Wei Lin frowned as the battle unfolded before him. The initial exchanges had been impressive enough, Ke Yin had been able to surprisingly match Chen Wu skill-for-skill, but now something had changed.

  Chen Wu’s earth-attributed qi poured out causing the ai itself to grow heavier.

  “Watch carefully,” Wei Ye said, his eyes never leaving the combatants. “This is why there are stages in the Qi Condensation Realm.”

  The oppressive pressure radiating from Chen Wu did concern Wei Lin, it reminded him uncomfortably of the few times he’d witnessed 6th Stage Qi Condensation cultivators displaying their power. Differences between stages weren’t just about raw numbers, it was more about the quality of energy, it allowed them to wield qi in ways lower ranked cultivators were unable to.

  But Chen Wu was only supposed to be at the peak of the 5th Stage…

  “Father,” he started to say, but Wei Ye cut him off with a sharp gesture of his hand.

  “Good instincts,” Wei Ye commented, watching as Ke Yin narrowly avoided the stone hand that had erupted from the ground trying to pummel him. “Your friend has a natural talent for combat.”

  Wei Lin nodded along absently, he was still struggling to track the increasingly rapid exchanges. Even with his 3rd Stage Qi Condensation cultivation, the movements were beginning to blur together. Yet here was his father, a mortal man, following the battle so easily…

  “Don’t get distracted, son,” Wei Yei chided. “Watch carefully, Chen Wu will end it now.”

  The frown on Wei Lin’s face deepened as Chen Wu suddenly launched himself forward like some sort of boulder from a siege weapon. Wei Lin didn’t care about losing the thousand spirit stones; he just didn’t want his friend to get seriously injured. And it was clear that Chen Wu was done holding back.

  It was then that something impossible happened.

  Just before Chen Wu’s devastating strike could connect, Ke Yin vanished. There was no unusual blur of high-speed movement, he had genuinely disappeared, as though he’d never been there at all.

  Beside him, his father took a sharp intake of breath.

  “That aura…,” Wei Ye muttered, his eyes widening as Ke Yin reappeared.

  What followed happened so quickly that Wei Lin struggled to process it. Ke Yin unleashed a devastating combination of attacks, ending with a massive explosion. And when the dust finally settled, Chen Wu lay in a crater. Defeated.

  Wei Lin turned to see his father’s reaction, but instead of expecting to see disappointment from losing both bets, he noticed a different look in his father’s eyes.

  A look he knew all too well.

  ***

  Chen Wu still leaned heavily on my shoulder, trying to catch his breath. Despite the beating he had just taken, he managed a weak smile. “That’s the first time anyone has used my earth qi against me like that,” he admitted between coughs.

  "The earth provides more than just defense," I replied, some of Elder Molric's lessons about elemental interactions coming to mind.

  Before Chen Wu could respond, Wei Ting hurried over, her elegant robes somehow remaining spotless despite the debris-filled air. "Ke Yin, my boy! Are you hurt? Let me see—"

  "I'm fine, Auntie," I assured her with a slight bow, careful not to let Chen Wu fall. "Really, I wasn't injured."

  Like any mother, she gave me a skeptical look before she turned her attention to Chen Wu, the poor guy really did look like he might collapse at any moment. Those explosions hadn't been for show; I didn’t have a choice; I had to put everything I had into them and end the battle quickly before the blue sun energy ran out.

  "Chen Wu! Sit down before you fall. Liu Chen, fetch my medicine box from the main house."

  "Rocky…get…faster!" Rocky rumbled, carefully setting Liu Chen down before lumbering toward the house at full speed.

  "No, Rocky, wait—" Wei Ting called out, but the guardian was already gone, his heavy footsteps sending tremors through the ground. She sighed. "I suppose I should be grateful he's using the path this time instead of going through the walls."

  "He's learning," Liu Chen said proudly. Then his eyes widened as he turned to me. "Brother Ke Yin, that was amazing! When did you learn to explode things? Can you teach me? Not for robbery!" he added quickly. "Just for... um... self-defense?"

  "Liu Chen!" Lin Mei scolded, though I caught her covering her smile behind her hand.

  "What? Didn’t you see how he went all glowy and then BOOM!" the boy punched the air enthusiastically, nearly losing his balance in the process.

  Fortunately, Wei Guang caught him by the back of his robes before he could fall.

  "Careful there, little warrior,” Wei Guang laughed. “Though I have to agree with the kid, that was quite a show." He gave me an appraising look. "I don't suppose you'd be willing to explain exactly how you managed that disappearing trick?"

  "Just a movement technique," I replied with a small smile while taking note how Wei Ye's eyes fixed on me.

