Though he hadn't been much of an outdoorsman in his previous life, Nobu could still appreciate the beauty of nature. The gorge he had been taken to was easily one of the most serene places he had ever visited, almost as if it had never been touched by human hands.

"This river, Okurimono, flows from the mountain and empties out into the port of Owari-Asai. While it appears small at the source, it is one of the Owari Province's three main rivers. What distinguishes it from the other two is the fact it carries with it the blessings of Inari Okami-sama. Rice, wheat, and other cereals grow rich and healthy when treated with the waters of Okurimono..."

"Mmm..."

Since he wasn't particularly fond of the fox goddess, Nobu just hummed in response to Kumiko's explanation. He was grateful, sure, but that wasn't the reason he had come here. His goal was to break through to the next Realm before the meeting with his parents. He still had four days until then, but, recalling how frustratingly difficult it had been to enter the First Realm, he was already working against the clock.

Fortunately, just as Yui had pointed out, there was a persistent wind flowing through the gorge. The problem was that the wind primarily flowed through the gorge rather than over it. It was also colder than a witch's tits, so, despite finding the emerald green waters very beautiful, Nobu wasn't looking forward to sitting on a cold, perpetually moist outcrop in nothing but his birthday suit...

If he wasn't absolutely certain she would be a distraction, Nobu would have invited Onihime to join him. Instead, he just shook his head before disrobing and doing his best to ignore the unblinking gazes of the thirteen girls encircling him. Then, despite numerous offers to assist him, he scaled the relatively sheer wall using a rope before sitting down on the frigid stone with his bare ass.

Resisting the urge to curse the moment his balls touched the cold stone, Nobu adopted the laziest-looking Lotus Position most of the girls had ever seen. After that, he did his best to "feel the wind flowing around him" as he drew in a slow, steady, and never-ending breath...

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As someone who cultivated the exact same technique as her Master, Sachiko was among the group assigned to keep watch over him. She was joined by the Ayane and the perennially patient Onihime while the rest of the group, excluding Cho and Midori, discussed the events of the previous day.

Though she felt like there was a certain distance between them as of late, Yuriko genuinely believed she was the closest person to Nobu after Yui. Thus, the moment everyone had gathered, she took it upon herself to represent everyone else by asking, "What the hell is going on, Yui? You clearly know something we don't."

Shaking her head, Yui maintained a mask of tranquility as she plainly stated, "It doesn't matter what I believe or think I know. The fact of the matter is that we failed to protect our Lord. Other than that, the only things that matter are his version of events and what he wishes for us to know. It isn't mine or anyone else's place to question or doubt him."

Balling her hands into a fist, Yuriko was highly tempted to punch Yui in the face. At the same time, however, she knew that the latter's words were correct. Even if Nobu told them the sky was red, it was their duty to back his claims. He might have given them permission to act casually around him, but that didn't change their 'purpose'.

Understanding Yuriko's indication, Yui closed her eyes to conceal the anger and frustration she felt, adding, "Our best course of action is following the example set by our Lord. We must focus on the future and becoming stronger. At the very least, we need to do everything in our power to conceal our weakness in front of our Lord. If he sees us brooding over yesterday's events, it will invariably weigh heavily on his mind. I do not wish to add to his burden. Thus, until I am powerful enough to obtain the answers I seek, I will focus on the things that matter most...our Lord and his happiness..."

Opening her eyes, Yui's expression became one of unfettered conviction as she gazed around at her fellow clanswomen. She met each of their gazes before settling on Yuriko, who, after several tense seconds of silence, exhaled a frustrated yet acquiescent sigh...

...

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.

Though he knew it was going to take a while, Nobu was bored out of his mind as he wasted hours trying and failing to meditate. He simply couldn't clear his mind, and, thanks to the frigid chill, his body has basically turned into a popsicle. This made it marginally easier to feel the wind, but, at the same time, he couldn't help shivering violently as his little brother packed up their family jewels and retreated inward.

Placing his hands under his armpits, Nobu did his best to alleviate some of their numbness before pulling out the stone tablet to both check the time and re-read the conditions for advancement. A total of six hours had passed since he began. As for the requirements for breaking into the Second Realm, Breath of the Wind, it literally just told him to meditate until he could feel the wind flowing around him. He thought this meant he needed to meditate in a windy place, but, now that he was freezing his balls off, Nobu was beginning to think the exact opposite.

If the only requirement was that he feels the wind flowing around him, an empty room without a breeze might actually be better. After all, he was literally feeling the wind to his fucking bones right now and it hadn't made the slightest difference.

