I woke up three days later.
The medical pavilion was a large, peaceful building that smelled of herbs and incense, a stark contrast to the blood and death I'd last experienced. Sunlight streamed through paper windows, and I could hear the soft sounds of other patients breathing, groaning, or talking quietly with visitors.
[WELCOME BACK TO THE LAND OF THE LIVING]
[MEDICAL REPORT: ALL INJURIES HEALED]
[THANKS TO: 40% SECT MEDICINE, 30% MEDICAL DISCIPLES, 30% ME]
[I'VE BEEN AUTO-HEALING YOU WHILE YOU SLEPT]
'Three days?' I thought groggily.
[YOU WERE PRETTY MESSED UP, BOSS]
[CRACKED RIBS, FRACTURED ARM, INTERNAL BLEEDING, SEVERE QI EXHAUSTION]
[PLUS YOU BLOCKED A STAGE 8 ATTACK WITH YOUR FACE]
[WELL, YOUR SWORD. BUT SAME PRINCIPLE.]
I tried to sit up and found my body responded normally. No pain, no weakness. I flexed my left arm experimentally, the one that had been fractured, and it worked perfectly.
"You shouldn't be able to move that arm yet."
I turned to see a medical disciple, an elderly woman in white robes, staring at me with a mixture of suspicion and fascination. Her cultivation felt like Core Formation, though I couldn't sense the exact stage.
"I heal fast?" I offered.
"Fast is breaking through a week early," she said flatly. "This is impossible. Three days ago, your arm had a compound fracture. Now it's completely healed. No scarring, full range of motion." She moved closer, her spiritual sense washing over me. "Your body is... unusual. Very unusual."
[SHE'S DETECTING YOUR INFINITE QI CONSTITUTION]
[ABORT, ABORT, CHANGE SUBJECT]
"Is everyone else okay?" I asked quickly. "My team, Yun Xia, Li Feng, the others?"
The medical disciple's expression softened slightly. "Your teammates survived. The girl, Yun Xia, has been visiting every day. She'll be pleased to know you're awake." She handed me a jade slip. "Elder Hu left instructions for when you recovered. You're to report to him immediately."
"Define immediately."
"Now."
[SHE'S NOT BIG ON AMBIGUITY]
I swung my legs off the bed and found my cleaned and repaired robes folded neatly on a nearby chair. My sword leaned against the wall, freshly sharpened and polished.
"Thank you for the treatment," I said, bowing to the medical disciple.
She waved dismissively. "Just try not to destroy your body again so soon. We have enough patients without reckless outer sect disciples getting themselves nearly killed." But there was a hint of approval in her voice. "Though I suppose blocking a Stage 8 attack to save a teammate is... acceptable recklessness."
[HIGH PRAISE FROM A MEDICAL CULTIVATOR]
[THEY USUALLY JUST COMPLAIN]
Stepping outside the medical pavilion, I was struck by how normal everything looked.
The sect had been cleaned up remarkably fast. Damaged buildings were being repaired. Bloodstains had been scrubbed away. Disciples walked around going about their daily routines. If not for the occasional memorial banner or the subdued atmosphere, you'd barely know a massive battle had happened three days ago.
[SECT CASUALTIES: 312 DEAD, 267 WOUNDED]
[REBUILDING PROGRESS: 67%]
[MORALE: RECOVERING]
[YOUR REPUTATION: SKYROCKETED]
'What do you mean my reputation skyrocketed?'
[OH, YOU'LL SEE]
I started walking toward Elder Hu's quarters, and immediately noticed something odd. People were staring at me. Not just glancing, actively stopping what they were doing to look. Some pointed. Others whispered to their companions.
"That's him, right? Lin Tian?"
"The one who held the eastern wall?"
"I heard he killed over thirty Blood Moon cultivators by himself."
"Someone said he blocked an inner sect disciple's attack. At Stage 5!"
[TOLD YOU]
[YOU'RE FAMOUS NOW]
[ENJOY YOUR NEWFOUND LACK OF PRIVACY]
'This is terrible,' I thought.
[THIS IS AMAZING! YOU'RE LIKE A CELEBRITY!]