  Fortunately, Rocky’s return saved me from answering any further questions. He came back carrying a delicate-looking box in his massive stone hands. The way he moved with exaggerated care reminded me of a child tasked with carrying something precious.

  “Thank you, Rocky,” Wei Ting smiled, taking the box from Rocky. “You’re very gentle.”

  “Rocky try…be…careful,” he rumbled slowly, his craggy features shifted into what looked like a pleased expression.

  Wei Ting began pulling out various bottles and bandages from the box before turning to Chen Wu.

  “Here, stick out your arm,” she instructed, and before he could protest, she continued, “and no arguing about treatment; I saw that blast hit you directly.”

  “Yes, madam,” Chen Wu replied meekly.

  It seemed even elite combat instructors knew better than to argue with Wei Ting when she was in healing mode.

  “Remarkable,” a voice murmured beside me.

  I turned to see Wei Ye had silently approached me while his wife fussed over Chen Wu.

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  “Trruly remarkable,” he continued. “You know, I don’t often admit to being wrong, but I clearly underestimated you.”

  Despite having a warm smile on his face and his words being complimentary, there was something about his behaviour that made me feel uncomfortable.

  “Perhaps, we could discuss your future plans?” he asked. “The Wei family is always looking to invest in promising talent.

  “Father—” Wei Lin began to protest, but the patriarch of the Wei household simply held up a hand to stop him in his tracks.

  “Let me finish, son,” Wei Ye then turned back to me. “Young Master Ke Yin, the Wei family is prepared to offer you a very generous arrangement. A full sponsorship for your cultivation resources, access to our family's technique library, a position as our primary combat instructor..." He paused for effect. "And of course, a starting salary of ten thousand spirit stones per month."

  “Ten…ten thousand,” Liu Chen’s jaw dropped as he silently whispered to Rocky, “that’s enough spirit stones to feed you for a year!”

  My expression remained neutral as I thought about the offer.

  “Master,” Azure called out, “there’s something strange going on with him. He tracks qi movements like a cultivator, but I can’t detect any cultivation base…”

  "Either he has some method of concealment that you can’t break through," I replied mentally, "or he's hiding something else entirely. Either way, I'm not signing myself over to someone I don't trust."

  On the surface, the offer itself was incredibly generous, it was the kind of opportunity that most outer disciples would kill for. Access to premium cultivation resources, techniques, and more spirit stones than they could earn in years at the sect.

  “While the Wei family’s resources may seem impressive for the mortal realm, they’re limited,” Azure added. “Otherwise, they would have cultivators above the Elemental Realm in their employment.”

  “You’re right,” I agreed. “Either they can’t retain them, or they won’t. While money can buy most resources, advancement beyond the Elemental Realm requires more than just material wealth.”

  At that, my thoughts drifted to Elder Molric and our experiences in the Two Suns world. The best way I could describe the difference between having a true mentor and merely having access to resources was like the difference between reading a book about how to swim and having a pro swimmer teach you in the water.

  Only through direct guidance could some insights only be passed through.

  And while money could allow you to hire tutors, we already knew that the Wei family didn’t have anyone above the Elemental Realm in their employment, otherwise, they wouldn’t have been in the dire situation that they were in.

  “Master, the contract would likely be bound by the heavenly dao,” Azure continued. “It would be unwise for you to make promises early on in your cultivation journey that could limit your future choices, especially to someone whose true nature we can’t verify.”

  He was right. Wei Ye appeared to be offering substantial immediate benefits, but I could already see the invisible chains that were attached. While the family would invest heavily in my development, it would only be in the way that would benefit them the most. They merely needed a powerful guardian, not someone who might eventually outgrow their ability to contain.

  The Azure Peak Sect on the other hand were different. Yes, being an outer disciple was difficult, we had to struggle for resources in order to grow, but the path upward did exist. Outer disciple to inner disciple to core disciple and more. Each rank opened new doors, gave access to new knowledge and gave exposure to untold opportunities.

  Wei Ye was trying to tempt me with earthly riches, but little did he know I wasn’t a regular outer disciple that he could swindle; I had caught a glimpse of something far greater – the path to creating a universe!

  What was material wealth compared to that?

  “Thank you for the generous offer,” I responded politely, giving Wei Ye a small bow, “but I must decline. My path lies with the Azure Peak Sect.

  “The sect?” Wei Ye’s eyebrows rose in surprise, “boy, do you know how long it takes for most outer disciples to earn even a hundred spirit stones through sect missions? I’m offering you—”

  “Father, stop,” Wei Lin interrupted firmly, placing himself between me and his father. “Ke Yin isn’t interested in leaving the sect for some spirit stones.”

