4: Chapter 4 Beginner Gear and the First Monster

Night rain was still tapping on the tiles.

When Sect Master Di Kun pushed open the old wooden door at the end of the stone steps, the door hinge let out a creaky groan. Damp, cold wind mixed with the scent of earth rushed in, blowing a corner of his black and gold Sect Master robe against his leg. Five new Disciples followed behind, their shoe soles treading through the accumulated water on the stone steps, their chaotic footsteps trailing all the way from the Underground Hall to the corridor of the Founders Hall.

It was not yet dawn outside the hall, and the rain formed thin curtains in the tile gutters. Sect Master Di Kun did not look back; he raised his hand and pointed toward the direction of the side hall.

"Register first."

The Dark Souls Youth crossed his arms, his bangs still wet, the Taichu mark on his brow glowing faintly in the shadows. "Sect Master, can we fight monsters after registering?"

The Speedrun Youth had already tucked his charcoal pencil behind his ear, his gaze drifting toward the Sect gate. "Can we unlock the map first? If not fighting monsters, at least let us run to the boundaries of the newbie village."

The Chuunibyou Youth looked down at his empty hands, muttering to himself: "A start without weapons is the only thing worthy of the sealed me."

The Life-Skill Player bent down to pick up a piece of rotting wood knocked down by the rain in the corridor, weighing it. "Can this wood be used? It can be made into a stake once dried."

The Tower Defense Youth did not speak. He stood beside a corridor pillar, scraping his fingertips over the cracks on the surface, wood shavings falling into his palm. He looked up at the Sect gate again, his eyes looking as if he had already dismantled the entire Taichu Sect into a grid.

Sect Master Di Kun's mouth twitched.

These people had just crawled out of the Soul Reconstruction Pool, and their first reaction wasn't fear, wasn't kneeling to the Ancestral Master, and wasn't asking if they could go home, but rather thinking about fighting monsters, exploring the map, and demolishing the place.

Pretty good.

Also quite lethal.

In the side hall, five identity wooden plaques were placed on the long table. Sect Master Di Kun let them each carve their codenames, then led them to the Martial Arts Arena. The night rain had washed a layer of thin mud onto the arena, where dilapidated wooden stakes were stuck obliquely in the ground, still bearing the old scars from the slashes of previous generations of Disciples.

"Run."

Sect Master Di Kun knocked on a wooden stake. "From here to that wall, three laps back and forth."

"Testing agility?" The Speedrun Youth's eyes lit up.

"Testing if you will break your legs when you fall into the mud."

The five of them rushed out and rushed back. The Dark Souls Youth ran the steadiest, with short steps and a low center of gravity; when encountering a mud pit, he twisted his body and brushed past the wooden stake. The Speedrun Youth was absurdly fast, but on the return trip, he slipped half a step and crashed into a pile of straw. The first thing he said when climbing up was: "The friction coefficient of this ground can be recorded."

The Chuunibyou Youth ran halfway, raised his hand, and struck a strange pose. "This body is not yet unsealed, speed suppressed by the Laws of the world."

"What's suppressing you are your lungs." The Life-Skill Player ran past him, pulling the straw off the Speedrun Youth's head. "Don't block the way."

As the sky turned white, Sect Master Di Kun brought the five back to the front of the Founders Hall. The pale silver Sect mark on the back of his right hand lit up, and five sets of starter supplies appeared on the stone platform of the side hall.

A wooden sword, a short blade, coarse cloth Dharma robes, the Basic Qi Refining Technique, and one lowest-grade Spirit Stone.

The items were very shabby, appearing somewhat pitiful displayed on the stone platform. The surface of the wooden sword was unpainted, the edge of the short blade had burrs, and the coarse cloth Dharma robes felt prickly to the touch. Sect Master Di Kun looked at the five sets of items, his fingertips tapping lightly inside his sleeves.

This was about all the assets the Taichu Sect could muster right now.

