Right. He was doing it again. Talking to Luna out loud like a psycho. In front of a child. Who could now cultivate. Because of him. Because she’d sworn an oath he didn’t ask for.
This was a disaster. This was a catastrophe. This was exactly the kind of thing that would make Liu i execute him imdiately.
"Luna," Hunter said. "The system. The voice in my head that gives missions and makes my life difficult."
"Oh." i considered this. "Is she nice?"
[LUNA] I’M VERY NICE (ノ◕ヮ◕)ノ*:・゚✧
[LUNA] TELL HER I SAID HI
"She says hi. She’s a nace. Don’t listen to anything she suggests."
"Okay." i stood up. Tested her new strength by picking up a rock. A rock that should have been too heavy for a seven year old. She lifted it easily. Set it down gently. "This is amazing. I’m strong now. I can help. I can fight."
"No. Absolutely not. You are seven—"
"Seven and a half."
"...and you are not fighting anything. This is exactly why this is a terrible idea. I can’t have a child in combat. That’s wrong on every level."
"But you said we won together. Team effort."
"That was you being safe in a cave! Not you fighting squirrels!"
i tilted her head. "If I’m a cultivator now, I need to train. That’s what cultivators do. Train and get stronger."
"You’re seven!"
"Seven and a half. And you said I could learn the copy technique when I was older and a cultivator. I’m a cultivator now."
Hunter’s brain blue screened. She’d trapped him with his own words. A seven year old had outmaneuvered him using basic logic.
This was his life now.
[LUNA] SHE’S GOOD (◕‿◕✿)
[LUNA] I LIKE HER
[LUNA] MBER #1 IS VERY PROMISING
"Luna, how do I undo this."
[LUNA] YOU DON’T ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ
[LUNA] HEAVENLY CONTRACTS ARE PERMANENT
[LUNA] SOUL BINDING
[LUNA] ONLY BROKEN BY DEATH OR BETRAYAL
[LUNA] AND BETRAYAL DESTROYS THE SOUL SO
[LUNA] BASICALLY PERMANENT
"WHAT?!"
[LUNA] DID I NOT NTION THAT PART?
[LUNA] OOPS (◕‿◕✿)
[LUNA] ANYWAY CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR FIRST LEGION MBER
[LUNA] CURRENT COUNT: 1
[LUNA] GOAL: THOUSANDS
[LUNA] YOU’RE DOING GREAT SWEETIE ♥
Hunter sat there. In pain. In shock. Processing the fact that he’d accidentally bound a seven year old’s soul to his through a system he didn’t understand for a faction he didn’t want with a na he absolutely hated.
"Shadow Legion," he said weakly. "That’s the actual na. Shadow Legion."
[LUNA] ISN’T IT COOL?
[LUNA] VERY DRAMATIC
[LUNA] VERY INTIMIDATING
[LUNA] VERY "MYSTERIOUS DARK ORGANIZATION"
"It sounds like a villain organization. Like sothing that would invade kingdoms and demand tribute."
[LUNA] EXACTLY! (ノ◕ヮ◕)ノ*:・゚✧
"That’s not a good thing!"
[LUNA] DEPENDS ON YOUR PERSPECTIVE
[LUNA] ANYWAY
[LUNA] YOU SHOULD PROBABLY TELL EVERYONE ELSE
[LUNA] THEY’RE GOING TO NOTICE THE GLOWING CHILD
"Tell them what, exactly? ’Hey everyone, good news, I can apparently turn people into cultivators through soul binding contracts that can only be broken by death. Anyone interested?’"
[LUNA] THAT’S PERFECT
[LUNA] VERY DIRECT
[LUNA] I’D ADD SO MARKETING FLAIR BUT SOLID START
"I hate you."
[LUNA] LOVE YOU TOO ♥
[LUNA] NOW GET UP
[LUNA] YOU HAVE A FACTION TO BUILD
[LUNA] EVEN IF YOU DON’T WANT TO
"Can I just die instead?"
[LUNA] NO (◕‿◕✿)
[LUNA] I CHECKED
[LUNA] YOU’RE NOT ALLOWED TO DIE YET
[LUNA] PLOT ARMOR IS STILL ACTIVE
"Of course it is."
i tugged on his sleeve. "Hunter? Are you okay? You’re talking to yourself again."
"I’m having a crisis."
"About being a cultivator?"
"About everything. About all of this. About the fact that I accidentally created a soul binding faction and you’re the first mber and I have no idea what I’m doing."
"Oh." i patted his head. The sa way she’d been doing since they t. Three pats. Always three. "It’s okay. You’ll figure it out. You always do."
"I really don’t."
"You do. You just complain a lot first."
