A few days after the opening ceremony, the newcomers were still settling into their new homes inside the Sect. Those who had reached the inner disciple status were the most excited, of course, as today marked their first day receiving guidance from one of the Elders of the Sect. Their group was surprisingly mixed, with the youngest being around fourteen while the oldest looked to be in their twenties. Looking around as they gathered on the main training field, more than half of them were male, which was less than what most had expected at first. Of course, the most eye-catching pair was undoubtedly Emi and Rem, who stood at the edge of the group, looking a bit isoted from the rest, yet the two were not bothered by it. Rem even felt lucky that nobody bothered her, as these unknown humans made her nervous. For the rest, not surprisingly, this was the first time they had stood beside demon folk; their only experience was from army tales or fables, not at all fttering sources for information. It was no surprise that they were still uncomfortable around them, but none of the disciples dared to voice their honest feelings.

  "I see everyone is here!" came a young, bell-like voice as Ren slowly flew down from the sky, hovering before them in the air before gently nding on the ground.

  Some knew who she was, but most people here had only heard of her somewhere, never really putting a face next to the name... and those people were surprised by how young their teacher was. Luckily, those who made it this far quickly realized what her entrance meant, and nobody thought it would be a shame to be under the tutege of someone who, being this young, was already in the Harmony Realm. A few pairs of eyes lit up even more than the others, mainly Yanda's, Lulu's, and of course, the three brothers.

  "My name is Ren." She continued, "I am the First Disciple of our Sect Head, also the next in line for the position, the Head Disciple. What it means is simple: I am part of the top figures here!" She smiled, scanning them with her senses, making a mental note of everyone's reaction and energy fluctuation, committing them to memory. "For the next months and years, I'll be the one who will guide you, and I may accept those who catch my eye as my disciples. That will also mean that you were promoted to a core disciple, like my new brother, Frenir."

  This news immediately sent whispers through the already-established little clicks that had formed over the past few days, firing up their spirits.

  "I am already clear about most of your names, affinities, and current stage in the body refinement realm. Here!" Ren waved her hands, and multiple jade tablets flew out from her sleeve, nding in every one of their palms. "This is the basic cultivation technique of the Sect for the body refinement realm. It was developed by me and refined by the Sect Head. To read it, you need to infuse your energies into it, and it will transfer its contents to your mind directly."

  The moment they heard it, they began doing their best, and of course, none of them actually failed, so their minds were soon filled with all the knowledge Ren had compiled in her new body refinement method.

  "Energy Points?"

  "9 in total?"

  "Meditation exercises?"

  Multiple whispers rang out once again as everyone read through it. The faster, truly talented ones even had a chance to do it more than once, as Ren patiently waited for them to finish it. Those who were more advanced, already in the 4th stage or maybe higher, were clearly nervous as they realized that the earlier they started using this cultivation method, the better the results would be...

  "Cultivating, following this method, will make you stronger, and when you step into Harmony, you will have a head start." Ren began once again, "It will pce you at the middle stage of the first level at the very least. At the peak of it, if you have talent and discipline! Mm... I see some of you recognized the hard part." She nodded, watching those whose faces turned solemn. "Those of you who have already gone on with your cultivation, you need to adjust it. It won't be easy. My suggestion is to destroy it and start over. We can help you with that if you wish to do so. Anyone who decides to start over can come to me anytime." She expined with a serious and solemn expression. As she spoke, Leinor appeared, too, descending from the sky, standing beside Ren. "He is Elder Leinor, my husband." Ren introduced him with a smile, "He can sap your cultivation and reset you to the starting line. Note that this can only be done once… Try it more than that, and you will damage your body irreversibly! Once you start over, use our method to cultivate... and don't think you have infinite opportunities, because you don't."

  "Our sect has a strict set of rules towards what is expected from our disciples," Leinor spoke up next, taking over from Ren. "First and foremost, the outer disciples also have access to this cultivation method. They can also request me to drain them dry and reset their cultivation. We are giving everyone the same opportunity to rise above the rest! But we expect more from you all than from the outer disciples. Every month will start with a general test to check your progress and achievements. Those who stagnate for 6 months straight will be sent back to the outer disciples' ranks!"

  Leinor's voice was calm, yet it sounded like a warning bell in most of the young cultivators' heads. It wasn't rare for someone to be stuck at a level for years. Six months seemed too little time to achieve something noteworthy!

  "Let me finish," he smiled a little, seeing the panic on their faces. "Our method produces results much more quickly. I don't mean you must advance a stage every half a year. It means that if you can demonstrate your achievements every half a year, whether it's a rise in strength or learning new skills, you will be fine even if you don't advance a stage. ALSO," he emphasized with a stronger voice, "You are exempt from this test if you rose to the 8th and 9th stages of body refinement! You won't need to take tests by then. Your only focus should be reaching either the 9th stage or breaking into Harmony."

