(14 days later...)

The two had made considerable progress in the past two weeks. Now, they didn’t rely on luck as much, and instead, they focused on the ground’s pulsations.

Every time they moved, they made contact with the ground, which in turn sent a signal to the one whose senses were restricted.

Because of that, they were able to play around and eventually master this technique. So now, they didn’t even need to act as each other’s instructors.

The two fought as if it were an actual battle, and in the end, with one final clash, Hanbi managed to come out slightly on top as she knocked Xuan over.

Yet in her rush of excitement, when she took her blindfold off, she realized she was sitting on top of his bare chest, which was bruised from her punches.

Xuan took his blindfold off as well, meeting her gaze with a slight smirk.

"Pervert."

"What—!?" Hanbi abruptly pushed down on his abdomen, and to both of their surprise, a burst of Qi suddenly left Xuan’s body.

He was shocked in particular because he still had his Qi sealing cuffs on. But once he looked into it further, he soon spotted a few pop-ups in the corner of his vision.

[Ding!]

[Qi Blockage has nearly been purged!]

[Progress: 99.99% / 100%]

[Notice: To purge the Qi Blockage completely, you must unseal your Qi. Special bonuses will be applied accordingly.]

"Oh?" Xuan mused. "Did you use your healing technique on me that time? My Qi Blockage is almost fixed."

Her hands twitched. "Is it...?"

"It’ll be fully fixed when I take these cuffs off. Speaking of, your hair is slightly frozen." Xuan reached for her hair, gently brushing the ice off.

Mei Mei was very lazy, but in critical moments, he used his powers to mess them up. It worked wonders.

"You still treat me like a child." Hanbi pouted, leaning in closer, her face only inches away from his. "Do you still not see me as a woman?"

Mei Mei smirked in the background, as if he orchestrated everything.

Xuan raised a brow in amusement. "Are you coming onto me?"

"..."

Hanbi smiled slightly and uttered words he wasn’t exactly expecting.

"Do you want me to?"

Seriously... Just a few weeks ago, she was so timid. What’s up with this change in attitude? Is it that damn spirit companion’s doing?

But since he knew she was prideful and liked teasing him, he decided to match her energy once again.

"I wouldn’t refuse if you do."

Her mouth opened wide as she stared at him speechlessly.

Xuan smiled back and gently pushed her away, standing up.

He took out a vial from his pocket and showed it to her.

"We ought to take this now. Otherwise, we might not be prepared when Foyan finally comes."

"Huh?" Hanbi snapped out of it, still slightly dazed. "Oh, yeah. Okay, do you want to...?"

"Yup, let’s both take them and fight for however long they last. If you want to take a break in between, just tap the ground five times, I’ll stop," Xuan replied.

"No way am I going to stop," Hanbi said, and without wasting even a single second, downed the vial.

Noticing that, Xuan did the same. In an instant, his vision vanished, followed by his hearing, and lastly, his sense of smell.

It was strange as it was nothing like their earlier training, all except the tapping on the ground that remained.

And when Hanbi tapped exactly three times, the two clashed against each other.

At first, the sensation was hard to get used to, but within just a few hours, they got the hang of it, fighting on the same level they had without the vial.

After feeling like they could go further, the two immersed themselves into the battle, to the point where they weren’t sure how much time had passed.

But that was when, just before they struck each other, they both felt a certain air displacement. It was as if every punch pushed the air aside, causing a faint pressure to brush against their skin.

It was a completely new sensation, and one they had overlooked in their earlier training.

This is definitely the next step. Maybe now we’ll be able to pass Foyan’s test? Xuan wondered, and with a relieved look, he continued his spar with Hanbi.

Unbeknownst to him, her expression, which was usually stoic, was one of excitement. She had never had this much fun training with her own sect.

But not only that, this seclusion training was her first time defying her father’s wishes.

Her smile grew softer, and similarly to Xuan, she immersed herself into the fight.

.

.

.

(A few minutes before Foyan arrives...)

"Bread?" Xuan offered, all of his clothes practically torn.

Hanbi was almost the same. Yet despite that, neither of them was embarrassed. If anything, because of the mutual trust they had built up over the course of this entire month, the two were extremely close.

Therefore, when Hanbi saw the bread, she simply leaned in and took a bite. Her expression was sour, but considering this was the last piece of bread, she savored it.

After eating exactly half, she moved back, gesturing for him to finish the rest, and so he did.

And when he was done, he exhaled a relieved breath and sat beside her, their shoulders touching.

"Well, I’m pretty sure we’re ready, don’t you?" Xuan chuckled.

Hanbi clicked her tongue. "I still can’t believe that asshole lied to us. He did say three days, right?"

"The princess curses?" Xuan commented sarcastically.

"Yeah, and? It’s not like you have a filter." Hanbi scoffed. "Every time you near your limit, you swear. I picked up on it... it’s not like I like it or anything."

"Yeah, me neither. It’s a bad habit." Xuan smiled, and out of instinct, he extended his hand and placed it over her head, gently caressing her hair.

A moment of silence ensued as the air grew heavy. But just as fast, it softened as Hanbi spoke.

"What are you doing...?"

"Don’t know, you just looked like you wanted a headpat," Xuan replied innocently. "Besides... We spent the whole month together. You touched me all over, so why are you so surprised I’m touching your hair?"

"You are my patient, I’m allowed to touch you." Hanbi pouted, turning her head away.

Her voice lowered. "Also... Remember when I asked you if you thought I was beautiful and you told me you didn’t give your trust out like candy...?"

Taking a deep breath, she slowly turned around as her gaze met his.

"What about now?"

Xuan froze, caught between sarcastically laughing it off as he had always done, or answering her genuinely.

But before he could make that decision, footsteps resounded from the distance as a strong killing intent washed over both of them.