The Magistrate: Chapter 42 (Patreon)

Chapter 42

Fairy Ling

Tobias was in a cheerful mood as he left the sect's training ground covered in sweat. Everything seemed to finally be falling into place. Summer was well underway, and the mountains were free from low-lying cloud cover, providing a beautiful sunset as he climbed the staircase between districts. With each passing day, the disciples he was training made progress, providing him with more data for his research and the body cultivation manual he intended to create.

So far, Tobias had conclusively proven that gaining muscle allowed cultivators at the end of their natural path to expand and strengthen their greater body meridians, thereby extending their natural path even after they should have reached the end. By the end of the Summer, he hoped to prove that gaining muscle made it easier for all cultivators to expand and strengthen their greater body meridians faster and extend their natural path.

Patriarch Lee had assured him that this discovery would be enough proof of his ability to unravel the mysteries of cultivation for the Great Clans to publicly protect him and his family, but Tobias wasn't willing to take any chances, which was why he was studying ways to improve the disciples' outcomes. Knowing that cultivators had different dietary requirements for muscle growth depending on their realm had been invaluable. The additional spirit beast meat improved the rate of progress for those who were already making progress and enabled those who hadn't been making progress to do so. Confirming that using the proper equipment and training techniques, while running and weightlifting, accelerated fitness and strength adaptations, was also significantly shortening training times.

Each discovery made the body cultivation manual Tobias was creating more valuable to those who would use it and harder for the Great Clans to deny its value or his. Tobias was pessimistic about how the Great Clans would react to his manual. Unlike Cloud Sect, they would not see the results of his work first-hand, only read about it. The fact that Cloud Sect had adopted his training regime across all their disciples might not even matter to them.

Tobias knew that these thoughts were just a manifestation of his fears and worries and unlikely to be true, but they kept him up at night. The objective truth was that he was getting closer to securing the public protection his family needed. He was getting closer to a world where they could be free to live their lives as he wanted them to. The way they deserved.

However, that and the weather weren't the only reasons Tobias was in a good mood. His back and forth with the Lee Clan to develop cultivation exercises had finally provided him with a universal set of cultivation exercises for those in the mortal realm. With these exercises, Lingling could safely practice cultivation without risking chi deviation.

Helping his little sister improve her cultivation understanding and skills brought Tobias more joy than he'd expected, and the tediousness of studying his library no longer bothered him. He could willingly throw himself into his work because it allowed him to watch his sister flourish.

Being away from those he loved for so long was hard.

As Tobias arrived home, he rang the bell beside his gate. Aunty Nang took a little longer than usual to open the door, and she didn't look pleased when she did.

Tobias sighed. "What did Lingling do now?"

His sister behaved herself most of the time, but when she had nothing to do, she caused trouble. Not significant trouble, but enough trouble to annoy Aunty Nang. Tobias had set her expectation for his family far too high.

Aunty Nang gritted her teeth. "You're sister has been entertaining the patriarch of the Xu family and his daughter since before lunch."

Tobias frowned at the unexpected news. "Why didn't you send someone to tell me they were here?"

"You're sister wouldn't allow us. She wanted to host them herself."

Tobias sighed.

He'd come home from work a few weeks after Lingling arrived to find she had gone through his mail and read the letters from women he'd dined with in the Capitol. That hadn't bothered him until he'd found out that she'd been writing replies, intending to find him a wife. She was trying to be helpful, concerned that he was too shy to do so himself.

Tobias had sat down with her and had a frank discussion about political marriages and why he couldn't marry them. Lingling had become upset by his arguments because she was forced into such a marriage, while he could refuse. To calm her down, Tobias lied. He'd told her that the real reason he wasn't interested in marrying them was because he had a much better candidate, a woman named Xu Ling.

Tobias had hoped that would end the matter, but Lingling had spent the evening bombarding him with questions about Xu Ling, forcing him to share that she had made it quite clear she wanted to marry him. Any thought of him marrying the women who wrote to him had vanished, and Tobias had thought that was the end of the matter.

Then Xu Ling showed up at his door.

Lingling had taken advantage of his absence to get to know her and play matchmaker.

"Has she caused any offence?" Tobias asked.

He doubted that was possible. Xu Feng and his daughter were the most easy-going cultivators Tobias had ever met.

"Not to my knowledge, Magistrate. However, she has freely shared everything you've been teaching her with them.

Tobias wasn't bothered by that.

