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The youth

Under pale light, I saw an uncountable number of figures standing in the sky. They had begun a conference, no an argument. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but they sounded unreserved and arrogant.

The scene blurred, and I had a bad headache. Suddenly an indescribable feeling of horror gripped me, and the scene switched to where one took out a blade and slaughtered the person next to him. People started teleporting around, and it turned into an all out brawl.

My vision abruptly closed in on the next kill, someone being lacerated across his stomach. He started screaming, and I screamed as well, waking up to my dad.

Dad- “Son! Go to sleep! It’s in the freaking middle of the night! You need to get your rest so you can perform well on your first day of training!”

That was my father, he always had to yell when I’ve done something wrong. My dad was a weird parent, he always had a bottle of alcohol on his side, but it was always filled with water. Even stranger was that he would always drink from it when other clan members were around.

I think he just doesn’t care about anything except what I happen to be doing or what I did wrong. He was extremely strict and never cut me any slack in anything I do. However, I always try my best to meet his expectations, even if they are hard.

Following his advice, I went back to sleep.

********

It was a dreamless night the rest of the way, and I woke to sunlight streaming down my face. After wiping my face, I walked through the hallway to the kitchen. Surprisingly, there was actual breakfast. Usually I need to make the gruel we call ‘food’, but then again, today was special. It was the first day of training!

I smiled and sat where we normally eat. It was next to the candle that lit up most of the room.

Me- “So,” I inquired, “What is the trainer like?”

Dad looked at me and was about to reply, but he suddenly grimaced.

Dad- “You don’t need to know. You’ll find out when you get there.”

I sighed, Dad was always like this. When it came to the clan, he was either dead serious or just wouldn’t divulge any information. This may have been due to the fact that he was one of the 3 clan leaders at the peak of the basic realm, yet he didn’t contribute anything to the clan resulting in people gossiping about him.

With a shaggy beard that he never shaved, messy hair that he didn’t even attempt to fix, it’s not a wonder that people found a reason to ridicule him. However, nobody dared to do it in his face. Dad was a light attributed cultivator at the peak of the basic realm, one of the 3 in our clan.

Looking for a new topic, I asked awkwardly about the food.

Me- “Where did you get this? Normally we only have enough for gruel.”

Unfazed by the somewhat rude comment, Dad nonchalantly replied,

Dad- “You’ll be eating like this from now on. The training is not as easy as you may think it will be, and you will be needing every bit of this.”

That statement made me even more curious about the training. I finished my eggs quickly, and in anticipation I asked,

Me- “When does it start?”

Dad- “Oh, it starts right about now, in the valley.”

My mood instantly turned sour, and I immediately dropped my plate and started running. Our plundering earth clan was a relatively big place. With a circumference of about 10 miles, out bandit clan was one of the biggest clans around. Thankfully, I lived close to the valley because my house was cut out near the middle of the mountains. I could just run downhill and get there in 2-3 minutes.

When I rushed past some people, at first they were surprised, but then their faces contorted into ones of ridicule.

Bandit 1- “Hey Daniel, weren’t you supposed to be at the training already? Always late, just like your father. The dishonor of our clan, right here, waha-ha-ha!”(laughing sound)

Bandit 2- “What was that again? Your Dad’s not a waste? With all that alcohol he gives to you, I would be surprised if you weren’t in a hangover right now. Actually, that’s probably why you’re late!”

Anger and humiliation was on my face, I could retort, but that would only make me later than I already was. So I gritted my teeth and ran faster in hopes of drowning out their incessant voices with the whistling of the wind.

When I arrived, the kids were all sitting in a circle, looking up at a big ruffian standing on what seemed to be an arena of sorts. I chose a spot near the back, and he started speaking to everyone.

Ruffian- “Now I know you’re a group of 7 year olds, but you seem to think that you can sit around talking while I’m f**king standing right here. Well,” he roared, “why don’t any of you brats come up here, so I can teach you some respect!”

Upon hearing those words, the faces of some children turned pale. The man had a big and fat figure, but he wasn’t fooling anyone. Everybody knew that the trainer was at least a first rank, granting him the physical strength of someone who had trained their bodies to their limits for their whole lifetime. A single punch would hurt like crap, and nobody was willing to experience that.

