The next few days were absolutely miserable for Xiao Ji. As it turned out, sleeping outside with little protection on top of a mountain was not a particular pleasant experience. A part of him was still surprised that he had survived it. The combination of having to keep a strong hold on his qi while exercising, plus the tiredness that inevitably resulted and the cold that made sleep difficult was enough that he suspected his meagre cultivation was the only thing keeping him alive. Well, that and his fellow disciples.

One of the few positive things about the ordeal was how much closer they had become. He had come to truly appreciate all his uncle’s advice about friends and connections. Qian Shi had been the one to bring him food every day when he lay exhausted outside, too weak to do much other than rest. She would often stay for hours after that, talking about random things and trying to keep him warm with her paws. He worried about her originally, but she had simply brushed his concerns, saying that the cold affected her less and she would certainly not let it stop her from helping a disciple.

Even the boisterous Ruo Long often came along. Ji had to admit that even his over the top draconic arrogance had become somewhat comforting to him. The one time he had asked about the cold, the dragon simply snorted and huffed with arrogance then declared loudly:

“A dragon does not bow to such trivial things as cold.”

Of course he noticed how the dragon always went inside before Shi. Often trying to pretend he was not growing lethargic as the temperature dropped even further towards night time. Still, he greatly appreciated the effort.

He also found himself absorbing an increasing amount of knowledge by virtue of spending time with Qian Shi. His fellow disciple was like a font of knowledge, seemingly having information on virtually everything he wanted to know. He learnt more about the mountain they lived on and its surroundings.

Apparently the mountain was well known as the home of their Master, which meant it was virtually unchallenged. The people living near the mountain had taken to calling it Divine mountain, because of the protection they received from the nearby Divine. The revelation that their Master was in the highest realm of cultivation was a lot less surprising that he thought it would be.

According to Shi, the disciples occasionally went on missions to protect the village, which had both humans and spirit beasts living in it. While increasingly common, it was still fairly rare to see different species together without obvious segregation. He thought it would be quite interesting to see.

He had also learnt that the qi density on the mountain was much higher than most of the empire. Even the surrounding areas, though above average, were like qi deserts compared to the rich qi on the mountain top. Apparently there was something called a qi gathering array that pulled in qi from a large area to feed the mountain. He had no idea what that was and the Master had forbidden him from reading any new scrolls. Except if he was interested in history.

Of course Shi had also been happy to provide him with knowledge on that too. According to her, having someone to share her knowledge with was refreshing. Both Master Fan Guo and Mei already knew the things she did, while Ruo Long was, “a dumb brute who only cared about food and the colour of his scales.” Those were her words at least. The dragon had protested until she pointed out that his scales were looking dusty, after which they had spent the next thirty minutes watching the dragon panic and clean them with a passion Ji had never seen on him before.

Perhaps the most fascinating thing he had learnt was the Titans and the Awakened sect leaders. The Titans were four awakened beasts at the peak of divine who were the self declared protectors of the empire. They supposedly fought off external threats and were also instrumental in making sure humans, spirit beasts and awakened, were not killing each other. A daunting task, given what he had heard. They were also generally uninterested in taking up leadership positions, which made them loved by the Emperor and the ruling dynasty.

The Awakened sect leaders, on the other hand, were awakened beasts at the top of the Divine realm that were in charge of some of the mightiest sects in the empire. There were two of them, and they led the Soaring Eagle Sect and the Rumbling Earth Sect. They were the true voices of the awakened in the empire. The Soaring Eagle and The Rumbling Panda.

Though their sects accepted members from every race, awakened beasts made up the majority of their elites with spirit beasts and humans mostly taking lower ranked positions. The Soaring Eagle Sect in particular was a place where awakened and even spirit birds thrived, even taking over the Phoenix Clan to become the premier avian power in the empire.

He briefly fantasised about going there but he was not quite so naïve. There was little chance chickens were a respected species. Now that he was somewhat aware of the wider world, some of the hints his uncle dropped when he was young were much clearer and they did not paint a pretty picture about the status of chickens.

Though he was thankful for all the knowledge he had gained during his conversations with Shi, they were not the primary benefit he had gained from the entire ordeal. That honour went to his focus. As it turned out, focusing on keeping his qi contained while under stressful conditions did wonders for improving his mental capacity. Combined with a trait designed to boost his mind, and he progressed at much faster speeds than he could have imagined.

In less than a week of holding in his qi, he had freed enough mental space to maintain his qi senses once more. He had gone to his Master in excitement, feeling proud of his progress. The old man had simply stared at him without expression and told him that his training continued. In all honesty, he should have expected that kind of reaction. When he managed to figure out how to maintain his control even while he slept after just the second day, the man’s reaction had been a simple shrug, saying that it was a basic requirement of the entire exercise.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Still, he did not let his mood be ruined, instead running inside to the warmth of the house the moment his exercise was complete. He went to the dining to get his food personally for the first time in days, grateful for not having to rely on the kindness of his disciples anymore.

Qian Shi greeted him with excitement, gushing about his incredible progress and lifting his mood even higher. Mei simply smiled and congratulated him, watching them like a mother hen proud of her chicks. Even Ruo Long had come and given him praise, though he did not neglect to mention that he would have been capable of handling everything together from the beginning, as a proper dragon should. They all exchanged smiles and nodded along to his boasts, even Shi content to humour his fantasies for once.

