Inside the carriage, time stretched in long, quiet hours. Lucas sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, his breathing calm and even, threads of Qi flowing around him as he refined it inward. Beside him, Nyx mirrored his posture, her back straight and her focus firm, her own cultivation giving her a calm, regal aura even within the confines of the moving carriage.

Across from them, Lira had a small box resting by her side, her hands nimble as she worked a needle through cloth. Her brow furrowed slightly in concentration, then smoothed each time the thread slid neatly through. There was a faint hum on her lips, a habit she always fell into whenever she was sewing, as the task alone brought her comfort.

Selene, on the other hand, shifted restlessly in her seat for what felt like the hundredth time. She crossed her legs, uncrossed them, leaned against the side of the carriage, then sighed heavily. She peered at Lucas and Nyx, both completely absorbed in cultivation, then glanced at Lira, who seemed perfectly content with her needle and thread. Selene groaned aloud, drawing a quick glance from Lira but no reaction from the others.

Finally, unable to hold her tongue, Selene said, "Lira, I honestly do not understand how you can enjoy that. Sewing? Sitting there poking holes in cloth for hours? It looks like the most boring thing in the world."

Lira paused, lifting her eyes slowly from her work. Her expression was calm, though her fingers did not stop moving. "I like it," she replied simply. "It relaxes me. Not everyone needs excitement to pass the time. Some things are quiet, but they make the heart lighter."

Selene scoffed, rolling her eyes as she stretched her arms. "Relaxing? For me it looks like torture. If you gave me a needle and thread, I would fall asleep out of sheer boredom. What's the joy in stabbing fabric over and over again?"

Lira tilted her head slightly, her voice soft but firm. "The joy is in creating something. When I finish, it becomes more than fabric and thread. It turns into clothes, or decorations, or small gifts. It is the same with cooking or painting. People find peace in different things. Sewing is mine."

Selene leaned back, unimpressed. "Peace, you say? I think I would rather have a sword in my hand than a needle. At least then I know I am doing something useful."

Lira's lips curved into a faint smile, her needle flashing in the dim light as it moved. "Then that is your peace. We all find it in different ways. You do not have to understand mine, and I do not have to understand yours. That is the way of people."

Selene sighed again, crossing her arms. "Maybe so. But it does not make this journey any less boring. Sitting here for hours while you sew, while they sit there breathing like statues…" she gestured toward Lucas and Nyx, "it makes me want to scream."

Lira chuckled quietly, shaking her head. "Then scream if you must. But do not expect me to stop sewing."

Selene smirked faintly at that, though the boredom in her eyes remained. She gave a small shrug and looked away. Silence settled back into the carriage once more.

Nyx had sat in complete silence for what seemed like an eternity, her delicate features calm, her breathing slow, her focus set wholly on the flow of energy within her. Her eyes remained closed, lashes casting faint shadows on her cheeks as she allowed her consciousness to sink deeper into herself, tracing the familiar paths of her meridians and dantian. At first everything felt as it always did, the resistance of Qi requiring patience and precision to refine, but soon a peculiar current revealed itself, subtle at first, then stronger as she paid attention to it.

Her brows knitted together in mild confusion. This energy did not feel like ordinary Qi from the world around her. It was warm, almost burning, yet not harmful. It carried a vitality unlike anything she had cultivated before, pulsing through her meridians as though it had a will of its own, pressing against her barriers gently but insistently. The longer she followed it, the more she realized it was smoothing her cultivation, making her effort lighter, her path clearer, and her progress quicker than ever.

She opened her eyes slowly, letting out a sharp but quiet breath as the realization dawned on her. Her mind drifted back to the night before, to Lucas, and the intimacy they had shared. She pressed her lips together, heat rising to her cheeks even as she acknowledged the truth. It was not difficult to understand now. The strange warmth in her meridians was his Yang energy, lingering inside her body and merging with her Yin essence. What others would never believe, she could feel with perfect clarity—his essence was nourishing her cultivation, tempering her body, and unlocking a smoother path to progress.

For a moment she sat still, letting the truth sink in. She lifted her gaze. Lucas remained seated cross-legged, completely immersed in his own cultivation, his expression calm and focused.

Her hand moved instinctively to rest lightly on her lower stomach, where she could still feel the faintest echo of his energy burning softly inside her.

She closed her eyes again, feeling the warmth swirl and fuse with her Qi. Her foundation at the third stage of the Expert rank was already impressive for her age, a fact she had taken pride in, but this was different. This was faster, smoother, almost frightening in its simplicity. Every wall she had once thought difficult to climb seemed to crumble under the touch of Lucas's Yang energy.

The sensation was intoxicating. She could feel herself nearing something greater, something higher. Though she was still firmly within the bounds of the Expert rank, the barrier that separated her from the Grandmaster rank no longer seemed like an impossible mountain. Instead it felt near, tantalizingly so, as though all she needed was time and persistence to take that final step.

Her breathing slowed again, calm but steady, and she let her thoughts slip back into silence. In her mind one certainty grew stronger than all others...what she shared with Lucas was not only intimate but transformative. The gift of his energy was changing her, and with it her future was no longer limited.

She whispered softly, almost reverently, "I will not waste this."

She sank deeper into meditation once more, her heart burning with determination, her body humming with the strange, wonderful energy that promised a breakthrough unlike any she had imagined before.

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