Calm winds blew across a serene vista, coming down from a high cliff that overlooked a sprawl of low-roofed buildings. Surrounding this village was a dense bamboo forest that seemed to stretch for kilometers with no end in sight, only giving way on the southern banks of a river. There flowed the Flowing Grass river, the lifeblood of not only this village but many other clans that were situated within the valley. To the east of the village winds blew down from tall cliffs that stood tall and proud in the sky, forming a natural protective wall to the east as the river did to the north, the quaint and humble village showed few signs of opulence or arrogance.
In fact, the architecture in the village was very plain. All of the buildings were simple and practical with slanted roofs to drain away rain with simple fittings for doors and windows. Outwardly the only thing that would catch one's eye was the golden symbol of a palm with an observing eye at the center of it. This crest was emblazoned on the main door of every building. Every person who lived in this valley would instantly recognize this crest as that of the Fan clan and this village as their ancestral grounds known as Little Green Bamboo Village.
Today the sun rose high in the sky as a gentle breeze seemed to inject calmness into the hearts of even the most agitated of beings. Atop the highest cliff bordering the east of Little Green Bamboo Village stood a man flanked by two young youths. The man’s back was tall and straight as the proudest peaks, his short-cut black hair gently moving with the fierce winds sweeping down the cliff edge.
One look from his golden eyes pierced the soul and his classically handsome face rivaled even the heroes of ancient tales. Golden robe flowing in the wind with the Fan clan crest proudly displayed on his back, to the two youths standing behind him Fan Long seemed to exude the aura of a peerless expert with the grace and poise of a true immortal that had descended from the heavens.
“ Son,” Fan Long’s calm voice broke the young men’s trance like a hammer blow “one month ago you entered your 14th year. Until now, I have encouraged you to enjoy your youth and the fancies afforded by it, however, this ends today. As an heir to the Fan clan, you must begin your training and prepare yourself to fulfill your duties to the clan. One day the time may come that you have to lead our people, a heavy burden that will be that much heavier if you're not prepared, do you understand?”
Fan Zhong stared at his father attempting to keep a grimace from his face, the breeze that felt so calming inside the village now chilled him to the bone. He had been dreading this day for months and now it was finally here, no longer something that could be avoided. Quickly, resolve firmed in his eyes as he steeled himself and met his father’s gaze with all the willpower he could muster.
“O… Of course father! Your son will train diligently and uphold the honor of the clan!” Fan Zhong replied in the most formal tone he could manage, trying to keep any signs of petulance or dissatisfaction from his voice.
“Is that so? Well, it seems that all my worries can be laid to rest then.” Fan Long replied, his eyebrows rising slightly as amusement entered his voice. “To begin, I will demonstrate to you the nine basic palm techniques the clan practices. Afterward, you will live on these cliffs within the ancestral clan training grounds with your older brother. When he deems you have the basic skills to advance on your own you will be allowed to return. I will visit each month if time permits, to check on your progress and provide some personal guidance. Train well and show all of us your talent!”
Fan Long emphasized his last words with a small amount of qi causing the sound to explode out in all directions. Looking at his youngest son he sighed internally, he understood the youth’s temperament well, this would be a tough trial upon him. Leveling a barely noticeable look of pity at the young boy, his gaze turned to his older son, Fan Cheng. Seeing his eldest child filled Fan Long with immense pride as he felt the strong energies flowing around the young man who had achieved the Master realm at the young age of 16, just two years ago.
Fan Zhong bowed stiffly, even if he knew his father did not expect much of him, the pitying gaze hurt his pride. However, deep down, he was extremely worried about how long he would have to stay in this isolated training. In the worst case, it could be years or decades!
In truth Fan Zhong felt that he was not a bad person, it was just that he had never seen much of a point in the martial training his family valued so highly! In the Flowing Grass Valley, there hadn’t been a large-scale war since his father was his age, over a century ago, and that itself had simply been a major conflict between some of the valley clans and one of the overlords of the eastern plains, from his memory this hadn’t even involved the entire valley! Although there were minor disputes that happened now and then, for the most part, peace was plentiful.
Even the Fan clan, whose men were regarded as truly fierce warriors and whose women had a lineage of being deadly scouts and assassins, had shifted to mostly providing contracted bodyguard and observer services. Although these were vital services the clan provided throughout the valley, Fan Zhong had always lived in the peaceful Little Green Bamboo Village far away from even the minor conflicts and hardships. As such, he had little experience with the act of doing these duties much less any connection to the professions themselves.
