78 Breakthrough and Changing Emotions

Yeon was having an unconventional experience of cultivating.

Her breathing and absorption of qi from the environment were all happening instinctively.

It was like catching something thrown at you reflexively. You didn't consciously make an effort; it just sort of happened and when you look down at your hands you realise that you've caught something.

Yeon was cultivating her body and absorbing the Heaven and Earth energy in a trance as if the state of 'unconsciously catching' was elongated.

There were some discrepancies since the body of the Fairy Empress differed from that of Yeon, but the outline and the core of the technique remained the same.

It was like trying to drive a car using the memories of driving a truck, it was similar but also completely different.

As time passed, her cultivation efficiency rose by tiny increments as her body slowly realigned the flow of qi in her body to suit hers more than the Fairy Empress'.

This process would likely take a long time, but her rapid cultivation would only speed up as she moulded the muscle memory into her own.

Like a vacuum, Yeon was drawing in the nearby Heaven and Earth energy at a rapid rate. If not for the fact that the outer disciples were weaker and less accustomed to reading to the flow of environmental qi, those nearby might have noticed this anomaly.

Like a tornado, the Heaven and Earth energy swirled around Yeon before abruptly coming to a stop.

The Heaven and Earth energy trembled around Yeon as she broke through to the Flesh Cleansing realm.

There would normally be a disgusting expulsion of impurities from her flesh at this point, but it had already been cleared when her body was newly made.

Yeon felt her muscles and bones becoming strengthened far beyond what it previously was.

It was at the level where she would be a fair match to the Reuben Fastilla she had fought during the disciple trials.

The gap between realms was that big, with the differences only becoming greater as you went higher up the realms.

Yeon solidified her cultivation throughout the night and for the entirety of the next day. If she stopped now, then her base would become incredibly fragile, which would be disastrous for her future as a cultivator.

When Yeon finally opened her eyes, it was already night with more than 24 hours having passed.

The stabilization process became longer as you went up the realms and taking longer than 24 hours was almost unheard of for the Flesh Cleansing realm breakthrough.

The stabilization process differed from person to person. The more talented the individual, the more qi they could naturally hold and the faster they could circulate the qi around their qi channels.

It takes longer to calm a raging lake than it does to calm a disrupted pond - the more talented individuals took longer to stabilize.

Yeon got out of the bathtub and stretched her muscles. She flexed them and felt overwhelmed at her newfound power.

But she put off testing it for another time and went to check up on Sylvie who was waiting for her.

Her robes that fit her male form were a bit long on the sleeves, but the overall size was fine. Her impressive chest took up the fabric that would otherwise hang too low.

Yeon opened the door to her bedroom to see no one inside.

Yeon had passed the kitchen on the way there and that meant Sylvie was not in the house.

Worried that something had happened to her, she rushed outside only to find Sylvie sitting on the wooden terrace overlooking the garden.

"Wow…" Yeon mumbled, dazed at the sight.

Sylvie was bathing under the moonlight, its gentle light illuminating her beautiful face.

But his surprise did not lay in her beauty but something else entirely.

On her lap was Adil's old black cat, Cinder. She was looking as chubby as the day she left her to Auntie Gemma.

It warmed her heart to see that she was still looking after Cinder even after Adil was gone.

Cinder kept pawing at Sylvie, asking for the aloof girl with silver hair to pet her. It was funny to watch since Sylvie completely ignored the spoiled black cat and refused to touch her.

Cinder sat on her lap while facing Sylvie while Sylvie stared at the Moon.

However, that was not enough to surprise Yeon. She had thought that Cinder might return and it wasn't completely unforeseeable that Cinder would trust Sylvie.

She was completely indifferent to the animal, much like a tree. Since she gave off a completely harmless aura, Cinder most likely felt safe to approach her.

What surprised Yeon was what was perched on Sylvie's shoulder.

A small black bird whose beak was too curved to be a crow, it was a raven.

