“That’s nuts,” Kevin laughed, shaking his head. Immortality didn’t sound so ridiculous if cultivators could become that powerful. Unless it was a myth, after all. Even then, it was nice to imagine.
“Well, far be it for me to say anything is impossible,” he continued, nodding to Brad. “What happened after that?”
“The Xi’anian emperor ascended,” Brad shrugged. “It took a few more centuries, but it’s said that he grew so powerful the heavens forced him to leave. Most believe that was the first ascension, paving the way for everyone afterward.
“And that’s when you reach immortality, right?” Kevin leaned forward, his tone eager. This was getting interesting.
Brad shrugged, “No one is certain, but that is the assumption. However, we don’t know if it’s the true peak or merely the foothills of another. It’s not like anyone’s come back to tell us about it.”
Grinning, Kevin leaned back and waved a hand. “Sweet, thanks for humoring me. I’ll let you get back to your story.”
“It’s no trouble,” Brad smiled in response. “Now. where was i was I? Ah, yes, the Xi’anan emperor had just ascended.”
“As you might expect, this left a serious power vacuum in Xi’an. We don’t know a lot about the struggle that ensued. However, we do know that the various factions involved recalled all of its far-flung legions.”
“I’m sure you can see how the conquered populations reacted to the sudden absence of armed soldiers,” Brad laughed, shaking his head. “Most, including the pre-Caldainian people, rose up and took back their land.”
“To answer your earlier question, yes, a decent quantity of cultivation knowledge was seized during this time.”
“Some of the local populace adopted such methods, with the bulk of them being partial descendants of the Xi’anian occupiers. My family, then called the Ha clan, were among them.”
A wistful look crossed Brian’s face as he talked about his original clan and sighed before continuing. “However, there was a massive stigma around both the practice of cultivation and those with Xi’anian blood.”
“This cultural bias would remain for almost a thousand years until the Second Great War. Once again, Xi’an had reunified, and its new emporer was eager to pick up where the previous one left off.”
“Once more, legions of cultivators marched forth, conquering all before them. This time, however, the outcome was different. Facing a world long prepared for this event, Xi’an’s legions faced a much harder time pushing through the Near East and Central nations.”
“Now bleeding strength, instead of growing in power, their armies were halted by a united coalition of the Mid Western countries. We held the line, and the native cultivator population was a massive part of that struggle.”
Kevin nodded eagerly, “Ah, so they changed from being reminders of a previous conquest to the heroes who stopped a second. Yeah, that would do it. So are those two world wars the source of the tension you mentioned?”
“Some of it,” Brad shrugged, “but there have been continued disputes up to the current day. One of the more recent conflicts destroyed our original capital and flattened the mountain that stood there.”
“Those wars and a few less intense trade struggles cause most of the political tension. Beyond that, however, many people have specific issues with those of Xi’anian blood. Despite all modern medicine can do, we’re still born with fewer cultivation blockages than most.”
“Furthermore, most of us have an easy time learning traditional styles. Considering that our ancestors used their own constitutions in the design, it’s hardly surprising.
“For those who maintain cultural or academic interests in Xi’an, it’s even worse. Some go so far as to call us traitors,” Brian glanced away as he finished, as if unable to meet Kevin’s eyes.
“Nonsense,” Kevin responded, voice filled with indignation. “That’s ridiculous without any evidence to back it up. I bet these people are just annoyed that they can’t call out the large clans with Xi’anian heritage. They’re just picking on anyone they can find an excuse for.”
“Maybe you’re right,” Brian chuckled as he turned back. Relief was stark on his face, along with a deep appreciation. “Thanks for that, I really needed to just talk through it with no one judging me.”
“No worries,” Kevin grinned, waving him off. “It was interesting and filled a gap in my cultural understanding. I’m here if you want to talk more, and I still don’t mind a wit about your goal.”
“Hell, if the timing’s right, I might come with you. Be an outside presence at the negotiations, as it were,” Kevin finished with a wink.”
