A MOST IMPORTANT LESSON

As the two children were having their exchange, Goldy was wide-eyed, staring at the sky.

The image of the humongous pillar of golden light was still branded into his draconian pupils even after it had long died down.

Alas, the golden dragon let his gaze fall upon the golden-eyed youth once more.

The energy that had suddenly burst upwards earlier had been akin to an explosion, and while Cheng Hao himself had been spared, his robes were now all scruffy, with the better part of his upper torso bare and exposed. Goldy's gaze was drawn to the boy's neck: there, tightly wrapped around Cheng Hao's neck, was a spiral of serpentine coils. Many tiny, black hexagons covered the rough surface of that peculiar black necklace.

Xiao Wu, who had followed Goldy's gaze, could tell at a glance, recognising the same small hexagons on the body of her Martial Way's black dragon: those were scales. And from the occasional swelling and deflating of what seemed to be the creature's chest, the choker appeared to be alive and breathing.

As Cheng Hao tore off his ruined sleeves, she spied the black tattoo with golden highlights on his wrist and immediately made a connection between the two.

Then, as her gaze moved up, she noticed that not only was the boy uncharacteristically toned for a child their age but also took notice of a few scars that before had been hidden underneath his voluminous robes of choice.

Indeed, how could a person as extraordinary as him have possibly lived an easy life... Or rather, exactly because of how extraordinary he was, he had chosen to brave great danger-

"Not even being discreet about it? What if I had a complex about them?" Cheng Hao poked fun at the wistful girl as he found her contemplating his failures.

"Mm, it's not like they'd last that long if we are to Ascend in a few years," she knowingly rebuked. "And aren't people usually proud of sporting battle scars?"

Cheng hao grimaced at his early days as Cheng Hao, back when his body couldn't yet manage to follow his mind, and he had experienced peril on the daily because of that.

"What pride, these are a result of unbecoming mistakes. Rather than proud, I feel ashamed every time I look in a mirror! If I didn't finish my good balm back then, they would be gone already," Cheng Hao tucked a few locks of hair that had wrestled free of his hairpin, behind his ear. Then, resting his chin on his palm, he winked alluringly, "Especially so, since that kind of ruggedness doesn't match my gorgeous looks!"

Xiao Wu couldn't help but snort a chuckle even as she made to raise a brow.

The golden-eyed boy stretched.

"Now then, let me clean up real qu-URK!"

But before Cheng Hao could get up to grab a change of clothes, a golden blur suddenly flew across the room and hit him squarely in the stomach.

The bright red face of the golden snake, Goldy, appeared less than a palm away from Cheng Hao's nose. Its vertical pupils were twinkling in excitement as the dragon stared into the child's eyes and delightedly inquired, "That necklace... It couldn't be Blackie, could it?"

As if by instinct, the black neckband seemed to shudder once it heard the golden dragon's voice that close. It was not necessarily conscious yet, but a bad omen had still managed to disturb its sleep for a few breaths before it finally fell back into its deep slumber.

Cheng Hao nodded, "We got our mount!" Having said that, a wry smile found its place on the child's face. "Right now, however, they are sleeping, resting to recover from living those two months in a space outside the World of Qi..."

Goldy beamed as his gaze fell upon the black scales, "And how much time until Lil' Black awakens? I've missed them so much!"

Cheng Hao smiled but ultimately got away without having to give a straight reply.

Blackie had been the jailkeeper of the Nine Heavens' highest security jail, World's End. There, Tian would detain those who had rebelled against his reign as a Tyrant and leave them to the Harrowing Nightmare Serpent to deal with.

Following Blindlight's suggestion, Xu Ling attacked the prison and freed the captured criminals. Although some had immediately run away, enjoying their freedom, many more had joined the ranks of the Evil Saint to get their revenge against the people of the Nine Heavens.

During the jailbreak, Xu Ling had fought many minions of Tian, with the most formidable being none other than the watchdog of World's End, The Harrowing Nightmare Serpent; Blackwort.

Astonished by the beast's capabilities and realising their potential as an ally, Xu Ling challenged them to a duel, which he handily won. Upon refusing to submit, Blindlight had stepped in, forcing the Heavenly Beast into compliance. Blackwort was made to sign a soul pact, granting Xu Ling unrestricted access to their essence.

But then, the day of the final battle came. News spread of the Evil Saint's defeat and the Heaven Devouring Dragon's disappearance. Just like that, the Serpent had been set free from the shackles binding them.

Oh, how they had rejoiced!

They celebrated by travelling to the outskirts of the Heavenly Realm on a thousand-year-long vacation.

Until...

"...Uh?"

One morning, after yet another long day of lazing about, Blackwort woke up somewhere indescribably unpleasant.

A place without Qi or Spiritual Energy, its Laws obscure and foreign. Even the better part of their ichor had been drained away, leaving them with just barely enough to sustain themselves for a few weeks if they rationed it properly.