He pointed at a couple of children, and they did not seem happy to oblige. But suddenly, he was pointing at me. With a malicious grin on his face he said,

Ruffian- “You as well.” He rebuked, “You have the gall to come here late, and on the first day at that! I bet you think that you can just put on airs just because your father is one of the clan leaders. Truly shameless.”

I looked around and saw smirks on the face of the others, some nodding their heads. Rage clouded my eyes with an almost reddish haze. I could only think of how wrong they were, how hypocritical. They could insult me like that, but my Dad? They have to pay!

I rushed in at the ruffian like a crazed boar, and the other kids took this as a chance to rush in behind me. As I lifted my fist, I aimed wildly at the ruffian not caring where I hit. The others went to ram the fat man to the ground and deal with him there. But in response to all this, the man only laughed. He took my full out punch and the other kid’s charge without stepping back an inch. He then smashed me in the stomach. I flew back past the whole arena and hit the dirt, hard. Under my hazy vision, I saw the others rolling around squealing like pigs. Then I set my sight on the fat ruffian. When I saw his grimy face in an expression of disdain, my anger flared up again. It caused me to force myself back onto my feet, adrenaline coursing wildly through my veins.

Ruffian- “So the runt is tougher than I thought. Should I commend you for exceeding my expectations?” he said provokingly.

I didn’t reply, knowing this would only make him more mad.

Ruffian- “You dare ignore me trash!? Do you want to become black and blue?”

He seemed to cool down a bit and started again, except this time to the crowd,

Ruffian- “Daniel will be our next example in combat. After all, he is the only one left standing, so he must be the the strongest person here, no? But since I am a benevolent man, you won’t fight me again. Instead, why don’t you exchange some pointers with your senior, Ocran?”

He motioned over to an uphill area covered by the woods and someone stepped out from behind a tree. The kid looked to be around 11 years old, and his eyes revealed a feral look that was only reinforced by his other features. He had black hair that looked as if it was never combed in years and a face that would of been handsome, if not for the dirt that cloaked his skin.

He started running down the hill, and when he encountered the ledge overlooking the valley, he front flipped over it, landing steadily on his feet. A wave of applause erupted from everyone except me, and various praises came from the crowd.

Rp1(Random person 1)- “As expected from the best in the final combat class, he really knows how to make an entrance.”

Rp2- “You think this is an achievement? You must spend all your time living in a cave. I heard he has taken 2 heads from the moon fury clan!”

Gasps of astonishment could be heard through the crowd as the claims constantly got more and more outrageous. Ocran smiled with a large grin on his face, but his eyes were still cold, as if it was only natural to praise him.

When he looked at me, he started sneering and his arrogance and pride could clearly be seen. He strutted over to me, as if he was on the top of the world and said,

Ocran- “So, I heard this junior needs to learn the rules around here?”

The crowd enthusiastically agreed. Next, he put his hand up for a handshake before the fight which earned some boos from the crowd. Seeing he looked sincere, I obliged. But Ocran did not really have good intentions. When our hands touched, he gripped my wrist and pulled me close to knee me in the stomach.

“Puahh”

The wind was knocked out of me and I gasped. The only thing I could do was kneel and gasp for breath. All the hypocrites in the crowd started cheering and I started to hate all of them. You all call me and my dad trash just because my father went into seclusion to raise me. Then you applaud someone for underhandedly attacking me? While I was musing, Ocran pulled me up, and I could smell his manure like breath.

Ocran- “Stay in your rightful place, trash!”

He slammed me headfirst on the ground, and I passed out.

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The Universe Catalog

Author’s note 2: Rp1 means random person 1 and Rp2 means random person 2 and so on. Also the names I have for the characters in front of the dialogue are whatever the main character calls them in his head. The chapters will be of varying length, as they will each last from the moment the main character wakes up to the moment he goes to sleep (or unconscious). These chapters are written, proofread, and edited by me as well, so it might take some time for new chapters to come out. Although it will never be longer than a week unless something serious is going on. So if I don’t post for a month of time, assume I’m dead until further notice.

‘Edit’ Don’t really assume I’m dead. Wait for a year or two before leaving, pls. And it will most likely take over a week… I overestimated my capabilities as a new writer when I said that.