There were three of them, all men.

When they saw Yang An, they seemed to sense the aura emanating from him and immediately stopped to look his way.

Two of the three had rather average builds and unremarkable faces. They gazed at Yang An with a hint of confusion.

The third, however, looked as if a strong gust of wind could blow him over. His complexion was sallow and dry. Though he appeared young, his features made him seem older, and his gaze darted away, not daring to meet Yang An's directly.

'Is this guy socially anxious or something?'

Yang An gave them a casual glance, making a quick judgment in his mind.

Perhaps it was due to some kind of intuition, but while the other two left no impression, he found himself remembering the weak-looking one.

Yang An didn't break his stride. He simply swept his gaze over the three of them and continued walking into the Life Crane Sect.

But as soon as he entered, his senses picked up their hushed whispers.

"Who's that guy? Is that the Senior Brother that Senior Sister Wen Yin mentioned?"

"Who cares! So what if he's the Senior Brother? We're here to become disciples, not to walk on eggshells around these guys. Is a Senior Brother more important than the Sect Leader?"

His footsteps halted.

Yang An, who had been walking, stopped in his tracks. He stood there for a moment, thought about it, and then turned around.

"Junior Sister!"

Hearing him, Wen Yin, who was some distance away, immediately came to his side.

"Just keep one!"

Yang An's gaze swept over the skinny new disciple before quickly looking away.

'The one who looks the weakest isn't necessarily the weakest.'

'There are far too many devious schemers like that.'

"Yes, Senior Brother!"

Wen Yin understood Yang An's meaning and nodded lightly.

What he meant by "keep" was who would be allowed to survive. Only the living could become true disciples of the Life Crane Sect.

It was that cruel. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

The new arrivals had also heard Yang An's words—he hadn't bothered to lower his voice—but before they could react, he was already gone.

...

He picked a random residence. The newly built environment was a significant improvement over the crumbling ruins of the original Life Crane Sect. At least it was no longer so oppressive, and it looked much more comfortable.

After entering his room, Yang An wasted no time and immediately resumed cultivating the Nine Forces Shocking Dragon and the Celestial Gnomon Body.

He absorbed the Celestial Gnomon Light while simultaneously accumulating power.

The two practices didn't interfere with each other and could be advanced in parallel, which saved him a considerable amount of time.

At his current rate, since he hadn't yet reached the limit of either technique, it was impossible to judge how much power he had actually accumulated.

'But it's been too short a time. If I had to fight that old guy to the death, my current progress is definitely not enough!'

'Nowhere near enough!'

He dove back into his cultivation, completely undisturbed. In the blink of an eye, another five days passed.

Just as Yang An was tirelessly cultivating, an unexpected visitor arrived outside the Life Crane Sect.

"Senior Brother! Someone from the Golden Thread Pavilion has come to see us. The Sect Leader hasn't returned, so they're asking for you."

Wen Yin's voice rang out from outside his residence, and Yang An immediately stopped what he was doing.

'Someone from the Golden Thread Pavilion?'

"According to the Golden Thread Pavilion's rules, if you establish a new Sect, you have to report it to them, you little punk!"

The Bow Lady's voice chimed in his ear at just the right moment.

"So that's what this is about."

Yang An understood. The visitor was likely from the Golden Thread Pavilion's branch in Zichuan State.

The old guy had run off somewhere, and now he held the highest authority in the Life Crane Sect. That meant he was the only one who could handle this.

'Damn that old guy! If I'd known, I wouldn't have come back either.'

'But staying away wasn't an option. If both he and the old guy were absent from the Life Crane Sect, only Wen Yin would be left, and it was questionable whether she could handle things on her own.'

'In the end, after spending so much time here, Yang An did feel a sense of belonging to the Life Crane Sect.'

He cursed viciously in his mind. Looking down, he saw that his clothes, battered by countless sessions of self-tempering, were practically falling apart. He had no choice but to change.

Cultivating the Nine Forces Shocking Dragon had only one downside for him: it went through clothes very quickly.

And with the Bow Lady around... even though she was just a bow, cultivating without clothes felt a little too exposed.

After changing, he stepped outside and saw Wen Yin waiting for him.

Although he had a good idea why someone from the Golden Thread Pavilion was here, he still asked what they wanted.

