"Well, here we are," Tyler said as he gestured around him and towards the entrance to his cave. "It's not much, but it's all me and the little guy need."

Daredevil went ahead and looked at the fridge, confirming that nothing was left in it. Then, he checked inside the cave and confirmed that nothing was out of place and no one had invaded their home. After a few minutes, the cub emerged from the cave and, as usual, locked eyes with Tyler, who nodded in acknowledgment. He was going hunting.

"Now, if you don't mind, we can step inside. My aura is extremely well contained in there."

The three men nodded. "I would love to." Said Kenshiro, the strain evident on his face. Circulating his cultivation constantly was an enormous drain to him, but he felt good for the first time in a while. He felt like he could see some type of path forward. "On second thought, I'll follow after Daredevil. I'll be back later."

Tyler nodded. "Fine, see you later." He smiled. There was something. He didn't know what. But there was something different about the man. "You guys want tea?"

Rock perked up at the mention of tea.

Over the next hour, Tyler fetched tea from his inner world and replaced a few books around the cave as they discussed their goals for the next few days and weeks.

Ern Torval would return to his emporium. Then, he would send the branch manager away with the message for the Young Master. Following this, he would go straight back to the village. Personally. He would accompany the caravan, establish a contract with them, and send a few investigators to find out what happened to their previous trading partners.

Rock Willams, or Flying Rock, would return to his sect. He would put some of his elders in charge while he went to collect the bounty and shop for goods to nurture the next generation of cultivators. Tyler also gave the man a sealed box. It wasn't a formation sealing it but a single silk thread, a symbolic seal. It was a simple box with a battered sword inside.

"Whatever you do, do not open that box. If, by accident or curiosity, you do, do not touch it. Your soul will shatter." Tyler had told him. "Just tell Tanaka-sensei I want his opinion, and we can talk about it next time we meet. Remember. Do. Not. Touch the sword. You will die."

Rock nodded, solemn and curious at the same time.

Both men finished their tea and left.

***

When Kenshiro returned that night, everything was calm. The outside of the cultivation cave was neat and clean; besides the embers of a recently lit fire, nothing was out of place.

Carefully pushing the door open, he saw Tyler asleep with Daredevil beside him. He didn't know what to expect at first or what would await him in the near future.

Looking around, he saw that this cave was tiny, and besides the bed, there was a room to the side with a single mattress on it—clearly a meditation mat. Continuing to look around, he saw three whole shelves filled with history books, cooking books, alchemy books, herbology, cultivation, and a surprisingly high amount of... Dual Cultivation?

Finally, in the center of the cave was a table and a plate of steaming hot food on it. Kenshiro smiled, sat down, and devoured the delicious meal. It had been a long time since someone else than someone else had cooked for him.

He was the cook in the family.

His father had always despised it, and unless it was brewing tea, he would rather send out someone to buy food from a nearby restaurant.

After the delectable meat and vegetables, he settled on the only available place for the night and meditated.

After a few hours, Kenshiro opened his eyes. He had rested enough. When he came to, he saw that Tyler was still sleeping soundly and that Daredevil was gone. Unsure what to do, he stepped outside and started exploring the forest.

Kenshiro had followed Daredevil yesterday, but he had yet to really explore. He knew the direction he had come from with the merchant from the Thunder Emporium and the sect master of the Dancing Winds Sect, so he set towards the closest road.

At first, he wanted to simply walk over and take his time. He had taken his time most of his life. But he remembered why he was here. He wanted to watch his daughter grow, and Sakura was sprinting while he was crawling. It was time to get used to running once more.

He unleashed his full cultivation, this time not to stave off Tyler's aura but.. for his first step forward in a long time.

***

Tyler was still asleep, but ever since he had learned to use his Divine Sense, sleeping and dreaming had been—different. He was constantly aware of his surroundings. He said nothing when he saw Kenshiro arrive, eat, and rest.

He observed Kenshiro as the man rested, and when he saw him take off the following day, he smiled and stopped stalking Kenshiro. Since he still felt tired, he refocused on his dreams once more.

Mid-day arrived, and Tyler noticed Kenshiro re-enter his range. The man entered the cave, noted that he was still out, and stepped back out again. He observed as Kenshiro stood there, looking around, unsure what to do again. A few hours passed as he just... sat there. Eventually, Daredevil returned and put a few beasts into the fridge.

