He was a blazing fire.
A set of forms appeared in his mind, each clear and distinct. They were difficult, but that had never stopped him. Indeed, they were the only ones worthy of his majesty.
He went through the forms, each more difficult than the last. They were not too much for his brilliance, of course, and he had practised them enough times that he could use them in his sleep.
He jumped in the air, wings propelling him even higher.
[Imperial Phoenix Scorching the Heavens]
A large panther materialised beneath him all of a sudden, wrongly thinking him prey. With a snort, he landed, the full force of his technique strengthening his claws enough to penetrate the beast's hide with ease.
That was only the beginning of course. His qi, hot as it was, ravaged the panther with a fury. It could only last for a few seconds after which it simply fell to the ground, both its qi and energy burnt away to the point of exhaustion.
Xiao Ji blinked, and the world twisted around him. When he opened his eyes again, he was once more in the room with his master.
He looked at the jade slips in front of him with some wariness. That was certainly a far more intense experience than the time he had learnt the technique that helped him speak. The emotions he had felt, especially the cold arrogance, were clearly not his own. Having to feel someone else’s emotions was not something he was really comfortable with.
“How did you find it?”
It took a few seconds before he trusted himself to speak.
“That was perhaps the most disconcerting thing I have experienced,” he admitted truthfully. “As for the technique, it is certainly effective and suitable for me, from what I saw. But I will have to see the others before I can decide.”
Truth be told, the arrogance he had shown in the vision made him feel slightly uncomfortable with the whole thing. Which was why he would rather not choose it.
Immediately. His master nodded in agreement, then gestured to the other slips.
With some anxiety, he directed his qi into the second one, and once more, the world around him changed.
*
He was the earth, immovable.
Once more various forms and motions, including ways of moving qi flowed into his mind. In the distance, a panther charged at him. He could feel its footsteps vibrating on the earth.
Yet as the massive cat charged at him, teeth ready to cut off his head, he remained standing there.
[Immovable Mountain Holding the Forte]
Flight was not something he had been blessed with, at least not long distance like other birds. So he embraced the earth, his movements firm as he went through the motions of the technique.
As the panther was about to hit him, he jumped, meeting the charge head on. His wing smashed into the panther’s face, sending it spiralling to the side.
It arrested its fall and came at him once more. It tried to use its paws this time, but they were just as easily deflected. Just when it looked like it was about to try something else, he lunged at it, claws strengthened by the earth finding purchase on the panther’s throat.
The windpipe was crushed with eases, the strength in his claws too much for it.
Once more, the panther died and Xiao Ji soon found himself back in the room with his Master.
*
“How was it?” his master asked once more.
He felt much better this time, partly due to the less intense emotions.
“It was a more comfortable experience. As for the technique, it is quite powerful, and I would certainly not mind good defence. However, I suspect it might not fit with my fighting style.
He received a nod once more.
His qi flowed into the third one and he entered yet another jade slip.
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*
He was the water, overflowing.
The panther charged, trying to cut him down. The rooster laughed, for who could cut down water.
[Endless River Splitting the Earth]
With the help of the technique, avoiding the panther's charge was as easy as breathing. His movements flowed smoothly, and his opponent could find no flaws in them. He continued the game for a short while before getting bored.
His claws and spurs split the panther’s neck open, ushering in a fountain of blood.
Once more, the world changed.
*
“Thoughts?” the old man simply asked.
“It is a great technique. I am not partial to water, but it fits quite nicely with my movement style.”
Another nod.
The last jade slip lay in front of him. It was the one that had been picked first, from among the scrolls.
Ji wondered what it would be. Perhaps another element.
*
He was hunted, defiant.
Around him was a thick forest with little light, the perfect habitat for a panther. It ran at him under the cover of the night, well hidden from most senses. It was chasing him however, and he felt it.
He was being hunted, something that could certainly not escape his notice.
A technique entered his mind, and he prepared himself for what was to come. It only took a few moments for his hunter to arrive.
