Chapter 14: The Refining Power of the Crucible

Uzman settled in the Rank 2 camp and opened the soul book to commune with Master Khalid. He would have liked to move further into the forest and set up camp in a rank three encampment. However, no amount of skill could overcome Rank three beasts without having the ability to project Chi.

‘Master Khalid, I have returned to the camp and would like to push and reach Rank 2. Do you have any suggestions?’ ‘You need to open the remaining meridians and condense your Chi further. You already know this. Continue working on your advanced weapon techniques. Improve your proficiency in using the glaive and push yourself to the edge.’

Uzman settled down to meditate, he watched his Chi flow into his Dantian rapidly. This was one of the advantages of using the forest sites due to the high density of the Chi and the balance of the elements. The only Chi that was in low quantity was fire. However, as a member of the Dragon Fire Clan, his innate fire sense made the point moot. Uzman forced his Chi to move quickly in spirals trying to mimic the last time he had condensed it. After many attempts, he stopped trying and settled on just pushing the boundaries of his Dantian.

Uzman activated the golem setting the skill level to advanced. He had recognized the usefulness of training when he had nearly died facing the Demon Wolf. He trained incessantly against the golem switching between a sword and a glaive. He started winning against the animated training partner as his skill and confidence grew. After two days of intermittent weapons training and cultivation, it was time to brave the forest.

The forest hummed with life around Uzman, his last foray had taught him to be cautious. Danger could be lurking anywhere. He continued gathering herbs as he ventured deeper into the forest. He espied a number of Rank 0 animals that scurried out of site on sensing him. He was hoping to face some Rank 2 beasts for their cores and to hone his fighting edge.

As Uzman continued foraging, he followed the direction of the strongest energy flows as it would lead to areas with useful herbs. Suddenly he noticed a pair of gremlins that were gnawing on the carcass of a wild jackal. He stayed downwind and stalked closer using the tree cover for concealment. Assessing the energy signatures of the gremlins, he concluded that the smaller was in early Rank 1 while the second was at Rank 2, larger, and standing at almost 6 feet. The gremlins had tusks growing out of their jaws curving outwards. They had a row of sharp teeth and sharp claws which they used to tear at the carcass.

The fight or flight decision was taken from him when the smaller gremlin looked in his direction and started chittering excitedly making the other to take notice. Uzman decided to move into the clearing where there was more space to maneuver rather than ran and expose his back to the vicious predators. The chittering increased in volume as Uzman stepped into the clearing. It was as if the gremlins could not understand their good fortune. Dinner had just delivered itself.

The smaller gremlin was the first to attack while its compatriot circled to get behind Uzman in a flanking maneuver. Uzman moved quickly to face the advancing gremlin while turning to avoid being flanked. He realized that he had to kill the smaller gremlin quickly to improve his odds. Uzman met the gremlin's charge with a thrust to the chest. His glaive connected and pierced through. As he tried to retrieve his weapon he was hit savagely from the back. He fell to the ground, rolled to his feet, and drew his sword.

The bigger gremlin grinned savagely not seeming to care about its injured partner. It moved fast and attacked in a flurry of flashing claws. Uzman noted that the gremlin did not use any plan or subterfuge. All of its blows were aimed at disemboweling him or killing him outright. He danced between the wild swings, using fire to empower his movements. He used the sword to deflect the blows and when an opportunity arose he ducked and neatly decapitated the gremlin. He stood there panting for breath, eyes wild, adrenaline still racing through his body. He calmed his breathing and took stock of the clearing ensuring that the brief fight had not attracted other predators.

Uzman retrieved his glaive and harvested the valuable parts of the gremlin. He had spent a few days at the library and the bestiary classes to learn about the different animals that called this area home. For gremlins, only their claws, teeth, and tusks were useful.

After processing his kills, Uzman moved deeper into the forest and decided to make a nest for the night on a big oak tree. He weaved branches to ensure that he would not be attacked from above and settled down to meditate. He noticed that the constant danger had made his Chi flow much faster and his control had increased considerably. For five days, Uzman hunted in the Rank 2 zone killing different beasts. Only twice had he been injured.

