"Oh? You finished?" Aerthus asked as he arrived at the Artifact Hall with a satisfied smile on his face. Xendar was standing inside his workshop as two swords were floating around him, gently bobbing up and down in the air.

  "Yeah." He nodded, tired but with an excited smile.

  "It is still not near what Poli can do with his own, but it is a start." Anya stepped forward, holding a thick book, taking notes of the sword's moving patterns, and walking around her husband, "But working with him was a great help."

  "Mm, his weapon is something that formed naturally, so it wouldn't be easy to replicate what he can do with it." Aerthus nodded while Xendar slowly ordered the swords to lie on the table next to him. "How's the performance?"

  "Improvements are still necessary." Anya expined, looking up from the book, "The durability is low, they are easy to break, and we are working on increasing the percentage of special alloys in the crafting process while lowering the amount of CC used up in the production."

  "That way," Xendar continued, "It can still be controlled by the cultivator and infused with their energy, yet remain strong enough to withstand another one striking at it. Right now, if they csh repeatedly, it breaks against normal swords even in a proficient cultivator's hand."

  "This is still great progress!" Aerthus cpped. "I couldn't bring back the schematics for flying swords, yet here you are, coming up with it by yourself!" he ughed happily, genuinely impressed.

  "There are schematics for it?" Xendar asked, surprised, yearning to have one in his own hands.

  "Yes, but they are well guarded..." Aerthus nodded with a shrug, "There is a sect specializing in weapons; all their disciples use their own weapons to fly around, and not just swords. But making them is a secret, so I never got the chance to look into it. Still, you are on the right path; you were even quicker with it than I expected."

  "Thank you, Sect Head." Xendar cupped his hands, suddenly very much fired up.

  "Keep up the good work!" He produced a small bag and handed it to him. "Your reward," he said, looking at them while Xendar opened it, and there were a dozen small, yellow pills in it.

  "What are these?" Anya picked one out, curious, "They smell sweet."

  "It is a new pill that Dermitos and Shaman came up with. It is called the Revitalization Pill. Honestly… I am amazed by that demon's ingenuity."

  "What does it do?" Xendar asked while swallowing one down, and soon he felt wholly refreshed; not just the bags under his eyes were gone, but he felt truly rejuvenated, like someone after a long, proper sleep.

  "It's still a Tier 1 pill, yet look at you, ready to action once again!" Arthus said, grinning, "These are a new form of Energy Pills. As the name suggests, the old ones only recover that: Energy. It won't cure mental exhaustion, yet they combined different ingredients and came up with a new one! As you can feel, this also helps with mental exhaustion. We will use it in the Sect, while the normal energy pills will be sold to the outside world. Speaking of the outside…." He looked at them, sighing, making them nervous.

  "W-what happened?" both of them asked simultaneously, their stomachs falling as they immediately thought of Ren.

  "Your daughter gives me a headache on her first outing…." He moaned, rubbing his forehead.

  His answer immediately rexed the pair, letting out a loud sigh at the same time as they expected that something terrible had happened to their little jewel. Well... looking at each other, they realized it is more likely that their little imp had done something to others...

  "Her report came in not long ago," Aerthus expined, "Luckily, there wasn't anyone important killed. Still... Making trouble exactly there? Right when I want to rip off the Elroth's? The timing is not the best to go wild and wreck a region's leadership! Anyway, they are on their way back and should arrive soon. They suffered no casualties or serious injuries."

  "Don't worry, Sect Head, we will have a talk with her." Anya smiled, her eyes twitching.

  "Yeah, sure." Aerthus shrugged, knowing it would mean nothing. "Concentrate on the swords... It would be great if we could prepare a set of them for the first batch of disciples. Presenting them to the most talented ones would motivate others to work hard."

  "We will try, but no promises, Sect Head!" Xendar nodded, and unlike Anya... he was clearly proud of his daughter.

  …….…..

  The training field was filled with the sound of metal hitting against metal, ringing out loudly as Poli swung his sword right against Emi's cws. Yet, she parried his strikes, spshing blue, electric sparks everywhere, running rampant in the air, buzzing loudly. The fox girl's hands were now transformed, wearing red fur right up to her elbows, while her fingers spurted long nails, glittering with energy.

  "You are surprisingly fast!" Poli chuckled, taking a few steps backward, dodging Emi's strikes, then going on the offense, swinging his sword, aiming at her sides. Yet right then, Emi's tail quickly parried his bde, sending a few strands of orange and white fur fluttering through the air.

