If there was something called “getting stuck” in cultivation, then what Caroline and Jason were feeling right now would be it. Ever since they had those mini breakthroughs while they were in the Grant Academy, where they gained the ability to command additional elemental powers, they had a feeling that their next tribulations were getting closer and closer. But while they were training with Josephine Wong, they felt that the pace in which they marched towards their next tribulation was getting slower and slower. And right now, they sensed that there was an invisible barrier between them and their next tribulation, they were just not able to get past it, even after spending several weeks of time meditating, visualizing and practicing their battle techniques.

Two silver metal mirrors placed right in front Caroline and Jason and glowing in bright light gradually grew dim, and a small trace of power of mind and will came back from the reflections in the mirrors to Caroline and Jason’s foreheads.

“Anything?” Jason asked Caroline while rubbing his temples.

“Almost nothing at all.” Caroline sighed and said: “I feel like I was trying to move a whole mountain with just a shovel. Maybe we should ask Boss or Ms. Wong for help. There’s something I think we’re missing here.”

“Yeah, same. It’s like - like just waking up from a dream and not remembering anything from the dream at all, while the memory feels very real and very fresh in my mind. But I kinda doubt how they could help.” Jason sighed: “Do you even know what is missing? ”

“... no.” Caroline thought for a while and answered with visible frustration on her face.

“How are you feeling?” just this moment, Josephine Wong came into the room, and as she waved her hands, the semi transparent and soundproof walls around Caroline and Jason disappeared, revealing the two exhausted Aimee and Thomas who were lying on the floor panting, sweating and resting.

“Still very very stuck.” Caroline picked up her metal mirror and sighed: “I think we need help with this… this barrier or gap that we are facing.”

“Yeah, Ms. Wong. Can you help us? Or… can Boss help us?” Jason asked carefully.

“He would soon be able to see you. He just needs a little more time to recover.” Josephine Wong shook her head with a wry smile: “Right now, he must save his breath, and you have to be ready before you can hear what he has to say.”

“Okay.” Caroline let out an extra long sigh and sat down on the ground: “But he’s doing okay?”

“He’s doing okay, and he asked me to send you his regards.” Josephine Wong clapped her hands, and a long sword appeared in her hands: “Why don’t we have a quick spar? This should clear your heads.”

“Might as well.” Jason sighed and took out his metal ball, with a quick clench of his right hand, his signature pen-spear appeared.

Behind him, Caroline also took out her translucent crystal ball, conjured her battle axe and shield and walked up to Josephine Wong.

“Shall we?” Josephine Wong leapt backwards while holding the long sword in her right hand. When she stabilized her stance, she raised her middle and index fingers at Aimee and Thomas, a ring of transparent walls rose from the ground around them, serving as a protective watching booth.

Silver light radiated from Jason’s body, and orange and red flames burst out from Caroline’s body as they lunged towards Josephine Wong with their weapons in their hands. Though Aimee and Thomas were beyond tired, they still managed to stand up from the ground and start watching the spar.

--------------------------------------------

“So - how are you feeling now?” while sitting in the diner around a round table having a mid-training day lunch together, Jason asked Thomas and Aimee: “Did you have a tribulation?”

“Tribulation? What is that?” Aimee’s fingers are so sore that she had trouble picking up and maneuvering the chopsticks, and had to use a small spoon to pick up her food instead: “Is that another ritual?”

“Please tell me this is not another ritual.” Thomas was in a similar state as Aimee: “One compression ritual per day is enough.”

“No, what Jason wanted to ask is, did you go through anything - strange?” Caroline asked while looking at Aimee and Thomas in their eyes: “Like being struck by lightning, or having fire or ice burst around you?”

“No, why? Ugh...” Thomas whined with frustration when he dropped a small piece of spare rib on the table due to his fingers being extra clumsy due to the strain from the trainings and daily compression rituals.

“Is that something that would happen?” Aimee asked with worries in her eyes.

“Okay calm down. It probably won’t happen now.” Caroline skimmed at the shoulders and arms of the detectives, then nodded and said: “Your powers just had a sudden growth, didn’t they?”

“Yes - but I thought that was because our powers couldn’t stand to be further compressed.” Thomas answered.

“That’s actually a correct assumption.” Jason handed a pile of napkins to Thomas: “What you just went through - seems like without you actually noticing it - is a phase stemmed from the evolution of your powers. After going through it, your powers become more condensed, and flow faster inside of your body, allowing you to conjure extra powerful spells and ...”

Thomas’s phone rang, and it was no ordinary ringtone, but that of a hasty and ominous music. The tired expression on Thomas and Aimee’s face instantly changed to a serious one, and Thomas had to stand up and apologized: “Sorry guys, I’ve gotta take this.”

“Is that Lee?” Aimee asked.

“Yeah.” Thomas nodded.

“Detective Lee?” when Thomas walked to the side to take his call, Caroline asked Aimee: “That Detective Lee who was investigating the case with vampires? Didn’t you tell him to stop for his own safety?”

“Unfortunately that’s not how it works, especially when the families of important local politicians are involved.”

“... okay, just don’t rush to anything alright?” Thomas finished his call and came back to the table: “Aimee, I think we need to help him.”

“What happened?”

“We lost two officers thanks to this case.” Thomas threw his phone on the table with a furious and anxious look: “The same feds that have been looking into the Emilia Corin case are looking into this case as well.”

“They’re gonna get more people killed. ” Aimee stood up: “We should go help them.”