This round of disciple recruitment brought a little over a dozen new disciples into Yunkui Summit, but even so, the total number of disciples still couldn't compare to its glory days.
Yunkui Summit's enormous sect grounds meant that within the disciples' living quarters, there were many vacant rooms.
However, according to Yunkui Summit's rules, outer disciples had to share a room—two people sharing a room.
On one hand, it allowed them to look after each other. On the other, it served as motivation, supervision, and even a means of preventing any unpleasant incidents from occurring.
After parting reluctantly from Ju Fufu, Arden carried his belongings and arrived at the small courtyard that had been assigned to him.
The courtyard wasn't large, but it was clean and tidy, with one main room and one storage room.
"Arden Xu, right? Let me help you carry your luggage."
Hearing movement outside, Arden's 'roommate' walked out from the main room and offered to help him move things.
It was a Panda Thiren—someone Arden had already 'known' before transmigrating.
"Pan…"
He remembered the surname, but not the full name.
"Pan Yinhu!"
The Panda Thiren finished Arden's sentence by introducing himself.
"Senior Brother Pan Yinhu, I look forward to your guidance from now on."
"No, no! With your skills, Senior Brother Arden, it should be you guiding me."
Both of them were very polite.
As a side note, since they were all outer disciples and hadn't officially taken a master yet, there was no hierarchy—so everyone referred to each other as Senior Brother or Senior Sister.
Following Pan Yinhu, Arden entered the main house.
The sitting room behind the door was a shared space; on both sides stood a folding screen, and behind each screen was a bed and private area.
The place wasn't large, but compared to the four- or six-person dorms back on Earth, this was far better.
"Brother Pan, I have a question…"
Arden took the initiative to chat with Pan Yinhu, learning more about Yunkui Summit.
Although Pan Yinhu was also an outer disciple, he had joined the sect a few years earlier and understood Yunkui Summit much better.
…
Night soon fell, and it was time to turn off the lights and sleep.
"Mm…"
Arden tossed and turned on his bed, unable to fall asleep.
It wasn't that the bed was uncomfortable—just that…
"Brother Arden, can't sleep?"
Pan Yinhu's voice drifted over from behind the folding screen, noticing the movement.
He had even dropped the word "Senior," showing that after half a day of talking, the two had grown much closer.
"Yeah… Brother Pan as well?"
"Yeah! Yunkui Summit is big, but there used to be barely anyone… suddenly having so many Senior Brothers and Sisters around, I'm too excited to sleep!"
Pan Yinhu's words were filled with excitement, mixed with a hint of nostalgia. "Brother Arden… you can't sleep because you're excited from joining the sect too, right?"
"Uh… something like that."
Arden obviously couldn't say it was because he wasn't used to sleeping without Ju Fufu beside him.
"Back when I first joined the sect… ah, hope Brother Arden doesn't find me too long-winded?"
"No, not at all. Please, go on!"
Since he was a playable character he could draw, Arden was quite sure Pan Yinhu had good character. He was also happy to make friends at Yunkui Summit.
"Before I met the Sect Master and became a disciple of Yunkui Summit, I was alone, wandering all over New Eridu. The only thing special about me was that I was a Panda Thiren."
Pan Yinhu opened his heart and began talking nonstop. "As you know, Bear Thirens and Cat Thirens aren't rare. But Panda Thirens… well, there aren't many. In all of New Eridu, there were hardly any kin to rely on. I could only survive on my own."
"That's true!"
Arden agreed. Like Ju Fufu—Tiger Thirens or Panda Thirens—excluding background characters, he only knew Ju Fufu and Pan Yinhu.
"Ahh~"
At this point, Pan Yinhu sighed. "Those were such grueling days… I didn't know how to cook, had no other skills, and went hungry almost every day, surviving on odd jobs."
"If you haven't truly starved before, you'll never understand how precious food is. At least… I learned that lesson quickly. If I wanted to fill my stomach, I needed to rely on my own strength."
