The morning mist clung to the mountains like old cobwebs. Jiang Fan sat cross-legged beside his unconscious "disciple," poking the man's cheek with a twig.
"Still breathing… good. That means you didn't die before becoming my ticket to not being a laughingstock."
The System flickered to life.
>
Name: Unknown
Cultivation: Qi Condensation (barely hanging on)
Lifespan: Short, unless you feed him.
Potential: Classified – requires inspection.
Jiang Fan squinted. "Classified? What is this, a spy novel?"
"Means you don't have the clearance to see his real value, brat," Old Shen's voice rasped in his head. "Or maybe the system is just messing with you. It does that sometimes."
"The system scams too?" Jiang Fan looked up at the cloudy sky. "Why does my golden finger have gambling habits?"
---
The stranger groaned, finally stirring. His eyelids fluttered open to reveal murky gray eyes. "Where… am I?"
"You're at the glorious—well, semi-glorious—Cloudy Moon Sect!" Jiang Fan puffed out his chest. "I am your Sect Master. You fainted, I rescued you, and now you're my first disciple."
The young man blinked slowly. "…Who?"
"Sect Master," Jiang Fan repeated, louder this time, as if that made it more convincing.
The man tried to sit up, clutching his ribs. "Sect… never heard of it."
"That's because you're the first member! Congratulations! You're like… the founding ancestor's nephew!" Jiang Fan shoved the bag of spiritual rice toward him. "Here, eat this before you die and make me look bad."
---
After a few bites, color returned to the young man's face. "My name… is Lu Tian. My clan was wiped out by a demonic beast tide three days ago. I've been running ever since."
Jiang Fan's expression softened for a brief moment. "Sorry to hear that. Well… you've got nowhere to go, right? Stay here. Train. Rebuild your strength. Together, we'll turn this sect into something legendary!"
Lu Tian hesitated, eyes flickering. "…Legendary, huh?"
"Or dead in a ditch by next week," Old Shen muttered in Jiang Fan's head.
"Quiet, fossil!"
---
The System chimed.
>
Reward: Basic Cultivation Manual – Cloud Breathing Technique (Grade: Trash)
Reward: Sect Token – Allows recruitment of up to 10 disciples.
Jiang Fan snatched the scroll. "At last, a cultivation manual!"
He unrolled it and immediately frowned. "Wait… 'inhale air, exhale slightly better air'? That's it!?"
>
"…How do I have negative prestige!? I just started!"
"Because even the mountain thinks you're embarrassing," Old Shen snorted.
---
Still, Jiang Fan handed the scroll to Lu Tian. "Here. It's trash, but it's a start. Train, recover, and I'll figure out how to get better techniques."
Lu Tian accepted it wordlessly. But as Jiang Fan turned away, he didn't notice the faint glint in the young man's eyes—a sharpness hidden beneath exhaustion.
---
That night, while Lu Tian meditated under the pine tree, Jiang Fan climbed to the cliffside and looked at the stars.
"Alright, System. I have a disciple, a bag of rice, and a trash manual. Now what?"
>
Reward: 5 Spirit Stones, 1 Basic Formation Flag Set.
Failure: Sect remains a camping ground for homeless chickens.
Jiang Fan groaned. "Buildings? With what bricks!? You think I have a spiritual Home Depot!?"
Old Shen's chuckle drifted across his thoughts like cold wind. "Welcome to the life of a Sect Master, brat. You asked for greatness… now suffer for it."
---
End of Chapter 3
---