“Fresh fruit!”

“Get high-quality silk, for cheap prices!”

“Stop by the Clear Horizon Restaurant, for the best Szechuan cuisine!”

As their carriage passed through the city gates, a deluge of voices bombarded them, echoing off the walls of the silent carriage.

“What a lively place, such a stark contrast to the quiet forest we left yesterday,” Chen Li Li commented as she stuck her head out of the window, watching the passersby peddle their wares.

“When do you intend to give me that herb? I hate to rush you, but I'm a little desperate.” Liang Wu asked her once she brought her head back inside.

“Not that I don't trust you—which I don't, really—but I'd like to hold onto it until you help me out of my forced marriage. As it is, it’s the only leverage I have right now,” she replied, blunt and to the point.

Liang Wu thought for a moment. “Hmm… that’s fine. As long as I can finish this tutorial quest, I can make up for my weakened soul with my superior cultivation technique.” His technique had been custom-made for this clone, far superior to the one he’d used to achieve his true body’s current realm. It was possible that this clone could one day surpass even his original self.

Chen Li Li had gotten used to Liang Wu’s arrogant rambling, so she ignored him.

“How do you plan on completing your tutorial quest? You know most sects aren’t accepting just anyone like they did a few years ago, right?” she asked, curious about how he planned to join a sect now that his soul was damaged and his stats weakened.

He slowly turned to look her in the eyes. He blinked, confusion flashing across his face, quickly replaced by a stoic expression. “Why wouldn’t a sect accept me? I’m the Supre—”

“Yes, yes, I know. You’re the Supreme God Emperor, king of the heavens, slayer of gods, and the first and only being to ascend beyond the boundaries of the world,” she cut him off, mimicking the dialogue from the game she’d been playing.

Liang Wu frowned, unhappy about being interrupted, but secretly pleased that she remembered the cutscene.

---

“What do you mean I’m too weak!?” A loud shout echoed out from the rickety, rotting gates of a small courtyard on the outskirts of the city.

An angry young man in a brown patchwork robe stormed out, kicking the gate off its rusty hinges in his rage.

“That was the last sect in this city,” Che Fu, the coachman, said with a smug grin. He enjoyed seeing the arrogant boy suffer.

Liang Wu glared at him, contemplating a fight but realizing he couldn’t win. So he chose to ignore him instead.

As he stepped into the carriage, he could hear Chen Li Li giggling. But when he entered, she was sitting there with a straight face, as if she hadn’t just been laughing at him.

“You couldn’t join any sects. How do you plan on finishing your quest now?” she asked a couple of minutes later, after his anger had subsided.

“I’ll have to wait until we reach the next city.” His irritation still showed in his voice.

“Couldn’t you just create your own sect?” she suggested, as if it were the simplest solution.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

“Create… my… own… sect…?” Liang Wu repeated slowly, realization dawning on him. Why hadn’t he thought of that? “That’s brilliant! But how do I create a sect?”

Chen Li Li shrugged. She had only heard of the feature and never tried it herself.

“You cannot operate that system yet. A minimum cultivation of 1st Stage Qi Forming is required,” the System Helper’s neutral voice chimed in unexpectedly.

Liang Wu choked. “I need to reach the first realm of cultivation before I can operate the sect management system?”

“Correct.”

“If I can’t join a sect, I can’t cultivate, so it’s impossible to reach that requirement!”

The System Helper, lacking a physical form, simply said, “Shrug.”

Chen Li Li had pieced together their conversation. “What if I create a sect, and you join?”

“That… could work. Try it, and we’ll see.”

Nodding, she spoke internally to her System Helper. “Xiao Bai, can you help me activate the sect system?”

“Okay, Li Li!” The bubbly voice of her Helper responded cheerfully. Xiao Bai knew who Liang Wu really was but found their interactions amusing enough to stay quiet about it.

A blue screen appeared before Chen Li Li’s eyes.

Welcome to the

Sect Management System!

Create New Sect

Manage Existing Sect

Exit

Liang Wu could tell by her expression that she had activated the system. “Let me see what it looks like,” he requested.

She gave him a teasing look. “Shouldn't you already know what it looks like, Mister Supreme God Emperor? After all, you're the one who created it, right?”

He cleared his throat awkwardly. “I know I added the feature to my system, but I never managed a sect myself. I had a friend run that part for me. You’ve probably heard of them—Long Aotian, Sect Master of the Rising Dragon Sect.”

She rolled her eyes, not buying a word. “Xiao Bai, share the screen with him.”

“Hehe! Sure!” Xiao Bai giggled, knowing the truth.

Liang Wu looked at the screen that popped up. “Oh! So that’s what Aotian went with.”

“Create a new sect!” Chen Li Li spoke aloud, making sure Liang Wu heard what she was doing.

The interface flickered, and a new one appeared.

Name Your New Sect

:_________

Confirm

Back

Exit

“What should we name it?” she asked.

“Let’s go with something cool, like: Supreme God Emperor’s Ultimate Sect!”

“Your naming sense is awful. How is that even remotely cool? It should be something cute, since I’m the Sect Master. How about: Li Li’s Little Bear Sect?”

“How is that possibly better than mine?”

“I think it’s cute. But let’s just wait and name it later, when we can both agree on something.”

“Fine, give it a temporary name for now.”

“Okay, let’s call it… Blank Sect.” She entered the name and confirmed.

Congratulations On Creating Your New Sect!

Blank Sect

Please Wait While We Load The Sect Management Systems

Loading Sect Management Systems…