The Primordial Dragonling slept at the base of the cliff, its massive body coiled like a mountain of scales.
Each breath it took made the ground vibrate softly.
Not threatening.
Not unstable.
Just… ancient.
Lin Xuanji stood before it with trembling knees.
"…Okay. It's calm. Good. Very good. Nothing else needs to wake up today."
The mountain hummed.
Lin Xuanji glared upward.
"NO. Don't you dare."
Ruolan tugged his sleeve.
"S-Sect Master… the humming is deeper now…"
Feng Xiao lit a small flame nervously.
"That's not a normal hum."
Kai Yun grinned.
"That's a 'SOMETHING COOL IS COMING' hum!"
Tian Wen's eyes narrowed.
"…It's the earth."
Mu Xiaofan placed a hand on the ground.
"It's… calling someone."
Wei Tian stepped in front of everyone like a shield.
"Everyone stay alert."
Lin Xuanji's eye twitched.
"No. No alerts. No calling. We already have a dragon and a zoo. That's enough."
(Host. New mission.)
Lin Xuanji's soul fled his body.
No. Please no.
(Mission: Activate Earth Vein Formation.)
"…Earth what?"
(Reward: Earth Elder Summoning.)
Lin Xuanji screamed internally.
WE'RE SUMMONING ELDERS AGAIN?! WHEN WILL IT STOP?!
(When host stops being weak.)
Lin Xuanji's jaw dropped.
"YOU CAN'T JUST SAY THAT!"
"Say what?" Kai Yun asked.
"NOTHING! I— I swallowed a bug!"
"Which bug?" Mu Xiaofan asked kindly.
Lin Xuanji panicked. "I DON'T KNOW—A SPICY ONE!"
Ruolan looked horrified.
"W-What kind of bug is spicy?!"
Feng Xiao rolled her eyes. "It's the wind again."
Ling Xueyin stepped closer, gaze deep.
"The mission… do you accept it?"
Lin Xuanji stared at her.
"You knew?"
"I knew something was waiting beneath the Peak."
Her voice was calm, steady.
"It is time."
He groaned.
"Fine. Fine! I accept—just don't let anything explode!"
(Mission accepted.)
The mountain shook lightly.
Tian Wen's stance deepened.
Wei Tian readied his spear.
Feng Xiao ignited her flames.
Kai Yun drew her sword eagerly.
Ruolan hid behind Lin Xuanji.
Mu Xiaofan hugged the fox for comfort.
Cracks spread across the ground.
Not violent—controlled.
Like lines being drawn by an invisible brush.
The earth rearranged itself.
Rocks slid smoothly into place.
Dust spun in a perfect spiral.
Lin Xuanji stepped back.
"Oh no. Oh no. I recognize this. This is the 'an elder is coming' pattern."
Ruolan whimpered.
Feng Xiao braced.
Kai Yun cheered, "NEW ELDER! NEW ELDER!"
A stone pillar rose from the ground.
Slowly.
Heavily.
Deliberately.
At the top of the pillar, a stone tablet glowed with golden cracks.
Lin Xuanji swallowed.
"…Here we go."
The stone tablet split open.
Dust and earth swirled—
forming a shape.
A silhouette.
A man.
Broad-shouldered.
Tall.
Arms like carved boulders.
Eyes closed as if in deep sleep.
Then—
His eyes opened.
Brown, steady, ancient.
He looked directly at Lin Xuanji.
And fell to one knee.
"Stonewall… greets Sect Master."
Ruolan gasped.
Feng Xiao froze.
Kai Yun's jaw dropped.
Mu Xiaofan blinked.
Wei Tian bowed instantly.
Ling Xueyin smiled faintly, knowingly.
Lin Xuanji panicked.
"NO—NO BOWING—WHY DOES EVERYONE BOW?!"
Stonewall didn't move.
"Your life endures. This alone is good."
Lin Xuanji stared.
"…Why do you all say that? Who keeps spreading rumors about me dying?!"
Stonewall stood silently.
Then, blunt as a falling rock:
"You exploded."
Lin Xuanji froze.
"…I what."
Stonewall nodded. "With dignity."
Ling Xueyin added softly, "Very bright, too."
Feng Xiao snorted.
Kai Yun burst into laughter.
Ruolan fainted again.
Tian Wen blinked, trying not to laugh.
Mu Xiaofan whispered to the fox, "Sect Master is brave…"
Lin Xuanji held up his hands.
"Enough. Stop. I refuse to believe I exploded with dignity."
Stonewall finally turned to the disciples.
He frowned slightly.
"These children… fragile."
Kai Yun offended: "HEY—!"
Feng Xiao: "Who are you calling fragile?!"
Ruolan: "I-I am fragile…"
Tian Wen: "He's not wrong."
Mu Xiaofan: "I'm softer than them."
Stonewall nodded.
"Softer, but steady. Good."
Lin Xuanji sighed. "Stonewall, please don't judge them harshly on the first day."
Stonewall put a fist to his chest.
"I shall stabilize the Peak."
He slammed his palm onto the ground.
A pulse of earth qi spread outward like a heartbeat—
rippling across the entire mountain.
The cliff strengthened.
The terrain settled.
Even the Primordial Dragonling exhaled deeply, as if comforted.
Tian Wen whispered, "…Incredible control."
Feng Xiao muttered, "That was cool."
Kai Yun vibrated. "I WANT TO SPAR WITH HIM—"
"NO!" Lin Xuanji and Stonewall said in unison.
Kai Yun pouted.
Stonewall bowed again to Lin Xuanji.
"Sect Master. You lead. I follow."
Lin Xuanji rubbed his temples.
"…Why do I feel like my life just got harder?"
Ling Xueyin answered,
"Because it did."
The mountain hummed—
a slow, deep, confident hum.
As if proud.
As if saying:
"Good. More chaos."
Lin Xuanji stared upward.
"I swear this mountain is bullying me."