The first thing that hit He Yu once he was away from the stench of his breakthrough was the hunger. He was absolutely famished. Although he’d been needing to eat more and more food as he advanced, he shouldn’t have been secluded for that long. The first step was to wash himself off, though.

He emerged into the central courtyard of his home to find Li Heng practicing his sword forms. The noble seemed different in a way that was difficult to pin down. The most obvious change was the two thin streaks of silver in his hair beginning at his temples. Not the silver of age that one would expect from the hair of a mortal elder. Silver like the moon, gleaming alone in the night sky.

He Yu washed himself off while Li Heng finished with his forms. Once they were both done, Li Heng turned to him and said, “Congratulations on your breakthrough, Little Brother.”

He Yu broke into a broad grin. “And congratulations on yours.”

Li Heng stooped to pick up a decorative stone from the courtyard garden, then crushed it into tiny chunks in his hand. “It’s quite something, isn’t it?”

“I’m having a hard time really enjoying it right now,” He Yu admitted. “I’m famished.”

“You must be,” Li Heng said as he sent his sword into his storage treasure. “You were in there for nearly two weeks.”

He Yu blinked. “There’s no way,” he said. “I know I can lose track of time when I cultivate, but that only felt like it should have been a day or two at most.”

“Count yourself lucky. Most people will take a month or more. The only reason we finished so quickly is because of Old Guo’s training. Even my tutors back home never had me train to specifically strengthen my presence. Nobody even really forms one before Body Refining. At least, not as truly as we have.” Li Heng shook his head. “Our fortune in meeting him was truly extraordinary. Now get dressed so we can head to the sect market and get some food.”

Once they’d set off on the path towards the market, He Yu cast a glance at Li Heng. “I like the hair,” he teased.

“Little Brother is most cruel,” Li Heng with only partial sincerity. “I suppose I’ll get used to it. We don’t always get the sorts of changes we want when we advance, after all.”

He Yu thought of Zhang Lifen’s startling blue eyes and the way she moved like she was drifting across the top of a lake. “I’ll take what I can get,” he said. “Before coming to the sect, I didn’t think I’d ever leave the First Realm.”

“Well, now that you’ve become a true immortal, you can go home and teach that Dong Wei a lesson. Master of the Second Realm?” Li Heng laughed. “Achieving Body Refining is the easy part. Anyone can do it with enough dedication, time, and resources.”

“That’s what people keep telling me,” He Yu said.

As they walked through the outer sect, he couldn’t help but notice how the other disciples made way for the two of them. A number even stopped what they were doing to offer slight bows over a salute. They were all of the Second Realm, of course. Anyone who hadn’t already advanced to Foundation would have been expelled from the sect by now. What He Yu couldn’t quite believe was how nobody else seemed to have reached Body Refining yet.

As if he’d read He Yu’s thoughts, Li Heng said, “I’m not saying that we’re typical. The sect’s requirement of reaching the Third Realm no later than a year after breaking into the Second is strict. People like Princess Tan and I have a significant advantage, coming in already several steps along that path. I have no doubt that you would have made it, given your discipleship to Zhang Lifen, but we’ve advanced incredibly fast. Not to mention the quality of our breakthrough.” As he said the last part, one hand drifted up to the streak of gleaming silver in his hair.

“So what’s next?” he asked. While he knew the basics of the lower realms, it was the advancement to Golden Core that he was most curious about. The first three realms of cultivation did exactly what their names implied.

At the Qi Gathering stage, a cultivator increased the amount of qi they had available, broadening their cultivation base and gathering the necessary power for achieving the breakthrough into the Second Realm.

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The Foundation stage was the first true step on the path of cultivation. A cultivator established the foundation upon which all of their future advancement was based. While early in one’s advancement, it was often said to be one of the most important stages.

Upon reaching Body Refining, a cultivator used the qi they’d gathered and the foundation they’d established to further strengthen their physical body. It was like infusing a body technique into their physical being permanently. Body Refining cultivators were stronger, faster, and more resilient than the strongest of mortals—by at least ten times over.