On the last day just as he was about to turn back to camp, he noticed a darker shade in a clump of trees. Concentrating his energy sense on the position showed that there was a definite spike in the energy filaments in the location. The strength of the filaments indicated that whatever creature hiding there was on the cusp of Rank 3 as it was the strongest aura he had ever seen in the forest. This was a battle he did not want. He decided to turn back to his training camp.

The creature realized that it had been discovered and that the ambush had failed. It rushed from the hiding spot blurring fast and was on Uzman as he turned to go back to camp. Only his hauberk managed to stop him from being mortally hurt. Uzman fell back and instinctively kicked outwards pushing the creature that had almost landed on top of him. He rolled to his feet and beheld the most beautiful creature he had ever seen.

The moment felt surreal given that he was facing a creature that had just tried to kill him and he was marveling at its majesty. The creature stood about seven feet tall. It had black svelte luxuriant wool covering its body. Its leonine head was adorned by a thick white mane. The creature was bipedal with a bushy tail that swished from side to side as the two stood staring at each other.

Uzman clutched his glaive in both hands to compensate for the wider reach of the creature. The creature did not attack in a frenzy as Uzman had been accustomed to. It was as if it possessed a canny intelligence deciding to probe Uzman for an opening. Uzman and the creature continued circling each other warily, each probing the other for weaknesses that would provide an advantage. The creature was fast. As fast as Uzman augmented by fire. Uzman thrust at the creature and then turned the attack into a sweep. The creature evaded both easily. It was as if he faced a human opponent. For the first time foraging in the forest, Uzman felt that he was overmatched.

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The dance continued for a few moments. Thrusts were met with parries, sweeps were dodged, and slashes were evaded. Uzman started tiring, running low on Chi. If they continued fighting a battle of attrition he recognized that he would lose. He augmented himself with vapor to increase his speed and launched himself at the creature. His increased speed started paying dividends and was able to score a few hits before the creature could react. However, the hits did not have a lot of power and only served to enrage the creature further.

Uzman maintained his attacks forcing the creature to give ground. The many cuts were starting to take a toll and he sensed the creature flagging. He switched to the fire forms in the hope of increasing damage. The creature was getting more and more enraged starting to lose the cohesion of its defense. Uzman faked a stumble and the creature responded with a powerful swipe at his head. Uzman moved swiftly to take advantage of the opening ducking under the swipe and slashing savagely at its legs. The fire-powered slash connected and cut through sinew only stopping at the bones.

The creature let out a bellow of anger and started glowing red. Uzman skipped backward quickly confused at this turn of events. Its eyes changed color from yellow to a dark malevolent red. It was as if the creature had become possessed. Its wounds started healing as Uzman watched. With the change, the creature seemed to lose all sense of reason and launched itself savagely at Uzman. It attacked ferociously ignoring any damage to itself. Uzman was sent flying when a wild swing clipped his face drawing blood. He had managed to land a lot of blows but the creature seemed to be regenerating too quickly.

Uzman switched to a sword which was more effective at close range. As he parried a blow, he was a little slow to dodge and the creature kicked him in his chest. He tasted blood and felt a few ribs crack. He forced himself to stand determined to face his end as a warrior. As suddenly as the rage had manifested, the glowing seemed to abate and the creature stumbled, seeming to lose strength. Uzman lunged and pierced the creature in the heart killing it. He then fell down promptly, all his strength gone, replaced by excruciating pain.

Uzman tried channeling wood and realized that his core was almost empty. He switched to cultivating to refill his core. He gritted his teeth to endure the pain. His upper meridians had been ravaged by the fight. Slowly he forced his breathing to follow the rainbow cultivation pattern until his core started to fill. Immediately, he started healing himself by circulating the wood element through his damaged body. As he regained strength, he retrieved a healing pill that aided his actions allowing him to rapidly heal his injuries. After what felt like hours, he stood up and stored the entire creature in his ring without processing it and then stumbled back slowly towards his camp. He was not ready for another fight.

Uzman stood with his eyes closed, deep in meditation. He ran his Chi through all of his open meridians, and the Chi, condensed to a viscous liquid, responded quickly and flowed freely. He could feel that if he exerted himself, he could manage to condense it further. He had managed to heal all of his injuries from fighting the leonine creature. He could feel all of his meridians keenly as an extension of his Dantian.

