Confused, Feiyun Xing and Sui Zhuan Yang stopped talking.

  “You know about the Obelisk but not the Transgressions?” the prince asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “I’ve just never heard of them.” Ren Lin shrugged.

  Sui Zhuan Yang quietly observed their exchange.

  Feiyun Xing continued, “There are four Transgressions. Think of them as innate abnormalities—rare conditions someone is born with. Each one embodies a fundamental element: life, death, time, and space.”

  Ren Lin nodded slowly.

  “Those people have immense talent,” Feiyun Xing said, “ rumor says they don’t even need to try to cultivate to grow stronger. And if that’s not enough… they can command aspects of their element without using Cores.”

  Ren Lin squinted her eyes as she spoke to herself, “well, this seems to have remained the same… sigh.”

  “Ren, hello?” The prince intervened in her self-talk.

  “Ah, sorry Xing. Thank you for explaining.”

  Glancing at Ren Lin, Sui Zhuan Yang licked his lips. Then he cleared his throat. “Now.” His voice turned into a practical tone. “That we are past that—may I know your names and why your paths led to this humble village?”

  Before the prince could answer, Ren Lin took the word. “My name is Ren Lin and this is Feiyun Xing. We came to get the island’s approval.”

  “Ah, I see. Due to the pact my ancestor made with yours, I will try to assist you to my best capabilities.” He took a breath. “Do you even know how to pass the trial here?”

  “From what I know.” Continuing to probe, she spoke, “you have to give us the Wang Bing Core, so we can offer the Leviathan one prized memory of ours.”

  “Good, good.” The leader sighed. “Unfortunately, we don’t have the ice to refine the Core.”

  Feiyun Xing answered, “we will bring it, don’t worry.”

  “I don’t think you will be able to…”

  The prince raised a brow. “How come?”

  “The sea where it’s from is guarded by the Leviathan.” Sui Zhuan Yang paused. “Because this beast leaks an overwhelming aura, no others are near. That means they are scattered along the way. The highest rank of a beast beside the Leviathan was rank two.”

  “That’s no issue then.” Feiyun Xing chuckled.

  “…you do know that rank two beasts are stronger than cultivators on the same level?”

  “I’m aware.”

  “Very confident, I like that.” He wiped his ever-flowing tears. “Now then—we have few empty houses where you could stay for the meantime.”

  “Ah, how much does one night cost?” The prince got ready to reach out for celi.

  “Please—” With a motion of his hand, Sui Zhuan Yang interrupted Feiyun Xing’s movement. “Without your grandfather we wouldn’t even have a place to stay. Naturally, you don’t need to pay anything.”

  He shook his head. “Just because my ancestor helped you, should I get rewarded? No. I didn’t do anything for you, why should you do so for me? Name the regular price and I will pay.”

  Ren Lin scoffed internally as she heard this reply.

  “No, no. I insist on you not paying. Though, yes you did nothing, wouldn’t it be disrespectful to your grandfather if we denied you special treatment for his actions? And wouldn’t it also bring shame to me?”

  With a sigh Feiyun Xing agreed. “If the situation was switched I would say the same thing. Alright, we will take your offer. Thank you very much.”

  Sui Zhuan Yang guided them through the village. The homes were simple—weathered wood, low roofs, and narrow entrances shaped to keep warmth inside. As they passed, villagers bowed, some were wary, some curious. Though, no matter who, all tried not to meet Feiyun Xing’s eyes for too long.

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  Stopping before an abandoned house, they were near the edge of the village.

  “This one is empty,” he said. “We don’t enter it anymore. The former owner… passed away without leaving descendants.”

  The door creaked when the leader pushed it open. Inside lay two thin straw mats, and a low table with one cracked leg. It was humble, almost forgotten—incomparable to the opulence of Feiyun Xing’s palace.

  But it was a shelter.

  “Mm… this will do,” the prince said with a polite nod.

  Sui Zhuan Yang bowed and stepped back. “Take your well-earned rest. At dawn, or at any preferred time you seek for me, I will grant you the direction toward the frozen sea.”

  When he left, Feiyun Xing sat on one of the mats, stretching his arms as if exhaustion only just caught up with him. “We’ll leave in the morning. The earlier we get the ice, the safer.”

  Ren Lin sank down across him, chin resting on her palms. “Tomorrow? Let’s stay for a while first.”

  “Hm?” His glance turned to her. “Why?”

  “I have been wanting to ask you for something.” She tilted her head, watching his expression shift. “I’ve seen how useless I was in the battle. All I did was get injured. So, I wondered if you could teach me?”

  His brows lifted. “Teach you what exactly?”

  “Sword fighting,” she answered plainly.

  Feiyun Xing hesitated only a breath before nodding. “Sure. If you want to learn, I’ll teach you.”

