Sacred Flame Lineage

# Chapter 5: Sacred Flame Lineage

A few more days passed, and over a dozen cats had already gathered in the East Side Courtyard.

There were white ones, black ones, orange ones, and a few tabbies with mixed fur colors.

Little Flame crouched under the eaves, tail swishing back and forth like a seasoned senior, watching the new members in the yard with a serious expression.

Lin Yan lay sprawled on the railing, gazing at the courtyard full of cats in excellent spirits.

"Now this actually looks like a sect."

"Even if it's not quite a sect yet—more like an expanded cat den."

"But with more cats, the presence is there."

Thinking this, Lin Yan glanced at the system panel again.

[Sacred Flame Spirit Cat: 12/12]

That's right.

In just a few days since obtaining [Sacred Flame Spirit Ignition], he had already maxed out the limit.

Of course, there had been a bit of a twist along the way.

That first morning, Bibi Dong had carried him and Little Flame to a side hall, where Ghost and Moon Pass were both waiting.

When Moon Pass saw the two cats, his gaze paused noticeably.

Especially when he looked at Little Flame—his expression was complicated, as if he wanted to ask something but felt the question might be impolite.

Ghost showed no expression at all.

But those eyes hidden in shadow lingered on the two cats for an extra two breaths.

Lin Yan lay in Bibi Dong's arms, his whole body tense.

"Here it comes."

"The moment of truth for this cat's honor defense."

"Your Holiness, please be knowledgeable about this—otherwise this cat will carry the reputation of 'having a kid right after birth' for the rest of my life."

As it turned out, Bibi Dong was even more straightforward than he'd expected.

She only said one thing lightly:

"A newborn companion spirit body."

Moon Pass understood immediately.

At least on the surface.

"I see. Your subordinate understands."

He said he understood, but his eyes still couldn't help drifting toward Lin Yan.

The meaning was probably: Your kind of rare soul beast really does have... unique abilities.

Lin Yan pretended not to notice and buried his head, licking his paw.

As long as he understood.

As long as he didn't think in strange directions.

That day passed quickly.

After hearing the reports, Bibi Dong directly assigned the East Side Courtyard to them.

It wasn't especially large, but it had the advantage of being quiet, close to her sleeping quarters, and the yard contained an old tree, a small flower bed, and a little room with a warm stove always burning.

She left only one sentence:

"Let them live here."

"Don't let others disturb them."

And just like that, Lin Yan and Little Flame officially had housing in Martial Soul Hall.

Of course, the deed couldn't be written in his name.

But rounding up, it counted as clinging to a top-tier thigh and moving into a luxury mansion with a private courtyard.

That night, Lin Yan seriously reviewed his experiences since transmigrating.

Starting point: Death Canyon.

Near-death social embarrassment in the middle.

Now living in the Pope's Palace side courtyard.

Looking at it this way, things had developed pretty fast.

Of course, what really made him happy wasn't the lodging—it was something else.

After settling into the East Side Courtyard, the system quickly popped up a new notification.

[Ding, side quest "Cat Sect Founding" progress increased.]

[Detected: Host has acquired a stable activity space.]

[Detected: Host has met preliminary conditions for expansion.]

[Sacred Flame Spirit Ignition expandable.]

[Current spirit ignition limit: 1→12.]

When he saw this prompt, Lin Yan nearly launched himself out of his nest on the spot.

Good news.

He could finally do a proper expansion.

Bad news.

He still had to solve one very practical problem first.

—Where did the cats come from?

Relying purely on shedding his own fur for spirit ignition was certainly possible.

But that path clearly wasn't sustainable long-term.

First, it consumed too much soul power.

Second, it drained too much mental energy.

Third, and most importantly.

It was way too socially embarrassing.

One extra Little Flame per night could be explained away as a companion spirit body.

Two extra in three days could barely pass as a soul skill effect.

But if, after five days, a dozen kittens suddenly appeared in the Pope's Palace, the matter wouldn't be as simple as "a rare soul beast's special ability."

That would be called "This Cat is suspected of secretly running a nursery in the side courtyard."

Lin Yan only imagined that scene for a moment before silently lifting a paw to cover his face.

"No."

"Absolutely not."

"This Cat may be a cat, but I still have a reputation to maintain."

So he quickly changed his approach.

Since using his own fur for spirit ignition could easily spark strange associations.

Why not just use real cats as the catalyst?

No sooner had this idea surfaced than the opportunity delivered itself.

Whether it was because the news that the Pope had started keeping cats had quietly spread through the palace.

Starting the next day, the female official in charge of the East Side Courtyard became especially attentive.

Milk arrived.

Minced meat arrived.

Even the sleeping mat was swapped for a softer one.

By the third day, the kitchen even sent over two palace cats specifically trained for catching mice, saying they were "to keep the little masters company."

