The Immortal Coward: Path of the Aegis Cauldron

Chapter 3: The Secret of the Bronze Skin

The cold laughter vibrated in the narrow space of the kitchen, but before Zarox truly lost consciousness, he summoned the last of his strength, fueled by a surge of fear-induced hormones. He bit the hand choking him as hard as he could—right on the vein.

"Argh! You filthy rat!" The figure behind him screamed in pain and released their grip.

Zarox collapsed onto the wooden floor, coughing violently as he inhaled as much air as possible. He didn't look back. His instinct screamed that this was the moment to run or die. With a speed he didn't even know he possessed—perhaps an effect of the spiritual rice earlier—he rolled behind a wooden workbench and grabbed his Aegis Cauldron.

The figure stood tall. It was a senior disciple in a dull gray robe, his face hidden by a black veil. His eyes stared sharply at the rusted cauldron in Zarox's hand. "Give me that cauldron, boy. You have no idea what you're holding. That's no ordinary piece of junk."

"It's a washbasin!" Zarox shouted, his voice pitching high with panic. "I just wanted to wash clothes and cook rice, why is everyone being so aggressive? I don't have life insurance for physical altercations!"

The senior disciple didn't respond. He thrust his palm forward, creating a swirl of sharp wind energy that sliced the wooden table in front of Zarox into small splinters. Zarox shrieked, clutching the cauldron to his chest like a shield. 

"Wind Cutting Technique?" Zarox yelled. "That's cheating! I just got here!"

Zarox didn't wait any longer. He slammed the cauldron onto the ground, not because he wanted to fight, but because he slipped on a leftover spill of cooking oil on the floor. Miraculously, the cauldron hit the floor in a perfect position, triggering a golden energy shockwave that exploded outward from its surface.

That wave of energy slammed into the senior disciple, sending him flying back into the kitchen wall until he blacked out instantly.

Silence. The kitchen was dead quiet, save for the sound of Zarox's heart still racing wildly. He stared at the unconscious senior disciple with his mouth hanging wide open. "E-eh? I won? Did I just defeat a sect disciple? Does this mean I'll be arrested and executed?"

Cold sweat poured down his temples. He had no time to celebrate the victory. Zarox quickly grabbed a thin manual that had fallen from the senior disciple's robe pocket. The cover read: Eternal Bronze Body Technique.

He didn't have the luxury of reading it calmly. He slipped out of the kitchen through the narrow back door, making sure no guards were around. His steps were hurried, his heart pounding as if it wanted to explode from inside his chest. All the way to his new shack, Zarox kept looking back, imagining every tree shadow was an executioner coming to chop off his head.

Once he reached the shack, he locked the door with five layers of wooden bars. He lit a small stick of incense and a candle, then sat cross-legged on the cold dirt floor. He opened the Eternal Bronze Body Technique manual.

"This technique... promises immortality?" Zarox murmured, his eyes scanning the complex lines of ancient script. "This practice requires pure concentration, high doses of medicinal intake, and pain capable of shattering the human soul..."

Zarox swallowed hard. Pain? He hated pain. But was there any pain worse than permanent death? No. He had to do it.

He remembered a few bottles of potions he had stolen from the kitchen shelves that morning during the chaos. He pulled the bottles from inside his robe and placed them into the Aegis Cauldron.

"Come on, Magic Cauldron. Work your magic," Zarox whispered.

The cauldron vibrated gently. The liquid potion inside changed color from a murky brown to a thick gold that emitted a sweet yet sharp aroma. Zarox knew this was a result of the cauldron's modification, something impossible for any alchemist in this sect to achieve. He downed the liquid in one large gulp.

The next second, Zarox's world turned into hell.

An incredible heat burned his throat, spreading to his stomach, and then to every nerve in his body. It felt as if someone was pouring molten lead into his veins. Zarox groaned, his body convulsing on the floor. Faint smoke began to rise from his skin, and his muscles felt like they were being forcibly pulled by iron hooks.

"I-I'm going to die! I'm really going to die!" he screamed internally, tears streaming down his cheeks. "What kind of technique is this? This is a suicide technique, not an immortality one!"

Yet, behind the pain that nearly caused him to black out, he could feel a change in his bone structure. They were becoming denser, stronger, as if forged by fire from within. The Aegis Cauldron beside him continued to vibrate, emitting a protective aura that somehow kept Zarox's body from exploding under the pressure of the energy.

Hours passed. Zarox felt as though he had been tortured for a century. As dawn broke, the pain slowly faded, leaving behind an overwhelming exhaustion. He lay on the floor, his breath coming in gasps. His body felt heavier, but strangely, he felt incredibly refreshed.

Zarox tried to stand up. His trembling hand accidentally touched the stone axe he usually used to split firewood. Without realizing it, he gripped the handle with a little too much pressure.

Crack!

The sound of cracking rang out. Zarox looked down, his eyes wide. The stone axe, famous for its hardness, was now shattered into pieces in his hand, turning into fine dust.

"W-what did I just do?" Zarox stared at his palm in horror. He tried to touch the wooden wall of his shack with a single finger. Upon contact, a large hole appeared in the wall as if it had just been struck by a sledgehammer.

Fear seized him once more. If he was this strong, wouldn't people see him as a threat? Wouldn't the core disciples grow jealous and try to kill him? Wouldn't Master Vaelin grow suspicious and dissect his body to see what happened?

"Oh, no, no, no!" Zarox began to panic, trying to cover the hole in the wall with his torn robe. "I have to hide this! I have to pretend to still be weak! I have to remain poor, cowardly Zarox!"

However, before he could calm himself down, the door of his shack was pounded violently from the outside. Grog's deep voice boomed behind the door.

"Zarox! Get out here right now! There are reports of missing secret potions and an attack on a senior disciple in the kitchen! If you don't open this door by the count of three, I'll smash your shack along with you inside it!"

Zarox froze. His heart beat in rhythm with the pounding on the door. He looked at his hands, then at the Aegis Cauldron, which now sat silently on the floor. He realized he could no longer hide. But if he opened that door, would he survive the punishment, or would he be forced to reveal the secret of his newly emerged power?

"One!" Grog shouted outside.

Zarox gripped the edge of the cauldron, cold sweat pouring down.

"Two!"