"Spiritual Qi is the Foundation for you to cast spells, drive Magic Treasures, and strengthen your bodies in the future." Sect Master Di Kun picked up a copy of the Basic Qi Refining Technique and opened the first page. "Realm determines the upper limit, Cultivation Technique determines the path, and Magic Treasure determines the means. A Yao Beast is not an experience bag; if you get bitten, you will bleed; if your bones break, it will hurt; if you die..."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the five.

"What happens if we die?" The Dark Souls Youth immediately followed up, asking very seriously. "Account deletion, dropping equipment, or dropping experience?"

Rainwater dripped from the eaves, splashing a small pit beside the stone steps.

Sect Master Di Kun looked at him, his fingertips stopping on the edge of the book page.

This question hit the nail on the head.

The System gave the Soul Reconstruction Pool and summoning quotas, but didn't lay out the cost of death for him to see. Sect Master Di Kun did not like this blank space; a blank space meant loss of control, and loss of control meant someone would have to pay with their life to fill in the answer.

"Not yet clear." Sect Master Di Kun closed the Qi Refining Technique. "So before I confirm, you must treat your life as if you only have one."

The Dark Souls Youth nodded. "Got it, hardcore mode."

The Speedrun Youth stroked his chin. "Then we should test the rules first, the sooner we die, the sooner we master it."

Sect Master Di Kun raised his eyes.

The Speedrun Youth swallowed half his words and changed his tone: "I mean, scientific testing, low-cost testing."

The Chuunibyou Youth had already torn a strip from his coarse cloth Dharma robe and wrapped it around his right arm. He wrapped it very tightly, the cloth strip creating wrinkles, finally tying a crooked knot.

"From now on, this Basic Qi Refining Technique is called the Seal Release Art in my hands." He pressed the book to his chest, lowering his voice. "Mortals only know how to refine Qi, but we are going to awaken the Taichu fire sleeping deep in our Meridians."

The Life-Skill Player looked at the Dharma robe that was missing a corner in his hand. "The durability of the gear you just received has already dropped."

The Chuunibyou Youth stiffened, then held his right arm high. "This is called the cost of Awakening."

Sect Master Di Kun pressed his brow, turned to look at the Tower Defense Youth. "You have been looking at the terrain the whole way, what did you see?"

The Tower Defense Youth squatted down and drew lines in the wet mud with his wooden sword. The Sect gate, outer wall, valley entrance, Founders Hall, and the back mountain path were sketched out by him in a few strokes. The lines were rough, but he marked all the most critical positions of the Taichu Sect.

"The Sect gate is too straight, the outer wall is too low, the valley entrance has no buffer zone, all arrow positions are useless, there are zero traps, and the retreat route overlaps with the enemy's attack route." He poked the Sect gate position with the tip of his sword. "This is not a Sect; this is a direct cafeteria for monsters."

The Sect-guarding Formation was half-ruined, and the Sect gate was in disrepair; Sect Master Di Kun knew all this. But being exposed on the spot by a newly admitted Disciple still made his eyelids twitch.

The Dark Souls Youth leaned over. "Is there room for rolling?"

"Yes, but not much." The Tower Defense Youth circled the valley entrance. "This section is suitable for deceleration; we can put up anti-horse obstacles here, build high platforms here, and dig pits below. Monsters enter from the valley entrance, first step into the pit, then get blocked, and finally get focused down."

The Speedrun Youth picked up another wooden branch and added a line to the mud map. "Don't rush to build, we must explore the map first. Where monsters spawn, what the spawn interval is, and how large the aggro range is—we don't know any of this. Let's find the lowest-level monster and test combat."

The five people looked at Sect Master Di Kun at the same time.

Sect Master Di Kun met their gazes, his palms clenching and relaxing inside his sleeves. To be steady was the instinct he had for surviving at the bottom of the cultivation world for a year; to be fast was the only chance for the Taichu Sect right now.

Three days.

Guard the Taichu Sect.

There was no time for him to teach his Disciples slowly according to the rules of a traditional Sect.

"Go to the abandoned medicine field at the foot of the mountain." Sect Master Di Kun took down an old short blade from the wall and hung it at his waist. "Hemostatic grass used to be planted there; the Spiritual Qi is weak, so usually there will only be the lowest-level Demon Rats."

