"Learn to fall before you try to fly, old geezer." Pef told the Sect Master as he escorted his group to the Sect's gate.

"..." the new Sky Ranked Master frowned at the words, trying to decipher the cryptic words of the Holy Son. The boy rarely made sense, but sometimes people did find strange enlightenment in his words, long after they heard them. Hopefully it was that kind of wish, and not something childish.

"Farewell, and may the Heavens watch over you!" the Sect Master said instead, bowing deeply towards his benefactor who had indeed gifted him a lease on life and even higher strength with the new cultivation realm with the Sky Pill. Now he could be a proper Sect Master, not simply the first among the Elders.

Rena turned to kneel as well, only to be stopped by Pef. "Holy Mother, your days of kneeling are over. You have to act properly as the mother of the Icefire Sect's Holy Son." he demanded sharply, then turning to the Grand Elder. "Granpa, make a horsie!"

The esteemed elder grunted as he bowed low to be straddled by a cheerful young boy. The old man questioned the wisdom of naming the blonde devil as a Holy Son, as he trotted forward with a horseman around his neck. It wasn't like he felt the weight of the boy, at his Earth Realm he could carry large boulders without a sweat, but his dignity...

The group merrily made their way down the mountains, leaving the Snowflake Sect behind, hidden among ice-capped peaks and perilous ravines

"You need to stop cultivating, fly guy. Your injury will only get worse if you scrape your circuits with ice mana." Pef said in a low voice, as he sat beside the Icefire's powerhouse and began eating his bowl of rice and vegetables.

"You talk too much. And know too much as well...." the man grunted as he opened his eyes, face scowled in pain.

Pef simply poked the wounded shoulder with a chopstick, carefully finding the gap between armored plates. "If you die, I will lack a powerful bodyguard. And you will be a proud corpse."

The man grit his teeth and stopped his cultivation, instead deciding to listen to the young child. "You have a cure, Holy Son?"

Pef just smiled and kept eating his rice, while glancing at the worried face of his mother.

"Supreme Master, my son...he lacks tact, but he also knows things. Impossible things, or even secrets he never read before." Rena explained in a fearful voice.

The Sky Ranker rubbed his shoulder, somewhat worried that his weakness had been pinpointed so accurately and painfully as well.

"I will find a cure, fly guy. There's a market town close by, I'll need to check the wares for some things." Pef replied in-between gulps, then offered the dirty bowl to the Grand Elder.

With a suppressed sigh the old man conjured his blue flames to clean the bowl then store it back in a linen bag.

For some reason, the young boy wanted all the eating utensils purified in flames, to chase off small devils of sickness.

He shouldn't have bragged about his flame control and ability to keep the metal clean...now it was a daily duty.

But he also knew that the boy's casual remarks had helped him reach 7 stars in a few years, a rate of progress unheard of his the sect, and probably anywhere else.

Rena as well had climbed to the 9th Star of Spirit Realm, simply from hanging around the child too much. She will soon reach Elder status, a hundred years too early.

He had a feeling that the Snowflake Sect will someday regret deeply, trading such a wonder for a mere Sky Pill.

A couple of days later, the group entered the market town and made their way through the busy streets and thousands of peddlers and vendors, all shouting their wares as loud as they could.

"Jewelry shop." Pef demanded from his high viewpoint above the crowds, on the shoulders of the Earth Ranked elder.

"Welcome esteemed cu...cultivators." the shop owner stammered, realizing quickly these weren't mere customers. Cultivators were dangerous and prone to killing for no reason.

"Rings and stones. Show me all you have." a young boy spoke as he climbed down from the shoulders of a respectable elder, possibly a powerful one if the marked robes were any indication.

"Quickly, bring all the stones and rings from the back!" the owner urged his employees as he himself began making tea for the valuable guests.

On the other hand, cultivators were quite rich, and would often overpay or simply tip many times more the value of the merchandise.

"Rings and stones, Pef?" Rena asked with a doubtful voice.

"You'll see, dear mother. Now let me focus, these things are tricky." Pef muttered as he began examining the wares, staring closely at each item.

A few hours later, a dozen items were sat aside from the pile, including several blue-tinted precious gems and a pair of worn-out rings, made of a silvery-blue metal. The group also enjoyed a good tea, infused with a tiny bit of heaven's energy.

"Give me the price." Pef asked while staring at the owner. In this world, shops never bother to label the wares with price tags, so they could easier scam clients at will.

The man hesitated for a minute. "Eight...eight hundred gold!" he announced after sweating a little.

"I see. I offer two hundred then. Mostly for the tea." Pef offered in return, while flashing a childish and dimpled smile.

"Errr. It is quite an expensive tea, imported from the terraced slopes of Mount Dian. It is even rumored to help cultivators." the shop owner argued, eyes turned into focus points.

"Yes. I included the tea in the deal." the young boy retorted with a tiny smile.

"Ahhh. My children will starve if....let's say four hundred." the man said after staring at the child in front.

"Okay then. But, you'll also add all the tea you have, and the teapot." Pef demanded with a wry tone.

Defeated, the owner just slumped his shoulders and nodded. Sometimes, cultivators weren't that easy to trick. Plus the child was quite adorable.

"Find us an inn, fly guy. A place with bathtubs." Pef ordered as he collected the wares and loaded his horse with the heavier wares, like a dozen bricks of expensive tea.

The horse sighed and followed his owner, while grumbling inward about his former life as a dignified Grand Elder.

The Supreme Master frowned for a moment, before locating a better inn which would have bathtubs. Sometimes, the Holy Son did have weird demands, but he was slowly getting to accept them as natural. If only the tone of the kid was more respectful.