She wasn’t wrong. Hunter did complain a lot. It was basically his primary coping chanism.
Outside the cave, he heard voices. Movent. The camp waking up. Going about morning routines. Completely unaware that everything had just changed. That the strange glowing light they’d probably seen was a seven year old girl becoming a cultivator through a system that shouldn’t exist.
He needed to tell them. Needed to explain. Needed to sohow make this make sense when it didn’t even make sense to him.
"i," he said slowly. "When we go out there, people are going to have questions. A lot of questions. About what just happened. About how you’re suddenly a cultivator. About... everything."
"Should I tell them about the Shadow Legion?"
"No. I’ll tell them. Sohow. After I figure out how to explain it without sounding completely insane." He paused. "Actually, I’m going to sound insane no matter what. That ship has sailed."
"It’s okay." i smiled. Small but genuine. First real smile he’d seen from her since her mother died. "They trust you. You saved them. They’ll listen."
Hunter wasn’t sure about that. But he didn’t have a choice. The cat was out of the bag. The genie was out of the bottle. The seven year old was glowing with cultivation energy and asking about training regins.
He forced himself to sit up. His body scread protests. He ignored them. Years of forcing himself to go to work with hangovers had prepared him for this exact mont of pushing through physical misery.
"Alright," he said, more to himself than anyone else. "Let’s go tell everyone that I can turn people into cultivators through soul contracts. This will go great. Nobody will think I’m a demon. Everything is fine."
[LUNA] THAT’S THE SPIRIT! (ノ◕ヮ◕)ノ*:・゚✧
[LUNA] POSITIVE ATTITUDE
[LUNA] DEFINITELY NOT DENIAL
[LUNA] I’M SO PROUD ♥
i helped him stand. Her new Body Refining strength made it easier than it should have been. Another reminder that this was real. That she was actually a cultivator now. That he’d sohow done sothing that shouldn’t be possible.
They walked toward the cave entrance together. Hunter’s legs shook. His shoulder throbbed. His ridians felt like fire. But he walked. One step. Then another.
Sunlight hit his face. He squinted against it. The camp spread out before him. Makeshift shelters. Cooking fires. People moving about. His three disciples arguing about sothing near a tree. Han directing work crews. Qiu taking inventory of supplies.
Normal morning activity.
About to beco very abnormal.
Han saw him first. His head snapped up. Eyes widened. "Hunter! You’re awake!" He started toward them, then stopped. His gaze dropped to i. To the way she stood. The way she moved. The subtle difference in her posture that spoke of newfound strength.
"i?" Han’s voice was confused. Wary. "What happened to you?"
"I’m a cultivator now," she said simply. "Hunter gave cultivation."
The camp went silent. Every conversation stopped. Every head turned. Everyone staring at the seven year old girl who’d just casually announced sothing impossible.
Hunter opened his mouth. Closed it. Opened it again. No words ca out. His brain had frozen. Stage fright mixed with panic mixed with the certainty that he was about to make everything worse.
Qiu spoke first. "Explain."
Not a request. A demand. The rchant’s eyes were sharp. Calculating. Already seeing implications that Hunter hadn’t considered.
"I..." Hunter started. Stopped. Tried again. "There’s a system. That I have. That I can’t explain. And it does things. Impossible things. And one of those things is apparently turning people into cultivators through soul binding oaths. Which I didn’t know about. Until about five minutes ago. When i accidentally triggered it."
The silence deepened. Beca oppressive. Everyone staring.
Tao raised his hand. "Master? What?"
"I said what I said. I know how it sounds. I know it makes no sense. But look at her." Hunter gestured at i. "She’s Body Refining Level 1 now. A mortal seven year old beca a cultivator. That’s impossible. But it happened. Because apparently my terrible life has decided impossible is just a suggestion."
Han’s spear ca up slightly. Not threatening. Just ready. "What kind of system allows soone to create cultivators from mortals?"
"The kind that exists in my head and talks to and gives missions and made a bandit and won’t let die and has a really annoying personality and uses way too many emojis."
"Emojis?"
"Don’t worry about it. The point is, I have sothing called the Shadow Legion now. It’s a faction. My faction. Apparently. And anyone who swears a sincere oath of loyalty to gets cultivation. Body Refining Level 1 automatically. Talent barriers removed. Path opened. It’s... it’s a lot."
Qiu’s eyes went very wide. "Anyone?"
"Anyone who swears sincerely. It’s a soul contract. Binding. Permanent. Betrayal destroys your soul. Death is the only other way out. So, you know. Not great terms and conditions."
"But it grants cultivation." Qiu’s voice had gone quiet. Intense. "To anyone. Regardless of talent."
"According to Luna, yes."
"Luna?"