After they finished dinner, Mei took her leave, after which Ruo Long invited him to his room to ‘celebrate’. Ji accepted, curious about what the dragon had planned for him. Shi, who was notably not invited, simply said something about not wanting to go in the first place as that would be ‘too much Ruo Long for her tastes’.

Regardless he went with the dragon, easily memorising the many corridors and turns that on the way to the room. The door to the room was massive, easily dwarfing the much smaller one that he used. The dragon opened the door and beckoned him on.

He was not sure what exactly he was hoping for before he entered, but the sight that greeted him was easily beyond his expectations.

Ruo Long’s room was massive, far exceeding the size of Ji’s own room. It was to be expected, of course, as the dragon would surely struggle to move around in anything smaller. Yet it was not the sheer size of the room that surprised him, as he had been expecting that already. What surprised him was something that could only have been added by Ruo Long himself.

It was the paintings

On the enormous walls, clear for all to see, were magnificent paintings worthy of a dragon. Xiao Ji did not consider himself an expert judge of art, especially considering the vast majority of his encounters with drawings were his uncle’s doodles in the sand. That said, there was a particular villager who enjoyed painting, and Ji had sneaked into his house a few times to admire his work.

At the very least, the paintings on the wall were far above anything the villager painted. They depicted a myriad of scenes, each featuring the dragon prominently in the centre. From destroying monsters and raining down fire, to merely resting or flying lazily, each one detailed the dragon in all his glory. It was surprising in its detail and clarity, yet it was exactly what he would have expected from Ruo Long.

Looking around, he noted a different painting. This one depicted a burning field, not unlike some of the other paintings. Yet the dragon was nowhere to be found. Instead, a large animal he thought could be an ox stood proud in the centre of it all. Even more surprisingly, was the small rat that stood on the bridge of the ox’s horns, its little hands crossed behind its back. Ji squinted at the image, which was just as detailed as the rest, and then looked towards Ruo Long.

“Ah, that caught your interest?” the dragon asked, a barely perceptible note of nervousness in his voice. “It's the First Disciple and the Second Disciple. This was how I first saw them.”

The next painting that piqued his interest was one he did not expect to see. It was a simple picture of a beautiful meadow. In the centre of the meadow, sat Quan Shi, looking like her typical goofy self. There was a flower on her head and for some reason, it made it easy to forget that she was a giant mastiff that could crush bones with ease. Even more surprising was the fact that the image occupied an entire quarter of a wall, which was more than what the individual paintings of Ruo Long took up. Ji looked at the painting and how perfectly it captured the cheery innocence of Qian Shi and pondered. Perhaps he had been quick to judge.

When Ruo Long noticed what he was looking at, the dragon coughed and directed him towards the centre of the room, saying something about a gift. He went through another door, presumably to pick up the gift, leaving Ji alone with all the paintings.

The more he looked at the paintings, the more he realised how much time and attention must have gone into them. The image of the dedicated painter was not one that fit with the arrogant yet cowardly dragon, but perhaps that was a lesson in itself. His uncle had often said that judging people solely based on a perceived characteristic was a recipe for misjudgement. The door opened again and Ruo Long stepped out. Much to Ji’s surprise, the former lizard was waling on his legs instead of flying like he always did. In his hand was what looked like a scroll.

“You chose to walk,” Ji observed. It was a small thing, but the gesture clashed too much with the Ruo Long he had come to know.

“Of course. I was born a lizard. Though I am now a dragon, I will not forget that the earth is my roots. Walking outside is slow and will draw unnecessary teasing from Qian Shi, but it helps to ground me.”

“To ground you?” he asked, sceptical.

“I am a dragon and a cultivator. My lifespan will be measured in centuries. I will no doubt rise to great heights and go to great lengths to purify my bloodline. When I am an emperor, even among dragons, it would be all too easy to lose sight of myself. So I force myself to walk on the ground where I was born. It is also why I paint. Sometimes the mind needs something simple. A hobby. This was the advice the First Disciple gave me.”

“It sounds like something my uncle would say,” Ji said dryly.

“Well, your uncle sounds wise. Here this is my gift to you.”

The dragon opened the scroll and set it down before Ji. On it was a painting. One that depicted Ji, Mei, Shi and Ruo Long himself. He recognised it as a scene from their first dinner where they were teasing the dragon. Interestingly, Ruo Long had drawn himself the smallest, choosing to focus the attention on Ji instead. He supposed it was only proper to put the painting’s owner in focus. Yet the drawing of Qian Shi still flashed across his mind.

“Many thanks, Ruo Long,” he said with a bow. “I will cherish this painting. It is the first true gift anyone has given me.”

“I hope you do. Now go. I have things to do. And close the door behind you.”

The dragon left to the other room behind the door, leaving Ji alone once again. As he left the room and traced his steps back to his room, Xiao Ji could not stop thinking of what Ruo Long had said about grounding. It was made even worse by the painting he had seen briefly when the dragon opened the second door.

Covering an entire wall, far larger than any of the other paintings, was a plain field of grass. On this otherwise unremarkable field, drawn with great detail and taking up half of the wall was a simple lizard. Albeit one with a spark in its eyes.

A lizard who could ground a dragon.