The sun is a fickle creature. On some mornings its gentle light can feel like the caress of a loving mother. On other mornings its piercing brightness can awake the dead. This morning belonged to the latter category.
“Agh, son of a gold miner,” he growled while rolling out of bed. His bruised and battered body contrasted with the whiteness of his sheets. The bloodied clothing however, looked quite fitting.
He shrugged them over his body with a half amused grin. “It seems I’m destined to never wear nice clothing,” he mused.
The rough material caused his wounds to sting but after some minor adjustments it was more bearable.
He lit the center cooking pot and filled it with some river water. After patiently waiting for it to boil, he placed his usual concoction of mint and green tea leaves. Getting the correct balance was key to achieving a perfect mix of calming and refreshing.
Tea in hand, he grabbed his sack full of manuals and stepped out the door. Though it was not yet noon, the sun had already risen fairly high in the sky. It was a later start than usual for Niu.
“To cultivate is to train the body, spirit, and mind. Training starts from the inside out. I should find a secluded area to train in, without any outside distractions.” Niu pondered aloud.
Most disciples enjoyed training along the riverside. It was a long river whose body wound spiraling down from the top of the mountain to the bottom. This allowed disciples of every level to interact alongside it. Such interaction led to bartering, fights, romance, friendship – all good things, all distracting things.
What Niu wanted was pure isolation for absolute focus on cultivation. He could not strut around as he pleased until he had the power to overcome any obstacle.
Niu broke off from the standard path and began wandering up the mountain, looking for any sort of secluded grotto or isolated rock formation. If it became necessary, he could cut down trees and make his own clearing.
Eventually he stumbled upon a flat slate crevice between two giant boulders. There were about 5 meters of room between the two, and the alley went back for nearly twice that. The boulders were hidden by a copse of great trees with thick branches and low hanging vines.
Settling down in the middle of the alley, Niu took out his first book – The Divine Behemoth Method. He became excited realizing this book was the first cultivation manual he would read on his cultivation journey.
It took him several hours to study it thoroughly. He read it front to back, then took a breath and started all over again. It was important to understand the essence of this technique beyond simply following the instructions. To this end, Niu made steady progress.
As described within the book, an Enlightenment Stage practitioner first created the Divine Behemoth Method. It was actually a part of his original enlightenment. This practitioner was the chieftain of a small tribe, known as the Red Horn Tribe. Like all steppe tribes of the Central Continent, the Red Horn Tribe lived by following a Divine Behemoth. They would raise livestock and hang homes under the protection of its great body and in return for its protection they would grow herbs on its back.
The people of the steppes had a symbiotic relationship with the Divine Behemoths. It is perhaps due to this close relationship that Baloth, the founder of this method, was able to gain enlightenment from these beasts.
The Divine Behemoth is the largest land beast in the world. Divine Behemoth’s at rest are often mistaken for mountains; this mistake is more understandable when one realizes that they may sleep for centuries. It is not an exaggeration to say that the power of a single Divine Behemoth rivals that of a Great Sect within the Eastern Continent, where Niu lived. It was due to this fearsome strength that no nation had ever conquered the steppes.
“Feel the power of the Heavens and Earth, refine its essence into the purest form,” said Niu.
He sat cross-legged with his back straight and his hands resting palm upwards on his knees. Each breath was powerful and deep like the waves of the ocean. Slowly, a strand of yellow qi began to form above his hands.
Tiny, transparent, formless even – but radiating a power that seemed boundless. As instructed by the manual, he brought the strand of qi inside his body and circulated it through his meridians.
Wherever the qi passed became purified by its energy. In the body refining stage, one could not yet store qi inside the body. What one could do was remove the impurities of the body and seek its perfect mortal form.
The previous owner of Niu’s body had already reached the second stage of Body Refining. Therefore, his muscles had already been purified and his bones were halfway purified.
Thus as the qi moved through Niu’s body it had no effect on the muscles but it would cause a black ooze to seep from his bones. The ooze was the impurities of his body in a highly condensed, liquid form.
Every time some of this liquid came out, the strand of qi in his body would dissipate slightly. After half a rotation through his body, the strand of qi had been completely used up. In return, not even a raindrop worth of the black ooze had been discharged.
