After Guan Hui Chen delivered the mission scroll to Yu Xiang the two of them didn’t end their little meeting right then and there.

After all, it had almost been a decade since they’d last seen each other, even if the Golden Prince had been keeping an eye on Yu all this time in secret, so they had much to talk about.

A pleasant smile found its place upon the golden haired young patriarch, his eyes shining with mirth as he conversed lazily with his once ward.

He didn’t get to have these kinds of talks often, being a figure of authority second only to the sect’s patriarch most disciples, even those he’d befriended all those years ago while he was on his journey of self discovery through the sect, most of the time kept up a wall of politeness and deference when talking to him.

But while Yu Xiang had certainly been behaving awkwardly in the beginning that hesitance had mostly cleared up after Hui Chen had crushed him a couple of times in chess, and the both of them were now discussing a few important topics regarding the green eyed cultivator’s upcoming mission.

“So, who exactly will be coming with me on this mission?” Yu asked probing his once caretaker for information.

The amber eyed cultivator waved lazily towards the entrance of the room, behind which the stoic core disciple was probably still standing at attention. “Chun Dai will be acting as your guide for this expedition.”

Yu Xiang filed away the aloof swordsman’s name now that he’d finally learned it.

“Don’t be put off by his cold exterior, there are few cultivators among the Seven Great Sects in his age group that are both as strong and as loyal to their sect as he is. So as a fellow disciple of Golden Peak your life will be in good hands with him.” He said with the utmost conviction in his chosen man.

Yu simply nodded in acknowledgment before Guan Hui Chen continued answering his question.

“As for anybody else, there will, of course, be Su Rong with the two of you.” The green eyed cultivator’s facial muscles twitched. “Plus whoever he decides to bring along with him on this little trip.”

At that point, the young heir lifted a thin golden eyebrow towards Yu Xiang. “The same is true for you as well little Yu. Feel free to invite anybody you would like to come along.”

Yu Xiang wondered if this was some kind of test as well, as he nodded at Hui Chen’s words. “I will gladly take you up on that offer, Lord Guan.”

The young patriarch smiled placidly at his words, at least until he registered his moniker.

His expression soured, his lips pursing as if he’d taken a bite out of a particularly pungent lemon.

“Please just call me Hui Chen, or Guan if you’d rather be formal.” He said, waving one of his sleeves in denial. “I’m not one for formalities between comrades.”

“I’ll take you up on that Hui Chen.” The young reincarnator said with a smile.

A beat of silence passed between the two of them before Yu’s neurons collided and he suddenly remembered to ask something important.

“Ah! I almost forgot.” He said out loud. “When will this mission be starting?”

Hui Chen once more pointed at the room’s door. “You’ll have to ask Chun Dai for more information on the expedition, I’m afraid. He is the one who is in charge of both the date and the nature of your mission.”

Yu Xiang nodded in acknowledgment, starting to put away their abandoned chess set now that they’d both discussed their business and had a nice conversation.

As the green eyed cultivator prepared himself to head back Hui Chen stopped him by raising his hand, motioning him to wait.

“Before you leave.” He said, his tone of voice changing from his previous carefree one into a more serious one. “I have something else for you.”

Another scroll was extracted from the folds of the young patriarch’s crimson robes, this one looking positively ancient compared to the one that detailed his mission.

“You have always been a precocious one, even while you were still nothing but a child first learning the basics of cultivation.” Hui Chen noted with a solemn expression. “So I believe that despite your low stage of cultivation in the Constitutional realm, that you are already qualified to peruse the contents of this scroll.”

The Golden Prince eyed him up and down critically, his previous levity nowhere to be seen. “You can share what is inside here with your alchemist friend, but no one else should learn of this from you, lest you accidentally harm their road towards the boundless heavens.”

Yu Xiang agreed quickly, his heart never wavering and his gaze remaining steady as he received the scroll in his hands, holding it almost reverentially.

In an instant decision, the young reincarnator put the scroll away in his robes, deciding to peruse it calmly once he’d returned to his abode.

With the serious exchange over and done with, the spark of liveliness returned to Guan Hui Chen’s eyes. “It was pleasant to meet you again after so many years little Yu.”

Yu Xiang gave the older cultivator a smile in response. “The feeling is mutual, Hui Chen.”

With that said, the green eyed cultivator made his way out of the door, leaving the young patriarch of the Golden Peak sect alone to his no doubt endless amount of work.

Chun Dai, just as he’d expected, was still standing beside the door as he came out of the meeting room, no doubt waiting for his return to escort him out of the young master's mansion.

Which he promptly did, never showing any sign of emotion.

"We will be leaving for our mission at the end of the month." Chun Dai said once they'd reached the villa's entrance. "Prepare anything you need before then and be sure to keep up with your training."

Yu Xiang gave the core disciple a shallow bow. "Yes brother Chun, I will be in your care for this expedition."

The blue eyed swordmaster answered with a stiff nod, after which he closed the doors to the young patriarch's mansion, leaving the young reincarnator alone in the entryway.

