Seated at the far end of the Riluo pavilion, Vera and Chang-yu ate dinner together.

  The setting sun peered over the window by their seat.

  At the peak of its service, the pavilion had over a hundred visitors.

  The sound of clinking cups and singing bards created a jovial ambience in the restaurant.

  Vera's mouth was half filled with food; he looked at Chang-yu, "You've been coming to this place since your childhood?"

  His cheeks, puffed as a squirrel's, left her reeling.

  Having known of how Vera trains and fights, watching him like this made her laugh.

  Vera raised an eyebrow at her giggling. "Did I do something?" His mouth stuffed with rice, his words came out as mumbles.

  Having taken a deep breath, Chang-yu restrained her laughter. "Nothing, just an excessive contrast. And yes, I come here with my sister, Lin-yu."

  She picked up a piece of roasted chicken, heavy with chili and peppercorns.

  At first she was fine, but then the heat kicked in...

  Her cheeks turned red, eyes misting up.

  Her eyes darted across the restaurant frantically.

  "Milk!" She called out desperately to the nearest waiter.

  Vera looked toward the kitchen and stretched out his hand. In a few moments, the doors to the kitchen opened on their own.

  A cup of milk zoomed through the crowded hall, and landed onto their table.

  Without a moment to spare, Chang-yu grabbed the glass and took a sip of the milk.

  Soon the excessive red hue drained from her cheeks.

  Having taken a minute to calm herself, she looked at Vera with a smirk. "Showing off, huh? Trying to impress someone?"

  As he finished his mouthful of rice, Vera returned Chang-yu's smirk with his own. "Yes."

  No peppercorns were eaten, yet her cheeks were tinged with red.

  Despite her usual playfulness, Vera learned that Chang-yu was easy to fluster.

  Over time he had grown used to this scenario.

  In the two months that he had been at the Blade Master sect, more often than not, he would meet with Chang-yu after his training ended.

  In the dinners they shared, alone or with Chun and Sword Dog, Vera noticed something about her.

  Even if she initiated, she would become embaressed the moment her 'initiative' was returned.

  Vera could tell...

  She has no experience.

  He thought to himself as he watched her shy expression.

  In his twenty-one years of life, Vera had a few 'experiences', but it never stirred anything in him.

  Chang-yu, however, was different.

  While she wasn't the same as the others, Vera wasn't sure about what the difference was.

  He let out a quiet sigh.

  Still unsure of his own intentions, Vera figured it would be best to let it flow naturally.

  He changed the topic to calm her down.

  "Why do you call your sister 'Miss' in the sect?"

  Chang-yu's fidgeting thumbs stilled.

  Her flustered expression returned to the usual wide smile. "Sister is a big shot in the sect. By tradition, I should actually call her senior. But she wasn't a big fan of the idea. So in the end we settled with 'Miss'."

  Vera filled two cups of Mijiu as he listened to her.

  She rolled her eyes with exasperation as she spoke. "I tried telling her that 'Miss' seemed even more distant. But she is very obstinate; once she makes up her mind, it's over."

  Conversation flowed as the wine did.

  She talked about how many table Aspartese had broken just this month and how bad the sect members were at writing reports.

  Vera spoke of how his training had been as of late and how picky Chun was with his vegetables.

  The contents were mundane, but the enthusiasm in her voice made it fun to listen.

  As the sun sank beneath the horizon, dinner came to an end.

  "Are you sure you don't want me to drop you off?" Vera asked as they stood outside the restaurant.

  Chang-yu walked toward Vera and hugged him. "The market lights are still on, and I'm also a second-rank martial artist; I'll be fine."

  Vera returned her hug, his arm wrapped around her shoulder. "Hm. I'll see you tomorrow."

  For what was a casual hug, it lingered on for a few breaths.

  As the hug ended, Chang-yu started to walk back home. Her 'walk' teetering on the boundary of running.

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  Vera caught himself staring absentmindedly at where she stood, a silent smile on his face.