Brian snorted in response, his massive body shaking with suppressed mirth. “God, that was the worst pun I’ve heard in weeks. I might even take you up on that, but for now, I need to get to classes. Thanks again.”
“See you around,” Kevin nodded, standing to clasp arms again before watching the other man walk away. Perhaps their ambitions were a better fit than he’d thought; this Xi’an must know a great deal about reaching the peak.
Still, that was a thought for another day. He had an afternoon free and a mountain of work to finish.
----------------------------------------
Before returning to his room, Kevin took a detour to the Fire courtyard and finished a single cultivation cycle. It felt like he was getting used to the pain of burning Fire Qi, though he couldn’t tell if that was a physical or mental adaption.
Then, he filled his afternoon with flag creation. After the arduous work on the first three flags, his brushwork had improved in leaps and bounds. Going slow was the key; it took far longer to redo an entire flag than doing it with care the first time.
This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.
He also had the added benefit of growing used to the containment pattern. The six flags had minor differences based on their ideal placement, but most of the underlying detail was the same.
With those advantages over the previous night, he finished the remaining flags for his first formation with time to spare. He just needed to do a last check for flaws.
Laying the flags out in the correct order, Kevin spent a good fifteen minutes going over the work again. Eventually, he relaxed with a deep sigh. They were as close as he was going to get.
A few had minor mistakes, but wouldn’t be worth replacing unless he had extra time. According to his notes, that level of incorrect detail should only reduce the formation’s efficiency rather than breaking it.
For now, beginning his next project was more important than chasing perfection.
With great care, he slotted the completed flags into a sealable storage tube before turning to the next page of notes. The containment formation had been the simplest pattern, with the attraction formation being a step harder.
It took Kevin long minutes of careful study, then more spent practicing the new characters before he was ready to attempt the first flag. With more complexity came additional shapes and symbols stuffed into the same space, reducing his margin of error.
His first two attempts met with failure, but he still finished the first flag before it was time to eat. Quite an improvement from how many times he’d messed up the first time he’d tried making one.
Downstairs, he found Gerard heading into the cafeteria ahead of him. However, the man only gave a terse greeting when he hurried off. The rejection stung, but Kevin forced himself to shake it off.
That was life; sometimes, people slipped apart. It seemed that friendship was a causality of his choices. Even knowing how things would turn out, he wouldn’t choose to give up the connections he’d made with Amelia and Brad for anything.
After dinner, he stepped out for a second round of Fire cultivation. He was creeping closer to the next grade and needed to keep up with his practice. His advancement was already slowing more than he’d have liked, but it was unavoidable with his class load.
At least the gaps meant he could focus on the added benefits of Fire Qi when he found the time for a session.
That evening, he finished one more flag before taking a break to study for TEC-109. His Qi shielding practical was the next day, and he wanted to be solid on the theory before arriving.
----------------------------------------
The TEC-109 practical class started at 9:00 AM, giving Kevin time to fit in breakfast, a round of cultivation, and some last-minute revision.
This time, the door at the Techniques building took him to a room reminiscent of a martial arts or dance studio. Padded mats covered the floor while ceiling-high mirrors reflected the student’s actions from every direction.
Instructor Li wasted no time splitting the students into eight pairs spread across the room. With arms behind her back, she strode along the line of students. “Today, you will be attempting the basic Qi Blocking technique for the first time. Each pair will take turns as the attacker and the defender throughout our class.”
“The disciple on the opposite side from me will begin as the attacker, the one on my side the defender. Attackers, you will perform single punches aimed at the defender’s face. Pull your strikes; we aren’t aiming to cause injury here.”
“For this initial class, you can rest your energy system while you attack. Later, we will introduce the additional complexity of shielding while striking. This is a key skill when facing any opponent with a bladed weapon.”
“I’m sure that none of you wish to lose an arm to a well-timed block,” Li chuckled, shaking her head.
After a long pause, Kevin realized she was waiting for a response. Most other students also caught on, joining him in hurried shouts of “No, Ma’am.”