  "Hmf, I could say the same, but wouldn't you be faster controlling the sword mentally?"

  "Yes, but then I would hurt you!"

  "Speaking as if you could do that!"

  "I already did once." He grinned, looking at her chest, which was covered by her training outfit, yet her face immediately turned red for some reason, even though she usually wore much more revealing clothing.

  "Pervert!" She pushed him back, going on the attack, swiping her cws at him with a renewed frenzy.

  Yet, if Emi struck from the left, Poli took a step to the right, deflecting her attack. His body kept fshing with lightning, crossing from the right, making her avoid his strike. From the outside, it seemed like they were hand in hand, dancing to the strange tune of their sparring session.

  As they fought, on a different field, another match was underway between Zern and Reignar, but it was way more destructive than the one between Emi and Poli. Zern's whole body shone with a bright, metallic luster as Reignar attacked him, switching affinities constantly.

  At first, he fused wind and fire, creating a fiery tornado that engulfed Zern in a fming storm. Facing it, he used his strength to anchor himself down and not be swept up by the wild, burning air. It was that moment when the ground split up below him, making him lose his bance, and multiple water arrows flew up from the crack, aiming at his weakest parts. Without a chance to dodge, they rammed into him from below, spttering on his metallic defenses, protecting what... had to be protected.

  "Whoa, Young Master, so awesome!" Orsi cpped on the sides, watching their spar py out.

  "Tsk…" Zern clicked his tongue, hearing her say that, but he was also... surprised. "How did he get this strong in just a few weeks?"

  If not for Zern being at the 9th stage of body refinement, close to advancing into the next realm, he would have already been defeated.

  "Still not enough…." Reignar whispered to himself, breathing heavily as he used all four of his completed seeds at once, and it was taking its toll on him. He only rose to the 7th stage, still far from Zern's level, and he knew he had to go all out to have a chance against him. "I need to consolidate another seed soon to make progress," he sighed, pulling back his attacks as their surroundings slowly calmed down.

  "Are you done?" Zern asked, finding his footing again, looking at Reignar.

  "Yes, thank you for sparring with me. I understand my new strength better now," he answered, cupping his hand. "You win. I am out of energy."

  "I see." Zern nodded as his body slowly turned back to normal. "Then I take my leave. I have my own training routine to continue."

  "Sure," Reignar answered as the air between them was still cold... But no longer as explosive as Zern, just turned around and left while Orsi ran up to Reignar.

  "Um… Young Master, are you okay?" She held up a small towel to wipe his face.

  "Thanks," he rubbed her little head while taking it, cleaning himself up. "Yeah, it was only a spar! I just exhausted myself. How have you been while I was gone?"

  "It was fine… but I missed you, Young Master. And I dislike that person… You should've beaten him into the ground!" She hugged his waist, looking up at him happily now that he was back. "It was fun being with Elder Poli, but… sleeping alone was scary." She expined as she rubbed her little face on his stomach. "Let's go back; I'll wash your back, Young Master, and cook something tasty! I learned a lot from Elder Anya!"

  "Oh? Really? That sounds fun; I'm looking forward to it! Come, come, let's go. I'll also read you something, hm?" he held her hand as they walked off, and Orsi giggled happily, telling him even more of how her days were, while he listened to everything she had to say, not interrupting her.

  As everyone was returning home, another girl did the same, only in the territory of the Elroths. It was Lulu who arrived at her father's pace, ready to meet the man she had decided a few years ago she would hate for the rest of her life. When she arrived, she found him in his study, not even angry, letting her y out everything in front of him. All that happened, with endless compining for almost an hour on end, as Werebor just silently listened.

  "Are you done?" her father asked after she was finally out of breath.

  "I… I am." Lulu groaned and then fixed her position, standing before Werebor while the sun was already going down outside, painting the room in an orange hue.

  "You say it was disciples from the Immortal Wonders Sect who took your sve away?" he smiled faintly.

  "Yes, you and grandfather should do something about it, be-"

  "We won't."

  "But-"

  "Do it yourself."

  "Excuse me?" She blinked her eyes rapidly, not believing what her father had just said.

  "You didn't even read my letter, no? I am sending you exactly there."

  “Wha… wait…” Lulu slumped back into a chair behind her, thinking back, looking at her father with questioning eyes. "The letter..." She muttered, and indeed, she didn't care about it back then...

