In the stadium, a blue-haired young man kept his eyes on Lin Shu as he left the arena floor.
Beside him, another youth of the same age—brown hair streaked with black—leaned back in his seat. "The fight's over," he said lazily. "So what exactly did you drag me here for?"
The blue-haired boy didn't look away. "You know Xie Lang? His master used to be a general of the empire."
Zephyr followed his gaze briefly, then shrugged. "Good for him. What does that have to do with anything?"
"It matters because Li just fought him," the blue-haired youth replied. "Not only did he survive the exchange, he controlled the pace of the match and walked away with the win."
Zephyr scoffed. "You don't actually believe Li could defeat a general's disciple in a real fight. Someone who probably reached Emberwake early."
"I'm not saying Li is stronger," the blue-haired boy said calmly. "I'm saying he's strong enough. Xie Lang's true advantage comes from his master—his techniques, artifacts, and life-saving tools. Those are meant for battles where death is on the line, not the arena. Take those away, and Li can hold him off without being crushed."
Zephyr studied Lin Shu's retreating figure for a moment before turning back. "Fine. Let's say I agree. Why does that concern me?"
The blue-haired youth finally looked at him. "Because I've been getting pressure from several powerful figures lately. Thinly veiled threats, forced offers to join teams. They don't like that I fight without an agent—it makes their people look bad, and they're afraid talent will stop coming to them."
Zephyr's expression sharpened. "You too?"
"Yes. And if I keep refusing, they'll start stacking the odds against me. Unwinnable matches. Injuries. Things an agent could block."
Zephyr clicked his tongue. "Let me guess—you tried becoming an agent yourself."
"I did," the boy admitted. "i tried to form a team and become an agent but they refused my request since my cultivation didn't meet their requirements which are quite hard to fulfill for a rogue cultivatior like me such as being a rank 2 cultivator."
"So what are you planning to do about it?" Zephyr asked.
"Our only real option is to join a team," he replied. "I wanted to know if you had anyone in mind."
Zephyr leaned back again. "Not really. I've fought half the arena at this point, and most agents hate me. The only offer I've had recently came from Chi Yanqi—but I'm not joining a team where family and disciples are mixed. That kind of structure always ends badly when it comes to pay and favors."
The blue-haired youth nodded. "I thought the same. But after watching Li fight, I don't think he's blind to that issue. He's careful, calculating, and he never takes risks unless the reward is worth it."
"You're thinking of joining them," Zephyr said.
"I'm considering it," the boy replied. "But I want to wait. You've heard the rumors about the new rules, right?"
Zephyr nodded. "Everyone has."
"I'll decide after they're announced," he said. "Until then, I'm watching."
Zephyr stood. "Let me know when you choose. If the terms are good, I might follow."
As Zephyr left, the blue-haired youth remained seated, his attention returning to the arena as the next match began.
———
Lin Shu, Kai, and Aoyan made their way through the arena corridors, the noise fading behind them. Kai was just regaining full awareness, grinning despite the bruises, while Aoyan walked with an obvious spring in her step. Lin Shu, meanwhile, was already deep in thought.
"I should ask him about paths, he mused. If I can formalize one, it would strengthen everything I have. Lightning paths exist—I know that—but ivory is different since it's not something that common in techniques. Still, my armor grows stronger with my bones. If there's a way to elevate that into a true path, it would change everything i could somehow fuse other elemants into my bones and make it stronger."
A heavy hand suddenly dropped onto Lin Shu's head, ruffling his hair through the mask, while another did the same to Aoyan.
"Hahahaha! Well done!" Yanqi's booming laughter echoed down the corridor. "Beating that old hag's team really brightened my day. If you'd lost, I might've trained you until your hands bled."
Kai smiled awkwardly. Aoyan sighed. Lin Shu remained silent.
Yanqi glanced at him and laughed again. "You look like you're about to ask me something important. Hold it in for now—we'll talk once we're out of here."
A calm, sharp voice cut in. "If watching children beat each other senseless is what improves your miserable life, then you truly live up to your reputation, drunkard."
Yanqi's face twisted instantly. "Piss off, you shriveled pile of bones. A winning drunkard beats a losing hag any day."
Qing Lanyue ignored him and turned her attention to Lin Shu and Kai. "Your performance today was impressive," she said evenly. "Something you won't hear from that brute. If you ever consider leaving him, come to my office. I'll make room for you on my team."
Lin Shu paused, choosing his words carefully. "I appreciate the offer, senior, but I'm treated well where I am. And My contract still has a long time left."
Yanqi snorted. "What he means is you can go to hell. He's not interested."
Lin Shu froze internally. This bastard is going to get me killed.
Qing Lanyue studied him for a moment, then placed a token in his hand. "Ignore him, His words are nothing but the common insanity of drunkards."
"Thank you," Lin Shu replied sincerely.
Yanqi waved dismissively. "Whatever. I'll be congratulating my fighters now. Try checking on yours—my top fighter probably broke a few bones."
With that, he turned and left, laughing loudly.
Qing Lanyue watched him go, then departed without another word.
Yanqi glanced back, snatched the token from Lin Shu's hand, and burned it to ash. "Old hag."
Kai blinked. "She doesn't look that old."
"She's older than me by ten years," Yanqi said. "Just hiding it with arts, but she's still rotting inside."
Aoyan frowned. "You shouldn't provoke her like that—and especially not drag Li into it."
"She knows better," Yanqi replied. "She won't touch my students." He grinned at Lin Shu. "Scared you, didn't I?"
Lin Shu forced a smile behind his mask, already making contingency plans." A joke only works between equals", he thought. "And she could kill me without blinking."