“Excellent,” Li nodded, a brief smile flashing across her lips. “Now, defenders, you will be blocking each strike. I’ve told you where the attack will land, so you should be able to do so with little thought.”
“Instead, focus on lining the edge of your blocking arm with Qi. I explained the process in my previous lecture, which I’m sure all of you have revised.”
This time, the class responded faster, giving an almost unified “Yes, Ma’am.”
“That is all,” Li’s voice was flat as she finished. “You may have five minutes to warm up before starting.”
Left blinking at the sudden shift, Kevin recovered and hurried to follow the others in stretching. Thank god he was the attacker first; it was hard enough to keep the churning in his gut under control as it was.
He hadn’t considered that this would be his first time using his Qi for something. Gathering and storing it were processes he’d performed many times, but he’d never tried to take it out again.
Kevin knew it could be done; he’d seen the passive flow that maintained the benefits of his advancement. But he’d never tried to direct the flow. Part of it was concern over something going wrong, while the rest was not having a technique to practice.
This Qi Blocking technique solved the second issue, and having a more advanced cultivator around helped a little with the first. Despite that, he couldn’t shake the worry that everything would go wrong.
“James,” a cheerful voice said, breaking Kevin out of his mental spiral.
Blinking, Kevin looked up to find his partner standing across from him with an extended arm. Had they run out of warm-up time already?
“Kevin,” he responded, forcing a grin onto his face as he clasped arms. “Let’s work together to get this down.”
“Sure thing!” James smiled back before shifting sideways into a defensive stance. The position minimized the man’s profile while keeping his left arm in front of his face. The right floated loose by his chest, likely unneeded since he wouldn’t be striking back.
It was a stance a little reminiscent of the Sinking Sands he’d seen Elder Johnson demonstrate but looked more stable. At a guess, he’d say James’ style was meant for holding his ground rather than darting about.
Kevin moved into his basic front-on stance and readied himself to strike. A few moments later, Li gave the command, and he launched a jab at James’ face.
James’ front arm moved like lightning as it dropped, rather than blocking as he’d expected. Kevin’s throat tightened at the thought he’d hit the man; then the other disciple’s arm swung in and upward in a circular parry.
The added momentum deflected Kevin’s strike past his fellow student’s shoulder, leaving him wide open for a return strike. With wide eyes, he watched James’ back arm tense and then relax.
Licking his lips, Kevin pulled his arm back and reset. That would have been nasty in an actual fight. With a single twist, James could have launched a knockout hard right through his defenses.
Tomorrow’s martial arts practice would be critical if he wanted any hope of surviving past the first few seconds of a fight.
“Harder than I thought,” James muttered, staring at his arm in consternation. “Go again; I think I know what I did wrong.”
“Right,” Kevin nodded, “Just call out the strikes as you want them. I wouldn’t want to hit you when you’re thinking.”
In the end, it took most of the next twenty minutes and several tips from Li for James to produce a sheath of QI during his block. “About bloody time,” the man sighed, sweat clear on his face.
“I never thought pushing Qi out of my skin would be so hard. Getting it to my arm’s no harder than a normal technique, but it really doesn’t want to come out.”
“Correct, Mr. Marsh,” Li flickered into visibility past James’ shoulder. “There is a reason most incantation users release spells from their palms. Certain areas of the body are natural termination points for Qi discharges.”
“The inner or outer edges of your arm are not examples of this. Continued practice will make the process easier as you carve dedicated channels for the technique. The more you push, the better your results are.”
“Now,” Li continued, turning to Kevin. “You’ve earned a break. Swap, and give your partner a turn.”
Taking a deep breath, Kevin circled around James until they were facing again in opposite positions. Now, he was the one with his back to the instructor, and Li seemed in no hurry to move on.
Damn, he was going to have a witness for his first attempt. On the upside, he’d get the corrections he needed sooner.
On the downside, it was going to be embarrassing as hell.