Xiao Ji sat across the table from his Master, feeling oddly calm.

The room was familiar, and he was starting to think its purpose was for giving reports, as that seemed to be the only instance where he got called there.

As it was, he had just finished giving a fairly lengthy breakdown of what happened in the forest. He was sure his Master had witnessed most, if not all of it, but the old man still beckoned on him to go into detail. Something about the usefulness of different perspectives.

By the time he finished speaking, he found himself slightly exhausted mentally from merely talking, a testament to how long he had spent doing so.

“Interesting,” the old man scratched his beard. “Your trait has outperformed, though it should not be surprising. To think the solution had been looking at us right in our faces too. How was your time in the village?”

Ji found himself slightly taken aback, though he supposed it was not surprising for his Master to want to have some idea on what he had done.

“It was an enjoyable experience,” he said truthfully.

“And how did you find Little Lin?”

“Bai Lin was good company. She taught me a few things as well.”

“As I would expect. So Little Lin is now the one helping her juniors.”

For some reason his Master seemed amused by this, something he thought about briefly before mentally shrugging and deciding to leave the man to his antics.

“Can I ask a question, Master?”

He signalled for Ji to go on, so he did.

“Is there a reason why Bai Lin is not a disciple? I would have thought another Beyond grade awakened was something you would be interested in.”

“A good point you raise, my dear disciple. Indeed Bai Lin would be a good disciple, given her progress so far. However, some agreements had already been made.”

He stopped there, and Ji just looked at him, waiting for the man to continue. It quickly became clear that the old man was done speaking.

“Just be rest assured that things are the way they are for a reason,” his master said, seeing the look on his face. “Now, about your trait, what do you think it does?”

That was something he had spent the past few hours thinking about. There were a few theories he had come up with, though most were discarded after further pondering and a little testing. What he concluded with was rather simple.

“I believe I used my mind to affect the world around me. Like the trait description said.”

“An obvious conclusion, yes. A bit more detail would be appreciated.”

“Of course. My main goal during that moment was to find a way to win against the shadow panther. The biggest advantage it had over me was speed, so the trait took that away.”

“Interesting. So why did the trait not simply kill the panther directly? Surely it would have been a lot quicker to simply crush its ribcage or use some other form of overwhelming offence. Not to mention less risky.”

That was also something he had thought about. He was not sure how the trait worked, but if it could affect the world around it then why didn’t it just use a more direct way to finish it off?

“I have not been able to answer that myself. Perhaps it would have cost too much to kill the panther directly. Or I needed to be more specific in my instructions. I believe only further testing will bring us closer to the truth.”

“You are right,” the old man nodded. “Your trait is very interesting, and with a lot of potential. It is something we will have to focus on going forward. Speaking of which, have you changed your mind?”

He would have been surprised that the man still had the gall to ask if he did not know who he was dealing with. So he instead just made his answer clear.

“No, I have not.”

The old man shrugged.

“Well, it doesn’t hurt to try. At the end of the day, it is your future that will be affected by your decision, not mine.”

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

To that, Xiao Ji had no reply, so he simply stayed silent.

“I was not too sure of it earlier, but now I am. Why is there a faith aura from a Core Formation cultivator on you? Like a failed mark attempt.”

That actually caught Ji off guard, though he quickly realised who the likely culprit was.

“We came across two cultivators from the Liao Sect, and one of them was a Core Formation Cultivator. They thought we were spirit beasts and wanted to make Ruo Long a familiar. They stopped bothering us when we mentioned your name though.”

The old man’s eyes narrowed at that.

“The Liao Sect huh? Some upstarts from the capital thinking they’re more important than they really are is a tale as old as the Empire itself. My name will protect you in the vast majority of cases, but remember there will be those who foolishly think they are above the wrath of a Divine. It is because of them that you must know how to defend yourself.”

That reminded him.

“On the topic of defending myself, Master Guo, my trip to the settlement showed me how lacking I am. Without any martial and offensive techniques, My strength is severely limited.”

“I am not stupid, Ji. Your training will resume tomorrow, and teaching you how to actually fight will be my priority. Heavens know you certainly need it.”

