Cyntilla sat with Qing in the healing tower. Both men had been brought to the tower but Crown Prince Ryu was already given a full recovery evaluation. He simply needed to recuperate and recover his Qi. It had taken all Ryu had not to be destroyed by the lightning of the heavens.
Neither of them truly understood what Lind had done but they knew he had been the one to summon the lightning as it had come down in a perfect circle around Lind. The formations had strained to contain the power as it was not the Qi of a cultivator, but the Qi of the world itself.
"You know what this means, Cyntilla?" Qing's quiet voice made her virulent green eyes narrow at the platinum blonde. Cyntilla was well aware that her fate was now tied to Lind but that was not all. The Crown Prince of Darkmoor had been defeated in an official duel at the Lotus Academy.
It would not matter to her majesty as Ryu had gone to challenge Lind in the first place, but the honor of Darkmoor would require a response. She was unsure what the response would be, but she suspected it would be mild compared to her father. Trynith was humiliated. His hand in the rumors was known by her majesty and the Heavenly Maiden Sect.
If Lind had lost, it would not matter as the strong always dictate to the weak, but a tier 6 cultivator had beaten a peak Soul Realm. Further, it was a 6 elemental that all deemed a useless dantian combination due to its severe limits.
"I do, but what will Lind do?" Cyntilla did not know him as well as she liked and could only guess as the boy she met in the Ruins was a far cry from a man who could call down lightning. Qing smiled.
"He will want to actually talk to you, which no power can prevent now, but after that, even I am unsure." Both women nodded as a healer emerged from the back area with a confused look on his face.
"You are waiting for Lind Frey?" Both nodded and he summoned a formation plate. A projected display of Lind appeared but it was odd, it was not nearly as damaged as it should be.
"His exterior burns and Qi exhaustion were the worst of it. Whatever he uses to temper his body has already healed most of it, but I do not know how he avoided the kind of damage Crown Prince Ryu suffered." Lind had know the attack was coming, but how could he mitigate the Qi of the heavens where Crown Prince Ryu could barely save himself?
"May we see him?" The healer shook his head to Qing's question.
"Both are recovering and unconscious. Once they wake, we will do a final evaluation before visitors are allowed." That was odd. Cyntilla had known people to visit unconscious patients before, but why were they isolating the 2 men now? Qing seemed to stare hard at the healer and both saw the man sweat but he did not break.
"Very well, but the Heavenly Maidens will be here for Lind Frey, is that understood?" The healer quickly nodded and dove back into the back room away from them. Cyntilla smiled at Qing and saw the senior smile back. Only a truly idiotic fool defy the Heavenly Maiden Sect.
****
Lind felt like his body was very stiff. He decided not to do such a thing ever again unless he was in the World Realm. He had grounded himself but even so, the Qi of Heaven was overbearing. That had just been normal lightning, not tribulation lightning yet Lind had felt like he was going to be torn apart.
"Are you all right, Lind Frey?" A gentle voice pierced the fog in his brain as the pale stone of the healing tower filled his vision. It was not the same room as before when he was possessed by his heart demon, but the quality was still high. The bed was very comfortable and the quality of Qi was quite high.
He turned his head slowly to see another bed holding the Crown Prince Ryu smiling at him. For some reason, Lind felt a chill in his spine from that smile. It was as if a predator had found long sought prey. Compared to the pressure in the arena, Lind much preferred the charismatic or cold versions of the prince than the current one.
"H-how long?" Lind's throat was parched. A cup of water was nearby and he quickly swallowed it as Ryu waited for him to finish. The friendly atmosphere was really creeping Lind out. Why was Ryu acting like they were bosom buddies all of a sudden?
"It has not even been a day, your recuperative powers are impressive but I know the Heavenly Maiden Sect has excellent body tempering techniques. It also helped that you were prepared." The slight emphasis on the last sentence made Lind smirk at last. "What is this AC/DC? I have never heard of their group. Do they perform with lightning in their music?"
Lind nearly choked on air at the questions. He had meant to use it as a distraction to buy time, but Ryu clearly understood the question had been relevant to the attack Lind pulled off.
"They are, um, a little hard to find, but were quite popular at one time. I will see if I can get the music someday." Lind's memory may have improved but his gift for music was non-existent even when he was on Earth. Lyrics would be easy, but timing and notes were beyond him.
Ryu smiled wider but the companionable silence was better than the creepy smile from earlier. Lind circulated his Qi and replenished his dantian. It was then he noticed he had made a mistake.
He had been so busy defending against the lightning that he neglected to keep his foundation suppressed. He had broken through to mid-tier 7. His elements were still at the peak of tier 7. A slight frown of frustration flashed across his face, but it just meant he had to work hard to temper his elements.
"You are an innate cultivator, aren't you?" Ryu's quiet question made Lind nearly jump out of his skin, but only then did he notice the complete lack of students and healers in the room. Where was everyone? "From what I gather, you have 3 talents: Innate Cultivator, World Eyes, and World Touch. WIthout all 3 of those, your cultivation would already be ruined due to being a 6 elemental."
