Lind wondered what it would be like to not be covered in sweat after a session of creating elixirs. He could vaguely recall his first few real time months of learning being fun, but now it always seemed like Younger Twin was constantly pushing him far beyond his comfort zone.
He could not argue against the results as after a little under a year and a half, he had broken through the realms once again. This time, however, it was not enlightenment and it was still mortal grade. Mortal low grade 3 elixirs glowed before him. There were 18 of them, 3 sets each 6 times over. Whether by design or chance, they were arranged in a circle but it was apt considering what they were.
"World Realm elemental tempering elixirs. You have done well, Lind Frey." Lind was too tired to notice the change in his address. He was feeling a bit of pride for a change and was too glad to have a compliment for a change. He would never claim to have mastered every aspect of the process but he now had a solid foundation to progress at last and the proof was in front of him.
"It seems like I am inclined to make this kind of elixir." Lind held up one of the darkness vials. Unlike the grade 2 ones he had created before, these seemed to bubble and foam inside their vials. It was dangerous to him, but to a World Realm, it would be a blessed gift. The fact he could do all 6 elements spoke volumes of his skill now.
His elements had reached low tier 7 in tempering, but his foundation was still at peak 5th tier of Soul Realm. The strain was minor but he would have to breakthrough soon. Qing had assured him going up 1 tier would not pose a risk, but she wanted to be there in case anything happened. Lind began to recover his Qi but was stunned when a pressure was applied to speed up the process.
"You have finally solidified your foundation in elixirs. You grasp the balance of ingredients to achieve your objective, you mastered essence manipulation to a basic level, and have broken through the mortal realms division with consistency. You are now a grade 3 elixir master." Younger Twin was speaking more seriously than it ever had before. The Immortal Will seemed content but Lind felt a pain in his heart.
"What is with that look, boy? I told you at the beginning my existence was to find potential seeds and nurture them to enter my Inheritance. I do not have the ability to tell you where it is, but I can tell you it is reachable from this mortal realm." Lind wondered about the wording, but nodded while trying to hold in tears.
Lind had been so alone before coming to this shop and his greatest crisis had been weathered in large part due to the Immortal Will pushing past its restrictions. The formations were far weaker throughout the shop and Lind now saw they were failing.
"Don't worry about me. I am only a sliver of my original self and should still be alive somewhere. As for the shop, well I think it is time to move on." The Immortal Will summoned a formation plate that was glowing with profound Qi. Lind could not even try to look at it without risking himself going blind.
A blinding light swept over the shop and Lind was forced to close his eyes completely while he only felt a slight pressure on his body. He knew Younger Twin was protecting his body from Immortal Realm Qi, otherwise Lind would have been ravaged by the power alone.
The light faded and Lind found only the 18 vials and he was left alone in a run down shop. The shelves' wood was rotting and the floorboards were broken in various places. The smell of mold was growing stronger and Lind truly wondered what had just happened when a faint outline of a man drew his eye.
It was the Immortal Will.
"I seem to have a little left to me after that. If you are fated to find it, the Inheritance will know I nurtured you. It will give you some leeway others would not have for the entrance, but only your skills alone will get you the rest of the way." The once imposing slim man was barely a faint ghost now. Lind felt tears fall and he could not just let him slip away.
"Thank you for everything, master. Thank you for protecting me all this time and for guiding me all this time. I hope I can live up to your expectations." Lind bowed humbly 3 times to the fading Immortal Will and heard a chuckle.
"I have been here millions of years and you have been the most trouble out of all the seeds I nurtured." The smile was hard to see but Lind was glad to make it out. "I will say, however, you are the first to show a specialty unlike the others. Nurture your own path on elixirs now, Lind. Like cultivation itself, elixir masters are never identical or equal. You have a hard road ahead, but if nothing else, be proud of your ability."
Lind stayed absorbing those praises as the Immortal Will faded. They spoke little and simply waited for the end. Once it was gone, Lind heard a crack and saw a formation imbued to the wall was far more profound than any of the protective wards visible before. The faint trace of Qi was painful to even see in its weakened state. How strong had the original Younger Twin been?
Lind carefully left but found one last gift in the front shop. On the counter was a shining badge on the most intact counter and a small bag next to it. Lind carefully picked up the pale gold badge with a 3 on it. It was imbued with a formation he recognized as similar to the alchemist or other identity badges issued to production masters. It could not be faked easily but Lind felt the profound Qi imbued into it that really made it hard to ignore this item.
"Immortal Qi." Lind smiled sadly to know this was something the Immortal Will had given freely. The vial with 3 marks dividing it into 4 portions was a good symbol for elixir masters. Pill makers had cauldrons, weapon refiners usually had swords or a mix of weapons, and formation masters had a formation plate, but Lind wondered about the other 2 professions Younger Twin indicated existed.
The bag was a storage treasure but its capacity was far below the ring on Lind's hand. Even so, it was full of empty vials and some grade 3 materials to practice his future breakthroughs. Lind smiled as grade 3 items were still quite expensive for him. This would allow him to practice and solidify his gains as a low grade 3 elixir master.
Lind pushed open the exit but it collapsed from the frame and he noticed the prostitutes were staring at him as he emerged from the now dilapidated shop. He was unsure how long they knew the unusual shop existed, but it was now gone.
Lind bowed to the shop one last time and moved to walk out. Unlike any other time, everyone stared at him, yet still parted to let him pass. The customers looked confused as the prostitutes said nothing and only looked in humility at the young man walking past them. Some were even about to speak when they spied the golden badge on his academy robes.
They did not need to see the 3 on it to know what it signified. This was not a person to insult and all of them turned their eyes away. Whatever business such a powerful person had in the Stone Ward was their business and no one else's.
