Morning in Faguniya was brutal. The two suns blazed mercilessly, baking the barren valley like an oven. The disciples Shakal had "adopted" lay sprawled in the dirt, groaning from the previous night's drills.
"Instructor… can we rest?" one whimpered.
Shakal's boot landed beside his head with a thud. "Rest? Did I say you could rest, rookie?" His glare swept over them like artillery fire. "On the battlefield, rest means death. Out here, rest means weakness. And weakness—" He jabbed his finger at the rising suns. "—is crushed by gods!"
The boys whimpered.
"Now up! Formation drill!"
They scrambled to their feet, wobbling like drunk chickens. Shakal sighed. "Pathetic. My grandma marched straighter than you, and she was half-blind and eighty."
One disciple whispered, "Your… your grandma must have been terrifying…"
"Damn right," Shakal muttered. Then he raised his voice like thunder. "Now! Left, right, left! Step in rhythm with your breathing. Qi in—step left. Qi out—step right. If one of you slips, I'll make you eat sand until you puke it back as spirit stones!"
The boys panicked, adjusting their steps immediately.
And to their shock—qi in their dantian really flowed smoother. Their breath matched their movement, their circulation steadier than ever before.
"Incredible…" one muttered.
"Shut it, rookie!" Shakal barked. "No praising, no crying. March!"
Turning the Land Into Soldiers
After tormenting the recruits, Shakal turned to the valley itself. The qi was better, but the land still looked like chaos—rocks jutting randomly, streams twisting like drunk snakes, trees leaning like lazy bums.
Shakal crossed his arms. "Hmph. If this is my barracks, then these recruits are the laziest bastards I've ever seen."
He walked to a crooked boulder and slapped it. "You! Rock! Stand straight!"
The disciples exchanged looks. "Is he… talking to a rock?"
Shakal ignored them, planting his feet. He pushed with all his strength, forcing qi into his muscles. The boulder groaned… then shifted upright.
"Good. Now you look like a soldier on parade." Shakal nodded, satisfied.
Next, he stomped to the crooked stream. "And you, river! You think you can twist and turn however you want? Wrong! In Faguniya, everyone marches in line."
He jabbed both hands into the water, channeling his qi like barriers. The stream resisted, but Shakal's roar cracked through the valley.
"MARCH STRAIGHT, DAMN IT!"
With a violent tremor, the river's flow straightened, cutting cleanly through the valley floor.
The disciples gawked. "H-he just… scolded a river into obedience."
"Impossible… rivers don't listen!"
Shakal turned, eyes blazing. "In this land, everything listens. Rocks, rivers, qi… even you idiots. Discipline is universal!"
The valley pulsed in response, as though agreeing with him.
[Faguniya Rank Up: Order Established.]
[Special Trait Unlocked – Land Discipline: Natural qi aligns 20% faster.]
Shakal grinned. "That's it. That's how we build an army out of chaos."
Rookie Mutiny
By noon, the disciples collapsed again, gasping. One finally groaned, "Instructor… this training… it's insane. Why can't we just meditate like normal cultivators?"
Shakal crouched, glaring into his eyes. "Normal? Normal gets you crushed under geniuses with better bloodlines. Normal gets you burned alive by sect masters. You want normal? Go dig your own grave."
The boy swallowed hard. "...No, Instructor."
Shakal smirked. "Good. Then shut up and give me fifty squats."
Another disciple, braver, muttered, "Why are you so harsh? Don't you believe in kindness?"
Shakal barked a laugh. "Kindness? Rookie, the world out there is a firing squad. Do you think gods are kind? Do you think enemies give you mercy? No. The only kindness I'll give you is this: I'll make you so damn hard that even gods break their fists trying to punch you."
The disciples shivered, a mix of fear and awe.
The Land Responds
As the drills continued, something incredible happened. The rocks hummed faintly. The river flowed with steady rhythm. Even the trees straightened, their branches swaying like soldiers saluting.
The disciples gasped. "The land… it's alive!"
"No," Shakal corrected. "It's disciplined."
[Faguniya's Land Qi has been forged into Formation: Battalion Flow.]
[Training Effect Doubled for All Inside the Land.]
The disciples suddenly felt it—their breathing lighter, their qi circulation smoother, their muscles stronger. One clenched his fists, stunned. "Instructor… my cultivation… it's advancing!"
Shakal grinned. "Of course it is. Discipline beats chaos every damn time."
Declaration
By sunset, Shakal stood at the center of the valley, arms crossed, eyes sharp. The land pulsed like a heartbeat under his command.
He raised his voice, booming across Faguniya.
"From today, this wasteland is no longer a graveyard. It is my barracks. My divine land. My Faguniya."
The disciples, exhausted, raised trembling fists. "Faguniya!"
Shakal's grin widened, savage and proud. "Good. Remember this: In Faguniya, even rocks march in formation. Even rivers obey. And you—" He glared at his recruits. "—will become weapons sharper than gods' blades."
The valley roared in response, echoing his will. Somewhere above, the divine spectators stirred again.
"The mortal builds not just a land," one whispered, "but an army."
"A soldier god in the making," another murmured.
And Shakal, standing tall in his new world, declared with unshakable conviction:
"I will turn this wasteland into the fortress of gods. And I—Shakal—will be its King. The Soldier God of Faguniya!"