"A bath and a change of clothes are waiting for you in your room, and I've taken the liberty of preparing an extravagant feast for dinner."

"Good. Do you know if they are staying in the city?"

"You're sister has failed to bring it up."

"Have you prepared rooms?"

"I have."

"Wonderful. Inform my guests that I will be with them once I've made myself presentable."

Tobias made his way inside, bathed, dressed, brushed out his hair, and carefully arranged his appearance. Then, he made his way to the reception room, where he could hear his sister laughing with his guests.

The laughter died off as he slid the door open and stepped inside. Lingling gave him a guilty look, sweeping the cultivation guides he'd written for her along with the Lee Clan's exercises behind her, knowing that she had taken advantage of her position to keep him away.

Xu Feng showed open shock at Tobias's new appearance as he crossed the room and sat before him and his daughter. Xu Feng examined the changes to his face, breaking many rules of etiquette in the process, as he tried to compare the man he had met with the one who now sat before him.

Xu Ling remained staring at the floor, blushing. Tobias hadn't seen her in years, but he didn't need to see her often to know her mind. She was embarrassed about something. It was the only reason she ever blushed.

Xu Ling was now twenty-five, and her beauty had only grown since they had last seen each other. Most in The Three Kingdoms now referred to her as Fairy Ling, the great beauty of the Ling family. Tobias had heard this name mentioned in the palace and all over the Capitol and had to agree that it was true. She was the most effortlessly beautiful woman he'd ever met.

Xu Feng finally overcame his shock and cupped his hands and bowed. "Xu Feng greets Magistrate Finch."

Tobias returned the bow. "Magistrate Finch greets Xu Feng. You and your daughter are always welcome, but what brings you to my home? Last I heard, you were on the other side of The Three Kingdoms."

Xu Feng gave an amused smirk and nodded to Xu Ling. "My daughter learned through my connections that 2nd Patriarch Lee had made a betrothal offer to someone in your family in Cloud City. Instead of waiting for the public announcement, she demanded that we set out to make sure the Lee Clan didn't steal you from her. She's quite embarrassed now that she's discovered the betrothal offer was for your sister. I've been having a lot of fun at her expense and with your sister's help have made sure she couldn't run away and hide before you arrived."

Tobias chuckled as he cupped his hands and bowed again. "Magistrate Finch greets Fairy Ling, the great beauty of the Ling family."

He knew the name would annoy her.

Xu Ling began to scowl, but finally looked up, as etiquette required. The moment her gaze landed on his face, she turned a brighter shade of red, and she forgot how to speak. She was left open-mouthed, staring at his features.

The short, ugly, and pimply magistrate she had met in Mist City was now a distant memory. Tobias was six feet tall and covered in enough muscle that it was visible under several layers of clothing. His jet-black hair now reached his waist, and his clothing and accessories, thanks to the princes, were second to none.

Of the two of them, Tobias was now the most attractive.

A divine beauty transformation was something that natural beauty could not match, even if you were a prodigy. Tobias had intentionally not mentioned these changes in his letters, hoping that with enough time, she would meet someone else she wanted to marry more than him.

Xu Feng roared with laughter. "I do believe you have now corrected what my daughter considered to be your only shortcomings, Magistrate Finch."

Tobias chuckled with him. "Your daughter found my old appearance lacking, I take it. She never gave me that impression with how forward she was."

Xu Feng nodded. "Your height and features were your least desirable qualities. I believe she is quite happy with the change from her inability to utter a sentence."

"I believe this is the longest she has ever gone without saying anything to me."

Xu Ling dropped her gaze to the floor. "You're sister said you were more attractive, but she failed to mention the extent of the change."

"Is my new appearance not to your liking?"

"No."

Tobias didn't hear a hint of falsehood in her words. She was serious. "Really?"

A brief smirk twisted her lips, and there was a hint of her old playfulness around her eyes. "I have far too much competition now."

Tobias and Xu Feng threw their heads back and laughed.

Xu Feng finished laughing first and motioned to Tobias's muscular appearance. "Your sister mentioned you were studying the effects of growing muscle on body meridian expansion and strengthening. She didn't mention you were taking part. Have you found it helpful?"

"I believe so. The divine meridian expanding and strengthening pills I consumed reached peak efficiency. However, I was significantly larger at the time."

Xu Feng nodded to the guides that Lingling was trying to hide. "I hope you don't mind your sister sharing your insights. Normally, I would have turned down her offer, but your disposition and willingness to share them in the past made me comfortable enough to accept."

