What had once been little more than a quiet clearing was now beginning to resemble a real sect.
Half-built halls lined the edges of the courtyard. Fresh stone tiles had been laid unevenly across the ground. Wooden scaffolding leaned against unfinished structures. The air smelled faintly of molten metal from Huanglong’s forge and sweet fruit wine from Azure Dragon’s brewing experiments.
It was messy. It was chaotic.
Near the center of the courtyard, the elders of the Wineapple Sect had gathered for an unusual discussion.
Beyond the unfinished gates, a growing crowd of hopeful applicants had begun to assemble.
Huanglong observed them quietly, arms folded across his broad chest.
“A sect must have structure,” the golden dragon elder said slowly. “We cannot simply accept anyone who wanders through our gates.”
Black Tortoise nodded thoughtfully.
“Most sects test spiritual roots using a Trial Stone.”
The serpent spirit beside her tilted his head.
“Others test comprehension of scripture or Dao philosophy.”
White Tiger looked unimpressed.
The silver-haired guardian was sprawled lazily across a stone wall, golden eyes watching the crowd like a predator studying prey.
“Too slow,” he said.
Huanglong glanced at him.
“Explain.”
White Tiger hopped down from the wall with fluid grace.
“We test them like soldiers.”
Several people blinked.
“Soldiers?” Zhi Yuan asked.
White Tiger began gesturing across the courtyard with growing enthusiasm.
“Obstacle challenges.”
He pointed toward the open training field.
“A crawling trench. Rope climbs. Balance beams. Walls to scale. Mud pits. Force them to crawl, run, climb, and endure.”
Lin Fan’s face turned pale.
“That sounds terrible.”
White Tiger grinned.
“Exactly.”
Ru Yan frowned slightly.
“Where did you learn such a strange training method?”
White Tiger shrugged casually.
“I looked into the Founder’s memory.”
Silence fell over the courtyard.
Every head slowly turned toward Zhi Yuan.
Zhi Yuan blinked.
“You did what?”
White Tiger looked perfectly relaxed.
“You have fascinating memories.”
He began counting on his fingers.
“Running while carrying heavy packs.”
“Crawling through mud under barbed wire.”
“Climbing ropes while angry instructors shout.”
“And something called… push-ups.”
Lin Fan whispered to Feng,
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“What is a push-up?”
Feng whispered back,
“Probably torture.”
Zhi Yuan rubbed his forehead.
“White Tiger.”
“Yes, Founder?”
“No more peeking into my memory.”
White Tiger tilted his head.
“Why not?”
“Because it’s private.”
White Tiger thought about that.
“Ah."
Then he shrugged.
“Too late.”
Zhi Yuan sighed deeply.
For a brief moment, the mysterious founder of the Wineapple Sect looked less like an unfathomable immortal and more like a very tired man who had just discovered that ancient elemental guardians were browsing through his brain like a public library.
Meanwhile Huanglong clapped his hands once.
“Very well.”
“The obstacle course will be the first trial.”
The Applicants Arrive
When the gates opened, the applicants finally entered the courtyard.
There were many of them.
Three drunken old men had arrived after hearing rumors about miraculous Wineapple wine.
Several young cultivators came seeking opportunity.
A group of elegant women from the Harmony Sect stood together near the front, whispering quietly among themselves. Their sect was famous for dual cultivation techniques and political alliances through marriage.
Not far from them stood a man whose qi carried a faint shadow of corruption.
A demonic cultivator.
He had come quietly, hoping to infiltrate the newborn sect.
Nearby stood a young man in luxurious robes embroidered with golden threads.
The arrogant young master looked around the courtyard and scoffed.
“This is a sect?”
His voice dripped with disdain.
A lone female cultivator stood quietly near the back of the group, watching everything with curious eyes.
Beside her stood a tall soldier from the Holy Land Dynasty, his posture rigid and disciplined.
Near the edge of the crowd stood a nervous merchant’s son clutching a jade talisman for protection.
Everyone had come for different reasons.
Few realized what they were about to experience.
The Ceremony
The large group gathered in the courtyard as the elders prepared the sect’s first official ceremony.
Huanglong stepped forward first.
He gave a long speech about justice, honor, and the proper path of cultivation.
Halfway through the speech, he produced a long smoke pipe and took a thoughtful puff.
Soon his speech began to drift.
