Vasari was cultivating in the yard. It was his new favourite spot to cultivate in his residence, the fresh breeze blowing against his face and the warmth of the sun kissing his skin reminded him of his time living in a forest. Around him, the 4 cubs were play-fighting with Witney. The cubs were around knee height now except for Cupid who was a little shorter and scrawnier than the others but he had the most fight in him because of this.
Bing's fur was getting whiter and fluffier by the day, Rian's heterochromia eyes shone with more intelligence than his siblings and Mo's mohawk seemed to be getting longer and longer. They were all developing unique personalities but their brotherly love was still as strong as ever.
"Hello."
Vasari stopped cultivating when he heard Talia's voice sound from inside the house. He turned in her direction and waved for her to join them outside.
"Vasari I just came to give you this. Witney and I bought it at the stadium during the friendly competition but I forgot to give it to you."
She handed Vasari a small black wooden box no larger than his hand.
"What is it?" He took the box in his hands and asked.
"Just open it," Witney said somewhat impatiently from the side, she seemed to be excited to see his reaction.
"Fine." Vasari chuckled and opened the box. He reached inside and felt a soft almost silky-like fabric brush against his skin. He pulled the fabric out from the box and held it in his hands. It was long and thin, the smile on his face turned into a genuine one when he guessed what it was.
"A new blindfold?"
"Yes! Doesn't it feel amazing? What do you think it's made of?" Witney clapped her hands in excitement and asked him again.
"I'm not sure…I was going to say a type of silk but it doesn't feel quite the same."
"You're right, it's not silk," Talia confirmed with a mysterious smile on her face.
"Hmm, then what is it?"
"Hehe, the blindfold is made from Talia's and my hair."
"We saw a store selling clothing made from people's hair and asked if they could make one with our hair. The process was pretty interesting actually since they use a special technique to refine our hair and turn it into the fabric ."
Witney and Talia were eager to see his reaction. Truthfully they were a bit on the fence about this gift since some might think it's disgusting to use hair as fabric but one must remember that their hair was cleansed by Qi thereby making it healthier and stronger than non-cultivators.
Vasari didn't say anything, he took off the white blindfold he was currently wearing and replaced it with his new blindfold. His new blindfold was as black as his hair except for the last 5cm on each end being different colours. The colours on the ends perfectly matched the girls' hair colours with one side being a light golden blonde colour while the other side was a reddish-brown colour.
"It feels really comfortable."
The girls released a breath of relief and suddenly felt their bodies being pulled against his. Vasari pulled them into his embrace and thanked them for the lovely gift. Witney closed her eyes and enjoyed his embrace while Talia blushed profusely when she felt his muscular arm wrap around her waist and his masculine scent engulfed her senses.
'It's so comfortable.' She thought while wrapping her arms around half his body.
"Well since you are both here now, I have some news to tell you guys."
Talia and Witney glanced up to see his confident smile turn awkward. Both felt that something was amiss when they saw this smile that they rarely if not ever saw.
"In just over 2 weeks I'll be leaving the sect for an important mission. It's a mission from the Sect Master himself so even if I wanted to, I can't refuse to go."
Silence reigned over the yard with the only sound coming from the playful growls of the cubs and the light breeze blowing past their bodies. The girls were silent for a long time before Witney spoke up.
"How long will you be gone for."
"I'm not sure."
That was not the answer she was hoping to hear and the frown on her face further deepened.
"How can you not be sure? Will you be gone a week, a month, a year? Why would the sect give you, a student, a mission when there are hundreds of thousands of fully-fledged disciples in the sect?", her anger quickly changed targets from Vasari to the sect. She found it hard to be mad at him when he's done nothing but be good to her, however, it was still frustrating.
Vasari released a sigh filled with a myriad of emotions and began explaining the minor details of the mission, everything that Elder Equus taught him about Voxotis and how he was only supposed to leave in 5 months but they pushed up the schedule to send him earlier. Witney and Talia remained quiet and listened to his story until he was finished.
"So they are just using you for your looks and hoping that this archbitch Joanna Mota will take a liking to you?" Witney's voice contained unconcealed anger causing Vasari to sweat slightly.
"Basically..."
"So they are prostituting you for a dwarf planet that they lost!?"
She exploded into a fit of rage and he was sure that if he was not holding her tightly in his arms then she would be storming off to the Cloud Stables to give Elder Equus a stern talking to.
Talia similarly had a look of disgust on her face when she heard that Vasari was being used for his looks. She felt it was unfair for him to leave the sect when he has only been here less than 2 months.
"Calm down, calm down. Maybe I won't even have to meet this Archbishop to complete the mission. All I have to do is find this tomb before they do and report it in, then my mission is basically complete and I can come home."
Vasari spent the next few hours trying to calm the girls down. Only after a nice massage with lots of cuddling and a promise to get them souvenirs did they finally acquiesce.
However, they were still a little frustrated so Vasari gave them Cloud Points to go shopping with Jiang Xia, Gia and the cubs. It was not like he needed the Cloud Points anymore. When he got back from the mission he would be getting 10 000 points anyway.