Lind walked slowly out of the Stone Ward for the last time and no one stopped him even though before it was as if he was invisible. Now, it was respect that kept them out of his way. Lind made his way out of the Inner District entirely.
Lind made his way to the Lotus Academy and was still in a fog, but the guards who normally ignored him stared in awe as they confirmed the golden badge on his robes. It was not unusual for a student to reach mid grade 2 in a profession when they graduated. It was considered a massive talent if they could break realms as this young man had.
The authentic aura was familiar but the exact profession was unknown. They would have to see the symbol but it was obscured by the angle they looked at. It did not matter as standing instructions for any gold badge of low to peak grade 3 was to be given respect. Unfortunately, they also had direct orders not only from the Emperor, but from Darkmoor Kingdom to ignore this boy.
Their struggle allowed Lind to pass without comment and thus resolved their issue. If the holder of the badge gave no demands, they did not have to counteract the edicts handed out.
Lind caused a small stir from the random students he passed as he moved towards his quarters. He was normally invisible after all this time but the golden badge on his robes was like a beacon. Everyone knew what it meant and that only a fool would fake such a badge. Lind in particular would be a massive idiot if he faked one, but all knew he was at least not a fool.
Lind was about to pass out of the Inner Student area when a voice he had not heard in over a year pulled him out of his stupor.
"I told you both, I have no interest in wasting my time here!" Lind had to think for a moment but a flash of golden eyes and an impetuous spirit made a real smile crack across his face. Lind turned to look in the direction and frowned at what he was seeing.
The violet robes were generally uniform for the Inner Students so his black robes stood out, but he was not a rare thing here. Lind zeroed in and was stunned to see what had once been a short and spunky girl was now closing in on being a lovely young woman. Her dark hair was tied back from her tanned face as she was standing against an array of men and women looking intently at her.
Lind moved slowly over but made sure not to draw attention too much. He neglected the effect of his new badge, but the group was too invested in their argument to notice the odd atmosphere around them.
"Your sister would do well to accept our lord's affections, as should you. Your futures could be assured in the Golden Dynasty once you break through to the World Realm." Lind quickly looked over the group and nearly sighed out loud at the progress of nearly 1 and a half years made.
The Zephyr Clan woman was already at low 8th tier of Soul Realm but the group around her had the lowest at mid grade 8 tier to peak Soul Realm. The fact they were not Core Students spoke on their quality of cultivation, but it was not Lind's business. He was only responding to a once friendly voice.
"My sister has far better taste in men than Pyren. What she chooses to do is her business and mine is my own. So shove off!" Lind was amused as the spark of spirit was bright as ever but he noticed a trace of fear. It was subtle but Lind had observed the flow of Qi for so long now that he could often pick up emotional cues like that. Her dual elements of air and light were stable but the internal flow was erratic in her meridians only a bit here or there.
"Our lord's patience is limited. You know what happened to that alchemist right?" Lind now narrowed his eyes. This was no longer a verbal argument. He carefully moved closer until he was in range. He was far below the group in terms of foundation, but his elements were close to them, besides, he now had another option.
"I have said before that my Zephyr Clan will never bow to that bully. Now I am late to meet my master–" She tried to leave but one of the larger men quickly summoned ice. His control was superb but he did not unleash it yet. It was clear they were not messing around today. "Are you insane?"
It was not an unusual question. While the Elders kept out of the day to day life of the students, but if one student attacked another, there would be repercussions. Normally, that was the case, yet here was an 8th tier Soul Realm threatening another openly in sight of many witnesses.
It did not take a genius to realize an Elder was backing Prince Pyren. Lind recalled hearing the prince had been endorsed by one of the more unpopular Elders, but they had enough influence to pull strings like this. Lind hated it but he had no power to change it.
Even so, Lind remembered something suddenly so clearly it was as if he went back in time. Teylin came to find him as he was training with the stones in the open training ground near the forest. He told Lind that Teyla was being forced into a marriage and it had unleashed rage in him he never knew he possessed.
The many months with Qing told him this was one of his heart demons but for some reason Lind felt the shackles loosening in his heart. He acknowledged he had no power to stop this Elder, but conversely, he was not powerless. Qing's gentle words helped him examine his strong hate towards treating people as objects.
'Nurture your own path.' Younger Twin's words echoed and suddenly Lind had an epiphany. He still had long to go to deal with his heart demon, but he would not run from the part of him that wanted to help his friends.
A vial appeared in Lind's hands and he smashed it to the ground. No one could react in time as gray smoke filled the area but was restricted by an elemental shield to the group facing the Zephyr Clan prodigy. Said prodigy stared in surprise as the smoke slowly cleared and she saw all of them were passed out on the ground.
"They are not harmed but will sleep for the next day. I suggest someone take them to their quarters." A steady voice broke the spell on the witnesses and they finally noticed the most infamous Core Student. Some were about to rebuke him when they noticed the golden badge on his robes. All ridicule was swallowed instantly.
A few moved and confirmed they were indeed just asleep but would not wake up no matter what was attempted, even pills did not work. What had he used?!
"I apologize for interfering. I am glad you are doing well." Lind bowed to her before turning around and then thought of something. He quickly transferred a couple peak grade 2 elixirs to a bag and tossed it to her. "A thank you for defending me that day. Be safe."
Leah Zephyr stared at Lind's back and sent her senses into the bag before her breath was nearly stolen. Elemental tempering elixirs! These were elemental tempering elixirs! One was for her and one for her sister. She remembered that day before the Ruins and wondered where he could have possibly gotten these things until she remembered his golden badge.
"I have to tell Cass!" She quickly turned around and headed back to her dorm. This changed everything!