"The system. The voice. The pain in my ass. She has a na. I didn’t pick it. Don’t ask."
The camp erupted. Everyone talking at once. Shouting questions. Demanding explanations. So backing away. Others stepping forward. The noise was overwhelming.
Han’s voice cut through it all. "QUIET!"
Everyone stopped. Han’s authority was absolute. Twenty years of being in charge had given him a voice that made people obey automatically.
He looked at Hunter. "This is real? Not a trick? Not a hallucination from blood loss?"
"I wish it was a hallucination. But yes. It’s real. i is proof." Hunter gestured at her. "Check her cultivation. Use your spiritual sense. She’s Body Refining Level 1. Undeniably."
Han’s eyes narrowed. His spiritual sense swept over i. Hunter watched his expression change. Shock. Disbelief. Acceptance. The progression of soone confronting sothing impossible and having to believe it anyway.
"She’s a cultivator," Han said slowly. "Actually a cultivator. This is..." He trailed off. Seed to be having trouble processing.
"Insane?" Hunter supplied. "World breaking? Going to get executed by every major sect if they find out?"
"All of that," Han agreed. "But also... opportunity."
"That’s what I thought!" Qiu stepped forward. His rchant instincts had clearly kicked in. "Do you understand what this ans? Cultivation is locked behind talent. Bloodlines. Resources. Most people live and die mortal. But if you can bypass that? If you can grant cultivation to anyone? That’s... that’s..."
"Revolutionary," Han finished. "Dangerous. Ga changing. Every major sect would kill to have this ability. Or kill you to prevent others from having it."
"That’s why nobody can know," Hunter said quickly. "Outside this camp, I an. If word gets out, we’re all dead. The sects don’t share power. They hoard it. Soone who can create cultivators is either an asset to control or a threat to eliminate. We’re definitely threat category."
"But inside the camp?" Qiu pressed. "The offer stands? Anyone can swear and receive cultivation?"
Hunter looked at him. At the desperation barely hidden behind rchant calculation. At a man who’d lost everything and was seeing a chance at sothing more.
"Yes," Hunter said. "But it’s permanent. Soul binding. You swear to , you’re bound for life. And I don’t know what that ans long term. I don’t know the full implications. I don’t know if there are side effects or costs or problems down the line. I just got this ability five minutes ago. I’m not exactly an expert."
"But it works," Qiu said.
"It works," Hunter confird.
"Then I’m in."
"You don’t even know what you’re swearing to!"
"I’m swearing to you. To the man who saved my life. Who fought a C-rank spirit beast while bleeding from eight wounds. Who made four copies of himself despite it potentially killing him. Who protected people he barely knew because it was the right thing to do." Qiu’s voice was firm. "That’s enough for ."
"I’m a bandit," Hunter said weakly. "Allegedly. I robbed a village. I have slaves. This is not a good organization to join."
"But you’re offering cultivation. Real cultivation. A chance at power. At safety. At a future beyond scrambling for survival." Qiu’s eyes were intense. "I lost everything to those squirrels. My wagons. My goods. My livelihood. I was facing starting over from nothing at my age. But this? This is sothing. This is a chance."
Hunter looked around the camp. At the faces watching. So scared. So interested. So calculating odds. All of them waiting to see what happened next.
This was it. The mont. The choice. He could shut this down. Refuse. Tell them all no and deal with whatever consequences ca.
Or he could accept it. Accept that his life had beco this. Accept that he was apparently building a faction whether he wanted to or not. Accept that people were going to swear soul binding oaths to him and there was nothing he could do to stop it.
The responsible choice was obvious. Turn them down. Protect them from a commitnt they didn’t understand.
But when had Hunter ever made the responsible choice?
"Fine," he said. "But we’re doing this properly. Everyone who wants to stay, who wants to swear, needs to understand what they’re getting into. The oath is permanent. Betrayal ans death. Soul destruction. And you’re binding yourself to . To whatever I beco. Good or bad. Success or failure. You’re choosing this camp. This life. This insanity."
He paused. Looked at i. At the seven year old who’d started all this with innocent words and genuine faith.
"It’s called the Shadow Legion," Hunter continued. "I didn’t pick the na. It sounds like a villain organization. Probably because it is. But it’s mine. Ours. And if you swear, you’re part of it. Forever."
"Shadow Legion," Qiu repeated. Tested the words. Smiled. "I like it. Has gravitas. Presence. The kind of na that makes people think twice before crossing you."
"It makes people think I’m evil."
"Sa thing, really."
Hunter sighed. Looked at Han. At the man who’d trained him. Who’d seen him at his worst and helped anyway. "What about you? You going to swear to a bandit’s soul cult?"
