"Did I mention how jealous I am of you?"

"Only about a thousand times."

Hei and Tianlan were enjoying shoulder massages at the hands of Tianlan's personal staff and sipping on tropical beverages which had the bonus effect of replenishing one's vitality.

"The things I have to deal with at the Radiant Jade. Sigh."

Just thinking about the way they treated him was enough to bring tears to his eyes.

"But if it's for little Bai, then I can suffer that much. I just hope those ladies will be at least a little grateful for all that I've done for them."

"Probably."

"But seriously, this is nice. I wish I had someone to give me massages."

"Didn't you say you found a maid?"

"Oh! That's right! Once the matriarch gets back, Jingfei will be my official maid!"

He pumped his fist.

"Massages secured."

"You're probably the only person who would delegate a transcendent realm cultivator to be your personal masseuse."

"Transcendent realm? You're thinking too small. One day, she'll be one of the top cultivators in existence. The name of Shao Hei's masseuse will be known far and wide."

"Sure... But didn't you say there was a matter to settle?"

"Right. It's about the wolf siblings."

"Rhava and Shiva?"

"Yeah. How close are you to buying their freedom?"

"I should be done in a couple of days."

"Oh. That's good. Then let's send them over to Spring Leaf once it's settled."

"To boost our defences?"

"Yeah. It's only a matter of time until our enemies find out about our home, so it would be good to bolster our defences. The only problem is, I think their strength is a little lacking."

"Two minute realm spirit beasts aren't enough of a defence?"

"Not for the scale of enemies we've made now. "

"How strong do they need to be?"

"Ideally, I want them to reach the sixth realm."

Tianlan's eyes widened.

"The sixth? Isn't that equivalent to foundation establishment? There are only three people at that level on the lower continent, right?"

"All the better. If Shiva and Rhava reach that realm too, then our home will be very difficult to breach, won't it? Besides, if they reach the sixth realm, they'll be able to take human forms, which will make things a lot more convenient."

"Right. They would be able to live in the city and cultivate our methods. But all of that is easier said than done, no?"

"Indeed it is. And frankly speaking, I don't even know where to begin."

"Then..."

"That's why I want to speak with them. Maybe they know something we don't."

***

"Yeah... I don't think I'll ever get used to this."

Hei and Tianlan had just stepped out of the front door when Hei noticed the 24 sword maidens once more.

As was the case last time, they sat cross-legged, 12 lining each side of Tianlan's walkway, and had their eyes closed.

"Is breathing that fun?"

"You should give it a try. It's more effective than you would think."

Hei looked back to Tianlan.

Though Tianlan couldn't yet beat him in individual combat, it would be a lie to say he hadn't grown a lot. In fact, his growth was stunning. Just his speed alone was something to behold. And on top of that, he had mastered a catalogue of sword techniques and had even attained sword intent.

If it were a real fight, though Hei wouldn't lose, he wasn't sure if he could win.

So if Tianlan's breathing training was the main catalyst for such growth, then it was definitely worth looking into.

"How do I do this? Do I just follow their lead?"

"Pretty much."

"Okay."

Hei walked up to one of the young ladies and copied her posture. He sat cross-legged and crafted a chain sword which he placed on his lap before placing his hands on his knees.

He then closed his eyes and started to listen.

At first, he could hear all manner of sounds, from the wind brushing through the trees, to the people having conversations while walking by, but as his focus grew deeper, the soundscape grew smaller.

In his mind, he saw the soundscape as a translucent sphere that gradually got smaller and smaller, giving way to the black void beyond its bounds. As it shrank, the number of sounds decreased, until there was only a quiet hum and the ebb and flow of the breathing that was taking place near him.

At that point, idle thoughts began to appear in his mind. He wondered how Bai and Mei were doing, what his next move would be, what that angel-in-training was doing right now.

As those thoughts continued to appear one after the other, the sphere began to expand, and the noise returned.

Hei realised that he had to empty his mind, paying attention to only those few sounds.

The sphere began to shrink once more until it became a tiny speck, slowly expanding and contracting.

Hei tried to synchronise his breathing with these expansions and contractions and found that the sounds of the others began to fade. All that remained was that faint humming that was growing increasingly distinct.

The sphere suddenly expanded and all other sounds were completely erased. The humming was now clear. Hei could hear that it wasn't a consistent tone, but was cyclically changing in frequency. The contractions and expansions of the sphere matched these changes in frequency, and as Hei attempted to synchronise his breathing with it, he began to feel resistance.

***

On the outside, the 24 sword maidens had opened their eyes.

They watched as the air around Hei's body stirred, occasionally whipping into a frenzy, then returning to calm.

Before long, tiny cuts began to appear on his clothing, which then went on to extend to the walkway beneath him.

The 24 closed their eyes once more and stirred their energies, blanketing the area in sword qi which started to gravitate toward Hei.

***

Hei saw numerous stars appear in the void. They approached the sphere, clinging to its surface before coaxing it into a rhythm.

He followed the rhythm, and the sphere shrank to a single point, a star which rose into the sky above his sea of consciousness.

That star flashed with a bright light that descended down to the waters, cutting the sea in two.

Hei's eyes shot open, and with them, a wave of sword qi shot out to the young lady in front of him.

"Look out!"

He tried to extend his hand to stop the sword qi, but it moved too fast.

The sword qi rocketed toward the young lady. She couldn't even open her eyes before-

"Huh?"

The sword qi was dispelled as soon as it reached her, turning into a gentle breeze that blew by harmlessly.