Alex and Bladedance kept at it for months, with Alex spending almost all of his time doing nothing but staring into the Void, trying to learn as much about it as he could.
At some point, he realized something he shouldâve learned a long time ago.
"I canât learn any Dao in Hell, can I?" Alex asked. "Or at least, I wonât ever know when Iâm ready."
Bladedance had been sitting by the side when Alex asked that question. She looked up, thought for a moment, and nodded. "Since thereâs no Heaven to help you, you wonât ever know if youâve fully understood the Dao or not. It is also difficult since Heaven wonât give you the final push, so you will have to continue all the way until the end, all by yourself."
"How do I know when Iâm ready then?" Alex asked.
"You wonât," the Sword God answered. "Youâll have to believe that you did."
Alex couldnât help but frown. That made it difficult to make a decision when it was time for him to leave Hell.
"We should return," Alex said. "I need to cultivate too. My senses are still quite restricted because of the seal, so unless I get rid of them, I wonât be able to continue."
Bladedance nodded.
"Alright, letâs go back then."
The two flew back to the Endless Night sect and found their way to their respective rooms.
Once Alex was back in his room, he looked around in search of Whisker, but the little mouse was nowhere to be found at all. âDid he finish absorbing all the Elixir?â he wondered.
He wasnât worried about Whisker, so he began cultivating by himself, mostly in order to recover all the Qi he had lost in the desert, as well as train his mind again.
He also needed to take in all that he had learned from the Void in the past few months.
Alex sat atop the Pain-inducing formation, taking his time with everything. After a while, he was lost in his cultivation.
A few days passed before he was finally done with his session of cultivation. He could continue, but there were more pressing matters.
In the first place, there was the fruit he had to consume. He had wanted to cultivate for a while before consuming it, but with Bladedance taking him away, he hadnât had the time to.
Now that he was back, he couldnât waste any more time than he already had.
Alex looked at the room he was in and couldnât help but laugh a little as the fruit would not fit in there at all. He needed someplace private.
While he was thinking as much, Whisker finally returned.
"Youâre back!" Alex said. "Where were you?"
"With the Grand Elder," Whisker answered. "He needed me to show him how to gather more Elixir from the ground."
"Really?" Alex asked. "Did you teach them the technique?"
Whisker shook his head. "They have a deep hole dug right down to the surface of where the sludge gathers. They have a pulley system that they pull the sludge out of, like a well. They wanted me to help them reach deeper, so I did."
"You made the hole wider, or..."
"Got rid of most of the rock along the way, so they can now gather sludge from much deeper," Whisker said.
"That was it?" Alex asked. "You were gone all these days just for that?"
"No, I was also learning from the Grand Elder. He wanted to fight more battles through the artifact, and I wanted to learn, so I asked him to teach me. Right, heâs been complaining that you were gone for too long and that he hasnât had the time to learn more Alchemy."
Alex narrowed his eyes. "You couldâve taught him what he needs to know," Alex said. "Youâre more than capable of teaching him."
Whisker gave a small smile. "I suggested, but he wants you to teach him," he said. "I donât think he trusts I can do it."
Alex shrugged. "I will let him know," he said. He thought for a moment and came up with an idea. "Come, letâs go meet the old man."
Whisker climbed up onto Alexâs shoulders and Alex left to find the Grand Elder.
The Grand Elder was in his workshop, working next to a furnace where he watched the metal melt before him. His eyes turned toward the door as Alex walked in.
"Finally!" the old man cried out. "I thought you were going to make me wait a year before we did anything."
"Whisker has told me everything," Alex said. "You do know Whisker is plenty qualified as an Alchemist, right? He could teach you all of what you need to know by himself."
The old man narrowed his eyes.
"You donât trust me?" Alex asked in surprise. "Iâve been teaching him alchemy not long after he was born. And heâs just a few decades younger than me, so heâs had almost the same amount of time as me to learn it. He could teach you and your alchemists everything they need to know."
"Uhh... okay," the old man said slowly. "I will still ask that you teach the first few lessons."
Alex shrugged. "Sure," he said. "I will have to ask you to teach me more about the runes as well. Weâll need to continue that."
The old man nodded. "So, when do we start?"
Alex paused. "Not right away. I need to deal with the fruit from the tree first. I need a private space where others wonât come to interfere with me. Would it be okay if I asked to enter one of those training realms that youâve set up?"
"Sure. Iâll see where I can place you in the list," the old man said.
"No list. I want to enter right away. I donât want to wait at all," Alex said.
"That... will be difficult," the old man said. "These disciples have been waiting for years for this chance, you know?"
"I know," Alex said. "And I have a way to appease them too."