Ji bowed in thanks to that and was dismissed shortly after, leaving him with little to do other than return to his room and rest.

*

Xiao Ji woke up the next day with excitement in his heart.

There were many reasons for him to be glad. He was finally back home, safe and sound after defeating a powerful spirit beast. His Master had confirmed that he would be learning new techniques, something that had been at the front of his mind since his duel in the sect.

He did not miss how everyone was shocked he could injure his opponents without a technique. Which implied that people with techniques should be able to perform better than he did.

What he was most happy for, however, was the fact that Ruo Long would be returning today. He knew his fellow disciple must have had an unpleasant night, likely having to spend a lot of it killing spirit beasts and protecting people alone. He was also glad that the victims of those deplorable bandits would finally get some salvation. Of course, none of that was the true reason why he was so excited.

That honour belonged to his pills.

Finally, after days of being forced to wait, he could finally get Mei to test them. He felt giddy as he walked to the dining room. He ate quickly, too impatient to even appreciate the food properly.

Ruo Long arrived a few minutes after he was finished, and he immediately rushed the dragon, all but snatching the ring off him. The scaled disciple grumbled under his breath about being unappreciated, but Ji only barely heard him. He checked the pill bottles and rushed to what he now knew was Mei’s floor.

Apparently the entire second floor of the building belonged to Mei, something that had truly shocked him when he was first told. The stairs were thankfully, not too high, which made them merely inconvenient, as opposed to the one’s in the sect, which were downright frustrating. It was one of the few times he was actually thankful for his wings, as he had to actually use them to propel himself past them.

He walked till he met a door. He injected some qi into it and waited. Little solutions like this had made him appreciate qi even more. If you were determined enough, you could eliminate most of the need for hands, it seemed.

The door swung open a few seconds after he ‘knocked’ to reveal a curious Mei.

“Oh hey Ji. What problems bring you to my humble abode?” she asked, beckoning him into a large room that was most certainly not humble.

Ji found himself oddly nervous now that he was at the final step.

“Perhaps I simply came for a casual visit.”

Mei squinted at him with exaggerated gestures.

“Are you okay, Xiao Ji? Did you somehow do a body swap with Qian Shi?”

That actually got a light laugh out of him, though he feigned offence for a moment before bringing out the pill bottle.

“These are pills I bought in the city, “ he brought them out of the ring he held in his beak. “The merchant who sold them claimed that they came from the lands at the other ends of the Great Sky Road and that they were supposed to be able to enlarge roosters. Ruo Long advised me to give them to you for testing before taking it.”

She took the pill bottle from him and studied it with furrowed brows.

“Come with me,” she said, before moving deeper into the floor.

They passed a few doors before finally entering what had to be the strangest room Ji had ever seen.

Mei’s alchemy room, as she soon told him, was full of many fascinating things. From many transparent containers filled with colourful liquids, to the ones filled with what looked like different body parts and plants. There were strange looking contraptions whose functions he could not even begin to decipher.

The most eye-catching of them all was a massive metal bowl that rested atop a large metal stove that seemed to produce eternal flames.

A cauldron, Mei had called it.

She finally came to a stop in front of one of the transparent containers. It had a clear liquid inside and she threw one of his pills inside, causing his heart to ache. He knew it was necessary, but that did not make it much easier.

The next few minutes were spent doing strange tests that he had no perspective for, Eventually, she stopped and turned to look at him with an odd expression.

Ji felt his heart drop at the sight. That did not bode well.

“What did you find,” he asked with increasing trepidation.

A sigh.

“I’m sorry, but this is not going to do what you want it to do. Its not even meant for chickens in the first place. I’ll need a little more time to verify its actual purpose, but I’m at least sure of that one.”

Ji staggered at the news, feeling like his world was crashing down.

“Are you sure,” he asked desperately. “Maybe there was a mistake.”

Mei just shook her head.

“I’m sorry but I’m certain of this. I’ll tell you what it actually does when I find out. For now though, I think Master is looking for you.”

It was a miserable chicken that walked down the stairs and went outside to see Master Fan Guo. He dragged himself through the building, barely able to gather enthusiasm for his upcoming training as it was.

And so Xiao Ji went to see his Master with no hint of excitement in his heart.