"First wild monster spawn point." The Speedrun Youth pulled out his charcoal pencil and noted it on the back of his wooden plaque.

"Do not treat Yao Beasts as game monsters." Sect Master Di Kun stepped out from the corridor, the morning wind after the rain blowing the stray hair on his forehead. "Ordinary Outer Sect Disciples might not be able to comfortably handle a Demon Rat when they encounter one. You only have physical fitness right now, your Spiritual Qi hasn't been trained yet, your wooden swords can't pierce thick skin, and if you stab with the short blade askew, you will be counter-attacked."

The Dark Souls Youth shouldered his wooden sword. "Then we'll watch for the wind-up first."

The mountain road was muddy, and the five new Disciples followed behind Sect Master Di Kun. The dilapidation of the Taichu Sect was exposed even more clearly in the morning mist; the collapsed side rooms were covered in moss, the gaps in the outer wall were hidden by weeds, and there were dirt marks clawed by wild beasts beside the stone steps of the Sect gate.

Sect Master Di Kun gave instructions as he walked.

"The Taichu Sect now has only one ruined mountain, one Soul Reconstruction Pool, and one half-ruined Sect-guarding Formation. The Black Mist Demon Ridge at the foot of the mountain has not been peaceful these few days, and Yao Beast activity is closer than usual. The neighboring Red Snake Sect is eyeing this place and may come to annex our Sect at any time."

"High-pressure survival mode at the start of the version." The Speedrun Youth wrote on his wooden plaque. "Three days to guard the home, with beast tides outside, resource shortages inside, and hostile factions."

The Life-Skill Player bent down to pick a thin blade of grass from the roadside, smelled it, and stuffed it into the cloth bag at his waist. "Poisonous grass? I'll keep it, in case it can be used for traps."

The Chuunibyou Youth raised his hand to press the cloth-wrapped right arm. "Evil forces are surrounding us; the day of our arrival is the moment the Taichu fire will be rekindled."

Sect Master Di Kun walked in front, listening to the chaotic voices behind him, the heavy feeling in his chest ground down into a strange sense of absurdity.

The medicine field at the foot of the mountain was reached quickly.

The abandoned medicine field was soaked black by the rainwater, the broken ridges of the fields lying in the mud like low backs. A few stone tablets lay in the grass, engraved with old medicine names, the handwriting mostly eaten away by moss marks. There was the smell of rotting leaves in the air, as well as the fishy stench left by the excrement of Yao Beasts.

Sect Master Di Kun raised his hand, and the five stopped immediately.

The mud surface moved.

The Dark Souls Youth gripped his wooden sword, his body lowering.

The black mud below the field ridge suddenly exploded, and a gray-furred Demon Rat darted out from within. It was larger than an ordinary wild dog, its back fur standing on end, two yellow teeth flipping outwards at the corners of its mouth, its claws scraping four wet marks on the muddy ground.

The Life-Skill Player took half a step back. "Does this rat drop skins?"

"Don't think about drops." Sect Master Di Kun's short blade came out half an inch. "Retreat first."

The Dark Souls Youth did not retreat.

He moved forward a step, his wooden sword slanted at his side, his gaze fixed dead on the Demon Rat's shoulders and claws. The Demon Rat crouched low, its tail whipping the muddy water, a sharp, thin hiss squeezing from its throat.

"Distance is three and a half steps." The Speedrun Youth spoke quickly. "The dash might be two stages."

The Demon Rat pounced.

The Dark Souls Youth rolled to the side, his coarse cloth Dharma robe brushing against the muddy water as he flipped over. The Demon Rat's claws grazed his sleeve, tearing three holes in the fabric, and shreds of cloth flew onto the field ridge. It turned around immediately after landing, its hind legs kicking up a clod of wet dirt.

Sect Master Di Kun's fingers were already pressing on the hilt of his blade.

But the Dark Souls Youth was laughing as he climbed up, mud on his teeth. "It has a wind-up! We can fight it!"