Unfortunately, Nobu's pride didn't allow him to simply give up and ask the girls to pull him up and carry him home. He was supposed to be their Lord and Master. He couldn't remain the same weak and pathetic little shit Yui had picked up in an alleyway. He wanted to become strong, so, unless he caught a cold or passed out, Nobu had no intention of giving up.

Exhaling for the first time in hours, Nobu was marginally surprised by how warm his breath felt. He was pretty sure he was borderline hypothermic at this point but his breath flowed outward like the heat of a radiator. Even stranger was the fact that his arms and legs rapidly cooled as he continued to exhale far beyond the capacity of his lungs...

"What the fuck...?"

Just as confusion washed over Nobu's mind, Sachiko happily chimed, "Congratulations, Master~!" in an exuberant tune that alerted everyone nearby.

"Huh...?"

Though he hadn't noticed it due to the rapid cooling of his body, a warm aura exuded from Nobu's body the moment he exhaled. Both Ayane and Sachiko had noticed this, but, due to the quiet and taciturn nature of the former, the latter was the first to speak out. She wasn't sure if her Master had actually broken through, but, due to their similar levels and her innate talent as a sensor, she could tell his aura had become much richer.

Before Nobu could even think to correct what he believed to be a misunderstanding, everyone else came to the edge of the gorge to congratulate him. Onihime even jumped down to the outcrop he was seated upon before wrapping her arms around him to provide warmth. This was something she had been asked to do by Yui, but, even if she hadn't, Onihime would have happily provided warmth for her Master.

Hissing due to the sudden and drastic change in temperature, Nobu was briefly tempted to throw Onihime into the frigid waters below. Instead, he remained seated, an annoyed but quickly relaxing expression on his face as her warmth gradually spread from his back to the rest of his body...

...

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After being pulled up the cliff by Kiki, Nobu wrapped his body in multiple layers of clothes before enjoying a warm meal prepared by Cho. At the same time, he did his best to answer the questions of the girls, first and foremost being whether or not he had broken through. There was such a thing as a 'false awakening' where cultivators thought they had broken through to the next Realm only to discover they were stuck between the two. This was considered a 'dead end' for most cultivators, as, more often than not, it implied their body had absorbed too many impurities or they simply lacked the talent to advance further.

Nobu was a little annoyed by the insinuation that he might have exhausted his potential between the First and Second Realms, but, understanding Kumiko was simply informing him of something he didn't know, he didn't harp over it. Instead, he experimented with the phenomenon of exhaling at a persistent rate, surprising virtually everyone by exuding a warm breeze through his aura. It was still invisible, but, even without being able to see it, everyone could feel that he was much stronger than before.

Unfortunately, while his reserves actually seemed to replenish instead of decreasing, Nobu's body rapidly chilled as he exhaled. It was like he was breathing in through each of his pores instead of exhaling through them. He knew this because the fabric of his clothes would immediately stick to him as he exhaled. This was followed by a sensation similar to being smothered, so, after a while of exhaling, Nobu had no choice but to breathe inward as if he were gasping for air.

After quickly allaying the girls' concerns, Nobu explained this phenomenon so that they could offer him some advice. The consensus was that he would need to wear breathable clothes, or, at the very least, outfits that could quickly be adjusted so that he could expose his back and arms. Other than that, Kumiko began asking questions related to the wind produced by his aura rather than focusing on the positives and negatives associated with generating it.

Since the Second Realm was generally when people began training various aura-related combat techniques, Kumiko hypothesized that Nobu's 'wind' could be weaponized somehow. It wouldn't make sense if it was just a method to improve his aura regeneration. Thus, after following Yui's suggestion to set camp, everyone awoke at the crack of dawn to observe and assist Nobu in his experimentation.

Based on preliminary findings, the warm breeze emanating from Nobu's body was able to travel upwards of twenty meters if he focused to the point he appeared constipated. Unfortunately, while this was rather impressive, the wind he was able to produce felt like a gentle breeze rather than any kind of attack. He might be able to catch someone by surprise if they were relatively close to them, but, depending on their lung capacity, so could everyone else.

Fortunately, while he was absolutely terrible at it, the girls managed to cheer Nobu up by pointing out that he could, in fact, control the force and direction of the wind. It might be weak right now, but, so long as he continued to train and increase his aura reserves, there was a chance he would become a walking tempest by the time he reached the Fifth or Sixth Realm. More importantly, his sense of smell hadn't changed all that much despite his breakthrough. This implied it was either a quirk of the First Realm or an accidental opening of a meridian. Since the stone tablet showed that the meridian in his nose was still inactive, however, Nobu could pretty much confirm it was related to his cultivation technique. As for why it didn't influence Sachiko nearly as much as it had affected him? It did. She just didn't complain about it.

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(A/N: Nobu is gradually becoming an air bender o_o...)