Not long after, Jin Wei became the first in his family’s history to ace the Silverwind Sect’s entrance examination. It qualified him to be a Chosen and go off to the main Sect in the Imperial capital.

  He would soon be off to the big city.

  Zane would be here for some seasons yet. He was making good progress, but he still had a ways to go.

  From then on, he seldom ever left the Valley. If he did, it was to leave Astra entirely and teleport back for a brief date night and leveling session with Reina.

  He told her all about this rather strange time in the dream world. It amused her.

  A few more weeks passed—and by then, Zane was about a quarter done with his Concept. And it was time for Jin to head off to the capital. Onto bigger things.

  The kid could get quite emotional. His tears dotted the autumn leaves spread all over the valley, wafted in on winds high above. It was that time of year.

  “Wait for me, Senior Zane!” sniffled Jin. He gave Zane a salute over his heavy pack and grinned. “One day we’ll meet again, I just know it!”

  He watched the kid go with a tight feeling in his chest. He stood there until the kid passed beyond the mists, out of sight.

  ***

  The season passed. Soon cold winds blew down the thousand waterfalls, then snow, and the waters turned to ice, making a frozen marvel.

  Still, he stacked on layer after layer, cross-legged.

  The ice started to thaw; trickle again… In the mornings, he would take a little lap around the ponds, just listening to the calming boom of the waterfalls. It was such a little place, but he was surprised how nice he found it.

  And legends grew of the mysterious Sage named Zane in the mountains, somewhere in that remote corner of the Four Winds Kingdom.

  The king had his best scouts scour the lands, hoping to bring this ‘Zane’ into court and make him his champion. Martial masters all over the kingdom made pilgrimages in hopes of becoming his apprentice.

  But no one caught a glimpse. It was as though he’d vanished into thin air.

  Spring melted to summer, summer fell to autumn. Years went by like this.

  Theories abounded. Some claimed he was the king of the Elder Dragons. Others thought he was the Dread Monk Kavus, who’d gone into secluded meditation a thousand years ago after founding his great empire and never returned. Still others claimed he came from the Holy Lands beyond the sea, where masters were as common as grains of sand, so it was said…

  Soon the common wisdom was that he’d left the continent or ascended to some unknown realm.

  And all the while, Zane ground away.

  The Concept grew clearer and clearer.

  ***

  For the most part, it was a pretty chill time. There wasn't much to do but grind. It wasn’t the moment-to-moment that challenged him. It was a test of endurance.

  He didn’t mind the methodical layer after layer, the same thing, over and over—there was something pleasant in the rhythm of the exertion. Like an ancient samurai bladesmith, folding the metal over and over to make that thousand-tempered steel.

  After a few months’ stint, though, it wore on his soul.

  But he had ways to recharge.

  Pretty much the only times he left his cave after that were to have date nights with Reina and catch up.

  It wasn’t long before he hit his Level bottleneck at 499.

  They kept leveling the Pleasure Sutra, though. They agreed it was very important to get it as high-tier as possible for True God, just in case.

  ***

  Around this time, they also got a postcard from Evan and Avery.

  So far, Team Sunshower had saved six planets—a few from giant locust monster invasions, one from giant octopus monsters. They had also acquired a theme song and at least three trading cards.

  Evan had been a bit down the last time Zane saw him; it was months after being stuck in a cave meditating. If Evan was left without sunshine and fresh air for too long, it could start to have an effect, Zane had noticed. On very cloudy days, he’d catch Evan looking hopefully at the skies. This adventure was just what he needed.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  Avery, meanwhile, was just coming out of quite a sedentary lifestyle—fresh off her chocolate binge. She’d only been at it for a few months. But somehow, she’d developed back pain, neck pain, and ankle pain. No one had warned her lying there eating chocolates for months would have an effect on her health.

  Her first planet had kicked her butt. She had to take a time-out during their first Final Boss fight to catch her breath.

  But after a few more planets, she proclaimed she was now in the best shape of her life.

  She even planned on getting big muscles, like Zane. But despite a diligent lifting routine, for some reason, she seemed to be staying exactly the same size.

  This was something of a disappointment.

  She was still somehow the quickest-progressing Chosen in the Thousand Seas Tribe. By now, the Elders had given up trying to contain her and just let her do what she wanted. This could sometimes work out, but it also sometimes led to the chocolate incident.

  She felt like she needed someone to tell her something was a bad idea. It used to be Reina before she got busy with the World Tree. Now she could not be managed.

  Evan tried to help, but Evan had a very hard time standing up to people unless they were bad guys.

  It was a work in progress.

  Evan had something he wanted to ask Reina and Zane.

  The Constellation King, and all the other Elders, seemed to want him to become a bigwig in the Order one day, maybe even an Elder.

