"Grandpa Gui," Yang Xuan started - this man was easily old enough to be his grandfather in either of his lives. "I am Yang Xuan! Could you be kind enough to take this young child as your disciple?" he requested. Gui paused. "I do not have a choice," he declared. Yang Xuan was rather puzzled. "Pardon?" he requested.

"You have bound the ring to you; therefore, you have become its master. And by extension, you have become my master, as well. If you wish for me to mentor you, then I shall," Gui explained. At that moment, Yang Xuan felt so joyous he almost cried. Finally, he was making progress. Finally, he was getting somewhere. Finally, he could see himself becoming a cultivator.

He did not cry, however, as he felt it would not make the best of impressions on his new mentor. "Then, please! Teach me about cultivation!" Yang Xuan pleaded. "Regarding that, if you wish to receive guidance in the field of cultivation, I must warn you. You are one of the most talentless individuals I have ever beheld. Your lack of talent is to the point it is remarkable. Are you certain you still want to walk this path, knowing that it is fraught with difficulties, and that even if you overcome those difficulties, you will eventually reach a bottleneck you are simply incapable of breaking through?" Gui asked, his tone uninsulting - he was simply stating the facts.

Yang Xuan looked him in the eye. This look was one Gui had seen before, one he would never forget, one he had never forgot. It was a look of defiance. It was a look that burned with the flames of struggle. This look, it was born of ignorance, idealistic naiveness. Even knowing this, Gui found it beautiful, just like he had before - when he saw it in that woman's eyes. Gui could never deny such a look; it conveyed resolve to powerful to accept refusal. Even if the Heavens themselves decreed this boy could never cultivate, if they finally began caring enough to properly enforce their laws, such a person would still try, would still defy even in the face of an unstoppable force.

"I am certain," Yang Xuan calmly asserted. It did not show on his vaporous face, but Gui smiled, "Then I shall teach you. I, Danxiao Gui, take Yang Xuan as my disciple!"

"Then, Disciple, answer me this. What is qi?" Gui began. Yang Xuan collected his thoughts for a moment, and then answered, "Qi is vital energy. It is part of every living thing, and everything circulates qi. When a creature's circulation of qi is compromised, the health of said creature will decline."

"Excellent, now define cultivation," Gui ordered. "Cultivation is an act of defying the Heavens, where a mortal being cultivates the qi inside and around him. A mortal refines and purifies their qi in his dantian, and he balances its flow throughout his meridians, thus gaining power beyond what the Heavens intended for mortals to ever be capable of achieveing."

"Hm, how old are you? You are more knowledgeable than I had expected, especially considering you're in such a backwater kingdom," Gui asked. He could still sense and control qi, albeit to a much lower extent that he once could have. Nevertheless, that tiny fraction of his power allowed him to conclude that all the cultivators in this kingdom were extremely weak compared to the cultivators from his era. "I am five, Master Gui-" Yang Xuan started, but Gui interrupted, "Please, continue calling me grandpa. I prefer that."

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Yang Xuan spoke again, "As I said, I am five, Grandpa Gui. However" - for a few moments, Yang Xuan debated telling Gui the truth - "I am simply well-read for my age, thanks to the generosity of a certain merchant." He decided against it as he had not known Gui for long enough to trust him. Yet - if, when, he began to trust Gui, he would tell him.

Gui continued testing his basic knowledge of cultivation; he asked him about the meridians, the dantians, the acupoints, savage beasts and much more. Where Gui found gaps, he filled them. Though, he was surprised at just how much Yang Xuan already knew. Then, Yang Xuan asked the most important question, the one he had been waiting to ask the entire time, "Grandpa Gui, I know all of this is important, but how can I actually cultivate? I know I must refine the qi which circulates within me, but I can not even perceive it! How can I refine it?"

Gui remained silent for a moment, and then he instructed, "Very well, sit down in the lotus position. Since it is impossible for someone of your talent to do this on his own, I shall stimulate your senses and increase their sensitivty. I will block out all external factors; I just want you to look for the stream."

"The stream?" Yang Xuan frowned. "You will know when you see it. You may also only see small dots of it," Gui explained. Yang Xuan followed Gui's instructions. As soon as he sat, he closed his eyes. Closing one's eyes is a simple thing. It blocks one from making use of his sense of vision for however long the eyes stay shut. However, this was not simple at all. He closed his eyes, and when he opened them, he found himself in another world. A dark, dark world devoid of any light, of any sound, of any scent. A world without stimuli. He knew not where his body lay. It was an endless abyss.

And then, he heard. And he saw. And in a flash, all his senses had returned to him. Right in front of him, he saw a tiny drop of murky liquid. He could hear it drip, and he could feel its movement, And then, his vision began to expand - what he had thought was merely a single drop turned out to be a part of a larger stream. And that stream was soon revealed to be simply a tribituary of a large river. More and more rivers appeared, all connected, with distinctive points throughout them. Then he noticed. It had become more and more obvious. This was his body's meridian system; he could see his three dantians, every meridian, and every single acupoint. This murky liquid, it was qi.

It was his job, his purpose, to refine and purify it. That was a cultivator's mission.