The pursuit of scientific progress is a never-ending journey, and the moral quandaries that pgue those with ambition can drag them into the abyss.

  But to survive and get stronger, sometimes, any means is necessary. Hence…

  Bubai lifted up a small crystal vial, gently swirling the milky greenish-bck liquid bottled up inside.

  "This poison had pretty deadly effects on those outer sect hunters, so it should do fine against others."

  A single thought sent the vial from his hand into his storage space, joining the other two filled icy vessels snugly resting on a dirty, folded bnket within a box.

  With the Ice Jade Vials preserving the potency of the poison, they were ready to be used for battle at any given moment in the next six months – more than long enough for the upcoming tourney.

  Bubai peered down. Laying at his feet was a white jade box - the very same one he looted from the Flower Picking Gang.

  Within, a mass of scorpions was writhing in an erratic and aggressive manner, a natural reaction to their recent venom extraction ordeal.

  “My little cuties, thank you for volunteering as tribute to let me make the big bucks.”

  After bidding them farewell, Bubai shut the lid of the white jade safe and wrapped it in a bck cloth, knotting it into secure bundle.

  It was ready to be delivered to fetch a handsome sum to fill his spirit stone reserves. But first…

  Bubai turned around, surveying the assortment of boxes, crates, jars, and basins cluttering the many prison cells of the dungeon.

  The reason for this mess?

  Bubai’s consciousness dived into his storage space.

  On one side, taking up less than a quarter of his space, were his tightly packed, mundane clutter.

  These were secrets that had to remain safely tucked away, such as items with ties to his identities. Money, spirit stones, and weapons were also kept handy here.

  As for all the unimportant sundries? They had already been temporarily unloaded either to his tower dungeon or his storage pouch in order to make space in his secret storage.

  The reason for the need for space?

  Bubai’s attention jumped to the other half of his storage space, where he immediately took in an eerie scene right out of a horror novel.

  Here, pale corpses were packed like sardines, accompanied by the occasional charred ones.

  Right next to this small hill of corpses was a beautiful reaper garbed in a bck robe, busy scooping ashes from a bronze brazier into a ceramic jar with a charred dle.

  Laying within the ash-filled brazier was a charred skeleton with its flesh completely burned away, a macabre hint of the repulsive event that had transpired.

  Yet, facing this grotesque scene, the female reaper’s face worked with an artistic detachment, still wearing an ever-serene smile – a smile that even death could not shake.

  This female reaper was naturally his servant, An Jali.

  This doll may have unlocked a facet of her true self, yet it didn’t change the fact that she was now a man-made machine, bred to face unfeeling work.

  While the living might be repulsed by the sight and smell of death, this killer figure showed no aversion.

  In this smoky, almost oxygen-deprived environment where mortals will suffocate, the doll didn’t excrete a single drop of sweat, even in the face of the stifling heat.

  Therefore, just as she excelled in her role as his assembly line craftsman, she fit right into the grim role of being his handler.

  Now, she was simply attending to the aftermath of the Hunter Gang’s disappearance.

  Killing low-level mobs was easy with Bubai’s current strength, but disposing of the corpses afterwards still posed a problem.

  Bubai couldn’t simply dump them out in the open. Even if he scattered the corpses across the outer sect, that wouldn’t solve the critical issue of their origins.

  If investigators traced the remains back to the Hunter gang, the pot that would be uncovered would be big.

  Though the Hunter Gang may have been small, their influence still puts them in the spotlight, especially since they had a backer.

  Even without taking the gang’s influence into account, the sheer number of dead disciples would inevitably draw attention.

  Once an investigation order comes down, every detail would undergo intense scrutiny, with the bodies becoming the focal point of inspection.

  Unfortunately, such scrutiny posed a significant risk of leading back to his other personas.

  Though there were variations in his martial and killing techniques, every move left traces, especially the fatal ones.

  Keen, knowledgeable investigators could piece together the depths of the attacks and specute on the habits of the perpetrator.

  Given his desire to keep his current schemes separate for each of his other identities, he had to be strategic in leaving behind clues—ones that would mislead rather than incriminate further.

  This misdirection will ensure there will be minimal to no connection even if a fake identity gets exposed. So, misdirecting is fine, just as he had been doing so far.

  But any clues that he doesn’t want to be seen must be eradicated completely.

