However, if the manipulated target was a Priest, they could use their arts to resist and expel the microscopic particles of the flesh puppet from their body.
If Li Ban used a guiding art to control them, the final outcome would simply come down to a contest of strength between two Priests.
While Li Ban tested his new ability, his hand remained resting against the Cat Girl's shoulder blade.
Though she had practiced martial arts for years and was far from frail, the Cat Girl was beautifully proportioned with very little body fat. Her back, in particular, featured lean muscle and an elegant bone structure.
Because of this, she was exquisitely sensitive to any touch on her back.
With Li Ban's warm palm resting against her, the sensation was too distinct to ignore.
At first, the Cat Girl tried to ignore the awkwardness by reminding herself that Li Ban was treating her. But as time passed, his hand just lingered there, perfectly still—
She had grown up in the relatively conservative Wizard World, after all. Being caressed on the back by the man she loved left her face flushed red, the tips of her furry ears trembling slightly.
Slowly, she buried her head under the pillow.
He slowly withdrew his hand. It felt as if his frozen heart was melting into clear water, nourishing his parched mind.
A faint smile unconsciously touched his lips. He patted the Cat Girl's little head through the pillow.
"Move the pillow. I'm going to try administering acupuncture on you."
The Cat Girl finally poked her head out from under the pillow, her voice muffled. "When did you learn acupuncture?"
"I studied it for a long time before giving the Divine Control Needle Technique to Valley Master Tan. Don't worry, I've already tested it on myself."
He possessed the Flesh on White Bones element. Even if he accidentally made a mistake with the needles, he could easily heal the injury in time without leaving any lasting damage.
The Cat Girl turned her head to the side, her face now bearing only a faint blush.
"Of course I trust you. You were the one who cured me last time."
"But last time, I relied entirely on the element's power. I actually know nothing about medical treatment itself. If you feel any discomfort while I'm applying the needles, you must tell me immediately."
Li Ban would also constantly use the Flesh on White Bones element to monitor the Cat Girl's internal condition during the procedure.
However, he wouldn't be able to detect any non-injury-related issues.
For those, he could only rely on the Cat Girl's immediate feedback.
"Alright, do it. I'm not afraid of pain," the Cat Girl said breezily.
She seemed entirely unconcerned about Li Ban using her for practice.
Li Ban raised his hand with a chuckle and directly condensed the moisture in the air into slender ice needles.
Without even touching them, he used the guiding art to control the ice needles, piercing them one by one into the acupoints on the Cat Girl's back.
The essence of the Divine Control Needle Technique lay in stimulating the body's acupoints and observing the reactions to determine the patient's true internal condition.
With the amplification of his spiritual rhinoceros, this diagnostic judgment became incredibly sharp and precise. Taken to the extreme, he could even perceive the thoughts of the person receiving the acupuncture.
Li Ban had no need to read the Cat Girl's thoughts; he simply wanted to use the acupuncture to verify the fusion state of the elements within her body.
By applying the needles, he fed the element a false perception, making it believe that the Cat Girl's body was experiencing various different reactions. This allowed him to check if the Cyan Silk Algae—which had barely managed to stabilize within the chaos—had left behind any hidden dangers.
Suddenly, Li Ban stopped moving, his expression slowly turning solemn.
The Cat Girl turned her head to peek at him with one eye. Seeing his face suddenly darken, her little heart began to pound rapidly.
Li Ban didn't say a word. He simply raised his hand, and the dozen or so ice needles flew out of the Cat Girl's body.
He waved a finger, and the ice needles dissipated back into thin air.
"Alright, you can get up."
The Cat Girl remained lying on her side, not getting up right away as she looked at him timidly.
To outsiders, she was a valiant, proud, and ruthlessly cold Cat Girl. But in front of Li Ban, she was as docile as a little kitten.
"Is there... a problem?"
Li Ban's expression softened as his smile returned. He reached out to gently stroke the Cat Girl's hair and her large, soft ears.
"With me here, there are no problems."
The Cat Girl stared at him. Gritting her teeth, she fought back the sudden urge to tackle him to the bed and take a bite out of him, instead nodding vigorously.
"Mhm, with you here."
Right then, someone knocked on the main courtyard gate.
Leaving the Cat Girl in the bedroom to get dressed, Li Ban walked out into the courtyard.
"What is it?"
An attendant outside spoke respectfully. "Lord Priest Ban, the Valley Master has prepared the Immortal Dew Garden. Is it convenient for you to head over now?"
"Give me a moment."
Li Ban returned to the room and saw that the Cat Girl had moved swiftly; she was already tying on her final bracer.
"I'm going to examine the vines Valley Master Tan cultivated. I suspect there might be a problem with them. Do you want to come with me?"
In high spirits, the Cat Girl skipped over to his side. "Of course."
Seeing the Cat Girl follow him out, the attendant bowed again. "Inspector Cat."
Li Ban recalled that Valley Master Tan had also addressed Little Cat as 'Inspector Cat' earlier. He just hadn't had the time to ask about it, since they had been busy discussing the Divine Control Needle Technique.
Now that he remembered, he asked, "Did you transfer to a position as an inspector?"
The Cat Girl nodded, leaning close to him. "With Priest Hunyou's recommendation, I joined the Inspectorate Court. I'm now a Touring Inspector of Yingzhou."
Li Ban raised an eyebrow. That was no low-ranking position!
Then again, very few martial world sects and organizations offered a ceiling as high as a 6th Tier identity. Having left the Assassin Hall, joining the Imperial Dynasty was indeed her best opportunity to elevate her identity.
Furthermore, Priest Hunyou belonged to the Imperial Dynasty faction. He certainly had the means to arrange a 6th Tier identity for his Little Cat.
"What is the highest Tier for an identity in the Inspectorate Court?"
"8th Tier," the Cat Girl replied.
Li Ban nodded, though inwardly he thought, 'Reaching the 8th Tier through standard identity promotions is still going to be rather difficult.'
And only by reaching the 8th Tier would she have a slight hope of naturally condensing a Wizard Embryo Fragment on her own.
However, even with him as her backer and her own extreme diligence, the odds of her reaching the 8th Tier were slim.
'It would be better to just find a Wizard Embryo Fragment for Little Cat to fuse with directly, getting it done in one step.'
Only by becoming a Priest could an identity become a mere icing on the cake, allowing one to reach the 9th Tier step by step.
He decided not to mention this to Little Cat for now, so as not to affect her mindset.
They left the courtyard and followed the attendant, passing through various buildings, pavilions, and gardens before finally arriving at the remote, secluded Youlin.
A stone monument stood outside Youlin, bearing the words: "Ten-Mile Forbidden Forest."
Tan Qiyue, the master of the Mist Valley, was waiting in front of the monument with a storm lantern in her hand.
The attendant could go no further; the Valley Master herself would guide them inside.
Tan Qiyue didn't look surprised to see the Cat Girl accompanying Li Ban. Instead, she pulled an identical storm lantern from behind her back.
"Inspector Cat, please hold on tightly to this lantern after we enter Youlin," Tan Qiyue said, handing it to the Cat Girl. She then turned to explain to Li Ban, "There is miasma in Youlin. Over time, even spirit practitioners will be affected by it. Lord Priest has special arts protecting his body, so there is no need to worry."