Xiao Lee stared at the reason they had left the abundant, high-quality qi in Lasvania in the first place and asked himself if it was worth it. Maybe he was being too harsh. It was her first time in a cell, and she was obviously very sheltered.

Still, regardless of whatever her situation, it was clear that they had gotten tired of her gushing. He was reminded again why he had only liked the thought of having fans if he didn’t interact with them.

Strangely enough, Lisa, the primary subject of her adoration, didn’t seem to mind and was actually paying attention to the girl.

“We’re all done now,” the Ambassador spoke into their minds, courtesy of the ever-useful neural processors.

She had left them in the suite and gone to finalise logistics and straighten out certain details with the Keeper.

Finally, he thought.

Something that was not exclusive to him, going by the looks on his companions’ faces. Truly, just the qi alone was enough reason to feel homesick.

He stepped out of the suite, followed closely by the others. Amile even stopped her chatter on the way.

For the first few seconds.

Eventually, they got to the ground floor of the palace. They met the Keeper, and surprisingly, the Prime Minister; waiting for them.

The customary greetings were exchanged, and the Keeper escorted them back to the portal hub they came through.

A few seconds and he was filled with relief at the comfort of the potent qi that permeated the nation he had come to call his home.

* * *

Home.

She had to admit, even with the history this place represented and the overbearing presence she could feel even now, there was still something that drew her back here and ensured she found no rest until her system was filled with the nurturing qi of her country.

Perhaps it was a side effect of the world tree’s qi that gave her the urge. There were studies on it, but that was Bornie’s expertise, not hers. Or some great working weaved by her grandmother made it so. She would not put it past the old woman.

Still, she felt glad to be home. The qi that filled even the palace in the Fifth Republic was pittance compared to what she had at home, and she couldn’t even manifest her qi generator for fear of contaminating the palace with what would be seen as ‘impure qi’.

That was even without the presence of the Fifth, which felt stifling to her. She had even felt like she was being targeted slightly by the self-proclaimed goddess, which contradicted the Rivera’s information again.

She would have to talk to the High Minister about reviewing their information and updating it.

“Amile,” Lisa called out to the girl standing next to her. She’d been quiet since they got to Lasvania.

“Yes, Lisa,” she answered.

The excited wobble in her voice and the way the girl turned her full attention to her was not something Lisa cared for, but she understood.

Being disillusioned with family and then meeting her hero was something she had gone through. She wanted to at least make this go better for Amile than it had for her.

Though she supposed she was being harsh there. Grandma had the enthusiasm; she just didn’t know how to deal with an excited twelve-year-old that worshipped her. Rather ironic, really

“You’re going home now.” It was more statement than question.

A nod was what she received. The way the girl tensed up at the mention of home was not lost on Lisa. It was a feeling she could relate to, in fact.

“Do you know what you’ll do?”

“I’m not sure,” the teenager shook her head.

“Would you run away if you could?”

“I’m not sure,” she admitted. “Before I was imprisoned, without a doubt. But it just seems ungrateful now.”

“Don’t do that” she chided, then explained when Amile simply looked confused. “We’re not perfect, but we sure aren’t going to abandon our own to be tortured in another country. Maybe it would have taken more time, or it would have been handled differently, but you were always going to be rescued, regardless of family influence. Don’t feel indebted to your family because of something they did for selfish reasons.”

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“Are you sure,” her voice sounded tiny and insecure in a way that made her heart ache. A rare thing.

“You’re a Lasvanian, regardless of what anyone says, and your family doesn’t define you. So yes, I’m sure. I’ll put you in touch with someone better suited than me who can help you.”

“Thank you,” she exclaimed, and Lisa thought the girl would try to hug her. She didn’t thankfully.

They exchanged contacts, and Lisa bid her new fan on her way, but not before giving her a way to get the help she needed.

The Shining Star stared at the contact card floating in her vision, the one she knew would help Amile.

Doctor Rhea’s Mind Palace, it read.

It almost made her smile.

‘I’m such a hypocrite, aren’t I?’

* * *

Xiao Lee, youngest Ascendant in history and arguably the greatest talent in his generation, admitted the truth to himself. Though it was not what could be considered normal behaviour, he could deceive himself no more.

And so, on that very day, a man confessed his love to a bedroom.

He drank in the sight of its plain white walls and revelled in the way they felt under his touch. Its rich supple qi caressed him softly, eliciting a moan that would have caused the Dragon Lord to disavow him.