For Fan Zhong, the world would be alright if it stayed just as it was, with him safely allowed to experience the music, food, and other luxuries he loved without a care for what happened outside of the village. Days spent appreciating the subtleties of intertwining melodies and nights spent enjoying the company of the lovely maidens of the Soft Moonlight Hall, these were the things that brought him the most joy in life! However, he knew the opportunity to enjoy such luxury was a privilege of being born the son of the clan leader, and as such a heavy duty needed to be fulfilled to prove he deserved to keep receiving the fruits of the clan's labors.
Such duties obviously needed to be fulfilled, perhaps just a bit later? Yes, he only needed more time, such duties were for an older Fan Zhong to worry about….
Suddenly Fan Zhong’s mind rushed back to the present as a shockwave of air rushed over him. In an instant, his father had moved between him and his brother and now stood behind them in the center of the circular clearing that made up the ancestral training clan training grounds that bordered the cliff's edge. Another wave of force pulsed out as Fan Long gathered his qi and stomped his feet on the ground, taking a fighting stance and drawing in a breath. As he did so the rushing winds rustled the leaves of the surrounding foliage and caused the wall of the simple meditation huts encircling them to shake.
Fan Zhong focused, he could not miss any details of this moment, if he did the techniques would take him far longer to learn. With his talents, Fan Zhong felt that he would need all the insight he could to have even a glimmer of hope to return to the village before the mountains themselves weathered away.
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“Hmm, not quite like that, adjust your feet… Stop breathing so unnaturally, let it flow! Fighting your own breathing will only make moving harder, it will have the opposite of the intended effect!” Fan Cheng spoke with a stern but compassionate voice as he lightly prodded and whipped various parts of Fan Zhong’s arms, legs, and sides. Each sting was preceded by the sound of the air cracking as the discipline stick in his older brother's hand moved with speed and precision. Every hit was light enough to be felt as a small angry ember of pain but shallow enough to leave no lasting marks or lingering pain.
It had been three hours since their father had finished showing the fundamental techniques to Fan Zhong and left him in the care of his older brother. Altogether, these techniques included three forms each containing three different techniques that formed the nine palms used by the clan's core style. Fan Zhong had been working on mastering the basic stance for the style for the last three hours, poorly if Fan Cheng’s remarks were anything to go by.
However, he knew his elder brother carried no animosity in his guidance. Fan Cheng was as upright and honest a man as he had ever met. It simply came down to their personalities being very different. Fan Zhong was like a passing breeze, traveling through the world and marveling at the sights that entered his view. His brother by contrast was like a mountain, sturdy, strong, and patient as the ground was old.
While practicing a fundamental stance to perfection would be the most assured way to learn the clan techniques and build a solid foundation, Fan Zhong simply found the idea of drilling the same thing over and over dreadfully dull. Knowing his elder brother, he knew this would not be the only part of the training that would progress this way. Each and every technique would be honed individually until it was perfected.
Only after grueling honing of the fundamentals would he be allowed to practice even basic combinations and exercises.
“Mercy elder brother, mercy! Surely we have earned a moment of rest to… meditate, on the day's training and consolidate my practice!” Fan Zhong tried to lace his words with honey, mixing in the type of insane logic practice fanatics like his brother understood!
“Truly brother, your silver tongue is wasted with me. Perhaps I should recommend you to mother? I hear observers have need for quick wits and a silver tongue for negotiating their prices!” Fan Cheng responded after chuckling in good humor, quirking an eyebrow up in challenge to his younger brother
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“ N…. No elder brother, surely you jest! As a man of the Fan clan, how could I forget the honor of inheriting the techniques of our ancestors?” Panic filled his voice as Fan Zhong hurriedly responded.
The observers of the clan started training even earlier than the warriors did. Judging from the state his little sister had been in upon returning from such training, he doubted it would be any more pleasant than this.
“Hmmm, I see, it joys me to hear such enthusiastic energy from you! In that case, we shall train until our blood runs dry and our bodies can shatter mountains. We will not stop until the heavens themselves tremble or strike us down in the process! Truly, you give off the spirit of a young hero who slays gods and demons! To be willing to take up such a grueling training regime, this humble scholar of the martial path is in awe of you, Junior brother.” Fan Cheng laughed heartily, smiling so widely that Fan Zhong thought his mouth would rip open his face.
