"You did well," Elder Shadow admitted after the illusion had been dispelled and the area returned to an archery range. "Archery will certainly be part of your repertoire. I think for your main weapon you should consider using a Tessen. It works with wind easily, and if you can find a technique that blends wind and water to form lightning, it would work as both a ranged and melee weapon."
"A Tessen?" I asked never having heard that term before.
"It was originally a decorative device, a fan that could be opened or closed to regulate airflow, but some crafty individuals saw the potential. The spines of the Tessen are razor sharp and can be released to be thrown. They work as both darts and throwing daggers. The outer spins are reinforced and razor-sharp," he explained.
"They really are more than decorative accouterments?" I said still not certain. "I've seen women and men dancing with them at festivals. The silkscreen prints detailed and beautiful, but as weapons?"
"All spirit weapons can be formidable with the right technique. Most people that use fans or scarves as weapons are looked down upon, mistakenly. Those that are truly skilled with the weapon are the deadliest martial artists that exist. The fan is versatile, it would satisfy your desire to use ranged techniques, and with the right technique, you would be able to control each rib of the weapon, using them like throwing daggers.
"And a fan is versatile enough to be used as a melee weapon if and when someone gets within range. The ribs can be separated, but they can also be combined. A skilled fan dancer, a Tessenjutsuist is a deadly enemy. If we combine that with a powerful movement technique you should be the equal of Braun and his ilk relatively soon," the Elder promised.
I didn't have anything against his suggestion. I wasn't familiar enough with weapon types to know if there was something else that might suit me better. The fan at least satisfied my desire for range, and he was allowing me to continue with archery which surprised and delighted me. I thought very few cultivators practiced this skill, most preferring spears when hunting.
"After dinner, visit Library Hall and ask Elder Cix for suggestions on Archery, Tessen, and Movement techniques. Make sure to find a Fan technique that is versatile enough to include attack, range, and defense as part of the forms you will need to master. And make sure to remind the Elder that you have been rewarded with access to Elder An's private techniques."
"Elder An's techniques will be stored at the library?" I asked surprised.
"Every Elder is required by the Sect to make a copy of any techniques they have available to the librarian, even secret techniques. It keeps knowledge from being lost if the worse happens and an Elder should die," he affirmed.
"We swear oaths on our cultivation to make sure that everyone conforms to this requirement. No one would risk Heavenly Tribulation and the chance of losing our cultivation when you consider Library Hall is well protected by arrays and Elder Cix."
"Enough of that," he said cutting off any further questions I might have. "For the rest of the morning, we'll work on integrating your Qi with your body. Some of the leaps you used moving from branch to branch, were well done, but if you had managed to flood your muscles and bones with Qi, you would have had an easier time.
"You also would have been able to jump higher, move faster, and use a bow with a higher draw strength. So, you will spend the rest of the morning running.
"But don't think that the running you will do here is comparable to what you are used too. The track around Training Hall has unique properties. It adjusts gravity based on your performance. The faster you are the higher the gravity becomes.
"I will give you a jade token that will monitor your output instead of depending on the pedestrian settings the track offers. It will decide when to increase gravity based on how well you are using Qi, your body is adapting, and the effort you are displaying. Be aware," he warned, "the jade token can also tell when you are slacking off or not performing to your maximum potential. It will increase gravity just short of crushing pressures as punishment and inducement.
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"This is an effective measure for building muscle in your legs and expanding your breath control. The other unique property of the jade token has to do with Qi. Your body will be monitored, and if you let the Qi in your legs lapse, you will be unable to advance. A dense field of Qi will form, a bubble of energy trapping you like a bug in molasses, the gravity will increase and make it impossible for you to continue. Until Qi is restored to your legs, the Qi bubble will remain."
The track was actually on the second level. It had been created much like a mezzanine, allowing runners to run laps and watch those training and fighting in the arenas below. I was surprised to see how many people were using the facility.
"Is there a limit on how many people can use the track before the gravity array is affected?" I asked.
"There is an upper limit, but it is in the hundreds. There have never been more than a dozen or so people using the track at the same time, so we've never had an issue," Elder Shadow assured me.
"Why are so many people running? I don't recognize any of the new members, shouldn't these people have already trained their Qi and body?" I asked.
"Until they break through the Body Refining Realm, they will continue to train. Each incremental increase in refinement requires a person to adapt. The body changes as you advance, so Qi training has to change to align with the body.
"You will be using these facilities daily," he said.
"Will," I began before he interrupted me.
"No more questions. Now is the time for running. You can ask more questions once you've managed one lap," he promised as he handed me a jade token that was tethered to a leather string.
One lap? Measuring the distance visually, I thought the track might be about a quarter-mile. Unless spatial arrays were also embedded in the structure that increased the length as you ran, I should be able to knock out a lap quickly. Moving to the holding platform that allowed those to enter and exit the track, I tied the token around my neck and began to run, merging unto the track proper within fifty feet.
As soon as I stepped onto the area designated as the track, the gravity hit. I'm not sure how much higher this initial step was, perhaps half as much more than I was used too. It wasn't debilitating, I could still move. But the next step increased again, and then again and again. After ten steps I was almost crushed under the effect. The bubble that Elder Shadow had mentioned formed, and I was frozen in place.
It was eerily similar to the bubble of amber that Braun had been trapped in when he'd triggered the theft array, I only hoped I wouldn't be stuck here, Elder Shadow hadn't mentioned what would happen in that event. There had to be a failsafe to help students that weren't successful. I was almost certain the Sect wouldn't abandon members, but there was that small voice in the back of my head saying that a sink or swim policy seemed something a Water-based Sect would practice.
"I told you, you needed to flood your legs with Qi, it is the only way to keep the increases of gravity to a manageable level," Elder Shadow reminded me. I hadn't noticed him following, but I felt a deep sense of relief and appreciation that he had.
"The process is similar to when you cultivate, the difference is that you don't replenish Qi by drawing it in through your meridians. You use the Qi that you have already stored in your Dantian, cycling it and re-cycling it throughout your body," he explained giving me direction and a method to concentrate on.
"Another benefit of this technique is the stored Qi will become more refined as you cycle the same energies over and over. By not introducing new Qi your body is forced to purify the energy you have stored until it becomes condensed and free of pollutants.
"When you cultivate tonight, that refined energy will alter your soul realm, removing any of the impurities you'd accumulated throughout the day while breathing or eating."
"Transcend the Heavenly Footpath cultivation method has two parts," I explained to Elder Shadow, "the first part draws in Qi and condenses it in the Dantian, the second moves that stored energy to my Soul realm. Should I ignore the second stage and only cycle the first part since I am trying to refine the Qi stored in the Dantian?"
Elder Shadow allowed a small scintilla of respect to show before answering. "Your luck may not be the best, but your intelligence may make up for that deficit.
"Yes," He agreed. "You need to cycle the first revolution continuously while training like this, but remember, do not attempt to absorb Qi, that part of the cycle should be restricted as well. Ignore the second part of the cycle until you are in meditation tonight."
Learning how to open and close my meridians had been necessary, closing them all and keeping them from absorbing Qi was easy even this early in my training.