The Demon Rat pounced again.

He did not meet it head-on but rolled under the Demon Rat's armpit, slamming his wooden sword backhand into the Demon Rat's hind leg. The wooden sword failed to break the skin but knocked the Demon Rat's body askew by half an inch. The Demon Rat's tail swept horizontally, striking a nearby stone tablet; the tablet was already cracked and was flipped over by this tail-swipe, smashing into the mud and splashing black water.

"The attack hit detection is too honest!" The Dark Souls Youth rolled out of the mud and shouted back. "Its turn speed is slow!"

The Chuunibyou Youth stood on the field ridge, his cloth-wrapped right arm shaking in the wind. "First style, Destiny-Defying Rolling Slash!"

"Don't shout randomly, it affects hearing." The Speedrun Youth squatted beside the pile of stones, his charcoal pencil drawing short lines on the wooden plaque. "Pounce, turn, tail sweep, bite. Half a breath pause after the two-hit combo."

The Tower Defense Youth used his wooden sword to poke positions on the ground. "Lure it to the side of the stone pile; that's a spot to block movement."

The Life-Skill Player had already circled to the side, picking up the few tufts of gray fur knocked off the Demon Rat, carefully stuffing them into his cloth bag. "Materials confirmed, fur is harvestable."

Sect Master Di Kun stood by the medicine field, his short blade never fully unsheathed.

His gaze followed the footsteps of the Dark Souls Youth. That was not a Cultivator's footwork, nor was there the blessing of Spiritual Qi; it relied entirely on observation, trial and error, a sense of distance, and familiarity with the edge of death. Every time the Demon Rat raised its shoulder, every time its hind legs gathered power, it was dismantled by this youth into gaps that could be exploited.

The wooden sword struck down again and again.

Bang.

Bang.

Bang.

The Demon Rat's speed slowed down, its hind legs were beaten soft, and its pounce landing points became increasingly off-center. On the final time, it leaped from the field ridge, and the Dark Souls Youth rolled under its belly, pulling out the short blade from his waist as he stood up, stabbing backhand into the soft flesh under the Demon Rat's throat.

Blood sprayed into the mud.

The Demon Rat struggled and crashed into the stone pile, rubble rolling down and crushing two withered medicine seedlings. It twitched a few times, its gray fur collapsing against the muddy water, and it never climbed up again.

The Dark Souls Youth stood beside the Demon Rat's corpse, his coarse cloth clothes torn, his wooden sword covered in mud, his face full of excitement.

"No damage." He raised his hand, pointing at the Demon Rat's corpse. "This monster can be farmed."

The Speedrun Youth rushed over to look at the wound. "Not no damage, the sleeve is broken, it counts as a graze."

"If the character doesn't lose HP, it's no damage."

The Life-Skill Player had already squatted down to pull out the Demon Rat's teeth. "Teeth, claws, skin, meat—where is the Yao Core?"

The Chuunibyou Youth held his wooden sword over his head. "The first battle of Taichu, the evil rat has been subdued!"

Sect Master Di Kun walked to the Demon Rat's corpse, squatted down, and used his short blade to dissect under its throat. There was no Yao Core, only a mass of flesh with a faint fishy smell. A low-level Demon Rat didn't even qualify to form a core, yet it could still easily tear open the throat of a new Disciple.

He raised his eyes to look at the Dark Souls Youth.

This group of people could find cracks in the rules.

But as long as what was behind the crack wasn't a Demon Rat, but something bigger, their lives would be lost faster than he could draw his blade.

The black mist at the end of the medicine field suddenly churned.

The voices of the five people lowered simultaneously. Fine ripples appeared in the water puddles between the field ridges, as if some heavy object was stepping on the muddy ground, approaching. Deep in the gray-black mist, heavy breathing pressed over one after another, the smell of rotting leaves torn apart by a stronger, fishier stench.

Sect Master Di Kun stood up, his short blade fully unsheathed. The morning light fell on the edge of the blade, reflecting a shadow gradually approaching in the mist.