It didn't matter how much Liang Chen wished for his time with Yan Ling to continue forever, both of them knew that their time together drew shorter with each passing minute. Neither of them spoke up about it, Liang Chen accompanying Yan Ling as she interacted with the new sect members and helped those who cultivated laws she knew a bit about.
She was certainly a better teacher than Liang Chen, who beat up all the disciples on their first day, tormenting them until they were barely able to remain standing. Yan Ling was far more patient, focusing more on pointing out ways for them to utilize their laws and the occasional mistake they made in how they controlled or utilized their laws. She was especially helpful to those who cultivated the law of wind, as it was the first law she herself ever cultivated.
"You're focusing a bit too much on the toughness of wind that moves at high speed. Don't forget that the wind remains flexible and soft no matter how fast it moves, it can pass through even the smallest crack even while moving so fast that it practically turns into a solid wall."
"You, however, are the opposite. Yes, the wind is flexible and soft, but if you focus too much on that then you won't have many ways of actually attacking your enemies. It wouldn't be a problem if you had a secondary law you could use for attacking, at that point you could use your soft wind to enhance your movements and defence, but right now you only have the law of wind so you need to focus more on how to use it for attacks."
Yan Ling's law of wind was something she had gained thanks to her bloodline, which had slightly influenced her even while still dormant in her body. The law had always been around her and was something she had used almost every day, it was a law that her family had used even for normal everyday tasks.
As such, she was quite different from Liang Chen, who had picked up all his laws rather late compared to other cultivators. They were also different in the manner that Liang Chen basically only used his laws for combat or attacking, he couldn't even remember the last time he had used one of his laws for anything that didn't involve enemies of his.
So while he might be suitable for teaching others how to kill their enemies, Yan Ling was more suited for teaching others a more comprehensive way of using their laws. But Yan Ling had spent a fair bit of time with the Nine Star Demon God and had very clearly learned a few more tricks that she could teach to others.
"This might be useful to all of you so listen up. The most common way to attack with the law of wind is to compress it into thin blades or needles and them making the wind rotate or oscillate to increase the sharpness. Another common method of attack is to compress the wind into a small shape while packing it full of constantly moving force, basically creating a bludgeon you can swing around freely."
"But that is not the full extent of the law of wind. Most living beings need to breathe, and the law of wind is perfectly capable of robbing them of their needed air, either by pulling it straight out of their lungs if they're too weak or by pushing away all the air in the area around them. There is one other method that my master has told me about, but I've yet to replicate it so don't expect a demonstration. If you can manage to invade an enemy's body with your wind, even just a small amount, you can create bubbles of air in their veins and then send those bubbles directly to either their brain or heart, or you can just block up that vein to rob certain limbs of blood. This particular method is quite insidious and good for sneak attacks, but it's hard to pull off and harder to train, I really wouldn't recommend testing it on yourself."
Liang Chen stood a short distance away and quietly watched as Yan Ling demonstrated the various utilizations that she mentioned. It wasn't just the law of wind cultivators that were listening to her descriptions, the other disciples also made sure to listen in case they picked up something they could use for themselves.
The last two utilizations she mentioned were particularly vicious, one suffocated your opponent while the other induced strokes or simply stopped their hearts. If these were the things that the Nine Star Demon God taught to his disciples, then it was quite clear that the Nine Star Demon God wasn't exactly some old ascetic that touted the virtues of nature and existence.
Yan Ling clearly noticed Liang Chen's gaze, turning and smiling at him, the two communicating without a single word spoken. It felt like an instant, but she had already been here for a week, doing her best to live out her dream of being the Storm Wolf Sect Mistress while also spending as much time as she could with Liang Chen. She gave the law of wind cultivators a few more quick tips to keep in mind and then walked over to Liang Chen, the disciples of the sect understanding what was about to happen.
"Let's go, there's something I want to give you."
Yan Ling smiled softly at Liang Chen as she spoke, stretching out her arm so that he could take her hand in his. Liang Chen squeezed her soft and warm hand, the mere act of holding it almost enough to blow away any memory of how cold he found loneliness. He connected his mind with the interspatial ring and the two of them vanished from the city, once again arriving in front of the dark cocoon that surrounded Yumao.
Yan Ling swept her gaze across the surrounding scenery, which hadn't changed at all while they were inside the interspatial ring, everything was still that same corrupted bone-like appearance and texture. The two held hands in silence for a bit, Yan Ling gazing at their intertwined fingers for a while before she broke the silence.
"Last time, you said that when we met again you would give me the last crystal for this ring, you'd complete it upon our reunion. But now isn't the time to complete it, is it? So this time, I'll be the one to leave you with a ring and a promise."
Yan Ling smiled fondly at the ring she wore, the silver ring embedded with six crystals, the ring that had never once left her finger after Liang Chen gave it to her. Six crystals representing six laws, it only lacked Liang Chen's law of the void and then it would be complete. He gave her a ring and she had given him a robe, one he still kept tucked away safely in his interspatial ring until the day to wear it came.
Yan Ling held out her other hand after she finished speaking, a ring appearing in the centre of her palm. The ring was split into two colours, a wavy blue pattern and a wavy silver pattern, both dancing around the ring while an emerald carved to look like a sun served as the centrepiece of the ring. She changed her grip on his hand and slid the ring onto his left hand's ring finger, smiling charmingly while giving her promise.
