Inside his room, Damian continued staring at the small red token in his hand.

He turned it around several times, trying to find anything unusual about it. "The hell is this thing?"

The moment he said that, the familiar screen suddenly appeared in front of him.

---

[Great Flame Sect Outer Disciple Acceptance Token]

[Grade: Special Token]

[Description: A token personally issued by the Great Flame Sect. Anyone who possesses this token can directly enter the Great Flame Sect and become an outer disciple without going through the normal examination.]

---

Damian’s eyes widened slightly after reading the screen. "Wait... what?"

He looked back down at the token in his hand, then at the screen again.

"Anyone who has this can directly become an outer disciple of the Great Flame Sect?"

For a moment, Damian was genuinely surprised.

Although he had already guessed that the token had something to do with the Great Flame Sect because of the flame symbol, he didn’t expect it to be this kind of thing.

In a cultivation world, this kind of thing was definitely not ordinary.

Even if it was only for becoming an outer disciple, it was still valuable as hell, especially for rogue cultivators and poor cultivators without background.

After all, joining a sect meant resources, martial arts, protection, information, and status.

Even a weak outer disciple from a major sect could sometimes act arrogantly in front of rogue cultivators because of the sect standing behind them.

Damian rubbed his chin and slowly narrowed his eyes. "But why the hell did those guys have this?"

He leaned back slightly and began thinking.

Those four were already Foundation Establishment cultivators, and from the way they spoke, they should have already been inner disciples of the Great Flame Sect.

So why would they need an outer disciple acceptance token?

He tapped the token lightly. "Maybe they got it as a reward... or stole it from someone."

The more Damian thought about it, the more possibilities appeared in his mind, but in the end, it didn’t matter to him.

"Well, whatever. They’re already dead anyway, so this thing belongs to me now."

After saying that, Damian’s eyes suddenly lit up as he thought of something.

What if he gifted this item?

He was curious what kind of return the system would give him, but the moment he became excited, he suddenly froze as a realization appeared in his mind.

He didn’t know who to give this to.

Violetta had most likely already heard about the Great Flame Sect from Vulkara by now.

And considering what had happened to Vulkara, gifting Violetta a token connected to the Great Flame Sect might create an unnecessary misunderstanding.

Even if Violetta didn’t say anything, she might wonder why he wanted her to join the same sect that had nearly destroyed her new junior sister.

That would become troublesome and might even damage their bond. He was afraid that his first special treasure chest would be gone because of it.

Then he thought about Vulkara, but the moment her face appeared in his mind, he rejected the idea even faster. "If I give this to Vulkara, that red-haired rat might actually bite me."

The Great Flame Sect was basically the place that had humiliated, framed, hunted, and almost killed her. So if Damian gave this token to her, she might even try to smash it against his head.

Damian sighed and rubbed his forehead. "So I can’t give it to Violetta, and I definitely can’t give it to Vulkara..."

His excitement slowly faded as he stared at the token helplessly.

The thing was clearly valuable, but he had no suitable person to gift it to right now.

Because of that, he could only sigh and place the token back into his storage ring. "I’ll keep it for now."

He leaned back on his bed and looked at the ceiling with a slight frown. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

"This thing might be useful later. I just need to find the right treasure chest for it."

After saying that, Damian closed his eyes for a moment, resting after his long journey to the forest.

---

Inside the Great Flame Sect, the atmosphere was completely different from the bloody chaos of the Black Mist Forest.

The mountain peaks were bright, spiritual Qi flowed through the air, and many disciples moved around in their sect robes with proud expressions.

At the center of one of the inner disciple courtyards, a young woman sat leisurely beside a stone table while drinking fragrant tea.

She had long golden-red hair tied beautifully behind her back, bright eyes, and a face that looked gentle at first glance, but her smile was anything but gentle.

Her name was Fionel, one of the talented inner disciples of the Great Flame Sect.

Right now, she was holding a jade cup in her hand while listening to the report from one of her followers.

"Senior Sister Fionel, those people should have already dealt with Vulkara by now."

The moment she heard that, Fionel’s smile widened slightly. "Good."

She slowly placed the cup on the table and looked toward the distant mountains. "That stupid Vulkara really thought she could keep biting back at me forever."

Then she began to laugh. "Wild dogs should know their place. If she had quietly lowered her head and accepted her fate, maybe I would have let her continue living as a useless outer disciple. But no, she had to offend me."

Her follower quickly nodded. "Senior Sister is right. That woman was too arrogant. She had no background, no talent, and yet she still dared to offend you."

Fionel’s eyes narrowed slightly as she remembered Vulkara.

At first, Vulkara had only been an annoying outer disciple, beautiful but lowly, someone who had entered the sect through shameful means.

In Fionel’s eyes, someone like that should have known how to bow, flatter, and stay out of her way.

But Vulkara was different.

She was like an untamed beast. No matter how many times people bullied her, she always bared her teeth and fought back.

That alone was enough to make Fionel hate her, because a woman with no backing, no power, and no real value had no right to be that proud.

Fionel lightly tapped her finger against the table. "Even if she had the attention of that elder, so what?"

Her smile became even more mocking. "He was only an outer disciple elder. Did she really think that kind of man could protect her forever?"

Her follower chuckled. "Of course not. Compared to Senior Sister’s backing, that elder is nothing."

Fionel smiled proudly because it was the truth.

The elder who had accepted Vulkara into the sect only had some authority among the outer disciples.

He might have been useful for bringing a woman like Vulkara inside, but in front of true inner disciples and the people behind Fionel, he was nothing.

He wouldn’t dare offend her for Vulkara. At most, he would only sigh after hearing that Vulkara had died in the forest, then forget about her completely.

That was the reality of the cultivation world.

No one would be safe if they didn’t have strength, background, or enough value.

Fionel slowly stood up, grinning. "Now that Vulkara is gone, no one can interfere with my plan anymore."