Morning light washed over Dustwind Valley, but the valley itself was anything but peaceful.
Hundreds of new disciples crowded the mountain path, a line that curled halfway down the valley like a very excited noodle.
Some carried brooms.
Some carried swords.
Some carried notebooks and buckets.
One lugged a laundry line.
Another wielded a feather duster as if it were a divine glaive.
They whispered and gossiped, breath thick with hope.
"Is this Dustwind Sect?"
"They say the Ancestor scolds people into breakthroughs…"
"Someone told me she organized an attack and stacked it properly?"
"She's a reincarnated domestic goddess, surely!"
Miyu stepped out of her room with Senior Steward Mei and froze.
"…Why are there so many people?"
Mei bowed respectfully. "Master, they came to join the sect."
Miyu blinked. "…No."
Mei smiled calmly. "Yes."
---
⭐ 1. SYSTEM QUEST: SECT EXPANSION
Lazy-chan swooped in, clutching a minuscule clipboard like a drill sergeant.
"Host! You MUST accept them!"
A glowing panel appeared only for Miyu:
> [MAIN QUEST: STRENGTHEN DUSTWIND SECT]
> Objectives: Recruit New Disciples (0/50) — Upgrade Facilities (0/3) — Establish Beginner Training Division (0/1)
> Reward: Sect Rank ↑, Order Barrier Lv.2, *Order Attendant Ticket (LOCKED until Sect Rank 2)*
Miyu stared at the list.
"…That means more noise."
Lazy-chan nodded solemnly. "Yes."
"…More footsteps."
"Yes."
"…More dirt."
"YES!!"
Miyu looked horrified. Mei lowered her voice: "Master, if we do not grow, the sterility wave will come again."
Miyu's shoulders stiffened. "…Fine. But they must stay clean."
The assembled Dustwind—elders, disciples, and recruits—cheered like someone promising to take out the trash for eternity.
---
⭐ 2. RECRUITMENT GROUNDS — FROM CHAOS TO ORDER
The disciples scrambled to prepare the "recruitment grounds." Because they were new at structuring worship, it looked hilariously sad: a crooked sign reading JOIN HERE, a wobbling stack of buckets, an accidental sculpture of mops, and Bao's snack table.
Miyu frowned. "This is crooked."
Jin Haru paled. "Ancestor, forgive us!"
A single flick of Miyu's finger — Order Reversal Correction — and the mess snapped into immaculate alignment: rows straight, buckets evenly spaced, a polished stone podium, a glowing test circle.
The recruits shrieked and bowed in fear-worship. "She fixed it with one gesture!"
Miyu covered her ears. "Too loud."
Mei raised her broom-arm with stewardly authority. "Applicants! Line up properly or be sent away."
Instantly, silence and perfect formation appeared.
---
⭐ 3. THE CLEANLINESS APTITUDE TEST (ACCIDENTAL)
Miyu admitted she didn't know selection methods. Mei suggested, simply, "Check if they follow your sense of order."
Miyu pointed at the polished stage. "Wipe it. Evenly."
A tidal wave of chaos followed.
One man wiped like a hurricane — Miyu frowned and he fainted.
Another moved like a glacier — Solved by a sympathetic shoulder tap from Mei and a hissed correction — he screamed.
A showy youth did a flourish — Miyu said, "Not symmetrical," and he fainted dramatically.
A boy tried to use qi — Miyu swatted his forehead. "No cheating."
Finally a small braid-haired girl stepped forward. She wiped gently, rhythmically, naturally. The stage gleamed.
Miyu stared. "…That one."
The girl collapsed in tears. "I passed?!"
Miyu nodded. "You wiped with heart."
Disciples whispered: "With heart? What kind of test is this?"
No one knew, but they all respected it.
---
⭐ 4. HIDDEN FAMILIES AND A MASKED APPLICANT
Above the valley, elders watched: the Silver Palace envoy muttered, "She judges through cleaning criteria," while the Crimson Bone elder and Moon-Gazing patrons traded notes.
A masked serpent woman — a sleek, dangerous-looking applicant — slid forward and declared, "I will join."
Mei blocked her. "No."
The stranger smirked. "I wasn't asking you."
She approached Miyu. Miyu blinked. "…You again."
The woman's voice was soft. "I want to be your disciple."
Miyu turned. "No."
The serpent's composure cracked. "Why?"
Miyu answered simply, "You're messy."
The masked woman clutched her chest in melodramatic collapse. The new recruits gasped. Some whispered of fate and weird destiny, but Miyu's rejection made clear: Dustwind's standard is not glamour — it is ordered heart.
---
⭐ 5. A PRODIGY BOWS
Then a boy stepped forward: plain robes, twelve years old, eyes like a clear night sky. The crowd went quiet.
An elder in the crowd hissed, "Moon-Gazing Eternal Clan's heir!"
He dropped to his knees. "Ancestor Miyu… please accept me."
Miyu took a step back. "Too close."
The boy bowed harder. "I will clean! I will organize! I will wipe the heavens if needed!"
Miyu blinked. "You're melodramatic."
The boy smacked his head theatrically. "Please!"
Mei whispered, "Master, accepting him will strengthen us."
Miyu sighed. "Fine."
The boy cried and vowed to alphabetize the stars.
---
⭐ 6. FACILITY UPGRADES — ORDER POINTS SPENT
Lazy-chan popped with a cheerful squeal. "You earned 53 Order Points!"
A system panel rolled out:
> [Facility Upgrades Unlocked]
> 1. Training Yard Lv0→Lv1
> 2. Living Quarters Lv0→Lv1
> 3. Sect Barrier Lv1→Lv2
Stone floors lifted and straightened. Dorm rooms expanded. Paths paved into white stone. Gardens reorganized. A cleansing spring formed by the entrance.
New disciples shrieked, half with joy, half with existential fear: "Everything's cleaning itself!!" Lin Ruyin wept. "We're a real sect!"
---
⭐ 7. BEGINNER FORMATIONS — SIMPLE LINES, HUGE EFFECT
Miyu placed a finger on the ground. "Circle. Square. Triangle."
Her doodles sparked spiritual lines: a breathing sync circle, a focus grid, a meridian-clean loop.
Recruits tried the formation and sagged with relief: "My meridians unclench! My thoughts are clearer!" Even the masked serpent woman watched, fascinated despite herself. Mei nodded appreciatively.
---
⭐ 8. A COLD MESSAGE
As training began, a wind carved the training yard silent. A dark, sterile sigil scorched into a tree: the Envoy's mark.
Everyone stared. Lin Ruyin screamed, "It's the sterility symbol—!!" Jin Haru fainted with flair.
Miyu approached. The mark read, in brittle strokes:
"You rearranged my Envoy. Interesting. I will correct YOU soon."
Miyu squinted. "He wrote crooked."
The disciples gasped. "The ancestor cares about handwriting now?!"
Mei placed a steady hand on Miyu's shoulder. "He is coming."
The masked woman's smile tightened. "I will be ready."
The recruits trembled.
Dustwind had expanded. Dustwind began training. And far away, a cold, clinical hand wrote the first line of war.
END OF CHAPTER 17