On the return to the Glass Cloud Sect, Jun Li split off from Zhao Xiaoli and Han Wenyan to visit her Master.

  Although he had asked Jun Li to train in the Glass Cloud Sect for a while, she decided that it was worth returning early. Jun Li wasn’t sure, but the strangely comfortable state she entered when fighting in the village felt unlike anything from her inheritance, so she hoped her Master might have some insights of his own regarding it.

  Furthermore, she now had Jade Slips containing two new techniques, and was eager to get her Master’s opinion on them.

  Although she had a degree of confidence in appraising martial techniques herself, Jun Li had come to reference her Master’s knowledge frequently, as he had cleared up innumerable misconceptions and gaps in her knowledge that her inherited memories left blurry.

  With a small collection of valuable items in her Spatial Ring to sell off to the Merchant's Guild, Jun Li was in a good mood. The matter of supporting her family would be well and truly settled after converting a few half-treasure weapons into mortal wealth.

  Carrying that good mood with her, Jun Li knocked lightly on the door to her Master’s office in the Alchemist Association Branch building.

  As she had grown to expect, no response was heard from inside, so Jun Li simply let herself inside. Stepping inside the dim room, Jun Li was greeted by the familiar stench of innumerable Medicinal Plants infused into the very walls of the office.

  Seated at his desk, the Branch Director, Zhu Enlai, had before him a number of tools designed to assist him in the study of Jun Li’s snake companion, Little Yun.

  Little Yun was a subject of considerable interest for Zhu Enlai. The reverse scale on their body, which implied a vague draconic bloodline, was rare to the degree that Zhu Enlai didn’t want to miss the chance to study it.

  Promising Jun Li that he could help Little Yun grow into a Magical Beast capable of fighting at her side, Zhu Enlai kept the young Magical Beast by his side while she had left for the Inner Sect.

  Closing the door behind her, Jun Li looked to her Master with some surprise. Normally, it would take her a minute or two to get his attention, as he was typically deeply immersed in his studies. But today, the moment she walked through the door, his eyes were locked onto her.

  Narrowing his brows, Zhu Enlai spoke with genuine confusion in his voice. “Just how many people did you kill these past few days?”

  Caught off-guard by the accusatory question, Jun Li looked herself over and checked her clothes for the smell of blood. “It’s not that obvious, is it? I think I only killed about a dozen or so bandits, and I’m pretty sure I cleaned myself off properly… Could you smell it?”

  “It’s not a matter of smell.” Zhu Enlai sighed. “Just a dozen or so, huh…? It doesn’t look like that from where I’m sitting. Ah, whatever, come over and tell me about it.”

  Beckoning Jun Li over, Zhu Enlai set his studies aside. “What exactly happened while you were gone these past few days?”

  … … … … … …

  Taking a sip of tea, Zhu Enlai slowly mulled over Jun Li’s story. “Hmm, a group of bandits turned Rogue Cultivators… And that mental state… Interesting…” Listening to her Master's contemplation with a concerned expression, Jun Li eventually spoke. “I don’t suppose you can make any sense of it…?”

  Looking at Jun Li over the brim of his raised mug, Zhu Enlai groaned. “Well… if what you’ve told me is accurate, then I think I know exactly what this is.” Jun Li’s eyes widened with surprise. “With only that information, you actually know?”

  Zhu Enlai scoffed. “I’ve not spent decades of my life in the Jianghu for nothing. I’ve met some people who were similar to you in this aspect.”

  “To be honest, I’m quite happy that you took the initiative to look into things so early. Too many people lack the ability to critically assess their mental state and identify abnormalities.” Despite his words, Zhu Enlai looked less than pleased. "You've a somewhat controversial little talent there."

  Sighing, Jun Li scratched her hair. “I kind of expected that… really, my reaction to killing someone, even a scumbag, shouldn't be 'ah that felt alright, let's find another idiot to kill.' That's just wrong, isn't it?”

  Zhu Enlai merely shrugged. “I don't personally mind that sort of thing. The fact is, your reaction isn't some strange or unique thing. It's no abnormal condition or special 'mental physique,' so to speak. And there's nothing unnatural or foreign about it. You're simply… born with an affinity for violence."

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  He sipped from his pungent tea. "I've seen plenty of folk whose minds work differently from others at a fundamental level. Your particular… 'archetype,' let's say, isn't so bad. You just need to use a bit more critical thought whenever violence becomes an option."

  “Oh.” Jun Li exclaimed in an underwhelmed manner. “So there's not some sort of spiritual deviation, or Qi disorder that's causing me to think like this?" Jun Li's expression was complex and somewhat bitter. "That's just… the way I am? That doesn't sound… right."

  Quietly sipping his tea, Zhu Enlai cast a doubtful gaze towards Jun Li. “Do you know what Killing Intent is?” Jun Li shrugged off her jumbled thoughts and quickly came up with an answer, recalled from her inherited memories. “That would be… some sort of aura of hostility that people emit when they want to kill someone?”

