5 Stupid

"I told you not to go around showing off your talent." The Sect master said with an annoyed look while glaring at Alex who was removing his helmet, leading his clothing to disappear. 

"I did, I held back showing my full capability," I said with an innocent look, leaving the sect leader speechless

"What part of popping up to the battlefield and telling them you're about to have a breakthrough, then rushing into battle to defeat a bunch of wild beast levels above you, sounds like you were holding back your full capability?" The sect leader said, his veins covering his face from just how angry he was.

"I limited my growth capability, instead of showing them what I just adapted to, I instead showed them what I adapted to 20 steps back. plus, they are just wild beasts... what makes them so special, as they were weak." I said calmly, I was of course playing dumb. I have seen the future.

"W-what? 20 steps? they are just wild beasts?" the sect leader held his head, realizing he was trying to become the master of someone who outclassed him in comprehension talent... no, Talent was so high up, that what he saw was impressive was average in his eyes.

Taking a deep breath he went on to explain things to Alex, about why wild beasts were not simple. It was a long speech, he went into detail on how we had to hunt down every ant worldwide, slaughter them, and force them to die out without enraging the heavens. he explained how wild animals were more powerful than humans, and how my actions would shock the world soon.

"You should have told me," I said making the sect leader almost cry, he felt wronged. Taking a deep breath, he had me follow him to the gym where he had me fight him.

"use everything you have, I want to see your full capability." He said to which I nodded slightly, before shooting forward with the lightning flash. with a step, the image of the thunderbird shooting meters above the ground appeared. the sect leader's eyes narrowed slightly before he moved his hand easily blocking my Thunderbird Claw.

But I didn't stop and kept attacking, quickly causing the sect master to be shocked as with each attack, my fighting style adapted, aimed to target his weak points. Alex's movement grew harder to read and filled with many false attacks trying to get him to drop his guards... even so, he saw them all without even trying.

"You're a genius... go and cultivate, you need not return to the sect. I will call you." He said softly, to which I nodded in slight confusion. but I went to get Lily, and we both got into my car.

"So, how was your first day of school?" I asked with a smile, to which Lily's face twisted in annoyance. 

"it was work this and work here, I barely had any time to cultivate." She said feeling wronged, but I nodded slightly. Outer sect disciples did the jobs that the janitor should have been doing, they cleaned the school. they had a lot of work they had to do before they were given time to themselves. this was to motivate them to train harder if they wished to become an inner sect disciple 

"you can become my follower. from what I hear, it would give you a free pass from doing the work." I said calmly, to which Lily shook her head slightly.

"I don't want to keep relying on you... you already did enough for me." Lily said softly, to which I just shrugged slightly.

"Then let me give you some tips back home," I said with a smile, to which Lily nodded her head gratefully.

"you know... it's weird. my legs were swollen, yet i'm up and walking like nothing happened," Lily said softly. Indeed, just yesterday her legs were swollen. but it seems like her body passively absorbed Qi to help speed up its recovery.

"... I can help you get back at Sarah if you want," Lily said making me look at her slightly, before turning my attention back on the road. I had told Lily everything that happened on the way to the sect, and she told me everything that happened on her side. 

"Who said I want to get back at Sarah?" I asked softly, to which Lily rolled her eyes, but she answered

"you act calm... but you were never the type to let things slide. even if Sarah's betrayal didn't bother you, the fact James keeps sending you videos to get under your skin would get under your skin just because he thinks it would get under your skin. You are ruthless to your enemies, I know how you treat your rival companies. you ensure they could never raise to face you. You store your emotions deep inside you, but when it comes out... well, you were almost arrested that one time." Lily said while looking at Alex,

"... trying to read me? Wow, let me read you then," I said making Lily's calm look disappear,

"For over 20 years, you held a deep hatred towards Sarah. you hate her but have to put on a look of the bigger person. you tried dating, but you're always comparing everyone to that one guy you let walk away. swallowed in regret and jealousy, you threw yourself into work to try and distract yourself from it all. just for the virus to come hit. you were lucky not to be affected, but your other family members but your uncle were not so lucky." I said while Lily lowered her head

"You threw your work away, putting everything into being with your parents. luckily, they recovered fine, just to find that you let the business slip into your uncle's hands. you try to take hold of the little power you hold, but things just keep coming, and cultivation pops up, causing everything to fly into chaos. wild beast would then go on to attack, guns flew but they were pointless. your dad pushed you into a car while he ran off to draw their attention... seeing as you were shaken, you were not too far away to hear his screams. your phone was damaged within all that, adding as you hate carrying stuff around, you had no money for gas. As for why you came to me... well. you made that clear. if I didn't have cultivation talent, then who would." I said with a shake of my head.

