Xiao Lee held up his hand to admire the glistening ring that fit snugly on his finger. It was a single piece of jade carved into a circular dragon. His fellow disciples definitely seemed to take the draconic symbolism seriously.

All his attempts to study with his senses came up blank. Considering how much that had been happening since his ascension, he was not even surprised. So, he put it down after a few minutes of fruitless scanning and turned his focus to something that was not quite as elusive.

He sat up on the large bed in the middle of the room and focused inwards, taking stock of all his meridians. Both the main ones and the sub-meridians were healed, much to his relief. So, he threaded lightning through them, his enhanced brain easily remembering the exact pattern he had done it before he stopped earlier.

When he got to where he ended last time, he scanned the sub-meridians properly, choosing the one that felt like it was the most suitable to continue with. It failed, which meant he had to start the process for a second time. Which also resulted in failure.

After failing for the seventh time, he felt traces of impatience starting to seep in, so he paused. Though there was no sure way of predicting the next sub-meridian in the sequence, he could usually estimate the optimal path with a combination of intuition and detailed use of his sense.

So, he spent the next half an hour properly studying the already beaten trail to see if he could get a better understanding of the problem. When he tried padding lightning again, he got it on his second try. The process went on for hours, once again leaving his sub-meridians raw and aching.

He stopped early the next day, so he could have a few hours to recover before his meeting with the minister of defence. The Foreign Affairs people had been clear on the fact their trip was meant to be straightforward and to the point.

He got ready and went downstairs an hour before the meeting was supposed to start, happy to wait in the lounge cultivating till his companions were ready. Unlike the previous day, he would be a secondary participant in the discussion, mostly there to give Lisa silent support that she didn’t need. He was honestly glad she was going to be the one handling most of the taking.

That feeling changed the moment he saw her. To most people, the Lisa Feltham that stepped out of the portal was a normal young woman, albeit one that frowned a bit too much. To Lee, however, the aura of confidence that always surrounded her was missing.

She normally walked into a building like she owned the place. Today, she looked slightly haggard. For the first time in a while, he doubted her ability to pull off the meeting without a hitch.

“Lisa,” he called gently, his heart spiking slightly when she turned to him with a decidedly unfriendly look. She schooled her expression to its normal light scowl a moment later.

A blink took her to the seat opposite him where she sat silently, waiting for him to speak.

“Hey,” he greeted, trying to sound as casual as he could.

“Hello Lee.” Her voice was emotionless, though thankfully not hostile.

He took a deep breath.

“How do you feel? Are you doing well enough for the meeting?”

She stared at him for a while before answering, her expression inscrutable.

“I am fine. Thank you for your concern. Do not worry about it. I can handle a simple meeting.”

He looked at her, still not fully convinced, but let the matter drop. Mostly because he could not actually do anything about it. Besides, she was professional enough to know what she could handle, probably. The executor stepped out of a portal at that moment, ending the conversation as they went outside.

They found the hover car waiting for them as they went outside. Their attendant was a man who was supposed to oversee their transportation throughout their stay. He would have preferred a simple portal, by the Navans insisted on it. Apparently, it was tradition.

Thankfully, they at least moved faster this time, since there was no crowd waiting to greet them. Instead, they landed in a sleek black building that was identified as the Ministry of Defence. Their reception was quick, and they were seated with the minister in under five minutes, something he seriously appreciated.

“Miss Feltham, Ascendant Xiao Lee,” the man greeted. He was a wiry man, with qi that felt like a lot more peaceful than Lee would have expected, given his position. “Welcome to Nava.”

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

“Thank you, minister,” Lisa answered for both of them. “Do you know why we’re here?”

“To ensure our support in the global purge Lasvania recently initiated. And our help keeps the neighbouring guilds in line. Am I correct?”

“Mostly, yes. The High Senate recently decided to change our foreign policy direction for the first time in a few centuries. Naturally, we do not want to leave our allies hanging. We wish to secure your support in certain areas, of course, but also to reassure you of ours as well. Nava is our biggest ally, after all.”

“Well, you will always have our support, you just have to say the words. None of us here has been pleased with the way the Union has been overreaching recently. And the Marman expansion was starting to worry us too.”

“It's a good thing we acted then. There are a few specific areas where we could improve military cooperation.”

Lisa went to list the things, after which there was an unnecessary long period of time spent deciding a few details. Most of it just boiled down to both sides working together to crack down on the smaller kingdoms around Nava that were mostly ruled by all kinds of shady guilds.

