Senior Sister Liu's smile made my blood run cold. In all my time at the Azure Peak Sect, I had never seen her smile. Stern lectures? Yes. Disapproving frowns? Constantly. But a smile? This was new territory, and new territory was dangerous in the cultivation world.

"Senior Sister!" Wei Lin's voice cracked a little, but not a second later he was back to flashing his usual cocky grin. "What a nice surprise to—

"Three weeks." The smile on Senior Sister Liu's face hadn't changed, but that somehow made it more terrifying. "Three weeks without so much as a message to the sect."

I watched Wei Lin's confident façade crumble under that unnaturally pleasant expression. Even Lin Mei, usually so composed, was fidgeting with her jade pendant.

"We were gathering elemental essence," Lin Mei tried to explain, the words tumbling out in a rush. "For cultivation, of course. And we had very good reasons for—"

"The elemental essence was for me," I cut in, making Senior Sister Liu look at me. "They were helping me prepare for a breakthrough."

"Ah yes," she murmured. "Two breakthroughs in a few weeks." She examined me closely, no doubt looking for signs of unstable qi or damaged meridians. Finding none, she slowly nodded. "Not bad. Looks like the World Tree Sutra is quite suited for you."

"Thank you," I stuttered, at a loss for anything else to say. It was odd being complimented by someone who mostly communicated through sharp silences and disappointed expressions.

Her gaze dropped back to Wei Lin and Lin Mei, and her face cooled by several degrees. "Ke Yin has progressed further than any other outer sect student. You two, on the other hand, have fallen behind in your cultivation."

Here we go, I thought. The lecture we'd all been dreading.

Wei Lin opened his mouth to protest but shut it again quickly as Senior Sister Liu went on.

"The immortal path is a lonely one," she declared. "Each cultivator must prioritize their own advancement above all else. Friends, family, worldly attachments - these are chains that will only drag you down. Look at yourselves - while your friend has reached the fifth stage, you both remain at the third. How can you hope to keep up if you don't focus on your own cultivation?"

I held back a sigh as I listened. This was the traditional view in the cultivation world, but I knew there were many ways to the Dao. Dual cultivation was a prime example – though that definitely wasn't the situation with my friends and me. Still, it proved that the "lonely path" philosophy wasn't the only valid approach.

Though, I did feel guilty that they really had lost time cultivating because of me.

"Senior Sister," Wei Lin interrupted carefully, immediately making me wonder if he had a death wish. "Most disciples at our stage wouldn't have the confidence to travel outside the sect alone. Even if they did, most wouldn't return alive."

Lin Mei nodded, apparently deciding that since Wei Lin had already stuck his neck out, she might as well join him. "The few weeks outside taught me more about the cultivation world than all my time in the sect. We learned—"

"Be that as it may," Senior Sister Liu cut her off smoothly, "it is still my job to track the progress of outer disciples. I cannot have you running around outside the sect without permission. A few days is one thing, but weeks?" She shook her head. "There must be consequences for your actions."

Wei Lin and Lin Mei tensed beside me. Here it comes, I thought.

"For the next month, you will both take extra shifts in the herb gardens," she began, her voice allowing no room for debate. "You'll also assist in training the new servant recruits in basic cultivation techniques." She paused and a small, fleeting smile played across her lips. "And you'll also serve as training partners for the inner disciples."

Wei Lin's face fell. Extra garden shifts meant less time for his practice, and teaching beginners was notoriously exhausting work. But to serve as training partners for inner disciples? That was something different entirely. That meant being used as practice dummies for people who could easily crush us if they got careless. Even those that tried to hold back often misjudged their strength.

Lin Mei looked less bothered by the garden duty – it was her specialty after all – but the prospect of teaching clearly made her nervous. And I could see her hands shaking slightly at the mention of inner disciple training. We'd all heard stories about outer disciples who ended up in the medical pavilion for weeks after such sessions.

"The inner disciples need reliable training partners to help them hone their skills," Senior Sister Liu continued, as if she hadn't just sentenced them to weeks of acting as human target practice. "And since you three get along so well, they'll also benefit from having a cohesive team to train against."

