"Unfilial disciple! Why haven't you greeted your master yet!?"
Adrian eyed the old man who proclaimed to be his 'master'. The first thing he noticed about this old man was his white hair, which was disheveled to the point that it look like a comb would break just by trying to stroke it.
Stature that was short and chubby, eyes that were droopy and lazy, eyebrows that were thick and long; all of these qualities, along with his white and grey raggy robe, made him look like a grumpy dumpling.
"Who the hell are you?" Adrian asked. However the only answer he got was a smack on the head.
"Didn't I already said who I am? I'm your master!" The grumpy old man sighed as he look at his 'disciple'.
He was just about to send a fist straight to the old man, but remembering that the chubby figure in the night that day, Adrian held back. "Where am I?"
He stared around and saw that while he was in a cottage, the surrounds were completely different and Westwind Mountain was nowhere to be seen.
"This is my house. From now on, you're gonna live here and I shall train you to the peak of the martial path!" The old man put his hands behind his back and spoke with righteousness.
Hearing this old man sounding like he was morally awesome, Adrian exploded. "Screw that! I never accepted you as my master and where is Westwind Mountain!? If you bring me back now, my clan can give you whatever you want!"
"Aye, that sounds great and all, but no one in your clan has someone as talented as you are. In fact, not a lot of kids from that Divine Realm can contend with you." The old man stretched out his left leg and pulled a chair over. "Now then, while I call you my disciple, we haven't done a proper master-disciple ceremony yet."
Sitting on the chair, he straighten his back and looked at Adrian. "Come, come, kowtow to me thrice and asked to be my disciple and I shall agree."
"You're crazy!" Adrian backed up a bit and looked at the old man in fear. Who the hell did this old man thought he was?
"What!? Crazy!? How could you call your master that?" The old man put on a shocked on face and his face sadden.
Although he was crazy, seeing this genuine sad face, Adrian was a bit taken back.
Why are you sad? Didn't you kidnap me?
"That's okay. I have a top-notch way to get you to accept me. This method will definitely get it to your head." The old man reached into his robe and swiftly raised his hand.
Adrian wanted to see what it was, but only saw that whatever object it was, it was wrapped in golden light.
The old man then began to chant. "I follow the Dao of Virtue and Righteousness. I am the Guardian of Light. I am the holy being, the sacred divinity. Oh people of the world, lend me your goodwill, give me your blessing and allow my disciple to see the light!"
After he said "light", the old man smashed his hands down. At this moment, time itself seemed to have slowed.
Before, Adrian couldn't see what the old man was holding. However, after the old man's hand got close enough, he could clearly see the object.
It was rectangular in shape with a length of 9 inches, width of 4 inches, and height of 3 inches. Its surface was rough and crude. There were small cracks on the object, as though many things hit it on the same spot over and over again. Still, the most distinct part of this object was its color. It was red.
This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
Adrian's mind flashed with many things, but only when the object struck him did he remember what it was.
It was... a brick!
Bonk!
"Ow!"
Adrian rubbed his head and couldn't believe that the old man was beating him with a brick! A goddamn brick!
"What the hell!?"
"Hm?" The old man scratched his neck. "Seems like one wasn't enough, huh?"
Bonk!
"Ow! Sto-"
Bonk!
"Just sto-"
Bonk!
"You cra-"
Bonk!
"Stop! At this rate, I really will begin to see the 'light!'"
Bonk!
He's literally trying to get it "into my head"!
Bonk!
"..."
Bonk!
"..."
Bonk!
.....
Half an hour later, Adrian was lying on the floor with several black-blue bumps on his head.
Although the old man struck hard, he didn't do it to the point that Adrian would bleed. In fact, Adrian felt as though every time he was struck, a warm and cozy energy would fill his body and he would recover, but the pain would intensify.
"Now then..." The old man sat down once again. "Are you ready yet, my disciple?"
Though his head was littered with bumps, Adrian kowtowed three times on the hard wooden floor. "Disciple greets you, master!"
"Haha! Good, good, good!" The old man was so excited that he repeated "good" three times. "Starting today, you are my disciple!"
The old man gave a hearty laugh before a throwing a book at Adrian. "Here, as your master I shall give you one of my most prized and powerful martial arts. As long as you reach the small success stage in it, I guaranteed that with just a Revolving Core cultivation base, you can wreck anyone at the Divine Sea realm or below!"
At first, Adrian was excited. He knew that this crazy old man wasn't simple so if something that he regarded as "powerful" was definitely overpowered!
He picked up the book and read its title.
"Super Heaven-Defying Secret Art: Ultimate Brick!"
"This is bullsh*t!" He threw the book onto the floor.
"How dare you!? Don't you know what this book means to me?" The old man picked up the book and placed it gently on the table. "I spent countless years creating and perfecting this secret art! With this secret art, I was able to travel numerous worlds and return home alive."
The old man looked at the "Super Heaven-Defying Secret Art: Ultimate Brick" on the table with nostalgia and melancholy. He was looking at it as though it was his greatest treasure.
"Are you kidding with me, master? Isn't this a joke book?"
The old man shook his with great disappointment. "I'm truly disappointed that you have eyes, but can't see Mount Tai. Still, since you acknowledge me as your master, I'll forgive you this once."
He turned around and threw the book at Adrian. However, the book accidentally hit the latter's face. Pretending that he didn't hear a smack followed by wrathful growls behind his back, the old man coughed a few times.
"Make sure to train well in this secret art. I grant you permission to use however as many brick as you need to train. They're right outside the door." He then grabbed a nearby straw hat and put it on. "Now then, I gotta go somewhere for a bit. Make sure you behave."
The old man swiftly left the room, leaving Adrian inside the small cottage.
"This..." Adrian wanted to say something, but he only sighed. "Well, I might as well read this."
He opened the [Ultimate Brick] secret art and began to read.
"In the beginning, there was chaos! At the end, there was destruction! These two aspect of the universe were given by the Grandmist."
"At the same time, many things occurred and were created in between the beginning and the end. Countless worlds were created, life and death were established, and divine weapons were forged by the universe."
"There were many wonders, but none could match the brick! Those that follows the Dao of the Brick were truly heroic figures. They had no need for divine swords to split the sky. They had no need for godly spears to pierce the heavens. They had no need for unbreakable shields to defend their loved ones."
"All that they needed were in the brick! Splitting the sky? Just smack the sky flat! Pierce the heavens? Just crush the heavens into a pulp! Defending others? Just the toss the brick onto the enemy's face!"
"If God dares stand in your way, brick him! If Buddha dares stand in your way as well, brick him too! With a brick in hand, you can rule the world!"
Adrian said nothing as he slowly closes the book. He truly wanted to say something again, but words wouldn't come out of his mouth, no matter how hard he tried.
Indeed, this book was true to its name. It could make anyone who read it speechless, incapable of expressing a single sound. Yet, this silence was also a way to tell one's emotion about it.
Indeed, truly super, truly heaven-defying!