Tobias waved away his worries. "I would have shared them with you myself. Do not be concerned. I'm more interested in knowing if you have found my insights helpful."

Xu Ling rolled her eyes and then continued to look at the floor. "My father hasn't stopped asking questions since your sister brought them out. He clearly believes this is what I've spent the past five years searching for."

Tobias and Xu Ling had written to each other every season since they met in Mist City, so he knew they were still searching for a way to alter the Wandering Minstrel Cultivation Method so that it would allow Xu Ling to walk her own dao path.

"This isn't what you're looking for. If it were, I would have written to you."

"I told him that," Xu Ling replied.

Tobias couldn't help but notice that Xu Ling really did find his looks to be a problem. She was not acting like her usual brash self. "That doesn't mean it won't be helpful. You will benefit greatly from practising the cultivation exercises."

Xu Ling scoffed without lifting her gaze. "I'm a prodigy. These exercises are far beneath me."

Tobias was appalled by her answer. Everything he'd learned said that her attitude would get her killed when she began to cultivate. Tobias stared at her for several seconds before deciding that he needed to save her from herself and the foolishness of the cultivation world.

They hadn't seen each other in years, but she was still, in his mind, his best friend. She was the only person he had ever truly been his old self with. Tobias leaned behind his sister to snag the stack of guides and found the most basic cultivation exercise for opening greater body meridians.

At only six pages long, it was more of a booklet than a book. It didn't need more. Explaining how to perform the exercise wasn't complicated.

He handed it to Xu Ling. "If you can perform this exercise flawlessly the first time, I'll agree to do anything you want."

Xu Ling stared at the cultivation exercise guide and then briefly glanced at his face before blushing again. "Anything?"

"Anything," Tobias reaffirmed.

Xu Feng smirked like a man who thought his daughter was finally going to marry the man she wanted. "I believe you are placing a bet, Magistrate Finch."

Tobias nodded. "I am."

"What do you want in return?"

"I want her to agree do to anything I want."

Xu Feng turned to his daughter. "Are you willing to accept Magistrate Finch's terms?"

Xu Ling nodded back. "I won't fail."

"Does that mean you accept his bet?"

Xu Ling nodded again.

Lingling leaned over and whispered. "She's going to make you sign a betrothal contract."

Tobias turned to Xu Feng. "Would you be willing to act as the arbitrator of our bet?"

Xu Feng sighed. "You know I'm not impartial when it comes to my daughter."

"You may not be impartial, but you are honest."

"Fine. I'll act as the arbitrator."

Xu Ling handed the booklet to her father. "Read it."

Tobias turned to Xu Ling as her father began to read. "Have you progressed your cultivation since our last letters?"

Xu Ling shook her head, still refusing to look at him. "I can't find what I need to adapt our cultivation method."

"That wasn't what I asked."

"No. I haven't progressed my cultivation beyond cleansing my greater body meridians."

"Good."

Xu Ling frowned. "Why is that good?"

"I've discovered that cultivating beyond the mortal realm before the age of twenty-five harms your long-term cultivation growth, but this harm can extend up to the age of twenty-seven in some cases."

Xu Feng looked up from the guide. "In what way?"

"I believe it prevents natural mental development and maturity, which seems to make it more difficult to progress when you reach the foundation and core realms. Lack of maturity somehow interferes with your ability to comprehend dao and integrate the insights you gain. This is something I haven't publicly shared yet."

Xu Feng returned to reading.

Xu Ling bit her bottom lip. "That shouldn't matter, because I'm a prodigy."

"I think it matters more."

"Why?"

"I believe it might be one of the things that prevents many prodigies from successfully reaching the nascent soul realm. However, that matter requires further investigation."

Xu Feng put down the guide. "I'm familiar enough with the method to assess my daughter."

Xu Ling took the booklet from him and began to read.

She had been studying cultivation manuals for years, and those manuals were significantly more challenging to read than the ones Tobias had asked the Lee Clan to create. She flipped through the pages nodding to herself, following everything she read without any trouble, before closing it a few minutes later.

She grinned at the floor. "You don't have a chance of winning this bet."

Tobias returned her grin with a relaxed smile, even though she couldn't see it. "Do you accept my terms?"

She nodded. "If I win, you have to accept my request no matter what I ask for. If you win, I have to do the same."

"Agreed."

