"Y-You can move now…? Since when…?" Meixiu muttered in a low voice after Yuan's shocking reveal.
"To tell you the truth, my recovery started many weeks ago— even before you started playing Cultivation Online. In fact, I initially planned on keeping this a secret until I could get off the bed by myself, but I changed my mind after hearing your words just now." Yuan said.
"My words…?"
"Yes… Your voice when you congratulated me… I couldn't continue to keep it to myself after hearing it. I'm sorry for keeping it a secret for so long, but I wanted to make sure that I was actually recovering and not give you or Yu Rou false hope."
"It's okay. You don't have to apologize. I'm just glad that you're finally recovering, Yuan." Meixiu said to him in a gentle voice, feeling an indescribable feeling surging from her heart at this moment.
Unbeknownst to Meixiu at first, tears began appearing in her eyes before quickly falling down her face.
Meixiu wiped her eyes when she realized that her vision was getting blurry, and to her surprise, she was actually crying due to being overwhelmed by happiness. It was definitely a first for her.
Meixiu quickly wiped her face with her free hand while silently hoping to herself that Yuan wasn't looking at her right now.
Luckily for her, Yuan didn't have his Divine Sense activated since he could only use it for a few moments before it exhausts his spiritual energy.
A few moments later, once Meixiu calmed down a little, she asked Yuan, "How much can you move right now? Can you sit up on the bed yet?"
"Unfortunately, lifting a hand is already my limit. Any more and my body will start experiencing pain," he sighed.
"Don't push yourself, Yuan. You're recovering, and that's all it matters."
"I know."
"Are you going to tell Yu Rou?" Meixiu suddenly asked.
"..."
Yuan didn't immediately respond, and after a moment of silence, he said, "I… I want to surprise her. When I tell Yu Rou, I want to be standing. I hope you don't mind keeping this a secret for now."
"I don't mind," Meixiu said.
"Thank you."
Sometime later, Yuan said, "I am already at the peak of Spirit Warrior, but I cannot breakthrough to Spirit Master for some reason. I will try for a few more days. If I still cannot breakthrough, I will focus on Cultivation Online."
"Alright. I will try to push for the ninth level before I return to Cultivation Online." Meixiu said.
"Take your time."
Meixiu returned to her own room a few moments later.
'Yuan… He's recovering… He can see again, even move... I cannot wait to see him walk again.'
Meixiu thought to herself as she took a seat on the hard floor and began her cultivation.
To her surprise, when she cultivated, Meixiu noticed a noticeable change in her cultivation speed, as she was absorbing the spiritual energy around her at a much quicker rate than she could previously achieve— almost twice as fast.
Meixiu didn't know what was causing this phenomenon, but she welcomed it.
A few days later, Meixiu entered the ninth level of Spirit Apprentice.
"Yuan, did you manage to breakthrough?" Meixiu asked him.
"Nope…" Yuan sighed.
"Every time it feels like I am about to have a breakthrough, that feeling would suddenly disappear. It's like walking towards an open door, but just as you're about to enter that door, it closes in your face."
Meixiu pondered for a moment before speaking, "Maybe it has something to do with our world? What if there's not enough spiritual energy for you to breakthrough? Spirit Master is pretty high, right?"
"Now that you mention it… That does make sense… Okay, I will ask Xiao Hua and the others later." Yuan said.
"What about you? Have you reached your goal?" Yuan asked her.
"Yes, but the three-month time limit for the registration is getting close, so I was thinking about registering myself first so I can get it out of the way. What about you, Yuan?"
"Registering, huh? Okay, let's go register ourselves and get this over with."
"Let's do it tomorrow since it's already late today," Meixiu suggested.
Sometime later, Meixiu went to prepare dinner.
After dinner, they went to sleep, taking a break from cultivation.
The following morning after breakfast, Meixiu helped Yuan change into a more fitting outfit for their journey outside before carrying him to his wheelchair.
"Are you ready to go?" Meixiu asked him after she prepared herself.
Yuan didn't say anything, but he closed his hand into a fist before giving her a thumbs up.
A smile appeared on Meixiu's face, and she pushed the wheelchair outside, leaving the apartment with him.
"How far away is the Cultivators' Association from here?" Yuan asked her once they were downstairs.
"It's about an hour from here on foot," she said.
"Do you want to take the taxi instead?"
"I want to look at the scenery if you don't mind..."
"I'm okay. We can walk."
"Thank you, Meixiu."
"I should probably buy a car to make traveling more convenient in case we need it…" Meixiu muttered to herself shortly after they started moving.
Despite her young age, Meixiu already has a driver's license, so she was qualified to drive a car.
"A car, huh? It'll definitely be necessary if we want to go anywhere that cannot be traveled in a reasonable time on foot." Yuan said.
"Yeah, you should probably get a car." Yuan agreed with her.
"Really? What kind of car should I get?"
"Yes. You can get whatever you want. I'll let you choose."
"Okay. I'll look around after we register at the Cultivators' Association."
While they made their way towards the Cultivators' Association, Yuan would use his Divine Sense to look at his surroundings.
Although he couldn't see any further than a few meters around him, it was more than enough for someone like him who hasn't seen the world for so many years.
An hour later, they arrived at the Cultivators' Association.
"Wow, there's a lot of people here even though it's so early in the morning." Meixiu was surprised to see the crowd of people gathered there.
After taking a moment to examine the area, Meixiu approached the tall building with Yuan.