Evening was still stretching its last threads over the Clouded Jade City, and the fog slowly faded with the cold breaths of the wind. On the second floor of the Ren family home, Asher opened his eyes inside Il's body for the first time after several days of silent observation. He felt the weight of muscles he wasn't used to, but he stood up regardless, the body sending faint alerts of pain here and there from Il's previous training.
Ignoring all of that, he quietly opened his room door. He stepped into the corridor and began walking slowly… then slowed down even more, until his steps became so soft that even the carpet didn't feel his presence.
"Woah… you're walking without a sound, like an assassin!" Il's voice echoed inside his mind, like a child witnessing something for the first time.
Asher didn't look surprised; he only smiled inwardly:
"I've realized one thing in this world… drawing attention is the worst thing you can do. Silence opens doors that strength never can."
"What does that have to do with the way you walk?"
"If people don't hear you… they won't interrupt you. And if no one sees you… no one bothers you. It's a survival skill."
Il chuckled inside the consciousness:
"You're strange in a way that makes me feel I'm the strange one."
They continued down the halls of the house. Servants moved cleaning tools around, guards exchanged greetings, and a few cousins ran around as if in a race. Yet no one noticed Asher passing by. His steps, his breathing, his movement… all were eerily silent.
"I feel like you've been hiding yourself since you were a fetus," Il muttered in disbelief.
"Your habits are what kill you… or save you," Asher replied, examining the body carefully as he walked. "And this body… still needs some testing."
He approached the family's training courtyard in the back. It was completely empty, except for a few wooden dummies lined up like soldiers waiting for orders. The courtyard was wide, surrounded by short stone trees, and the quiet morning air gave it a strange sense of dread.
Asher stood in the center of the yard. He took a deep breath, rolled his shoulders, and placed his hands on his waist.
"Alright… the important question, Il."
He smiled faintly, a mysterious smile:
"How much pain can you take?"
Il froze in shock:
"What? Why?"
"I'm going to test this body. And I need to know how much pain you can endure when I give you control."
"I—I think it's… okay? I've trained since I was a kid… you saw my memories, you know that."
"Great," Asher said with reassuring confidence… though nothing about it was reassuring.
He approached a huge wooden dummy made of a strange reddish wood, its surface so tough it challenged punches instead of receiving them.
Asher stood in front of it, taking a primitive but steady boxing stance.
Il screamed instantly:
"Wait! Wait! That wood is for advanced training! You—"
But Asher had already frozen for a moment…
And then—
BOOOOOOM
A direct punch with his right fist.
The result?
A slight tremor in the dummy…
And the hand of the body turned instantly red.
"AAAHHHH! YOU LUNATIC! You'll break my bones!" Il shrieked inside, as if he had taken the punch.
Asher shook his hand and examined it calmly:
"Not bad… acceptable. It didn't break."
"Acceptable?? It's swollen!!"
"Quiet. This is just the beginning."
Then… without hesitation… he lifted his leg and kicked the dummy with full force.
DOOOOM
Il: "MY LEG!!!"
Asher: "This body is disappointingly weak… but it responds quickly to pain."
"That's not responding… that's dying!"
But Asher didn't listen.
He began striking with everything:
— Right punch
— Left punch
— Elbow
— Knee
— Head
— Even weird side strikes Il didn't recognize
The dummy barely moved, but Il's body… looked like a fruit that had been crushed under a cart.
Minutes passed… then half an hour… then a full hour.
Finally, Asher collapsed to the ground, leaning his back against the dummy, breath sharp, sweat pouring as if he had run ten kilometers.
Muscles trembling.
Limbs swollen.
Skin bruised blue and red.
Yet… there was a strange glimmer in his eyes.
"Damn…" Il whispered, voice trembling, "I destroyed my body… I shouldn't have let you do this!"
Asher lifted his head slowly, features tired but composed:
"Can you shut up? Your voice is annoying…"
"Annoying? Annoying?! My entire body is screaming!"
Asher smiled coldly:
"Good. The body only grows when pushed to its limit. Break… heal… then break again… heal faster… and so on."
Il gasped internally:
"This isn't training… this is torture!"
"In cultivation worlds, geniuses are born… but monsters? They're made."
A short silence… then Il screamed again:
"Wait… wait! The sun is setting! It's dinner time! If we don't go now, my mother will send her maid to look for me!"
Asher looked at the darkening orange sky:
"And is that bad?"
"Yes! My mother's maid isn't a maid! She's a disguised executioner! If she sees us like this she'll tell my mother… and she'll drag us to the family healer by the ear!"
"That… is bad."
"Finally you understand!"
Asher tried to stand…
And failed.
The body didn't respond.
"Take control now." Asher said through clenched teeth.
Il's voice appeared, panicked:
"Me? Now? But… the pain—"
"I trained it enough for today. Now it's your turn to deal with the consequences."
"You mean… feel the pain?"
"Exactly."
"…I hate you."
"I know."
With a brief shift, they exchanged control.
The consciousness chamber shook, the control platform changed, and the transition felt like a surge of information shifting from one place to another.
Il suddenly found himself in the body…
And felt all the pain at once.
"AAAAAAHHH!! What is this?! Why is the pain doubled when I take control?!"
Asher sat in the back of the mind, one leg over the other:
"That's normal. Pain hits harder when you weren't the one causing it. Now stand up."
Il struggled to lift himself:
"I feel like an old man two hundred years old!"
"Stand."
"My legs are burning!"
"I said stand."
After terrifying effort, Il finally stood, swaying like a drunk, every step producing a tiny scream.
"Don't make me repeat myself." Asher said coldly.
"You're merciless…"
"I never claimed to be merciful."
Il limped toward the courtyard gate, his muscles begging for rest. Each step was punishment. Every breath cracked the pain open again.
But then something strange happened…
Amid the pain…
He felt the body grow warmer…
And slightly stronger…
As if the strikes were beginning to cause a tiny, yet real, change.
Il muttered with disbelief:
"Wait… I feel the energy moving faster…"
Asher responded with a small internal smile:
"That's the point. Controlled destruction creates stronger rebuilding."
"I hate that you're right."
"You'll get used to it. This is only the beginning."
They reached the corridor leading to the dining hall. The sound of dishes and laughter drifted toward them, along with the smell of food that made Il's stomach growl loudly.
"Alright…" Asher said calmly inside,
"Go in. And try not to look like you fought a bear."
"I'll try… but no promises."
Il entered the hall with slow, pained steps, his body struggling. Asher sat silently in the back of the mind… observing… planning for the next day:
Harsher training…
Greater pain…
Faster growth…
Their journey toward transcendence…
Had only just begun.
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