Uzman also noticed the two semi-opened meridians. One moved from the Dantian to his spinal cord weaving across his back. The other followed a similar pattern zigzagging across his chest covering most of his skin. They were his longest meridians but none were fully open. He could also sense a wider meridian that connected his Dantian to the brain. He focused a thread of his Chi and forced it to move up through the back meridian. He managed to dislodge a lot of the blockages. It was a slow process that required fine Chi manipulation to continually push more threads up the meridian. He stopped just before fully opening the meridian and decided to consult Master Khalid.

‘I think that I can advance. I can fully open two of the open meridians. However, I sensed another wider meridian that connects to the brain. I cannot find its opening though.’ Uzman informed his master.’ When Uzman had informed Master Khalid about the fight with the leonine creature, he learned that the creature was known as a Grillion. It had been on the verge of advancing to Rank 3. At that point, some creatures can burn their Chi and lifeblood to become faster and stronger. However, this weakens them and may lead to death.

‘It would be better if you can manage to open both meridians without using pills. This will improve your control and make them stronger. The Chi that opens meridians interacts with the walls thickening them and improving resilience. I am surprised that you can sense the Mind meridian. It is only opened when you move from Rank 3 to 4. At this point, a cultivator moves from the Body Refining stage to the Mind stage. This is the power level of most Demon Dukes only a step below a Demon Prince. The more you exert yourself in a fight, the easier it becomes to manipulate Chi. This occurs because you are forced to channel Chi quickly when your life is on the line.’

Uzman settled down and continued his cultivation training. He easily finished opening both meridians and started on the condensation exercise. The Chi spiraled quickly but refused to condense further. After trying for a number of hours, he decided to give it a rest. He jumped into the nearby Tigresi river and scraped off the dirt accumulated from opening the two meridians.

Uzman had been at the training camp for more than two months. Within that time, he had gone foraging on two occasions and had accumulated a veritable hoard of herbs and animal parts. These would be sold for coins or traded at the Academy for points.

‘Master Khalid, what are the main changes and options available when I ascend to Rank 2?’ Uzman inquired. His knowledge about the cultivation path was stilted. There was a lot he did not know due to his secluded upbringing. Additionally, his nature as a wizard made it difficult to attend the cultivation lessons at the Academy.

‘The most notable change will be your ability to create shields. At the tempering level, your control of Chi allows surface-level techniques. At the meridian opening level, you can only empower yourself to move faster or hit harder. As your control develops, you can project Chi outside your body to a limited extent. At Rank 3 you are able to project Chi further from your body forming the basis of Chi techniques.

‘Then why haven’t the Rank 2 beasts I have encountered not used this defense?’ "Animals are not defensive by nature. They operate by instinct and developing a shield requires time and focus. However, from Rank 3, animals increase in intelligence and can use focused thought processes. At this level, any beasts you encounter will be more dangerous. That is why I was confident you could dispatch Rank 2 beasts.’ Master Khalid answered. ‘Any advice on how to condense my Chi further?’ ‘Just keep on practicing. Persistence my boy, persistence.’

As Uzman settled into his meditation trance, he allowed the process to be instinctual. He started thinking about his path forward. He needed to become stronger. OK, then what? His grandfather had insisted that strength was only relevant if it could be used to help people or in the furtherance of peace. He understood that he was destined to close the rift or die in the effort. This could only be achieved after achieving the Soulcrafting rank. All of these were objectives that had been set by other people. What did he want? What was his drive?

As these thoughts plagued him, he did not notice that his Chi had increased in tempo, and was spiraling faster and faster while pushing on the edge of his Dantian. In his musings, he tried to define who he could use his strength to protect. When he arrived at the Academy, he felt blanket hatred for the nobility and Imperials. However, he could now consider Lady Tameria a friend. He had also found some Nobles to be fair and just, albeit privileged.

Suddenly, a sharp spike of pain drew his gaze inwards. He noticed that his Chi had reached the maximum possible expansion and could not push the Dantian boundary further. It was now rapidly condensing and had changed color to a bluish-golden hue. It now barely occupied a third of his core and had condensed into a thick tar-like substance. He had advanced to the tempering stage.