“Alright. Can anyone tell me how many elements there are?”

“Five, Elder.”

I nodded. “An answer, even a correct one. But not the correct answer. Anyone care to explain why?”

A hand raised… and it was Kaoru’s second daughter. What was her name again?

“Chiaki?”

She smiled, and I fought to hide my relief.

“Because the definition of ‘elements’ varies. Most cultivators follow the five elements, because it is what we have all been taught and how we express our understanding of qi through affinities. But in some distant lands, people believe that there are only four elements: fire, earth, water, and air, held together by a binding force known as aether. Still others look to particle substances, and separate them out into dozens of elements with unique properties. Some even argue that there are innumerable elements, and that every particle is different.”

“Interesting views, Chiaki. But for the purposes of cultivation, how many elements are there?”

Smug little girl obviously knew the answer, but that only served my purpose for this.

“None, Elder Xiang. All of the so-called elements are merely aspects of how cultivators express themselves through qi. Even some of the names are a misnomer, with wood referring to most forms of life, earth often including living soil as well as all forms of rock, and gold actually referring to all forms of metal and any energy that isn’t identified as fire. There are as many possibilities of expressing one’s qi as there are individuals, so trying to categorize them in any way leads to mislabeling, and trying to use such broad and all-encompassing terms as ‘elements’ is futile. Plus, it limits your thinking pretty harshly.”

I nodded. “Definitely your mother’s daughter. Talky.”

She made a face at me as I smirked.

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“Young Expert Chiaki is right, for all she should be playing with dolls and makeup at her age.” A few sniggers, but even my victim took it in easy stride. “To cultivate is to gather qi, and to reach Mastery is to not only gather a massive amount, but to master using qi on every level. Physical, mental, spiritual. Hit the right point, and you stop being a receptacle of qi and simply use the stuff. Hence the fancy light show when people hit Master rank.”

Another hand raised.

“Yes?”

“Why don’t our enemies do that? Does it mean they aren’t actually Masters?”

I nodded. “A good question. Keep your hand down Chiaki, let other people figure it out.”

More sniggers, and the little fox-girl rolled her eyes. A lot of Kaoru’s daughters inherited fox traits for some reason. Another student raised their hand.

“Yes, Chang?”

My own son stood to give his answer. He was growing up to be quite handsome, for all he was embarrassed about his hair color. Personally, I thought the red-tipped pink was quite dashing on him, and certainly his twin never complained.

“Mastery has levels. One can gather enough qi to become a Master cultivator without reaching full enlightenment on the nature of qi. Most will simply enhance their bodies or learn to control qi to a high extent, never discovering that true mastery requires both. Once an Expert or Master has developed to the point where they have developed both strength and fine control, they reach the stage of enlightenment where their qi stops being a part of them, and they become a part of qi. This stage is accompanied by a massive surge of qi around oneself as they reach an equilibrium with their surroundings. At that point in time, qi concentration is so high that it becomes plainly visible.”

I nodded “Very good Chang. You’re definitely smarter than your poor mother. I’d blame your father, but… well…” A chorus of laughs, all at my expense. People told stories of my early years all the time as legends these days, and Kaoru made sure our first night out in Rivermill was a popular tale.

To be fair, I made sure to tack on that I’d been the only one who wasn’t drunk at the time.

“Yes, the forces of the Heavenly Kings never grasp the full enlightenment of Mastery, because the Kings themselves cannot grasp the true nature of qi as it relates to them. But they aren’t any less dangerous for it, and this is why we fight them. Their hoarding of qi and inability to let it circulate back into the world like it should is literally draining the planet of life. Qi is life, the very energy we use to exist. No qi, no life, no hope. Now, we’ll get back to meditation in a bit. But now…”

Mistress Fu and a squad of children came over, carrying baskets of bread, cheese, fruit, and cured sausage.

“It’s time for lunch. This is a feast day, after all!”