2: Chapter 2 The system is finally here, but don't be too quick to laugh.

The moment the candle flame bent, Sect Master Di Kun's hand, which had just reached for the map, froze in mid-air.

All sound within the Founders Hall seemed to be swallowed by that black broken stele; the sound of leaking rain, the wind, and the fading coughs of the Sect Protection Elder were all shut outside.

Only the pale silver patterns within the cracks on the stele's surface crawled outward bit by bit, like a living creature that had slept for a long time finally opening its eyes.

Sect Master Di Kun did not rush over.

He first retreated half a step, his right hand pressing against the sect leader token in his sleeve, while his left hand felt for the bronze incense burner at the edge of the altar.

The incense burner was not large, and it was filled with cold ash; if something really were to pounce out, he could at least make a loud noise by smashing it.

The silver patterns continued to spread.

From the broken horizontal stroke of the character "Tai" to the side of the severed blade of the character "Chu", the patterns wove through the dense cracks, tracing a cold light across the entire broken stele.

The cold light was not blinding, but it illuminated the dilapidated beams and pillars, the moldy black wall plaster, and the puddle of rainwater on the floor of the hall clearly.

Sect Master Di Kun stared at the broken stele, his lips pressed into a straight line.

"It's only coming now?"

This sentence was very soft, and no one in the hall responded.

He waited for ten breaths.

The broken stele did not explode, nor did an old monster fly out, and it certainly did not make him kneel and acknowledge it as master.

The silver patterns only flowed across the stele's surface, eventually converging toward a groove in the center of the stele base.

The shape of the groove was almost identical to the sect leader token.

Sect Master Di Kun took out the sect leader token, but did not immediately press it on.

Having crawled his way up from the bottom of the cultivation world over the past year, he had seen too many people die because of the word "Opportunity".

Some picked up a glowing pill, only for worms to crawl out of their stomachs after swallowing it; some heard the call of a Legacy in a ruined cave, only to have their empty skins left hanging at the cave entrance after entering; others obtained a broken Cultivation Technique, only to have their Meridians burned to charcoal halfway through practicing it.

When things fall from the sky, what hits you is rarely a pie.

Sect Master Di Kun walked around the broken stele, lowered his head to inspect the base, and pushed at the floor tiles with the leg of the incense burner.

The floor tiles did not sink, and there were no hidden arrows in the walls.

The silver patterns grew denser as the sect leader token approached, as if urging him.

"Legitimate Sect Master authority?"

He brought the sect leader token within an inch of the groove and stopped.

"State the rules first. Do you want my life, or my Soul? Will this expose me to the outside? Are there mandatory tasks? What is the cost of failure?"

The broken stele was silent.

Sect Master Di Kun pulled the sect leader token back by half an inch.

The silver patterns immediately dimmed.

He raised an eyebrow: "If you can understand me, stop playing dead."

A moment later, the silver patterns on the surface of the broken stele suddenly retracted, turning into a thin line that shot into the sect leader token.

The token vibrated, and a chill surged from his palm into his brow.

A mechanical voice sounded in his mind.

"Legitimate Sect Master authority detected."

"Remnant Legacy of the Taichu Sect detected."

"Myriad Worlds Sect Sign-In and Summoning System activating."

Sect Master Di Kun's fingertips tightened, the edge of the sect leader token digging into his palm.

It was here.

It really was here.

At that moment, it felt as if something had heavily struck his chest.

The voice that hadn't sounded on his first day of Transmigration had finally crawled out from this broken stele at the moment he was poorest, most miserable, and most like a successor cleaning up a mess.

But there was no wild joy on his face.

He placed the incense burner back on the altar, his other hand still gripping the sect leader token, and lowered his voice: "System, answer the previous questions."

The mechanical voice paused for a moment.

"This System's binding target is the Taichu Sect Legacy, and the host is the core node of the current Sect Master. System operation does not directly extract the host's Lifespan, Soul, or cultivation base."

"In the initial stage, System fluctuations are limited to the Taichu Sect mountain gate. After high-level functions are unlocked, there is a risk of being perceived by high-level entities."

"System tasks have failure penalties. The current core functions are attached to the Sect's survival; if the Sect's Legacy collapses, the System will enter a frozen state."

Sect Master Di Kun's eyelid twitched.

It wasn't a personal invincibility System.

It was Sect-bound.

If he wanted to take the rewards and run, the System would most likely crash along with it.

If he couldn't hold the Taichu Sect, his cheat would also be sealed.

That was fine.

It knew how to pick a weakness.

Sect Master Di Kun pressed the sect leader token into the groove of the stele base.

Click.

The token embedded into the broken stele, and the ground of the entire Founders Hall gave a slight tremor.

