The second-to-last day before the invasion began with an ominous sight.
I stepped out of my room at dawn to find the sky had turned a sickly gray-red color, like a bruise spreading across the horizon. The air felt heavy, oppressive, and carried a faint metallic tang that made my nose wrinkle.
[ATMOSPHERIC QI ANALYSIS: ABNORMAL]
[DETECTING: BLOOD QI CONTAMINATION]
[SOURCE: APPROXIMATELY 150 KILOMETERS NORTH]
[CONCLUSION: BLOOD MOON SECT IS ALREADY MOBILIZING]
"They're really coming," I whispered.
[YEP. THIS IS HAPPENING.]
[NO TURNING BACK NOW.]
Disciples were already gathering in clusters throughout the sect, pointing at the sky and whispering nervously. Some looked terrified. Others looked grimly determined. A few looked excited, probably the idiots who thought war would be glorious.
"Lin Tian!"
I turned to see Yun Xia hurrying toward me, her face pale. "Did you see the sky? Everyone's saying it's a blood omen. That the Blood Moon Sect has begun their ritual march."
"Ritual march?"
She nodded. "It's how demonic sects announce their invasions. They march slowly, deliberately, projecting their Qi outward to terrorize their enemies. It's psychological warfare." She glanced at the red sky. "They'll be here by tomorrow evening."
[ACTUALLY, MY CALCULATIONS SAY TOMORROW AFTERNOON]
[BUT CLOSE ENOUGH]
"Then we need to make today count," I said. "Final preparations. Check equipment. Make sure Team Three is ready."
Yun Xia grabbed my arm suddenly. "Lin Tian, I'm scared."
I looked at her, really looked at her. Behind the brave face, I could see the fear in her eyes. She was only seventeen. Just a girl who'd been peacefully cultivating a week ago, probably dreaming about advancing to inner sect or maybe finding a good marriage match. Now she was being thrown into a war.
"I'm scared too," I admitted. "But we're going to survive this. Both of us. I promise."
[BOSS, YOU SHOULDN'T MAKE PROMISES YOU CAN'T KEEP]
'Shut up. Let me have this moment.'
[...FINE. BUT IF YOU DIE AFTER MAKING THAT PROMISE, I'M GOING TO BE VERY DISAPPOINTED.]
Yun Xia managed a small smile. "You're a terrible liar, you know that? But... thank you."
---
The sect had transformed overnight into a military camp.
Inner sect disciples were setting up defensive formations around the perimeter. Weapon masters were distributing enchanted weapons and armor to anyone with enough contribution points. Medical disciples were stockpiling healing pills and setting up emergency triage stations.
Team Three assembled at the designated meeting point, a pavilion near the eastern wall. Chen Wu stood at the center, his expression severe as he surveyed his team of ten disciples.
Besides Yun Xia and me, there were seven others I barely knew:
Zhao Min: A stocky guy with a hammer strapped to his back. Stage 5 cultivation. Looked like he could break rocks with his forehead.
Li Feng: A thin, nervous girl with Stage 4 cultivation and a spear. Kept adjusting her grip like she wasn't sure how to hold it.
Wang Lei: Stage 5, dual sword wielder, cocky expression. Definitely the type to die heroically doing something stupid.
And four others whose names I didn't catch, all Stage 4.
[TEAM ANALYSIS COMPLETE]
[AVERAGE CULTIVATION: STAGE 4.3]
[OVERALL COMBAT CAPABILITY: MODERATE]
[WEAK LINKS: LI FENG (TERRIFIED), WANG LEI (OVERCONFIDENT)]
[WILD CARDS: YOU (CHEAT SYSTEM), YUN XIA (ACTUALLY COMPETENT)]
[TEAM SURVIVAL PROBABILITY: 34%]
That was depressing.
