Lyren had taken a bath and he was seated at the table. Claire came just in time as he asked for his goods. Claire obliged without a word and gave Lyren a bottle with pills.
Ten of them he confirmed and since it was already dark, he dismissed her and told her to make sure that he was not disturbed for the entire time.
"You can rest if you want… That is why you are here," Lyren said as he closed the door behind him.
Claire looked at him surprised because this was the least of her expectations. She just stared at his back as he locked the door behind and she could already tell he had not the slightest interest in her body.
***
Lyren really liked this atmosphere that the peach blossom and the small pond created.
It gave him a sense of calm and as he sat beside the pond, he could not help but take in a deep breath as the fragrance invaded his nostrils. His face relaxed and he closed his eyes and got into meditative position.
It was about time that he reclaimed his greatest weapon. His hidden cultivation.
He removed a pill and swallowed it.
The moment the pill touched his tongue, he could already feel the agitation in his core. Anticipation building around it such that by the time the pill reached his stomach, the core was already absorbing the essence from the pill.
His core greedily absorbed and in no time, the Elyria in his core had increased marginally. In no time, the pill was fully absorbed and he could tell that the effect from the pill was less than the first one.
Just as Sera had said it would be. Still, because it was his second pill, his cultivation increased more than the first time because back then, some of the essence was used to refill his core and take away his exhaustion.
Lyren did not hold back as he swallowed another pill and the effect was slightly lower but still his cultivation increased.
By morning the following day, he had swallowed five pills and he had reached the peak of the seventh stage but he could not break into the eighth stage.
He had actually reached the peak by the fourth pill but after swallowing the fifth pill, his cultivation stopped increasing.
He also stopped because he could tell that even if he swallowed the other five, they were going to be a waste.
Just because they could not increase his cultivation anymore did not mean that they were useless. When exhausted, he could definitely use them to replenish himself.
He was not in a hurry to get up as he was deep in thoughts.
This was the first time he was unable to breakthrough to the next stage and this somehow left him agitated.
He remembered it was him holding his cultivation back so that he could not advance but now, he could not even push himself to advance when he was sure that he could advance.
He kept thinking what to do to advance but someone should have told him that he was rushing his cultivation.
It had not been more than two weeks since he reached the seventh stage and he was already trying to enter the eighth. That was too fast even for geniuses but Lyren could not help but feel like it was only natural...
It was then a voice came to him and he recalled the Sect Master telling him of ways of consolidating his foundation and she had even given him the VANTAGELESS BLADE.
He realized he had ignored the most important factor for his cultivation journey and that was patience. The ruins had brought him up to be patient and he had even forgotten direct teachings from his mentor.
He felt his agitation slowly disappear and he remembered when he had performed the first sword.
His core had been drained but when it was replenished, he had actually felt that it had become more compact and even smooth flowing.
This actually matched with what he had been told. Techniques supplemented cultivation.
Lyren opened his eyes with a new conviction. He was going to train with the sword.
This was a win-win for him because as he perfected the first sword, so was he going to consolidate his cultivation.
He stood up and yawned with his hands stretched. He felt cracks all over his body and a comfortable smile appeared on his face.
He went inside and picked his sword. He came out and started practicing the sword.
He only practiced on improving his speed and he did not try to imbue his will or try doing the seven swings.
After all, he was not sure whether he was going to destroy things in the vicinity and this somehow worried him.
He knew very well what happened when he broke through. He was thankful he had not broken through because he was sure that he could have attracted attention from the vicinity.
Also, he had around three days before the entrance ceremony and he did not know what to do at all. He could not keep practicing without a target and he could not break through in the open like this.
His thoughts were made up immediately and he decided to leave. He was going to do some training. He sheathed his sword as the sun rays started piercing through the atmosphere.
He found that Claire was not in the main rom and when he went to the bedroom, he found her asleep and he smiled.
Lyren removed a new set if clothes from the wardrobe and left. He locked the door behind and he quickly took a cold bath before dressing in the bathroom and not bothering to fully dry his hair and he left.
The sword in his hand.
It was still early in the morning and there were not many people around. The majority he came across were hunters all heading outside the gate all carrying their weapons.
Many were in groups of three and those who appeared to be alone did not take time before they found their partners. Lyren was dressed casually with only black pants and a white t-shirt.
He reached the gate in no time and he was surprised when he found the two guys were back in business as the guards. They seemed to know everyone and they kept greeting them.
They waved their hands when they saw him but when they recognized him, they waved slower until their hands dropped and they looked away.
Lyren did not bother so much with them because they were his 'benefactors.'
He waved back and he could tell they saw him through their side gazes and they started whistling while tapping their foot on the ground.
They later heaved when the kid disappeared and calm returned to their faces.
Lyren could tell that not many knew him even after he was snitched upon by the headmaster. It appeared that he still had some of his weapons intact.
He followed the hunters in front of him and just then, he could hear someone calling out behind him. He stopped and looked behind and surprise was written all over his face.
"Young Master!"
"Lyren!"
"…"
It was Claire…