btth: crafting even heaven

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🌄 Qinghe Village - Sunrise After Salvation

The morning sun spilled golden light across Qinghe Village like a healing tide. Children ran freely through the dusty paths, laughter echoing as if washing away the shadows that once loomed. The once-ill now stood tall and active, and even the elderly who had resigned themselves to death wore soft, grateful smiles.

The heavy miasma of poison and despair that had suffocated the air for weeks had finally lifted.

Tianzun stood atop a grassy hill just beyond the village's edge. His arms were folded behind his back, his gaze fixed on the village below. He wasn't smiling, but there was a quiet serenity in his posture.

Behind him, Zhen Mu approached slowly, his steps respectful, eyes still carrying awe. "Young master, the villagers are ready."

Tianzun didn't turn, his voice calm. "I saw."

During the night, he had used the system's spiritual grid to perform a full aptitude scan of every living villager. Soul strength, meridian potential, Dou Qi absorption rate, and even temperament profiles—everything calculated, recorded, categorized.

> "Eighty percent cultivable. Some even hold potential equal to inner sect disciples. They just lacked the push... and someone who believed in them."

He turned, his robes fluttering with the wind.

"Gather the eight Dou Shi level cultivators," he said.

Zhen Mu blinked. "You wish to meet with them, young master?"

"Challenge them," Tianzun clarified, eyes narrowing. "All of them."

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⚔️ Village Training Grounds – High Noon

The midday sun hung high as villagers gathered in murmuring waves around the hardened dirt arena that had once been used for ritual duels. Now it served a new purpose.

The eight Dou Shi cultivators, village veterans of many seasons, stood in a semi-circle before the small figure that was Tianzun. Though they bore steel gazes and calloused fists, they exchanged uncertain looks.

Zhen Mu stood by, silent, like a sentry.

Tianzun's voice rang clear. "This is not to belittle you. I challenge you to learn who I am—and for me to see what you can become."

The crowd hushed.

One by one, they stepped forward.

The first three fights, Tianzun used no Dou Qi—only pure martial strength, precise motion, and devastating tactics. His newly developed technique, Shadow Chain Palm, launched chains of projected force that disrupted energy flow. Coupled with the fluid acceleration of Meteoric Break Step, he danced around his opponents with surgical precision.

Each fight ended with the opponent flat on their back or kneeling in acknowledgment.

The fourth fighter tried to use a wide-area shockwave, but Tianzun anticipated it. With a timed pivot and hip rotation, he launched a downward strike to the man's dominant knee, disarming him before his full Dou Qi cycle could complete.

The remaining duels were performed with slight Dou Qi enhancement, as Tianzun gauged his energy circulation in combat. He finished each opponent with minimal damage, showcasing mercy and mastery.

By the eighth match, sweat dripped from every challenger's brow.

They all knelt, fists to the ground.

"We accept you fully, Tian-sama."

[System Notification: Core Loyalty Established – village people– 100% Bound]

Tianzun exhaled and offered his hand to the last kneeling warrior.

"Then rise. Qinghe is reborn today."

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🌟 A Message of Hope – Rewriting Destiny

Later that afternoon, Tianzun gathered every villager in the main square. Standing on a carved stone platform, he projected his voice using a Qi resonance technique.

"You once believed age, weakness, or poverty prevented cultivation," he said. "But those were lies you were told—and lies you believed."

Behind him, the system manifested translucent panels in the air, glowing with color-coded talent rankings, showing visualized Dou Qi flow paths, personalized for each viewer.

Gasps filled the crowd.

"Even at fifty, you can become Dou Zhe. At sixty, with training and pill aid, you can stabilize meridians. We begin not when others say we are ready—we begin when we choose to rise."

The entire village seemed to vibrate with new purpose.

Children stared at Tianzun like he was a celestial sage. Mothers clutched their daughters. Old cultivators wept openly.

A grandmother with trembling hands whispered, "So we weren't too late..."

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🛡 Village-Wide Aptitude Summary

Tianzun reviewed a summary scan:

📌 Dou Shi (Advanced): 8 (Including Zhen Mu) 📌 Dou Zhe (Intermediate): 33 📌 Qi Gathering (Foundational): 120 📌 Unawakened/Children: 240 📌 Non-Cultivators (Elderly/Infirm): 120

Out of 512 villagers, nearly 400 had confirmed cultivable potential.

> "With proper training and pills, even the lowest can touch Qi. I'll make sure they do."

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📜 Mission Deployment – Wu Tan Orphan Recovery

That evening, Tianzun gathered Zhen Mu and twelve of the most loyal Dou Zhe villagers.

He handed them each a black-inked scroll stamped with his seal: 天玄宗 Tian Shuan Sect.

"You will enter Wu Tan City's outer wards. Seek orphan children—but not just any. Only those with courage in their hearts, patience in their spirits, and purity in their intent."

Zhen Mu bowed. "And if we're questioned?"

Tianzun handed over the Black Auction Card and a folded authorization letter.

"Show them this. The auction house knows me. If anyone tries to stop you... leave them to me."

[System Mission Log Updated: Wu Tan Recruitment Initiative – Priority Class C]

As the emissaries departed under nightfall, Tianzun turned and looked at the training field once more. Young villagers were practicing breathing techniques. Elders chanted mantras. Hope glowed on every face.

> "This is no longer a forgotten village. It is a seedling of revolution."

He folded his hands behind his back, cloak flaring slightly in the rising wind.

> "The Tian Shuan Sect has taken its first breath. Now... we prepare to roar."

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End of Chapter 35