Niu sat there covered in sweat but full of energy. Cultivating was a unique experience in that one would feel both fatigued and invigorated by it. “How incredible,” muttered Niu as he admired his current state. The semblance of a grin appeared on his face as he methodically inhaled through his nose.
Once again he began forming a strand of qi above his palms. Last time the strand he formed could not finish a full rotation, so this time he wanted to make it stronger.
He turned both palms towards each other and forced the two weak strands to combine. The fusing of two strands caused the color to go from a faint yellow to a lustrous gold. Its luster reminded Niu of the heroic dragon he had seen when he tested his elemental affinity.
He drew this new strand into his body and guided it through his meridians. Once again, the golden qi caused a black liquid to seep out of his bones. As the liquid was expunged, his bones became more white and shone with vibrancy.
After one full rotation the strand had dissipated completely and Niu let out a slow breath. The black liquid was so thick this time that a thin layer of gunk had congealed on the outside of his body. It mixed with his sweat to create a foul stench.
His body felt utterly drained. While cultivating was for the purpose of increasing one’s qi, in the immediate it served more to deplete energy than anything else.
Niu relaxed his form and leaned against the rock wall behind him. Its cool surface felt wondrous against his hot back.
“Two rotations per session seem to be my limit for now, “mused Niu.
What separated a talented cultivator from a mediocre one was how many rotations they could make before growing too tired, as well as, how many impurities they could remove per rotation.
For Niu, it was hard to say whether or not he had any talent in these categories because he did not know what was considered average. He brushed these thoughts aside knowing what he had not control over was not worth rumination.
“Next is…” Niu mumbled as he reached into the brown leather bag. In his left hand he pulled out an old tome labeled Momentum of the Bison. He flipped open to the first page and began reading.
“The Momentum of the Bison is an earthen take of the water element’s Tidal Swords. The Tidal Swords form is a renowned form used by swordsman and water martial artists alike. It focuses on the waxing and waning power of the tide. In this sense, one can build a fearsome rhythm where one can rapidly alternate between dominating strikes and passive retreats. Many swordsmen rely on this technique for dueling, though it is lacking in fighting a crowd.
Momentum of the Bison has the same theory of building up a momentum but differs from the water form in a critical way. It lacks the passive retreat.
Even the most fearsome of waves appear calm during their retreat from the beach. Thus the Tidal Waves sword form involves swift and powerful strikes, complimented with graceful and calm recoveries. It’s defense focuses on defusing the enemy’s attacks, while its offense focuses on various deadly cuts.
In contrast, the bison of the Central Steppes is an incredibly powerful beast. They can weigh up to 6 tons and have an exceptional amount of bone and muscle in the front half of their body. Their legs and behind are built more for acceleration and jumping than anything else.
Unlike most four legged mammals, they do not tend to kick behind them if snuck up on. Steppe tribes know this and will only try to hunt these bison from behind where the protection is weakest. It can be seen that the bison have a very large and obvious flaw in their defense.
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Yet all tribesmen know to avoid the older bison for they have learned how to deal with this flaw. When approached by a hunter the older bison will act ignorant and pretend to try and run away like the young bison. Yet once the hunter is close enough the bison will drop low and spin around suddenly, goring the ignorant hunter and tossing him aside.
The martial form Momentum of the Bison imitates the older bison. Crush forward with dominating force and turn rapidly to protect one’s flank. This form is not meant for swords and daggers, but axes and hammers. It is not meant for knife-hand strikes and finger jabs, but punching and grappling.
Niu thought this form was perfectly suited for him. As the mere thought of retreating in front of a human appalled Niu, he would much rather force his way forward and gore any coward who approached him from behind. Only a form such as this one would assuage his ego born from his past life.
After reading the manual a few times, Niu began to practice the first form. This involved a series of four steps and five strikes. The steps involved an advance, two turns, and a stop. The advance was for building power, the turns were for protecting one’s back, and the stance was for blocking power.
First he practiced the advance step, slow and heavy like the sauntering over a bison. The step was purposeful but not rushed.
Next were the turns, quick rotations that did not change one’s position so much as what they were facing.
Last he practiced the stance, legs spread wide and arms blocking the front of the body.
He practiced each step in turn, making sure he understood how to transition from one to the other. The most difficult for him were the turns. He struggled to do them as swiftly the manual required. Advancing, however, was very much to his liking. His center of gravity was always centered despite the forward motion.
