Alex was inside, building the bed with the few pieces of wood he could salvage. His hands moved awkwardly, still unfamiliar with tools, but he worked in silence. It was something to do, something to distract from the growing pressure of having a disciple.
The girl he had just recruited was resting outside, watching the Martial Wall as she tried to make sense of what she had signed up for. The rundown sect, the training dummy labeled with "Ip Man Style," the strange Bible he had handed her with a single passage scrawled in the margins it all made no sense.
She had asked questions. About the sect. About the man hanging from a tree near the wall, a crude carving of some martyr labeled "Jesus." About the empty courtyard and the awkward, handsome master who couldn't even meet her eyes. But all Alex could do was mumble excuses and retreat to the wooden house, claiming he needed to prepare her bed.
Then something fell. A sudden, heavy sound outside.
Alex dropped the hammer and rushed to the source.
There, lying just outside the martial wall, was another girl. She was unconscious, blood trailing down her arms and legs. Her breath was faint. She had collapsed, cradling something in her arms a strange, translucent slime creature that shimmered faintly with an unnatural light.
Alex knelt beside her. "Hey," he whispered, touching her shoulder. "Hey, can you hear me?"
No response. Her skin was cold.
Then he felt it: something beyond the girl. A pressure, an awareness forming at the edge of the sect grounds. His breath caught in his throat.
From the sky, faint ripples of spiritual energy approached foreign and strong. He felt like an insect beneath the gaze of giants. The air thickened, and Alex instinctively looked toward the boundary of the sect. Shadows moved between the trees. Figures.
Enemies.
A presence flickered in his mind. The system had activated again, but this time, it didn't speak. It showed him a vision four cultivators, cloaked in red and silver, drawing closer with murderous intent.
They were coming for the girl.
He didn't know who she was, what she had done, or why they wanted her dead. But if he hesitated, they would cross into the sect, and he would lose everything.
Then something strange happened.
A pulse of invisible energy flowed through the Martial Wall.
Alex didn't control it not really. He barely understood what he had done. There was a simple, glowing sigil engraved into the base of the wall, and his hand reached for it as if guided by instinct. He pressed his palm against it.
The effect was immediate.
From the heart of the sect, a wave of force exploded outward not loud, not fiery, but powerful. The kind of force that doesn't break bones, but breaks momentum. A ripple in the air that stopped the four figures mid-stride. They didn't fight it. They couldn't. Their bodies were pushed back by sheer pressure, hurled into the woods with shocked screams.
Silence followed.
Alex stood, breathing heavily, heart racing in his chest. He had no idea how long the defense would last, or if they would return stronger. But for now, the sect was safe.
He turned.
His first disciple was watching from the training area, eyes wide. She had seen it all the enemy cultivators, the wave of power, the way her master had simply raised his hand and cast them out like insects.
She didn't know it had been an automatic defense mechanism.
She didn't know he had been trembling when he pressed that seal.
To her, he was a man who had protected his sect without hesitation. Strong. Calm. Fearless.
She smiled at him. And in that moment, she became more certain of what she wanted.
To stay. To learn. Maybe even more.
Alex tried to hold the expression of a powerful sect master, but he couldn't stop the sweat on his brow or the panic in his chest. He had no idea what he was doing.
And now, there was a second girl bloody, unconscious, and lying near death on the ground.
He picked her up carefully. She was light, frail, and the slime creature in her arms shifted, opening one eye before slipping back into stillness. It didn't resist him.
He carried her back toward the house, unsure of what to expect next.