LOST CULTIVATION METHODS

Valeria was thriving — walls rising like fangs around the city's edge, soldiers pounding the dirt with discipline, workshops chiming with steel and sweat.

But Jin's peace was short-lived.

Because today… he had guests.

Unwanted ones.

He sat lazily on the central throne in the newly finished Council Pavilion — a modest open-air structure with a tiled dragon crest behind him and very creaky chairs. He made a mental note to ask the system for furniture that didn't scream every time someone leaned back.

"Lord Jin," intoned a tall, mustached noble from the first foreign group, his outfit dripping in golden embroidery and unearned confidence.

"The Steelroot House offers you one thousand warriors in exchange for governorship of your eastern lands."

Jin tilted his head. "Let me check something."

He tapped his temple.

[System Query: Is this a good deal?]

[Response: It is trash.]

He looked back at the noble. "Yeah, I asked the heavens. They said no."

The mustache twitched. "This is a mistake. We are noble blood."

"I've got beast blood, dragon blood, and demon blood," Jin replied, resting his chin on one fist.

"I collect bloodlines like your daughter collects suitors she won't marry. Next?"

The second envoy, a sharp-eyed woman in crimson armor, stepped forward.

"The Crimson Talon offers knowledge. Forbidden techniques. In exchange, we want unrestricted access to your mines and training grounds."

Jin raised a brow. "So you want to teach my people forbidden arts and take all my resources while you 'observe'?"

"Yes."

"Ma'am," Jin said with a smile, "with all due respect, are you high?"

Laughter erupted behind him. Arielle covered her mouth, trying to be polite. Sarah nearly snorted water from her nose. Lila whispered to Lana, "He's gonna make this one cry too."

The third group offered a "generous" trade: a noble daughter's hand in marriage in exchange for political control and access to Valeria's spiritual spring.

They even brought the daughter — a wide-eyed girl who hadn't blinked once since arriving.

Jin leaned over to Arielle. "Do you think she's possessed, or just horrified?"

Arielle shrugged. "Possibly both."

"I accept your marriage proposal," Jin declared loudly.

Everyone froze.

"…of your daughter to my general's pet goat. He's been lonely."

PFFFFFFT Sarah collapsed onto her seat, wheezing.

The noble turned purple. "You dare—"

"I dare so hard it echoes through generations," Jin said, standing. "Now, unless any of you brought something other than hot air and parasitic contracts, kindly get out before I build a latrine where you're standing."

They left. They almost spat blood. Some did.

Later that afternoon, just as the city guards were finishing a new battlement, a small, precise caravan approached from the western hills — no banners, no arrogance.

Jin met them at the gate himself, flanked by his generals.

They were all women. Lean, graceful, and armed with bows that hummed with quiet menace.

Their leader stepped forward — calm, regal, with silver hair tied back and a crescent-shaped tattoo under one eye.

She bowed. "I am Riven, commander of the Silverwind Valkyries. We seek alliance."

Jin raised an eyebrow. "Another one?"

Riven remained unfazed. "We offer archery — long-range mastery. Scouts. Traps. Our arrows never miss."

Jin gestured toward the training yard, where two recruits were trying to spar with wooden spoons. "You had me at 'long-range.'"

He scanned Riven. She didn't look familiar, but there was… something. A strange tug, like dragon instinct stirred faintly in her presence. He ignored it for now.

"Welcome to Valeria. You'll train the 3rd Company. We'll build you a camp near the north ridge. And if you shoot any of my cooks stealing meat again, I'll promote you personally."

Riven cracked a smile. "Understood."

The next few days were filled with laughter, drills, and the occasional accidental explosion.

In the military camp:

"Stop posing like you're in a painting!" Jin barked at a soldier. "This is training, not a romance novel cover!"

"Sir! I'm trying to impress the Valkyries, sir!"

"Try not dying first!"

In the archery range, Riven demonstrated a triple arrow split-shot. The recruits lost their minds.

"Did you see that?" one whispered.

"I think I'm in love," another muttered.

Jin walked by, muttering, "If they start writing poems, I'm banning ink."

Back in the forge, Jin worked on upgrading weapons. The Ape King Fangblade whispered insults into his mind.

"You swing me like a peasant axe."

"Focus, monkey king junior."

"Even my sword's a diva now," he grumbled.

Sarah, passing by, smirked. "You made it from a giant spirit ape. What did you expect, humble silence?"

At night, Arielle helped him polish new armor plates. "Your dragon scales are spreading. They'll reach your shoulders soon."

"Soon I'll look like a walking armory," he said.

"You already sleep like a rock."

"Because I carry a city on my back."

She kissed his cheek. "And we carry you."

On the fifth day, the mood shifted.

Scouts returned from the far forest — pale, shaking.

"The ground is moving," they said. "Trees fell like grass. The beast horde comes."

Jin stood atop the watchtower that night, staring at the horizon.

Valeria's walls were ready.

Its soldiers trained.

Its archers perched.

Its people believed.

And Jin… was smiling.

[System Notification: Beast Horde Arrival – 14 hours]

[Morale: High]

[City Status: Fortified]

"Let them come," he said, drawing the Fangblade.

"Let them break against what we've built."