Seira returned to the clearing in the forest, greeting Aer and Rynn with a wave.

“Good evening, honored Saint.”

The woman smiled at her, motioning for her to sit.

She did, opening her mana sense. As always, Aer’s Level was impossible to discern, but it was Tian Rynn that surprised her the most. For the last week, he had been training non-stop with the Saint, working to get his cultivation to a suitable stage. In that time, he had gone from having never even touched mana to being a Fifth Level adept.

She couldn’t help but feel a bit of jealousy at that. This man was insanely talented. If he wanted to, he probably could have leveraged for promotion to Scout, if not Warrior. She didn’t know how the Elders had deemed him a Sun — he had only been using mana for a week, and yet he was nearly as good as she was!

Aer cleared her throat, pulling her back to reality.

“Seira! How are you feeling today?”

“I’m alright. I’ve been practicing the mana control exercises you showed us the other day. It’s just that… I’m still trying to wrap my head around the jade slip you showed us.”

Kiro had nearly gotten it out of her, but she didn’t want to crush his world like that. It would be better if he lived on as it was, steadily progressing through the social ladder. He might stay a Sun, but at least he would be a wealthy alchemist too. Still, what if the matriarch… No. The chances that Hong Ma would find what she wanted while they lived were tiny, according to Aer. It would all be fine. She hoped.

The Saint gave her a sympathetic pat on the back.

“I know how it feels, having your entire world turned upside down. I was sealed beneath a mountain for 5000 years. When I woke, everything that I had known was gone. My friends, my husband, my sect, all of them had died before the halfway point. I was left with nothing but my weakened core and whatever I could make with my own two hands. But I survived. I overcame the change, and I know that you can too. Plus, you have a wonderful amazing awesome mentor here to help you!”

Seira looked up, realizing that this was the first bit of backstory the Saint had ever told them.

“Who sealed you? Was it another Saint?”

“Yes, but that’s a story for another day. Consider it a reward for doing well during training. Now, show me your techniques.”

If nothing else, it would help distract her from the jade slip. In union, she and Rynn conjured fire, shaping it into a ball between their hands. It had only been a week since she had first met Aer, but these meetings at sunset had already grown routine. This style of training felt much more natural than the Hong clan’s training, though she supposed that that was to be expected of a Saint.

She looked over to Rynn, noting his orange-yellow flame. It had only been a day since they had last met, but he had already progressed even further. At this rate, he would soon overtake her.

Still, he hadn’t surpassed her yet. And he wouldn’t. Not as long as she had anything to say about it. She forced her flame to condense. Deep red shifted to orange, then yellow, the heat intensifying many times over. By then, the flame was barely the size of her finger, a drastic improvement from the head-sized ball she had started with. Still, it wasn’t enough. With a final burst of effort, the flame condensed once more, burning white with scorching heat.However, her mana wasn’t enough to sustain it, and after a second of shining glory, it flickered out.

She flopped onto her back, her spirit exhausted but arms raised in triumph. That was a new milestone! Rynn, grunted, still compressing his own flame. She watched him as he funneled more mana into the compression, wondering how in the world he had progressed so fast. With a scream, he finally succeeded, holding up a fully-yellow ball.

“Good job!” she clapped.

“You as well, Brave.”

Aer looked them both over, a grin on her face.

“You two certainly have been practicing! Amazing job!”

A gust of wind blew them both upright, and then the Saint tossed them both a plain-looking brown bag.

“Seira, Rynn, you two have truly impressed me these past few days. As such, you shall no longer call yourselves my prospectives. Instead, I hereby accept you both as disciples of the Whispering Wind, and my own personal apprentices. Rejoice, as you are now backed by the power of a Saint.”

They both bowed at the waist, as disciples do to their masters. Seira laughed. She was, well and truly, apprenticed to a Saint! She almost went over and hugged Aer, but decided against it at the last moment. However, perhaps sensing her desire for hugs, the Saint went over and hugged her herself.

Wow. She smelled like the air after a heavy storm. Seira motioned for Rynn to join in, but the Sun furiously shook his head. Huh. Not a touchy person, she supposed. Or maybe he was just scaredof touching such a powerful being.

After a few more moments, they let go.

“Alright, disciples. Those bags are bags of holding, meaning they’re imbued to hold tons of stuff. For the next seven days, your goal is to get whatever personal belongings you have, say your goodbyes, and really just prepare to ascend to the heavens. We will still be meeting every day, but only to deposit whatever you have and to answer your questions. Now go! We leave in one week’s time”

With that, the Saint disappeared once more.