The morning mist hung low in the Verdant Leaf Valley, curling along the footpaths like sleepy serpents. Tyler awoke sprawled beneath a tree, limbs tangled in his robes and mouth dry as sand. Dew clung to his hair, and a single jade-colored leaf had found its way into his mouth.
He spat it out with a grunt. "I really need a bed."
He sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes—and then he remembered.
The field. The system. The weed.
And the three walking death-machines who now called him "Master."
"Right," he mumbled, brushing leaves from his sleeves. "That happened."
The Spirit Kush field shimmered in the distance, glowing faintly in the morning light like a divine relic. Standing at its edge were the three cultivators—the ones who had appeared the night before, drawn by the aura of the herb. Tyler hadn't been entirely sober during their introduction, but he remembered the basics:
Three brothers. All terrifying. None of them particularly chatty.
He walked toward them, doing his best to look authoritative. "Morning, fellas."
The tallest of the three, Grubroot, gave a grunt and nodded. He had the physique of a collapsed mountain—huge, craggy, and immovable. His fists were larger than Tyler's head and covered in old scars.
Calmleaf, the second brother, was lean and quiet. He stood motionless beside a bamboo stalk, eyes closed, breathing slowly. He radiated a dangerous stillness—like a blade waiting to be unsheathed.
And then there was Sparkwind.
Sparkwind had the nervous energy of someone who was used to either fighting or fleeing. He paced back and forth along the edge of the field, muttering calculations and occasionally pointing to clouds.
"Yo," Tyler said, raising a hand. "I'm guessing we should talk?"
Sparkwind stopped and smirked. "I got drunk and invented three new forms of lightning."
Tyler blinked. "That's... impressive?"
"He's always like that," Calmleaf said quietly. "He channels his madness into invention. Before the field, he'd already created twelve forbidden formations and two sentient swords. The weed calms his storms."
"Not weed," Tyler corrected automatically, then winced. "I mean, yeah, that green stuff. Let's just call it Spirit Herb."
Grubroot grunted. "Name matters little. It changes us."
The three brothers looked at him, and for a moment, Tyler felt the weight of what he was building.
These weren't just random cultivators. They were monsters. Walking calamities. Each of them carried a reputation drenched in violence and destruction.
And now... they were calm. Loyal. Grounded.
Thanks to the Spirit Kush.
He cleared his throat and gestured toward the crumbling sect hut. "Well, if we're gonna be a sect, we need a real home base. Grubroot, you look like you've punched through buildings before. Think you can help reinforce the structure?"
Grubroot cracked his knuckles, eyes gleaming. "It will stand strong."
"Sparkwind, can you whip up some lightning tools or something to speed up repairs?"
He grinned. "Already got ideas. A shock-hammer, perhaps."
"Calmleaf, you good with defense formations? We're pretty exposed out here."
The quiet brother opened his eyes, revealing irises that shimmered like morning mist. "Already working on it."
Tyler let out a slow breath. "Damn. Y'all are more productive than any roommates I ever had."
By noon, the hut had transformed. Reinforced beams, new thatching, and even a handmade sign carved with the name Verdant Leaf Sect in bold, flowing calligraphy.
Grubroot had rebuilt most of the walls with stone and earth manipulation techniques that shook the valley.
Sparkwind had crafted a lightning-infused toolset powered by a bizarre hamster-wheel-like mechanism that generated spiritual voltage.
And Calmleaf had traced a defense formation into the ground using powdered jade and powdered Spirit Herb ash, shielding the area with a gentle energy dome.
As Tyler walked through the transformed space, the system dinged in his mind.
[Sect Infrastructure Improved: +1 Rank]
[Disciples' Loyalty Increased]
[You have unlocked: Verdant Leaf Contribution System]
He pulled up the menu.
Verdant Leaf Sect: Rank E
Sect Members: 4
Spirit Herb Field: 1 plot (High-Grade)
Contribution System Active
Facilities: Basic Cultivation Hut, Protective Formation, Workshop
He grinned. "We're leveling up already."
Sparkwind ran up, hair frizzed from residual charge. "Master Tyler, I request permission to convert the old latrine into a Qi Battery chamber."
Tyler blinked. "...Sure?"
"Excellent. I will now vanish dramatically." He threw a smoke bomb at his feet, only for it to fizzle and puff out a sad squeak.
"Still working on that," he muttered before disappearing behind the hut.
Grubroot stomped past with a tree trunk over one shoulder. "We need walls. Stone ones."
"Go for it."
Calmleaf stepped up beside Tyler and handed him a leaf-wrapped package. "Dried Spirit Herb tea. Enhances perception. Also eases headaches."
Tyler accepted it with a nod, a warm feeling spreading in his chest.
They were strange. They were dangerous. But they were his sect.
He took a deep breath, the scent of Spirit Herb mixing with mountain air.
The path ahead was long. He'd need more disciples, more land, stronger defenses.
But for now, the Verdant Leaf Sect was alive.
And it was only just beginning to grow.
Tyler walked back toward the hut, where Grubroot was hammering in stone slabs with his bare fists and Sparkwind had accidentally electrified a tree into a topiary of glowing branches. Calmleaf had vanished into the woods, murmuring something about harmonizing leylines.
Finally, Tyler stepped into the hut, collapsed onto the floor mat with a groan, and stared up at the ceiling. "I still need a damn bed."
Then, without realizing it, he fell asleep, surrounded by the scent of Spirit Herb, the distant hum of lightning, and the soft, steady breathing of a valley that was slowly waking up to something new.