Han was quiet for a long mont. Thinking. Processing. Working through implications with the tactical mind of soone who’d survived two decades through careful decisions.
Then he smiled. Small but genuine. "Soone needs to keep you alive. Might as well make it official."
"That’s not a ringing endorsent."
"It’s the truth. You’re powerful but stupid. Skilled but reckless. You need soone who knows what they’re doing to keep this operation from imploding." Han’s expression turned serious. "But I have conditions."
"Of course you do."
"I’m not swearing to a bandit. I’m swearing to protect these people. That’s my oath. To keep them safe. To train them properly. To make sure your terrible decisions don’t get everyone killed."
"That’s basically the sa thing."
"It’s not. But if it works for the oath, I’m in."
Hunter looked at Luna’s presence in his mind. She was practically vibrating with excitent.
[LUNA] IT’LL WORK (ノ◕ヮ◕)ノ*:・゚✧
[LUNA] THE OATH ACCEPTS SINCERE INTENT
[LUNA] HE’S SINCERE ABOUT PROTECTING PEOPLE
[LUNA] THAT’S ENOUGH
[LUNA] WELCO MBER #2!
"It’ll work," Hunter said aloud. "Luna says sincere intent is what matters. You’re sincere about protecting people. That’s enough."
"Good." Han planted his spear in the ground. Formal. Ceremonial. "Then I, Han Qiuyu, swear to join the Shadow Legion. To protect its mbers. To train its fighters. To serve its purpose for as long as I live."
The air shimred. The sa golden glow that had surrounded i wrapped around Han. Brighter. More intense. He gasped. His cultivation base, already at ninth level Body Refining, surged. Broke through. Energy flooded his ridians.
The glow faded. Han stood there, breathing hard, eyes wide with shock. "I... I broke through. Just now. Just from swearing. I’ve been stuck at ninth level for five years and I just broke through like it was nothing."
"Body Refining Level 10," Hunter confird through his spiritual sense. "The oath pushed you through. Congratulations. You’re officially Peak Body Refining now."
"This is impossible."
"Welco to my life. Where impossible is just Tuesday."
Han flexed his hands. Tested his new strength. "This is... I can feel it. The barrier is gone. I can push toward Foundation Realm now. The path is open."
"Yeah. That’s what the Shadow Legion does. Removes barriers. Opens paths. Makes the impossible possible." Hunter looked around the camp again. "Anyone else? Now’s your chance. Swear the oath, get cultivation, join my accidental soul cult. Great benefits. Terrible na. Permanent commitnt. Who’s interested?"
Qiu stepped forward imdiately. "I swear. Right now. Before you change your mind."
"I’m not going to change my mind."
"Yes you will. You’re clearly terrible at commitnt. So I’m swearing now. I, Qiu Hengdao, swear to join the Shadow Legion. To serve its master. To pursue its goals. To remain loyal until death. Also I’d like to negotiate profit sharing later but that’s a separate conversation."
"You can’t negotiate during the oath!"
"I just did. Now give cultivation before I die of old age."
The glow hit Qiu. He laughed. Actually laughed. Joy and wonder and the sheer relief of soone who’d given up hope suddenly finding it again. Body Refining Level 1. Not much. But everything to soone who’d been mortal.
"It worked!" Qiu spun in a circle, testing his new body. "I can feel it! The qi! The strength! I’m a cultivator! At my age! This is amazing! This is incredible! This is the best business decision I’ve ever made!"
"It’s not a business decision," Hunter said weakly.
"Everything is a business decision. But this one is particularly good. Return on investnt: infinite. I’m very pleased with this transaction."
Others stepped forward. Slowly at first. Then faster. One of the wagon drivers. Two of the guard survivors. A elderly woman who’d been traveling with the caravan. Each one swearing. Each one glowing. Each one transford from mortal to cultivator in seconds.
Hunter watched it happen. Watched his accidental faction grow. mber by mber. Oath by oath. Binding people to him through contracts he didn’t fully understand for purposes he hadn’t chosen.
This was his life now.
Shadow Legion. Population: growing rapidly. Leadership: one very reluctant forr insurance adjuster who just wanted to go ho.
[LUNA] CURRENT COUNT: 8 MBERS (ノ◕ヮ◕)ノ*:・゚✧
[LUNA] GOAL: THOUSANDS
[LUNA] YOU’RE 0.8% OF THE WAY THERE
[LUNA] MAKING GREAT PROGRESS ♥
"I hate everything about this," Hunter muttered.
But he didn’t stop it. Couldn’t stop it. The oaths kept coming. The Shadow Legion kept growing. And sowhere in his chest, beneath the panic and the dread and the certainty that this would end badly, was sothing that might have been hope.
Or just resignation.
Probably resignation.
But it felt close enough.
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