The cub was obviously confused that Kenshiro was just sitting there and tried to communicate, but neither Tyler nor Kenshiro understood his words. Then, Daredevil patted Kenshiro's back and gestured him to follow him.

Something funny happened after that, as Daredevil mimicked Tyler's first move when he came to this place and attempted to punch the wall.

Unfortunately, the cub hadn't learned to imbue his whole paw with Qi, only his claws, and the results were... well, less than ideal. The tiny mountain wall barely had a dent, and Daredevil yelped slightly, followed by a loud roar at the wall.

Tyler kept observing as Kenshiro approached the panther and offered to help, as this was for his own dwellings. They exchanged words, and shortly after, Kenshiro punched the wall using his father's techniques.

He had never been a martial prodigy, but he was the son of a master, and that showed. His proficiency in the Radiant Wave Stance was subliminal. It was flawless, at least within his cultivation stage.

The rest of the day passed as Kenshiro punched the wall, slowly creating a hole similar to Tyler's cave. The shockwaves of the punches bothered Tyler a bit, but he was cozy. He was tired. So he stayed asleep, quietly observing everything.

A few days passed by as Tyler was still sleeping. But, it had evolved from simply sleeping. It transformed into a state of deep meditation. Dreams had become a film being projected onto the surface of the ocean of his inner world as he worked.

He was trying to replicate his cave's formation. To seal his cultivation back into his inner world.

If Tyler had been outside his cave at this moment, his aura would've been wild, probably stronger at times and weaker at others. Within the cave, however, he appeared to disappear from his senses. It was like he was part of the bed, an integral part of the cave.

Under the dim light, Tyler lay still, his eyes closed as he focused his Divine Sense to probe the depths of the formation surrounding him. The air was thick with Qi, drawn in by the formation's silent, powerful pull.

The formation disk, a gift from Mister Orleander, lay at the heart of this cave. It interacted seamlessly with the ley lines traced into the metal plates. The odd metal plates he had anchored to the ceiling played their part in this delicate dance of energies.

They absorbed the Qi, and Essence funneled through the formation, radiating it outward in precise, linear streams. This careful dispersion transformed the energy's nature, making it gentle as it seeped into the bedrock of the cave rather than screaming out to the world of its presence.

Tyler's cave would appear unremarkable to the untrained eye, akin to an underground stream where water and life flowed in a single, uninterrupted direction. But there was no water here, only Tyler’s Qi, continuously being absorbed.

Even his own divine sense, usually so sharp and penetrating, was thwarted by the clever design of the formation. The metal plates, more than just conduits for energy, acted as reflectors and insulators simultaneously. They bent and redirected all probing, creating an illusion of simplicity.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

His best guess was that these plates were made of lead. Or, well, a higher form of lead. He had already noticed back in Sword King Mountain that his divine sense was essentially acting as a radar and that his range diminished when going through every subsequent solid object. Something like lead, one of the old world's highest-density metals, would be a fantastic natural blocker for divine sense.

In this moment of quiet contemplation, Tyler felt a deep appreciation for this gift, even if it was after a highly unpleasant encounter. Perhaps this was Mister Orleander's goal all along—to bring him this formation. Maybe this was the Keeper's way to sow good karma with him.

Tyler had spent a few days analyzing every part of the formation, the plates, and everything surrounding him. Then, he started writing another journal entry for the first time since he left Sword King Mountain.

Journal Entry #14

The formation is pretty complex, but I see no issues replicating it with time inside my inner world. The only problem is that I would need more of that metal even if I took it all in.

It's going to be a giant undertaking to test and modify this formation to adjust for 333 outputs instead of the 30 metal plates. But honestly, I have nothing to lose except time. If I fail, I fail. At the very worst, I will have gained experience in what NOT to do.

But no matter how much I look at it, there's one thing I can't shake off...

How did no one even seem to notice the presence of my inner world? I see them clear as day as they approach with their divine sense. It's like a metaphysical representation of their physical body navigating through the world, but even then, they are always stopped at the edges of my inner world.

