Ning woke up early in the morning. After freshening up, he proceeded to gather all the materials he needed to take to the inner sect in his newly acquired space pouch. Since he didn't have much to carry in the first place, fitting everything into the pouch was a breeze.

"So convenient if only I could place those plants inside the pouch as well," Ning mused.

In his spare time, Ning dedicated himself to cultivating unique plants. These were not your ordinary run-of-the-mill greens; he carefully selected them, including poisonous lilies and other rare materials that would be troublesome to acquire otherwise. Hence, he took it upon himself to grow them.

At least from now on, Ning could say he has touched grass, not something those weebs in his previous life will ever have the luxury of saying.

Anyway, it was a new hobby he picked up.

Since these plants couldn't be kept in the space pouch, Ning kindly asked a servant to bring them to the inner sect later. His consistent kindness and occasional rewards of mortal coins had endeared him to the servants, making him well-liked among them. After all, as they say, money talks.

With his mundane tasks completed, Ning swiftly prepared to head to the arena.

...

Ning arrived at the arena quite early. He chose a place to sit down and glanced at the present disciples. Around six disciples were in the arena when he arrived. For now, he ignored them and patiently waited for the elders to come.

As time passed, more and more disciples arrived, and the number grew to twelve. Even the elders were present, but the main star of the outer sect competition, Xiao Fan, was missing.

Among the two elders present were Elder Ze Xuan and Hu Chen.

"Xiao Fan is so late."

"Do you think he's not going to the inner sect?"

As time continued to pass, disciples began to increasingly whisper about how Xiao Fan was late; it was so 'unexpected.'

"That brat still hasn't shown up. Elder Xuan, how about we get started? We can't wait the whole day for an undisciplined disciple," Hu Chen exclaimed loudly to Elder Xuan.

"I see what's going on," Ning's eyes brightened, and he could sense the impending 'plot.'

"Should I throw gasoline into the fire when that happens?" Ning's eyes darkened with thought. After all, some people just want to watch the world burn...

Well, in the end, Ning just reined in his thoughts and waited for the protagonist to arrive.

As impatience grew among the disciples, especially with Elder Hu Chen, Elder Ze Xuan finally sighed and said, "Let's wait five more minutes."

The five-minute wait drew closer, and with only a minute left, a panting Xiao Fan entered the arena.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Upon his arrival, someone shouted in an enraged voice, "Do you have any respect for the sect? You're late for something so important, making Elder Ze Xuan wait for you. Do you think you can do whatever you want?"

Hu Chen was shouting so hard that some of his saliva was flying into the air. Gross.

As Hu Chen seemed pretty satisfied with what he said, Xiao Fan spoke up.

"Someone took my jade stone away. I was searching for it until the last moment. Since I couldn't find it anywhere, I had no choice but to come here anyway." Xiao Fan fearlessly met Hu Chen's eyes; he also seemed to suspect something.

"You couldn't find it? Hmph! You are just lying to cover how little you care about the sect? Even if someone took it, you can't enter the inner sect without it!"

Ning rolled his eyes at that. How did an immature guy like him become an elder, even a fairly important one at that? The rule about the jade stone was only made to prevent the 'imposter' among us.

Moreover, it wasn't a big deal to begin with; what kind of elder would deny a talented disciple because of it, especially since everyone knew that Xiao Fan was not the imposter since he was the first place in the competition?

"Now I am really torn as to whether Xiao Fan has a passive IQ-lowering halo..." Ning's thoughts were spiraling in a weird direction. Currently, he was not seeing the visage of an elder but just a spoiled brat. He couldn't spot an ounce of the dignity of an elder in Hu Chen.

"Elder Xuan, is there a way to bypass this rule and enter the inner sect?" Xiao Fan asked the question directly to Elder Ze Xuan. He was the person with the highest authority present.

"The rule about the jade stone is to protect against the fakes if someone were to assure that you are really the true Xiao Fan." Elder Ze Xuan didn't seem to want to pick any side.

"There's no time for that. Everyone agrees with that, right?" Hu Chen was exuding some pressure on all the disciples present.

Xiao Fan glared at Hu Chen as if he was going to go berserk on the spot. Ning, who was watching the show with interest, saw the ancient ring on Xiao Fan glow red for a second.

Ning quickly moved a few meters back. He was currently suppressing his presence; he had been doing that since the beginning. Since he decided to control his impulse, he had decided to just say peace and disappear from the focus of this situation, biding his time to see the plot unfolding before him.

Unfortunately or fortunately, it seemed the situation would not degrade any further, as a new arrival joined them.

"I am willing to confirm he is the true Xiao Fan. He is him." Everyone turned their heads and became dumbfounded when they saw who it was. With long black hair, it was none other than Qi Tian who appeared on the scene at the exact right moment. He was the former first-place disciple, and it was honestly a surprise that he would be the one who stood up at this moment.

"No, no, no, You can't do that. YOU C-" Hu Chen seemed desperate.

"Hu Chen, SILENCE!" Elder Ze Xuan finally shouted.

In front of everyone, Hu Chen got face-slapped. It was truly a moment of all time.

"I believe Qi Tian. Now, this matter is dismissed. Xiao Fan will enter." Elder Ze Xuan gave his judgment.

"But Elder Ze Xuan-"

"I already told you to shut up, unless you want me to investigate the matter of his jade stone disappearance." Elder Xuan was glaring coldly at a shivering Hu Chen. He probably figured something out. He most likely stayed quiet because he thought that would be the best situation. He didn't want to choose between an elder or a talented disciple.

"You ...Why?" Xiao Fan deeply stared at Qi Tian. He was probably surprised by the intervention himself.

"You know, watching you surpass what I deemed impossible during our fight reignited something within me, the will to fight to become the very best. I thought I already lost that spark within me long ago, but I can feel the fire that burned inside me burn again."

"I also think it's time for me to finally use this." Qi Tian glanced at something in his hand. It was a jade stone; he probably got one from the previous competition as well; he was the first place, after all.

Looking at the scene, Ning's eyes narrowed, "Qi Tian probably had a deeper reason for not going to the inner sect, probably a trauma or something similar." Ning noted this down in his mental note.

As the sunlight seemed to shine, signaling a new beginning, Qi Tian and Xiao Fan smiled at each other. It was the birth of a new friendship.

Watching this wonderful scene, Ning concluded that Qi Tian was probably going to become Xiao Fan's friendly rival, or being blunt, a less edgy Sasuke.