Moving Step by Step

As time went by, Ming Yue's progress was not incredibly quick but it went at a steady pace. Her day was split into three sections. The morning was spent studying the sword manual, the afternoon was spent with Elder Hua studying medicine, and late into the night, she spent several hours with Elder Shen cultivating.

With the help of Elder Shen, she was able to refine her cultivation technique. The Human Realm was to refine her body and to breakthrough into the Earth Realm, she needed to cycle the energy throughout her body 99 times. Doing so would allow the energy to saturate her body and refine every single cell.

Once it has been done, the power that has filled her body will begin to condense into a physical form. For some, it could be a pond or tree, perhaps even a mountain. But once all of it has been condensed, that is a sign that you have reached the Earth Realm. When reached, you will then focus on comprehending the laws of the world. Connecting one's mind, body, and soul to everything around it, each stage would reveal truth and in doing so, the physical manifestation of one's energy would grow and become exceedingly complicated.

Ming Yue had yet to undergo this process as Elder Shen had advised against it. There was much more to improve about her cultivation technique but still, after several says of his guidance, there was a visible improvement whenever she cultivated.

Every time, she tested herself with the 99 cycles, her body would be able to endure an increasing amount. However, she was only testing the waters. The moment, she felt some sort of pain or discomfort she would stop immediately.

Ming Yue was incredibly happy though.

She would be able to temper her body so that it would endure the refinement of 99 cycles. Furthermore, her technique would be improved and she would grow more experienced with manipulating her energy.

It was like killing three birds with one stone.

"All right, that's enough for the day. We will continue tomorrow", said Elder Shen.

Ming Yue breathed out and opened her eyes. She stood up and bowed to him before leaving. She returned to her room, an ordinary one located near Elder Shen's Spiritual Hall. It was not a tough decision as his hall was mostly vacant as many of the students were too disturbed by the eeriness that his hall exuded. But for Ming Yue, she was quite used to it and did not seem bothered in the slightest.

The room itself was quite spacious, equipped with a bed and a desk along with a shelf. There was enough space for her and her two pets to stretch. She switched her clothes, donning a white robe similar to that of the Elder Hua's students.

She took off her Dusk Lily Pin, the Star Pendant, and her spatial ring, placing them on the desk. Carefully moving for her bed as she avoided the sleeping bodies of Hei Yue. Xiao Yin had flown out, perhaps to find a tree to rest on.

Laying on her bed, she could not sleep. She thought about her day and excitement bubbled in her body. It didn't quite click with her that Ming Yue was now a part of Heaven's Gate, a place that many wished they could join. But with that excitement came a bit of anxiety.

To be perfectly honest, she felt somewhat out of place here. Although her day was busy enough with the elders, she spent a bit of time walking around the institution.

During those little strolls, she realized that the other students to be inherently different from her. They were all geniuses no doubt, originating from across the continent. An air of pride and superiority surrounded them. Most were nobles, sons and daughters of royalty, powerful clans, and here she was, with background that could not be compared to them. Many of them were of an ordinary ranking but she was given a unique badge and that had garnered some attention from the others.

Not to mention, this was a completely new experience for her, who had spent much of her time travelling. She didn't really understand the nuances with this type of life.

Being alone didn't really bother her, being surrounded by geniuses only spurred her on. It was the fact that she could not adjust to this life. It was unsuited for her, to be stuck in one place when she would be much more relaxed wandering the world.

Life here was perfectly fine but it wasn't for her.

She stopped thinking about it and went to sleep. There was no use dwelling on this. In time, she would get accustomed to this life. But she knew that she would have to leave.

The next day, she woke up early as usual. Cleaned herself, changed back to her light blue robes and grabbed her sword before leaving for the training fields.

As the sun peeked from below, she walked to her usual spot only to find someone else there.

Younger than her, it was a girl practicing with her sword. Younger then her but Ming Yue knew she had a higher cultivation than her.

Wearing black and emerald robes, she moved with sense of wildness and force. As she moved about, a bright green aura emerged from her body as the ground began to rumble. Almost resembling a liquid, the soil surged and moved as she moved.

Each attack made the soil flow forward like waves. With an upward slash, the soil resembled a wave crashing onto a cliff face, engulfing what ever was in front of it.

Ming Yue watched with curiosity. Even with her control of wind, she could not move it like what this girl had done.

However, she had ideas and learned a bit from what the girl had done. Ming Yue left and found another place to train, beginning to try and sense the world's energy. She slowly released her energy, letting it roam about. Rather than using her physical senses, she instead relied in her aura.

Perhaps she thought wrong of what the world's energy is.

What if the world had multiple energies, the energy of wind, of the soil, of fire?

Interconnected yet separate, different. It was all part of the world but they were their own entity.

Like them she was her own entity. Her attacks used her own energy thus they did not use the world's power. Her use of wind was not truly wind but wind created through her own power. It was not natural per se.

Knowing this, Ming Yue had to find the energy of the world. She had to understand what it felt like but it is easier said then done. Even after days of trying, she could not find a thing.

This time she tried something different. With her energy slowly expanding, she only focused on the cool breeze that brushed by her, trying to interact with it through her aura.

In those moments, she felt something. Foreign but familiar, it was a constant flow and a gentle one. It was a only for a moment before that feeling disappeared but she was certain, it was the true force of wind, the real energy of the world.

She tried again but could not feel it anymore. However, there was a result. She had felt it and now she knew what to look for.

As for that young girl, she sensed Ming Yue's energy and watched her.

"She's getting quite close", the girl said.

This was not the first time she had seen her. The girl trained early in the morning to avoid any noise and believed Ming Yue would ruin it. However, she was pleasantly surprised, finding Ming Yue's dedication and focus commendable.