Having passed their tribulation and shared their lovey-dovey moment in the sunset, Lin Songmei and Yan Mingqing made their way back to the long table everyone else was sitting at. Remembering how they did all their antics in clear view of everyone else, Songmei felt a tinge of red warm her cheeks as she coughed into her fist. 

She had just forgotten everyone else existed for a bit... 

Rejoining the conversation and budding party, Songmei traded hugs and high-fives as the six spectators showered praise onto her and Mingqing. Following a short debrief of sorts and some tearful hugs from Liu Xueli, Songmei and Mingqing were freed as the topic was dropped. From then on, it was a party, and party only. 

During the party, Songmei learned a couple of things. For one, Xueli and Yuan Muyun were both... youthful in spirit, one could say. Out of everyone, Yuan Muyun seemed to enjoy the party games more than anyone—she was good too! Maybe it was because of their cultivation, maybe it was because of other reasons, but both Xueli and Yuan Muyun could keep up with all the party games. 

Beyond the party games too, Xueli and Yuan Muyun participated in the conversation as well. For very different reasons, they could banter like no one else. Xueli, on the one hand, made it very easy to pile on top of her. Yuan Muyun, on the other hand, made the most incisive, creative jabs when nobody expected it. 

Fun stuff. Xiao Feng, the last master, wasn’t even worth mentioning either. He still felt like a chill older brother as always. He was fun, he could banter, and he felt like one of the disciples at times. 

Han Youhong and Xiao Feng too, were a comedic duo at times. With similar hair styles and dressing styles, the two almost looked like brothers at times. The big difference only lay in the difference in eye color and body build. 

Eye color wise, it was obvious, Youhong had his crimson red eyes every girl and every guy seemed to want a piece of while Xiao Feng had more mundane gray eyes. Body build wise, Youhong was slim to say the least which contrasted a lot with Xiao Feng’s I-go-to-the-gym-every-day frame. 

Needless to say, the masters were great at... not feeling like masters. They all just felt like older people who could still keep up and have fun!

The other thing Songmei learned though was more cultivation related though. It was the wings! Of course it was the wings. 

Halfway through the party, while Youhong and Xiao Feng were cussing each other out while playing a racing game, everyone else was sitting around watching. Hand in hand with Mingqing, Songmei tapped her feet against the rocks until the conversation lulled. 

“Xueli?” Songmei waved, suppressing the urge to laugh as Xueli spun on her heel. With Xueli’s combat boots kicking up some dust as she spun, Songmei pointed to her back. “Could you explain what those wings were?” 

“Ohhhh... those? They’re nothing too fancy,” Xueli shrugged, taking a seat as everyone else began to look over. “They manifest when you break into a new realm really. Well, once you get higher up in the realms you can choose whether you want them to or not.” 

Continuing her explanation, Xueli—along with a few bonus comments from Xiao Feng and Yuan Muyun—gave a quick explanation. The wings, in general, were a part of a much larger system of manifestations. As a cultivator ascended the realms, they’d gain a new manifestation everytime they broke into a new realm. 

They all varied in size, of course, with the wings being one of the largest visible changes. Although no one knew the reason for their existence, Yuan Muyun had added a few comments regarding the current theory. 

Cultivators who studied the path of cultivation postulated the reason related back to the heavens from which all cultivators strove for. They theorized the wings—among other manifestations like the crown, the eyes, and more—were a by-product of becoming more in tune with the world. 

As they ascended, a cultivator’s Qi identity, their innate talents, would be able to go from the intangible, to the tangible and show itself to the world. 

To bring out the wings—or other manifestations—was a complex process. It took fine control over one’s own Qi and internal universe which meant only people at much higher realms could bring it out willy-nilly. Still though, wings would manifest themselves whenever a cultivator began fighting at their full capacity. 

At a certain level, there was a choice whether to bring them out or not. Xiao Feng—speaking over Youhong who was cussing him out—had tried to articulate it. He had mentioned a feeling, another pathway he could guide his Qi through as a fight kicked into gear and amped up level by level. 

The alternate pathway, according to Yuan Muyun, was what would cause the manifestation. It caused no real difference in combat capability until the much higher levels, but did allow for someone to look cooler. 

With Youhong winning and cussing Xiao Feng out at this point, Youhong spun around and flexed his arms. Giving all the other disciples a high-five, Youhong put a pause on the conversation as he celebrated. 

He did bring the topic back though as he mimicked a pair of wings while asking. “Why wouldn’t I manifest them? I love looking cool.” 

Xiao Feng just patted Youhong a few more times on the back, explaining how revealing one’s realm wasn’t always the best idea. 

Xueli, though, with some momentary enlightenment, then brought up a point relating to Songmei and the others on a more personal level. The wings, she noted, weren’t visible for everyone. Some people, the line was somewhere between four and six extraordinary meridians, didn’t have wings. 

The line was blurred because some people who had opened six extraordinary meridians had no wings while others who had opened four did have wings. Just another example of the heavens being fickle according to Yuan Muyun. 

It mattered for Songmei, Mingqing, and the others though because it meant care was needed in case they went undercover. If they began fighting and a pair of wings manifested themselves, their cover, identity, and safety would all be blown into the heavens. 

Xiao Feng, as the resident stealth expert, sighed, recounting a couple of niche stories. One was a person didn’t even realize they had revealed their wings and been exposed. Needless to say, that person’s food started having a lot more poison added to it. 

With her little explanation and nuggets of advice relating to Songmei and Mingqing’s situation on a personal level, Xueli went to give herself a nice pat on the back. 

Mingqing, unapologetic as usual though, had to let Xueli down with a quiet apology. “Sorry to tell you this now Xueli, but... we don’t need stealth anymore. We can just beat up anyone in the city in a one versus one fight. Probably in a multi-versus one fight too.” 

Esiyx

I almost went to bed... and remembered I have to schedule a chapter-
so i got back up to schedule it lmfaoo... anyway i've had a productive week woot woot, physics test went well, got that solid 66/65 woot woot... uhh... yeah idk what else to talk about...

(sorry i be speed running this author's note so i can go back to bed-)
... well I guess it's kinda important that the day this goes out it's my birthday...
i don't really celebrate it...
anyway, thanks for reading~!!
take care reader friendsss <3<3