"…What?" Gray raised an eyebrow. "Alright, alright. I'm a frog in the well. So explain it to me."
"Tch. This is what I hate about ignorant bumpkins," Matriarch Zareena muttered, clicking her tongue.
"Fine. Listen closely. In this little corner of the universe, you only know five cultivation realms, Qi Condensation, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, and Truth Realization."
She waved a hand dismissively.
"Back home, those stages are considered infancy. You guys are merely babbling toddlers. If someone introduced themselves as a Truth Realization cultivator in our realm, it's similar to being a baby still wearing diapers. There is still such a long road to cultivation that you guys know nothing about."
"Oh?" Gray's eyes lit up with curiosity. "So what cultivation level comes after that?"
"There's no need for you to know," Ziye cut in coldly, expression blank. "You won't even reach Foundation Establishment in this life."
She looked him over like she was assessing a particularly slow-witted animal. "The strongest people in your world aren't even qualified to carry our shoes. If we wanted to, we could destroy the entire Swaying Moon Continent with a flick of the wrist."
Gray blinked. Right now, he truly felt what types of existences he was currently traveling with.
Ziye smirked at his reaction, feeling pleased with herself after being able to show off.
Gray let out a low whistle. "That strong, huh?" He didn't sound intimidated, just genuinely impressed. "No wonder you look down on me like an ant."
Ziye's smirk grew wider, only for it to freeze as Gray added with a shrug, "Still, ants bite pretty hard when they have to. You ever tried stepping on a fire ant's nest barefoot?"
Matriarch Zareena glanced sideways at him.
Ziye, on the other hand, looked like she'd just bitten into something sour.
"You're oddly calm for someone who just learned the people he's traveling with could erase their entire continent by sneezing," Ziye said, voice flat.
"I mean, what do you want me to do? Cry? Beg for mercy?" Gray replied dryly. "If you wanted me dead, I'd already be dead."
He tucked his hands behind his head as he walked, looking completely relaxed. "Besides, if I acted scared every time someone stronger showed up, I'd have died from heart failure years ago."
Ziye narrowed her eyes. "How boring."
"Coming from you?" Gray rolled his eyes.
Matriarch Zareena let out a laugh. "He's not wrong though. Fear is pointless when you're already this weak."
Gray gave her a sidelong glance. "You say that like it's a compliment."
"It is, in its own way."
...
Gray then spent the rest of the journey cultivating in silence. Ziye occasionally cast glances at him, there was something complicated in her gaze, though Gray didn't notice anything.
Then, without warning, Matriarch Zareena ordered them to land.
Gray raised his brows in confusion as he followed them down into a dense forest.
The air was thick with the scent of earth and greenery, the leaves rustling gently in the wind.
He glanced at Matriarch Zareena. "Are we already in our destination?"
Ziye interjected, her voice sharp. "We aren't. Matriarch, I don't see the point in wasting time strolling through a low-level forest."
Matriarch Zareena merely smiled, but there was something knowing in her gaze.
"Life is not meant to be rushed, Ziye," she said simply, pausing to admire a strangely shaped flower. "We should take our time exploring every single detail, every leaf, every strange bug. It is these small, unexpected things that make a journey worthwhile."
Gray listened, a thoughtful expression on his face. He'd spent his previous life rushing – rushing for grades, rushing to fight, always rushing towards the next goal. He'd never really stopped to just... look around.
"How old are you, anyway?" he suddenly asked, curiosity getting the better of him.
Matriarch Zareena stopped walking, turning to him with a slight twitch of irritation crossing her perfect features. "That's a rather rude question for a junior to ask."
"Just curious," Gray said with an innocent shrug. "You talk like you've seen a lot."
She exhaled through her nose, clearly debating whether to humor him. Finally, she relented with a sigh. "Ninety thousand years."
Gray's eyebrows shot up towards his hairline. 'Ninety... thousand?!' His mind struggled to even comprehend that number. That wasn't just old; that was practically prehistoric!
Before he could blurt out something potentially life-threateningly rude, Ziye interjected, her tone factual.
"Most cultivators spend over 90% of their time in closed-door cultivation or meditating," she explained coolly. "The actual time the Matriarch has spent interacting with the 'outside world' likely isn't even ten thousand years."
Gray blinked, processing this new information. 'So, she's like... technically ancient, but practically only experienced a fraction of it?' He looked at Matriarch Zareena again, who was now examining a moss pattern on a rock with intense focus.
He looked around the unfamiliar forest, the strange trees, the glowing fungi, the weird buzzing insects, with a newfound appreciation, not born from ancient wisdom, but from simple, youthful curiosity.
He had been given another chance at life, a chance to see a whole new, crazy world.
Even if his cultivation was currently stalled, the sheer novelty of it all was satisfying.
The two women exchanged glances, completely confused by the sudden, serene expression on his face.
"Anyways, what made you decide to come with us?" Ziye finally asked, breaking the silence.
"To see the world," he said simply. "And honestly? Because hitching a ride with two ridiculously overpowered bodyguards seemed like the smartest, laziest way to travel."
Ziye's eye twitched.
Matriarch Zareena cracked her knuckles, her earlier annoyance returning tenfold.
"Who are you calling old monsters?!" they snapped in unison.
Gray just chuckled, unfazed, and started walking ahead down the path, feeling lighter and more entertained than he had in a long, long time.
...
The next few days passed in a rare sense of peace. The trio remained within the depths of the forest, surrounded by towering trees and the ever-present hum of wildlife. For Gray, it was an unfamiliar yet oddly pleasant experience.
The nights were spent around a campfire, where rich, aromatic dishes filled the air with their tantalizing scent. Matriarch Zareena, along with her overwhelming presence and immense power, had an undying passion for food.
She hunted exotic Fierce Beasts with practiced ease, effortlessly preparing meals that were beyond anything Gray had eaten before. His physique continuously becoming stronger with each meal.
Gray found himself growing accustomed to their companionship.