The months started to pass by, and soon five months passed by in the blink of an eye.
During these last months, Celaine and Asami underwent several changes. For one, the two of them started to become a bit closer now that Celaine wasn't spending all her time meditating or fighting beasts in the mountains.
Celaine was still fighting beasts and cultivating, but she took some time out of her day to talk to Asami as well. Now that she had finally broken through to the Core Formation Realm, the pressure on her shoulders had vanished. Right now, she just wanted to consolidate her cultivation and learn more about her capabilities before the Battle Maiden Sect's Entrance Exam.
During this time, Celaine has learned of many shocking changes that have happened to her after she broke through.
For one, she felt like it was easier to handle her saber after breaking through, almost like her body was made for it. This didn't directly improve her power, but it allowed her more efficient use over her body whenever she used a saber.
This might not seem like much, but after a few battles, Celaine began to understand just how amazing this change was. Not only can she save stamina by not using any unnecessary movements, but the speed and strength behind her attacks are slightly amplified simply because of the lack of waste in her movements.
She's also learned that because of her Core and her new Cultivation Technique, she can produce a new type of energy. From her understanding, this source of energy is a combination of Saber Intent, Qi, and her Wind Dao and is stronger and more volatile than normal Qi.
She decided to call this new source of energy Wind Saber Qi.
Her attacks become sharper, faster, stronger, and more mysterious whenever she uses this Wind Saber Qi.
Of course, it's not without its downsides.
Compared to just using normal Qi, using Wind Saber Qi consumes not only her Qi reserves but also her mental strength and willpower.
However, the benefits far outweigh the downsides, mainly because she doesn't consume energy any faster than if she were just to use one of those energies. Wind Saber Qi also isn't just Saber Intent, the Wind Dao, and Qi stacked on top of one another, but it's all three of them merged together.
The strength of this new form of energy is at least two times stronger than if she were to try and overlap these three energies on her own.
Another thing Celaine noticed about Wind Saber Qi is that although her core automatically produces it, that doesn't mean she can't use her Qi, Saber Intent, or Wind Dao separately. This discovery made Celaine quite happy because she could use her Wind Saber Qi as a sort of trump card.
Celaine also realized that her talent, both with the Saber and her Wind Dao, has also increased. Though, the biggest talent increase is probably her Qi cultivation talent.
She can feel that her ability to gather energy and refine Qi had increased by several times compared to before she broke through to the Core Formation Realm.
However, consequently, because of the level of Core she formed, she needs to absorb and refine much more Qi to break through than a normal Core Formation Realm expert, but Celaine would gladly accept such a trade-off.
Additionally, Celaine has also found her body to be stronger than before, her Qi purer, and her mind clearer after her breakthrough.
Lastly, and probably her favorite benefit, is that whenever she's wielding a Saber, she's not only able to enter an ultra-focused state, but the strength of her Qi, Saber Intent, and Wind Dao also rise. This rise in power also includes her Wind Saber Qi as well.
This can make her appearance outside of combat quite deceiving. However, that's only a side-effect. The real advantage to this is that her combat experience island ability take a steep rise whenever she enters such a state.
So far, those are all the changes that have happened to her body after forming her unique core and entering the Core Formation Realm.
Besides that, Celaine has unlocked a new ability after breaking through to the Core Formation Realm, and that's the ability to fly!
She had to get Asami to explain to her how to fly, and it barely took her a few hours to learn it. Apparently, after breaking through to the Core Formation Realm, you gain the ability to use Qi in such a way to propel yourself through the air.
However, Celaine was left disappointed when she started flying through the air. Not only does it consume her Qi like crazy, but she doesn't even fly that fast! Both running and using her Wind Dao are faster than using her Qi to fly.
Though combining her Qi and Wind Dao can make her fly quite fast, so it's not entirely useless.
On the other hand, after five months, Asami was able to heal all of her injuries. She now no longer looked like a beggar! Now, other than a few scars that she wasn't able to completely get rid of, she looked flawless!
Celaine also had to admit that Asami is quite the beauty, though not nearly at the level of Mira, but that didn't surprise her. Mira is the most beautiful person she's ever seen, and she didn't think she'd be changing her opinion any time soon, if ever. However, other than Mira, Asami is probably the most beautiful woman she's seen so far, but that's not really saying much.
She grew up in the middle of nowhere, after all.
Now, after nearly two years, it's finally time for Celaine to leave the mountains and make her way towards the Battle Maiden Sect's Main Branch!
"Well, are you ready to go?" Celaine looked at Asami and asked with a hint of excitement.
"I guess. I've never joined a Sect before, so I'm not really sure what to expect." Asami said with lingering regret. She still didn't like the idea of joining a Sect, but she'd be lying if she said she wasn't curious.
"Oh? I thought you'd say that you wanted to spar with me. What was it that you said a few months ago? That you'd give me a beating once you're fully healed? Well, here I am!" Celaine provoked Asami causing the latter's face to turn red in anger and embarrassment.
"Ahem! T-There's no need for violence. I did just recover, you know? I don't injure my body right after healing myself."
What Asami said wasn't wrong. Although she would most likely lose if the two of them sparred right now, it'd still be a hard-fought battle. She had to admit that Celaine's current battle prowess is rather frightening.
She's snuck out a few times to watch Celaine fight the surrounding beasts and was always surprised by how strong she is.
She wanted to attribute it to Celaine's amazing Core, which is definitely part of why she's so strong, but that's not the only reason. From what she's observed, most of Celaine's strength actually comes from her Saber and battle experience!
In terms of pure power, Asami felt like she and Celaine were about even, but Asami isn't nearly as good at handling her power compared to Celaine. Asami assumed it was because of how many battles Celaine has gone through that she's able to hone her control and increase her experience.
Asami's combat prowess also doesn't lie in upfront confrontations like Celaine's, so she's already at a disadvantage in a dueling environment.
There's also the fact that she doesn't have her weapons with her, causing her battle prowess to drop even further.
Due to all these factors, Asami had no intention of fighting Celaine.
Celaine smirked, seeing how dismissive Asami was about fighting her, but she was also a bit disappointed. She wanted to force Asami to spar with her, but she's not quite as heartless as Mira, nor is she as terrifying.
When Mira spars with you, it really feels like she's out to kill you! She saps out every bit of potential and willpower in you and forces you past your limits. Celaine could try and imitate Mira, but she knows it won't be the same.
'That's why we need to hurry up and meet with Mira! This girl is a diamond in the rough, but she lacks the drive and willpower to move forward while extracting all of her potential! It's such a shame for such a talented girl to rot away without ever trying to reach the limit of their potential. I'm sure with Mira's help and my weapon skill, we'll be able to help Asami realize her true strength!' Celaine thought to herself while staring intently at Asami.
For some reason, Asami felt a chill run down her spine when she saw the intense look in Celaine's eyes.
"A-Alright! Let's go! Ahahaha…" Asami chuckled awkwardly and began leaving the cave.
Celaine snapped out of her thoughts and caught up to Asami.
Then, the two of them left their little cave abode and began making their way towards the Battle Maiden Sect's Main Branch.
***
Thank you to Nyviria for gifting me a Castle worth 15000 coins! I really appreciate the support! Here's a bonus chapter for supporting me!
