The noon sun cast sharp shadows across the Third-Floor Senior Pill Hall.
Behind the master’s obsidian crucible, Kaelen lay suspended in his hemp hammock, rocked gently by the warm drafts rising from the floor vents. His hands were clasped over his belly, his breathing slow, steady, and peaceful.
Above his closed eyes, the Fallow Slate’s golden numbers climbed toward another milestone:
[The Fallow Slate — Stage 4: Quad-Track] [Track 3 (Alchemy Refinement): 216h 00m (Multiplier: 217x)] [Track 4 (Dao & Array Comprehension): 216h 00m (Multiplier: 217x)] [Track 1 (Cultivation): 216h 00m (Multiplier: 217x)] [Track 2 (Martial Combat): 216h 00m (Multiplier: 217x)] [Current High-Grade Spirit Stone Reserve: 15,500 HSS]
Two hundred and sixteen hours, Kaelen thought, sinking deeper into his down pillow. Day Nine. In twenty-four more hours, all four tracks will lock their ten-day Milestone Seals at two hundred and forty-one times.
All I have to do is lie here, breathe slowly, and ignore the mortal world.
In the corner beside the tea shelf, Mina was humming a quiet tune as she toasted small sesame flatbreads on the warm iron flange.
The nutty fragrance of roasted sesame and warm dough mingled pleasantly with the aged cedar of the alcove.