Wen Yin just shook her head. The person hadn't stated their purpose, only their identity, and had asked to see the person in charge of the Life Crane Sect.

With Wen Yin leading the way, the two of them headed toward a large hall within the sect grounds.

It had been built for meetings and was situated far from the sect's core, in a more peripheral area, to protect the central grounds from immediate threats.

They wound their way through the various buildings, and after about a quarter of an hour, they arrived at the hall.

It was a simple pavilion, still unnamed. That would have to wait for Elder Life Crane's return.

As they entered the hall, Yang An immediately saw the figure of a man standing with his hands clasped behind his back, his own back turned to them.

The visitor was a man with a broad, powerful-looking frame. He quickly turned around, revealing his face.

He wore loose-fitting black robes with gold embroidery on the collar and cuffs, and his gaze was sharp.

'Corpse Transformation or Zombie God?'

Judging by aura alone, Yang An couldn't determine the man's Cultivation Level. After all, he himself was only at the Corpse Transformation stage.

But one thing was certain: this man was definitely no simple character.

Their eyes met, and in that brief instant, Yang An felt as if he were being watched by a tiger or a wolf.

As he was sizing up the visitor, the visitor was doing the same to him.

"I am the senior disciple of Elder Life Crane of the Life Crane Sect. May I ask what important business brings a Fellow Daoist from the Golden Thread Pavilion here?"

Yang An said politely, clasping his hands in a salute.

The saying "you don't hit a smiling face" didn't necessarily apply in this world, but given the Life Crane Sect's current standing, they had no choice but to maintain a humble attitude before the Golden Thread Pavilion.

'Let's see how he responds.'

But as soon as he finished speaking, the man frowned, a look of disdain on his face as he let out a cold snort.

"I'm here to see your Sect Leader. A mere disciple like you is not qualified to speak with me!"

"..."

'Seriously, dude? You're going to act all high and mighty right off the bat?'

Yang An scowled inwardly. Based on this first impression, he had already labeled the man an idiot in his mind.

"The Sect Leader is away on business and not in the sect. If you have something to say, Fellow Daoist, you can say it to me."

Yang An couldn't be bothered with pleasantries anymore, his tone turning cold.

"You?"

The man still looked at Yang An with a disdainful, sidelong glance.

"You, a disciple, cannot make decisions on sect matters. Go and fetch your Sect Leader."

"..."

'If I could find the old guy, would I need you to tell me that?'

Yang An's heart tightened, but then an idea struck him, and his eyes lit up.

"Then I suppose our Fellow Daoist will just have to wait here. The Sect Leader of our Life Crane Sect will be back. As for when... heheh, that depends on his mood. It's up to fate!"

With that, Yang An gave Wen Yin a look and immediately turned and left the hall without a second glance.

"..."

The man clearly hadn't expected Yang An to be so decisive, leaving him hanging there without another thought. His expression instantly soured.

But as he watched the backs of Yang An and Wen Yin disappear, he couldn't take back the words he had just said. He could only clench his fists, a vicious look flashing in his eyes.

...

Wen Yin followed Yang An out, confused as to why he had said that.

Once they were some distance away, out of sight of the hall, Wen Yin asked in bewilderment:

"Senior Brother, we don't know where the Sect Leader is. If he doesn't come back, won't we end up offending the Golden Thread Pavilion?"

Yang An chuckled.

He'd just had a realization. A sense of belonging was one thing, but this sect wasn't his; it was the old guy's. If the Golden Thread Pavilion was offended, it would be the old guy's problem, not his. What did it have to do with a mere disciple? So why should he be the one to stick his neck out? This was a perfect opportunity to force the old guy out of hiding. He refused to believe the old guy would just stand by and watch the Life Crane Sect get on the wrong side of the Golden Thread Pavilion, leaving them with no footing in the Treasure Temple Domain. And if the old guy didn't show up? Well, he'd just take Wen Yin and run. He was sure the old guy would come looking for them then. The options were simple: either the Life Crane Sect gets destroyed again, or he and Wen Yin flee. Either way, the old guy would be forced to appear.

'Trying to hide, are you?'

'Then I'll just use the entire future of the Life Crane Sect to threaten you! Let's see if you come out then!'

Yang An sneered inwardly.

"Don't worry," he said. "He'll be back."