Niu continued this training for a long while. The secluded rock alley became his mental battlefield as he imagined enemy after enemy around him. He closed his eye and weaved around them, being sure to face each enemy with the front of his body and advance with heavy steps.
Seconds turned to minutes and minutes turned to hours. He trained until his body was sweating more profusely than it had been from his cultivation earlier. His body was growing exhausted but with this fatigue came a level of focus. To preserve his energy Niu made each movement more carefully, being sure to waste as little energy as possible.
As the sun passed over the trees nothing could be seen but a great shadow rushing along the rocks. Its movements were steady and powerful, like the advance of a phalanx army. It’s turns were sharp and deadly, like an eagle diving towards its prey. Its stops were solemn and weighty, like the glare of a dragon.
The goal of this repetitive training was to beat the form into Niu’s body. In a combat situation there is no time to think, every action must be muscle memory. Niu’s repetitive training was based on this truth.
To some this training may seem boring but Niu was addicted to the progression of his new body. Even the greatest of men are easily intoxicated by the euphoria of power.
Only after he had reached the point where he could smoothly transition between all the steps did he take a break. Fortunately, Niu had already prepared some tea beforehand that he brought along with him.
He sat down complacently and took a sip of his tea. Niu was not too worried about learning the head butt technique; it was mostly just applying qi to the forehead upon impact. The only difficult part was mastering the timing of the skill during an actual combat situation.
An actual combat situation - now there was an interesting thought. Despite all the high and mighty preaching of Daoism and its focus on compassion and understanding, all cultivators trained diligently in the art of killing. It seems the greatest of Daoists are also the greatest of killers. It was a contradictory cycle.
How important then is it for him to sit in a class and ponder the Dao given to him by experienced killers? Should he listen to lessons bequeathed by seniors in the way of living who have also mastered the way of killing? Perhaps the greatest lessons could only be learned through action and not acquired vicariously.
Once more, this was a topic that Niu could not fully understand. He realized that struggle was integral to the path of immortals and that combat was the purest form of struggle. Jealous and desirous cultivators will not ignore humble and selfless ones if they have anything of value. Niu did not want to be some empty cultivator who called himself a master by avoiding all conflict.
“It seems there is a limit to training in seclusion like this,” he determined. While learning cultivation methods and studying a form could be done in secret, they could only be perfected in combat. The nuances of battle could never be fully compiled in the lifeless pages of a tome.
Decision made, Niu headed home with his belongings slung casually over his shoulder. Today the foundation had been laid, tomorrow he will place the pillars.
~
The rhythmic sound of flash beating flesh sent a chill down Niu’s spine. He had strolled over to the training field in the early morning to watch some free sparring between the senior disciples. What he saw left his heart cold.
A single glance was all it took for Niu to understand that he was thoroughly outmatched here. All of these disciples had been training for years and were near the peak of body refinement.
“Did you want to join in?” a loud baritone voice questioned.
Niu turned his head to see a stout looking boy staring down at him. The boy, perhaps man is a better description, was solidly built and had eyes darker than coffee beans. His hair was pitch black and his arms were decorated with colorful bruises.
He appeared the very picture of functional muscle. It was a stark contrast to Niu’s near sickly pale skin and zombie-like yellow eyes.
“Uhm, I did, yes, senior,” he mumbled quietly.
The man gave Niu an appraising glance. “I think you should wait a few years before joining us,” he advised. “What are you? Sixteen? Fifteen?
“Fifteen, senior.”
“I figured. Most of us here are in our twenties and have already reached the final stage of Body Refinement. Our strength is roughly double yours and our experience is even more so. Do you understand why it is foolish for you to join us?” he finished.
Many of the other senior disciples had stopped what they were doing to watch the conversation. It was not often that a junior disciple attempted to peak in on their sparring sessions but when they did Jarok always warned them away. The few times his warnings were ignored the disciple went home black and blue. Sometimes the experience would scar a disciple and trouble them during future breakthroughs. Peace of mind and self-confidence was of vital importance to a cultivator.
Niu struggled for a moment. It wasn’t that he feared taking a beating so much as he disliked so many people staring at him. Such attention made him truly uncomfortable.
“This junior understands…” said Niu passively.
Jarok smiled in response, he disliked watching the younger disciples getting hurt.
“But I would still like to participate.” Niu finished.
