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.