"Su Xiaobai, we are promoting you to inner court disciple."
"...Come again?"
Su Xiaobai stared at the elder, his brain doing the mental equivalent of a cart stuck in quicksand. He had walked into the sect hall expecting the usual: yelling, maybe a slap on the wrist. A demotion at worst. After all, who could forget his masterpiece—obliterating the trial formation?
But a promotion? Seriously?
His eyes flicked to the elders. Their expressions ranged from 'smug bastard who planned this' to 'grudging boomer approval.' If this were a drama, the soundtrack would be screaming, 'Something ain't right!'
'Wait, wait, inner court? Don't I need to hit Nascent Soul Realm for that?' Su Xiaobai scratched his head. He was still happily loafing around in core formation realm, after all. Did someone mix up the paperwork? Or was this some sort of elaborate sect hazing ritual?
