Han Yu’s first day as an Outer Disciple... was surprisingly peaceful.
Suspiciously peaceful.
He half-expected to be ambushed the mont he set foot into the Outer Disciple Hall to register. He even brought his broom — freshly cleaned and polished, just in case things got physical.
But nothing happened.
The disciples at the registration desk treated him with stiff, overly formal politeness.
The Outer Hall overseer, a stern-looking elder with graying hair, simply gave him a new identity token, a basic cultivation robe, the common cultivation technique of the Twin Leaf Peak Sect that pretty much everyone practiced and a set of Outer Disciple rules without even eting his eyes.
Han Yu couldn’t help but feel like a porcupine had walked into a den of wolves, and the wolves had all decided, "Nope. Not today."
As he made his way toward his assigned living quarters — a small, slightly shabby courtyard tucked in a quieter corner of the Outer Sect’s residential peak— he noticed it more and more.
The stares.
The whispered conversations that abruptly cut off when he walked by.
The way disciples, so of whom had surely plotted against him before, gave him space. Wide, nervous, carefully maintained space.
Han Yu wasn’t stupid.
He knew what this was.
Fear.
Not respect, not yet — but fear.
The beating of Lei Xing, a known troublemaker with backers in the Inner Sect, had sent shockwaves rippling through the entire Twin Leaf Peak.
More importantly, the Elders’ official reprimand had dropped like a guillotine blade on the heads of those who had once sched against Han Yu.
Several Inner and Outer Court disciples had been warned. So were quietly punished.
If anyone dared make another move against Han Yu so soon... they risked an investigation.
At least for the ti being. And investigations in a sect weren’t kind, impartial affairs.
They were brutal, political bloodbaths.
Secrets would spill. Reputations would shatter. Backers would disown you to save themselves.
No one wanted to be the one to light that particular fire.
So for now, Han Yu was, ironically, safer than he had ever been.
He found himself standing in the middle of his new courtyard, broom still in hand, a lost expression on his face. As a new Outer Court Disciple, he was supposed to be sharing the courtyard with a few more disciples, but this place seed to be empty and possibly having been such for a while now seeing how much dust there was everywhere.
"...What do I even do now?"
For the first ti in a long ti, there was no one barking orders at him.
No chores piling up.
No impending doom (imdiate doom, anyway).
He was... free?
Han Yu sat down on the worn stone bench under a crooked willow tree, staring at the clear sky above.
It felt strange.
Like he was waiting for the sky to fall at any mont.
He checked his dantian, feeling the dense vitality within.
The 10th Stage of Body Tempering... it was a peak few servants ever reached. Most servants stayed weak, disposable.
But now, Han Yu was half a cultivator in his own right.
Not strong compared to the true geniuses, but strong enough that the Outer Sect had to acknowledge him.
Strong enough that he had options.
For the first ti, he could choose his own path.
He could enter the sect competitions.
He could study martial techniques.
He could even earn contribution points and gather resources to aid his cultivation.
The possibilities made his heart beat faster.
But Han Yu was no fool.
He knew his rise was built on a shaky foundation: one fueled by Li i’s pills, freak accidents, and sheer stubborn survival rather than carefully crafted cultivation.
He needed to fix that.
Stabilize his base.
Sharpen his skills.
Beco soone who could stand tall even without miracles and flukes.
Han Yu took a deep breath, and for the first ti, made a plan for himself.
Step one: solidify his 10th Stage Body Tempering cultivation.
Step two: find a decent martial art he could actually practice — not just waving a broom around (even if it had worked surprisingly well so far).
Step three: stay under the radar while quietly building strength.
The basic cultivation technique ’The Twin Peak Qi Refinent Manual’ he had been given was enough for now, but Han Yu couldn’t use it until he actually broke through to the Qi Refining Realm. He needed sothing else to increase his strength.
Sothing that didn’t need as much ti to use as the Bolt God Fist. That was more suitable as a trump card than a normal technique.
He didn’t want to stay a joke forever.
He wanted to be soone who could make it to the Inner Sect properly.
Maybe even beyond.
Maybe even... Elder soday?
Han Yu laughed out loud at the absurd thought, startling a few passing Outer Disciples.
But hey, dreaming was free.
That afternoon, Han Yu explored the Outer Sect grounds carefully.
He checked out the Training Fields — large open spaces where Outer Disciples practiced martial skills, sparred, and tested their techniques.
Normally, newcors would get bullied a bit to "test" their skills.
Han Yu saw it happen to other new Outer Disciples that day.
Pushes.
Mocking challenges.
Demands for "sparring fees."
But when anyone noticed him, there was a quick exchange of glances, a tightening of shoulders — and then they turned away.
No one dared approach.
No one dared test him.
Han Yu felt both relieved and slightly insulted.
"Am I that scary...?" he muttered to himself.
Nearby, he noticed a bulletin board with posted missions: gathering herbs, hunting beasts, escorting caravans, guarding alchemists during trips...
He morized a few simple ones he could try later.
Then he went to the Skill Pavilion of the Scholar Peak— the place where Outer Disciples could exchange contribution points to borrow martial arts manuals.
The guard at the entrance, a bored young man in gray robes, glanced at Han Yu’s token and nodded him through without a word.
User Comments
0 comments from readers