'I shouldn't have looked. I should have closed my eyes. How do I continue living a normal life? How do I act around them? How do I stop thinking about these obscene images? Should I ask Master permission to go to seclusion?' A hundred thoughts raced through Liuyue's mind as she continued staring at Ren.

Liu Ming saw her odd behavior and realized that the previous night had been hard for her just as it had been for him. He wondered if she had had to soak her body in cold water to meditate and clear the chaos in her dantian.

When he sat next to her exchanging a glance, Wu Tao frowned in curiosity. He wasn't new to such things, no. He had, at some point, begun selling his body to the daughters of those rich lords in Xiayang just to survive. A job he wasn't particularly proud of.

'What happened between them? Weren't they investigating the cult?'

'Oh gawd! Were they watching porn?' Ren rolled the scroll and reduced it to ashes, hiding his curiosity. He glanced at the disciples he had sent out last night, asking himself if what they had seen had affected them. After all, whether on earth or here, bodies had desires and needs. Just like he had been craving more sleep since he returned.

His sexual desires seemed to have faded along with other emotions from the centuries of being buried in the ground as a plant and his betrayal in the past.

The only desire he currently had was growth. Not just physical but power-wise. He wanted to become stronger so he could unravel the mysteries of his existence and find answers to the many questions he had. If the day ever came when he'd once more experience those intimate needs, then he hoped the person he'd fall for would be willing to take his trust test. If not, he was ready to remain alone for eternity. No! He gave himself a mental slap. 'What am I even thinking about? I have already been warned. Maybe the person who will betray me is the person I will be attracted to. And since I couldn't feed them my roots out of respect, that could have brought me unseen danger.'

"Ahem!" he cleared his throat, drawing the attention of the three on himself. "If there's nothing more, then this will be all for today."

Wu Tao suddenly rose saluting. "Master, I seek permission to return to the duels," he requested with his face down. "Only by fighting can I fully merge with my ability."

Ren's right brow lifted. "Are you sure? After what happened-"

"Yes, Master. I'm not afraid of death. What is the point of living if I'm afraid of facing danger just to keep my life?"

Liuyue glanced at Wu Tao as he spilled his declaration which motivated her to spring on her feet. She saluted, the fan still hiding her face.

"Master, I'd like to go into seclusion."

"Oh? Why is that? We agreed that seclusion will be after the upcoming event."

He could almost guess why she wanted to do it. Without any exposure to such things, of course, she'd be disturbed after the scenes from the previous night. He would have granted her request, but letting her run away rather than facing herself and getting used to these things would only nurture her cowardice. She had to find a way to cope and overcome her difficulties without running away.

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This wasn't like when he went up the mountain seeking answers which he still hadn't found. But he was hopeful that maybe he would one day when he unlocked more secrets of the void.

"I...I..." She stuttered, suffering from word and thought loss. Liuyue hadn't planned this far. She thought Ren would permit her right away.

"Wu Tao, you may continue with the duels, but summon me immediately if a threat you cannot handle shows up. I don't want to sense your death so I can intervene."

A glad and relieved smile formed on Wu Tao's face. He saluted and bowed hard, almost snapping his back from how low he had bowed. "Thank you, Master. I will make sure I bring honor to the sect."

"Mmm..." He began tapping the armrest, his mind wandering off to the discussion he had the day before with Xu'er's master. He hadn't thought about it throughout the night because of the fatigue that had been left from all the exercises he had done in his room.

With Clay still asleep to absorb the energy he had gained after biting the tribulation dragon, Ren felt even lonelier. Occasionally, Han would show up. But he was too playful or childish at times. Ren just wanted him to transform as soon as possible so he could send him into the mundane world to nurture his mental growth.

###############

Ren sat in the center of the seventh floor where the twins were practicing in the rooms. Being weaker than the others, they were to wake up an hour before everyone else and come to practice until it was lunch hour.

Ren would stop by to check their progress while trying to understand their abilities better. Chaos and Order. Complete opposite of each other yet when practicing, he felt their breaths merging as if trying to be one. Just like yin and yang, chaos cannot exist without order and vice versa.

Once he was done keeping them company, he moved on to check on the beasts.

The guardian beast was not in sight but Ren could feel it patrolling the west side of the sect along with Wu Tao.

Seeing everything in his sect was in order, Ren felt relieved. He could now go back to his room and continue studying.

Even though he had the option of feeling everything through his extraordinary perception, he still chose to walk around, stretch his legs, and get some fresh air. But he also didn't want to waste qi when he could just walk.

With his nose buried in a book, Ren felt a strong fluctuation coming from the void pocket he had put Clay. They started growing until it felt as if the snake would make him explode from how violently he was begging to be freed.

He opened a black hole on the bed, and a long, large blue snake covered in shiny scales flew out.

The pair of black horns had grown wider and longer; his body had changed as well, mostly that he had grown two pairs of limbs to resemble the dragons Ren had seen in the books.

He stared, amazed by the development of Clay's body. Especially the legs and the horns.

"You've grown so much," Ren whispered reaching out to touch Clay's head as he levitated right in front of him.

Clay's eyes closed, accepting its master's affection.

"Mas...ter!" It spoke its first word and Ren almost fell off his bed from the shock.

"Gawd!" he breathed pressing a hand on his chest. "You can even speak?!"

It nodded and turned its body before flying around the room as if running through the air, displaying its achievements in front of the man it owed its milestones. Other than giving it chances to absorb energy from the tribulations, Ren had also provided a quiet space for it to hibernate that was also full of mysterious energy that aided it in cultivating a hundred times more quickly than any snake alive. It would have taken it hundreds of years before it could transform its body into half a dragon, slowly changing its bloodline.

Ren estimated that Clay was over thirteen feet long and fourteen inches wide.

How he moved in the air with such ease baffled Ren by far. If only it was a little bigger, maybe he could try riding it like the texts showed.

But with this growth, if Clay absorbed more energy, it'd be big enough to ride in a year or two.

He noticed that its pupils had completely merged to be one. This probably gave it a better vision or something; Ren was clueless about that one. There wasn't much information about azure snakes or dragons.

Clay opened its mouth and then let out one loud heavy roar that almost left Ren deaf.

His eye twitched as the ringing effect filled his ears. It had roared just like the tribulation dragon, only half as strong but still powerful enough to command all the sect's beasts to gather outside Ren's door.

"What are you doing?" he questioned it feeling the other beasts waiting humbly in the courtyard.

Clay moved its head and nuzzled Ren's face before flying out of the room through the open windows, damaging a corner.

"Seriously, why do I keep finding myself entangled with these strange beings?" Ren mumbled, following Clay, but used the door instead.