Cultivation starts with picking up attributes
Chapter 92: Ch-92: Change in Plan

Chapter 92: Ch-92: Change in Plan

27th Day of the Training.

At the end of a particularly brutal training session, Elder Su handed him a jade vial.

"A 6-star recovery pill," she said. "To mend internal damage."

It tasted like charcoal.

And something suspiciously metallic.

But it worked. Within moments, his circulation had improved, the pain dulled, and he no longer felt like a series of broken sticks glued together.

A miracle.

And also terrifying.

He wondered, privately, when can he also make that pill.

...

30th Day of the Training.

Tian Shen, drenched in sweat, stepped onto the training ground with silent determination.

And, for the first time... he landed a hit.

Just one.

A flick across the edge of Elder Su’s sleeve.

She blinked. Paused.

Then smiled.

And Tian Shen—despite every broken rib, every drowned minute, every muscle torn and rebuilt—smiled back.

It was madness.

He was starting to like this.

...

In the shaded corridor beyond the training ground, Elder Su sat cross-legged, her expression unreadable as she poured herself tea.

She had watched Tian Shen’s progress for thirty consecutive days, through failure, through foolishness, through futile flailing.

And now, he had struck her sleeve.

Not her hand.

Not her weapon.

But her sleeve.

It was enough. For now.

"Not hopeless," she murmured softly, mostly to herself.

From the rafters, Drowsy chirped in agreement.

Somewhere in the gardens, Little Mei’s laughter rang out as she chased Harold the fish.

The sect might not have known it yet.

But Elder Su’s first disciple?

He was finally becoming worth the trouble.

...

Next day.

Sect Training Grounds, Pre-Dawn.

A month had passed since the morning Tian Shen had first stepped into Elder Su’s private hell.

Now, he stood in that same training field. Scarred, honed, posture upright.

Still nervous, still uncertain—but with a steel in his spine that hadn’t been there before.

Elder Su, as always, stood at the center like a monolith of grace and murder.

She eyed him.

"You’ve improved."

Tian Shen blinked.

"No sarcastic remark?"

She raised one brow.

"I’m just tired of insulting you every morning."

"It’s just... a little disorienting."

"...You’re still an idiot."

"There it is."

She stepped forward, fan unfurling with a flutter.

"Today, no blindfolds. No talismans. No games."

She tilted her head.

"You’ll come at me. Your real self. No tricks."

Tian Shen inhaled slowly.

Then bowed.

"...Understood, Master."

When he launched forward, his steps were fluid. Each movement carried the momentum of weeks of pain, learning, and instinct honed under pressure.

The two clashed—steel to fan, Qi to wind. It was still no contest in the grand scheme. But he lasted more than a dozen exchanges before his foot slipped, and her palm struck his chest.

He skidded back. Collapsed.

But didn’t fall unconscious.

She approached. Towering. Calm.

"Your form is acceptable."

"...Thanks," he muttered from the grass.

"But sloppy under pressure."

"There it is."

She turned away.

Then said, without facing him—

"Rest for two days. Then we go on an adventure."

Tian Shen’s breath caught.

"...I don’t think I can go."

Elder Su tilted her head faintly.

"You’re ready."

He lay on the grass, dazed.

Was he?

Was he actually ready?

A shadow passed overhead—Drowsy descending to land atop his stomach.

"Chirp~"

Little Mei skipped across the grass in her human form, cheerfully ignoring decorum.

"Ready for what?"

She asked.

"Pain."

[A/N: The world shall know ’OuUCHH’. XD]

Tian Shen replied automatically.

Then blinked.

"No. This time, I think I might be ready for... progress."

Feng Yin appeared nearby, holding a wrapped bundle.

"Your clean robes," she said, setting them beside him.

"Also, congrats."

"...For what?"

"For impressing the most dangerous woman in the sect," she replied with a smile. "And surviving."

Little Mei leaned in, whispering.

"Kyuuuu~."

’You do have a thing for bossy women, don’t you?’

She added, teasingly.

Drowsy chirped in agreement.

Tian Shen groaned.

"I’m surrounded by sadists."

Feng Yin gave a hearty chuckle at that.

...

Elder Su’s Private Courtyard.

The wind rustled the peach trees as Elder Su stood in quiet contemplation.

Her fan rested closed at her side.

She thought of Tian Shen—of his resilience, his idiocy, his persistence. His soul, so bright and stubborn, refusing to bend. Refusing to stay down.

And despite herself, a small smile crept to her lips.

"Let’s see what you’ll do, fool."

Then she turned, vanishing into the wind like the deadly spirit she was.

But this time?

There was a flicker of something gentler in her presence.

Just a flicker.

...

Again, Next Morning.

Feilun Sect, Northern Summit.

Elder Su’s courtyard was unusually quiet that morning.

The birds dared not sing.

