The afternoon sun hung low above the slopes of Five Elements Mountain.

  The newly founded sect was quieter today.

  For once, nothing had exploded.

  Yet.

  Lin Fan crouched beside a large clay jar near the edge of the courtyard, humming to himself as he stirred something with a wooden stick.

  The smell drifting from the jar was… surprisingly pleasant.

  Sweet.

  Fruity.

  And faintly alcoholic.

  Feng stopped mid-step.

  “…Why does the sect smell like a tavern?”

  Li Wei followed the scent and raised an eyebrow.

  “Fermentation?”

  Ru Yan immediately looked suspicious.

  “Lin Fan,” she said slowly, “what are you doing?”

  Lin Fan grinned proudly and lifted the lid of the jar.

  Inside, crushed wineapples floated in a golden-red liquid.

  “I made something!”

  Feng leaned closer.

  “You made alcohol?”

  Lin Fan puffed up.

  “Wineapple Spirit Wine!”

  Ru Yan blinked.

  “You accidentally invented sect wine.”

  Lin Fan beamed.

  “I did?”

  Li Wei dipped a finger into the liquid and tasted it carefully.

  Warmth spread through his meridians.

  “Interesting.”

  Feng crossed his arms.

  “Is that good interesting or explosion interesting?”

  Li Wei nodded slowly.

  “It slightly enhances qi circulation.”

  Feng immediately grabbed a cup.

  “Well then.”

  He took a sip.

  His eyes widened.

  “That’s actually good.”

  Ru Yan took a cautious sip as well.

  Her eyebrow twitched.

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  “Not bad.”

  Lin Fan raised his cup triumphantly.

  “To the future signature product of the Wineapple Sect!”

  Zhi Yuan chuckled softly from nearby.

  “A sect needs more than power,” he said.

  “It also needs culture.”

  Lin Fan nodded seriously.

  “Exactly.”

  Then he tripped over a root.

  The cup spilled.

  Wineapple wine soaked into the soil.

  For a moment, nothing happened.

  Then the ground faintly glowed.

  Li Wei noticed first.

  “Wait.”

  Feng crouched beside him.

  “What is that?”

  They brushed aside dirt and roots.

  Stone emerged beneath the soil.

  Ancient.

  Carved with faint glowing runes.

  Ru Yan frowned.

  “A trial stone.”

  Lin Fan tilted his head.

  “A what?”

  “Most sects use them to measure cultivation realms,” she explained.

  “They respond to qi and reveal your level.”

  Lin Fan’s eyes lit up.

  “Oh! A cultivation scoreboard!”

  Zhi Yuan gestured calmly.

  “Well then,” he said.

  “Shall we test it?”

  Feng cracked his knuckles.

  “Finally. Something simple.”

  He stepped forward and placed his palm against the stone.

  The runes flickered.

  Metallic qi surged across the surface.

  Characters formed slowly above the pedestal.

  Qi Condensation — Seventh Stage

  Lin Fan whistled.

  “Hey! That’s pretty strong!”

  Feng smirked.

  “Obviously.”

  Ru Yan nodded.

  “Respectable.”

  Li Wei stepped forward calmly.

  He placed his hand against the stone.

  Crimson light flowed outward like quiet flames.

  The runes shimmered.

  Qi Condensation — Sixth Stage

  Lin Fan clapped.

  “Ooo! Fire version!”

  Feng elbowed him.

  “Still one stage below me.”

  Li Wei smiled faintly.

  “For now.”

  Ru Yan sighed.

  “Very well.”

  She placed her palm against the pedestal.

  The stone trembled.

  Brilliant light surged upward.

  Foundation Establishment — Ninth Stage

  Lin Fan’s jaw dropped.

  “Whoa.”

  Feng gave a low whistle.

  “Okay… that’s impressive.”

  Li Wei bowed his head slightly.

  “As expected.”

  Ru Yan folded her arms smugly.

  “Of course.”

  Lin Fan bounced forward eagerly.

  “My turn!”

  Ru Yan waved dismissively.

  “Don’t worry if the result is low,” she said casually.

  She wasn’t even looking at him.

  Instead she turned toward Li Wei and Feng.

  “You two should focus on stabilizing your cultivation first. Qi Condensation stages are often unstable—”

  Behind her, the trial stone began to hum.

  Feng blinked.

  “Uh.”

  Li Wei’s eyes widened.

  “That seems unusual.”

  The glow intensified.

  Not silver.

  Not crimson.

  But golden.

  A radiant aura erupted from the stone.

  Characters slowly formed in the air.

  Golden Core

  Feng froze.

  Li Wei stopped breathing.

  Ru Yan continued talking.

  “—and once you reach Foundation Establishment, discipline becomes far more impo—”

  She paused.

  The silence felt strange.

  Too quiet.

  Ru Yan slowly turned around.

  Her eyes landed on the glowing words.

  Golden Core

  Her pupils shrank.

  “What.”

  Lin Fan scratched his head.

  “Is that good?”

  Ru Yan pointed at the glowing characters with a trembling finger.

  “W-W-WHAT?!”

  “GOLDEN CORE?!”

  Her knees gave out.

  Ru Yan collapsed.

  For several seconds, nobody spoke.

  Lin Fan looked confused.

  “Did I break it?”

  Feng stared at the glowing words.

  “No.”

  Li Wei slowly exhaled.

  His voice was calm. But hollow.

  “Cultivators below Golden Core are ants.”

  Lin Fan blinked.

  “What’s a Golden Core?”

  “Is that food?”

  Feng rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

  “You know…”

  He glanced at the wineapple roots scattered nearby.

  “maybe all those strange roots he keeps eating actually helped.”

  Li Wei considered it.

  “Possible.”

  Ru Yan slowly sat up.

  Still pale.

  Still stunned.

  “Yes,” she said weakly.

  “Yes… that must be it.”

  Morning arrived quietly.

  The group gathered in the courtyard.

  Feng leaned against a pillar.

  “If we want disciples, we should hold an open invitation.”

  Li Wei nodded.

  “An open house.”

  Lin Fan raised a hand.

  “Can I cook?”

  Everyone said no at the same time.

  Zhi Yuan glanced around.

  “Where is Ru Yan?”

  Li Wei shrugged.

  “She said something about becoming a… ‘draconic empress.’”

  Feng snorted.

  “She’s crying in her room.”

  Lin Fan blinked.

  “Did I do something wrong?”

  Zhi Yuan smiled faintly.

  “Probably.”

  Above the courtyard, the carved characters on the mountain wall glowed softly.

  万榴宗.

  The Ten Thousand Wineapple Sect.

  A sect with five members.

  A sect with experimental wine.

  A sect with collapsing buildings.

  And apparently…

  A Golden Core cultivator who didn’t know what a Golden Core was.

  Five Elements Mountain remained silent.

  But deep beneath the earth, the converging qi veins stirred again.

  As if the mountain itself was trying to understand what kind of sect had just been born.

  Wineapple Sect, where even mistakes become legendary.