Noah used the first week of the trip back to the academy to rest, he had to stabilize his condition again.
Increasing one's strength so rapidly was quite dangerous.
The dantian was an organ after all, too much stress on it could ultimately lead to an injury.
The same went for the sea of consciousness, the mental sphere had to be enlarged gradually or there would be the risk of breaking it.
Noah sat on one couch inside the carriage escorting him back to the academy, he was calmly analyzing the condition of his body.
'My dantian has completely recovered, there is no danger in resuming my previous training rhythm. My accumulated stress also has disappeared, it seems that the constant battles that we underwent in the inheritance ground helped my mental sphere quite a bit.'
Overall, they had been away from the academy for four months while his actual time spent training his dantian and body was equal to six months in his accommodation.
'Two months gained while my mind has still slightly enlarged due to the "Breath" in my sea of consciousness. I almost don't feel any pressure at all from Echo these days, I wonder if I can create another blood companion.'
He thought for a while before tossing that idea away.
'Right now, I should just focus on increasing the level of all my centers of power. I should also start to absorb again "Breath" in my sea of consciousness, I'm quite eager to test some of the forgings of my inscription method.'
He slowly opened his eyes, confirming his plans for the near future.
'With the rewards for this mission I will finally be able to buy some spells that don't have a limitation in their rank and I will be also able to use the facilities of the academy for a while. The first to break through should be my mind, followed by my dantian and body. I just need to quietly cultivate.'
"Have you recovered enough to give me your version of the events in the inheritance ground?"
Lisa spoke to him wearing a slight smile.
She couldn't be in the open since she would be too eye-catching so she had stayed in the carriage with the other three students the whole time.
Noah nodded, putting a stern expression.
"I believe that my companions have already covered every detail of our mission."
Lisa laid her back on the carriage while putting a hand below her chin.
"Vance, right? My brother has spoken to me about you. Did you reach the solid stage already?"
Noah didn't dare to lie to her as Thaddeus had made clear that the intelligence of the Royal family surpassed the common sense.
"Yes, I did a few months ago."
"And how old are you exactly?"
"Sixteen years and six months."
Errol and June's eyes widened but they remained silent.
According to the standards of the cultivation world, a human would acquire his dantian at the age of fifteen.
However, in the academy, there were only talents, virtually each of its students had obtained a dantian before that age.
Even so, the usual age in which cultivators reached the solid stage was when they were seventeen or more.
It wasn't a matter that concerned talent, they simply didn't have enough time to cultivate till that level.
June, for example, was seventeen and she had broken through the solid stage during the month that they spent cultivating in the sixth layer.
She had actually spent less time than Noah to reach that stage but he had obtained his dantian at an incredible age.
After all, how many people in the world could obtain a rank 3 body and a rank 1 mental sphere before the age of fourteen?
"That is indeed a great achievement. If you and Daniel were of the same age, you would have surpassed him."
Errol joined the conversation, intrigued by Lisa's words.
"Is it possible to know Daniel's level?"
Lisa waved her hand and answered as if it was a small matter.
"He broke through the first rank and successfully became a rank 2 cultivator. His status as a student was removed and he joined Professor Wanda Hamman in the alchemy division of the academy. This all happened in this years' tests, it should have caused quite a commotion in the academy."
'Oh right, the tests for my courses.'
Noah remembered that detail about his enrollment.
Lisa seemed to understand his thoughts and reassured the students.
"Don't worry about those. You all did an excellent job in the Royal inheritance so you are exempted from them, not that I believe that any of you would have failed."
The students relaxed and continued to look at Lisa, there was still another question that required her explanation.
"You will get your rewards from Thaddeus after the total value of what you retrieved is estimated. He will contact you himself so you can just go back to your normal lifestyles."
Having cleared their last doubt, silence occupied the carriage.
Lisa didn't seem like she wanted to speak anymore so the students began to spend their remaining time in the carriage as they wanted.
Noah resumed his usual training schedule, causing June to imitate him.
Errol simply laid on his couch, Lisa's presence didn't allow him to reach the relaxed state needed to train.
Lisa slept most of the time, she was so silent that it almost seemed that she was only closing her eyes.
In the end, another week passed and the carriage reached Arolyac forest.
Lisa left the students at the borders of the forest and continued toward the Royal city while they went on their way back to the academy ground.
They arrived at the small mountain and Errol pressed his token on the terrain, opening a passage.
After so much time, they had finally returned!
"I think I will rest for a few days and then resume my courses. See you around, friends."
Errol was eager to return to his lodging and separated from the group.
June and Noah slowly walked on the right side of the river.
They reached June's accommodation first and she silently opened its door.
Before entering though, she turned to look at Noah and spoke with a plain voice.
"You look older than your age."
After that, she entered her place and closed the door behind her.
Noah shook his head and resumed his walk toward his lodging.
Considering her character, the meaning behind her words was something battle-related, he didn't bother to think too much about them.
'I feel like I'm forgetting something though.'
As he opened the door of his accommodation, an awful smell assaulted him, accompanied by a loud lament.
"You unfilial disciple, you actually left me to suffer all this time!"