It took Ho Ling several months of preparation before she was ready to attempt to bond with a new element and therefore reforge her golden core. Unlike Xia Fei, it was not just the bridge that needed to be remade. During those months she moved back and forth between her laboratory and the Clan in Nui Dan. During that time, she was able to witness Kai Lan master basic manifestation of the element of earth and move to the second step of Profound Realm.
She also, due to her own curiosity, researched more about Kai Lan's extraordinary existence, eventually coming to a conclusion that she didn't think would be possible in her lifetime.
"Ho Ling?" asked Xia Fei one evening after the two and Hei Hei had retired to the annex.
"I think I know why Kai Lan is so blessed," said Ho Ling, "While I have no proof of it, I cannot think of any possible alternative that would explain such an exceptional cultivator".
Hei Hei and Xia Fei looked to her expectantly.
"I think…he is The Successor".
Xia Fei and Hei Hei listened, and then turned away. They didn't even really feel surprised about it.
"It does make sense," Hei Hei admitted, "However unlikely the odds are".
Xia Fei nodded her head in agreement, "I agree, but that should only reinforce how important it is to protect him and keep him safe as he grows. If he falls into the wrong hands…"
"It could mean the end of us all," Ho Ling concluded.
Hei Hei frowned, "The Concealment Formation has done it's work for nearly six years now. It is nothing to scoff at. My concern will be for when he moves to a Senior School. There are none in this area to present a sufficient enough challenge for him, yet if he goes to one of the nearby cities…"
"He loses the aid of the Concealment Formation, and our immediate protection," Xia Fei nodded.
"What about when his cultivation exceeds that of yours, Hei Hei?" asked Ho Ling.
"While he is brilliant, I am confident that he will not reach that point in the next few years, especially without aid. Besides, I have given him enough knowledge that should he reach that point, he will be able to create a better formation himself," stated Hei Hei, "I'd be more concerned about us should anyone see his talent and try to trace his background".
Ho Ling nodded, "Wu Lan, Ning Wei and Mu Lin especially. They are good people, and do not deserve whatever torment the powers that be might bring them just to hurt Kai Lan".
"In all honesty, if he is who we think he is, I would be more concerned for those powers than I would be for Kai Lan and his family," Xia Fei sighed.
Following this, the three of them settled in to rest before proceeding with their ordinary routine, if not all the more aware of what could come knocking.
Ho Ling succeeded in connecting with the Spirit element, but it cost her half of her cultivation in the process. Still, she felt far more comfortable and happier, especially with the gift of blessed sight being bestowed upon her. She now saw the elemental energies just as Kai Lan did, and it accelerated not only her cultivation, but also her projects as a professor of Cultivation Energies.
It was one day during the summer between Kai Lan's third and fourth year where Mu Lin announced that she wanted to forge her own golden core. The four-year-old was not nearly as talented as her older brother, but being around her older brother and his Clan had leant her views on cultivation that others would not be able to see, and when Ning Wei and Wu Lan hesitated, Kai Lan simply nodded and said, "Alright, we'll sit by you".
Sure enough, Mu Lin forged a golden core reflective of her mother's with the wood, light and water elements, only her potential far exceeded her mother's according to Kai Lan's view. Ho Ling too watched the process, fascinated by the interactions between a human and the world's energies as a golden core was forged.
"Does it always look like this?" she asked softly.
Kai Lan shrugged, "It depends on the forger as well as the elements being imbued, but the general process is the same".
Following Mu Lin's success, Ho Ling would consult with Kai Lan on the processes of forging Golden Cores many more times over the next several months. Then, on the winter break of his fourth year, Ho Ling sheepishly presented a manuscript to Kai Lan, "I know you don't want anything published about the reforging of Golden Cores, but I found a new, more subtle angle, that may lead to mere consideration by the academic and cultivating communities rather than an upheaval. Still, as promised, I will not publish anything, nor speak another word of it without your approval. This was compiled through consultations with you as well…so if you approve, I would give you a writing credit, and if you don't, I will delete everything related to it".
At first, Kai Lan was angered and sceptical. She had gone ahead and done something that he had made clear to her he disapproved of. But Kai Lan decided to read through her work nonetheless. Several days later, he came back to her and handed her back her manuscript which was laden with sticky notes and suggestions. At her shocked expression he only said, "If I'm getting a writer's credit, I should earn it…also, credit it to Xiao Lan, not my real name".
Ho Ling let a slow grin spread across her face, "Of course, thank you, Master".
Six months later, after multiple drafts and academic peer reviews, the book 'The Golden Bridge: A study of how humans transcend their natural states', was published throughout the cultivation worlds. At first others dismissed the obvious title, but after many academics and cultivators alike praised and heavily researched and clear worldviews of the novel, Professor Ho Ling and Xiao Lan became household names. Ho Ling went on to do multiple interviews, and when asked about her mysterious partner, Ho Ling simply smiled and said, "He's a bit of a recluse, and said all he has to say in the book".
Everyone speculated that he was a great master in the divine or even immortal realm, and hence had no desire for the public eye. Who would know that he was actually a fifth-year junior school student in the 4th step Profound Realm? Still a remarkable achievement for a 10-year-old, but to have an academic work that was so hotly debated and consumed was simply unbelievable.
Meanwhile, Gang Bi, the spirit of the Immortal Pen who was being housed in the Bai Clan, could not help but give a rare smile when he read the work his master had presented him as an 'interesting read'. The spirit had not believed it until he read it, then looked at the name on the cover.
"Xiao Lan…"
Gang Bi's millennia-old instinct told him exactly who this mysterious master may be, though he kept it to himself.