As dusk fell, Alex returned to Righteous Peak, where Shui Bing and Duan Renyi waited. "I choose the Sect Leader's path," Alex said, his eyes bright with determination. "The Dao of the Sword." Duan Renyi beamed, his grin manic. "Welcome to Righteous Peak, my first disciple! We'll cut the corrupt heavens!" Shui Bing nodded, her face cold but her eyes warm. "You'll live with us. I'll ensure your chaos becomes strength."
The outer disciples, hearing the news, were stunned. "Righteous Peak? With the Sect Leader?" Liang muttered, dropping his tea. Mei smirked, tossing Alex another spirit apple. "Those two are gonna blow up the heavens." Alex caught it this time, feeling a spark of hope. With Jin Hao's friendship and the sect's chaotic embrace, maybe his curse could become his sword.
Righteous Peak was a radiant summit of jade and silver, its air thick with righteous qi and the faint scent of scorched earth from past "training accidents." Alex, now an inner disciple under Sect Leader Duan Renyi, stood in awe as Senior Sister Shui Bing led him to his new home—a sturdy bamboo hut she'd built herself, its walls etched with water runes that shimmered like ice. "This is yours," she said, her voice cold but her gesture kind, her warm heart evident in the hut's thoughtful design, built to withstand Alex's bad luck. "Don't destroy it."
Alex, clutching his basket of soggy spirit turnips and the Spirit Heart Crystal from the examination, nodded nervously. "Uh, thanks, Senior Sister." Her strictness was intimidating, her Nascent Soul aura making his knees wobble, but her quiet kindness—like the protective talisman she'd given him—made him feel oddly safe.
Duan Renyi, bouncing with childlike excitement, clapped Alex's shoulder, nearly knocking him over. "My first disciple!" he boomed, his white robes fluttering. "We'll forge a sword to cleave the corrupt heavens!" Shui Bing shot him a look that could freeze a volcano, and he shrank. "Uh, Senior Sister will handle your basics. I'm… busy meditating." He fled to his pavilion, muttering about "heavenly strategies," leaving Alex with the terrifying Valley Master.
Shui Bing's face was icy as she handed Alex a glowing scroll. "This is the Heaven Attraction Art, the foundation for the Dao of the Sword," she said, her voice sharp. "It draws qi to temper your body and dantian through herbs, baths, and exercises. Begin now." Her tone brooked no argument, but she added softly, "You're cursed, but your heart is righteous. Don't fail me."
Alex unrolled the scroll, its text pulsing with qi. The art involved grinding spirit herbs into pastes, soaking in medical baths, and performing bizarre physical exercises to channel qi. "Grind herbs?" he muttered, scratching his head. "Sounds easy enough."
It was anything but. Shui Bing led him to a stone pavilion overlooking Righteous Peak's jade cliffs, where piles of spirit herbs—Starleaf, Moonpetal, and Firethorn—awaited on a granite table. "Grind these into paste," she ordered, her water whip hovering like a threat. "One mistake, and I'll drown you in a qi bath." Her eyes glinted with chaotic mischief, hinting at her unorthodox methods.
Alex, predictably, tripped over a pestle, spilling Firethorn across the pavilion. The herbs ignited, sending flames licking up the walls in a spectacular blaze. "Not again!" he yelped, diving for a water bucket. Shui Bing sighed, her water qi surging in a wave that extinguished the fire but soaked Alex to the bone. "Focus," she snapped, her face cold, but she handed him a fresh batch of herbs, her warm heart evident in the gesture. "You're a walking disaster, but disasters forge strength."
As Alex ground the herbs, his hands trembling under Shui Bing's glare, disciples from other valleys visited, drawn by rumors of the Chaos Duo. Mei, now an outer disciple in Thunder Salvation Valley, leaned against the pavilion, laughing. "Burning herbs already, Chaos Boy? You're gonna set the peak on fire!" Liang, carrying a basket of spirit fruits, gaped. "You're training with Shui Bing? I'd rather face a beast wave!" Alex groaned, his pestle slipping and splattering Moonpetal on Liang's robe. "Sorry!" he said, but Liang laughed, tossing him a spirit plum. "You're making training fun, at least!"
The pavilion became a hub of activity, disciples dropping by to gossip and share snacks. Fang, from Flood Redemption Valley, brought qi-infused tea, which Alex spilled when he tripped over a rune, triggering a harmless puff of sparkles. "Classic!" Fang laughed, pouring him another cup. Mei started a mock "Chaos Training" game, where disciples tried to grind herbs without spilling them, only to fail spectacularly when Alex's bad luck caused a table leg to wobble, sending herbs flying. Shui Bing's whip cracked, silencing the laughter. "Focus!" she barked, but she tossed Mei a drying talisman, her eyes twinkling with suppressed amusement.
Shui Bing pushed Alex through the Heaven Attraction Art's exercises—lunges while balancing on qi-infused stones, which he kept knocking over, triggering mini-explosions that made disciples scatter. "Again!" she roared, her water whip grazing his feet. "Your chaos is your strength. Harness it!" Alex, sweating and bruised, felt his dantian stir, climbing to Qi Condensation Stage 2 by noon. During a break, he sat with Mei and Fang under a jade tree, sharing spirit plums and swapping stories about their villages. "My hometown had a spirit cow that ate my shoes," Alex said, earning laughs. The peaceful moment, with the peak's qi humming softly, eased his nerves.
Jin Hao visited that evening, his gold robes stained with elixir soot from Medicine Valley. "Shui Qing's got me brewing pills that explode if you sneeze!" he bragged, tossing Alex a healing salve. "Heard you set the pavilion on fire. Classic, brother!" They sparred playfully, Alex's clumsy sword swings knocking over a herb rack, which revealed a glowing Jade Lotus hidden beneath. Mei, watching, laughed. "How does he do that?" Liang muttered, "I need to trip more." Shui Bing, overseeing, nodded approvingly. "Your chaos finds truth," she said, her voice stern but her eyes warm.
At night, Shui Bing ordered Alex into a medical bath—a steaming tub of herb-infused water that smelled like burnt socks and stung like nettles. "Soak for an hour," she said, her face cold. "Or I'll freeze the tub with you in it." Alex complied, wincing as the qi seared his skin, but his dantian surged to Stage 3. During the soak, Fang and Bao dropped by, sharing qi candy and teasing Alex about his red face. "You look like a boiled turnip!" Bao said, giggling. Shui Bing, catching Alex slacking, froze the tub's surface, forcing him to break out with qi. "Pathetic," she said, but slipped him a warming talisman, her warm heart clear. The disciples' laughter and the peak's quiet night air made the grueling training bearable.