When Lin Yan heard the words "little masters," his tail paused mid-swing.

"Wait."

"This Cat's seniority in the Pope's Palace has already reached this level?"

But shock aside, those two palace cats were perfect raw material.

One white cat.

One calico cat.

Both had smooth fur and steady temperaments, clearly not used to hardship.

But when they first entered the courtyard, they were still a bit shy, shrinking by the door and not daring to move.

Little Flame walked over first.

Raised a paw and gently tapped the white cat on the head.

The white cat froze for a moment.

Then sniffed the scent on Little Flame.

And quickly relaxed.

Seeing this, Lin Yan's eyes lit up slightly.

"Good."

"The first cat I raised has already learned how to welcome new members."

"Looks like this sect isn't just this meow working alone."

Seizing the rare opportunity, Lin Yan didn't waste any time. That same day, he conducted his first experiment with the white cat.

The result went even smoother than he'd anticipated.

With a real cat as a guide, the difficulty of Sacred Flame Spirit Ignition dropped significantly.

Less consumption.

More stable process.

After ignition, the kitten no longer had that jarring sense of being conjured out of thin air from nothing. Instead, it built upon its original foundation, gaining an extra layer of flame essence and spiritual awareness.

This made explaining things far too simple.

It was nothing more than—an ordinary cat, gradually nurtured into a spirit cat by this rare soul beast of his.

Reasonable.

Very reasonable.

And it didn't compromise his innocence.

That evening, Lin Yan looked at the newly ignited second Sacred Flame Spirit Cat with great satisfaction.

It was still the same white cat in appearance, except for a faint fire mark on its forehead, and its eyes were noticeably more lively.

Most importantly, right after ignition, it actively nuzzled up to him.

As it rubbed against him, it let out soft "mews."

It sounded very obedient.

Lin Yan decided on the spot that this would be his expansion route from now on.

If there were real cats, ignite real cats.

If there were no real cats, then consider the shedding plan.

If he could expand scientifically, he'd avoid letting things take a strange turn.

So over the next few days, the East Side Courtyard saw more and more cats.

Some were palace cats sent from the kitchen.

Others were strays that followed the scent of milk.

Two even climbed over the wall at night, only to be cornered by Little Flame and the newly ignited white cat, too scared to move. Lin Yan ended up igniting them on the spot.

As he kept igniting, Lin Yan gradually began to pick up on some patterns.

Cats with steady temperaments had a higher success rate for ignition.

Cats that were close to him grew faster after ignition.

Moreover, cats of different fur colors and personalities seemed to take different paths after ignition.

The first white cat ignited had a natural affinity for [Purring Dream].

When it lay by the bedside, its calming effect was far inferior to his own or Little Flame's, but it was already quite considerable.

A black cat, on the other hand, was clearly better at concealing its aura.

It usually ran around the yard without drawing much attention, but at night, once it slipped into the shadows, even Lin Yan had to look carefully to find it.

Then there was an orange cat. Its greatest strength after ignition wasn't fighting or calming, but being exceptionally clingy.

Whether it was rubbing against legs, rolling over to show its belly, or tucking its head into hands, it had a whole repertoire.

After watching it perform for just half a day, Lin Yan already felt sorry for the future female officials of Martial Soul Hall.

"This guy..."

"He's going for the charm route, isn't he?"

"Even if he's not much in a fight, his destructive potential among people seems pretty high."

All in all, after a few days, the East Side Courtyard officially had its first batch of Sacred Flame Spirit Cats.

Including Little Flame, there were twelve in total.

Not a large number.

But enough to make an impression.

At the very least, when someone walked into the yard now, they wouldn't see just two lonely kittens, but a small group of little ones that moved on their own, queued up for meals, and lounged together under the trees in the afternoon sun.

What pleased Lin Yan even more was that this group of cats wasn't chaotic.

On the contrary, they were very obedient.

Almost too obedient.

Every time he spoke, no matter what the little ones in the yard were doing, they would immediately stop and turn to look at him in unison.

Once, he casually called out, "Come here."

And all twelve cats swarmed over in a rush.

Black, white, orange, spotted—they circled him layer by layer.

Looking up at him, their eyes bright.

In that moment, Lin Yan felt an inexplicable stir in his heart.

In his past life, he'd just been an ordinary person.

Work, rent, the subway, revising plans.

Not exactly lonely, but never lively either.

After arriving in Douluo, he'd gone from human to cat.

In those earlier chapters, he'd griped and adapted, often seeming pretty upbeat.

But to say he wasn't lonely at all—that would be a lie.

Only now, watching this courtyard full of kittens drawing close to him, did he feel it clearly for the first time—

In this world, he wasn't just "surviving" anymore.

He actually had something that belonged to him.

Thinking this, that faint, lingering sense of drift from the transmigration slowly settled to the ground.

"Alright."

