50: Chapter 50 The Second Batch of Disciples Arrives

When the light at the bottom of the Spiritual Pool stabilized, the pale silver Sect mark on the back of Sect Master Di Kun's hand also stopped pulsing.

The cyan-white light climbed along the ancient patterns on the pool wall, forcing the previous black contamination to the outermost edge, where it emitted faint popping sounds against the stone crevices. With every pop, the fishy sweetness in the air faded slightly, replaced by the cool, damp mist of Spiritual Qi beginning to flow once again.

Sect Master Di Kun stood by the pool, not immediately initiating the summoning.

His right hand was still stained with the lingering glow of the core essence fragments, and the several wounds on his palm were washed by the aura of the Spiritual Pool, sending waves of pain upward. He lowered his eyes to look at the cold white text at the edge of his vision, tapping his fingertips three times on the sect leader token.

"Summonable number: ten. Attribute preferences: Scout Party, Artifact Refiners, Data Analysis Party. Loyalty binding status: stable. Physical Body reshaping Materials: barely sufficient. Return cost: higher than the first batch."

Sect Master Di Kun saw the last line and his brows twitched.

"Sect Master?" The Sect Protection Elder stood behind him, his sleeves still stained with the bone ash of the fractured veins. "Have the conditions been met?"

"They have," Sect Master Di Kun replied without turning his head. "But it's not a freebie."

The Life-Skill Player placed his medicine chest on the stone steps and immediately looked up upon hearing this: "The revival cost went up?"

"Summoning costs, return costs—they've all gone up." Sect Master Di Kun swept his gaze over the black patterns on the edge of the Spiritual Pool that had not yet fully retreated. "The more people there are, the more the Sect becomes like a stove. Before the fire can burn, you need enough firewood."

The Dark Souls Player crouched by the pool and reached out to touch the water, only to be slapped away by the Life-Skill Player.

"Your claws just poked a corpse puppet's skull; don't contaminate the main pool."

The Dark Souls Player rubbed the back of his hand. "I just wanted to see if the spawn point for the second beta test had any new special effects."

Sect Master Di Kun glanced at him. The Dark Souls Player immediately put his hands behind his back, scraping a grey line on the ground with his toe.

The Speedrunner had already taken out a charcoal pencil and quickly wrote several words on the stone bricks: Loyalty, Return, Physical Body stability, initial division of labor. He looked up and said, "Sect Master, I suggest we first confirm whether the New Recruits share the first batch's cognition upon landing. If not, we need to prepare the shortest version of a newbie tutorial."

"No need for a long tutorial." Sect Master Di Kun pressed the sect leader token into the groove on the stone platform in front of the Spiritual Pool. "They can understand tasks; we can talk about the world view after they manage to survive."

The sect leader token embedded into the groove. The surface of the Spiritual Pool was flattened by an invisible force, and cyan-white light rose from the bottom, condensing into ten faint human shapes beneath the water. Each figure was initially like mist, with bones, meridians, and flesh woven layer by layer by Spiritual Qi. The ancient patterns on the stone bricks by the pool lit up one by one. When the seventh one lit up, the residual black patterns on the outermost edge struggled to surge inward, only to be burned back by the lingering glow of the core essence.

Sect Master Di Kun stared at that counterattack, his fingers pressing on the edge of the sect leader token until the black patterns completely retreated back into the stone crevices.

The ten figures gradually became clear. The first three had already turned their heads before landing, as if observing the surrounding paths. One was thin and tall; before his toes had even touched the ground, his eyes had already scanned the exit, shadows, stone pillars, and the sword scabbard at the Sect Protection Elder's waist. One crouched very low, his fingertips close to the water surface, as if identifying traces. The last one's gaze rested on the cracks in the wall, his lips moving as if silently memorizing the orientation and distance.

The other five were a completely different story. Before they had even opened their eyes, their hands were subconsciously reaching for the stone platform, broken patterns, and tool racks by the pool. Some stared at the Spiritual Pool walls with glowing eyes, some reached out to measure the size of the groove on the stone platform, and others, upon landing, immediately went to examine the cracks on the Sect Protection Elder's sword scabbard, their faces filled with the expression of "Can this thing be dismantled?"

