Looks like I've gotten back into the swing of things after a day of trotting around Windy. I'm trying to earn rank 6 by doing The Final Seal mission. I keep getting knocked off in the pass though, before even getting to Fei'Yin. Doesn't help I'm trying to do it with only two Trusts. Guess I'll get a few more and try again.
Definitely not keen on having to carry around a bunch of low level gear so I can switch levels to do these book tasks. But, it's awesome (kind of) how easy it is to level up now.