The wind passed gently through the peach blossoms, but even it seemed muted, like nature itself sensed the tension that crackled beneath the serenity.

At the heart of it, Elder Su stood still, gazing toward the distant horizon where mountain met sky. Her robes fluttered like banners of calm war, and the fan at her side rested unopened.

She had plans.

She intended to take Tian Shen beyond the safety of the sect, to test what he had become—and what he could yet be.

But as the wind shifted, so did fate.

A pulse of spiritual pressure cut through the air like a gong.

Then another.

And another.

Moments later, three jade command tokens ignited in the air above her courtyard, hovering in formation before disintegrating into glowing runes.

A high-priority summons. Sect-wide.

Emergency Council Meeting: Mandated Attendance by High Authorities Only.

Her fan opened with a single flick, the sharp snap echoing like thunder.

"...Trouble," she muttered.

...

Feilun Sect, Sect Hall.

The main elder assembly hall hadn’t hosted a full council since the collapse of Jade Wing Valley three years prior.

Now, its ceremonial incense burners flared, its ancestral mirrors shimmered, and the full gathering of Feilun’s leadership—twenty-four core elders, five peak masters, and one terrifyingly cheerful Headmaster—filled the chamber.

Elder Su entered last, taking her place silently near the northern quadrant.

A few heads turned at her presence—she rarely bothered with these unless forced.

But today? Everyone was here.

Including the Sect Leader.

He gestured, and the images shimmered above the central mirror—six still frames, suspended in Qi.

They showed broken landscapes. Distorted ley lines. Dead zones.

Cultivation poisonings.

Demonic Qi ruptures.

And a familiar region at the edge of the Feilun’s outer territories.

The Eastern Wilderness.

Elder Han, Not haughty as before, clicked his tongue.

"This shouldn’t be happening. That region was pacified decades ago."

Sect Master’s voice rang clear and grim.

"It was. Until last night."

The image above showed a satellite sect—Lotus Pavilion—reduced to ruins.

Not scorched.

But Twisted.

Bodies petrified into statues. Spiritual beasts turned feral and mad.

A corruption not of this world.

Elder Su frowned slightly.

"Not natural."

Sect Master nodded.

"Correct. We suspect outside interference—artificial, possibly ritual-based."

"Demonic Sects?"

Someone muttered.

"Or worse," said Elder Mo, her hair tied in nine black braids to match her nine-spirit soul.

"Abyssal demon?" asked Elder Lei with narrowed eyes.

"No proof yet," said the Sect Master.

"But we can’t ignore it. The outer sects are panicking. Several disciple convoys were rerouted last night."

He added and turned to Elder Su.

"You were scheduled to leave today?"

She inclined her head.

"With my disciple."

That word—disciple—lingered in the air.

Some elders blinked.

Su had never taken a disciple before.

Even Sect Master’s brows raised, ever so slightly.

She said nothing more.

He gestured toward her.

"Then you’re best suited to lead this."

She raised one elegant brow.

"I wasn’t planning on leading anything."

"You are now."

Murmurs followed.

Her fan snapped shut. Showing she was pissed.

"Fine."

...

An Hour later.

The Same Training Grounds.

Tian Shen stood by the northern cliff ledge, fresh robes on, his body almost entirely held together by willpower and stubborn pride.

He was waiting.

For the journey. For the next ordeal.

Instead, he saw her descending through the mist, robes trailing behind her like a storm given form.

"Change of plans," she said simply.

He blinked.

"Am I in trouble?"

"Not yet."

"Oh good. It’s a rare day when I’m not—"

"We’re going to investigate a sect-level disaster."

He froze.

"Can you protect me?"

"Even my own safety is but a mere question now."

"...I miss the blindfolds."

"You won’t need them."

She tossed him a token.

Tian Shen blinked.

"I’m sorry, I don’t think I have enough strength for this."

"You don’t."

"...Then why?"

"Because I said so."

"...There it is."

...

Feng Yin approached Little Mei and Drowsy, who were watching Tian Shen pack furiously like someone convinced he would never return.

Feng Yin whispered.

"She’s taking him outside the sect already? Isn’t it too early?"

Little Mei nibbled on a sweet bun.

"It’s perfect. He just started liking pain. Now she’ll introduce contextual fear."

"...You’re both evil."

Drowsy chirped solemnly in agreement.

...

That Exact Night.

Elder Su’s Quarters.

As night fell and preparations for departure began, Elder Su stood alone again, staring into her old teacup.

She sipped as she Reflected off her actions the past month.

She took a disciple, out of nowhere and for no reason specific, well there was one but she forgot that.

He was still foolish. Still slow. Still reckless.

But no longer soft.

Perhaps it was time to test not just his skills—but his heart.

She whispered aloud to the stars—

"Let’s see what kind of man you become when the world breaks around you."

Then she vanished again into the wind.