That was one thing that had really bothered me lately and I'd prefer not to think about it too much. With the increased time and attention required by the higher realms for advancement, the number of times I am able to visit home would naturally decrease. At some point in the future, I might find myself in a position where I didn’t see my family for years.

  "Yes," I admitted. "Higher level cultivation needs more commitment. But I’ll always make time for family, especially now that we have a little one coming, that’s not negotiable."

  But even as the words left my mouth, I knew how difficult it would be to stick to that.

  After all, cultivation had a way of messing with a person’s perception of time.

  What might feel like days to me might end up actually being months.

  "We understand, son. We knew when you joined the sect that cultivation would change your life in ways we couldn't predict.” My father reached across the table to gently touch my hand. “We’re proud of how far you've come, and we don’t want to hold you back.”

  "You could never hold me back," I said, recalling Ke Yin's initial motivations. "Your sacrifices gave me the opportunity to cultivate. Everything I have achieved and achieve in the future wouldn’t be possible if it wasn’t for you both.”

  Just as my parents were going to say something, the waiter returned to our table.

  "How is everything tonight? Is there anything else I can get for you?"

  "Actually," my father said, "we would like to take a look at your dessert options. Also, can you bring us a bottle of that spirit wine I've heard so much about?"

  I felt my heart sink as I realised what my father was doing. He obviously wanted to make this celebration as big as possible, which meant the cost of the meal would be enormous. As much as I didn’t want to undermine his sense of pride, I hated the thought of him spending such a large amount of money on one meal. Even then, I decided to keep my mouth shut.

  "The spirit wine is quite expensive," the waiter politely cautioned. "Maybe I can suggest something more…moderate?"

  “Tonight is special.” My father dismissed her concerns with a wave of his hand. "Bring us a bottle of whatever goes well with celebrating."

  The rest of the meal passed in a warm haze of fine food, mild conversation, and the relaxed feeling of family celebrating together like normal people do. The spirit wine, when it arrived, was exceptional, a refined vintage that complemented the flavor of our desserts rather than overpowering them. My parents asked thoughtful questions about cultivation, and I found myself telling them stories that I hadn’t known I was saving.

  By the time the bill arrived I was holding my breath as I watched my father examine the total. He looked a little surprised by the amount, but he composed himself and began to count out spirit stones from a pouch at his waist. The amount was certainly a significant portion of his savings, but he paid it without complaining.

  "Father," I said as we were preparing to leave, "I want you to know how much this means to me. Not just the meal, but having you both here to watch the tournament, it makes everything seem more real somehow."

  "Where else would we be?" my mother replied, slowly standing from her seat with one hand supporting her growing belly. "You’re our son. Your accomplishments are our accomplishments."

  That touched me more than I expected.

  From the corner of my eye, I noticed Li Chen looking down, lost in thought.

  I didn’t know his past, but clearly seeing the relationship between my parents and me brought back memories.

  Whether they were good memories or not, I wasn’t sure.

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  We walked back through the guest district together, the night air cool and pleasant after the heat of the restaurant. Many other families and groups of disciples were walking through the streets, some to celebrate their own success and others to simply enjoy the calmness of the evening.

  "I need to get back to my quarters," Liu Chen said when we reached the intersection where our paths would separate. "Rocky starts to worry if I’m away for too long when it’s dark."

  "Say hello to him for me," I said, patting the boy’s shoulder. "And thanks for joining us tonight, it means a lot to have you here."

  “I wouldn’t miss it.” Liu Chen smiled. The smile did a good job at hiding the sadness behind his eyes. “After you win tomorrow, we'll have to do this all over again.”

  Once Liu Chen had left, I accompanied my parents back to their guest quarters in comfortable silence. The pregnancy was obviously exhausting my mother more than she cared to admit, and my father was positioned closely beside her ready to support her if needed.

  "Get some rest," my mother said when we reached their door. "Tomorrow will be a big day."

  "I will," I said. "Sleep well, both of you."

  I gave my parents a hug and headed back to my quarters in the outer sect residential area.

  The route took me through many different areas of the sect, past various training areas that were currently empty, but would be filled with people by morning.

  The evening had been perfect in ways that I hadn’t expected. No talk of advanced cultivation techniques, no politics, no strategy regarding the upcoming tournament. Just family celebrating together like normal people do. It helped me realize that there were aspects of the old Ke Yin's life that were worth keeping, despite the fact that cultivation was changing everything else.

  "That was nice, Master," Azure said softly. "Ke Yin’s parents are good people."

  "They are," I agreed. "I just hope I can live up to their expectations of a good son."

  "The fact that you're concerned about that suggests you’ll do a good job."

  I was lost in thought when Azure said that, and it was then that the world started to change around me.

  The change occurred gradually at first. The familiar stone walkways of the sect grounds seemed to ripple as if I was seeing them through water. The buildings on either side of the pathway began to lose definition, becoming less defined and more impressionistic in their outline.

  At this point the pathway itself began to change.

  The rough stone beneath my feet flattened out and became smooth polished marble that reflected the faint veining of gold. The buildings on either side of the pathway increased in height and grandeur and their design shifted from functional sect building design to something more artistic and ornate.

  I stopped walking and placed my hand near my storage ring.

  This wasn’t a typical illusion or a formation effect.

  The change seemed too real, too thorough.

  It was as if the reality around me was being rewritten.

  The change continued.

  Gas lanterns emerged along the walls and cast a warm yellow glow that illuminated what had become a long gallery corridor. The ceiling towered above and was supported by elegant columns that twisted upward. On every available surface of the walls were paintings.

  Hundreds of them. Perhaps thousands.

  They extended in both directions as far as I could see, and each painting was framed in what appeared to be actual gold. The paintings showed cultivators from different sects, master cultivators performing impossible techniques, legendary cultivators battling each other, entire sects gathered in formal poses.

  But these weren’t simply artistic depictions.

  Each painting appeared to be alive, and the figures within them moved with small gestures suggesting awareness. Their eyes followed me as I walked past. Painted hands waved in recognition. A few of the figures were having conversation with others across different frames.

  "Azure," I called out mentally, "what is this place? It is a domain?"

  "I'm not certain, Master. The spiritual energy pressure here is... unusual. It doesn’t appear to be hostile, but it’s definitely beyond anything we have encountered before."

  I continued down the gallery, studying the paintings with growing unease.

  Several of the cultivators depicted in the paintings were obviously from the Azure Peak Sect, I recognized the blue robes and mountain motif of the sect in the paintings. Others showed unknown styles and techniques of sects I’d never heard of.

  That is when I heard footsteps approaching.

  Quiet, deliberate steps that meant someone was walking at a leisurely pace.

  The sound echoed unusually in the expansive space, originating from both everywhere and nowhere at once.

  I turned toward the origin of the footsteps, and my heart stopped beating.

  A young woman with long dark hair and pure white robes was walking toward me.

  She was beautiful in the way that cultivators became beautiful at higher levels.

  A beauty that transcended physical attractiveness and made everything around seem slightly less real.

  But what caused my heart to stop beating wasn’t her beauty.

  It was the aura surrounding her.

  Pure Civilization Realm aura.

  It rolled off her in waves, bending the air around her presence.

  The woman continued walking toward me at her same leisurely pace, a slight smile formed around her lips as if she was relishing some private joke. Once she was 20 feet away, she stopped and nodded her head slightly in what might have been a greeting.

  "Hello, Ke Yin," she said, her voice resonating with the paintings surrounding us. "I’ve been looking forward to meeting you.”

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