Twilight Shadow Mountain had never been louder.
Birds fled. The stone steps cracked under the stomping feet of a half-dressed teenager carrying a boulder on his shoulder.
"XUE RONG! Put that down before you flatten the vegetable patch!" Han Li shouted.
"This is the vegetable patch!" Xue Rong shouted back, eyes wide.
Shen Mo sat at the peak, sipping tea. "They're bonding nicely."
Yun Xi stood beside him with a scroll and a headache. "Master, you brought back a shirtless wild man with no indoor voice and introduced him as our new senior. I just want that in writing."
"That wild man broke his own chains and walked out of a collapsing sect. He deserves some vegetables."
Down below, Xue Rong gently set the boulder down… by crushing it into dust.
Han Li clutched his chest. "He broke the boulder. THE BOULDER."
"Was that not the goal?" Xue Rong blinked.
Later that evening, Shen Mo gathered all three disciples in the inner hall. It wasn't a large room—more like a cave with ambitions—but a glowing spirit lantern and freshly scrubbed floors made it feel... homey.
"From today, you are the founding members of the new Twilight Shadow Sect," Shen Mo declared.
Yun Xi raised a hand. "Weren't we always the founding members?"
"Yes, but now we have someone else to blame when things go wrong."
Xue Rong nodded approvingly. "I like this place already."
Han Li muttered, "I miss when it was just me being yelled at."
Shen Mo tossed them each a wooden token. "These are your identity badges. You'll use them to access the Sect's internal formations, training grounds, and kitchens."
"We have a kitchen?" Yun Xi asked.
"No," Shen Mo said. "That's what you're building tomorrow."
Later That Night – Cultivation Hall
Shen Mo stood before Xue Rong, who sat cross-legged with his eyes closed. A ring of heavy iron stones surrounded him, each one engraved with runes.
"Body refinement," Shen Mo began, "is the art of turning your bones into weapons and your blood into fire."
"Sounds painful."
"It is. Good luck."
Xue Rong opened his mouth to reply—but then the formation lit up, and his muscles began glowing red.
"AH—OKAY, YEAH, PAIN. DEFINITELY PAIN."
Yun Xi peeked in. "Should we help?"
"No," Shen Mo said. "If he doesn't pass out, he wasn't training hard enough."
Han Li appeared holding a tray of snacks. "Should I at least leave him some dumplings?"
"Are they spicy?"
"Very."
"Then yes. A reward for not screaming like a goat."
Three hours later, Xue Rong stumbled out of the formation chamber, shirt smoking slightly, but with a wide grin.
"I want to do that again."
Yun Xi clapped. "Welcome to the sect."
[System Notification:]Xue Rong: Body Refinement Initiated – Stage 1
Sect Development: +3 Reputation (Local Villagers heard shouting and assumed intense training)Martial Disciple Level 5 → Level 6
Twilight Shadow Sect:– Members: 3– New Hall Progress: 22% (Body Refinement Hall)
As the moon rose over Twilight Shadow Mountain, Shen Mo sat outside, looking over the valley below.
Yun Xi brought him a cup of tea and sat beside him.
"What now, Master?"
"Now," Shen Mo said, "we find the next misfit."
Yun Xi smiled. "Another broken genius?"
"Naturally."
"Let me guess. You already have someone in mind."
Shen Mo grinned faintly. "An alchemist who once tried to blow up his own sect."
Yun Xi sighed. "Why are we collecting walking disasters?"
"Because when the world throws them away…" Shen Mo sipped his tea, "we turn them into legends."