Rumble! The ship continued its forward trajectory, eventually circling one of the taller towers to signal for landing. Amidst this, the loud laughter of the old man, Ma Pei, resonated throughout the ship.

“Hahaha! Mo Tianren. Fang Bubai. Mo Bubai! Hahaha! This name really irks this old man, really really annoying! But…”

Ma Pei fixed his gaze on Bubai, his eyes filled with profound meaning. “It really is a good name. As expected, this old man didn’t read you wrong. As long as you play your role well, this old man doesn’t mind letting you live a good time here.”

Before Bubai could express any gratitude, the old man waved his sleeves, and two thin streaks of black light shot through the air – one aimed at WeiWei and the other at Bubai.

Before he could react, the black light entered Bubai's mouth, inducing a repulsive sensation as a small creature with a hard carapace crawled down his throat!

Overwhelmed, he fell to his knees, retching and experiencing the simultaneous intrusion of a cultivation technique being crammed into his mind, causing dizziness.

When the disorientation subsided, he regained his composure and the retching ceased. However, an unsettling feeling lingered, as if something had entrenched itself in his heart!

As Xiao Lan helped him up, Bubai directed his gaze towards the old geezer, finding the man's solemn expression fixed on him. "Of course, if you don’t meet this old man’s expectations..."

With a wicked grin, the old man pointed towards Xiao Lan, whose face instantly turned pale as throbbing purplish veins spread across it like roots.

Within moments, she dropped to her knees, eventually collapsing to the ground, her body convulsing in pain. Yet, despite the torment, she refused to utter a sound.

Witnessing this, the old man's grin widened. "Remember, this old man can make you and all those around you live a life worse than death."

With a sweep of his sleeves, Xiao Lan's tense body relaxed, and the purplish vessels gradually disappeared. However, she remained on the ground, trembling, gasping for breath, with a pale face.

A bead of sweat rolled down Bubai's forehead. This was a demonstration and it also explained the restriction recently planted in him.

"Good. I'm sure you don't want to experience the pain yourself, and I spared you this time because this punishment is detrimental to your physique. But next time..." Ma Pei swept his gaze over the frightened group of women and Bubai. "This old man hopes there won't be one. Well, has this old man made himself clear?"

"Disciple understands." Bubai held his fist over his chest, presenting a respectful bow. "Mo Bubai will not disappoint you."

"Good. Good.” Ma Pei, stroking his goatee, wore a gentle smile on his wrinkled face. “Well, young man, I hope you don’t blame this old man for being straightforward. This is just the creed of our sect and it’s best you adapt to it sooner."

"I don't dare," Bubai responded with a straight face.

Noticing that the ship had docked onto the tower's docking platform, Ma Pei swished his sleeve, opening an exit on the ship's side. A wooden ramp unfurled itself, leading down to the landing platform below.

Simultaneously, Ma Pei rose into the air and flew off, his voice echoing in their ears. “Now that we have returned, it’s time for this old man to return to his duties. Xiao Hong, I’ll leave the rest to you.”

On the ship, a voluptuous crimson-haired beauty, her hair styled in a bun held by a gold leaf hairpin, stepped out from the group of women.

Bubai's attention was immediately drawn to her striking black qipao, the deep V-shaped neckline emphasizing her ample bosom. Flowing down, the qipao left her long legs uncovered, revealing her plump thighs with a large red rose tattooed on one of them.

Seeming to sense his rude gaze, her eyes, painted with a sharp eye shadow, briefly shot a condescending glance at Bubai, emphasizing her exotic beauty.

Her full red lips, punctuated by a mole on her chin, formed an alluring smile as she highlighted her shapely assets by pressing her arm against them, presenting a respectful bow toward the sky, “Yes, master.”

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

As her body straightened, she turned towards WeiWei, "Mistress WeiWei, follow me. Xiao Hong will bring you to register."

Xiao Hong took two steps forward before casting a glance at Bubai, "Oh, and you too, little brother Bubai. Bring your little servant along as well. We also need to update her ownership."

With a seductive twist in her hips, Xiao Hong continued towards the entrance to the tower, leading WeiWei away.

Despite feeling WeiWei’s disatisfaction as she peered back at him with a pout, Bubai still diligently abided by his current principles, attentively helping up the weakened Xiao Lan. "Are you alright?"

Xiao Lan nodded weakly with a pale face as she leaned against Bubai's body. Bubai smiled, his arm embracing her waist as he supported her to walk forward.

By the time they reached the bottom of the tower, Xiao Lan could already stand on her own despite her pale face. In fact, she insisted on standing on her own half-way down.

Stepping onto the paved sandstone road, Bubai looked back at the docking platform high above, marveling at the magical and well-designed architecture of the Sun Furnace Sect.

