In the Great Desolation, if you didn't have a Golden Bloodline, you were better off being born as a pebble. Pebbles didn't have to worry about being enslaved by High—Sect cultivators or starved to death in a ditch. Loki stared at his reflection in a puddle of muddy water and sighed.
"I look like a God," he whispered, adjusting the tattered silk robes that somehow still clung to his lean frame. His robes that somehow still clung to his lean frame. His face was symmetrical, his eyes sharp like a hawk's, and his long black hair flowed with the grace of a scholar—immortal.
He looked like he could level a mountain with a flick of his finger.
[Ding! Detected that the Host is admiring himself in a puddle again. Narcissism level: SSS-Rank. Achievement: 'Shameless Bastard' Unlocked]
Loki's eyes twitched. "Rina, shut up. I'm maintaining my mental health."
[Rina: My apologies, Host. I forgot that looking at your own face is the only 'Cultivation' you've done in the last three hours. By the way, your Sect is about to be demolished. Have a nice day!]
Loki looked up. Ahead of him sat the "Cloud-Step Sect."
Calling it a "Sect" was a crime against architecture. It was a single, leaning wooden shack with a hole in the roof and a front door held together by hope and a piece of string.
"This is it?" Loki gripped his hair. "I transmigrated into a world where people fly on swords and tame dragons... and I'm the CEO of a pile of rocks?"
[Rina: Correction: You are the Sect Master of a pile of rocks. Please show some dignity. Also, your heart rate is spiking. Are you going to faint? Because if you die, i have to find a new host, and frankly, the locak stray dog has better survival instincts than you]
"You're a demon," Loki hissed under his breath. Suddenly, a notification screen flared gold in front of his eyes, so bright it made him squint.
[Main Mission: The First Misfit]
Objective: Recruit your first disciple within 24 hours.
Requirement: The disciple must have a 'Trash-Tier' Public Grade but a 'God-Tier' Hidden Potential.
Reward: 100 System Points, 'Grandmaster's Aura' (Passive), and a meal that isn't grass.
Penalty for Failure: Your soul will be formatted. (Meaning: You go poof!)
Loki's blood ran cold. "Format?! You didn't mention the death part!"
[Rina: You didn't ask. Now, stop trembling. A group of 'Real' cultivators is approaching and want to turn your Sect Hall into a pigsty. If you don't act like a Peerless Master right now, you'll be the first Sect Master in history to be trampled by a pic]
Loki heard the sound of galloping horses and arrogant laughter in the distance. His knees began to shake, but he forced himself to stand straight. He folded his arms behind his back, tilted his head slightly, and put on the most mysterious, "I—don't—care—about—the—mortal—world" expression he could muster.
Oh God, oh God, oh God. Rina, if i die, I'm haunting your circuits forever!
[Rina: Processing... Loading 'Grandmaster's Presence' trial version. Good luck, Host. Try not to pee yourself]
As the dust cloud from the approaching horses drew closer, Loki stood amidst the ruins, his robes fluttering in the wind. To any outsider, he looked like an Ancient Immortal guarding a sacred land.
Inside, he was screaming.
—
The thunder of hooves stopped just meters away from Loki, kicking up a wall of red dust. Three cultivators in pristine white robes—the mark of the Azure Heaven Sect sat atop majestic spirit horses. They looked down at Loki as if he were an insect that had overstayed its welcome.
"Oi, beggar!" the leader shouted, a young man with an arrogant sneer and a jade pendant swinging from his belt. "This land was forfeited to our Sect last moon. Why is this shack still standing, and why are you stinking up the scenery?"
Loki's heart was hammering against his ribs like a trapped bird. Rina, they have a swords. Real, shiny, sharp swords! Do something!
[Rina: I am currently doing something. I am observing your cowardly soul. It's very... yellow. If you want to survive, try the 'Voice of the Void' filter. It's free for the first 30 seconds]
Activate it! Activate anything! Loki screamed internally.
He didn't move. He didn't even blink. He kept his back to them, staring at the ruined horizon as if the arrival of three cultivators was less interesting than watching grass grow.