  Don't get shy after you do it.

  ***

  The moon shone from the sky's centre.

  Cold winds blew across the Mian Mountain range, the campfire's light flickering under its force.

  Vera was seated in the lotus position. He meditated under Aspartese's guidance.

  He recalled his battle with the Bixie. The heat of its flames still hovered over his skin.

  According to theory, pure Yang can't manifest stably. But he was able to use it as he wished in the five plains.

  Even before he attained a mark, he was able to use stable projectiles.

  He had done so when he fought the five Myrmidon naga's and the Bixie.

  Is there some sort of mechanism that forcibly stabilises Yang qi in the Five Plains?

  However, that couldn't be the case.

  As he gained all five marks, his body and qi were reconstructed, but this didn't apply for the things that he brought along.

  The gold he carried should've exploded as soon as he reached the Greater Heavens if there was such a mechanism.

  Just then he heard Aspartese's voice. "How do you think we can stably reduce the number of elements in the cycle?"

  To answer Aspartese's question, Vera started forming qi cycles in the air.

  He first formed a cycle of ten.

  The five elements, both their Yang and Yin counterparts, were arranged to form a restraining cycle.

  "My first thought was to form restraining cycles that require fewer elements, like a cycle of three. But that doesn't resolve the problem of its low density."

  Aspartese nodded silently. A cycle of three and five elements seeped through his fingertips.

  The cycle of three was formed purely of restraining logic, whereas the cycle of five was formed of the logic behind Point Compression.

  At first glance, Vera could tell, despite carrying the same amount of energy, the five cycle was far more compact.

  "Why is this the case, Vera?"

  Vera sat silently for a moment and gathered his thoughts.

  "It is because, as the cycle grows in types, its individual nodes become a lower grade of energy."

  Vera dispersed the ten cycle he formed in the air. He looked toward Aspartese, waiting for the next question.

  "Then tell me, Vera, how do we raise the grade of the energy?"

  Each day the questions changed by a bit. Yet, they always led to this point. This was the third time he had got this far.

  One wrong answer and it's self-reflection for the rest of the night.

  Vera's gaze sharpened.

  The answer was the one he chose to ignore.

  In truth no amount of combinations could change the grade of an energy.

  Only...

  "By having the right we can change the grade of qi."

  Aspartese smiled at Vera. Dull thuds sounded through the forest as he patted his back vigorously.

  "Correct. Once you have the right, you can resolve the number of divisions in your qi. You already have the qi for the first level, so only knowledge remains."

  When it comes to the 'right' in this case, knowledge simply meant knowing the breadth of the matter.

  His sharpened eyes drooped.

  A low sigh escaped him.

  While Vera could focus on training, up till now, training meant movement.

  The thought of reading books and debating the structure of qi for the next few years crushed Vera.

  But he had no other option.

  Just as Vera was about to find a place to seclude himself for the night, Aspartese called him.

  "By the way, we have an inter-branch competition coming up soon. Do you want to join?" Aspartese asked, his eyes widened.

  Vera could already smell the greed from him, but he chose to believe in Aspartese's better nature.

  "Will there be any strong fighters? And is there something I can get by winning?"

  Aspartese pulled out a piece of jerky from his bag. He responded to Vera while chewing on it.

  "Third rankers probably not. But if you make it far enough, you could fight someone at the One Law stage. Maybe even Two Synergies. As for rewards, I'll pass the details on through Chang-yu. But most importantly, if you do well enough, I get a salary bump."

  Vera let out an exasperated sigh; he was the fool for believing.

  Aspartese's last sentence told Vera exactly why he wanted him to join.

  Greedy old man...

  Vera looked at Aspartese's wide-eyed gaze. Except for the slimy grin on his face, there was no reason to reject the invitation.

  "Sure... I'll join." Vera responded to Aspartese's blatant greed.

  Aspartese stood up; qi flooded his legs. "Meet me at the city gates tomorrow morning. It will take us at least two weeks to get to the first sector—" His sheepish smile blurring as he ran back to his office.

