I Level Up By Making Enemies

Flowing Wind was practical, a little austere, built for function. Orchid Veil felt cultivated. Pathways of pale stone wound between carefully kept gardens and open training grounds. Disciples practiced sword forms and palm techniques in neat groups. Others sorted herbs on long wooden tables.

Almost every activity stopped as he was led past and rozens of eyes tracked him. Some were curious and some were openly hostile. A few senior disciples intercepted the group, spoke in low voices with his two escorts, then fell in around them like an additional layer of containment.

back when he was known as Jack he would’ve enjoyed all the attention from these ladies but now the situation made difficult for him so Lin Feng ignored it all snd kept walking, every step reminding him how close he had come to dying and how little strength he had left.

They brought him to a wide formal hall near the center of the sect. The doors opened onto a long chamber of polished wood and soft light. Several elders already sat along the sides in dark, elegant robes. At the highest seat, slightly elevated, sat a woman who could only be the Sect Master. She did not look particularly old, perhaps in her early thirties by appearance but the calm, heavy presence she carried made it clear why she’s carrying the title of Sect master.

Every eye in the hall turned to the bloodied, mud stained man standing in the entrance. The muscular disciple gave him a light shove forward between the shoulder blades.

”Go on then,” she muttered. ”Try not to make this worse.”

Lin Feng stepped into the hall. The hall was quiet enough that Lin Feng could hear the soft drip of water still falling from his ruined robes onto the polished floor.

One of the elders, a sharp faced woman with silver threaded through her hair, spoke first.

”You entered our swamp under a temporary arrangement with Yue Qingfeng. Your token never showed any warnings or alarms. That means you did not cross into forbidden zones or openly violate the written conditions.”

Her gaze flicked over his injuries. ”And yet the swamp itself expelled you. That is not a common occurrence. Explain how a cultivator managed to become such a disturbance that the swamp refused to tolerate him any longer.”

Lin Feng kept his voice level.

”Well elder, i was sent to get stronger under a deadline. The outer layers were too slow. I so i pushed into the middle layers and used the residual hostility in the environment to cultivate. Some of the stronger creatures out there didn’t like seeing me i guess, and things escalated.”

A few elders exchanged glances.

”I’m saying what happened,” Lin Feng continued. ”I didn’t go looking for the swamp’s attention, maybe it found me noisy.”

The muscular disciple, still standing near the entrance with the blonde one, let out a very quiet chuckle. The Sect Master’s eyes shifted slightly in her direction, and the sound stopped.

Discussion moved among the elders. Some wanted him removed from Orchid Veil territory immediately and returned to Flowing Wind in disgrace. Others pointed out that the swamp’s reaction was rare enough to be worth understanding, and that Yue Qingfeng had personally arranged the placement. Simply discarding his guest without consultation could create unnecessary friction between the sects.

The Sect Master listened without interrupting. When the voices finally slowed, she spoke for the first time. Her voice was even and clear.

”We will contact Sect Master Yue Qingfeng directly and inform him of what has occurred. Until we receive his response, this man remains under restriction. He is not to leave the designated outer compound. He is not to approach any core or inner areas of the sect. Any further major disturbance will end our tolerance.”

Lin Feng’s mouth moved before his better judgment could stop it.

”Hope you guys can do it soon.”

Silence slammed down across the hall.

Every elder turned to look at him. The Sect Master’s gaze rested on his face with sudden, focused stillness.

Lin Feng felt the weight of the silence and cleared his throat.

”I only meant... I—” He stopped, then managed a stiffer, more formal tone. ”I understand the decision.”

The Sect Master regarded him for another long moment, then looked past him toward the two disciples at the door.

”Bai Yan. Su Qing.”

Both women straightened.

”You two will be responsible for guarding him during the restriction period,” the Sect Master said. ”See that he remains in the assigned compound. Report anything unusual immediately.”

Bai Yan (the muscular one) and Su Qing (the blonde one) answered together.

”Yes, Sect Master.”

