The valley had fallen silent after the creation of the Condemned Blade Sect, but its silence was unnatural—thick with the tension of fate itself holding its breath.
Priyanshu sat cross-legged on the black jade throne within the newly formed hidden hall. Around him, blade spirits hovered in the air, whispering forgotten oaths and tragic memories. The darkness here was alive. It recognized its new master.
[System Update: You have created a hidden base. Now recruiting disciples will trigger Fated Events.]
Priyanshu's lips curled upward.
"Let's begin assembling the pieces," he murmured.
With a flick of his finger, he activated the Shadow Beacon, a signal only those who had been abandoned, betrayed, or exiled could sense. The signal would spread across the middle realms, calling to those with potential... and nowhere else to go.
Alaya appeared beside him, dressed in a black robe adorned with silver blades and bloodlotus sigils. She now looked like a sect master's right hand—elegant, deadly, devoted.
"You're gathering traitors and broken ones," she said softly. "Isn't that risky?"
Priyanshu chuckled. "A hero saves the world with the strong. A villain builds an empire with the forsaken."
Soon after, the first response arrived.
A young man with half-burned skin, missing an eye, and wielding a spear wrapped in chains collapsed before the gate. His name was Kael, once a rising genius of the Divine Spear Sect—betrayed by his own clan in a power struggle.
Next came Meilin, a silent girl with shattered meridians, once a disciple of the prestigious Azure Heaven Palace. She had been cast out after being framed for a crime she never committed. Her eyes burned not with vengeance—but with purpose, waiting to be lit.
Then came Jiro, a laughing rogue with a broken cultivation and a devil's charm. His sins were unknown, but his cunning was unmatched.
Priyanshu stood before them as they knelt. These were not saints. They were flawed, beaten, rejected by a world that worshiped power but discarded the broken.
"You have all lost everything," he spoke, his voice cold and clear, "but in this sect, your flaws are weapons. I don't demand loyalty to justice. I demand loyalty to the mission. In return, I will make you all powerful enough to make the heavens tremble."
[System Notification: 3 New Disciples Accepted – Sect Rank Upgraded to Grade E][Special Bonus: Hidden Training Chambers Unlocked][Bonus Skill Granted to All Disciples: Grudge Blade Foundation Technique]
As the disciples received their techniques and vanished into the training halls, Priyanshu looked up to the stormy skies.
"The world watches for heroes to rise," he whispered, "but it will be the broken wings I gather that cast the deepest shadow."