Yang Qing walked around for about two hours around the branch to try and clear his head along with trying to do some introspection.
Even though he felt he wasn't completely over the incident at the Ice Emerald Sect, the introspection helped him realize he had improved and had been walking forward. He was no longer terrified of facing the memories, the results, and the implications as he did before and after passing the sentence.
He could now visualize it with some form of ease and even have the guts to entertain some questions that were in his heart without feeling a deep sense of dread accompanying it.
The experience had been harrowing, but his heart and mentality had been slowly transforming since, without him realizing it.
Yang Qing had a slightly surprised look on his face as he felt some changes within his palace realm. The ocean had a slight ebbing in response to the moon that hung above.