As for what the cooperation entailed, most of it was just Lasavnia sending a sufficiently powerful person to join the relatively weaker Navan troops and agents operating there. Apparently, the guilds had two High Cultivators. Though they were weak, Nava did not have anyone strong enough to stop them without destroying the world, which had left them at an impasse.

When he had confirmed that Lisa could truly take care of the conversation, Lee turned most of his attention away from the conversation and focused inwards, continuing his technique creation. He was making some steady progress and would likely be done in under two weeks.

The meeting finally ended, and they went back to their accommodation. Lisa reverted to her hostile scowling the moment they were finished and did not say a word before parting, and both went to their rooms. Since he could do nothing about that, he continued his technique until the next day, when he prepared for their meeting with the prime minister.

While the prime minister’s office was grand, it was not nearly as much as Fifth’s Home, being primarily a utility-oriented building. The palace of the king was what served as the official office of the head of state.

Like with the defence minister, they were called in within ten minutes of their arrival. The nominal ruler of Nava was a short woman with a commanding demeanour. She was notably not a High Cultivator, which should not have been surprising considering she was a career politician who was elected to the position. There were two High Cultivators in the building, however, their presences shining brightly as a clear warning to anyone who thought the woman was an easy target.

The meeting was not particularly different from the first one, though the points of cooperation were broader than just military. Just like the previous day, Lee mostly tuned it out, instead focusing on his technique creation. He kept a small part of his attention on the table, so he heard the moment they rounded up their talks. Contrary to his expectations though, instead of ending the meeting, she turned to him.

“Ascendant Lee, I hope your discussion with Dongmei went well.”

“Yes, they did, prime minister. Speaking to someone from my world again was a pleasant experience.”

“That’s good. I’m sure she enjoyed it as well. I’m sure you both had interesting stories to share, especially about your master.”

He was not particularly surprised by the fact that she knew about their shared discipleship. She could have pieced the information together form different places. Not to mention the very real possibility that the prime minister had simply asked Senior Sister Wen.

“Yes, indeed. We had some truly interesting stories to share.”

Oddly enough, he felt less inclined to be overwhelmingly polite like he was to his senior sister. Perhaps it was because of his powerful backers. Or maybe Lasvania was starting to get to him. Either way, it was not something he would complain about too much.

“Great,” the prime minister smiled, then seemed to hesitate for a brief moment. “If it would not be a bother, I hope you will find time to visit her once in a while. Perhaps every few years.”

“I am not opposed to that,” he replied diplomatically. He was not sure what exactly she was trying to get, which made him a little hesitant to agree. “Is there a particular thing you wish for me to do with her?”

Once again, she seemed to hesitate for a moment before getting to it.

“Dongmei is often homesick. Even after all the years she has spent here, she craves contact with people from her home. Unfortunately, her history makes her unwelcome among most of your fellows. The few willing to associate with her are far from this planet most of the time.

“She has done a lot for our country. Any opportunity to do something for her, however small is one we will not miss. So, if you could make out some time to visit her every other year, you will have Nava’s utmost gratitude.”

“I will do my best to visit her then,” he agreed.

He noticed the way her body relaxed, if only subtly. The prime minister seemed to genuinely worry for his senior sister. Or perhaps it was just an act. Still, he would do his best to make time out to visit her every so often.

They left her office shortly after that, each going to their respective rooms. Once again, Lisa refused to speak or lose her scowl from the moment they were out.

The next day, they attended a small party that was hosted by the King, a tall High Cultivator with an overbearing presence. He too declared this support for Lasvania, much to no one’s surprise. Lee’s plan to zone out and continue creating his technique was foiled by the misfortune of social responsibility. There was no end of people coming to greet him and make potential connections for the future.

Even worse, the king seemed to have invited all the young men and women in his family in the hopes that one would catch his eyes. It was annoying but not particularly surprising. So, he spent the rest of his day warding off overeager youths.

When the party finally came to an end, Lee all but rushed to his room in relief. He spent the whole night simply cultivating to calm his mind, leaving his meridians fresh for the next day.

Their major purpose fulfilled, he spent the rest of the week alternating between doing a little sightseeing and creating his technique, with a visit to his senior sister the day before his time ended.

When he finally left Nava, it was with a half-finished technique pattern and a mostly positive opinion about the country. Though he believed they could perhaps tone down their overeager youth.