"So your cultivation speed has fully recovered now?"

"It has, yes. In fact, it feels better than ever. Or maybe that's just because it contrasts against my condition right before."

Ma Rong nodded slowly.

"It's really quite the unique experience you have made. I don't think I've ever heard of a case like yours before. For something like that to happen, the subject would have to be of an incredible talent… and, if you allow me to be open, also rather stuck-up."

Liu Wei chuckled.

"Sadly, I can't deny that."

Ma Rong chuckled as well and for a while, the two just sat there in silence, sipping on their tea and reminiscing about the days before Elder Wei's breakthrough. They had stood on opposite sides more often than not back then, and though they were never each other's primary enemy, the bond that was now connecting them in a permanent alliance and was slowly blooming into something resembling a friendship had not yet existed then.

Liu Wei had a hard time grasping just how he had preferred the cold and heartless wealth of the pillar families over the genuine beliefs and open honesty of the old alchemist sitting before him now.

"In any case, now that you've been progressing again for a while: Has that 'addiction' you've talked about shown again? And do the guidelines you came up with work?"

"I've certainly felt the temptation tug on me again, but I haven't felt anywhere close to giving in. I'm not certain whether my own limitations or my new perspective on life contribute more towards that, but they both certainly do."

"That's good to hear. So you don't want to adjust the rules on anything, yes?"

"Nothing comes to mind."

"Understood."

"Have you informed the others of my return to cultivation?"

"Yes, as we agreed on. They know you've regained the ability and that you are voluntarily setting a strict limit to yourself. I haven't told them anything about our special arrangement though, since I wasn't sure you'd be comfortable with that."

"I thank you for your trustworthiness, though I never doubted it in the first place. I think it's best that it remains that way. I trust the others, but I would imagine Elder Shi in particular would probably try to persuade me to hasten my cultivation as much as possible if she believed there was a chance I would listen."

"She did indeed express some discomfort at your careful approach, but she came around to accepting it quickly once I had explained your reasoning. She might be a little too zealous sometimes, but she's actually pretty considerate if you explain yourself to her."

"Mhmm… I might have to reconsider then. But that's for another time. For now, I'd still like to grow accustomed to the new situation some more."

The two fell into silence again, each pursuing their own thoughts. The slow swaying of the ship was mirrored by the tea in their cups as they enjoyed the absolute silence around them. The room was, like all the elders' rooms, equipped with a formation that completely isolated its sounds from the outside. This prevented both unwanted third parties from listening in on anything important, as it did any noise from disturbing them.

Once again, it was Ma Rong who broke the silence.

"If I may ask… at your current speed of cultivation… when do you expect to reach the next stage?"

Liu Wei remained silent, considering the question for a long while.

"It is… very hard to estimate, if I'm honest. It's been so long since I cultivated at this speed that I've lost all point of reference regarding the actual difficulty of these stages.

"On the one hand, I did the first five at an average pace of fifteen years each, but the stages naturally become more difficult to progress through. On the other, I feel like the centuries I've spent cultivating since then haven't been for nothing, even if they were unproductive regarding my direct progress. Contemplating the Dao feels second nature by now and that will certainly have some influence as well.

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"Quantifying these factors against one another is nigh impossible, but if I had to wager a rough guess, I'd assume it'll take me anywhere between twenty-five and seventy-five years to reach the ninth stage… assuming everything continues to go well."

Ma Rong furrowed his brows.

"That's an incredible speed, even at the high end and before considering that you are limiting yourself. We are, in a way, incredibly lucky you hit the problem you did. Otherwise, you'd certainly be patriarch by now and might even have founded another pillar family… We've got enough on our hands with the current ones!"

"The past is the past and will remain so forever. In the endless chain of coincidences and seemingly unrelated circumstances that have brought us to where we are today, what is one more possibility?"

Ma Rong smirked.

"You've certainly been enjoying your time at the academy, haven't you?"

