Mirror Dream Tree

Merin stepped outside his cultivation room after three days of continuous practice.

In just two of those days, he had fully mastered a technique meant for the True Core realm — something that came easily, given that his life level and cultivation were already one stage higher.

That it was a body-transformation art, which happened to be his speciality, only made the process smoother.

If he hadn't planned to leave for Sky Mountain tomorrow, he would have already begun another cycle of corpse-transformation training.

If the life levels could be divided further, he would sit at High-Rank-3 — his Rule Body already pushing toward Peak-Rank-3 under the influence of the vitality rule.

Once his Rule Body fully sublimated, reaching Peak-Rank-3 would be inevitable.

And there was a very real chance he could even climb to Rank-4 after sublimation.

He had also noticed that changing back from his corpse-state to his living-state had slightly increased his life level.

If he kept repeating that process, he might very well reach Peak-Rank-3 before even finishing this stage of his practice.

Still, his priority remained the Heavenly Serpent.

Heavenly Serpents were alien beasts born with peak Dharma cultivation and strength comparable to an ancestor — elusive, rare, and almost always asleep.

And after that, there was another alien beast that intrigued him even more: the Abyss Fish.

If he could design a transformation technique with their information, he could then synthesise a fourth-rank technique — the Dragon Transformation.

With that plan fixed in his mind, Merin extended his mental energy across the tower and detected all its residents — including his parents — gathered in the large dining hall downstairs.

From their excited conversation, they were holding a celebration.

Yet, strangely, it wasn't because his brother or any of his students had made it into the Top 8.

Yanli had organised the party simply to lift everyone's spirits.

If none of them progressed to the next round, then Merin wouldn't need to return for at least another month, giving him time to explore the Abyssal depths where the Abyss Fish were rumoured to dwell.

The scent of cooked food drifts to him, and his mouth waters at the sight of the dishes.

He hesitates.

The food looks too beautiful to touch, as if it were an art piece rather than a meal, clearly crafted by chefs from the kingdom of Mureil.

Still, he feels the desire to taste it.

That feeling surprises him.

Ever since his Rule Body began forming, most of his emotions had been muted.

But breaking through his previous limits and forging a new Rule Body a few minutes ago means its influence hasn't fully taken hold.

As it solidifies, his emotions will grow subdued again.

He descends to the ground floor and enters the dining hall.

The moment he steps inside, people notice him.

First a few, then most of the room falls into an expectant hush.

His sister, however, hurries toward him, brow furrowed.

"Brother," she asks, worried, "what happened to you?"

Merin frowns.

"What do you mean?"

He can't see his face without a mirror, but by extending his mental energy inward, he observes his own facial structure.

His muscles and bones have shifted just slightly — his features are now more refined and symmetrical.

That, too, is a sign of his improved life origin.

"My cultivation advanced," he replies simply.

His parents come up to greet him as well, and he exchanges a few quiet words with them.

He then walks deeper into the room, past his students.

They're all focused on their meals, and the atmosphere feels strangely subdued.

He knows they won't truly enjoy themselves if he stays too long.

When Yanli meets him halfway across the hall, he asks, "Is everything ready for the journey tomorrow?"

"Yes," Yanli replies. "Zhen Qi said we can leave at dawn."

His sister, standing nearby, perks up. "Are you going somewhere?"

Before Merin can answer, she adds, "I want to go too."

Merin says, "No."

She immediately dashes over to their parents, whining, "Father, Mother, elder brother is going somewhere again and won't take me with him."

His mother looks up. "Where are you going?"

"Sky Mountain," Merin answers simply.

It's the first time they've heard of it.

Kuro chimes in, "Mother, it's an island in the Eastern Ocean."

Then he turns to Merin. "Brother, I also want to go."

Merin is about to refuse when Kuro continues, "For the past three days, you didn't come to watch me compete, so you can't say no to me."

Merin feels a pang of guilt — he had intended to send a clone to watch the matches, but the pain of cultivation consumed all his attention.

He sighs. "Fine."

Kuro's face brightens with a grin.

His sister instantly hugs him, looking up with big pleading eyes.

"Me too," she begs. "I want to go too."

Merin hesitates. "If all three of us go, who will stay to keep our parents company?"

