Chapter 621: More Baggage - 621
Potential Sword Master Daisy waved her hand and sent all of the servants in the room away, including Li Youcai and Hope.
Skymender and her were left alone.
Daisy began to speak. "My Master only ever spoke one sentence to me, the one you heard me tell. However, as he raised his sword, he uttered another word."
She paused, seemingly hesitating, before speaking. "Skymender."
Skymender was confused.
"Those were the last words I heard him speak before swinging his sword down."
Skymender was surprised, but also curious. "What happened next?"
Daisy responded. "He destroyed the sky, then mended it back. It was as if nothing ever happened, but he disappeared after that."
Skymender did not believe it. Even a Sword Grandmaster could not destroy the sky itself.
Daisy, seeing the look on his face, explained in more detail.
"As he swung his Sword down, it felt as if it was connected with the world itself. His sword destroyed the sky above as it traveled, and just as soon as it happened, the sky mended itself back together, destroyed, yet recreated instantly. I'm not saying what I saw was the truth. It could have been an illusion, perhaps I never met him at all, but the feeling was absolutely real. That is why I, someone with no talent in the sword, am at the level of a potential Sword Master. As for why I am telling you, perhaps it is fate. Your name was spoken as the last words of my Master. Perhaps we were destined to meet today."
Skymender nodded, but he truly found it impossible to believe. However, Sword Master Shang was already a mythical existence that Skymender could not comprehend, perhaps there was truly a being capable of breaking the sky and mending it. And the odds of him saying Skymender were miniscule, but he had.
Perhaps, as it was said, everything was fate.
Daisy looked into the distance. "I'm not sure if I could ever emulate a percentage of that slash, but if I could, I could die happy. Seeing it, it was as if the earth and the sky were prostrating, as if all living beings lived under its allowance, as if the sky was being punished, and did not dare to retaliate. Perhaps the path of one day recreating that attack lies with you."
She looked back at him. "I used a favor with a Crown Prince to create this gathering, all for the sake of meeting you."
"So what is the point of all of this?" Skymender asked.
"Well, for the future, I plan to follow you. I want to see what fate has in store for me. If I find that perhaps it really was just a coincidence, I'll leave you alone and that will be the end of it."
Skymender nodded, giving his agreement. "Then let's go."
Daisy nodded and stood up. She followed him out of the room where they met up with their servants.
Daisy told her servants to go home without her. She left with Skymender, Li Youcai, and Hope in the carriage.
Li Youcai obviously had some questions, but this wasn't the time. Hope was the same.
They soon returned to Skymender's aunt's house. He entered without knocking and walked to his room.
Along the way, his aunt saw him. She opened her mouth to speak when she saw Daisy.
She furrowed her brows for a moment before recognizing her.
She stood up and walked over. "Potential Sword Master Daisy from the Flower Kingdom?"
Daisy nodded. "Yes."
Skymender's aunt nodded before introducing herself. After the pleasantries, Aunt Skyless spoke. "So, what exactly are you doing here?"
Daisy spoke. "I'll be following Skymender around for a while."
Aunt Skyless looked at Skymender with suspicion and some worry. "This isn't another Melly situation, is it? We really couldn't face the consequences this time."
Skymender shook his head with a chuckle. "I can't say I'm sure why she decided to do it, but I don't mind. Can you arrange her a room?"
Aunt Skyless nodded and called a house servant over. They quickly arranged a room for her. It was near Skymenders.
Before they parted ways, Daisy spoke to him very seriously. "If you are going to do anything, make sure you come and get me first."
Skymender nodded in agreement and returned to his room.
Until he fell asleep, he did nothing but think.
The next morning, he woke up a bit early. Li Youcai entered with breakfast, and as he ate, Li Youcai spoke.
"What did you think of Hope's performance yesterday?" He asked.
"Good enough." Skymender said. "Why are you so interested in having her serve me? Don't tell me you fell in love."
Li Youcai shook his head. "Of course not. But, don't you think it could be more than sheer coincidence that we found her that day. Perhaps it is fate."
Skymender paused mid way into scooping his food from his bowl. His eyes looked deeply at the soup, but it could be better said that he was unfocused and staring at space itself.
"I've been hearing that word a lot lately."
His true thoughts could not even be thought at this moment, for he feared that they may be heard.
Suspicions formed in the depths of his mind. His green eyes unnoticeably flared for a moment before returning to normal.
He continued to eat while Li Youcai served him.
After finishing breakfast, he went and found Hope, as well as Daisy. Then, he went to the Imperial research institute. What happened there did not need to be explained deeply.
He continued to read, studying books everyday. This cycle continued, his knowledge growing deeper and deeper, until a very exciting day.
As he walked with Li Youcai, Daisy, and Hope, he saw someone leaning against a wall. In the Noble area, this was a rare sight.
