Early the following morning.

“Where do you want the strawberry plants, Auslen?”

Hearing Vincent’s voice coming from behind him, Auslen stopped fiddling with the bamboo shoots in front of him before raising his soil-covered hands from the ground.

Turning his gaze, Auslen pointed towards the soil behind him as he answered, “They should go in this plot. I just germinated those seedlings, so you can just replant them in that empty section on the first row. Right in front of the tomatoes.”

“Okay!”

Auslen focused his attention back on his task, looking a bit worried as he glanced back and forth from the large wooden container on his right to the small bamboo shoots that lined the row in front of him.

I know that I’ve already replanted them, but I still can’t help but worry.

These lucky bamboo were labeled as a clumping variety, so there shouldn’t be any danger of excessive spreading. I mean, they grew well within the isolated containers, but…

Fuck it. I’ll get Vincent to line this row with some kind of preventive barrier tonight. Just in case.

Using his wrist to wipe the faint sweat from his brow, Auslen grabbed the wooden container from beside him and stood from his kneeling position.

After stepping out from Plot A and onto the tiled limestone, Auslen sat down with a soft huff. He then took out a soft towel to cleanse the bits of soil from his feet as his eyes swept the Spirit Plant Cultivation Chamber, slowly gauging the process of his and Vincent's reorganization project.

Occupying five of the six plots of Spirit Soil were a large variety of Pseudo Spirit Plants. From fruits and vegetables to grasses and herbs, the colorful and vibrant vegetation that lined the plots covered a wide scope of species and categories.

Most of them were not too far cultivated, as the majority only had a singular strand of Profound Qi. However, there were a small minority that were already nearing the Peak of the Pseudo Spirit Plant realm.

In fact, Auslen had already produced several usable Peak Pseudo Spirit Plants, which he had contained within white jade boxes that were stored away in his spatial ring.

The organizational schema within the Chamber had evolved substantially over the last six months.

Initially, Auslen hadn’t used much of a systematic approach, choosing to raise his Pseudo Spirit Plants wherever it was convenient. It had worked perfectly fine at first, due to the small number of plants he was raising at any given time.

But now that he had expanded his operations, he made the recent decision to, with Vincent’s assistance, restructure the space. This time, certain important characteristics would be kept in mind when planting seeds, at least where Alchemy was concerned.

Each of the five plots had been given a letter name, from Plot A to Plot E, each designated for plants with specific corresponding Aspects.

Starting from Plot A, which was the plot nearest to the entrance of the Chamber on the right-hand side, to Plot E, the plot sitting to the far right corner of the Chamber, the structuring was as follows.

Plot A held Pseudo Spirit Plants with the “Cooling” Aspect, such as cucumber, broccoli, watermelons, and the newly added bamboo.

Plot B was for Pseudo Spirit Plants with the “Warming” Aspect, such as peaches, coriander, onions, and leeks.

Plot C contained Pseudo Spirit Plants with the neutral or “Grounding” Aspect, like rice, sweet potatoes, mushrooms, and carrots.

Plot D had Pseudo Spirit Plants with the “Healing” Aspect, such as Aloe, Turmeric, Gingko, and Chamomile.

And finally, Plot E held Pseudo Spirit Plants with the “Poisoning” Aspect. This Aspect ranged from various hot peppers, like paprika, serrano, and cayenne, to toxic flowering plants, like purple foxglove and oleander.

He was saving the final plot in the far left corner for another purpose, which was why it was the only one within the Chamber left empty.

Happy with how the Spirit Plant Cultivation Chamber was coming together, Auslen smiled before giving a sudden clap to grab Vincent’s attention, who had just finished replanting the remaining strawberry plant seedlings.

“That’s enough for now, Vincent. Let’s get cleaned up.”

…

Within the Training Chamber that was covered with reinforced stone walls, Auslen and Nathaniel were facing each other in silence.

Their figures were dressed in their loose Outer Sect robes, both of which holding their wooden weapons in a combat ready stance 10 meters apart from one another.

After a few more moments of inactivity, Auslen nodded towards Nathaniel as he said, “You can make the first move, cousin.”

Nathaniel didn’t need any more convincing.

Quickly mobilizing his Profound Qi, his slightly trembling leg kicked the ground without hesitation, causing a loud sound to echo off the stone floors as the boy dashed forward with his wooden sword raised.

Nathaniel’s short form turned transient, the edges of his physical body blurring and distorting further after each swift step that he took.

Auslen remained calm as the vaguely indistinct Ebony wooden sword tore through the air, not reacting until its blade was about a foot away, fiercely chopping down at him from above.

Just after Nathaniel’s blurry expression grew excited due to his imminently landing attack, Auslen rotated his wrist.

Bang.

The White Ashwood spear seemed to curve by itself into a winding arc, thrusting up like a striking viper as its wooden spearhead assaulted the right side of the rapidly approaching sword.

Even with Nathaniel utilizing the perception-disturbing Phantom Steps, Auslen had no trouble detecting the true position of his sword.

