"Who has their cultivation frozen?" The Ice Saint asked with faint sarcasm, barely hiding the glee of matching his old friend and rival in cultivation progress.

The Saber Saint barely threw him a glance, before landing beside their sleeping teacher, a mere nine years old who could raise Saints with a single touch.

With his powerful senses, the Saint could literally feel to boy ascending once more, breaking into the fifth Star in the same day. Genius was not enough to describe such a monster.

He took out a Blue Jade crystal, that the boy wanted, and laid it beside him, then turned towards the Lake Saint, who was still focused on crafting a mind stone by compressing liquid mana extracted from the deep well. "Whatever these blue stones are, they are impossible to cut directly. I had to chop at the walls to extract this one." the Saber Saber disclosed with deep frown.

"You could try to make a mind stone like this. It's much harder than it looks." the Lake Saint said in a tired voice, as if strained by the effort.

And Saints didn't tire easily, if at all.

"More Plum Wine and Blue Gin?" the Fox Saint offered while arranging drinks on tray, the woman possibly still unused to her new status, especially since the Holy Son kept addressing her as 'fox girl'. Not that he seemed to treat the other Saints any different.

"Thank you, dear fox." the Lake Saint spoke in a gracious tone as she swiped the wine cup and gulped it in one go, as if her throat was parched.

"... You realize you are a Saint now, Daughter of the Wild Moon?" the Ice Saint asked in a level voice, even as he grabbed a cup of gin and sipped from it with an ecstatic face.

"Don't use that title, Icefire Ancestor! The Wild Moon is long gone." the Fox Saint exclaimed in a louder voice and a steel-like intent, before resuming her mousy appearance, the very image of a prim and proper maiden.

"She still has some fire, unlike what she's shown us until now...perhaps the Wild Moon is not over yet." the Saber Saint smirked as he picked his own cup of gin and sniffed it for a long minute in appreciation.

"...Don't worry mother...I will find you..." a small voice spoke at their feet, as the blonde boy turned in his sleep, tears leaving long trails on his child face.

The Saints exchanged a meaningful look and drew to the side, as to not disturb the Holy Son.

"Despite what you might think, Pef is still a little boy. He even brought his mother along, when he arrived in our Sect." the Ice Saint explained in a caring tone, somewhat clashing with his formidable persona as a mighty Saint.

"...But, his Sword Dao?" the Saber Saint wondered, seeming a bit confused.

"I think he was born that way. Pef was already cultivating on the day he was born. At five years of age in the Foundation Realm, he fought an Emperor Realm beast, and killed it with three strikes. With a blade of grass." The Ice Saint continued with a slightly awed voice, making the other Saints turn towards the sleeping boy, curious eyes gleaming.

"So it is not Icefire who made him like this." the Lake Saint concluded, sounding relieved for some reason.

"Icefire never acted this way for anyone, not even for our Founder. Sometimes, I almost think the Icefire learns from him too." the man murmured in an uncertain tone, as if too frightened to continue this thought.

The four Saints gulped from their drinks as they sat down to wait, almost like trying to erase the thought from their minds.

"Should I also go into that well? Another Star would be nice..." the Fox Saint asked, mostly towards the strongest Saint here, the Lake Saint.

"...You should go anyways, little fox. You cannot be a Saint and still have fears. Our young teacher was quite clear on this." The Lake Saint advised her with a calm voice, while her eyes sparkled like a clear lake.

"..." the two men grunted as they acknowledged the news, and thus the Fox Saint flew into the waterfall as well, leaving behind the smell of flowers and rain air.

"Still a bit silly, the little Wild Moon. Her mother might not like you tricking her like that." the Saber Saint mused softly, a hint of worry in his voice.

"The Divines do not meddle in our affairs, saber guy. Plus, the girl will get a new Star from this. She has many fears." the Lake Saint concluded in a certain tone.

"I guess I will gather some branches for a broom." the Saber Saint spoke gruffly as he took off towards a nearby forest.

The Ice and Lake Saint stood still for a moment, before bursting into laughter. "There won't be any sword moves for that broom." the Ice Saint giggled like a little boy.

"Probably not. I'd guess discipline or patience. Your Holy Son is quite adept at teaching." the Lake Saint spoke in an admiring voice.

The Ice saint nodded and sipped more gin, face returning to his normal serious mood. " He teaches our Core Disciples now. You should see the Stars falling like rain on the little shmucks. The Outer Disciples climbed entire realms while he taught there."

"... If a God could die, and be reborn...he might remember some things from the other life. It would make the new life seem easy." the Lake Saint whispered as if contemplating something deep, while another mind stone condensed in her hand.

The Ice Saint blinked as he stared at the sparkling blue mind stone. "I'm certain even Gods can die. But to cross the Paths of Reincarnation and still keep your memories? It would take a powerful soul. Stronger than even Icefire." he muttered while his eyes began to burn with inner flames.

The Lake Saint tapped her lips with a delicate finger, signaling silence. The Saber Saint returned with a self-made broom, while the Fox Saint burst from the waterfall and crash-landed onto the shore, green robes mostly dissolved, heaving in pain and trembling, and clutching a small Blue Jade at her chest. "You could have told me...it was awful!" the woman wailed as tears began to pour on her face.

"Look at the stars, fox girl. They are much closer now than before." Pef said gently while turning on his back and holding a small palm out.

Just as he spoke, his cultivation raised into the fifth Star of Emperor Realm, seemingly so easy and effortless.

The Fox Saint listened and copied his form, turning on her back and covering a star in the sky with her palm. "One fear conquered and one Star gained in reward." the new two-Star Saint whispered in understanding. As she spoke the words, a star streaked across the skies, like an omen.