Lily threw her arms around Snehwal's neck and said,
"Come, I'll teach you martial arts and how to use weapons."
Curiosity and a slight fear both gleamed in Snehwal's eyes.
Lily pulled him close and slowly held his wrist, explaining each step.
Every word and gesture of hers seemed to channel power.
Snehwal followed her instructions carefully.
He realized that Lily was not just teaching him techniques, but also awakening the hidden power within him.
After some time, Snehwal fell to the ground, exhausted.
Drenched in sweat, he gasped and said,
"Send me back from here… I don't want to stay here."
Lily said in a cold voice,
"You cannot go back.
I had a stone—every Yakshini cultivator possesses it, like their heart.
If you really want to leave, then at least you must reach the lower stage of the sixth realm.
I myself am only at the higher stage of the fifth realm."
Hearing this, Snehwal became distressed.
He said,
"You're not lying, are you?
I feel so much pain from cultivation and training."
Lily smiled and said,
"Oh, so that's the matter…"
She slowly walked closer to Snehwal.
Lying on the ground like a child, he began to cry,
"What kind of love is this?
Don't trouble me again and again with your kisses."
Bending down, Lily said gently,
"Oh no… drink this lake water.
And keep working as hard as you wish.
With this, you will not fail, instead you'll progress twice as fast.
Whether it's martial arts, an injury, fatigue, or the speed of cultivation—you'll be helped in everything."
Snehwal looked at the lake nearby.
After a moment's thought, he gathered courage and leapt into the flowing waters of the lake.
Snehwal was bathing in the lake.
Suddenly, Lily also entered the water.
For some time, the two played and quarreled lightly in the waves of the lake.
Laughter and splashes of water echoed all around.
After a while, Snehwal grew tired, moved toward the shore, and came out of the water.
As Snehwal was leaving, he said,
"You are doing a bit too much… how can you do this?"
Lily was swimming in the lake, laughing.
Just then, a gust of wind came, and with it, a flying fourth-level hawk of huge size appeared.
Seeing it, Snehwal jumped back into the lake and tried to find a place to hide near Lily.
Lily, filled with anger, rose into the sky and began striking the hawk with her feet.
A fight broke out between the two.
Swimming in the lake, Snehwal kept watching this scene.
Lily had a storage compartment in her necklace, which hung around her neck.
All the weapons and other items were kept there.
In just a short fight, Lily killed the hawk with her sword.
The hawk fell to the ground.
Lily took out a knife from her necklace.
With that knife, she extracted a stone from the hawk's skull—a light green one.
She said,
"These are your initial steps.
And according to someone with as much knowledge as I have, it would be good if you use this crystal as your foundation."
Snehwal asked,
"How should I use it?"
Lily said,
"Hold it in your hand and draw its energy into your body."
Snehwal immediately did as instructed.
After an hour, his body was filled with a faint green energy.
His first stage broke into the second level.
Evening was falling.
Snehwal asked in a worried voice,
"What should we do now? There is no place to stay."
Then Lily made a gesture with her hand.
By the shore of the lake, a palace emerged from the ground.
The palace was neither very large nor very small.
Snehwal trembled as he looked at it.
"Ah… what is this!
Is this even possible?" he exclaimed.
Then Lily came closer, took Snehwal's hand, and led him inside the palace.
Lily took Snehwal with her into the room.
Seeing this, Snehwal tried to run, but Lily's strength and grip were too strong.
Snehwal now had to live this life unwillingly.
Even so, he was still afraid to accept it as reality.
Lily said in a serious tone,
"From now on, it's not just you and me, but we."
Snehwal shouted back,
"No!
What kind of intimidation is this?"
Despite his resistance, Lily took Snehwal with her into the room.
The door was closed. Night passed.
Morning came.
Snehwal was lying on the bed, snoring.
Lily was also sleeping peacefully, wrapped around him.
Then a voice of an old man was heard,
"Lily… come outside… come outside."
Lily's sleep was broken, and she quickly got up.
But Snehwal, still exhausted from yesterday, had not woken up yet.