The moment Lu Haoran and Bai Ruolan stepped back onto the sect grounds, the mountain seemed… slightly less miserable. The cracked stones felt warmer, the air faintly richer. Even the murderous chicken pecking around the courtyard paused to glare with a hint less hostility.
The System chimed like it was clearing its throat.
[Spirit well repair at 15 percent. You may now cultivate without immediately dying.]
Haoran stared at the dried, cracked well in the courtyard. A faint blue glow pulsed from its depths, like an ember struggling to breathe.
"That's it? Fifteen percent?"
[Host, considering the original condition, this is a miracle. Be grateful.]
"I'm trying."
[Try harder.]
Haoran sighed. Bai Ruolan stepped forward hesitantly, her eyes sweeping the broken roofs and half-collapsed walls.
"This… is really your sect?"
"Unfortunately," Haoran said.
Ruolan turned to him, face unreadable. "It's worse than I thought."
Haoran coughed. "You don't have to be brutally honest."
The System added helpfully:
[Host, she is correct. Statistically, your sect is less structurally sound than a drunk goat.]
"You stay out of this," Haoran muttered.
Ruolan's lips pressed together, as if she was trying not to smile. It was the closest he'd seen to her relaxing.
He decided not to ruin it.
"Come," he said, gesturing toward the courtyard. "Let's clean up a bit. This place won't fix itself."
[Incorrect. I will fix it, but only if you stop being useless.]
Haoran took a deep breath. "System, I swear I—"
Ruolan tugged lightly on his sleeve.
"Master… your system is very rude."
Haoran exhaled. "Yes. Yes it is."
[Host, she speaks the truth. She is wise.]
"System."
[What?]
"Shut up."
[No.]
Haoran closed his eyes for a long second. He wondered if the heavens had sent him the system out of mercy or punishment.
Once they started clearing rubble, Ruolan moved with controlled gentleness. Every time she lifted a fallen beam or shifted a cracked pillar, she paused—terrified she might break something else.
She handled everything like it was made of thin glass.
It was heartbreaking to watch.
Haoran approached her quietly.
"You don't have to be afraid."
She flinched. "People were hurt before… because of me. I was always too strong."
"Strength isn't the problem," Haoran said softly. "It's the people who blamed you for having it."
She froze.
Then, ever so slightly, nodded.
The System hummed.
[Host, that was unexpectedly mature of you. Are you sure you said it?]
"System."
[I'm complimenting you. Accept it.]
"That didn't sound like a compliment."
[That's the best you'll get.]
By sundown, the courtyard was clearer—still cracked, still pitiful, but unmistakably improved.
Ruolan looked at the cleaned space, then back at Haoran. "It feels… peaceful now."
"It's a start," Haoran said. "We'll rebuild it properly."
She hesitated, then spoke quietly. "What do you want Heavenly Peak to become?"
Haoran paused.
Something deep inside him—something older than this world, older than his Earth life—felt a faint ripple.
An echo.
He didn't understand it.
Not yet.
But he answered anyway.
"A home," he said. "For people like us."
Ruolan looked at him, eyes widening just a fraction.
Then she bowed her head.
"Then I will help you build it."
The System chimed softly, almost gently.
[Host. The first brick of your sect's future has been placed.]
Haoran felt it too.
Something had begun. Something real.
Just as he was about to speak, the System chimed again—this time with a sharper tone.
[Alert. Powerful unidentified energy approaching from the east forest.]
Haoran stiffened. "Another demon beast?"
[Negative. Human. Male. Hungry. Possibly feral.]
"…What?"
Then the forest trembled.
And something metal… crunched.
Haoran blinked. "What was that sound?"
The System answered, deadpan.
[Host, I believe someone is eating a sword.]
Haoran stared in disbelief.
"…Why would anyone eat a sword?"
[Based on the scent, he seems to enjoy it.]
Ruolan looked confused.
Haoran sighed.
"Of course. That must be our second disciple."
He had no idea how he knew.
But somehow… he did.