"The bright dawn that rose from the Green Rivers, isn't it fitting? We're splitting up now, but the next time we meet will be the final, and it'll be our grandest reunion, one for all to see. No more separations, no more distance. Always and forever, I'll be by your side, until we see the end of time, that is my promise."
The smile she flashed him was so dazzlingly bright that Liang Chen was nearly blinded, Yan Ling once again stealing his heart. She had gone to great lengths to forge this ring, making sure that its appearance was just right to symbolize the man who was to wear it, Green River's bright dawn.
Liang Chen couldn't help but feel slightly choked up as he looked at the ring, a stuffy feeling pervading his chest. He had lost so many things in his life, but there were certain things he had gained as well. He no longer had a home or any family, but he still had Yan Ling, he still had Yumao, he still had Lan Yun, he still had people close to him. He placed his left hand on Yan Ling's cheek and leaned in, the two sharing a drawn-out kiss, the last one they would share for who knew how long.
But no matter how much both of them wanted it to continue for just a bit longer, it had to come to an end sooner or later, the two separating from each other. Yan Ling smiled at Liang Chen, pointing towards the distance as she spoke, trying to hide the tears that were starting to well up in her eyes.
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"Over there is something I made earlier. I originally made it for me while I waited, but now it should suit you more, you should really check it out."
She took a step back as she finished speaking, Liang Chen quickly handing her the final portion of the Elemental Lotus that he had picked up here. The final portion had the earth element, and while he originally planned on handing it to one of the sect's disciples, he decided to hand it over to Yan Ling now that he saw that she had greatly increased her control over the law of earth.
She sent him another sweet smile that stabbed directly into his heart and then pulled out a wooden plaque from her interspatial ring, stroking it once and vanishing like a mirage fading from existence. There were no words of goodbye or farewell, this was not an eternal separation, and neither of them had the heart to utter those words. They would meet again, and then Liang Chen would finish the ring he had given her, and he would proudly proclaim her as his to the entire universe.
But for now, Liang Chen was left alone with the aching in his heart, the cold sting of loneliness once again prodding at his heart. He closed his eyes and sucked in a deep breath before picking up his interspatial ring again, swiping it once and bringing out all the disciples of the Storm Wolf sect. They had already prepared everything they needed long ago, they were just waiting for Liang Chen to show up again.
Liang Chen swept his gaze over all the people, who were currently greedily drawing in the outside air. The air within the orb wasn't too different from the air here, but there was something psychological about it, just knowing that you were currently stuck inside an orb simply made the air feel a bit worse.
Liang Chen had handed the disciples several chariots and other constructs that could be used for flight and rapid movement after learning about their plans, he had quite a few such items after snagging all the interspatial rings from his dead enemies. His gaze continued to sweep over the group of people for a bit longer, all the people he had picked up were leaving to accomplish their own goals or to work towards accomplishing their goals.
He hadn't spent much time with them, but he couldn't avoid becoming a little sentimental. But just as he said, they were free to do as they please, and he wouldn't do anything to stop them. He pulled back his sweeping eyes and looked at them with a strong gaze while giving them a nod.
"Go, I hope that you accomplish what you aim for, I hope that you'll find what you're looking for. And I pray that I'll never have to go hunting for you."
Short and straight to the point, he didn't leave them with too many words, only his heartfelt hope. The group of people didn't falter under his strong and somewhat stern gaze, once again causing him to cringe by dropping to their knees.
"Thank you for saving our lives, and thank you for picking us up when we were at our lowest! We swear that we won't tarnish the name of the Storm Wolf, we swear that we will return to you one day! Thank you for everything, Storm Lord!"
They ignored Liang Chen's slightly distorted expressions and remained on their knees while loudly thanking him. They stood up after they finished showing their gratitude and then left, splitting up into pre-organized groups and leaving Liang Chen as one of only two living beings still remaining on the island.
Liang Chen spat out a somewhat drawn out breath as he looked at the people vanishing into the distance, turning towards the direction that Yan Ling had pointed down earlier. He didn't have to walk far to reach the thing she had spoken about, his lips curling slightly as he looked at the item she had left behind.
"Really, you always did have such terrible and cringe-inducing taste, didn't you?"
The thing standing in front of Liang Chen was a crude but grandiose throne where the top of the backrest was shaped to resemble a five-pronged crown. The throne was probably made of different material in the past, but its presence on this corrupted land resulted in the entire throne turning bone-like in appearance and texture, just like the land around it.
Liang Chen swept his gaze across the corpses that surrounded the throne, each one a sign of the time Yan Ling spent here protecting him while he cultivated. He blew some air out of his nose and sat down on the corrupted throne, leaning into it while muttering to himself.
"Heh, return as someone worthy of me? If you ask me, I'm probably the one who has to grow up so I can be a bit more worthy of you."
Liang Chen couldn't help but chuckle self-deprecatingly at himself, the sharp pang of loneliness and hopelessness he felt as Yan Ling left made him feel like he was a child again. He remembered how hopeless he felt when his parents were executed, when he was forced to leave behind Tian Chun and leave the city on his own, when Yan Ling and the others first left the Mystic's Hidden Realm without him.
It was so easy to make him feel lonely and hopeless, to the point that it almost made him laugh at himself. She wanted to become strong enough to be worthy of him, but he wanted to become mature enough to be worthy of her. Both of them still had to grow some more, it was just that they had to grow in different areas.
Liang Chen remained seated on the throne after laughing at himself, quietly watching over the area as the days passed. He waited patiently and quietly, all the way until the dark cocoon resting a short distance behind him cracked open, sucking in the dark dome that covered the entire island.