The difference in sheer physical power compared to earlier realms wasn’t the point, however. The true purpose of the Body Refining stage was to prepare the cultivator for the rigors of further advancement. Golden Core and beyond were all increasingly taxing, and a cultivator needed a body that could survive those further refining transformations.

“What’s next? We cultivate,” Li Heng answered. “There’s only one way forward for us now. The inner sect.”

“The tournament,” He Yu said.

Li Heng nodded. “Sure, we can stay where we’re at for now. We’ve met all the requirements to stay in the sect. We could spend another year or two in the outer sect, and enter the tournament then. After that, however,” Li Heng shrugged. “Let’s just say the talents of the younger generations often surpass the achievements of their seniors.”

“We’re not staying in the outer sect,” he said. There was no question in his mind. Not after what he’d seen in their time away. King Hao, Old Guo, Yongnian—they were each a reminder of how far he had to go.

Yongnian had the power to gift him an art and an enchanted robe simply because they would be useful to him.

Old Guo had demonstrated not only the power that lay further along the path of cultivation but also the wisdom and insight that came with centuries of meditation and reflection. The old cultivator had identified what all three of them had needed almost instantly and had then set them to training an aspect of their foundation that most neglected until later.

Then there was King Hao, or whatever it was that had happened to him. Whatever power he’d called upon, even the tiny sliver of it that He Yu had been able to grasp in that moment—that power represented a peak so far above him that he couldn’t even bring himself to comprehend it.

Was that a taste of the Seventh Realm? The Eighth? Ninth? The only thing he could say with any certainty was that if he’d been exposed to the power in its fullness as he was now, it would have obliterated him. Probably without even noticing his presence.

“We have too far to go,” he said. “Staying in the outer sect only means a slow death.”

“Somebody’s driven,” Li Heng remarked.

He Yu laughed. “I need to forge my legend somehow,” he said.

“That’s more like it,” Li Heng said, allowing himself a small chuckle. “I’ll admit though, I do like you better when you’re not being so serious.”

“Sorry,” He Yu said, dipping his head.

“None of that.” Li Heng jabbed him with an elbow as they passed into the sect market. “There’s people around. The first step to becoming a legend is keeping up appearances. Unless you want your legend to be that of He Yu, the Master who Mopes.”

He shot a glare at Li Heng, but the noble’s overly serious affect won him over. He laughed and then shook his head. A vision he’d had in his early days at the sect flashed in his memory—standing alone atop a mountain peak. “You’re a good friend,” he said.

Something in Li Heng’s smile grew strained at that, if only for a moment. He shook his head. “I’m not,” he said. “But I try.”

“Best I’ve ever had,” He Yu replied. Then he jerked his head in the direction of a stand with a sign declaring “Fatty’s Magical Noodles” before heading that way.

“Surely you can’t mean that?”

“Haven’t I told you?” He Yu asked. “I never really had any friends back home. The other children in the village thought I was annoying. Once I was old enough to cultivate, anyone interested in that got into Dong Wei’s school. Except me, of course.”

The conversation paused while they each ordered a steaming bowl of noodles that practically oozed qi. It seemed the name on the sign wasn’t a lie. They made their way to a less crowded area of the sect market.

“I guess I can relate, in a way,” Li Heng said at length. “I was kept pretty isolated back home. Different reasons, though.”

“I’m sure it was awful,” He Yu said, rolling his eyes.

“It was, trust me.” he laughed. “Surrounded by tutors watching my every move, only adults to keep me company. Even though I didn’t begin cultivating until the normal age, I’ve been studying manuals and learning theory since I was ten.”

“Couldn’t have been that bad,” He Yu said through a mouthful of food.

The atmosphere between them remained relaxed as they ate. Whatever had been bothering Li Heng on their trip seemed to have been left behind at some point on the road, and He Yu was grateful for that. It was good to sit and just talk about something entirely mundane, free of the worry of what lay ahead. If only for a few moments.

The tournament would approach quickly. Only the top eight disciples would win a place in the inner sect, with their placement in the festival determining their starting rank. He Yu intended to be among them.

Once they’d finished eating, he turned to Li Heng. “Back to training?” he asked.

A brief nod was all the answer he needed.