Work consumed my life since I gathered the villagers. Arranging for training people, calling for those who had touched upon Chi, and sending them to Yan Yun. Working with those that I thought would be able to work with spirit herbs and sending them to Granny Lang and Yin, and then coming up with the designs for the production line for the Qi crystals.The days had flown by in a blur. It had been almost ten days since the tribulation had happened, and my work had only grown with time. Sleep was a thing of the past, and it was obvious to anyone that I needed some help.“Yuan, you should rest,” Zhang said, as I scribbled on my notes, frustrated by the problem I was currently trying to work on.“Can’t, I need to figure out how to develop cement so that we can build a wall in time for winter. Then I need to make some changes to the prototype Qi Crystal production setup as granny Lang pointed out more than a couple issues with our current one. Then—”Zhang moved closer, closing my notes. “Y

For the first time in weeks, I had nothing left to do. Not for a lack of tasks, not at all. The development of more Drugnades, the setup for the production line of Qi crystals, the creation of cement for the wall, and the new cultivators all needed my input.But that was all they needed. An input. All I had to do was look at things and add what I may want to change or adjust, and people would do so. And the more days that passed, the less I had to say.Everything was going well, almost too well, and I felt a strange nervousness filling me. I no longer had the luxury of throwing myself at every task I could see in front of me, which only made me keenly aware of just how tensely wound up my nerves were. And how miserably I had been failing to cope with myself or my emotions.I almost wished a problem would deliver itself to my doors to distract me from the problems I didn’t have an answer for.Sitting on my chair, I let out a sigh, as I looked at the notes Qiao Ying had sent me about th

Yan Yun stared at Mei Lin, unable to believe her eyes. Just what was she doing here? And… why was she crying? Through her entire childhood, she had never seen Mei Lin cry. It was the knowledge she’d grown up with. Shadows did not cry, did not laugh, did not show emotion. She had tried, over and over, to break past that wall within Mei Lin, desperate to gain a friend, but she had never truly succeeded.It took Yan Yun a moment to snap out of her thoughts, as she walked closer. Her eyes noted the blade lying on the ground, the garb Mei Lin wore was not meant for a house maid, she had been here to kill. But for now, that thought returned to the back of her head as she simply crouched in front of the girl, grasping her shoulders.“I’m here Mei Lin,” Yan Yun said. “What’s wrong?”The words only seem to further enhance the woman’s sobs, as Mei Lin broke down further in her arms.“Breathe. Remember your training, and calm yourself,” Yan Yun said, gently brushing Mei Lin’s hair. It took a min

Yan Lei felt lost. He stood amidst a prairie, with a dirt path tracked with lines of cart wheels leading him on his way. He no longer even knew what the point of his journey was. His brother had asked him to inform Yan Yun of the Elder’s plans. The task was foolish, what could their cousin sister do? She’d intentionally left the sect and had no power or anything to her name, having lost her cultivation just like him, she was in no position to make any changes.But if he didn’t follow his brother’s words… he was not certain what Li would do. He’d been growing more and more furious with each passing day. His sole attention and focus on training to become stronger, and on getting revenge. Lei did not intend to find out, and so he’d left.But he’d never truly been out alone. His brother had been with him, and servants and guides. Now that he was all by himself, he had been vulnerable, and others had taken advantage.He looked down at himself, his clothes were torn, his body bruised. He’d

I watched Lei freeze under my gaze, like a deer stuck in headlights. Seeing him with his injuries and torn clothes made me feel how stark the contrast had been from the arrogant bully the boy had been during my time in the sect.I wasn’t sure what to say. Conflicting emotions swirled within me, and somehow, I could see the same happening within the boy. I’m sure he must’ve seen a lot of things change, after our battle. To him, to all of the cultivators, strength was the utmost value and virtue. Especially to someone as self-important and arrogant as the twins. To have lost that was clearly a blow.“So, what brings you here?” I asked. Lei clearly didn’t seem willing to talk on his own.My words seemed to snap the boy out of whatever thought he had been stuck in, as his eyes drifted down for a moment, before moving back up to me again.“I have a message. For Yan Yun.”“Or so I’ve been told,” I said, keeping my eyes on Lei. It took me a moment to realize something. It wasn’t that I didn’