Shaurya sat on his throne, his posture relaxed as his eyes scanned the floating system interface before him. The rewards from the battle shimmered softly, each one radiating promise. His gaze stopped on one in particular.
[Medicinal Garden – Unlocked]
He tapped it lightly and asked, "System, how do I activate the Medicinal Garden?"
The system replied calmly, "To activate the Medicinal Garden, you must go to the location where you want it built and say the word 'Build.'"
Shaurya nodded thoughtfully, then waved his hand lazily.
"System, build the garden in a suitable place in the sect on your own."
There was a brief pause.
"Lazy," the system replied flatly.
Shaurya chuckled. "System, please."
Another pause.
"Fine."
Somewhere deep within the sect, a burst of grand light erupted, illuminating the night sky for a brief moment. Shaurya glanced toward the window, shrugged, and stood up.
"I'll check it tomorrow," he muttered.
Moments later, he lay down and fell asleep almost instantly.
---
The next morning—
Xiao Lian rushed into the main sect hall, her footsteps hurried and her expression full of excitement. Shaurya was seated calmly on his throne, a book resting in his hands as he read peacefully.
"Master!" she exclaimed. "There's a strange garden-like land in the courtyard! It's filled with dense spiritual energy!"
Shaurya smiled faintly.
"So, you saw it before me."
Xiao Lian tilted her head, clearly confused.
Shaurya closed his book and stood up.
"Let's go."
They made their way to the courtyard, where Xiao Rui and Wang Tian were already standing. Xiao Rui looked curious, while Wang Tian stood completely still, his eyes wide with visible shock.
"How's it going?" Shaurya asked casually.
Both disciples greeted him respectfully.
Wang Tian hesitated before speaking. "Master… what is this place? The spiritual energy here is immense. And these herbs—some of them feel extremely unusual."
Shaurya folded his arms confidently and replied without missing a beat,
"It's our sect's Medicinal Garden. I personally created it last night."
Inside the system interface, a message appeared.
"You were sleeping like a Snorlax, Host."
Wang Tian stared at Shaurya in silence. Deep inside, his thoughts churned.
There's something far deeper about this sect master… Choosing this sect might have truly been the right decision.
Shaurya walked through the garden, inspecting the land carefully. His eyes lit up when he sensed the dense spiritual energy and noticed a specific herb growing neatly in clusters—twenty stalks in total.
"System, what is this herb?" he asked.
The system replied, "This is the Oran Herb. It is used to create high-quality healing pills. This world has never seen herbs of such quality before."
Shaurya nodded appreciatively.
"Amazing."
Turning around, he handed bottles of Qi Enactment Pills to Xiao Rui and Xiao Lian. Both of them received the bottles with shining eyes, clearly thrilled.
Wang Tian, however, looked confused.
Shaurya explained calmly, "Use one pill every hour. Ten pills—ten hours of cultivation. Go."
Though uncertain, Wang Tian observed the confidence on Xiao Rui and Xiao Lian's faces. After a brief hesitation, he nodded and joined them in cultivation.
---
Later that day, Shaurya walked toward the edge of the sect territory, where the Demonic Beast Valley began.
"System, I want to learn the Dragon Fist technique," he said.
The system replied bluntly, "Then learn it. Who's stopping you?"
Shaurya blinked. "System… please."
"Fine."
In an instant, the technique flooded into his mind. Before he could fully process it, a massive Griffin emerged from the valley and charged toward him.
Shaurya reacted instinctively.
He stepped forward and unleashed Dragon Fist.
A roaring dragon spirit erupted from his fist, obliterating the Griffin entirely. The shockwave flattened the surrounding terrain, leaving behind massive destruction.
"Whoa!" Shaurya exclaimed. "I've become stronger!"
The system notified him, "You've gained 10,000 EXP."
Shaurya frowned. "Only 10,000?"
"Killing demonic beasts doesn't grant much EXP," the system explained. "They aren't your enemies—just hungry creatures."
Shaurya nodded in understanding and returned to the sect.
---
Seated once more on his throne, he asked, "System, show me my disciples' current levels."
The system responded:
Xiao Rui: Qi Initiate Level 8
Xiao Lian: Qi Initiate Level 11
Wang Tian: Qi Refiner Level 1
Shaurya smiled.
"Xiao Rui has worked really hard."
He paused, then added, "Alright, use the EXP to level me up."
Boom!
"You are now Qi Refiner Level 3," the system announced.
Satisfied, Shaurya picked up his book again and resumed reading.
---
Two days passed.
The remaining disciples finally arrived—thirteen in total. Shaurya stepped outside to welcome them.
The system updated him immediately:
9 males, 4 females
8 at Qi Initiate Level 3
4 at Qi Initiate Level 4
1 at Qi Initiate Level 5
Shaurya nodded in approval.
"Impressive. Not bad at all."
He instructed them calmly, "Choose your rooms first. After that, gather in the main sect hall."
Later, all sixteen disciples stood assembled in the hall. Shaurya sat on his throne, a book resting in one hand.
"This is the Dragon Fist technique," he announced. "It is an Immortal-level technique. Train hard."
The hall erupted into shock. None of them had ever even seen such a high-level technique before.
Wang Tian froze.
I've seen Immortal-level techniques before… I even possessed one in my past life… but this—
His hands trembled as he opened the book.
It's real… It's really real.
Without saying a word, he vanished from the hall.
The rest of the disciples bowed deeply, thanked Shaurya, and left.
The system spoke again.
"Lazy Host, have you forgotten your task? You must recruit 50 disciples within four days. You now have 22 hours left. Current disciples: 16 out of 50."
Shaurya's eyes widened.
"I forgot?! How am I supposed to recruit 34 disciples in 22 hours?!"
He thought quickly.
Wait… I destroyed the Jade Fire Sect. That must have made me famous in the city. I can use that.
He rushed outside and found Wang Tian standing near a massive rock.
Suddenly—
BOOM!
Wang Tian unleashed Dragon Fist, shattering the rock completely.
"I, the Great Emperor Wang Tian, will rise again!" he laughed loudly.
Shaurya sighed inwardly.
Handling this guy is going to be tough…
At that moment, guards arrived, escorting a prominent figure—the City Lord himself.
Shaurya greeted him respectfully. Wang Tian noticed and remained silent.
The City Lord looked around in awe.
"I didn't expect the leader of the Sanatan Flame Sect to be so young."
Shaurya replied politely, "Thank you for your kind words."
The City Lord continued, "You destroyed the Jade Fire Sect—the strongest sect in the city. From today onward, your sect takes their place."
He gestured, and guards stepped forward.
"Here is your reward: two lakh spiritual stones, weapons and artifacts recovered from the Jade Fire Sect, and ten thousand gold taels."
His tone then turned serious.
"I hope you won't misuse this power as they did."
Shaurya nodded firmly.
"Don't worry. I follow Dharma and heroism."
The City Lord didn't understand what Dharma meant, but assumed it was similar to heroism and nodded in agreement.
Shaurya then said, "I have one request. If it's not too much trouble… could you arrange a disciple recruitment ceremony? I need to recruit more disciples quickly."
The City Lord smiled.
"Oh? Consider it done. I'll arrange it within one or two hours."
Shaurya bowed slightly.
"Thank you, City Lord."
To Be Continued…