“So. Let us speak about your dao, Novice Xiang.”

Mistress Song got comfortable upon her bed as I did the same on my pillow.

“You mentioned not really feeling like there’s a point to cultivation. And there honestly isn’t, when you are still at the Initiate and Novice stages. When you begin, it is simply a thing to do, and there is little reward that you can see in exchange for so much time spent sitting still and doing nothing, then training physically until you are more bruise than flesh. This is what it is to train without will, purpose, or direction. In other words, without a dao. Are you following me so far?”

I nodded.

“Now, many humans start cultivating for the same reason Li mentioned, that those who reach the Ascendant stage are basically living gods. They have near-absolute power and knowledge of the world, will never age or fall to illness, and take exceptional effort to kill. To a human, this is often some great fantasy, a dream to fulfill. But you’ve already stated you know better.

“To be honest, I think animals who learn cultivation have a better time of things. You began cultivating by accident, and didn’t even know that was what you were doing until you came here. Kaoru was much the same, and she was a horrified mess when I first came across her, let me tell you!”

I chortled. “I might have to bring that up the next time we spar. It might give me an opening.”

Mistress Song shook her head, but her smile only grew wider.

“Still, the advantage of not having preconceptions to why you should be cultivating can also make it a little harder to find the actual reason. And sadly, that reason is wholly unique to every cultivator. It is the core of your dao, and will require a lot of time and effort to find. Most never do, and end their lives as Initiates or Novices.

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“That said, you aren’t guaranteed to progress further even after you find your dao. I’ve been a cultivator for three hundred years now, and have been trapped at the Master stage for two-thirds of it. Every stage is harder to break through, and requires more qi and greater tempering. Ascension is the goal, but most humans who start cultivating never really pay attention to their history. If they did, they’d know that there hasn’t been a known Ascendant in human history. The only reason we even believe the Ascendant stage exists is because of the gods we’ve encountered in our history.”

Mistress Song stood, streched, and looked out of her window.

“I was… six or seven when I met the goddess who put me on the path of cultivation. Did Kaoru tell you about the thing with fox tails?” I nodded. “The fox I encountered had nine. She looked mostly human, but wasn’t trying to hide her tails or ears. I’d been wandering alone in the forest, as little girls really shouldn’t, when she came to me and said hello. I… don’t really remember her name or face anymore, but she was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen, and I told her as such. She laughed, and we talked for a long while. She was the one who taught me the basics of cultivation, and let me know about hidden monasteries like this one where cultivation was taught.

“I’m not sure anymore if that was something she did because she liked me, or an act of mercy.” Mistress Song clenched her hands, and closed her eyes in pain. “While we talked, a group of bandits descended on my village. By the time I’d returned, everything I’d ever known was burned to the ground, dead, or lost to some horrible fate I don’t care to think about, even now.”

I nodded. “My warren got taken out by ferrets, the day I awakened. It’s never something you want to come home to.”

“I appreciate the sympathy. It happened long ago, but it’s still something I don’t like to dwell on. At any rate, I wandered for a time, following the directions I’d been given, until I found my way to this monastery. It has a name to outsiders, but I’ve never bothered learning it, even on the occasions when I’ve been away. I learned the basics, becoming a Novice by the time I was ten, and an Adept by the time I was fifteen. It wasn’t as hard for me to find a dao as most, because I found my purpose in being a defender.”

Mistress Song stood straight, then turned away from the window to face me.

“To that end, I think I’ll teach you to fight on a more dedicated level. You have great talent, and one such as yourself will need the defense to match it. So rest well tonight, Xiang. Tomorrow, your real training begins.”