Accumulated dust on the beams fell in rustles, and the broken incense on the altar rolled to the edge, where Sect Master Di Kun pressed it down with his hand.

The silver patterns on the stele surface exploded into a translucent panel, hovering before his eyes.

Sect Name: Taichu Sect.

Sect Master: Sect Master Di Kun.

Sect Status: Damaged Mortal-Grade Sect.

Legacy Integrity: Three percent.

Current Resources: Twenty-seven Low-Grade Spirit Stones, seven days' worth of Spiritual Rice, a damaged Sect-protecting formation, a damaged Scripture Pavilion, and the broken stele in the Founders Hall.

Available Modules: Daily Sign-In, Sect Buildings, Disciple Summoning, Sect Tasks, Sect Status.

Sect Master Di Kun scanned the panel, his gaze resting on "Legacy Integrity: Three percent".

It really didn't wrong this broken Sect.

Three percent; elsewhere it would be considered 'low health', but at the Taichu Sect, it could already be called a blessing from the Ancestral Master.

He raised his hand and tapped on his name: "Personal Attributes."

The panel flickered gently.

"The host's personal attributes are not a core growth item. Current authority only displays basic status."

A few lines of small text floated before Sect Master Di Kun's eyes.

Sect Master Di Kun, Sect Master of the Taichu Sect. Cultivation: Black Iron Third Rank. Status: Slightly fatigued, insufficient Spiritual Qi. Sect Master Authority: Initial.

That was it.

Sect Master Di Kun stared at the four characters "Black Iron Third Rank" and tapped his fingers on the surface of the stele.

"I waited for a year, and you only show me this?"

The panel had no emotion, and the mechanical voice continued.

"This System's core objective is the growth of the Sect's civilization. The Sect Master's personal combat power can be improved synchronously with the Sect's status, buildings, Disciples, and task rewards."

Sect Master Di Kun chuckled softly.

Understood.

He wasn't some Dragon-Proud-Heaven protagonist who could slash his way to dominating the world; he had to pull this broken Sect up first before it could feed back into him.

Troublesome, but the potential ceiling was higher.

If an individual is strong, only one person survives. If the Sect is strong, one can make others kneel and hand over resources.

Sect Master Di Kun looked up: "Daily Sign-In."

The panel shifted.

"First-time sign-in authority confirmed."

"Sign-in location: Taichu Sect Founders Hall."

"Sign-in successful."

"Received reward: One First-Grade Soul Reconstruction Pool."

"Received reward: One Basic Spiritual Gathering Formation Repair Kit."

"Received reward: Five initial Disciple summoning quotas."

"Received reward: Three hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones."

As the voice faded, the floor beside the altar suddenly cracked open.

Sect Master Di Kun's gaze sharpened, his right foot retreated, and the sect leader token popped out from the groove, landing back in his palm.

No monster rushed out from the crack, but a black wooden box slowly rose.

The surface of the wooden box was carved with Taichu patterns, and the lock opened on its own.

Inside were thirty pouches of Spirit Stones neatly stacked, each containing ten.

Beside them was a silver-gray jade talisman, with the words "Basic Spiritual Gathering Formation Repair Kit" floating on it.

At the very bottom lay a round stone token, with the pattern of a pool platform carved on the back.

Sect Master Di Kun picked up a pouch of Spirit Stones, loosened the opening, and clear, bright Spiritual Qi rushed toward his face.

Three hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

For a large Sect, this amount wasn't even enough for a True Disciple's monthly allowance.

For the current Taichu Sect, this was a breath of life pulled from the coffin.

Sect Master Di Kun took out the Spirit Stone pouches one by one and arranged them on the altar.

One pouch, two pouches, three pouches.

The clinking sound of the Spirit Stones was crisp, like copper coins falling on a rainy night.

The empty hall was filled with this sound, and even the crooked Sect Master chair looked a bit more pleasing.

His gaze soon shifted to the other reward.

Five initial Disciple summoning quotas.

"Explain Disciple Summoning."

The panel opened a new page.

Disciple Summoning: Can screen Soul templates from Blue Water Star, forge a Physical Body for this realm via the Soul Reconstruction Pool, implant basic language and common sense patches, and bind the Taichu Sect Legacy loyalty core.

Note: Summoned objects retain their original memories, personality, and way of thinking. The loyalty core ensures they will not actively betray the Sect's Legacy, but does not ensure their behavior conforms to the conventions of this realm.

Sect Master Di Kun finished reading the last sentence, his fingertips pausing.

Blue Water Star.

The name was only one character different from the world of his past life, yet it carried a sense of estrangement intentionally set apart by the System.

"Is the Soul source from living people or dead people?"