At least he hoped it would, it was the least he deserved for such cruel words! Despite his best efforts, Fan Zhong’s face twisted into a grimace that only amplified the sound of his brother's booming laughter.
“Alright, have your rest. In any case, father tasked me with making sure your knowledge of the martial arts and the world hasn’t dulled through all the wine you drink. Keep your feet for a moment longer, I'll fetch some seats and we’ll have a lesson while we break.” Fan Cheng replied casually as he turned and perfectly assumed the stance Fan Zhong had been trying so hard to master.
Looking at his brother gathering himself and tensing his body, Fan Zhong could not help but marvel. Although he was four years older than him, Fan Zhong could not imagine his tall lanky frame ever resembling the stalwart figure of muscle and energy his brother presented. Even with the older boy standing slightly shorter than him it still felt like his elder brother loomed like a mountain over Fan Zhong.
From the side Fan Cheng stood with his golden martial arts robe fitting only slightly loose enough to billow in the wind. His short pitch-black hair stayed perfectly still, completing the image of an immovable wall of stone. At the top of his mountainous frame Fan Cheng’s visage held the golden eyes all Fan clan men shared upon reaching the Master realm tinted so by gathering the energies of heaven and earth.
Outwardly they seemed like two all-seeing suns framed by a robust, if not classically handsome, face. Without warning, Fan Zhong was almost flung off his feet as his brother blurred into motion, moving away from the center of the clearing towards one of the meditation huts that ringed the training ground. Before he could even turn his head fully to follow the motion another booming noise rang out. Just like the first time Fan Zhong was barely turned before a blurred image of his brother arrived back where he had started.
Upon arriving, he sat down a table that had been resting on his shoulder and slid a stool towards Fan Zhong, placing another stool on his side of the small round wooden table before sitting down. Quickly, Fan Zhong pulled the second stool closer to him and sat down as well, sighing in relief to have some rest.
“Today we should start with the basics, now brother, a simple test to see where we are and how far the road ahead is. Please, if you could, describe to me the basic forms of cycling techniques that exist and what realm of martial arts they can be used at” Fan Cheng’s tone quickly took on the inclination of a teacher who was outwardly sincere but inwardly expected his student to be completely unable to answer the question.
“Well, cycling techniques… you see… These things are for vaunted masters and experts! Surely my current abilities are far from needing such knowledge?” Fan Zhong struggled at first however, his quick wit showed true, conjuring a deflection that returned the question by assessing its validity!
A smug smile crossed his face as he felt quite proud of his retort. Suddenly his cheek burned with stinging pain, and a momentary blur of motion flashed by in his vision. Only the discipline stick, now firmly grasped in his brother’s hand, gave away the source of the pain.
“For others perhaps, however, you are a mainline heir of the clan! These are things your tutors have taught you countless times to prepare you and make ready your mind for the day duty calls. Just now, you experienced what being unprepared for something feels like. I advise you to remember that feeling and work to avoid it as much as possible. In case you are wondering, experiencing such a thing again is very possible. Trust me, my own training with father made that readily apparent.” Fan Cheng’s voice remained calm but his eye’s twinkled with a small bit of laughter as he spoke.
Although Fan Zhong felt the anger swelling in his chest, he knew that his brother was only prodding him, he wouldn’t cause actual harm with these swats, merely pain. Pain, however, was not something Fan Zhong had experienced much of in his life, it seemed that was soon to change.
“Now, it seems you lack the knowledge expected from your education by the clan tutors. We shall then have to assume that the starting point is the beginning of the road. Have no fear, brother, for this sagely scholar of justice will be happy to impart to you the basics and drill them into you alongside your martial training! To begin with, let’s go over the basic structure of martial arts cultivation realms.” Thus Fan Cheng began from the basics, sparing no details to make sure his dear little brother received the most solid of foundations!
Slowly but surely Fan Zhong began to remember more and more details of his lessons. Firstly there were the steps of martial arts cultivation also commonly referred to as realms. Generally, they referred to a qualitative change in one's ability to fight and use their techniques and internal energy. Normally this was the result of arduous years of meditation and practice as well as real-world experiences.