"then we get to the point you find out i'm going through a divorce. you tried to hide it, but your eyes showed two things. rage and joy. If only that letter had made its way into your hands as I planned, instead of Sarah. wouldn't it have been for the best? Yet Sarah not only took that from you and went on to leave me? You want to lash out not only the year's worth of emotions you kept to yourself, and the new ones that had to do with your parent's death... you also want to use it as a chance to see if the spark between us..." Alex was cut off by Lily pinching him slightly.

"You made your point." She said with a downcast look, I looked at her for a moment before shaking my head.

"yeah, let's make her regret it. Sarah never says it, but she had always had an inferiority complex when it came to you. it's the main reason we moved to Pittsburg. She remembered how you said you would never want to come back here. She feared you would steal me or something," I said softly, stunning Lily as this was news to her

"Wow, I see that was an ego boost," I said softly, to which Lily just snorted while turning away from me...

"... do you not miss your daughter? Sarah could have tricked her into going." Lily said in a soft voice, to which I just shrugged.

"I don't care. My daughter is special, she is smart. since she thought her new dad was better than me, who am I to say otherwise? I no longer have a daughter." I said calmly, leaving Lily stunned at how emotionless my tone was.

She said nothing else, leaving the car ride home completely quiet. upon arriving home, I went to cook something while Lily sat on the side, leaving me to use [The Almighty] to see the best way to train her. I used this to find the best words that would click with Lily, having things click in her head to help her quickly understand the current cultivation art, which was called the Pure Cloudbird cultivation art.

She was able to quickly comprehend it all within 50 minutes and went on to cultivate. for this, I sent Qi into her body, helping her quickly break through to level 2 body transformation. it was of course possible for one to help someone else cultivate. giving my perfect energy control, and power to see Lily's countless future, I would help her cultivate by avoiding any mistakes I foresaw by simply picking a possible future I liked.

"Once you stabilize your cultivation, I will help you break through," I said while looking at Lily who was feeling her new gain power. She nodded slightly, before sitting down to eat, while I went to go take a shower. when Lily was about to take a bite of the food, she froze when a knock came from the door.

frowning, she went over to the door. opening the door, she saw a kid who was in tears, with Sarah standing behind her with a hint of annoyance. but Sarah froze when she saw Lily

"w-what are you doing here?" Sarah asked with a look of shock, Lily looked at Sarah and at Hope for some time. She didn't expect this, but before she could even answer Sarah, Hope ran inside while crying.

"Why is she crying?" Lily asked with a deep frown, to which Sarah snorted while pushing her to the side and entering the house. but her nose twitched when she smelled the truly enchanting food.

"Dad!?" Hope who went to Alex's bedroom searching for him found that Alex wasn't there, but when the bathroom opened, revealing Alex who was only being covered by a towel, she ran towards him in tears. but she stopped when she saw the look her father was looking at her with.

"why are you here? should you be with your uncle James?" I asked coldly, at my words, Hope opened and closed her mouth. not knowing what to say for a moment,

"... He hit me." She said weakly, to which I raised an eyebrow for a moment, my emotions complex. a part of me was enraged someone hit my daughter, and another was even more enraged when she came back towards me.

"I thought he was a better dad than I will ever be," I said with a sneer, before walking past her. leaving Hope standing there, in shock. I ignored her, quickly got dressed, and went downstairs where I saw Sarah sitting at the table eating the food I had cooked. She even had the nerves to get two plants

"I don't remember inviting you into this house, or giving you a plate," I said coldly, causing Sarah to be stunned for a moment, but she tried to speak only to be cut off.

"Let me guess. The so-called cultivator you left me for was feeding you lies. you quickly found out his talent was nothing in the eyes of the sect. he slowly got tired of your body and stopped stretching his resources to feed you and Hope. he was at risk of being kicked out of the sect if all he did was just sleep around. I'm guessing Hope tried to steal something to eat, only to get hit. so you came back here seeking something to eat. How close am I?" I asked coldly, leaving Sarah quiet

What was she to say when Alex hit the nail on the head? she was regretting her choice. She had realized James was nothing more than trash within the sect. she tried to see if she could charm someone else, but those truly talented sect disciples spent most of their time cultivating, fearing that they would be kicked out of the sect.

"Out of my house, take your daughter with you," I said calmly while taking the bowl she was eating out of, and throwing it into the trash. Sarah looked at me with slight tears forming in her eyes, she didn't know what to say for some time but she spoke

"It's been almost 24 hours since we ate... please. She is still your daughter," Sarah said softly, 

"Yeah, yet you the mother ignored your daughter and put your stomach first. you can leave... take the chair with you. who knows what's leaking between your legs." I said with a sneer. Sarah wanted to speak, but Lily stepped forward and placed her palm on my shoulders. 

