By the time the sun climbed over the horizon, Luo Feng was already outside, watching A-Yan's form flicker across the dirt courtyard.
She moved with focused determination, each step of her Shadow Step Drill more fluid than the last. Her balance was shaky, yes—but the instincts were there. She was absorbing faster than she had any right to.
He nodded to himself. "She's close to grasping the first phase."
(Ding! Disciple A-Yan has reached 85% mastery of Flickering Shadow Step.Reward Triggered: Host gains increased evasion and silent step bonus.)
He exhaled as a new lightness entered his own stride. His feet barely left marks in the dirt now.
The system didn't just give—it shaped him into something better.
Again, he thought. This world won't know me as a coward much longer.
Just as he turned to call for a break, the air shifted.
A low hum vibrated through the stones. Even A-Yan paused, sensing it.
Then—
A boom echoed across the peak as a gust of spiritual pressure slammed down like a hammer.
A figure landed at the edge of the courtyard, robes fluttering, the emblem of the Celestial Dawn Sect's Outer Hall sewn proudly across his chest.
He was tall, sharp-eyed, with an expression carved from disdain.
"You've got some nerve, Luo Feng," the man said, voice cold. "Taking in disciples without the Sect's approval?"
Luo Feng studied him calmly. "Jiang Wei. I see you're still the same arrogant lackey."
Jiang's eyes twitched. "I'm here under orders. The Elders want that girl handed over. You have no right to cultivate disciples."
A-Yan stepped back instinctively.
Luo Feng placed a hand gently on her shoulder, shielding her behind him.
"She is mine. She knelt, she bowed, and she trains under me. If the Sect didn't want me raising disciples, they shouldn't have left me breathing."
Jiang scoffed. "You think a failure like you has any say? You've been stripped of all titles. You're a disgrace."
"And yet," Luo Feng said, his voice like calm thunder, "here you are. Threatening a cripple on a forgotten peak. Are the mighty Elders so afraid of a has-been that they send dogs to bark on their behalf?"
(Ding! Host has asserted dominance over aggressor.
Confidence resonance triggered.
+5% strength bonus, temporary intimidation aura activated.)
Jiang took half a step back before catching himself.
"You—!"
Before he could continue, Luo Feng moved.
One step.
Fast.
So fast Jiang's eyes barely tracked the shift.
Phantom God Movement Technique: Phase One activated.
Suddenly, Luo Feng stood directly in front of him, gaze steady and voice low.
"Leave. Now. Or I show this peak's first lesson to the next idiot who thinks they can take what's mine."
For a moment, Jiang faltered. There was something in Luo Feng's stance—something unshakable. He'd come expecting to bully a broken man.
Instead, he felt the weight of something waking up.
Something dangerous.
"…This isn't over," Jiang growled, stepping back. "You'll regret defying the Sect."
"No," Luo Feng said quietly, "I'm starting to enjoy it."
With a flare of spiritual light, Jiang vanished.
Silence returned to the peak, broken only by the wind brushing through the grass.
A-Yan stared up at her teacher, wide-eyed.
"You… you scared him."
Luo Feng didn't respond right away. He was staring at his own hands.
They weren't shaking.
He was steady. Alive. Powerful—just enough.
He looked down at A-Yan and smiled.
"Lesson number one," he said. "No one touches my disciples. Ever."