  “Simply put, yes.” Zhu Enlai thought back to what he felt from Jun Li when she entered his office. “A skilled person can suppress their Killing Intent to hide themselves, or even weaponize it as a mental attack. But an unskilled killer may not even notice their Killing Intent passively seeping out, even in normal circumstances.”

  “From my perspective, when you walked through that door, the Killing Intent I felt from you was like that of a veteran returning from the killing fields.” Zhu Enlai shook his head. “Honestly… developing something like that just from killing a dozen bandits… You’re turning out to be a complex disciple to manage.”

  Jun Li felt a bit embarrassed. “I didn’t even notice I was giving off any sort of impression… Nobody outside seemed to look at me any differently than normal, at least…” Zhu Enlai scoffed. “That sort of dormant Killing Intent isn’t the sort of thing just anyone will pick up on, but it’s as clear as day for an experienced Cultivator.”

  “Either way… this isn’t just going to affect the way you look. If you can’t properly control your Killing Intent, you’re going to be at a disadvantage in actual combat once people start paying attention to it.”

  Zhu Enlai scrounged together some papers and began writing. "There are a few ways to mitigate potential issues with Killing Intent, as well as some measures you can take to avoid your… unique cognition from impeding critical thought and danger assessment.

  Finishing his writing, Zhu Enlai folded the papers in front of himself and passed them to Jun Li. “Here, follow these instructions, and you should be able to minimize any lasting harm to your future growth.”

  Taking the papers in hand, Jun Li quickly scanned over the densely packed characters to get an idea of what was being asked of her. “Limitations on when I can and should kill, methods for detecting and suppressing Killing Intent, recommendations on scriptures to strengthen the spirit…”

  The amount of information packed onto these few pages was enough to make Jun Li feel overwhelmed. “…It always surprises me to see just how much you know…”

  Zhu Enlai laughed casually at his disciple’s remark. “To be honest, a lot of what I wrote is just guesswork based on my limited understanding of people like you. Still… it should help. At the very least, you shouldn’t cause yourself any trouble as you follow those instructions.” He paused for a moment. “Well, I can't quite say that, but it should help at least.”

  Skimming over the contents of the papers a few more times, Jun Li eventually broke the brief silence. “Oh, right, any progress with Little Yun?”

  Slowly standing from his seat, Zhu Enlai pulled a large, transparent box from a secluded corner of the office and set it on the table. Inside, a pristine white snake was visible, stirring from its sleep, a bit oversized for their cage.

  “I’ve been studying them for the past few days, and although I’m still unsure how best to study their draconic bloodline, strengthening them enough to accompany you in combat is quite possible.” Zhu Enlai opened the transparent enclosure to allow Little Yun to leave at their own pace. “By my estimation, they should naturally grow strong enough to be comparable to a Cultivator of the early Crimson Palace stage, but that may take some years.”

  “To stimulate their growth, you simply need to feed them the Beast Cores of other Magical Beasts regularly. It’s the most common method for Magical Beasts to grow stronger, so it should apply normally for Little Yun there.”

  Sipping at some tea, Zhu Enlai watched as Little Yun woke up and slowly made their way to Jun Li’s side of the table, as if it was the most natural thing possible. 'That odd affinity for Jun Li it has… I wonder what's causing it?'

  Pulling Little Yun into her arms, Jun Li noticed she felt a bit more comfortable with the young snake at her side. “If Beast Cores are what they need, then… would this be suitable?” Jun Li raised her hand and willed forth a small red pellet from the inside of her Spatial Ring.

  Turning it over in her hand, the misshapen pellet gave off a faint smell of blood and radiated a chaotic energy.

  “Ahh, you said you fought a Viridian-horned Beast during your mission, this would be its Core, I assume?” Zhu Enlai looked the Beast Core over with interest. “It’s on the strong side for such a young Magical Beast, but it came from a reptile-beast, so it should be decently compatible. If you’re worried, you could refine it into smaller pills.”

  Zhu Enlai’s comment garnered some interest from Jun Li, as she hadn’t used Beast Cores in alchemy so far.

  While Little Yun slowly made themselves comfortable draped over her body, Jun Li eagerly questioned her Master about the finer details of using Beast Cores in alchemy, barely noticing as minutes turned to hours and idle questions turned into immersed study.

  'Alchemy, Martial Techniques, Inner Sect missions, Little Yun's growth, and now this Killing Intent study I have to do… I really have my work cut out for me…'

  Despite her ever-increasing workload, Jun Li felt comfortable in a way she very rarely had in the past year. She had stopped seeing study and practice as a means to an end, and began to enjoy the process of improvement itself. 'I'm really getting used to all this Cultivation stuff, huh?'