The jade platform beneath the five newly arrived disciples shimmered faintly as the system's voice echoed through the empty expanse of the sect realm.
[Disciples awakening process commencing.]
One by one, the five figures began to stir, their eyelids fluttering open. The harsh void light met fearful, confused gazes—eyes that had seen far too much suffering yet still sought hope.
Xianzhe Tianya stood before them, an imposing silhouette amid the ever-shifting space of the Eternal Heaven Palace. His gaze was calm but cold, as though observing the smallest insects struggling below.
The first to awaken was the trembling young man, his limbs weak and shaky. He struggled to sit up, coughing out weak breaths. His gaze darted around, wide and anxious.
"Where… am I?" he whispered, voice cracked from despair.
Xianzhe's voice, deep and commanding, filled the air: "You are within the Eternal Heaven Palace, a place from which true power begins. You have been chosen to walk a path few dare."
The young man swallowed hard, uncertainty clouding his face. Around him, the woman with scars but fierce eyes sat up more steadily, brushing dirt from her arms.
"I'm… broken," she said, voice like steel wrapped in frost. "How can someone like me… rise?"
The child remained silent, wide-eyed but silent, clutching a small, worn doll in trembling hands. The scholar adjusted his broken glasses and stared with an unsettling calm. The unconscious woman lay still, still breathing shallowly, locked away behind her sealed aura.
Xianzhe's eyes swept over them. "None among you are perfect, nor gifted from birth. That is the test. You were selected by the system not for your strength, but for your potential."
[System Alert: First cultivation guidance initiated.]
A wave of energy pulsed from Xianzhe's outstretched palm. It was neither overwhelming nor weak but a clear signal—a seed of power infused into their souls, igniting dormant fragments of their qi.
The young man gasped as warmth spread through his veins, his body trembling with renewed life. The scarred woman's eyes flashed with raw fury, the sharp edge of pride sharpening. The child's closed mouth twitched into the faintest smile—hope's fragile flame. The scholar's fingers twitched, a spark of insight awakening.
Even the sealed woman in white robes stirred, a murmur escaping her lips.
"Rise," Xianzhe commanded again, voice unwavering. "Not all paths are paved with glory. Some require blood, sweat, and tears. I offer you the chance to defy your fate here."
The disciples glanced at each other, a mix of fear and growing determination. They had been broken by their pasts, discarded by the world, but here was a chance—perhaps the only chance—to change everything.
[Quest assigned: Survive the Outer Sect Trial.]
[Failing results in expulsion.]
[Reward: Access to Inner Sect and Sect resources.]
Xianzhe's smile was measured but held something almost like anticipation. "You will begin as Outer Sect disciples, crawling your way up from nothing. The path is cruel, but so is the world outside."
The disciples bowed deeply, uniting their hearts with a silent vow to endure this trial.
Suddenly, a low rumble drew their attention. At the edge of the sect realm, shadowy specters flickered—microcosmic beasts born of the void's chaos, tests of survival for all who entered the sect.
The First Trial was imminent.