The courtyard fell utterly silent.
A breeze swept through, carrying dust and fallen leaves between Nathan and the newcomer—Zayden. He stood tall, luxurious dark-blue robes embroidered with silver, the unmistakable insignia of a high-tier sect stitched on the back:
"Azure Sky Sword Sect."
Ash trembled behind Nathan.
Cyril took a step back, his knees nearly giving out.
Nathan simply adjusted his robe sleeve.
"Zayden, is it?" he asked casually.
The young swordsman smirked, tilting his head like a predator studying prey.
"Oh? You know my name already? I must be famous."
"Narcissistic, too," Nathan muttered under his breath.
Zayden's eyebrow twitched.
Around the courtyard, students whispered:
"That's Zayden Pierce…!"
"He's the Inner Sect prodigy…"
"Peak Foundation Stage at seventeen…"
"He defeated three instructors last month…"
"And he's looking for Cyril?"
Nathan watched Zayden's aura crash around the courtyard like icy waves.
To normal people, it felt suffocating.
To Nathan?
It felt… dramatic.
"Cyril," Zayden said, his voice dripping superiority. "Did you truly think you could escape an Azure Sky disciple? You were a borrowed dog. Now return, or I'll drag you back by force."
Cyril bit his lip hard enough to draw blood.
"I'm not going back," he whispered.
Zayden laughed.
"You don't have the right to decide that."
He took a step forward, aura flaring—cold, sharp, and oppressive.
Students backed away.
Instructors watched nervously.
Ash grabbed Nathan's sleeve, terrified.
"Master… he's too strong…"
Nathan placed a hand on Ash's head.
"Strength isn't only cultivation," he said softly. "It's also will."
Then he raised his chin and met Zayden's aura head-on.
Without flinching.
Zayden paused mid-step.
"…Huh?"
Nathan smiled.
"You're very loud," he said casually. "Does your sect not teach basic courtesy?"
Whispers erupted among the crowd.
"Who is this guy…?"
"He doesn't look scared at all!"
"Is he crazy?"
"Or maybe he's someone important…?"
Zayden's eye twitched.
"So," Zayden asked coldly, "you're protecting him?"
Nathan stepped slightly to the side, blocking Cyril entirely from Zayden's sight.
"I'm not 'protecting' him."
He paused.
"I'm claiming him."
Gasps filled the courtyard.
Cyril's eyes widened.
"Master…?"
Zayden burst into laughter.
"YOU? What gives you the right to claim my sect's runaway dog?"
Nathan tapped his chest lightly.
"I'm his future Master."
The courtyard froze.
Zayden sneered. "Master? You? A nobody in cheap robes?"
Nathan looked down, admiring his spotless white robe.
"This robe is not cheap," he said. "It's simplicity. It's elegance. It's fashion."
"IT'S BASIC!" Zayden snapped.
Nathan cleared his throat.
"Ahem. Personal taste."
Ash tugged Nathan's robe urgently.
"Master… should you really be provoking him—?"
"Absolutely." Nathan smiled.
Zayden snapped his fingers.
A faint flash of sword intent cut through the air, slicing through a falling leaf in mid-air.
"If you want to take Cyril," Zayden said, "you'll have to defeat me."
Nathan blinked.
"…Defeat you?"
"Yes."
"Right now?"
"Yes."
Nathan looked at his hands, then at Zayden.
"…Do I look like I'm itching for cardio?"
Zayden unsheathed an inch of his sword, aura flaring again.
"I'm giving you a chance to bow, break your pride, and leave the boy."
Nathan's expression slowly shifted from amusement…
…to something sharper.
Cold.
Unyielding.
"I don't bow," he said softly. "Not to bullies. Not to children waving swords like toys. And certainly not to someone who treats people like property."
Zayden's eyes blazed with fury.
"Enough," he snapped. "I'll kill you."
Cyril gasped.
Ash clutched Nathan's robe tighter.
Nathan raised a hand, stopping them both.
Then he stepped forward calmly.
"If you strike me," Nathan said quietly, "I'll consider it an insult."
Zayden laughed darkly.
"And what will you do?"
Nathan tilted his head.
"I'll make you kneel."
Everything froze.
Cyril stared at Nathan in disbelief.
Ash's jaw dropped.
Crowd murmurs exploded:
"Is he insane?"
"That's Zayden Pierce—he's unbeatable!"
"That man is courting death—"
Zayden's face twisted with rage.
"You arrogant—"
He lunged.
His sword, still in its sheath, flashed forward with deadly speed.
Most people wouldn't even see it.
Even advanced fighters would struggle.
But Nathan?
Nathan saw everything.
Because while he didn't have cultivation yet…
He had something else:
A soul infused with the Supreme Sect System.
A mind enhanced by Void Asura energy.
Perfect reaction speed.
And absolute confidence.
Zayden's strike approached Nathan's face—
And Nathan merely raised two fingers.
Tap.
Zayden's sword stopped.
Completely.
Gasps filled the air.
"What—?"
"He blocked it with two fingers!?"
"That's impossible—"
Zayden's eyes went wide.
"How…?"
Nathan smiled calmly.
"You rely too much on cultivation and too little on discipline. Technique without heart is hollow."
He flicked his wrist lightly.
Zayden staggered backward.
Nathan stepped forward, voice low and unshakably cold.
"You dare threaten my disciple?"
Zayden growled, aura erupting violently.
"I'll kill you!"
He drew his entire sword and slashed downward with full power.
The air screeched.
Dust lifted.
Everyone shielded their faces.
Ash screamed Nathan's name—
But Nathan didn't move from his spot.
Instead, he lifted his hand gently.
A faint ripple—like a wave of invisible pressure—spread outward from Nathan's palm.
Not cultivation.
Not qi.
But soul force.
The system-enhanced strength unique only to him.
Zayden's sword stopped one inch from Nathan's face.
Frozen in mid-air.
Zayden's hands trembled violently, veins bulging.
"W-What—?! Why… why can't I move!?"
Nathan stepped forward, his aura subtle yet utterly overwhelming.
The courtyard held its breath.
Nathan whispered:
"Kneel."
As if the world obeyed him—
Zayden's knees buckled.
THUD.
The young prodigy collapsed to the ground, sword slipping from his grip.
Silence.
Pure, disbelieving silence.
Ash covered his mouth.
Cyril stared, eyes trembling.
Even the instructors were stunned.
Nathan spoke calmly:
"You can bark, threaten, and wave your sword all you like… but you will not touch what's mine."
He leaned down slightly.
"And right now?
Cyril is mine.
Remember that."
Zayden trembled with humiliation, unable to rise.
Nathan turned away without another glance.
"Cyril," he said gently. "Come."
Cyril hesitated, then stepped behind Nathan as if stepping into safety for the first time in years.
Zayden finally managed to raise his shaking head.
"You… who ARE you…?"
Nathan smiled faintly without turning around.
"Someone you should never have challenged."
Then he walked away calmly.
Behind him, the courtyard stared in awe.
Ash whispered in pure admiration:
"Master… is this what true power feels like?"
Nathan placed a hand on his student's head.
"It's what true will feels like."
Cyril swallowed.
"…Master."
Nathan glanced back.
"You accept?"
Cyril bowed deeply.
"I will follow you anywhere."
DING.
> [Potential Disciple Identified: Cyril (Potential: 79)]
[Status: Accepted]
Nathan smiled.
"Good. Now we have work to do."
The birth of a sect had truly begun.