Xu Ling's grin didn't fade until she shifted to the lotus position and closed her eyes. Tobias couldn't sense what she was doing, but his sister and Xu Feng could. The exercise only took two minutes, and Tobias watched his sister's expression to judge how well Xu Ling was doing.

Lingling winced several times as she noticed Xu Ling doing it wrong.

The exercises Patriarch Lee designed for Tobias were not cultivation methods. They did not improve cultivation. If they did, Xu Ling's divinity would make them highly effective, covering up her mistakes.

Instead, the exercises taught you to move chi through your body in specific patterns. Each pattern was used by dozens of body meridian opening cultivation methods, so practising them would hopefully make it easier for you to open body meridians once you began to cultivate.

They were training wheels. Training wheels that showcased innate talent and allowed you to practice improving your cultivation skills without actually cultivating.

Lingling had been practising the exercise Xu Ling was attempting for the past month. Of the three different paths Tobias had discovered, it was the one that came most naturally to her. She had only recently reached a point where she could perform the exercise flawlessly and was now practising the second level of the exercise.

Xu Ling didn't look happy when she opened her eyes. She even glared at Tobias before dropping her gaze. "You tricked me."

Tobias turned to his sister. "Lingling show her how it's done."

Lingling moved into the lotus position, fighting a smile and closed her eyes. Being able to do something that a prodigy couldn't do was clearly a massive confidence booster for her. Xu Ling and her father watched in silence as Lingling performed the same exercise flawlessly, opening her eyes at the end and losing the fight with her smile.

Tobias turned to Xu Ling. "I didn't trick you."

Xu Ling frowned. "I'm a prodigy. How can she do something better than I can?"

Xu Feng also frowned. "Please, explain your intent, Magistrate Finch."

Tobias sensed the hostility coming from the man over his actions. He'd just shamed his daughter, and he wanted to know the reason why.

"During my cultivation studies, I have discovered that prodigies are not better at cultivation than your average cultivator. Their divinity for cultivation is so high that it makes talent redundant before the core realm. The reason Xu Ling couldn't perform the exercise is that it doesn't allow her to use her divinity to compensate for her lack of cultivation skill."

"You did trick me."

Tobias shook his head. "Xu Feng, please perform the exercise for your daughter."

Xu Feng moved into the lotus position and closed his eyes, performing the exercise as flawlessly as Lingling, but without the need to practice.

Xu Ling continued to frown as her father opened his eyes. "Was that difficult?"

Xu Feng shook his head. "I was surprised you couldn't do it." He turned to Tobias. "I still don't understand your intent?"

Tobias sighed. "You're aware that most prodigies become failed prodigies?"

Xu Feng nodded.

"They become failed prodigies because they never learn how to cultivate properly. Once they reach the core realm, their divinity isn't enough to compensate for this. This then causes them to experience chi deviates, which are often fatal, and if they aren't fatal, they are always crippling. My intent was to show you that Xu Ling is on the path to becoming a failed prodigy if she doesn't develop her skills or her understanding of cultivation. I have no wish for that to happen to her, which is why I placed the bet."

Xu Feng cupped his hands and bowed. "I thank you for your insights."

Xu Ling sighed. "What do you want me to do?"

Tobias took a deep breath, knowing that his following words were going to be well received, but lose their lustre when she realised he meant them. He would also be committing to something that might last for years.

"I want you to become my first disciple and remain in Cloud City. You'll train beside my sister until I feel you are skilled enough not to harm yourself. You and your father are, of course, welcome to stay here or in the city while you are my first disciple, depending on what you prefer."

Xu Feng chuckled. "You didn't have to make a bet to get her to stay."

Xu Ling blushed again.

"I did if I wanted her to listen to what I have to teach her," Tobias replied.

Xu Ling looked up and tried to playfully shove his shoulder, but Tobias didn't move. Whatever she was going to say was lost to her surprise. "How strong are you?"

Tobias smiled. "Not as strong as you are going to be once I'm done training you."

***

The following morning, just after dawn, Tobias ran behind Xu Ling, making sure her heart rate was in the correct zone. Xu Ling had barely improved her strength and fitness since cleansing her body meridians, so she was wearing the lightest of his lead vests. That was a shame because the woman known across The Three Kingdoms as Fairy Ling looked highly undignified with bright red cheeks and sweat pouring down her face as she gasped for breath.

