The sun bled crimson over the horizon as three figures stood before the gates of the Azure Sky Sect.
Lin Yuan's robes fluttered in the breeze, his spear planted firmly in the ground. Beside him, Xiao Mei held her sword with calm precision, her gaze locked on the horizon where a gathering of enemy cultivators stood.
Word had spread — the once-forgotten disciples of Tian Yuan were no longer just promising talents, they were forces to be reckoned with. And forces attract enemies.
"Ten sects joining together," Xiao Mei muttered, her tone calm but eyes sharp.
"Ten is just a number," Lin Yuan replied, rotating his spear in a smooth arc. "We've faced worse training under Master."
Inside the sect hall, elders debated fiercely whether to ask for Tian Yuan's help. The messenger talisman had been sent, but no reply came.
"He's ignoring us," one elder growled.
"No," said the sect master, "he's testing them."
Far away in the Upper Realm, Tian Yuan lounged on a divine stone chair in his yet-to-be-completed manor. The system's new voice — smug, sarcastic, and annoyingly chipper — chimed in:
> [Ding! Host, your disciples are being surrounded. Bet you won't intervene.]
[Current odds: 3 to 1 they survive. My bet's on them.]
Tian Yuan chuckled. "If they can't handle this, they have no place under my banner."
Still, he opened a scrying mirror, watching in silence.
Back in the mortal realm, the battle erupted. The coalition leaders unleashed waves of spiritual pressure, confident their numbers alone would crush the younger generation. But Lin Yuan's spear blurred, each thrust like a streak of lightning. Xiao Mei moved through the battlefield like flowing water, cutting down attackers without hesitation.
By nightfall, the once-threatening coalition had been reduced to scattered survivors fleeing into the shadows. The disciples stood unscathed, their auras brighter than ever.
Tian Yuan closed the mirror, a rare smile tugging at his lips.
"They'll do," he said softly.
The system snorted.
> [Told you. Now, about that barren orchard you've got divine peaches to plant.]
(END OF CHAPTER)