  “But—”

  “And if you keep pushing,” Wei Lin continued, “you might end up damaging the family’s relationship with a future Azure Peak Elder.”

  That comment instantly snapped Wei Ye’s mouth shut, and he studied me with new eyes, clearly reassessing his assumptions about my potential. After a long moment, he sighed and reached into his robes.

  “Forgive my persistence,” he said, producing a small jade box out of his pocket. “A deal is a deal; here is your wind essence, as promised.”

  The box was ornately carved; it was decorated with wind patterns that seemed to shift in the light. I accepted the box with my right hand, feeling the subtle vibrations of the elemental energy contained within run up through my arm and send a shiver up my spine.

  At my reaction, Wei Ye smiled.

  “The World Tree Sutra…,” he whispered, “what an interesting choice of cultivation method. I don’t think there has ever been anyone that has successfully cultivated it.”

  “Brother Ke Yin is special!” Liu Chen cut in, “he can do anything!”

  While I didn’t completely feel the same way, I couldn’t help but smile at the kid’s loyalty.

  "Anything except teach you to make explosions," Lin Mei added, poking the boy on the forehead.

  "Aw, but—"

  "No explosions," Lin Mei, Wei Ting, and I said in unison.

  Even the boy’s stone giant rumbled something that sounded suspiciously like agreement causing Liu Chen to huff.

  “Even you, Rocky?” he pouted. “Traitor!”

  Wei Ye chuckled at the scene, then produced a heavy-looking pouch that clinked promisingly.

  “Your winnings, son”, he said, handing it over to Wei Lin.

  Wei Lin took the pouch and then tossed it over to me.

  “Here,” he smiled. “You earned it.”

  "What?" I said, my mouth still agape as I caught it in my right hand.

  “I bet Father a thousand spirit stones that you’d come out on top during the duel,” Wei Lin explained. “And since you’re the one who did the actual work, the winnings belong to you.”

  “I…thank you,” I replied awkwardly, having not expected to randomly gain a thousand spirit stones. I’d never even seen this many spirit stones at once before.

  “Hmm, maybe now you can actually afford something when we go shopping,” Wei Lin teased.

  The comment only earned him a punch in the arm from Lin Mei.

  “Don’t be rude!” she scolded. “Not all of us were born into merchant families!”

  "No, no, he does have a point," I said with a slight smile, then remembering a small incident a few weeks ago, I continued teasingly. "Though I think I'll save these for something important rather than blow them all on expensive tea."

  “Hey! That was one time!” Wei Lin protested. “And it was a great investment! That tea merchant still gives me priority access to his best stock!”

  “Knowing you, you probably embarrassed yourself so thoroughly trying to haggle that he felt sorry for you,” We Guang jumped in.

  As the siblings began to bicker, I turned my focus to the jade box in my hands.

  Inside was the key to the next stage of my cultivation.

  “Master,” Azure said excitedly, “with this, we can finally begin creating terrain in your inner world.”

  Yes. This was just the beginning.

  Contrary to popular belief, cultivation wasn’t just about gathering elements or increasing personal power, it was about building something entirely new. Creation itself.

  The thought brought a genuine smile to my face.

  “First,” I thought back, “we should let Wei Ting finish fussing over everyone. I don’t think she’ll let us leave until she’s satisfied that we’re not secretly injured.”

  “That’s a fair point,” Azure agreed. “But I can’t but notice you’re being rather humble about how easily you dealt with Chen Wu…”

  “Well, I did basically have a time dilation chamber to power up before the fight,” I thought back, glancing at the combat instructor, who was now enduring Wei Ting’s motherly attention with stoicism that was pretty admirable considering the situation. “A month in the Two Suns world and having an additional magic system gave me quite an advantage. It wouldn’t be right to diminish his reputation when I had that kind of preparation."

  “True,” Azure replied, he then paused for a second. “Master, there’s something else you should know…”

  “What is it?”

  “During the battle, when you were combining the two sun energies, Wei Ye seemed to have recognised the aura. His entire demeanor changed, and he mumbled something under his breath.

  Now that caught my attention.

  During the fight, I’d been too focused on Chen Wu to notice much, all I registered was that Wei Ye could somehow track my movements despite claiming to be a mortal.

  “What exactly did he say?”

  “I couldn’t catch it clearly,” Azure admitted. “But his reaction was significant. He went from seeing you as a talented Qi Condensation disciple to viewing you as something else entirely.”

  That explained why he wanted to essentially buy me.

  From the corner of my eye, I noted how Wei Ye hadn’t stopped studying me since the fight ended. Just what I needed. More mysterious about the Wei family patriarch. I couldn’t wait to get out of here. There were just too many secrets in this household, and not the good kind.