The surrounding seniors grew silent before revealing wolfish grins. This foolish disciple had ignored Jarok’s kindhearted warnings. The rest of them weren’t so kind.
Jarok sucked in a breath, gave Niu a pitying look. After a shrug he just wandered back to his training partner and began trading blows again.
Though Niu had ignored his warnings, he was still grateful to this senior.
“Hey kid,” a nasally voice spoke, “I’ll be your partner.”
To his right Niu noticed a skinny man with skin pale like his own and venomous green eyes. His nose was long and curved while his eyes shone with a threatening glint.
Niu took a deep breath.
“Please advise me senior!” said Niu cupping his hands.
The snakelike man appeared startled then grinned the most unattractive of grins. He briefly cupped his own hands in response.
The two faced off from each other about an arm’s length away. As soon as both of them took their stance, the sparring session would begin.
Niu took the neutral stance from his form, focused on stopping power. His legs were spread wide, his knees bent slightly, and his arms were blocking parallel before him. It was a fairly ordinary stance in the eyes of the seniors. The face was protected and the weight was centered.
The snake-like man took a stance that contrasted sharply with Niu’s. He stood upright and began bouncing lightly. His arms were higher up on his body but too far forward to be of use defensively.
The man shot forward with lightning quick speed. His palm tilted downwards so that only the fingers were pointing towards Niu and launched his right arm forward.
Before Niu had a chance to react a gut wrenching pain wracked his body. He stumbled backward and resisted the urge to throw up. His opponent had already returned his hands to their former position and was eyeing Niu like a python would a mouse.
Niu rubbed his stomach with his left hand and felt a fresh bruise forming. The skin around the bruise had split and the injury inside was likely even worse. Already he realized how badly outmatched he was but this was Niu’s first fight. There was no way he was going to quit before landing a blow.
Niu stepped forward, in the steady pace described in the Momentum of the Bison manual. Once he was within arm’s reach of his opponent once more he threw a heavy punch with his right fist. It was a big swing, staring from his shoulder and it contained his full body weight. Every motion was by the book.
The snakelike man sneered and casually swerved to the left. At the same time, he slapped Niu’s fist downward. This deflection left the right side of Niu’s body completely exposed and within a second a second finger jab slammed into Niu’s ribs.
His bones shuddered under the weight of the blow. He gasped and bit down on his lip to prevent himself from screaming out. Thankfully he had reinforced his bones yesterday or his condition would be even worse. This only reinforced the importance of cultivation to Niu.
Their fight continued in a similar manner for another 30 seconds. Each time Niu would step forward and throw a large powerful swing, only for it to be easily deflected by his agile opponent. In the gap between those swings, his opponent would stab his fingers into Niu’s ribcage. Each stab would reveal and all new expression of pain on Niu’s face.
Finally, the man grew bored of this game and threw a finger jab at Niu’s throat.
Despite full intentions to block, the fingers slipped between his forearms and struck him solidly below the Adam’s apple.
Jarok looked on with a resigned frown as Niu toppled over and coughed violently. He gasped and heaved, even spitting out a pink mixture of blood and saliva. To his amazement, the boy never threw up.
Slowly, Niu stood up once more.
The snakelike man raised an eyebrow then took his stance once more. Niu’s ability to withstand his last blow was embarrassing to him. He had intended to end the fight with that.
To his surprise, Niu did not take a stance but instead cupped his hands and bowed. “This junior thanks senior for his guidance and leniency.” Niu croaked.
The snake-like man hesitated for a moment before cupping his own hands in response. This time he meant the gesture. He pointed towards a crooked tree to the side of the platform.
“Why don’t you rest up in the shade for now, perhaps watching me spar with the other’s will be insightful?” His nasally voice took a softer tone as he said this.
Not only had Niu taken a harsh beating without complaint but he had even thanked his opponent. Furthermore, he had said that the man was being lenient as to make the others think that Niu would not have been able to stand up if his opponent went all out. This was an unnecessary kindness that would improve the snakelike man’s face among his peers.
“I guess he’s tougher than we thought, eh Sarcom?” Jarok said.
The snakelike man smiled, “looks like we have a cute new junior to beat on for a while.”
They both showed grins that walked a line between respect and sadism.
Sitting down in the shade Niu felt a chill go down his spine. He looked up to see all the seniors staring at him with evil intentions.
“I wonder what I did wrong?” he mumbled mournfully.