Morning arrived again at Mount Turtleback, and this time it brought two things: fog, and the sound of Hu Daniu falling out of a tree.
"Senior Sister told me climbing would help me find balance!" he shouted from a bush.
"It would," Lin Ziyan called from the courtyard, "if you had balance to begin with."
Li Qingyu sat cross-legged at the top of the sect gate, sipping tea like a serene master. In truth, he was reading the System's disciple status reports and wondering which of his two children was more likely to blow something up.
Ziyan practiced sword stances religiously. Daniu practiced falling over.
Progress was… mixed.
---
[Ding! Sect Daily Mission Reminder:]
Feed disciples: 1/2
Maintain building: 0/1
Recruit one new disciple: 0/1
Optional Task: Impress a visitor
Li Qingyu blinked at the last line.
"…Visitor?"
Right on cue, a bell rang.
Except—his sect didn't have a bell.
"What was that?" Daniu asked, crawling out of the bush with a bird's nest on his head.
Ziyan narrowed her eyes toward the gate.
A moment later, someone knocked. Not kicked. Not exploded. Knocked.
Li Qingyu stood up and adjusted his robes. "Well, this is rare. A polite visitor."
He walked toward the gate and opened it.
Standing outside was a young man in clean, traveling robes, silver-rimmed spectacles, and a smile so polite it made Li Qingyu uncomfortable. He carried a heavy-looking book and an old wooden box wrapped in cloth.
"Greetings," the man said. "I've come to join your sect."
Li Qingyu blinked.
"Just like that?"
"Yes."
"Do you… know who we are?"
"No."
"You're not here to investigate us? Rob us? Challenge us?"
"No. I simply heard rumors of a remote sect offering free admission and spiritual growth."
Li Qingyu scratched his head. "...You read the flyer, didn't you."
The man nodded. "It was under a dead fox near the market."
"Ah yes," Li Qingyu mused. "Classic placement."
Ziyan walked up beside him, still holding her sword. "He looks suspicious."
"I get that a lot," the newcomer replied cheerfully. "I'm Su Jian. I read ancient scriptures, brew tea, and recently had a run-in with a cursed artifact that may or may not explode at any moment."
Daniu gasped. "Cool!"
Ziyan scowled. "Not cool."
Li Qingyu's eyes narrowed. "You're either going to become our smartest disciple… or the one who gets possessed first."
Su Jian bowed. "Hopefully the former."
---
[Ding! 3rd Disciple Acquired: Su Jian (Potential Rating: A). Rewards unlocked.]
[Rewards: 50 Sect Points, 1x Alchemy Pavilion Blueprint, 1x Spirit Tea Tree Seed, 1x Sect Lecture Token.]
---
With three disciples now under his leadership, the Eternal Radiance Divine Sect could finally be called a proper sect—at least in name.
The courtyard looked more alive than ever.
Daniu was now sparring with Ziyan using a wooden sword and two left feet. She disarmed him within five seconds.
Su Jian swept leaves off the path with a spiritual feather duster and whistled a cheerful tune that seemed suspiciously magical.
And Li Qingyu?
He sat with a parchment and began drafting the sect's official rules.
---
Eternal Radiance Divine Sect Rulebook (Draft 0.1)
1. Disciples shall not kill one another. Mostly.
2. Cultivation hours are between sunrise and lunch. Naps are sacred.
3. Sect Master is always right, unless proven wrong. Then he is emotionally right.
4. All squirrels are now considered hostile beasts. Kill on sight.
5. Any demon attacks must be reported after finishing lunch.
Ziyan read the list and squinted. "What kind of sect are we building?"
Li Qingyu smiled. "The kind that lasts."
She sighed. "You're lucky we're already stuck here."
---
Later that evening, Li Qingyu gathered all three disciples in the courtyard.
"I'm proud of you all," he said, standing with the sunset behind him. "We are small. We are broke. Our roof is mostly wishful thinking. But today, we have become something greater than ruins."
"A slightly less sad ruin?" Su Jian offered.
"A ruin with heart," Li Qingyu corrected. "And now, with three disciples, we have unlocked our first pavilion construction option!"
[Ding! Sect Feature Unlocked: Pavilion Construction!]
[Available Construction Blueprints:]
Basic Cultivation Hall (10 Sect Points)
Alchemy Pavilion (50 Sect Points)
Disciplinary Platform (30 Sect Points)
Chicken Coop (5 Sect Points, optional)
Spiritual Bathhouse (Locked until Fame Rank C)
Daniu raised a hand. "Can we build the bathhouse?"
"Not yet," Li Qingyu muttered. "We're not famous or clean enough."
Ziyan crossed her arms. "We need training halls first."
Su Jian bowed. "Might I suggest the Alchemy Pavilion? It would allow us to produce low-grade healing pills."
Li Qingyu thought for a moment.
Then he nodded.
"System, construct the Alchemy Pavilion. Use 50 Sect Points."
[Ding! Construction begun. Estimated time: 3 days.]
Far behind them, the ground rumbled softly as the first pillars formed from spiritual light. Even Hu Daniu stopped scratching himself to watch.
"It's… glowing."
"That's the magic of Sect Points," Li Qingyu said dramatically. "The more we do, the more we earn. The more we earn, the more we build."
"And the more we build…" Su Jian added.
"The more terrifying we become," Ziyan finished.
Li Qingyu smiled. "Now you're getting it."
---
That night, as torches flickered and the stars came out, Li Qingyu sat on the roof of the main hall—still mostly intact—and gazed down at the scene below.
His sect.
Three misfit disciples.
One semi-sentient broom.
A flickering alchemy pavilion forming out of mist.
And an impossible dream.
"System," he said softly, "how far can we go?"
[Ding! Path to Sect Domination: In Progress.]
[Current Fame Rank: F]
[Next Goal: Reach Rank E by winning a regional competition or defeating a recognized sect.]
Li Qingyu exhaled.
"Then I guess we better win something."