With his hands on his waist, Liu Xing stood at the edge of the grassy field and looked toward the paintings leaning against several trees. He nodded with a smile. Among them were a painting of him and his friends, an exceptionally well-done painting of a cat girl, a scene of Jakarta in the morning, a painting of the open gate of the Purple Moon Sect, an ethereal piece depicting a cultivator soaring through the sky, a painting of the tall abomination from the Twelve Sun Empire, a golden tiger unleashed by snake-limbed beasts, and a mountain shattering into a rain of debris. Several other paintings by Qing Yuan depicted the surrounding nature, including one that Liu Xing had encouraged the boy to paint. A painting of Qing Yuan with his mother and father.

The painting process had been quite an experience. He usually drew with a pencil or digitally, so using a brush was a new experience for him. Although he lacked painting technique, his physique as a cultivator made his strokes incredibly precise. Overall, it was a pleasant way to pass the time. Moreover, since he could use the Flowing Meditation Method, he could cultivate while painting, and since he did not need to use his gun, it could focus on absorbing the mark inside his consciousness. It was still alive and kicking, but he was confident that he could get rid of it as long as he was diligent. It was a very productive period. However, the real gain was not the paintings or the qi he had absorbed, but rather his state of mind.

His mind felt relaxed, and because of that, his body moved with precision and accuracy. It was as if his body and mind had been slightly out of sync, like two clocks ticking at different times. This relaxing activity had reset that difference, and he felt strong and sharp as a result.

Liu Xing inhaled deeply as he began to walk around the camp, greeting people and asking what they were doing, and was greeted in return. It was quite nice, like a camping trip—albeit one he was supervising rather than enjoying. However, he decided this little camp needed to end. With his mind and body in top condition, he would visit the Jin clan and ask them about the Heaven Severing Pill. Two outcomes awaited him. Either the Jin clan would comply with his demand, or they would not. If they complied, he would get the Heaven Severing Pill and could be on his merry way to his sect. But if they refused, he would have to force them, whether by words, promises, or even violence. The likelihood of them complying was high, but the chance of them scheming against him was also there.

Liu Xing looked around the camp, trying to find Fang Ruxue to tell her his decision, and realized she was not there. He asked about her whereabouts and was told that she was bathing in the river. At that, he decided to walk toward the river. While he could wait, he was eager to move and hoped they would meet on the way. He did meet someone, but it was not Fang Ruxue. It was Su Nian.

They met on an animal trail between the grassy field and the river. To her left stood an ancient-looking boulder, its top and one side covered with moss. To her right stood a lone, thin, sickly-looking tree. Its branches were thin, its leaves were sparse, and its color was that of ash. She was a stark contrast to her surroundings. After bathing, her hair was still damp, and her face glowed slightly as a beam of light happened to illuminate it. She wore a beautiful red and green dress that he felt suited her, making her look like a regal princess, and her hair was tied into twin buns atop her head.

Su Nian flashed him a bright smile when she saw him. "What are you doing here?" she asked. "Are you on your way to the river? You can't do that! Sister Ruxue is still bathing!" She jokingly spread her hands wide. "I won't let you pass! Even if you're a mighty cultivator, I'll stop you!" She smirked and rubbed her hands together. "But if you give me some money, I'll let you peek at her white, shiny, healthy, glowing skin!"

Liu Xing chuckled at her act. Su Nian was the youngest person there aside from Qing Yuan, and from her looks, she was in her teens. It was refreshing to see her smiling and joking around.

"I did want to meet Fang Ruxue, although I think I can wait."

"Aw, come on. You should play along." She deflated, but then her eyes shone with curiosity. "What do you want to talk to her about? Is it important? Can you tell me?"

Liu Xing pinched his chin. He wanted to talk to Fang Ruxue because she was the group's leader, but this information was not sensitive. In the end, he nodded and said, "Sure. I want to tell her that I'm going to take action later today, so I want you guys to prepare and be ready to go."

At that, the curiosity on her face suddenly faded. "You're going to fight people again," she said, nodding. "I understand. Do you want me to tell her this news? I could go back and tell her right now."

"No need," Liu Xing replied. "Just let her finish. Also, it's not guaranteed that I will fight the Jin clan. There's a chance that they will surrender peacefully. I just want you guys to prepare because whether or not they retaliate, we will soon leave this island behind."

Su Nian looked at him for several moments, her eyes measuring, before she nodded. "Alright."

For a while, the conversation stopped. However, he could see the teenager's eyes darting around. Several times, her mouth opened as if she was about to say something, only for her to clamp it shut.

"Do you have anything to ask me about, Su Nian? If there is, you don't need to be shy about it," Liu Xing flashed her a reassuring smile. "You can ask anything."

"Can we talk while walking?" she finally said.

"Sure," he nodded.

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They walked side by side, Liu Xing to the right and Su Nian to the left. Since the animal trail was small, each of their steps crunched on grass and occasionally snapping twigs. The breeze was enough to make the leaves sway, though he realized that it was beginning to pick up speed, creating a stronger and stronger wind.

"Sister Ruxue told us about your decision," Su Nian started. "That you don't want us to become cultivators. What she said essentially boiled down to you not trusting us with that power. You're afraid that if we get even a little bit of it, we will run toward the Nether Lotus Sect and die meaningless deaths. Is that true?"

