An Outer Sect Disciple

Being trash isn't something you can escape. This is a fact ingrained in the minds, hearts, and souls of every single outer sect disciple in this harsh world.

I, Long Haoran know this fact all to well, as I have been subject to the cruelty of it every day since my parents sold me off to the Nine Shadows Heaven Sword Sect. Ever since that day I have been cursed at, trampled on, and beaten; and not a single person showed an ounce of remorse.

This was because, I am outer sect trash. In the face of the heavenly talents residing within the Inner Sect I can only suffer. I can only weep that the heavens didn't favor me the same way they did them.

Within the sect, where strength matters most— with talent being a close second, there are three major schools in which the disciples were grouped. These were the outer sect, the inner sect, and the core disciples.

The outer sect, the largest school, is composed mostly of trash and those few hidden talents who were waiting for an opportunity to soar. The inner sect, the second largest school, is composed of great talents who have even greater futures. Lastly, the smallest school, the core disciples consists of those few heavenly talents with the ability and destiny to become great, achieve the impossible, and become dragons among men.

Unfortunately, I am part of the majority, gifted with neither strength nor talent, besides the talent of being stomped on by those better than me. Today, my 'talent' culminated in its best act.

I woke up early today and went about doing my daily tasks as an outer sect disciple. These tasks are practically slave labor and consist of grueling activities like mining for Spirit Crystals or revolting chores like shoveling the shit of Spirit Beasts.

I worked late into the day and was finally nearing the end of my tasks so I could go back and cultivate, when I made a grave mistake. So shoveling shit isn't exactly the most delicate of tasks, and while doing it I misjudged my strength and flung it somewhere I shouldn't have.

I can recall the moment when I heard the shrill shriek of disgust and fury, that didn't even sound human, as a talent beyond my understanding came barreling over. He was tall, wide, and above all else: strong. I stood no chance, and I knew what was coming.

I will spare the details, but essentially I was stripped of all my dignity as a man. Beaten black and blue, and left as a toy for the play of every spirit beast residing nearby to where I offended the heavens.

It broke me. I lied there for hours after it all finished. I had lost all hope of ever escaping the drudgery of the outer sect and making it to the inner sect, as I had realized what waited for me there. People who would still be better than me.

I had resigned myself to ending my pitiful life within the next 24 hours of what had happened. I cleaned myself off, put on my cleanest and least torn clothes, and headed towards the tallest peak accessible to the slaves called disciples of the outer sect.

There was when my epiphany came. The idea that I didn't have to stay here. The idea that I could leave. It came from the grand sight below the mountain that peaked over the rest of the world. From the peak I saw beauty, and I saw it from the lens of a man with nothing left.

It was brilliant. Covered in pinks, and oranges, blues and reds, purples and greens. It enchanted me, the view. The view of a vast and wide landscape, a vast and wide world that encompassed everything. It was the view of freedom, and I knew I must have it.

And that is where I am now. I had ran down to my small shack given by the sect and gathered my things as fast as possible, waited till nightfall, and snuck out of the sect and into a surrounding forest. Before being trapped with my back to a tree and a giant boar in front of me.

The boar in front of me is at least 2 meters tall and wider than an elephant. Its tusks are long enough to spear any strong man in two. I know I stand no chance at surviving, but I can't give up. Not now that I know about the freedom I can have now.

The boar looks slow and I think I can maybe duck under him and have a lucky break to escape. Probably not though, I think I die today. I have to try though, but it all depends on the boar. It is currently eyeing me right now. Waiting like I am prey. It knows I am weaker than it, its just toying with me.

Suddenly a grand roar began rising from somewhere to the south, the direction I was trying to go to, away from the Nine Shadows Heaven Sword Sect. With the roar both the boar and the earth began shaking. I don't know what it is that is roaring, but I know I can't beat it, the boar is thinking the same by the way it turned around and began running.

Sadly I can't turn around and run that way as well, because that would mean going back to slavery, and I refuse. I can see the boar getting farther and farther away and I decided to advance towards the roar which was slowly getting louder, with the grounds tremors getting stronger.

As I was advancing suddenly the sky turned black, before flashing golden, and then returning to normal. The roar is gone now, in fact all sounds are gone. Oh. My ears are bleeding. The tremors are gone as well, but I know that is actually gone. I think.

Turning around and glancing back up at the Nine Shadows Heaven Sword Sect I can see a giant mass of golden scales flying above the sect like a god of destruction. Suddenly the mass moved again and it was gone, the sect gone with it.

It was a dragon, a golden dragon. A being I can never hope to conquer. My ears are still bleeding, I don't think I will be able to hear properly for a while. I turned back and began moving forwards again, away from the remains of the sect.

Looking forwards the forest seems to stretch until the end of the earth, however I can barely see a the cusp of a lake in the far distance. I am going to try and reach there before I pass out from the trauma of seeing a dragon and suffering under its pressure.

I kept walking for a while and only made it about halfway to my destination before I passed out. My head felt funny right before I passed out, like maybe it wasn't entirely used to the idea of being free, or it was that I couldn't hear and was loosing blood out of my ears at a steady pace.

I woke up and my eyes were a tad blurry. I rubbed them and saw a face leaning close to mine. It wasn't human.