Young Master System: My Mother Is the Matriarch

The night over the obsidian subspace was still. Too still.

Not a single ember from the forging pits flickered. Not a single whisper of the valley winds stirred the trees. The great altar sat in the distance largely half-complete, half-awake. As if it too sensed the unease coiling through the Liu clan settlement.

Leng Yue walked alone at the forefront of the newly erected ceremonial hall, her midnight robes trailing silently over the stone. The oil lamps along the corridor burned low, casting faint gold upon her pale features. Her eyes, clear as a winter stream, reflected a depth of thought rarely spoken aloud.

Li Wei had departed.

And upon her shoulders now rested the burden of a clan still learning to breathe like a single body.

Behind her, footsteps approached in three sets, measured, respectful.

Jia Lin, Mei Yu, and Ning Xue stopped a few paces away.

"Senior Sister Leng," Ning Xue said softly, bowing. "The camps are assembled. The people are awaiting your word."

"And the arena grounds," Mei Yu added, clutching her scrolls, "are nearly prepared for marking. A quarter of the craftsmen remain at their stations, as per your earlier order."

Jia Lin simply placed a fist over her heart in salute. "My warriors stand ready."

Leng Yue nodded once. "Good. Let us begin."

They followed her into the central hall.

Originally built as a communal warehouse, the hall had been hollowed and reshaped through their joint labor. Now, three carved pillars rose near the front—each representing one of the three disciplinary branches:

Strength, for Jia Lin's warriors.

Skill, for Mei Yu's artificers.

Spirit, for Ning Xue's devotional practitioners.

Leng Yue stood before these pillars, her gaze sharp.

"The Liu clan breathes, but only barely," she said. "If we are to survive until the young master returns, we must ensure our foundation does not crack from within."

Her tone was calm, but each word struck like a stone dropped into still water.

"Li Wei entrusted us," she continued, "because he sees potential in each of you—not only as leaders, but as stewards of a future sect."

Mei Yu's fingers tightened on her scroll. "The designs and manuals are ready. But… Senior Sister, are we truly establishing a sect? Here? Now?"

"A sect begins the moment people gather under a shared purpose," Leng Yue replied. "Walls and banners come later. First must come discipline."

Jia Lin stepped forward. "The tournaments you ordered will determine our core disciples. I have already selected twenty promising youths from the warrior camp. Their hearts burn hot."

"Young embers must be tested," Leng Yue said. "Heat them. Temper them. Strike them."

"As the forge teaches," Jia Lin agreed.

Ning Xue spoke next, her voice melodic but solemn. "For my branch, I have prepared rites of clarity and rites of devotion. The mountain spirits have shown no rejection toward our presence these last few days. But if we are to establish a sect, then respect must become law."

Leng Yue's expression softened slightly.

"Your path," she said, "will anchor us. A sword without spirit is a bandit's tool. A sect without spirit is merely another faction seeking power."

Mei Yu stepped closer. "Senior Sister, regarding the trials… would you like to review the formats?"

"Later," Leng Yue replied. "First, there is a matter far more pressing."

She turned toward the carved window overlooking the valley.

Outside, the altar stood like a dark heart surrounded by lantern-light.

"The mountain trembled earlier," she said quietly.

Ning Xue and Mei Yu stiffened.

"It was faint," Leng Yue continued, "but unmistakable. A pulse from the leyline."

Jia Lin frowned. "Is this connected to the Heart Stone?"

Leng Yue nodded. "Li Wei's barrier around the relic masks most of its presence, but its resonance grows stronger with each passing day. If we are not careful, we may draw things we cannot face."

Silence thickened the air.

Finally Ning Xue spoke, "Then should we pause the altar construction?"

Leng Yue closed her eyes for a moment. "No. What has begun cannot be aborted without consequence. The altar must be completed—but we must fortify ourselves in the meantime."

Mei Yu exchanged a glance with Jia Lin. "A defensive array?"

"Three," Leng Yue corrected. "One around the altar. One around our dwellings. And one around the training arena."

Mei Yu hesitated. "Senior Sister, constructing three arrays simultaneously will drain our spirit-stone reserves…"

"Then we will drain them." Leng Yue's voice was firm, final. "A drought will not kill us. An invasion will."

The trio bowed their acknowledgment.

The meeting dispersed into separate tasks.

Jia Lin marched toward the training camps where her handpicked candidates awaited her. Young men and women stood at rigid attention as she entered, eyes bright with both fear and ambition.

She circulated among them, adjusting stances, barking instructions, testing their reflexes with sudden strikes. Sweat and determination filled the air.

"You will face more than fists and blades," Jia Lin told them. "Your will, your patience, your fear—these too will be tested. A warrior whose mind crumbles loses even before the blade touches flesh."

Her presence was like a hammer over molten iron.

Meanwhile—

Mei Yu returned to her crafting pavilion. Scrolls were unrolled across every surface. Crystal jars glowed faintly, each filled with powdered jade, copper shavings, or rune-ink. Her assistants hurried to and fro, awaiting her instructions.

She adjusted diagrams, recalibrated array symbols, and performed delicate measurements with a reed compass.

"Precision," she whispered to herself, "is the difference between an enlightenment array and an explosive one."

Her hands moved with gentle authority, like someone stitching fate into fabric.

And—

Ning Xue ascended the stone path leading to the shrine foothill. Her disciples knelt around her, chanting prayers that pacified the ambient qi. Incense curled upward into pale whorls, merging with the mountain air.

She placed both palms on the ground, eyes closed.

"Old spirits," she murmured, "bear witness. The Liu clan does not seek dominion over your domain. Only harmony."

A subtle warmth surged beneath the soil, responding faintly.

Her brows furrowed.

Something else trembled beneath that warmth.

Something weary.

Something watching.