Obtaining permission to train her on the sect's training grounds was not an issue, but only because of who she was. Cloud Sect currently didn't have any prodigies among its disciples, and Elder Po had jumped at the chance to see if Tobias's exercise methods were as effective for Xu Ling as they were for their other disciples.

While the two of them ran, Lingling walked around with Xu Feng, handing out skewers to arriving disciples, laughing and joking with them while they lifted weights. Her love of cooking and willingness to share the treats she made with them while they were training had won them over. She'd become a little sister to them, and they did silly things like asking her to spot them on the bench press.

Tobias noticed Xu Ling's heart rate beginning to slow as her body adapted to their current pace. Tobias's research had taught him that the amount of chi moving through a cultivator's body meridian network was proportional to how quickly their body adapted to the strain placed on it. As a prodigy, Xu Ling's body meridians were naturally larger and stronger than those of any cultivator who wasn't a genius. Even a gifted cultivator who had fully expanded and strengthened their body meridians to their natural limits didn't have body meridians as large as hers. This meant the rate she developed was astounding and a very useful addition to his data.

"You need to run faster," Tobias instructed, increasing his pace.

Xu Ling gasped out one word. "Monster."

Tobias smiled as he ran, remembering how much he'd hated this training. "Would you like me to find you a heavier vest instead?"

Xu Ling gasped out another word. "Monster."

***

That afternoon, Tobias took Lingling, Xu Feng, and Xu Ling down to Cloud City to visit his entertainment and shopping district. The restoration was well underway, leaving the area chaotic. Hundreds of builders, masons, and artists swarmed over and around the buildings that hadn't been protected by an array, trying to restore them to their former glory. Each piece of a building that was removed was systematically examined to decide if it could be repaired or replaced. The piece was then taken to the necessary craftsmen, who began working on it.

Tobias had demanded nothing less than the complete restoration of the district. He wanted them to restore it to its former state without any changes. Aesthetics usually meant little to him, but this place was different. It spoke to him, making him wish he had seen it in its prime.    

As they stood in the main square, Tobias motioned to the surrounding buildings. "What do you think?"

He wanted to see if Xu Feng could see the same potential in the location as he did. If he did, Tobias wanted him to fulfil his promise and build a House of Sound.

Xu Feng remained quiet, considering the question. "I think you've overestimated cultivators' interest in the mortal world."

"I think you fail to understand the nature of what I'm building here. Disciples who reach the end of their natural path have the same amount of free time as elders. The only way they can progress is through their profession, and many of these professions can only be practiced for part of each day. They have ample free time and nothing but work to look forward to. This district will correct that."

Tobias could see he hadn't convinced the man, so he tried another approach.

"It's also one of the few locations where members of the different sects will be allowed to freely socialise. Cloud and Mist sect have forbidden their disciples from making social calls."

Xu Feng's eyes widened, understanding the implications. He was not so removed from the mortal world that he didn't understand companionship or attraction. Due to the nature of their professions, the disciples were extremely wealthy by mortal standards. They could easily lavish their friends or prospective partners with expensive outings without hurting their potential growth.

Xu Ling smirked. "I believe my father would be interested in building a House of Sound here."

***

That night, Tobias and Xu Ling sat side by side watching the moon rise. Lingling had gone to bed, exhausted from having to climb up and down the Cloud Steps, and Xu Feng was in the other room studying Tobias's notes.

Xu Ling had begun to look at his face without blushing, and their relationship was slowly returning to what it had been like in Mist City. Tobias could tell Xu Ling wanted to say something meaningful, but couldn't find the words. Being honest about your feelings was so much harder when you were young, but Tobias had been here before and didn't find it difficult.

"I've missed you," he said.

Xu Ling gave an exhausted smile. "I missed you, too. Thank you for giving my father an excuse to stay."

Tobias didn't like her reply. "It wasn't an excuse. I'm very concerned that you're going to kill yourself with cultivation if you continue as you are."

Xu Ling rolled her eyes. "I'm a prodigy."

"As I told your father, three out of five prodigies kill or cripple themselves through cultivation. One in five kills themselves in the pursuit of materials for their cultivation. That exercise last night was a test to see if I needed to be concerned. A test you failed. I intend to ensure that you learn what you need to know to cultivate safely. I wasn't joking about you becoming my first disciple."

Xu Ling continued to smile. "And how long will that take?"

"I'm not sure. A few years. Potentially much longer."

"You must not think much of my capabilities."