If the Cloud Sword Sect had a mystical feel with its misty abodes constructed on steep sword-like mountains, the Sun Furnace Sect exuded a more expansive, research-oriented atmosphere.

Turning around, Bubai gazed at the bustling streets before him, a hint of excitement in his gaze.

Sun Furnace Sect, your Grandpa Fang has arrived! This time, he won’t forgo the opportunity!

With firm conviction, Bubai hastened his pace to catch up with Xiao Hong and WeiWei, with Xiao Lan trailing behind.

As they walked through the sect, Bubai observed the diverse array of outfits worn by the members - turbans, robes, silky and skimpy outfits, even some men flaunting bare upper bodies and women dressed in revealing grass outfits.

Unlike the Cloud Sword Sect, there seemed to be no unified dress code, but Bubai noticed that each disciple carried a token with a sun emblem.

According to Xiao Lan, each ray of the sun on the emblem indicated a higher level, with outer disciples having one, normal inner disciples with two, core disciples with three, elders with four, suzerain and grand elder with five, and the sect's ancestor with six.

Most sects conformed to a similar rule.

The journey to the registration office wasn't extensively long, thanks to Elder Ma Wei, who seemed to have taken their registration into consideration when he parked his ship. In fact, the descent down the tower's stairs seemed to have taken longer.

Upon arriving at the registration pavilion, a rather mundane, empty hall, Xiao Hong approached the counter where a chubby man with a strangely pale face sat. With his sharp eyesight, Bubai detected the powdery rouge on the man’s face.

Noticing Xiao Hong, the chubby man's expression brightened, and he greeted her with enthusiasm, "Oh, what brings an esteemed beauty like Big Sister Hong to my humble hall?"

Xiao Hong, seemingly unimpressed, gestured politely towards WeiWei, stating, "I'm bringing my new mistress to register."

The chubby man's eyes sparkled with curiosity as he scanned WeiWei from head to toe, accompanied by a sly smile. "And what is the name of this young beauty?"

Noting his rude gaze, Xiao Hong couldn't help but let out a soft giggle. “Ma WeiWei, named disciple and righteous daughter of Elder Ma.”

The chubby man's forced smile stiffened for a moment, replaced by an uneasy laughter. "Haha... ah, please don't blame this little one for being impolite. I didn't know-"

Xiao Hong interrupted him by knocking on the counter, "Just get it over with. Oh, and also him as well, Mo Bubai. Both are to be registered as inner disciples. The one next to him is Xiao Lan, she needs to apply for a change in ownership. Reason. Deceased owner."

"Understood. Understood. I'll get to it, I'll get to it!" The chubby man hastily began noting down their details on a bamboo scroll.

Once finished, he dropped the rolled-up scrolls one by one into a pneumatic tube, watching them being transported away. After completing this, he gave the group a polite smile, awaiting further instructions in silence.

It didn’t take long before a scroll emerged from the tube of the receiving station at the other end of the counter.

Opening it, the chubby man, holding an awkward smile, looked up, "There's no problem with Miss WeiWei, but this young man..."

Xiao Hong raised her sharp eyebrow, questioning, "What's wrong?"

With a soft laugh, the chubby man explained, "It's not a big deal. It's just that the upper echelon is still debating on what to do with him. There should be no problem with his identity as an inner disciple, but the decision has yet to come down regarding his allocation of resources... after all, his situation is a bit special."

Ah, right. Bubai recalled he was still a mortal on the surface.

Though his Acquired physique could barely squeeze him some credits to enter the inner sect, in truth, he was still entering through the backdoor. Naturally, there will be unhappy fellas.

As always, things would get even more complicated when interests are involved. A sect wasn’t monolith no matter how cohesive it appears on the surface.

Xiao Hong nodded, also understanding the situation, "Then, I'll leave him to you. My mistress and I would head out first."

She turned to WeiWei, "Mistress, what do you say? Master is still waiting in the palace."

WeiWei pouted unhappily as she glanced at Bubai and Xiao Lan, but in the end, she relented, "Hmm. Let's go first then, Xiao Hong."

Then, the two left Bubai and Xiao Lan standing in the registration hall, awkwardly exchanging gazes with the chubby man. “Haha… well, I’m sure you don’t want to stay here until the upper echelon makes the decision. After all, their discussions can be… rather drawn-out sometimes. How about I get someone to give you a tour of the sect?”

Bubai nodded politely, “Then, please, fellow daoist.”

“Oh! No, no, I dare not accept the honor. There’s no need to be so polite- Haha…”

The chubby man gestured with his hand, a hint of envy in his eyes as he glanced at Bubai’s body before calling out loudly towards the rear hall. “Xiao Panzi! There’s a guest that needs a tour!”