First Foe! Jealous Young Master of the second Branch
The news that an elder of the Starlit Sword Sect was going to be visiting the Fu Clan began to spread throughout Zhihao and Yuxuan’s first week of morning training with Fu Yanjing. The two didn’t know how much of a stir the news was causing.
After their morning training one day they returned to the third branch to see their grandfather waiting for them in the courtyard of his manor. Behind him stood tall thin pillars of sand that rose to a height of three meters. There were dozens of them filling up the majority of the courtyard. Fu Liu rose when they entered and the two bowed in greeting.
“Children, you two have each began cultivating your first pillar of foundation establishment, it is time you learned your first mystic technique.”
Yuxuan jumped on Zhihao’s back and began cheering. Zhihao didn’t bother telling Yuxuan to knock it off, he was excited too! He had spent two years meditating and learning the basic sword forms of the Fu Clan. What boy didn’t dream of the kind of mystic techniques that seemed like magic!
Fu Liu smiled gently to his grandchildren and waved them forward.
“Today, I am going to teach you a movement technique meant for close quarters combat. Once you have mastered the technique, you will find that the core principles are easily adaptable to other techniques. This technique is called the Auspicious Steps, a secret technique of our Fu Clan. It can be considered the foundation of our clan.”
Yuxuan climbed off Zhihao and the two boys grinned at each other.
“Sit and cultivate, I will guide you in the proper way to circulate your qi for this technique. It might feel strange at first, but once you have done this a few times you will be able to do it in combat without thinking.”
Zhihao immediately sat and began to circulate his qi. After a few cycles, he felt a force that felt like a spring breeze guiding his qi to the channels and meridians in his legs. Instead of completing the cycle, his qi was guided into another loop through his legs before returning to his dantian.
“That’s the basic cultivation technique for movement techniques. Now continue that circulation pattern and watch my footwork.”
Zhihao, trying his best to keep up the qi flow of the movement technique, watched Fu Liu.
Fu Liu stood atop the nearest pillar of sand without even a single grain falling out of place. To Zhihao’s untrained eyes it looked as if his grandfather was merely walking across the tops of the pillars of sand. Each step was graceful and unhurried. Sometimes as Fu Liu was about to step down his foot would make a wide sweep and step on an adjacent pillar. After a few minutes, Fu Liu jumped down and landed in front of the boys.
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“Did you notice anything about the footwork?” Fu Liu asked.
Zhihao thought about it. It looked almost like a dance. He saw no reason for the wide sweeping steps that occasionally mixed with the light elegant steps.
“The pillars you avoided were unstable. Is there a luck attribute to the technique?” Yuxuan asked.
Fu Liu grinned and ruffled Yuxuan’s hair.
“Very good Yuxuan! The movement technique is also a minor divination technique. By focusing only on the immediate future, your footwork acts as a ritual, constantly determining the outcome of each subsequent step. Because it is such a minor divination technique it’s possible for those in the second stage to comprehend it.”
‘Divination! What a powerful technique!’ Zhihao thought to himself. He had thought techniques concerning divination would only be able to be learned far later in the stages of cultivation. Truly a worthy technique to be considered the foundation of the Fu Clan! He was so excited he couldn’t even bother being irritated at Yuxuan for figuring it out.
“How do we focus on divination and movement grandfather?” Zhihao asked excitedly.
“You practice.” Fu Liu grinned and gestured up at the pillars.
Before Zhihao knew it, he was atop a pillar of sand. Small handfuls of sand fell but somehow it supported his weight. He took a deep breath and circulated his qi the way his grandfather had shown him. Then he tried to take a step forward.
DANGER!
Zhihao opened his eyes in panic. The feeling of danger that came over him had been so great he lost control of his qi and fell down, taking the pillars nearest him with him. He rose from a heap on the floor spitting out sand. Yuxuan pulled him to his feet laughing.
“Alright my turn!” Yuxuan hopped up and landed on a sand pillar. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and was stepping quickly across the pillars. Every few steps, he would be about to step down then sweep his feet to the side and step somewhere else. A handful of times he was too slow sweeping his feet, causing pillars to collapse. Yet each time he was fast enough at adjusting the position of his body, ensuring he didn’t fall with them. After making it through half of the pillars Yuxuan let out a surprised shout as the pillar he had been standing on collapsed as he was moving to the next.
“Well done Yuxuan.” Fu Liu waved a hand and Yuxuan floated out from the pillars. Fu Liu set him down and with another gesture the pillars were rebuilt. Fu Liu turned to look over both boys. “From now on, after morning practices you will come here and practice the Auspicious Steps until you can step across each pillar and have none of them collapse.”
Zhihao nodded and jumped to the top of the nearest pillar, only for him and it to crash down. Fu Liu took his usual seat at the north of the courtyard. His only movements the occasional gesture to rebuild the pillars as the boys practiced.
In the second branch, in a small clearing amid trees, a young man sat in meditation. He had ink black hair pulled tightly into a ponytail. Eyes that, were they open, appeared as sharp as swords. An unsheathed sword sat on his lap as he circulated his qi. With each cycle, the young man’s qi appeared to boil off his sword. He was surrounded with a faint mist that grew denser the longer he cultivated. Eventually, the young man rose to his feet and swept his sword before him.
The mist around the young man condensed into a ring that surrounded him. With another sweep of his sword, the ring exploded. The ring of mist expanded outward with the young man at the center cutting everything in its path. After expanding a dozen meters the ring began to blow away like smoke in the wind.
The young man breathed out slowly and sheathed his sword at his hip. A sharp keening sound rang out at his sword slid into its scabbard.
“Young master, an elder of the Starlit Sword Sect is set to arrive within the month.” A woman landed and bowed before the young man. The woman had short brown hair held up in a bun and wore the robes of a servant.
“So the rumors were true. Do we know why?” The young man asked.
“Not with any certainty. Some rumors say it’s to gather disciples. The most likely claim it’s to visit the patriarch.” The woman replied as she rose from her bow.
“Our Fu Clan is the strongest clan in the west, it should be the second.” The young man exited the clearing. As he stepped into the tree-line, he pressed a palm against the nearest tree and pushed. With a loud cracking sound the tree began to fall. It crashed into the tree beside it, and like a chain reaction, each tree that circling the clearing fell over like dominoes. The young man smiled and left the clearing with the woman following behind.