Yu Huan opened her eyes to find herself in his embrace, eting his gaze.
"Mmh~", a blissful smile appeared on her face, as she closed her eyes once more, and moved her head back to lean onto him again.
’It should be impossible, and yet it’s real - how can soone be so lovable and adorable?’, Wu Long chuckled, holding her closer and giving her a kiss on the top of her head.
After a prolonged period of cuddling, she finally opened her eyes again to discover - or rather, having vaguely noticed already, to confirm - that they were no longer in the Alchemy Chamber, but in the room of the Dream Realm mansion, as he half-sat half-laid on a bed, gently holding her in his arms.
Their gazes t again, locked in a silent conversation of subtle emotions that could not possibly be fit into words if they tried to speak.
He leaned in at the exact sa mont she leaned up, their lips eting in a light and short, soft kiss, and after leaning back a bit to look into each other’s eyes again, moved closer for a longer, more passionate one.
While she was sleeping, Wu Long had plenty of ti to contemplate and ditate on all of the things that he was currently handling, including but not limited to the tal Rune.
Thus, he could spend this ti focusing on her. They spent quite a bit of it just cuddling, and talking in quiet, calm voices.
Wu Long showed her the pill that he put into a small glass bottle, not dissimilar to the one which he once used to keep the Dew of Life from the Tree Spirit in.
They discussed the refinent process, the pill itself, as Wu Long showered her with praise, which made her blush in bashful happiness.
They quietly celebrated this success, and at the sa ti reviewed what could be learned from this experience. Normally, the latter could have waited, but it was in Yu Huan’s nature to view even overwhelming success as an opportunity to learn and improve.
Thus she could do so without diminishing the joy of success, without affecting her savoring the mont.
In that she was quite similar to Wu Long, thus allowing for this ti to be wholeso and productive at the very sa ti.
Besides, she knew that the pure celebration would co later, as the Dao Family already heard the news, and there were preparations underway.
Which was why she valued this mont - especially since it was shared with Wu Long - of combining celebration with review, as her mories were still fresh and she could still feel the residual sensations from refining the pill, and recall every single thought she had in all the vivid details.
As they were talking, her mind gradually shed the lingering clutches of sluggish drowsiness of sleep, shining its brilliance. At the sa ti, there was excitent and a certain kind of rush in her eyes.
This was sothing Wu Long noticed from before, that singular focus, a devotion to Alchemy Dao which allowed her to break through the wall of natural talent.
There was no denying that she was already naturally gifted, but what made her special, allowing her to shatter the even the limitations of that high innate talent, was this resolve and determination to keep improving.
He could see it in her eyes in that very mont as well, that shining light of ambition bordering on obsession, a hunger for knowledge that seed to chant ’higher... farther... onward and upward, deeper into the Ocean of Knowledge’.
If taken to its extre, and without proper direction, this kind of focus and obsession could beco destructive, or at the very least, highly disruptive.
If she never t Wu Long, perhaps, at one point that brilliance that she was showing now - which was at the ti held back by her surroundings in the Alchemy Tower - could have blossod into a horrific destructive force that acted on that frustration.
In a way, she was peering into the abyss of the Alchemy Dao, and without anything to hold her back, could’ve been consud by it.
However, with Wu Long by her side, that focus, determination and obsession were tad, serving her rather than controlling. Wu Long was the main anchor that grounded Yu Huan’s feet firmly and securely, allowing her to peer into the abyss without worry of losing her bearings.
To a lesser extent, Bi Rui and the rest of her Dao Sisters were her anchors as well, supporting her and allowing her to constantly experience the warmth and joy of human connections, never letting her forget them.
Even in that mont, when they discussed the lessons that could be learned from this pill refinent, there was still a warm and loving gaze in her eyes along that focus and brilliance, her thirst for knowledge coexisting with the appreciation of life and happiness of being Wu Long’s woman.
Afterwards, they joined the others, who congratulated Yu Huan on this enormous achievent.
This mont was elevated by the previous quiet celebration with Wu Long, since it allowed her to fully satisfy the part of her mind which was still focused on learning and digesting what she experienced, and thus set her free to enjoy this celebration purely and wholeheartedly, without any other thoughts or distractions.
---
In the deepest parts of the City Lord’s Manor, within the Ko Family’s private grounds was a small Ancestral Shrine, which only the Head of the Family was allowed to access.
The current generation’s Head, Ko Zhun stood in front of the outer gates leading to the Ancestral Shrine grounds, with his four sons standing in front of him.
