The road to town turned out to be less of a road and more of an imaginative suggestion.
Roots everywhere.
Rocks pretending to be landmines.
Branches that attacked Lin Xuanji specifically.
He felt bullied by nature.
Ruolan walked behind him, carefully avoiding every obstacle as if the forest respected him more. Ling Xueyin walked ahead of both of them without making a single sound, her robes barely rustling.
Lin Xuanji tripped for the third time.
Ruolan rushed forward. "Sect Master! A-Are you—"
"I'm fine," Lin Xuanji said into the dirt. "Just communing with the ground."
Ling Xueyin didn't look back. "Sect Master, please avoid unnecessary spiritual bonding with the terrain."
Lin Xuanji spat out a leaf. "I'm not bonding, I'm suffering!"
(Host is exceptionally uncoordinated.)
"System, shut up before I uninstall you."
(Impossible.)
"Don't test me."
Ruolan giggled softly.
Lin Xuanji groaned again.
They finally reached a more open stretch of road. Lin Xuanji was just starting to regain some dignity when—
Ling Xueyin stopped abruptly.
Lin Xuanji bumped into her back. "Gah—why did you stop?!"
She lifted a finger toward the trees. "There."
Ruolan stiffened. "I… I hear something."
Lin Xuanji listened.
At first, nothing.
Then—
Voices.
Metal clashing.
A woman shouting.
Ruolan's face drained. "S-Sect Master… that sounds like a fight."
Lin Xuanji sighed deeply. "Of course it does. Of course the first time we leave the mountain we walk straight into danger. Why am I not surprised?"
(Probability of encountering conflict: 72%.)
"System, stop giving percentages!"
(Host requested detailed explanations before.)
"When did I EVER—"
He froze as the shouting grew louder.
Ling Xueyin stepped forward, her expression sharpening. "Sect Master. This altercation is not random."
"Not random?" Lin Xuanji whispered. "What does that even—"
Before he could finish, something crashed through the bushes.
A young girl—around sixteen—stumbled into view, blood on her sleeve, clutching a blade that was far too heavy for her.
Her eyes widened when she saw them.
"Help!" she gasped. "Please!"
Behind her, two men burst out of the trees, blades raised.
Lin Xuanji swore under his breath. "Not AGAIN!"
The girl tripped toward him. "Please! They're going to kill me!"
"Why are they chasing you?!" Lin Xuanji asked.
"Because I—I ran away from them!"
"That tells me NOTHING!"
The two attackers saw Lin Xuanji and snarled. "MOVE! That girl belongs to us!"
Lin Xuanji nearly threw up from stress. "Why does everyone keep telling me people belong to them?! What kind of world is this?!"
Ruolan trembled. "S-Sect Master…"
Ling Xueyin stepped forward calmly, her hand resting on her sword.
Her voice was cold enough to freeze the air.
"She does not belong to you."
The men laughed. "And who are you supposed to—"
They never finished.
A single step.
A soft whisper of cloth.
A faint flick of Ling Xueyin's wrist.
Air rippled.
The two men flew backward as if struck by an invisible hammer, smashing into a tree and collapsing instantly.
Silence fell.
Ruolan's jaw dropped.
The girl stared at Ling Xueyin with awe.
Lin Xuanji stared with a mix of envy and admiration.
"Grand Elder…" he whispered, "you didn't even TOUCH them."
Ling Xueyin sheathed her sword calmly. "Their movements were poor. Their intent was violent. There was no need for contact."
Lin Xuanji threw his hands up. "See?! See?! THIS is what we needed from the start! A competent fighter!"
(Host was given the chance to recruit Elders earlier but lacked the necessary conditions.)
"Yes, thank you for reminding me that I'm poor!"
Ruolan rushed to the girl. "A-Are you alright?"
She nodded shakily. "Thank you… all of you. If you hadn't been here—"
Lin Xuanji held up a hand. "Questions. Let's start there."
The girl bit her lip. "…My name is Feng Xiao. I'm from the Feng Clan."
Lin Xuanji nodded. "Okay, and why were you being chased?"
Her expression hardened, eyes flashing with pain.
"…Because I awakened a physique my clan couldn't control."
"A physique?" Ruolan whispered.
She nodded. "A powerful one. But the technique required to activate it… doesn't exist in the clan anymore."
Lin Xuanji inhaled sharply.
Ruolan glanced at him.
They shared the same thought.
System.
And right on cue—
(Host has encountered a potential disciple with a dormant legendary physique.)
Lin Xuanji swore softly. "Not now."
(Recruitment potential: Extremely high.)
"I SAID NOT NOW!"
Feng Xiao blinked innocently. "Um… what?"
Lin Xuanji cleared his throat. "Nothing! I was… uh… arguing with the mountain."
Ruolan facepalmed.
Ling Xueyin hid a smile.
Lin Xuanji took a breath and straightened.
"Feng Xiao… if you want safety, and a place to learn how to use that physique…"
He extended his hand.
"…then join the Heavenly Peak Sect."
The wind stilled.
Feng Xiao hesitated only a moment before grabbing his hand tightly.
"I accept."
And just like that—
the second disciple arrived.