Jared, too, seized the opportunity of dual cultivation. While guiding Lyra, honed the Power of Three and the Power of Dragons. The wounds on his meridians left by the reckless draw of the Divine Bow mended beneath the tower’s rich celestial energy and Lyra’s gentle nourishment.
Spiritual energy pooled inside his elixir field, dense and luminous, pressing against the distant gate of the Earthly Immortal Realm. The hush did not last. From a nearby stone platform, Flaxseed shattered the quiet with a startled cry.
That day, Jared threaded a particularly fierce surge of the Power of Dragons into Lyra, helping storm Earthly Immortal Realm Level Seven.
Beads of sweat blossomed on forehead, a muffled moan escaped throat. An instant later, a dull thump echoed across the chamber, Flaxseed had toppled clean off his own platform.
“Mr. Flaxseed, are you all right?” Jared withdrew the power at once, hurried from the alcove, and crouched beside Flaxseed. Flaxseed clutched the back of his head, cheeks puffed with embarrassment.
“I’m fine… Just sat too long, legs went numb,” muttered, yet his eyes skittered everywhere but at Lyra. A shy flush crept across Lyra’s ears.
Only then did Jared realize the obvious, their hiding barrier blocked sight, not sound. Every breathless cry Lyra had loosed those past days of dual cultivation had rolled over the silent tower like thunder, and Flaxseed had heard every syllable.
Considering Flaxseed’s temperament, it was safe to assume that had been suffering in silence. Jared cleared his throat, heat prickling his own ears. “If you’d prefer, Mr. Flaxseed, I can weave a second soundproofing formation between us…”
“No, no… Absolutely unnecessary!” Flaxseed waved both hands, neck stiff with forced dignity. “I am hardly some vulgar busybody. You cultivate, I recover. Mutual respect, no interference.”
Though listening to Lyra’s… Enthusiasm is rather invigorating…
Flaxseed spun back onto the stone dais and sat cross-legged, back toward them. His shoulders, however, trembled like reeds in a gale, betraying the turmoil he pretended to tame.
“Jared, c-could you be gentler after this? You act as though my limits don’t exist…” Lyra’s face burned crimson, voice no louder than the flutter of moth wings.
“Can’t help it,” Jared chuckled, eyes sparkling. “You’re simply too delicate…”
***
In the days that followed, Flaxseed kept his vow of silence, only the periodic thud of his fist against stone betrayed moments when his composure fractured.
Jared and Lyra tried to muffle their auras, yet whenever cultivation peaked and the spiritual energy surged. Lyra’s soft murmurs slipped free.
Each time they did, movement on the opposite platform stalled, then resumed with ragged, fevered breathing that spoke volumes.
Such absurd days dragged on for a long time. The celestial energy inside the tower began to dissipate as Jared, Lyra, and Flaxseed drank it in, much like people starving for air. At the same time, their cultivation surged at a staggering pace.
With Jared guiding every pulse of energy, Lyra shattered one bottleneck after another. She jumped from Earthly Immortal Realm Level Four to Earthly Immortal Realm Level Seven. The spiritual energy surrounding condensed, packing a lethal wave of sword intent.
During a pivotal moment of dual cultivation, the spiritual energy in Jared’s elixir field detonated. The Power of Dragons and the Power of Three fused at last. Golden scales flashed over his body, and a roar-half breath, half dragon cry-shook the tower.
He stepped cleanly into Earthly Immortal Realm!
Yet the greatest surprise belonged to Flaxseed. Surrounded by near-endless celestial energy and driven by sheer stubborn pride, the damage to his spiritual sense healed. His cultivation rocketed upward until Earthly Immortal Realm Level Nine.
That was the peak cultivation level Flaxseed had achieved before his reincarnation. At that moment, had fully regained it.
When the three finally ended their cultivation on the same day, the Pentacarna Tower quivered. Three vast auras spiraled upward in woven ribbons of color, lighting the dim stone chamber like sunrise.
“Congratulations, Lyra,” Jared said, gratitude and pride glowing behind his eyes.
