It was evening by the time Jun got released from the torture chamber, which was what he aptly named Li Xia’s room. His entire body was sore from the way he was chased, tossed, and spun around. He let out a deep sigh, walking through the streets lit up by magical lights.

Nightlife in the sect wasn’t all that impressive. All the gambling dens, brothels, and black markets were rather well hidden or further away from the lake. Instead, bars, inns, and teahouses seemed to be in style. The smell of alcohol made his mind crave a nice, strong drink. How long had it been since he had gotten properly drunk?

With his mind occupied by such thoughts, he followed the smell of alcohol into a nearby alley. Suddenly, his entire body snapped awake. Primal instincts threatened to overtake his sanity as he sensed prey. Before him, in a dimly lit street, stood a nemesis and a tale old as time.

It was a cat.

Black and white fur, piercing yellow eyes, a stare as cold as ice. It was perched on top of a windowsill, drinking bamboo wine from a porcelain cup. A growl rose to Jun’s lips, but the cat remained calm. It was an expert of the streets and a master of the night.

“It is I, your ancestor,” the cat said, narrowing his eyes at Jun.

“What the fuck? A talking cat?” He had met many cats before, and none of them could talk like this one. The voice had an ancientness to it as if it had lived through many a millennium.

“Bow before me. Worship me as your king, for I am the Grand Phoenix Immortal of Seven Sins,” it said, much to the dog’s confusion.

“The will of the heavens has led me to you, oh chosen one. Kowtow before me nine times, and I will take you as my disciple.”

Jun took his paw, looked at the sky above him, and then decisively bit down on it. Yep, he wasn’t dreaming. The cat sat patiently on the windowsill, awaiting his response.

‘This feels like a dream, yet I’m awake. Ah well, what do I have to lose?’

‘I’ve already sold my body once. It’s easier to do it the second time.’ Jun sighed to himself, prostrating before the cat. Perhaps he was the chosen one. His cheat system hadn’t come when he reincarnated, so the gods had given him an old grandpa to help guide his path.

After the ninth bow, the cat solemnly approached Jun, swaying its butt as it did.

Whack!

It suddenly hit him in the face! Jun reeled from the blow.

“The heavens have eyes, yet they have given life to a stupid mutt. The heavens are fair, so why have they created such an abomination? I would say you are a frog in the well, but a frog has infinitely more wisdom than you.”

With that, the cat lifted its tail, showing its butthole to Jun before leaping away. Something inside Jun snapped at that moment.

“Come here! I’ll send you directly to heaven so you can see what it’s like!” He ran like the wind, seeing nothing but red. The world blurred around him, but the cat was always one step faster.

“Slow. Stupid. Ugly. The heavens should’ve struck you down when you were born,” it said, effortlessly dodging any attempts of assault.

Eventually, Jun grew tired. His rage still simmered in his mind, but his body couldn’t handle any more running.

“Not even a magical beast. Come back in a thousand years. Maybe then you’ll be a match for your grandpa Fei,” the cat sneered, standing just out of reach.

“Just you wait—cat sashimi, honey-glazed cat, roasted cat with potatoes. I’ll have so much fun thinking up recipes when I catch you.”

With that, Jun gracefully turned around and left, unwilling to admit he was defeated today. The cat’s taunting insults were nothing to the graceful Buddha. One had to accept all creatures despite their inherent flaws. Today, Jun was that Buddha.

He thought that was the end of the story, but the next day, the same cat appeared outside the disciple's quarters. It barraged him with insults through the window early in the morning, and when the disciples left their rooms to see what the commotion was about, it turned its wrath on them. The cat’s words were vicious, directly targeting their mothers. Naturally, this caused a widespread cat hunt, but the damn thing was too elusive. Still, some of the disciples seethed with rage until eventually, someone dug up information on it.

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“Missing cat. Loves to play pranks and cause mischief. Fei belongs to Elder Xu Feng in the inner sect. There is a huge reward for capturing her and returning her to her master.”

This was the same mission poster that was hung on the communication board. For a whole month, no one had caught her.

‘Maybe this is a heaven-sent opportunity. With her in hand, Chen Hao could demand to meet the elder in the inner sect. From there, the possibilities are endless.’

Jun plotted and schemed, but every conclusion he came to pointed to one thing. It was impossible right now. Perhaps when he managed to master an illusion formation would he stand a chance. For now, he shelved it away as a future side quest. Yet despite that, the cat would still come from time to time to taunt them and gloat in her victory.

