Back in Yu Village, Yu Yan and Xiao Wu's days reverted to exactly what they had been before.
At dawn they climbed the hill: Yu Yan absorbed the purple qi to Cultivate, while Xiao Wu absorbed the high-quality spirit power that drifted off him, refining it into her own.
Morning was ordinary training; Yu Yan read the books he'd bought in Balak City, Xiao Wu ran wild through the lanes, the undisputed big sister of every kid their age in Yu Village.
Afternoons were live combat. After the first rough patch Yu Yan could trade even blows with a Xiao Wu forbidden to use Soft Technique; once she did use it he lasted three minutes—up from the opening five seconds—progress no one could call small.
Day by day Yu Yan's strength and cultivation raced ahead; Xiao Wu improved too, only less dramatically.
One dawn, a month and a half later, Yu Yan sat cross-legged on the summit. The Ice and Fire Twin Fish circled him, the Ice Fish's biting chill wrapping his body.
Eyes closed, he drew a wisp of purple qi inside.
As familiarity grew and his cultivation climbed, the purple qi he refined shifted from "about to vanish" to "in the act of vanishing."
Put that way, it still sounds abstract.
A clearer figure: before he caught one-tenth of a wisp; now he caught three-tenths.
The higher-grade purple qi sped his cultivation and lent his spirit power a faint violet tint, raising its quality.
The qi entered, was converted by his Meditation Technique into spirit power.
Without incident, two months after his Spirit Awakening, Yu Yan reached level nine—slightly slower than expected.
Let outsiders hear of someone gaining a level and a half in two months and still feeling short-changed, and they would have a few very "civilized" words for him.
"Yu Yan, did your spirit power Breakthrough?"
Sensing the stronger Aura, Xiao Wu asked the moment he opened his eyes.
"Mm, Xiao Wu, I'm level nine now. Better hurry or I'll leave you far behind."
Knowing she was Innate Full Spirit Power yet unable to say so, Yu Yan teased her with wicked delight.
"I'll work hard. I'll catch you."
Unable to declare her own Innate status, Xiao Wu looked at his grin and suddenly wanted another spar.
Reading the mischief, Yu Yan coughed and changed the subject. "Let's head down and make breakfast."
Food settled it; Xiao Wu shelved the menacing smile and bounced downhill beside him… Another dawn, still unable to sense purple qi, she asked glumly, "Yu Yan, it's been days—why can't I feel it?"
She asked because he had taught her the little tricks, yet she still sensed nothing.
When she posed the question, several answers flashed through his mind.
Transmigrator.
A Soul strengthened by two lifetimes.
The strangeness of his Companion Spirit, the Ice and Fire Twin Fish.
Those were his guesses—any one, or a mix, might explain why he could perceive purple qi.
"I'm not sure. Maybe I'm just… special?"
Unable to give a firm answer, he offered vagueness.
At that, Xiao Wu circled him, left look, right look, finding nothing special at all.
Seeing nothing, she demanded, "Special? Where? I can't see it."
"That's why I said maybe. If I knew, I'd tell you." He took her hand. "Stop brooding—let's go, I'll cook something good."
"Fine."
Her mood stayed low; she kept turning it over.
"Yu Yan, could it be your Ice and Fire Twin Fish Spirit? I've never seen such a weird Spirit."
After racking her brains, that was the likeliest cause she could name.
"Could be. I've wondered too, but I'm not sure, so I didn't mention it."
Since she had hit on it, he simply admitted it.
His admission deepened her gloom. "If it's because of the Spirit, does that mean I'll never absorb purple qi?"
"No. The purple qi isn't there because of my Spirit. It exists; not catching it just means we haven't found your method."
He was certain—Tang San using purple qi to Cultivate Purple Demon Eye proved it.
"I hope so."
She lifted her eyes to the fading crescent moon, and a wild idea struck.
"Yu Yan, if dawn holds purple qi, what's inside the moon? Could there be matching special energy?"
Her words detonated in his mind.
He had obsessed over how to use purple qi more efficiently, blind to the moon that faced the sun.
Focus on one thing can hide the obvious—like hunting for a phone while holding it.
Even when they lay in the yard stargazing, he had never thought of it.
The speaker had no intent; the listener took it to heart.
Her casual remark set his thoughts racing.
If the sun held mythical purple qi, its opposite should hold… moon radiance?
Essence of Sun and Moon!
Essence of Sun and Moon!!
So simple—why hadn't he seen it?
"Xiao Wu, you're a Genius!!!"
Elated, he shouted the praise.
If moon radiance could be used, his cultivation speed could double.
"Huh?" His outburst baffled her, but she quickly caught on. "There really is matching energy in the moon?"
"Very likely, since sun and moon are counterparts."
Until results proved it, he kept his claim tentative, leaving himself room to retreat.