"The extracted objects are Soul projections in a special state from Blue Water Star, which do not disrupt the stability of the original world's life. Current authority only opens low-risk templates."

Sect Master Di Kun continued to ask: "What will they treat this place as?"

"Initial cognitive guidance: Highly realistic game world."

Sect Master Di Kun raised an eyebrow slightly.

Highly realistic game.

Retaining memories and personality.

Binding loyalty core.

In other words, the ones he summoned wouldn't be obedient Disciples in the native sense, but a group of otherworldly players who treated the cultivation world as a game start.

Whether they would die was one thing, but whether they would cause trouble was basically a given.

He looked down at the three hundred Spirit Stones on the altar, his eyes lighting up bit by bit.

This was not ordinary Disciple recruitment.

This was directly creating a foundation team.

Native Disciples required screening of spiritual roots, nurturing loyalty, preventing betrayal, and adhering to master-Disciple ethics. Once the Blue Water Star Souls arrived, the System solved the language, Physical Body, and loyalty baseline for him. The remaining trouble was managing a group of people whose thought processes didn't align with the cultivation world.

Managing lunatics, he wasn't afraid.

What he feared was having no one in his hands.

The mechanical voice sounded again.

"Main quest released."

"Quest Name: Defend the Taichu Sect."

"Quest Requirements: Ensure the Taichu Sect passes the Border Wasteland Sect assessment within three days, resist external annexation risks, and maintain the mountain gate Legacy without loss."

"Quest Failure: System core functions frozen, acquired buildings enter a dormant state."

"Quest Reward: Settled based on completion degree."

Sect Master Di Kun looked at the four characters "functions frozen" and the smile on his face faded.

As expected.

The three-day countdown, the System didn't erase it for him either. It just shoved a blade into his hand and pushed the gambling table in front of him.

The candle flame on the altar stood up straight again, and silver light condensed into a shallow mark on the back of Sect Master Di Kun's right hand.

The mark resembled the broken patterns of the characters "Taichu", as cold as newly fallen moonlight.

He curled his fingers, the mark undulating with his flesh, then quickly hid into his skin, leaving only a very faint trace.

"Soul Reconstruction Pool location."

The panel displayed a simplified map of the Taichu Sect.

Behind the Founders Hall, an area covered in gray slowly lit up.

Underground Hall.

Sect Master Di Kun picked up the round stone token and turned to walk around the broken stele.

Behind the Founders Hall, a faded painting of the Ancestral Master hung on the back wall; the face of the figure in the painting had long since blurred, leaving only a raised hand pointing toward the depths of the mountain range.

He walked to the painting and reached out to press the wooden beam below the scroll.

The wooden beam did not move at all.

Sect Master Di Kun's gaze shifted downward and he saw an inconspicuous round indentation in the shadow of the scroll.

He embedded the stone token into it and gave it a gentle turn.

Rumble.

A heavy mechanical sound came from inside the back wall, wall plaster shook off, and dust covered Sect Master Di Kun's sleeve.

The entire wall split from the middle, revealing a stone staircase leading downward.

A damp and cold aura surged up from the ground, carrying the metallic smell of being sealed for a hundred years.

Sect Master Di Kun raised the candlestick.

The firelight shone into the stone staircase, the end of which was too dark to see the bottom.

The stone walls on both sides were covered with ancient patterns, some of which connected to the Taichu patterns on the broken stele, lighting up one by one as the candlelight approached.

He did not go down immediately, but first returned to the altar, packed the three hundred Spirit Stones and the jade talisman back into the wooden box, then dragged the wooden box to a corner of the Founders Hall and blocked it with a collapsed altar table.

After doing all this, he carried the candlestick and walked down the stone staircase.

With every step he took, clear footprints were pressed into the dust on the stone staircase.

When he walked to the nineteenth step, the sound of rain in the Founders Hall behind him faded away completely.

The door to the Underground Hall appeared before his eyes; the door was two zhang high, with dense Taichu patterns carved on its surface.

Pale silver light shone through the crack in the door.

Sect Master Di Kun pressed the sect leader token onto the center of the door.

The stone door opened inward.

A round pool platform lay quietly in the center of the Underground Hall.

The pool walls were built from black jade, with nine broken formation eyes embedded in the edges; there was no water in the pool, only flowing silver-white mist.

As the mist churned, five blank human figures appeared in the center of the pool, their faces undefined and their forms not yet solid, like blank paper waiting for a pen.

Sect Master Di Kun stood at the entrance, the candle flame dancing on his face.

He looked at those five blank human figures, his fingers gripping the sect leader token slowly tightening.

The ancient patterns around the Underground Hall lit up one after another, and silver light flowed along the ground into the pool platform, illuminating his shadow under his feet as it stretched backward, sticking to the newly opened stone door.