Evil Samurai In Cultivation World

"So, it looks like you are indeed determined to go into the closed seclusion chamber," Senior Beldon said, as he downed a whole cup of tea in one go, much to the dismay of Claude. He was sure that the tea was boiling hot!

"Of course I am determined, Senior brother." Claude nodded his head, as he took a sip from his own cup. "I feel as though I am not competent enough to secure first place in the sparring contest, and I have a strong feeling that training inside the closed seclusion chamber is going to help me reach that position."

"You sure have a keen eye for detail, junior brother Claude," Senior Beldon said, as he immediately reached for the cup that was filled with cold water, and took a big gulp. Perhaps he was trying to heal his burnt tongue? "I know that you're a smart kid, and I'm sure that you must have thought this through well enough to make this decision, but I feel like I still have to tell you to be careful. The closed seclusion chamber is a very dangerous place, and you cannot win simply on the basis of your physical strength alone. It messes with your mind as well."

"It's not going to be the end of the world, senior brother. I'll be fine. And it's not like I'm a weak minded person either," the Claude pointed out. "I am sure that I can overcome the challenges that the mystical realm contains and come out victorious. You don't have to worry too much."

"Alright. If you say so," Upon realizing that Claude wasn't going to change his mind, Senior Beldon simply shrugged his shoulders and waved his hands in response. "One last piece of advice; Try to keep an eye on the passage of time, would you?"

"Why?" Claude asked, confused about the question. "Doesn't time flow differently inside the mystical realm? What good would checking up on the time that has passed do me any good?"

"You're right about the passage of time inside of the mystical realm. Time does flow differently, completely beyond our understanding." Senior Beldon said as he grabbed another cup of water and gulped it down once again. "But you on the other hand, is not going to be a part of the mystical realm. You're going to experience the motion of time in the normal manner, even though everything around you may not obey your rules of time."

Senior Beldon paused for a second, contemplating on how to explain his words more easily, before continuing. "What I mean is that although time will move differently around you, you'll still be able to count from one to sixty, which makes up a minute in our world. Sure, one minute inside of the mystical realm might not be the same as a minute in the real world, but the point is that you won't forget the concept of what makes up our time."

"So you're telling me not to forget what constitutes the real world and it's mechanics?" Claude asked, trying to understand what his senior was trying to convey, and Senior Beldon snapped his fingers in satisfaction as he nodded his head at Claude. "Yes! You see, the doorway to the mystical realm is through one's subconscious mind, which means that you're not only entering the mystical realm but you're also accessing your own subconscious mind! Just like a dream!"

"And just like a dream, I could lose touch with what's real and what's not..." Claude rubbed his chin as he muttered under his breath, and Senior Beldon nodded his head once again. "The more you spend our 'time' down there, the more likely you'll get distracted. It might look easy at first, but do not let your guard down. It's a dangerous place."

"I'll keep that in mind." Claude nodded his head, as he got up from his chair and decided to head out, which prompted Senior Beldon to get up from his seat as well.

"By the way, what do you plan on doing to those punks that tried to start a fight with you?" Before he left, Senior Beldon asked Claude, obviously talking about Ian and his lackeys.

"What can I do right now?" Claude shrugged his shoulders in response to senior Beldon's question. "With the whole replacement of our master and the new Headmaster, I feel like keeping a low profile is the best option right now."

"You call beating up your senior and his friends in front of everyone low profile?" Senior Beldon crossed his hands and looked at Claude, who simply smiled in response. "For me? Probably, yeah."

He then stopped for a second, before replying, "But then again, I feel like he's in the same position as I am. And if he finds a way around that, then I can just copy him."

SLASH!

Claude's katana pierced his mother's chest, and as he looked at her shocked face, he said, "Although I am happy about seeing my mother once again, I'm afraid this is the last time."

He then pushed the katana even deeper while pulling his mother closer to him, embracing her as she let out her dying breath. "Thank you mother, for now I know what I have to do to get out of this place."

Plop!

With that, he let go of his mother and her lifeless corpse fell down onto the floor with a loud thud.

Claude rubbed his hands over his face and realized that he had a bit of his mother's blood splattered on him.

He then rubbed the blood with his hands and off his face, before sighing to himself. "I can't believe I got lost..."

After the first kill of his dead wife's doppelganger, Claude subconsciously began underestimating the mystical realm, and in the end, he got distracted by the mind demon. And now, he had no idea how many minutes, or even hours he had spent inside this world. 

'I have to make sure that I don't lose myself again.' Claude reassured himself as he massaged his forehead. He couldn't afford to be distracted by the illusions again. He had to end this as soon as he could.

"Kuhu ha ha ha ha!!" All of a sudden, the lifeless corpse of his mother began laughing maniacally, which made Claude back away, immediately turning cautious.

Click! Click!

The sound of the readjusting of muscles and bones were heard, and the dead body began twisting and turning around, gradually lifting itself up off its two feet, with a sinister smile on its face.

"You're impressive, human! Impressive, I say!!" The corpse began to speak in a demonic voice with an evil smile, and Claude narrowed his eyes. "To think you were able to pull yourself out of the illusion! How amusing! You truly are an interesting prey."

Click! Click! Click!

The corpse began twisting its neck as it spoke, eventually doing a complete rotation as it turned to face Claude once again, with the skin on its neck ripped open and blood flowing out due to its movements. "But how long will you be able to keep that up, I wonder? You may be a formidable opponent, but in the end, everyone falls prey to me!"

The monster cackled loudly as it spun its head around again, and blood began spurting out from its neck.

Claude stared at the evil creature in front of him with an indifferent expression on his face, as his hands moved to his katana. "You know what? You're absolutely right!"

Swoosh!

Claude moved in an instant, appearing right in front of the monstrous figure without wasting a single second, and swung his katana at the evil creature's neck! "That's why I'm about to end it!"

BAM!

The evil creature laughed maniacally again as it pulled up its hands to block the strike, but the sharp blades sliced through the dainty hands like butter, and struck the corpse's neck from the side, cutting the evil creature's head cleanly.

"BHA HA HA HA HA! YOU THINK THAT CAN STOP ME?" The head flew up into the air as soon as Claude's katana cut and passed through her neck, appearing from the other side, and yet the maniacal laughter of the mind demon still erupted from its mouth, even after being severed from the body.

Thud!

The severed head fell down with a loud thud, and Claude walked up to it and picked it up, holding it close to his face.

"You didn't think that would be enough now, did you?" After a few minutes of no movements, the mouth of the corpse's head moved and opened its eyes, looking at Claude with an evil grin.

All of a sudden, Claude gripped the head tightly, causing the mind demon to feel as though something was off. Claude stared at the severed head with an indifferent expression as he spoke. "I told you, didn't I? That I'm about to end it."

"This is my world, human. What do you think you can do?" The severed head looked at Claude with a smug expression, and Claude responded with an equally smug expression. "Well, it might be your world, but it is still inside my mind."

BZZZ!

All of a sudden, the surroundings began to warp, which resulted in a look of confusion on the severed head's face. Claude ignored the surroundings and continued talking. "And I think I might've just found out where you are really hiding!"