Heller's smile was still as familiar as ever, carrying a warm aura. Every time Zhang Tie completed an important advancement within Castle of Black Iron, when he opened his eyes, he would see Heller wearing that same smile and hear that familiar, affectionate greeting.
If this counted as a gift, then perhaps it was the most thoughtful gift Zhang Tie could receive after every advancement.
Sensing the perfect and powerful Wind Chakra he had condensed, Zhang Tie slowly rose from a huge boulder atop the mountain. Looking at the snow-capped peaks upon the vast Divine Mountain and the mist churning like waves and drifting clouds around him, his eyes held a complicated emotion.
Sky Knight at last. It truly had not been easy.
From advancing to Phantom Knight on the eve of the Battle of the Wei River to advancing to Sky Knight now, not much time had passed—only a few years. To other knights, advancing to Sky Knight in such a short time might already have seemed heaven-defying, but to Zhang Tie, the process had not been short at all. Especially since he had spent quite some time struggling away in the Time Tower of the Great Wilderness Grotto-Heaven. In that time, Zhang Tie had experienced far too much: the rises and falls of life, the partings and reunions of those around him, the deaths of people by his side, the betrayal of those close to him, the turning of loved ones into enemies, the all-out struggle after tearing off all pretenses with Great Xia's three major sects, the sudden rise of Golden Crow Hall, and his own fall into another world...
In just a few short years, it felt to Zhang Tie as if half a lifetime had already passed.
Some regrets could never be mended...
Some tears