The Sect Master’s attention returned to Lin Feng one last time.

”You will be shown to the outer compound. Rest and heal. And do not test the limits of our patience a second time.”

She gave a small, dismissive motion with her hand.

Bai Yan stepped forward, expression already resigned, and jerked her head toward the doors.

”Move,” she said under her breath. ”Before you say anything else and get both of us assigned to latrine duty.”

Lin Feng turned and walked out of the hall under the eyes of the entire room, the two Orchid Veil disciples falling in on either side of him like very unwilling escorts. Behind them the doors closed softly, sealing the elders and their pending message to Yue Qingfeng inside.

Bai Yan walked like she was already tired of the assignment. Su Qing kept a cleaner, more formal pace on Lin Feng’s other side. Neither of them spoke much as they led him away from the main halls and toward the outer edges of the Orchid Veil Sect.

The deeper they went, the fewer disciples they passed, but the ones they did encounter still stopped to stare. A few younger disciples whispered behind their hands until Bai Yan’s glare shut them up.

The outer compound sat at the end of a narrow stone path, half hidden by carefully arranged trees and low walls. It was simple to the point of insult. A small courtyard, one basic living room with a bed and a low table, a washing area, and nothing that looked comfortable. Bai Yan shoved the door open with her foot.

”This is it,” she said. ”You stay inside the courtyard unless one of us is with you. You don’t approach the main paths. You don’t try to leave the compound and you don’t cause noise. If the token on your wrist so much as flickers the wrong way, I’m authorized to put you down and drag what’s left back to the hall. Clear?”

”Clear,” Lin Feng said.

Su Qing stepped past him and set a small bundle on the table. Basic bandages, a jar of low grade healing salve, and a flask of clean water. Nothing generous. Just enough to keep him from dying of infection while they waited.

”Medical resources are limited for restricted guests,” she said coolly. ”Use them carefully.”

Lin Feng sat down on the edge of the bed before his legs decided to give out. The walk from the hall had eaten most of what little strength he had left. His chest wound, the deep bruise along his ribs, and the half healed tears from the water beast still throbbed in time with his heartbeat. He opened the jar, sniffed the sharp herbal smell, and started applying the salve without comment.

Bai Yan leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, watching him with open irritation.

”You’re a lot of trouble for someone who was supposed to stay in the swamp and either get stronger or die quietly,” she said. ”First time I’ve been assigned to babysit a man. First time the swamp’s spit someone out in front of me too. You’re collecting too many of my firsts.”

”Not on purpose,” Lin Feng muttered.

”Could’ve fooled me.”

Night settled over the compound faster than expected. The outer area of the sect was quiet except for the just the occasional distant sound of wind through the trees and the presence of two women who would rather be anywhere else.

Lin Feng finished binding the worst of his injuries and leaned back against the wall. He closed his eyes and tried a slow, careful qi cycle. The local energy was cleaner than the swamp’s but thinner, and his damaged meridians protested every pull. Progress would be slow here. Maybe too slow.

Bai Yan’s voice cut through the quiet.

”If you’re thinking about sneaking out tonight, don’t. I’m a light sleeper and I’m already in a bad mood.”

”Wasn’t planning on it.”

”Good. I’d hate to have to explain why the restricted guest ended up face down in a the garden .”

A short silence stretched. Su Qing said nothing. Outside, a night insect started up and then stopped again, as if it had thought better of the noise.

Lin Feng stared at the dark ceiling.

Things were not looking good. He was injured, locked out of the only place that had been forcing real progress, stuck under guard in a sect that did not want him, and running out of time on a deadline that would not care about any of those excuses.

On the other hand...

He was currently sitting inside an all female sect that almost no man from the outside ever walked into. He had stood in their main hall, been assigned personal guards, and was now living under their roof, however temporary and unwelcome the arrangement.

Probably only a handful of men in the entire region could say they had done the same.

Lin Feng let out a slow laugh, then closed his eyes again.

Not good.But not completely ordinary either.