The God of Cataka

9

BUGS!

Reaching a field on a hill, Bao Yu suddenly landed a kick on Shen Zhu's back until the boy fell to his knees.

Shen Zhu's rusty sword was thrown out of his grasp.

"Teacher?" His senior disciples squealed in surprise. Not expecting their teacher to attack Shen Zhu. Then one of them rushed towards Shen Zhu to help him.

"Let him stand alone!" hardik Bao Yu to the disciple who tried to help Shen Zhu.

Bao Yu's disciples froze with puzzled expressions.

"What's wrong, sister?" ask one of them.

"Wake up, Liu Shen Zhu!" bao Yu shouted, not poking at the question of his senior disciple. "Take your ugly sword and fight me. You want to be stronger, right?"

Shen Zhu crept up tremblingly to then pick up his sword, then sighed rising up his body staggered. Instead of attacking, he instead knelt down in front of Bao Yu.

At the same time, Bao Yu landed another kick. This time under his jaw.

Shen Zhu was thrown back and fell.

"Teacher! Don't punish Brother anymore!" shouted the other disciples while kneeling in unison in front of Bao Yu.

Bao Yu glared at them as she tightened her jaws, "Well," he said. "All of you, fight him!" his orders in a deep growl.

"What?" The students screamed simultaneously.

"Want to argue with Master?" insist Bao Yu.

"But—" they stammered.

"What's wrong, sister?" ask one of them in a whisper.

"Fight him!" repeat Bao Yu in a loud voice.

"Teacher!" The students fell together.

"Still dare to call me Master?" bao Yu.

"Good!" The disciples simultaneously moved, scattering towards Shen Zhu and encircling him.

Shen Zhu gulped and paled. Did I say the wrong thing? Did I offend Master? He wondered in his heart. "Teacher! I don't want to fight teachers and brothers! I don't want to be strong anymore!"

"What?" furious Bao Yu. "So fast have you changed your mind? Where's your knight's soul?"

"I don't want to fight Master and the brothers!" repeat Shen Zhu.

"Hand him!" bao Yu's orders.

And…

BUGS! BUGS! BUGS!

The blows of his brothers and sisters crashing from various directions.

Shen Zhu staggered and fell to his knees as he coughed up to spit out a lump of blood.

"More hard!" bao Yu's orders once again.

"Teacher! Please!" One of the senior disciples knelt down in front of Bao Yu. "If it continues, it could be. Sister was killed!"

"I did indeed want to kill him," Bao Yu said expressionlessly.

"What?" His students screamed simultaneously.

Shen Zhu looked at his teacher with a frown.

"Alright," growled Bao Yu impatiently. "I know all of you cowards can't do it. Let me do it." As soon as he finished saying it, he had already charged towards Shen Zhu and landed a kick on the child's chest.

BUGS!

Shen Zhu was back. Blood gushed from his mouth.

When Bao Yu tried to swing her legs again, her senior disciples ambushed Bao Yu's legs here and there.

"Teacher! Don't kill my brother!" wail them.

"It turns out you're all so lousy, '" growled Bao Yu. "So disappointing and embarrassing." He jerked one of his feet and set it on the ground, and all of his students bounced. "I'll kill you all useless people."

"Don't want to die? So obey!" bao Yu. He pointed towards Shen Zhu. "Kill this useless man!"

The senior disciples got back up and put up the horses. He was forced to obey the orders of his teacher.

"Strong together!" bao Yu's Instructions.

And…

BUUUUUUUM!

The combined spiritual strength of the senior disciples burst forth spouting a brightly lit tinge of light mixed with the rumbling of the wind until the entire place only looked white within Shen Zhu's vision.

Shen Zhu's shout screeched and blared, bouncing up against the cliff wall. His body slammed down hundreds of meters and landed with his back against the cliff wall.

BRUAAAAAAKKKK!

Shen Zhu's scream ended and his body stopped moving. His sword covered in his own blood, apart from the grasp of his fallen hand drooped.

Something cold drew Shen Zhu into the darkness. And he could feel his body floating lightly. Not feeling any pain anymore.

Shen Zhu blinked and tried to open his eyes. He saw a hole, far above his head. It was like he was falling away from her.

He tried to stretch out his hand, but only reached for empty air.

Am I plunging into the abyss? He wondered in his heart.

And when he suspected his back would hit the bottom of the abyss, his body suddenly stopped and floated in midair.

Shen Zhu looked around and realized that he was not hurtling to the bottom of the abyss, but was drifting into the cave standing up and flying backwards.

Shortly after, both of his legs landed lightly on the surface of the rock.

Shen Zhu staggered and twisted his body, examining his surroundings with a dazed face.

Something behind him caught his attention.

A sword stuck on the surface of the stone and burning red let out tongues of fire and a thin puff of black smoke.

Shen Zhu bowed to the sword with squinted eyes, feeling familiar with the scene.

He looked around and found himself standing in the middle of a room that looked like a battle arena. But around him there was no spectator bench. There was only a row of shelves and a pile of books with thick sheets up to the ceiling.

The room was also as vast as the battle arena.

The floor layered a transparent disc-shaped halo of light patterned astrological symbols like magic formations.

His sword was stuck in the middle of the circle.

Dark smoke gushed out from the crack of the floor where the sword was stuck, then formed a dark vortex that slowly formed a mysterious figure in dark robes with a witch-like hood.

His laughing voice sizzled among the rumbling of the wind.

"Thank you to your teacher" said the dark-robed figure. "Thanks to him you can get here. But he's a little outrageous!"

Shen Zhu gulped and stuttered, trying to open his mouth but not a word came out of his mouth. His throat suddenly felt dry like the sound of laughter of that mysterious figure.

"Look at this sword!" the mysterious figure's orders. "Direct a little energy in you towards the gem!"

Shen Zhu approached doubtfully, then followed the instructions of the mysterious figure with curiosity. He channeled a little of his inner energy towards the jewel and the flaming jewel took out tongues of fire, which then spread throughout the sword and engulfed it leaving only a small circle.

It was a ring. It was shaped like a miniature sword bent into a round shape.

Shen Zhu gasped without being able to cover up his astonished feelings.

"Now wear this ring!" the instructions of the mysterious figure. Then it flicked the ring towards Shen Zhu with its fingers just a puff of black smoke. And instantly, the ring was already attached to Shen Zhu's finger.

Shen Zhu again gasped.

"The ring is called the inheritance chamber" the figure told. "And here we are now. Inside the ring."

"This room.." Shen Zhu blinked and stammered as he looked up, trying to stare at the part that should be the face but only looking at the pitch blackness.

Suddenly he remembered where he had met the mysterious figure the first time.

"I remember," he said. "You gave me that broken sword!"

"Yes!" answer the mysterious figure. "I am the sword spirit!"