The administrative hall buzzed with activity as Aiden entered. Even at nine am, disciples' chatter filled the air, lending the place a lively atmosphere.

Aiden approached the first desk, the polished wood gleaming under the hall's soft lighting. He placed his red card disciple token before the attendant, her orange robe a stark contrast to the token's crimson hue. The petite girl behind the counter smiled at him. She wore the administrative hall's orange robe and had a pleasant smile hanging on her face. Her long hairs were neatly tied in a bun, and she was meticulous in her every action as she inspected the token carefully.

"Please wait, junior brother An. I will bring your storage pouch." She vanished into the door behind the counter.

The space was vast, filled with the sound of shuffling feet and hushed whispers echoing off the wooden counters that lined the walls. Each counter was meticulously arranged, offering assistance to both new and seasoned disciples alike.

Many disciples in orange robe smiled from behind the counter, helping everyone with the best of their ability, and a few incense burned in the corners, keeping the atmosphere tranquil even among the hush-hush of the large crowd.

Aiden never thought he would become the outer sect disciple so easily. The third trial required him to process a simple, Two Headed Black Mushroom. All he needed was to crush it into powder using a gentle flame.

The surprising thing was everyone else also got simple tasks. Out of hundred ninety-five people passed and became outer sect disciple. The senior brother who came to test them said their batch might be the biggest batch in the last ten years to pass with these numbers. The second trial was the hardest one and 90% of people couldn't get through it.

Whatever the reason, Aiden had stepped on the path of his freedom. He was happy for what he got, and red card disciple status was the best among the outer sect disciples.

"Brother Aiden, congratulations," Lan Yueya said with a warm smile as she approached him in the bustling administrative hall. She wore a light blue robe and looked different from before - not physically, but her attitude had changed.

As Lan Yueya spoke, Aiden felt a chill creep up his spine. Her words were Lan Yueya's, but something in her eyes – a glimmer of ancient wisdom, perhaps – hinted at Mi Tha's lingering presence. He found himself torn between curiosity and caution, knowing that in this world of cultivation and spirits, nothing was ever as simple as it seemed. "Thank you, sister Lan, or should I call you Mi Tha?"

A complicated expression flashed through her eyes. "Sister Lan is fine."

"So you really possessed her?"

"No, she couldn't. But her remnant memories are inside my mind and I know everything about her, including your deal. But thank you for saving my life." She brushed her fingers over the storage pouch she had received.

Aiden sighed. He didn't save her out of goodwill.

"Junior brother, An, here is your storage pouch. Do you know how to bind it with yourself?" The girl from the counter asked.

Nodding, Aiden poured his blood and qi on the storage pouch and made it his own. A connection formed with the pouch and he could access the ten feet area inside it with a single thought.

"I didn't like her taking over you forcefully," Aiden said when he and Lan Yueya walked to a side. "The deal was to let her ride your body until she finds another one, but she became greedy and I did what I could. I'm glad that you didn't lose yourself."

"Thank you again." she bowed slightly. "I shall take your leave, brother Aiden." She turned away from him.

Aiden felt pensive as she called him Aiden. Only Mi Tha knew about it and if she had only received her memories, Lan Yueya shouldn't be calling her Aiden. There was more to this thing, but he didn't want to meddle in things he didn't need to.

"One question, sister Lan."

She didn't turn, but stopped in her track.

"Why alchemy hall? Don't say you still like me like the old one."

"I understood the error in my thought process now, but with her memories, I know a lot of things about alchemy that would be a boon in my cultivation," she replied.

Aiden sighed. At least she didn't join the alchemy hall just because of some puppy-love.

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"Brother Aiden, I'd suggest you start looking at alchemy seriously as your aptitude in cultivation is not that good," saying this, she walked away quickly, her long hairs fluttering in the wind coming in from the giant door of the administrative hall.

Aiden frowned. What did she mean by aptitude?

"Are you brother Li An?" A thin young man walked to him. He wore a green robe like the one he got, and smelled like an herb garden.

"And who are you?" Aiden scanned him curiously. He had no distinct character and looked like an average person out of a thousand random people.

"Brother An, I'm Sho Ta. Elder San asked me to help you settle in the alchemy hall, and I'd be guiding you for the day."

Aiden gazed at the slim youth. His bushy brows seemed out of place on his skinny body, but his eyes were as dark and deep as a shadowy gorge.

"Then I must thank brother Sho in advance for helping me."

"Did you bind the storage pouch to yourself?" Sho Ta glanced at the pouch in Aiden's hand.