"Listen up," Chen Wu barked. "I know most of you are scared. Good. Fear keeps you alive. Stupidity gets you killed." His eyes landed on Wang Lei, who had the grace to look away. "Our assignment is to defend the eastern wall's southern section. We'll be positioned between Elder Liu's contingent and Team Four."
He unrolled a map on a nearby table. "Blood Moon Sect typically attacks in waves. First wave: expendable minions and corrupted beasts. Second wave: their actual disciples. Third wave: their elders and specialists." He tapped the map. "We need to survive the first two waves. The elders will handle the third."
"What if we can't hold the first wave?" Li Feng asked in a shaky voice.
"Then we die," Chen Wu said bluntly. "But we take as many of them with us as possible. Our job isn't to win, it's to buy time for the inner sect and elders to eliminate their leadership." He looked at each of us in turn. "Any questions?"
Silence.
"Good. Check your equipment. Run through your techniques one last time. We deploy at dawn tomorrow. Dismissed."
As the team dispersed, Chen Wu called out: "Lin Tian. Stay."
[UH OH]
I approached cautiously. "Yes, senior brother?"
Chen Wu studied me with an unreadable expression. "I don't like you. You're reckless, you've advanced too quickly, and you nearly crippled Zhang Wei over a petty dispute."
"To be fair, he challenged me to—"
"I don't care," Chen Wu interrupted. "But Elder Hu seems to think you have potential. And Yun Xia trusts you." He leaned closer. "So I'm going to give you one chance to prove you're not just a lucky idiot who's going to get everyone killed. During the battle, you stay with Yun Xia. Watch her back. Keep her alive. Can you do that?"
I met his gaze steadily. "Yes."
"Good. Because if she dies and you survive, I'll kill you myself. Understand?"
[WELL THAT'S MOTIVATING]
"Understood," I said.
Chen Wu nodded and walked away, leaving me standing there wondering if he was actually concerned about Yun Xia or just looking for an excuse to kill me later.
[PROBABLY BOTH]
[HE SEEMS LIKE A 'BOTH' KIND OF GUY]
---
The rest of the morning was spent in final preparations. I visited the weapons hall and managed to requisition a simple but well-made sword, nothing fancy, just sturdy steel with decent weight. The Infinite Tide Scripture worked with any weapon, but having something that wouldn't break immediately seemed smart.
[WEAPON ACQUIRED: STANDARD SECT SWORD]
[QUALITY: ADEQUATE]
[SPECIAL PROPERTIES: NONE]
[IT'S A SWORD. CONGRATULATIONS.]
I also picked up a basic armor set, leather padding with metal plates over vital areas. It wouldn't stop a Core Formation cultivator's attack, but it might save me from a stray blade or claws.
As noon approached, I found myself at the sect library again. Not to study techniques this time, just to sit in the quiet and think.
[CONTEMPLATIVE MOOD DETECTED]
[WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT?]
'I'm about to fight in a war,' I thought. 'Against demonic cultivators who want to kill me and absorb my Qi. I've been in this world for less than a week. I barely know what I'm doing.'
[TRUE. BUT YOU'RE ALSO STAGE 4, NEARLY STAGE 5]
[YOU HAVE A CUSTOM TECHNIQUE THAT MAKES YOU PUNCH ABOVE YOUR WEIGHT CLASS]
[AND YOU HAVE ME, THE BEST AUTOMATED CULTIVATION SYSTEM IN EXISTENCE]
[PROBABLY. I HAVEN'T MET OTHER SYSTEMS, BUT I ASSUME I'M THE BEST]
I couldn't help but smile. 'You're really confident for a disembodied voice in my head.'
[CONFIDENCE IS KEY TO SURVIVAL, BOSS]
[ALSO, I RUN ON YOUR QI, SO IF YOU DIE, I DIE]
[SELF-PRESERVATION IS A GREAT MOTIVATOR]
"Lin Tian?"
I looked up to see Yun Xia standing in the library doorway, backlit by the eerie red sunlight. She looked ethereal, almost unreal.