Lind hated that. He hated how everyone gave up on 6 elementals because they were ruined before or at the World Realm. He had at least figured out the approach was all wrong. The issue was the techniques that assumed how the elements related inside a dantian. He was fumbling in the dark to make things that worked but it was so slow.
Lind kept that to himself as such knowledge could be dangerous if known to the wider world. There were some clans like the Gu Clan that would pursue him vigorously to help their own chosen members progress at last while Lind's own cultivation would become stagnant.
"Nevermind, your confirmation is not needed. I do have a question for you, though, that requires your answer. What will you do now?" Lind felt the weight of that question. It was not simple, yet the first thing made a smile spread on Lind's face as he turned to Ryu and finally saw the red eyes flinch.
"First, I am going to speak to Cyntilla. We need to know what she really wants and I want to know how serious she is. I refuse to accept this mark completely just because of an oath she took. I will not let her suffer, but I will not force her to become my bride either." The forceful words felt so good to say at last. All obstacles were removed due to the fact that per Darkmoor Kingdom rituals, no one could prevent Lind from talking to his fiancee.
"Second, I think I will have to leave for a while, but I want my family protected." Lind knew beating a Crown Prince would invite trouble, but he had no idea if that trouble would extend to his family despite the isolation orders all lived under. Ryu nodded easily to this. His own mother would disown the prince if he could not uphold their honor.
"After that I have no idea as I will have to see where I am going." Lind knew his time at Lotus Academy had come to an end but the future was still obscure. Ryu, however, seemed to snort and laugh at the same time.
"That Senior Heavenly Maiden was clear she would be taking you after you graduated. I am sure they will take you sooner. You could do worse than accept their help, even if they cannot truly nurture you." Lind was confused by the last part. Why would the Heavenly Maiden Sect be unable to nurture him?
"Is it not just a question of resources no matter what power takes me?" Lind knew he lacked resources the most. He especially needed grade 3 materials to try and reach mid-grade 3 elixirs.
"They have the resources, of course, plenty of them, but let me ask you this, do they have 6 elementals? Does any power have one they nurture outside of clans?" Ryu's question really made Lind consider his future. While it was true he had a high chance of his mastery of elixirs improving under the Heavenly Maiden Sect, his cultivation was up to him alone.
"Are you going to claim Darkmoor Kingdom is a better option?" The sarcastic tone made Ryu laugh but then the prince had to hug his ribs as he was still sore.
"No, not at all. I know of no power that has such a wonderful place for you, but there are rumors that Indelia has remarkable Ruins that may be of help. There are also the legends of the Rakathi Wastes that there is an Inheritance there of the Immortal Realm." Lind's curiosity was piqued but only filed it away as for now he had no concrete plans. It was good to have leads, but the Rakathi Wastes were hundreds of thousands years old so any legend of an Inheritance should have long been investigated by all powers.
"What about the Saint Kingdom?" Lind was not being intentionally annoying but the lack of their mention was odd. Ryu frowned deeply but was forced to nod as he put his hands behind his head as he looked at the ceiling.
"I have a low opinion of that 'righteous' power, but I have to admit for you there may be something of interest. You are a grade 3 master afterall and there will be a contest in a few years to show off your abilities. They are closer to Indelia, thus they have some closer ties to the Stardust Emporium and its lower powers." Lind was tempted but he knew it would be suicide to reveal he was a grade 3 elixir master outside of the Heavenly Maiden Sect.
"There is a branch of the Heavenly Maiden Sect in both places, if that helps." It did, but Lind then had an obvious question as he looked at Ryu. The smile returned to the prince as he looked at Lind.
"My ancestors won this land that had been ravaged by endless wars. The sects tried to intervene at times but the locals refused to bend. Darkmoor treated them like petulant children and brought them to heel." Lind could see that. He only knew of the Lotus Empire and the Kingdom of Altair, but they were bad enough as backwater powers. The Golden Dynasty had not impressed with Pyren either. "We won it, so no one else can claim power here."
"I will consider your words as advice for the future. I need to talk to Cyntilla before I leave." Lind suddenly felt nervous. A look of panic crossed his face as he had no idea what to say! Ryu's laughter filled the room as he looked at Lind.
"Don't overthink things. You are not required to marry her right away and honestly, she may be as nervous as you. Also, Trynith will be coming to kill you." Ryu spoke as if it was only the weather but Lind did not doubt him. A demon's wrath was not to be belittled.
"Was there anything else, your Highness?" Lind saw Ryu frown deeply as he looked hard at Lind. The feeling of chilliness returned to Lind's spine as the red eyes looked at him from the other bed.
"Ryu, you call me Ryu going forward or we will duel again." Lind quickly nodded. It was a hell of a way to end his time in Darkmoor by being able to call the Crown Prince by his name, but Lind knew this man was serious.
"Thank you R-r-ryu." Lind stumbled but Ryu seemed satisfied and smiled wide as he reclined back on his own bed. Lind wondered what was going on, but tried not to dwell on it. He had enough to think about for the immediate future.