I reign supreme in the Western fantasy world for eternity.

After that conversation, Elena did not immediately reply to Ji Tian.

She simply said, "I'll think about it," and then went about her business as if nothing had happened.

The next morning, Ji Tian went to her room as usual to report for duty—to bring her breakfast, organize the bookshelves, and read with her.

Elena sat by the window, holding the novel she had been reading for a month without finishing it. Her gaze would occasionally drift from the top of the pages to Ji Tian.

Ji Tian stood in front of the bookshelf and put the books that he had messed up yesterday back in their places.

Elena suddenly spoke up: "You put the third book in the seventh row in the wrong place. That's magic theory, not history."

Ji Tian glanced down at the book in his hand. The cover did indeed say "A General History of the Continent." "This is history."

"I'm referring to the book you just put down."

"I didn't use any magic theory just now."

"You let it go."

"I didn't—"

Ji Tian turned his head and saw Elena staring at him with a slight upturn at the corner of her mouth, giving him an expression that said, "I've got something on you."

He paused for a second.

"...You're bluffing me."

"Yes," Elena readily admitted, folding the book over her lap. "So you were indeed daydreaming just now. What were you thinking about?"

Ji Tian didn't say anything.

Elena didn't urge him, she just looked at him, her gray-blue eyes filled with a certainty that said, "I know even if you don't say it."

After a few seconds, Ji Tian spoke up: "I'm thinking about how to cultivate."

"With me?"

"Um."

"In front of me?"

"right."

Elena took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. She placed the book on the low table beside her, stood up, and walked over to Ji Tian.

She was half a head shorter than him, but when she looked up at people with her chin tilted back, she didn't look short at all.

"Ji Tian," she said, looking at him and enunciating each word clearly, "do you know your current situation?"

"Know."

"You are my servant. Your task is to keep me company, not to cultivate under my nose."

"I can do both of these things at the same time."

Elena raised an eyebrow at his question. "How can you do both at the same time? Are you talking to me while meditating?"

"Can."

"You're channeling your magic while serving me tea?"

"Can."

"You—" Elena paused, seemingly realizing the conversation was going in the wrong direction, "Wait, I'm not giving you advice. What I mean is, you can't cultivate here."

Why?

"Because—" she paused, then quickly added, "because you are my servant... your primary task is to accompany me, not to cultivate."

"When I'm with you, my mind is just sitting around anyway," Ji Tian said. "I might as well use it to circulate my energy."

Elena stared at him for three seconds.

What is Zhou Tian?

"One way of circulating magic is what you call 'circulation,' I call 'the cycle of heaven.'"

"You've changed your name again."

"It's not a name change, it's a redefinition."

Elena rolled her eyes, turned around and walked back to the window to sit down. She picked up the book again, opened it, and then slammed it shut.

"You're making me really annoyed," she muttered, turning her face away angrily.

Why?

"Because you're using my time to do your own thing."

"I haven't taken up your time," Ji Tian said. "You don't need me to talk when you're studying. I pour you water when you're drinking. I follow you when you go out. The rest of the time, my mind is free."

Elena was silent for a moment, then lowered her voice, "What about at night? Do you cultivate too?"

"meeting."

"So you want to cultivate during the day and you cultivate at night. Then when do you go to sleep?"

"Cultivation is just sleeping."

"...What?"

"Meditation can help the body recover," Ji Tian said matter-of-factly, "and is more effective than sleeping."

Elena turned to look at him, her expression as if she were looking at an alien creature.

"You mean you're not going to sleep anymore?"

"Sleep, but you can replace some of it with meditation."

"Aren't you going to exhaust yourself doing this?"

"No. Tiredness is a physical matter, cultivation is a mental matter. We should handle them separately."

Elena opened her mouth, then closed it again. She hugged her knees, curled up in the chair, rested her chin on the spine of the book, and stared at the training field outside the window for a long time.

"Ji Tian".

"Um?"

"You said before that you wanted to leave here and create your own power."

"Um."

"You still say the decision is in my hands."

"right."

Elena took a deep breath.

"What if I let you stay?"

Ji Tian didn't answer immediately. He thought for a moment before continuing, "Then I'll stay."

"Not leaving?"

"I'm not leaving."

"Where is your 'great power'?"

"Let's build it somewhere else."

Elena turned to look at him, her expression complex, a mixture of suspicion, probing, and something Ji Tian couldn't quite understand.

"Why are you so obedient?" she asked.

"It wasn't about being obedient," Ji Tian corrected, "it was you who helped me first. You taught me to read, let me read magic books, and didn't tell anyone about these things."

He actually wanted to say "I'm at their mercy," but when you're under someone's roof, you have to bow your head. He doesn't have enough power to gain freedom right now, so he can only declare his loyalty.

But bowing your head is not the same as admitting defeat.

How many protagonists in past lives lived in obscurity, dependent on others? Han Xin endured the humiliation of crawling between someone's legs, Goujian slept on firewood and tasted gall—weren't they all first surviving before pursuing their great ambitions?

"Hidden dragon, do not use" does not mean the dragon is no longer viable, but that the time has not yet come.

When the day comes that "the dragon soars into the sky," it's hard to say who will be the butcher and who will be the fish.

These thoughts swirled in his mind, but he showed no sign of them on his face.

"So you're repaying a debt of gratitude?"

"I guess so."

Elena scoffed. "Repay a debt of gratitude? Do you think this is a chivalric romance novel?"

"It's not about repaying a debt of gratitude," Ji Tian corrected again, "it's about repaying what you owe, that's the rule."

"Who made these rules?"

"I made the order."

Elena stared at him for a few seconds, then chuckled.

She seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, then whispered, "You're a really strange person."

"I know."

"You know this, yet you're still so self-righteous?"

"Strange doesn't mean wrong."

Elena shook her head and reopened the book. This time, she didn't close it; instead, she actually started reading.

The room was quiet for a while, with only the sound of turning pages and the crackling of firewood in the fireplace.

"Ji Tian".

"What's wrong?"

"You just said you could cultivate while keeping me company."

"Um."

"How do I cultivate?"

"Breathing techniques."

"What?"

"I can become stronger just by breathing."

"Your...cultivation." She said the word a little awkwardly, as if she were talking about something she didn't quite believe in. "You're not going to cause any trouble in my house, are you? Like the house collapsing, catching fire, or emitting strange lights or something."

Ji Tian thought for a moment.

"Probably not."

"should?"

"Highly unlikely."

Elena took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. That "wanting to get angry but unable to swallow her pride" expression reappeared, exactly the same as when he woke up from mushroom poisoning last time.

"Ji Tian," she said, emphasizing each word, "if you demolish my house, I'll plant you back in your village."

"Replant it?" Ji Tian asked, somewhat surprised.

Could it be that there are cultivation methods in this world that I haven't seen in online novels?

"I'll bury you in the ground, water you, and see if you grow into a normal person next year."

Well, it seems it's not some special cultivation method.

Ji Tian responded without changing his expression, "I'm perfectly normal, and I'm not a mushroom, I can't grow."

Elena paused for a moment, then burst out laughing. But she quickly composed herself, holding the book up to hide her expression.

"...Who cares if you're a mushroom or not," her muffled voice came from behind the book. "Just don't cause me any trouble."