Even walking was rare, but it was a nice summer day and he had decided he might as well.
He turned to look at the person for a moment before looking away. Suddenly, his eyes shot open and he did a double take.
"Hey. It's been a while."
Chapter 622: Skybelle - 622
Skymender could not respond for a while, still stuck in surprise, until the person spoke once again. "Don't tell me you don't recognize your own sister?"
Skymender snapped out of it and smiled before waving.
"It has been a while. You couldn't have made a more normal entrance." Skymender said.
Skybelle smiled back. "Why do that when there is an opportunity to do this?"
Skymender waved his hand. "We're going to change today's plans."
Li Youcai nodded.
Skymender and Skybelle walked side by side as they walked back to his aunt's house. They chatted about her events and what had happened in the Imperial Capital while she was gone.
Skymender was shocked to hear what she had gone through, and she too was shocked at what Skymender had done. She had heard a bit, but she had not heard even close to everything.
Before they realized it, they were back at their aunt's house.
Aunt Skyless greeted Skybelle and they began to talk.
As everything settled down from Skybelle's return, she and Skymender finally ended up alone, no servants anywhere to be seen.
Skymender spoke seriously. "I came to the Imperial Capital because of you. What exactly do you need me to do to help you?"
Skybelle responded simply. "I kinda don't need you for that anymore."
Skymender didn't know how to respond. It seemed that the goal of his journey here had been for nothing.
"However, it is definitely better for you to be here than to not be here."
"Why is that?" Skymender asked.
"It is a sense of assurance that my family is safe. I think that is what I may have been missing, being gone for so long."
Skymender looked at her with pity. Needing assurance of her family's safety just to advance must have sucked.
He may care about his family, but no matter how long he was gone, he probably wouldn't miss them to the point of it holding him back.
In a way, Skybelle's emotions were much deeper than his, even if not so on the surface.
"I'm just curious, what exactly did you need me for in the first place?"
Skybelle shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not sure."
Skymender was even more confused than before.
"Perhaps, as I had said, I needed assurance of my family's safety, but I also had a feeling that there was more than that. I kept thinking about what I needed to do to advance, but for some reason, I kept thinking that you could help me. However, with the journey I was sent on, it was unnecessary. I can confidently declare that, with a bit more time, I will be a Sword Master."
Skymender nodded. It wasn't a precise explanation, or perhaps his sister simply didn't want to tell him, but he didn't care too much about all of the details. As long as everything was okay.
There was nothing else to be said about the matter. He could simply enjoy the time his sister was here before he left the imperial Capital.
Skybelle began to ask in more detail about the things that happened in the Imperial Capital.
Skymender obviously wouldn't tell her everything, especially not about the matter concerning the Duchess's daughter, but he could at least give her more of the details that those who were there knew.
He explained how he had shown off in the technique event, how he had won in the intelligence event, and showed her one of his pardon badge's.
The next day, Skymender planned to go out with Skybelle, as they had discussed the other day, but she came to him with annoyance visible on her face.
"Turns out I can't do that now."
Skymender sighed. It felt expected since she was a future Sword Master.
"Sword Master Shang, knowing that I will inevitably become a Sword Master, has decided to take me for a graduation exam. It is not because I am a Sword Master, but because I am his disciple. He said that the next time I come here, I will no longer be a potential Sword Master, but a Sword Master."
Skymender nodded.
Beneath Skybelle's annoyance, there was obvious excitement. This was the moment she had been waiting most of her life for, the time to become a Sword Master.
Skymender understood it. He gave her a goodbye, as did his aunt's family, before she departed.
Now that she was gone, it seemed that the rest of his stay in the Imperial Capital would be monotonous.
However, he could now put his knowledge to the test and see if his goal could be accomplished.
With everything he had researched, it seemed possible, especially because he had been focused on this one goal for so long.
Skymender traveled to the research institute with his servants and made his way to the same location as always, the basement. He did not grab books this time, but various materials and substances. Some had already been in the research institute, and he would pay to use them, but the others were personally bought by him.
When he first started studying, he had been focused on more classic or orthodox materials. However, as time passed, he figured that if he wanted something unique, he needed special materials.
Therefore, the basement of this research department began to look like a shady witchcraft store.
Skymender did not plan to study today. In fact, he had studied everything in the field he focused on. There had been very little research in this field, so learning about it was very difficult. He went to great lengths to get some of the books he did.
There may be some other research on it elsewhere, but in this empire he had read it all.
From now on, he would be pioneering the way forward.
For some reason, he felt as if this was a familiar feeling, but he couldn't quite grasp it. The nostalgia was almost overwhelming but he couldn't put his finger on it. Eventually, he had to shrug his shoulders and begin.
Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
Ranking 
121 Power
stone 
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