Healing System

"Hu Rong?" Michael turned to his disciple and questioned.

However, it seemed like he was equally as confused.

"Master Mujin... the Golden Dragon Sect used to be notorious for its skill. I am not sure what happened either."

The estate looked filled with dust; the entrance gates were barely holding on, and the sign looked as if it was about to fall off.

Even as Michael glanced at the map, he could see only a couple hundred people, some of whom were not the strongest.

There were only three people above Tier 2, and this made it the weakest sect he had felt thus far.

But since he had come all this way, he might as well investigate.

Walking onto the sect grounds, he could barely spot anyone. There were a few in the distance who were running around and sparring against each other.

However, from what he could see, their technique was sloppy. Even though he was no martial arts genius, his time in the military appeared to be more fruitful than what they were doing currently.

It was painful to watch—bad footwork, weak punches, and they weren't even breathing properly.

Putting his bubbling disappointment aside, he walked up to the strongest person he could find—thankfully, it was an elder.

His complexion was not the best—dark circles were under his eyes, and he was constantly yawning.

But upon feeling someone approaching, he turned his head toward the two of them, his eyes widening in surprise.

"Welcome to our humble Golden Dragon Sect. I am Elder Li." The elder cupped his hands, showing respect.

Michael did the same before speaking, "Sorry if I come off as rude, but what exactly happened to this place?"

"Ah..." Elder Li froze and looked all around himself before whispering, "The sect leader gambled all the property away in the last tournament... we have nothing left."

"...He gambled away the sect?" Michael raised his brows. 'What the heck?'

"Unfortunately, yes. We still have enough funds to keep everything running, but compared to our riches a year ago, we are practically homeless now," Elder Li stated in an exhausted tone.

"That is unfortunate," Michael replied, unsure of how to react in this situation.

However, he did have an idea. "Would it be possible to get everything you had back if, let's say, you win the next tournament?"

Elder Li seemed startled for a moment before looking directly at him. "We don't have anything left to give. If we want everything back, we would need to, at the very least, put up another sect as collateral."

Michael could feel there was a but involved, and shortly after, he got his answer.

"But... if we did put our entire sect name as collateral, then that could be enough." His exhausted gaze turned toward Michael before he said, "Why are you here anyway? I thought we shut down the public park idea..."

This is a bit sad. It would be nice to see the sect leader face-to-face; I wonder what kind of person they are?

'Yeah...' He nodded before explaining, "My disciple and I came here for the trials. We were told they were supposed to start soon."

As soon as his words fell, Elder Li's eyes widened. "W-Wait, you want to join?"

"Of course, if getting everything back is possible, then I don't see why not," Michael said with a small smile, nudging at his Hu Rong to show his respects.

His current short-term goal was to make the sect great again. If he could accomplish that, then his reward would be massive.

Money would be the least of his issues, and the amount of resources he would get would dwarf every single other sect he could think of.

However, that was only the case if he could make this tournament bet go through.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"I understand where you are coming from, but..." Elder Li stammered before continuing, "Our sect leader is absent, we can't make any serious decisions."

"Hm? And where exactly is this sect leader?"

"Dead," Elder Li answered with a sigh.

'...Then what's the issue?' Michael tilted his head before asking,

"So if he's dead, can't you just take over?"

Elder Li looked on hesitantly before saying, "I... We don't want to accept his debts."

"Has he incurred that many?"

"Yes... besides the sect, he was countless thousands of gold in debt as well. If we take over his position, all that debt would naturally fall onto us."

'That sounds a bit like bullshit, no? System?'

It's a bullshit concept, but he is correct. The way these dragon sects work is with the sect leader at the helm. If one wants to take over, they have to become a dragon. That is only in name, of course, but to become a dragon, you need to take in the previous dragon's burdens.

'So the only way to make someone a sect leader is by putting them in immense debt?' Michael questioned one last time, confirming his thoughts.

Pretty much. Only the sect elders can become sect leaders, and to become a sect elder, you need the blessing of the sect leader. It's a stupid cycle, but tradition is tradition, I suppose.

'Looks like it.' He turned his gaze toward Elder Li and put on his signature saintly smile.

"But imagine the riches you would get if you won? You would really be the golden dragon, no?"

"I... I am not qualified."

"Sure you are. All you have to do is take over, and I'll win the tournament for you."

Michael continued trying to convince him to take up the mantle, but before he could finally hit the nail in the coffin, the ground shook.

Suddenly, a pavilion began emerging from the ground, its colors shining golden.

And he was not sure if he imagined it, but there was almost the reflection of a golden dragon emerging before flying into the sky.

Yet at the same time, the mana it left was definitely no joke. He couldn't even gauge its strength.

"Oh... It's the trial." Elder Li's uninterested voice rang out as he began walking toward the pavilion, Michael and Hu Rong right behind him.

"You said you wanted to join the sect, right? Well, the opportunity is here." He stated with a pause before continuing,

"...But even if you don't pass, you are welcome to join. No one passes this trial anyways."

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Michael nodded back and questioned, "So do we just go inside and that's it?"

"Only one person at a time. You can choose to go or let your disciple go first."

Before Michael could respond, Hu Rong spoke, "Master Mujin is going first."

'Not even letting me answer on my own, huh?'

"That's fine," Elder Li replied before walking toward the pavilion doors and swinging them open.

Surprisingly, there was nothing in sight, just a black void, one that was giving off familiar mana.

'Space and Chaos... One more I can't really tell.' Michael thought before making his way toward the entrance, stopping just before it and turning around.

"Disciple Hu Rong, while I am doing the trial, get acquainted with the people of the sect, and please don't cause any trouble." He emphasized the last part, and with Elder Li's look of approval, stepped forward.

Michael did not even realize when his surroundings changed, as in one moment he was on the sect grounds, and in the next, he was standing on water, with a night sky full of stars above him.

And then there was one more thing that stood out—a green, frog-like monster.

But before he could consider its origins, he leaned backward, dodging the incoming tongue that was as sharp as a blade.

As soon as he did that, he sent a sword of light flying from the sight and right onto the tongue, pinning it to the ground before sending one more straight toward the frog monster, splitting it in two.

However, just when he thought it was all over, two more appeared, identical in appearance.

'This might be a little interesting...'