"Are you deaf?" the leader growled, drawing a gleaming silver blade. "I said, move!"
Loki slowly turned his head. Thanks to Rina's filter, his voice didn't come out as a squeak. Instead, it echoed with a deep, vibrating resonance that seemed to come from the ground itself.
"The wind blows through the pines, yet the mountain remains unmoved," Loki said, his voice cold and ethereal. "Little boys should not play with toothpicks in my presence. It's... distracting."
The three cultivators froze. The sheer confidence in Loki's eyes, combined with the Grandmaster's Aura that made the air around him feel heavy, sent a chill down their spines.
"Toothpicks?" The leader's hand trembled. "He... he called my grade-2 Spirit Blade a toothpick?"
[Rina: Ding! 'Shamless Bluff' Successful. Fear induced: 40%. You're doing great, Host. Try not to let the sweat drip off your nose, it ruins the 'Mysterious Immortal ' look]
"Master," one of the followers whispered, leaning toward the leader. "Look at his robes. They are torn, yes, but the embroidery... I've never seen such patterns. And his aura... I can't sense his cultivation level at all!"
That's because i don't have one! Loki thought, screaming.
"Senior," the leader stammered, his arrogance replaced by sudden caution. "We... we did not know this land was occupied by a Master. We apologize for the instruction."
Loki let out a soft, mocking huff. "The Azure Heaven Sect? Tell your Sect Master that Loki of the Cloud-Step Sect is back. If ge wants this pile of rocks, tell him to come and take it himself. If he dares."
"We... we will convey the message!" The cultivators didn't wait. They turned their horses and bolten as if the devil himself were chasing them.
The moment they were out of sight, Loki collapsed onto a nearby rock, gasping for the air. "My heart... I think I actually died for a second there."
[Rina: Congratulations. You survived by lying through your teeth. But don't get too comfortable. You have 22 hours left to find a disciple, and your 'Grandmaster's Aura' trial just expired. You are now officially a weakling again]
"Right. The disciple." Loki wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. "Where am i supposed to find a 'God-Tier Misfit' in this wasteland?"
[Rina: Turn around, Host. Behind that pile of 'Dignified Rubble' you call a Sect Hall]
Loki stood up and walked to the back of the shack. There, leaning against a charred wooden pillar, sat a young boy no older than seventeen. He was covered in filth, his clothes were rags, and a dirty bandage was wrapped tightly around his eyes. Clutched in his hand was a wooden stick—not a sword, just a branch from a dead tree.
Loki's vision suddenly flashed. A translucent blue screen appeared over the boy's head.
Name: Han Ye
Public Grade: F-Grade (Blind, Crippled Meridians, Zero Talent)
Hidden Status: [LOCKED]— Potential: Eternal Sword God (Asura Bloodline).
Current State: Dying of hunger and loss of hope.
Loki's eyes widened. "A blind kid? Rina, you want me to recruit a blind kid to fight those guys with the spirit horses?"
[Rina: He isn't just a blind kid. He is the key to your survival. If you don't recruit him, your soul gets formatted. If you do recruit him... well, at least you'll have someone to help you clean this shack]
Loki looked at the boy, then at the ruins of his sect. He realized that they were both the same—broken, discarded, and mocked by the world.
He walked forward, his footsteps soft on the dru grass. Han Ye's ears flicked. He gripped his wooden stick tighter, his knuckles white.
"Who's there?" the boy rasped, his voice full of defensive thorns. "If you've come to mock me, just get it over with."
Loki looked down at him. He didn't use the System's voice filter this time. He used his own voice, the voice of someone who knew exactly what it felt like to be a nobody in a world of giants.
"I didn't come to mock you," Loki said softly. "I came to ask... do you want the world to regret ever calling you a Blind Dog?"
Han Ye froze. For the first time in months, someone hadn't looked at him with pity or disgust.
Loki extended his hand. "My name is Loki. And I'm looking for someone to help me burn this world's 'Talent Grades' to the ground. Are you in?"
[Rina: Ding! Main Mission: Part 1-Recruitment Phase Initiated. Host's 'Coolness' has increased by 0.5 points. Don't mess this up]