The realms so far as he was taught were Third-Grade martial artist, Second-Grade martial artist, First-Grade martial artist, Master, Grandmaster, and the mythical Supreme Grandmaster. Many of the legends and fables did mention ancient heroes who had reached realms beyond this such as ‘Qi Condensation’. At that realm, martial artists became known as ‘cultivators’ as they had condensed the energies of heaven and earth permanently inside of themselves to begin cultivating that energy to higher heights. In doing so their bodies fundamentally changed and they ascended their mortal frames, resisting the will of heaven itself while becoming true immortals who lived thousands of years!
Currently, the entire valley had only a single living supreme grandmaster in their recent history, Wei Yan, and at this point, he should be more than 300 years old. Many believed he had died of old age at this point. Although Wei Yan’s legendary might had allowed his clan to become the overlords of the valley clearly his descendants did not share his talent as no other Supreme Grandmasters of his lineage had appeared. This had led many to question if he ever achieved such a realm or perhaps was simply an incredibly strong Grandmaster who claimed to have achieved a higher realm.
There were rumors that Deng Clan's ancestor, Deng Wuying, had also achieved the realm after entering closed-door seclusion over a century ago. Indeed, this would explain how the Deng clan remained the only other clan controlling a large amount of territory, specifically the section of the plains the Flowing Grass River ran through after directly exiting the valley on its way to the Sea of Myriad Swords. In any case, such things were beyond what Fan Zhong hoped to achieve in his lifetime. Although living longer would be nice, he believed a life that had to be spent doing so much work couldn’t possibly be enjoyable!
Continuing afterward were the details of the strength martial artists attained at each step and what abilities were gained upon achieving a breakthrough. For Third-Grade martial artists, the bar was to be a competent expert fighter with a style of unarmed or armed combat, able to hold their own in a fight with one to two untrained individuals as well as handle another skilled opponent. While not Master’s in their own right, Third-Grade martial artists usually served as able and competent foot soldiers. Curiously, Fan Zhong remembered this was the only realm that didn’t require some sort of breakthrough or qualitative change. It simply required the recognition of others, if your peers thought you were skillful enough to claim the title then so it was.
Next came Second-Grade martial artists, those who had mastered a fighting style to the apex, pushing the limits of human ability. At this level, the ability to handle one to two opponents at the level of Third-Grade martial artists is expected as well as contending with half a dozen untrained enemies. After breaking through to this realm the practitioner will generate a wisp of mental energy, an internal energy that actively speeds up the ability to perceive events and mental processes in general such as thoughts. With this comes far greater control over precision of movement and strength allowing Second-Grade martial artists to perform tasks at speeds and with accuracy that would be impossible for a pure mortal.
Afterward, the martial artist enters the First-Grade martial artist realm. At this point, the abilities of the practitioner well exceed the capabilities of a mortal who lacks any type of internal energy. Dozens of untrained opponents pose no threat to a First-Grade martial artist and even twenty or so Third-Grade martial artists would have difficulty causing much harm to them. In general, attacking a First-Grade martial artist with less than five Second-Grade martial artists has little hope of success, and even then victory is in sight only if they are willing to kill the First-Grade martial artist.
Upon achieving this realm of martial arts the practitioner will be able to actively sense their mental energy and channel it towards certain tasks they focus on, such as doing a large number of calculations quickly or perceiving the flight path of multiple arrows to knock them out of the air. Although they are still unable to fully control and utilize the mental energy simply being able to focus it like this vastly increases their abilities.
Further breakthroughs bring the martial artist into the Master realm where they can finally fully control their mental energy. Then they must learn to cycle it through their dantians and gather ‘Qi’ from the environment. This strengthens their bodies through purging impurities while infusing their flesh and bones with the energy.
Gracefully, with the light of day fading, Fan Cheng spared him the increasingly difficult and nuanced information about the master realms.
“Good progress brother, now, let us complete a run-up and down the cliff trails to imprint this knowledge in your mind!” Fan Zhong barely contained his groan slowly rising from his seat until he heard his brother's last words “At this pace, perhaps we will finish the basic stance and realm knowledge this week. Hmmm, I suppose that will leave the weekend I set aside to bolster your knowledge free. Who knows where disciples can wander during their free time? Certainly not me. I personally have no reason to dote on my students in such a fashion. By the way, did you hear that father will be gone this weekend? A prime time for eyes to be blind to crimes that have no victims.” Before he could even finish, a cloud of dust was the only thing Fan Cheng could still see of his brother as he raced down the trail.