He was on the way here almost two days ago, when he was interrupted by the revelation of a spying talisman, and has spent all of the ti between then and now combing through the entire City Manor to search for any other talismans and arranging the improvent of the mansion’s security.
"There can’t be possibly any more, Father", the eldest son reassured with a slightly haggard look, since his father had them participate in his search, obsessing over the fact they were spied on for the past day and a half.
"We’ve already combed through the entire mansion several tis, and we will continue to patrol as you instructed, so you can rest assure-...", the second son also claid.
"You cannot rely on passive perception. It wasn’t a simple talisman, you think our Protective Formation is a joke?! That talisman was able to not only slip through it, it was able to evade my own perception...!", the City Lord spoke with frustration, since his sons seemingly didn’t understand the gravity of the situation, "You have to use the enhanced perception technique, and use an advanced searching Spiritual Sense art! You can take turns, but at least one of you should be using it at all tis, got it?!"
""""Yes, Father"""", all four sons replied without pause or trying to get any word in, sensing by their father’s tone that he was still in a cranky, agitated mood which could spell trouble for all of them, not only the youngest.
Taking a last look at his sons standing with hands behind their backs and lowered heads, Ko Zhun made a satisfied nod, and turned, his figure soon disappearing behind the gates.
"...", for so ti, a silence ruled the space he left, as the four sons continued to stand with solemn expressions.
But after so ti passed, as they approximated whether their father had reached the Ancestral Shrine from the gate, their expressions began changing a bit.
"What do you think’s in there?", the second son finally broke the silence, his curious gaze pointed at the gates.
"You’re on it again?!", his older brother snorted, rolling his eyes.
"Haha, it’s just that it’s been a while since I saw Father so worked up about sothing that it got thinking about it again... I just can’t imagine what could be so important... co on, admit it, you’re curious too!", the second son replied with a wry smile, acknowledging they’ve been over this too many tis in the past.
"Yes, but unlike you lot, I actually have a chance to know, since I will be the next Head of Family", the eldest made a proud look, and then made an ’Oh shoot!’ expression, turning to Ko Fuan, "Hey Failure, start searching for talismans or intruders! You’ll be doing my shift as well"
"Brother...", the third son tried to speak up, but was silenced with a stern look of the eldest brother, while Ko Fuan sighed, and moved his hands to make hand seals.
anwhile, the second son was hung up on the first part of what the eldest said earlier, "Hah! Don’t be so sure, Father said he will be choosing his heir on the base of rit!"
"Which is why it will be ", the older brother made a smug smile, folding his arms over his chest.
This banter continued on and on, while the City Lord took a mont to light incenses, and paid his respects to the ancient-looking stone tablets with the nas of the Ko Family ancestors.
However, after finishing, he triggered a Formation that lifted one of the heavy stone slabs on the floor, revealing a staircase leading down.
He stepped into the darkness, comfortably descending the clearly very familiar steps, as he didn’t even spread his Spiritual Sense to sense where he was stepping.
At the end of the long descent, he stepped into a catacomb, confidently walking onward without any light or spreading his Spiritual Sense in complete and utter darkness, until a light shone in the distance ahead.
The passage in the deeper parts was rather dimly illuminated by small flaming lanterns, which left most of it in darkness.
But the light of flas snatched ancient, half-crumbling stone faces out of that darkness, partially illuminating them.
At this point, a distant sound began reaching his ears in contrast to the complete silence before.
It was repeating, rhythmic, and slightly eerie, however upon hearing it for so ti, one might recognize it, as struggling breaths.
Ko Zhun eventually reached a larger chamber, however, since the light of the lanterns from the passage he ca from only illuminated a bit at the entrance, it was hard to tell how big the place was as everything else was drowned in darkness.
Here, the sound of the struggled breathing beca more pronounced.
The City Lord stoopped at the edge of the illuminated part, his silhouette frad by the rim of flickering light behind him, and made a fist and hand salute, deeply lowering his head.
"You... have arrived... at last...", an old, decrepit voice, with a sound distantly resembling scraping tal in it, resounded from the darkness.
It spoke with significant strain, as if every single letter pronounced required titanic effort.
"Pardon my late arrival, I have been addressing that talisman-...", Ko Zhun spoke with reverence and humbleness, so greatly inconsistent with his usual behavior that if his sons were to witness it, they would not recognize their own father.