Arden nodded to himself.
When he and Ju Fufu fled from the Fall of the Old Capital, they'd also gone hungry often—life had been terribly hard.
"And then you came to Yunkui Summit?" Arden asked.
"Huh? Of course not, that's way too early—I became a Hollow Raider."
Pan Yinhu continued speaking about his past. "I figured out that my ether adaptability wasn't bad, and I had the brute strength for fighting. So, I went into Hollows for treasure-hunting. Bring back something valuable, sell it, and that was enough money to eat."
"As for whatever blocked my way in the Hollow, I didn't care!"
"Ethereals, gangs, other Hollow Raiders—if they wanted to rob me, I just punched all of them away!"
"Until one day, inside a Hollow, I found something rare!"
"It must have been some important object related to Porcelume…? I wasn't sure back then. All I knew was that it could sell for money."
"At that moment, a stunning woman in white hair and white clothes suddenly appeared and walked toward me… I think Brother Arden can guess—yes, it was Sect Master Yixuan."
"I know!"
Arden suddenly felt like Conan possessed him. He sat up in bed and stroked his chin. "The Sect Master was tracking that important object, found you, asked you to hand it over, and persuaded you to join Yunkui Summit and walk the righteous path, correct?"
"Huh? Of course not, that's way too early—she was lost in the Hollow and came to ask me for directions."
Pan Yinhu's answer completely overturned Arden's deduction.
"…"
Arden was speechless.
Why is this story not following any sort of normal plot pattern!?
"But I didn't know she just wanted directions. I thought she wanted to steal my treasure, so I attacked her first."
Pan Yinhu scratched his head with an embarrassed laugh. "Heh! As for the outcome… I don't need to say it, right?"
If he could beat the Sect Master, he wouldn't still be an outer disciple.
"That was the first time I realized violence couldn't solve everything—especially in front of someone overwhelmingly stronger… The Sect Master casually moved a little and flattened me to the ground."
"And then she asked you to reform?" Arden guessed again. "I know—wait, why am I saying again? Never mind! She must have realized your potential and persuaded you to join Yunkui Summit, right?"
"Huh? Of course not, that's still too early. I fainted from hunger because I used too much strength."
Pan Yinhu rejected him once again.
When are you finally going to join Yunkui Summit!?
Arden screamed internally, feeling that if Pan Yinhu didn't finish the story, he might not sleep at all tonight.
"When I woke up, the Sect Master had already taken me out of the Hollow."
"She told me that prolonged exposure to ether was making it harder and harder for me to control the inner demons in my heart. If I didn't want to grow more violent, I had to do as she said."
"And then the Sect Master taught me a cultivation method. I tried it right there, and the restlessness that had always been in me suddenly calmed down… as if nothing could make me angry or sad anymore."
"That feeling was truly miraculous! So, I started wondering—if I kept living the way I had been, would I never again be able to experience this wonder called Art of Cultivation?"
"…"
"This time… surely you joined Yunkui Summit?" Arden asked.
At this point he had already walked to Pan Yinhu's side and sat on his bed in determination—not leaving until he heard the moment Pan Yinhu became a disciple.
"Huh?"
The familiar confused sound again. "Of course, not… but almost."
"I asked the Sect Master if there was anything to eat. After all, think about it—I might have felt spiritually nourished, but my stomach was still empty. With hunger that deep, no amount of enlightenment could settle in."
"And then she told me Yunkui Summit provided three meals a day… so I came."
"Whew…"
Finally. Arden let out a breath and returned to his own bed.
"See you in the morning!"
He could finally sleep peacefully.
"Don't go yet, I'm not done!"
"The Sect Master didn't explain clearly—'providing three meals' actually meant there was a meal subsidy. Yunkui Summit didn't have a proper cook at all, so in the end I had to learn how to cook and take care of everyone's meals!"
"Whew… whew…"
But by then, Arden was already breathing steadily in his sleep, completely unaware of Pan Yinhu's final revelation.