  But if he was to be an Elder, it meant he’d have to grow old and mature. Most of the Elders he saw sat in caves or lectured all day. Evan had tried quite hard to make it work, but in the end, he was worried he couldn’t be the boy they wanted him to be. He didn’t know if it was okay to go on adventures forever. Maybe he would have to grow up one day.

  Evan was trying to be as positive as he could, but Zane knew him. He could tell it was worrying the boy.

  “What do you think?” said Zane, showing Reina the letter. She read it and softened.

  “He just wants to make them proud,” she said, looking up at him.

  “Then he wouldn’t be Evan,” he said. He felt the matter was pretty clear. “He should stand his ground. He doesn’t have to change for them. They should change for him.”

  She seemed quite amused at this.

  He blinked. “…What?”

  “Nothing,” she said. “It’s just… it’s such a you thing to say.”

  They thought about it and wrote back.

  ***

  Not long after the three-year mark in Astra—a little more than the one-year mark outside—the steles began to tremble.

  Zane was full steam ahead.

  Day after day he went at it. Grueling, satisfying work, adding layer after layer. This act of strenuous creation.

  He’d finally gotten to the finishing touches. His domain surged with invisible waves. The furious sea was nearly at the full.

  A river. Another, woven into the mass.

  His eyes snapped open.

  He stood and took one last step toward the heart of the cavern.

  His hands seized the flame.

  Its light seared through his hand—seared through his whole body—and vanished.

  And finally—

  Concept Comprehended!

  The Concept of Magnetic Hotspot

  ***

  Noughtfire’s study

  “Hm,” said Noughtfire.

  “…Was that a bad move?” said Burnwater.

  “No,” said Noughtfire and placed a black square on the board. “The move itself is fine. It is not catastrophic. All you’ve done is taken a step back—in a race, one can recover from that… it is what that move tells me that is catastrophic.”

  “Dear me,” said Burnwater. “…What might that be?”

  “It tells me you think the finish line is behind you. When really, it is in front. It tells me you plan to run in the wrong direction.”

  Burnwater stared at the board for a minute, then chuckled.

  “Oh, me. I don’t have a clue what you mean! I’m sorry to say you won’t find much of a challenge, Master Noughtfire.”

  “That’s alright,” said Noughtfire. “Not everyone is meant to play the game. There is a nobility in being a piece—so long as you play that role well and put your faith in the right player.”

  “Master Noughtfire…” Burnwater didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Must you always speak like this?”

  “Like what?”

  “Like there’s a scribe hidden around the corner, recording your every word for the history books?”

  “No,” said Noughtfire. He gave a hint of a smile. “But one never knows when the passing scribe is listening. Best to be safe.”

  In that moment, the magnetic fields went mad. Spasmed across the galaxy—and they both knew what had just happened.

  “He’s done it,” said Burnwater. “He really has—in under two years!”

  He shook his head in disbelief. “It took me nearly two centuries. And they called me a prodigy! Ah, me…”

  He puffed his cheeks. “How did you know? That he could do it, I mean—in just two years?”

  “I didn’t,” said Noughtfire. “Your junior apprentice-brother is simply the easiest student I’ve ever had to teach.”

  He seemed amused. “All he needs is a bar to clear. I set it just beyond what ought to be humanly possible, and wait. Then all the newspapers call me a sage teacher. It’s the least teaching I’ve done in a millennium, and my reputation has grown tenfold. I don’t know why more of my colleagues don’t try it.”

  He paused. “The hard part is, of course, sourcing the once-in-a-Chaos-Cycle supertalent. But after that, I must say it’s been a breeze.”

  ***

  Astra

  Zane’s domain blew out of him—a roiling mass of red-yellow. Far more active than usual, laced through with seas of magnetism; seas that incited its colors to fury, crashing over and over—wracking his domain with flares.

  It was like an active sunspot.

  He made a flicker of flame, played it across his fingers—and juiced it with his domain. His new Magnetic Hotspot.

  Skill evolved!

  Solar Flare [Common (P) -> Uncommon (P)]

  His raw power surged. And that flicker roared to a searing Flare.

  The runes on the walls flickered and started to melt. The cavern began to melt.

  He cut it off and allowed himself a smile.

  Years of hard work, all for that moment.

  He took a good few minutes to sit there just breathing. Enjoying the feeling.

  Then he took a long, deep breath.

  Right. He stood.

  Onto the next one.

  Two more to go.

  He was here to make a run straight to the end. He looked back on the steles, his only companions here, and gave them a nod.

  It was time to move on.

  He stepped out into the Valley.

  For the last time, he made a lap, feeling the mists on his face. He saw the Koi playing at the ponds at his feet—still water surrounded by crashing currents.

  …He would miss this place.

  He gave it one last look and set off toward the setting sun.