Three weeks after Li Mei's crisis, a new equilibrium emerged.
Wang Ben had returned to Azure Dragon Fortress after spending five days in Redstone City, helping his mother stabilize the Ice energy that now flowed freely through her cultivation. The separation felt wrong, leaving her when she needed support, but the war demanded his presence and his strategic insights had become too valuable to spare.
The updates came frequently now through the clan's communication array, tracking changes that seemed impossible. Without the seals suppressing her bloodline, Li Mei's cultivation had surged - three weeks of growth that matched what most cultivators achieved in years. The Ice that had been her prison was becoming her strength. His father's voice carried wonder as he described it: the cold that manifested openly now, frost crystallizing on surfaces Li Mei touched, her breath visible even in heated rooms.
But beneath the concern, there was something else. Hope.
She feels more herself than she has in decades, his father had said in their last conversation. The seals failing... it's given her back something she didn't know she'd lost. She's learning to work with the Ice rather than suppress it. Your intervention saved her life, Ben'er. We're managing the rest together.
Wang Ben held onto those words, returning to them when the weight of fortress responsibilities grew too heavy. His mother was stable. His father was there with her. The truth they shared had drawn them closer rather than pushing them apart.
I should be there, he thought during quiet moments. Helping her learn to control the energy.
But the fortress needed him more. And his mother had insisted he return to his duties, her voice carrying certainty despite her weakened state: "You have important work to do. Don't let my crisis distract you from what matters."
The war continued its grinding rhythm.
Reinforcing the western defenses had paid dividends, enemy probing attacks meeting stronger resistance than expected. Casualty rates had stabilized, though the losses still accumulated in ways that weighed on everyone responsible for the fortress's defense.
"Your tactical projections were accurate," Commander Feng acknowledged during a strategy session. "The enemy adjusted their approach twice, each time encountering defenses we had already strengthened."
"They'll adapt eventually. Our advantage is temporary."
"All advantages are temporary. The question is how we use the time they buy." The commander's Fire presence carried exhaustion that even his cultivation couldn't fully hide. "Iron Gate is finally operational again. The Prince finished reconstruction last month and returned to the Bastion. The southwestern front is stabilized, which means resources can flow elsewhere." He allowed himself a moment of something that might have been relief. "We're receiving reinforcements from the Crimson Bastion next month. Veterans who can replace some of our losses. Hold the line until then."
"Yes, Commander."
The responsibility pressed against Wang Ben's shoulders, but he accepted it without complaint. The fortress needed what he provided. Complaining served nothing.
Evening found him in his private quarters, preparing for the cultivation session he had been anticipating for weeks.
Progress continued, steady if not dramatic. His efficiency had stabilized at seventeen percent, a significant advantage over standard cultivators but still far from the second milestone that waited at twenty percent.
[PRE-SESSION ASSESSMENT]
[Current efficiency: 17.0%]
[Target threshold: 20.0%]
[Gap remaining: 3.0%]
[Projection: Milestone remains distant. Continued steady cultivation recommended]
[Environmental factors: Stable qi density, no significant elemental imbalances]
[Recommendation: Focus on consolidation and stage advancement rather than efficiency gains]
Wang Ben settled into meditation posture, drawing breath through patterns that had become as natural as breathing itself. The qi of the fortress surrounded him, mixed elemental energies waiting to be absorbed and integrated.
He began.
The session progressed through stages he had experienced countless times before.
Absorption. The gathering of spiritual energy from the environment, each mote cataloged and directed by awareness that had grown more refined with practice.
Integration. The merging of absorbed qi with his cultivation base, foreign energy becoming self, external power becoming internal strength.
Refinement. The processing of integrated energy through techniques that improved efficiency with each repetition, the Scripture's ancient methods yielding gains that normal cultivation couldn't match.
The session proceeded smoothly, his cultivation base growing stronger with each cycle.
[CULTIVATION SESSION COMPLETE]
[Duration: 4 hours]
[Qi absorbed: 624 Motes]
[Qi retained: 106 Motes]
[Elemental composition:]
[- Earth: 42 Motes (39.6%)]
[- Metal: 28 Motes (26.4%)]
[- Fire: 20 Motes (18.9%)]
[- Water: 10 Motes (9.4%)]
[- Wood: 6 Motes (5.7%)]
[Environment: Azure Dragon Fortress (mixed elemental, Metal-deficient)]
[Retention efficiency: 17.0%]
[Status: Qi Condensation Stage 7 achieved. Efficiency stable]
[Effective combat assessment: Host's ability to cultivate, retain, and utilize qi at 17% efficiency allows techniques to execute with greater force than cultivation level suggests. At late-stage qi condensation, host's effective combat output approaches that of peak-stage qi condensation cultivators operating at standard efficiency]
[Note: Second efficiency milestone (20%) remains a long-term goal. Current focus on cultivation advancement appropriate]
Wang Ben ended the session with quiet satisfaction.
