Tie Nse looked at ed as though in thought. He took out a jade slip and handed it to Ed.

“Link your spirit to it. You will be able to see the technique,” he said and Ed did as he said. He felt his consciousness sink into a dreamland. The world was grey and without colour. A single tree stood in the middle. On it was a green leaf; the only colour as far as the eye could see. He approached the tree and tried reaching for the leaf. When he touched the leaf, everything turned green except for a clear water droplet.

The droplet fell to the green grass-covered ground and suddenly, he was standing on water. He looked around and there was no land in sight; all around there was only this great sea.

Looking down at the water beneath his feet, he saw the reflected sky. Dark clouds hovered above him, making him look up. As his eyes looked upon the clouds, he found himself standing among them. A vortex of crackling lightning sprang and surrounded him. Soon, the lightning descended on the tree and it caught fire. The fire blazed, turning the tree to ash. The ash melted in with the dark earth and a small bud sprung from the ashes.

Ed opened his eyes to Tie Nse looking at him expectantly.

“What did I just see?”

“A heaven-grade contemplation technique,”

“Heaven Grade?” Ed was shocked. He knew that heaven-grade techniques no more existed.

“Yes. What did it seem like to you?” Tie Nse asked.

“Images. That is all. Nothing like I've ever felt before,”

“So, you saw something,” Tie Nse muttered.

“Why?” Ed frowned.

“I only suspected it was a heaven-grade technique. After all, they are considered myths. Anytime I looked inside, I saw darkness. Nothing but darkness,”

“Why?”

“Have you ever heard of the Heavenly calamity?” Tie Nse asked.

“Yes,”

“Legend has it that the heavenly calamity was caused by a great war. No one is sure what it was about. But a lot of people died. A lot of great powers left the realms. This caused the power of the realm to sink. All the soul residence stage martial artists left the realms. There was no more a need for some great techniques. They just seized to exist. Even if I have now come across this heaven-grade technique, I cannot see inside. Neither can anyone else,”

“Then why can I?”

“Well, you cannot be classified into everyone,”

“So, this is the technique you promised me,” Ed frowned and Tie Nse nodded his head.

“You promised to give me a technique you were not even sure was a technique?” he asked and Tie Nse paused.

“Are you not experimenting too much with me? What if these assumptions someday kill me?” Ed asked angrily.

“How can it kill you? I mean, boy, all conditions that currently exist are already setting you up to die, I’m going to have to look for unconventional means if I want to kill you... I mean, you cannot die so easily,” he said and Ed narrowed his eyes.

“Say, are you really angry right now? This is the first time I have seen anything but a frown and blank look on your face. You are making progress!” Tie Nse seemed oblivious of the murderous look Ed was giving him as he said jubilantly. He then paused and looked at Ed seriously.

“Since I don't know how to practice this contemplation technique, I cannot guide you there. All I can do for you is raise your strength. This place is good enough to do your spirit picking,” he said and Ed calmed down.

“The rules for spirit picking may not apply to you or are worse for you, but I’ll guide you best I can. Boy, prepare yourself,” Tie Nse said and Ed took a position at the centre of the cave. Sitting in a lotus fashion, he closed his eyes.

“The method is simple. Enter into your sea of consciousness. You are trying to pick a star that will represent your spirit. Some say the stars reflect from their spirit pond. Some see it in the sky above them. Wherever it may be, you must call out to it and also answer its call. The rest is up to you,” Tie Nse said and sat away from Ed.

Ed closed his eyes and entered his sea of consciousness. Everything was dark except the night sky that held a well of stars, signally his readiness to break into the spirit-picking stage. He was not quite sure what calling to a star and accepting a call were, but he just stared up and tried to feel his way through this.

After sitting in contemplation for more than a day, nothing in the sky called to him. He started to worry that he was not ready to do the spirit picking. After one more day of staring at the stars in his sea of consciousness, he started to think that his special constitution may never allow him to do things according to the rules.

No star called to him. In fact, it was as though they were silent and watching him the same as he was watching them. He frowned in frustration. He thought about all that he must go through to go back home and wondered if time moved here as it did back home. If so, doesn't that mean that everyone he knew would be dead by the time he is able to reach his goal? Will the quest still hold meaning? What about her? Will she be dead by then?

He felt his heart start to waver, causing his sea of consciousness to tremble. Trying to hold back his fears, he sat in contemplation for two more days. On the fourth day of his contemplation, he was no calmer. He was angry. Why was he here anyway? That old woman that sent him to go through the mist, did she have his best interest at heart? Was he going to die in this foreign world?

No, he had to leave this place. There was nothing that was going to stop him. Even if he had to go back in time when he returned home. He must finish what he started. Did that old woman think she could keep him here forever? Did she think throwing him in here would be the end of him? He will return and he will kill her!

Looking up at the sky, he raised his hand at the stars in determination.

“Come,” he said to no star in particular. At the sound of his voice, every star in the sky rushed down. It was like looking at the fall of the heavens. Like rain, they fell into his sea of consciousness but did not touch the ground. They swirled around him as though waiting for him to do something.

At first, he was shocked at the result, but his heart slowly calmed down. If they were all here, why take one? He asked himself. At that moment, he had made his decision to absorb them all. He sent out his spirit energy like a halo around him, making sure to envelope all the stars swirling around him. He then attempted to drag them slowly into him. What happened next was out of his expectation. He did not absorb them, they forcefully entered his core.

Pain like never before tore through his being. Outside, his body inside the cave started to bleed from all orifices. Blood seeped from his pores, causing him to pale. His body started to wane as he started to lose body mass.

Tie Nse looked at the scene and sighed. He wondered if this boy would survive this. The first three days were silent, making him think that the boy could not cross the threshold. Looking at this scene, he could only sigh. This spirit-picking was like nothing he had ever seen a person go through. He wished he could assist the boy, but doing that will stall his potential. A child that was helped during his spirit picking will never be as good as his peer. It would even be a miracle if he could enter the next stage of his training.

He soon felt lightning crackling in the sky outside the cave and turned solemn. A spirit-picking accompanied by heavenly tribulation. This boy had exceeded reason.