From the sudden strike, the sword’s trajectory was forced to deviate. Nathaniel’s ferocious attack fell just to the left of Auslen, who had yet to move from his original position, his dark blue robes flapping slightly from the air currents generated by the passing sword.

Unexpectedly, the sword’s direction shifted out of nowhere, bouncing off the air itself as its downward chop spun into an equally powerful upward diagonal slash merely inches to Auslen’s side.

Auslen eyes darted to his left to see Nathaniel pushing the wooden blade with all his might, the boy’s expression appearing quite determined to achieve this long-awaited win.

Whoosh!

But to Nathaniel’s surprise, Auslen's body blurred as well before shooting into the air nearly faster than Nathaniel could see, causing his winning slash to just barely miss the soles of Auslen's black boots.

As Nathaniel looked up in a hurry, Auslen's airborne figure lightly kicked down with his right foot onto the wooden blade passing underneath him, lifting him slightly higher as the sword was forced from Nathaniel's startled hands.

With his left foot, Auslen stepped down gracefully onto Nathaniel's left shoulder, gently tapping the crown of the brown-haired boy's head with the butt of his spear shaft. Then, he stepped off the shoulder in descent, twisting to face Nathaniel's backside before landing to the floor.

Auslen's voice softly sounded, “I won, again.”

Nathaniel looked confused as he turned back around, only to see his smiling cousin standing before him with his wooden spear aimed towards his stomach.

After another moment of confused silence, Nathaniel’s face scrunched up in misery as he shouted, “Not fair, Auslen! You never told me you also reached the Minor Success Stage in the Phantom Steps! You wanted me to waste my monthly challenge on purpose!”

Auslen laughed as he shook his head. “I reached the Minor Success Stage a while ago, Nathan! You just never forced me to use it until now. However, I hadn’t expected for you to not only have reached the Minor Success Stage yourself but to also have mastered the Foundational Sword Art! I almost lost just now because of that.”

While Nathaniel's expression began showing hints of appeasement at his cousin's acknowledgement of near defeat, Auslen took a moment to size up the boy in front of him.

Well, that was truly unexpected. Has he been doing additional training behind my back?

Auslen wasn’t lying to Nathaniel. He had slipped up and nearly lost the sparring match, not expecting for the boy to have gained such control over his footwork and swordplay in this short amount of time.

It often took several years for practitioners to master the Foundational Weapon Arts, barring abnormalities like Auslen.

Of course, there were some exceptional talents that could do so in a little under a year’s time, but even disregarding the requirements of strong Soul Force, each of those geniuses must have displayed impeccable self-discipline and a keen understanding regarding the application of their Soul Force. To be honest, Auslen didn’t typically align either of these traits with his temperamental cousin.

Additionally, Nathaniel repeatedly insisted on using his Profound Qi during their daily practice sessions, which should have made it even more difficult to master the Foundational Sword Art. But now, on top of mastering the Foundational Sword Art, he even reached the Minor Success Stage of the Phantom Steps!

Auslen had no choice but to reconsider how he approached Nathaniel, as the boy seemed to be much more talented and driven than he initially gave him credit for.

Hmm. Who taught this little boy how to hide things from his family? Was it Grandfather?

Is he cultivating in secret too? Perhaps I should go ahead and advance to the 6th Stage of Qi Refinement…

Nathaniel interrupted Auslen’s thoughts by yanking his arm as Nathaniel rushed towards the exit of the Training Chamber.

“Fine, you win this time! But we gotta hurry and leave. Mia’s waiting for us!”

'Mia's waiting for us,' huh?

Right as Nathaniel opened the door with his free hand, Auslen raised an eyebrow slyly before correcting his cousin. “Tarek’s also going to be there, you know. So is Senior Brother Michail.”

After hearing Auslen’s reminder, Nathaniel’s feet somehow knocked into each other, causing him to trip comically through the doorway before he regained his stability. The red spots appearing on his neck betrayed his embarrassment to Auslen, who was standing behind him with a growing smirk.

Auslen’s eyes crinkled as he teasingly guessed, “You wouldn’t happen to have a crush—”

“Shut up Auslen!!”

Without turning around, Nathaniel let go of his cousin and sped off alone.

A few moments later, Auslen followed Nathaniel out the door at a leisurely pace, his hand covering his mouth in attempt to keep his chuckles quiet.

Vincent, who had been sitting patiently on a wooden chair placed near the doorway, immediately stood from his seat once he saw Auslen exiting the Training Chamber.

Glancing back at Nathaniel’s distant backside, Vincent tilted his head towards the fleeing boy and asked, “What’s wrong with Nathaniel to make him run off so fast?”

With a dismissive wave, Auslen calmed his laughter and answered, “Don’t mind him. Grab your things and follow along. We’re almost late.”

