Caelum's Madness had already reached 15%. At this level, a great urge tugged at his mind, telling him to devour more. The sensation was akin to an itch which difficult to resist but not yet impossible to ignore. Still, Caelum did not want to push his luck.
He decided to stop for the day. It was his first hunting session, and he had already advanced his cultivation by a small stage. By any measure, it was an excellent result already.
He had a one-month deadline to reach the Qi Gathering Realm and at this pace, he would get there much faster than he needed to. It might even be a record pace in the Novastead Empire.
Such great speed, however, would not have been possible without Saya's invaluable assistance. Over the course of several hours, she had saved his life a total of four times! Her presence allowed him to take risks he wouldn't have dared otherwise.
Her scouting skills were equally crucial. Acting like a living GPS, Saya guided Caelum directly to the beasts he sought, sparing him the frustration of wandering aimlessly in their search.
Without her support, it was doubtful he would have encountered so many magical beasts. Actually, whether or not he would've made it out of the training grounds alive without her help was also unclear.
Satisfied with his gains, Caelum resolved to let his Madness return to zero before resuming his hunt the following day.
Meanwhile, Saya was lost in her own thoughts. Though her shock at Caelum's rapid progress was evident, she couldn't help but feel a little bit of guilt over her behavior in the morning.
She had doubted his decisions and questioned his capabilities, but it seemed like her Young Master had always known exactly what he was doing.
Even her assumptions about his bet with Boros were most likely wrong. It seemed that it wasn't Boros who was swindling Caelum; instead, it was Caelum who going to bleed Boros dry.
The consequences for Boros, should he fail to honor their registered bet, would be severe, given the stringent rules of the Dispute Resolution Office.
'I must put more faith in Young Master and listen to what he says,' Saya resolved.
Still, a lingering curiosity gnawed at her. Gathering her courage, she hesitated before asking, "Young Master, are you a Heaven-Chosen by any chance?"
The reason why Saya and a lot of other people did not previously consider the possibility of Caelum being Heaven-Chosen was simple: he had been tested for Heavenly Gifts before his coma. The results had shown nothing, indicating that Caelum was most likely not a Heaven-Chosen.
A grand celebration would've been held otherwise and a lot of people would've known that he was special, even if the exact details of his Gift were kept hidden by the Goldheart Family.
However, what Saya had witnessed over the past several hours was enough to make her question those test results. After all, the tests weren't perfect. They couldn't detect every single Heavenly Gift.
"Yes, that is correct, Saya. I am indeed Heaven-Chosen," Caelum said, deciding it was the right time to use the excuse he had prepared.
"You see, when I woke up from my coma, I awakened a Heavenly Gift. As for what it does… you might already have some guesses based on what you've seen so far, so I won't explain further."
He looked at her seriously. "Remember this, Saya: I want the details of my Heavenly Gift to remain a secret. You must not tell anyone about what you've witnessed—not even my parents!"
This didn't mean that Caelum planned to hide his strength entirely. He had no intention of living a low-profile life. But being TOO high-profile was not good either!
There was a difference between a peerless genius and a monstrous freak. Caelum did not want to be labelled as the latter. He would keep the specifics of his "Heavenly Gift" a secret while occasionally demonstrating his strength to ensure his peers knew and understood who the real boss was.
"Understood, Young Master. I'll do as you say!" Saya responded with a sincere nod. To think her Young Master had awakened a gift after his coma—what extraordinary luck!
'It seems like I've found a truly remarkable master,' Saya thought in a bright mood. Her heart pounded as wild fantasies filled her mind.
"Good. We're done for today. Let's head back," Caelum said. With that, Saya and Caelum began making their way back from the training grounds.
* * *
"Saya, I'll be heading to the library next. I plan on spending the rest of the afternoon there. What do you want to do? I don't mind if you go back to my room and focus on your own cultivation."
Caelum was already done visiting the Weapon Selection Hall to get a more powerful replacement for his broken sword.
He had also visited the Dao Pavilion for the 'Foundation of Thousand Punches' manual since he had determined that his fists could serve as powerful weapons in situations where he did not have access to his sword.
When her own cultivation was mentioned, a flicker of apprehension crossed Saya's face. A realization struck her like a bolt of lightning.
'Right! I'm only at the Qi Condensation Realm. Young Master will overtake me in no time. Will he still have any use for me after that?'
A pang of sadness gripped her chest. Saya did not want to be abandoned by Caelum. Yet, she knew she couldn't hope to grow stronger at his astonishing pace. Other worries crowded her mind as well, but what could she do? For now, all she could manage was to cultivate as diligently as possible and pray the Heavens rewarded her efforts.
"I will do as you suggest, Young Master. I don't want to fall too far behind in my cultivation," Saya replied, though her heart yearned to spend the rest of the day by his side.
To distract herself from her sad thoughts, she attempted to change the subject. "By the way, why are you going to the library? Could it be that you're also among those who hope to earn the favor of the librarian?"
"The librarian? What's so special about the librarian?" Caelum's tone was tinged with curiosity. He vaguely recalled hearing rumors as a child, but nothing concrete came to mind. After all, what child would find the library—and its keeper—an enticing subject of gossip?
"You don't know? It is said that the librarian is an extremely powerful cultivator belonging to the Goldheart Family. Yes, he is not a hired outsider," Saya explained.
In a lower voice, she added, "According to some rumors, he is one of the Patriarch's direct children. If that is true, he would technically be one of your grandfathers. For some reason, he stopped focusing on his cultivation a long time ago and instead took on the role of a librarian."
"It is said that he is incredibly powerful, and there are many people who want to become his disciple. Even getting a few pointers from him would be very beneficial, even if they cannot become his direct disciples."
"I see…" Caelum responded in a neutral voice. While the librarian's guidance might be a great boon to a traditional cultivator, he was not sure how helpful it would be to him.
'However, if he's an old man who spends most of his time in the library, he's likely amassed a vast amount of knowledge. Such knowledge might be useful to me,' Caelum mused. His anticipation of meeting the librarian grew slightly, though for entirely different reasons than Saya expected.
Unbothered by Caelum's lackluster response, Saya pressed on, "I heard that there was a boy who received some guidance from the librarian a few weeks ago. What was his name again?"
She furrowed her brow, adopting a pondering expression as she tried to recall the identity of the 'lucky person.' Caelum, meanwhile, was quietly amused at how much gossip flowed around the Estate.
"Ah, right! It was a boy named Kaleem! He's only a few years older than you, Young Master."
The mention of the name caught Caelum's attention.
'Kaleem?' he thought, instantly recognizing it. 'Isn't this the boy who is part of Boros' group of friends? He was missing yesterday evening, and Boros and his group were searching for him.'