Three days after the assembly, tensions remained high. Disciples trained harder, guards patrolled longer shifts, and the elders held closed-door meetings that lasted until dawn.
Raon kept his head down, focusing on his guard duties. But the System had other plans.
**New Quest: Train Five Disciples.**
"No," Raon said immediately.
**Reward: Technique Upgrade.**
"Still no."
**Penalty for Refusal: I'll start singing.**
Raon froze mid-step. "You wouldn't."
**🎵 Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you do...**
"FINE! Fine. I'll do it. Just stop."
**Quest Accepted. Good choice.**
That afternoon, Raon found himself near the outer courtyard where new disciples practiced basic forms. Most were young, barely out of childhood, struggling with stances and breathing.
One girl in particular caught his attention, a small figure with messy short black hair, moving through the forms with determination but terrible execution.
She stood maybe 5'8, with a slight build that made her look younger than she probably was.
Her sharp grey eyes tracked her own movements with frustration, knowing something was wrong but not understanding what.
Her Qi circulation was chaotic, unrefined, but there was potential.
**That's Han Jiwoo. According to the records, she has high Qi water affinity, Martial Practitioner Peal stage, but low confidence. Perfect candidate.**
Every cultivator is born with a Qi Affinity, the natural alignment of their internal energy with one of the world's fundamental elements.
This determines what techniques they can learn most easily and how their strength manifests.
A person's Qi Affinity is decided at birth it is reshaped by the Qi surrounding the terrain.
There are other variants elements which make for special cases.
Raon watched for a moment longer, then sighed. "Hey, kid."
The girl jumped, nearly dropping her practice sword, those grey eyes grew wide with alarm.
"Your stance is wrong."
Her face fell. "I... I know. I'm sorry. I'm trying..."
"Don't apologize," Raon interrupted. "Just adjust. Move your back foot three inches to the left, lower your center of gravity, and stop holding your breath."
She blinked at him, confused, then slowly made the adjustments.
"Now try the form again."
She moved through it and this time, it was smoother. Not perfect, but significantly better. Her eyes widened in surprise.
"How... how did you know?"
Raon shrugged. "Basic observation. Try it again, but this time exhale when you strike."
She did. The movement became even cleaner.
**Look at you, accidentally becoming a mentor. Character development in progress.**
"Shut up," Raon muttered.
"Sir?"
"Nothing. Practice that adjustment for the rest of the hour."
As Raon turned to leave, he noticed four other disciples watching two boys and two more girls, all with similar expressions, curious yet frustrated
**Looks like word travels fast. You've got an audience.**
One of the boys, stocky with a determined expression, stepped forward. "Sir, could you... could you check my form too?"
One of the boys stepped forward, stocky with a determined expression.
He stood around 5'7 with a muscular build that suggested hours of dedicated training.
What really caught attention was his red spiky hair and eyes that showed a red and orange gradient, almost like flames.
His expression was bright, confident, the look of someone who thought he was the main character of his own story.
**That's Nam Hyunwoo. Martial Practitioner Mid Stage, zero patience, thinks he's the main character of his own story.**
"Great, a Naruto type," Raon muttered.
"What's a Naruto?" the boy asked while maintaining that determined expression.
"Nothing. Show me your stance."
A taller Girl watched from the back. She was 6 ft tall with a slim, muscular build that suggested natural athleticism. Dark messy black hair fell to her shoulders in an untamed way that contrasted with her calculating demeanor. But it was her unique and striking albino purple eyes that stood out the most. His expression was ticked off and gloomy, like she was frustrated by the world's inefficiency.
**Lee Sojin. Strategic mind, analytical approach, usually has a ticked off look.**
She stepped forward without hesitation. "Sir, could you check my form too? I've been tracking my progress and identified three inefficiencies in my circulation pattern, but I can't determine which is causing the bottleneck."
Raon blinked. "You... track your progress?" "Of course. How else would I improve?" She said it like it was obvious, her purple eyes sharp with analytical focus.
The fourth student was harder to read.
Around 6 feet tall with a muscular build, he had brownish orange clean short hair and light gold eyes that observed everything with a plain, neutral expression.
Where the others showed clear emotions, this one was a blank slate, neither eager nor reluctant.
**Park Minho. Water affinity but physically underdeveloped foundation. Quiet type.**
"Your form is technically correct," Raon said, studying him. "But you're not circulating Qi through your legs properly. It's all upper body." Minho nodded once, no change in his plain expression, and immediately adjusted his stance. No questions, no protests, just implementation.
"...Efficient," Raon muttered.
---
The last to approach was a woman who looked more mature than the others around 5'5 with a build that suggested she was past her teenage years.
She had black hair, skin lighter than most in the sect, and light hazel eyes that studied him with serious intensity.
Her expression was grave, focused, like someone who'd already seen enough to know not to take training lightly.
"You're Ara Lin's younger sister," Raon said, recognizing the family resemblance. "Choi Ara," she confirmed, her serious expression never shifting. "I want to learn." No preamble, no politeness, just direct purpose.
**Goth loli acquired, things are starting to look good**
"...Who designed you" Raon said in the back of his mind