The remaining two were quieter. Their first reaction was not to look at people, but to observe everyone's positions, injuries, equipment, and actions, and then scan the charcoal lines left by the Speedrunner on the stone wall. The two exchanged a glance, and one of them raised his hand, tracing the shape of a recording box in the air.

The water of the Spiritual Pool splashed apart. The ten new Disciples stepped onto the stone steps simultaneously, wet clothes clinging to their bodies, as the cyan-white light retreated into their bodies along their skin. There was no kneeling, no exclamations, and none of the confusion or awe typical of native Disciples upon first entering a Sect.

They looked up at the air in unison. "Where's the UI?" "I don't have a mini-map on my end, but there's a Sect belonging prompt." "NPC interaction target confirmed; there's no name above the Sect Master's head." "Is the spawn point pool interactive?" "The floor tile material isn't uniform; is this a hidden entrance?"

Sect Master Di Kun's brow twitched. When the first batch of Disciples had just arrived, he had already witnessed the absurdity of the Blue Star players, but the second batch was even more direct. They were like a pack of wolves just thrown into an unfamiliar dungeon; the first thing they looked at wasn't the sky, the ground, or the dignity of the Sect Master, but rather what they could touch, what they could dismantle, and where they could exploit mechanics.

A new Disciple with the strongest scout temperament crawled directly to the edge of the pool, his fingertips tracing the gaps between the stone bricks. He looked up, his eyes shining as if he had found a treasure chest. "Sect Master, does this game have a stealth backstab bonus?"

The Sect Protection Elder's eyelid twitched violently.

Another Artifact Refiners had already crowded to the edge of the Spiritual Pool, staring at the cyan-white lingering glow left by the core essence, his tone airy: "Can this thing be dismantled? If not the main pool, the corners will do. Just scrape a little from the corner for me, and I can study it for half a day."

The Life-Skill Player blocked the way, holding his medicine chest: "Whoever dares to scrape the main pool, I'll dunk them in the medicine pot and boil them."

That Artifact Refiners immediately raised his hand: "I was just asking, academic inquiry."

The Chuunibyou Player squeezed in from the back, draped in an undried outer robe. Seeing the ten newcomers standing together, a solemn expression immediately appeared on his face, and his right hand was already raised to his chest. "Everyone, welcome to the Taichu Sect! From this day forward, you will witness the — of an era—"

Sect Master Di Kun reached out, pressed his shoulder, and pushed him back. The Chuunibyou Player's remaining half-sentence stuck in his throat, his robe sleeves still maintaining the raised posture.

"Speedrunner," Sect Master Di Kun said. "Explain the patch."

The Speedrunner tucked the charcoal pencil behind his ear and smashed the current situation out in the shortest possible words. "The Sect is being targeted by the Red Snake Sect; the Han Family is involved in an old case with the Taichu Sect from a hundred years ago. The Spiritual Pool has just been purified; the old fractured veins are not yet fully developed. The Black Chain Cleanup Squad has been repelled, and the account box is in the Sect Master's hands. Han Lishan will arrive in person within three days, and we expect high-level combat forces to suppress us. Our goal is to defend the mountain gate and convert you into usable combat force within two hours."

The noise from the new Disciples dropped significantly. Some looked at the black pattern scars on the pool wall, some looked at the nicks in the Sect Protection Elder's sword blade, and others lowered their heads to re-examine their own hands and feet. The Scout Party member who had been on the floor tiles slowly stood up, tracing three lines in his palm. "In other words, outside the newbie village, it's not slimes, but the patch BOSS patrolling right at the door?"

The Dark Souls Player added from the side: "And it comes with a debt-clearing plot, the kind that's been owed for a hundred years."

A Data Analysis Party member looked up: "Are there any enemy samples? Corpses, fragments, Move records, combat damage, anything works."

Someone from the Artifact Refiners group immediately replied: "Where is the scrap warehouse? Where are the Magical Artifact fragments? Is there a main furnace? If there's no main furnace, a broken one will do."

The Scout Party looked at Sect Master Di Kun: "Do you have a map of the surrounding area? Mountain paths, hidden sentries, bypassable routes, potential enemy camping spots."

The corners of Sect Master Di Kun's mouth twitched just once. They weren't panicking. In fact, after the excitement was suppressed, their operational efficiency was more like a short blade just pulled from its sheath; it was chaotic, but they knew exactly where to stab.