"Hopefully what happened to Zhou will make them more careful with their practice partners," Wei Lin muttered under his breath, though not quite quietly enough.

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I couldn't stay silent. They'd gotten into this mess because of me, going out of their way to help when they could have just focused on their own cultivation like proper disciples.

"Senior Sister Liu," I spoke up, ignoring Wei Lin’s subtle head shake. "They don't deserve punishment. If anyone should be punished, it should be me. I'm the one who—"

"Do you actually believe that?" she interrupted, fixing me with an intense stare.

I nodded. I wasn't the type to let friends take the fall for me, even if it meant more work. They'd gone out of their way to help; I'd do the same. Still, there was something about her expression that made me wonder if I was walking into some kind of trap.

To my shock, Senior Sister Liu actually laughed – a real laugh, not the terrifying smile from before. "Since you're all so convinced you did the right thing," she said once she'd composed herself, "let's put that to the test."

We exchanged worried glances, wondering what she had in mind.

"But before I get to that," she continued, "some good news. Depending on how valuable your recruits prove to be, you'll each receive contribution points."

I nodded, familiar with the practice. Disciples could earn points by bringing back treasures, techniques, or even people to the sect. It was a standard way to encourage expansion while maintaining quality control. Though I had to wonder how many points a stone guardian, its human buddy, and two reformed bandits would be worth.

"Now then," her voice took on an almost playful tone that set off all sorts of warning bells in my head, "about testing your teamwork. The Outer Disciple Tournament is fast approaching. The first stage typically involves group activities." Her eyes glinted. "I don't usually recommend first-years participate, but since you're so confident in your way and one of you has reached the fifth stage... would you dare to participate and prove me wrong?"

We exchanged glances. I could see the uncertainty in Wei Lin and Lin Mei's eyes, but also determination. They weren't going to back down if I was willing to try.

"Yes," I said firmly.

"Are you certain?" Senior Sister Liu's voice dropped lower. "This year's participants are on another level. Not only is someone like Wu Kangming participating, but there are several cultivators who have reached the seventh stage." She paused meaningfully. "And one who has reached the eighth."

I kept my expression neutral, but my mind was racing. The eighth stage of Qi Condensation wasn’t far from the Elemental Realm. Someone at that level could probably kill me within a minute.

A few months ago, I would have immediately rejected this challenge. The risk of death or drawing attention, especially from the elders who would be watching the tournament, would have seemed too high.

And yet...

My recent breakthrough meant I was more confident in my ability to stay alive, and I knew I had room for at least one more advancement before the tournament. If necessary, I could even do another training time loop - though I'd have to be careful about showing too much improvement too quickly.

My thoughts on drawing attention had changed. After my experience with Elder Molric, I'd realized that having one-on-one tuition from an elder was worth the increased scrutiny. Yes, it might paint a bigger target on my back, but it would also mean access to better resources and techniques. Who knew? I might even get a life-saving treasure out of it.

Not to mention, I couldn’t stay an Outer Disciple forever.

But more importantly, the tournament would be closely monitored. Unlike the outside world, there would be rules and supervision. It was actually safer than our recent adventures, in some ways. Plus, the rewards for placing well in the tournament were substantial. Even if we didn't win, just participating could earn us valuable resources.

"Master," Azure's voice echoed in my mind, "you're actually considering this?"

"I am," I replied mentally. "I'd been planning to sign up for the tournament anyway - if there was an added bonus of getting my friends out of trouble, even better.”

I looked Senior Sister Liu in the eye and nodded. "Yes. We'll participate."

She studied me for a long moment before nodding. "In that case, I will waive the punishment – but I expect you all to pass the first stage." Her lips quirked slightly. "As for anything more than that... maybe next year you might actually have a decent chance of winning." She looked directly at me as she said this, and I wondered just how much she had guessed about my potential.

"Time isn't a problem," Azure mused in my mind, picking up on my thoughts. "Though we should be careful about how obviously we improve."

"Agreed," I replied mentally. "We'll need to make any advancement look natural."

Senior Sister Liu turned to leave, then paused. "You have eight weeks," she said over her shoulder. Then, in a movement too smooth to follow, she simply... wasn't there anymore. Her voice lingered in the air like an echo: "Use them wisely."