Dawn spilled over the mountains, painting the half-dead pine trees with pale gold. Jiang Fan stood with hands on his hips, surveying the barren courtyard.
"This," he declared, "is where the great hall shall stand! A mighty fortress! A shining beacon! A—"
A chicken wandered past, pecking at a worm.
"…alright, a slightly less embarrassing campsite."
---
The System chimed with suspicious cheer.
>
Materials Required:
– Wood: 50 units
– Stone: 30 units
– Nails: Spiritual or mundane, pick one
Estimated Labor: More than you can afford
Reward: 5 Spirit Stones + Formation Flags
Time Limit: 3 days
Jiang Fan's smile twitched. "System, do I look like a lumberjack-slash-miner-slash-blacksmith!?"
>
"…So I am a scam artist now."
---
Lu Tian approached, carrying a crude axe he had found among the ruins. "Sect Master, I can cut some wood."
Jiang Fan brightened. "Good! That's the spirit!"
As the day wore on, Lu Tian worked with quiet precision, chopping down warped pines and hauling stones from the hillside. Jiang Fan mostly supervised, occasionally hammering a crooked nail and calling it 'leadership'.
Yet something about Lu Tian nagged at him. The man's movements were too efficient—his strikes too measured, his recovery too fast for someone half-dead yesterday.
"You see it too, brat?" Old Shen whispered in his mind. "That boy's no random stray."
"What do you mean?" Jiang Fan muttered under his breath, pretending to measure a plank.
"His qi flow's strange. Too steady for a survivor on the run. Either he's a prodigy… or he's hiding a serpent's fangs."
Jiang Fan eyed Lu Tian, who was now stacking stones into a neat foundation. "Well… as long as the serpent pays rent."
---
By nightfall, a rough skeleton of the hall stood—a patchwork of logs, salvaged tiles, and questionable architecture.
>
Time Remaining: 2 days
Tip: Blood sacrifice accelerates construction.
Jiang Fan spat out his tea. "WHAT blood sacrifice!?"
>
He turned toward the wandering chickens.
The chickens stared back.
"…Don't look at me like that," he hissed.
---
The next morning, Jiang Fan awoke to find the foundation… finished.
He blinked. "Huh?"
Lu Tian emerged from the mist, hands faintly stained with something dark. "I… worked overnight. Found better materials in the forest."
Jiang Fan inspected the logs. They weren't the warped pine he'd seen before—they were denser, smoother, and faintly glowing.
"…Where'd you get these?"
Lu Tian shrugged. "Just… around."
"Lies, half-truths, or both," Old Shen rasped. "But whatever he dragged here, it's infused with spiritual energy. You're getting a free upgrade, brat."
---
>
Reward: 5 Spirit Stones
Reward: Basic Formation Flag Set
Sect Prestige: 0 → 5 (Congratulations! You're now a 'Real Place')
Jiang Fan punched the air. "Finally! We're official!"
The chickens clucked in approval.
---
That night, as Jiang Fan lay beneath the half-finished roof, he heard faint rustling outside. Peering through the gap in the wall, he caught a glimpse of Lu Tian in the forest—kneeling before a strange, jagged stone, his fingers pressed to a glowing scar on his arm.
The young man's lips moved silently. Not a prayer. A message.
And for just a moment, the moonlight revealed an expression that didn't belong to a desperate survivor. It was sharper. Colder. Calculating.
Then the wind shifted, and the look vanished like mist.
---
End of Chapter 4
---