  A smile crept across her lips. Perfect.

  He shifted his position and sat straighter, taking on the same posture he used when explaining complex Cores. “Before you learn the sword, you need the basics. And attainment levels.”

  “I’m listening.”

  “Attainment simply measures how proficient you are.”

  Ren Lin nodded. He continued.

  “Cultivation rank plays a role in. The limit of the achievable attainment. As a mortal you can achieve four levels—”

  “Separate, Union, Harmonic, and Mortal Sovereign?” She cut in.

  “Yes, above those ranks you require essence.”

  Seeing her unsurprised expression, the prince scratched his head. “You seem to know it already…”

  “I know very little.” She smirked. “But enough to get started.”

  Then—rising to his feet he let out a quiet sigh. “Come.” He gestured toward the open space outside the house. “Swordsmanship doesn’t begin with the sword. It begins with your legs.”

  Ren Lin accompanied him into the evening’s air. The village was far quieter than the slum she had lived in. It was a nice scenery. Feiyun Xing stopped in a small clearing, where the earth was flat enough.

  He faced her with the calm authority of someone who had taught before—someone who expected to be listened to.

  “First lesson,” he said. “Balance. If your feet are wrong, nothing else matters.”

  Ren Lin nodded.

  With one finger he motioned. “Stand here.”

  “Okay.”

  “The first stance you will learn is the horse stance.” Feiyun Xing demonstrated it. “First bring your feet together, rotate your heels outwards, next do the same with the toes. Repeat that five times. Then lower your upper body.”

  Going along with his teachings, Ren Lin tried her best.

  “No,” he corrected. “Lower… too low.”

  “Damnit,” she grumbled internally, “why can’t I get it right?!”

  Then, she adjusted until he nodded.

  “This,” he said, “is the foundation stance. It builds stability. Without it, the tang dao—the sword you will wield, will fight you harder than your enemy.”

  “Also, since I modified your body I will need to make it harder for you.” Saying so, the prince applied pressure on her shoulders. “Bend. Yes. Hold that.”

  After twenty seconds, her thighs began to tremble.

  “Is… is this normal?” she asked through clenched teeth.

  “Does that matter? Just continue.”

  “Tch. My body was already strengthened, why do I need to do this?” She sneered in her mind.

  “Good, you are doing well. Don’t stop now.” He kept motivating her until she couldn’t anymore. Her legs gave up, but before Ren Lin fell he caught her.

  “Next,” he said, stepping to her side. “The bow stance. It’s used for striking. Most cuts with the tang dao begin here. It lets the body follow the blade.”

  As explained she shifted her weight forward, wobbling like a ruler held on a desk getting hit.

  Feiyun Xing grabbed her elbow before she toppled.

  “Too far,” he murmured. “You are not throwing yourself at the enemy. You are approaching them with intent.”

  “So I’m supposed to glide?”

  “Exactly.” They continued until she was able to somewhat memorize it. “We will need to hammer these techniques in you until you reach the Separate state.” Feiyun Xing rubbed his chin. “One last stance for today. The empty stance. You concentrate all your weight on one leg.”

  As he showed, Ren Lin copied him. Or tried to. Her lifted leg wobbled. Her grounded leg shook. She looked like she was trying to stand on a boat mid-storm.

  Feiyun Xing watched silently. Too silently.

  “Do you have anything to say…?” Ren Lin noticed a shine in his eyes.

  “It reminds me,” he answered with a serene smile, “of a baby deer experiencing life for the first time.”

  “Feiyun.”

  “A very brave baby deer,” he amended.

  She clicked her tongue but still held the stance.

  Feiyun Xing stepped back, folding his hands behind him.

  “You’re terrible,” he said.

  Ren Lin groaned. “Thanks.”

  “But,” he added, “you will learn. Slowly. Stubbornly. But you will learn.”

  “Would you say I could still reach a high level?”

  Feiyun Xing extended a hand to help her up.

  “With enough time,” he said calmly, “you could become… acceptable.”

  “…acceptable?”

  “Perhaps even mediocre.”

  “Feiyun.”

  Reaching out, he chuckled. “It’s praise, Ren. Take it before I rethink it.”

  She gripped his hand and stood.

  The prince only let go when she was steady.

  “Tomorrow,” he said, “we continue the stances. Maybe even some footwork.”

  Ren Lin sighed, but her bad talent couldn’t put out the blaze of her ambition. “Even if it takes me ten times as long to progress—I will simply work ten times harder!” She swore to herself.

  “But tonight,” Feiyun Xing added, turning back toward the house, “you will soak your legs in cold water. Otherwise you won’t be able to walk, much less fight.”

  Struggling, she followed him back.

  As they arrived, he paused at the doorway and looked back.

  “Ah. And Lin?”

  “Yes?”

  “You did well.”