  His destruction of the Hunter Gang was an impromptu decision. It was an accident that wasn’t conductive to his pns.

  So, Bubai employed this roundabout method to destroy the corpses, blurring his traces and minimizing the risk of their recognition.

  Ideally, it would be better to reduce the skeleton to ashes as well. Scattering both ashes and soul conforms to the true creed of stability and steadiness.

  As, he hadn’t attained that steady senior brother level yet.

  For now, Bubai can only do the initial stage, namely destroying the flesh.

  “Oh Merlin, I hope this should be enough- Erhm, to be safe, I gotta find some good, hidden spots…”

  Some suitable locations already jumped into Bubai’s mind. Once the half-ass cremation was over, he can drop off the skeletons and this matter can be put to rest. At least temporarily.

  While Bubai’s thoughts churned like a criminal’s, An Jali finished packing the st of the ashes into the jar.

  After letting the charred skeleton join its companions in the pile, An Jali prepped the brazier with wood and dried grassy tinder. Then, she reverently looked up to the heavens of the storage space, praying aloud, “My king, please hear Jali’s call.”

  Bubai heard her plea he had grown accustomed to, and with a mere thought, the brazier materialized in front of him, bringing along a foul odor that immediately invaded Bubai’s nose!

  Fighting the urge to retch, Bubai locked onto his internal insights model, exerting control to temporarily block off his olfactory perception.

  With the assault subdued, Bubai snapped his finger over the brazier, igniting the tinder with a spark of fme alighting from his fingertips.

  Once the fire was abze, Bubai wasted no time in seizing the brazier, sucking it back into his storage space.

  Retreating a few steps, Bubai gasped for stale air, grateful to be rid of the putrid odor.

  “Sometimes, better senses aren’t always cracked up in my favor...”

  Thankfully, as a cultivator at the foundation establishment stage, he possessed some level of control over his bodily functions, allowing him to suppress certain senses when necessary—albeit temporarily and with limitations.

  Recalling an anime where a certain dog-loving ninja lost due to his strong sense of smell, Bubai knew he needed to find a sustainable solution to further suppress or even protect his strong senses from negative influences.

  Just when Bubai’s active mind sifted his library of knowledge for a suitable technique, An Jali’s alert interrupted his thoughts, “My king, the fire went out.”

  Huh? It went out? Checking his storage, Bubai’s brows knitted together when his consciousness registered the ck of fire in the brazier.

  Why did it go out all of a sudden?

  It didn’t take long for Bubai to deduce the cause: insufficient oxygen. It was a principle of common sense from his previous world.

  While Bubai wasn't certain if the same applied in this cultivation world where all sorts of magical fires existed, the principle seemed pusible, at least for normal fires like the one he had been using for incineration.

  Rubbing his chin thoughtfully, Bubai added another task to his agenda, "I'll need to find a way to refresh the air. The burning will have to wait."

  So, Bubai issued a command to his servant through their telepathic link, “Jali, temporarily enter dormancy state.”

  Though she received his command loud and clear, An Jali didn’t obey immediately.

  Casting her eyes up to the heavens, she addressed her owner with an expression clouded with longing, “My king, it’s been more than a day since we st met. When will my king feed Jali?”

  A subtle frown creased Bubai’s face when he recalled the foul smell – bad enough to be a bonafide weapon like stinky tofu.

  Even if he wanted to eat her tofu, it’s a pity because no matter how beautifully dressed she appeared, the nature of her duties had definitely left her contaminated.

  So, Bubai can only temporarily put her off, “Wait a little longer. I’ll let you out once the bath water is ready. Save your energy until then.”

  Facing Bubai’s obvious reluctance, An Jali could only obediently nod, bowing her head and trudging to the only open corner.

  Seating herself against the wall, her eyelids lethargically fluttered a couple of times before shutting down.

  Outside, Bubai sighed heavily. “She may be cking in some aspects, but even she has some needs that require fulfillment.”

  He can’t neglect her just because she can’t betray. In management games like these, the happiness meter is usually tied to the productivity meter.

  Realizing he couldn’t postpone certain matters any longer, Bubai hastened his steps. But before heading back up…

  Seeing the charred mess still strewn over the prison’s only path, Bubai grabbed the broom leaning against the wall, taking over his doll’s usual task. “Time to tidy up.”

  The mundane sweeper touched the earth, step by step following the guidance long lost in a story’s memories...