The Tiger Chariot Jade Carriage Hidden Wheel flew beneath the clouds, heading southwest. The talisman arrays aboard automatically shut out the sound of the wind, leaving the cramped interior remarkably tranquil. Only Yu Qing Xuan's voice flowed on, like a murmuring stream:
"Your path has been varied, and your opportunities plentiful. Many difficult trials were resolved through the combined efforts of many parties and by drawing inferences from one thing to another, so you inevitably lacked a measure of tempering. I am not saying your knowledge is insufficient. Rather, sometimes, 'pondering' a matter is more important than 'solving' it.
"I had the same problem back then. Otherwise, when I forcibly crossed the Four-Nine Tribulation, I would not have been shaken by an accident and fallen short at the last step. Only over this past century, with my injuries refusing to heal and my master absent from my side, did I keep myself vigilant day and night, reflect upon myself, and put in enough of that water-mill grinding. After repeated efforts, I achieved what I have today. Some things cannot be replaced by 'talent' alone."
Yu Ci listened quietly, without growing impatient because Yu Qing Xuan had drifted somewhat off topic. On the contrary, his heart was calm now, and his thoughts flowed along with her voice. He seemed able to see how, over these years, Yu Qing Xuan had guarded Ruizhu Palace on one side, fending off the prying eyes of ill-intentioned people, while on the other traveling throughout the True Realm in search of clues to her master's whereabouts. What kind of pressure had she endured?
"Your temperament is like mine was in those days."
This was the second time Yu Qing Xuan had said something similar, and it gave Yu Ci an even stronger sense of resonance. He