"Calm down... she is only 10 years old. Sarah, I can understand... but Hope is only 10." Lily said softly, causing me to take a deep breath before I nodded slightly. Seeing this, Sarah was swallowed with envy.

Lily was someone Sarah had always envied. maybe someone deep down, she had always felt that Alex had a deep spot for Lily. She feared if they were to stay close, then Lily could steal Alex from her. She did everything in her power to keep Alex to herself, 

She truly loved Alex, but with changes in this world, she had to adapt to the changes as well. when she ran into James, and how he told her he could help her with the new era coming, she easily believed him. James was a cultivator, this made him stand above billions. James although wasn't the most talented, had the hope of becoming an expert. She and Alex didn't

So, she made up her mind. She would leave her husband and marry James. She would sell her body while using him to at least give Hope a chance at a bright life. Through Hope, she could help Alex. Alex could hate her, but he could never fully hate his daughter.

if the chance comes, she will leave James and find someone better. In secret, she did plan to support Alex. She knew he would hate her for this, she understood he might never forgive her. but in her eyes, this was the best way to help her family.

But so many things went out of hand, she didn't expect James to start sending videos of their nights to Alex. She expected James to be nothing in his sect. She didn't expect those truly capable sect disciples to be fully set on growing stronger. She didn't expect James to ignore her and her daughter, not caring to try and feed them and he focused on his personal growth. her buttonline was when he hit Hope.

If he had still supported them, she would have turned a blind eye to Hope being hit. they could endure and soon Hope would hopefully show that she could cultivate. Was she in the wrong? She stayed by Alex's side for months, while trying her best to support him. but it was clear there was nothing she could do to support him. this was the only way she saw to help him

"You can leave, I will have Hope live elsewhere," I said calmly, leaving Sarah in tears, but after a moment she shook her head.

"I will support my daughter my own way. you are only living off your savings, that would not last." Sarah said while standing up, and went to get Hope. but her pupils shrank when she saw Lily flashing before her. blocking her path,

"I'm a cultivator, I will take care of her. Unlike you." Lily said causing Sarah to take a step backwards in shock. this was just another huge blow to her, her lips pressed together, realizing the station she found herself in. She sacrificed her body for what? Just to hurt the man she loved. She held her head for a moment, before she just ran outside, her tears running down her face nonstop.

"... Something is off," Lily said, while looking towards Alex, Sarah didn't show the signs of a selfish greedy cheating wife. She was not as good as Alex at reading people, but from what she could tell, Sarah carried herself as someone carrying a weight on her shoulder.

"How many bites did she take?" Alex asked calmly while looking at the food he had just thrown away, 

"She didn't eat, she was making a plate for herself and Hope," Lily said to which Alex's face twisted in annoyance. He went upstairs, where he found Hope sitting on the ground with her head in her legs, crying.

"Tell me the truth, what did your mother tell you?" I asked coldly, Hope looked towards me, snorting and tears covering her mouth. She tried to speak through her tears, but it was harder said than done, but Alex understood her.

Pretty much, Sarah had told Hope that James was going to take her away and help her become a powerful expert. She would even have her pet dragon, along with a unicorn and all the stuff she wanted. but there was something she had to do. Sarah had told her, that she needed to act like she no longer loved Alex and was going to become James's daughter while secretly supporting her dad.

"Mommy said you always made me happy, So it was only right I do something to repay you. I'm sorry. All I wanted was to help you, it sounded like a good plan... I didn't think it would hurt you. you didn't stop me or anything, you just let me go, so I thought you knew." Hope said only making my annoyance grow. By the looks of things, I married a stupid, idiotic woman. if there was a stupid meter, she would have broken the limits

"Where are you going?" I asked my annoyance growing, seeing Hope walking downstairs. seeing the look of fear in her eyes, my annoyance just kept growing.

"I'm leaving..." She said fearfully, today she was hit for the first time in her life. adding the look of annoyance Alex had, it was scaring her even more. she feared she might be hit, in her eyes it would hurt even more if her father hit her.

"Go downstairs and eat," I said coldly, even if what she said was a lie, which it wasn't. I could read people... she was still only 10 years old. as for my wife? I feared her stupidity might affect me, so she was to stay light years away from me. I couldn't care what would happen to her... 

But What annoyed me even more was the fact that without the system, Sarah's plan would have been the best. I hate to say it, but without the system, I would still be struggling right now. I had no talent for cultivation without it. Even so, it was a plan I would have never agreed to.