With swift strides Yu Xiang made his way back, skipping from step to step down the mountain as a nervous energy altogether different from the one he'd experienced while climbing the plateaus coursed through every single atom of his being.

His eyes sparkled with barely contained excitement and he ardently fought a losing battle against a slowly forming cheek splitting grin.

What was written inside that ancient scroll? What kind of secrets were buried inside that paper that warranted such a sharp warning?

Yu Xiang's heart pumped frantically as the heady feeling of learning something more about the dazzling world of cultivation took over him, sending him ever faster towards his home so he could fully immerse himself in his favorite pastime.

Nothing could stop the green eyed cultivator as he ran all the way to his home, dodging and weaving around other disciples, leaving some thoroughly confused while others looked at him in fond remembrance, completely understanding the maddening euphoria that went hand in hand with a step forward in one's goals.

Once he finally reached his home Yu barged inside without slowing down at all, far too lost in his own world at this point.

A startled Lin Fen jumped to his feet and a questioning look was waved away. "Talk later. Have to cultivate."

The young reincarnator left behind a perplexed silver cat behind him as he ran up the stairs towards his room.

Only once he arrived at his destination did Yu Xiang's manic movement finally cease. The green eyed cultivator sealed his room's door, took out a cushion from a nearby drawer, then plopped himself on the ground in the lotus position, his eyes settling on the aged paper given to him by the Golden Prince.

Two words jumped immediately to Yu Xiang's attention once he finally unfurled the scroll, and his heart nearly skipped a beat from the excitement.

Technique Foundation.

That was the text's title.

For hours the young reincarnator combed through the lengthy text, fully immersed in his own thoughts and studies.

He went over every word with a fine toothed comb, returning to the beginning over and over when he once again finished reading the text.

After every readthrough, Yu took some time before he restarted reading, closing his eyes in silence to slowly meditate on the information contained in the scroll.

Only after many repetitions of this sacred cycle did Yu Xiang finally close the scroll, meditating one last time over what he'd learned.

Despite what the text's title said the scroll only partly focused on the creation of techniques.

What it largely talked about was instead the component that made technique possible in the first place.

Now, what is a technique? A working of spiritual energy performed by a cultivator? Kind of, but not really.

Yu Xiang could easily raise his hand and gather his chi in his palm, move it around, make it jump from finger to finger and spin it into a whirlpool with nothing but his will to guide the energy. But could this be called a technique?

No.

There was a fundamental difference that separated simple operations with spiritual energy and full blown skills.

And that difference, that crucial ingredient that could transform spiritual energy sitting in the palm of one's hand into crackling streams of lightning was Intent.

A type of power different from a cultivator's spiritual energy, for all living beings contained at least a spark of this mysterious force.

It is the metaphysical essence of a person's willpower. Even mortals possess this energy, in minuscule amounts, but only the ones who stand in defiance of the heavens themselves can truly grasp its power. Because only a cultivator has enough Intent to change the workings of the natural world through nothing but his will.

All cultivators use Intent, as it is the basis for all techniques. Youngsters in the lower realms however aren't told about this, as their clumsy understanding and immature mind could lead them to be unable to harness their Intent into skills once they know of its existence.

Yu Xiang finally understood the reason for the severity of Hui Chen's words. The contents of this scroll could really end up messing up some poor kid's ability to cultivate!

Another thought cropped up in his mind. Was this why hid [Piercing Fulmination] and [Snake Skin] had been so difficult to understand for him?

The cultivators who had written down their techniques had probably known about Intent, which made learning skills much easier as you could cut through most of the bullshit by simply injecting life into spiritual energy which could then transform in an infinite amount of ways.

Alongside the in depth explanation about Intent, there were a handful of exercises and tricks to help someone sense and harness one's Intent, which would prove priceless for the young reincarnator.

But before he got to properly messing around with this extremely dangerous power, he had something to do.

After hours of complete seclusion, Yu Xiang finally left his room, descending the stairs to his living room in search of Lin Fen.

He found the young alchemist sitting at their living room table, going through a bunch of scrolls of his own, his body twitching in repressed nervousness.

"Lin." He called out.

At the sound of his voice, the young beastfolk immediately left his position, almost jumping towards him, his silvery tail standing straight up in alarm.

"How did your meeting go?" He asked, fidgeting with his hands and searching for any sign of bad news on his face.

Yu Xiang smiled down at the diminutive alchemist, doing his best to convey his confidence through his body language. "Everything is perfectly fine, Hui Chen simply wanted to meet with me since we hadn't seen each other for a long time."

His words immediately had an effect on his companion, who deflated on the spot in obvious relief.

Yu Xiang offered the yellowed scroll to his relieved friend, who immediately took it with a face full of curiosity.

"Don't talk about the contents of this scroll with anybody." He told him, which made the feline alchemist frown in perplexion.

Lin Fan opened the scroll, immediately starting to peruse its contents, and as his eyes went farther and farther down the text he began to shut himself in his own world, his eyes shining with the same intensity as Yu Xiang's.

The young reincarnator watched his studious friend for a few moments, a smirk etched on his features, before he finally turned around and left him to his reading.

He had his own training to get back to.