Blood River stood still as a statue as he watched Blue Ripple pass through the doorways and out of the bandit outpost.

"Hmmm, interesting..." Mister Black commented out of the blue.

The old ghost's voice snapped the young man out of his reverie. "Something happening, Mister Black?"

"Oh, no, my young friend," the spirit replied, "Nothing at all for you to worry about. You have some more pressing concerns to handle this moment, like dealing with all that blood energy you're holding."

River could feel the waves of excess power radiating from his skin as heat. He had absorbed Elder Wave's blood, and the result left him feeling overstuffed, but Blue Ripple's arrival had come before he could deal with it. Rummaging through the outpost, he located in the bandits' stores the one thing he needed right now: a barrel of water.

He stripped off all his clothing and crawled into the barrel, submerging his body in the water up to his chin. Closing his eyes, he began to circulate the Passion Sublimation Technique.

This time he held none of this cards back. Everything, positive and negative, poured into the black hole. Elation and sorrow alike poured out of him and into that dark vortex, which responded by spinning ever more rapidly. At the same time, the blood in his body circulated at a higher speed, the excess energy grinding and polishing every fiber of his being.

Agony and ecstasy flooded his senses, but River seized control of those and threw them into the black hole as well. All emotions, all sensations belonged to Passion Sublimation now. The water in the barrel began to bubble while he felt the blood in his veins becoming somehow purer. He pushed the circulation of his technique and his blood harder, felt more pain and pleasure, and fed the spinning vortex in his mind's eye all of it in a cycle. His sense of time distorted, the circulation feeling like it took an eternity and a moment all at once.

River's eyes snapped open as the barrel exploded in a cloud of steam, the few remaining dregs of fluid dripping off of him. He rose from his crouch and, careful to avoid the shattered bits of wood now strewn on the floor, stepped over to the table where he had left his belongings. As he walked across the room, he pondered the meaning of what transcending into the Earth Realm truly meant.

Before, when he had advanced inside the Human Realm, his body had strengthened, toughened, become more flexible. All that had changed had been inside himself, an improvement of the substance of his body.

Now, as he walked across the chamber, it felt like the shackles of gravity had loosened on his body. Even when he was under Blood Ignition and falling to the ground in its accelerated time, he had been weighed down by the same inexorable force as always even if it was slower. Now, with every step, he discovered that the draw of the earth on him was weaker than before, that he could outright oppose it himself.

Pulling on his clothing, River also considered something else. Before, when circulating Passion Sublimation, he had always had a reserve held back from it. Even at his most determined, he could not bear to part with certain emotions and sensations. Having obtained some justice and having made his peace with Blue Ripple in their parting, having severed his ties to the clan, he was now capable of letting go entirely.

In surrendering everything to the black hole, he had conquered it. It spun, vaster and faster than ever, but it did so at his volition and will. He considered that the willpower that mastered Passion Sublimation the same as the inner force that pushed back against gravity, loosening its earthen shackles.

"Mister Black? How would I proceed in advancing through the Earth Realm?"

Mister Black whistled. "That's an ambitious thing to consider... at least for others. I'm certain you've felt what it means to transcend the Human and step over the Earth now?"

River nodded. "I think so. It's to resist the pull of the world with your own strength and willpower, isn't it?"

"Correct. For most who consider the path of physique tempering, they would need to locate increasingly rare and expensive treasures to improve. For you, it's a matter of absorbing enough blood energy from powerful enough sources. As you do so, the connection drawing you to the earth will attenuate until it breaks, at which point you will have entered the Heaven Realm of physique tempering."

River frowned. "How does this relate to opening my meridians and touching essence, then?"

"Opening the meridians is a completely different process, young man. It requires that you first locate them inside yourself, and then practicing your circulation technique in a way that you can force essence through and dilate their apertures. As difficult as that sounds, it's something that this old man is well-suited to assist you in since I can find your meridians with ease."

River considered a moment. "So then I should probably do that first and then consider tempering my physique further?"

"If you wish to continue tempering your physique at all, yes," Mister Black replied. "While entering the Heaven Realm would grant you the ability to fly, establishing a foundation with your essence will do the same, and without as many resources needed. This is why the great majority of cultivators never pursue physique training once they have transcended the Human Realm."

"But I'm different because I have the Blood Devouring Palm, right?"

"You are," Mister Black agreed. "But of course you yourself suggested opening your meridians first anyway, so I assume you have a plan for your cultivation in mind."

"Yes, Mister Black. While advancing my physique is easy for me while hard for others, it is only through touching essence that I can learn magical techniques like that Blood Devouring Universe, right?"

Mister Black laughed. "My friend, the Blood Devouring Universe is a great way away for you regardless. It isn't a simple technique. But you are still right about the need for learning magical techniques; your greatest weakness is that your reliance on the Blood Devouring Palm limits your range of attack. It is through magical techniques that you can wear down a foe so that you can approach and use the palm."

River nodded. "So then, it's time to return to the Primeval Forest?"

"Just about," Mister Black responded. "But first, my young friend, you might want to check that third parchment to your left on that table over there. It will be very useful in the future."

The red-maned youth located the specified parchment roll and unfurled it on the table. It was a map, much much more extensive than the one Elder Cloud had shown him, covered a region of a thousand kilometers or so around the Dragon's Den. The Primeval Forest was a large splotch on the map, and River could see that several other villages and towns surrounding it were in a similar vicinity to it as Flowing Water was, with some even closer.

River made a quick study of the lay of the land, including the relative location of the Dragon's Den, and then rolled up the parchment and slid it into a nearby tube-like case that he tucked under his belt. He then frowned as a thought occurred to him.

"Mister Black... how did I read that map?"

Mister Black chuckled. "Ah, well... I may have made a slight adjustment to you while you were handling your breakthrough. Illiteracy is a natural state for someone of your upbringing, but it's a barrier to a cultivator. If I didn't help you out like this, you would be forever confined to the techniques and knowledge that I impart you. Who knows when you might discover something else and want to use it, right?"

River felt something was off with this explanation, but as Mister Black had never done him wrong, he decided to drop the matter. Even so, a seed of suspicion hid now in his mind. "Oh, okay. Thanks."

Taking one last look around the battered battleground of the outpost that had marked the end of his childhood, River grabbed a few small items and left. He didn't bother to clean up any of the scene, nor did he even close the doors; the clan would arrive sooner or later, and then it would be their problem.

The sun was rising as the crimson-clad youth left the mound. Squinting at the brightness, he used it as his guide to head east to the Primeval Forest. Stronger than ever and less constrained by the weight of gravity, it took only a couple of moments for him to get used to the new speed and ease with which he could cross the grasslands. He estimated that he was at least four times as fast as when he had ridden a herdbeast on the open road.

Leaving behind dried corpses, broken furniture, and the last remnants of a boy named Strong River, the devilish youth sped across the grasslands with his face to the sun, his blood-red eyes glinting in the brightness as his crimson mane trailed behind him.