"Heh, cheeky fellow, that... Zhao Xieren was it?", another old-sounding voice resounded from the darkness, cutting off Ko Zhun’s speech, but there was absolutely no reaction from the latter, "Although I must admit, that talisman was a piece of art, it must’ve cost a fortune"
"Not only was it an exquisite talisman, but the one controlling it has a terrifying skill... were they not soone in Mortal Transcendence Realm, they would’ve likely gone unnoticed even for us", a third voice, as old-sounding as the second one, resounded with a bit of caution.
"...! M-Mortal Transcendence...?! How could that be...?", Ko Zhun showed shock, raising his face to look into the darkness with wide eyes.
"Unbelievable as it is, it is the truth", another old voice confird with a heavy sigh, "If we are lacking in anything, it would be in Symbol Masters, whether we look at that Formation that Trading Company built or that talisman... that is our vulnerability which must be nded"
"Please be assured, I have already made my move in that regard", Ko Zhun nodded.
"Mm, good", the first, decrepit voice spoke with struggle, causing Ko Zhun to imdiately lower his face again, "Rember... you must... seize it all... ! No... matter... who it is... crush their will.... and... make them kneel..."
The voice spoke slowly, and also in short bursts, with long pauses in between. These pauses were filled with struggled breaths that had a slight whistling sound mixed into them.
"Yes", the City Lord obediently and solemnly replied, and as a montary hesitation flashed in his eyes, voiced a bit of doubt, "But that Ci Han is-..."
"He... doesn’t... matter...", the voice from the darkness spoke with adamant confidence, "A... Forging... Master... making flower pots... is of no consequence..."
"His strength might be higher than yours, but only because of his cultivation, he isn’t a warrior", another old-sounding voice confird.
Joy flashed in Ko Zhun’s eyes, as the corners of his mouth went up. He had a feeling that was the case, but he still had to make sure. Now, however, he had complete confidence that the old Forging Master was not a problem. He slightly lowered his head further than it already was, "I understand, then there is nothing that can hold us back"
"Good. You are... smart... capable... and most of all... decisive... ", the decrepit voice spoke with notes of approval, "... Zhun... you are... the one... we have been... waiting for... you are... our hope... and... our chosen... champion... - you will... finally... fulfill... our... destiny..."
"Yes", Ko Zhun solemnly replied, as a determined look appeared in his eyes, along with a flash of pride, and obsession.
"Go...", the decrepit voice spoke, and the City Lord, making a deep bow, turned on the spot to leave.
However,
"Zhu’er... Zhun...!", a weak voice called out from the darkness, a lot closer than those before, that seemingly spoke from so distance, echoing through the chamber. It was also mature, but did not sound as old.
Ko Zhun froze on the spot, but didn’t turn, his gaze now lit by the light from the passage he was facing, changing expression to disdain and repulsion.
"Zhun... you have to listen to ...", the voice spoke up weakly, with struggle.
"Silence!", the City Lord finally turned to the side, the light from the passage creating a blaze in one of his eyes, his voice sharp and ruthless, returning to his usual deanor, "Listen?! To you?!?!"
There was seemingly incredulousness and astonishnt in his voice as he asked, his face - half-lit from the side - showing intense hatred.
"To a coward with no resolve, and no spine? To a failure?Your weakness and indecisiveness almost ruined it all! Iiii~! saved it!!!! I~! ...continued the work! !!!", he continued with rising anger, and then, as if cooling down, lowered his voice, speaking with narrowed eyes, "If I hadn’t intervened, if I hadn’t forced you down and took over, it would’ve been all for naught. Lost because of one pathetic and inept weakling. So, tell , what could YOU possibly say, that would be of value to ?"
"...", there was no response, but Ko Zhun didn’t intend to listen even if there was one, as he continued almost right after.
"Correct, nothing... it is my ti now, to do the job you failed to do... besides, it is too late, too much went into this work, and it has to be finished. There is no way back, only forward... so sit quietly and watch...", the City Lord spoke, and while turning back to the passage, added with contempt, "...Father"
He then stepped forward, now without any intent of stopping even if the voice tried to call out to him again, his eyes filling with naked ambition, that so might see as pure obsession.
’I will not be like him... I will take charge! Everyone who tries to oppose , I will make submit. Nothing can stop now...’
He was passing by lanterns, as the passage continued to alternate between feeble dim light and total darkness that threw shadows on his face.
But his steps were steady, filled with resolve, resembling a triumphant march, marching on while a chant kept ringing in his head, ’Further... Higher... Onward and Upward!"
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