He caught the disciple's wrist.
The room fell silent.
The three bullies stared in disbelief.
The leader tried to pull away.
He couldn't.
"What..."
"How are you so strong?"
Lin Tianyi looked at the trembling hand in his grip.
"So."
"My body is weak."
"But my techniques..."
"...remain."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
Perhaps he had lost his cultivation.
But experience?
Sword Dao comprehension?
Battle instincts forged over thousands of years?
Those had reincarnated with him.
And to deal with insects...
That was more than enough.
- Writer
