When returning to the sect, we took a detour, explored a few ruins that led nowhere, and helped some villages along the way by slaughtering monstrous beasts and leaving their carcasses as food for the people.

The whole way back, I kept an eye on Wu Yan. Slowly, she began losing the temperament she had gained from imitating me. She improved after the first day, but I still made sure to create situations where I knew someone with my personality would’ve acted up.

Thank god the change hadn’t been permanent, just as she’d predicted.

Usually, I’d have been more curious about the technique. Whether Wu Yan could eventually inherit my memories or techniques if she stayed transformed long enough, but honestly, I was just glad she was okay.

As we approached the newly repaired front gates of the sect, I felt relief wash over me and glanced at Wu Yan, who stood beside me on the same floating jade platform.

She met my gaze and smiled.

That same sweet smile she always had. One that belonged to an innocent girl, not one forced onto her face for convenience.

When we reached the front gate, we stepped off the platform and began walking the rest of the way.

With the sect not expecting visitors and the beast waves no longer a threat, the guards had relaxed. They were deep in a casual conversation, something I easily picked up from hundreds of yards away thanks to my enhanced Foundation Establishment hearing.

“I think what the Blazing Sun Immortal said should be taken as a metaphor,” said the guard on the right. “He doesn’t want us relying on him; he wants us to get strong ourselves.”

“Maybe,” replied the other, less optimistic. “But if he’s powerful enough to handle a Nascent Soul Cultivator like it’s nothing, why would he even care what happens to the sect or its disciples? He was…”

“No need to overthink it. He created the Blazing Sun Sect for a reason,” the first guard insisted. “If he didn’t care, he would’ve let us all die.”

“I doubt that. But at least things have returned to normal, for now.”

That was a surprisingly heavy conversation for some Qi Gathering inner disciples. They should’ve been focusing on their cultivation, not speculating about the motivations of an Immortal.

Still, I couldn’t blame them. That kind of talk was probably happening all over the sect as people reevaluated their loyalties and what kind of place they belonged to now.

Personally, I had more pressing concerns.

Like the fact that Wu Yan’s condition had become completely undetectable, her element Change had no doubt played a role in that. No cultivator could sense what wasn’t meant to be sensed.

Despite the risks, it might’ve been the best element anyone had ever chosen.

But it was also what limited her. That’s why her first technique hadn’t been for combat. It was simply too dangerous.

Still, I was pretty confident that even a peak Core Formation Cultivator wouldn’t be able to detect her special physique. Even a Nascent Soul Cultivator probably couldn’t, unless they had a sensory-enhancing technique or an element like Searching.

At least, that was my theory. I’d read plenty about Nascent Soul Cultivators, but theory wasn’t the same as real-world experience. There could always be something I’d missed.

As we neared the gate, the guards finally noticed us and stepped forward to greet us.

“We greet honorable Elder Feng!”

“Welcome back, Elder Feng!”

They bowed in unison, then straightened and glanced at Wu Yan. Their eyes lingered on her for a brief moment, but seeing the resemblance, they held their tongues.

“How can we help you, Elder Feng? If you need to pass through, you don’t have to concern yourself with mere gate guards like us,” said the one on the left.

It seemed they assumed Wu Yan was a relative of mine.

I didn’t mind. They had no way of recognizing her anyway; the last time she’d appeared at the sect, she wore a porcelain mask.

“I’m not here to make things difficult for you,” I said. “This is Wu Yan, my personal disciple.”

They nodded and wrote our names down, more of a formality than anything else.

If it were up to me, this kind of registration would’ve been more thorough. But I had no interest in wasting time on things I didn’t care about.

Wu Yan and I entered, with the guards bowing as we passed. We walked through the outer sect, taking our time, enjoying the quiet roads and familiar scenery.

We entered the inner sect the same way, with no resistance.

Still, I made sure to walk her openly through the area, letting everyone see she was with me. If anyone was planning to stir up trouble, they’d think twice.

Although the plan had gone well, troubling rumors were circulating among the elders in the inner sect.

“They forgave Song San. I can’t believe so many people voted for him to be freed,” grumbled one of the elders, sitting on the second-floor balcony of a restaurant. He was drinking tea after his meal, judging by the empty plate.

“He made a convincing case,” said the other elder sitting across from him. “The guy even promised to create entire batches of poisons for the sect, and Elder Zun Gon likely plans to use them to exterminate all the monstrous beasts in the Blazing Sun Sect’s territory.”

“I still think they should’ve punished him more,” the first elder muttered. “And killing all the beasts in our territory sounds like wishful thinking. There’s just too much unexplored area.”

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

“After what we suffered, the beasts will get the same massacre they tried to inflict on us. So many people nearly died, and the sect was on the brink of collapse. Everyone holds a grudge now,” the second elder said. “The elders have started putting their differences aside and are planning to work together.”

Said a lot about us that the most surprising news wasn’t the amnesty, but that the elders decided to cooperate so they could go on a good old-fashioned slaughter.

“Also, it makes sense that Song San was forgiven, given how much he contributed to the war effort,” the second elder insisted. “Without him, those armies would’ve clashed. There would’ve been countless casualties just from numbers alone.”

“At least he lost his position as a core elder. Now he’s just an inner elder,” the first elder said. His tone remained displeased, but there was a hint of reluctant acceptance.

It seemed like Song San’s trial had gone by quickly. He was found guilty but forgiven of all charges. Not like the sect had a choice, we hadn’t found any of the poison sacs he’d claimed existed. What other option was there?

There was a good chance the poison sacs never existed at all. That he’d made the biggest bluff ever. Which, honestly, was impressively ballsy.

