It didn’t take Wu Jian very long to pack for the trip. He never had that many supplies or items to begin with, and everything he did need had been stored inside of his storage ring. Most of what he carried were alchemy pills anyway. Now that he thought about it, he only really carried alchemy pills, but that was also because he hadn’t been able to pack for his journey last time… for obvious reasons.

Wu Jian honestly had no idea what he would need for a journey like this. Back when he was traveling with Huǒ Shuchang, they had bought a tent, sleeping bags, and enough food to last for several months. Would he need any of that here? Hou Jingshu had assured him that wasn’t the case. He would be traveling on an airship, which had cabin space and beds. Meals would also be provided. It wasn’t like he’d be hoofing it in the wild like last time.

There were still some things Wu Jian did want to get, and so he went shopping with Hou Jingshu, which had been quite the experience. Her actions in the war against the Ming Province and Zhou Kingdom had earned her the love of her people. She was so popular that every person who saw them stopped and bowed--except for the kids. Several rambunctious children had run up to her with enthusiastic greetings. It made him proud, but it also made him realize how little of an impact he’d had.

Wu Jian couldn’t say he had that many ambitions. He wanted to find out who destroyed his family and kill them, and he wanted to marry Wu Meiying, Hou Jingshu, and Zhou Lihua. That was it. Back when he was younger, he had also wanted to make his father proud of him, but there was no longer any point. His father was dead. Some people might believe that your ancestors were watching you in heaven, but Wu Jian did not. Once someone died, they were gone. Their existence was no more.

In either event, they didn’t buy much during their shopping excurse. Wu Jian wouldn’t need food, bedding, or a tent. They mostly bought supplies and clothing. Wu Jian only realized it now, but he had very little in the way of clothes. He would be representing the Shang Kingdom during this tournament. It was more than that, however. Wu Jian was also Hou Jingshu’s fiance, which her father had officially recognized about one week after waking up, so he needed clothes that could match his status.

Because he wouldn’t see them for a long time, Wu Jian also spent a lot of time sparring both Hou Jingshu and Loong Chen. He and Hou Jingshu were not quite evenly matched. He won most of their sparring matches, but she became stronger after every spar, which meant she forced him to push himself harder. Loong Chen kicked his ass every time they sparred. Just when Wu Jian thought he’d grown a little stronger, the man came in with an even stronger attack. He figured Loong Chen was doing that on purpose. While it galled him to constantly get beaten up, the results were clear; his attacks were much sharper now than they had been.

He still couldn’t teleport though.

Wu Jian hadn’t tried teleporting since his last attempt. He’d lost an arm that time, and they didn’t have the ingredients to create a pill that would regrow his arm. Loong Chen had also told him not to right now. According to him, the reason Wu Jian lost his arm was due to a combination of three factors: He didn’t have enough chi, didn’t have enough control over his chi, and his understanding into the Dao of Space was lacking. He said that Wu Jian should wait until he at least reached the Deva Realm before trying to teleport again.

Wu Jian agreed with him.

Mei Xilan had also begun sparring with Hou Jingshu a lot. Sometimes she would even barge in on them when they were alone and demand a spar. She lost more often than not, but she never gave up. Wu Jian didn’t know what was up with that woman. Her expression remained as cold as ice, but it was like a fire had been ignited inside of her. Hua Xue had said that the women in the Ice Phoenix Sect were not nearly as cold as their outward appearance suggested. Perhaps she had a point. In either event, he was just glad the woman had stopped coming onto him.

Whenever Mei Xilan and Hou Jingshu sparred, Wu Jian would speak with Hua Xue. They only sparred sometimes. He mostly asked her for pointers. Their conversations were usually theoretical and involved discussing the different methods of cultivation. Hua Xue was a font of knowledge. She knew things about cultivation that no one else in this world did. Even Loong Chen did not have half the knowledge she did--a fact which galled the dragon to no end.

A few days passed like that before, finally, the day they were set to leave had arrived.

Wu Jian, the emperor, his wife, Hou Jingshu, Loong Chen, and those who would be traveling with him were all standing before the Lóng Tiānkōng. While it didn’t look any different than last time, Wu Jian heard it had undergone a number of modifications to increase its efficiency.

“Safe travels. May you return victorious,” said Emperor Hou Jun.

“Your Majesty,” Yu Chenguang and his two wives saluted.

“Jian Wu… I’m going to miss you,” Hou Jingshu mumbled.

“Yeah…” Wu Jian took the princess’s hand and pulled her into his arms. Her warm body felt amazing. He wished he could stay like this. “I’m going to miss you, too.”

“Ahem,” Fengli Cai coughed into her hand.

The two broke apart. Wu Jian would have glared at her if it would avail him something. Couldn’t she give them this moment? They wouldn’t see each other again for who knew how long.

“Jian Wu,” Emperor Hou Jun placed his hands on Wu Jian’s shoulders and smiled. “Go and make our kingdom proud.”

“Leave it to me, Your Majesty,” said Wu Jian.

Everyone finished their goodbyes and the group was soon walking up the boarding ramp. Wu Jian stayed on deck and leaned over the railing as the airship began ascending. He waved at Hou Jingshu until she was just a speck in the distance.

