The Cobra Snake had gone into its deep meditative sleep.
All the brothers—except for Little Life and Little Water—let out a collective sigh of relief.
"Finally, that big dumb snake is gone," Little Earth muttered. "Now we can finally breathe easy."
Little Life chuckled lightly. "Brothers, let's go meet Sister Shuye."
The others nodded in agreement.
Little Fire frowned. "Are you going to trust her, Brother? Are you planning to tell her about us?"
Little Life sighed. "No, not everything. I'll only tell her about myself and Little Wind."
"Just Little Wind?" Little Dark raised a brow.
"Yes. He'll follow her to her clan as her disciple, to train there... and also gather information for us."
Little Wind's eyes widened. "Wait, what? I'm the only one going with her? I'm just at the peak of Core Creation! She's in the middle stage of Meaning of Law! If she wants to kill me, I wouldn't stand a chance. I don't want to go!"
Little Life placed a firm hand on his shoulder. "She won't hurt you. Or rather, she can't. Her Heaven Vow binds her—if she breaks it and harms you, her heart will explode, and she'll die."
Still, Little Wind looked downcast. "But Brother... I don't want to be separated from you all."
"We separated for a reason," Little Life said gently. "To experience different lives, emotions, and paths. When the time comes, we'll merge again. This is part of our journey."
He turned to the others. "Little Light, Little Dark, Little Fire, Little Earth—you all will stay here and wait. Little Water and I will go down the mountain to meet Sister Shuye."
As planned, Little Water and Little Wind followed Little Life down to the base camp of the Wind Clan.
The camp was massive—almost the size of a small town. It could easily accommodate 100 to 300 people. When they arrived, Wind Clan disciples began to glance at them with suspicion and disdain.
Near the entrance, a stern-looking elder with cultivation at the peak of the Law of Elements stage noticed the trio.
"Who are these outsiders?" he muttered to himself, then raised his voice. "Hey! Why are you loitering here? Shouldn't you be focusing on recovery instead of wasting time?"
He narrowed his eyes at them. "What are you here for? Begging for resources?"
Little Water ignored him completely, as if the elder's voice hadn't even reached his ears. Little Life frowned slightly in annoyance, but before he could speak, Little Wind stepped forward.
"You look more like a beggar yourself—someone who's been begging for half his life," he said coolly.
The elder's face turned red with anger. He lashed out with a palm technique—Wind Pressure—aimed to make Little Wind kneel in humiliation. But before the strike could land, Little Water stepped in front of Little Wind and blocked it using his Qi energy.
Infuriated, Little Water's hand gathered energy for Water Cutter, ready to sever the elder's head in one strike, but Little Life stopped him with a firm hand on his shoulder.
"Don't act recklessly," he said through spiritual transmission.
"Sorry," Little Water responded. "I'll remember next time."
Little Life bowed slightly to the crowd. "We aren't beggars, nor are we here to cause trouble. We came to meet one of your elders—Shuye. Can someone take us to her?"
The elder scowled. "How do you know Elder Shuye's name? Who are you people?"
"We were sent by a senior," Little Life replied calmly. "He asked us to meet her."
The elder narrowed his eyes. "You mean the one who fought the Cobra Snake? The man with Split Soul cultivation?"
Little Life nodded. "Yes. That's the one."
"I don't believe you. There's no way you're connected to that senior. Tell me the truth!"
Little Life sighed. "Your mind is truly small for an elder of the Wind Clan."
That comment pushed the elder over the edge. "You insolent brat! I don't know how you blocked my first strike—probably some diamond-rank body treasure—but I doubt you can block this one!"
He unleashed Wind Cutter, a powerful technique capable of wounding even an Initial Meaning of Law cultivator.
But before the strike could land, a flash of turquoise and white shot through the air. A slender, elegant sword intercepted the attack, deflecting it with ease and sending the elder crashing to the ground, face-first.
An elegant, veiled woman stepped forward. She wore flowing robes in vibrant shades of turquoise and white. Her aura was calm yet overwhelming.
Little Life bowed slightly. "Thank you for your help, Miss. May I know your name?"
"You don't need to be modest," she replied. "I helped because I could see you could've handled him yourself. And I'm Shuye—the one you came to see."
Little Life transmitted privately, "Sister Shuye, let's find a quiet place to talk."
She blinked in surprise. That tone... that manner of calling her "Sister"—only one person used that name. Shui Jin?
Away from the camp, she turned to him. "Tell me the truth. Are you the senior from before? Or are you Shui Jin?"
Little Life smiled. "Neither. Shui Jin was just a disguise. The senior, too. It was a combined technique of mine and my brothers to reach Split Soul temporarily."
Her eyes widened. "What? So... both of them were you?"
"Yes."
She stared at him, trying to process. "Let me arrange my thoughts... Okay. Then tell me—why didn't you accept me as your master back then?"
"Because I wasn't the one meant to be your disciple," he said. "My brother, Little Wind—Xiao Feng—is the one you should take."
She turned to the boy. "This one? What's his element?"
Little Life gestured. "Xiao Feng, tell her yourself."
He stepped forward shyly. "Sister Shuye, I have the Wind element. I'm at peak Core Creation."
"Let me guess—stuck at your bottleneck and unable to break through to Law of Elements?" she asked.
"How did you know?" Little Life asked.
"It's the same with most Wind element cultivators," she replied. "Wind is a calm element. Cultivators require violent but pure energy for breakthroughs. Wind doesn't offer that often—it might take days, months, or even years."
She looked at Xiao Feng and smiled. "Alright. I'll take him as my disciple. I'll make sure he gets the best resources I can offer."
"Thank you, Sister Shuye," Little Life bowed. "Please take good care of him."
"I will. Do you need anything else?"
"Yes. I need information—about the clans, sects, and families across the continent."
Shuye nodded and brought out a map.
"The National Continent is divided into five main lands, based on elements. Wind Land is in the corner. To its right and upward is Water Land; to the left and downward is Earth Land.
Below Earth Land is a dried valley, and past that lies Fire Land. Between Fire and Water Lands is a valley of boiling water. In the middle of the continent is Light Land—the Holy Land.
There was a Dark Land, but it was destroyed. Its people now live in the valleys between Earth, Fire, and Water Lands."
She continued, "Fire Land is the largest—home to alchemists and weapon refiners. Light Land is second, with healers and holy cultivators. The rest are about the same size."
"There are also six more continents in this realm."
Little Life was stunned. "Wait—other realms too?"
"Yes," she said. "Remember I told you about my ancestor joining a supreme-level clan? That clan is in another realm."
Little Life's thoughts turned inward. If I can find a way to other realms... I might be able to save Little Death and Sister Yue Yu from the void.
"Sister Shuye... how can one reach other realms?"
"I don't know," she admitted. "I only know that with enough cultivation, one can ascend—or even create a realm of their own."
"We'll return to our clan in a few days," she added. "Little Wind, spend this time with your brothers."
"Okay," he said softly, feeling the weight of departure.
Shuye looked at Little Water. "I've met Little Life and Little Wind... but what about him? Will he introduce himself?"
Little Water simply shook his head.
Little Life chuckled. "He's not very talkative. Sorry about that."
"What's his element and cultivation level?"
"Water element," Little Life replied. "Initial Meaning of Law."
(He lied—Little Water was actually at the middle stage.)
Shuye smiled. "Same level as me. There's a Water Sect nearby recruiting new disciples. You could consider going."
Little Water nodded. "Okay."
"It's already evening," she said. "You three should rest here tonight."
"Thank you," Little Life said with a small bow. "Sorry for the trouble."
[To Be Continued]