80th of Season of Air, 57th year of the 32nd cycle

The return to the surface was a torture. Luckily, Everlast had some food stashed away in her spatial pouch, and Dandelion reshaped their bubble once so they could sleep. But even with all the advantages and a body which hardly required air, sustenance, and sleep, the simple light of the sun and the blueness of the sky left Newt elated.

“We made it!” he laughed, and smiles escaped even Everlast and Dandelion.

“Yes, well done,” Elder Frostgrave said right behind Newt’s back. His spine went straight, his legs tensed, ready to leap, but Newt had enough composure to stop himself from jumping away. Everlast seemed used to her master’s sudden appearances, and Dandelion did not even twitch. Their calm reactions made Newt feel like a jittery aquilops.

Even as he forced himself to calm, all three of them turned to face the elder and bowed.

“Master, we have made an important discovery.” Everlast beamed a smile, the joy on her face liberating her beauty from the frosty prison. She could not hold back for a moment as she explained the treasure they had found, and Elder Frostgrave smiled, a glint of excitement flashing in her eyes, despite her age and frigid temperament.

“Well done. I will make sure to fetch that core.” She shifted her gaze to Newt. “Why is he wearing your glacial uniform?”

Everlast reddened and looked down at the snowy mountain slope.

“It’s a long story, Master…” Everlast proceeded to explain what had happened while Newt removed the dress he had completely forgotten he was wearing for two weeks straight.

“It seems I owe you another favor.” Elder Frostgrave frowned while gazing at Dandelion. “And you too, young man. What can I do for you?”

Elder Frostgrave focused on the easier target first, wanting to settle at least one debt she owed.

“Elder Frostgrave, I seek information about my parents,” Newt glanced at Everlast, who nodded encouragingly. “And an introduction or a recommendation to a major, or maybe even a grand sect.”

The elder gave a curt nod.

“I will see what I can do. If your spiritual energy was water-aligned, I would have recruited you into our sect, even if you are a male.” She side-glanced at Dandelion, who shook his head, telling her he was not interested in the offer. “But sadly, we are not a fit. With dual earth and fire affinity, plus talent for spell formations, I doubt it will be difficult to find a slot for you in any of the major forces that don’t focus solely on a single element.”

Suddenly Elder Frostgrave’s gaze hardened.

“Even the Blazing Peak would take you, but they would try to force you to discard the earth portion of your talent and focus solely on fire.”

Newt had never heard of the sect, but abandoning a half of his power seemed like a wrong move.

“Newstar,” Dandelion said, “Being a spell formation scribe is an advantage in and of itself, and you should not abandon that path. Plenty of sects, even the most powerful ones, would welcome talented scribes.”

Elder Frostgrave nodded, slowly. “Introducing you to our allies can’t be considered a favor I’m gracing you with. More likely, they will owe me a favor or a clue about a talented disciple after my own tastes. As for finding information about your parents, the difficulty of such a task might be incredibly trivial or impossible. There is no way to know now.”

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

A sense of unease crawled in Newt’s gut, chilling his spine. He hoped Elder Frostgrave would find tracking down his parents a simple task, but the woman was right. There were countless possibilities, countless circumstances, which could potentially make locating his parents impossible.

Newt’s mind raced, but his thoughts chased their own tail. If he could find the information with difficulty, a sixth realm cultivator could find it with ease. If the task was impossible for him, it should still be possible for Elder Frostgrave. If the task was impossible for her, it was even more so for him.

“How about,” he licked his lips, “How about we say it’s my favor, regardless of how difficult locating my parents is? It should be fair, when neither of us knows anything about their situation.”

Dandelion opened his mouth, then stopped himself from speaking while Elder Frostgrave considered Newt’s proposal. The ancient woman looked up, touching her chin.

“I guess we can call it fair.” She looked at Dandelion. “As for you, you have trained my disciples, found a cultivation resource I need, and saved my grandniece. A person of my standing cannot owe so many open favors. You have until we reach Thunder Ridge to decide what you want and what I can do for us to reduce this to one open favor. I can bestow you with wealth, weapons, armor, treasure materials, rare medicine…”

Newt observed Dandelion, but the man’s expression did not flicker at the promised treasures. His gaze did grow distant for a moment before he spoke.

“Honored elder.” he half-bowed. “You claim the favors you owe me is knowledge I imparted on your disciple, and cultivation resources for you. While I disagree that this was worth as much as I ask, I would humbly request you to share knowledge with me. For one week, I will ask about any topics which interest me, and you provide answers to the best of your ability.”

Elder Frostgrave bristled, Dandelion was asking the same thing Newt asked him while they were trapped in the rock-bubble some two weeks ago, but the way he asked it was considerably different, as was his position.

Before Elder Frostgrave could answer, Dandelion kept talking.

“The answers you provide may be ‘I do not know’, ‘I cannot tell you’, ‘That knowledge will hurt you’, and many others. I do not ask you to share everything with me, but I do beg you to be honest in your responses and the reasons you refuse to share knowledge with me. Even if all your answers are ‘I cannot tell you’, I will consider those two favors you believe you owe me repaid.”

Dandelion raised his head and looked at the elder with a gaze that shocked Newt. There was fire and determination in those eyes, intellect beyond Newt’s comprehension, and an unyielding quality which brooked no argument.

Newt shuddered.

I need to learn to ask things of people like that, and not blurt out what I want like a chattering pterodactylus.

“Your request is reasonable and within my power to provide.” Elder Frostgrave spoke the words slowly, as if examining and questioning them even as they left her mouth. “I will stay at Thunder Ridge for one more week longer than I intended, and you will be my guest. Should you have any topics you wish to discuss, I will accompany you and provide the answers. But you must understand, my answers may be beyond you, even if I spent the entire week explaining them. Your realm is much lower than mine, the speed of your thoughts and your ability to comprehend are likewise slower.”

Dandelion nodded. “Naturally, what gains I can make depend on my ability, like with everything else in life. Thank you for agreeing to this, I will do my best not to disappoint you or waste your time.”

The deal sounded odd, Dandelion’s concealed elation even odder, the man’s spiritual energy churned through his body, revealing just how excited he was. And Newt had to wonder just how much was he underestimating education and knowledge, when Dandelion refused riches and treasures in favor of information he might not even be able to use.

Maybe I need to start reading books? Dandelion is incredibly powerful and versatile, while I have hardly scratched the eggshell of what my primary element can do. And I have no idea what earth-attributed abilities can do, save to reinforce and protect my body in a brawl.

Defense and power were not useless, but they were definitely just a hint of what he could do. Dandelion claimed he was inferior to Newt when it comes to earth energy, yet he had created a traveling chamber, which is impossible to spot, even if it moved incredibly slowly. Newt could possibly use a similar technique to sneak into a higher realm spirit beast’s lair, or a bunch of other things.

My only limit is my imagination, and I haven’t been very imaginative so far.

Newt did not know it at the time, but the adventure in the frostworm caves, the conversation he had just witnessed, and the friends and allies he had made on his seemingly random outing would define him as a person, a cultivator, and a champion.