He started discussing corruption in the cultivation world, ancient wars, and the imbalance of power among sects and dynasties.
Several recruits began exchanging confused looks.
White Tiger eventually walked up to the stage, grabbed Huanglong by the shoulder, and dragged him away.
“Later,” he muttered.
Next, Vermilion Bird stepped forward proudly.
“I shall sing the sect anthem.”
Zhi Yuan leaned slightly toward Ru Yan.
“Do we have a sect anthem?”
Ru Yan blinked nervously.
“It appears we do.”
White Tiger slowly covered his face.
The song began.
It was… terrible.
The sound came out as a strange series of sharp chirps and piercing notes.
“P-P-P-Pik-Zee!”
It sounded less like music and more like an extremely distressed bird screaming into the heavens.
The melody fluctuated wildly between beautiful and horrifying.
Several cultivators looked physically distressed.
One man nearly fainted.
Only one person appeared completely captivated.
Li Wei.
His eyes sparkled with devotion.
“Magnificent…” he whispered.
Ru Yan elbowed him.
“That’s not magnificent.”
After enduring the full performance, Zhi Yuan quietly wiped sweat from his forehead and stepped forward.
“Now,” he said calmly.
“We begin the trials.”
Trial One – The Tiger’s Obstacle Course
The first trial destroyed half the applicants.
White Tiger supervised the obstacle course with terrifying enthusiasm.
“LOWER!” he shouted at a young cultivator attempting to crawl beneath a rope barrier.
“You call that crawling? Even kittens do better!”
Mud pits swallowed robes.
Balance beams sent cultivators tumbling.
Wall climbs left many gasping for breath.
The three drunken old men lasted less than five minutes.
The Harmony Sect women stared at the mud pit in horror.
They left immediately.
The arrogant young master refused to crawl.
White Tiger raised one eyebrow.
“You may leave.”
The young master glared at him.
Then… he crawled.
Trial Two – The Stone of Roots
Those who survived were brought before Huanglong.
A glowing spirit stone rested at the center of the courtyard.
One by one, applicants placed their hands upon it.
Some revealed weak spiritual roots.
Others revealed unstable energy.
Many were dismissed.
The demonic cultivator passed the test easily.
Black Tortoise watched him carefully.
She said nothing.
Not yet.
Trial Three – The Founder’s Question
The final test was simple.
Zhi Yuan stepped forward and looked at the remaining candidates.
“Why do you wish to join this sect?”
Some spoke of power.
Some spoke of revenge.
Some spoke of ambition.
Most were dismissed.
When the questioning ended, only a handful remained.
Those who failed stood quietly to the side.
The First Disciples
At that moment, Zhi Yuan stepped forward calmly.
To the remaining recruits, he looked like the perfect image of an immortal master.
Calm.
Mysterious.
Powerful.
Then Lin Fan ran past them screaming.
Flames licked wildly across his sleeves as he sprinted across the courtyard.
“A-A-A-A-ARGH!”
Behind him, Azure Dragon chased enthusiastically.
“Come here, son! Mother will take care of it!”
The illusion of serenity shattered instantly.
White Tiger, perched lazily on a nearby wall, pointed at the burning boy.
“Founder.”
“Your son is on fire.”
Zhi Yuan closed his eyes in pain.
From the side, one of the Harmony Sect women whispered excitedly to her companion.
“Did you hear?”
“The Founder already has a son.”
Her friend nodded thoughtfully.
“A sect alliance through marriage might be possible.”
Across the courtyard, Lin Fan sneezed as smoke curled from his robes.
Eventually the chaos settled.
Five recruits remained standing.
They knelt before the founder.
A wandering rogue cultivator.
A poor village boy with strong spiritual roots.
The arrogant young master.
The curious female cultivator.
And the merchant’s son.
As they bowed, White Tiger leaned toward them and whispered quietly,
“Be warned… we call the Founder, Father.”
Zhi Yuan closed his eyes in visible pain.
Somewhere deep in the future of the Wineapple Sect.
A very unfortunate marriage proposal had just been born.
first generation of Wineapple Sect disciples has officially been born.
-
while on fire
-
“son”
-
Founder’s child is burning
-
heir
Harmony Sect has likely just begun considering a very strange marriage alliance.
Thus began one of the Seven Mysteries of the Wineapple Sect:
“The Founder’s son, the mysterious royal bloodline… and whether the Azure Dragon and the Founder are secretly a couple.”