The Tower Defense Player rushed into the underground Spiritual Pool clutching a scroll of the mountain gate defense plan, his feet still covered in dust from the upper level of the Founders Hall. Seeing the five Artifact Refinerss and two Data Analysis Party members, his eyes lit up on the spot. "People finally arrived!" He slapped the defense plan onto the ground, pressing his palm against the east mountain wall. "Look here, here, and here. Before, I could only make low-spec traps, but now with Artifact Refinerss, arrow towers, tripwires, talisman explosion points, and fake formation eyes can all be upgraded. Defense patch iteration, get it?"

A Artifact Refiners crouched down, his fingertips tracing along the defense plan: "The angle of your arrow tower is wasteful, and the overlapping field of fire is too little. Give me waste wood, demon bones, iron nails, and broken Formation Flags, and I can make a rotating one."

The Tower Defense Player stared at him as if he had seen a long-lost brother. "Brother, I've been waiting eight days for those words."

The Sect Protection Elder stood to the side, his expression shifting from solemn to numb. He watched this group of people who had just crawled out of the Spiritual Pool and hadn't even finished listening to the Sect rules, arguing over the map and scrap Materials. He pressed his fingers against his sword scabbard but ultimately remained silent.

Cold white text once again floated at the edge of Sect Master Di Kun's vision. Elementary Scout Hall permissions activated. One low-grade Artifact Refining furnace, can be installed in the Sect side courtyard. Sect Contribution Ranking officially activated.

The next line of rewards had just unfolded when an ancient pattern on the stone wall beside the underground Spiritual Pool suddenly lit up. The ancient pattern turned from dark to pale silver, extending into a translucent ranking board. The top of the board bore the word "Contribution," with rows of blank slots below waiting to be filled.

The new Disciples turned their heads in unison. "Leaderboard!" "The exchange System is open?" "How do you farm contribution points?" "Is there a first-kill reward?"

Sect Master Di Kun raised his hand, and the sect leader token flew back into his palm from the groove on the stone platform. When the token landed in his hand, the blank slots on the ranking board vibrated slightly, and all voices were hushed.

"The Taichu Sect does not hold welcome ceremonies." Sect Master Di Kun swept his gaze over the ten new Disciples and then looked at the first batch of players. "Complete your adaptation within two hours. In the afternoon, we will begin dividing tasks to prepare for Han Lishan. The Scout Party needs maps, the Artifact Refiners group needs usable equipment, and the Data Analysis Party needs to organize all previous battle reports."

The Chuunibyou Player wanted to speak again, but Sect Master Di Kun glanced at him sideways. He immediately put his hand down and changed to a serious tone: "Listen to the commands, don't run around, contribution points can be exchanged for real things."

The Dark Souls Player muttered quietly: "A three-sentence patch speech, quite concise." The Life-Skill Player threw a roll of wet cloth at him, hitting him right in the chest.

The cyan-white light in the Spiritual Pool gradually converged, and the pool surface returned to calm. The ranking board hung on the stone wall, its pale silver text flickering, as if nailing the first new rule onto this dilapidated Sect.

Just as everyone was gathering around the defense plan and the ranking board to head off in their separate directions, rapid footsteps came from outside the passage. A mountain-patrolling servant rushed in, his knees knocking against the stone steps, clutching a broken piece of message bamboo in his hand. When he looked up, his forehead was covered in sweat, and his voice could not hide its trembling.

"Sect Master, urgent report from outside the mountain gate!" Sect Master Di Kun turned around. The servant held the bamboo piece above his head, the broken end still stained with fresh soil. "Vice Sect Leader Han Lishan of the Red Snake Sect has departed early; it is not in three days. A scouting caravan saw the Red Snake Sect's red-scaled carriage at the North Post; at this speed, they will arrive at the Border Wasteland by noon tomorrow at the latest."

The arguments around the underground Spiritual Pool were cut off by this single sentence. Sect Master Di Kun's fingers gripping the sect leader token tightened, the edge of the token pressing a white mark into his palm. The contribution ranking board on the stone wall was still glowing, the names of the ten new Disciples appearing row by row, the pale silver light shining on the mountain gate defense plan spread out on the ground, the mountain path on the north side of the diagram slowly being soaked by the sweat dripping from the mountain-patrolling servant.