"Urgh" Nereus groaned as he swished his tail swimming along the small undersea mountain path in the back of the sect.
His body was hurting all over due to the numerous old injuries Argent's body had accumulated.
As he made his way along the secluded path that led to his small, designated hut, Nereus couldn't help but look around the huge sect and take in his surroundings.
Due to the fact that it was well into the night and the remnants of the earlier storm still rumbled about, the streets were empty.
He noted that from the Grecian style and opulence of the buildings and paved sea floor around him that the sect was deserving of it's status as one of the kingdom's hegemons.
According to Argent's memories, his stepfather Brutus was the son of a late key Outer Core figure of the Whirling Vorteesi sect which was known as the fifth of the 5 Great Sects of the Mer, and the one that owned the most physical land.
As such it held a highly prestigious reputation within the kingdom and was home to numerous Sealockes, Sea Knights, and even had an impressive number of Sea Healers.
Built atop a seamount like the other 5 Great Sects, the sect was divided into an Inner and Outer Core which consisted of both families and disciples who'd become members and took up residence inside.
It came complete with it's own teaching facilities, a market, a library, laboratories, a coliseum, and various meeting halls and living quarters. It was almost as if it were a small city.
The Inner Core was known as the home to only the most important members of the sect and they usually enjoyed an exorbitant amount of resources and amenities as such.
The Outer Core on the other hand enjoyed similar resources and amenities but at a much smaller scale.
And although Argent's stepfather and stepsiblings had a somewhat high position in the Outer Core of the sect, this did not apply to Argent. In fact he was known around the Outer Core as a sort of janitor, everyone and their mothers were allowed to bully and order him around.
'...'
As he opened up the wooden door to his storage shed sized quarters, Nereus had to hold back his disgust as he observed the place where he'd be staying until he exacted his revenge.
The storage shed room was relatively tidy but only had space for a small cot in the corner of the room. And the water in the shed room was stale and murky as could be and their appeared to be no windows that could offer reprieve.
"How could anyone live like this?!" exclaimed Nereus incensed, "there's barely enough space for me to fully stretch my arms out!"
Nereus was far from satisfied with his current arrangements, but he figured he'd have to swallow his discomfort somewhat for now.
At that moment, Nereus closed his eyes as he focused inwards to find that familiar feel of his sea essence. Almost immediately he noticed what felt like millions of tiny endless tributaries running throughout his body.
'My meridians!' he realized thanks to Argent's memories, 'but these are much to small, no wonder I'm so pitifully weak and only a mid-ranked Wave Adept. This will never do...'
As Nereus slowly took grasp of the lines of energy running throughout his body, the reel like memories played back in his mind's eye, giving him a recap of what his future cultivation journey would look like.
In this undersea world the cultivation paths diverged into three specialized branches, each suited for distinct combat and support roles within the aquatic realm.
The first, a Sealocke, focused on attunement to the elemental forces of the sea, granting practitioners immense control over the elements of the underwater environment.
Those on this path harnessed the raw power of the ocean to defend territories and manipulate large-scale battles.
Sea Knights, on the other hand, embraced a path of martial prowess, combining physical strength with fluid combat techniques enhanced by the ocean's energy.
They were the frontline warriors of any undersea conflict, revered for their indomitable spirits and mastery in wielding sea-forged weapons.
Lastly, the Sea Healer branch specialized in the delicate art of restoration, blending healing arts with aquatic energy to mend wounds, detoxify poisons, and sustain the vitality of both individual cultivators and whole ecosystems.
There were 9 ranks divided into the beginner, mid, and peak stages in the Sealocke, Sea Knight, and Sea Healer cultivations respectively known as the Wave Novice stage, the Wave Adept stage, the Wave Ruler stage, the Reef Master stage, the Reef Grandmaster stage, the Ocean Expert stage, the Trench Tyrant stage, the Trench King stage, and finally the Sea Emperor stage.
Because this oceanic world only recognized strength and brutality Nereus knew he'd immediately have to focus on his cultivation as a Sealocke.
At that moment, Nereus suddenly opened his now glowing blue eyes as a startling scene took place within the shed room.
Seemingly at his command the once murky and stale water in the shed room immediately circulated in place before being replaced and purified. The water was now clean and fresh scented to Nereus's liking so without further ado he sat down crosstailed on the cot to cultivate.
Nereus's brows knitted together in deep concentration as he assessed his innards.