Sure, they were all stopped by me, but still. Can they just NOT sense it? Like, does it feel similar to this formation as a whole? Or is it just like mega-Lead and appears as an impenetrable sphere?

I can't just ask anyone with a divine sense if they can SEE my inner world's surface when they analyze me... That would be like placing a giant target on my back... Perhaps the only person who would honestly answer me is Maximus. As fucked as the guy is, he wasn't entirely wrong.

I grew from the challenge he threw at me.

I gained a goal.

I gained an understanding of how this world really works.

I also regained my freedom... Well, not completely, but whatever. At least I don't feel trapped on a mountain anymore. I'm pretty sure that tree hugger is still creeping around though.

The guy also mentioned that he was a god in his inner world, and this Architect was the god of this whole place.

Are we inside someone else's inner world? Is there a way to even tell?

Anyway, sidetracked... Questions for later.

I think I have a plan for the formation moving forward if my inner world acts as I think it does... But it's gonna be a while.

End of Journal Entry

It had been four days so far that Tyler had been asleep, well, meditating while seemingly sleeping.

Looking outside, he could clearly tell that Kenshiro was still going at it, trying to clear a small cave of his own, depleting his entire Qi after a few hours of work, and then sitting down in meditation, recuperating.

Stretching on the bed, Tyler felt refreshed. His mind was clear. Maintaining the Deathroot up in the air had put a giant strain on his mental strength, and he was thoroughly exhausted. His body was fine. It was just his mind that was tired. It would appear that, even as a cultivator, sleep was a cure for everything.

Pushing out his divine sense as far as he could, Tyler saw Daredevil quietly sleeping in a tree. Tyler smiled—the panther was guarding the foxes again.

"Little guy," Tyler whispered to the winds, waking Daredevil from his nap. "If you want to bring your friends home, you can. This is as much your home as it is mine. You don't need to ask for permission for anything." The cub's eyes shined brightly as he meowed to the foxes below. "If you take them in, however, they are your responsibility." This time, Daredevil nodded in the general direction of their home.

In reality, Tyler knew Daredevil was already caring for the foxes, but he also thought it wouldn't be bad for the cub to know where Tyler’s limits lay. He had no attachments to these creatures, so unless a grave injustice befell them, Tyler wouldn't move a finger. That was for Daredevil to figure out.

Walking outside, Tyler was greeted with the refreshing scent of spring and a meditating Kenshiro. The man couldn't maintain his concentration for long when he felt the monstrous aura of Tyler get closer and closer.

Remaining a distance away, Tyler spoke casually, utilizing the laws of the winds fully to communicate as if it were second nature. "You've made some good progress here. Tell me, what happened to you?"

Kenshiro didn't need to circulate his cultivation as Tyler seemed to be at the perfect distance between making his presence known and forcing him to circulate his entire cultivation base.

Sighing, Kenshiro explained his entire life story as Tyler sat on the ground. How he grew up as a mediocre Martial Artist, and how his father had been forced to leave their home country. How both his sister and his brother had been murdered by a Soul Shattering beast and how Ryuji had saved a young Lin Jian in the process of trying to save himself and Kenshiro.

Both Ryuji and Kenshiro had been devastated by the loss of their family, but the situation didn't offer them any repose, and they needed to find shelter quick.

In the wake of this encounter, they had returned to the Americas after a short stop in the harsh lands of Eversnow. His father had acquaintances there who offered him some healing pills. Then, they met up with Fang Mo, an old friend of Lin Jian, and swiftly made it to the Icy Plains through the Great White North and into the Veridian Peaks.

Then, they both found out that Lin Jian was the Sword King Select, a core disciple who, as soon as he ascended to the Soul Shattering stage, would be made Sect Master and Emperor of this country. It was shocking at first.

By this point, his father had been grievously injured, not unlike he was now, and had been allowed to stay in the Eternal Palace along with his family, but the man would have none of that and decided to open a dojo to teach the youths while he grieved his children. He needed time away from all the politics and powerplay at the heart of such a city. He knew his journey would end here, at the peak of the 39th level.

Being in the middle stages of the Qi Transformation realm at the time, Kenshiro had decided to help his father by being a teacher to the young mortals.