"It is true," Liu Xing nodded. "Although the wording was not exactly what I said, that's essentially what I told Fang Ruxue. Are you perhaps dissatisfied with my answer? Do you want to become a cultivator too, Su Nian?"

They came out of the edge of the forest and entered the field proper. But instead of walking straight to the camp, Su Nian turned left, and Liu Xing followed her. She seemed to choose to circle the grassy field, as if she wanted to talk more.

As he watched her from the side, looking at her body language, he began to get a picture of what she actually wanted. At first, he had thought Su Nian would be like Fang Ruxue and ask him directly to be a cultivator, or try to persuade him to teach her. But her body language conveyed something else. The way her shoulders relaxed, it was as if she had just heard something that lifted a burden from her.

"I do want to become a cultivator," Su Nian said as she looked up at the blue sky and the marching white clouds. "My reason is also the same as Sister Ruxue's. The memory of my mother and sister getting kidnapped, while I could only hide, is like a needle stuck in my lungs. I don't want to be that powerless ever again. I want to protect them, as well as Sister Ruxue and all my new family."

Liu Xing remembered the image of her crying, her hand extending toward a little silhouette in the distance, her feet bleeding and caked with mud, and the despair conveyed by her cry. He also remembered that she had been almost struck by natural lightning, which would have ended her right there and then if he had not slapped it away in time.

"However, I am… afraid of being a cultivator," she reached her hand to the sky, as if trying to shield her face from the sun. "The danger, the fight, the blood. It's too much for me. Do you ever feel like this? One part of your heart wants one thing, while the other part wants the other?"

He nodded. "I have."

"Then what did you do at that time?" she asked as she stopped walking and looked up at him.

"I pushed through," Liu Xing said. "What you are experiencing is something natural. People feel it all the time. It's called fear, and most of the time, you need courage to overcome it."

"Courage," she said, tasting the word on her tongue. "So, you want me to become a cultivator and push through my fear?" At that, her shoulders tensed.

"It's not what I meant," Liu Xing said as he pinched his chin. "Imagine that there's a giant boar there," he pointed to the middle of the field. "Its size is akin to a little hill. Its face is twisted into a fury, its two giant tusks are coated with blood, and vapor huffs from its terrifying nostrils. Imagine that your mother stands behind you. What are you going to do? Would you move to the side so that the giant boar targets your mother, or are you going to fight it?"

She clenched her fists. "This is a trap question. In either situation, I die."

"Yes," Liu Xing nodded. "One would guarantee you die before your mother, while the other would make you live for a moment longer. Both situations end with you dead. But the order of who dies first is different."

"I would run with my mother," she said after a while. "It's the best thing to do."

"I agree," Liu Xing nodded. "If you run with your mother, you might die together, but you both would live a little longer.."

"What is the point of this example?" she asked.

"I'm not finished," Liu Xing said. "In a situation where you are in danger, it's best to do whatever you can to survive. And the decision to move, to not give up, is courage. However, imagine that it was not a giant boar in the middle of the field, but rather," Liu Xing thought for a moment, "let's say it is a sleeping tiger. Its belly is full, so it's not desperate to catch both you and your mother. What are you going to do?"

She looked at him, one eyebrow raised, as if what he asked was idiotic. "We would turn around and walk away silently. When the distance is far enough, we would run as fast as we could. Then, I would tell other people that there's a sleeping tiger nearby."

He flashed her a smile. "Now, imagine that across the field, there's a fruit. Let's say that this fruit would give you, your mother, and your sister, who in this made-up situation is staying home, eternal youth. What are you going to do?"

After a moment of thought, she finally said, "I'd like to say that I'd turn around and get away from the sleeping tiger. But I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't be tempted to risk it anyway."

"Now, Su Nian, in this made-up example, if you successfully reached that fruit without waking the sleeping tiger, I would praise you. You were dumb to risk it, but the result is alright, so I cannot complain. If you failed, you were just dumb. What do you think I would say if you turned around?"

"Smart?" she said, a little hesitantly.

"Correct," Liu Xing nodded. "Now, you decide. Is the Nether Lotus Sect a giant boar or a sleeping tiger? You can also decide whether that magical fruit exists in our real situation or not."

After a minute of deep thought, she finally said, "What if I asked you to teach me cultivation?"

"Then I will ask you the same question I asked Fang Ruxue. I will judge your answer, and if you pass, I will teach you cultivation."

Liu Xing looked to the sky. He already had his answer, and the answer would always be no. It was not because he did not want to teach her. On the contrary, between Fang Ruxue and Su Nian, he was more inclined to teach Su Nian, because while there was hesitation in her eyes, she did not try to lie to herself. She did not truly want to be strong for the sake of being strong, nor did she mention revenge. In the end, her dilemma was not about whether she wanted to become a cultivator. Rather, she felt that she was supposed to want it, even though she did not. She just needed some validation from him about her feelings, and by telling her no, he would give her what she wanted.

Both of them then began to walk toward the camp. As they walked, he could see that Fang Ruxue was already there. From a distance, the light in the camp seemed strangely dim, casting them in shadow despite the sun high in the sky. Perhaps it was just an illusion, but it stopped him for a single moment before he continued to walk again.

It was finally time to get his hands on the Heaven Severing Pill.

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