Later that day, a single scroll painting had completely broken the Radiant Sky Sect’s internal social network.

The painting that was frantically brushed by that eccentric Outer Sect disciple, depicted Su Bai standing beneath a glowing halo of moonlight.

In the image, his face was pale and tragically beautiful. His robes fluttered as he heroically siphoned a terrifying, black miasma out of the suffering juniors and into his own pristine body.

It was heavily filtered, wildly exaggerated, and absolutely dripping with martyrdom.

Normally, the Elders would scoff at such dramatic Outer Sect rumors. But then, the empirical data came rolling in.

That afternoon, four of the disciples Su Bai had "cured" successfully shattered their bottlenecks and broke through to the Foundation Establishment realm.

They were instantly promoted to the Inner Sect. And the very first thing these newly minted middle-tier staffs did upon ascending the mountain was drop to their knees in front of the Main Hall. They begged the Elders to mobilize the peaks to save their Senior Brother Su’s life.

The Elders, who initially thought the juniors were just being overly humble about their breakthroughs, quickly realized they were dead serious.

Panic erupted in the upper management.

’He did what?!’ The Elders were horrified. Absorbing another person’s chaotic, impure Qi was a guaranteed death sentence!

To make matters worse, the Sect Leader was currently out on a business trip. If Su Bai’s eccentric Master returned from the secret realms and found his precious, "crippled" disciple dead from saving a bunch of entry-level laborers, he would likely burn the entire sect to the ground.

Elders swarmed Clear Cloud Peak, only to find the defensive array completely locked down. Su Bai wasn’t answering his door, leading the Elders to naturally assume he was inside coughing up black blood and bravely waiting for the end.

The chaos was threatening to destabilize the entire sect’s daily operations.

That was when Shen Youran finally stepped in.

Peak Master Shen Youran presided over Silent Orchid Peak, which contained the sect’s Law Enforcement Hall.

They were the ultimate HR and Compliance department. Because the women of Silent Orchid Peak practiced the Heartless Sutra, they were famously impartial, ruthlessly objective, and entirely devoid of emotional bias.

They did not play politics. If the Sect Leader himself violated a workplace safety protocol, Shen Youran would fine him without blinking an icy eye.

When the reports of Su Bai’s "sacrifice" reached her desk, Shen Youran’s perfectly smooth, frosty brow twitched.

A deeply buried memory flashed through her mind. A memory of someone equally foolish and reckless from her past.

She quickly shook her head. Her Heartless Sutra suppressed the rogue emotion, and took command of the situation.

Within minutes, the Law Enforcement disciples had dispersed the panicked crowds gathering at the base of Clear Cloud Peak. They restored order and strict operational efficiency to the sect.

Shen Youran stood alone at the base of Su Bai’s mountain. She hesitated for a fraction of a second.

Then, she bypassed the locked defensive array as if it were made of paper and walked up the stone steps.

Meanwhile, inside the wooden hut, Su Bai was completely oblivious to the massive PR nightmare he had just caused. He was currently rubbing his stomach.

His supply of Shattered-Soul Oblivion Pills had run out long ago. The fifty seconds of "CPU Overclocking" had been incredible but the sheer volume of toxic, chaotic waste he had embezzled from dozens of disciples was simply too massive.

He had successfully broken through to the 8th Stage of Qi Refining. His Dantian was currently swirling with an incredibly dense and powerful vortex of energy.

However, because his processing speed had dropped back to its default, lazy settings, he couldn’t refine the last remaining batch of chaotic Qi in time.

The total payload of chaotic Qi he had embezzled today was staggering. It was far greater than the demonic pills that had once made him look nine months pregnant.

Fortunately, his fifty seconds of overclocking had successfully digested the vast majority of it. Now, he was only dealing with the leftover backlog.

Instead of looking pregnant, he merely looked like he had eaten a very heavy, uncomfortable buffet lunch. Yet, the raw density of that small, stubborn bulge pressing against his white robes was terrifying.

If his hardware were still at the 1st Stage, just this leftover fraction alone would have blown his stomach up like a balloon.

’I really thought I would hit the 9th Stage this time,’ Su Bai sighed. ’But progress is progress.’

Just as he was calculating his next move, a chilling spiritual sense swept directly through the walls of his hut.

Su Bai froze. Someone had bypassed his firewall.

He quickly smoothed his robes, took a deep breath to suck in his small food baby, and stepped out of his hut to greet the intruder.

When he saw the woman floating gracefully a few inches above his courtyard, his corporate instincts immediately kicked into high gear.

It was Shen Youran. The Ice Queen of HR herself.

She wore pristine robes of white and icy blue. Her expression was a mask of absolute, untouchable calm. Su Bai immediately bowed, executing a flawless, respectful greeting.

"Disciple Su greets Peak Master Shen."

Shen Youran remained silent. Her piercing, frosty eyes analyzed him.

This was the first time the two of them had ever been face-to-face. Despite the terrifying reputation of the Law Enforcement Hall, Su Bai actually had a very high opinion of Shen Youran and her department.

When Su Bai first lost his cultivation six years ago, a few petty disciples had tried to bully the fallen genius. It didn’t last a day. Silent Orchid Peak had descended immediately. They heavily punished the bullies not out of pity for Su Bai, but simply because "harassment and unauthorized dueling disrupt sect efficiency."

To Su Bai, Shen Youran was the sole reason the Radiant Sky Sect wasn’t a toxic, backstabbing workplace like most other cultivation sects. She kept the corporate culture clean.

Because of this profound respect, Su Bai didn’t feel the paralyzing fear that usually gripped disciples in her presence. He just stood there calmly, waiting for Compliance to state their business.

Finally, Shen Youran’s icy, flat voice echoed across the courtyard.

"Do not be reckless."

Su Bai blinked. His corporate brain instantly translated the command. ’Ah. She is giving me an official verbal warning for performing unauthorized medical procedures on the Outer Sect disciples without a proper healer’s license. Understandable.’

"Thank you for the reminder, Peak Master Shen," Su Bai replied earnestly. "I will ensure proper protocols are followed in the future."

Shen Youran’s face remained completely flat, though a microscopic flicker of confusion passed through her eyes at his strangely formal phrasing.

"Call me Martial Aunt," she stated plainly.

Su Bai froze for a split second, then quickly recovered. ’Right. She and my Master are from the same generation. They might even be close colleagues. It is inappropriate to address a superior with such professional distance if they prefer a familial corporate culture.’

"Understood, Martial Aunt," Su Bai nodded smoothly.

Shen Youran gave a single nod of approval. Then, she gracefully floated to the ground, stepping toward him. She extended one pale, slender hand.

"Come," she ordered. "Let me check your body."

Su Bai’s calm demeanor instantly evaporated. Internal alarms began blaring at maximum volume.

’Wait. Check my body?!’ his mind raced in panic.