"What are you some D***ney princess?" Yeon asked in awe.

"I am not a princess, Master." Sylvie got up to greet Yeon and Cinder naturally jumped off her lap.

"Cinder~" Yeon called out affectionately.

The black cat paused her steps as she was walking away and turned back around.

"Meow," it meowed.

"Meow," Yeon meowed.

A conversation of meows.

There were only 2 people who knew the cat's name, and both had treated the cat well.

Cinder responded well to her name due to that. She approached Yeon's leg and rubbed up on it, purring.

Perhaps Adil's old scent had been mixed into Yeon's, Cinder was being very trusting of Yeon.

"Meow~, meow~" Cinder continuously purred.

Yeon pet the chubby cat as her fingers ran through her black fur. She was all smiles before abruptly came to a stop.

"You fat cat, you're asking for fish, aren't you?" She poked Cinder's round belly and her finger sunk into the fat.

"Meow!" Cinder ran away from Yeon and went back to rubbing against Sylvie who had yet to harass her.

"Now… where did this raven come from? Are you secretly some Witch?" Yeon asked while walking up to Sylvie.

Even as the Yeon approached her, the raven didn't fly away.

"I am not a Witch, Master." Her voice was a bit sterner than usual.

"I wouldn't hand you over even if you were. I wonder what Witches even are in this world…"

Yeon extended her hand out to the raven, slowly in case she frightened it.

But to her surprise, the raven moved in to nuzzle her hand.

"You're more friendly than Cinder, little raven."

The raven hopped from Sylvie's shoulder onto Yeon's shoulder.

"…"

Yeon looked into the raven's eyes, but there was no intelligence found there.

It twitched its head sideways and cawed at Yeon.

'…should I kill it?'

Yeon had her fair share of secrets, and the bird seemed a bit too friendly to not be suspicious. Yeon was good with animals, but she had never had a raven so openly approach her before.

But there was nothing to indicate that it wasn't just a normal bird: No sign of increased qi in the bird, no tampering, nothing.

Familiars were exclusive to 'Witches' and the 'Subhumans' of this world. Yeon wasn't exactly sure what a Witch was or what they did, but Subhumans were what residents of this world called Demihumans.

As one could tell from the pejorative nomenclature, they were heavily persecuted and either killed or enslave on sight, making them exceptionally rare.

The Subhumans banded together to resist the constant attacks from humans. They formed their own kingdom in the North of the Continent named the 'Animal Kingdom' by humans, where they lived separately.

Perhaps he related to their treatment, but Adil had been very interested in Subhumans.

He had been interested in their physiology and culture, but the only information he could find were of the horrendous crimes they had committed.

They were painted as Devils who were stronger than humans and used their superior strength to commit evil.

The Sapling Sword Sect had actually been founded when the Blood Devils were driven out from Central in a righteous genocide by the Divine Sword Sect.

They had chased them from Central all the way to the West of the Continent where they had completed the massacre. They then set up a branch sect there, which would then grow to become the Sapling Sword Sect.

But now with the perspective of Beatrice, Yeon was very curious about the true circumstances concerning the Subhumans and so-called Witches.

According to her memories, there were never any righteous genocides in history, only those who were self-righteous.

"…It suits you, Master."

Her view alternated from the bird to Yeon. To her, they seemed like a matching set.

"This bird?" Yeon asked incredulously.

'Did she figure out that I was going to kill the raven?'

Yeon thought that maybe Sylvie had grown to like the raven while he was cultivating.

She remembered reading an article from Earth about how children facing adversity were more likely to consult their pets rather than their siblings.

It was easier to trust an animal, and what Sylvie needed were trust and recovery.

Yeon squinted at the bird. She tussled her shoulders thinking that the bird would fly away, but the raven resisted by gripping with its talons.

"Cheeky thing. You've been saved by Sylvie. Congratulations."

"Caw!"

