The next morning, Ning made his way toward the inner sect.

  In the Pure Qi Sect, the peripheral and outer sect disciples were what he liked to call "glorified workers," while the inner sect disciples were the true disciples.

  The living quarters reflected that hierarchy perfectly. The outer and peripheral disciples' lodgings were clustered together, practical, dull, and depressingly beige. The Inner Sect, on the other hand, was like stepping into an entirely different game map.

  Jade-tiled pavilions gleamed under the morning light, and the spiritual energy was so dense it almost shimmered in the air.

  "I see why they call this the Inner Sect," Ning muttered, squinting at the lush scenery. "They've basically unlocked the paid DLC of the sect."

  He presented his jade pass to the gatekeeper, who merely scanned it with a spiritual token and waved him through without a word.

  As Ning walked deeper in, the crowd thinned. Inner sect disciples wore more elegant robes and moved with quiet focus.

  Finally, he reached a bamboo courtyard surrounded by a formation barrier. A stone plaque hung near the gate, engraved with the name:

  Jadeleaf Residence.

  Ning exhaled softly. "Alright, this must be the place."

  Just as he was about to knock, the gate slid open without a sound.

  A woman stepped out.

  She wore a snow-white robe embroidered with faint silver lines. Her expression was cold and distant.

  "You must be the one assigned to my garden," she said, voice soft but chilly.

  "Yes, Senior Sister," Ning said, cupping his fists respectfully.

  "This is not a difficult task. The garden is self-sustaining, but it requires rainfall every three days. Do not enter the central pavilion or touch the array stones."

  "Understood."

  She gave a curt nod. "If any spiritual beasts approach, do not panic. My guardian will handle it."

  "Mrrrow."

  Ning blinked. From behind her, padding gracefully into view, came a creature that made him rethink the phrase spiritual beast.

  It was a cat.

  Its fur shimmered with faint gold streaks, its tail swayed like a silken banner, and between its ears flickered a small wisp of spiritual flame, burning silently and menacingly.

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  "This is Lumi," the senior sister said. "He will guide you. And ensure you don't… misbehave."

  The cat stared at Ning with the disdain of a divine being forced to acknowledge a worm.

  Damn.

  Ning had heard that if you fed a dog, it would think you were a god. If you fed a cat, it would think it was the god.

  Glancing at Lumi, he was pretty sure that was a universal truth, even in cultivation worlds.

  "…Understood," he repeated.

  "Good. I'll be gone for several weeks." Her robe fluttered as she turned away, not even sparing him a final glance. "Do not disturb the formations. And do not touch anything."

  Before Ning could process the irony of being told that twice, she was gone, her presence evaporating like mist.

  For a long moment, Ning just stood there, processing.

  Then he looked down at the cat.

  Lumi yawned. A faint spark flickered from its whiskers.

  "So…" Ning crouched slightly. "You're the supervisor, huh?"

  "Mrr."

  The cat tilted its head, unimpressed. Then, with deliberate slowness, it padded toward the garden gate and looked back expectantly.

  "Ah. Follow you, right? Got it."

  As Ning entered the garden, a surge of dense, pure spiritual energy washed over him. The plants inside were mostly foreign to him, but after months of staring at nothing but green grains, their exotic colors and shapes felt refreshing.

  "Not bad," Ning murmured, inspecting a bed of glowing orchids. He wasn't exactly an expert at plant diagnosis, but the qi flowing through them was clearly of high quality.

  Lumi meowed, leaping onto a stone bench and motioning toward the flowerbeds.

  "Okay." Ning formed a quick seal and activated his Small Cloud Rain Technique.

  Immediately, he felt the difference; the air resonated with water qi, and each droplet of spiritual rain sank perfectly into the soil. The plants responded almost instantly, their leaves glistening with renewed vitality.

  "This is absurdly efficient…" Ning muttered. "The soil must be first-grade."

  "Mrr."

  He turned toward Lumi, who was watching him with an expression that could only be described as: Good job.

  Wait, do I speak cat?

  He almost believed it, given the creature's intelligence. Then again, cultivation was about enlightenment, and spiritual intelligence naturally came with progress.

  Still, Old Zhou had once said that only late-stage spiritual beasts displayed true sentience, unless they were of a superior bloodline.

  And since this was the pet of an inner sect disciple… well, Lumi was probably both.

  "Don't worry, Your Excellency," Ning said dryly. "I'll do my best."

  The cat closed its eyes and curled up, clearly done supervising for now.

  Just then, the senior sister returned with a small pouch. "Here. This is your reward."

  Ning accepted the spirit stones without counting them immediately; it would be rude to do so.

  "Do your best over the next few weeks. You may cultivate here, but don't touch anything." Her tone remained cold, and her spiritual pressure subtly flared as she spoke.

  "Understood." Ning bowed quickly. The pressure she released was clearly a warning.

  "Good." With that, she disappeared again.

  As soon as she vanished, Ning exhaled. "Well… that was terrifying."

  Her spiritual pressure had rolled over him like a silent storm. Just a tiny flex of her qi, yet his instincts screamed Don't mess around.

  "Guess I'll shelve my plan to borrow some first-grade soil," he muttered. "Shame. I wanted to try blending a fistful of first-grade soil in mine to see some effect."

  He straightened up and dusted his robe. "Still, that gap in cultivation… It's massive."

  Inner sect disciples were called "true disciples" for a reason. Those who made it that far had the potential to reach Foundation Establishment. The sect didn't care for ordinary Qi Condensation cultivators; it sought Foundation and Purple Mansion experts. Most inner sect disciples were already at the late or even peak stage of Qi Condensation.

  "Well, let's just do my job." Ning straightened his back.

  After all, he wasn't some protagonist who picked fights with stronger women for no reason.

  He didn't have that kind of protagonist rizz to pull it off anyway.

  "Looks like the next three months are going to be busy," Ning said, thinking about the hectic schedule ahead.

  ...

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