Finally, alone in the yard, he continued cultivating. His Dantian was 95% full and Vasari estimated he would go into a week-long coma by the end of the day.
6 hours later Vasari was laying on his bed while his body was constantly twitching or jerking. The supreme Qi in his body was now refining his body from his skin, muscles and bones to his organs, meridians and Dantian. It was an excruciating process and the reason why cultivators entered a forced coma during this phase was that the brain automatically shuts down the bodily sensors to avoid the cultivator from experiencing this pain.
"Are you sure he's okay?" Jiang Xia asked with concern. She alongside Witney, Talia, Gia, Timo, Asher and Hassan was in the room watching Vasari.
"Yes, he told me to tell you guys that he will be fine and it's just the process of Superior Qi refining his body." Asher once again answered. It was not the first time one of the girls asked that very same question.
They were all surprised at first when they heard that Vasari already entered the Supreme Qi stage since they were taught that it normally took months to break through. It was really hard to believe especially for Witney and Talia who spent the most time with him and did not even notice that he already broke through. They had been trying to break through for 2 weeks already but they were still struggling to fuse the elemental essences.
'Hmmph that's my man.' Far from being angry or jealous, Witney felt proud that the man she choose as her life partner was so amazing.
"How long will he be like this?" Talia asked, now and then they could hear a bone snapping before healing just as quickly. It was an eerie sound and sent shivers down their spines.
'Will I go through the same experience.', was the thought running through all their minds.
"Vasari said it usually lasts 7 days but it's possible it could last 8 or 9 days."
Not wanting to hear Vasari's bones snapping every few seconds and with the confirmation that he will be okay, the group of youths left his room. The girls went back to their residence while the boys went to their rooms.
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Another week came and went.
For most it was just an ordinary week, for others, it was the best week of their life and for some, it was the longest week ever.
Witney fell into the last category. Just 1 week, 7 full days, without Vasari was already almost unbearable for the lovestruck teenager that she couldn't imagine not seeing him for months or possibly a year. There was no way she could handle it.
"Ah! I got it!"
Witney jumped off the couch excitedly, startling the girls sitting next to her. Her previous depressed aura vanished, being replaced with eagerness.
"All we have to do is get a ManaPhone for Vasari so even when he is on the mission we can still call him."
During the week, Witney and Talia told all of Vasari's friends about the mission and that he would be gone for a while. Of course, they didn't mention any important details, just that his mission was on another planet.
"Ooh, why didn't we think of that earlier." Jiang Xia face palmed herself for not thinking of something so simple. They all knew Vasari did not have a ManaPhone, but there was no reason for him to have one before now since his house was just a minute's walk away, and they always saw each other at school.
It was a shame that the girls had no way of knowing that there was a planetary-wide formation disabling the use of ManaPhones on planet Voxotis.
"We still have Cloud Points left, right? We did spend quite a bit last time." Gia, the main culprit for their massive spending spree, asked. Gia was a girl who loved fashion and design. Her dream was to create her own clothing brand in the future. When she told Vasari about it while they were walking around Havensplace shopping centre, he said it was good to have dreams, but you must remember to constantly work hard and have the ambition to turn those dreams into reality. It was then and there that she decided she would pursue Vasari. A man that supports the ambitions of his woman is 100% a keeper.
"We still have around 200 cloud points and a ManaPhone costs roughly 10-20 cloud points, so it's all good." Witney did the quick maths in her head and soon the 4 rookie beauties made their way to the nearest shopping centre.
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For Vasari, this past week felt like a very long dream. He dreamt about his past with Nana, he dreamt about the present with Witney and his friends, and he dreamt about a future filled with plenty of adventures with many highs and lows.
As humans advanced further and further in their cultivation, they begin to dream less and less not only because they begin to forego the need to sleep regularly but also because their brain was constantly evolving to keep up with their body and soul thereby making it harder to dream without realising they're dreaming.
'Huh, what's this?'
In his sight, the beautiful scene of a city's lights illuminating the night sky appeared before him. He looked around and found himself to be standing on a small balcony.
'I can see…?' Vasari turned his attention back to the gorgeous city with bright eyes filled with awe. He had never seen such a sight before.
"Lord Vasari I hope I am not disturbing your peace."
Vasari unexpectedly heard a flowery voice sound from behind him. He turned around to see a woman bowed on one knee and her head facing the floor making him unable to see her face. The woman had long black hair braided elegantly yet simplistic. A golden helmet with a red feather attached to it rested perfectly under her underarm and she wore golden light armour with simple yet stylish engravings carved on it.
"You have. Tell me your reason for disturbing me."
The words automatically flowed out of his mouth. The tone of his voice was domineering, powerful and straightforward like that of an emperor. It was only now that Vasari realised that he was not in control of his body. He tried moving his arms but nothing happened, he tried speaking but no words came out, he tried walking but his legs remained still.
'Am I just a spectator? Is this a dream?'
"My lord, your father and brothers request your presence in the hall room."
"I see. Tell them I'll be there shortly." No longer paying attention to the woman kneeling in front of him, 'Vasari' turns around and once again enjoys the view of the city before him.
'What is happening…'