He drew in from the qi and circulated it round his body before gently guiding it to his core. The sensation of the pure lightning qi entering his dantian caused him to groan again. Truly, how could he have been blind to his love all this while.

He cycled faster and faster, until the qi pulsed in tempo with his core. He continued, even when the intensity was almost painful. He only knew one thing. Something that was truer even as he thought about it. It was almost as if even the qi in the room agreed with him as it whispered:

Don’t stop.

So, he didn’t. He cycled with increasing force until finally, at long last, he hit a ceiling briefly and burst through, his white lightning qi exploding in sweet, glorious release.

It was a very minor breakthrough, true, but he could already feel his qi flowing slightly faster with a little less resistance.

He relished the feeling for a few minutes before turning his attention to the object of his burning curiosity.

He held the fruit that had almost cost him his life, seriously hoping it was worth it. He would be very disappointed if he had almost traded his life for something worthless.

Though there was a mild urge to simply take a bite and be done with it, he crushed it with prejudice. Experience had taught him how stupid it was to eat an unidentified fruit, particularly one which such potent qi.

His senses spread out, scanning the fruit in as much detail as he could. Interestingly, while there was a touch of the Fifth’s power, it felt like an echo now, a far cry from what it was before.

Lee wasn’t sure whether it was because it was out of her domain, or it had something to do with Lasvania, but he wasn’t complaining. The less he had to do with the Fifth, the better.

It was surprisingly pure, he noticed, more so than he would have expected. The usual trace elements he always found in fruits on Xenus where nowhere to be seen. He could not be sure if it was because of the specific environment or that was the case for all such fruits in the realms.

After some more poking and prodding, he confirmed a few more things, like the fact that the fruit left a very light imprint on the world and the strange way it reacted with qi particles.

After he was done with all his scanning, he used his processor to check the fruit, wanting to see if there was any information on it. Thankfully, there was sufficient information on the net,

As he read about the fruit of inspiration, he marvelled at its qualities and understood why it was so fiercely protected.

The fruit’s purpose was, simply put, to aid in enlightenment and soften bottlenecks. The one he held in his hands would ensure his advancement past Neophyte was effortless. He was naturally talented at pushing past bottlenecks, a necessity when advancing at his speed but he could understand how helpful this would be.

It was indeed a treasure worth fighting for. Or it would have been, if his processor had not clearly explained how the absorbers and some kind of complex software had rendered such aids pointless. He had not understood most of what was said, truth be told, but he had at least gotten the general premise.

Still, Lasvanian unfairness aside, he had no intention of passing up any advantage he had, however miniscule it seemed, so after thinking about the best time to use it, he decided there was no point in waiting.

He took a single bite carefully, not wanting to overload his mind.

Colour.

Since when was the world so colourful?

He stared around his beloved room, at the lightning qi particles and hidden formations, and truly saw.

He saw the minor concepts and principles that made up the world around him, things that went even beyond qi he always sensed.

Within himself, he saw a faint outline of a concept far too large to comprehend. Though it was simply an echo of a High Concept, it threatened to rock his world, so he left it. There was much to explore, and he did not want to risk backlash.

The inner workings and hidden meanings behind the formations and the very world were slowly revealed to him. In the midst of his searching, something caught his attention. It was the beginning of something big. The more he stared at it, the larger it became, until...

The world returned to normal.

His brows were scrunched up in confusion. He had no idea what that was. He had only sensed the start of what he thought was a formation. Yet now that he thought on it, it was far larger than he realised.

He considered the possibilities, a grand formation far above even the High Concept he had sensed covering a region larger than he could comprehend. It was all speculation, and he did not have sufficient information to confirm anything but everything about it screamed ‘far above my level’.

He bit the fruit again, still slightly shaken. This time, he did not look at his surroundings and was extra careful to avoid staring at the massive working that now shone like a sun in his vision.

Instead, he focused inward, trying to comprehend the beginning of the concepts that made up his core. Concepts were a completely new area for him, far more advanced than the basic lightning he dealt with. He had formed the pseudo-concept of power when he ascended but it was still a far cry from a full Concept, which was supposedly needed to advance to Master.

Though he didn't know much about even the little concepts that were forming in his core, the fruit helped make him a better learner. Hours went by as he solidified the foundation of his future,

Finally, after a finished fruit and days of cultivating, Xiao Lee returned to the outside world, one bottleneck closer to the goal.

Master by thirty-two.