Tobias shook his head. "No, I expect you'll surprise me with your progress. The main reason it will take so long is that I've only developed a curriculum to the end of the mortal realm. You need exercises and insights that extend all the way to the peak of the core realm, and that will take me time to understand."

Xu Ling's smile grew. "Are you going to teach me to create cultivation methods and techniques while you're unravelling the mysteries of cultivation?"

Tobias knew she was joking, but that didn't stop him from answering honestly. "Do you want me to?"

Xu Ling froze. "You can do that?"

Tobias nodded. "Not yet, but I will be able to soon."

"How?"

"All successful cultivation methods and techniques fall into specific patterns. Deviations from these patterns are why methods and techniques eventually fail. So long as you create cultivation methods and techniques within these patterns, I can teach you how to create a solid foundation for you to start from."

Xu Ling shook her head. "Then I must decline."

"Why?"

Xu Ling sighed. "I've learned I have many skills, but developing my own methods and techniques is not among them. These last five years have shown me the extent of my abilities."

Tobias chuckled. "That's because you've been taught that studying cultivation methods and techniques is all you need to develop your own."

Xu Ling glanced at him. "It's not?"

"It can be if the methods and techniques share enough similarities for you to gain a rough understanding of their patterns, but cultivation methods and techniques like that are only practiced by the Great Clans and sects. The manuals you've gained access to don't have the right patterns to teach you what you need to know how to create your own cultivation methods and techniques."

"That didn't appear to be a problem for you."

"Only because I'm not trying to learn how to develop cultivation methods and techniques by understanding them. To understand meridian opening cultivation methods, I took all the meridian opening manuals in my library and broke them down into their individual patterns. Then I grouped them together based on which had identical patterns. After that, I separated the patterns by difficulty, which is how I created the basis for the exercise you attempted yesterday. Doing this taught me that all successful basic meridian opening manuals can be categorised into three main types. These types are distinct from one another. However, each type shares overlapping patterns which make it easy to create new meridian opening methods that are similar but adapted to individual needs."

"Do these patterns apply to higher methods and techniques?"

"I believe so. However, the number of patterns and the types of patterns change with each realm. I've got a theory that whichever exercises you find easiest are the cultivation patterns you should follow."

Xu Ling frowned. "But you don't know?"

Tobias shook his head. "I don't. However, something that comes naturally to you usually indicates that this is where your talents lie and is where you should put most of your effort if you wish to excel. Something you fundamentally struggle with is never going to be something you excel at."

Xu Ling smirked. "I suppose I can let you teach me cultivation patterns so I can create my own cultivation methods and techniques."

Tobias returned her smirk. "You make it sound like you have a choice, when I have no intention of letting you leave until you understand them better than I do now."

Xu Ling shrugged. "At least, studying will be better than the training you made me do this morning. I don't ever want to have to do that again."

Tobias dropped his smirk. "You know you're going back tomorrow, right?"

Xu Ling rolled her eyes. "Very funny."

"I'm not joking. I informed your father that this morning's training was just a gentle introduction so you would understand what was required when you begin training in earnest tomorrow. I was surprised you decided to stay up with me instead of going to bed early."

Xu Ling turned and looked over her shoulder towards her father. She didn't raise her voice, knowing he could hear every word. "Father, did you fail to mention something to me?"

Tobias heard Xu Feng slap his thighs in the next room and rise to his feet. "It's getting late. I'll be heading to bed."

A foundation realm cultivator didn't require more than an hour of sleep, and the only reason Xu Ling was so tired was that she'd never tempered her body properly. Xu Feng was running from his daughter's ire.

Xu Ling turned to Tobias. "You intend to make me go through that every morning?"

"No. That would be ridiculous."

"Good."

"Tomorrow, you will be training from dawn until dusk. You'll be doing nothing else until you've successfully tempered your physique, allowing it to take full advantage of your body's current cultivation."

Xu Ling folded her arms and pouted. "You can't make me."

Tobias smirked. "Do you want to set a precedent that we don't have to adhere to our bets? If you do, I won't have to adhere to whatever you might make me do if you win our next one."

Xu Ling groaned in defeat. "Fine. But I'm going to bed. And I expect you to have everything I need to know to make this process as fast as possible, waiting for me when I wake up."

Tobias rose to his feet and offered her a hand up, breaking many rules of etiquette. "I can arrange that, but that's only going to make it harder on you."

Xu Ling took his hand, breaking more rules. "I want this to be over as soon as possible."