  "If they took your toy, good! Go get it back yourself!" Werebor repeated, "He should also be someone who joins up with this... Sect. Especially if they went this far for someone like a hybrid. We have an ongoing deal with them, and we won't let it fall through just because of your temper tantrum."

  "Dad!"

  "Enough! You have talent, but squander it time and time again."

  "Who wanted to sell me off to a fucker I don't even know?!" Lulu shot back at him.

  "Because you say you are developing, but you just py around all the time to spite me!" Her father yelled back, even louder than her voice was, "You are acting like a little child wanting to be spanked!" smming on the table, "You got your toy stolen by a stronger kid on the pyground, and now you come crying to me? Where is your defiant attitude now? Where is your 'I won't do what you tell me to' attitude? Something goes wrong, and you come back crying to me? Grow up, Lulu!" he scolded her, making Lulu's face turn deep red as her hands grabbed onto her chair armrest, almost breaking it off.

  "..." She tried to say something, but the words were stuck in her mouth as Werebor stood up and walked to the window, lighting a cigar.

  "The chaos generated up there will be resolved; I'll send the two brothers of yours there to clean up your mess, as always. You must prepare, attend the Sect's opening, and get in. At least it will showcase their ability to rule and help them learn some quick thinking... It's a good competition for those two. As for you... You got your own mission now. Got it?"

  "Y...Yes."

  "Good. You can then work on getting that boy back, but listen well." He looked at his daughter, "While inside the Sect, never forget where you are from... Try to get your hands on different things and send them back. You'll be there for a long time, so don't disappoint us, right? Work hard and achieve results that make us stronger! If you get yourself expelled somehow…." He said, his voice turning a pitch lower, "You don't need to come back home. You will be exiled from the family. Engrave it in your mind, Lulu! You only got one st shot. Don't screw it up..."

  His words almost froze Lulu, not believing what she was hearing, but the tone that Werebor was using was something she had only heard twice in her life, and she knew… he wasn't pying around.

  While Lulu was getting an earful, on the other side of the Shert River, another family meeting was taking pce as Isvar and Yanda dined alone in their pace.

  "Are you going to take part in the ceremony?" Isvar asked, watching his son.

  "Yes, Father. I am pnning to do so when they announce it. I wish to join them; I feel… it would finally be a pce to call home."

  "I… I'm sorry…." His father lowered his head all of a sudden.

  "No, don't say that!" Yanda looked up at once, smiling. "As a ruler, you are bound by rules... Not to let our home fall into chaos... I understand, Father, and I am at peace with it. I love you, Father."

  His words made Isvar choke, hold back tears, and reveal a rare smile, while he looked up at his son.

  "Your mother would be proud of you!" he gulped, managing to say it without choking on his own words.

  "Thank you…" Yanda returned his smile, feeling the same way his father did, "I'll make you proud too; I'll learn what it means to be… me. One day, I'll be strong and famous, so much so that you can proudly name me as your son in public."

  "I am already proud of you, son!"

  "Ehehe..." He chuckled like a kid before a question bubbled up from within him, "Do we have any news of my saviors?" he asked, curious and excited.

  "Not much," The king answered, "We have no contact with the other side, but don't worry. By your description, they are a group that could only be countered by those who lead the big territories! They won't have much trouble traversing the nd."

  "You are right. I'm just excited to meet them once again! I'm… looking forward to joining them!"

  “Ahaha, me too, son, me too!” Isvar ughed, clearly happy to have his son back and to see their retionship become better than ever. "You've grown up…" he murmured, making Yanda smile again.

  "You were right, Father. Experience is what makes a man."

  "Ah… I said that?"

  "Yup," he chuckled, "You did! I always remembered it."

  "How embarrassing…"

  As the night fell onto the world, Ren's group finally also returned to the Sect, just at the exact moment when Leinor and Carthus did. After being apart for weeks, it was an eventful night for not just the two but also the rest of the group, especially for Shaman. But for different reasons, because when Kyu nded and saw the Pill Hall's garden, filled with never-before-seen or smelled flowers… and... never before eaten herbs, she had a delightful dinner, to the dismay of the Shaman.

  "What an interesting little fellow." Aerthus chuckled, watching Shaman trying to get Kyu out of his garden. Still, the furball just rolled around, sometimes an arm appearing from that fluffy deathball form of her, grabbing onto a flower, pulling it out by the roots, munching on it as she rolled on, not even bothering with Shaman's yelling.