[NEXT THING YOU KNOW, PEOPLE WILL WANT AUTOGRAPHS]
A group of younger outer sect disciples actually approached me, looking starstruck.
"Senior Brother Lin!" one of them said eagerly. "Is it true you broke through to Stage 5 right before the battle?"
"Um, yes?"
"And you really held your position for the entire invasion?"
"Well, I had help from my team—"
"Can you teach us your technique? The one that makes the Qi spiral like water?"
[THEY WANT YOU TO TEACH THEM YOUR CUSTOM SYSTEM-GENERATED TECHNIQUE]
[THIS IS AWKWARD]
"That's... a personal cultivation method," I said carefully. "It only works for my specific constitution. Sorry."
They looked disappointed but not surprised. One of them bowed deeply. "Thank you for defending the sect, Senior Brother. Many of us wouldn't be alive if defenders like you had failed."
They hurried off before I could respond.
"Senior Brother?" I muttered. "I'm still outer sect. This is getting weird."
[GET USED TO IT]
[HEROES OF MAJOR BATTLES ALWAYS GET ELEVATED STATUS]
[EVEN IF THEY'RE TECHNICALLY LOW-RANKING]
Elder Hu's quarters looked the same as before, austere, organized, intimidating. He sat in the same meditation position, though his eyes opened immediately when I entered.
"Lin Tian. Sit."
I sat on the cushion across from him, trying not to look nervous.
"First," Elder Hu said, "your performance during the invasion was exceptional. You held a critical position, demonstrated leadership after your team leader fell, and personally contributed thirty-one confirmed eliminations of enemy cultivators." He paused. "The sect recognizes your contribution."
[OHHH, REWARDS TIME]
[I LOVE REWARDS]
"However," Elder Hu continued, his expression darkening, "you also demonstrated abilities that should be impossible for your cultivation level. Blocking a Stage 8 attack at Stage 5 defies every principle of cultivation I know."
Here it comes.
"I need you to be honest with me, Lin Tian. What are you hiding?"
I met his gaze, weighing my options. Could I trust Elder Hu? He'd saved me from Mei Ling. He'd given me the protection talisman. He seemed genuinely concerned rather than threatening.
[YOUR CALL, BOSS]
[BUT LYING TO ELDERS RARELY ENDS WELL]
"I have an unusual constitution," I said carefully. "Abnormally large Qi reserves. The meditation technique I found seems to interact with it in unexpected ways, making my Qi density much higher than normal for my stage."
All technically true. Just not the whole truth.
Elder Hu studied me in silence for a long moment. "An unusual constitution. High Qi density." He nodded slowly. "That would explain some of it. Not all, but some." He leaned forward. "Lin Tian, there are people in this sect who will see your rapid advancement and unusual abilities as either a threat or an opportunity to exploit. Mei Ling's attack was just the beginning."
"I figured."
"I'm assigning you to inner sect provisional status."
I blinked. "What?"
"You've demonstrated combat ability equivalent to Stage 7 cultivators. Your actual cultivation is Stage 5, which exceeds the threshold for inner sect consideration. Combined with your battle contributions, the Disciplinary Hall has approved your advancement." He pulled out an official-looking scroll. "This grants you inner sect privileges, better quarters, access to the technique library, increased resource allocation. You'll still need to pass the formal examination in three months, but until then, you're provisionally accepted."
[HOLY SHIT]
[BOSS, YOU JUST SKIPPED LIKE TEN YEARS OF GRINDING]
[INNER SECT IN LESS THAN A WEEK]
[THAT'S ACTUALLY INSANE]
"Elder Hu, I don't know what to say."
"Say you'll continue working hard and not embarrass me for recommending you," he replied dryly. He handed me the scroll along with a jade token marked with gold, the inner sect identification. "Your new quarters are in the eastern pavilion. You'll receive your resource allocation at the beginning of each month. And Lin Tian?"
"Yes, Elder?"
"Watch your back. Success breeds jealousy. And jealousy breeds knives in the dark."
I left Elder Hu's quarters in a daze, clutching the jade token that represented a complete transformation of my status in the sect.
[ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: INNER SECT DISCIPLE (PROVISIONAL)]
[REWARDS: BETTER HOUSING, BETTER RESOURCES, BETTER EVERYTHING]
[DRAWBACKS: BIGGER TARGET ON YOUR BACK]
"Lin Tian!"
I turned to see Yun Xia running toward me, her face lit up with relief. She looked much better than the last time I'd seen her, cleaned up, wounds healed, wearing fresh robes.
"You're awake!" She crashed into me with a hug that knocked the breath from my lungs. "Three days! Do you know how worried I was?"
"Can't... breathe..." I gasped.
She pulled back, blushing. "Sorry. I just... I thought you might not wake up. The medical disciples said you should have been unconscious for at least a week with your injuries."
[YOUR CHEAT HEALING IS SHOWING AGAIN]
"Strong constitution," I said with a weak smile. "How are you? Li Feng? The others?"
"We're all fine. Recovering." Her expression grew somber. "Team Three lost five members total. Chen Wu, Zhao Min, Jin, and two others. Half our team."
"I know."
"But the other half survived because of you," she said firmly. "Li Feng told me how you took command after Chen Wu fell. How you held the line even when you were exhausted. How you blocked Mei Ling's attack to save me."
"Anyone would have—"
"No," she interrupted. "They wouldn't have. Most people would have run. You stayed." She smiled, and there was something in her eyes I couldn't quite identify. "You kept your promise. We both survived."
[HEROINE FLAG +5]
[RELATIONSHIP STATUS: SIGNIFICANTLY UPGRADED]
[I SHIP IT]
'System, not now.'
"Oh!" Yun Xia noticed the jade token in my hand. "Is that... inner sect?"
"Provisional," I said. "Elder Hu recommended me based on battle performance. I still need to pass the formal exam in three months."
Her eyes widened. "Lin Tian, that's incredible! Inner sect in a week! Do you know how rare that is?"
"Apparently very?"
She laughed, a real, genuine laugh that made something warm bloom in my chest. "You're impossible, you know that? Most people spend years trying to reach inner sect. You just... stumble into it while nearly dying."
"It's a talent."
[SMOOTH, BOSS]
[10/10 FLIRTING]
"Come on," Yun Xia said, grabbing my hand. "Let me show you to your new quarters. And then you need to eat something. You've been unconscious for three days."
As she pulled me toward the eastern pavilion, the fancy part of the sect reserved for inner disciples, I couldn't help but think about how much had changed in less than a week.
I'd arrived as a nobody. Cannon fodder. Expected to die in chapter two.
Now I was inner sect, famous, and apparently being shipped by my own system with a girl who'd risked her life for me.
[PROGRESS, BOSS]
[THIS IS PROGRESS]
'Yeah,' I thought, watching Yun Xia's excited expression as she explained the layout of the eastern pavilion. 'I guess it is.'
But Elder Hu's warning echoed in my mind: Success breeds jealousy. And jealousy breeds knives in the dark.
Somewhere in the sect, Mei Ling was probably planning her revenge.
Zhang Wei, though crippled, still had family and allies.
And I'd just painted a massive target on my back by advancing too quickly.
[SURVIVAL PROBABILITY: STILL UNCERTAIN]
[BUT AT LEAST NOW YOU HAVE NICE HOUSING]
[PRIORITIES, BOSS]
I laughed despite myself.
One crisis at a time.
Right now, I was alive, promoted, and had someone who genuinely cared about me.
That was enough.
For now.
[STATUS UPDATE:]
[NAME: LIN TIAN]
[CULTIVATION: QI REFINING STAGE 5]
[SECT RANK: INNER SECT (PROVISIONAL)]
[REPUTATION: WELL-KNOWN]
[ALLIES: YUN XIA, ELDER HU, REMAINING TEAM THREE MEMBERS]
[ENEMIES: MEI LING, ZHANG WEI FACTION]
[SURVIVAL PROBABILITY: 52%]
[WE CRACKED 50%! PROGRESS!]
[NEXT OBJECTIVE: DON'T DIE IN THE NEXT THREE MONTHS]
[SIMPLE, RIGHT?]
[...RIGHT?]