  Only a green trail leading back to the Sixth Sector remained.

  Vera was unable to follow Aspartese's movements. Hestood beside the campfire with a dumbfounded expression.

  Did he just say two weeks...?

  Aspartese spoke as though the competition would be over quickly. But with travel included, he'd have to be away for almost a month.

  Soon the glaze over his eyes wore off. A vein bulged over his temple.

  "GET BACK HERE, YOU OLD COOT; THIS IS ENTRAPMENT!"

  ***

  Morning dew covered the city streets; Vera's footsteps left dull thuds against its stone-tiled pavements. Sword Dog followed him from behind.

  Vera's teeth chattered under the cold breeze.

  I should've bought a sweater.

  Although he lived in the Deep Cold for most of his life, he didn't like the cold.

  During his time travelling the Five Plains, he realised he thrived in the heat.

  As he walked on the pavement, he shrugged to readjust his baggage.

  The sleeping Chun slung over his right shoulder and a cheap rucksack on the left. After a few more minutes Vera had reached the city gate.

  To ease the burden of cold he thought about other things.

  Like cancelling on Aspartese just to spite him, but after some self-reflection...

  I still want to get revenge.

  He decided to find the costliest restaurants on his way there and making Aspartese pay for all his meals.

  Nonetheless, for now he stood at the city gates, ready to head to the first sector.

  Just then a vague shadow rushed from the sect's direction to the city gate.

  "Vera!" She called out to him, her hand waving over her head.

  Sword Dog walked over to greet Chang-yu. "Woof."

  Having caught her breath, she leant down and ruffled his fur.

  "Chang-yu, what are you doing here?" Vera asked as he walked over to her.

  Chang-yu looked at him with a confused expression. "I'm waiting for everyone to gather so that we can head to the first sector...?"

  Having only seen Chang-yu take part in administrative work, this wasn't something Vera expected.

  "Ohh! And I came here to give you the rewards list." She extended her hand; a folded piece of paper sat on her palm.

  Vera reached out and took the paper from her. "Where is the branch master, by the way?" He asked, as he unfolded the paper.

  Chang-yu knelt on the street playing with Sword Dog's ears. "The branch master is dragging my sister out of seclusion. The other participants have been lined up; they'll get here soon."

  Just then Chang-yu's gaze shifted to the human blanket slung over Vera's shoulder. "Are you bringing Chun along?"

  Vera's gaze shifted to the city's dark alleyways; his eyes sharpened. "Yes. It would be best if I didn't leave him alone here."

  Since he had entered the city, he was aware of the coalition's presence. At no point did he leave Chun alone; either he or Sword Dog was always by his side.

  For the next few minutes, Vera and Chang-yu chatted, mostly about Aspartese's cheap tactics.

  Soon, most of the sect members arrived at the city gate.

  Most of them didn't know who Vera was.

  A large part of them took the initiative to greet him, while a few, perceptive ones, were deterred by his oppressive presence.

  They may have seen him with Aspartese at the training grounds, but they had never talked to him.

  Thankfully, the social butterfly, Chang-yu, introduced Vera to the ones who shirked back.

  Even Yang-chun, the guard he met on his first day at the sect, was a part of the entourage.

  As the morning sun peered over the horizon, all those who were attending the competition had arrived.

  Aspartese also flew in from the sect ground with a struggling Lin-yu over his shoulder. He walked over to Vera. "I heard you."

  Vera jabbed his side. "I wanted you to."

  Aspartese laughed boisterously as he walked to the city gates. "My disciples!" He shouted enthusiastically, "Let's trample over the third sector this year!"

  Waves of cheers sounded through the air. Those who were trying to sleep shouted from their houses, insulting Aspartese.

  But his thick skin deflected their pleas for a quiet morning.

  "Let's depart!"

  Mist blew through the gate following the sect members that dashed through it.

  On the first day of spring, the strongest talents of the Sixth Sector departed to the Blade Master sect's main branch.