In… Out… In… Out. With every breath, more of the pill dissolved, releasing its potent mana into his system. With a spiritual pull, he directed the energy to his channels, letting it mesh together with his own to form a smooth stream of power.

In… Out… In… Out. He guided the current through the solidified loops that Aer had established for him months ago, letting the tiniest bit of mana soak into the surrounding organs before passing back into the river of fire.

A warm tingling sensation passed through his body, and he increased the speed of the torrent. His near-overflowing channels compressed the mana down, concentrating the energy into a pressurized jet of power.

In. The densest mana gathered together, radiating pleasant warmth as it accelerated further. Out. Straining his spirit, he pushed it towards his dantian, willing it to permeate the spiritual solid to its… core.

Kiro pursed his lips, trying to stifle the chuckle that was threatening to disrupt his breathing. Alaric of Din was truly infusing him with more than just knowledge. Infusing…

He shook his head, turning back to the task at hand. The mana that had failed to enter the crystalline structure returned to his channels, and he drew from the inside of his core to replace the mana that hadn’t. In… Out… In… Out...

Another stream of concentrated mana rushed over his core, barely adding anything to the sea of saturated fire. He was so close to a breakthrough, but he could sense that he still had the tiniest bit left to go.

He started another cycle, going through the mental exercises Aer had taught them to prepare them for the Second Circle.

Your core is as solid as rock, yet as fluid as air. As weighty as the sea, yet as light as mist. As substantial as reality, yet as fleeting as dreams.

He visualized his spirit, concentrating on the mantra as another wave of mana soaked into the walls of his core. He was inching closer to understanding. Whatever enlightenment he needed to form a soul, he could nearly see it on the horizon—

“AAAGGGHHH!”

Kiro jumped, breaking from his cultivation trance.

“I have finally done it! Mid-Infusion is mine!” Rynn flaunted his aura, which had taken a sense of fullness that Kiro’s had yet to achieve.

Next to him, Seira cupped her scarred ears, wincing. “Really? I was in the deepest trance I’ve had all week, Rynn! I might have even broken through!”

The man simply pointed his chin up, looking down upon them like a master lecturing his disciples. “A real mystic would not have been disturbed by my cries of victory. Plus, it’s simply your fault for not trying hard enough in your cultivation.”

Seira bristled, but Kiro gave her a wink. “I think that she’s been working plenty hard.”

With a brief bout of intense concentration, he managed to open their link, channeling mana through to Seira’s core. Her own mana greedily consumed the flames, working together with the pill in her mouth to form one last push against the structure of her core.

She sat back down, and a few minutes later her aura deepened to match Rynn’s.

The man smirked. “Looks like my success has motivated you — good. I would hope that you would put forth at least that much effort in your training. The Saint is already restricting us to cultivating at a snail’s pace — there’s no reason to be lazy when ‘work’ takes about as much effort as lifting a finger.

Seira groaned. “Rynn, I feel like this is the hundredth time we’ve had this conversation. Aer knows better than all of us combined. Stop doubting her.”

“All I’m stating is that I feel no strain in doing these base exercises. To truly achieve perfection, one must push their body, mind, and spirit to the absolute limit. Anything less is wasted training.”

Seira stood, rolling her eyes. “If ‘perfection’ means permanently injuring yourself, then sure. We’re already pushing as hard as we can. Not everyone can be… you.”

Rynn laughed. “Ah, yes. I suppose you nearly dying to your mother is considered the result of pushing as hard as you can?”

Kiro felt an aura flare, and he didn’t realize until a moment later that it was his own. “Rynn. Leave it. You weren’t even there.”

“It’s simply the truth. Someday, we won’t have a Saint floating around us watching our every move. Only strength is constant, and only through perfection can —”

“Disciples! How are you feeling?”

Aer poked her head out of the corridor, and Kiro let out a breath. Every day, it seemed like Rynn purposefully tried to aggravate them as much as possible.

“I have broken through to the mid-Infusion stage! Soon, I will reach past the established bounds of cultivation, achieving the absolute pinnacle —”

“Yeah, yeah. Good job, Rynn. What about you, Seira?”

Was Rynn even getting on Aer’s nerves?

“Yeah, I also broke through. I’m having some trouble understanding the Nascent Soul exercises, though. It’s just… I can’t wrap my mind around it.”

The Saint gave her a proud smile, stirring up a small breeze around them. “Well, that’s ok. We can try some different approaches tomorrow and see how those work. Eek! I can’t believe it! You guys are already on the verge of your first big ascension!”

Kiro stood, grimacing. “Well, I wouldn’t say the verge...”

Aer gave him a dismissive wave, clapping. “Don’t worry about it! You’ll get there in no time. Anyways, I’ll go and start on dinner a bit early today. As always, you guys go do whatever you want!”

Rynn followed her back into the cave, yawning.

Now they were the only ones left. Kiro groaned, leaning against the cold walls of the cultivation room. “Continue?”

Seira nodded, and he popped the mana pill back into his mouth, restarting his cultivation. In… Out… In…

A few moments passed, and she tapped his shoulder. “Ugh. I shouldn’t have accepted your mana back then. You should have used it for your own cultivation, to clear a little bit of the gap between us. Instead, you’ve just widened it more.”

He finished his cycle, cracking open an eyelid. “Don’t worry. It was worth it to prove him wrong.”

She pulled him in, sighing. “But… What if he’s right? What if even this isn’t enough? We’re literally putting in so much more effort, and I’ve only just now caught up to him. It just… it makes me so angry, that he has such amazing latent talent and fails to make use of it. If I was like that…”

He accepted her hug, giving a slight smirk at the irony of the situation. A moment later, she must have realized it herself, because she pulled away.

“Kiro… is this how you feel about me? Here I am, complaining about how far away he is from me, and yet you’ve been dragged into this competition with twice that disadvantage! And still, you’re so close to us! Ugh, I wish I could give you my mana safely — I could bring you up with me no matter what the cultivation stage!”

He gave a resigned smile. “No, that’s not at all how I feel about you, Seira. Sure, sometimes I get jealous that you got all the latent talent, but as you said, I’m still keeping close on your tail. Really, I’ve already come to terms with the fact that I’ll never be the best — being with you kind of forced me to do so.”

“I’m sorry,” she murmured, wrapping her arms around him once more. “I never realized just how much you had to endure, just being around me.”

He patted her back, laughing. “Well, it being you makes it a lot easier. Rynn, on the other hand…”

She sighed. “How are we ever going to surpass him? It’s like the heavens themselves favor him.”

“I don’t know. If nothing else, he was right about mother nearly killing us. We need to get stronger faster, but I don’t know how.”

Aer popped her head out of the corridor once more,

He immediately stood up, flushed. “Oh, sorry! Did you need me to help with anything in the kitchen today?”

The Saint shook her head, walking towards them with a gentle smile. ”No. I think I may have the answer to your question, though.”