"From today on, this cat counts as part of an organization... no wait, a cat with an organization."

"This feeling... not bad, actually."

Of course, sentiment aside, management still had to happen.

Because with more cats came problems.

Like two little ones who loved squatting by Bibi Dong's bedchamber door.

Like that orange cat who always tried to climb onto the female officials' shoulders.

Or the black cat from the start, who'd already learned to sneak into the study and nap on a pile of scrolls.

When Lin Yan discovered this, only one thought remained.

"Damn."

"If I don't rein this in, these courtyard cats will be lawless soon enough."

So he quickly did his first real bit of "cult leader work."

Set rules.

First, no entering the Pope's bedchamber or study without permission.

Second, no damaging scrolls, no knocking over candlesticks.

Third, no scratching or biting Martial Soul Hall people unless they strike first.

Fourth, line up for meals.

Fifth, anyone who yowls in the middle of the night and wakes Bibi Dong loses their extra meal the next day.

The rules weren't complicated.

But they worked.

Because these little ones were already attuned to him, sensitive to his mood.

The moment he got serious, every cat in the courtyard straightened up.

Especially when he mentioned "no extra meal"—that orange cat sat the most upright on the spot.

Lin Yan's mouth twitched.

"Nice one."

"So you little bastard do know what matters."

And just as the cat population in the East Side Courtyard was slowly expanding, the system finally stirred.

[ Ding, detected host has a stable group of dependents. ]

[ Hidden side quest "Cat Sect's First Form" completed. ]

[ Reward: Meow Wish Value ×100, Century Cultivation Card ×1, Skill Fragment: Spark Resonance. ]

The moment he saw the rewards, Lin Yan's eyes lit up.

"Nice!"

"Now that's more like it."

"This cat's been working hard to expand for days, and the system finally pays out."

The first two weren't worth mentioning.

The real focus was that last one—[Spark Resonance].

Lin Yan immediately tapped the description.

[Spark Resonance: Sacred Flame Spirit Cats can share partial emotions and simple thoughts with each other. The host can amplify the coverage of abilities like "Calming Presence," "Affinity," and "Scent Tracking" through the Sacred Flame Spirit Cat group. Current stage: limited to a small area.]

After reading the introduction, Lin Yan understood immediately.

This was a group buff.

One cat using Calming Presence, versus twelve cats using it together—that was a completely different concept.

If the number of Sacred Flame Spirit Cats kept increasing in the future, the value of this skill would only grow higher.

By then, forget just one East Side Courtyard.

As long as the layout was stable enough, maybe even the entire atmosphere of the Pope's Palace could be gradually shifted by these little ones.

"Not bad."

"Looks like This Cat's path wasn't wrong."

"First, build up the cats. Then, build up the sect. Finally, find a way to slowly bring people in too."

"This order makes perfect sense."

With that thought, Lin Yan decisively used the [Century Cultivation Card] as well.

A warm current flowed through his body once more.

This time, his cultivation smoothly rose to the three-hundred-year level.

Though he was still far from being able to swagger around unchallenged, he could at least clearly feel that his soul power foundation was thicker now, making both Point Spirit and Calming Presence much easier.

And just as his cultivation stabilized, the twelve little ones in the courtyard, as if sensing something at the same moment, all turned to look at him.

For a split second, Lin Yan even had the illusion.

It felt less like he was raising them.

And more like every time he grew stronger, they were genuinely happy for him too.

The system prompt quietly popped up at that moment.

[Group resonance detected.]

[Sacred Flame Spirit Cat loyalty: High.]

[Recommendation: Please select core members.]

Seeing this prompt, Lin Yan swept his gaze across the courtyard.

One black.

One white.

One orange.

One tabby.

And one gray-blue kitten.

These five had noticeably steadier auras than the other seven, each with their own distinct style.

The black cat was the best at hiding.

The white cat was the best at quietly keeping someone company.

The orange cat was the best at burrowing into people's arms.

The tabby was the sharpest—an absolute ace at patrolling the courtyard.

And the gray-blue one liked to crouch near the heater and formation patterns, most sensitive to soul power flow.

Lin Yan stared at them for a while, his tail slowly swaying.

"Yeah."

"It's about time I picked a few that can take charge."

"After all, with so many cats, if This Cat has to handle everything himself, I'll burn out sooner or later."

Thinking this, he looked down at his own white fur and suddenly felt a very practical worry.

"Good thing I'm mainly awakening real cats this time. If I kept plucking like this at the rate I'm expanding, This Cat would go bald sooner or later."

"By the time the sect leader's reputation is made, I'd be a bald cat first—that would be way too undignified."

The orange cat in the courtyard seemed to sense his mood and immediately ran over, bumping its head against his paw.

Lin Yan looked down at it and reached out to pat it.

"Don't rush."

"Starting tomorrow, This Cat will assign you all your duties."