He could see that he was currently at the mid stage of the Wave Adept rank and that he so far possessed the two elemental affinities of water and earth.
'Not bad so far! I can see why my soul was able to easily assume his place in this world...our affinities are pretty similar!'
Back in his past life as King of the Seven Seas, Nereus had an unheard-of total of 5 different elememntal affinities, two of which were water and earth, and he had mastered all of them before his untimely demise.
Seeing that the new body he had, despite being in unhealthy shape, had compatibility with two affinities already was something Nereus saw as pretty good already. Of course, this wouldn't stop him from making sure he acquired the other 3 in the future as well though.
Taking control of the energy once again, Nereus then began to meditate while cycling the energy in his meridians in a complex pattern known to only the prehistoric Leviathan race.
After a while he gradually lost track of time passing as he fell into a trancelike state.
Only once the rays of the rising radiant sun began to bleed the seas from navy blue to bright cerulean did Nereus finally rouse from his meditative trance.
'Mmm is it morning already? How long was I cultivating for?' Nereus wondered as he slowly rose and stretched his limbs.
He had no idea how long he had been out, and his body somehow felt even stronger which was something he made a mental note of checking out later, but at the moment his most pressing concern were the intense hunger pangs coming from his stomach.
BANG
Suddenly the door to his shed room abruptly burst open as a short rotund figure with a shock of honey blond hair atop their head rushed inside.
Nereus squinted his sleepy eyes as he took in his unexpected visitors' appearance.
He was a short fat blonde haired, blue tailed, merboy around Nereus's age wearing the sect disciple uniform and a look of of shock in his light brown eyes as he looked back at Nereus.
"Oh Jonny, long time no see! What brings you here so early in the morning?'
Fatty Jonny was indeed the same age as Nereus and was one of the very few Mer in the sect who had always treated the late Argent with kindness and fairness. Although Argent had always felt this was because Jonny was also similarly bullied for his obesity, he appreciated the companionship nonetheless.
Jonny's family was a prominent one within the Inner Core of the sect and they held Jonny to severely strict standards, as such he wasn't nearly as ostracized as Argent was.
The other Mer may tease and give Fatty Jonny a hard time but they always knew not to go too far. After all, even within large sects such as the Vorteesi the universal ocean rule of knowing who and who not to offend still applied
This was one thing the late Argent had always envied about Fatty Jonny. No matter what trouble the little fatty ran into within the sect, he could depend on his powerful backing to clear things up.
Argent on the other hand did not even remotely have that luxury, that's why he was constantly bullied but didn't dare fight back ultimately until his death.
"I came as soon as i heard, I-I knew it couldn't be true!" Fatty Jonny exclaimed breathlessly.
"What couldn't be true ? Out with it already!" Nereus asked again slightly incensed.
After a few seconds he realized Fatty Jonny still hadn't answered his question but instead stared astonishingly at him. Squinting his eyes he quickly inspected his own appearance before inquiring, "What? Is there something on my face? Why are you staring at me like that?"
Fatty Jonny gulped loudly before replying, "N-No it's just I've never heard you raise your voice before... or let alone even demand something from me... a-are you sure you're okay Argent?"
A nervous tremble traveled through Nereus's heart before exiting his mouth as a weak chuckle.
He hadn't expect Fatty Jonny to discover an anomaly in his portrayal of Argent so quickly. Argent and the fatty had been pretty close so this didn't shock him too much though.
"Haha I'm fine, I've just come to realize that the way I was before wasn't very good and have decided to change a bit." Nereus calmed Fatty Jonny with a smile
With a relieved sigh Fatty Jonny nodded and accepted Nereus's improvised explanation before adding, "Whew that's good, I'd thought for sure those dastardly stepsiblings of yours did something to you. They came to the morning training session today celebrating their new affinities and told everyone you'd decided to desert the sect during the storm last night!"
"..."
A dark scowl quickly covered Nereus's face as a cold silence laced with a heavy killing intent stretched onwards.
Just as Fatty Jonny was beginning to shiver from the chilly killing intent Nereus was emitting, suddenly it and the silence was broken by Nereus's laugh, "Morning training session huh? I see... so that's how they want to do things. Come on let's go teach them a lesson!"
With a furious swish of his tail Nereus then grabbed the protesting Fatty Jonny and exited the shed. The sea essence within his body surged and circulated seemingly in anticipation for battle...