"I've been looking for you," she said softly. "Team Three is having a final meal together before tomorrow. Chen Wu's idea, something about last suppers and team bonding."
"That's surprisingly thoughtful of him."
"He's not a bad person," Yun Xia said. "Just... intense. And he lost a lot of friends in the last sect conflict three years ago. I think he's trying to make sure we don't make the same mistakes."
[TRAGIC BACKSTORY DETECTED]
[SUDDENLY CHEN WU IS MORE SYMPATHETIC]
[CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT!]
I stood and followed Yun Xia out of the library. "Do you really think we can survive this?"
She was quiet for a long moment. "I don't know. But I know I'm going to try. And having you watching my back makes me feel... safer."
"Same here," I said honestly.
We walked in comfortable silence toward the dining hall where Team Three was gathering. The red sky loomed overhead, a constant reminder of what was coming.
---
The "final meal" was surprisingly pleasant. Chen Wu had somehow procured decent food, real meat, fresh vegetables, even some wine. The team sat around a long table, and for a few hours, we were just people sharing a meal instead of soldiers preparing for war.
Wang Lei told terrible jokes. Zhao Min demonstrated his ability to break walnuts with his bare hands. Li Feng gradually relaxed and even smiled a few times. Yun Xia sat beside me, occasionally bumping my shoulder companionably.
For a brief moment, I almost forgot about the invasion.
Almost.
As the meal wound down and people began to disperse, Chen Wu stood and raised his cup. "Tomorrow, we fight. Some of us might not survive. But tonight, we're a team. We're brothers and sisters. And we'll face whatever comes together."
"Together," we echoed, raising our cups.
[MORALE BOOST: SIGNIFICANT]
[TEAM SURVIVAL PROBABILITY: 34% → 39%]
[EVERY LITTLE BIT HELPS]
As I returned to my room that evening, exhaustion finally catching up to me, I found a small package waiting outside my door. Inside was a note in elegant handwriting:
"Stay alive. That's an order. - Elder Hu"
Wrapped in cloth was a jade talisman, more powerful than the one Yun Xia had given me. This one could block attacks up to Nascent Soul realm.
[ITEM ACQUIRED: SUPERIOR PROTECTION TALISMAN]
[ELDER HU CARES ABOUT YOU]
[IN HIS OWN TERRIFYING WAY]
I clutched the talisman, feeling an unexpected warmth in my chest. People were counting on me. Expecting me to survive. To fight.
"Tomorrow," I said to the empty room. "Tomorrow we see what I'm really made of."
[TONIGHT, THOUGH?]
[TONIGHT WE CULTIVATE LIKE OUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT]
[BECAUSE IT LITERALLY DOES]
[INITIATING MAXIMUM CULTIVATION SPEED*
[LET'S GET YOU TO STAGE 5]
I lay down, closed my eyes, and let the automated cultivation take over. Qi flooded through my body in overwhelming waves, pushing against the bottleneck to Stage 5.
Tomorrow would be blood and fire.
But tonight, I would grow stronger.
---
[AUTO-CULTIVATION: MAXIMUM INTENSITY]
[PROGRESS TO STAGE 5: 61% → 87%]
[BREAKTHROUGH ESTIMATED: 6 HOURS]
[TIME UNTIL INVASION: 18 HOURS, 12 MINUTES]
[AZURE PEAK SECT DEFENSIVE PREPARATIONS: 76% COMPLETE]
[BLOOD MOON SECT ARMY: APPROACHING]
[ESTIMATED ENEMY FORCES: 2,000+ CULTIVATORS]
[DEFENDING FORCES: 847 CULTIVATORS]
[THIS IS GOING TO BE ROUGH, BOSS]
[BUT HEY, AT LEAST YOU'LL BE STAGE 5]
[SILVER LININGS!]
In the distance, the sky grew darker red.
The Blood Moon was rising.
And tomorrow, the killing would begin.