The Girl with the Ghost Flute
"Other sects want prodigies. I'll take weirdos, broke cultivators, and haunted musicians." — Li Qingyu
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Dawn at Eternal Radiance Divine Sect…
Mist rolled across the training grounds as Li Qingyu brewed tea over a fire built with cultivation manuals he deemed "boring."
Hu Daniu sat nearby, squinting at a rock.
"I think… I almost feel qi flowing!"
Li Qingyu nodded. "That's not qi. That's caffeine withdrawal. Keep going."
Then, the wind shifted.
A long, low note drifted in from the forest — not eerie, but not normal either. It was the sound of a bamboo flute… played with sorrow and precision.
Lin Ziyan appeared beside him in a flash. "That sound. It's not ordinary."
Zhou Weiqi climbed out of a bush. "I sensed yin energy!"
"You were hiding in a bush?"
"...Field research."
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At the Gate…
She stood alone.
A girl in a dark robe, barefoot, hair streaked with silver. She held a flute carved from ghost bamboo — faintly glowing, faintly cursed. Her eyes were half-closed, lips silent.
A faint mist clung to her feet.
Li Qingyu stepped forward.
"I assume you're not here for the free soup pills?"
No response. Just the soft trill of her flute, summoning a breeze that rustled the bamboo and spooked two chickens into enlightenment.
A slip of paper fluttered from her flute case.
Li Qingyu caught it mid-air. On it, a name:
> "Ye Wuxia. 16. Rejected by 17 sects. Possesses Yin-Shadow Constitution. No coin. No backing. No voice."
Li Qingyu raised an eyebrow. "Rejected because you're poor, mysterious, and terrifying?"
Ye Wuxia blinked once. That seemed to mean "yes."
He smiled. "Perfect. You'll fit right in."
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Later, in the Training Grounds…
Zhou Weiqi observed nervously. "She summoned a ghost to sweep the training yard…"
Lin Ziyan sipped tea. "That's efficient."
Lu Xiaomei giggled. "I like her. The ghosts are polite."
Even Song Yuan looked impressed. "Hey! Do your ghosts want to hang out with my frog curse?"
Ye Wuxia blinked twice.
That probably meant "no."
Chen Mo squinted. "What kind of flute embers the air like that? I want one for pill roasting!"
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In the Main Hall…
Li Qingyu updated the disciple registry on a scroll titled:
> "Glorious Misfits Roster"
> • Hu Daniu – Barely cultivates, high moral fiber
• Lin Ziyan – Edgy swordswoman, low patience
• Zhou Weiqi – Weasel instincts, high cowardice
• Lu Xiaomei – Broken roots, great weed control
• Song Yuan – Possibly cursed
• Chen Mo – Scholar-brawler hybrid
• Ye Wuxia – Silent ghost summoner, possibly overpowered
> [Ding! Recruitment +1: Reward – 20 Spirit Stones, 1 Ghost-Touched Bamboo Flute, Unlock: Outer Sect Training Field Upgrade!]
Li Qingyu grinned.
"See? One man's rejected trash is another man's system combo chain."
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That Night…
The new disciples gathered under the moonlight.
Li Qingyu stood before them like a cult leader with slightly too much confidence.
"You've all been tossed aside by the 'righteous' sects. Laughed at. Ignored. Rejected for being poor, untalented, cursed, or simply… weird."
He raised a hand.
"Well guess what? That's what makes you perfect. This isn't a sect of elites. This is a sect of chaos!"
The disciples stared.
"Together," he declared, "we will rise! We'll train, we'll grow, and we'll slap every arrogant face in the cultivation world—until they beg to know where we got our Facial Glow Pills."
The wind howled.
A ghost danced.
A chicken crowed.
Hu Daniu started crying.
"Master… I've never felt so inspired while standing next to cursed frog boys and flute girls."
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