Resisting the sect's chief

'Suck him,' an ominous voice whispered in his head and the hunger deepened. He could see the warm colorful aura of mana surrounding the disciple on the ground. It was calling out to him, offering its service to him.

'No, this feels disgusting,' he said to the voice and closed his eyes tightly as if pushing in the darkness. When his eyes opened, the red demonic glow was gone, his senses now pure.

Was this the price of being a demon?

"If you dare stop me again, I will not go easy on your asses."

Cough!

The injured disciple gazed towards Surrdon, his mouth full of blood. He wanted to curse him, but the fear of being struck again by the phoenix made him remain humble.

Surrdon turned to face the second disciple, but he was already gone.

"Dammit!"

He glared at the entrance. How had the bastard fled without making a sound? A coward.

The phoenix chirped angrily at the remaining disciple, threatening him in its language, before flying back on Surrdon's shoulder. The two shared a glance and a half-smile stretched his lips.

"You're okay, I guess."

It replied with a happy chirp and rubbed its face on Surrdon's cheek. He no longer cared about its cold nature, after all, he had learned an ice skill that allowed him to moderate his body temperature as well as the temperature around him.

The pathway leading to the inner courtyard was flocked by disciples from both the inner and outer courts. Some were there to see for themselves the notorious outer disciple that had challenged an inner disciple, while others were there to marvel and cheer Surrdon on as he had accomplished his difficult task.

Murmurs about his mission collided.

The girls swooned over him.

And the young men envied him.

"There's nothing special about him."

"He looks so plain."

"Oh my god, he is so handsome."

"Look at his hair, so beautiful. I wish I had hair like his."

"Where is the phoenix? Do you think he managed to tame it?"

The young men laughed to themselves.

"Of course not, he must have come back so he can be kicked out."

And more gossip filled the evening air. All about Surrdon and his shortcomings.

He passed through the first gate, and then the second. The more he approached the inner hall, the less the disciples gossiped. Being a core or inner disciple meant carrying oneself with grace and dignity. There were unwritten rules, and so they watched in silence but with disgust in their eyes.

Their hearts mocked him for trying to be the center of attention in the entire sect. Something most of them had never achieved.

He had only joined the sect not too long ago through the back door, yet the chief was already paying extra attention to him.

Surrdon ascended the short stairs that led to the open grand hall. He knew the chief and elders were waiting inside for him. He wanted to see the looks on their faces when they realized he hadn't failed the mission.

The second Surrdon set foot in the hall, a heavy pressure immediately descended upon him. He stifled a groan and gazed ahead to the proud female seated on the golden leader seat. She reciprocated his gaze but with an arrogant and mocking speck.

"Look who came back," Shihan laughed.

"Why don't you come closer? You're so far away."

Her attitude reminded her of the girl she had a crush on back on earth. Even though she never did speak to him, he used to overhear her proud talk about the boys she liked. A picky dater.

Surrdon took another step forward.

With each step, the gravity intensified, creating pressure within his chest. His heartbeats accelerated and his breaths turned shallow.

'I'll not let you walk all over me,' Surrdon swore and moved forward despite the pain.

His posture began weakening but he did not allow his body to submit to the mighty power.

All this while, the elders watched, not daring to help or intercede on his behalf.

As he made his fourth step, his life sigil appeared beneath his foot, somehow relieving him of the torturous coercion pounding on him in pulses.

He sighed under his breath as the tension lessened.

Holding Shihan's bitter glare, Surrdon slowly walked till he reached the center of the hall. He bowed to the female, gritting his teeth in displeasure. "Surrdon greets the chief."

As customary, Shihan should have asked him to rise, but she made him hold his bow for a minute and waited for his reaction. But Surrdon swallowed all the humiliation and continued bowing, his hands placed before his head.

"Where is the phoenix? If you failed, the punishment will be dou-"

"I accomplished the task," he cut in.

Shihan rolled her eyes rudely before permitting him to straighten. "Rise."

Surrdon sighed internally. The coercion had certainly left some hidden wounds throughout his body even though he appeared fine.

His head tilted to the right and murmured to the bird feigning sleep, "I'll deep fry you if you keep pretending."

His threat made the phoenix hop off his shoulder and made itself visible.

"Here it is."

Surrdon presented the little majestic bird to the chief and the elders.

Their eyes suddenly grew round from the shock of seeing a real phoenix. Shihan jumped to her feet, her face betraying the confusion swirling within her.

He had surprised her twice. The first was him activating his sigil even though he was a mere level one, and the second was the obvious reality before her.

"Impossible!" Shihan yelled.

"God bless us, this is a real phoenix."

"It looks so majestic."

"Are you sure this is not an illusion?"

The elders argued amongst themselves.

Shihan disappeared and appeared right in front of Surrdon. She looked him deep in the eyes, but due to their height difference, the glare wasn't dark enough.

"How did you do it? You're only at level one."

Surrdon smiled and leaned down to whisper in her left ear, "The Demon Lord sent his greetings."

Her eyes popped out at the mention of his name. All energy drained from her body, leaving her pale as a sheet.

She tried swallowing, but her throat ran dry without any warning.

Surrdon moved away from Shihan.

He had guessed it right, she either feared or admired 'him', or both.

If not, she would never have agreed to enroll a weak disciple.

"My task is successful, I should go back to catch up with my brothers and sisters," he announced with some arrogance, before bringing his eyes to Shihan. "He said thank you for taking me in. He will soon pay you a visit."

With that, he bowed to Shihan and turned around.

The coercion was still in the air, but it had weakened severely due to Shihan's panicked state. She did not stop him even after acting so egotistic before her. She said nothing when the phoenix flew after him.

--------------------------------

A lonely crescent moon hung in the dark sky, fighting against the night to be the ray of hope to any wandering eye that gazed up. Its weak light fell on the young man seated on a rock at the back of the sleeping area. His silver hair danced vigorously to the wind trying to please him.

The wind started misbehaving.

It pushed down his clothes till his left shoulder was left bare.

Surrdon's eyes snapped open, interrupting the level two technique he was struggling to master.

He slid his clothes back on his shoulder and looked around, searching for the perverted mind that had done it. But all he saw was the darkness roaming behind the trees bordering the female and male sleeping areas.

"Who is it?"

A ringing silence answered him.

"Bluey?" He called in a furious breath, blaming it on the phoenix.

But the little bird was fast asleep on the rock next to his thigh. This cleared his suspicion but didn't solve the problem.

He inhaled, then exhaled and closed his eyes to continue with his practice.