Roars would occasionally echo out from someplace above them, meaning they most likely were not the only one in this strange situation.

At first, Blackie had the thought of joining their might with those beings, in hopes of breaking out from this strange place. However, just as the Harrowing Nightmare Serpent had been about to propose this, they had suddenly heard the powerful harrumph of an incomparably Grand beast from above.

A coward by nature, as soon as they smelled danger, the black serpent had immediately given up on the thought of conversing with their neighbours, opting instead to wait.

After all, the being that had imprisoned them wouldn't have done so just for fun... at least, they hoped so. Eventually, that person would likely show up. The Serpent would definitely deal with that bastard then!

"...o-oh, Milord, it was you! How, how have you been?"

...

"So, Little Wu, how did your very first breakthrough feel?" Cheng Hao inquired as he came out of the bathroom. "Should feel pretty strange, right? Suddenly being able to freely interact with Spiritual Energy, I mean."

The youth had already changed into a new set of clothes: the set of robes he had been wearing earlier had been burnt into crisps by the aftermaths of his breakthrough.

"It's incredible!" Xiao Wu's nostrils flared cutely, "The breakthrough process proceeded without a hitch. It all went so smoothly, I still can't believe it. And, this sensation of 'Authority' and stability is so liberating!" the girl exclaimed cheerfully.

Cheng Hao chuckled as he wiped his wet face and hair with a towel. Around his neck, the light reflecting off the black scales made the necklace seem as if its coils were moving.

"I see you couldn't wait to fly, could you?" the boy teased as he made his way to the table.

"And can you blame me? This is even more wonderful than I had ever imagined..." Xiao Wu giggled in response as he passed by her. Her long hair was just an inch shy of hitting the ground as the young lady of Xiao hovered upside down a good few palms off the floor, her feet stepping awkwardly on thin air and her arms flailing about.

"Ah!" she suddenly exclaimed as her expression darkened. At once, she somersaulted back into an upright position and landed on both her feet, her purple lips arranging into a pout.

"With what little Spiritual Energy you might have accumulated during and since your breakthrough, naturally you wouldn't be able to keep it up for long. Though our cultivation base can let us fly as an Advanced Stage cultivator, our Spiritual Energy reserves couldn't possibly be their match. A proper management is necessary if you don't want to stumble out of the sky out of nowhere. It's a good thing you seem to have good instincts, or your pretty face would have gotten all bruised once you ran out completely." Cheng Hao threw her a towel as he firmly admonished.

Xiao Wu used it to wipe off the grime from her face, still relishing in the feeling of weightlessness.

"Sleep on it. Though slower than doing it ourselves, our Pseudo-Cores will rapidly gather Spiritual Energy on their own. You should be all topped up in the morning and get to float about some more."

'...is there even anything a Pseudo Core can't do?'

Xiao Wu thought as she sat down at the table with a defeated smile.

At that, Cheng Hao shook his head, "there is one important shortcoming of Pseudo Cores."

'Wait, there is? Ah, am I showing everything on my face again?'

"Yes there is. And yes you are, Little Wu."

Xiao Wu pouted.

"...meanie. Mmm. It's the fact that the Martial Ways are stuck in there, isn't it?"

"Indeed. No matter how many other benefits it might bring outside of combat, there's no question that limiting our access to such a powerful tool is a detriment to us."

"The role of a Martial Way naturally isn't limited to aiding cultivators in meditation alone. Sure, the huge help during breakthrough and the increase in cultivation speed is just as important, but the place where Martial Ways truly shine is in battle!"

Cheng Hao's mouth formed a crescent moon and his eyes glinted as he spoke the following words with much gusto,

"The huge pressure it emits on a cultivator's surroundings, for example, is by itself a powerful supportive skill capable of crossing stages. And that is without taking into account the passive Spiritual Energy accumulation and the increased rate at which Qi Strands recover from their fatigue; this all, its owner would receive from simply wielding it, and only by wielding it. And of course, myriad other possible abilities will vary depending on the kind of Martial Way..."

As he talked, the golden-eyed child poured himself and his cute apprentice a cup of steaming tea.

"Still, the vast majority of those myriad abilities I mentioned would require a Martial Way to be physically present in the outside world to work. Not really our case, is it? And yet, I made ourselves seal our Martial Ways in our Pseudo Core..." Cheng Hao's learned countenance fell as he cutely stuck out his tongue and winked, "This would be the perfect time to reveal I messed up, wouldn't it?"

"...well, did you?"

"Did I now..."

"You didn't," Xiao Wu chuckled, feeling bitter that she'd gotten somewhat accustomed to the boy's antics. "Why is it then you made this choice despite such a glaring shortcoming? What heavenly secret are you keeping from me, oh wise Master Hao?"

"That, my intrepid apprentice, is the topic of tonight's final lesson." Cheng hao handed her a steaming cup of the herbal tea.

"Pseudo-Cores, Martial Ways, and the way they elegantly entwine."