The journey to meet Mo's contact took Ye Xia deep into the Himalayan foothills. They traveled by jeep as far as the roads went, then continued on foot for a day, following a treacherous path that seemed to lead straight into the clouds. The thin, cold air was a shock to her system, but the Kai circulating within her kept her warm and her breathing steady.
The hermit's home was a simple stone hut perched on a ledge overlooking a mist-shrouded valley. An old woman was sitting outside, tending a small fire. She looked ancient, her face a web of wrinkles, but her eyes were the color of polished jet and held a vitality that belied her age. This was Grandma Wen.
She looked up as Ye Xia and Silas approached. Her gaze swept over Silas, noting his military bearing with a flicker of interest, then settled on Ye Xia. Those dark eyes seemed to see right through her, to the spark of Kai in her Dantian, to the system humming in her soul.
"So," the old woman said, her voice like the grinding of tectonic plates. "You are the one who has stirred the hornet's nest. Mo's little friend with the bottomless purse."
Ye Xia bowed respectfully. "Grandma Wen. Mo said you might be able to help me."
"Help you?" The old woman cackled. "I can't help you. I can only show you the path. Whether you walk it or fall off a cliff is your own business." She gestured for Ye Xia to sit by the fire. "Show me what you have."
Hesitantly, Ye Xia extended her hand. Grandma Wen's gnarled fingers closed around her wrist. Her touch was like ice, but a pulse of energy flowed from her into Ye Xia's meridians. It was a vast, deep, and incredibly controlled river of Kai compared to Ye Xia's small stream.
The old woman's eyes widened in shock. She released Ye Xia's wrist as if burned.
"Impossible," she whispered, staring at Ye Xia with a mixture of awe and fear. "Your meridians… they are pristine. Unnaturally so. It is as if they were… scoured clean and reforged yesterday. And the density of your Kai for someone so new… it defies reason. How? How have you advanced so far in what must have been weeks?"
Ye Xia remained silent. She couldn't reveal the system.
Grandma Wen leaned back, a thoughtful look on her face. "You have a secret. Good. Secrets keep you alive in this world. But your foundation, while strong, is crude. You have power, but no finesse. You are a child swinging a broadsword. You will hurt yourself more than your enemy."
For the next week, Grandma Wen put Ye Xia through a hellish training regimen. It made Silas's drills seem like a warm-up. She taught her not just to circulate Kai, but to control it with microscopic precision. To gather it in her fist for a strike that could shatter rock, or to spread it through her body to become as light as a feather. She taught her a basic martial art form, the "Mountain Stream Style," which focused on redirecting an opponent's force and flowing like water around attacks.
It was the most physically and mentally demanding experience of Ye Xia's life. She was pushed to the brink of collapse every day. But with each session, she felt her control growing. The raw power generated by the system was being honed into a lethal weapon.
On the final day, Grandma Wen presented her with a small, jade pendant. "This is a Spirit Gathering Stone. It is a low-grade tool, but it will help you focus your Kai and sense the energy of others. Use it well."
"Thank you, Grandma Wen," Ye Xia said, bowing deeply. The old woman had given her a priceless gift.
"Do not thank me," Grandma Wen said, her expression grave. "You have a storm inside you, girl. And a larger storm gathering around you. The fact that a Hua assassin was sent after you means you are a person of significance. The clans do not waste such resources on nobodies. You must discover why. And you must get stronger. Fast."
Ye Xia left the mountain a different person. She was no longer a novice. She was a cultivator, armed with basic skills and a burning determination to master this new power. The attack had been a warning. Her training was the answer. The game had changed, and the stakes were now immortality itself.