Aiden nodded. It was a small leather bag which had a spatial storage inside, and he got many things as a red card student inside. He hadn't yet gone through it yet, but he planned to after he settled in his new cave on the Alchemy Mountain. After pouring blood and qi into the pouch, it became bound to him, and no one could open it. Not even an elder. Of course, there weren't impossible things, but the cost of it was quite high.

And who would want to steal a new disciple's pouch? Even a red card disciple didn't get treasures inside his pouch.

"Oh, you already did?" Sho Ta sighed, and Aiden sensed a sadness in his tone.

"Was that a problem, brother Sho?"

"Of course not." Sho Ta smiled. "I felt bad because I couldn't tell you everything by myself. Anyway, I heard you are layer four Refinement Realm cultivator?"

Aiden frowned. Why did he have the wrong information? Well, he wasn't entirely wrong. Li An was only at layer four Refinement Realm, and only after he ate the dog-shit pill he died and Aiden could take over. However, it allowed him to have a layer nine Refinement Realm cultivation base from the start.

"Don't be sad. You are an alchemy hall disciple now, and even with a bad aptitude, you can reach Foundation Realm in a few years."

"Aptitude." Aiden sighed. He had got his aptitude checked, and it was only D class. The worst of all. It would be an uphill task to go any further than his current cultivation level. However, he wasn't worried too much about it. Old man Li also had bad aptitude, and yet he became alchemy hall master, so Aiden would go through it as well.

"Don't feel down. As a red card disciple, you would have received a Foundation Breakthrough Pill."

"I haven't checked the contents yet," Aiden said, staring at the newcomer.

"It would be there. It's a pill given to all red card disciples, and other disciples receive it once they reach layer nine. It's a pill used for breakthrough into Foundation Realm."

Aiden glanced at old man Li's memories, and it was the poorest quality pill used for Foundation Realm breakthrough. There were many better pills available, but sect only handed this over as they were cheap to create. The cultivation in this world started with Refinement Realm, when one reached layer nine Refinement Realm they could breakthrough into Foundation Realm and continue on nine more layers and then came Bone Baptization Realm, Marrow Cleansing Realm, where old man Li was sitting before he died. No, before he was killed.

"Is that a case? How wonderful! I was worried how would I breakthrough into Foundation Realm later. This is a blessing." Aiden forced an amused expression onto his face. Despite the pill being a lowest quality pill, people would flock toward it if placed in the market. As per old man Li's memories, Foundation Breakthrough Pill was one of the source for White Sun Sect's income. "I never thought the sect would be so good to disciples."

"Brother An, you might call me rude, but please don't look down on the sect, and don't be too optimistic about your own cultivation. I've been in the sect for three years now and it's very difficult to reach Foundation Realm," Sho Ta said in a grave tone.

"Is it, brother Sho? Please give me your guidance."

"New comers are always like this. Brother An, listen to me carefully." Sho Ta pulled him out of the administrative hall and walked down the stairs toward the base of the mountain. The sun was spreading its wings and Aiden could see the sweat running down Sho Ta's neck. "Cultivation is a long race, and you can only win it with the help of others. You took a few years to reach layer four Foundation Realm, and now you may get pills and reach layer nine Refinement Realm in a few months, but you can't breakthrough into Foundation Realm easily."

"Why? Sect gave me a pill for breaking through. I can use that," Aiden said, sounding uninformative.

"That's where a newcomer make mistake." Sho Ta sighed loudly, as if he was an old sage and here to correct his disciple's mistake.

"One Foundation Breakthrough Pill is not very useful. You will at least need ten of those to have a decent chance of breaking through. No one had ever breakthrough in one Foundation Breakthrough Pill."

"Is that so? Then why does the sect gives only one pill?"

"They will give you another at layer nine, but it's not sufficient. Consider it like giving candy to a kid. He will be addicted, and work hard to get the other half. Once you have one pill, you will work hard to get more pills. But it never works out."

"Then what should I do, brother Sho? Please guide me. I'm totally new to this," Aiden asked, suppressing his desire to laugh.. He could sense where it was going.

Sho Ta chuckled. "Of course, I will. Elder San had asked me to do everything in my power to help you. There is another way to accumulate pills. Do you want to know?"

Aiden nodded while sneering inwardly. Here came the real reason for this Sho Ta to look for him.

"You can sell this pill to brother Wa's Shop and then buy ten pills when you really need them. By giving one pill to someone else, you are paying it in advance, and someone else will come to your use. This is the fair way of the outer sect disciples." He smiled like a proficient salesman. With his smile, Aiden could guess his thoughts, and he was acting like he had Aiden tied around his finger.

Fucking hell. He was trying to swindle him, but did he think it was easy to swindle Aiden?