Welcome to Training Hell!
"You can't cultivate your way to greatness if you're not willing to survive exploding chickens." — Li Qingyu
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At the Outer Sect Training Field…
The newly upgraded field—thanks to system help—looked marginally less pathetic now. The crooked posts were straighter. The weeds had been replaced by gravel. A formation array hummed faintly with power... and imminent instability.
Li Qingyu stood before his seven disciples, arms folded behind his back.
"Today," he said solemnly, "your path to legendary cultivation begins."
Behind him, a spiritual training puppet burst into flames and fell over.
"…Ignore that. System's still calibrating."
Lin Ziyan yawned. "So what's the first lesson? Sword drills? Meditation? Mountain boulder smashing?"
Li Qingyu smirked. "Team bonding."
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Activity One: Dodge the Chicken
The disciples were herded into a circular arena.
Inside it stood Iron-Beak, the sect's aggressive rooster beast, now wearing a spiked helmet and glowing slightly from overexposure to spiritual herbs.
"Rule one," Li Qingyu explained, "Don't get pecked."
> BOCK!!
Iron-Beak launched at Zhou Weiqi like a cannonball.
"AAAAAAH!"
Hu Daniu dove behind a barrel. Song Yuan threw his cursed frog at the chicken. The frog exploded into smoke. No effect.
Lu Xiaomei cried, "It's aiming for my spiritual roots!"
Chen Mo tried to reason with the bird using Confucian logic. He was pecked into a crater.
Li Qingyu sipped tea on the sidelines. "Excellent. Chaos breeds unity."
Ye Wuxia played a somber tune on her flute. The chicken paused mid-charge, briefly weeping, then headbutted a tree.
"…This might be working too well," Li Qingyu muttered.
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Activity Two: Cultivation Formation Roulette
The disciples sat in lotus position on individual formation circles drawn by the system.
"Each one enhances cultivation," Li Qingyu said. "Or causes temporary hair loss."
Chen Mo: "Wait—what?"
Too late.
> WHUUUMMM—ZAAAAP—POP!
Hu Daniu's muscles bulked for three seconds, then deflated like dough.
Song Yuan levitated. Then slammed into the roof.
Zhou Weiqi vanished completely. His voice echoed from a void.
"WHY DO I EXIST IN SIX DIMENSIONS?!"
Lin Ziyan's sword vibrated like it had too much coffee.
Only Ye Wuxia sat calmly. The ghosts protected her.
Li Qingyu beamed. "See? Progress!"
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Activity Three: Special Training Partner
"Now," Li Qingyu said, clapping once, "you'll spar with a partner forged in spiritual fire."
He stepped aside to reveal… Elder Zhang.
Wearing a blindfold. Holding a gourd. Drunk.
"Let's see if any of you can land a hit before he knocks your teeth into next week."
Zhang staggered forward. "Come at me, you half-trained vegetables!"
Ten minutes later:
Lin Ziyan was hanging upside down from a tree.
Hu Daniu was embedded in a wall.
Song Yuan's frog was meditating with Zhang.
Zhou Weiqi reappeared midair and was promptly roundhouse kicked into a pond.
Chen Mo wheezed, "This is not… normal sparring…"
Li Qingyu: "This is legendary sparring."
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That Night...
The disciples sat around the fire, groaning, bandaged, slightly traumatized.
And smiling.
Lu Xiaomei nudged Hu Daniu. "I don't know if I got stronger… but I screamed louder than ever before."
Lin Ziyan sharpened her sword. "I'm still going to kill you in your sleep, Master. But like, affectionately."
Li Qingyu toasted with herbal wine. "Congratulations, my weird disciples. You've taken your first step toward greatness."
> [Ding! Sect Training Milestone Complete: +20 Fame, +2 Outer Sect Capacity Slots Unlocked!]
He smirked.
"One day, they'll say: 'That freaky sect with the ghost girl and rooster drills? They raised monsters.'"
A ghost behind him nodded approvingly.
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