The showers in the West Wing guest suites ran for an hour.
When Su Yun and Fatty Zhang finally emerged, the sun had set, and the main hall of Skyview Manor was illuminated by the soft, ambient glow of the spirit formations Lin Hao had embedded in the walls.
They looked different.
Su Yun walked in first. The "class president" vibe was gone. Her skin was pale, almost translucent, and her movements carried a strange, drifting grace. The air temperature around her seemed to drop a few degrees. Her [Superior Root: Ice Affinity] was already passively interacting with the environment, drawing heat out of the air.
Fatty Zhang followed. He hadn't turned into a fitness model; he was still broad and heavy, but the flab was gone. He looked like an erratic boulder carved into human shape. His neck was thicker, his shoulders were dense slabs of muscle, and his footsteps, despite his best efforts to be quiet, made the floorboards groan with a heavy, solid thud. His [Superior Root: Earth Affinity] gave him the density of granite.
They stood before Lin Hao, who was waiting by the mahogany table. On the table sat two long wooden boxes and a porcelain jar.
"Sit," Lin Hao said.
They sat. They didn't fidget. The "Awakening" had stripped away their nervous mortal ticks along with their toxins.
"You have read the manuals?" Lin Hao asked.
"I memorized the Glacial Heart Art," Su Yun said, her voice cool and steady. "It... speaks to me. I can feel the flow just by thinking about it."
"The Mountain Tremor Sutra is weird, Boss," Fatty said, rubbing his thick neck. "It tells me to breathe through my bones. But... I think I get it. I feel heavy. Grounded."
"That is the difference between a mortal and a Superior talent," Lin Hao said. "What takes others years, you will grasp in days."
He pushed the porcelain jar forward.
"But talent is just the engine. You need fuel."
He opened the jar. Inside were fifty glowing, azure pills. They weren't the "mortal health" pills he gave his parents. These radiated a potent, spicy energy that made the hair on their arms stand up.
"System," Lin Hao had whispered ten minutes ago. [Bottle of Vitamins] -> [Upgrade: Spirit Condensation Pills (Middle Spirit Tier)]. Cost: 5,000 UP.
Pocket change.
"Take one a day," Lin Hao instructed. "These are Spirit Condensation Pills. They will forcefully fill your Dantians with Qi. Combined with your new talents, you should hit Level 1 by dawn and Level 3 within a week."
Fatty's eyes widened. "A week? The news says it takes the 'geniuses' at the BSA months to hit Level 2."
"The BSAs are beggars fighting over scraps," Lin Hao said dismissively. "We are kings dining at a banquet."
He pushed the two wooden boxes forward.
"And kings need scepters."
Su Yun opened her box. Inside lay a sleek, straight sword (Jian). It wasn't steel. It was a translucent, blue-white metal that looked like frozen ice.
[Weapon: Frost Lotus Blade] [Grade: Low-Grade Spirit Tier] [Effect: Amplifies Ice Qi by 30%. Sharpness capable of cutting through tank armor.]
She reached out. The moment her fingers touched the hilt, a layer of frost coated the blade. It hummed, recognizing its master's affinity.
Fatty opened his box. It wasn't a sword. It was a massive, brutal war hammer. The head was a solid block of dark, heavy iron, engraved with yellow geometric runes.
[Weapon: Earth Shaker Hammer] [Grade: Low-Grade Spirit Tier] [Effect: Weight Manipulation (Variable). Amplifies impact force by 50%.]
"It's... beautiful," Fatty whispered. He lifted the hammer with one hand. To a normal human, it would weigh two hundred pounds. To him, it felt like a tennis racket.
"These are Spirit Weapons," Lin Hao said. "They are bonded to you now. They will grow as you grow."
He stood up, walking to the window that overlooked the darkened world below.
"You, Su Yun. You, Zhang Wei. And my sister, Lin Meng, who guards my family in the city."
He turned back to face them, his silhouette framed by the night sky.
"You three are the Inner Circle. You are the foundation of this mountain."
"We don't have a name yet," Lin Hao continued. "The world doesn't know we exist. And for now, we keep it that way. We are the 'Hidden Sect'."
Su Yun stood up, holding her frost blade. She bowed, a deep, martial bow she had learned from the manual.
"Disciple Su Yun greets the Sect Leader."
Fatty scrambled up, grabbed his hammer, and bowed clumsily but with genuine reverence.
"Disciple Zhang greets the Boss... uh, Sect Leader."
Lin Hao nodded. He looked at their stats.
[Su Yun: Level 0 (Superior Root)] [Zhang Wei: Level 0 (Superior Root)] [Lin Meng (Remote): Level 1 (Common Root)]
It was a small start. But with his resources, they would be monsters soon enough.
"Go to the training rooms," Lin Hao commanded. "Take the pills. Break through to Level 1. Tonight, you cultivate."
"What about you, Sect Leader?" Su Yun asked.
Lin Hao looked at the interface hovering in his vision.
[World Upgrade: Planar Ascension] [Status: READY] [Cost: 10,000,000 UP] [Balance: 12,376,130 UP]
"I have some renovations to do," Lin Hao said, a dark smile playing on his lips. "I'm going to install a new ceiling for the world."
The two disciples left, energized and terrified, clutching their treasures.
Lin Hao stood alone in the silence of the main hall.
The team was ready. The base was secure. The weapons were distributed.
He looked at the button.
"Time to let the monsters out," he whispered.
He raised his hand.
And he pressed [ASCEND].