She falls silent, thinking, then looks back at their mother with a helpless expression.

"Take her," their mother says.

That's all the encouragement his sister needs — her eyes well up, and Merin can already see the tears coming.

"Please," she begs.

Merin gives in. "Fine. But be at the tower's door by dawn tomorrow. If you're even a little late, I'll leave without you."

She beams and hugs him again before scampering off to prepare.

Merin glances at Yanli. "Bring me a plate of food later."

Yanli nods.

As Merin is about to leave, he stops and looks toward his students.

"Students," he calls, his voice clear across the hall, "can I have your attention?"

Seeing they were all paying attention, Merin says, "I have an assignment for everyone in the transformation department."

He continues, "While I'm away on this journey, I want each of you to create a transformation technique based on a beast of your choosing."

The students whisper among themselves, and Esil raises her hand.

"Yes, Esil," Merin says.

She stands and asks, "Teacher, which beast should we pick?"

"Any level-one beast," Merin replies. "But make sure each of you chooses a different one."

The students nod.

"Any questions?" Merin asks, preparing to leave.

Before he can go, Cui Ying, his only half-yao student, raises a hand. "Teacher, what about me?"

Merin looks at him and frowns slightly. Truthfully, he hadn't considered Cui Ying, but now that he asked, Merin couldn't leave him empty-handed.

"Your assignment," Merin says after a pause, "is to develop as many spell techniques as you can based on the wing wolf bloodline abilities you possess. Also, help guide the other half-yao who practice the blood spiritual method alongside you."

Cui Ying bows his head and sits.

Satisfied, Merin leaves the dining hall.

He climbs the stairs to his quarters on the top floor, then enters the array-core chamber.

Standing before the core, he activates the tower's communication array. The towers are linked to the city's network, allowing him to contact other spirit masters at a distance.

He reaches out with his spiritual sense and places a call.

After a few minutes, Haruto's voice comes through. "Kanoru?"

"Yes, it's me," Merin answers. "Thanks for picking up."

Haruto asks, "Why did you call?"

"I'm leaving the city tomorrow," Merin says.

"Where to?"

"Sky Mountain."

Haruto is quiet for a moment. "When will you be back?"

Merin considers. "About a month."

"Alright," Haruto replies simply.

A few minutes after they end the call, Yanli enters the top floor carrying two plates of food and sets them on the dining table.

Merin takes a seat, noticing that she's placed one plate before him and the other before herself.

"You didn't eat downstairs?" he asks.

Yanli smiles. "I wanted to eat with you. That's fine, isn't it?"

He looks at her for a moment and nods. "Of course. You can eat with me anytime."

Merin begins eating, savoring every bite as the rich flavours hit his tongue, and before long, his plate is empty.

Yanli, spoon halfway to her mouth, looks at him in surprise. Cultivators usually need little to no food at all, so seeing him eat like someone who hadn't tasted a meal in days is strange.

Merin notices her gaze and clears his throat. "I'm going to the cultivation room. Take your time and leave whenever you're ready."

He stands to go, but Yanli stops him. "Wait. I want to talk to you about something."

He settles back into his chair, studying her face, flawless, framed by silky white hair and highlighted by jewel-like blue eyes. "What is it?"

"I'm at the peak of the spiritual core," Yanli says softly. "I can advance to the true core realm anytime."

Merin tilts his head, wondering why she's telling him this.

"Then go ahead. Breakthrough."

Yanli hesitates, eyes lowered.

"I'm unsure which artistic conception to use for my breakthrough."

Merin's first thought is a flicker of confusion — what does she mean?

Then he remembers who she is: a half-yao with Rimefang blood.

The Rimefang clan belongs to a Dharma Realm beast lineage, one of the most powerful bloodlines in the world.

Such bloodlines pass down hidden knowledge of many artistic conceptions.

For someone like Yanli, these conceptions surface naturally as she cultivates.

That is one of the greatest advantages of being half-yao — they can grasp multiple conceptions without years of struggle.

But the disadvantage is that they can only understand conceptions present in their bloodline.

For a true genius, that limitation is a cage.

Yet for most cultivators, who never touch a single conception in their lifetime, this is an incredible boon.

He leans forward slightly.

"Show me the artistic conceptions you understand."