Alex woke up to the sun filtering through the wooden cracks of his rundown sect hut. His hair was messy, eyes barely open, and yet the moment he blinked into consciousness, the familiar mechanical voice in his head made itself known.
Objective completed: Two disciples recruited.
New condition met.
Sect missions unlocked.
First mission: Win the Sect Tournament.
Failure will result in host's death. Alex groaned. Not even a good morning. Just straight to the death threats. The system had a wonderful bedside manner.
Why? What is wrong with this system? he grumbled, rubbing his face. Why not just kill me already and save the suspense? As he sat up, he realized something else. He had no idea how to even get to the tournament. Hadn't he wandered through the forest for hours just to find this mountain? Maybe if I pretend it doesn't exist, it'll go away, he mumbled hopefully. Unfortunately, someone had overheard him.
Tournament? came a curious voice.
Alex turned and found Ling the mischievous, overly friendly older disciplestaring at him with her usual sparkle of amusement. She tilted her head like a fox about to pounce.
He sighed. Yeah, there's a sect tournament in a month.
Her eyebrows rose. And? We have to win it. No questions asked. Or? He looked away. I die.
She blinked. What? It's complicated. Master, that's not complicated. That's just stupid! Before he could defend himself, he frowned. Where's Xiao Xiao? I haven't seen her since yesterday. I wanted to ask her how she's recovering what her cultivation level is.
But as he stood, another thought hit him. His gaze narrowed on Ling Wait a minute. How are you even here this early in the morning? She froze. Just for a second. Oh? I I woke up early, Master. Morning dew, early training. Discipline. You woke up early? He squinted. Yes. Very early. Almost as if I didn't sleep, she said too quickly. Alex's expression darkened.
Last night, he remembered getting that strange system notification about sect points. And not just a few. Thousands. Thousands of points for... what again? Right. Peeking. Peeking on him. Thinking things she shouldn't be thinking.
And the system, in its infinite wisdom, rewarded it. If I don't punish her now, she's going to peek again tonight," he muttered. "Maybe with binoculars this time. Ling he said in a flat voice. "Go wake Xiao Xiao. And I'm punishing you.
For what? she asked with a mock gasp. For peeking on me last night. Don't play dumb. Her smile widened in delight. "As you command, Master.
She turned around and practically skipped away, humming as if she'd just won a prize. Alex ran a hand through his hair and mumbled, "This sect is cursed.
Over in the inner room, Xiao Xiao was curled up with her slime still clinging to her like a foot-warmer. Lin gently nudged her. Wake up, kid. Master's got training for you.
Xiao Xiao rubbed her eyes and sat up, the slime lazily blinking with her. Huh? Training? And he's punishing me," Lin added proudly. Oh. Okay. Xiao Xiao stood up without complaint, already used to weird mornings at this point.
In the courtyard, Alex stood tall, trying to look like a real sect master even though he still had straw stuck to the back of his robe.
Xiao Xiao, he began, what's your current cultivation level? I'm at Qi Establishment, she replied, standing straight. Just started, really.
He nodded. That was decent for someone her age. In the cultivation world, the path typically began with Body Tempering, then Qi Establishment, followed by Foundation Building, Core Formation, Nascent Soul, and eventually the divine-sounding but unreachable realms above that.
She was barely a beginner, but she had potential. Especially considering the weird pet slime she carried. What about your slime? he asked.
The little creature perked up as if it knew it was being discussed. Alex tried to get information on it, but the system returned a dry response: Unknown entity detected. System not advanced enough to identify object. Upgrade required. Great. Even the system's confused.
Well, he sighed, "let's begin with some basic physical training. And for you," he looked at Lin, "your punishment is to gather firewood. All the wood on the mountain, if possible. She grinned, bowing theatrically. "Of course, Master. I'll gather the entire forest if you like. He blinked. "That wasn't supposed to sound romantic.
Too late. She turned and sauntered off again, humming like this was a walk in the garden instead of a punishment. Alex stood there for a long second, watching the two disciples one bouncing into training, the other joyfully gathering wood and thought:
This can't be a real sect. It's a traveling circus. With murder stakes. But, deep down, as chaotic as it all was, he didn't hate it. Yet.