"What have you learned, little Brother?" the Celestial Dean asked, his visage youthful, as befitting the age of his visitor.

The Academy office was silent and majestic, walls decorated with old relics and moving paintings leading to secret realms, glowing defensive Formations strong enough to incinerate even a Steel Eminence and a giant steel desk embossed with the Academy signet, separating the visitors from the seat of the Academy Principal, the renowned Celestial Dean, a peak Tier 12 Steel Eminence. The visitors seats were built low as to emphasize the status differential.

Pef shifted awkwardly on his low chair. "Lord Demonhunter is very strong and incredibly durable. None of my attacks could even damage his scales. I'd guess he is even stronger than you, Senior Brother." he answered after thinking for a few seconds.

The ancient cultivator scowled for a moment, likely erasing some uncomfortable memory. "Not about that old monster. You certainly learned some things about yourself, right?"

Pef nodded and grimaced in a humble smile. "I already know mostly everything about myself. I could recite every percent in every Dao I know. There are some things that I cannot quantify exactly, like heartforce and will power, as they also change due to emotions. Then other intangibles like luck and karma..."

The Celestial Dean shifted to a mature visage, and narrowed his eyes. "Teaching someone like you will be a problem. You have most of the basics to already Ascend into Iron Realm. Confidence too. However, that cultivation method you crafted by yourself..."

Our hero simply shrugged. He already knew of the limitations intrinsic to the Ten Elements Method. "I'd like to obtain 13 separate methods in different elements, so I can continue cultivating by myself." he proposed with a raised eyebrow.

The Dean sighed audibly, and tapped his steel desk with a finger, making a ornate box of silvery metal appear. Opening the lid, he showed Pef dozens of different finger-sized crystals, glowing with inner light.

Acting decisively, Pef swiped the contents of the box into his inner world, and started sifting through the crystals with his inner Avatars. A minute later, he opened his palm and returned most of the cultivation crystals, keeping only 13 for himself.

"I see you didn't pick the Jade Flow of Time." the Celestial Dean observed in a curious tone.

Pef smiled sadly. "I already know the basics of Time, but that method requires a bloodline of the Jade Noble House to complete. When you bring my Lady Yue to the Academy, she will be able to learn it."

"Anyways, you don't need Time Dao for something as simple as the Iron Realm. Now, do you have a question?" the old cultivator asked with a teasing voice.

Only one question. Such a cheapskate! Pef grumbled inward. "Those water scales, can I also get them?" he asked after a though choice.

"That is a good question, Little Brother. However, I never said you will get an answer." The Dean said with a wide grin, then blinked his eyelids, transporting Pef right into his own courtyard.

Returning to his old body, the Celestial Dean leaned into his armchair and tapped the desk, making the silver box vanish once more. 'A very good question, little one. What could make that overgrown carp favor you that much? Time to fish for an answer.' he mused inward, as the Fate Rod appeared into his hand.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

'Hmm. That cheap Dean! Would you like fries with your water scales?' Pef grumbled inward as he sat down in the middle of the courtyard.

"Lord Pef? You're back?" Lady Si yelled from inside the mansion.

"Yes...don't come out!" he shouted back as another person appeared in his courtyard, armored in impregnable Eternium armor.

"Ah, your horny dick is always creating so much drama, my dear user." the glove goddess observed in a joking tone, her helmet nodding gently towards his new Academy-approved servant.

"Your orange highness is back? What can I do for my amazing armored teacher?" Pef wondered with a tired voice.

"Indeed I am. After decades of traveling, which lasted almost 5 hours, and visiting our friends in the lower realms I have returned with someone. A horse for my beloved user." the Eternium Knight proclaimed in a grandstanding voice, opening her gauntlet to produce a fearsome beast in the shape of a peak Tier 10 Bee Queen.

Pef stood up and gingerly approached the dangerous beast. "A horse?" he asked in a bewildered tone, ignoring the other ridiculous claim.

"Master, this humble Old Bee humbly requests that you allow her to become your humble steed, to carry you into battle or exploration." the Bee Queen whispered in a shy voice.

"More visitors, an armored woman and a giant beast...?" a surprised voice wondered in a decreasingly softer voice, until she fainted at the sight of the Bee Queen.

"I didn't do anything...Please trust me, Master!" the Bee Queen exclaimed with a concerned voice.

Pef sighed inward, and scooped Lady Si into his inner world for repair and reassurance. And while the dangerous Bee Queen that defeated the Mercy Seat was a decent reason to be afraid, the glove goddess was a thousand times worse. People always feared the wrong thing.

"Lord Demonhunter is coming for my birthday. I can't serve him fried noodles!" he said instead, pointing at the stealing glove goddess, who had absconded with most of his inventory, including the precious honey and countless rare beasts corpses.

The Eternium Knight shrugged cutely, making her wings flutter. "Sword!" she demanded with a careless voice.

Pef glared at her for a second, before relenting and producing his near-useless Heart Ruler. "That Elf better not break it!" he muttered in a soft voice.

The glove goddess simply ignored him, turning towards the Bee Queen. "Wings off." she demanded in the same tone.

With a despondent look, the mighty Bee Queen shed her crystalline wings again, looking rather frail without the powerful wings.

'Welcome to my life...' our sad hero muttered inward as the glove departed without a word.

"The air is rather nice in the Academy." the Bee Queen spoke in a timid voice, as she sat in the courtyard to cultivate and regrow another pair of wings.

Pef glanced at her legs, where a brand new bowl of Royal Honey had just appeared, the bee sipping from it for extra energy. "Expensive too. I will need half of your honey, your Majesty." he asked with a gleam in his eye.

Compound eyes could not shed tears, even if they wanted to right now. The new bee-horse just nodded sadly and flicked a leg bracelet towards her master.

Picking the storage bracelet, Pef smiled a bit more happy. "So, a horse?" he asked rather curious.

"Battle mount would be more exact. I was also promised Ascension..." the old bee muttered in a soft voice.

Pef nodded and sat beside the new battle mount, while also producing a honey bowl for himself. He did get eviscerated multiple times by those water spikes, so the extra energy would help repair organ damage and other hidden injuries.

"The new girl?" he asked after some time.

"Adopted as a flower caretaker. She is well-suited to study the impermanence of the universe." the Bee Queen said as a gentle wind stirred and made a floating cloud of pink petals appear in the courtyard.

Pef blinked, as the mere words opened a new Dao in his inner screen. 'Impermanence? Honey as a binding agent to endure longer? Stronger body as an anchor? Flower Dao seems more complicated than I thought.' he mused inward as he watched the petals dance in the fleeting wind. The first percents in any Dao were always the easiest. More tangent thoughts arrived from the old memories, some rare flowers even curing forms of cancer...

"Medicine. Flowers can cure many diseases." he spoke after a long time.

"Emotions too. The right emotions can also shift the mind and soul." the Bee Queen answered in a wise old voice.