…

The Spiritual Origin Library was nearly the largest building within this entire Outer Sect Mountain, second only to the Palace of Methods and Techniques. Although the Spiritual Origin Library was just an offshoot branch from the main library located within the Core area of the Five Profound Elements Sect, its architecture and décor were nothing to scoff at.

Auslen, Nathaniel, and Vincent had just finished walking up the stately set of white marble stairs, which was full of many other traveling disciples, to arrive in front of the tri-gate entrance of the seven-story-tall Spiritual Origin Library. The exterior was plated with blue and gold glazed tiles depicting fantastical battles between legendary Demonic creatures and Immortal supremacies.

The three open sets of 10-meter-tall wooden doors were perhaps the most gorgeous doors Auslen had ever seen. They were painted a vibrant gold and garlanded, decorated with ornate carvings, while the thresholds were carved with a dense array of ancient vector patterns.

Once the trio maneuvered around the exiting disciples and stepped through the central entrance, they were greeted with the sight of the Library’s jaw-droppingly opulent interior.

The entire flooring was tiled with white and black marble. From the central walkway, patrons could glimpse all the way up to the stained-glass domed ceiling, as each of the higher floors were split in two sections that were held to the left and right hand sides of the library with densely carved stone pilasters. Each of the upper floors were lined with ornamental cast-iron balconies, the tallest of which rising nearly one hundred feet above the central walkway floors.

A graduated stack of books lined every wall and corner, and dark stained shelving spanned the floors in organized rows. The books perfectly sitting upon each shelf were even color coded, the hues gradually shifting through the spectrum of colors as one gazed around the interior.

The Spiritual Origin Library held books covering any cultivation-related topic that one could think of, to a certain extent. However, most of the books were locked behind a transparent barrier, requiring varying amounts of Merit Points to read for limited amounts of time. All of the books on the first floor were free to peruse, but that's no longer the case from the second floor onwards. And the value of the knowledge only increased the higher one ascended the Library.

“Auslen, Vincent, Nathaniel, over here!”

The trio's attention shifted to their right to see Tarek waving them over from a distant seating section, full of long stretching tables, each of which being occupied by conversing Outer Sect Disciples.

With a smiling nod in Tarek’s direction, Auslen held Nathaniel and Vincent’s hands as they cut through the disciples. Eventually, they arrived at the long table where Tarek was reclaiming his seat.

Sitting to Tarek’s right was Mia, who was warmly smiling at their group, radiating much more confidence than she had when they had first met.

“Hey guys!”

After his cheerful greeting, Nathaniel practically skipped behind Tarek before sitting himself right next to Mia, glancing nervously in Auslen’s direction before starting up his own conversation with the girl.

Auslen smiled towards the two of them before sliding into the chair to Tarek’s left. Vincent, who nodded to Tarek and Mia quietly, immediately seated himself beside Auslen.

After he adjusted himself, Auslen’s eyes focused on their Senior Brother, Michail, who was seated on the opposite side of their table.

His blue eyes lifted from a large tome sitting on the table in front of him before he focused on Auslen. He then reached into his robes, pulling out a small box that was tied with a ribbon.

Tossing the box over to Auslen, whose brows were raised in surprise, Michail smiled and said, “Happy seventh birthday, Auslen. It’s a joint gift from Tarek, Mia, and I.”

Before the shocked Auslen could even thank the group, Tarek threw in, “Since it seemed like you weren’t planning on telling us about your birthday, we could only come up with this small gift. If Senior Brother Michail hadn’t informed us a few days earlier, we couldn’t have even gotten you this much. What do you take your friends for?”

Mia didn’t speak, but she did look a little annoyed as she looked down the table at Auslen from two seats down.

The confrontational atmosphere bore down on the unprepared Auslen, whose expression showed genuine confusion. He glanced at Michail’s smirking face feeling slightly wronged.

I didn't even remember my own birthday, okay! Besides, since when have we ever discussed this kind of stuff?

And how come I didn’t know that Michail was such a busybody.

Nathaniel leaned over the table and butted in, sounding highly mistreated as he spoke, “Why didn’t you tell me that today’s your birthday? I’m your cousin! I bet you told Vincent, didn’t you?!”

Vincent, who was silently watching their squabbling, froze guiltily when Nathaniel indignantly stabbed his finger towards him.

Pushing down the recurring urge to smack his cousin upside his angry looking head, Auslen smiled with visible embarrassment while ignoring Nathaniel, nodding in grateful apology towards the other three. Once he put away the gift box into his spatial ring, he took a couple of secretive deep breaths to calm himself.

Somebody, change the subject. Please.

Thankfully, Michail seemed to have suddenly gained the ability to read minds.

“Okay, okay. That’s enough, you all. We didn’t come here to blame Auslen for his forgetfulness. You can all share your birth dates after our review.”

Closing his hefty book, Michail winked towards Auslen’s pointed gaze as he leaned back in his wooden chair.

“Today’s the final day that I have available to answer any of your questions regarding the Apprentice Alchemist Examination taking place next week. Who would like to go first?”