Late-stage. He had crossed into the latter half of qi condensation, his true cultivation now firmly established. The efficiency advantage remained steady, giving him combat capabilities beyond what his realm would suggest.
Not dramatic progress, he thought. But solid. Reliable.
He opened his eyes, feeling the familiar weight of responsibility that came with each advancement. More capable meant more expected. More expected meant more pressure.
But pressure was something he had learned to carry.
The knock at his door came as he was processing the session's results.
Lin Suyin entered without waiting for formal invitation, her expression carrying urgency that made pleasantries seem irrelevant.
"We've decoded more of your grandfather's journal. The secondary cipher, the one even you couldn't read." She spread documents across his table. "He was more specific than we realized about the nexus chamber's location."
Wang Ben studied the materials, his newly clarified perception making the technical details more accessible than they would have been hours ago. "These are coordinates. Specific navigation markers within the deep Blackwood."
"Not just coordinates. Access protocols." Lin Suyin's voice was tight. "Your grandfather documented exactly how to reach the seal's primary access point. The formation sequences required, the bloodline verification methods, everything."
"Why would he document that?"
"Because he knew someone would need to reach it eventually." Lin Suyin met his eyes directly. "He was preparing for a contingency. A situation where accessing the seal might be necessary rather than just protected."
The implications settled into Wang Ben's understanding. His grandfather hadn't just been guarding the nexus chamber. He had been preparing for a moment when someone might need to open it.
"There's more." Lin Suyin's expression darkened. "Intelligence from the Silent Path network. The Yue Clan has launched a new expedition. Larger than before. Better equipped."
"Toward the Blackwood?"
"They've finally made the connection. Whatever they discovered from their Founding Site expeditions pointed them toward your grandfather's territory." Lin Suyin's voice carried the weight of strategic reality. "We have weeks, maybe a month, before they reach the deep forest. If they find the nexus chamber..."
"They can't access it without proper bloodline verification."
"Can you be certain of that? Their entire Ancestral Recovery Project is built around bloodline manipulation. If they've developed methods to spoof verification..." Lin Suyin shook her head. "We can't risk it. Whatever's in that chamber, we need to reach it before they do."
A cold weight settled in Wang Ben's chest. He processed this, his enhanced clarity making the situation's implications brutally clear. The Yue Clan was closing in. His grandfather's sacrifice had bought time, but that time was running out. And whatever the nexus chamber contained, it was too dangerous to let the clan that had hunted his mother control.
"I need to go back into the Blackwood."
"Yes." Lin Suyin's voice held no pleasure in the necessity. "But not alone. Not unprepared. This isn't reconnaissance or intelligence gathering. This is a race to secure something that could change the balance of power between kingdoms."
"What resources can we commit?"
"More than before. The strategic value justifies significant investment." Lin Suyin gathered her documents. "The war council meets tomorrow. You've reached late-stage now, haven't you?"
Wang Ben nodded, not surprised that she had sensed the advancement.
"Good." She moved toward the door, then paused. "Get some rest. The council will have questions, and I'd rather you didn't look like you'd been cultivating all night."
She departed, leaving him alone with his thoughts.
That night, Wang Ben stood at the fortress wall, looking east toward Redstone City, hundreds of kilometers away.
His mother rested there, learning to embrace the Ice that had been sealed for so long. His father kept watch with love that had only deepened through crisis. And though the distance separated them physically, the truth they now shared bound them closer than proximity ever could.
His cultivation had reached a level where he could make real differences in battles that mattered. And somewhere in the Blackwood's darkness to the west, secrets waited that his family had guarded for generations.
[STATUS SUMMARY]
[Cultivation: Qi Condensation Stage 7 (true) / Qi Condensation Stage 5 (displayed)]
[Efficiency: 17.0% (Second milestone at 20% remains distant)]
[System integration: 2.6%]
[Professional certifications: Alchemy (Grade 9), Formations (Grade 9)]
[Active obligations: Shen Wuyan (1 favor remaining)]
[Priority concerns: Li Mei's bloodline stability, nexus chamber security, Yue Clan expedition threat]
The numbers told a story of steady growth. Not dramatic, but consistent. Progress that couldn't be rushed.
He had grown in ways that transcended cultivation statistics. Understanding. Responsibility. The weight of knowledge that couldn't be shared and obligations that couldn't be refused.
Stronger than before, he thought. But still not strong enough.
The Yue Clan was coming. The nexus chamber's secrets waited. His mother's bloodline connected to ancient powers that defied current understanding.
And somewhere in all of it, the truth of what his grandfather had died to protect.
We know where it is, Lin Suyin had said. And the Yue Clan is getting close.
The race had begun. And Wang Ben intended to win it.
Whatever the cost.