  "Those who show exceptional potential will be picked up by Elders to learn under them." Ren added, taking back the speaker's position, "If that happens, you are no longer an Inner Disciple but a Core Disciple, so you are also freed from any tests!" She chuckled. "Of course, this could also mean you will be under a way bigger pressure than any other disciple of the Sect. For example, I had four disciples under me before... All of them are Elders now, and one even married the devil herself~!" She giggled, making the others ugh a little, while Leinor shook his head with a soft smile, elbowing Ren pyfully. "So if I accept someone, be ready because I'll work you until you are dead. I'll expel you from the Sect if you can't produce results! Speaking of expelling... This means we will wipe your memory of every method you learned from us and send you back home with nothing, not even your cultivation." She said, smiling, genuinely looking like a devil. "You can't keep your strength... but you can keep your life. You see... I am not a monster… but anything we taught you will be lost!" She said with a friendly expression, but the ughter stopped immediately. "Other Elders may have simirly strict rules, so don't be overjoyed just yet~!"

  "Okay, okay. For the introduction, this should be enough!" Leinor took the lead once again, cpping his hands. "For now, study the method given to you, and tomorrow, only those who wish to reset their cultivation should come. The rest of you, start to cultivate well because we only have half a month ahead of us before the first test." He ughed the same way as Ren, making everyone freeze in pce just then.

  "Oh, yes, I almost forgot!" Ren chuckled, too. "The first ten in the first test will receive rewards. As for what those are… let it be a surprise~! If you have any questions, you can come to me anytime during the day. I'll be at the Pill Garden."

  "Or to me," Leinor added as the first meeting was over. "I am also avaible at the same time, and you can find me either at the Pill Garden, too, or at the Pill Hall, as I usually help Elder Dermitos with crafting pills."

  Watching them, Leinor and Ren couldn't stop smiling, curious how many of the inner disciples would choose to restart. They did not trouble them with more than they needed, knowing that the disciples had to familiarize themselves with their new cultivation method to see how easily they could convert their bodies. As they dispersed, most were lost deep in their thoughts, returning to their rooms and reading Ren's document repeatedly. Only Emi and Rem stayed behind when everyone left, walking up to them with a smile. Finally, left alone, Rem suddenly flew up, hugging Ren tightly and rubbing her face against hers.

  "I don't want to be expelled!" The little fairy cried out, afraid she would be sent off.

  "Ahaha, don't worry! You have protection in the form of me!" Ren chuckled, rubbing her head, "You also cultivate completely differently. The rules are for humans, well, for now, as we have too few demons in our ranks."

  "Really? Really, really?"

  "Really." She patted her head, calming down the little cinnamon roll.

  "If the others knew this…." Emi chuckled, shaking her head.

  "Then what? You both are different." Ren shrugged, "Don't worry. When we get more demons, we will expand upon it."

  "What about Yanda?" Emi asked with a raised eyebrow.

  "We will test him on how well he can cultivate it," Leinor replied. "He needs to work his body… this is one of the best ways to do it. We will create a special course for him if it does not work out."

  "I see. What about the test? Can you tell us?" Emi smiled softly and with a crafty light in her eyes.

  "Ahaha, sure. It will be easy. You all need to reach Leinor!" Ren winked at her, making her surprised.

  "Huh?" Emi and Rem looked at him, too, confused, before they turned back to Ren.

  "You heard her." Leinor nodded, confirming that their ears did not py a trick on them.

  "You think it's child's py, eh?" Ren smirked before nodding towards Leinor, who suddenly released an aura that Emi had never felt before.

  It was as if a bck hole appeared as Leinor's body sucked in the energy around the group like a whale. She felt herself weakening at an arming rate, as if she were falling ill... Then, a few seconds ter, Leinor stopped, and the weight they felt around them disappeared as if it had never there.

  "What… what was that?" Emi gasped.

  "A new technique he came up with after his tribution. Frightening, isn't it?" Ren looked at her with a grin. "Those who will get the closest to my hubby before fainting are the winners. Of course, LeiLei will adjust its force according to the disciples' average strength. Still… this technique of yours…." She looked at her husband, who just scratched his cheeks apologetically. "Tsk. Be smug about it, don't hold back! Soon I'll come up with something to counter it... Fighting you from a long range is booooooring! I need to come up with something to deal with it in melee."

  "He beat you?" Rem asked, tilting her head and sitting on Ren's shoulder.

  "Yeah… 5 out of 5 matches, I lost." She lowered her head dejectedly.

  "Bwahahaha! He should be the Head Disciple by now!" Emi ughed loudly after hearing that.

  "Ugh… It's just a temporary setback!" She twitched her mouth, pouting.

  "Yeah… I bet!" Emi gasped for air, still ughing, making Ren's face even more grumpy.

  "You sound like Isha, honestly... She reacted exactly the same." She grunted with a snted look, watching the foxgirl.

  After hearing that, Emi suddenly shut her mouth, blinking her eyes rapidly, before clearing her throat, looking like she had never let loose her feelings a second before.

  "Well, this test is going to be interesting. I need to prepare myself." She cupped her hand before leaving.

  "She is really shy, isn't she?" Ren asked while Rem just nodded once.

  "Let's go. We also need to be ready. I bet tomorrow many people will come to us!" Leinor patted her shoulder as they also left for the Pill Garden.

  As they flew away, Rem was still happily babbling on, talking about how much she liked the garden, the task of taking care of it, and now having two dozen other outer disciple helpers under her was exciting for the little fairy, making her job easier. But she had a big need for Ren… Because she needed to rein in Kyu, who now felt that it was her own garden... And it was under attack by people trying to steal her precious food source...