Years later, one of his students was an exceptional martial artist and an ethereal beauty that had made Kenshiro's heart quiver.

Over a few months, both teacher and student fell in love. A year later, they found out they were expecting a child. Both Kenshiro and Stephanie, his wife's name, were overjoyed.

During the pregnancy, Kenshiro's world was perfect, and the emotions that came with the prospect of having a child had pushed him to cultivate like never before, and a few days before his wife gave birth, he had reached the very peak of the realm.

His father had been proud of his son, who, for most of his life, had been mediocre when it came to cultivation and martial arts.

His meteoric ascent from the mid-stages of Qi Transformation to the peak in less than a year had caused quite the ruckus on Sword King Mountain at the time.

However, everything fell apart the day Sakura was born.

It was like a nightmare had descended on Edge City. That day, an inner sect disciple rebelled against the sect. According to the story Kenshiro had heard from Lin Jian, he made a pact with a Demonic Ascendant cultivator from the Underworld. He had forgone the system and accepted a mission.

All to form an Evil Sword Spirit with the blood of the innocent.

The man, Eli, hadn't even been able to kill a single person with his cursed weapon due to the intervention of the Sword King's own treasure sword. What had killed many people that day had been the clash of True Essence within Edge City, and one of those people had been his wife, Stephanie.

Tyler recalled Elder Yopp telling him a similar story, but he didn't want to disturb Kenshiro's recounting of the events. The man was clearly suffering as he talked.

Kenshiro's voice quivered as he poured his heart out to a stranger. "Ever since her death, I couldn't... I just couldn't find a reason to live anymore. She was my whole world; my father even stopped me multiple times from ending it all..." he admitted, tears welling up in his eyes. "Sure, I had Sakura, but she was just a baby and didn't even feel real. She didn't feel mine. It took me years to accept that my wife was gone and that this child was all I had left."

He paused, struggling to find the right words to convey everything. "I tried to start cultivating again as my daughter grew up, but I was stuck no matter what I tried. It wasn't until recently that I pushed myself when crafting a pill for Sakura that I realized that if something didn't change, I wouldn't get to see my precious daughter grow. Shortly after that, we were forced out of the city, and you know the rest."

Throughout this entire story, Tyler was quiet. He wanted to respect the man's story and think about it without interrupting. A few minutes went by as he gathered his thoughts. "I am truly sorry for your loss, Kenshiro. It must have been awful. I wouldn't have been good for a long time, either. Hell, probably ever. How are you now? Are you good?"

Adopting a much more solemn face, Kenshiro nodded. "I think so. I don't think I'll ever be good. But I have to move on, for Sakura's sake, and I think both you and my father somehow know it's time for me to move on."

"Do you know why I said those things to you last week shortly after we met? About you needing to break free, I mean?" Asked Tyler.

"I... Well, I know why, but I must admit I was confused about how you knew, as I'm fairly certain my father would never speak of this to anyone."

Tyler smiled warmly. "It's simple. You're already there. Deep within your core, your cultivation is primed for the next step. Your Dantian is brimming with so much energy that I'm genuinely surprised you haven't spontaneously broken through," he remarked. Pausing thoughtfully, he continued, "From my perspective, the only barrier in your way—is you. Your body is already there, with traces of True Essence already at the core of your being. Yet, to truly grasp the essence of this world and its laws, I believe your soul must also be prepared to take that next step."

A hush settled over the surroundings momentarily before Tyler rose from his seated position. "I'll be in the cave for a few days. I believe I've found a solution to my own problem. Take your time to reflect on this," he suggested kindly.

With that, Tyler departed, and within moments, he sensed what appeared to be a dormant seed springing to life. In the heart of Kenshiro's Dantian, a True Essence seed awakened, permeating its roots across his entire being.

Tyler extended his divine sense far and wide. Overhead, the heavens darkened, and the resounding peal of thunder reverberated through the forest. At the same time, lightning surged across the landscape, striking the earth like a divine spear hurled by a deity. At that moment, he felt a profound resonance with the thunder, his heart echoing perfectly with the impending tribulation storm.

He whispered under his breath. "Keep the foxes safe for tonight, Dman. Observe this tribulation from a distance. Try and learn from it. Nothing is allowed to get close to this cave tonight."