"I have. And I'm certain that even you'd be surprised at the sophistication of their philosophy. It's also much closer to the Contemplation of the Dao than you'd think. I believe that, in a way, mortals are much more similar to us than most would dare to imagine.

"Actually, there is something I wanted to tell you about that as well. You remember that it was an epiphany that helped me regain my cultivation, right?"

"Of course I do."

Ma Rong looked at him with curiosity in his eyes, undoubtedly wondering why he was bringing that up.

"Well, I've experienced several more while studying mortal philosophy, just in the few weeks that I spent in the city. I've been mostly occupied with returning things to their proper order and pushing Qingge to the Soul Realization Realm since then –I really wanted to get her there before the tournament, since perceiving it with her newfound sense will help her immensely–, so I haven't been able to devote more time to it, but I'm almost certain that there is a deeper connection there that hasn't been properly explored yet."

"Not just a cultivation genius, but also actively working on pushing the field forward I see. You continue to impress, Elder Wei. In all seriousness, that does sound like a very interesting phenomenon to explore. Epiphanies have always remained more curiosity than path up until now, since they appear so unpredictably. But if what you're saying is true, that might change. Seems like I'll have an excuse to visit Professor Lei some more in the time to come. Pleasant news if I do say so, I quite enjoyed his company last time."

"On that topic, how do you intend to go about your own cultivation? You mentioned you'd need to isolate for a long time if you wished to reach the next stage."

"I would have to do that, yes. With you backing up the faction, it's become more viable of an option, but I still struggle to bring myself to it. At least for now, the situation is too volatile for my taste. If it stabilizes a little, maybe."

"I can only encourage you to do so. It'd be a great loss to the sect to see your age catch up to you prematurely. I won't push you, of course, it remains your decision to make."

"Ha! Prematurely… I've been an elder of this sect since before you first saw the light of day!", Ma Rong exclaimed, jokingly shaking his fist.

"I know, I know…"

…

Qingge sat at the tip of the bowsprit, legs dangling above the quickly passing water, and enjoyed her life. The fresh breeze of the ocean rushed past her face, carrying its distinctive salty scent that she had quickly grown to love and blowing back her hair and the sun shone upon her, generously melting away all shivers the wind might have caused.

She let her gaze wander over the foaming waves that approached like unbreakable mountains of water before the Tidebreaker's mighty hull effortlessly split them in two. The seagulls accompanied their voyage along the coast, occasionally settling on the masts or lunging into the water to pull out a fish.

If the trip to Moonlake City had been a generally positive experience despite many hurdles, this right now was pure bliss. She was enjoying every second of the new experiences and she didn't even have to work. Except for the training with Master Wei, it was pure free time with no strings attached.

Even that had turned out much more fun than she had expected. Her Master was an incredible teacher, and she could actually feel herself improve at a steady pace. It was nothing like the boring training she'd done alone or with friends before.

She was also starting to get more and more accustomed to her new abilities. She still had a long way to go, but working on it didn't even really feel like training because it was so incredibly fun to perceive the world in ways she hadn't known before and empowering her movements with Qi was so incredibly useful she did it all the time.

Other than that, she loved to stroll over the deck with Daiyu, climb the rigging or just enjoy the amazing view and atmosphere out here. Most people up here were of a similar mindset, since the elders and many of the stricter senior members simply stayed below deck all day, cultivating.

It had been eight days since they went on board and ever since then, everything seemed like one long and particularly happy dream to her. Funny how traveling always seemed to have that effect.

Suddenly, a loud call from the crow's nest pulled her out of her thoughts. The position was filled mostly for ceremonial reasons, Elder Yuan would certainly spot anything of interest long before the lower cultivator, no matter the latter's elevation.

"Attention on deck! We're approaching the port!"

Qingge sat up straight and looked out. Indeed, once she concentrated on the right area, she could make out a larger settlement on the far-off shore. Soon the ship started to slowly turn around, making its way towards that area.

They had reached their destination.

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