Still, he’d lost any chance at becoming Sect Leader, if that had even been his goal. Song Song might be cruel and quick to kill, but she’d never acted outright malicious toward the sect.

And frankly, claiming he’d scattered poison sacs around the sect was likely going to come back to bite him in far worse ways later.

After hanging around and listening to rumors, most of which repeated the same things, we returned to my humble residence: a place surrounded by a lush green garden, with a stone house on one side and a wooden house on the other.

Song Song was already there, sitting in the rocking chair on the porch, talking to Fu Yating. They looked like they’d been at it for a while.

It seemed they were discussing Song San’s release, and Song Song did not look pleased. She was likely venting her frustration on Fu Yating.

“I still think this isn’t such a bad thing,” Fu Yating was saying. “One of your biggest rivals is out of the race. With your better cultivation talent and more resources, he’ll never catch up.” She paused. “With this move, he lost his chance at authority. He won’t even be able to lead the Song Clan without clashing head-on with the sect.”

She was right. Before the calamity, the Song Clan had considerable influence, intertwined with the higher-ups in various ways. But the previous sect leader had weakened them, and the Heavenly Calamity sealed the deal. Now the clan was firmly under the heel of the Blazing Sun Sect’s upper echelon.

Despite the solid advice she was getting, Song Song didn’t look the slightest bit happy. She turned toward us with a deep frown.

She’d sensed us entering the sect long before we reached the house, so she wasn’t surprised. She also didn’t seem particularly concerned about Wu Yan’s transformation. She trusted me with that process.

Still, that look in her eyes said she wanted my opinion.

Damn. That was going to be annoying.

“Look at the good part of the pie,” I said, voice unsure. “Now that your brother's out and about, he makes you look way better by comparison.”

That might’ve been sound advice under different circumstances, but I had no idea what Song Song had been doing in those meetings while I was gone. Everything I knew about them came from her, and she could be extremely biased.

“You don’t seem surprised that my brother is out,” she said, narrowing her eyes like a hawk who’d just spotted a lie.

“I already heard about his release on the way here. Some elders were talking about it,” I shrugged.

“Why do I get the feeling that you’re pretending to be ignorant just so you can avoid wasting time in those meetings, my so-called strategist,” Song Song said, her gaze sharp enough to cut through every lie I hadn’t even told.

It was strange. Song Song could be tricked easily in most areas, but when it came to seeing through my bullshit, she had an almost supernatural sixth sense.

“I really can’t hide anything from you,” I sighed, deciding to spill the beans. “Knowing this won’t help you much, but… this is, in a way, your brother’s version of conceding.”

“Just get on with it already,” Song Song grumbled.

“Well, the reason your brother wasn’t prosecuted was because of three things. First, he helped during the battle. Second, he’s still useful when it comes to dealing with monstrous beasts or large-scale threats,” I said, a teasing smile slowly creeping onto my face. “Third… he probably has some of the inner elders under mind control. You didn’t think he was planning on using poisons like that on me as his first victim, did you?”

Song Song’s eyes widened, and a dangerous glint flared within her gaze. A murderous aura emanated from her like dark, writhing wisps clawing at the world around her.

“Of course, mind control is something even the elders wouldn’t tolerate, if they knew about it,” I said. “Humans, in general, have a deep-rooted instinct to despise that kind of thing.”

Song Song took a long breath and steadied herself, her deep blue eyes meeting mine.

“Judging by how calm you are, there’s some kind of unspoken truce? Or an understanding between you and my brother?” she asked.

Almost right on the mark. Seemed like those meetings were doing her some good.

“Not in a literal sense,” I explained. “He just assumes I’ve developed an antidote to his mind-controlling poison and doesn’t want to test that theory. Plus, since the poison was part of his foundation technique, it doesn’t even work on Core Formation Cultivators. So there’s the risk.”

Song San was still dangerous. But we’d decided to stay out of each other’s way. I had blackmail hanging over his head, and he knew I could release it even in death. My last words before he got sealed were: next time, make sure the poison sacs actually go off even if something happens to him.

I wasn’t about to repeat his mistake.

He had power over me too. Even if Song Song beat him, she couldn’t protect me around the clock, especially not against his underhanded tricks.

“You guys are so annoying,” Song Song groaned. Still, it looked like she now understood the situation. With me holding her brother’s fate, that power extended to her too. “Seems like you outsmarted him a long time ago. And I was worried for nothing.”

“Actually–”

“Shut up. I don’t want to hear one of your long rants about how everything could still go wrong,” she cut me off.

“Well, let’s talk about something else then,” I said.

She nodded and leaned back into her rocking chair, staring at me with an expectant look, like she was waiting for a parlor trick. Her expression said nothing could surprise her anymore.

I placed my hand on my stomach and pushed inward slightly, using my Qi to extract something I’d been storing. My throat bulged like a snake about to spit, and a black sphere the size of a fingernail popped out, glistening with spit.

Gross. Extremely uncomfortable. But it worked.

Song Song narrowed her eyes the moment she sensed the mental waves coming from it. I quickly regulated my mental energy so it would seem normal to any outside observer.

“This is a Sky Grade Technique I got for you,” I said.

In an instant, she was right in front of me, not even blinking at the fact that it was still dripping with spit.

She inspected the bead for a second. “What am I supposed to do with this to get the new technique?”

“Absorb it,” I said.

She opened her mouth, clearly about to swallow the damn thing.

“Just press it against your forehead,” I quickly added.

She nodded, eyes still locked on the sphere, and pressed it against her forehead. It sank in like it was being pushed into water and vanished completely.

Song Song closed her eyes, absorbing the knowledge flowing into her mind. When she opened them again, there was a dangerous smirk playing on her lips.

Just like that, Song Song had finally learned her first Sky Grade Technique.