There was one more important event that stood before Jun and Li Xia’s help. Namely, it was the secret meeting of the ‘talented’ disciples.

Chen Hao led Jun to a shoddy teahouse located in the seedier parts of the sect. There, three people were already sitting around a small wooden table. Zhao Bin excitedly stood up, grabbing Chen Hao’s arm and shaking it. Behind him was a short boy with black hair in a bowl cut. He had freckles on his face, and his eyes constantly darted around, looking for something or other.

Sitting beside him was a girl with red hair—the first Jun had seen of the sort. Several expensive rings on her fingers, her confident expression, and her overall body language convinced Jun she must’ve been a noble.

“This is Gao Lin,” Zhao Bin pointed to the boy, “and this is Ma Rui.” The girl waved towards Chen Hao.

“The reason I gathered you all is simple,” Zhao Bin said after Chen Hao sat down. “We are all blessed with dual spirit roots. I believe everyone here has at least cleared their meridians?”

They all nodded.

“Now, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but spirits stones and contribution points are everything here. Better pills, more magical techniques, private lessons—everything costs one of those two things,” Chen Hao nodded along. He had told Jun how useful the Meridian Cleansing Pills were.

“I’ve asked around. It’s only been a week, yet we four are the only ones who have managed to do so. The rest are still struggling with grasping spiritual force. I don’t think less of them for that, but to get ahead in the sect, we will need to complete various difficult missions, and it’s much easier to do so by working together. But how can a third stage work together with a first stage? They would only drag each other down.”

Jun was keeping a close eye on the merchant’s son, and one thing was crystal clear. He definitely thought less of those with lower talent than him.

Ma Rui nodded along as if it were natural, but Chen Hao and Gao Lin had troubled expressions on their faces.

“So you’re saying... we exclude the other disciples and complete missions together?” Chen Hao spoke up. Jun could tell he was uncomfortable by the thought just by how he was squirming in his seat, nervously tapping on his thighs.

“No, no. I would never suggest that. There are plenty of talented people among our batch of disciples, and we should share missions among everyone. It’s just that for some particular ones, us four should work together,” Zhao Bin spread his arms towards them with a huge smile.

Ma Rui laughed at that.

“He’s saying that they won’t be as strong as us. Also, it’s only natural for the strong to band together.”

Zhao Bin glared at her from the corner of his eyes, but he was still smiling towards Gao Lin and Chen Hao. The noise died down, and for a solid minute, everyone was silent. Eventually, Gao Lin broke.

“I-I don’t mind joining. We should help each other out.”

Then, the gazes turned to Chen Hao. Another moment of silence passed. “I don’t fe-”

“Just join. You don’t need to make enemies right now. Besides, there’s no harm in this children’s alliance. Worst case you just leave,” Jun said, looking up at Chen Hao. The kid was still oblivious to how the world worked.

The barking made Chen Hao pause his sentence, which allowed Zhao Bin to interject. He looked gratefully at Jun.

“All I’m saying is this—how about we meet here once a month, share any news that might be relevant, as well as help each other out with various cultivation-related problems? Does that sound alright?”

The brat struggled with his values, but Zhao Bin was a natural smooth-talker. Hesitantly, Chen Hao nodded his head.

“Wonderful. Now, I’ve already reached the first stage of Qi Refining. Let me share some notes,” Zhao Bin said to the surprise of everyone here. They all had the same spirit roots, so how had he pulled ahead?

The answer was simple. Money. He had come up with a simple scheme of helping other disciples in exchange for payment. Then, he asked for advice from an “official” disciple on how to proceed with further stages. Combine that with consuming many more Meridian Cleansing Pills, and he had naturally reached the first stage.

How could Jun have forgotten the first rule of capitalism? With enough spirit stones, he could make people forget that the person asking questions was actually a dog. Besides, now that he had seen a talking cat, Jun no longer considered himself so strange. Now, figuring out how to make spirit stones was a completely different issue.

The meeting was useful for everyone involved. Zhao Bin achieved his agenda, and the talks would soon make the rest break through to the first stage. However, before they left, Gao Lin left everyone with a piece of worrying news.

“Be careful when going out. I’ve heard that a disciple has gone missing recently. Someone from our batch, that is.”

When asked to clarify, he simply shrugged. The girl that went missing was a loner and didn’t belong to any group, so news hadn’t spread yet. As to what happened to her, no one had any clue.

“I’m going to try to learn an escape technique. I would suggest you do the same,” Gao Lin said, rising from his chair. With that, the meeting was over, but it left a shadow that lingered in everyone’s minds.