“Do not worry about the princess,” said Hua Xue. She appeared beside him and placed a hand on the railing. “I know it might seem like you two will be apart for a long time, but even a few years are but a blink in the eye for cultivators. You and she have a very long life ahead of you.”

Those were good words, but they didn’t mean much to him right now. He had only just turned seventeen not long ago. He was still young. Five years was almost a third of his life, but he knew better than to say that. Hua Xue was just trying to be helpful.

“I know. Thank you,” he said, smiling at the woman.

He couldn’t see past her veil, but from the way her eyes crinkled, he could tell she was smiling, too.

***

He’s gone…

Hou Jingshu closed her eyes and pressed a hand to her chest. She had felt like this when Wu Jian went to the Zhou Kingdom has well. Lonely. While she maintained a strong outward appearance, the truth was that she wanted to go with him. She didn’t like it when they were apart. Of course, she knew this was just a part of life. They couldn’t be together all the time, but she still wished they could. Zhou Lihua and Wu Meiying must also feel the same way.

“Now that the brat is gone, there’s no more reason for us to linger,” Loong Chen announced, turning to Hou Jingshu and crossing his arms. “It’s time for us to leave too.”

She blinked. Once.

“What? Now?”

“Yes. Now.”

“Right now?”

“Right now.”

“But…”

“Quit stalling. It’s time to go. We’ve already wasted more than enough time.”

Loong Chen had been impatiently waiting for them to leave. She already knew he wasn’t the patient type, but he had done his best to respect her wishes, so it wasn’t like she could blame him for being so impatient… but couldn’t he give her time to get ready? When she intimated as much, he just snorted and said she should have thought of that sooner.

“Father!”

She turned to her father, the emperor, a silent plee in her eyes. However, it wasn’t like her father could do anything. Loong Chen was a Perfection Realm cultivator, the ultimate powerhouse. There were only one or two individuals who could force him to listen.

“Stay safe, my dear daughter,” Emperor Hou Jun said with a smile.

Is that all you have to say?! Your daughter is about to be taken to who knows where!

Hou Jingshu wanted to shout, but she was given no time. Loong Chen grabbed her arm, spread his wings, and started flying. She was forced to fly with him or get dragged behind. Once she began flying on her own, he let go, gave her a glare, and said, “Keep up with me. Lag behind and I’ll beat you black and blue.” That was all he said before he took off even faster than before. Hou Jingshu was forced to push more chi to increase her speed. She just barely managed to keep up, but it was clear that he was getting further away as time passed. What was his deal? Was he doing this on purpose? Maybe he wanted to beat her up. Thoughts like that flew through her head as she struggled to keep sight of him, huffing and wheezing. She felt like a wet rag being wrung dry.

They did eventually stop. Hou Jingshu thought she would have a moment to rest after they set down, but Loong Chen decided they would spar. She tried to protest. She was tired. Almost all of her chi had been used up trying to keep pace with him, but her protests fell on deaf ears. The man didn’t care. He attacked her without warning, forcing her to defend herself--and of course, she was beaten up. She found herself staring at Loong Chen as he glared down at her with an unrepentant grin.

I would like nothing more than to claw that grin off his stupid face…

“Hmph. I’ve been going easy on you until now, but that ends today. From now on, you and I will spar like this every time we land, until we reach our destination. Now, take this pill and begin cultivating.”

Loong Chen dropped a pill inside of her mouth. She almost choked on it, but somehow was able to swallow it without it getting lodged in her throat. Her body protested as she sat up with a groan, crossed her legs, closed her eyes, and began cultivating. The effects were almost immediate. Whatever pill Loong Chen had given her was powerful. Her injuries recovered within seconds and chi tried to burst from her body. She gritted her teeth and did her best to absorb all the chi being released by the pill, but she was sure some of it escaped. Even so, she could quickly feel her power growing.

Hou Jingshu didn’t know how long she sat there, but morning eventually came, and Loong Chen had them begin traveling again. Each day, they repeated this process. They would fly until Hou Jingshu exhausted her chi, then they would fight. He would beat the snot out of her, shove a pill into her mouth, and she would cultivate until morning. She didn’t sleep at all during this time. Yet it seemed she didn’t need to. Those pills her new…teacher gave her were very effective at recovering her energy.

The Journey was brutal. However, Hou Jingshu’s improvement also went through the roof. Her cultivation rose every day, and her fighting prowess increased in proportion to her cultivation. Loong Chen was not good at giving instructions. He sucked at it, actually. But Hou Jingshu soon discovered that she didn’t need someone instructing her. Sparring with the flood dragon seemed to activate her fighting instincts, allowing her to glean more about combat than she ever could receiving normal lessons.

She did not learn any new techniques, and when she asked Loong Chen, he snorted and told her to master the techniques she already knew. He was of the belief that mastering one technique to perfection was better than learning a hundred techniques. There was an old quote by an ancient cultivator, which went: “I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.” The meaning was simple. To become an expert at something, you have to practice it every day and repeat that action over and over, until it becomes instinctive. So that was what Hou Jingshu did. She practiced one technique every time she and Loong Chen sparred, until he declared she had sufficiently mastered the technique, then moved onto the next technique.

By the time she and Loong Chen reached their destination, Hou Jingshu had reached the Ninth Subrealm of the Human Limit Realm.