Aoyan shoved Yanqi forward, urging him to keep walking as his laughter echoed down the corridor.
Lin Shu, Aoyan, and Kai followed Yanqi into his lodging, the heavy doors closing behind them as the warmth of spirit lamps and the faint smell of alcohol filled the room. The place was far more luxurious than any of them lived in, layered carpets covering the floor and shelves lined with spirit wine, scrolls, and strange trinkets collected over decades.
They sat.
Yanqi dropped himself into a wide chair, crossed one leg over the other, and waved a hand lazily.
"Since the three of you managed to make me this happy today," he said with a grin, "Kai and Li can each choose one thing. You can either ask me a question or receive something tangible—a technique or a weapon."
Lin Shu froze for half a breath.
He didn't show it, but inside his mind his thoughts raced.
"Did this old miser finally drink himself into generosity? Two years. Two years of fighting under him, bleeding in the arena, and he never once offered something like this."
Kai looked just as stunned, his mouth half-open as he glanced between Yanqi and Lin Shu, clearly waiting to see if this was some kind of trap. Aoyan leaned back, watching the two of them with mild amusement, clearly less surprised than they were.
Lin Shu hesitated, weighing the choice carefully. A technique from Yanqi would undoubtedly be powerful, but techniques could be stolen, copied, or replaced. Knowledge, on the other hand—true guidance—was something far harder to come by.
His gaze flicked briefly to Aoyan, and a realization struck him so suddenly that he almost cursed aloud.
"Wait. She can ask him things I can't for free. And he won't refuse her."
He lifted his head. "Elder Yanqi… can Aoyan also ask for something?"
Yanqi blinked, clearly not expecting that question. He scratched his chin, then shrugged. "She doesn't need to, but I don't see why not."
Lin Shu exhaled slowly in relief.
"Of course. You'd give her anything if she asked."
He turned to Aoyan. "Could you do me a favor and ask him about how a cultivator creates a path?"
Aoyan looked genuinely surprised. Lin Shu was not someone who asked favors lightly, and she could hear the weight behind his words. After a brief pause, she nodded. "Alright. I guess I can." she didn't really mind doing this since it's just a small favor for her friend,so she smiled as she looked st her master.
Yanqi narrowed his eyes. "You little traitor," he said, pointing at Lin Shu. "Using my disciple to steal my knowledge."
Kai opened his mouth. "Well, it's not stealing—"
A small flame flicked from Yanqi's finger and struck Kai square in the forehead. Kai yelped and fell backward onto the carpet as Yanqi snickered.
Yanqi then turned to Aoyan. "You're really going to waste your question on this? There are things I've refused to tell you for years, and I'm willing to answer them right now if you change your mind."
Aoyan smiled calmly. "Those can wait. You once explained this to me, but I was too young to really understand it. I want to hear it properly."
Behind his mask, Lin Shu smiled as he looked at aoyan.
"Didn't expect her to agree so easily figured she'd ask for something but this is even better though i shouldn't let my guard down it's not good to pile debt from people you have no choice but to pay since she has yanqi."
Yanqi studied her for a long moment, then sighed. "Fine. I'll answer your question."
His gaze slid toward Lin Shu, sharp and knowing, before he began.
"First, stop saying 'creating' a path," Yanqi said. "That phrase is wrong. We don't create paths. Creating a path would mean inventing a fundamental law of the world, and none of us are arrogant enough to claim that."
He leaned back, tapping the armrest.
"What cultivators actually do is master paths. A path already exists in the world as a set of principles, rules, and truths. Flame, lightning, metal, shadow—these are not inventions. They are aspects of reality."
He gestured toward Aoyan's salamander resting nearby.
"Take her beast. Its path was decided the moment it was born. It will always be a fire-aligned creature, and all its growth will branch from that single truth. It can refine, deepen, and elevate its fire to it's natural limits, but it can never escape it."
Yanqi's tone shifted as he looked back at Lin Shu.
"We are different. Humans are not born with a path. We earn one."
He leaned forward slightly.
"To master a path, you must first understand it—not its techniques, but its principle. If you want to walk the Path of Flame, you don't start by throwing fireballs. You start by asking yourself what flame actually is."
He paused.
"Is flame just heat and fuel? Or is it transformation? Is it destruction, or is destruction merely what happens when flame encounters something weaker? Why does fire grow when fed air, and why does it die when smothered? Why does it calm when contained and rage when unrestrained?"
His eyes sharpened.
"You don't learn a path by copying techniques. You learn it by testing reality."
Yanqi continued, his voice steady and deliberate.
"At first, you create a crude technique. Something simple. Not to be powerful, but to confirm your understanding. If that technique works—not because you forced it with Qi, but because it aligns with the principle—then the path accepts you."
He spread his hands.
"From there comes trial and error. Endless failure. You experiment with your Qi. You change its flow. You shape it differently. You test emotion, intent, pressure, speed. You fail more often than you succeed."
Yanqi's gaze hardened.
"True elevation happens when you stop thinking in techniques and start thinking in laws. You no longer ask how to burn hotter; you ask how flame interacts with the world. You learn what strengthens it and what suppresses it, and then you start breaking assumptions."
He gave an example casually.
"A lesser cultivator sees rain as a weakness. A master understands flame so well that even water becomes fuel through steam, pressure, violent release. That is innovation."
He straightened.
"This is the cycle: trials which result in failure understanding that gives birth to innovation. Over and over. Each time, your path deepens."
The room fell silent.
Lin Shu didn't move, but his thoughts burned.
"So paths aren't techniques. They're understanding. And ivory… ivory isn't impossible. I just need to understand what it truly represents."
Yanqi glanced at him once more, smirked faintly, and leaned back into his chair, clearly finished.