The first thread of dawn crept over Broken-Soul Peak like a thin blade of pale gold.
It didn't warm the air.
It didn't chase the fog.
It only made the world look less dead.
Lin Feng rose from the broken step he had been sitting on.
He stretched, rolled his shoulders, and patted dust off his robe like a man who'd simply finished a long night shift.
The marked man had fallen asleep at some point—sitting upright, back against a pillar, exhaustion winning over fear.
Now he blinked awake, eyes swollen and bloodshot.
"S-Senior… it's morning?" he whispered, as if morning itself might shatter.
Lin Feng nodded.
"Congratulations. You survived your trial of incompetence."
"T-Thank you… Senior…"
The ghost child floated beside the man, checking him curiously.
When the man flinched, the child drifted back, embarrassed.
Lin Feng walked toward the altar.
The cracked lantern was still lit—something it could not do on its own.
The Chained Woman stood beneath it, chains resting again, as though she had stood guard the entire night without blinking.
Lin Feng nodded at her.
"Hard night?"
Her chains rattled once in calm acknowledgment.
He turned back to the injured man.
"Now then," Lin Feng said. "Let's examine your situation."
The man swallowed hard.
"S-Senior… can the mark be removed?"
Lin Feng tapped the injury lightly.
The marks dimmed, but they did not vanish.
[SYSTEM]
Spirit Mark Status: Active
Type: Predatory Echo
State: Stabilized, not gone
Removal: Not possible through normal means
Note: Marked individual remains a beacon for spirits
Lin Feng folded his arms.
"Not removed. Just quiet. Like a loan shark taking a nap."
The man turned white.
"T-Then I'm doomed…"
Lin Feng raised a finger.
"You are doomed everywhere else. Here? You have options."
The man blinked rapidly, hope and dread mixing in his expression.
Lin Feng continued.
"You came to a haunted mountain. You brought danger. You survived. And the mountain didn't throw you off the cliff."
The man frowned.
"Meaning…?"
Lin Feng pointed at the cracked courtyard, the fog, the lantern, the Chained Woman, the ghost child.
"All this didn't kill you. Which means you are tolerated."
The man stared at him.
"Tolerated… by ghosts…?"
"Exactly."
Lin Feng stepped closer, examining the marks again.
"Your choices are simple:
1. Walk down this mountain and die by dusk.
2. Stay here, and possibly die later.
3. Join my sect and let death get confused."
The man's jaw dropped.
"S-Sect…? Senior, this place is… alive with spirits!"
"Correct," Lin Feng said.
"A rich environment for learning."
The Chained Woman's chains slowly rose—
not threatening—
but waiting
like the mountain itself wanted to hear the answer.
The ghost child floated beside the man with hopeful brightness.
"I…" the man stammered. "Senior, I'm… I'm just a common villager. I have no spiritual talent, no strength—"
Lin Feng nodded.
"Perfect. Low expectations. Easy to manage."
"T-That's not what I—"
Lin Feng tapped the man's forehead lightly.
"Your mark attracts spirits. That means if you stay, they come to us. Free training materials."
The man nearly cried again.
"Please stop calling them training materials…"
Lin Feng placed a hand on the pillar and leaned casually.
"Choose. Sunrise waits for no one."
The man looked down at his trembling hands.
He remembered the glowing eyes in the forest.
He remembered the voices that whispered "found him."
He remembered hiding behind Lin Feng, surviving only because the mountain let him.
He swallowed and bowed deeply.
"…Senior… please… allow me to stay."
Lin Feng smiled.
"Good choice. Welcome to the Horizon Sect."
At that moment—
A faint chime sounded.
[SYSTEM]
New Disciple Registered:
Status: Temporary
Level: Mortal
Talent: Unknown
Cultivation: None
Additional Note: High likelihood of accidental death
Lin Feng pretended to not hear the last line.
The Chained Woman lowered her chains.
The ghost child circled the man with excitement, then hid again, shy but happy.
The morning fog drifted across the courtyard, moving gently around the new disciple—as if the mountain itself approved.
Lin Feng clapped once.
"Excellent. With this, the Horizon Sect officially has its first living member besides myself. Now—"
He pointed toward the ruined pantry.
"Go cook breakfast."
The man stared.
"…Senior?"
Lin Feng gestured again, solemn.
"Cooking is the first step of cultivation. It builds character."
The man, too exhausted to argue, limped toward the storage room.
The ghost child followed, trying to look helpful.
Lin Feng watched them go and nodded in satisfaction.
Broken-Soul Peak rumbled faintly.
A new chapter in the sect's life had begun.
---