"Your name will be Raven…because you're a raven."

"Caw…"

"…" Even Sylvie was silent. She was always silent when not addressed, but this time her silence stung.

"It's a done deal, Raven. You do anything remotely non-birdie, like eerily watching me at night or ominously appearing before an important fight, you're going straight into the fire. Sylvie's a growing girl and she'll need plenty of meat," she said threateningly, her eyes comically narrowing at the bird.

"Caw!"

"Dumb bird, can't even speak."

"Master, birds cannot speak."

"And you-" Yeon picked Sylvie up by her torso lag a sack of wheat, "are going to bed."

Yeon walked back inside, Sylvie's limp arms and legs flopping up and down. Her lack of resistance made her easy to carry.

Raven didn't seem to want to go indoors since it flew away when Yeon headed inside. It didn't perch nearby but flew off into the distance.

Yeon wondered whether the bird would even return and if she had just been paranoid.

"So, did you manage to get any sleep?" Yeon asked as she sat on the bed.

"I have slept twice in the time that Master was away." As Yeon pat the bed, Sylvie sat down beside her recalling Yeon's old instructions of what that motion meant.

"How long did you manage to sleep for? Any longer than 3 hours?" Yeon asked, creasing her brows at the bad news that she was expecting.

"No, Master."

"I see…But you made sure to finish the food, right?"

Sylvie looked to the small desk next to the bed where an empty bowl lay. There were no breadcrumbs and no residual smell coming from the bowl, suggesting that she had cleaned up after herself.

"Good, good," Yeon said as she pet Sylvie's hair by reflex.

Yeon had previously felt reluctant to talk about anything concerning the traumas of Sylvie since Yeon had been overwhelmed with pity.

She had felt sorrow when looking at Sylvie's scarred face, the knowledge of her untold pains evoking a deep sense of compassion and sadness in him.

But Yeon realized that she had been changing. She had always been changing, but the rate of change had exponentially increased after the duel with Reuben Fastilla.

It wasn't at the level where she no longer felt anything and held a general disinterest towards life, but she had certainly skewed in her original values.

She knew this but put the matter aside for now. The girl in front of her took priority.

Yeon stroked Sylvie's face, her right cheek where a long scar travelled down from her eye, growing wider like a river down towards her collar bone.

Sylvie imperceptibly moved into Yeon's gentle caress, pushing her cheek against Yeon's warm palm.

It evoked in Yeon a series of emotions; a completely different set from when she had first laid her eyes on Sylvie's face:

Anger.

Frustration.

But there was no pity.

For why would she pity Sylvie?

What good would her pity do?

There was no other form of empathy as condescending as pity.

Sylvie was right here.

She had lived.

She was still living.

In her own way, she was still fighting.

Who was Yeon to obsess about Sylvie's past, to cry over it, to feel sorrow?

Sylvie had never once complained nor asked for pity. She had never taken up the sick role.

Yeon saw pity as a uniquely humane form of self-mutilation, a vicarious sadness that was wholly unnecessary.

This type of sadness was a form of vacuous compassion as meaningless as the 'thoughts and prayers' given by strangers.

Perhaps some might seek pity in her situation, but they would never receive it from Yeon.

Instead, Yeon felt a great ire directed to 'Master Joy'.

Instead of senseless and formless emotions, she was determined to act.

She bottled up her anger, slowly planning how and when she would mutilate and kill this old Master of hers. But that was for another time.

Again, Sylvie took priority.

Unlike when Yeon had pushed away the harsh feelings, the brutalities of Sylvie's past, she decided that it was better to embrace them.

The Yeon now thought that there was no better way to help her.

"Sylvie, tell me."

Yeon's vibrant red eyes emanated warmth as she gazed into Sylvie's silver eyes. The metallic silver that had been as cold as steel now had a hint of colour, a faded reflection of the emotion in Yeon's.

"Why is it that you can't sleep?"