[Lowly Carp Overcoming the Dragon]
He went into the fight with the knowledge that he was the underdog, yet he did not falter.
The technique’s fighting style was wild. It was a desperate type of wildness, closer to the frantic struggling of a cornered animal than to a blazing fire.
When the panther finally reached him, he welcomed it with a combination of kicks and scratches. Each one left a line of blood on its skin. The panther kept coming, and he dodged, his movements seemingly erratic.
Though the way he moved appeared random, there was a rhythm to it, and he followed the technique’s guidance as he slipped past the panther. He took a hit at some point, but even his durability was enhanced, and so he was unharmed.
It went on for a little while before the big cat suddenly slowed down dramatically. Though it was not obvious immediately, something about his hits caused them to slowly drain the power out of his opponent’s injuries. By the time he walked forward to kill it, it was too weak to even defend itself.
The world shifted once more.
*
Xiao Ji felt a strange resonance when he regained his senses, and a part of him was already forming a suspicion.
“You have finished going through the jade slips,” his master observed. “You will now have to make a choice. Remember, whatever technique you chose will start laying the foundation towards your future path. Think on whatever choice you make.”
He nodded in agreement before looking back at the jade slips and considering. The four slips had shown him four different paths he could use to become strong enough to beat the panther with relative ease. They each seemed to have different strengths too.
The first technique, [Imperial Phoenix Chasing the Heavens], was the most obviously powerful of them. It looked impressive, and he certainly could not deny its effectiveness. He was still wary about choosing it though. None of the others had affected his emotions so strongly, which was odd.
“During the first vision, the feelings of arrogance were far more intense than anything else in the others. Is it something I should worry about.”
“I was wondering whether you would ask that,” his master nodded in approval. ”The technique was put down by a phoenix. They are far more adept at transferring things down into jade slips. It is only natural that their emotions are more intense. As for the arrogance, well, they are phoenixes, so it should not be surprising to anyone.
The mention of the phoenix made Ji look at the technique in a different light. From what he knew about them, they stood at the apex of all avian species. One scroll described them as the avian equivalent to dragons. Of course it did say you should never actually say that in front of either race.
He had discarded up a trait that could have possibly given him a phoenix bloodline before. That made this technique even more tempting in a way.
The second technique was likely the one he could most easily discard, all things considered. There was nothing inherently wrong with [Immovable Mountain Holding the Forte], but he just could not see himself fitting it into his fighting style. Especially when contrasted against the other options.
There was also the fact that it took advantage of the fact that he was not good at flight. Perhaps there were chickens who had come to terms with their situation that this technique would be perfect for, he did not know. What he did know, however, was that he had every intention of flying one day. Picking a technique that rejected the dream of flying and embraced the ground ran counter to this. His limited knowledge about the Dao and cultivation paths made him suspect such things like that could cause serious issues in the future.
The third technique was actually something he liked a lot. Mostly for how well it fit into his style. The smoothness of his movements was certainly something that he would love to have permanently. He was still a little unsure whether it would be better than the first technique though.
An interesting dilemma, it seemed.
His eyes finally came to rest on the last technique he had checked. Instead of following the pattern of using elements as the basis for the technique, [Lowly Carp Overcoming the Dragon] used something completely different.
In a way, it showed him that cultivation paths could be varied and based on intangible things.
On the surface, the technique seemed a little weaker. It was definitely the one that had taken the longest amount of time to defeat the panther. Yet he noticed how it managed to give him a bit of everything, even though it did not have the same specialisation the others did. The wildness of the fighting style was certainly one that would be jarring enough to even grant him victory in some cases.
At the end of the day though, while those were great, he was not quite sure they were enough to make it the superior choice.
He stared at the three technique slips that were left after he dismissed [Immovable Mountain Holding the Forte]. Each of them was great in their own right, capable of increasing his ability to survive fights.
They all called to him, each speaking of wonderful abilities he knew would be available to him if he chose them. He wanted them all. Alas, it was not to be of course.
For he could only take one.